the key to the code is Jesus

Andrei Rublev, Christ in Majesty (1410-1415)

Proper 22 (October 8^th)
Heb 1:1-4, 2:5-12

NIV Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

As believers we know something that millions of people longed to know for thousands of years. We know how the story reaches its climax: Jesus sits down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. This very same Jesus is one of us. In fact, he calls us his brother!

At first, the book of Hebrews can be hard to understand because it’s so Jewish. Yet there is a simple step you can take to understand it. Before you read, pick up an imaginary Jewish skull cap and put it on your head. You may be able to think more jewishly than you know just based on the cultural exposure that you’ve likely had to it. With your skull cap on, the Jewish pieces of the Old Covenant start to fit hand and glove with the Christian pieces of the New Testament, as their divine author intended for them.

One common understanding of Hebrews is that it was a sermon. I don’t think so. I think it was an apologetic written to convince Hellenized Jews that Jesus had to be Messiah and that only through Him can the plan of God or the purpose of our lives be grasped. A respected evangelical scholar once said to me on the phone, “The key to understanding the Old Testament is that there is no central message, but only a collection of disparate themes.” I disagree. There are disparate themes, to be sure, but they come together in Messiah Jesus, and Hebrews is both the proof of this and the key to this. The key to the code is Jesus.

Hebrews chapter 2 makes the point that while Jesus was fully divine he was also fully human. This is good news for us: this guy gets it! He faced the same temptations we faced and can therefore empathize. At the same time, He himself secured our deliverance from sin and invites us to come boldly into His presence. You can do this: he knows it, because he did it first. Rest, rejoice in your forgiveness, and enter into the victory of trusting in Him.