the structure of hebrews from three perspectives - Tyndale House

More documents

Recommendations

Info

268 TYNDALE BULLETIN 45.2 (1994) God for those who choose to continue sinning, or rejecting the covenant God has made with his people. Chapter 10 closes by stressing the importance of confidence (vv. 32-39), as expressed through enduring sacrifice in the light of Christ’s parousia, and reviews the three main doctrinal topics covered in the previous section: sanctuary, covenant and sacrifice. Since 10:19-39 is the only paraenetic section in chapters 8-10, and since it focuses on the readers’ confidence before God, confidence seems to be the underlying concern of the author in chapters 8-10. The beginning of chapter 11 marks a dramatic shift in subject matter. The topic of priesthood, which dominates the first ten chapters, is rarely broached in the last three. Instead, the focus has shifted to Christian virtue: faith, endurance and sacrifice. Whereas chapters 1-10 concentrate on Christian responsibility in the light of the superior nature of what God has done in Christ, chapters 11-13 concern themselves with Christian responsibility in the light of the example of Jesus and others. 41 These examples include the saints of old who exemplify faith, as examined in chapter 11. Faith is such a strong theme in this chapter that a vital component of the argument can be overlooked, that these examples had unwavering faith in spite of not having experienced the ultimate fulfilment of God’s promise. This point is consistent with a strand that runs through the book. That all things are not yet put under Christ’s subjection comes up in 2:8 and 10:13, as does the postponement of reward and the fulfilment of promise in 10:35-39. The exodus/pilgrimage theme also lines up with this concept of delayed fulfilment. Clearly, the possibility of a delayed but certain fulfilment of God’s promise is an important concept to our author. This discussion of faith concludes with 12:1-3 where Jesus, the very author and perfecter of faith, is offered as the ultimate example of faith for the readers and one to whom they must look. The rest of chapter 12 is concerned with endurance. According to 12:7 the readers were to endure for the sake of discipline, which indicates that they must have been facing some difficulty. That the readers’ suffering may be coming from God in the 41With the exception of 12:18-24 and possibly 13:10-14.
STANLEY: The Structure of Hebrews 269 form of fatherly discipline is offered as encouragement to continue in perseverance, which would result in maturity. Two negative examples form the focal points of a warning against failing to endure: Esau selling his birthright, which illustrates the foolishness of not enduring, and the Israelites before Mount Sinai, which illustrates the relative ease of Christian endurance before God in Christ and the greater responsibility of New Covenant believers to the Christian message because it gives them a direct connection to the heavenly realities. The chapter ends with a call to gratitude and reverence in the light of having received an unshakeable kingdom. This reference is similar to those in chapter 11 which speak of a heavenly country and city (vv. 10, 13-16). Faith enables endurance, and endurance undergirds obedience. In chapter 13 the priesthood of Christ comes to the fore once again as the author explains that New Covenant believers are to offer sacrifices to God through Christ (vv. 15, 16). 42 These sacrifices are praise, good deeds and fellowship, which represent a broad range of Christian activities, and are clearly intended to take the place of levitical sacrifices for the readers (cf. vv. 9, 10). Seen in this light, the several exhortations at the beginning of chapter 13 provide a more detailed description of the sacrifice of good deeds, or Christian obedience, and establish it as an important part of the readers’ Christian commitment. That the readers continue in obedience to their Christian commitment and be willing to sacrifice for the sake of others and in service to God as illustrated by Christ ‘outside the camp’ must have been our author’s utmost concern. But he was not interested in blind obedience, as verses 5 and 6 and the broader context of Hebrews show, but a sacrificial commitment to obey God that flows from understanding and faith. The homily ends with a benediction recalling some of the main points of the argument: covenant, completeness and obedience. It is interesting that the priesthood theme is not prominent in this benediction, but that Christ’s resurrection, which is not mentioned earlier, is. However, the benediction does reflect the dual emphasis of the book: affirming the 42Cf. also Phil. 4:8 and 1 Pet. 2:5.
Page 1 and 2: Tyndale Bulletin 45.2 (1994) 245-27
Page 3 and 4: STANLEY: The Structure of Hebrews 2
Page 23: STANLEY: The Structure of Hebrews 2
Page 27: STANLEY: The Structure of Hebrews 2

the structure of hebrews from three perspectives - Tyndale House

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?