Subscribe to our PODCAST here.Neglecting the Superior Revelation
Heb. 2:1-3
Intro.
A. Have been asked to write article on this passage for Biblical Insights (Jan. Issue).
B. It is a profound passage and based upon the foundation of chap. one. Jesus is superior to the prophets (1:1 they were friends of God; He was the Son of God. He is the Creator 1:2; they told about His creation. They told about God, He was express image 1:3. They told about His sacrifice, He was the sacrifice for sins 1:3. They predicted a King, He is the King, 1:3.
C. He is superior to angels (1:4-9): He is a Son - begotten (v. 5; Acts 13:33), angels worship (v.6), they were ministering spirits (v. 7), He is king (v. 8), sits on right hand (v. 13).
D. Therefore (2:1) - conclusion to the superiority of Christ. Progression from lesser to greater - prophets - angels - Son. Warning against digression: transgression (parabasis - stepping across a line; parakoe - “begins by meaning imperfect hearing, as, for instance, the hearing of a deaf man. Then it goes on to mean careless hearing, the kind of hearing which through carelessness and inattention either misunderstands or fails to catch that which has been said. It ends by meaning unwillingness to hear, and therefore disobedience to the voice of God. It is a deliberate shutting of the ears to the commands and the warnings and the advice and the invitations of God” Barclay, p. 14).
Body:
A. The lesser - the word spoken through angels (v. 2; Dt. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19).
1. The writer of Hebrews called it: former commandment that was weak and unprofitable (7:18), it made nothing perfect (7:19); faulty (8:7), became obsolete and vanished away (8:13).
2. Even that word was enforced while it was in effect (2:2; 10:28; Num. 15:32-36; 2 Sam. 6:6,7).
B. The greater - the word spoken through Christ (2:3; 1:2).
1. The message given through angels - not things “first spoken by Christ” - Has to be the New Covenant. Not only spoken by Him, but dedicated with His blood (9:15-23; note “how much more?” 9:13,14; cp. 12:25 “much more shall we not...”).
2. Did anything Jesus said apply to the New Covenant period? (Jn. 3:3; 18:36; Mk. 16:15,16)
(Certainly, many things he spoke were directed to Jews under the law of Moses, but many were spoken about the kingdom period as well.)
3. It was confirmed to us by those who heard Him (v. 3; 1 Jn. 1:1-4).
4. The great salvation:
a. A better covenant (7:22)
b. A better priesthood (7:11,12,23-25)
c. A better sacrifice (9:24-28).
C. The greater responsibility - how shall we escape? (v. 3).
1. An appeal to history - they received a just reward, what will happen to us? (Once saved, always saved advocates have problem with this. Say we neglected to fully accept the salvation.)
2. Were those who heard the words given through angels ever really in God’s family? The contrast is between those under the Old and the New Covenants (3:12,13).
3. “Lest we drift away” (v. 1) - describes a ship drifting (flowing past) with the tide past the harbor because of neglect - resulting in wreck. “For most of us the threat of life is not so much that we should plunge into disaster, but that we should drift into sin. There are few people who deliberately and in a moment turn their backs on God; there are many who day by day drift farther and farther away from Him. There are not many who in one moment of time commit some disastrous sin; there are many who, bit by bit and almost imperceptibly, involve themselves in some situation, and suddenly awake to find that they have ruined life for themselves and broken someone else’s heart” (Barclay, p. 13,14).
4. We do not have to work to secure ruin (can do nothing to garden and weeds will grow!) - neglect will produce same effects as actively planting weeds, or evil deeds.
Concl.
The man without the wedding garment - neglected what he could have had (Mt. 22:11,12). God gave His greatest gift, and gave us the greatest covenant, with greatest promises - how can we neglect that great salvation?
Intro.
A. Have been asked to write article on this passage for Biblical Insights (Jan. Issue).
B. It is a profound passage and based upon the foundation of chap. one. Jesus is superior to the prophets (1:1 they were friends of God; He was the Son of God. He is the Creator 1:2; they told about His creation. They told about God, He was express image 1:3. They told about His sacrifice, He was the sacrifice for sins 1:3. They predicted a King, He is the King, 1:3.
C. He is superior to angels (1:4-9): He is a Son - begotten (v. 5; Acts 13:33), angels worship (v.6), they were ministering spirits (v. 7), He is king (v. 8), sits on right hand (v. 13).
D. Therefore (2:1) - conclusion to the superiority of Christ. Progression from lesser to greater - prophets - angels - Son. Warning against digression: transgression (parabasis - stepping across a line; parakoe - “begins by meaning imperfect hearing, as, for instance, the hearing of a deaf man. Then it goes on to mean careless hearing, the kind of hearing which through carelessness and inattention either misunderstands or fails to catch that which has been said. It ends by meaning unwillingness to hear, and therefore disobedience to the voice of God. It is a deliberate shutting of the ears to the commands and the warnings and the advice and the invitations of God” Barclay, p. 14).
Body:
A. The lesser - the word spoken through angels (v. 2; Dt. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19).
1. The writer of Hebrews called it: former commandment that was weak and unprofitable (7:18), it made nothing perfect (7:19); faulty (8:7), became obsolete and vanished away (8:13).
2. Even that word was enforced while it was in effect (2:2; 10:28; Num. 15:32-36; 2 Sam. 6:6,7).
B. The greater - the word spoken through Christ (2:3; 1:2).
1. The message given through angels - not things “first spoken by Christ” - Has to be the New Covenant. Not only spoken by Him, but dedicated with His blood (9:15-23; note “how much more?” 9:13,14; cp. 12:25 “much more shall we not...”).
2. Did anything Jesus said apply to the New Covenant period? (Jn. 3:3; 18:36; Mk. 16:15,16)
(Certainly, many things he spoke were directed to Jews under the law of Moses, but many were spoken about the kingdom period as well.)
3. It was confirmed to us by those who heard Him (v. 3; 1 Jn. 1:1-4).
4. The great salvation:
a. A better covenant (7:22)
b. A better priesthood (7:11,12,23-25)
c. A better sacrifice (9:24-28).
C. The greater responsibility - how shall we escape? (v. 3).
1. An appeal to history - they received a just reward, what will happen to us? (Once saved, always saved advocates have problem with this. Say we neglected to fully accept the salvation.)
2. Were those who heard the words given through angels ever really in God’s family? The contrast is between those under the Old and the New Covenants (3:12,13).
3. “Lest we drift away” (v. 1) - describes a ship drifting (flowing past) with the tide past the harbor because of neglect - resulting in wreck. “For most of us the threat of life is not so much that we should plunge into disaster, but that we should drift into sin. There are few people who deliberately and in a moment turn their backs on God; there are many who day by day drift farther and farther away from Him. There are not many who in one moment of time commit some disastrous sin; there are many who, bit by bit and almost imperceptibly, involve themselves in some situation, and suddenly awake to find that they have ruined life for themselves and broken someone else’s heart” (Barclay, p. 13,14).
4. We do not have to work to secure ruin (can do nothing to garden and weeds will grow!) - neglect will produce same effects as actively planting weeds, or evil deeds.
Concl.
The man without the wedding garment - neglected what he could have had (Mt. 22:11,12). God gave His greatest gift, and gave us the greatest covenant, with greatest promises - how can we neglect that great salvation?