Hebrews 4-5

Hebrews 4

1-12 A Promised Rest

• Take care to enter God’s rest, by heeding God’s message, not like those who “were not united by faith with those who listened.” Faith helps our ability to hear.
• When God speaks about “his rest,” he refers both to the day he rested, the Sabbath, and to another rest, which is still available for some to enter.
• This is not referring only to the rest Joshua offered [Canaan], because David, who lived later, referred to a rest (Psalm 95:7-11) that some would not enter because of their hardened hearts.
• This is a sabbath rest that still remains for the people of God, where they will rest from their labors, just as God rested from his.
• [Speaking of disobedience,]

12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

Note: The passage above is one of my favorites for what it says about the power of God’s word. Like a skilled surgeon, it can lay us open and enter into the deepest part of our souls, revealing the disease – which may be hidden even from ourselves – and surgically removing it. The surgery will be painful, but without it, we’ll suffer eternal death.

14-16 Jesus the Great High Priest

• “Since” we have a great high priest… This seems to refer back to verse 6, where Christ as Son is compared to Moses as servant. Verses 7-13 are an interlude, as if the writer is saying, “Speaking of Moses reminds me of the unbelief that caused the followers of Moses to fail. Don’t follow their example.”
• [As Christians,] our high priest is none other than the Son of God, who – because he lived as a man – understands our weaknesses, though he never sinned.
• Because he understands, we can approach Christ on his throne without fear, recipients of mercy (not receiving the punishment we deserve) and grace (receiving gifts we don’t deserve)

Hebrews 5

1-10 Jesus the High Priest (cont’d)

• Mortal high priests are chosen as sons of Aaron to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, as well as their own.
• He was not a descendant of Aaron, but Christ was chosen by God to be a high priest, somewhat like Melchizedek, who was a Gentile. (See Genesis 14:17-20)
• What did Jesus offer? Prayers and supplications. And he was heard “because of his reverent submission.” Not because he was the Son of God, but because he was submissive. This person who was part of creation, equal with God, was heard by the Father because he submitted. Amazing.
• He “learned obedience.” As part of the godhead, one with God in intention and power, he had never had to be obedient before. Although all-knowing, he hadn’t experienced what it was to submit to another’s will, because his will and God’s had always been the same. Now, with not only knowledge but experience of submission, he is complete, “perfect.”

11-14 Warning against Falling Away

• Another exhortation: I could tell you more about this, but your eyes would glaze over, for you don’t have the spiritual depth to understand it.
• When you should be teachers, you need to be taught; when you should be chewing meat, you’re still needing milk.
• Definition of mature: Those who have been trained in righteousness by actually practicing it, not just learning it. In spirituality, as in so much of life, knowledge with experience is superior to knowledge by itself.