THE LAYMAN S BIBLE COMMENTARY

IN TWENTY FIVE VOLUM ES -

V OLU M E 1 VOLUM E 1 0 VOLUME 18

Introduction to Proverb s , Luke
the Bible Ecclesi as tes , D on ald G . Mille r
Song of Solomon
VOLUM E 2 J Coert Ry laa rs da m
‘V O LU ME 19
John
.

Genesis
Ch a rles T Fri ts ch . VOLUM E 11 F loy d V Fi ls on .

Isai ah VOLUM E 2 0
VO LUM E 3 G E rn es t Wrigh t
.
Acts of the Apos tles
Exodus A lb ert C Winn
B D a v i e Nap ier VOLUM E 1 2
.

Jeremi ah VOLUM E 2 1
V OLUM E 4
,

Lamentations Rom ans ,

Leviticu s Numbers
,
Howard T K u is t I an d II Corinthi ans
Mays
.

Ja m es L .

Ken n e th J Forema n .

VO LUM E 1 3
V OLUM E 5 VO LUM E 22
Ezekiel D an i el ,
Deuteronomy ,
C a rl G Ho w ie G al atians ,

Jos hua
.

Ephes i ans ,

E dw ard P Bla ir
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VOLUM E 1 4 Philippi ans ,

VOLUM E 6 Hos e a Joel Am os

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Coloss i ans
Ob adiah Jonah A rch iba ld M Hu n ter
Judges Ruth
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Jacob M My ers
I an d II S amuel VOLUM E 2 3
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E ri c C R u s t I an d II Th es s al oni
VO LUM E 1 5
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an s I an d II Timo
VOLUM E 7 Mic ah Nahum
,

thy Titu s Phil e

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I an d II Ki ngs
H ab akkuk ,
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Zeph
,
ani ah H agg ai
mon
I an d 11 Chronicles , ,
Holmes Rols ton
R o b e rt C D e n ta n Zech ari ah M al achi ,

Ja mes H G a i ley Jr
.

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VOLUM E 2 4
VOLUM E 8 Hebrews James
VOLUM E 1 6
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Ezra Nehemi ah
, , I an d II Peter
Es ther J ob ,
M atthew Joh n Wic k Bo wman
Ba lmer H K e lly
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S u zan ne de D ie trich
VOLUME 2 5
VOLUM E 9 VO LUM E 1 7 I II and III Joh n
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P s alm s M ark Jude Revel ation

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A rn old B R h odes . Pau l S . Min ear Ju lia n Price L ov e

 TH E L AY MA N S
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“

B IB L E C O MME N TA R Y

Donal d G Mill er
. A s s ocia te Edi tors Arnold B . Rh odes
M Chal mers
.
,
Edi tor, Joh n Knox Press

VOLU ME 24

THE LETT E R TO THE

HEBRE W S

JA ME S
FIRST A ND S ECOND LETTERS OF

PE TE R

j ohn Wi ck Bowman
J O HN KN OX P RES S
Unles s oth erwise i ndicated, S cripture q uota tions are from the
R ev is ed S ta n da rd Vers i on of Th e Holy Bi b le, c opyrigh t 1 946
a nd 1 95 2 by D i v is ion of Ch ris t ia n E duca ti on of t h e Na ti onal

C oun ci l of th e Ch urch es of Ch ris t i n th e Un i ted S ta tes of A merica

.

M E Bratcher
. . 1 96 2
All ri ghts reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in
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any m anner wh atsoever without written permi s sion e xce t in th e

p
cas e of brief quot ations embodied in critic al article s an d reviews .

For inform ation addre ss John Knox Pre ss Richmond 9 Virgini a

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Publis h ed i n Grea t Bri ta i n by S CM Pres s L td L ondon Pu b

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, .

lis hed s imultan eous ly in Ca nada by Th e Ryers on Pres s , Toron to .

S econd printing 1 96 6

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number : 59 1 0454

Printed in th e Uni ted St ates of America
I 3 771
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 PREFA C E
Th e LAYMAN S B IB L E CO M M ENTARY is b as ed
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the convict ion on
that th e B ible h as the Word of good news for the whole world .

Th e B ible is not the prope rty of a s peci al group It i s not even the .

property an d conc ern of the Church alone It i s given to th e .

Church for its ow n lif e but als o to bring God s Offer of li fe to all ’

m nkind wherever there are ear s t o he ar an d hearts to res pond

a —
.

It i s thi s point Of View whi ch bi nd s the s ep ar ate p arts of th e

LAYMAN S B IB L E C OM M ENTARY into a uni ty There ar e m any vol
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umes an d m any writ ers coming from v aried b ackground s as i s

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the c as e with the B ible it s elf But al s o as with the Bible there is a
.

uni ty of purpos e an d of faith Th e purpos e i s to cl arify the s it ua

.

tions and l an guage of the B ible th at it may be more and more

f ull y unders tood Th e fai t h i s th at in the B ible there i s ess enti all y
.

on e Word on e mess age of sal v ation one gos pel

, , .

Th e LAY MAN S B IB L E CO M M ENTAR Y i s des ign ed to be a conci se

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n on techn ic al guide for the l aym an in pers on al s tudy of hi s own

-

Bible Th e refore no biblic al text is prin ted al ong with the com
.
,

ment upon it This commentary w ill h ave done its work preci se ly
.

t o the degree i n wh ich it moves i ts re aders to take up the B ible f or

Th e writers h ave us e d the R evis ed Stand ard Vers ion of th e

Bible as their b as ic text O ccasionall y they have differed from
.

thi s trans l ation Where thi s i s the c as e they h ave given their
.

easons In the m ai n no attempt h as been m a de ei ther to j us tify

r .
,

the wording of the Revis ed Stand ar d Vers ion or to comp are it

with other trans l ations .

Th e objective in thi s commentar y is to provi de the m os t help

f ul expl an ation of fundam ent al m atters in s imple u p d t
-t o- a e
,

terms Exhau stive tr e atment of s ubjects h as not been undertak en

. .

In our age knowledge of the B ible is pe rilous ly low At the .

s ame time there are s igns th at m any people are longing for help

in getting s uch knowledge Knowledge of an d about the B ible i s

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of course n ot enough Th e grace of God an d the work of th e

, .

Holy Spirit ar e e ss enti al to the renewal of lif e through the Scrip

tures It i s in the happy confidence that the gre at hunger for the
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Word is a s ign of God s grace alre ady operating within men an d

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th at the Spirit works mos t w on derq y where the Word i s famil

iarly known that thi s commentary h as been written an d publis hed
,
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THE EDITORS AND

THE PUBLISHERS
 TIIH LETTER TO THE
-

HE BRE W S

IN T R O D UC T I ON
Au th orship
Th e Letter to the Hebrews w as early known employed an d

throughout the extent of the Church Eas t an d Wes t It w as firs t , .

quot ed in Rome by Clement one of the Church Fathers ( A D 9 5 )

, . .

Therea fter it w as employed in the Wes t by s everal writers of the

have been th e firs t to cons ider th at Hebrews w as written b y Paul

or reflected hi s thou ght It w as s ugges t ed that it h ad been written
.

b y P aul in Hebrew an d tran s lated into Greek by Luke O thers in .

the thi rd ce ntury held tha t the s tyle w as non P auline though the -

ideas were cons idered to be P aul s One of the Chu rch Fathers of
’
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this century O rigen held th at God only knows certainl y who

, ,
“ ”

wrote the epistle An ear ly p apyrus manu script of the thi rd cen
.

si bly Alexandri a pl aces Hebrews immedi at ely after Romans and

,

be fore Firs t C ori nthi ans thereb y indicating th e belief that th e

,

epis tle w as from the pen of Paul .

From the period of the Reform ation to modern times there has
been great divers ity Of Opinion on the m atter of authors hi p C al .

vin held i t to be from P aul s pen while Luther thought of Apollos

’

as the author an d Eras mu s s ugges ted Clement of Rome O thers .

gave their vote to B arnab as O ne s tartling sugges tion w as th at th e

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letter w as written by Pris cilla Mor e recent writers continue to

.

propo se a v ari ety of authors n o one of whom h as w on a maj ority

,

of s upp orters .

Readers

ti an group addressed in the letter as in the m atter of authors hip .

From the early fourth cent ury there have been thos e who have b e
8 HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION
li ev ed th at the letter w as addres s ed t o the church in Jerus al em or ,

at an y rate to the P al es tini an church O thers h ave thought of a .

J ew ish Chri stian community in one of the l arge centers Of the

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ancient world s uch as Alex andri a Rome or Ephes u s Some s u g

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ges t a Helleni s tic Jewis h group within the Rom an church ( Hel
“
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”
l eni s ti c refers t o t h e influence of Gre ek ide as an d culture upon
t h e J ewi s h religion ) O t hers hold th at the letter w as address ed to
.

Chri s ti ans as such either including b oth Gentiles an d Jews or

,

compos ed exclu s ively of Gent iles In thi s l as t c as e of cours e th e

.
, ,

title of the epistle would be a mi snomer .

Date
Tw o ets of fact s h ave generally been emph as ized as det ermin
s

in g the d at e to be as s igned to the writing of the letter Th e firs t .

o f thes e h as to do on the on e hand with the app arent u se which

, ,

the author of Hebrews h as m ade of s ome of the P auline epi stles

an d on the other with the fact that Clement of Rome ( A D 95 )
, ,
. .

quotes from Hebrew s in h is letter to the Corinthi an church Thu s .

Deuteronomy 3 6 i s u sed by Paul in Romans

-
an d b y

Hebrews at Simil arly in bo th Rom ans , 2 1 an d He -

brews 1 2 an d 1 9 reference i s m ade to the age of Abrah am

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and S ar ah at the tim e of the promi se of the b irth of I saac .

“
Clement refers to Jes u s as the high prie st of our off erings the ,

defender an d helper of ou r we akn e s s ( s ee Heb 2 : 1 8 ; .

He al s o de s cribes J es us as one who being the b ri ghtness of hi s

“
,

m aje sty i s by so much gre ater th an angel s as he ha th inherited a

”
more excellent n ame ( see Heb 4 ) Thes e two cons iderations
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-

s ugge s t a d ate for the letter s omewhere betw een A D 5 6 an d 9 5 . . .

Th e s econd cons iderati on s ugge stive of a d ate i s to be found

in the fact th at the readers h ad al re ady s uffered one pers ecution
for their fai th an d were now facin g the li kelihood of a s ec ond
3 4;
-
There h as been however little un an imi ty , ,

among interpreters as to which per secut ions are me ant Th e fol .

lowing have be en sugges ted as pos s ibilitie s— the one under Cl aud
iu s in A D 49 ( Acts
. . the well known pers ecution under -

Nero in A D 64 ; the des truction of the Jewis h s tate in A D 7 0 ;

. . . .

an d the pers ecution under Domitian in A D 95 . . .

Sugges ted d ates for the w riting of the epistle are as foll ows
between 5 8 and 95 8 5 1 1 0 7 5 8 0 7 0 95 about 95 65 or 6 6
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an d s ometime in the middle 6 os

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HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION 9

A New S olution
From the above sta tement of the his tory of the problem it wi ll ,

be app arent that there can be no authoritative pronoun cement

rel ative t o the circums t ances author readers an d date of writin g
, , ,

of the Le tter to the Hebrews Th e bes t mi nd s of the Church h ave

.

given their attention to the s olution of the s e problems an d have

found thems elve s un able to rea ch a united conclus ion with t e
g ard t o them Th e Chris ti an s tudent accordin gly if he is to face
.
, ,

the problem at al l mus t do s o wi th an open mi nd an d a since re

,

endeavor to m ake the be st of the d ata avail able .

During the p as t dec ade certain s i gni ficant facts h ave come to
our attention whi ch would appea r to s uggest the poss ibility of a
new s olution The s e d at a are prin cip ally of tw o kind s —firs t the
.
,

redis covery of or re emphas is upon the fact th at the Jud ais m Of the
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firs t Ch ri s ti an century w as by no means a s ingle phenomeno n ;

an d s e c on d
, the di s covery of the Dea d Se a Scrolls at Khirbet
Qumran and the vall eys s outh of Wadi Qumran whi ch h ave
m ateri ally increas ed our knowledge of on e type of contemporary
Jud ai s m i n the firs t Chri sti an century It will be well at this point
.

to s t ate the p os ition whi ch in the light of t hese recent develop

,

ments will be s upported in this comment ary Thi s is to the effect

, .

th at ( l ) the author an d readers of the Letter to the Hebrews b e

longed to a s in gle group in the Pal es tini an s ituation to be des i g
h ated as Hellen is tic J ewis h Chri s ti ans ; ( 2 ) thi s group lived to
“ ”
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gether at s ome undes ignated point pos s ibly at Sychar in the

,
'

Rom an province of Judea ( whi ch included both the Old Judea

an d Old S am ari a ) ; ( 3 ) the occ as ion of writing w as the author s
’

e arnes t des ire to s timulate gre ater z eal for the di sti nctive ele
ments in the Christi an gos pel among Chris ti ans who becaus e ,
“ ”
of the ir liberal b ackground were intri gued with that gos pel s
’

s imil ar ities to the bes t in Jud ais m ; an d ( 4 ) the epi s tle w as w rit

ten s hortly before the destr uction of the Jewi s h s tat e i n A D 7 0 . .

,

when the Qumran s ect w as forced to abandon the center of i ts

influence at Khirb et Qumran It is our intention to s ugges t that
.

both the author of the letter an d hi s re aders were converts from

the r anks of Hellenis tic Jud ai s m an d th at the readers h ad fallen
,

under the influ ence of the teachings of th e Qumran s ect— an in

flu ence which h ad not intri gued the author thou gh he f ound it ,

conveni ent in View Of hi s readers known i nteres t to s tate the

’
10 HEB REWS : IN TRODU CTION
mes s age of the gos pel in terms m ade familiar by the teachings
em anating from Khirbet Qumr an Th e author though he b e
.
,

longed to a s ection of the Chri stian communi ty whos e b ackground

w as quite other than the Hebraic Jud ai s m out of which P aul
s prang w as nonetheles s fam ili ar wit h P aul s writ ings an d gen
’

e rall y s ymp athetic with hi s doctrin al pos ition while at the same ,

time his s tatement of the fu nd amental te achings of the Chri sti an

faith followed a p att ern difl eren t from that of P aul Th e letter .

then may be d ated in A D 6 5 or 6 6 at the beginnin g of the Firs t

. .
,

Jewi s h W ar an d al mos t s ynchr onous with th e d ate of P aul s death ’

in Rome .

Th e Hellenis t i c—Jewis h Chris ti ani ty of Firs t-Cen tury Pales ti ne

Fir t centur y Jud ai s m w as by no me an s a unifi ed faith There
s -
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were s ect arian cleavages withi n it s ome of them ch ar acterized by

,

bitter hatred towar d other bran che s of J ewry Th e m ajor cleavage .

i s generally des ign ated by the term s

“
Hebrai c Jud ai s m an d
”

“
Helleni stic Judai s m ( see Acts
”
P aul hims elf employs thi s
t erminology an d cl ai ms to h ave belonged to the Hebr ai c s ide
( Phil. II Cor . Th e term s employed to de s ign ate the
two bran ches of Jud ais m h ave a reference which i s far wi der th an
the respective l angu ages s poken by the two p artie s though the ,
“
u s e of diff erent l angu age s i s not excluded Hebraic an d Hel
.

”
l eni s ti c refer rather to the tot al cultural p atterns adopted : on
t h e on e h an d adherence to s tri ct J ewi s h p atterns of life an d on
, ,

the other accommod ation to Greek cul tural p attern s Nor doe s
, .

the factor of pla ce neces s ari ly h ave an y bearing upon the problem .

P aul w as a n ative of Tars us in Cilici a an d therefore a res ident of

the Helleni stic world outs ide of P al estine an d yet he w as a typical
,

example of the Hebrai c Jew Contrariwi se the S adducees whose

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center an d entir e life i nvolvement w as th e Temple in Jeru sal em ,

were notable for h aving adopted the Hellenistic culture p attern .

To on e like Paul who h ad been converted from the s trictes t

e lement ( the Ph ari s ai c ) w ithi n Hebraic Juda i s m it bec ame cle ar ,

t hat culture p atterns have no Significance for the Chri s ti an fai th .

Such w as the n ature of h is argument with Peter at Syri an Antioch ,

whi ch he reports in G al atians 2 : 1 1 -2 1 We re ad however in Acts

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6 and 7 of a s h ar p controversy which developed between the

Hebraic J ewi s h Chri sti ans and their Helleni stic Jewish Chri s ti an
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a —
We h ve little enough to go on here merely the ac count of the
HEB REw s z INTR ODU CTION 11

controvers y its e lf as narrated in the s ixth ch apter an d a s tatement

Of the beliefs of the Hell eni s tic-Jewi s h Chris ti ans as containe d
in Stephen s s peech in cha pter 7 It s eems clear however that
’
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the Hellenis tic p arty were general ly committed to wh at one might

term the more prOph eti c point of View Th is included the idea
“ ”
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procl ai med by the prophets as early as Am0 s in the eighth century

before Chris t th at the true fai th h ad univers al s ignifica nce an d s o
w as equ ally f or all people s Th e s ame s triki ng idea i s abund antl y
.

illust rated in S tephen s addre ss— that God s revelation of himself

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to men is independent of l and ( Acts 9 3 0-3 1 3 6 This , , ,

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revelation is al s o independent of cultural background as Moses ,

culture w as l argely that of the Pharaohs ( v ss 1 7 22 ) an d of .

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Midian ( v ss 2 3 . It is li kewis e independent of a p articular

“
hous e of worshi p both that which Stephen cal ls th e tent of
,
”
witness in the wil derne s s an d Solomon s Temple ( v ss 44 -5 0 ) ’
.

And finally the implication i s that God s revelation i s independent

,
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even of the people of the Law ( the Jews ) for Stephen m akes it ,

cle ar that it w as char acteri s tic of Isr ael that they rejected the
revelation which God gave throu gh s elected in dividu al s called
“ ”
prophets ( v s s 2 5 2 6 3 5-3 6 5 1
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Th e Hellenis tic Jewi s h Ch ris ti an faith as procl aimed by Stephen

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is reflected throughout Hebrews notably in 2 5 1 8 where the ,

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author ar gue s on the b as i s Of P s al m —6 th at J es us in hi s in

carnation h as come th at by the grace of God he might tas te

“

”
death for every on e ( v s Th e same point i s m ade in connec
.

“
tion with our author s choice of Melchizedek king of S alem
’

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as on e who though he w as
”
pries t of the Mos t High God ( 7 : 1
in no s ens e a Jew yet w as a bless ing both to Abrah am an d to all
hi s des cend an ts including the Levitic al pries thood
,
“ ”
Th e unworthi nes s of rebelli ous Is rael is al s o portr ayed with
telling eff ect ( 3 : 7 1 9 ) in contras t wi th fai thful prophetic s pirits
-

“
like Abrah am and hi s des cend ants Joseph an d Mos es the prOph, ,
”
et s
, an d othe rs of the ir typ e w h o s uffered pers ecution at the

hands of the forefathers of the Jews thems elves ( ch Th e .

true faith s independence of l and an d even of the Holy City of

’

Jerus alem is brought out wit h telling force by Hebrews

1 4- 1 6 , 2 3 -3 1 ;
Final ly Stephen s thes i s th at the tr ue faith does not depe nd
,
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upon the u se of a p ar ticul ar hous e Of worshi p i s directly rel ated

to the m ajor theme of Hebrews This letter like Stephen takes .
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i ts s tart from the in s truction which God g ave Moses in Exodus

12 HEB REWS : INTRODU CTION
2 5 : 40 .Moses w as to erect a hous e of worshi p according to th e
”
p attern which w as s hown hi m on the mountain ( Heb Acts .

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Th e writer m ai ntai ns that the true house i n whi ch God s
worshi p is to be c arried on is a s pirit ual or et ern al one ( 9 : 1 1
That i s it is a house m ade up of living person alitie s
,
a -

tho ught als o worked out by P aul ( Eph 1 6 ; Col . In -

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a ddition to thes e m ajor s imil arities be tween the me ss age of

Stephen an d that of Hebrews there are minute ones of a st riking

,

s ort Of which but one may be mentioned here n amely the medi , ,

ation by angels of the O ld Tes tament revel ation ( Acts

Heb .

It s eems clear from the above comp ari son th at the author an d
his re aders who as we h ave s aid belonged t o a s ingle group of
,

s econd generation
-
Chris ti ans ( Heb 4) must have been
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Helleni s tic Jewi s h Chr i s ti an s of the type repres ented by the

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6 Thi s element in th e E arly Church d ating

“ ”
s even of Acts -
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b ack to at leas t A D 3 5 w as s c attered after the pers ecution th at

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,
“
aros e as the re sult of Stephen s m artyr dom throughout the
’

region of Jude a an d S am ari a ( Acts ”

If we allow s ome
thirty years to intervene before the writing of Hebrews it wil l ,

perhaps appear not unlikely that they should h ave drawn together

"
at some central point And wh at better pl ace could be imagined
.

than a s pot near the an cient c apital city of S am ari a poss ibly at ,

Wehar
Thi s pos s ib ili ty moves into the re al m of prob abili ty when the
incident recount ed in J ohn 4 i s recalled ( s ee e speci ally v s s 5 and .

For as h as been shown recently the interes ts m ani fe sted by

, ,

t h e G os pel of J ohn ar e thos e of the Helleni s tic J ewi s h br an ch of -

the Chri sti an Church an d it is strik ing that the city of S am ari a
,

Should be s poken of as a center of evangelis m both in J ohn 4 an d

in the B ook of Acts ( 8 : 4—2 5 ) in connection with the evangeli stic
work of Philip who along with Stephen w as a membe r of the
,

Helleni s tic J ewis h Christi an commun ity At Mount Gerizim ne ar

-
.

S amaria th e ancient S am aritan s h ad erected a temple in com

petition with that at Jerus al em ( John It i s therefore the , ,

more strikin g that Jes u s s hould decl are to the woman of Sychar
that th e hour i s comin g when neither on thi s mount ain n or in Jeru
“

( J ohn
” “
s alem wil l y ou wors hip the F ather an d th at the true
”
wors hipers will worshi p the Father in s pirit an d truth ( v s .

“
while the author of Hebrews in like vein argues that the s anct u
”
ary an d the true tent in which Chris ti an wors hip i s to be m ai n
HEB REWS : INTRODU CTION 13
“ ”
tai ned is one not m ade with hands that i s not of this creation , ,
“
( Heb . Similarly Mount city of the living
,

G od whi ch Chris tians are s ai d b y our author to appro ach for

”

“ ”
worshi p is the he avenly Jerus alem ( Heb
, for as he .

says ,
“
Here we h ave no l as ting city but we seek the city which is ,
”
to come
Th e D iscovery of t he Dead Sea Scrolls
Th e bove di stinction between Hebraic an d Hellenis tic Jewis h
a -

Chri s ti ani ty aff ords u s only on e h alf of the picture s uggestive-

of the s etting in which the Letter to the Hebrews h ad i ts origin .

Th e momentous di s covery of the Dead S ea Scroll s be ginning in

1 947 h as provided u s with the other h alf Though it is true that .

the monas tic community at Kh irbet Qumr an w as th e center of

”

the s ect yet the s crolls ar e witnes s es to the fact that cell s or
,
“ ”
c amp s were m aintai ne d th roughout al l Pale s tine a fact to whi ch ,

Jos ephus app ar ently is referring when he spe aks Of the Es s enes
as thos e who
“
have no certain city but m any of them dwell in
every city ”
.

It s houl d be evident then th at th ere w as every chance of the

, ,

Helleni s tic J ewis h Chr is tian community in Pales tine coming into
-

contact with an d being influenced by thi s s ect Num erous s imi .

l ari ti es may be pointed out b etween the teachin g s of the Qumr an

group an d those of the Letter to the Hebrews For ex ample the .
,

group s poke of them s elves as the pe ople of the ( new ) covenant

“ ”
.

There can be no doubt th at the reference of this te rm i s to Jere

mi ah 3 4 the p as s age quoted in Hebrews
-
, 1 2 And th e -
.

coincidence of thought bet ween the Qumran Scrolls an d He

brews is s een to be the more s triking when on e notes that of the
“
twenty eight reference s in the New Te stament to the new cove
-

nant exactly on e h al f are to be found in Hebrews al one Refer

,
-
.

ence h as al re ady been m ade to the fact th at in Hebrews

coupled with the te aching emerges th at the Chris ti an com
” ”
muni ty is the t rue hous e or temple Of G od This s am e clai m
“
.

is m ade for its elf by the Qumr an community B oth the Qumran .

se ct an d Helleni s tic Jewis h Chris ti ans s pe ak of them selves a s

“
-
the
enlightened ones B oth cl aim to be a people who pos s ess trut h
” “ ”
.

in a peculi ar w ay B oth group s cl aim to h ave expe rienced the

.

power of G od in a S pecial w ay B oth claim to cons titute a fel

”
“ “
.

”
low s hi p of the s aints including thos e on e arth an d thos e in he aven .

B oth cons ider thems elves to be tes ted an d proved by God .

14 HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION
But while there imil arities Of the type indic ated between
are s
the te achi ngs of the Qu mr an s ect an d Helleni stic Jewi sh Chris -

t i ani ty— s im il arit ies wh ich ar e more or les s p aral lel wit h other
g roup s wi thin J ud ai s m an d Chri s ti anit y due to t h e f act th at
,
all
draw upon the comm on s ource of the O ld Tes t ament Scriptures
— th e di s s imil arit ies in te aching be tween the two group s ar e even
more striking Thi s is p articul ar ly true of their concepts Of high
.

priesthood an d sa crifice In fact it i s exactly at thi s point that

.
,

the teachings of the Qumran communi ty an d Of Hellen i s tic

J ewi sh Christi anity as exemplified by the Letter to the Hebrews
are found to be in violent Oppos ition to e ach o ther Thi s phenom .

enon more than an y other points to the conclu s ion th at the Letter
to the Hebrews w as writt en in th e context of an d cont emporary
wit h the exi s tence of th e Qumran communi ty at Khir bet Qumran .

It i s f or ex ample known that t hi s s ect looked forwar d to the

, ,

a ppe arance of a mes s i ah who woul d be of the Hou se Of A aron

”
an d might therefore be te rmed a
“
priestly or hi gh pries tly mes -

“
s iah Th e author of Hebrews however s hows th at
.
,
our Lord w as
,

des cended from Judah an d in conn ection with th at tri be Mose s

,

s ai d not hing about prie s ts

”
he concludes in conse quence
th at J es u s high pri es thood depend s not upon h is e arthl y con
’

n e ct i on s b u t upon the fa ct that he i s of the Mel ch iz e de ki an order

, ,

th at i s that he is an eternal figure

, It would
s eem from the s e an d like reference s in Hebrews th at the author

i s concerned to deny out right the Qum ran cl aim that the Mes
s i ah w as to be of the tribe of Le vi Hi s point i s ex ac t ly th at Je s us
.

Chri st b eca u s e of h is e te rna l c h ara c te r as S on of G od

,

combin es withi n hi s own pe rs on both kingly an d hi gh —pri es tly mes

s i ah s hips Thi s i s in flat contr adiction of the point of View e l ab
.
J

orated in the Qumr an comm unity an d it would seem therefore , , ,

th at the letter i s written in the context of the teaching Of th at com

munity .

There i s a s ignifi cant diff erence as well in the m atter of the

char acter of the sac rifice to be off ered in th e wors hip of God It .

i s true that the Qumr an s ect did not b an the us e of a nim al s ac

rifice s They did however procl aim a day about to d awn within
.
, ,
“
Israel when atonement will be m ade for the e ar th more eff e c
”
t iv ely th an by an y fle s h of bu rnt Off ering s or f at of s ac rifi ces .

Thi s i s te a ching derived quite clearly from p ass ages like Hos ea
an d Mic ah 8 Nothing in the s croll s however s ugge sts
-
.
, ,

t h e ty pe of s acrifice to be offered by Je s u s Chris t as the High

HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION 15

Pries t of hi s people who entered once f or all into the Holy Place ,

taking not the blood of goats an d cal ve s b u t hi s ow n blood thus ,

”
s ecuring an etern al redempti on Nor is th ere an y s u g
ges tion anywhere in the s croll s aki n to the furt her s tatement of
“ ”
our author that the blood of Chris t ( th e Mess i anic High Pries t ) ,
“
who through the etern al Spiri t off ered hims elf wi thout blemi s h
” “
to God will purif y your cons cience from de ad works to s erve
,

the living God Th e O ld Te s tament precurs or of s uch

a Mess i an ic High Prie s t i s of cours e the Suff ering Servant of th e
, ,

Lord an d of s uch a figure offering s uch sa crifice the Qumr an

,

Scrolls know nothing .

It h as often been remarked that the only O ld Tes tament s ac

rifi ces whi ch were a m atter of concern to the author of Hebrews

were thos e performed by the high pries t on the D ay of Atone

ment O n no other day of the Jewis h religious ye ar w as the high
.

pri es t cons trai ned by l aw to sa crifice at all But for that d ay all
.

s acrifi ce mus t be offered by him alone In cons equence for the

.
,

author of Hebrews onl y the sa crifices off ered on th at d ay were

remotely comp ar able to that of the etern al Hi gh Pries t J es us

Chri s t ; an d by t h e s ame token for hi m the Chri s tian life con
,

s tituted one continu ous D ay of Atone ment even as for the

,

Apos tle P aul it w as one continuous P as s over ( see Heb 1 0 : 1 9 3 1 ; .

2 4; -
1 6 ; an d I C or 5 : 6
-
. It s eems deeply s ignifi
cant therefore that i n the Qumr an Scrolls no reference to the
, ,

D ay of Atonement s hou ld thus f ar have been found It i s as .

though Hebrews were pointing to t h e s i gnific ant l ack at this point

in the te achings of the Qumr an communi ty and c alli ng Hell enis tic
,

Jewis h Chris ti an re aders attention to the uni queness of the Chri s

’

ti an fai th in having a Me ss ianic High Prie s t of an eternal rather

th an an e arthl y order whos e s acrifice of himself h as given to the
,

Christi an life the charac t er of an everl as ti ng D ay of Atonement .

AS h as been s ai d al re ady two references in the epis tle its elf

,

are perha ps indic ative of a d ate Th e firs t is at 5 : 1 2 wh ere it i s

.
,
“ ”
s tated that the re ader s by this time ought to be te achers .

It woul d s eem th at the co mmunity h ad been together f or a con

s i derab l e lengt h of time af ter the s c att ering abro a d in dicated in

Acts Th e other reference i s that pe rtaining to the two per

secu t ions — on e alre ady p a ss ed th e other on the
horizon If we m ay ass ume th at t h e firs t of t hes e per
s ecu ti ons w as that whi ch aros e about Stephen in approxim ately

A D 3 5 the s econd m ay be convenient ly reckone d as ass oci ated

. .
16 HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION
with the Fir st Jewis h W ar in A D 6 7 0
6 -
During thi s period as we
. . .
,

now know, the Qumran communi ty w as thriving an d it s influence ,

t hroughout the Rom an province Of J ude a w as wides pread We .

m ay well conclude therefore that the oc c as ion prompting the

, ,
’
wri ting of Hebrews w as th e attract ive nature of this s ect s te ach
ings for Chr i sti ans who h ad emerged from the Helleni stic J ewi sh -

“ ” “ ” “
community an d for whom accordingly temple l an d s ac
, , ,
” “ ”
rifi c e, an d holy city were of as little concern as f or the Qum
ran commun i ty In the me antim e too we know th at the cent er

"
.
, ,

of Chri sti an evangel is tic eff ort h ad p ass ed from J erus alem t o
Syri an Antioch byp ass ing S am ari a an d it s Helleni stic J ewish
,
-

commun ity on the w ay Th at communi ty h ad never become a

b and of t e achers or evangelis t s with a gos pel Of God s redemp
“ ” ’

tive act ivity on be hal f of all men everywhere and with a zeal for
c arrying t hat gos pel to the ends of the e arth though the cre ative ,

eff ect of the pe rse cution ou t of which the commu nity h ad s pru ng
s urely g ave early promi se of s uch ze al an d Chris ti an s t at es m an

s hip ( Acts 2 5 ; Heb . All s igns indic ate th at

the early fires h ad burned low i n th is Chri s ti an group They were .

“ ”
becoming fai nthe ar ted ( Heb an d they fretted under the
.

di s cipline imp os ed by Chris tian living Like th e church

“ ”
at La odice a they were now neither cold nor hot
, ( Rev 3 : 1 5 ) .

“
a d angerous attitude expos in g s uch fainthearted Christi an s to
the attract ions of the ne arest second b es t religious interes t So far
-
.

a s Jud ai s m w as concerned that s econd be s t w as to be found in the

,
-

high motivation an d ze al as well as in the exalted claim to be the

,
“ ”
elect communi ty ( the genuine Israel of G od ) on the p art of ,

the Qumran se ct It w as here the attraction l ay then for this

.
, ,

Helleni tic Jewi sh Christi an communi ty at Sychar And we know

s — .

th at coupled with thi s attractivenes s to be found in the hi ghe st

element of the Old faith the fires of nationali s m were burni ng
,

high i n the early 6 0 s in the Holy Land— fi res whi ch burst into
’

t he fl ames of Open revolt agains t Rome in A D 6 6 B ut neither . . .

n ationali sm nor a s econd bes t religion is good enough for fol

-

lowers of J es us Chri st who himself s uff ered outside the g ate of

,
“

the Holy City ( Heb . Accordingly his followers mu s t go ,

”
forth to him outs ide the camp of Jud ais m bearing abu s e for ,
”
hi m
18 HEB REWS : INTRODU CTION
pries thood an d therefore that the anal ogy of the high pries tly -

work w as ina d equ ate in hi s c ase he c ame forwar d with the

,

cre ative s ugges tion that Jes us hi gh p ries thood is sim ilar to tha t
’

of Melchizedek— an eternal one performed in an eternal t aber

n aele an d as s oci ati ng its elf with etern al s acrifi ce s 10;
-

Th e argument i s a valid on e becau s e Of the i ntri ns ic

n ature of the be ing of the Son of God a type of being trans ,

cen ding al l e arthly e xis tence

Th e se cond p ar t of the author s thes is i s as i mportant for hi s

’

goal as th e firs t It res ts upon the underlying assumption that al

.

though sons Of men are in their e s s ent i al being f ar bene ath the
“
S on of G od yet t here i s a certain kins hip involved which
,
’
does not exist between the l atter an d any other of God s cre a
t ur e s— not even angels Thi s uni que kins hip m ake s poss ible not
.

al one the Son s identific ation with the s ons of men in their l ow
’

e s tate an d s ufferings but als o their identific ation wit h

hi m in hi s re spons ib ilities an d privileges For as Chris t w as .

"
"
“ ”
fai thful over God s house as a son’
so t hey ar e c alled to
“
consti t ut e h is hous e ( 3 an d as he w as cal led to be t h e high
”
pries tly Mediator on behalf of men in rel ation to God ( 5 : 1
“

“
s o the dem and is l aid upo n them to be te ac hers of the word
”
of right eous ne ss (5 : 1 1 Moreover as the res pons ibili ty
,

lai d upon the Son of G od included hi s high priest ly work in -

,

which he s acri ficed him self that men might draw ni gh to God
through him even s o it i s incu mbent upon the
“ “ ”
s ons as les se r pries ts who n ow have ac ce ss to t h e
, s anctu ary
“
in G od s et ernal t abern acle to draw ne ar with a true heart in full
’

as s urance of faith with , hearts s prink led clean from an evil

”
cons cience an d bodies was hed with pure water
And as Jes us the pioneer an d pe rfecter of our faith endured
,
”
,

to the end of the e arthly ra ce set before him so the

s ons ar e cal led to endure to accept wi t hout prote s t the dis cipline
,

required for Chris ti an growth to rem ai n faithful in

their al legi ance to th e revel ation of the Chr isti an mes s age ( 1 2 :
18 to recognize the divi ne lord ship over their lives ( 1 2 :
2 5 2 9 ) an d to accept every Oblig ation which th at s overeignty Of
-

G od irn poses upon hi s true wors hipers in the re al ms of both re

li gi on an d s oci al ethics
Fin ally th e author s ees tha t jus t as Jes us w as c all ed upon to
,

so it i s i n cum
“ ”
s utf e r outs ide t h e g at e of the Holy City
“
bent upo n the s ons that t hey al so go forth to him outs ide the
HEB REWS : INTRODUCTION 19

camp that i s outs ide the contemporary Jud ai s m in which the

, ,

author s Hellenis tic Jewis h re aders were r ais ed s o

“
’
-
, be ar ing abus e
for hi m while they seek the city which is to come
” “ ”
1 3 : 12
In View of all th at h as been said above there can be l itt le doubt

m
,

th at a cl ar ion c al l to Helleni stic

Jewi s h Chris ti ans to s ever e bonds which b ound them with

Jud ai s m an d th at at the Openi ng of the Firs t Jewis h W ar it
,

proved to be one Of the eff ective means towar d m aking complete

and irrevocable the fin al bre ak between the Chri s ti an f ai th an d

the Older Judai s m B oth fai ths accepted the O ld Te s tam ent as
.

Script ure but the incarnate l ife an d work of Jes us Chri s t g ave
,

to the Chri s ti an Church a stand ard l ackin g in Judai sm b y refer

,

ence to which that Script ure mus t henceforth be j udged an d in

20 HEB REWS : OUTLINE

OUTLINE
The Redempt ive Power an d Lords h ip of God s Son Hebrew s ’
.

M an ife st o Reg arding the Son of God 4) -

Proof Of the M anifesto from Scrip t ure 1 4) -

m
Redemptive Im i cat i on s for the Sons of Men -
18 )

The Gos pel Call B ecome Go d s H ous e H ebrews

’
to .

Th e Son s Fai thfulnes s Over God s Hous e

’ ’
-
6a )
Th e Thrice-Repe ated Gos pel C all ( 3 : 6b
Th e Nat ure of t h e Son s High
’
Pri es t hood Hebrew s .

Qual ifications of a High Prie st ( 5 : 1 1 0 ) -

Qu al ifications of M ature Sons

Th e Son s Mel chi z edeki an High Prie s t hood 28 )
’
-

The Effi ca cy of t he High-Priest ly Work H ebrew s 8

’
Son s .
— r o: 1

Summ ary Statement 6) -

Ine ecti en ess of the O ld Covenan t

fi v —
9: 10)
Eff ectivenes s of the New Covenant 9 : 1 1 2 8 ) -

Th e O nce f or All Aspect of the Son s High Pries tly Work ( 10

’
- - -

1 18)
-

Th e Respon s e Requi red of Sons t o the Hi gh Pri es t ly Work of the

-

Son Hebrews m u g
.

S umm ary Statement 31) -

Examples of Fai th ( Hope )

Exhortation to Endur ance as Sons -
29)
Th e Communal Life of God s People
’
Outs ide the G ate ( 13
1 17)
-

Epist olary Conclus ion Hebrews

. r3 : 1 8-2 5
HEBREWS 4
-
21

COMM E N TA RY

THE REDEMPTIVE P OW ER AND L ORD SHIP O F

GOD S SO N ’

Hebrew s

Man ifes t o Regardi n g the Son of God 4)

-

Hebrews begins not as a letter but as an e ss ay or address .

Th ere is no saluta tion or ind ic ation Of any kind rel ating to the
identity of the re aders ( se e Introduction ) Tw o points s tan d ou t .

in thes e firs t four verses : ( 1 ) the author s des ire to indic ate gen ’

n ine conti nuity between the revel ations given during the Old an d
new periods an d ( 2 ) the s upe ri or char acter of the revealin g
,

medium in the new peri od .

Th e God who reve al s hims elf an d his will Of old i s the s ame
”

G od who speak s to u s in hi s Son Th e men an d women chos en as .

“ ”
the vehi cle of the Old revelation are called prophets A prophet .

is by defi nition on e who ha s a m ess age from G od an d a com

mis sion to declare it to his generat ion Th e older revel ation w as .

piecemea l fragmentary l acking in un ity It w as given t oo in

, , .
, ,
“ ”
various ways — in dre ams an d vis ion s through a burning bus h , ,
”
by the an gel of the covenant in a s ti ll s mall voice and in
“ “ ”
, ,

In direct line with thi s prOph eti c revelation an d yet in note ,

worthy contras t to it God h as now spoken to hi s people through

,
”
A s God s medium of revel ation to m an thi s Son i s i n
“
a S on
’
.

direct line with the prophets ; in hi s ess enti al nat ure or being ,

however he i s quite different from them Thi s Son is des cribe d in

, .

two ways : firs t as to hi s es s enti al being an d s econd as to hi s

, , ,

functions Fund ament al ly he is S on of God an d s o bears the s t amp

.

“ ”
of the glory of G od —
a phr as e which in both Hebrew an d

Greek s tands for th e s howin g forth of God s real n ature Th i s Son ’

.

i s so to s peak as clos ely rel ated to th e Father as ar e the rays

, ,

which stre am forth from a s our ce of light to the light itse l f as ,

s unbeams to their central su n Moreover he i s the

“
very s tamp
.
”
,

or impre ss ed s eal be arin g the name of God in hi s hum an n ature

the s ign ature of God s o to s pe ak impr ess ed as in w ax on the
, ,
22 HEB REWS -
14

And becaus e the Son i s these thi ngs i n himself he h as fu nctions ,

which are f ar above thos e of all other beings He i s the agent of .

“ ”
creation an d so i s at the beginn ing of hi story ; he i s als o the heir
and s o i s at i t s end ( v s And as he i s at the b eginn ing and at
.

“
th e end of hi s tory so al s o he i s in it s middle providenti al ly up
, ,

holding the univers e But thi s Son h as a rel ation not only to the
”
.

whole of God s created univers e but more p articularly to man

’

,
.

In this connection Hebrews conceives of him as man s Sin ’

purifi er an d Lord ( v s Thi s twofold function i s one upon

.

which the author will dwell at gre at lengt h throughout the letter .

“
In saying that the Son h as sat down at the righ t hand Of the
M aj es ty on hi gh the author quotes from P s al m 1 1 0 : 1 a Psalm
”
, ,

which t ak e s us to the he art of the mes s age of Hebrews ( see

The s e Opening verses introduce us to a unique concepti on of son

s hi p which is t o c arry thr ough the epi s tle an d th row light upon

much of it s teaching Th e Son of God i s an etern al figure B ut the

. .

author i s intere s ted in wha t he does in both time an d eternity ,

an d he be gins with th e Son s function in time Chri stians are

’
.

”
already living in thes e l as t days ( v s that i s in the period .
,

in whi ch the Son s erve s as the Medi ator of God s word to man
’
.

Th e exact phras e occurs only here B ut a like phras e appe ar s in .

I Corinth i ans an d I Peter Other p as sages ,

t oo such as I John 2 : 1 8 me an that the end time h as come Th e
, ,
-
.

Chri s ti an Church therefore , i s al ready living in th e end-tim e, and

,

Chri st is God s final an d definitive revel ation of hi mself to man

’
.

He h as al re ady made a cleans ing for man s Sins an d h as s at down ’

“ ”
in eterni ty at the right hand of th e M ajes ty on hi gh Th e n ame .

“ ” “ ”
Son i s accordingly the greates t to be Obtained by any being
“ ”
— gre ater than angels a word which in both the Hebrew an d the
,
”
Greek s imply me ans mes s engers an d whi ch may be applied to
“

every vehi cle of God s revelation to man ( Vs ’

.

Proof of the Manifest o from Scri pt ure -1

4)
Th e uthor Of Hebrews is concerned to s how th at the nam e of
a

Son places Jes us Chris t above every name that i s named n ot

” “
,

only in thi s age but al s o in tha t which i s to come ( Eph

”
.

In making this demons tration he c alls upon a s eri es of texts from

the Old Tes tament i n the Greek trans l ation ( the Septu agint ) The .

first of the s e in vers e 5 i s from P s alm

, Th e firs t par t of th e
,
HEB EW R S - 14 23

quotation w as u sed by the voice which address ed Jes us at hi s

b aptis m ( M ark But neither here nor in doe s the author
s how an y kn owl edge of this b apti s m al experience of Jes us How .

’
ever he does conce ive of the Psalm as giving us the Father s
,

vo ice s pe aki ng to hi s eternal Son Ps al m 2 is a Me ss i anic or .

“
royal P sal m in which the rei gni ng king or contemporary
”

( mes s i ah ) prefi gures the coming gre at O ne who

“ ”
anointed one ,

in a fin al s ens e w il l fulfi ll the role of M ess i ah It i s in the s am e

, .

w ay th at the author unders tands the s econd quota tion ( from II

S am . Actu ally the word s were ori gin al ly s poken by the
prophet N ath an to D avid in the name of the Lord There can be .

no doubt that the author knows thi s but as before he conceives ,

Of Jes us Chri s t as fulfilling the promis e in a far richer an d dee per

s ens e than origin al ly intended Th e s a me i s to be s ai d of the third
.

quotation ( from the Greek vers ion of Deut All three .

quotations are word s of God concerning hi s eternal Son either ,

at the beginni ng of hi s mi nis try or even at the Inc arn ation ( note
“
in verse 6 : when he brings the fi rs t born into the -

By w ay of contras t with the above de s cription of the eternal

Son s exal ted function as G od s Mes s i ah in the world the author
’ ’
,

now c alls upon Ps al m to illus trate the trans itory n ature of

the angelic host In the Hebrew the p s al mi st h ad Spoken of G od
.

as O ne who m akes t the winds thy me ss engers fire an d fl am e thy

“
,

mini s ters Every created thi ng then may s erve as a mini s ter Of
”
.
, ,

God s purpos e Th e Greek tr ans l ation which is followed in He

’
.
,

brew s revers ed the order of the word s to re ad as they are quoted

,

in vers e 7 This change s uited the pu rpos e of the author admi r

.

ably for it l ays em ph as is upon the trans itory n ature Of all of

,

God s cre ated mess engers Angels together with all Of h is ser
’
.
,

vants are t rans ient by na t ure as are winds an d flam es of fire All
, , .

depend upon G od for their exi stence at every moment .

Hebrews employs an other royal P s al m ( PS 4 5 6 7 ) in vers es .

-

“ ” “ ”
8 9 In the P s alm the reigning m es s i ah or anointed on e is
-
.

’
ad dres s ed i n l angua ge th at s tres s e s the ex alted function of God s

emissar y as he rul es among men Th e righteous or s aving nature .

”
Of th e king s fu nction as me ss i ah is s tres s ed a function cor
’
,

res ponding to the v iew of Ch ri st whi ch appears thr oughout the

With a yet b older s troke th e author n ow cal l s into s ervice Psal m

2 7 ( v ss 1 0 - Thes e vers es were origin ally inten de d
.

by the ps almis t to refer to the Lo rd as the Creator Of th e uni

24 HEBREWS 2 : 1 -4

verse Hebrews unhes itati ngly applies them to Christ the eternal
.
,

Son Thi s i s in accord with the author s previous rem ark that the
.
’

S on w as the medium through whom God h ad m ade the world

( v s 2 ) O nce again it i s hi s purpos e to Show the eternal char
.

a cter of thi s Son Finally ( v s . to conclude h i s des cription of

.

the exalt ed nature of the Son he agai n quot es P s al m as at

vers e 3 above And ag ai n by contras t all others of God s mes~

.
, ,
’

“
sen gers are de s cribed as mini s tering s pirits s ent forth to s erve ,
”
for the sake of those who ar e to obt ain s alvation ( v s 1 4 ) .

It i s cle ar from thi s chapter that the author kn ows onl y two
c ategori es Of existence —G od ( with whom an d in whom he in
“
eludes hi s etern al Son ) an d cre at ure s ( all cre ated beings
,
an ,
”
gels , prophets m ankind generally an d all Of nature ) One
, , .

s en s e s the f a ct th at there w as a type of te aching to which the

Chri sti an re aders Of thi s es s ay h ad been s ubjected an d whos e

tendency w as t o di s pute the clear cut nat ure of thi s divi s ion -
,

or at any rate the inclus ion of the Me s s i ah with God as h is

eternal Son ( see Introduction ) .

Red mp ti v e Im pli cati on s for the S on s of Men

e -1 8)
Res pons ibil i ty for Respons e on Man s Part 4)
’
-

Thi s hort s ection compri ses the firs t of a number Of horta

s
”
tory s ections to be found in the letter ( s ee 1 6; -

Thes e p ass age s i ndic ate pl ainl y th at the a uthor feare d

that hi s readers were in d an ger of drifting away from the tradi
tion which they h ad received as Chris ti ans It i s clear that the .

comm uni ty to whi ch this ess ay w as s ent belonged t o the se cond ,

or po ss ibly the third generation Of Chri s ti ans They were not

,
- .

“ ”
among thos e w h o heard the Lord but were numbered among
those who h ad received the tradi tion from that earliest group .

However the e ss ay cannot h ave b een written very late in the firs t
,

Chri stian century for it i s evident tha t thi s communi ty h ad not

,

received the gos pe l in written form They h ad merely he ard it “

.

“ ”
(vs . a n d it h ad been atte s ted to them ( v s They were a .

link in the chain of tradition whi ch went b a ck to the Lord Je s us ,

and they were an e arly link in that chain ( se e fu rther

At this point ( v s 2 ) the author introduces another traditional

.

belief with reg ar d to angels Thi s is to the effect tha t the O ld

.

Te stament revel ation an d p articul arly that at Mount Sinai in the

,

giving of the Law h ad been made through the ins trumentality of

,
26 HEB REWS 9
-

”
contras ting the angels with men In vers e 6 man an d s on of .

”
man are in Semitic p ar allelis m both terms mean i ng s irn ply ,

man B oth authors Of Ps ahn s an d Hebrew

“ ”
.
— s — no doubt h ad in
mind the original s aying in Genes is to the effect th at God
h as appointed m an hi s Viceroy over all hi s cre ation G od h as .

“ ”
pl aced everyt hing in s ubjection un der h is feet For the author .

of Hebrews the dividing line between the two ages his tory an d ,
“
eterni ty i s the Inc arn at ion Chri stians are al re ady li vin g in
, .

” “ ” ”
thes e l as t days the age of the S on not in th e age of old the
, , ,
“
age of the prophets ( 1 1 Accordingly th e world to come of , ,

whi ch we are s pe aking ( v s 5 ) — that i s to s ay the eternal age

. ,

h as al rea dy arrived for Chris ti ans They h ave already tas ted of the
.

“
powers of the age to come Th e s igns an d wonders and
gi fts Of t h e Holy Spiri t referred to in vers e 4 ar e without doubt
a p art of thes e powers It i s clear then both from the t es timony
.
, ,

Of Scripture an d from Chri stian experience th at God h as s ubjected

all things in bot h ages ( the hi stori cal an d the etern al ) to man It .

i s e qual ly clear th at however high an d ex al ted the s t ation of angel s

may be conceived the glory an d honor attend ant upo n s uch
“
,
”

p o wer as God h as committ e d to m an as hi s V icero y i s s omething

whi ch they do not experience .

“ ”
Nevertheles s we do not yet se e everything in s ubjection to
,

man ( v s Man h as not yet fully come into h is herit age How
. .

ever there i s one man who h as alr e ady attained the highes t e state
,

which God h as appo inted to man general ly Th i s man i s Je sus the .

,

S on J es u s accepted m an s low est ate a condition de s cribed by the

’
.
,
“ ”
p salmi st as be ing lower tha n the angels ( v s He did thi s .

“ ”
that by the the grace of God he might taste de ath for every one
— th at i s tho roughl y to identify h m elf with
, i s m an even in the ex
( v s 9 ) B ec aus e Jesus accept ed thi s humble
”
t remi ty Of de ath
“
.

e s tate of man he w as crowned with glory an d honor Identifi ca

“ ”
.

tion with m an in de ath involves identific ation wi th him in the high

es tate which God intended for him Th i s it s hould be noted is ex .
, ,

actly the logic followed by P aul in Phil ippi ans 1 1 B ut the -

.

logic of redempti on work s als o in revers e A S Jes us i s identified .

with man s o m an i s identifi ed with him Th e expe riences of e ach

, .

become the experiences of the other ; by the grace of God Je sus ,

Chris t tas tes Of de ath on behalf of everyone an d s o everyone ex ,

perien ces s alvation through him .

HEB REWS -
13 27

Ident ifi cati on of th e Son with the Sons -1

3)
Th e uthor now argues for the neces s ity of the Son s humil ia
a
’

tion if he would become the S avior of men Hi s b as ic assumm i on .

i s th at an es s enti al u nity between S avior an d s aved is nec es s ary in

order th at the end in view may be a ccompli s hed Th e be st expres .

s ion of the principle i s found in vers e 1 8 :

“
B ecaus e he hi ms elf has
s uffered a n d been tempted he i s able to help those who are
,
”
tempted Th e jus tific ation for thi s principle of a uni fyi ng e Xpe ri
.

ence as nece ssary for Redeemer an d redeemed no doubt lies in the

prOph eti c ide as of corporate pers onal ity an d of the corporate
“ ”

nature Of experience In neither O ld n or New Tes tament does the

.

individual s t an d al one R ather he is conceived at all times as being

.

a p art of a l arger group— the n ation in the O ld Tes t ament the ,

Chri s ti an fellowshi p in the New Tes tament If the individu al i s to .

b e s aved therefore he will be s aved as a memb er of the gr oup

, , ,

an d s im il arly the S avior i s one who ari s es out of the group an d i s

on e with it in experience .

“
It i s in the light Of this prin ciple that the author decl ares it fi t
ting th at God the Creator for whom and by whom all t hings
”
,
“
,

exi st s hould m ature Jes us as m an s S avior b y a proces s of su f

,
” ’

“
ferin g S al vation here i s s poken of as m an s being brought to
’
.

”
glory ( v s 1 0 ) Th e word is us ed because of i ts appe ar an ce in th e
.

Ps alm quoted in verse 7 Glory an d honor repres ent the exalted

.
”

pos ition of viceroyalty whi ch God h as purpos ed for man It i s a .

”
Condition in which m an as the im age Of G od ( Gen
“
re .

flects the l atter s power an d pers onal ity as hi s appoint ed Viceroy

’
.

J es us as the Medi ator Of thi s expe rience to m an i s call ed the pio

“

”
neer of their s alvation Sometimes the Greek word employed
.

“ “ ”
here i s tran s l ated c apt ai n or leader In any cas e the picture i s .
,

of one w h o as a member of the fellows hip moves ahe a d le adin g

, , ,

the w ay t o ever higher ground of exp erience Th i s progre ss ive ex .

peri en ce i s termed by the author a m aturing on e see

als o 14; Th e l anguage s ugges ts the matu ring
of the individual pers on to adult hood an d impli es s u ccess ive
s tages of growth It i s a m atter of common experience that with
.

s uch m at uring i s not p os s ible in the world as we

“ ”
ou t s ufl e ring

P aul pl ac es s tress upon m an s jus tific ation in the s ight of God ;

’

Hebrews l ays more emphas is upon ma n s cons ecration or s anctifi ’

cati on Thi s is no doubt becaus e the Savior s function which the

.
’
28 HEBREWS 2 : 14 - 1 6

a uthor wis hes to s tres s i s that Of High Pries t an d such terms as ,

“ ” “ ” “ ”
s an ct ifi c ati on ,holiness an d conse cration are t hos e which
,

norm ally applied to the work Of the high priest B oth the s an cti fy .

ing High Pries t an d the people whom he prep ares for th e worship
“ ”
of God are s aid to have all one origin ; that i s to s ay they h ave ,

a community of expe rience in their common hum ani ty ( v s .

In proof of thi s e ss ential uni ty bet ween S avior an d s aved the ,

author c al ls upon thr ee p as s ages of S crip tur e in which the princi

ple i s pres ented Th e first of thes e i s P s alm

. a s o ca lled -

”
“
Servant Ps alm This i s a Psalm in whi ch i s pictured the Suff er
.
“

”
ing Servan t of the Lord in much the s ame fashion as that re
deeming figur e i s des cri bed in Se cond Is ai ah Th e P salm i s one .

of the mos t frequently quoted in the New Tes tament fir s t in Mat ,

thew 27 an d M ark 1 5 in de s cribing the agony of the Cros s an d ,

there after by the various New Tes t ament writers in appropri ate \

contexts Hebrews therefore i s following in t h e u su al tradition of

.

the Early Church in identifying Jesus with the Su ff ering Servan t

“ ”

w h o s aves by vic ariou s ly ass umi ng the s ufl erin g an d de ath com

mon to all m ank ind Th e se cond an d third quot ations in vers e 1 3
.
, ,

are from I s ai ah 8 : 1 7 1 8 There the prophet an d hi s followers are

-
.

“ ”
decl ared to be the s igns an d portents of the working of G od in
Is rael a prefi guri ng of God s saving activity on beh alf Of man
,
’

through J es us an d the fellows hip which clusters about hi m in the

Chri sti an Church .

The S ons Condi t ion of Slavery

’
-1 6)
Th e author now repe at s what he h ad alre ady s ai d in vers e 1 1 to
”
the eff ect th at S avior an d saved have all one origin or as he ,
“ ”
now phr ases it shar e in fles h an d blood He now adds how
, .
,

ever the ultim ate purpos e of thi s identific ation with m an k ind
,

n amely the des truction of th e devil an d the deliverance of m an

,
“ ”

“ ”
from fear Of death Death i s general ly conceived in Scripture as
.

m an s l as t great enemy ( Gen

’
I Cor Rev . . .

Th e Oppos ite of de ath i s life or s alvation an d this i s always con ,

cei v e d of as the gif t of G od an d under hi s power N atur ally there .

,

fore death belongs to the kingdom of S atan or the Devil an d it

, ,

repres ents h is fin al power over man Th e neare st s cri ptural p ar al .

lel to the s erie s of ideas with which our author i s working at this
point ( fles h an d blood de ath the Devil lifelong bond age ) i s to be
, , ,

found in P aul s treatment of the kindred theme in various pas

’

s ages i n Rom ans 21; -1 1

; 5; - -
HEB REWS 2 : 1 7-1 8 29

There now follows repetition of much the same thought as we

a

h ave already s een in vers e 5 above — i t is not with angels th at he

“

”
i s concerned but wi th the des cend ants of Abrah am ( v s 1 6 ) Be .

tween th e two vers es however there h as been a m ar ked advance

, ,

in thought an d in cons equence the mode Of expres s ion exhibits

,

two s tri king differences Firs t in vers e 5 an d following as we ha ve

.
, ,

s een it w as of m an in general that the author S poke an d the c on

, ,

tras t w as a general one between angels an d m an kind Here on the .

,
“
other h an d th e contrast i s between angels an d the d es cend ants of
'

,
”
Abrah am Second in vers e 1 6 the thought i s express ed in the
.
,

language of Isai ah 4 1 : 8 9 in which th e desc endan ts of Abraham

-
,

are identified wi th the S ervant of the Lord .

Cons equence for the Son -1 8)

Th e author fin ally draws the conclus ion ( which he h as already
mentioned in v s s 1 0 an d 1 4 above ) of the neces sity Of i dent ifi ca
.

tion on th e p art of th e S avior and his brethr en Thi s i den tifi ca

”
.

tion is necess ary if the end in View i s to be accompli s hed Now .

,

however for the firs t time he s tates that end in term s of the hi gh
,

pries tly work of Chris t an d s o begins to s ound the greates t note

,

Of the letter as a whole Th e merciful character of thi s High

“ ”
.

”
1 0 His faithful
“
Priest will find expre ss ion in 4 : 1 4- 1 6 and -
.

character is th e s ubject of 3 : l 6a It is ch aracteris tic of the style

-
.

Of Hebrews to introduce in thi s w ay items of interes t which will

later receive fuller development at the author s hands ’
.

To m ake expi ation for sin i s not again mentioned in the letter
“ ” ‘

in so m any words However expiation w as the tas k of the hi gh

.
,

pries t on the D ay of Atonement and th at s ervice is elaborated at ,

considerable length in Expi ation is e ss enti ally the

”

removal of st umbling blocks be tween persons in thi s c as e the ,

s t umbling block of s in betwee n God an d man Th e pri nciple of .

identific ation between Jes us as High Pries t an d man goe s onl y s o

far as hi s bein g tempted n ot s inni n g On this point the author
“ ”
, .

i s very ins is tent ( s ee

 30 HEBREWS 3: 1 -6
a

THE GO SPEL CALL TO BECOME GOD S HOUSE ’

The S on s Fai thfulness Over God s House 6 )

’ ’
- a

Worshi p of God requires hous e of worshi p Th e author there

a .

fore now introduce s u s to the thought that God through Jes us

Chris t call s unto him self the people who s hall cons titute s uch a
“ ”
li ving hous e of worshi p This call i s a he avenl y on e ; th at i s to
.

“ ”
say it h as a divine ori gin ( v s
, heaven often appearing in the
.

contemporary Jud ai s m as a s ubs titute for the n ame of God him

s elf Th e Chri s ti an re aders who h ave experienced thi s c al l are now
.

c all ed holy that i s cons ecrated or dedi cated to the s ervice of

“ ”
, ,

God .

Th e author wis hes to s tress the faithful char acter of Jesu s Chris t ,

thr ough whom the call comes to man to become God s hous e Th e ’

"
.

latter p art of vers e 1 mi ght well be trans lated : Will you give
“

your attention to the on e s ent to be High Pries t ( as we confess

”
him to be ) th at i s to Jes us This is the s econd time that th e
, ,

hi storical n ame J es us h as bee n mentioned by the author ( see

“ ”

an d in b oth cas e s it i s in connection with the inc ar n ate life

an d mini s try an d de s ignated s ervice whi ch J es us h as performed

on b ehalf of man Nowhere els e in the New Tes t ament is J es us

.

called apos tle Th e Engli sh word is a s light modific ation of the

“ ”
.

Greek and both together have be hi nd them a Hebrew term em

,

ployed onl y of a Speci al mes s enger who c arries with hi m the ful l
authority of the on e s ending J es us accordingly as High Pri es t
.
, ,

comes to u s with all t he authority of G od hi ms elf an d the autho r s

’
-

pres ent point i s th at he h as proved faithful in hi s exercise of

“ ”

thi s authority ( v s 2 ) .

Mos es t oo w as one s ent upon a s peci al mi ssion b y God an d

, , ,

he w as fai th ful in fulfilling the s ervice appointed to him ; but by

comp ari s on with Chri st s function th at Of Mos es w as a meni al
’

“ ”
one as is s hown by th e word s erv ant ( v s 5 employed in Num
, .

bers which our author is quoting here Th e choice of Mos es .

in this connection for purpos e s of compari son i s the obviou s one ,

s ince it w as through Mose s as lea der t hat God cons t it uted I s rael

as hi s people at the Exodus O n the occas ion of the choice Of a

.

new promis ed l and God h as chosen Mose s oppos ite— J es us ’

HEB REWS 3 : 6b 1 5 -
31

"
"
Chri st But he re the comp arison ends for where as Mos es w as
.
,

merely a servan t Jes us Chri s t is a s on ( v s

” “ ”
through whom
,
“
.

as God s Medi ator all things ar e acco mpli shed ( see

’
Je s us
“
Chris t i s the Cre ator or as i s s aid here the builder of a the
, ,
”
hou se ( v s Th e builder i s of cours e God himse l f ( v s
.
, ,
.

but the author in hi s thinking h as long s ince brought Chris t into

union with God as Son ( v s 6 ; s ee .

Th e contr as t between the two figures runs thr oughout this sec
tion B oth are pronounced fai thf ul in their s everal s pheres of s erv
.

ice but Moses is to be kept in hi s pl ace He w as fai thf ul but as

, .
,
“ ”
a se rvant onl y ; Chris t is al s o faithful but as a s on Mos es w as ,
.

“ ” “ ”
fai thf ul in God s hous e ; Chri s t i s fai thful over God s hous e
’ ’
.

Thi s contras t between Mos es a n d Jesus Chris t i s cle arly in dic ative
of the tempt ation to which the re aders of this letter are expos ed .

It h as to do without doubt with the ch aracter of the revel ation

repres ented on the one hand an d the other by Mos es an d Jes us
Chri s t A s cle ar ly as in the lett ers of P aul Mose s here s tands for
.
,

L aw Chri s t for gr ace P aul it i s true w as interes ted prim arily in

, .
, ,

the ethic al s ide of the Law whereas Hebrews m ai n interes t li es in

,
’

the rit ual s ide B ut this i s prob ably bec aus e of the p articul ar na
.

t ure of the probl em pres ented b y the re aders of Hebrews for ,

there c an be no doubt th at they were being att r acted by the cl ai ms

“ ”
Of the Qumr an se ct t o repre s ent the pe ople Of the covenant un
der Mose s ( s ee Introduction ) For the moment b y w ay of reply .
,
’
to thi s the author contents hims elf with the rem ark th at Mos es
“
h ighes t function w as to tes ti fy to the things th at were t o be
s poken l ater th at is to thos e things which ch aracteriz ed the s av
, ,

ing activity of Jes us Chris t as gr eat High Pri es t ( v s M oses .

w as therefore to be s uperseded by God s s on

“ ’
, , .

The Thri ce-Rep eat ed Go spel C all ( 3 : 6b—

4zr 6)
Urgency of the Call an d St eadfas t ness Req uired (3 : 6b -r
5)
fai thfuln es s w as required of the Son it i s als o re quired Of th e
If ,
”
sons This general ly is the m ain theme of the s ections which fol
.

l ow in ch apters 3 an d 4 in whi ch t he aut hor in an alm os t inex

,

”
He be gins with the ass ur ance th at Chri s tians are God s hous e ’

provided they fulfill certai n conditions Th ere i s a rem ar kable u n .

derlyi n g s ens e Of the uni ty between the Hebrew people an d th e

32 HEB REWS 3 6 b -1 5

Mos es an d Chris t h ad been said above to have been fai thful with
“ ”
reference to God s hous e ( v ss 5
’
It i s startling immedi ately
.
,

followin g that dis cuss ion to read th at Christi ans are this house
, ,

that i s they ar e th e people of God ( v s 6b ; se e al s o Eph

, . .

Underlying thi s contention i s clearly the ide a th at God h as

b een for centuries c alling ou t a people for hi ms elf Accordingly . ,
“ ”
it s houl d be clear that the call i s for the people who hear it ,

whether Jews or Chri stians ; that the required res pons e to the
c all i s on e of faith or faithf ulness ; an d th at the res ultant people
re sponding to thi s cal l are one In the s ections which follow the
.
,

unity of the c all an d of its es s enti al mess age or gospel is to prove , ,

one of i ts mos t notable featur es .

“ ”
Th e h Ope ( v s 6b ) in whi ch Chri s ti ans are to fi n d confi
.

” “
dence an d pri de i s of an eschatological nat ure ( 6 : 1 8
which i s to say th at e ss entially it refers to the completion and ac
‘

cept an ce of Chri s t s s aving work by God in the etern al order

’
.

Th e author as is h is cus tom b as es hi s entire argument in thi s

, ,

s ection upon a p ass age from the O ld Tes t ament P sal m 11 ,

-
.

Thi s Ps al m w as one regul ar ly employed in the s ynagogue i n con

n ecti on with wors hi p on the S abb ath ( the Hebrew word meani ng
“ ”
res t ) Thi s w as appropri ate in view of the Ps ahn s s tres s upon ’

“ ”
the s ubject of res t an d the poss ibility Of God s people enteri ng ’

with hi m in to res t It se rves the author s purpos e admi rably al so

.
’

“ ” “ ”
inasmuch as sabb ath or res t w as on e of the term s employed
“ ”
by the Jews for s alvation Moreover the Ps alm w ith its refer
.
,

ence to the wandering in the wilderness under the leaders hip of

Mos e s lent its elf to a comp ari son of the two faithfulnes s es here
involved th at of the le aders Mos e s an d Chri st on the one hand
—
, , ,

an d th at of the people of God on the other .

Th e origi n al events referred to in the Psal m are thos e in volving

the murmuring of the people of Israel when confronted with la ck
of food an d proper dri n king water in the wilderness ( Exod 1 5 : .

2 3 24;
-
Num . Th e Psalm als o illus trates the note
Of urgency that i s s truck whenever God s voice i s hear d in view ’
,

Of the stri king m an ner in which th e quotation begin s

“
But exhort on e an other every day s ays our author as long as
”
,
“
,
‘
it is called tod ay ’

( v s . Th e ur genc y o f the call aris es i n

every c as e ou t of two factors — fi rs t God sp eaks to each genera

,

tion calli ng it to hims el f ; s econd the res ponse i s required on the

,

day on which it is he ard Moreover in this an d the followin g se c

.
,

tions the res pons ibility of man for respons e to th e divine c all is
34 HEB REWS 4 : 1 -1 0

be judged to h ave failed to re ach God s re st ( v s O n the ’

.

whole however it i s a doctrinal section an d thi s al so appears in

, , ,

vers e 1 ( wh ile the promi s e of ent ering h is res t

“
There
i s obvious ly here the underlying as s ump tion th at when God give s ,

a promi s e it i s bound to be fulfilled at s ome t ime or ot her If this

, .

d oes n ot occur in the lifetime of th e immedi ate generation to

which the promis e i s s poken then it remai ns Open to be received
,

by s ome future generation In thi s expectation i s seen a s ense of

.

c ontinui ty between the O ld an d New Coven ants li ke th at to which

-4
reference h as alre ady been made in previous s ections ;
3 : 1 6a )
-
.

Th is as s umption h as ground in the P s al m ( PS 95 ) whi ch is em .

ployed here In fact the aut hor s ee s in the repetition of th e call

.
,

i n the P salm a cle ar indication th at the promi se i s s t ill ava il able to

t h e people of God Fund am ent ally to s ay that the promis e re
.
,
“ ”
m ains open unt il it i s fulfill ed i s to s ay t h at G Od i s th e living
“
God ( v s 1 2 ) an d th at he i s faithful fai thful to fulfi ll hi s prom
.
,

i s es
Th e generation t o which the author writes repres ents a third
o cc as ion on whi ch th e promi s e i s Opened to man There are thus .

t hree s t ages in the pre s ent ation Of the promi s e as follows : firs t t o , ,

the Mos es Jos hua generation ( 3 : 1 6 ;

-
s econd t o the genera ,

t ion Of thos e to whom t h e P s al m w as addre ss ed an d

t hi rd to the Chri s ti an commu ni ty

, 9 ,

In View of the n at ure of the argument here a more defini tive ,

p hr as e than good news for the contents Of the promis e is re

“
q uired ( v s Actu all y the Greek at thi s point rea ds for we
.
,
”
a l s o h ave b een evangelized even as they Th e verb evangel .

”
i z ed ) h as a long hi s tory be hind it in both Hebrew an d Greek ,

an d long before the Chri s ti an era it h ad a cquired a tec hnical con

n ot ation being applied s pecificall y to the pre aching of the mes

,

s age Of God s redemptive a ctivity on beh al f of m an Thi s me an

’
.

ing of the verb i s found in it s fin al Old Tes tam ent development in

Second I s ai ah in s uch a p ass age as It i s e as y to se e that t he
“ ” “
good tidings there ( tha t God reigns b ecome s in M atthew
“ ” “
the gospel of the kingdom an d in Luke the goo d
”
news to the poor Th en t oo the very nature of t h e argument in
.
, ,

Hebrews that the promi se remai ns Open re quires that the good “

”
news announced on e ach occ as ion s h all be es s enti all y the same .

O therwise the argument h as no validity .

It is invalid to object to s uch reas oning on the ground that the

HEB REWS 4 : 1 -1 0 35

promis e formerly given through Mos es an d Jos hua h ad to do with

the a cquis ition of a l and whereas the p romi se through Chri st re
,

fers to etern al sal vation Such a comp artmentalizing of huma n

.

experience is foreign to the thought of Scrip t ure where there i s ,

rather a s ens e of the onenes s of life an d expe rience as a whole .

God is interes ted in an d concerned about the salvation of that

whole Accordingly in the Scriptures God s promi se to s ave man
.
, ,
’

in any p ar t of hi s being involves hi s being s aved in every p art Th e .

author therefore s ees n o i ncongruity in conceiving of the p rom

, ,

i se through Mose s an d Jos hua thr ough David an d th rough Jes us , ,

’
Chri s t as repres enting ess enti ally the s ame gos pel message of G od s
redemptive love .

For much the s ame reas on perh aps we should a cce pt the al ,

ternate re adin g given i n the m argin for the s econd hal f of vers e 2 ,
“
rather than th at found in th e text : the mess age which they hear d
did not benefit them becaus e th ey w e re n ot u n i ted i n fa i th w i th
,
”
th os e w h o h e ar d Th e p ass age i s as diffi cult to unders t and in the
.

Greek as in the Englis h but the margin seem s to have the bes t
,

evidence in i ts favor If adopted it s hould be unders tood to refer

.
,

to the fa ct that fai th i s the required norm ative res pons e to the gos
pel promi s e an d th at s uch faith uni tes in a great fell owshi p down
,

th e centurie s tho s e who receive the s al vation offered in the gos pel .

Th e next vers e would s eem to s upport thi s View : For we who

“

”
have believed enter into that fellowship an d enjoy the common
“ ”
re st beca us e we are un ited in faith with thos e who hear d an d

Verses 3 elaborate the idea of God s res t b y drawing

an d 4
’ ”

upon the Genes i s account of the s even days of creation ( Gen .

Th e s eventh day of the creation week w as the d ay Of res t for God

( Gen . God s sabb ath Th i s period of res t m ay be thought
“ ” ’
.

of als o as that s a lv ation into whi ch God ca lls men to enter wit h
hi ms elf ( v ss 4-5 ; see al so Ps
. A word of warn ing s hould
.

be sou nded pe rh aps at this poin t les t the idea th at s al vation in ,

volves enjoying the res t of G od and that man ce as es from hi s

“

"
”
l abors as God did from hi s ( v s 1 0 ) s hould be s o interpreted as .

to s ugges t th at in the future li fe Chri s tians will h ave nothi ng what

ever to do Such an entire ce ss ation of a ctivity is nowhere tau ght
in Script ure with regard to either God or man In Jewis h though t .
,

s t ood for s erenity pea ce an d ha rmonious enjoyment of

“ ”
sabb ath , ,

th e works of cre ation on the p art of both God an d man For the .

Jew the S abb ath h as always been a day of j oyful experie nce of all
36 HEB REWS -
16

the good things that God h as m ade Fasti ng an d mourning on thi s .

d ay ar e forbidden by rabbin ic l aw It i s a day for luxurious liv .

ing for calling in one s friends to enjoy a me al for dress ing up in

,
’

one s bes t an d for expres s ing generally th e delights of godly liv

’

ing There can be no doubt therefore th at when our author speaks

.
, ,

of ce as ing from l abor it i s t hi s s ort of experience th at he h as in

,

min d contras ted with the fretting an d anxiety attendi ng th e us ual

,

o ccup ations of s ix d ays of the week .

”
Exh ortat ion t o Respons e Third “
at t h e Call -1 6)
Again exhortation an d doctrine ar e mingled together Th e sec .

tion Opens with exhortation : the need for the hum an respon se of
“ ”
the sons to the di vine call is a cons tant emphasi s in thi s book .

We have al re ady Ob served thi s at 1 2 an d at we s hall

meet with it again ( see 6 : 1 8 ) Moreover the disobed ience or -
, ,
“
al tern atively the unbelief which c au s ed it i s held up as ,

a w ar nin g to thos e who experience God s thi rd c all thr ough J es us

’

Chri s t ( v s .

Th e di s cerning power of the word of God i s pre s ented as a

firs t s timulus t o the res pons e re quired of s ons ( v s 1 2 ) Only here .

“ ”
an d in does the phr as e the word Of G od appe ar in thi s let
”
ter B ut it s e quivalent i s found in such phrase s as the promis e
.
“

” “ ”
good news the mess age whi ch they hear d
“ ”
the element ary doctrines of Chr ist an d pos s ibly others .

Th i s then i s th e gos pel mes sage an d ou r author unites with it

, , ,

a number Of p articiples an d adjective s by w ay of defin ing i ts func

“ ”
tion an d power To b egin with he says that it i s living a favori te
.
,

e xpre ss ion of h i s intended to indica te at once the power an d the

relevance of various as pects of the Chri s ti an faith .

Th e adjective s an d p articiples whi ch follow s erve to Show how

thi s living word of God functions in relation to those to whom it
comes B ecau se it is living it i s therefore active being s harper
.
“
,
“
,

than any tw o edged sword We are reminded of the S u flerin g

” -
.

’
Servant s des cription Of himself in Is ai ah He m ade my
”
mouth lik e a s harp s word In Revelation the exalted Chri st
.

“
i s also said to h ave a s harp two edged s wor proceeding from
-

hi s mouth Th e expre ss ion i s a figurative one indicati ve no doubt

.
,

Of the saving an d condemning or judgi ng as pects of the word ac ,

cording as i t i s rec eived or rej ected by those who hear Moreover . ,

“
the activity of the word takes the form of piercing to the divi sion
of s oul an d spirit Of joints an d m arrow , that i s of thoroughly , ,
HEB REWS -
16 37

e rching ou t an d expos ing the innermos t s ecrets of the sons of

s a

men a thou ght al so express ed in the word s di s cerning the

,

thou ghts an d intentions of the heart Th i s di s cerning funct ion of

.

“
the word i s pict ure squely indic ated by saying th at all are laid
”
bar e before God an expre ss ion which refers to the twis ting of
,

the neck of the victim in sacrifice in order that th e kn ife may be

inserted or to the bending b ack of the he ad Of an Opponent i n a
,

wres tling bout (v s .

A second inducement to Chr is ti an s to re s pond to the third gos

pel call which they have heard is to be found in the gracious char
acter of the S on as
“
hi gh pries t ( v ss 1 4
”
Thi s is the third
.

time the author h as us ed thi s term with reference to our Lord In .

the two previou s p ass a ges it w as hi s faithfulne ss in per

forming the funct ion as s igned to him by God that w as s tres sed .

B ut now a new factor i s brought into prominence that Of hi s rich ,

experi ence For he h as p ass ed thr ou gh the he avens (v s

“
.
”
Thi s.

idea no doubt i s related to that expre ss ed in where we saw

him crowned with glory and honor B ut here for the firs t time
“ ”
.

there is a sugge s tion Of hi s return to e arth with a view to the s av

ing of hi s people Th e Jewi s h high prie st went into the s anct uary
.

of Tabern acle an d Temple an d then c ame out to ble s s the people

at prayer Je s u s Chris t as our High Pries t does the s ame ; he too
.
, ,

returns from the sanctuar y on hi gh th at he may t ak e hold of our

“ ”
hand s an d lea d u s near to the throne of grace (v s .

Th e phras e yet without sinnin g (v s 1 5) s hould be s trengt h

“ ”
.

“ ”
ened Th e Greek re ads without s in an d i s to be equ ated with
.
,
“
the p ar allel p ass age at — sep arated from s inn ers exalted ,

above the heavens Prob ably in both these pl aces t he reference i s

.

t o the difference whi ch s in m akes in hum an experi ence Th e au .

thor then wis hes to s ay th at Je s us w as tempted in every w ay th at

, ,

man i s except for those ways in which s in its elf determines the
,

n ature of the temptation He h ad never given in to s in an d con

.
,

sequently he could not even be tem pted as th os e who h ave once

s uccumbe d to s in are tempted .
38 HEB REWS 4
-

THE NATURE O F THE S ON S HI GH PRIE STHOOD ’

Hebrews

Q lifi
ua cations of a Hi gh Pri est -1 0 )
Appointment an d Hum ani ty 4)
-

We have now arrived atcentral an d mo st importan t s ection

t he
of the letter th at which de al s with the n ature Of the Son s hi gh
’
,

pries thood and with hi s work Th e se two subj ects will occupy five
.

an d a half ch apters or a bit more than two fi f ths Of t h e book

,
-
.

In the pres ent s ection the author s elects f or hi s purpos e t wo

qualific ations of the hi gh priest— n amely hi s di vine appoi ntment ,

an d hi s hum anity Th e hi gh prie s t he points ou t i s from the s ide

.
, ,

of m an an d i s to act for man even as the prophet w as from the

,

s ide Of God an d w as appoin ted to act as God s s poke s m an (v s

’
.

Th e hi gh prie s t thus b ecomes a true repres entative Of man before

”
God s ince he hi ms elf i s be s et with we akness s uch as i s experi
,

e nced by all men Th e hi gh pries t i s hum an bec au s e he s h are s t h e

,

weakness of the men whom he repres ents before G od He is him .

“
s elf a si nner an d i s bo und to off er s acrifice for hi s own si ns as
”
Well as for thos e of the peo ple (v s .

Actu ally the only d ay in the entire Jewis h ye ar when it was in

cumbent upon the hi gh prie s t to Off er s acrifi ces w as the D ay of
Atonement (Lev . O n thi s day the hi gh pries t offered a bu ll
“ ”
as a s in Off ering for hi m self an d f or hi s hou s e (Lev .

“
Some of the blood Of the bull he took and s prinkled on the
mercy s e at in the Holy of Holies (Lev O nly thereafter w as
.

“
he qualified to kill the goat of the sin off ering which i s for the
people an d to take i ts blood within the veil s prin klin g it upon
” “ ”
,

the mercy s eat in t h e Holy of Holies (Lev In the Jewis h

.

Mi s hnah ( the law book which gives us a View of the contemporary

Jewis h cus toms) one entire book i s devoted to the ex act m anner
of the hi gh prie s t s functioning on the D ay of Atonement An d
’
.

both O ld Te s tament and Mis hnah p aint for u s a s triking picture

in accord with Hebrews delineation of the high prie s t an d hi s
’

work : he i s a s ervant of the people acting on their behalf an d one

, ,

with them in s tanding in need of forgiveness an d s al vation .

Th e pres ent p assage abounds with reference s of an accurat e

nature s howing a good kn owledge of Jewi s h l aw For example
, .
,
HEB REWS -
10 39

the gifts and sa crifices of vers e 1 are prob ably the cere al Offer “

” “ ”
ing an d fles h s acrifices s pecifi ed under the Law (Lev 4; .

15 Again it i s li kely that the ignorant an d wayward

,
“ ”

s pecifie s the two clas s es Of s inners recogniz ed un der the Law

n amely those who committed Offens es agai n s t the L aw throu gh

,
“ ”
ignorance (Lev . an d s inners with a high h and ,

th at is those who voluntar ily dis obeyed the Law alth ough it w as
,

k nown to them (Num .

Th e s econd qu alification of the hi gh pries t is th at Of divine ap

pointment (v s 1 .Actually only Aaron am ong Jewis h hi gh
,

pries ts w as pers onally called by God (Exod 2 8 : Th ere after the .

,

hi gh pries t w as a member of the tribe of Le vi whi ch w as des cended ,

line ally from Aaron B ut the s election Of a p articular high prie s t

.

w as conf used throughout the hi s tory of Jud ai s m foll owing the

Exile Under the M acc abean princes for example the hi gh pries t
.
, ,

hood h ad been s eized as the prerogative Of the ruling hous e Um .

der the Rom an s the hi gh pries t w as Often appointed by the pro

,

vi n ci al government Of Jude a Actu ally hi s in auguration w as ac

.

complished either by anointing or by inves titure .

Th e Jews generally accepted as high prie s t on e dr awn from the

tribe of Levi an d therefore they recognized s uch a on e as qu ali
,

fi ed f or the offi ce by the mere fact Of birth Th e author of He .

brews s ugge sts that the Hi gh Pri es t acknowledged by the Chri s

ti an Church is on e who occupies the offi ce with the same hi gh
qu alifi cation enj oyed by A ar on t ts inceptio
a i n — the call of God
"
al one.

Fulfillment by the Son -To

)
Th e author n ow s hows th at the two qu alifi cati ons of hi gh pries t
hood above indicated (hum anity an d the d ivine call) are both ful
filled in the cas e of Jesus Chris t In asse rting the divine appoint
.

ment the author m akes us e of two roy al Psal ms ( Pss

, and ,

Th e fi rs t of the quotations ( Thou art my Son toda y I

“
,
”
have begotten thee ) prob ably i s intended to have reference to the
voice whi ch s poke from he aven to Jes u s at hi s b apti sm However .
,

as reported by M ark that voice employed only the firs t par t

( Th ou art my
“
of the quota tion from P salm su b

s ti t uti n g for the s econd p art of the vers e a cl aus e from the Greek

( my beloved in whom I am well

“
transl ation of I sai ah ,

For the quotation from I sa iah whi ch refers to the ordi

,
40 HEB REW S 5 : 5 -1
0

Thou art a ter the order of Melch iz ede

priest for ever , af It
s eem s certain th at Je su s appli ed P s al m 1 1 0 to him self (s ee M ark

Poss ibly therefore the author of Hebrews unders d

, ,

Je su s to mean that the etern al Father h ad us ed the words of thi s

Ps alm in s peak ing to hi s eternal S on applying their s ignific ance t o ,

Th e author wi s he s to say th at our Lord w as him s elf aware Of

appointment from God as high prie s tl y Me s s i ah Je s us did not
-
.

choos e these high Ofli ces for him self B ut equ ally he w as not u n .

awar e Of h i s divine appointment He h ad good re ason as he w as

.
,

a ddre s se d by the he avenly voice to kn ow him s elf both Messi ah

,

an d High Prie s t Of h i s people .

Th e s econd qu alification f or the high prie s thood (hum ani ty) w as

al s o met by J es u s Chri s t For al though as we h ave alre ady s een
.
, ,

he w as in h is es senti al be ing S on of G od nonetheless he

“
le arned obedience through wh at he s uff ered In thi s con
n ecti on Hebrews lays p articul ar s tre s s upon the prayers an d s u p
plications with loud cries an d tears which Je sus Offered to hi m
,
” “

”
who w as able to s ave him from de ath (v s Undoubtedly the .

reference here i s p articularly to the Gethsem ane experience (M att .

Our author conceives of Jesus as having been he ard “

”
for h i s godly fe ar (v s 7) on thi s occ as ion a reference to the n a
.
,

t ure of J e su s prayer which w as to the eff ect that hi s Father s

’ ’

will an d n ot hi s ow n s hould be accomplished Th e re sign ation Of .

“ ”
m an s will t o G od i s a fund amental characteri stic of godly fe ar
’

in the biblic al s ens e of that term (Gen Heb

‘

. .

“ ”
Th at Je s us learn ed Obedience through hi s s uff erings i s a charac
t eri s ti c te achi ng also of t h e Apos tle P aul ( Phil .

”
Th e phr ase m ade perfect (v s 9) h as the s ens e in the Greek.

of
“
having attained a previou s ly determined go al Th e me aning
”
.

here is that Jes us Obediently accepted th e Suff ering which w as l aid

upon him by the s inful condition of the world into which at the ,
’
F ather s comm and he h ad entered Th e result of this utter Obedi
, .

’
ence to h is Father regardle ss of cost w as ou r Lord s m aturing to
“
the point where he became worthy Of being the s ource of etern al
”
s alv ation to all who obe y hi m ( v s 9 ) There i s no indic ation in
.

“
vers e 1 0 of the point of time at which Je su s w as de signated by
G od a hi gh prie s t after the order of Melchizedek but the logic ,

Of the author s argum ent would sugge s t that s uch des ignation w as
’

the re sult Of the obedience and the cons equent m aturing proces s
w hi ch h as ju s t been de s crib ed It h as been su gges ted th at God s
’
.
42 HEB REWS 6 : 1 -8

that the next p assa ge in which the word is us ed i s at where

“ ”
the author tran s lates Melchizedek as king of righteou sne ss Ob .

v i ou s ly t ea ching with regard t o s uch a high pries t mi ght wel l b e

“
t ermed t h e word of right eou s ne s s
”
But t h e author i s als o aware
.

“ ”
of the righteous ne ss whi ch comes by faith (1 More
over th e m ature who are re ady to receive s uch a word ar e thos e
,
“
who a ccording t o the author h ave their fa culties trai n ed by
, ,

practice to dis tingui s h good from evil Perhap s therefore we .

, ,

s hould s e e i n the u se of the term here a reference t o t h e t ot al de

m and of God upon human life which el s ewhere in Scripture i s

,
”
termed ri ghteous nes s ( se e M att .

N on fulfi llmen t by t he Sons - 8)

“
In thi s p ass age th e elementary doctrines of Chris t which the
rea ders are exhorted to le ave behind are b as ic the ologic al doc
t rine s whi ch m ay be s aid to form a convenient s um mary of a
well round ed theology an d may very well h ave cons t ituted the
-

s ub s t ance of early c ateche tic al te achi ng given to new converts .

The s e s ays our author ar e merely the food Of b abe s in Chri st

, ,
.

Th e maturity t hen of which the author s pe ak s ( v s 1 ) cons t it ut es

, , .

s omethi ng for the Chris ti an which whi le b as ed upon theology

, ,

goes beyond it And we are left in no doubt as t o what thi s fu rther

.

as pect of the Chr i st i an life is For in vers e 7 he pre s ents us with

.

a p ar able of a fruitful l and whi ch take s adv an t age of every gift Of

“
God s providence as it comes an d brings fort h vegetation us ef ul
’

to those for whos e s ake it i s cultivated There can be no doubt .

th at the fruit age whi ch i s s uggested here i s the Christi an lif e an d

ch ar acter whi ch in the te achings of both Jes us an d P aul ar e the
, ,

natural fruit age of theological te achi ng an d i ts ass oci ated s piritual

experience ( M att . Rom . 2 ; G al -
.

It i s n ot w ithout s ignifi cance that t h e author in this s ection gives

“ ”
us t w o li s ts of the element ary doctrin e s of Chris t — o n e of thes e
a s eri es of c at echet ical s t at ements as we h ave jus t rem arked ; the
,

other a s eries of experi ences h ad by the new convert Th e firs t .

s e ri es, it will be noted includes ( 1 ) thos e rel ating to the initial

,
“
experience s of t h e Chri s ti an life : repentance from dead works ,
“ ” “ ” “
faith toward God ins truction about ablutions an d the l ay
, ,
”
i n g on of hands ; an d ( 2 ) t hos e pert aining t o the fut ure : the
“ ” “ ”
res urrection of the de ad an d eternal judgment ( v ss 1 2 ) Th e .
-

s econd s eri es i s int ended t o m atch thi s on e with a lis t of experi

e n ces Of whi ch the re a ders are aware In this s eries al s o perh aps
.
HEB REWS 20
-
43

we s hould see two s u b - cl ass es 1) thos e pertaining to the initi al

c ommon s ynonym for b aptis m in the Early Church ) tas ting of ,

“ ” “ ”
the he avenly gift an d b ecoming p artak ers of the Holy Spirit
, ,

whi ch p erh aps s hou ld be e quated with the laying on of han d s

“

a bove ; and ( 2 ) those which rel ate to the re al m Of es ch atology :

“ ” “
the tas ting of the goodness Of th e word Of God an d the powers
) It i s not pos s ible to pus h the s imi
”
of the age to come ( v s s 4-5 .

larity between the two li sts to the point Of exact p ar alleli s m Th e .

author s des ire i s s imply to war n hi s re aders of the importance of

’

Th is p ass age h as been a great theological b attleground Some .

“ ”
find in the pas sage proof of the doctrine of b acks liding whereas ,

others point ou t that the author s pecificall y te ache s that repe nt

ance after s uch pres um ptive b acks liding is imposs ible It s hould .

be noted therefore th at the p as sage reall y suits neither group

, ,
.

On the one h and it may be s ugges ted that the apos tasy re
,
“ ”

ferred to in verse 6 is a hypothetical on e found in a hortatory ,

passage an d intended merely as a warning to the readers ( see

,

al s o v s . O n the other hand it is to be remar ked that the

,

author onl y say s that

“
it i s impos sible to res tore again to re
pentan ce s uch as continually cru cify the S on of God ( s ince
” “

th ey crucify the S on of Th e tens e Of the Greek verb here

“
s ugges ts th at as long as men crucif y the Son Of God on their
,
”
own account an d hold him up to contempt they are not in a con ,

In this p assage as previous ly, it is clear th at for the

author two age s overl ap Chri s ti ans alre ady to s ome extent are
.

“ ”
livi ng in the age to come an d experiencing i ts powers ( v s 5 ) .

whil e the works Of which they h ave repented are thos e pert aining
to the s phere of de ath ( v s particul arly tho se of a ritu alis tic
.

nat ure atta chi ng to the old cult It i s this conta ct with the
coming age an d the powers which pertai n to it that arous es th e
expectancy Of the author that his Chris ti an rea ders may indeed
ady an ce t o m at urity Th i s idea is explicitly brou ght out in th e
.

next s ection .

”
It w as noted above that the apostas y agai ns t which our au
t hor warned hi s readers w as Of a hypothetical nature ( v s 4
s .

Th at thi s is true s o f ar as the author s readers are concerned is

’
44 HEB REWS 20
-

now m ade doubly clear by hi s word s in vers e 9 In your c as e ,

”
beloved we feel s ure of better things that belong to s alvation
,

( s ee als o It may seem s trange th at he can both utter s uch

words of as surance an d in no uncertain terms warn hi s re aders
Of the d angers of apos tasy And yet Christi ans always s ta nd in
.

s uch a pos ition of jeop ardy while in the world of hum an aff airs .

Lik e the father at the foot of the Mount of Trans figuration they
”
are cons train ed to cry ou t I believe an d then in the next h al f
, ,

bre ath help my un b elief l ( M ar k

,
“ ”
Th e Chri s ti an wal k i s
al ways to be express ed both in the indic ative mood an d i n the

mood of comm and or entre aty Paul give s ample expres s ion to
.

thes e two fe atures in Rom ans 11 -

.

In the pres ent ins tance the tw o factors referred to ar e cle arly
evidenced in our author s argument Firs t corres ponding to the
’
.
,
“
I believe or indic ative s tatement of the cas e for the Chri sti an ,
“
our author call s attention t o your work an d the love which you
”
s howed for hi s s ake in serving the s aints as you s till do (vs 1 0), .

“ ” “
Th e work referred to here i s not to be conf us ed with good
”
works under the L aw A s we h ave s een ou r author refers t o
.
,
“ ”
thos e as de ad works that i s works which are n ot characteriz ed
, ,

by the life or living character experienced by the saved ( v s 1 ; .

“
Thi s wor i s rather the product Of the Chri stian s ex
’

p e ri en c e Of the Holy Spirit a n d

“
the p ower s of t h e age to come
”

“ ”
wh ich he h as alre ady mentioned ( vss 4 an d Th e love to.

which he refers i s intended as a further defini tion of your work “ ”

,

the two express ions use d together to expres s a s ingle idea Th i s .

brotherly love mus t have been a p articul arly s trong ch aracteri s tic
of the community ad dre s s ed in thi s letter as the author refers to ,

it ag ain
But the second factor the need for an imperative— is al s o
—

“ ”
applicable to the readers condition For t here i s a hope which
’
.

still lies ah e ad ( v s . This h Ope i s ak in to if not identic al with , ,

the Old promi ses of God to hi s people un der the O ld Covenant

“ ”

“
( v s 1 2 ) Accordingly e arnes tnes s in realizing the ful l as s urance
.
,

of h Ope
”
an d in becoming
- “
imitators Of those who through fai th
”
an d p atience inherit the promi s es is c alled for .

Th e fou r words which s t and out in connection with thi s s ide

“ ” “ ” “ ”
Of the m att er ar e obvious ly faith p atience , promis es an d , ,
“
hope Individu ally and collectively these four word s s erve to
.
”

s tre s s the fa ct that in the las t analys i s s alvation lie s with God an d

i s gu aranteed by him alone Left to them selves the s ons are

“ ”
.
,
HEB REW S 20
-
45

u nable to fulfill the qualifications deman ded of the mature This i s .

the work of God accomplis hed through his hi gh priestly Son -

.

Indeed it is now app arent th at the Christi an life mus t be rep t e

,

s ented as an elli p s e who se two foci ar e res pectively the Cro ss

an d the Second Coming These repres ent i n tem

poral terms the p as t and fut ure redemptive activity of God its ,

his tori cal an d eternal as pects In th e pres ent s ecti on the author is
.

concerned to str es s p articul arly the future focus Of the Chris tian
life ( v ss 1 8 .

HOpe i n this author s vocabul ary is by no means a weak af

’

“ ”
fai r R ather i t is a veritable anchor of the s oul It i s an Object ive
. .

reality not merely a s ubj ective whim It i s the very work of Chris t
, .

as he p res ents his sacrifice d b ody before God in the e terna l s an c

“ ” “ ”
t uary Th e l anguage of this p ass age ( inner s hrine
. cu rtain , ,
“ ”
hi gh pries t ) plu nges u s into the mid s t Of a new s ubj ect which
goes f ar beyond the foundation thus f ar l aid down Further ex .

planation therefore must awai t s uch p as sages as 8 : 1 5 an d 9 :

, ,
-

1 1 - 14 .

TO illus trate the s ens e in whi ch he employs the terms faith ,

“ ” “ ”
p atience or endu rance an d promi ses th e author cites the, ,

cas e of Abraham an d the incident of his Offering Of Is aa c on

M ount Mori ah ( Gen 2 2 : 1 6 i n which al though the elements
.
,

of faith an d p atience on Abr ah am s part are not overlooked the

’

emph as is i s cle arly upon God s p art in the tran s action Th e author
’
.

l ays great s tre ss upon the fact that the promise came from God to
“ ”
begin with an d re sted upon his employing an oath to s eal the
“
pr omi se Thes e two promis e an d oath are unchangeable things
.
, , ,
”
in whi ch it is i mposs ible that God s hould prove fals e ( v s .

Th e argument here is e ss entially the same as th at foun d in chap

“ ”
ters 3 an d 4 in which the promi s e of entering his res t whi ch
, ,

God h ad originall y m ade thr ough Moses an d Jos hua to the people
of Is r ael mus t rem ain open for s ome fut ure gener ation t o receive
, ,

for the reas on that when God promi s es he always fulfi l ls .

Es sentially then the teachi ng of this section is that although

, , ,

the readers have not yet att ai ned t o the maturity required of s ons ,

on e m ay res t as s ured th at they wil l do so — not bec aus e of an y

power res iding within thems elves but becaus e of the determined ,

purpos e Of God an d the fulfillment of th at purpos e thr ough the

work of Jes us Chris t As forerunn er ( v s 2 0 ) Jes us has run on
“ ”
. .

ahead into the pres ence Of God on our beh alf He i s ac cordingly .

“ ”
the pionee r of the Chri s ti an fai th an d as he h as planted the ,
46 HEB REWS 7 : 1 -1 0
” “
a nchor of our
hope within the eternal san ct uary he is the per ,

fect er of our faith

”
that is he h as brought to fulfil lment our
, ,

promi s ed s al vation .

The Son s ’
Melchiz edekian High Priesth ood -2 8)
Supremacy of t he Melchiz edekian High Pri esthood -1 0 )
Th e uthor now comes to de al In a conclus ive fas hion with the
a

s uprem acy Of the Mel chi z e deki an hi gh pries thood over that of the

Levitical order An d by implication the S on of G od who accord

. ,

ing to Hebrews belongs to the Melchiz edeki an order wil l s hare

,

i n thi s s uprem acy Th e author appe ars to argue from Melchizedek

.

t o Chri s t B ut in re ality he intends hi s ar gument to proceed in the

.

“
other dir ection for in vers e 3 he spe aks of Melchizedek as re
,

s embling the Son of God

”
It i s prob ably correct to say that he
.

h as chos en Melchizedek merely becaus e the des cript ion of him

an d h i s ofli ce found in Genes is 1 4 : 1 7 2 0 an d P s al m s erves -

hi s pre s ent purpo s e Th e m ajor point which he wi s hes to m ake i s

.

that the high pries tly or s acrifici al work of Chri st h as s upers eded
-

all the s acrifices off ered under the Levitic al order .

Melchizedek s very name an d title sugges ted h is clos e as so ci a

’

”
tion wi th God s s aving purpos e for man For
“
’
righteous ness .

”
an d pe ace were two of the words com
’
mouly employed by the Hebrew prophets to refer to G od s re
dempt iv e activity ( v s 2 ) Melchized ek therefore as a redemptive
.
, ,

figure might very appropri ately b e employed as a foil for Jes us

Chr i st God s ultimate redemptive agent in the world
,
’
.

Hebrews s ugge sts three s ens es in whi ch Melchizedek i s to be

thought of as s uperior O f thes e the firs t i s the mos t important
.
,

an d it i s thi s one in which the author find s p articul ar ( pe rhaps one

s hould s ay exclus ive ) li kenes s to Jes us Chri st This i s the fact th at .

“
in the Genes i s record Melchizedek i s app arently without father
or mother or genealogy an d h as neither begi nn ing of d ays n or,
”
end of lif e ( v s It i s true that i n Gene si s Melchizedek i s not
.
,

described in th ese terms Th e author Of Hebrews i s b asing his ar

.

gument upo n the well kn own fa ct that it w as cus tomary for the
-

aut hor of Genes i s upon introducing an gre at figure to s tate hi s

, y ,

gene alogy ( s ee Gen 5 for Noah ; 1 1 for Abraham ) Melchizedek

. .
,

as we re ad h i s s tory in Gene s is i s an Obviou s exception to this ,

rule He fl as hes s o to Sp eak acros s the s tage Of hi s tory lik e a

.
, ,

meteor He arrives without announcement without pedigree with

.
, ,
HEB REWS 7 1 -1 0 47

ou t fanf are Of any s ort And having done the work which God
.

gave him to do he flas hes off into the ni gh t again Th e author sees
, .

hi m in this res pect as like Jes us Chri s t who came out of eterni ty,

in the Incar nation performed hi s appointed se rvice in a s hort

,

s p an Of years and by h i s res urrection an d as cens ion ag ain p assed

,

ou t into the etern al order O f e ach of thes e therefore it may be

.
, ,
“ ”
s ai d that he continues a prie st for ever ( v s 3 ) For where there .

is neither beginning n Or ending it may be argued that there is

,

onl y continuity in the pries tly Ofli ce .

Th e s econd fe at ure which pl aces Melchizedek above the Leviti

“
c al order i s the fact that a ccording to the Genes is a ccount Abra
”
h am th e p atri arch g ave him a tit he of the s poils (v s Th e .

Mos aic L aw decl ared that only tho s e belonging to the tri be of
Levi were to receive tithe s ( Num B ut it would appear
.

th at Abrah am recognized in Melchizedek a trans cendent figure

worthy Of receivi ng tithe s not becaus e this w as validated by a
,

l aw but bec aus e of h is in herent worth Moreover it could be .

,

argued from the Jewi s h point of view th at all Levitical pries t s

"
,

who were so to s peak s till in the loins ( v s 1 0 ) of Abrah am h ad

“ ”
.
,

by hi s action conceded the right of Melchi zed ek to receive tithe s

even from thems elves Such an argument may not appe al to us ,

but there i s no que s tion th at it would be accept able among thos e

accus tomed to rabbinic al method s of logic an d interpret ation of

the Scriptures Th e argument w as b ase d upon the ass u mption that

.

a degree of continuity is found in t h e s uccess ive generations of

men through out hi s tory a continuity which res ults in a certain
—

corporate res pons ibility an d privilege Th is principle w as all owed

.

by the Jew in the day in which our author wrote an d indeed it ,

h as a certain legiti ma cy attaching to it for an y d ay It i s s imply a .

m atter of common ob s ervation that wh at i s done by on e genera

tion i s done for all s ucceeding generations Th e achievements an d .

mis takes m ade by one generation accrue to the credit or debit of

all whi ch follow .

Hebrews third argument in favor Of Melchi zedek s superiority

’ ’

“
to the Le vitical order is found in the fact th at Melchizedek
met Abrah am and ble s s ed him
”
(v s But it i s a m atter of
.

common knowledge that the inferior i s bles s ed by the s uperior

“ ”

(v s. Melchizedek accordingly it may be argued is s uperior

, ,

both to Abraham an d to the Levitic al pri es thood in hi s loin s Here .

which is s uffi ciently cogent to j us tify our author s choice ’

of Mel
48 HEB REWS 22
-

chiz edek as a type of Chri s t For it is true th at the greater bless es

.

t h e le ss er And again our author s argu ment will me an in the l as t

’
.

an alys is that Melchizedek receives a pri es thood from God which

gu arantees i ts own validity Th is pries t need s no law to jus tify hi s

.

ble ss ing the gre ates t man of God in h is d ay Thi s right to bles s is .

inh erent in the Ofli ce which Melchizedek h as received from G od .

Man can neither add to nor s ubtr act from the val idity of such a

Th ere i s even s ome hi storic al jus tification for the choice Of

Melchi zedek as the proper figure preceding the Levitical pri es t
“ ”
hood to typify our Lord as Mess i ah High Pries t Th e S al em of - .

which Melchi zedek w as king pries t w as g enerally acknowledged -

to be the predecess or Of Jeru s al em which w as built pres um ably ,

on the s ame s ite ( see Ps It could be argued therefore

.
, ,

that David an d hi s s ucce ss ors of Jerus alem h ad s ucceeded to the

hi gh pries tly functions of Melchiz edek of S alem an d as Jes us
-
,

hims elf po inted ou t D avid as the messi ah of God cons idered

“
,

him s elf as having been given prie stly prerog atives ( M ark
Th e ps almi st i n Ps al m i s doubtless drawing upon thi s tradi
tion in decl aring the king of I srael t o b e at once me ss i ah an d hi gh
pries t of God An d the author of Hebrews in t aking over an d
.
,

applying P s al m 1 1 0 to J es us Chri s t— an act which i s no doubt

’
b as ed on Jes us ow n teachin g in M ark ( s ee above )
h as done no more th an the Early Church would h ave cons idered
legitim ate For th at Church Jes us Chr i st w as the fulfillment of
.
,

all type s an d promise s m ade under the O ld Coven ant A s Prophet .

,

Pries t an d King he combined within his ow n function all of the

,

prophetic prie stly and kingly mini stri es Of his people

, , .

Suspens ion of t h e Levit ical Order -2 2

)
Th e uthor n ow attempts to s how that it w as righ t and proper
a

th at the Levitical priesthood s hould b e supers eded by the Mel

”
For perfect ion for m an w as Obvious ly not
“
ch iz edeki an on e .

Obtained under the Levitic al priesthood and the Mos aic Law ( v s .

”
Thi s proves their general we akness an d us eles s ness ( v s .

“ ”
Th e l aw m ade nothing perfect ( v s .

”
Perfection in this context an d in s ucceeding ones ( see
woul d s eem to h ave reference to the prep ara
tion of the spiri t of m an for fellows hip with an d wors hip of G od .

And the author s ar gument i s that thi s c annot be accompli shed by

’

l aw or by a pries thood e s tabli shed by l aw Rather it i s to be .

50 HEBREWS -
28

Chara t eri s t ics

c of th e Son as Melchi z edeki an Hi gh Priest -2 8)
In the clos ing vers es of the s eventh ch apter the author takes
“ ” “ ”
the phr as e for ever ( perm anently in v s 2 4) from P salm .

an d develop s i ts me ani ng an d applic ation in the light Of th e

etern al n atur e of the Son of God Hi s intention is to give ass ur

.

“
ance to the re aders th at their High Pries t i s able real ly to s ave
”
thos e who draw ne ar to God through him ( v s Thi s ass ur .

ance i s b as ed upon the fact that Je s u s Chri s t is an etern al figure

wh o lives forever to m ake i ntercess ion for hi s people By con

”
.

trast the Levi tic al pri es ts were many in number bec au s e de ath
intervened t o disrupt their pries thood ; thus no assur ance cou ld be
given that they would s ee matters through to a definitive end .

No doubt we should s ee a contrast between the phras es for

” “ ” “ ”
ever ( v s 2 4 li ter all y into eternity ) an d for all time ( v s
.
, ,
.

the on e phras e referring to the etern al nature of the High

Pries t Jes us Chri st an d the other to the effectivenes s of hi s work
, ,

within time Hi s hi gh priesthood is carried on in eternity as we

.
,

s h all s ee c arefully el aborated in the next ch apter ( 8 : 1 4 ) but i t s ,

effect iveness i s expe rience d als o by the people whom he s erve s on

the temporal pl ane O n that temporal pl ane an d withi n hi story this
.

High Prie st h ad once offered hi ms elf on the cross

But th at one hi gh priestly act having been performed on the pl ane
-

of hi story the High Prie st s further activity in the eternal order

’

,
“ ”
cons ists in interce s s ion for hi s people ( v s 2 5 ) .

And now we arrive at the pinn acle of Hebrews ch aract eriz a ’

tion of this etern al High Priest Jes us Chris t In verses 2 6-2 8 he i s

, .

“
de s cri bed in term s int ended to s et him ap art from thos e high
”
prie sts who ofli ci at e under th e Levitic al system Th e author h as .

alr e ady c alled attention to the fact th at in h is hum ani ty the Leviti

cal high prie s t w as on e with hi s people in as much as he w as

,
“
bound to off er s acrifice for h is own sins as well as for those of
”
the people Thi s we aknes s of the Levitical hi gh pries t i s
here repe ated Th e s ugges tion that thos e high pries ts h ad
“ ”
t o off er sacrifi ce s d aily is a p ardonable u se of hyperbole ; the
high pries t w as obliged to ofli ci at e onl y on on e d ay of the Jew
i s h c alend ar— the Day of Atonement Nonetheles s hi s s ervices on
. ,

the D ay of Atonement were intended to su m up all the s acrifices

off ered throughout the year previous in order that s o to s peak
, , ,

the cultic wors hip might have its s late wi ped cle an an d be enabled
t o s tart anew .
HEB REWS 28
-
51

As the author indicates, however, Jes us as High Prie s t did this

on ce for all when he offered up hims elf, t hat is , upon the cross
”

( v s 2 7 ) For the Christian fai th , then , the work of its High Pri es t,
.

Jes us Chris t, i s as fin al as the Jewis h D ay of Atonement w as con

ceiv ed t o be under the Older faith O nly in this c as e no repetiti on
.

Of the high -prie s tly act is required y ear b y year , an d thi s es senti ally
“ ”
be caus e of Je su s eternal char acter as a Son This Son it is tr ue,
’
.
,
“ ”
h ad to be m ade perfect for ever ( vs an d thi s he became ,
.

as a lre ady noted when he learned obedi ence through what he

,
“

” “
s uffered for being thus made perfect he bec ame the
,

s ou rce of etern al salvation to all who obey him

”

A s previous ly rem arked in Hebrews the Chri s ti an life i s con

,

s i dered as an ellip se with i ts two foci Of Chri s t s dea th on the cross

’

in View an d between them lies the activity of this etern al Hi gh

,

Pries t in the heavenl y tabernacle ( see chs 8 This me ans in .

,

eff ect th at the Atonement on the cross withi n his tory i s an act of
,

the etern al High Pries t a ccompli s hed in the outer pries tly cou rt
of the eternal ta berna cle Th is ta berna cle h as s o to s pea k an
.
, ,

outer court whi ch cross es the line dividing hi s tory from eterni ty ,

and it is in thi s outer court in his t ory that the Cro s s or altar Of ,

Ch ris ti an s acrifice s tands O nce the etern al Hi gh Prie s t the Son

, .
,

of God perform s hi s sacrifi ce at that outer al tar he im mediately

,

p ass es into the ete rnal tabern acle never agai n being requi red to,

Off er sa cri fi ce f or the s ins of his people .

It would be a mis take to unders tan d from vers e 2 7 that the

author thinks Of J es us as Offering sa crifice even once
“
f or hi s

say that he did thi s once f or all when he Off ered up hims elf But .

the high term s which he us es to des cribe the character of Jes us

Chris t as the eternal Son an d the eterna l Hi gh Pries t preclude any
s uch conclu s ion In the pres ent context he s peak s Of him rather
.

as
“
holy blam eless uns tai ned sep arated from s in ners exalted
, , , ,
”
above the he avens (v s And els ewhere in the letter he will
.

al low n o more th an th at J esus hims elf

“
h as s uff ered an d been
” “
t empted that he learned obe dience through what he suf
” “
fered an d that he w as on e who in every res pect h as been
tempted as we are yet without s inni ng ,
”
Th is i s al so the

the Church s belief in the sin les s character of its Lord (M att
’
.

John II Cor .
52 HEB REWS 8: 1 -6

THE EFFICACY OF THE SON S HI GH PRIE STLY ’

-

W ORK
Hebrews

Summ ary S tat emen t 6)

-

”
Th e Greek word trans lated the point m ay mean either prin
” “ ” “ ”
cipal point , s umm ary, or even crown ; an d si mil ar ly the
”
phrase trans lated in what we are s aying m ay be taken to me an
“

generally the argument of the letter as a whole or rather to refer ,

t o wh at h as previou s ly been said or even to what i s about to be

,

s aid Inas much as in thes e six vers es the author introduce s a refer
.

ence s ucces s ively t o the s acri fice tabe rn acle an d covenant as they
, ,

rel te to the high priestly work of the Son Of God m atters n ot

a - —

previou s ly menti oned at al l or if so only in c asu al fas hion an d

, ,

about to be developed in the next two an d a h alf ch apter s— we

s h all as s ume th at the intention here i s to give a s umm ary s t ate

ment of the argument about to be pres ented .

In general the te aching of the p as sage i s cle ar enough Return .

ing to Ps al m (s ee the author begin s with an inclu s ive

s t atement intended to define the twofold function of the Son of

G od as High Pries t an d Me s s i anic King se ated at the right h and

”
Of the throne of th e M aj es ty in heaven (v s It i s not without
.

s ignific ance th at where as the theme of our Lord s high prie s thood
’
,

i s never los t s ight Of in ch apters 5 through 1 1 hi s Mess ianic of ,

fi ce i s referred to only at the beginning of the argument

at the beginning an d end of the di scu s s ion regarding h is high

prie stly work an d at where the purpose is

to exhort the re aders to endurance or s te adfas tness Jesus Christ is .

a ble to c all into a ction the whole divine power to s ave For thi s is .

“
wh at it me ans to be s eated at the right hand of the throne of the
”
M ajes ty in heaven .

Th e s umm ary s t atement involve s a triple contras t between 1 )

“ ”
the true tent or tabern acle (v s 2) which thi s High Pries t s erves
.
,
“ ”
as over a gain s t the Copy an d s hadow of the he avenly sanctu ary
s erved by the Levitic al hi gh prie s thood (v s
“
(2) the gifts an d
.

” “
s acrifi ce s Offered under the two orders (v s . an d (3 ) the cove
nant whi ch i s declared to be better than the first covena nt of
”

the O ld Te stament peri od (v s .

HE B REWS 8 : 1 6 -
53

Th e firs t of thes e three contras ts concern s n at ure Of the th e

tabernacle employed in the worshi p of th e Old an d new faiths .

"
"
Quoting from the Greek tran slation of Exodus the author
points ou t th at the origin al tabern acle employed by Mo s e s in th e
“
wilderness h ad been m ade according to the p attern which w as
”
s hown him on the mou ntain ( v s 5 ) an d that in cons equence.

it w as merely a copy an d s hadow of the heavenly sanct uary B y

“ ”
.

contras t therefore our author s ees the he avenly t abern acle s erved
, ,

by our Lord as the true one or in other words the ori gin al or
“ ”
, , ,
“ ”
pattern of th at s erved by Mo se s .

Th e second contras t whi ch Hebrews m akes between the ol d an d

“
the new systems of wors hip concerns the m atter of gifts an d
s acrifice s (v s Th i s theme the author will develop at length
.

in ch apter 9 For the moment he ab andons it with the mere s u g

.

”
ge s tion th at it is nece s s ary th at Jes u s Christ as High Pries t al so
“
have s omethi ng to off er An d then he curiou s ly ins erts at this
”
.

point ( v s 4 ) a st atement whi ch appe ars to be ou t of place insofar

.

as hi s i mmedi ate argument is concerned Perha p s we s hould s ee .

here a s tatement intenti on ally directed again st the teachi ng of the

Qumr an s ect For so f ar as ou r evidence goe s they alone among
.
,

contemporary Jews believed in a me ss iah high prie st or a mess i ah -

,

proceeding from among the s ons Of Aaron ( s ee Introduction ) In .

“
Hebrews the High Pries t i s al s o Mess i ah ( that i s on e who is ,

s eated at the right h and of the th rone of the M aj es ty in heaven

”

vs. but with the diff erences that he is n ot a des ce ndant of A ar on

and is Son of God .

Th e thi rd contras t between the Old new mi ni strie s i s th at

an d

pertaining to the nature of the two Covenants involved ( v s 6 ) .

And for the moment ou r author contents hims elf with the s tatement
“ ”
that the New Covenant is ena cted on better promi s es than the
O ld In p ass ing it s hould be obs erved that reference is made here
.
,
“ ”
to only on e Old Covenant This i s in accord with the Jewis h
.

point Of view an d th at of the Hebrew prophets For according to .

that Old Hebrew Jewi s h view there w as but one Covenan t which
-

G od m ade with hi s people be ginning with Abraha m Th e one

, .

Covenant w as repeated m any time s— to Is aac t o Jacob to Israel , ,

at the Exodus an d on numerous other occ as ions B ut the Cove

, .

nant w as one whatever the imm edi ate promi ses involved mi ght be
, .

What the better promis es are which atta ch to the New Cove
“ ”

nant are not here s pecified An d in fact this theme i s nowhere

.

fully developed in the letter We are left merely with such a pas
.
54 HEBREWS -
13

sage as the preceding verses 1 9 22 from which to in

and -

fer that the promise s intended have reference to our confident en

tering of the sanctuary by the bloo d Of Jes us Indeed in the
“ ”
.
,

final anal ys i s there i s no diff erence between the promi ses att ach
ing to Old an d New Covenants Th is the author hi ms elf makes clear
.

at 40 Th e promi s es att aching to th e New Covenant can

-
.

onl y be better therefore in the s ens e that Jesus Chris t as High

, ,

Pries t actual ly fu lfills in hi s person an d work all the promise s

which God ever gives to hi s people throughout hi story .

In efi ecfi v en ess Of th e Ol d C ov enan t —

9 : ro )
Th e Old Covenant -1
3)
Th e uthor s thes is at this point i s clearly express ed in vers es 7
’
a
” “ ”
an d 1 3 — the firs t coven ant w as not fa ult less an d therefore b e

came ob solet e Being esse nti al ly inferior an d outworn the

.
,

time h ad come for the Old Covenant to vani sh away This of

“ ”
.
,

cours e gave room for the coming of a new coven ant the one
, ,

under which the gre at High Prie st J es us Chri st functions .

“ ”
In proof of the inferior an d Ob s olete nature of the first
Coven ant the author turns to the prOph eti c Scriptu res J eremi ah .

3 4 ) h ad fore s een the day when th e Lord who h ad m a de

-

a fir st Coven ant with I s ra el would m ake another of quite different

nature ( s ee al s o Ezek . Th e p assage from Jeremi ah

adequately meets the need s of our author in as much as the New ,
“
Covenant which it prophes ies is to be not like the covenant that I
”
made wi th their fathers ( v s 9 ) Th at one h ad been given to th e
.

people as a whole an d w as w ritten upon t ables of stone Th is one .

by contrast w as to be characterized by l aws written upon the

“
mi nds an d hearts of men ( v s 1 0 ) Nor w as the Covenant
” “ ”
.

m ade with the people as an undivided unit ; rather it w as m ade in ,

a m anner to t ake account o f individual needs an d requirements ,

s o th at it s hould n ot be nece ss ary for one to te ach another the

“
knowledge of the Lord for all s hall know me from the leas t of
, ,
”
them to the gre ates t ( v s .

Though th e te achi ng of the p as s age is cle ar s everal points may ,

“ ”
advi s edly find comm ent Firs t the nature of a . covenant in t h e
,

biblic al s ens e should be noted Th e very word s employed in the .

s criptural l angu ages denote s omethin g qui te diff erent from the

Lat in from which our Engli s h word i s derived In Latin an d Eng

, .

l is h the word coven ant me ans a mutu al agreement m ade by two

“ ”
HEB REWS 9: 5
1 -
55

e qual p arti es who meet together to s ettle a di spute between them .

Th e Hebrew an d Greek words on the contrary might better be

, ,
“ ” “ ”
trans l ated a divine dis pos al or a s overeign propos al In .

Scripture a covenant in which God an d m an are concerned refers

to a plan which G od h as conceived an d b y which m an i s required
t o live hi s l ife Man i s free merely t o accept or reject God s Cove
’
.

n ant ; he c annot in any particul ar al ter it or st ate condi tions for

i ts functioning Second it is cle ar to both Jeremi ah an d the au
.
,

thor of Hebrews that only tw o Covena nts are to be recognized in

Scrip t ure both made by God with the people of hi s choice If the
, .

O ld Coven ant is worthl es s and obs olete it is God who reco g

“ ”
,

ni zes that thi s i s the c as e an d who m akes hi s pl ans for the es tab
lis h ment of a New Coven ant Third it is not a m atter of concern
.
,

t o the author Of Hebrews that the pas sa ge from Jeremi ah s tate s

“ ” “
th at the new covenant i s t o be m ade with the hou se of I s rael
”
an d with the hous e of Juda h ( v s 8 ) For the author as for the
.
,

Early Chur ch generally ( s ee Rom G al I Peter

.
-2
; .

Rev . the Chris ti an comm unity its elf i s that I srael ( or

“ ”

“
Ju dah ) to whi ch the prophet refers In thi s re spect as in others
”
.
,

we s ee that there is s imil arity an d yet dis s imil arity between the
teachi ng of Hebrews an d that of the Qumran s ect For th at se ct .

“ ”
al s o held th at it w as the people of the new covenant It i s as .

though the author Of Hebrews were declaring th at the Chri s ti an

Church an d not the Qu mran community cons ti t ute s the true peo
ple of God wi th whom God h as m ade a New Covenant throu gh
Jes us Chris t Finall y it is declared that with thi s New Covenant
.
, , ,
“ ” “
God will be merciful toward their iniquities an d he will remem
”
be r their s ins no more ( v s 1 2 ) In other words the aim of tru e
.
,

religion will now be accompli s hed— the achievement of re al fel

l ow s hi p between God an d man fellowshi p n o longer di srupted
,

by the remembrance of s in that s tumbling block which in the b e

,

gi nning disrupted the fellows hip ( Gen 2 4; Heb .

-
.

Th e Old Tabernacl e 5)
-

Th e uthor by implication h as already dealt a telling blow to

a , ,

the effectivene ss of the Old Tabern acle by s peaki ng of it as merely

a cop y an d s h adow of the he avenl y sanctua ry
“ ”
He now
de scribes thi s Tabernacle with a View to pointing ou t cert ain fea
“ ”
tures which s ugges t its Ob solete nat ure .

With some deta il he des cribes an d qui te accurately i ndeed the

, ,

cons truction and furni ture of the earthly sanctu ary which tradi
“ ”
56 HEB REWS 9 : 1 -5

t ion al ly h ad been se t up by Mos es in the wilderness an d which is

“ ”
general ly c alled the tabernacle ( v s 2 see m argin ) to distin .
,

guish it from the Temple ( Solomon s Zerubb abel s an d Herod s) ’

,
’

,
’
.

For i ts des cription of the sanct uary Hebrews depends upon Exo
dus 2 5 an d 2 6 acco rding to which it w as divided into two t aber
,
“ ”
n acles or tents in the firs t ( outer one ) Of whi ch were to be
,
“ ”
fou nd the l amps tand an d the table an d the bread Of the Presence .

Th i s tent ( c alled th e Holy Pl ace ) als o conta in ed the golden

“ ”

alt ar of i ncen s e although as the aut hor s ugge s t s thi s golden al tar
, ,
“ ”
a ctu ally pert ai ned to the Holy of Holies or inner tent ( v ss 3 —5 ) .

Th e purpos e of the golden alt ar w as f or burning the incens e whi ch

“ ”
ar os e like a s weet s avor an d p as s ed over the s econd curtain
”
an d s o in to the Holy of Holie s an d before the mercy s e at ( se e
Exod 3 0 : 1
.
“
In th e Holy of Holie s w as the ark of the cove
”
nant which according to one tradition at l east conta ined the
, , ,

hi storic items li s ted in vers e 4 We s hould pro b ably unders t and

.

that th e ch eru birn of glory s tood on either s ide of the Ark an d

“ ”

“ ”
s pre ad their wing s over the mercy s e at or repres ent ation of
God s throne whi ch formed the cover of the Ark ( s ee Exod
’
.

2 5 : 1 0 22 )-

O f thes e things the author remarks we cannot now spe ak in

, ,
”
detail ( v s 5 ) Such det ail s as he mentions are merely to s how
.

”
th at th e firs t covenan t h ad regul ation s for worship whi ch were
a d apted to i t s funct ion ( v s It i s onl y as we p ass on into the
.

next s ection ( v s s 6 1 0 ) that we di s cover the author s motive in

.
-
’

repre s enting th e details of t h e s anctu ary as he h as done Hi s argu .

“ ”
ment h as reference to the pre s ence of the s econd cur tain ( v s 3 ) .

hung between the Holy Pl ace an d the Holy of Holies And hi s .

point i s that as long as this divi sion existed between the two tents
or t ab em acles there could be no re al fellows hip between God an d
,

man .

Th e question h as long be en deb ated as to why Hebrews nowhere

mentions Herod s Temple as s tanding on Moun t Zion in Jeru
’

s alem but r at her ch ooses for purpo s e of comp ari so n between the
,

Old Covenant an d the New to spe ak of th e Tabernacle s et up in ,

the wildernes s It h as been ar gued tha t thi s i s evidence of the late

.

d ate Of the letter whi ch on this as s umption w as not written until

,

well after the destruction of Jerus alem w ith it s Temple in A D 7 0 . . .

Th i s argument however is no longer val id ; Judai sm h ad alre ady

, , ,

before the Firs t J ewish W ar ( A D 6 6 begun to bre ak away . .

from the Temple worship in Jerusalem Sometime after the Exile .

,
58 HEB REWS - 14

the end in view yet it i s ob vious that s uch s ingle conta ct woul d
,

h ave done little for the cau se Of tru e religion It i s with this lit tle .
,

however th at the author i s vitally concerned for it i s the product

, ,

of the hi gh prie s t s work on the D ay of Atonement And it i s the

’
.

work of the high pri es ts under the tw o Covenants whi ch by an d ,

large he wi she s to comp ar e (v ss 1 1

, It i s to be remembered
.
,

however that in theory al l the s acrifices of the Jewi s h ye ar

,

reached their climax an d were sub s umed in thos e Off ered by the
high prie st on the D ay of Atonement Th e author cons iders th e .

“ ” “
existence of the s econd curtain as symbolic for the pres ent
”
age (v s . Putting together all the s acrifice s an d Off erings under
the O ld Covenant he hold s th at neither s ingly nor collectively do
,

they accomplis h the end in View Th at i s they c annot perfect

“
.
,
”
the cons cience of the worshipe r They do not bring to m aturity .

m an s awarenes s Of fellowship with God n or can they prepare

’
,

h is s pirit to be worthy of s uch fellowshi p R ath er Hebrews s ees .

,
“ ”
them as merely ri tu al dutie s ( v s th at is as ceremoni als .
,

whos e function i s to keep ali ve the cult an d to carry on its ri tu al

from ye ar to ye ar They deal onl y with food an d drink an d vari
.

”
ou s ablutions regul ations for the body
, ( v s 1 0 ) They s erve to .

cle ans e the worshiper an d the ins truments an d furnitur e of wor

s hip an d ar e performed in accord ance with the v arious t aboos Of

a cult religi on Looked at from thi s point of view even the work
.
,

Of the hi gh pries t on the D ay of Atonement is nothing more than

a cultic act or s e ri es of acts who se s ole purpos e i s to s u m u p the

neces s ary cultic acts pres cribed for a given year w ith a View to ,

s t arting a new religious ye ar af res h And indeed it may be s aid .

th at the ritu al enjoined in Leviticus 1 6 in which the hi gh priest ,

s prinkle s the blood of the appo inted s acrifice s upon all the furni

ture of worship the Tabe rnacle its elf in its various p arts an d even
, ,

the worshiping congregation appears to ju stify the conclusion,

“
of the author Such cultic act s are impo s ed until the time of ref
.

ormat i on ( v s 1 0 ) or of trans form ation which of cours e He

”
.
, , ,

brews equ ate s with the Christi an era .

Effecti ven ess of the New C oven an t 28

-
)
The New Sacri fi ce -1
4)
Th e few vers es Of the pres ent s ection represent the heart Of the
mes sage of Hebrews S acrifice with a View to the as surance of the
.

worshi per s acceptance into fell ows hip with God i s on diff erent
’

,
HEB REW S 9 : 1 1 -14 59

levels the hi gh point of religion in both the O ld and New Scrip

,

tures A s we have jus t s een this hi gh point w as s uppo s ed to have

.
,

been reached once a year on the D ay of Atonement with the en

tran ce Of the high priest in to the Holy of Holies Th e conc ern of .

the pres ent s ection therefore is t o s how that where as the s acri
, , ,

fi ces whi ch the Jewis h hi gh pries t pres ented on th at occ as ion were
in adequ ate t o s erve s piri tual ends b y contr as t the s acrifi ce of ,

J esus Chri s t as eternal High Prie st did accompli sh thes e very ends .

Th e author s umm ari zes in thes e few verses much that he h as al

re ady s aid Indeed al mos t every word of the pas sa ge is full of
.
,

meaning— me an ing either previous ly pointed out or now for the

firs t time di s clos ed This may be briefly s ummarized as follows :
.

First the s tress fall s on the hi gh pries thood of Jes us Christ a

, ,

conception which h as been a m ajor point of the letter from 2 : 1 7

f orward Here the high pri es thood i s de fined as rel ating to the
“
.

good things that have come ( v s ”

or th at have happene d
. .

“
Second Chri s t s high pri es tly work include s his travers ing th e
,
’
-

greater and more perfect t ent ( n ot made with h ands th at is n ot , ,

of thi s Thi s is in contr as t to the f unctioning Of both

hi gh pries t an d les s er pries ts of the Jewi s h cult to which reference
w as made in verses 6- 1 0 Th e poin t h ad al ready been m ade at
.

that we h ave a gre at high p ri es t who h as pas sed through

“

”
t h e heavens Jes us the Son of God Th at is to say our Lord has
, , .
,

hi gh pri es tly functions in the eternal an d genuine tabernacle a

-
,

f a ct to which furt her referen ce wil l be ma de in verses 2 4 -28 .

“
Thi rd the Off eri ng which he h as to make i s not the blood of
,
”
goats an d c alves but hi s own blood ( v s an d therefore it is .

s ecuring an et ern al red emption

“ ”
an Off ering wort hy of for the
pe ople of God Th e offering of blood on the p art Of Chris t i s to
.

b e unders tood in the light Of : ( 1 ) the act of the Jewis h hi gh pries t

on the D ay of Atonement w h o sp ri nk led the blood of a bull ( Lev
, .

an d of a go at ( Lev 1 9 ) on the mercy se at i n th e

.
-

Holy of Holi es to m ake at onemen t for the s ins of all the p eople ;
( 2 ) the next p as sa ge where the blood is explained as
“ ”
be ing the blood of the covenan t ( vs an d ( 3 ) thos e pas .

s ages in Hebrews i n which Chris t s Offering i s s ai d to be th at of

’

“ “ ”
b ims e 2 5 ) or hi s body -1 2 s ee
; From
a st udy of all thes e p assa ges it becomes cle ar th at blood
“
when ,

sh ed an d pres ented to G od s tands for the dedi cation of the lif e

, ,
60 HEBREWS 9 : 1 5 -2 3
‘
the efli cacy of the s acrifices Off ered on the D ay of Atonement by
the Jewis h high pries t Far from denyi ng that effi ca cy he asserts
.
,

it as the b as i s of hi s argument for the validity an d effi c acy of the

s acrifice Of Chris t He as s erts however th at the s acri fice s Of th e
.
, ,

J ewi sh sacrificial system avail only for the purific ation of the
“

”
fles h ( v s that i s only for the purpos es of the cultic system
.
,

of wors hip as we have alr e ady s een above in vers e s 9 an d 1 0

,
.

“ ”
Here he mentions s pe cifically the blood of goats an d bulls b e
c au s e it w as such blood as thi s that th e h igh pries t off ered on the
D ay of At onement ( Lev A s alre ady said above the
.
,

onl y s acrifices an d ritual s to wh ich reference is made in Hebrews

ar e thos e which concern the activity of the high pri es t on the D ay

of Atonement Thi s i s b ec au s e the author is concerned to comp are

.

Chri st as etern al High Pries t with the high pries t under the Leviti
cal s ys tem but al s o bec au se the s acrifices performed by the high
,

pries t on that day were in a re al s ens e climactic an d may be con

s idere d as embracin g all others u nder the Mo s ai c L aw Th e only .

excep tion to this s tatement i s pe rhaps the reference to the ashes

”
of a heifer (v s Thes e as he s h ad nothi ng s pecific ally to do
.

with the work of the hi gh pries t nor with the s acrifices of the D ay
of Atonement They were employed in connection wi th the puri
.

fi cation of a pers on who h ad touched a corps e ( Num 17 19) .

They do therefore h ave a general reference to the s ubject in

, ,

h and inas much as an unclea n pers on w as excluded from the fel

,

l ow s hi p an d p articul ar ly from the wors hip of the people Of God .

And the point of thi s letter is exactly that th e work of Chris t ac

compli s hes all that i s neces sary in order to achi eve this end .

Fin ally th e blood of Chri s t stands for hi s s elf Offering through

“
,
”
-

“ ”
the eternal Spiri t ( v s 1 4 ) Th at i s to say the gu arantor of
.
,

Christ s s acri fice i s not an ephemeral animal but r ather is the

’

etern al Spirit of God Ch ris t s act therefore i s an act efli cacious

.
’

, ,

in the re alm of Spirit an d s hould be of s ervice to all thos e who

would purify the cons cience from de ad works with a View to
“

s erving the God w h o i s ali ve ( v s 1 4 ; s ee v s . .

Th e New Covenant -2
3)
Th e uthor now returns to a comp aris on of the covenants per
a

t aining to the two religions whi ch he i s contras ting His argument .

takes the form of a s eries of ill us trations des igned to prove that
no covenant i s properly ratified without the s hedding of blood .

“ ”
Th e fi rst of the s e i s t ak en from the cus tom of drafting a l ast will
HEB REWS 23
- 61

""
an d tes tament ( v s 1 6 ) In the Greek the s ame term is employed
.

“ ” “ ”
for a cove nant an d f or a will Pl aying upon thi s double usage .

“
Of the word in Greek the author can remark th at the death Of
,

the on e who m ade it the will must be e st abli shed For a will .

t ake s eff ect onl y at de ath s ince it i s not in force as long as the one
,

w h o m ade it is al ive ( v s s 1 6 1 7 ) P aul m akes a s omewhat s imil ar

.
-

use Of the double connotation of the word in G al ati ans

( s ee m argin ) .

Th e s econd illus t ration t ak en from the rati fic ation of the firs t

,

Covenant in the time of Mos es i s more Obvious ly relevant ( v ss ,

.

18 In hi s account of the m atter the author has curious ly

mixed together s everal p ass age s ( Exod 8; Lev 8 : 1 5 .
-
. ,

1 9 ; Num . which h ad s everally to do with the ratification

Of the first Covenant the celebration of the P as sover at the Exo
,

dus an d the p ur ific ation of a leper Whether thi s i s intentional on

, .

hi s p art or s imply a m atter of in advertence we have no w ay Of ,

“ ”—
knowing He al s o rem arks in vers e 1 9 th at the book its el f
. pre
s u m ably the
“
book of the covenant ( Exod
” —
is s prin kled .

with the blood of the Covenant but of thi s there is no evidence ,

“
in the original a ccount Further he s ays th at the tent an d all the
.
,
”
vess el s us ed in wors hip were s prinkled w ith th e bloo d ( v s .

although there w as no Tabern acle until l ater .

Th e thi rd ill u s tration which the author employs is Of a more

“
general character as he m akes the s weeping st atement that under
,
”
the l aw almos t everything is puri fied with blood ( v s Th i s .

St atement i s correct and the various puri fi cat ion s by blood on the
,

D ay of Atonement are the bes t proof of the s ame .

“
Th e author now concludes that s ince the copies are cle ans e d
“ ”
with blood the he avenl y thi ngs themselves require to be clean se d
,
“ ”
with better s acrifices ( v s Th e argument is of course an
.
, ,

an al ogic al on e an d can ca rry us only s o f ar It i s b as ed as is the .

,

whole ar gu ment of Hebrews with regard to Chris t s high pries t ’

hood upon a fund amental belief in the continuity of revel ation

,

b etween the O ld an d New Coven ants In cons equence we mus t .

believe the readers to be Jewish Ch ri sti ans for whom the O ld

Te s tament Script ures cons tit uted an authoritative document b e
fore they accepted the Chri s tian faith Th e author now reverts in .

“
vers e 1 5 to what he h as al ready s aid wi th regard to those wh o
” “ ”
are c alled t o receive the promi s ed etern al inheritance which ,

i s the theme of the gos pel whenever it is uttered It is Obvious too .

, ,

that it i s p articul arly to s uch Jewi sh Chri s tians th at hi s st atement

62 HEB REWS 28
-

would be peculi arly of interes t th at a de ath h as occurred whi ch

”
redeems them from the trans gres s ions under the firs t coven ant
“ ”
(vs 15
. Redemption literall y refers to the m an umi ss ion Of
s l aves an d in the s criptur al context al ways rec all s the redemp

tion of Israel from the bond age of s l avery in Egypt NO J ew .

i s h Chri sti an could fail so to unders tand the reference However .

,

in the New Test ament Scriptur es the word h as undergone a di s

tinct Spiri tu alization an d generally refers as here to the forgi ve , ,

ness of s ins ( Eph Col

. s ee Rom . Th u s it .

would be clear at any rate to thos e who h ad th e te a chings of the

,

Hebrew prophetic Scriptur es in mind an d who were ac qu ainted

with the an alogies pres ented by the author th at the s econd Cove ,

n ant could accomplis h what the first Covenant merely fore

s hadowed ; an d inde ed thi s a ccompli s hment included forgivene s s

of trans gre ss ions which the L aw under the fi rs t Covenant h ad

multiplied ( see Rom .

Th e New Tabernacle -2 8)
In dividing ch apters 8 an d 9 into various s ections we mu st ,

avoid every tendency to li mit the author s di s cus s ion in any s ection
’

to a p articul ar topic For in hi s mind the elements of covenant

. ,

tabernacle an d s acrifi ces constitute a uni ty which i s s elf-contained

,
.

Over all th e ins tr uments of religion are the Covenants ( Old an d

New ) which God h as m ade with h is people thr ough th e ages ; un
der thes e Covenants the two t abe m acl es ( the earthl y an d the
,

heavenly ) h ave been appointed as place s f or God an d man to draw

nigh to e ach other ; an d it is in the se that the sacri fices ( anim al and
Chri st s ) ar e off ered
’
.

In line with thi s unity it should be noted that the present s ection
,

an d the one in vers es 1 1 - 1 4 begin in very much the s ame manner

an d f urni s h us to an extent with a repetition of the same ide as .

There is however a new as pect intr oduced into the ar gument in

, ,

the pres ent s ection Th is concerns the implic ations for wors hip
.

an d for m an s sa lvation generally which the exis tence Of the

’

he avenl y san ctuary brings to li ght Th e s e may be s ai d to include

.

“
the following : Firs t inasmuch as the true sanct uary is in he aven
,
”
our Lord may b e s aid to have appeared in the
“
its elf ( v s .

”
presence of God in a w ay that w as denied to even the high priest
as he entered into the inner Holy of Holi es of the e arthly Taber

n acle Th is will be s een t o h ave s ignific ance for thos e who follow
.

J es us into the sanctu ary see by contras t Again our ,

HE B REWS - 18 63

Lord s entrance as High Pries t into th e heavenl y sanct uary need

’

not be performed repeat edly ( v s

“ ”
Repetitions Of thi s type . ,

as the author h as already indicated s erve to s how the nonvalidity ,

of the s acrifi ces thus pres ented ( vss 8 This is becaus e s uch .

”
s acrifices ar e as s oci ated onl y with the thin gs of
“
thi s creation
“ ”
( v s 1 1 ) rather than with thos e of heaven itself ( v s
. An d .

they h ave no more fin al character th an any other events atta chi ng

to the e arthly pl ane In cons equence Chris t h ad he been an
.
, ,

earthl y high pries t w ould have h ad to s uff er repeatedly s ince the

“
,

found ation of the world ( v s 2 6 ) Hi s s acrifice it is true w as Of

”
.
, ,

fered on the e arthl y pl ane an d at the end of the age but it h ad

“ ”
,

he avenl y as s oci ations which were denied to the sacrifi ces of the
”
Levitic al pries ts ; it w as the sacri fice of hi ms elf th at is of th e
“
, ,
“ ”
eternal Son an d thr ough the etern al Spiri t ( v s Th is per .

s on al he avenl y ch ar acter of our Lord s s acrifi ce s et it ap ar t from

’

,
“ ”
all others whi ch preceded it Th e now in vers e 24 is intended to
.

make cle ar thi s s ubtle rel ation between the his tori cal an d th e
eternal n at ure of Chr is t s s acrifice a rel ation whi ch is wholly
’

uni que Th e e arthly an d the heavenl y are once for all unite d in
.
“ ”

“ ”
the n ow of Je s us Chri s t s s acrifice ’
.

Fi nally this once for all as pect of the w ork of Chri s t is as

“
,
”

s e t ted in the form Of an ana lo gy drawn from comm on e xperi ence .

It i s a well known fact th at in the n atural order there i s a finality

-

att a ch ing to death Man then can look forw ard to nothi ng inter

j udgment of God ( v s 27 ) Our

.
, ,
“ ”
v eni n g before the coming of the .

off ering to bear the sins of many is jus t ”

as fi n al as the death of
“ ”
between that de ath an d hi s comin g a s econd tim e for the s alva
tion of hi s people ( v s And here our author expre s ses his
.

“ ”
thought with a quot ation ( to bear the s ins of m any ) tak en from
I s ai ah an d the de s cripti on of the work Of the Sufi eri ng

Servant of the Lord Although the author employs throu ghout the
.

im agery of the high pries thood Of Melchizedek he s hares th e ,

common convi ction of the Early Church that our Lord in hi s

work an d mini s try ful filled the concept of th e Suff ering Servant .

The Once-for-All A spect of the S on s Hi gh Priestl y W ork ’

-

-1 8)
Th e uth or
a n ow s e s ou t to t just ify what he terms the once for “
64 HEB REWS 18
-

all nature of the s acrifice of Jesus Christ ( v s 1 0 ; see He .

doe s thi s firs t by pointin g ou t th at the l aw like the former

“
,
“ ”
Tabern acle h as merely a s h adow of the good things to come
, ,

that i s the realiti es to which it points forward ( v s 1 ; see

, .

Wh en he speak s of the l aw he undoubtedly h as in mi nd the MO

“ ”

s ai c ceremoni al legi s l ati on with regard t o sa crifice as the entire ar ,

”
m
“
g u e n t cle arly indic a te s T h e word s which .he us es ( s h adow for
“ ”
the legal regul ations an d true form for the s acrifice of Christ )
corres pond to the fact th at he h as c al led the former Tabernacle
merely a copy an d s hadow
“ ”
where as the he avenly s anc
“
t u ary into whi ch Chri s t as High Prie s t enters i s the origin al pat
”
tern s hown to Mos es in the Mount And he m akes the point onl y — .

hinted at previously 26 ) — th at the ye arly s acri fices on the

-

“
D ay of Atonement Offered by the Jewis h high pries t s erved as a
” “
remi nder of s in ( v s cre ating in the worshiper a cons cious
.

”
ness Of s in ( v s 2 ) an d therefore a conviction that he h ad not
.

been cleansed or s aved by s uch legal s acrifice s He concludes thi s .

“
p art of hi s di s cus s ion wi th the s tatement of h is conviction that it
is impos s ible th at the blood of bull s an d go ats s hould t ake away
( v s 4 ) Es s enti ally this argument amounts to what he h as
”
s ins .

alre ady s ai d at 1 0 an d 1 3— th at the an im al s acrifice s under

-

the L aw onl y s erved to m aintain the ri tual worship in functioning

order .

It i s clear from the s tatement of hi s c as e that the author s ’

m ajor interes t in this letter as we have alr e ady h ad reas on to

,

note relate s to the s an ct ifi cati on or inn er cle ans ing

“ ”
Of the worshiper from a cons cious nes s of sin ( v s 2 ) It is s uch .

inn er clean sing th at he e qu ates with m aking perfect ( v ss 1 an d .

1 4 ) Thi s i s not to s ay th at the wri ter is not aware of the more ob

jec ti v e s ide of sal vation ; indeed he comes clos e to the P au lin e,

te aching with regard to j ustifi cation in s everal p assages

7)
Th e uthor now indicates the once for all adequ acy of Jes us
a
“

’
Christ s s acrifice us ing as a n ew approach a quotation from
,

Ps alm 40 : 6 8 Th i s is admi ttedly neither a royal nor sufferi ng

- .
“ “

”
s ervant Ps alm Th e quot ation however i s relevant to the ne eds
.
, ,

of the writer at the moment in as much as it afli rms the valueles s

,

ness Of the s acrifi ces pres cribed under the Law In the Hebrew .

origin al the ps al mi st contras ts s uch sacrificial off erings with the

fact th at as he says of the Lord thou has t given me an open
, ,
” “
ear .Th e Greek trans l ation of this l as t cl aus e is rendered a
66 HE B E R WS - 31

sa crifice ( v s but as shown in the quotation from Ps alm

.
,

( al re ady employed in s everal context s s ee 13; ,

Je sus Chri st af ter m aking hi s s ingle s acrifice for Sins i s able t o

“ ”

s i t down at the right h and of God ( V S 1 2 ) This i s t h e act Of on e

.

who knows th at he h as accompli shed the tas k he w as given to do

an d th at God h as a ccepted hi s work as fin al Scripture therefore .
, ,
“
i s ju stification for the conclus ion th at by a s ingle Offering he h as
”
perfected for all time those who are s an ctified ( v s 1 4 ) .

Fin ally the author ag ai n draws upon the p as s age from J ere
,

mi ah 3 1 : 3 3 3 4 rel ative to the New Covenan t— a Covenant which

-

he as sume s hi s re aders will now agree t o be the on e under which

ou r Lord s high pries thood m ay be s aid to funct ion— as proof th at
’

i n the work Of Chri st there i s no longer a remembrance of s ins ,

an d that in cons e quence these h ave received forgiveness ( v ss .

“
17 There i s therefore as he remarks
, , no longer an y Off er
,

ing for s in re quired

”
.

Th e ar gument Of thi s p assage once ag ain s ugges ts the poss ibility

th at Hebrews h as in mind the te achings of the Qumran s ect Thi s .

“
group h ad rejected the s acrifices of th e Temple an d held that the
”
off eri ng of the lip s — pre sumably of prayer an d prai se— w as
more acceptable in the s ight of God than all off erings an d s acri
fi ces Hebrews al s o knows Of the s acrifice which prayer entails
.
,

an d it te ache s a doctrine of a High Pries t who always live s t o

”
m ake interces s ion for hi s pe ople But in the present pas
sage the concern i s to point ou t th at intercess ion i s an i n ade q uate

s ub s titute for sa crifice if m an s s in s are to be forgiven Forgive

’
, .

nes s an d purific ation require rather the sub s titution of hum an

s acrifice for anim al s acri fice of a High Prie s t who off ers hims e lf
,

for m an s si n in place of pri es ts appointed t o m ake off eri ngs whi ch

’

do not intim ately touch the hum an s pirit .

THE RE SPONSE REQUIRED OF S ONS TO THE

HI GH PRIE STLY W ORK OF THE SON
-

Hebrew s m u g

Su mmary Statemen t -
3 1 )
We come now to the las t major section Of the letter . There is a

cert ain co- ordin ation between thi s section an d the second major
HEBREWS 1 0 : 1 9 -3 1 67

divis ion beginning at and running through There the

author w as de aling with the gos pel c all to the s ons to become _

“
God s hous e Th at call w as i ss ued in View Of the general tes ti
’ ”
.

mony which h ad been given to the redemptive power an d lord

s hip of God s Son In the me ant ime the author h as s ketched ou t
’
.

‘
the natur e of the Son s high pries thood an d the efli cacy of hi s
’

hi gh prie stl y work Appropri ately therefore he iss ue s the gos pel
-
.
, ,

c all again an d thi s time on the found ation lai d in the interveni ng
s ections from

It is not s urpri s ing then to notice that the c all is is sued in al

, ,

mos t identic al l anguage with th at at 4 : 1 4 1 6 Th e approximation -

.

of the langu age i s f ar clos er in the Gree k th an in the E nglis h

- 1 an d
trans l ation Note th e s imil arities be tween 4 : 1 4 an d
. 2
between an d Other simil arities in thought if not in
word ar e found in the two p assages ; for example at 4 : 1 5 the ,

author stre s s e s J e s u s ability t o s ymp athi z e with our we akn ess es

’

in view of his own temptations while at ,re ference i s m ade

“ ”
to the w ay through hi s fles h that i s to the Inc arnation as
, ,

the method adopted to prepare man s approach to God ’

.

It is cle ar that the author s argument rel ative to the Son s hi gh

’ ’

prie stly work in the fourth m ajor s ection of the letter

h as carri ed hi m far beyond the an al ogy previous ly drawn
between Chris t as Hi gh Pries t an d M elchi zedek — 7 z2 8
) .

Though in their eternal ch ar acter a real s imil ari ty i s s ee n between

the tw o prie sthood s Melchiz edek never went s o far as to Offer
,

hi ms elf as a living sa cri fice to God on be h al f of man It i s only .

by the blood of J es u s ( v s 1 9 ) th at we ma y h ave confidence to

“ ” “
.

enter the sanct uary and s o enj oy eternal fellows hip with God
”
.

Je s us blood is s pecified as the means of access to God as h as

’ “ ”
,

al re a dy been done at 9 : 1 2 and 1 4 B ut as we h ave alre ady s een

.
, ,

s uch mention i s m ade there in deference to the comp ari s on to the

blood of goat s an d c alves off ered by the hi gh prie s t on the Day

“ ”

Of Atonement an d ess enti ally the reference is to Chri s t s Off er

,
’

“ ” “ ”
ing of hi mse l f or of hi s body
Th e method of s alvation i s n ow des cribed as the new and li v
“

ing w ay which he Opened for us thr ou gh the curtai n th at i s , ,

thr ough hi s fl es h ( v s 2 0 ) Th e reference i s undoubtedly to t he

”
.

method chos en b y our Lord to red eem man which w as one of in ,

c arn ation followed by atonement and res urrection Th e adjective .

“
new applied to thi s w ay actually means fre s h as oppos ed to
” “ ”

decompos ed and may be taken as the equival ent of living Prob “ ”

.
68 HEB REWS 31
-

a bly vers e 2 0 s hould re ad : By the new an d livin g w ay of hi s flesh

w hi ch he opened for u s thr ough the curt ai n rat her than as in the ,

Revi s ed St an dard Vers ion Interpreters diff er on whether fles h

.
“ ”

”
h ere is t o be taken with w ay or wi t h curtain
“ ”
But the cur
“
.

”
t ain which ou r aut hor h as i n min d i s th at s ep ar ati ng the Holy
P l ace from the Holy of Holies an d des igned to indic ate that
“
the w ay into the s an ct uary i s not yet Opened as long as the outer
”
tent i s still s tanding It i s impos s ible that in the mind of ,

a ny Chris tian writ er of the fir s t centur y Je s u s fles h s hould typify

’

t h at c u rtain or vice vers a Th ere i s no evidence i n t h e New Tes ta

.

ment th at Jesu s fles h w as thought of as an ob s cur ing medium or

’

o n e intended to hide hi s divin i ty O n the contrary the onl y pas

.
,

s age whi ch m ak es reference to a veil or curtain obs curing God s

’

glory from man i s II Corinthi ans 1 8 And t here it i s quit e

-
.

c le ar th at t h e veil i s m an s blindne s s which m akes it irnpos s ib l e

’

“
for him t o behold God s truth an d th at only t hr ough Chris t i s it
’

”
t aken away ( II Cor . Indeed in th e pres ent vers e the
,
“ ”
p re po s ition through before t h e word s h is fle sh i s not found
in the Greek an d if the author s intention h ad be en th at we s hould
,
’

“ ” “
re ad t hrough the cur tain of hi s fles h Obviou s ly the phras e that ,

i s would not have been required It i s through the living w ay of

” “
.

hi s fles -
that is through the Inc arn ation an d the re sulting
,

Atonement an d Res urrection— that J es us le ad s onward through “

”
t h e curtain which s ep ar at es man from God .

Th ere i s a s triki ng s imil arity between our author s argument at

’

th is point an d that of P aul i n I Corinthi ans 8 relative to the -

n ature of the Chr i s t ian life P aul t here comp are s the Chri s ti an
.

“
lif e to a continuous P ass over fe stival from whi ch th e le aven of
”
m alice an d evil h as been removed so that Chris ti an s m ay live
“ ”
t heir lives upon the unleavened bre ad of s incerity an d truth .

S imil arly Hebrews conceives of the Chris tian w ay of life as a

,

continuous D ay of Atonement .

In the life of se rvice three thi n gs particul ar ly are of importance

a n d s houl d be practiced by every s on Of God Firs t there is the .
,
“ ”
coming to God in full as s urance of fai th ( v s Su ch as s ur .

“ ”
a nce i s b as ed upon the cle ans ing from an evil cons cience which ,

as the author h as al r ea dy i ndi c ated i s poss ible only through the

,

off ering of Chri st th at i s through the action of one per

,

s on f or another the pers onal factor of faith or trus t being th e

,
“
uniting s p ark between the two Th e reference to our bodies.

w as hed with pure w ater i s without doubt a reference to b aptis m

”
,
HEB REWS 31
-
69

which the Early Church cons idered the mark of savin g witnes s
( see Rom 6 : 1 . an d to which the author h as alre ady referred
“
Second as before he s ugges ts that we must hold fas t the
, ,

conf es s ion of our h Ope wi thout wavering ( v s 2 3 ; see 1 4; .

This hope as we h ave al re ady s een i s by no me ans a

, ,

weak on e Rather it i s as ce rtai n as anything m ay be in the s pir

.
,

i t ual realm It i s the sur e an d s tea dfas t anchor of the so

. which
Jes us h as afli xed to the mercy se at within the curtain
Moreover as our author n ow ad ds the certai nty of i ts fulfill ment
, ,
“ ”
is b as ed upon th e promi s e of God who i s above all els e faith ful .

Thi rd we are to meet together in corp orate endeavor to fu lfi l l

“ ”
,

the demands of wors hip on this continuous D ay of Atonement .

And our fellowshi p i s to be one of s tim ulus to love an d good

“

works ( v s 2 4 ) O f thi s more wil l be s ai d i n s ucceeding s ections

”
. .

Reference h as previous ly been made to the fact that Christi ans

are l iving in the esc ha tologi c al time or as our author s ays in , , ,
“ ”
thes e las t d ays ( 1 : 2 ) Such w as the common belief of the e arly
C hr is ti an Church which produced the New Te st ament Scri ptures
( see M ark Phi l James Th e end Of this es chat o
.

logical period woul d be the D ay of Judgment or to employ Amos

’

phras e the day of the LORD ( A m0 s

“
,
”
There can be no
doubt that it i s thi s gre at D ay whi ch the author h as in mi nd in
verse 2 5 as the s ucceedi ng vers es clearly indic ate Th i s is the D ay
, .

of Judgment for all men Chris ti ans an d p ag ans ali ke an d t h e , ,

author s ugges ts th at the Chri s ti an life s hould be lived in cons tant

awar eness of the dem ands of him who is the Judge of all men .

Verses 2 6 to 3 1 contain the author s reason for suggesting that ’

the D ay of Judgment should s tan d for us as an incentive to right

living Ess enti all y the ar gument is b as ed upon his conce ption of the
.

once for allnes s involved in every event in the s eries of righteous

- -

acts wh ich together con stitute God s rel ation to hi s world an d

’

p articularly to men He h as alr e ady as s erted the once for all ch ar

.
- -

acter of the s elf s acrifi ce of J es u s Chri st as m an s Hi gh P ries t

’
-

Moreover he h as d ecl ared th at thi s once for al lnes s

,
- -

“ ”
guarantee s th at there i s n o longer any offering for sin ( v s 1 8 ) .

Th e pres ent p as sage therefore i s a reminder th at if this on e s ac

"
, ,
“ ”
rifi ce i s s purned there no longer rem ains a s acri fice for si ns ( v s
, .

2 6 ) And indeed wh at further cons ideration may Chris ti ans who

, ,
“ ”
h ave s purned the truth expect For to deny the onc e-for allness -

of the uni que sa crifice of Jes us Chri s t i s ess enti ally to deny the
Chris tian faith Thi s is the final apos tas y
. .
70 HEB REWS 1 0 : 3 2 -3 9

Such pers ons have nothing s ave a fearful prospect of judg

”
ment to whi ch they may look forward ( v s 2 7 ) Those who deny
.

the validity Of Christ s s acrifice an d s o of t h e Chris ti an faith h ave

’

pl aced themselves al ongside p agans of whom our author h as al

,

re ady written i t i s appointed for men to die once an d after th at

“
, ,
”
come s judgment And as in other places our author h as
adopted the argument from the less to the gre ater ( s ee 9 : 1 3 14 ) -

in comp aring the Older revelation with the new so here he argu e s
,
“ ”
for a much wors e puni shment for Chri sti an s who have denied
t h e light they rec eived in J e s us Chri s t th an for thos e who have
”
merely viol ated the l aw of Mos es ( v ss 28 .

Hebrews analys i s of thi s typ e of apo s tas y ( v s 2 9 ) includes

’
.

three things : 1 ) s pu rning the Son of G od an d h is s acrifice for

”
m an ; ( 2 ) holding that the blood of the covenant i s a common
“

thing inc ap able Of san ctifying that i s of rendering the wors hiper
, ,

fit to approach God in fellowship ; an d ( 3 ) ar rog antly s pum ing

the office s of the graciou s Spirit who h as been present in the com
munity an d in the work of Je su s Chri s t him s elf

Th e author as su res h i s readers th at the promis e s of judg

ment procl aimed by the Lord to h i s people are as cert ain as the
promis es of grace ( comp are 4 : 1 - 1 0 and Deut . 3 6 ; PS 1 3 5 : -
.

Hi s argument here is the s am e as that runni ng through the

prophetic writings Of the O ld Te s tament an d Je sus teachings ( se e ’
,

for example Amos , Jesus su mm arizes this point Of View in

hi s word s ,
“
Every on e to whom much i s given of him will much
,

be required ; an d of him to whom men commit much they will de

m and the more ( Luke 1 2 : 48 b ) Th e argum ent then come s noce s
“ ”
s ari ly to the conclus ion that God i s as s urely the living God to
“ ”
puni sh as the living God to bles s an d to s ave ( v s 3 1 ; see .

Examples of Fai t h (Hope) ( I O: 32 — 1 1 : 4o )

The Readers 3 9)
-

Following the above s ection in which re spons e to the gos pel

c all i s briefly developed along the line s of faith hope an d love , ,

( the trilogy m ade famou s by P aul in I Corinthi an s s tre s s i s

“ ”
now lai d upon faith as the expres s ion of the s ons res pons e re ’

quired in th e prese nt condition of the re aders Three things s tan d

.

ou t in thi s p as s age as peculi arly noteworthy : firs t the ps ych ologi

,

c al v al ue att aching to commend ation of previous worthy action on

HEB REWS 1 0 : 32 -3 9 71

the p art of people with whom one is couns elin g ; s econd the hi s ,

t ori cal detail involved in the pre s entati on Of the ex ample ; an d _

third the encouragement to be derived from the author s esch at o

,
’

logical views .

It i s cle ar from the pass age that s hortly after the re aders h ad
“
been b aptized ( enlightened that is awakened to s piri t ual appre, ,

h ens i on by th e Holy Spiri t ; see Eph they h ad been .

“
s ubjected to pers ecuti on involving h ard s truggle with s uff erings ,
“ ”
public abus e the impri s onment Of s ome th e plundering of
, ,
“ ”
property an d the courageous s haring of s ufferings generally
,

among the Chri sti an c ommunity ( v ss 32 Th ere i s cons ider

.

able difference of opinion among New Tes tament interpreters as

to the occ as ion referred to in this des c ri ption ( s ee Introduction ) .

Th e pe rs ecution w as app arently not as violent as thos e under the

Rom an emperors when Chri s ti an s were pers ecuted for the s acred
,

n ame of Chris t an d wholes ale sl aughter w as practiced in m any

c as e s Th ere i s here no sugges tion th at any los t their lives Th e
. .

“
s t atement at 1 2 : 4 you h ave n ot yet re s isted to the point of
,

s hedding your blood prob ably refers to the entire Chri s ti an ex

,

p e ri en ce Of the re a der s It m ay be therefore

. th a t th
,i s p ers e cu ,

tion is the one experienced by the Helleni stic Jewis h branch of -

the Church in the very e arly d ays in Jerusal em an d the nearby

vici nity ( Acts 8 : 1 In any c as e the author appeal s to the re ad
,

a be tter poss e ss ion an d an abiding

’ “
ers conviction th at they have
“ ”
one ( v s . It i s thi s confidence to which he h ad already
“ ”
referred in a confidence le ading to our s h are in Chri s t or ,
“ ”
a s here ,a gr eat rew a rd ( v s A s throughout the lett er the
.
,
“ ”
s tres s i s upon the need of endurance that hi s re aders may in “

herit the promis es It is this endurance whi ch lies withi n

“ ”
the wil l of God ( v s .

With a view to lightening the load to be pl aced upon hi s readers ,

the author n ow quotes from Hab ak kuk -4

t o the efi ect that the
enduran ce re quired i s for only a little while Th e promi s ed
“ ”
.

coming of J es us Ch ri st a s econd time ( s ee

“ ”
a s High Pries t

i s se en in the pers pective Of God s etern al purpos e to s ave m an

’

kind Though no temporal s p an of an exact n ature may be indi

.

cate d nor a chronologic al s cheme worked out nonethele ss f or any , ,

“ ”
generation of Chri sti ans endurance i s for but a little while In
, .

the meantime God s righteou people mus t live by f ith

,
s
’ “
a
”
— not by
s ight but by pers everance in the Chri s ti an faith A n d as before .
,

at - 1 2 s o now the readers are ass ured that they are not Of
,
“
72 HEBREW S 40
-

thos e who shrink b ack an d are des troyed but of thos e w h o have ,
”
fai th an d keep their souls (v s Th e p sychological val ue of thi s
.

s ort of argu ment i s obvious as well as Chris ti an

, .

Old Test am ent Worthi es ( n u -

40
)
Th e econd example of faith as res pons e to the gos pel c al l is
s

d erived from the experience of the O ld Tes tament worthies re

ferred t o by name or inference in the pres ent chapter Before enu .

merati n g the examples which he h as chos en the author first c all s ,

the attention of h i s re aders to th e rem arkable power Of faith as

“ ”
respons e to God s word an d the fact that it wins divine approval
’

( v ss . 1 -3 )
Th i s would seem to be the proper point in the s tudy of thi s
letter to s umm arize Hebrews te achi ng on the s ubject Of fai th
’
.

Examination of the various p as sages in which the term is used

reve al s th e fac t that for th e aut hor : ( 1 ) faith is the on e respons e
which G od expects of thos e who have he ard the gos pel call
( )
2 f u nd a ment ally s uch f aith dep e nd s up o n G od an d
s o may be defined as pers onal att achment or trus t ( 3 ) s uch trus t
:

“
res ults prim arily in m an s receivi ng the promise s Of God to h is
’

”
people 39 ( 4 ) it s t imul ate s ass urance of
one s acceptance among God s people at the throne Of grace
’ ’

an d Of be ing numbered among t h e s aved ( 5)

it is the me ans whereby man perceives an d accepts t h e divine
philos ophy Of hi s tory ( 6 ) it h as im plic ations for the
C hri s ti an life providing God s people wit h t h e courage re qui sit e
’

to li ving Victori ou sly in a s inful world 7 33 ( 7 ) it i s -

,

t h e sp iri tu al bond be tween J e su s

“
th e pioneer an d perfecter of
,
”
our faith an d hi s people
, ( 8 ) an d accordingly i t m akes
“ ”
i ts pos s ess or an heir of the righteousnes s which comes by faith
onl y which means God s final approval of hi s people an d hi s ac
,
’

ceptan ce of them 7; -

In the pre s ent chapter the author m akes it hi s object to s how

t hat fai t h exh ibits the miraculous power of di s solving the time
s p ace fr amework in wh ich men li ve their live s Thi s i s i ts prim ar y .

function an d it accompli she s thi s for every m an in the context in

,

w hi ch he live s NO m atter what hi s temporal an d s p ati al limi tations

.

be faith s ets him in a l arge pl ace from whi ch he can s ee t h e dis

,

tant s cene from th e pers pective of God Th e chapter Opens with .

a des cript ion of h ow faith Ope rates along the lines ju st s ugges ted

an d t here after follows a se ries Of illu s tr ations of t h e point .

74 HEB REWS 40
-

epoch within the s phere of their ow n interes ts dis cerning their ,

relevance for thems elves .

Th e thr ee example s of men of faith in the period before Abra

h am are p articul arly apt (Abel Enoch an d No ah) Abel i s chos en
, , .

becaus e it i s recorded of him that he i s the first to bring an off ering

of s heep (in l ater ye ar s s o l argely u se d in the O ld Te s tam ent s ac
rifi ci al sys tem with which Hebrews h as been de aling) an d Gene s i s ,
”
as s ert s that
“
the LORD h ad regard for Abel and hi s off ering .

Though the account of thi s incident does n ot say s o it may well ,

”
be argued that it i s by faith (v s 4) that Abel m akes hi s Off erin g
.

to God At any rate no Jew could deny th at Abel s Off ering w as a

.
,
’

more acceptable one than that of Cain as the l ater Levitical sacri ,

fi ces appe ared to sub s tanti ate Th e comm on Semi tic practice of
.

s acrifice an d belief in i t s general ac ceptance in the eye s of God

formed the b ackground for the argument .

Th e argument with reference to Hebrews s econd ex ample (that

’

Of Enoch) i s bas ed on Genes is 2 4 O f Enoch it w as s aid that

-
.

he walked with God Thi s i s interpreted in Hebrews to mean

.

“ ”
that he w as attes ted as h aving ple ased God (v s From the .

Chri sti an s tandpoint it i s evident that without faith it i s impos

“

”
s ible to ple ase him (v s from which it may be deduced th at
.

Enoch h ad faith in God Th e argument that thos e who like Enoch

.
, ,
“ ” “
would draw ne ar to God should as a minimum believe that he
exi s ts (v s 6) i s perhaps not entirely h appy in its expre ss ion For
”
. .

as J ame s rem arks ,

“
Even the demons believe in the onenes s of
”

God (James It must be remembered however that the au , ,

thor of Hebrews i s cons ciou s ly dealing with a very rudimentar y

type of faith It is pre Abrahamic faith or if on e prefer the type
.
-
, , ,

of faith s hown by a man quite outs ide the bound aries of the
Chos en People of God No doubt these ear ly examples are cho se n
.

deliberately to exhibit the bread th of the Chri s tian fai th ; f or its

dep th an d h e igh t however we mu st look el s ewhere
, ,
.

O f the thr ee exarn ples chosen from beyond the p al e of the

th e example of Noah i s b y far the
“
people of God
clearest Genes i s 6 : 1 3 22 and indeed the entire account reg arding
.
-
, ,

Noah give evidence Of a speci al call which Noah received and of

speci al revel ation m ade to him regarding God s will Accordingly
’
. ,

in the e arly Chri s ti an Church much w as made of th e example of

Noah as a herald of ri ghteous ness in a s inful world ( II Peter
“ ”

In one account of the es chatological di s cours e of our Lord ,

Noah figure s as an example of the man Of G od w h o by re as on ,

HEBREWS 40
-
75
”
of faith is re ady f or the comi ng of the Son of man at the
hi s ,

end of hi story ( M att 39 ; Luke . In I Peter -

2 0 Noah i s m ade t o s erve as the typical pers on who through

,
”
b apti sm h as come within the ark an d thus may be s ai d to be
“

“ ”
s aved through w ater Chris ti an ar t of the period of the cata
.

comb s an d perse cutions m akes much Of thi s example of No ah an d ,

of the ar k in repres enting the Church itse lf

, .

Accordi ngly Noah could be held up as an exa mple of one who

,

b y fai th h ad be come aware of events as yet uns ee n an d who

“ ”

might be s aid therefore t o have burs t th e temporal and s p ati al

, ,

boundaries an d come to View t h e events of hi story as God s ees

them In s o doing he cle arly condemned the world i ts s m all
.
“ ”
,

pers pective it s little framework of reference O ne might well be

, .

“
ass ured therefore th at No ah ha d become
, , an heir of the right

eous n ess whi ch come s b y faith

”
(v s 7 ) .

Perhaps we s hould be interpreti ng the writer s mind with ac ’

curacy if we were to conclude that in Noah Abel an d Enoch he , ,

h as chos en the three ex amples outs ide the p al e of revealed re

ligi on in the pre Abrahami c d ays w h o be s t exemplify th e fact of
-

God s red eeming grace an d hi s e arnes t wi sh to save all thos e w h o

’

si ncerely t urn to him in faith It i s not however until we come to .

, ,

Abraham the father of the faithful th at a number of the di s

“
,
”
,

tinctively Christi an words with which we have become famili ar in

“ ”
the letter are us ed Thes e include the ide as Of the gos pe l c all
.

“ ” “
obedience an d i ts Oppos ite in het
” “ ”
i tance promi s e 10:
an d even the thought involved i n the phr as e to go ou t
“ ”
23 ,
“ ”
or exodus
All this me ans th at for the author as well as for the Jewi s h ,

people be fore him Abraham occupied a s peci al pos ition Of i m

,

portance in the s cheme of the redemption Of God s people With ’

.

Abrah am it may be s aid that s peci al revel ation began Moreover .

,

it began w ith a call to go ou t from among the people Of the

“

world with a view to oc cupying a dis tinctive position in God s ’

economy of redemption In both the O ld an d the New Tes taments .

“ ”
a call i s by no me ans an ab s tra ction It does not appe ar out of .

“ ”
the void or without an author Rather the c all of Scripture al .
,

ways emanates directly from God It is s igni fic ant too th at to .

, ,

Abrah am as repres entative of the about to b e formed people of “ - - -

” “
God the c all came to go out t o a pl ace which he w as to receive
”
as an inheritan ce (v s Th at is to s ay Abrah am w as c alled
.
,
76 HEB REWS 40
-

ou t of the context ( the time-sp ace framework ) in which hi s life

h ad thus f ar been lived Hi s life w as n ow to know new horizons
. ,
“
t o s t art anew i n a pl ace of new pers pectives He w as to find in .

the l and of promi s e a point of vant age from whi ch to View lif e
”

a s G od views it .

Th e lim itle s s horizons of thi s pl ace are indicated by the words ,

he went out not kn owing where he w as to go Moreover that

, .
,

t h e pl ace specified i s by no means a final f ulfillment of t h e promi s e

“
of an inherit an ce i s st ress ed Abraham w as not led n or were h i s.
,
“ ”
d es cend ants to im agine t h at the l and Of promi s e w as a total
,

fulfi l lment of the promi s e s of God R ather he looked upon that .

”
l and as a foreign l and in which he an d h is des cend ants merely
“
s ojour ned ( v s 9 ) Th e trans itory nature of their abode i s shown
.

“ ”
al s o in t h e fact th at they were continu all y living i n t ents God .

“
h ad directed their eyes to a more perm an ent abod e in fact to , ,
”
the city which h as found ations whose builder an d m aker rs God ,
“ ”
(v s . Th e perm anence of city life with i t s found ations as , ,
“ ”
over against a c as u al exi st ence in tents lends itse lf admirably ,

to the contrast which the author wi she s to m ake between th e eter

n al an d the trans itory ( v s .

Th e u se of the conce pt of a city to des cribe the perm anent char

a cter of the inherit ance of God s people i s by no means limited to
’

Hebrews It i s a s tri king ch ar acteri s tic for example of the Reve

.
, ,

l ation to John ( Rev . Th e idea no doubt

d erives origin ally from the prophetic thought th at the LORD Of
“

hosts will reign on Mount Zion an d in Jeru s alem ( Isa ”

.

Mic ah Th e ide a that the people of God are merely

“ ”
s trangers an d exi le s on the e arth (v s an d accordingly are .

s eeking a homel and in the eternal order ( v s i s al so not .

new with Hebrews Th e thought derives from Genes is

. so

f ar as Abraham i s concerned an d it i s related in general to God s

’

people els ewhere in the O ld Te stam ent ( Ezek P aul m akes .

“
u se of the ide a in Philippi an s with the remark that our

"
”
commonwealth is in heaven an express ion whi ch s ugges ts that,

Chri stian s in the world are s o to s pe ak coloni sts abroad from

, ,

their homel and

Thr oughout the p ass age in ac cord ance with th e thought ex
,

press ed in vers es 1 an d 2 faith is treated as the instrument by

,

me an s of which God s people view the trans itory world an d all it

’

“ ”
cont ains in true pers pective Th e phr as e by faith occurs again
.

“ ”
an d ag ain like a refrain For it i s only by faith th at God s people
’
.
HEBREWS -
40 77

are enabled to as s es s the trans it ory an d the eterna l at their proper

values There i s a very re al se ns e in which in thi s l ife they have
.

“
n ot received wh at w as promis ed but h aving s een an d greeted it ,
”
from afar they live their live s in the pers pective of G od ( v s 1 3 ) .

Not al one Abrah am but his wife S arah as well ( v s ,

hi s son .

Isaac hi s gr and s ons J acob an d Esau an d his gre at grand son

, ,
-

Jos eph ( v s s 1 7 22 ) are s aid t o have pos s es s ed the requisite faith

.
- .

S arah s faith i s p articul arly s i gni fic ant bec aus e sh e h ad al re ady

’
,

along with Abrah am p ass ed the age when chil dren are expected in
,

the home ( v ss 1 1 1 2 ; see Gen .

- Abrah am w as .

alre ady
“
as good as de ad
”
God s fai thf uln es s in fulfilli ng hi s
.
’

promis e s ( v s therefore w as s hown provisionally in th e fact

.
,

that from thi s old couple were born de s cend an ts as m any as the
“

”
s tars Of he aven Hebrews s pecifically st ate s as we have ob served
.
, ,

th at this i s not the fin al fulfillment of God s promi s e to his people

’

( v s. B ut the f a ct i s not to be ignored th at it does repre s ent a

p arti al f ul fill ment— an earne st of the final one toward whi ch

“ ”

God s people may look forward It is a p ar able s o to s peak of

’
.
, ,

life from the de ad whi ch is of the very ess ence of the s alvation
,

which God hold s out for man An d it is not unlik e the gift of th e .

“
Holy Spirit which as P aul Obs erves is the guarantee of our in
, , ,

h eritan ce until we acquire pos sess ion of it ( Eph

”
.

Th e incident involvi ng Abrah am s testin g when he w as ready

“ ’

to offer up hi s only s on I sa a c ( v s 1 7 ) can i es e ss entia lly the same

”
.

thou ght as that involved in Isaac s birth In both c as es Abrah am ’

.

”
“
cons i de red that God w as able to rai se men even from the de ad ,

from whi ch as our author s ugge sts figur atively speaking he di d

,
“
, ,
”
receive him b ack ( v ss 1 7 For however one i s to under
.
,

s tand the story in i ts origin al form at Genes is 1 0 in He -

,

brews it i s s een in the light Of the promis e which God h ad m ade

“ ”
t o Abrah am— Th rough Isaac s h al l your des cend an ts be n amed .

Th is promis e Abrah am at all tim es w as prep ar ed to believe what ,

ever the trans itory e vidence of e arthl y exi stence might appe ar to
s ugges t to the contrary .

In the c as e of Abrah am s des cend ants the incidents cho s en for

’

comment ar e tho s e concerned with the end of the life of each

“ ”
when he ble ss ed hi s de s cend an ts an d the au thor s poin t h as to ,
’

do with the faith thereby exhibited ( v ss 2 0—2 2 ) Th e s tres s here .

,

as previou s ly throughout the ch apter is upon a faith which looks ,

be yond the i mmwi ate horizons to the fulfill ment of God s prom ’

i s es to hi s people And it should be Obs erved that in l aying s tress

.
78 HEB REWS 40 -

upon thi s faith the author i s true to the s pirit of the O ld Tes ta
ment at the points involved ( Gen 40 ; 25 ; .
- -

Exod . In the c as e of Jos eph h is fai th leap s forward to ,

the Exodus an d he give s directions concerning hi s buri al in the

“ ”

l and of promi s e Thi s mention of the exodus from Egypt natur

.
“ ”

ally le ad s On to the next ch ar acter with which our author wi shes

to deal n amely the l awgiver M os es

, , .

Abrah am an d Mose s are the two foc al p oints of the O ld Te sta

ment revel ation Th e Christi an Church ari sing as it did out Of the
.
,

context of Jud ai sm inh erited the s ens e of the prominence of thes e

,

two O ld Tes tament worthi es ( For the irn port an ce of Mos es s ee

.

M ark 5 ; John-
Acts Revelation
There w as however from the beginning thi s m arked diff erence
, ,

between Jud ai s m an d the Chri sti an faith with reference to the

p arts pl ayed by Abrah am an d Mos e s For Ph ari sais m the domi .
,

nant s chool of though t in the Jud ais m of the firs t century Mos es ,

played th e more prominent p art an d h i s mini stry s erved as a ,

norm by whi ch to gauge al l of the revelation un der the O ld Cove

n an t including th at m ade to Abrah am Accordingly Abrah am
, .
,

w as interpreted in the li ght of the revel ation which Judais m held

to h ave come through Mos es He w as s ai d for example to h ave .
, ,

fulfilled the L aw in it s entirety before Mos es appe ared on th e

s cen e Hi s pe rfection or s alvation w as s aid to h ave occurred onl y
.
, ,

after his circumci s ion an d bec aus e Of it In the E arly Church . ,

however the roles of the s e tw o were reversed Abraham bec ame

, .

the s tandard so that the L aw given to Mos es w as to be understood

,

in the light of the revel ation which came to Abraham P aul s poke .

“ ”
of thi s revel ation as the gos pel ( G al an d averred that the .

Law which c ame 43 0 ye ar s afterward could n ot annul the Cove

, ,

nant previous ly ratified by God with Abrah am ( Gal 3 : while .

in Oppos ition to the Viewpoint of Phari sais m cited above he ar ,

gu ed th at faith w as reckoned to Abrah am as righteous ne s s

“

”
before he w as cir cumci sed ( Rom .

It need not s urpris e u s then th at Hebrews at thi s point i s not

, ,

concerned about the Law whi ch w as promulg ated through Mos e s

“ ”
but rather about hi s fai th Moreover it w as faith an d the cour
.
,

age born of it which the author s ees exemplified in the p arents of

Mos es ( v s by the people who followed Mos e s le adership at

.
’

the Exodus by the army of I s rael in the conque st of C an aan as at

,

Jericho ( v s s 2 9 3 0 ) and by R ah ab the harlot who gave as si stance

.
-

to the two s pies s ent in to s py ou t the l an d ( v s .

HEB REWS 40
-
79
“
It i s noteworthy th at in h is account of Mos es choos ing rather 9

to s hare ill tre atment with the people of God th an to enjoy the
-

”
fleeting ple as ures of s in ( v s 2 5 ) our author s ugge sts th at he w as .

”
prep ar ed to sufi er for the Chris t ( v s Th e New Tes tament .

writers in general look b ack an d see all previous events in the re

demptiv e his tory of the people of God in the light of Chr is t A c .

c ordin gly it i s the author s viewp oint that Mose s s uffe ri ng s can be
’ ’
,

thought of as event ually f or Chri s t s sak e becaus e Mos e s as th e ’

leader of God s people w as in the divine s ucces s ion of events ex

’

p e ri en ce d by th at people a s ucce s s ion wh o s e cul m

,
i n ating event
w as to be Chri s t .

Th i s interpret ation runs p arallel then with the author s View

’

, ,

of Abrah am For on the one h and he can s pe ak of hi m as one who

.
,
“ ”
having p atiently endured Obt ained the promi s e , an d on
“
the other as numbered among all thos e who though well attes ted
”
by their faith did not receive wh at w as promise d
, Th at
i s to s ay Hebrews s ees both a proxim ate an d a remote fulfillment
,

of God s promi se s to hi s people at all times And to thi s phenom

’ '

enon neither Abrah am nor Mos es is an exception Abrah am did .

“
receive the promi s e in the sens e that he s ojourned in the l an d of
”
promis e ( v s but in a l arger s ens e he w as numbered among
.

“
all thos e w h o died in faith n ot having received what w as prom ,
”
is ed but having s een it an d greeted it from afar ( v s 1 3 ) In lik e
, .

m anner for the author Mos es w as rewarded thr ough a long period
,

of yea rs with th e le a ders hip Of God s people but in a re al s ens e

’

the rem ote pos s e ss ion w as never Obt ained by hi m ; rather b e en “

,
”
dur ed as s eeing him who is invi s ible ( v s .

An d now the author concludes hi s argument with a s umm ary

s t atement bec au s e as he sugge s ts
,
“
tim e would fail him to give
,
”
,

a complete ac coun t of all the O ld Tes tament worthie s who ex

emplifi ed the re s pon s e Of faith which G od de s ire s Of m an ( v s 32 ) .

His s umm ary i s a very comprehen s ive on e Following the con .

que st of Canaan whi ch i s sugges ted by hi s choice of Rah ab ( v s

, .

he begins with the judge s— Gideon B ar ak S ams on Jeph th ah , , ,

( v s 3 2 ) an d then procee ds to D avid as God s choice for s etting

’
—
.

up the theocracy in Is rael an d comprehend s the entire Hebrew ,

“ ”
p r O p h et i c movement in the word s S amuel an d the prophet s ( VS .

There after in vers es 3 3 3 8 he s umm arizes the experience s

,
-
,

of th e faithful thr oughout the period of the rem aining O ld Te s ta

ment an d Int ertes t ame nt literat ure .

Mos t if not all of the references can be identified an d they in

, , ,
30 HEB REWS 40
-

t rodu ce us wide range Of characters whos e li ves exemplified

to a
“
the fai th with which the author i s dealing Thus of thos e who .
,

thr ough faith conquered ki ngdoms he may very well have in

”
mind men like Jos hua an d D avid Thos e who enf orced jus tice
“
.

would very properly include the judge s an d kings like D avid an d

“
Solomon D aniel i s Obvious ly one who stopped th e mouths of
.

”
l ions ( D an . Perhap s he an d his as s oci at es in B abylon
are al so in min d as thos e who
“
quenched raging fire ( D an 3 :
”
.

23 According to Is ai ah Hezeki ah by the fai t h s hown in hi s

,

prayer w as the means of puttin g Senn acherib an d hi s armi es to

flight ( II Kings Th e widow of Zareph ath an d the
“
Shunammite woman are example s of the women who received
”
their de ad by res urrect ion ( I Kings 24 ; II Kings 4 : 1 8 -

“ ”
A number Of the prophets were tortured ( see M att .

notably Jeremi ah ( Jer chs 2 0 37 Zech ari ah the son of

.
, .
, ,

Jeh oi ada w as s toned ( II Chron

, Acc ordin g to an apoc .

“
ryph al bo ok I s ai ah th e prophet w as among thos e who were s awn
,
”
in two ( As cension of Is ai ah 5 : 1 1 Vers es 3 5b 3 8 indeed -
, ,

s ound very much like a s umm ary of the tre atment whi ch I s rael an d

the p agan world gave to the Hebrew prophets Elij ah for example .
, ,

in the tre atment accorded to him by King Ah ab of Israel may very

well be in the writer s mi nd as one who went wandering over
’ “

”
des erts an d mountains an d in dens and cave s of the e arth ( 1
,

Kin gs ch s 1 8
, .

In the concluding p aragraph ( v ss 3 9 40 ) the author s um .

-

mariz es in a b ri ef st atement the po int which the entire chapter is

intended to ill u strate This i s twofold : first th at the reward of fai th
.
,

i s never immediately re alized For none of the s e Old Tes tament .

s ai nts received the f ulfil lment of the promi s e in i t s fin al form Had .

it been otherwi se then fai th woul d n o longer be fai th For as the

“

, _
.
,

author indic ated in the openi ng p ar agr aph of the ch apter faith ,

pl aces on e outs ide the bound aries of time an d s p ace whence one
may view the di s t ant s cene but whil e on e lives within thos e ,

boun d ari e s onl y proxim ate re al ization of the promi s es of God may
ever be experienced Second faith always h as in view as does the
.
, ,

promi se its elf th at gre at CM pany of the faithful whos e arrival

,

on the pl ane of hi s tory mus t precede the fulfillment of the prom

“ ”
i ses Thi s i s the t rue communi on of the s aints — a fell owship n ot
.
,

al one am ong th os e exi s ting at any moment upon the e ar th but ,

extending horizontall y throughout tim e an ever wi dening circle of ,

-

men an d women res ponding by fai th to the promi s es of God .

82 HEB REWS 2
-

“ ”
t o s how that th e New Tes tament wri ters cons idered perseverance
“ ” “ ”
ste adfas tnes s p atience ) to be one of the pri
,
“ ”
m ary fruits of th e Spirit obs ervable in the Christ ian life And .

inas much as s uch endur ance rel ates to every express ion Of the
Chr i sti an fai th it would s carcely be too much to s ay that it i s the
,

all inclus ive fruita ge of the Chris ti an expe ri enc e

-
.

Th e de s cription which Hebrews gives of Jes us in thi s p ass age

as
“
the pioneer an d perfecter of our fai th i s a notable on e No
”
.

“ ”
where els e in the New Tes tament i s the term perfecter employed
w ith reg ard to our Lord an d only the B ook of Acts al s o s pe aks Of
,
“ ”
him as pioneer In Acts 3 : 1 5 the Greek word i s trans lated
.

an d the cont ext s ugge s ts th at Luke i s i m

“ “
Author ( of
“
pre ss ed with the s tran ge p aradox that h e who is the Author of
” ”
lif e h as him self been killed by unruly an d ungodly men At .

“ ”
Act s however the s ame word i s trans l ated Le ader an d
, ,

there it i s combined with the term S avior ”

.

“ ”
Th e expres s ion Le ader an d S avior rather clos ely approxim ates
th at in the pre sent p as sage And it i s notable that in
. the
author combines all three ideas of le aders hip s alvation an d per , ,
~

“
f ecti on in one phr as e rel ating to Jes us ( the pioneer of their s al
vation perfect throu gh Certainly in the pres ent im ,

agery of the ra ce cours e

“ ”
pioneer i s to be t aken in the s ens e of
,
“ ”
leader of the race th at is of the ru nner who is f ar ahe ad in the
, ,

Chri sti an w ay Of li fe It is toward such a one th at the other run

.

ners in the Chri sti an w ay may look for guid an ce for le aders hip , ,

for encour agement an d above al l as the goal to be re ached In

, .

Ephesi ans Paul express ed the s ame ide a but under an en ,

tirely difi erent figure in the words until we all att ain
,
“
, to
m ature m anh ood to the meas ure of the stature of the fullness of
,
”
Christ .

”
This is not to say that as pioneer an d perfecter of ou r fai th
Jes us is merely another runner in the Chri sti an race To be the .

le ader the on e who sets ou t the cours e i s t o be f ar above all others

, ,

who come af ter an d who follow his p attern O f no other than the .

Le ader of the faith may it be s aid th at he h as endured the cros s

“
,

des pi sing the shame an d i s s e ated at the ri ght h and of the throne
,

of God Stran gely enough nowhere els e doe s th e author sp eak

.
,
“ “ ”
of either the cros s or th e sh ame Of our Lord but both ideas ,

have cons tantly been before us .

“ ”
Fin ally in thi s p assage the race that i s set before u s is p aral
,

leled with the joy that w as set before hi m Th e express ions are
“ ”
.
HEB REWS - 11 83

x
e actl y parallel in the Greek cons tru ction
in the Engl ish an d as ,

th is can s c arcely be without intenti on on the author s p art Th e

’
.

race s tretches out before u s even as the joy s tretched ou t before

Jes us as he looked to the goal which his Father h ad s et before hi m
in hi s hum an life ( s ee Prob ably the me ani ng therefore i s , ,
“ ”
th at ju st as he endured s o s houl d we both he an d we h aving i n
, ,

mi nd at all tim es the high goal s et before u s by the Father .

Th e Place of D isci pline in Ch ris t ian Growt h -I r

)
It i s in the context of the ide a of Je s us s uff erin gs that a mai n ’

theme of t h e letter is agai n taken up Th e s ame theme appears in .

“
-
1 8 There the point is m ade th at it i s fitt ing that G od
. in ,

bringing m any s ons to glory should m ake the pioneer of their ,

”
sal v ation perfect through s uffering In the pres ent p ass age
the theme of s onship i s elaborated in the same context of s uff eri n g
“ ” “
(v s . Je su s whom the s ons are to emul ate h as endured the
, ,
”
cros s des pis in g the s hame It i s appropri ate in s uch a cont ext for
, .

“
t h e author to remind hi s re aders that they h ave n ot yet res i sted
to the point of s hedding ”
blood ( v s Jes us h as endured .

”
gre at ho s tili ty agains t hims elf no doubt of the type whi ch the ,

rea ders of the letter are now facing ( v s .

O bvious ly neither the shame of the Cross in Jesus c as e nor

,
’

the hos tili t y now bein g directed agains t the re aders i s the direct
“ ”
work of G od R ather it i s clearly the work of s inners ( v s 3 ) in
.
, .

“ ”
the cas e of Jes us ; an d it is the sin of the race agains t whi ch
“ ”
the re aders have to s truggle ( v s Ul tim ately the s in in b oth .

c as es i s th at of man in hi s reb ellion agains t God his An oi nte d ,

O ne an d God s people
,
’
.

And yet vi ewed in the pers pective of God s redemptive pur

,
’

pos e rel ative to man both J es us suff eri ngs as t he S on an d thos e

,
’

“ ”
of the s ons (v ss 5 1 1 ) mus t be thought of as somehow withi n the
.
-

divine will an d purpos e Th e author h as al re ady expres sed the.

ide a that God w as behind the s uffering of Jes us with a v iew to

“ ”
m ak ing th e pioneer of their s alvation perfect see 2 : 1 7 1 8 -

an d In li ke m anner it i s now to be Ob s erved that the ,

“ ” “ ”
s on s are being as ked to endure the di scipli ne which will even
“
tuate in their mat uring For s uch di s cipline in the end yi elds the
.

pe acef ul fruit of righteous nes s to thos e who h ave been trained b y

”
it (v s .

It is s ignifi cant th at both in the pres ent p ass age ( see v s 4 ) an d .

at 1 0 : 32 3 9 wherein the author refers t o the pers ecutions s u f

-
,
 HEB REWS -
17

f ered b ut to he suff ere d by hi s readers he m akes it cle ar

an d a o ,

that none of them h as as yet died for the faith It i s difli cul t if .
,

not imposs ible to b elieve th at either of thes e pers ecutions there

, ,

fore , h as reference to that s uff ered by the chur ch at Rome under

Nero when as Tacitus rem arks burning Chris ti ans lit up the
, , ,

g ardens of that emperor .

It is perh aps al s o not without s ignifi cance th at Hebrews call s

upon the Wi s dom Literature ( Prov 3 : 1 1 1 2 ) to s ub st anti ate h is
.
-

“ ”
point with regard to God s dis ciplini n g of the s ons Th i s pas
’
.

s age i s al s o quoted in Revel ation in connection with the

ch as tisement about to be meted out to the chur ch at La odice a Th e .

Wis dom Literature w as p articul ar ly popul ar among the Helleni stic

Jews from whom we believe the author an d hi s readers to h ave

Th e central point of the p as s age Is contain ed in vers es 1 0 an d

1 1 — di s cipline of hi s s on s on God s part le ads to their s haring
“ ’

” “ ”
h is holines s ( v s 1 0 ) or to the pe ace f ul fruit of righteous ne ss
.

(vs . A s we have al re ady Obs erved it w as n atur al for our ,

author with hi s s tre ss upon the high pri e s tly a ctivity of ou r Lord
,
-
,

t o View s al vation in terms of s an ct ifi cation or of the cons ecration

of hi s people for the wors hip of God ( s ee 2 1 1 ; 1 4; - -

14 , Th e pri es tl y wri ter in Leviticu s in much the s ame

“
s pirit h ad reported God as saying Y ou s hall be holy ; for I the
,
" ,

LORD your God am holy In view of h is prese nt di s cus s ion of the

.

merits of dis cipli ne it need s no proof th at the author of Hebrews

, ,
“ ” “ ”
t oo i s thin kin g of the s ons sh aring the moral holiness whi ch
,

i s God s And we m ay conclude als o in view of the jux tapos ition

’
.
,
“ ”
of vers es 1 0 an d 1 1 that the term righteou s nes s i s to be un der
,
“ ”
s tood here as virtuall y a s ynonym for holiness .

Th e Need of Direct ion in the Christ ian Li fe -1

7)
Th e ons are not to s uppos e that their s hare in the m atter of
s

a cqui ring s al v ation i s a merely p as s ive one Th e author turn s ag ain .

to Proverb s ( in the Greek vers ion ) with a view to s ugges ting

that the s ons are to mak e s traight p aths f or their feet ( v s .

However he now joins to thi s quotation another ( v s 1 2 ) from

, .

Is aiah taken from a ch apter devoted by the prophet t o

de s cribing the glories of the res tored l an d to which a repentant
“ ”
I srael should return over a highway whi ch the prophet call s
,
“
the Holy W ay ” “
It woul d be only the rans omed of the
”
LORD who woul d in this w ay return to Zion Thes e ran
HEB REWS 24
- 85

somed are various ly des crib ed b y I s ai ah as the blind the deaf ,

” “
,
” ”
“
the lame man an d the dumb “
, an d among them
“ ” “ ”
are n ot included the unc lean an d fools That the
di rection of th e Chri sti an w ay of which Heb rews i s s pe aking lea d s ,

like Is ai ah s Holy W ay up to Zi on is the theme of the next

’“ ”
,

s ection ( v ss 18.

In the meantime thos e travelin g by the Holy W ay are to s trive

,

for pe ace with all men an d for the holi nes s without whi ch no on e
,
”
will s ee the Lord ( v s 1 4 ) Th e idea th at peace between God an d
.

man an d between man an d h i s neighbor i s an accomp animent of

s al v ation i s a commonpl ace in Hebrew prOph et i c thought ( Ps .

“ ”
Is a . Th e reference to hol ine ss recal l s wha t h as
been said above in vers e 1 0 But it i s likely that the b ackground
.

of the thought here i s P s alm where the p sal m is t decl ares

”
th at onl y thos e who have cle an hands and a pure h ear t may
“

have a s hare in the wors hi p of the true and living God .

Th e reference to the root of bitternes s an d to the immorality

“ ”

or irreli gious n at ure Of one lik e Esa u ( v ss 1 5 1 6 ) recalls what h as

.
-

al re ady been s ai d i n chapters 3 an d 4 with regard to the rebellion

of I s rael again s t God at the time of the Exodus It is e ss enti ally .

s uch rebe llion or di s ob e dience which our author a ccounts t o be

’ “
m an s chief sin ( 3 : 1 6 It i s rebels who fail to Obtai n the grace
”
of God ( v s 1 5 an d it i s agai ns t such s in that the s ons need to b e
.

Mount
Th e
"
a
ion an d t he Christ ian W ay -2

uthor now gives the ultim ate reas on why the Chris ti an s
4)
’

attitude i s fund am entally diff erent from th at of a man like Esau .

He h as al re ady s ugges ted th at the Chris ti an s hould not be known

“ ” “ ”
for his drooping han d s an d we ak knees ( v s that his p ath .

” “ ”
always be made
“
s tra ight in order tha t the l am e who aecom
p an y hi m might find it e as y to wa lk in ( v s Thi s att it ude as
.
,
“ ”
we have s een i s contras ted with th e bitternes s which ch aracter
,

Jus tification for thi s exhortation lies in the fundamental diff er

ence of s pirit charac terizing the O ld Covenant an d the New Th e .

O ld Covenant h ad been given at Mount Sinai under most terrify

ing conditions Th e des cription of thos e conditions i n vers es 1 8 2 1
.
-

actua lly employs m any of the very words of the Greek trans

lation of Exodus 1 9 an d Deuteronomy 4 and 5 Little wo nder .

 86 HEB REWS 24
-

th at the incident brought fear to the hearts of the Israelites when

“ ”
even their le ader rem arked I tremble with fe ar ( v s , .

By contras t ( v s 2 2 ) the author places the New Covenant an d

.

its confirm ation at another mountain ( Zion ) an d the city as s oci

ated with it ( J erus alem ) Th e ori gin of thi s ide a no doubt goe s
.

b ack to I s ai ah
B ehold I am l aying in Zion for a foundation
,

tone a tes ted s tone

a s , ,

a precious corners t one of a s ure found ation : ,

‘ ’
He w h o believes will not be in has te .

Thi s thought an d the accomp anying one th at the Me ss i ah him s elf

will appe ar upon Mount Zion having ridden thr ough the gates of ,

the Holy City i s t aken up in I s ai ah

, an d Zech ari ah

In turn these become themes t o be worked ou t in det ail by v ar

,

ious New Te stament writers ( M att John Rom . .

”
I Peteri z6 ; an d Rev Th e adjective he avenly which i s
.

employed in conn ection with Jerus alem ( v s 22 ) however mak es .

,

it clear th at the author as so often , i s employing figurative lan

,

guage ( see
Th e Mount Zion an d the city of the living God the he avenly ,
”
Jerus alem at whi ch Chris ti ans h ave arrived i s none other than
“ ”
the city which h as foundations who s e builder an d m aker i s God ,

to which Abrah am looked forwar d For C h ris tia n s h a v e

th e city of the
“
arri v e d In s pirit they are al re a dy inh abit ants of
.

“ ”
li ving God an d their comp anions are t h e innumerable angel s
“ ”
an d the as s embly Of the fi rs t born that i s all thos e w h o th rough
-
, ,

the centuries h ave in on e w ay an d another been God s t rue s er ’

“ ”
vants ( v ss 2 2 . As s embly i s the ordin ary Greek word for
“ ” ”
chu rch It mi gh t very well be tran sl at ed congregation for the
.
,

reference is cle arly to the people of God gathered together like a

mighty congregation an d including thos e who through th e cen
“
t ur i es h ave turned aw ay from a s piri t of bitterness accepting ,

rather th at fellows hip which God holds out to man Th e word .

”
transl ated fi rs t b om i s one which t h e New Te st ament employs
“
-

almos t exclu s ively for J es us Chri s t hims elf ( Rom Col . .

1 8 ; Heb .Rev Only in Luke . an d Hebrews

i s it use d in the natural s en s e of the firs t child t o be born into an y

human family Th e pres ent p as s age therefore s tands by its elf in
.
, ,

New Tes t am ent u sage an d finds its me aning s omewhe re between

the natural us age of the word an d it s s peci al application to Jesu s
HEB REWS 29
-
87

Christ .
“
-
”
Chri sti ans are fi rs t b om in the s ens e that reflecting the ,

ch ar acter Of their Lord they oc cupy a pos ition of emi nence among
,
“ ”
men ; they ar e jus t men made perfect a really m at ure ass em ,
“
blage Thi s is the communion of the s aint
. s
”
— the real people of
God w h o know fellowshi p among thems elves regardles s of the
b arri ers of time an d place an d rank of color an d race which , ,

have sep ar ated men through the centuries .

The Chri stian s Call

’
t o an Uns hakable Kingdom -2
9)
”
And now Hebrews returns to the thought Of a heavenly c all
as i s s ued to the rea ders along wi t h tho s e under the O ld Cove
,

nant whi ch w as dis cuss ed in 3 : 6b

, A s before there are ,

very s olemn terms warning of the d anger of refu sing him w h o “

”
i s spe akin g to the Chri s tian community ( v s 2 5 Th e ar gument .
,
“ ”
if they did not e s cape much le ss s hall we es c ape ( v s 2 5 .

is e s senti ally that which w as employed at 3 an d 29 - - .

”
Th e reference in him who warned them on e arth i s obvious ly to
“ ”
Mos e s whi le as s urely he who warns from he aven i s
“ ”
Jes us Chri st Th e l atter is not a pries t on e arth as Mos es an d the
.

“
de s cend ants of Aaron hi s brother were but is rather from
”
he aven s ince it is there that hi s mi nis try i s a ccompli shed
Th e quota tion in vers e 2 6 i s from H aggai and i s
evidently intended as a comprehens ive s tatement i ndic ative of the ,

univers al an d eternal ch aracter of the mini s try of our Lord .

But the kingdom whi ch Christian s receive can not be shak en

“ ” “ ”

(v s . It i s not trans itory but eternal Th e phras eology in the .

firs t p art Of thi s verse is striking for two reas ons : first bec aus e ,
“ ”
this is onl y the s econd reference to the kingdom to be found in
the letter as a whole Th e other appears at
. in t h e quotation
from Psalm 45 : 6-7 A s we have s een the m aj or ar gu ment of
.
,

Hebrews rel at es to the high pries thood of J esus Chri s t The pres .

ent p as s age however link ed as it i s with the argument in

, ,

indic ates that our Lord s kings hip is never far from the author s
’ ’

mind His high pries thood is b as ed upon hi s s overeignty over the

.

univers e of whi ch he i s heir as Son Second the vers e is ,

dom a term commonly employed in Jud ais m an d c arried over

,

into the Ch ri sti an Church In Lu ke s Gos pel in fact our Lord

.
’
, ,
“ ” “
remarks to his little flock : It i s your Father s good pleas ure to ’

al one but it follows immedi ately after the exhorta tion to

, se ek
 HEB REWS -
17

hi skingdom ( v s which i s found al s o in M atthew

. In
all of thes e p as s age s including th at immedi at ely before u s the
, ,

thought is th at of accept ing the sovereignty of God over one s ’

life In thi s p as sage such accepta nce of God s s overeignty i s a pre

.
’

“ ”
condition to m an s Off ering to God a cceptable worshi p
’
.

Th e C ommun al Life of God s ’

P eopl e Ou tside th e Gat e
( 1 3 3 -1
7)
There i s quit e cle arly
change in tempo between the im
a

medi at ely preceding sections an d the one which here lie s before
u s From
. th rough th e aut hor conceive s of the Chri s
ti an lif e in terms of movement Th e comm unity i s on the m arch .
,
“ ”
an d the s tre ss i s upon the fai th that undergirds progre ss and the
”
h Ope which fastens upon t h e go al at the end of the ro ad In .

t h e pres ent s ection on the other hand our author views the Chri s
, ,

ti an brotherhood in its s ettled commun al life Th e keynote of s uch .

“ ” “ ”
communal exi stence i s love an d it is now love which i s the ,

domin ant fa ctor in the community an d whi ch determines i ts ch ar

a cter an d lif e .

Rapidly the author deal s with s ix S oci al rel ationshi p s in which

”
love s hould be the dominant motif Thes e include one s rel ations .
’

to ( 1 ) one s brother in the Chri sti an community ( v s

’

( 2 ) the .

s tranger wit hout ( v s 2 ) ( 3 ) thos e who ar e pers ecuted ( v s

. .

( 4 ) one s married p artner ( v s ( 5 pos ses sions ( v ss 5

’
. .

an d 6 ) Chri stian le aders ( v ss 7 B etwee n vers es 7 an d 1 7

.
,

there i s an interlude ( v s s 8 deal ing with the Chri s ti an s s u f

.
’

”
t erin g with Je s us Chri s t outs ide the g ate .

In vers es 1 an d 2 two comprehensive words for love cover

’
one s proper rel ation s hips with thos e both within an d outs ide the
“ ” “
Christian communi ty— brotherly love an d hos pitality to s tran
gers In the Greek there i s quite cle arly a pl ay on thes e word s both
”
.
,

of which ar e rarely us ed i n the New Tes t ament Th e former i n .

,

deed occurs els ewhere only in Romans

, I Thess aloni ans
I Peter an d II Peter while the l atter i s fou nd only
in Romans Indeed it i s noteworthy that in Rom ans 1 2 :
,

1 0- 1 4 t he two ide as Of love tow ard thos e within an d without the

,

Chri stian community an d endurance in the hour of perse cution

are pres ent together in th e mind of P aul as in th at of th e author of

Hebrews Thi s f act may be coincidental or it poss ibly sugges ts a

.
,
 HEBREWS -
17

Acts In vers e 7 s uch leaders are defined as thos e

“
through whom the word of God h ad come to th e readers Th e .

word i s us ed in exactly the s ame w ay in Acts with refer

ence t o the Apos tle P aul an d in Acts , i t i s applied to Judas
an d Sil as the two me s sengers sent by the church at J eru s alem to
,

the church at Syri an Antioch at the clos e of the J erusal em Coun

cil Its u s e here ther efore would s uggest an early s tage in the
.
, ,

history of the community address ed when the organization w as ,

s till l oos e an d di s ciplin e w as not rigidly enforced Po ss ibly t w o .

“ ”
s ets of s uch leaders are in view the first consisting of the e arly
,

group who h ad evangelized the comm unity at the begin ning ( v s .

“ ”
an d the s econd of more perm anent leaders to whom s u b
mis sion w as to be gr anted in View of the fact that they were
“ ”
keeping watch over your s ouls ( v s 1 7 ) .

Reference to the le aders through whom h is re aders have been

“ ”

“ ”
evangelized w ith the word of God le ads th e author again to
pon der u pon the central mess age of the letter an d he repe at s th at ,

mess age n ow with a pertinent exhortation ( v ss 8

g

Je sus .

Chri st who i s the center of the gospel mes s age i s the etern al sac
, ,
“
rifi ce for s i n Offered up as we h ave s een , t o s anctify the people ,
”
through hi s own blood ( v s 1 2 ; see 1 4;. 14 -
,
“ ” ”
Th e al tar on which he w as s acri ficed provides food for grace “

which i s n ot avail able to contemporary Jud ai s m ( those who s erv e

“

”
t h e tent vs ,1 0 ) Such food an d s uch grace are s u fli ci ent f or
.

“
Chri sti ans who are therefore to put as ide all divers e an d strange
, , ,
”
t e achings wit h reference to food s which were sup pos ed to bene
fit their adherents ( v s 9 ) W h at thes e te achings were we h ave n o
.

cert ain w ay of knowing Contemporary Judai s m h ad m any s tipu

.

lati ons derive d from the L aw an d Phari saic traditions with re

“ ”
g ard to clean an d uncle an me ats or food Th e Qumran s ect als o .

h ad s uch te achings of its ow n There i s reference to s omethi ng of

.

the s ort al s o in the peculi arly gnos tic te achi ngs to which P aul
mak es reference in Colossi ans 2 : 1 6 2 3 -
.

Th e rem ar k about Je s us s uff ering outs ide the g ate an d the

’

cons equent nece s sity that Chri s ti ans s hould go forth to him ou t
“

”
s ide the c amp be ar ing abu s e for him
, ( v ss 1 2 1 3 ) appear s to re .
-

flect a time when the Chri sti an community w as faced with the
nece s s ity of breaking away from the older Judai sm with its center
in the holy city of Jeru s al em Chris ti ans h ave no l as ting city
“
.
”

but like t heir spiritu al father Abraham s eek the city whi ch i s
, ,

to come ( v s 1 4 ; see . Followi ng the de ath of the

HEB REWS -
25 91

m artyred Stephen the Helleni stic Jewish Chris tians were s c attere d
,
-

as a direct res ult of pers ecution aris ing in the mother city Jeru ,

salem ( Acts 8 : Als o at the beginni ng of the Firs t Jewis h W ar

(A D
. . accordi ng to the e ar ly church hi s tori an Eu s ebiu s the ,

members of the Jewi sh Chr i st i an community es c aped from the

-

city of Jerusalem an d fled acros s the Jord an to Pell a In the light .

of the te aching of Hebrews as a whole however it i s prob able th at , ,

neither of thes e two events i s s pecifical ly referred to in the pre s

ent p assage Rather the author likely h as in mind the necess ary
.
,

cle avage being drawn between the Chr i sti an Church and contem
p o r ary J ud ai s m which, w as the n at ur al res ult Of the exclu s ive
high prie s thood of the Son of God Jewis h Chri sti ans are not t o .

cling to or live in the Jewis h s ide Of their faith Rather as Jes us .

,
“
hi m s elf w as excluded from hi s people so they are to be ar abus e
” “
for him ( v s Th e Chri sti an s highes t duty i s to off er up a
’
.

”
s a crifice of prai s e to G od prai s e which consi sts in witness ing to
,
“ ”
hi s name in the world ( v s 1 5 .

EPISTOLA RY CONCLUSION
Hebrews 25 -

Th e epis tolary conclus ion conta ins a benediction perh aps the ,

mos t be autiful to be found in the New Te s t ament ( v ss 2 0 .

”
Th e term God of pe ace whi ch i s a P aulin e phras e ( Rom 1 5
“
.
,
“
33; II Cor Ph il
. I Thes s . me ans the .

“
God who brings pe ace or salvation pe a ce in Hebrew i s one
of the words which ar e the e quiv alent of
“ ”
s al vation (Is a .

Th e ide a th at God rai sed up our Lord Je s u s i s al s o a P auli ne

“ ”

ide a ( I Cor . though not exclus ively s o ( s ee Acts

“ ”
Th a t Jes us i s the s hepherd of the s heep i s an ide a explic
i tl y st ated in J ohn an d implied in M ark It h as numer
ou s O ld Te s tament as s oc i ations where God ( P S ,
or .

altern atively hi s Me ss i ah ( Mic ah i s dec l ared to be the s hep

herd Of hi s people Th e benediction i s e ss enti ally a prayer that God
.

will properly e quip hi s s ons so th at they may do his wil l in the

“ ”

m anner s et forth in the letter Th i s c an come only through Jes us

.
“

”
Chris t .

In vers e 22 the author defines h i s work as both my word of

“

”
exhortation an d a letter writt en to his readers Th i s would s eem .

to sugges t that the document i s firs t Of all a theologic al dis cu ss ion ,

 HEB REWS 1 3 : 1 8 -2 5

an d that in order to pres ent it to hi s re aders the author s ent it to

them with perhap s an accompan ying letter
, .

In clos ing he m ak es t wo references of a pers onal n at ure one ,

to Timothy whom we know to h ave been clos e to P aul towar d th e

,

end of h is c ar eer whi le in pris on ( Phi l

. Col al
.

though there i s no other account of Timothy 5 having s uff ered im

pris onment Th e author of Hebrews s eems to be s pe aking out of
.

pers onal knowl edge of Timothy s movements Hebrews al s o

’
.

“ ”
s pe aks of thos e who come from Italy poss ibly a reference to
,

Helleni s tic Jewi s h Chri s tian s

-
.

Th e letter clos es with the b rief prayer Grace be with all Of

,

you In common with m any of the New Tes t ament letters the
.
”

writer thus remind s hi s re aders of the grace which binds them to

one another an d to G od .
 THE LETT E R OF

JAME S

IN T R O D UC T I ON
His t orical an d Li t erary Problems

Since e arly in th e third century the Chur ch h as

J am es ( Hebrew and Greek J acob n ame d
“ ” “
ally held that the

"
here w as the brother Of Jes us ( M ark He w as for m any year s
the he ad of the church at Jerus alem ( Acts 1 5 : 1 3 and s hould

n ot be confus ed with the son of ebedee who w as put to death

u nder Herod A gri pp a I about A D 4 6 ( Acts
, . . Th e nam e ,

however w as a common one and it i s notable th at the author

,

merely des cribes hi ms elf as a s ervan t of God an d of the Lord

“

”
Jes us Chris t Th is h as led to specul ation th at the work i s
either p seudonymous ( that i s written in th e n ame of the Lord s
’

brother by s omeon e wis hi ng to i ss ue the letter under the cloak of

"
his authority— an unl ikely theory s ince in s uch c as e the real
,

author would certai nly h ave been at p ains to indic ate more s pe

cifi cally who the J ames intended w as ) or el s e i s by an unk nown

J ames who was no more than he cl ai ms to be .

When certa in characte ristics of the book its elf are exami ne d ,

these appear to many to be damagin g to the tradition al theory Of

i ts authorsh ip For example the author never quotes from the O ld
.
,

Tes tament save in the form it ass umes in the Greek trans l ation
( Sept ua gi )
nt — a fact not too da maging in its elf s in ce he w as,

writing for Greek speaking re aders B ut when to thi s fact is added

-
.

another— n amely th at the Greek of t hi s letter is s ome of the bes t

,

vernacul ar Greek to be fou nd in the New Tes ta m ent— i t would

s eem eith er that the author w as quite famili ar with Greek or els e ,

that he employed an amanuens is and of this latter there is no

,

evidence It Is even thought that 1 : 1 7 a i s a hexameter line quoted

.

from a Greek author It sc arcely nee ds s aying that J am es the

.

brother of Jesus a G al ilean by b irth w ould have spoken Aramai c

, ,
 JAMES 2 INTRODUCTION
as did all Pales tin i an Jews in hi s day an d would not likely h ave
been bili ngu al to the extent re quired by s uch evidence as this .

Th ere are however certain fact s to be pl aced on the ot her s ide

, ,

of the ledger : 1 ) the very l ack of any attempt to de signate hi s

s tatu s in h i s s alutation argues f or the aut hor s bei ng s omeone
’

well known for hi s pre stige an d authority ; ( 2 ) the only J am es “

s o qu alifying w as the Lord s brother he ad of the Jeru s alem chu rch

’

( Act s 1 5 ) an d a m an no doubt of real ability as h is high s t ation ,

would s ugges t ; ( 3 ) numerous p as s age s 4; 8; 11;- - -

9- 1 3 ; -
1 0; 1 0; -
1 2; -
6; sugge s t that
-

the author w as well acquainted with Je s us te aching in the form it ’

e arly ass umed be fore the Gos pels were wri tt en ; indeed
, ,

prob ably repre s ents an accurat e k nowledge of the Aram aic idiom
us ed by Je su s as M atthew
, doe s n ot ; ( 4 ) the s tres s on the
ethical implicati ons of the gos pel an d the fact th at it i s termed
“ ”
the pe rfect l aw of liberty are in a ccord with wh at

we s hould expect from a Hebraic Jewi sh Chri sti an li ke the he ad of

-

the Jerus alem church as i s the combination Of prayer an d for

,

giv en es s of s in s with anointing an d he aling 1 5 ; s ee M ark -

5 ) numerous p arallel s h ave been point ed out between the

contents of the letter an d the texts of the Qumr an community
8;
-
an d others ) a fa ct which would accord with the
,

writing of th e letter in the context of the influence of an d intere st

arous ed by the Qumr an community s ettled s o ne ar to J erus alem .

In th e light Of thes e considerations we may well as sume th at the

traditional authorshi p rem ains the be st hypothes is propos ed to
d ate Exact knowledge is thus f ar unob t ainable as to how f ar a
.

n ative of G alilee of the Gentiles like J am es m ay have been ac

“ ”

q u ai n t e d with the Greek l an gu age If he wro t e it

. even p as sably ,

ass i s tance from another who knew it as h i s n ative tongue would

h ave m ade it pos sible for him to eli min ate Semiti s ms from hi s
“ ”
m anus cript as the like authorship on a joint b asi s by native an d
,
“ ”
foreigner in modern l anguage s se rve s to demonstrate .

Readers
If as i s sugges ted in the comment on
, 8 thi s piece Of litera -
,

tu re w as firs t delivered as a s ermon and afterward s ent out to a

wider audience as a letter it may well be th at James hearers were
,
’

Ch risti ans in Jerus alem It is likely however th at the twelve

.
“
, ,
”
trib es in the dispersion to whom it w as s ent out later included all
“ ”
in the new Israel of God whether Jews or Gentiles,
.
JAM ES : INTRODU CTION 95

This double reference of the letter in i ts fin al form together ,

with the character of the hearers whom J ame s at fi rs t h ad i n mind ,

would a ccou nt for certain fe at ures that otherwise appear puzzling .

Thus while the letter i s wri tten in excellent vern acu l ar Greek
,

whi ch at times approaches the literary s tyle of the day an d b e

“ ”
trays little if an y evidence of being trans l ation Greek the condi ,

tion of the church(e s) address ed s eem s more applicable to thos e

es tabli shed am ong Jews in Jerus alem th an among Gentiles For .

“ ” “ ”
their ass embly the Greek word syn agogue i s employed
a term us ed of Chri sti an s nowhere el se in the New Te st ament ;

and the presence of a rich man at the wors hi p s ervice i s s u fli

ci ently rare t o occ as ion cons iderable flurry— a phenomenon likely

in Jerusalem where the ear ly Jewi sh Christi an s were notably poor

( Act s Rom . 2 7 ; I C o r- -4
; s ee the comment on
.

J ames -7
) Cert ain cult ural fe at ures too sugges t th at a Jewi s h , ,

group w as addres s ed es peci all y th e inj unctions rel ative to th e

,

tre atment of the s ick (5 1 3 A s alrea dy mentioned certai n f ea ,

t ures of the tea ching als o s ugge s t cont a ct with the Qumran com
muni ty Th i s would of cours e be the n at ural lot of the Jewi s h
.
, ,

church in Jerus al em
On the other han d the st”atement that it is the ri ch who blas
.

“
,

p h em e th at honor able n ame b y which the re a ders are c alled ( 2 : 7 )

“
i s remini s cent of the fact th at the dis ciples were f or the firs t time
c alled Christi ans at Syri an Antioch ( Acts se e I Peter

4 : 1 6 ) Th i s vers e might therefore repre s ent a touch added for

, ,

the wider circle Of J ames re aders Thes e an d like fe atur es Of thi s

’
.

l ttle s ermon letter s ugge st a dual character of Jewis h an d Gen

-

tile hearers an d re aders s uch as might have been address ed by a

Chris ti an wri ter at an y time aft er the incep ti on of the Gentile mi s

Date
Th e letter h as been as s igned a very l ate d ate by interpreters wh o
do not b elieve it to be the work of J ames the Lord s brother By ’
.

others it h as been thought perh ap s the e arlie st New Te s tament

book , written even as e arly as A D 49 Th e l ate d ate i s s ugge s ted
. . .

l ar gely by reas on of the s c arcity of evidence for its u se It i s pos .

s ible , however, th at I Peter -

2 cont ai n s the firs t turn of a
phras e to s how any le ani ng on J ames in whi ch cas e the
letter might have been written s hortly before A D 67 or even dur . .

ing that year It could however be cogently argued that both let
.
, ,
ters draw upon the comm on stock Of Chr is ti an phras eology em
ployed by t h e Early Church in Jeru s alem an d might accordingly , ,

be given an identic al d ate .

A ccepting the authorshi p by J ames we would pl ace the compo

,

s it i on Of the letter in Jerusal em s omet ime before t h e opening of t h e

Fi rst Jewis h W ar ( A D 66 7 0 ) po s s ibly about A D 6 5 Th is would

. .
-
. . .

allow for J ame s to h ave he ard of the Ju dai z i n g objections to P aul s

’

doctrine of jus tification by gr ace thr ough fai th ( Rom 3 an d 4 ; .

G al 3 ) an d for a des ire on hi s p art to correct the mi s in t erpret a

.

tion of Paul s writings ( p articul arly Romans ) thus involved ( se e

’

2 : 1 4—2 6 )
Th e e arly center of the Chri s ti an fai t h h ad b een Jerus al em (Act s
1 - 1 2 ) an d the he ad Of the church there would continue t o thi nk

"
of it as the hub o f all thin gs Chri sti an with every other pa rt of
,

Chris tendom re s ulting from t h e Gentile mi s s ion qu alifying as di s “

”
pers ion to h is mind Peter, following in P aul s s tep s to Rome ,
’

would h ave learned to s ee m atters rather differently (I Peter

Perhaps we s hould s ee a hint Of thi s attit ude in the l ack of any ad
dres s i n the letter attributed to J ame s in Acts 1 5 2 3 2 9 ( see al so -

19

C on ten ts
Th e theme of the letter despit e much wri ting to the contrar y
, ,

appe ar s to b e s a lv a t i on in s everal of i ts as pect s Thes e include :

.

s alvation from the tri als an d tempt ation s pres ent ed by life to the

believer in Jes us Chri st th e ethic al implic ations for Chri sti an liv
,

ing which s uch s alvat ion ent ail s an d the eternal as pects of s al va
,

tion which one can either se e or fores ee on the hi storic al pl ane .

 JAMES

COMM E N T A R Y

S ALUTATION
James
Th e s al utation ofthe Letter of J am es more closely follows the
“
us u al form at of a Greek letter of the day ( So—an d s o to S O an d s o - - -
,
”
greetings ) than any other of the New Testa ment lett ers Th e .

word for s erv ant really means s lave O ther New Tes tament
” “ ”
.

writers employ thi s s trong word about thems elves an d their atti
tude toward Chri s t ( see Rom II Peter
. Jude 1 ; Rev .

Th e ide a i s a prOph et ic one : God i s m an s only Lord and

’

m an i s h is s ervant ( se e Num . Judges PS Isa . .

4 2 : 1 ) It i s s triki ng th at from the e ar lie s t times the Chri s ti an com

‘

muni ty as cribed to Jes us Chri st the status of Lord so giving him ,

t h e s t at us of the LORD ( Y ahweh ) of the Old Tes tament ( s ee

“ ”

Acts I Cor .

“
Th e addre s s , To the twelve tribe s in the di s pers ion coul d ,

me an th at J am es w as writi ng only to J ews But if s o b e employed . ,

termi nology outmoded long before hi s day s ince the twelve tribes ,

h ad long s ince ce as ed to exi s t It i s f ar more l ikely th at as w as the

.
,

cus tom of the Early Church he a dopted the term s of the O ld

,

Covenant to des cribe the Chris tian community under the New .

“ ”
Gree t ing h as been the common Greek s alut ation for centur
“ ”
i es It comes from the s tem of a verb me aning to rejoice an d i s
.

found in a number of rel ated l angu ages including Engli sh O ur , .

“ ”
cheer up cont ai ns the s ame stem an d gives a fairly accurate ide a
of the greeting s original me an ing
’
.

SALVATI ON FROM LIFE S TRIAL S AND ’

TEMPTATIONS
James -2
7

Th e entire letter with the exception of its Ope ni ng verse may

, ,

well be an e s say or s ermon Poss ibly the author firs t compos ed it

.

to s erve this end an d afterwards added the s alutation an d s ent it

forth to re ach a l arger audi ence than th at for whi ch it w as origi
nally compos ed In any case there i s little in it to sugge st th at it
.
,

w as mean t to meet a p articul ar s ituation It appe ars rather to be .

JAMES -
8 99

an ess ay on the general s ubject of lvation

sa
”
an d the endur ance

tri al s an d to which he is expos ed i n a s ecul ar cult ure

t emptations .

“ ”
Th e noun sal vation doe s n ot occu r in the letter though t h e ,
”
verb to save is fairly common
“

”
J ames thinks of s al vation in t erms of life or the crown of life
“

a fi gur ative m anner of s peaki ng fou nd als o in Revel ation

Th e two p arts of the phr ase als o appear s ep arately in the

“ ” “ ”
s ame s ens e in t h e New Tes t ament ( for crown or wr eath see
“ ”
I Cor I Pet er
. an d for lif e see Joh n Acts
Rev . Thes e term s with the s ame me aning of salvati on al s o
appe ar in the contemporary Jewis h li terature for ex ampl e in th e , ,

Dea d Sea Sc rolls .

Fai th— th e Mea ns or W ay 8)

-

Th e dis cuss ion of s al vation be gins with a brief notice of th e

fai th upon which i ts attainment is b ased ( v s J ames is qui t e .

reali s tic in hi s view of the world i n which Chri s ti ans li ve It is a .

”
world full of various tri als ( v s 2 ; the Greek word may b e
“
.

“ ” “
trans lated temptations ) and thes e co ns titute a genuine tes t
”
ing of one s faith ( v s 3 ) Th e rea der i s reminded of Jes us ex
’
.
’

pe rien ce at thi s point an d pos s ibly J ame s h ad it in mind ( see

,

M at t .
-1 1
; Heb B oth Paul an d Hebrews think of
.

Jes us as p as s ing thr ough ob edience an d s uffering to m aturity or

perfection, i n whi ch condition he become s the S avior of men ( see
Phil . Simi larly, with Jame s the te sting of the Chris ti an s ’

“ ”
fai th iss ues in ste adfas tness or s tick-to-it-iv eness if it is endured ,

This in t urn leads to hi s being perfect

“
( v s 3 ; see Rom
. .

” “ ”
an d c omplete ( v s 4 ; the words mean m ature in ou r mod ern
.

terminology see Eph , Heb th at i s to hi s ar riving at

.
,

the goal that God s ets for a m an s life Th at Chris ti ans s houl d ’
.

“
count it all joy when they are s ubjec ted to experiences whi ch s o
”

clos ely p ar allel thos e of their Lord ou ght to be obvious No Chris .

ti an s hould expect life to be for him a bed of rose s when his ,

Lord s w as not ( s ee M att 1 2 ; Rom -4

; Col
’
-
. . .

“ ”
At the heart o f Chri sti an experience i s a wi s dom from above
(v s 5 ;
. whi ch m ak es it pos s ible for the beli ever both to u n
derst an d the n ature of the gospel an d to act in accordance with it s
demand s James i s l ater to el aborate thi s theme (3 : 1 3
. Here it is
his purpos e merely to as s ure hi s re aders that it is God s gift an d
’
 J AMES 11
-

not to be ac quired by one s natural eff ort Th e God of th e Chris

’
.

ti an is O ne who gives to all men gene rous ly an d wi thout re

“

p r o achi n g.
”
T hi s i s in a cco rd with J e s us te a ching (
’
see M a tt 7 : .

7 - 1 1 an d Luk e
Th e on e condition on m an s p ar t upon which this gift of God
’

re sts is that fai th of whi ch J ames h as b een spe aking ( v s 6 ) Thi s .

a g ain i s an echo of Jes us te aching ( M att M ark

’
.

It h ad found expres sion in hi s minis try of heali ng on numerous

oc c as ions ( M ar k Luke Th e G os pel s re
cord the fact that when the re spons e of faith w as not pres e nt
Jes us w as un able to perform hi s saving works ( M ark
To m ake faith rather than works the normative re spons e of man
towar d God s revelation repre s ents a Chri sti an recovery of th e
’

prophetic tea chi ng an d i s not to be found in the Jewish literature

contemporary with the beginnings of the Christi an Church It .

repres ents a m ajor stress of P aul ( s ee Rom 4 ; G al It w as ao

. .

cept ed also in the e arlie s t d ays of the Church ( Acts

“ ” “
Th e comp ari s on of on e who doubts to a wave of the
s e a that i s driven an d tos s ed b y the wi nd
” ’
come s nearest to Paul s
de s cription of the doubter in Ephe si ans 4 : 1 4 Th e Greek word .

“ ”
transl ated double mind ed ( v s 7 ) i s a n atural description of a
-
.

pers on characteriz ed by ambival ence on e uns table in all hi s

“
,

Sa lv o
at i n (
t he C ow n of
r Lf )
i e — God s Gift ’
-1 8)

Not to Be Conf used w ith One s Earthl y Lot ’

1 1 ) -

Like the O ld Te stament prophetic writings the Chri stian faith ,

e arly h ad much to say rel ative to a proper s cale of val ues an d the ,
’
Church followed i ts M as ter in an earnest ende avor to set men s
minds right at this point Treasures on e arth were set over
“
.
”

“ ”
ag ai ns t tre as ur es in heaven ( M att 6 : 1 9 . the carnal oppo
s ite the s piri t u al ( I Cor .
-4
; s ee al s o Luke Th e
” ”
“
rich man would find it diffi cult to enter the kingdom of G od
“

( M ark an d the rich church would hear i ts Lord s ay I ,

will s pew you ou t of my mouth ( Rev ”

Th is i s not to say
.

that the rich man would b e condemned for h i s riches or the poor
man accepted for hi s poverty It w as a mere m atter of fact that
.

“
not m an y wi s e according to worldly st and ards not m an y ,

powerful not many

,
of noble birth h ad been chos en by
1 02 JAMES 8 -1

i ty, better it is the matur ity its elf 2 ) That

or, , . God h as promis ed
”

“ ”
t hi s crown to thos e who love him i s al s o a new thought in the
letter Its equivalent els ewhere i s to be found only in Revelation
.

2 : 1 0 an d there faithfulnes s rather than love i s the condition of

,

the crown s reception Th at God gives promi s es on thi s condition

’
.

i s however a biblical idea ( Exod

, , Deut 7 . .

Tempti ng Due to Covetousness -1

5)
It mi ght b e argued th at s ince God i s the author of all thin gs he
, ,

a l s o s ends to men experiences of tri al of tes ting of tempt ation , ,

( v ss 2
. In deed God does bring men into a sit uati on of tes ting
,

w ith a view t o di s ce rni ng an d even s trengthening ch aracter This .

i s on e s tep in the maturing proce ss It i s one thing however to .

, ,

s ay th at God brings a man in to s uch a s itu ation an d quite an other

t o s ugges t that the tes t or tri al rs in its elf the e ui val ent of the
q
temptation whi ch may emerge from it Jam es i s here arguing .

ag ain s t the p ag an thought th at oppos ites ( good and evil ) exis t

s ide b y s ide in God .

’
Like P au l ( Rom 7 : 7 James s ees the s ource of a man s
”
t empt ations to li e in hi s own de sire (v s 1 4 or .
,
“ ” “ ”
w hich given the te stin g s ituation h as lured an d then enticed
, ,

him M an s temptation comes from within from what he i s not

’
.
, ,

from without Th e s cene is s et by life s tri als ; but a m an s re sponse

.
’ ’

t o the s e— that whi ch converts tr i al s i nto temptations — d epe nd s

“ ” “ ” “ ”
Th e s equence following in vers e 1 5 of de s ire death , s in ,
i s al s o clos ely related to P aul s thought i n Rom ans - 1 0 In bot h
’
.

“ ”
w riters death i s intended to cover every form of di sintegrati on
an d fin al coll aps e to which man i s heir Death w as , indeed , the .

O ppos ite of li fe , an d both al ike rel ated to every s ide of a m an s

’

being ( see Jer .

Gift from God -1 8)

Having m ade it clear that G od is not the author of man s temp ’

"
t ati on s J ames now turn s to the contr ary afli rm ati on that God i s
,

the author of his s al vation Vers e 1 6 i s a link between the t wo .

t houghts an d is a plea to the re ader t o think s trai ght God is not

t o be charged with m an s s hortcomings O n the contrar y it i s th e
’
.
,
“
good giving and th e s uitable gift ( see v s 1 7 perh aps a well
”
.
,

known poe ti c line ) no matt er what thi s may be t hat is from

,
“
,
”
a b ove Specifi cally our new creation by th e word of tru
“
.
, ( see
JAMES 27
-
1 03

5 ) i s from God so we become the first

“
I Peter John -
,
”
fruits of a regenerated univers e ( Rom 2 3 ; Rev .
-
.

“
In the difi i cu lt claus e with whom there is no vari ation or
,

s ha dow due to ch ange

”
J ames i s perh ap s menta lly comp aring
,

God with the s u n an d other he avenly bodies whi ch do exhib it

changes and c as t sh adows .

God s W o d ’
r — the Pow er ( 1 31 9 7)
-2

Condi ti on of Its Recepti on : Humi lity —

21)

Having sai d th at the word of truth is God s creative agency ” ’

in m an s redemption J ames now goes on to declare what is re

’

quired of man by w ay of res pons e : Receive with meek ness th e

“

"
impl anted word which i s able to s ave your s o
, (v s Bu t .

what is involved i n meek nes s ( humility ) an d how does it express ,

“ ” “
its elf It involves being quick to hear ( a good lis tener ) s low ,
” “ ”
to s pe ak ( thoughtful an d deliberate ) s low to anger ( not over ,

has ty given to j umping to conclu s ions ) comb ined with t he will

, ,
’
in gness to go into a ction when the wrong i s s hown to be one s own
(
“
put aw ay a ll fil thi n e ss a n d r ank growth of All
“ ”
s uch re spons e add s up to the righteou s ne ss of God tha t i s th at , ,

which he requires of man (M att .

Manner of Its Use : Ob di e en ec -2

5)
Humi lity can go t oo f ar It can declare th at one is w orthy only
.

to s it an d lis ten but n ot to act P eople who have th is at tit ude de

, .

ce iv e them s elves (v s Th is is lik e Paul s te aching i n Romans

’
.

It w as common Jewi s h teachi ng in hi s day Such s elf-de .

cei v ed peop le (thos e who practice false humili ty) are comp are d
with the man who take s a quick look at a mi rror and goes away ,

forget ful of the kind of man he is (the point be ing he s hould have ,

done something about B y contras t the Christi an s hould look ,

“
into the perfect l aw the law of liberty ( that is the word of
,
” “
,
”
truth or the gos pel) as his mirror S eeing hi m self in i ts ligh t
, . ,
”
he s hould not forget wh at he is like but be a doer that acts ( vs
“ ‘
.

2 5; s ee 11 Cor .

" "
Summary of Its Message: Social and Personal Ethi cs -
2
7)
B utwh t action
a i s to be tak en by the well intentioned Ch ri s -

t ian And what is to be identified with true religiou s practice

 JAMES -
13

Religion mu st be given s ome s olid content James po sitive d efin i .

’

tion i s in term s of s ocial an d pers onal ethi cs He gives f or the .

,

moment two examples

,
—
“
to vis it orphan s an d wi dows in t heir
a deep need to which the E arly Church h ad long re
”
afll i cti on ,
“ ”
s pon de d (Acts an d t o keep ones e lf un st ain ed from the world ,

a te a chi ng e s peci ally important as the Church went out into the

p rofli g y
ac of the Grec o —Rom an s ociety of it s da
y (G al Eph .
.

S ALVATI ON S IMP LIC ATIONS F OR SOCIAL AND

’

PERS ONAL LIVING

James

I o
n c n sist en c y of F ai t h w i t h Partiality 3)
-1

Dis t incti ons Based on Wealth 4)

-

Th at true religion, or what J ames now c alls

faith of our th e
”
Lord Jes u s Chri s t may be defined in term s of i ts ethi cal implica
,

tion s i s further ill u s trated by a hypothetical case of p arti ality prae

ticed in the church Th e example concern s two men— o n e rich
. ,

the other poor— who attend the assembly (literall y s yn agogue

“ ” “ ”
, ,

either gatheri ng congregation or hou se of worshi p) of the Chri s

, ,

ti an community O ne man we ars gold rings an d fi ne clothi ng the

.
,

other i s s habby Th e as s embled congregation i s assumed to be im

.

pre s sed by the m agnificence of the on e an d to treat him with

"
great deference while pervers ely ignoring the other or treating him
,

with dis respect O ne gains the impress ion th at an actual practice

"
.

in the church i s being des cribed Thi s s eems to follow p articularly

“
from the wordi ng in vers e 4 where the Greek may mean DO you
, ,
”
not cu stomarily m ake di s tin ctions among yourselves
“
Th e des cription of Je sus Christ as the Lord of glory repre
s ents a pinnacle of the Chris ti an teachi ng regarding hi s pers on .

“ ”
A s the Chri s ti an s Lord Je s us i s here identified wi th the glory
’
,

or m ani fes ted pre s ence of God among hi s people ( I S am .

Is a
. John
Argum ent Agains t Su ch Pract ice -1
3)
firs t point in a detailed argument agains t parti al ity is that
Th e
“
God if he dis crimin ates at all doe s so in favor of the poor in
, ,
 1 06 JAMES 2: 1 4-2 6
’
as it w as begun with a reference to God s attitude (v s
,
’
. God s
“ ”
e xample of mercy which , triumphs over judgment i s , in this as ,

i n al l m atters m an s true guide

’
, .

Relati on of Fai th to W orks (2 1 4 2 6

-
)
Th e
l atter p art of chapter 2 h as been held by some to have
b een written in Oppos ition t o P aul s te aching on jus tific ation by ’

grace thr ough faith alone (Rom 4 G al Luther went so f ar as .

°

t o c all thi s a right s trawy epistle Admittedly both writers em .

,

p loy the example of Abrah am app arently to prove oppos ite points ,

(v s 2 1 ; Rom
. B ut on clos er examination it i s clear that
.
,

t hey are employing the s ame term s with diff erent meanings .

“ ”
Faith with P aul i s s aving faith intim ate att achment to Chri s t ,

i s suing n aturally in fruit age such as he wis hes (Rom 22 ; .

-

“ ” “ ” \
G al . with with J ame s faith i s faith by itself
“
(v s . that i s s hallow belief in a propos ition such as demons
, ,
”
m ay h ave ( v s 1 9 ) Simil arly when P aul s pe aks of works in thi s
.
“
,
“ ”
c onnection he me ans works of the l aw leg al righteous ness per
, ,
“ ”
formed to s ecure s alvation (G al but J ames by work s mean s .

the natural product of true faith— wh at P aul c alls the fruit of the
“

”
S pirit (G al In cons e quence there can be no real conflict
.
,

between P aul an d J ames at thi s point though on e m ay h ave writ ,

ten to correct a misunderstanding c au s ed by the writing of the

o ther .

Fut i li ty of Fai t h without Works —1

7)
“ ”
Faith but not works (v s or faith by itself (v s . .

i s the s ubject of J ame s interes t in thi s s ection an d the next Such

’
.

“ ”
f aith i s de ad or futile an d therefore c annot be true Chri sti an
faith Christi an faith i s a working faith on e th at follows through
.
,

an d gets re sult s Th e s ingle illu s tration at thi s point i s th at of the

.

poor brother or s is ter in need of food or clothi ng To s ay to s uch .

“ ”
a one Go in pe ace be warmed an d fil led (v s
, , i s s heer .

mockery It accomplishes nothing Such faith i s obviou s ly de ad ; it

. .

i s e qually obviously n ot Chris tian For everythin g Chris ti an i s on .

t h e s ide of life an d produce s life an d i ss ues in the crown of lif e .

Fait h with an d W i thou t Works -2 6)

Th e hypothetic al opponent w h o wis hes to ep arate faith and s

w orks , ugge s ting that

s a man may have the one without the other ,
JAMES 3 : 1 -2 1 07

may be Jew if we may interpret J ames word s as Y ou (a

a ,
’
,
”
Chri s tian) have faith an d I (a Jew) have works meaning thereby ,

that the two faiths may well a gree to disa gree at thi s point In any .

cas e the reply i s to the eff ect that though hi s opponent may accept
,

s uch a divis ion as v alid the Chri s ti an c annot An ythi ng worthy of

, .

”
the nam e of fai th to the Chri s tian s mind can never exist
“
,
’
,
”
work s Tak e by w ay of example the propos ition
“
apart from

"
.

“ ”
that God i s on e (v s Here is s omethi ng that might con ceiv

"
~
.

ably be c alled a work s ; f or it certainly is

”
faith ap art from
nonproductive B ut of what worth is it Even the demons h ave
“ ”
.

s uch fai th B y ha ving it they invalid ate it , .

No says J ame s faith an d works go together an d are not to be

, ,

s ep arated Indeed
.
“
I by my works will Show you my faith ( vs
,
”
.

To demons trate thi s Jame s take s firs t the c as e of Abraham s

’

,
“
willi ngne ss to offer up Is aa c Here cle arly faith w as active al on g
.

with hi s works an d faith w as completed by w or

, S uch faith
demons trated its elf in its activity s o much s o th at one may s ay ,
”
that a man is jus tified by works an d not by faith al one ( v s 2 4 )
“
.

Th e s ame conclus ion appe ar s jus tified in the c as e of R ah ab the

harlot who as s isted the s pies at the c apture of Jericho ( J os hua
,

2: 1 Hers s urely w as a working fai th ( s ee al s o Heb .

In conclu s ion J ame s c alls upon the well known Hebrew Chris
,
- -

ti an tea ching th at body an d s piri t c annot be divided on e from the

other ( v s . both are needed to form the uni ty of man s being ’
.

So he decl ares faith an d works mus t go together ; without the one

, , ,

the other is dead .

Opp osi tion Bet ween God s W ord ’

an d Man ’
s W ord
-1 8)

Man s Need
’
of Cont rollin g His Word -2
)
Th e Chris tian s works mus t measure up at every point There is
’
.

on e member of a m an s body whi ch h as a v as tly importa nt p art

’

“ ”
to pl ay in the activity of the whole body namely hi s tong ue , , .

“
SO f ar is thi s tru e that if any one m akes no mis takes in wh at he
”
says he i s a pe rfect m an able to b ridl e the whole body als o
, Con .

trol of the tongue is in other word s the true m ark of m aturity in

, ,

the Chris tian It i s onl y s uch persons who s hould undertake t o

.

“
become teachers for th e te acher is on e who i s judged with
,
”
greater s trictnes s regarding what he says .
 JAMES -
12

Examples of Small Controll ers -

4)
Th e reader is not to look askance at the tongue bec ause it i s s o
s m all a member Siz e h as no thi ng to do with s ignific ance here
. .

Tw o comp arable example s ar e offered from other field s of hum an

intere s t Thes e are the bits which are placed in the mouths of
.

horse s (v s an d the very s m all rudder u s ed in guiding a s hip

.

“ ”
(v s
. In e ach cas e the whole bodies of the hors es an d th e
,

whole s hip are prope rly directed an d controlled .

Th e Tongue— Small Uncontroll ed Controller (3 : 5 1 2 )

a -

”
Simil ar ly the tongue i s a little member an d if the analogy
, ,

held it Should be cap able of controlli ng f or good m an s whole

,
’

body In ste ad there i s pres ent here a factor whi ch i s ab s ent in

.
,

the c as e s of bits an d rudder j us t cited Thi s fa ctor thou gh J ames .

,

does not here employ the term i s s i n Man c an t ain e everythin g else
, .

with whi ch he h as to do — beas t bird reptile s ea cre ature but n ot, , , ,

“ ” “ ”
the tongue ; it i s a re stles s evil full of de adly pois on a fire
, , ,
“ ”
an unrighteou s world among our members Th e tongue ins te ad .
,

of controll ing f or good

“
s u c ceed s onl y in s taining the whole
,
”
body B eing its elf set on fir e by hell it kindle s the entire cycle
“ “
.
,
”
of n ature the cycle of m an s whole exi stence from morning to
’
,

ni ght .

James i s p articul arly impress ed by the tongue s double de aling ’

-
,
“ ”
i ts bles s ing an d curs ing at the s ame time the bless ing being f or ,

God the curs ing f or men

, .

Th e implic ation of th e p as s age i s that the same attitude of re

“
s pect an d love mu s t be m ai n tained bot h for God an d for men ,

who ar e m ade in the likene s s of God This i s the e quivalent of

”
.

Jesus teachi ng relative to the only two necessary commandments ;

’

the comm and to love one s fellow men i s pl aced on a par with’

loving G od (M ark Throu ghout thi s se ction moreover , ,

there are s ubtle remini s cences of the Sermon on th e Mount Th e .

ques tion emerge s here therefore as to whether J ames may n ot

, ,

h ave h ad avail able the teachi ng of Jes u s in s ome oral tra dition -

form O bvious ly he i s n ot merely quoting from on e of our canoni

.
,

cal Go s pel s .

”
Th e phr ase the Lord an d Father in vers e 9 h as no ex act
equivalent in Scripture Th e ne ares t to it is perhap s P aul s favor
.
’

ite phr as e the God an d Father of our Lord Jes us Chri st ( Rom
“
,
”
.

II Cor Eph . .
 J AMES 4 : 1 -1 0

Opp ositi on Bet w een Pas si on an d Humility

Fri endshi p with t he World 4)
-

Th e contrast between the two kinds of wi s m which J ames h as

drawn in the above se ction he now dis cu s se s on the emotion al
,

level Th e caus e s of wars an d fi ghtin gs in which the natural man

.

“ ”
ap art from God— what he ca ll s the world (v s 4) — indulges ar e .

""
man s own pass ions Thes e are the natural impuls es which ari s e
’ “ ”
.

“ ”
in m an s members (that i s within the s truct ure of h is pers on)
’

, ,

m aul w h o Speak s
“ ”
and which are a ct ually at w ar with in h i Like P .
,

of the law of s in which dwells in one s members (Rom ’

.

” “ ”
an d of the con s equent conflict between fle s h an d mind
th at ensue s (Rom . James believes th at the n atur al man or
“ ”
the world ap art from God s grace i s in an am bivalent condition
’

from which he cannot of him self es c ape .

’
James des cription of thi s hopele ss s tate of the world i s ex
ceedingly graphi c— you des ire an d do not h ave
“ ” “ ”
you kill ; ,
“ ” “ ” “
y o u covet an d ca n not obta i n y o u fight an,d w a ge w ar ; y o u
” ’
ask an d do not receive (a c as u al refere n ce perh a p s to Je s u s
“ ”
te achi ng as in M att but in revers e) b ecau se you as k wrongly
. .

“ “ ”
Unf aithful cre atures in the Greek i s adulteress es a descrip -

”
tion of thos e who practice friendship with the world an d on e
fi r s t given them by t h e Hebrew prophets (H os e a 3 : And as with
those prophet s J ames s ee s no compromi se at thi s point : friend
,
“

”
s hi p with the world i s enmity with God (s ee M att .

Frien ds hip with God -1 0 )

Th ere i s however a different emotional attitude whi ch brings
, ,

real joy an d peace to the hum an heart the attitude of the man ,

"" ""
who does not ins ist on hi s own des ires but rather s ubmits to God ,

draws ne ar to God humble s him self before the Lord This too i s
, .
, ,
“
akin to P aul s te a chi ng to the effect that men mu s t
’
yield
thems elves to God and their members to God as in
s trumen ts of ri ghteousness
”
( Rom an d both tea chings are
.

akin to that of J e s u s (M att It i s only out of s uch genuine

.

humi lity before the Lord that a s ens e of exaltation ar is es ( v s 1 0 ; .

se e Luke

Thi s i s al ways true of m an s experience becau s e fund am entall y

’
,
“
he i s dealing with a God wh o ye arn s jealou s ly over the s piri t
which he h as m ade to dwell in us (v s 5 ; Exod
”
God des ires . .
J AMES - 17 111

well expre ss ed in Proverb s which J ames quote s : God op

poses the proud but give s grace to the hum ble (v s 6 ; see Luke
, .

In vers e s 7 9 James gives u s in what amounts to blank

-
“
,

verse hi s concis e formula for achieving thi s feHow shi p with God
,
”

an d its cons e quent rich reward (comp are Ps M att . .

Much of thi s p ass age has the ring of Jes us te aching an d like the ’

, ,

Sermon on the Mount it exhibits th e Hebrew poetic form of

,

James h as alre ady writt en agai ns t th e p ractice obs ervable in ,

the Church of m aking di s tinctions between brothers on the b as is

,

of wea lth He now speak s out an d with gr e at vigor agains t

, ,

s pe aking evil a gains t an d j udging a brother at all We ar e s trongly .

remind ed of Je su s te achi ng on this s ubj ect (M att Th e ar

’
.

gument ag ains t s uch practice i s c arried t o i ts logic al conclus ion

that when on e dis obeys the law relating to love of brothers on e i s
a ctu all y ca lling in que s tion the v alidity of the l aw its elf one so t o ,

s peak
“
judges the law s etting hi ms elf above it B ut God al one i s
”
, .

”
both lawgiver an d j ud ge
“
.

Boast ing -1
7)
In this an d the following se ct ions James ret urns to th e arrogant
rich (see fi rs t to condemn their arrogance an d then to pro
claim their evil end Th e actions of the ri ch are de scribed in much
.

the sam e manner adopted by Jes u s in the p arable of the Rich Foo l
( Luke In b oth the rich man is m ade to appear totally
,

oblivious to the evanes cent as pect of life and riches He S peaks .

withi n hi s he art an d acts accordingly as though life were to run ,

on indefini tely ins tead of being a mi s t that appe ars for a little
,
“

time an d then vani s hes (v s 1 4 ; see PS Th is is the atti

. .

t ude of the pra ctica l m ateri ali s t wh atever his prote s tations of reli
,

gion may be Hi s bo as tful arrogance (v s 1 6) for all practical pur

. .

poses dis regard s the exis tence of th e Lord of life in whos e ha nds
are all i ts iss ue s (v s .

Th e cl aus e If the Lord wills ( v s 1 5 f oll owed by s ome de

“ ”
.

duction b as ed on thi s premi s e i s one commonly employed among

,

b oth pious Jews and Mos lem s to this day Its u s e repres ents the .

’
s pe aker s wis h t o indic ate at every pos s ible opportuni ty hi s s en s e

of dependence on the divine mercy an d no doubt may contrary ,

 JAMES 6
-

to J ames intention become merely

’
, a s tereotyped formula indica
tive of a legali s tic religion .

W orldly Ri ch es
”
Th e s tatement that th e rich have killed the righteous man (v s .

taken literally s hows that in thi s p as sage at any rate J ames

, , ,

c annot be thinking of Christi ans Doubtless he h as in m ind here .

t h e un converted rich man ( Jew or p agan ) about whom he h as al

re ady written although that there were rich pers ons in the

Chri sti an community at the ti me Of thi s writing h as al ready been

indicated O ther feat ures in the des cription of thes e
rich als o indicate outs iders reflecting the preachi ng of both He ,

brew prophets an d Jesu s It h ad been a point of great importance

.

”
in th e Mos aic Law that the wage s of a hi red s ervant s houl d be
p aid him at the end of e ach day s labor (Le v Th is w as of
’
.

“
no little practical neces s ity in a day when s uch laborers lived
”
from hand to mouth ; if a m an s wage s were kept b ack at the end ’

of the day he and his family did not e at ( Deut 24 : 1 4 1 5 ; Mal

, .
- .

M att It may be s uch a practice th at J am es h as in

.

mind in vers e 4 Th en t oo the general attit ude of the s e rich to

.
, ,

ward their rich garments their gold an d s ilver their luxury an d

, ,

pleas ure sugges ts th at they are practical m ateri alis ts who have n ot
,

le ar ned the Chri s tian attitude toward worldly val ues Tw o ou t .

s tanding characteri s t ic s of thi s teachi n g s hould be noted : Firs t it ,

“
reflects quite cle ar ly Jes us teaching relative to treas ures on ’

” “ ”
e arth an d treas ur es in he aven ( M att 6 : 1 9 Th e references .

to moth an d rus t as corrupting force s are s igni ficantly repe ated in

J ame s (v ss 2 as though he were acqu ainted with the oral tr adi
.

tion of Je su s te aching current at the tim e Th e ide a th at ru st will

’
.

“ ”
eat the rich m an s fles h (that i s hi s pers on) as well as h is s ilver
’

a n d gold i s ak in to P aul s te achi ng about the body in I Corinthi ans

’

1 3 In all thr ee — Jes u s P aul an d J ames — i t i s what a m an s

’
-
.
, ,

attachment to m ateri al v alues an d ple as ure s doe s to hi s pers on

(body fle sh) th at i s of deep concern Second J ame s teachi ng re

’
, .
,

fle cts the E arly Church s awarene s s of the Las t Judgment an d of

’

living in the end of time (see es pecially v ss 1 3 5; comp are Heb .

, , .

I Peter I John
1 14 JAMES -
18

All t his ,
g in is to be s een in the light
a a , of et ernity , of
th e final Judgment of God s condemn ation
’
.
,

Prayer an d Healing -1
8)
Th ere w as to J ame s mi nd as to th at of the Ear ly Church gen
’

erally a very thin line of dem arc at ion b etween his tory and eter
,

ni ty; the se cond could at an y moment bre ak upon the firs t No .

where i s thi s s een more cle arly than in the m atter of s ick nes s an d
he alth ; both are to be taken before God— the one in petition th e ,

"
othe r in prais e Verse 1 3 s ou nds like an intentional couplet in
.

"
bl ank vers e thus :,

Is an y a mong you ill let hi m pray .

IS any well let hi m s ing .

Th e verb tran s l ated is ill above i s the equivalent of the noun

“
s uff ering
”
in vers e 1 0 It h as a wide us age but invers e 1 4 James
.
,
“ ”
clearly defines th e suffering he me ans here as s ick nes s In .

s uch a c as e J ames s ugges ts tha t the elders of the church be

,
“ ”

cal led in that they may do two things : pray over the s ick on e an d
, ,
”
anoint him with oil
“
in the n ame of the Lord It w as s tand ard .

procedure in the Jewi sh community thu s to combine prayer with

anoin ting with oil Wi ne w as also used al ong with Oil for me
.

di cin al pu rpose s am ong the Jews ( Luke Such prayer

“
by the elders i s a special c ase of what i s generally termed inter
ce s sory prayer tod ay Such prayer for others i s b ased on th e fact
.

of the corporate n ature of hum an life— a principle recogniz ed

e verywhere throughout Scripture A s God de al s with men in all .

m atters on both an individu al an d a corporate level there ap ,

pears to b e no reas on why prayer Should be an exception to this

“
rule It i s cle ar from the phras e s employed ( in the n ame of the
.

” “ ” “ ”
Lord , the prayer of faith an d the Lo rd will rai s e him up )
,

t h at J ame s at tribute d the actual he aling n ot to the o il but to the , ,

Lord In Hebrew thought a m an s pers on w as a unit an d both

.
’

good an d evil impinged upon th at person as a whole if at all Th e , .

”
ri ghteous man whos e prayer h as gre at power in i ts eff ects
i s the man committed to God s wi ll who prays f or what hi s Lord
’

wills an d whos e prayer is in co ns equence answered (M att 13; .

-

M ark 2 5 ; Rom
-
.
JAMES 20
-
1 15

C on versi on of the Sin n er -2 0

)
Th e l as t s hort s ec tion contains a further elaboration of the prin
ci ple of corporate living already s ta ted in vers e 1 6 This i s pe rs on al
.

evangelis m directed towar d on e in the Chri s tian communi ty who

”
wanders from the tr uth of the gos pel 21 Th e s oul
s aved from de ath in vers e 2 0 i s undoubtedly th at of the s inn er ,
“ ”
n ot that of the ev angeli s t ; an d if s o the multi t ude of s ins thereby
,

covered will s urely als o refer to thos e of the Sinn er Cover i s a

“
.
”

“ ” “ ”
Hebrai s m me anin g overlook , forgive (PS . First Peter
’
conta ins much the same thought J ames interes t here an d in
.

the prece ding s ection centers at all times in the s inner or the u n
he althy pe rson in volved Hi s inten se de sire is to further personal
.

evangelis m with a view to that s inner s conversion and re storati on

,
’
 THE FIRST LETT E R OF
PE TE R

IN T R ODUCTION
His torical an d Li terary Problems

Au thorshi p

There h as been cons iderable doubt on the p art of

New Te s tament interpreters concerning the identity of the author
of the letter Thi s doubt h as been s tren gthened by a s tudy of the
.

contents of Firs t Peter itse lf Th e Greek of the letter i s _of hig h

m
.
”

u
q a l ity , even cl ass ic al rn i ts ex
pre ion
s s" at ti es I
u
ts s tyle s yntax ,
. w “ g
.
,

and extens ive voc abul ar y ( 6 3 Greek words not found els ewhere
.

in the New Tes t ament ) are those of a wri ter who us ed th e Greek
langu age with fluency an d e as e Accordingly the ques tion ari s es
.
,

whether a G alilean fis herm an could h ave b een the author of s uch

a work .Admittedly G alil ee w as a bilingual or even trilingual
,

di s trict to an extent an d Greek loan words have b een found in

,

the Pales tini an Aram ai c of the peri od B ut this i s f ar from s aying

.

that a G alile an fis herm an could have written the s mooth Greek

of Firs t Peter .

A fu rther objection to the Petrine authorshi p occurs in connec

“
tion with If on e s uffers as a Chri s tian let him n ot be ,
”
as h amed but under that n am e let him glorify God
, Thi s l an .

guage it i s held by s ome refers to the offi c ial Roman persecutions

, ,
.

Un ofli ci al perse cution however h ad always be en a poss ibili ty with

, ,

which the foll ower of J es us h ad to reckon To s uffer under the name .

“
of Chri sti an w as pos s ible at leas t as e arly as Acts it b e
c ame the actual experience of P aul an d his ass oci ates It i s by no .

'
means cle ar th at the readers of Firs t Peter were s ufl eri n g from an
oflfi ci al pers ecution conducted b y the s tate r ather than from the ,
“ ”
s ort of occa s ion al hos tility s uch as w as often s tirred up ag ainst
Chri sti ans by both J ewis h and Gentile enemi es ( se e Acts
Ph il .

O n the other hand as h as frequently been pointed out there

, ,
1 18 IRS T PETER : INTRODU CTION
F

Th is theory of coauthors hi p particul arly if it be ass umed that

,

Peter merely gave Silvanus omewhat general briefing on

a s

what he wis hed to write an d then allowed him cons iderable free
dom both in the m atter of p ar ticular ide as to be included an d t he
general s tructu re of th e lette r would perhap s account for s everal
,

other phenomena whi ch are to be noted Th es e are : firs t the nu .

,

merous simil arities in vocabulary an d s tyle b etween Firs t Peter on

the one han d an d Firs t an d Second The ss aloni ans on the other
, ;
’
s econd Peter s comprehens ive injunc tion tha t Chri s ti ans are to
,
“ ’ ”
be s ubject for the Lord s s ake to every human ins titution .

as well as hi s fu rther el aboration of thi s ide a in conn ection with

1 7 (Silvan us an d Paul as
“ ”
the honoring of the emperor in
Rom an citizens would n at urally be s ens itive on thi s poin t in a w ay
that the G alilean di s ciple s would n ot); third Silvanus wide famil ,
’

i ari ty with both the Jewis h and Greek cul tur es which prompted
the Jeru s alem church to appoint him as one of its two delegate s
to handle the delic ate s ituation whi ch h ad arisen in the chur ch at
Syri an Antioch (Acts 2 7 3 2 3 3 ) an d which would admit
,
-

ably account f or the m any s imil ar iti es t o be noted between Firs t

Peter an d Hebrews Thes e s imil ari ties reflect a w ide knowledge

.

of Chri sti an doctri ne and al s o of contemporary Jewis h te ach

ing Although it is prob able th at the letter represents the joint
.

labors of Peter an d Silvanu s throughout the comment the author

,

will be des ignated as P eter an d s ingular pronoun s will be em

“ ”

ployed .

Readers of the Letter and the Circumstances Involved

Th e re aders termed exiles of the Dis pers ion in Pont us
ar e
“
,

G al ati a Capp adoci a As ia an d B ithyni a

, , ,
” “
Th e phrase ex
”
iles of the Dis pers ion relates n ot to Jews but rather to Chri s ti ans
, ,

generally (s ee comm ent on Moreover if we may ass ume that ,

Silvanus joined Peter as coauthor then there is no reas on why the ,

’
territory indicated s hould not include both P aul s field of labor
an d th at of hi s colle a gue Peter s ince Silvanu s l abored with P aul
, ,

throughout this are a (Acts In dw d there i s no as ,

sur ance that Peter him self h ad pre ached to any gre at extent
among the churche s address ed (see I Peter Th e Rom an
provinces named include practically the whole of As ia Minor in ,

any cas e the whole of the region lying north an d wes t of the Tau

Th e order of the n ames s ugges ts that the co authors began with

F RSI T PETER : INTRODUCTION 1 19

the provinces to the north and eas t and th en worked aroun d clock ,

w is e in a circle to the more cultur ed an d cen tral ones to the w est,

an d thu s included the whole of As i a Minor .

Th roughout the region s pec ified there w as a gre at mi xture of

race s an d culture s including the old n ative peoples as well as cul
, ,

tu red Greeks an d O rientals who together with m any Jews h ad , ,

“
infi ltrated the populous cities an d towns It w as a region s eeth
”
.

ing with heterogeneou s elements culturally reli gious ly s oci all y , , , ,

an d politic ally Into this m aelstrom of cultu ral elements came the
.

“
Chris ti an Church br ought there by those who preac hed the good
,
”
news to all an d s undry ( 1 It is quite lik ely that as in other ,

pl aces i n the Rom an Empire the Chris ti an communities thus es,

tabli sh ed were m ade up of all elements of the population includ ,

ing Jews an d Gentiles Th at the s e Chr is ti an communi t ies h ad been

.

e stablis hed n ot long before appe ars from the fact th at the authors
”
s peak of them as
“
like newborn b abes and comm end to them the “

” “ ”
pure s piri tual milk which will le ad them to grow up t o sal vation .

Th ey were however al rea dy suff ering pers ecution for their faith
, ,

1 7;
-
M any Chri sti ans in the e arly period were
a ct uall y s l aves an d it i s quite lik ely t hat the tri al s indic ated were
,

of a type s uch as Chris ti an s l aves might expect from p agan mas

ters (see

Th os e w h o believe that this letter contains dis tinct reference to

a pers ecution conducted in the n ame of the Rom an state generally ,

incline to the belief t h at it w as written ( 1 ) about A D 6 7 an d . .

s hortly after the Neroni an pers ecution ; or 2 ) if it be held th at

Peter w as n ot the author t hen dur ing the Domi ti an pers ecution
,

of A D 9 5 ; or ( 3 ) even at the time of the pers ecution under Tra

. .

ja n in A D 1.1 1.
-1 1 2 If however we ac cept t h e Peter Silvanus au
.
, ,
-

th ors hi p of the letter we mus t s ettle on a d ate s ometime b e

,

fore Peter s de ath in the l ate 6os A s it is generally a greed that

’ ’
.

Peter employed Paul s Le tt er to the Romans ( A D 5 6 5 8 ) and

’
. .
-

other of the P auline lett ers the d ate is brought within the na rrow
,

comp as s of s ome ten ye ars If further it is agr ee d th at Fi rst Peter

.

w as acquai n ted with Hebrews ( whos e d ate we h ave pl aced at A D . .

6 5 or 66 ) then the extr eme limits for the d a te of the letter are
res tricted between A D 66 an d 7 0 Th e year A D 67 meets all the
. . . . .

It is rather generally greed that

a the reference in t o th e
1 20 RST PETER : INTRODUCTION
FI

one at B abyl on is to th e church at Rome and in cons equence

”
, , ,

tha t th e letter w as written from the capit al city .

The Message an d C omp ositi on of t he Lett er

First Peter i s directed to new converts ( 2 2 ) enco ur aging them
to achi eve the purifi cation or s anctifi cati on whi ch is demons trated
by the putting away of the p ass ions of the fles h a course which
“ ”
,

the Chris tian comm un ity approved as good conduct am ong the
“

”
Gentiles It is li kely that it incorporates a m an ual of
c atechetical ins truction for s uch new converts ( 1 : 3 — 4:11 either
prep ared by the Church an d adopted by the coauthors of t h e letter
or els e prepared by them an d others for this purpos e Th e ele .

ments of thi s catechetic al m anual as pres ented in First Peter Show

m any s imi l arities to elements i n Firs t an d Se cond Thes s al oni ans
an d other P auline letters as well as in J ame s It i s further s u g
, .

ges ted that two hymns h ave been incorporated into thi s cate
ch eti cal m anual on e at
,
-1 0
an d the other at 3 : 1 8 22 ( s ee als o -

I Tim .

Ass umi ng th at re aders ha ve experi enced the new birth at b ap

ti s m and will ack nowledge the power whi ch is now at work
within them the authors arrange mos t of their m ateri als in the
,

form of an exhortation pres entin g the doctrine of s an ct ifi cati on

,

i n a hi ghl y developed form Such s an ctifi cat i on they s ay is the

.
, ,
“ ” “
content of the good ne ws the living hope of an inh eritance
,

which is i mperis hable u n defi l ed an d unf ading

, ,
4 Th e -
,

holy life to which s uch s an ctifi cation naturally leads is one pat
terned after the n ature of God -1
7 ) an d i s generated in the
Christi an by the living and abiding word of God
“ ”

Thi s holy life i s i nc arn ated in the Church or Chri s ti an comm u n

“ ”
i ty 1 0 ) an d exhi bits a kind of goo d conduct among the
-

Gentiles which cannot be overlooked by them as it

i ss ues in right s oci al rel ationships in every direction

Furthermore this s anctified livi ng can withst and the fires
,

of pe rs ecution for it be gins with m ak ing Chri s t the s ole Lord of

,

1 7 ) and therefore is prep ared to s h ar e hi s s uf

’
one s life -

ferin gs an d glory — 4 zl 9
) .

B oth Hebrews an d First Peter were written by authors who for

the moment at le as t were concerned to st ate t h e Chri s ti an d octri ne
of sal vation ag ai ns t the b ackground of cultic worship Both s peak .

of purific ation or san ctifi cati on atoning s acrifice prie s thood an d

, , ,
 C OMMENTA R Y

S ALUTATI ON
I Peter -2

In its utation the Firs t Letter of Peter follows with s ome al

s al ,

terati ons the us ual form of a Greek letter of the day Th e us ual .

“ ”
form w as S o an d s o to S o an d—so greetings Paul h ad adopted
,
- - -
, .

thi s p attern but added ce rtai n phras es by w ay of des cription of

him self as the writer an d of the church addres s ed Thes e a ddi .

tions in s ome cas es were quite extens ive ( s ee Rom 7 ; I Cor .

- .

-3
; G al It h ad become P aul s habit to include par ’
.
,

ti cu larly in hi s des cription of the church addres s ed cert ain items ,

which s ugges ted the content Of the letter to follow P aul h ad al so .

“ ”
exp anded the us ual term Greetings into a bened iction thereby
, , ,

giving it a distinctively Christian flavor It seems cert ain that the .

s alut ation of Firs t Peter is definitely p atterned after that em

ployed by P aul .

Th e writer des cribes hims elf as Peter an apostle of Jes us ,

Chris t Th ere can b e no doubt that the origi nal di s ciple of Jes us
”
.

of th at n ame i s intended Hi s Aram aic n ame w as originally Simon

.

Bar Iona but J esus renamed hi m Rock ( in Aram aic K epka in

-
“ ”
, ,

Greek Pe tros ; see M att 1 8 ; J ohn . It would be -

natural of course for Peter in address ing churche s in the Greek,

s pea king world to employ his Greek nam e Th e des ign ation of
, .

hims elf as an apos tle of J es us Chris t indicates the authority by

“ ”

whi ch he writes .

Th e Chri sti an s or churches address ed are de s cribed by the

“
author as the elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus ,

G al ati a Capp adoci a As i a an d B ithyni a ( v s

,
”
, Th e adjective
, .

“ ” “ ”
elect or chose n i s a New Test ament des cription of Chri s
ti an s generally ( Titus see Eph Th e term w as applied .

in the O ld Testament to the Chos en People ( s ee Ps 43 ; .

Is a .
“
Exiles ( or s ojourners ) i s a term whi ch lays s tress
” “ ”

upon the transitorine ss of one s exi stence in a p articul ar loc ality ’

.

It i s intended to expres s the same thought as th at in Hebrews 1 1 :

8 1 6 relative to Abraham an d hi s des cend ants during their dwell
-

ing in the land of Can aan Thi s w as merely a trans itory ex .

i sten ce inas much as Abrah am looked for the eternal city which
,
FIRS T P ETER - 2 123

sce n dants thought of thems elve s as s trangers an d e xiles on th e

”
earth ( Heb .
“
Dis persion originall y indicated the Jews
”

l ivin g outs ide P al es tine ( John s ee al s o J ame s J ames

an d Peter in applying this t erm t o the Chri s ti an Church were

merely foll owing the common cus tom of adopting terminology

whi ch ori gin all y referr ed to Israel and Jud ai s m and of refurbi s h
ing it for Chris ti an ends Th e churches address ed prob ably include
.

thos e to be found throughout As i a Minor north of the Taurus

Vers e 2 provides us with a good exam ple — whi ch there are a of

numbe r in the Epis tle s (II Cor Eph -6
) .
—o f the t ype of
.

p ass age ou t of whi ch the l ater Trinitari an formula of the Church

”
aros e . Des ti ned by God the Father i s literally in the Greek ac ,
”
cording to the foreknowledge of God the Father However the .
,

participle des tined give s the s ens e of the Semitic idiom lying b e
“ ”

”
hind the Greek ; for in the Hebrew to forek now often meant
“ ” “ ” “ ”
to determine to decide or to predes tine ( Amos
, ,
an d

S an ctifi ed b y the Spiri t i s a phras e

”
see Rom .

s ugges tive of the cent ral te aching of th e letter as a whole which ,

is t o the effect that the Chri sti an w ay i s one of holines s or sancti

fi cat i on like to that of God Th e work of bot h the
Father an d the Spirit i s s aid to b e for the purpos e of the re aders ’

“ ” “ ”
obedience to Jes us Ch ri s t an d their sprinklin g with hi s blood .

Thes e phras es also sugges t m aj or themes of the lett er In vers e .

“
1 4 obedience i s se t in contr as t to the p ass ions of your former
ignorance an d in vers e 2 2 thi s ob edience i s further related to the
”
,
“
s ubject of puri fica tion or s an ctifi cati on an d i s define d as obedi
”
ence to the truth Sprinkling with blood i s a phras e s ugges tive of
.

the worshi p in Tab ern acle and Temple Like the Lett er to the .

Hebrews the thought of Firs t Peter moves in a circle of ideas

,

s ugg es ted by th at wors hip ( s ee v s 1 9 an d Heb .19 2 1 ; 10 :

.
,

22 , 2 9 ;
At thi s point in the us ual sal utation of a Greek letter it w as
cus tom ary merely to express greetings ( s ee Jam es
“
Paul
h ad b aptize d thi s u s u al s alutation by employi ng another form of
“
the s ame Greek word stem the noun grace referring to the
-
, ,

unmerited love of God con ferred upon the sinner in the work of
Jes us Chris t With this noun P aul h ad als o h abitu ally j oined the
.

“ ”
Greek term for pe ace — the trans lation of the Hebrew word
1 24 FIRST P ETER 5
-

th at b etween God an d man achieved by God s redemptive activ

,
’

i ty on m an s beh alf ( Is a
’
Eph
. Peter w as ob
.

v i ous ly ac qu ainted with P aul s cus tom an d s imply took over hi s

’

formula .

THE G O SPE L AND SANCTTFICATION

I Pet er

Th e Gospel of an In corrupt ible Heritage -1 2 )

Its Ass urance Res ti ng God Me y an d P wer 5)
’
o -
on s rc

At thi s point in hi s letters it w as cus tom ary for P aul to ins ert
a prayer of th ank s giving ( see Rom I Cor . However .
,

he al tered thi s formul a in two directions : in Gal ati ans he

ins erted an an athem a directed ag ains t thos e who h ad quickly de
“ ”
p arted from the grace of Chri s t ; an d i n II Corinthi ans he
s ub s tituted a doxology for the u su al th anks giving ( s ee al s o E ph .

First Peter it will be ob served follows the latter pattern

, , ,

re s embling Ephes i an s more th an Second Corinthi ans Th e literary .

“
s tyle i s that known in Greek literat ure as a pe ri — th at i s a ,

long involved an d exceedingly complex sentence hi ghly orna ,

ment ed wi th des criptive phr ase s an d subordin ate cl aus es intended ,

to s upply be auty of s ynta ctical s tructure worthy of a hi ghl y com

plex theme .

It i s rather generall y held that the m ajor portion of the letter

— 4 : 1 1
) follows the c atechetic al or b aptis mal formul a of
instruction given t o new converts to the Chris ti an faith in th e
Early Church ( s ee Introduction ) Following the us ual p attern of
.

this formula the prese nt s ection ( v ss 3

, i n the form of a
.

doxology pres ents u s with a s omewhat comprehens ive doctrin al

,
“
s tatement Th e theme of thi s doctrin al s t atement i s
. the good
” “
news or gospel ( v s 1 2 ) of an inheritan ce whi ch i s imperis hable
.
,

( v s 4 ) O r agai n
”
u n de fil ed an d unf ading kept in he aven for you
, , .
,
“
it i s the good news of a living h Ope thr ough the re surrection of
”
Jes us Chris t from the de ad ( v s Fin al ly it may be defined as
.
,

the good news of a sal vation ready to be revealed in the l as t

”
time ( v s 5 ) A s will be s een all of thes e des criptions of the con
.
,

tent of th e gos pel are oriented toward the f uture even toward the ,

eternal order at the end of hi story .

1 26 FIRST PETER -
9

(vs . Th e present p as sage anal yzes the circums tance s under

whi ch the Chris ti an mus t express thi s res po ns e of faith the cir ,

cu ms t an ces of a reali stic world in which the Chri s ti an i s c alled

“ ” “ ”
upon to suffer various tri als ( v s Th es e tri al s ar e very
.

“ ”
real an d are calcul ated to t es t the genuinenes s of faith even ,
”
as gold i s tes ted by fire ( v s 7 ) Th ere i s no indic ation th at
.

“
the t ri als i ntended are of any s peci al s everity ; indeed Peter ,

s ugge s t s in vers e 6 that they are only a pos s ibility with which the
“ ”
Chris ti an h as to reckon In an y c ase various tri al s ar e a com
.

monplace in Chris tian experience as i s als o the p aradox that in

“

,
“
the mid s t of tri al an d tribul ation Christi ans may rejoice .

Th e Chris ti an s joy i s the product of hi s realization of th e

’

“ ”
s alvation which he h as alrea dy b egun to experience an d to
whose consumm ation he looks forwar d ( v s s 3 5 ) Jes us h ad long .
-

s ince comforted hi s di s ciple s with the thought th at j oy in the

mi ds t of pe rs ecution w as not onl y pos s ible for the Chris t ian but
al s o pl aced him in the category of t h e prophets of ol d time who
h ad h ad a s imil ar experience ( M att Paul h ad te sti
.

fled to hi s h aving experienced joy i n the mids t of s uff ering ( Col .

“
s ee al so Rom 5 : 3 -5 ; H Cor
. Moreover the little
.
,
”
while ( v s 6 ) reminds us of the s imil ar teachi ng in Hebrews 1 0
.

3 2 -39 an d -1
1 .

It is a ps ychologically well authenticated fact an d one attes ted

-
,

by Christian experience tha t joy may thus be experienced in

,

the mi ds t of s uff ering provided the s ufferer re alizes at the time

,

the l arger goal to be attained as the product of the s uff ering In .

the pres ent ins tance thi s goal i s s tated to be both proxim ate and
“
more remote Th e proxim ate or near goal is the tes ting of the
.

” “ ”
genuineness of the faith of Peter s readers ( v s the remote
’
.

obje ct of this tes ting i s that these Chris ti ans faith may redound ’

to prai se an d glory an d honor at the revelation of Jes us Chris t .

Prob ably prai se an d glory an d honor here refer to one thin g

“ ”
,

n amely Chri s t s pleas ure at an d acceptan ce of the believer s faith

,
’ ’

as the s ole condition of hi s s al vati on Th e event intended in the .

express ion the revelation of Jes us Chris t i s of cours e the final

“ ”
, ,

coming an d the Judgment at the end of the age .

Peter now dwell s on the p ar adoxical natur e of h is re aders fai th ’

an d yet they
”
They have never s een him
“
i n Chris t ( v ss 8 .
,
“
love him an d though they do not now see him they b e
”
,
“ ” “
,

lieve in hi m an d rejoice with unutt erable an d exalted joy S uch ”

.

i s the p aradoxic al n ature of the love an d faith of Chri s ti ans at all

FIRS T P ETER 1 : 1 0- 1 2 1 27

times For they are called upon t o live in a world of nature which
.

i s apprehended by the fi v e Sens es And yet it i s both their duty .

“ ”
an d their privilege to employ the s ixth s ens e of faith in appre
hendi ng him who i s invis ible ( see J ohn I Cor Heb . .

Th e outcome of s uch fai t h is now s ai d to be the s alv a

”
tion of your s ouls ( v s which i s the practical e quivalent of
.

the prai s e an d glory an d honor whi ch we have alre ady not ed

“ ”

(vs .

Th is Gos pel Prophes ied of Old -1 2 )

Peter brings the long Greek period to a clos e with a com “ ”

rehen ive reference to the Hebrew prophet k owledge f d

’

p s s n o a n
“ ”
witnes s to the Chri s ti an s salvation Th ey inquired he s ays with
’
.
, ,

regard to th e nat ure Of the salvation itse lf the pers on by

“ ” “ ”
,
“ ”
whom it w as to be achieved an d the time when this would oc
,

cur ( v ss 1 0 . He rem arks almos t incident ally th at s uch sal

“ ”
v at ion w as to be the product of the gra ce of God an d that the
s ource of the revel ation which c ame to the prophet s w as the
” “
Spiri t of Chris t wi thin them And he s pe ak s of their predicting
.

the sufferin gs of Chr i s t an d the s ub s eq uent glory which shoul d

”

follow them In thes e two vers es— p acked as they are in every
.

’
word an d phr as e with deep doctrinal content— w e can feel Peter s
ass urance perhaps reflecting the knowledge th at he w as s imply
,

repe ating wh at w as already known to hi s Chri stian re aders

through tradition For it i s be yond di spute th at the Chris ti an
.

Church from the beginn ing found in th e O ld Tes tament Scriptures ,

an d p ar ti cul ar ly in their prophetic s ections unm istak able refer ,

ence to Je s us Chri s t an d the s alvation which he would aecom

pli s h in the providence of God an d in hi s own good time ( s ee
M ark 27 ; Luke 47 ; John —1 6 ; Act s
-

2 : 1 5 -3 6 )
Th e contin uity between the O ld Coven an t an d the New i s
“
further el aborated in vers e 1 2 Here it i s explicitly s t ated tha t the
.

” “
things with which the prophe t s dealt formed the content of the
good news which w as pre a ched l ater on to the Chri s tians of
’ “
Peter s generation Moreover jus t as th es e things were indicate d

"
.
,

by the Spiri t of Chr i st to the prophets so they were announced

” “ ”
,

by Chri sti an evangeli sts “

thr ough the Holy Spirit s ent from
,
'

”
heaven to Peter s readers ’

Tw o points s tand out with unmis tak able clarity in this p ass age
Firs t the fact that it owes much to the des cription of the Suffering
,
 FIRS T PETER 1 : 1 3 -1 7

Servant in Second I sai ah B oth Je su s Chri st himself an d the

.

Church which he es t abli shed interpreted hi s own s uff erings in

terms of thos e of thi s Suff ering Servant (comp are Luke with
Isa . Acts 3 3 wit h Isa- 8 ; Heb . wi th Isa 5 3 :
-
. .

Second the phraseology of the p as s age contains clear s im

,
“
il ari ty to that in the Letter to the Hebrews Thu s the fact that the .
,
“ ”
thin gs cons tit uting the goo d news were known an d procl aimed
by the O ld Tes t am ent prOph et ic char acters i s the theme of He
brews ch apters 3 an d 4 ( s ee p articul arly 4 : 1 7 ) Simi l ar ly the
,
-
,
“
idea th at thes e prophetic figure s were s erving not thems elve s but
”
you h as i t s certai n counterp art in Hebrews 40 whi le the -
,
”
reference to an gels an d their attachment to the gos pel an d i ts
proclam ation is foun d in Hebrews ( see als o Heb .

Th ere may even be an intended contrast between the fact that

“ ”
angel s long t o look in to the gos pe l an d it s n at ure ( v s 1 2 ) an d .

the tradition held by Helleni stic J ewi s h Chri St i an s th at the Law

-

“ ”
h ad been decl ar ed by angels ( Heb se e als o Acts
.

Gal 3 : .

Th e San cti fi cati on the Gospel Requi res ( ru g

A Holy Life God s — ’
Examfle an d th e Ch ris t ian s Hope ’ -1
7)
From thi s point forward to Peter s style is lar gely horta ’

tory Here an d there are interspersed s ections of a purely doctri

.

n al n ature but general ly s pe aking doctrin e forms an integral

,
“ ”
p art of the exhortation its elf Th e introductory word therefore
.

with which thi s s ection opens refers to the d octrinal p as sage whi ch
precedes Exhortation to holy living i s b as ed upon the theology
.

at which we ha ve b een looking More s pecific ally s uch living may

.
,

be s aid to b e the joi nt product of the grace of God the Father

( v ss 3 . the redemptive work of Chri s t ( v ss 3 7
, an d .
, ,

the indwelling Of the Holy Spirit ( v s s 2 1 1 1 2 ) .

, ,

Following the p attern of th e catechetic al instruction given by

the Early Church to its new converts at this point Peter begins ,

to lay stres s upon the nece ss ity of the holy life for the Chri sti an .

He s ets it agai ns t the b ackground of the p agan vices of the day an d

repres ents the Chri s ti an hope as its motive We h ave already s ee n .

“ ” “
that he h as set forth the h Ope of the grace that i s comin g to
you at the revel ation of J es us Christ ( v s 1 3 ) as a principal
”
.

theme f or his re aders consideration ( v ss 1 2 ) Neither here

’
-
.
1 30 FIRS T P ETER
ou t a pl an of salvation whereby men mi ght be rans omed from
”
the f ut ile ways inheri ted from the p as t ( v s s 1 8 2 0 ) Thi s method .
,

of s alv ation in volved the s ending of Chri s t into the world th at he

“ ” “ ”
might die be rais ed ag ain from th e dead an d be glorified
, ,
“ ”
for your sake ( v ss 1 9 .

Peter d oes not work ou t in det ail for u s the method whereby
the Chri sti an s salvation to a holy life i s achieved thr ough the
’

de ath an d res urrection of Je sus Chri s t In l angu age t aken from .

the s lave m arket on the one hand an d the wors hip of the al t ar ,

on the other he merely sugges ts that Chri st s de ath h as purchase d

,
.
’

“ ” “ ”
u s for G od ( v ss 18 Th e word rans om ed or redeemed
.

( Is a. i s one remi nis cent of the s l ave m ar ket ( Rom .

"
"
I Cor . an d to the Jew alway s b rought to mind the

pe riod of bond age in Egypt ( Acts

’
In the Chri sti an s
“
c ase the met aphor w as u s ed for hi s deliverance from the futile
ways in herited from h i s fathers
”
But th e rans om price i s .

“
s t ated in sacrifici al te rm s as h aving been con sti t uted by the
preciou s blood of Chri st like that of a l am b wi thout blemi sh or
,

( v s 1 9 ; s ee Exod
”
s pot . Lev Peter s ees thi s work of
. .

“
Chri st in the pers pe ctive of eterni ty from which he w as des ,

tined th at i s predetermi ned by G od for th e tas k of redemption

, , ,

which he fulfi lled ( see al so II Cor Like P aul Peter se es .

,

God as the cre ative agent in the res urrection of Christ ; for it w as
“ ”
God who rai sed him from the de ad an d g ave him glory ( v s .

2 1 ; see I Cor .

Peter s decl ar ation th at Je su s Chris t w as m ade m anifes t at th e

’

”
end of the tim es for your s ake ( v s 2 0 ) i s indicative of the ch ro .

n ol ogy wit h which he i s worki ng There can b e no doubt th at .

where as in verse s 3 7 an d 1 3 as els ewhere in the letter th e

, , , ,

coming of Christ at the end of hi story i s in mi nd in vers e 2 0 the ,

Inc arn ation i s e qually before the mind of the writer Accord .

“ ”
in gly it i s clear th at for him the end i nclude s the period of
,

history from the Inc ar nation forward an d th at the entire period ,

of Church hi story m ay be identi fied with the l as t times

”
In thi s .

respe ct Peter i s in accord wi th the other New Te st ament writers

: 6
w h o expre ss ed thems elves on the subject ( s e e Acts 2 1 2 1 ; I C or
— .

Heb I J oh n
.

A Holy Life— Generated by the Word ( 1 : 2 2 — 2 3 )

“
In saying that the Chri s ti an s confidence i s in God ( v s ’
.

or in h is
“
gre at mercy ( v s 3 ) or gr ace ( v ss 1 0
” “
Peter
. .
,
 FIRS T P ETER — 2 z3 131

h as prese nted to hi s rea ders the ultim ate s ource of their salv a
tion He n ow indicat es the me ans or ins trument which God h as
.

employed to accompli s h hi s will in thi s m atter This ins trument .

“ ” “
i s the living an d abiding word of God ( v s 23 ) or the good .

” “ ”
news ( v s 2 5 ) th at is to say the gos pel which w as preached to
.
,

thes e Chris ti an s an d whi ch res ulted in their rebirth ( v s 2 3 ; see .

als o

In this doctri ne of the new birth Peter s hows afli ni ty with s ev

eral other New Test ament writers Th e teaching i s es senti ally the .

same as th at at J oh n 3 : 1 1 0 B ut the s owing of the word of God

”
-
.

which re s ults in regeneration i s al s o the theme of the p arable of

the Sower ( M att -9 18
. A n d the s am e s eries of ideas
,

( livi ng word s owing rebirth ) with n atural vari ations in the us e

, ,

of terminology i s found al s o abundantly in both P aul ( I Cor .

-
25 ; 5 ; Eph -
Col 25 ;
. and Hebrews .

1 2;
“ ”
Th e res pons e to this word of G od or good news is that
“ ”
Obedience to the trut h which res ults in purifi c ation ( v s 22 ) .

Peter nowhere else in the letter uses the word truth but in
“ ”
,
“ ”
he s pe aks o f obedience to Jes us Chri s t and in of thos e who
“
disobey the word We may put together th e three p assages
”
.

an d through their conjoint te s timony di s cover th at the

“
obedi
ence whi ch he has in mi nd is that relatin g to Jes us Chri st or
”
,

alternatively to the truth

“ ” “ ”
or to the word So that whether one
, .

“ ” “ ” “ ” “ “ ”
s ay word gos pel
, good news ,truth or Jes us Chris t it , , ,

would s eem obvious th at for Peter on e is s ayin g es s enti ally the

same thing For hi m Jes us Christ i s the content of th e word of
.
,

the truth of the gos pel message And there i s cons iderable ev i
,

""
.

dence in the New Tes ta ment th at for the Early Church s u ch

equati ons were generally accept able ( Eph Col 25 . .

According to Acts Peter h ad m aintai ned that the Holy

Spirit h ad cleans ed their th e Gentile s hearts b y faith An d
“ ” ’
.

though the Greek is not identical th e meaning is ess enti all y th e ,

same as
“
having purified your s ouls which Peter here says i s
”
,
“
the res ult of obedience to the tru
Th e re s ult of this rebirth an d obedience or purific ation is S in
“

ce re love of the brethren ( v s 22 ) or the putting away of all

” “
.

m ali ce and all guile an d ins incerity and envy and all Sl ander
”

And so the Chri s ti an trilogy of faith hope an d love , ,

is comfl ete ( see v ss 3 9 1 3 above for faith and h ope ; and

“ ” “ ”
.
, ,

I Cor . Heb .
 FIRS T PETER —1 0

Peter s readers were evidently quite recent converts as he s tyles

’
,
“
them newborn b a an expre ss ion which in the Greek

refers to the younges t type of infant a b abe in arm s ( s ee Luke ,

1 6; Acts Th e phr as e i s nowhere el s e us ed in

the New Tes t ament in thi s spiritu alized se ns e regarding converts ,

though a s omewh at s imil ar one i s used of thos e who are mere

“ ”
b abes in Christ in I Corinthi ans 3 : 1 2 an d Hebrews 5 : 1 2 1 4 Th e - -
.

phras eology indeed of vers es 2 an d 3 is quite s imil ar to that in

, ,

Hebrews 5 : 1 2— 6 : 8 There i s however a di stinct difference in

.
, ,

th at Hebrews blam es it s re aders for not h aving gone on to m at ur

ity in view of the cons iderab le l ap s e of time s ince their conver
,
“ ”
s ion ( s ee 5 : whereas Peter expects hi s newborn b abes
“ ”
t o continue to long for the s piri t ual milk which app arently
they s till require .

A Holy Li Incarnated i n the

fe— Church -1 0 )
This p assage contains one of the mos t be autiful as well as mos t
comprehens ive des criptions Of the Chri sti an Church to be found
in the New Te st ament It h as been s uggested th at it i s derived
.

from the s tanzas of a Chri s ti an hymn which Peter took over an d

incorporated in h i s letter In general it forms a Chri sti an inter
.

p r et ati on of three p as sa ges from h

t e O ld T es t ament —
I sai ah
(vs . Ps ahn (vs an d Is ai ah . 1 5 (vs Other -
.

O ld Tes tament p ass ages however are brought into u se an d phrase s

, ,

from them adopted as for ins tance Exodus

, , in vers e 9 ; ,

Is ai ah -2 1 in t h e same vers e
; an d Hose a 9 an d in
vers e 1 0 Numerou s phras es in the p as s age al s o link it to certain
.

sayi ngs of J es us in the Gos pe ls to the Letters of P aul the Letter , ,

to the Hebrews an d the B ook of Revel ation Whet her Peter con
, .

s tructed thi s s ection hi m s elf or inherited it in the tradition of the

Church its author ha s done a m as terly piece of work in d es crib

,

in g the Chri sti an Church— i ts origin i t s n ature an d its function , ,

.

Th e m ain te aching of the p ass age i s to the eff ect th at the Chris
ti an Church i s a Spiritu al house ( v s 5 ; se e Heb
“ ”
that i s . .
,
“ ”
a hou s e of wors hip who s e corners tone i s the living s tone Jes us ,

Chri st hims elf ( v s 4 ; s ee Eph

. Such a Church i s cons tituted
.

its elf of living s tones ( v s 5 ; s ee Eph

“ ”
.22 Or .
- °

to change the metaphor s ince the spiritual hous e in question i s

“
,

on e for the worship of God it s hou se hold may be thought of as ,

“ ” -s acrifi ce s
a holy prie s thood to off er s piritual s acrifices
, ( v s 5 ) .

acceptable to God th rough Je s us Chri st

”
pres umably bec aus e as , ,
 FIRS T PETER
never spe ak s of Jes us as high priest But perhap s the mos t s t rik
.

ing s i milarity between thi s p as sage an d Heb rews i s found in their

“ ”
joint te achi ng th at the s in which characterizes thos e who s tumble
upon the s tone or rock which i s Je sus Chris t is that they disobey
“
,
”
the word ( v s 8 ; s ee Heb
. .

Three further points rem ain to be noted Firs t the idea that .
,
“ ”
Jesus w as rejected by men but in God s s ight chos en an d preciou s ’

( v s 4 ) i s Simil ar in its te aching to that found in Peter s s ermon at

’
.

“
Pentecost in Acts 2 : 22 3 6 an d likewi se the reference to the won
-
,
”
derful deed s of him who c alled you ( v s 9 ) i s akin in me aning .

""
“ ”
t o the mighty works and wonders an d s ign s whi ch G od did
thr ough Jes us of N azareth a man att ested to you by God in
“ ”
,
'
Acts Second th at the Christi an readers of the letter h ave
,
“ ”
been c alled ou t of d arknes s into hi s G od s m arv elous light ’

( v s 9 ) i s a comm on New Tes t ament w ay of s pe aking of thos e

.

who are converted from p agani s m to the true faith ( see Acts
Col . Th e idea n o doubt deri ve s from such pas
s age s as I s ai ah 7 an d 1 6 in wh i ch the work of the Servant
“

of the Lord i s un der cons ideration Finally the ide a th at the .

,
“ ” ”
readers once were no people an d are now God s people th at ’
,

they h ad at one time not received mercy but now have received
“ ” “

”
mercy ( v s . enshri nes the very hear t of the Christi an go spel
as th at i s prefi gu red in the emblem atic prophecy uttered by H os e a

with regard to h is adulterou s wif e ( Hos e a 1 an d 2 )

Behavi or Reflectin g the San cti fi ed Li fe (z a p

Good Conduct Am ong Non -Chri st ians -1 2 )
Th e quot ation from the hymn (if s uch it be) ins erted in verse s
4—1 0 above h as s erved to e s tabli s h the fact th at the Chris ti an com
munity i s the true people of God Peter n ow turns accordingly
.
, ,

to a dis cus s ion of the behavior whi ch s hould characterize th at

people p articul ar ly among the Gentil es ( v s
,
“ ”
Th e word .

“ ”
here translated Gentile s both in the Greek an d in the Hebrew
lying behind it actually me ans n ations
“
an d Peter in employing ,

it is Simply following the common New Te s tament pr actice ( s ee

Rom 2 : 1 4 ; I C or
. . thereby in a form al m anner pe rpet uat
ing the Jewi sh di stinction between the people of God on the one
h an d an d the nations of the world on the other It i s however on ly .
, ,
“
in a formal s ens e that the Chris ti an Church spe aks of its elf as a
FIRS T P ETER 2 : 1 3 -1 7 1 35

chos en race and . a holy nation ( v s ”

. as though it were , so to

Actually of cours e the Chris ti an community i s compos ed of peo

, ,

ple of every race an d n ation without distinction Th at this is .

Peter s view is evidenced by hi s employing the terms aliens an d

’ “

exil es ( v s 1 1 ; see
”
. to descri be the Chri s tian community a ,

"
"
mode of expres s ion f oun d als o in Hebrews
“ ”
Th e good conduct which Chri s ti ans are to practice includes
“
abs tai ning from the p assions of the fles h that w age w ar agains t
the so (v s Th e ex act Greek of this phras e i s n ot
.

found els ewhere in th e New Tes t ament i ts neare st equivalents be ,

ing in G al atians 5 : 1 6- 1 7 2 4 ; Ephes i ans ,II Peter I John

“ ”
In the express ion flesh s tands not for the phys ical cons ti ,

t ution of man as s uch but rather for fallen hum an n at ure th at i s

, , ,

for m an s entir e pe rs on under the domini on of s in And the thou ght

’
.

“ ”
that m an s fles h in this sens e is domin ated by evil p ass ions or
’

des ir es which are contrary to God s wil l for hi s life is a rather ’

common thought among the New Te s tament writers (see Rom .

-
25; I Th ess J ames —1 5 ; Jude 1 6 an d
. Th e

""
old enemy of th e fles hly pass ions rem ains alive to the very en d
an d in cons equence the Chris ti an mus t never s lee p .

“
Th e s ugges tion in vers e 1 2 that Gentiles through the good con
” “
du ct of Peter s readers s houl d be led to s ee
’
their good deeds
an d glorify G od
”
is remi ni scent of Jes us saying in M at thew
’

A s P aul rem ar k s in E phes ians the re as on f or glorifying God

in this connection is the fact th at he i s hims elf the author of the
good works of Chris ti ans an ide a whi ch as we have al ready s een
, , ,
“ ”
Peter h as acknowledged (se e 22 Th e day of vi s ita tion
referred to is that in dic ated in Isaiah (Greek trans lati on) and
may be taken to mean generally the D ay of Judgment .

Th e Christ ian s Obedi ence ’

to Cons ti tuted A uth ori ty ( 2:1
3 7)
-1

We are now to look in detail at the nature of the good conduct “

among the Gentil es which Peter pleads with his readers t o m ai n

”

tain (v s . Th is code of s ocial ethi cs for the Chris tian h as i ts

neares t p arallels in P aul (Rom 1 3 21 7 ; Eph — 6 z9 COL
; .
-
.

I Tim - 5
1 ; .
-2
; Titus — 3 z2) Some mention of it .

is als o found in J ames -1 0 But Peter s comprehens ive s tate .

’

“
ment in vers e 1 3 that the Christian is to be subject f or the Lord s ’

”
sake to every hum an ins ti tution h as no exa ct p arall el for breadth

els ewhere in the Epis tles Th e code is obvious ly one of s ub mis

.
“
 FIRS T P ETE R 2 : 1 3 -1 7

s ion (v ss 1 3 1 8 ; . or of subordination A s Pete r se e s it this

, .
,
“
principle i s utterly universal an d includes every hum an in sti tu
”
ti on , that i s every element in the s ocial order Moreover such
, .
,
”
s ubordin ation i s
“
for the Lord s sake an ide a alre ady implied in ’
,
“ ”
vers e 1 2 in the injunction to good deed s with a view to the Gen
’
tiles glorif ying God .

Chri s ti ans then are in a very real s ense to know two m asters
— God an d man Th e ori in of s uch teachi ng m a
g .
y well b e the
Chur ch s Lo rd him self For when confronted with the problem of
’
.

“
the Chris ti an s attitude toward the s tate he remarked Render to
’
,

Cae sar the things that are Caes ar s an d to G od the thi ngs that ’

(Mark By irnplicati on thi s means that the

”
are God s
’

Chri sti an i s to re alize that he i s n ot only a citizen of heaven but

“ ” “ ”
a s an al ien an d exile in the world he i s als o a citizen of the
“ ”
s tate an d therefore subject t o every hum an instit ution Th at '
.
,

however the Chri s ti an i s to cons ider both G od a n d the soci al or

,

der hi s m as ter o n eq u al te rms i s neither the teaching of Jesus

( M att . n or t hat of th e s ucceeding Church ( Acts 4 : 1 9

AS the first an d hi ghes t of the hum an ins titutions to which

Peter refers s tand s of course the s tate In the context in whi ch
, , , .

“
Peter w as writing the s t ate w as repres ented by the emperor as
”
s upreme (v s and by th e
“
governors of the various im
.
”

perial an d s enatori al provinces ( v s 1 4 ) Peter obviou sly s ees in the .

Roman Empire a s ystem of l aw an d order of which it may justly

b e s ai d that the aim i s to puni sh thos e who do wrong an d to
“

”
prai se thos e who do right And in this judgment he w as undoubt .

e dly right even as w as als o P aul ( Rom

, Like P aul al so .
,
”
Peter holds that s uch submi ss ion to the s tate i s God s will for ’

the Chri sti an ( v s an d that in hi s perform ance of hi s civic

.

duty the Chri sti an may Show hims elf an exemplar y citizen of the
s t ate ( Rom 2 5 Peter s at titude in thi s m atter s eems to ’
-
.
,

s ugge s t an early d ate f or the letter approxim ating that of Rom ans ,
.

Th e principle underlying thi s s ubmiss ion to the st ate of which

Peter s peak s an d other type s of which he will s pe ak in the suc
“
ceedin g vers es 2: 18 — 3 : 7 ) is that whi ch P aul terms the glor
”
ious liberty of the children of God ( Rom see al s o G al . .

Peter s s t atement of the principle approxim ates that in the

’

“
G al ati an s p ass age jus t cited— Live as free men yet without us ing ,

your freedom as a pretext for evil ; but live as servants of God ”

( v s 1 6 ) Th e freedom of th e Chri stian is not to be confus ed with

.

“
licens e or with anarchy f or as P aul els ewhere s ays G od is not , ,
 FIRS T P ETER 2 : 1 8 -25

ti an family life the rel ation of s ervant to m as ter an d of wife to

“ ”
hus b and an d th e revers e Th e term be s ubmi s s ive does not re
, .

fer to sl avi s h obe dience It ass umes that on e submits h ims e lf to

.

“ ”
the authority of another or of an y hum an ins titution including ,

the s tat e an d th at he doe s s o Of h is own free will an d with a View

,

to s erving hi gher ends .

Th e higher end s which are to be s erved are indicated by cer

“ ” “
tain phras es s uch as : for the Lord s s ake ( v s
, as s erv an t s
’
.

” “ “ ” ’
of God ( v s . mindful of God ( v s God s approval .

“
(v s. be c aus e Chri st al s o s uff ered for you leaving you an ,
” “
example that you should follow in h is s teps ( v s
,
s o that .

s ome though they do not ob ey the word may be won without a

, ,
”
word by th e behavior of their wive s ( 3 :
In the pres ent p aragraph Peter doe s not have in mind Chri sti an
m as ters exclu s ively ; for thos e of whom he write s include the '
“
overbe aring ( v s ”
. thos e becaus e of w h om th e Chri sti an s erv
“ ” “ ”
ant s l ave ) i s s ufferin g unjus tly (v s thos e
”
.

“
of whom it m ay b e sai d th at though Chri stian s ervants do right
, ,
“ ”
they nonetheless are c alled upon to Suffer for it ( v s 2 0 ) Agai n . ,

as in vers e 1 2 above it i s cle ar th at the s e illu s trations h ave in

,
“ ”
mind good conduct am ong the Gentiles In point of fact m any

"
.
,

Christ ians in the earlies t period of the Chri sti an movement were
s l aves an d their m as ters by an d l arge were p ag ans Philemon ( of
, .

Colo e s sa — s ee Col to whom P aul addr ess ed hi s notable

.

little letter on behalf of O nes imus w as clearly an exception to thi s,

rule ( Philemon 1 6
At thi s point Peter adds a s eri es of vers es ( v ss 2 1 2 5 ) whi ch .
-

s erve to m ark ou t the pos ition of the Chri s ti an s l ave in the whole

Ch risti an movement as being at its very center an d se rving to de

fi n e i ts very n ature For the function of the Christi an s lave s ays
.
,

Peter i s in re al ity a v oca t ion ( v s

, wherein the Chri sti an
.

“ ” “ ”
s l ave i s c alled by following the example of Chri s t in whos e
,
“ ”
s tep s he walks to set forth the ch aracteristic of humility which
,
”
w as hi s M aster s In c al ling to mind Chri st s em pl e Peter em
’ “ ’
.
,

ploys the l anguage rel ating to the Suffering Servant of the Lord
in Is ai ah 5 3 as for exam ple in verse 2 2— h e committed no s in ;
,
“

” “
no guile w as found on hi s lip s ( Is a in vers e 24 — h e him
.

” “
s elf bore ou r s i ns ( Isa . again in vers e 2 4 — b y his
” “
wound s you have been healed (Is a an d in vers e 2 5—
.
you
”
were s traying like sheep ( Is a In addition it h as be en
.
,

argued by s ome interpreters that in vers e 2 4 we s hould re ad not ,

FIRS T PETER - 6 1 39
“
he hi ms elf bore our s ins in hi s body on the tree but as in the , ,
“ ”
m ar gin c arried up our s ins in h is bod y to the tree If thi s trans
, .

l ation i s adopted then pos sibly Peter h as in min d the im agery of

,
“ ”
the s capegoat ( Lev upon which the hi gh pries t on
.

the D ay of Atonement w as s uppos ed to load all the s ins of the

“ ”
people He then drove the sc apegoat into the wilderne ss an d it
.
,

thus literally carried away the people s s ins Peter m ay s imil arly ’
.

be th inking of our Lord as c arrying up the people s s in s to the ’

tree ( or cross ) an d thus di smi ss ing them as they were dismi sse d ,

"
"
“
in the wilderne ss by the s capegoat .

Fin ally in s ugges ting that Ch ris ti an Sl ave s were s traying like
,
“

” “
s heep (v s . but h ave now ret urned to the Shepherd an d
”
Gu ardian of their s ouls Peter i s c alling upon a tradition al
,

ch ar acterization of hi s M as ter which prob ably goes b ack to Je s us

hims elf ( see M ark John 1 8 ; Heb -
.

Rev . A s the gre at Shepherd of the she ep Je sus t akes the

p o s ition which in prophetic thought h as bee n accorded to God

him s elf ( see Ps 2 3 ; Isa

. Nowhere el se in the New Te s ta
.

“ ”
ment i s the Greek word whi ch i s here trans lated Gu ardi an ap
plied t o our Lord Th e word generally refers to an overs eer of the
.

Chri s ti an community ( Acts Phil I Ti m Tit us . .

an d l ater be came the title of th at ofli c i al in the Chri s ti an

Church c alled in Engli sh the bi shop Th e u se of th e two terms

“ ”
.

here with reference t o the Chri sti an s lave emphas ize s the fact of
the direct approach of the Chri sti an however humble to the Lord , ,

hims elf without medi ation on the p art of any other

, .

Th e Chri sti an Wife s Subj ecti on ’

to Her Hus band 6)
-

“
In as king that the wife b e s ubmi ss ive ( v s Peter i s as king .

no more th an he doe s of all Chris ti ans ( m al e an d fem ale ) with

”
regard t o duly constituted authority an d every hum an ins titution
“

“ ”
And as in the c as e of all good conduct expected of the
Christi an generally the moti vation sugges ted i s an evan
g e li s ti c on e— s o th at s ome may b e won without a word b y
the beh avior of their wives Th e s ort of adornment to which
.

Peter takes exception in verse 3 having to do as it does with ,

“ ”
braidi ng of h air decoration of gold an d wearing of robes is
, , ,

quite s imi l ar to th at s ugges ted in I Timothy Is ai ah ha d long

before expos tul ated agains t jus t this s ort of finery ( 3 : 1 8 an d

John in Revelation in somewhat s imilar term s des crib es the great

harlot B abylon
”
16 In es tim ating the val ue of s uch
 FIRS T PETER
teachi ng on Peter s p art we should be ar in mind the fact that
’
,

both rabbi s an d p agan moralists wrote in much th e same vein an d ,

that doubtless all four ( prophet Pet er rabbi an d morali s t ) h ad in , , ,

mind the allur ements pra cticed by profli gate women in Jewi sh an d
p agan s ociety .

Th e pe rm anen t value of Peter s te aching as of the others cited

’

, ,

i s to be found n ot in i ts negations but rather in i t s affi rm ations .

For cert ainl y no exception can be taken to h is sugge st ion th at th e

“
a dornment of the Chri s t i an wom an i s to be th at of the hidden
pers on of the heart with the imperish able jewel of a gentle an d
” “ ” “
quiet s pirit (v s It is thi s jewel which God w h o se es in
.

” “ ”
s ecret (M att 6 1 8 ) accounts very preciou s
.
, .

Verse 6 alone in the New Test ament carries the impli cation
, ,
“ ” “ ”
that the wife i s to obey as well as be submi s s ive to her h u s
b and It i s to be noticed however th at here the p oint refers to the
.
, ,
'
“
fact that S arah obeyed Abrah am c alling him lord It i s note ,
.

“ ”
worthy that Peter proceed s And you are now her children not , ,

if you also obey but rather if you do right an d let nothi ng terrify
,

Th e Chris tian Hus band in Rela tion to Hi s Wife

Th i s ingle vers e of in struction to the Christi an hu sb and c arries
s

a gre at wei ght of re s pons ibility There i s nothing quite like it el se.

where in th e New Te st ament the neares t p arallel s being found in ,

Ephes ians 5 : 2 5 3 3 an d Coloss i an s 3 : 1 9 (see als o I Cor 7 : 1

-
In .

”
none of thes e p assa ge s are hus b ands enjoined to be submi s s ive
to their wive s as is the c as e in revers e Th is i s no doubt due to the
, .

fact that the submis s ivenes s enjoined throughout from ou

ward an d in the p aral lel p as s age s cit ed i s on e which recognize s a
“ ”
duly constituted hea dshi p in each hum an institution As
in the s tate the empe ror is he ad so in the family it is to be ac ,

knowledged that th e hu sb and i s he ad Such he ad ship in Chri s ti an .

circles is recognized as s imilar to that of Chri s t to h is Church

( Eph
“
. a h e a ds h ip of lov e for as P aul s ays the , ,

hus band i s the head of the wife as Chri st is the head of the
”
church h i s body an d i s hi ms elf it s S avior Therefore as he con
, , .
,

ti nu es ( Eph
“
husb ands are to love their wives as Chri st
.

”
loved the church an d gave him se lf up for her Indeed th e b u s .
,
“ ”
b and s head shi p i s limi ted to hi s being the gre at lover in the
’

famil y even as Chris t i s the great lover of his Church an d i s i ts

,
 FIRST PETER -
17

At thi s point Peter quotes from Ps alm 1 6 ( v ss 1 0 -

.

”
Th i s P s alm as a whole serves as a definition of the poor man
“

( s ee PS . or the humble pers on who fi n ds th at h is help lies ,

only in God not in other men n or in s elf ( s ee M att

, .

Stated both negatively an d pos itively then the Chri sti an i s n ot , ,

“ ”
to ret urn evil for evil or reviling for reviling ( see M att .

”
Rom
“
4 4; Luke . rather he i s to bles s that he
“
may obtain a bless ing hims elf ( v s 9 ) Literally the Greek here
”
.

re ads Bless
“
that you may inh erit a bles s ing whi ch i s much ,

Blessed are the meek for they s h all in

“
like the third b eatitu dh ,
”
herit the e arth ( M att 5 : 5 ) And it i s s triking th at thi s be atitude
.

of Jes us i s a ctu ally a quotation from Ps ah n ( a P s alm in

-

” “ ” ”
which the mee k man i s defined ) and th at poor an d meek ,
“

i n Hebrew are e ss enti ally the same word It i s says Peter to such .
, ,
“ ”
humble mind or to s uch meekness that the Chri s ti an is
’

a
“ ”
called Such humble-mindedness iss ues in bless edne ss both for
.

the man hi m s elf an d for all whom h is life touches Again as we

.
.
,

h ave se en previously Peter thinks of all Chri s

“ ”
ti ans as having rec eived a voc ation or c all from God to le ad
the Chri stian life in its purity and fullness .

Sanctifi cati on Un der Fire : Persecu ti on for Right eousn ess

’

Sake (ga g

Mak ing Christ Lord -1

7)
Peter n ow begins to deal realis tically with the s itu ation in which
hi s re aders are found And as we shall di s cover at
.
, this in
volves the prese nce of actual pers ecution To be sure P eter ap .
,

pr o a ch es thi s re ali s tic S itu ati on s omewh at c autious ly s o much so ,

that s ome h ave imagin ed th at it w as du ring the writing of the let

ter th at he hear d of the fiery ord eal which his re aders were
“ ”

actu ally facing at the momen t This it i s s aid expl ains the fact
.
, ,

th at not until i s actual mention made of present persecution .

It would appear rather that as indic ated in the outline the thought
, ,
“ ” “
of pers ecution for righteou s ness s ake or of s anctifi cati on under
’

”
fir e is a m ajor theme which Peter h as h ad in mi nd from the b e
gin ning of the letter It is b ecaus e the Chri sti an s holy life like
.
“ ” ’
,

that of the prophets before him an d of hi s Lord i s u nder fire that ,

P eter finds occ as ion to write to hi s re aders at all Th e s ection b e .

fore u s s erves as an introduction to the fin al maj or divis ion of the

FIRS T PETER 3 : 1 3 -1 7 1 43

l etter, in which this clim actic note of s uffering for righteous nes s ’

sa ke becomes the domin ant theme .

A s he Open s thi s new theme Peter immedi ately s tri ke s the hi gh

es t note pos s ible for the Chri s ti an who i s faced with the nec ess ity
of undergoing pers ecution for hi s fai th Indeed thi s note repre
.
,

s ents the onl y motivation th at can find logic al ju s tification within

the Chri sti an philos ophy of lif e Th i s motivation may be s tated in

.

either of tw o ways both of them repre s entin g the very heart of

,
“ ”
the gospel me ss age Th e s e are— s uff er for righteou sness s ake
.
’

“ ”
(v s. an d in your hea rts reverence Chris t as Lord ( v s 1 5 .

Thes e t wo motiv ations can be tr aced b ack to the te aching of Jes us

hi ms elf ( s ee M att 5 : 1 0 1 2 ; M ark
.
-
Indeed the fir s t p art ,

of vers e 1 4 s ounds like a quotation of the eighth B e atitude ( M att .

Simil arly the fir s t p art of vers e 1 5 i s without doubt Peter s

,
’

vers ion of the common Chri s ti an tradition which P aul voices in I

“ ‘
Corinthi an s No on e can say Jes us i s Lord except by the ’

Holy Spiri t .

It i s perh ap s s ugges tive of the du al ch aracter ( Gentile an d Jew

i s h ) of hi s Chri s ti an re aders b ackgrounds th at Peter at this point
’

employs in the Greek two words of an ab s tra ct s ort t o sugges t the

“ ”
ideal f or which Chri sti an suff ering i s undertaken— wh at i s right
”
( v s 1 3 ) an d righteou s ness ( v s 1 4) Th e two term s express
. .
,

ing res pectively the Greek an d Hebrew conceptions of the ide al

for man are intended to s tand for the s am e thi ng an d both to
,

gether repre sent the holy life which all along Peter h as be en s et
ting forth as the Chri sti an ideal Th e Chri sti an is not to allow any
.

”
s ecul ar phenomenon to terrify ( v s 6 ) hi m or to fe ar les t it m ay
“
.

“
h arm ( v s 1 3 ) hi m Thos e who are terrified an d fe ar the h ar m
”
. .

which the world can do to them us u ally indulge in reviling ( v s

“
.

as our modern p s ychology now a grees Neither the in ner fear

.

“ “
n or the outw ard expre s s ion of returni ng evil f or e an d rev il
”
ing for reviling are to be the Chri sti an s attit ude ’
.

Peter h as al re ady drawn upon I s aiah 8 : 1 4 1 5— a mes s i ani c pas

-

“
s age — for hi s reference t o a s tone th at will m ake men s t umble a ,

rock th at will make them f a He now c all s upon vers e s

1 2 —1 3 of the s ame ch apter in Is ai ah as he s ays with regard to
“
wh at the world can do to the Chri s ti an : Have no fear of them

"
,

"
nor b e troubled but in your hearts reverence Chris t as Lord (v s s
,
”
.

1 4- 1 5 )
“
Th e Chri s ti an then i s always to be prep ared to m ake a defense
to an y one who c alls hi m to acc ount for the hope that i s i n
 "
" h im
“
(v s As
we have already obs erved
”
.

i s th e e s chatologic al hope rel ati ng t o the Fin al Coming as the

p as sages cited indicate It i s by no means an uncertai n or we ak
.
thi s
FIRST PETER 3 : 1 8 -22

“
element of the Chris ti an faith ; rather it i s a s ure an d s te adfas t ,

""
s ince it res ts upon the saving activity of t h e
”
anchor of the s oul ,

incarnate Chris t ( see Heb 6 : 1 9 2 0 an d the comment on I Peter .

-

4 : 1 8 2 2 ) Th e Chri sti an s
-
“
defense however i s al ways to be
’
, ,
“ ”
with gentlenes s meekness an d reverence n ot with arrogant s elf ,

ass ertivenes s ( v s 1 5 ; see M att . II Cor G al . . .

Th e proper armor of the Christi an who i s revil ed by the secul ar

“ ”
world i s good behavior in Chris t ( v s for there i s nothin g .

Short of thi s whi ch will make it possible for the Christi an to keep
hi s consc ience clear ( literally
” “ ”
a good cons cience ; s ee Acts ,

2 3 : 1 ; I Tim 1 9 ; H Tim
. Heb an d I Peter . .

“ ’
A s before at behind the Chri sti an s cons cience stand s God s ’

” “
will ( v s That will s tand s as the Lord of the cons cience ;
.

“ ” “ ”
it al one is the s tandard for what i s the good or righteous ness .

Example of Chri s t s ’
Su fferi ng an d Resu rrection -2 2
)
Th i s ection contain s what is probably the most difli cu lt prob
s

lem of interpretati on in the entire letter Th e general te aching of .

the s ection however is cle ar enough Employing s ome of the

, , .

same termi nology as at 2 5 (a p assa ge whi ch in t urn employs -

the phras eology of I s ai ah 5 3 relating to the Suffering Servant) ,

Peter points out that Jes us Chris t is at once S avior of an d example

“
to Chris tians inas much as he died for s in s once for all the right
, ,
”
eou s for the unrighteou s th at he mi ght bring u s to God , (v s .

Th i s death w as followed by the re s urrection of J e su s Chris t wh o

“
,
”
h as gone into he aven an d i s at the ri ght h and of God (v ss 2 1 .

Th e p as sa ge h as numerou s other New Tes tam ent p arallels (for ex

ample Act s , 3 6 ; Rom 1 1 ; Phil
-
1 1 ; Heb .
-
.
-
.

Pos sibly in verse 1 8 in stead of died we s hould re ad s uf

, ,
”
fered ( se e m argin ) Th e p as s age would then p ar allel
. an d

would correspond to the phr as eology in 3 : 1 4 i mmedi ately above .

Thi s re a di ng if correct h as the advant age of s tating expli citly

, ,

that Chri st s s ufferi ngs are to be an exam ple to us who li ke him

’
,
“ ” “ ”
ar e c al led upon to s uff er and thu s fulfill God s will for ou r ’

lives ( v s even as Chris t w as hims elf doing in dying for our

.

“
s ins Peter s s ugge stion that Chri st died tha t he might
’

bring us to God approximates the thought of Paul ( Rom

”
.

Eph . 18; -
an d t hat of the author of Hebrews
 FIRST PETER 3 : 1 8 22 -

the Spirit but rather to the work of the p atri arch Enoch ( see Gen
, .

5:2 1 as thi s i s report ed in the apocryph al work of Firs t Enoch

( ch
.
( 3 ) the alternative poss ibility i s s ugge sted th at these
“ ”
word s should re ad in which Noah on the b asi s of the fact th at
“ ”
the incident referred to occurred in the d ays of No ah ( v s .

( 4 ) the u sual interpretation i s th at Peter i s referring to what oc

curred i n our Lord s expe rience between hi s de ath an d resurrec
’

“ ”
tion ; namely that after h is de ath in the flesh but while s till
, ,
“ ”
alive in the spirit (v s he took oc c as ion to des cend as the
.
,
“ “ ”
Creed s ugge s ts into he or alternatively into H ades or Sheol
, ,
“
th at is into the abo de of the de ad an d th at he there pre ached
, ,
”
to the s pirits in pri s on ( v s finally ( 5 ) the sugge stion i s made
.

“
th at it is the pre exi stent Chri st to whom Peter refers as alive in
-

the Spirit an d w ho in the days of Noah h ad pre ached to the

” “ ” “

”
s pirit s through hi s servant Noah— spirits who were incar nate or
“
living men in No ah s day but who h ad since become spirits in
’

pris on that is in hell or Sheol bec aus e they did not respond to
”
, , ,

the preaching of Chris t through Noah .

All of thes e interpretations have as may eas ily be s een points , ,

to comm end them and all equ ally have others whi ch may be cited
,

ag ains t them It i s thi s whi ch m ake s the p as s age so very diffi cult
.

of interpret ation It may be rem arked that there i s no other pas

.

s age i n the New Te st ament quite l ike thi s one ; thos e mos t nearly

approxim ating to its te aching are Rom an s 7 an d Ephe s i ans -

-1 0 If we feel impelled by the evidence to adopt the more

.

common interpretation outlined above under ( 4) then s everal

Ob s ervations may ju stifi ably be made First it i s to be noted that .
,

no doctrine of purgatory with attendant M as s es f or the dead ,

“
work s of s upe rerogation an d the like intended to deliver the
, ,

s piri ts in pri s on
”
by mech an ical me an s m an ipulated by an al
mighty church can remotely be sub s tanti ated b y the p as s age
,
.

Second Peter introduced thi s diffi cult p ass age to indic ate h ow
,
”
God s p atience extend s not only to the living b u t al s o to the
’

“
dead spirits in pri s on a view which although diff erently ex
, ,

pre ss ed i s in line with the gracious character of God as outlined

,

throughout the O ld an d New Tes taments ( s ee for example Rom , ,

.

5 : 1 5 2 1 I Cor
- °
I Tim
. Third Peter mus t have h ad
.
,

the s u b srdiary motive of drawing out an analogy to b aptis m ( v s .

which he finds strangely enough in th e salvation accorded

“ “ ” “
by the ark to eight pers ons who in the d ays of Noah ,

were s aved through water ( v s 20 ) To our minds the analogy

”
.
FIRS T PETER -
11 1 47

may s eem far fetched but p arallels for s uch an al ogies may be
-
,

found in the te achings of the rabbi s of the period an d even in the

writing of the Apos tle P aul who find s an analogy to b aptis m in ,

the expe ri ence of Is rael at the Red S ea ( I Cor an d to the .

Lord s Supper in the Is raelites being s ustained by s upernat ural

’ ’

” “
food an d supern atural drink during the pe riod of the wilder
ne ss wandering ( I C or However we may interpret thi s
.

difli cu lt p as s age we mus t agree th at it li es on the periphery of

,

Chris ti an truth .

S haring Chris t s Su ff erings

’
an d Si nles sness i n th e Flesh -1 1 )
Having es tabli shed the fact that it i s the Chris ti an s Obligation to ’

m ake Chris t h is Lord 3 : 1 5 an d further h aving portray e d

m
the exam e of s uff ering whi ch thi s Lord h as undergone for s ins “ ”

( 3 1 8 22 ) i n the pre s ent p ass age Peter unhesitatingly exhorts hi s

-

re aders to emul ate the s ufferings and Sinl es s ness of their Lord In .

enjoining thi s imitation of Chri st as before Peter i s con ,

s cious of the Gentile world surrounding the Chri sti an comm unity

"
"
as an oce an of evil might s urround an i sl and of puri ty ( v s .

His re aders ar e to let the time that i s p as t sufli ce f or doing

“

what the Gentile s like to do Th eir actions are not to be aff ected .

“
i n an y w ay when the s e Gentile s are s urpri sed th at they do
n ot now join t hem in the s ame wild profli gacy
”
in which they in
i s likely to re s ult
“ ”
du lge them s elve s ( v s although abu s e
. .

Peter cons ol es hi s re aders moreover with the thought that thes e

, ,

Gentile s will give account to hi m who i s ready to j udge the living

“

”
an d the de a d (v s .

It i s not s uff ering in general th at P eter h as in mind but as the ,

“ ”
whole letter s hows it i s suff ering for righteous ne ss s ake ( 3 1 4 )
,
’

the onl y Chri s ti an s uffering which could legitimately be p aral lel

to that of the Chri sti an s Lord O ne who h as thu s vic ariously s u f
’
.

”
fered in the fle s h m ay be s aid to have ce as ed from s in
“
or per ,
“ ”
hap s better to h ave done with sin Th e form of the verb in the
, .

Greek sugge sts an active determin ation to ce as e from s in illus ,

trat ed in the willingness of the Chri s ti an to suffer vic arious ly for

righteous ne ss s ake Moreover thi s interpretation is borne ou t
’
.
,

by the following verse which decl ares that the purpos e of the
,
“
Chri sti an to h ave done with s in i s so as t o live f or the res t of the
time in the fles h no longer by hum an p ass ions but by the will of
”
G od ( v s . Peter i s not saying then as s ome of the J ewi sh , ,

rabbis said th at s uff ering an d death on the p art of an individual

,
 FIRS T P ETER - 11

a chi eved at onement from s in for him O n the contrar y he i s s ay

.
,
“ ’
i n g if we underst and hi s thought th at s uffering for righteou s ne s s
, ,
”
s ake i s an indic ation th at on e h as determined once f or all t o
c ome to grips with the problem of s i n an d t o have done wi t h it ,

( s ee Rom
“
l ivi ng hi s lif e henceforward by the will of G od .

6 : 15
There are a number of p arall el s in the New Tes t ament to th e
G entile Sins of which Peter gives a c at alogue in vers e 3 ( s ee Rom .

-
32 ; G al .
-
21; E ph .
-
5; Col -
9; I T. im -1 1
; .

R ev . Th e reference s cited are only a s election of

t h e more obviou s p ass age s c at aloguing the current s ins of the d ay .

It need not startle us that Peter s ugges ts that the Gentil es were
“ ” “
s urpris ed at Chri s ti ans for their unwill ingne ss to join them in
t h e s am e wild profli gacy ( v s
”
Th e high ethic al s t and ard s s et
.

forth in the Scrip t ures h ad const antly to b attle agai ns t the profli
gacy of the su rrounding p agani sm , in whi ch it w as by no me an s
o bviou s th at religion an d mor al s have any nece ss ary rel ation the
one to the other And Peter as be fore
. as s erts th at it w as
“
b ec aus e p agans did not see thi s conn ection that th e gospel w as
”
pre ached even to the dead that they might s o to s pe ak be given
, , ,
“ ”
a chance to accept the truth Th e same difli cu lty ari se s in con
.

n ect i on with thi s s aying in vers e 6 as in 2 2 Wh atever the-

.

e xpre ss ion to t h e de a d both here an d in the former p ass age m ay

“

m e an it is at leas t cle ar tha t here Peter com p ares human judg

,

m ent accordi ng to st and ards which are current on e art h with the
e tern al life which i s lived in the pres ence of G od An d in the con .

t ext of the p as sa ge as a whole hi s me ani ng i s th at wh atever may

, ,

be the s t an d ard s employed for men s judgm ents in thi s life h i s

’
,
“ ”
re aders should remember th at the gospel as preached— wherever
t hi s i s done whet her to the living or the de ad
, proclaim s a life
—

“ ”
in the s piri t whose onl y poss ible norm or st and ard i s th e li fe of
G od .

In thi s p assage Peter al so pre sents a s hort resu me of the type of

e thi c al livi ng expected of the Chri s ti an in view of t h e imminence
O f the divine judgment Th e end of all things i s at han d ; there
.

”
fore keep s ane an d s ober for your prayers ( v s 7 ) S uch s t at e .

m ents need not be pres s ed to me an that the author in ques tion

ex pect ed that the end of hi story w as just around the corner A ll .

t hat they need me an i s that from the Inc arnation forw ard the
”
Chri sti an Church i s living in the l as t time ( see
“
Th e cer
t ainty of judgment however i s s ugges ted as a motive for righ t
, ,
 FIRS T PETER 4 : 1 2-1 9

s uch testing i s neither new nor s trange ; an d third the Chris ti an ,

“ ”
s hould always be prep ared to rejoice at s uffe rings which me an
“ ”
t h at he i s being reproached for the name of Chri s t (v s or .

”
th at he i s s uff ering as a Chri stian ( v s All three points are .

clearly made by Peter n o matter what the exact experience may

,

be to which he refers in the phrase the fiery orde al

“
.

Th e s triking contr ast between the t wo poss ible c ause s Of s uff er

“ ” “
ing— on the one hand for the name of Christ or as a Chri s
,
” “
ti an an d on the other as a murderer or a thi ef or a wrong
, , , ,

d oer or a mi s chief m aker ( v s 1 5 — brings b efore the mi nd of

,
” -
.

the reader the pictur e of Chri st between the two thieves The s e .

men app arently were n ot robbers of the ordinary type ; presum

a bly they were revolutionaries or extreme n ation alis ts And the .

word s in verse 1 5 may very well des cribe j us t s uch p olitical

agit ators .

There can be no doubt th at th e early group of followers about

Je sus w as at fir s t s trongly attracted to the idea of a national i stic
mess i ah on e who would deliver the Jews from the ha nd s of their
,

Oppre ss ors the Rom an s ( see Acts

, Perh aps we s hould see
in both Simon the Ze alot and Judas Is cariot former members of
’
thi s inner circle of revoluti onari es It i s even pos sible that Peter s
.

loss of faith in hi s M aster an d the movement for whi ch he s tood

w as due to hi s own concept of the n ation ali st movement an d its
nationali s t me ss i ah ( see M att M ark .
-3 1 47 -5 0 ; J ohn ,

It would s eem li kely then that in the pres ent pas

, ,

s age Peter i s concerned to poin t ou t to hi s Chri s ti an re aders ,

wh atever their b ackground may be th at repro ach for th e n am e

“
,
”
of Chri s t mean s s omething f ar more s ign ifica nt th an s uff ering f or
a mere worldly or n ation al is t ic me ss i ah For J es u s is not a mere .

nationali stic mes s iah but rather is God s Mes s iah an d to s uff er for ’

,
“ ” “ ’
him i s to glorify God ( v s 1 6 ) be c aus e his gloryf i s God s
.
’

glory an d to s hare hi s name an d hi s reproach is to s hare the

,
“

s piri t of glory an d of God

”
(v s .

“
Glory in both Hebrew an d Greek s tands for the mani
”
, ,

f es t ed pres ence of a pers on in thi s c as e that of God or Chri s t In

, .

both langu ages the term w as us ed for the lumi nou s cloud which
appe ar ed between the cherubim on the Ark of the Coven ant ( Lev .

Num an d on rare occ as ion s w as s aid even to fill

.

the entire Temple its elf ( I Kings 8 : 1 0 Peter h as alr eady s u g

“
ge sted that Chri s ti ans are to s har e in the prai s e and glor y an d
”
honor of Christ at his appe ar ing an d no doubt he h as
FIRS T P ETER 4 : 1 2- 1 9 151

that s ame e s chatologic al event in mi nd in the pres ent p ass age

(vs. At the s ame time he appe ars t o h ave als o in mind that at
,

the very time one is repro ached for th e name of Ch ris t the
“
,
“ ”
bles s ing of th e s pirit of glory an d of God i s a pres ent expe ri ence
an d
“
res ts upon the Chri stian in the very mids t of hi s reproach
”

(vs.

By w ay of justifyin g the Christi an s attitude in the face of the ’

“
fiery ordeal the reproach an d the s uff ering for the name of
, ,
”
Chri st Peter now returns to the thought of the coming Judg
,

ment From the time of Amos forward the prophets an d other

.
,

biblic al writers h ad s poken of the day of the LORD or the D ay

“ ”

of Judgment ( Am os 5 : 1 8 2 0 ; Ezek 3 ) as a future p ros pect

-
.
-
.

B ut Chris tians are cons cious of the fact that even now they are
“ ” “
living in the l as t times as we h ave already s een ; the end of all
,
” “
things i s at hand ( v s 7 above ) an d the time h as come for judg
.

”
ment to begin ( v s Al s o from the time of Amos forward
.

the though t h ad be en prominently expres sed that God s people ’

would b e the first to experience hi s judgment ( Amos Peter

“
voice s hi s agreement with thi s th ought when he s ays Th e time ,
”
h as come for judgment to begin with the hous ehold of God .

God s people however are not to expect anything other th an

’

, ,

i mp arti ality on the part of God If God s people are to be vindi

’
.

c at ed it will be bec au s e they are prep ared to

“
, s uff er a ccording to
” “
God s wil l and do right an d entrus t their s ouls to a faithful
’

” “ ”
Cre ator ( v s ’
God s absolute dem and that men do right
.

regardle ss of cons e quences i s jus tified bec ause God i s the faithf ul “
,
”
Cre ator who fulfil l s hi s promi s es to hi s people and therefore ,
”
they may without res erve entr us t their s oul s to him
“
.

“
Th e warning to thos e who do not obey the gos pel of God
( v s 1 7 ) may be t ak en as the equivalent of the previous warning
.

to those who dis obey the word

“ ”
3:1 Th e word in all ,

of thes e c as es i s the word as pre ached the e quiv alent of the ,

“
gos pel Th i s word or gos pel contains an account not onl y
” “
.
” “ ”

of God s red empt ive love but also of hi s wr ath agains t the dis
’

obedient w h o do not accept tha t love It i s notable that here as .

,
“ ”
in Hebrews 3 an d 4 dis obedience i s the cardinal s i n bec aus e of
,

which men are los t Acc ordingly in the quotation from Proverb s
.
,
” ”
( v s 1 8 ) the righteous man who is s aved is the one who
“ “
.

“ ”
accepts the gos pel in faith wh ile the impious an d s inner will be
,

the one who rejects it and ref uses to li ve out its implications for
 FIRS T PETER -
11

C ons eq uen t Dut ies of Chris t ians -1 1 )

In thi s final s ecti on of th e letter s o much of which h as been
,

devoted to exhortation of one s ort or another Peter addre s se s ,

vari ous groups in the Chri sti an comm unity p articular ly thos e ,
” “ ”
w hom he c all s elders ( v s 1 ) an d the younger people ( v s
. .

At leas t the first of the se group s repres ents persons holding s ome
o ffi ci al s ta tus in the loc al communitie s as Peter s des cription of
’

,
“ ” “
hi ms elf as a fellow elder an d h i s charge to them— Ten d the
flock of God that i s your charge ( v s 2 ) s erve to indic ate In
—
. .

Judais m the elder w as a leader in the syn agogue as well as in

“ ”

s ome c as e s a member of the S anhedri n ( s ee M ark Acts

”
8 ; 6 : 12; In th e Greek world elders h ad both civic
an d religiou s duti es an d a group of them might con s titute the
,

r uling b ody of the city Th e Chr i s t i an Church too k over thi s

.

o ffice with i ts rich b ackground an d in m any communitie s it

,

d oubtle s s repre s ented the s ole le adershi p in the loc al Chris ti an

c ommuni ty ( s ee Acts

Th at Peter shoul d spe ak of him s elf here merely as a fellow

”
e lder r ather than as an Apos tle s hould n ot be con s idered s tr ange .

It would certai nl y h ave been uns eemly for Peter to l ack the very
h umility whi ch he w as about to enjoin upon h i s re aders ( v ss 5 -6 ) .

Moreover h is apostolic authority i s su fli ciently cared for in the

,
“
d es cription of hi m self further as a witnes s of the s uff erings of
”
Chri st as well as a p artak er in the glory that i s to be reve al ed .

Prob ably none of hi s re aders could m ake a cl aim s uch as this

( s ee In an y cas e it w as Peter s pers onal rel ation to Jes us
’

C hrist whi ch m ade him an amb as s ador with full power of dis
“
pe ns in g the gos pel or as he prefers
, , a witne s s
,
to the great facts
of th at gos pel It i s to be noted th at in thi s p as s age the twofold
.

“ ” “ ”
t h eme of s ufferings an d glory i s carried through al ong the
same line s as els ewhere in the letter -1 5 1 8 22 ; ,
-

“ ” “
Th e elders al s o are to s hare in the s e s ufferings of
” “ ”
Chri st as they tend the flock of God in the expectation th at
t hey wil l obtain the unfading crown of glory al ong with him
“ ”

(vs 4)
.

“
Th eir work is to be carri ed on u nder the s upervi sion of the
”
c hief Shepherd , a term nowhere el s e found in the New Tes t a
ment though th e idea for whi ch it s tands is of cours e prominent in
,

a numb er of p as sa ge s ( M ark J ohn Heb

Th e elders of the Church therefore are to thi nk of them
.

, . selves as
 FIRST P ETER -
14

traced b ack to our Lord him s elf ( M att M ark .

Th e need of s uch s obriety and watchfulne ss i s as s ociat ed with

“
the fact that your advers ar y the devil prowls around like a roar
”
ing lion s eeking s omeone to devour It s eems clear that Peter
, .

here e qu ate s the work of the devil with the experience of

“ “

”
s uff ering of which he h as been spe aking throughout th e letter
( v s 9 ; s ee
. Thi s s uff ering i s occas ioned of cours e by
“
men an d it w ould s eem therefore th at Peter use s the term th e
,
”
devil i n a metaphori cal s ens e to refer to the general and cor
porat e evil of hum ani ty with whi ch the Chris ti an brotherhoo d
“

”
throughout the world h as to deal .

Th e Chri sti an i s to remember that s uch s uffering i s for onl y a

”
little while ( v s 1 0 ; see Heb . that i s throughout th e
.
,

period rem ai ning until the God of all grace who h as c all ed you
“
,

t o his eternal glory in Chri st will hi m se lf res tore e st abli s h an d

Th e teaching here i s very s im
, , ,

s trengthen you
”
. il ar t o th at i n I
Thess aloni ans -1 1 an d II The s s al oni ans 2 : 1 1 2 the two letters -
,

in whi ch Silvan u s also h ad a part Th e hortatory an d did actic por .

tion of the epi stle now end s with a s uitable doxology in verse 1 1 .

C L O SING GREETING S
I Pet er —1
4

As we h ave al re ady noted thi s letter i s almos t exclus ively ex

,
“
hortation ( v s 1 2 ; s ee al s o Heb
. Silvanus the n ame of
.
,

Peter s am anuensis or stenographer i s a L atin form an d prob

’

ably i s to b e equ ated with the Greek

”
Sil as Thi s Sil as w as .

originally a man of prominence i n the Jerus alem chur ch ( Acts

1 5 : 22 27 , He bec ame a comp anion of P aul on h is mi s s ion
,

ar y j ourneys ( Act s 2 5 29 ; an d P aul ,

ass oci ated him with hi m s elf in hi s pre achi ng ( II Cor an d .

writing ( I The ss II The ss . Th at Peter s hould u s e the

.

Latin form of hi s name may h ave s ome connection with the fact
that B abylon is pos s ibly a p seudonym employed by Peter for
“ ”

“ ” “ ”
Rome ( v s 1 3 ; s ee Rev . Th e M ark referred to i s the
.

John M ark of Acts 25 ; 13; Hi s mother M ary

m aintained a hous e in Jerusalem whi ch w as a center for the e arly
Jerus al em Chri sti an communi ty ( Acts He w as a rel ative
of B arnab as an d accomp anied P aul on some of h is mi ssion ary
l abors ( Col II Tim
. Philemon . Later tradition
FIRS T PETER -14 1 55

ass oci ates him al s o with the work of Peter an d identifies him as
,
’
the latt er 8 interpreter .

Th e ki ss of love or holy ki ss ( v s 1 4) i s al s o s uggested b y

“ ”
.

Paul as appropri ate among Christi ans ( Rom 1 6 1 6 ; I Cor 1 6 : 20 ;

.
°
.

II Cor . I Th ess . It w as app arently a form of s al u

tat ion or greeting t ak en over by the Church from contemporary
Juda i sm ( Luke “
Peter s clos ing greeti ng ( Peace to
’

al l of you that are i n Chri s t i s a vari ation of the us u al con

temporary Semitic formul a P eace be with you or Pe ace to
,
”
,
“

”
yo u ( see
 THE S ECOND LETT ER OF

IN T R ODUCTION
C ompositi on an d St yle of th e Letter
As a l iterary form Se cond Peter appro aches Hebrews an d Eph e
s i ans more nearly th an an y ot her of the writing s of the New
“ ” “
Te s tament All are e s s en ti ally e ss ays or s ermons
. If it were .

not for the fact th at in 2 an d 3 : 1 2 the s ugge s tion i s m ade by

- -

t h e author t hat he i s in fa ct writing a letter whi ch i s addre s s ed t o

t h e Church we s hould never h ave s u spected th at thi s little piece
,

Of literature w as o ther th an either e s s ay or homily Prob ably . ,

therefore we s hould thi nk of it as originally comp ose d by its

,

author to s erve as an addres s to be delivered to a p ar ticul ar con

gregati on There after either he or another may h ave s uperim

.
,

po s ed upon i t the letter form which it n ow as sumes .

Th e s tyle of thi s letter or e ss ay i s quite unl ike th at of i t s Sis ter

epi stle First Peter Firs t Peter w as writt en by on e who knew good
, .

vernacular Gree k an d who could prob ably speak an d think in the

Greek l anguage the lingua franc a of the day Sec ond Peter is
, .

wri tten in the artifici al s tilted m anner of one who is ende avoring
,

t o Copy the literary or se mi literary fas hion of his cont emporar

-

i es Th e voc abul ar y of Second Peter is as remar kable as i t s style

.
,

cons isting to s ome extent of high s ounding word s 57 of which -

,

are not found el sewhere in the New Tes t am ent O n the whole the .
,

author produce s the impre s s ion of on e who w as not well ao

q u ai n t e d with the Greek l anguage or who may h ave le arned it

rather l ate in life from reading rather th an as a medium for

Clos ely rel ated to the matter of s tyle an d by no means t o be di ,

v orce d from it i s the fact th at Second Peter employed portion s of

,

other New Te s t ament writings altering them cons iderably to con

,

form to h is artifici al literar y style There c an be no doubt for ex

m
.
,

am e th at he h as us ed First Peter an d Jude in this w ay an d

, ,

possibly al s o the Gos pe l of Luke or th e traditi on lying be hind it

 SECOND PETER : INTRODUCTION
ch aracteri stic of Gnos ticis m of every s ort t o separate religion an d
moral s as h aving no nece ss ary connection the on e with the other
, .

Thi s w as bec aus e the Gnos tic s b elieved that only s oul or s piri t
was m ade Up of fi n e elements which could be s aved while m atter,

an d bod y were s o crudely formed as to be unworthy an d inc ap able

of s alvation In cons e quence some boas ted of the ability to ih

.

dul ge in licentious p as s ions of the fles h without end angering the

”
“

Spirit s s al vation
’
see Jude
Unlike the fal s e te achers of Jude s time however thos e di s
’
, ,

cuss ed i n Second Peter sc off particul arly at the thought of the

”
comi ng of Jes us Ch ri st an d of th e day of j udgment which will
“ “ ”

s ucce ed it

Message
Th e mes s age of Second Peter i s b ase d upon the prophetic
word ( 1 : 1 9 ) an d the pred ictions of the holy prophets
” “ ”

as the s e find s upport i n the apos tolic witnes s 1 8 ; 3 : 2 ) Th e

-

content of thi s mes s age i s the knowledge of G od an d of Jes us our

“

” “
Lord which enables Chris ti ans to e sc ape from the cor
”
ruption th at is in the w orld bec au se of p ass ion an d to become
“ ”
p artakers of the divine nature an d which flowers in a

type of genuine ethic al living quite other th an the 1i cen ti oirs ness
which characterized the current Gnos tici sm
Thi s uni que Chris ti an k nowledge of God gives the author a
“ ”

”
s t and ard by which he may condemn the fal s e te acher s

O n the bas is of such knowledge of God as the Chris ti an pos

“ ”

s es ses ( see comment on 1 3 ) he i s al s o able to reply to their

-

s cofii ng at the idea of the coming of our Lord an d the Judgment .

He rou nd s out hi s ess ay letter with an exhortation to right ethi c al

-

living
Dat e
Th e d ate of writing of Second Peter i s by no means e asy to
determine A s i s shown in the comment the author s eems to h ave
.
,

been ac qu ainted with the teaching of Romans an d Hebrews ( 2

1 9—22 ) an d with the collection of P aul s letters generally
’

with the Gospel of Luke -1 8

) an d pos s ibly with that
of M atthew an d with Jude 18; - Acc ord
i ngly it i s obvious that the letter s d ate i s l ater th an those as
’
,

s igned t o the other writings .

Fu rther the author clearly pl ace s him s elf an d his readers In a

,
SE COND PETER : INTRODUCTION 1 59

period s ucceeding the p ass ing away of at leas t the firs t generation
of Chri s ti ans Then t oo there i s little if any evi dence of
, ,

Second Peter s having be en us ed by Chri sti an writers be fore the

’

middle or third quarter of the s econd century For thes e re as ons

.

mos t interpreters of the letter d ate it s ometime after the begin

ning or even in the mid dl e of the S econd century .

Th e arguments advanced for thi s l ate da te are not entirely con

elu s ive Sin ce the di s covery of the Qumr an Scroll s there i s a r ather
.

general tendency to as s i gn an earlier d ate th an previou sly to s ome

of the key wri tings of the New Te st ament Thi s tendency h as al
.

ready aff ected the problem of d ating s ome of th e writings men

ti oned above an d may eventu ally aff ect all of them In cons e .

q u en c e it
, i s les s cert ai n th an appe ared to be th e c ase s ome ye ars
ago that we need ass ign to thi s letter a d ate after A D 7 0
, . . .

Au th orshi p of the Lett er

It is alm os t u nivers ally held among interpreters of Second Peter
th at its author w as not th e Apos tle Peter M os t would prob ably
.

agree th at the letter i s an ex ample of the p s eudonym ou s literatu re

which arose about hi s nam e and w as given hi s authority from the

mi ddle of the s econd century onward As a comp aris on of Firs t
.

Peter w ith Second Peter s hows abundantly the Greek s tyle nature
, ,

of compo sition of the two lett ers an d their res pective me s s age s
,

If it be agreed th at Silvanus did the m aj or work in compos ing

Firs t Peter as its coauthor ( see Introduction to Firs t Peter ) then
it may be all owed that there are cert ain factors ( though thes e
are admittedly n ot entirely conclu s ive ) favoring the Petri ne au

th orshi p of Sec ond Peter For exam e in

.
m ,the author wri tes
as a J ewis h Chri s ti an might well wri te to Gentile Chri s ti an s ( note
“ ”
ours an d Thi s ob s ervation accords with the fact that
in the only quot ation m ade from the O ld Te st ament in the letter
the author appears to be trans l ating di rectly from the
Hebrew of Proverbs rather th an employing the common
Greek trans l ation Thi s may s ugges t that he w as better acqu ainted
.

with the O ld Testa ment in Hebrew th an in Greek Further hi s u s e .

,

of Jude an d hi s reference t o the P auline letters might be ar gued

as i n favor of the author s being the Apos tle Peter r ather tha n
’

another It i s unl ikely that a G alile an fi sherm an would know much

.

about the contempor ary Gnos tic tea ching an d it s hould n ot sur
,
 SECOND PETER : OUTLINE
pris e u s that in an s wering s uch teaching he s hould le an upon
’
others as the author appar ently doe s Furthermore the author s
.
,

humi lity as shown in hi s attitude towar d the P auline letters is

, ,

what on e mi ght expect from the genuine Peter 1 6 ; s ee G al - .

“
Again expressions like the knowledge of God an d of
,

J esus our Lord ( 1 ” “

the w ay of righteou s ne s s an d the holy
” “
,
”
c omm andment ar e what on e mi ght well expect from a

Jewi s h Chris ti an s uch as th e Apos tle Peter Finally it i s to be ob

.
,

s erved th at we l a ck criteri a ( ot her th an s uch p ass a ges from J es u s

’

teaching as Luke 40 an d from P aul s at I Th e ss aloni an s

-
’

-
1 1 ) for knowi ng wh at t h e e arlie st di s ciples m ay have thought
on the s ubject of t h e Second Coming And inas much as at thi s
.

point Second Peter agree s wi th s uch te achings ( s ee thi s

would s eem to argue in favor of the apos tolic authorship of the
letter In View of thes e cons iderations the poss ibility of the Petri ne
.
,

a uthors hi p of Second Peter c annot be denied an y more t h an c an ,

t h e pos s ibility of its early d ate For the s e re as ons it i s bes t to leave
.

t h e m atter of authors hip an d d ate Open in the h Ope th at

,

d is coveries may throw more light upon the problem .

OUTLIN E

Salutati on H Pet er
.
-2

Th e Knowledge of God H Peter .

Th e Knowledge of God in Jes us Chri s t -

1
Sources of the Knowledge of God - 21)
Deni al of the Knowledge of God
Exh ortat ion to Right eou s Liv ing H Pet er
.
—
I8
 SECOND PETER -
4
” ”
vation or deliverance which he works out for man on the pl ane
of hi s tory through a series of redemptive acts ( s ee Is a 6 . ,

Th e first p art of the benediction in vers e 2 May grace an d

”
pe a ce be multiplied to you ) is identical with th at found in I Peter
“
( see comment ) In what follows in thi s vers e ( in the knowl
.

edge of G od an d of Jes us our Lord ) we are introduced to tw o

”

points of s tri ing Signific ance for the letter as a whol

k e — fi
rs t it s ,
”
emphasi s upon knowledge an d s econd it s high view of th e
, ,

pers on of J es u s Chris t This i s s een here in the cl os e connection of

.

“ ” “ ”
God and Je s us our Lord a phenomenon which i s duplic ated
,

m any times els ewhere in the New Test ament ( s ee I Cor Th e .

“ ”
expres sion ou r G od an d S avior Jes u s Chri st in vers e 1 how ,

ever goes beyond the one in vers e 2 It i s comp arable in form to

, .

the expre s sion our Lord an d S avior J es u s Chri st in

“ ”

and 3 : 1 8 ( s ee al s o 3 : 2 ) Th ere can be no doubt th at in the se l at

“ ” “ ” “
ter references Lord an d S avior both apply to Jesus Christ ,
“ ”
an d it i s n atur al therefore to take the expre s s ion G od an d S avior
, ,

as al s o referring to
“
Jesus Christ as is done in the Revis ed
”
,

Stand ard Vers ion Th e only other New Tes tament p as s age in
.

which Jes us Christ is c al led at once God an d S avior is Titus

2: 13 .

TH E KNOW LEDGE O F GOD

H Peter
The Kn ow ledge of God in Jesu s Chri st -I I
)
Knowledge Lea ds to Partak ing of the Divine Nat u re ( I : 3—4)
One ofthe mos t s tri king ch aracteri s tics of Second Peter ( and
one incidentally which distingu i shes it m arkedly from First Peter )
”
i s the emph as is upon knowledge Tw o Greek words both from .
,

the s ame stem are transl ated in this w ay in the Revised Stand ard
,

Vers ion Th e more simple of the two the word which gives u s
.
,
“ ”
Gnos tici sm i s found in
, 6 and it s verb form ( to
”
underst and ) appears in an d Th e rel ated word al so ,
“ ”
transl ated knowledge i s found in , 3 8 an d an d its , ,
“ ”
verb al form appears twice in where it is transl ated known
“ ”
and knowing None of the s e forms with the exception of the
.

very fi rst i s found in First Peter ( see I Peter

SE COND PETER - 11 1 63

an d thi s one ins tance h as no theologic al s ignific an ce In Second .

“ ”
Peter the knowledge in ques tion con cerns in the firs t ins tance , ,

an intim ate acqu aint ance an d fellows hip with God or altern a , ,

t iv ely with Jes u s Ch ri s t as Lord In the New Tes tament the ne ar

, .

es t approach to Second Peter s me aning i s t o be found i n numer

’

ous p assa ges in P aul ( see Rom Eph . .

”
In vers es 3 4 Peter s thes i s is th at thi s intim ate knowledge of
-
’

“
God i s the me ans whereby men are led to s h are hi s glory and
” “
excellence thu s receiving th e fulfi llment of his precious an d
,

very gre at promi s es an d at l as t becomin g p artakers of the divine

” “

”
nature Th e cre ative c au se says our author which lies behind
.
, ,
“ ”
this redemptive proc ess i s God s divin e power Th e expres sions ’
.

“ ” “ ”
divine power an d divine nat ure which repres ent at once th e ,

beginn ing an d end of this redemptive activity of G od find no ,

p arallel in the New Test ament but the ide as involved are biblic al
,
.

It need s no proof tha t throughout the Script ures the po wer of God
lie s behi nd the redemptive process And it i s cle ar th at for Second .

Peter to be p artakers of the divine nature i s s imply to s ay th at

,
“ ”

“ ”
God h as c alled u s to hi s own glory an d excell ence — a wholly
biblical idea ( s ee Rom . I Cor II Cor 3 : . .

In the phras e hi s own glory an d excellence we prob ably h ave

“ ”

a form of expre s s ion where two word s are u s ed to express a Single

ide a In Isai ah
. an d 1 2 the Greek tr an s l ation of the Hebrew

( rendered in the Revi s ed St and ard Version glory an d praise )

“ ” ”

employs the s am e two Greek word s as are found here Ex “

.

” ”
cellence therefore should be t aken to me an the s ame as glory
, , ,

an d both together repre s ent the fact th at b y the

“
divine power , ,

man i s t o be raised t o the stature of the m anife sted nat ure of God
in all of hi s moral excellence ( see E ph 4 : 1 3 ) Th e st atement th at .

“ ”
God gives hi s people all thi ngs th at pertain to life an d godline ss
s ound s very much like the te aching of Je s us as for ex ample in , ,

M atthew an d God s s alvation of man i s sues in es c ape

’ “

” “ ”
from corruption an d the effects of m an s p ass ion ( see al so ’

18;

Confi rmation of Elect ion by Ethi cal Living -1 1

)

"
"
Th e title of thi s section mi ght equ al ly have been confirm ation
”
of fa i t h by ethi c al living inasmuch as it opens with the sug
,
'
ges tion that the re aders should make every eflort to supplement
“

”
their faith with virtue ( v s Th e thes is whi ch is devel .

Oped here i s th at one s theology or religion s hould be followed up

’
 SECOND PETER - 11

by ethical livi ng appropri ate to it And in thi s res pect the t e ach .

ing i s lik e that of P aul in Rom an s and Ephes ians For in thes e .

two letters the ear lier chapters ( Rom 1 1 1 ; Eph 1 3 ) are de .

-
.
-

an d Eph
“ ”
voted to theology an d as the therefore ( Rom
, . .

4 : 1 ) indicate s the ethi c al exhortations which follow are b as ed

,

upon the sound theology whi ch preced es Second Peter s for thi s “
.
’

”
very re as on in the pres ent s ection h as the s ame eff ect as Paul s
’

“ ”
therefore .

Th e general te achi ng of the p assage i s to the eff ect th at the

’ “ ”
Chri sti an s faith s hould blos s om in right ethical living in order ,

"
"
that hi s knowledge of our Lord Je sus Chri s t ( v s 8 ) mi ght n ot
“ ”
.

prove ineff ective or unf ruitful but th at rather he s hould Show

“
,
“ ” “
himself as one cle ans ed from hi s ol d s ins ( v s 9 ) an d s o con .

firm ”
h is cal l an d election ( v s 1 0 ) Th e ultim ate end or goal .

“ ” “ ”
of thi s confirm ation of the Chri s ti an s faith an d election s ays
’
,

Second Peter i s th at he may find entrance into the eternal king

,
“

”
dom of our Lord an d S avior Jesus Christ ( v s .

Here for the first time we h ave a reference to the es ch atologi

cal pers pective whi ch i s fund amental to the thought of our author .

A s we shall s ee this pers pective dominate s hi s thought from vers e

,

1 6 onward to the end of the letter an d more p articul arly in ch ap ,

ters 2 an d 3 In thi s res pect h i s te aching approximate s clos ely that

.

of Firs t Peter ( see I Peter 7 1 1 13; 22 ; 7 1 1 13

, ,
- -
,
“
1 4; Th e phr as e eternal kingdom appe ars nowhere els e
in the New Tes t ament the nearest approach to it being in Luk e
,
“ ” “
( eternal h abitations ) an d in II Corinthi ans ( a hous e
not m ade with hand s eternal in the , Th e author may
h ave in mind of cours e Jesu s teaching in M ark
, ,
’
an d the
“ ”
Joh anni ne concept of eternal lif e ( John an d there is

even s ome remote relation to Paul s tea ching in I Cori nthi ans ’

28 .

“ ”
Somewhat s imil ar li sts of the ethical implications of faith
( v ss 5 7 ) are to be found in Romans 5 : 1 5 ; G al atians
.
-
23 ; - -

Ephesians I Timothy “
P aul term s all of the s e the fruit
”
of the Spirit ( G al an d Second Peter h as already express ed
.

the s imil ar idea th at they proceed from God s divine power ( v s

“ ” ’
.

Nonethele s s f or both P aul an d Second Peter man is to put

, ,
“ ”
forth every eff ort to see that the ethi cal life m atche s his religious
faith ( v s 5 ; s ee Rom
.
“
Virtue ( v s 5 ) refers to the
”
. .

excellence of m an s character an d activity whi ch give expre ss i on

“ ” ’

” “
Self control w as a virtue much admired by the
“ ”
t o hi s faith -
.
 SE COND PETER 21
-

""
To demonstrate the validity of hi s witne s s as a s ource of the
knowledge of God the author s elects out of numerous pos sible
,

experience s that on e when Peter with hi s two as s oci ates w as

“
wi th him th at i s J es us on the holy mount ain of t ran s fi gurat ion
,
”

“
( vs. Here Peter an d hi s as s oci ate s h ad been eyewitne ss es of
”
hi s m ajes ty ( v s a
“
majes ty the lik e of whi ch J es us in his
.
”

incarn ate life h ad not hitherto as sumed And he would not again .

“ ” “ ”
as s ume s uch maj es ty until the s econd coming ( v s 1 6 ) when .

the event would be accomp anied with uni que power “

.

Thi s witnes s which the author procl aims i s no doubt to be

“ ”
identified with the truth whi ch h e says in vers e 1 2 hi s re aders
,

h ave alre ady come to poss es s Such identific ation of th e apo st olic .

“ ”
witnes s or gos pel with the truth i s a common phenomenon in
the New Test ament ( s ee J ohn G al Eph . .

“ ”
In II Timothy an d Tit us t hi s truth of the gos pel i s
contras ted as in vers e 1 6 with cleverly devis ed myths B oth
,
“
,
”
.

Jews an d Gentil e s as the other two references sugge st knew an d

, ,

prop agated s uch myth s devi s ed to expres s or undergird religi ous

te achings Th e author s cle ar intention i s to deny th at the Chri s
.
’

tian faith mu st look for support to such a worthl es s myt hology .

R ather like the prOph etic faith taught in all of Scri pture it i s
, ,

founded upon eyewitnes s tes timony to the redemptive activity of

God on th e plane of hi story .

The Prophetic Word -2 1

)
Th e econd s ource of inform ation ( act ually the first chrono
s
“ ”
logic ally ) of the kn owledge of God of whi ch the author h as ,

been s pe aking is the prOph etic word ( v s 1 9 ) In the context of

,
”
.

the author s thought an d the s itu ation in which he i s writing thi s

’

,
“ ”
prOph etic word i s of an es chatologic al n ature an d h as as i ts
content the coming of Jes us Chris t ( s ee v s
“ ”
Th e Trans .

“ ”
figuration h as m ade more s ur e through i ts revelation of the ,
“ ”
glory of Jes us Chri s t the fact of hi s coming ; it i s a s ort of fore
,

tas te of the gl ory of Chri st which wi ll be hi s at hi s coming again .

“
Th e author w arns hi s re aders that they will do well to pay
attention
”
to this prophecy regarding J es u s coming again mas ’

much as no prophecy ever came by the impul se of man ( v s .

“ ”
21 R ather the prophets were men moved by the Holy Spiri t
,

an d they there fore

,
“
Spoke from God It is not too much to say
”
, .

th at to h is mind the prophets an d Ap os tl es were on a par as in ,

s tru men ts of revel ation A comp ari s on of vers e s 1 8 an d 2 1 with

.
SE COND PETER 2 : 1 -2 2 1 67
“
e ach other m ak e s this clear ; the Apostles h ad a voice borne
from he aven to the m an d s imil arly the prophets were recipients
”
,
“ ” “ ”
of the Holy Spirit an d in cons equence s poke from God .

Second Peter s s ugges tion f urther th at no prophecy of s cri p

’

”
t ure i s a m att er of one s own in t erpretation ( v s 2 0 ) i s quite
’
.

cle ar ly intended as a b as ic p ri nciple to be us ed in replying to the

”
“
sc oflers ( see with whom he is ab out to deal Vers es 2 0 .

“
an d 2 1 taken together are intended t o s ay t hat only the Holy
”
Spiri t through whom the prophetic word comes is c ap able of in
, ,

t erpretin g th at word In cons equence hi s readers are forewarned

.
,

th at it i s their duty to di s cover through w h om Scripture i s bein g

properly in terpreted in their generation .

“ ”
In vers e 1 9 the day which i s about to dawn i s the day of
cons umm ation of judgment of the coming of J es us Chris t ( see
, ,

Amos M ark I Th ess Th e Greek word here .

“ ”
trans l ated the morni ng s tar occurs nowhere els e in the New
”
Tes t am ent ;
“ “
the morni ng s tar in Revelation an d th e
”
bright morni ng s tar in Revelati on repres ent other Greek
expre ss ions However the l atter gives u s the key to the author s
’
.
,

meani ng as it is Je s us who i s there s peaking as he sa ys I am the

, ,
”
root an d the offspring of David the bright morn ing s tar ( see ,

Isa. In any c as e when the author combines two ex ,

“ ” “
pre ss ions s uch as the day da wns an d the morni ng s t ar ri ses in
”
your he arts he i s rather obvious ly referring at one an d the s ame
,

tim e to a general future fact ( the coming of our Lord Jes us

“

Chri s t v s 1 6 ) and to a pers onal experience ( the s ame J es us

”
, .
’

“ ”
coming in one s own life ) This combination need n ot s eem
’
.

s trange to us in view of the fact th at the author h ad s een in his

,

own experience of the Trans figuration an an ticip ation of the Fin al

Deni al of the Kn ow ledge of God (a n

Exi stence of False Prophets an d False Teach ers -2 2
)
It is rather generally agre ed th at i n hi s des cription of the fals e
” “ ” “ ”
teachers ( v s their here sies an d their licentious ness ( v s
. .

2 ) the author i s relying on an d employing th e little Letter of Jude

( p articul arly v ss 4—1 3 We sh all not attempt here a detailed
.
,

comp aris on of the two letters But the s tudent s houl d notice that .

“ ” “
in general the fals e te achers are des crib ed as denying the
 SECOND PETER 2 : 1 -2 2

M as ter w ho bought them ( v s 1 ; s ee Jude ”

an d as indul ging
.

in unethi c al conduct which both authors des cribe as a crude

“
licentiousness ( v s 2 ; s ee Jude
”
. In both letters thes e unde
s ir able te achers who h ave m ade entry i nto the Chri s ti an Church
se e Jude
“ ”
ar e characte rized as arrog an t s coffers an d
“ ” “ ”
in both their condemn ation or de s truction is thre atened ( v ss .

3 17;
, see Jude 1 3 2 2 2 3 ) It s hould be noted too th at m any
,
-
, ,

Of the ill us trations of rebelli on agains t God cited by the two au

thors ar e the same for ex ample the fallen angels ( v s 4 ; Jude 6 )
, ,
.

Sodom an d Gomorrah ( v s 6 ; Jude an d B al aam ( v s 1 5 ; J ude

. .

Much of the phras eology employed by the authors to de

”
s cribe the fal s e te achers i s s imil ar if not identic al ; for ex ample
, ,

they revile the glorious ones ( v s 1 0 ; Jude 8 ) an d act lik e ir

”
.
“

rational ani m al s ( v s 1 2 ; s ee Jude . they are de s cribed as

blem i she s i n their carous ing ( v s 1 3 ; Jude 1 2 ) an d are water
”
“ “ ” “
.

less springs an d mis ts driven by a storm ( v s 1 7 Jude

”
for .

“ ”
whom the nether gloom of d arknes s h as been res erved ( v s 1 7 ; .

Jude This i s by no me ans an exh aus tive li s t of the s imil ari

tie s betw een the two letters but it wi ll pe rh ap s serve t o s ugges t the
,

likelihood that Second Peter employs Jude s de sc ription of thes e ’

“
fal se te achers s ince th at de scription suits his purpos e
, .

In 3 the author i s concerned to s ugge st th at hi s readers

-

s hould remember how at all time s in the hi s tory of the people of

God the true an d the fal s e are found together an d th at a choice ,

mus t be m ade by thi s people Jus t as in the p as t fal s e prophets

“ ”
.

were found along with thos e who h ad the prophetic word in their
“ ”
mouth s so now there are fals e te achers to be di s tingui shed
,

from th e true ( s ee M att 7 : 1 5 2 3 ) From the des c ription of the s e

.
-

fals e te achers it s eems cle ar tha t they were of the type loo sely de
,

s cribed as
“
Gnos tic Such te achers aros e within both Judai s m an d
”
.

Chri sti anity an d drew their te achings from a multitude of s ource s .

“ ”
Like the modern theos ophi sts they were eclectics that is the y
,
—
,

s elected from here an d there te achings congeni al to their own

thinking They were generally arrog ant holding that they alone
.
,
“
were in pos s ess ion of the w ay of tru (v s an d their arro .

gance w as us ually m atched with licentious nes s or immoral

“ ”

vers es 4—1 0 the author enl arges on th e ide a expres sed in

In
“ ”
vers e 3 to the eff ect tha t the fal se teachers will di s cover that
, .

“
their condemn ation h as not b ee n idle an d their des tructi on h as ,
”
n ot been as leep He selects three outs t anding examples from t h e
.
 SEC OND PETER 2 : 1 -2 2

with the devil about the body of Mose s Michael refrained ,

from reviling the l atter Ins tead the arch an gel merely s aid Th e
.
,
“
,

Lord rebuke you ( Jude 9 ; see Zech No s uch incident is

.

recorded anywhere in Script ure an d it h as been assum ed by s ome

,

that Jude ( an d following him les s preci s ely Second Peter ) i s

, ,

citing here an inci dent recorded in the los t apoc ryph al book Th e ,

Ass umption of Mos es However thi s may be in both lett ers it is

.
,

the arrogance of the fal se te achers upon whi ch stres s i s l aid They .
,
“ ”
will be de stroyed s uff eri ng wrong for their wrongdoing

( v ss 1 2
.

Th e s econd S in of the fals e te achers i s various ly de scri bed by

both Second Peter an d Jude as reveling “ ” “
c arous ing ” “
adultery, , ,

an d
“
greed ( v ss 1 3 1 8 ; Jude 1 1
”
.
-
Jude actually sugge sts that
”
this reveling w as can i e d on at the love feasts of the Ch ri sti ans
( Jude
“
An d s ome of our bes t m anus cripts read their love

"
” “ ”
fe as ts ins te ad of their di s s ip ation ( v s 1 3 ; s ee m argin ) Th e . .

diff erence in the Greek words involved amounts onl y to a change

of two letters P aul al s o i s wit ness t o the fact of s uch s c and alous
reveling on the occ as ion of the Lord s Supper ( see I C or ’
.

It s eems un believable that any Chris ti ans however heret ic al , ,

s hou ld have converted the mo s t s acred of Chri s ti an ritu al s i nto a

deb auchery And yet we mu st recall th at m an y of thes e Chri s

.

ti ans p arti cularly thos e who h ad come out of a p agan environ

,

ment were not far removed from their former m anner of living
,
.
_

Th e example of B al aam to whom reference i s m ade by bot h

“
,

Second Pet er an d Jude ( v ss 1 5 1 6 ; Jude 1 1 ; Num 2 2

.
- an d .

“
w h o in both letters i s t aken as an example of on e who loved g ai n
”
from wrongdoing i s s triking Thi s i s p articul arly s o bec aus e in
, .

Revelation 2 : 1 4 it i s said th at in the church at Pergamum in the

Roman province of As i a a lik e te aching of B al aam w as found
“ ”

"
.

Second Peter follows the account in Numbers in implying th at the

“ ”
dumb as s ( v s 1 6 ) h ad more prophetic in s ight than the prophet
.

whom he bore Like Jude the author sugges ts that s uch te achers
,
”
are merely
“
waterle ss springs ” “
mis ts driven by a s torm an d
, ,
“
th at for them the s ame nether gloom of d arkn es s h as bee n re
1 7 1 8 ; see v s 4 an d Jude
”
s erved as for the fallen angel s ( v s s .
- .

12 We are reminded of P aul s des cription of immaturi ty as

’

“
characterized by bein g tos s ed to an d fro an d carried about with
every wi nd of doctrine ( Eph 4 :
”
an d of the s ins of the Gen
.

tiles who have given thems elves Up to licentious ne ss greedy to ,

practice every kind of uncleanne ss ( see Eph 4 : 1 7

”
.
SE COND P ETER - 22 17 1

Th e general teach in g of vers es 1 9 2 2 i s th at thes e fal s e te achers

-

are men w h o c annot di s tingui s h liberty fr om licens e They h ave .

“ ”
tas ted s omewh at of the freedom of the Chri sti an faith but t hey
“ ”
h ave u sed th at freedom to become s l aves of corrup tion ( v s .

Th i s i s the type of thinking an d a cting whi ch in the termi

“ ”
n ol ogy of Chri s ti an ethic s i s c alled antinomi ani s m that i s t h e , ,

te achi ng that freedom from the L aw means th at on e i s now free

to do as he ple ases rather th an as G od pleas es P aul h ad to write
, .

a g ain s t this s ort of teaching an d in Rom ans 6 he m ade Second

,

Peter s p oint th at wh atever overcome s a man to th at he i s en

’ “
,
”
s l aved ( v s 1 9 ; see Rom
. According to the Fourth
.

Gos pel Jes us h ad s ai d very much the sam e thi ng ( see John
,

It i s generally be lieved th at the Nicol aitans held to s uch an t in o

“ ”

mi an te ach ing within the Chri sti an Church ( see Rev 14 .

Verse s 2 0 22 set forth the thes is th at thos e who attai n the

-

“
freedom of the Chri sti an thr ough the knowledge of our Lord an d
”
S avior Jes u s Chri s t an d then t urn b ack t o the defil ements of the
world ar e wors e off th an they were before ; the l as t s t ate h as b e
” “

”
come wors e for them th an the firs t (v s Th is te aching al so h as
.

a f amili ar ri ng about it For the s entence ju s t quoted i s al mo s t

.

an ex act quotation of M atthew an d es senti ally the s ame

te achi ng i s al s o found in Hebrews 8 In vers e 2 1 the tw o

-
.

phr as es the w ay of ri ghteous ne s s an d the holy comm andment

“ ” “

”
delivered to them whi ch clearly refer to the Chris ti an gos pe l
,

an d i t s implic ations f or e thi c al living appe ar to be peculi ar to

,

Second Peter in the New Te stament although s omewh at s imil ar ,

terms with ess entially the same me aning are found els ewhere ( see
M att . 1 4 ; John
-
comp are Rom In .

“
vers e 2 2 the firs t p art of the proverb ( Th e dog turns b ack to hi s
own vomi t ) i s prob ably t aken from Proverb s
”
but the
combin ation of the dog and the sow s ounds very much like
“ ” “ ”

M atthew
But if there i s nothing new in the pres ent s ection it is at leas t ,

inform ative of the h azardou s s tate of th e Church when it is s ur

rounded by the defil ements of a p agan s oc iety Th e author like .
,

the Apo stle P aul s aw cle arly the dire need Of warning h i s rea ders
,

that the Chri s ti an ethic follows natu ral ly from the Chri s ti an the
ology Y ou shall be holy for I am holy exp re s se s this rel ation
“
.
,
”

s hip as it i s ass umed t hroughout the tot ality of the O ld an d New

Te s tament Sc ript ures ( Lev see I Peter . Th e te achi ng

of thi s s ection may be conveniently s ummed Up in the word s of
 SECOND PETER 3 : 1 -1 3

I Peter Live as free men yet without us ing your freedom

,

as a pretext for e

Scoffers at t he Fi nal Comi ng an d the Ju dgment 4)

-

”
In addition to denying the M aster who bought them an d

so
“
the knowledge of our Lord an d S avior Jes us Chris t ”

“ ”
the fal s e te achers al so are found to be s coflers at the thought of
the final coming of J es us Christ as the Judge an d S avior of men
“

( ) h
’
v s
. s 3 4-
It is thi s hos tile a ttitude tow ard the Church s e sc at o

logic al te achi ng with which the author de als in the clos ing chapter
o f hi s letter He ope ns hi s dis cus s ion of t hi s problem with refer
.

en ce s to the two ma jor s ource s upon which he h as b een relying

namely to First Peter ( v s

, an d to Jude which he follows
.
,

clos ely in 3 ( Jude 1 7

-
And as before ( s ee he

"
"
rem arks th at h i s ow n t as k i s merely to arous e your Sincere mi nd
“

by w ay of reminder ( v s 1 ) of both the predictions of the holy

”
.

” “
prophets an d the comm andment Of the Lord an d S avior thr ough
”
their apos tles ( v s .

It i s import ant to notice the exact w ay in which the problem

i s phras ed by the s coffers whom the author wis he s to answer
“ ”
.

They refer to the promis e of hi s coming ( v s

“ ”
an d they set .

thi s promis e in the context of the fact th at they are s econd or

thi rd generation Chri sti ans Th e letter w as quite evidently written
.

“ ”
at a d ay when it could be sa id th at the fathers h ad fal len
“ ”
as leep ; th at i s to s ay the firs t generation h ad al l died Th e w ay
, .

in which the problem i s s tated impli es th at there w as a group in

the contemporary Chri stian commun ity w h o believed th at Jes u s
“ ”
h ad predicted hi s comi ng as to be f ulfilled withi n the lifetime
”
of th e fathers This m anner of s tating the problem therefore
.
, ,

rais es a twofold ques tion : fir s t whether Jes us m ade any pre ,

“ ”
diction at all with reference to h is coming ; an d s econd if ,

he did whether it w as intended to have a specific time reference

,
“ ”
pert aining to the generation of the fathers Second Peter accepts .

by irn pli cat ion the contention that J es us h ad m ade a general

promi se of his coming However he appe ar s equ al ly to imply in
.
,

hi s ans wer that J es u s h ad never m ade any s tipulation as to the

time of the promi se s f ulfil lment ’
.

Second Pet er s Reply to the Scofi ers

’
-1
3)
Th efirst an swer of our author to the s coffers is of a lo gical
nature And it i s b as ed Upon tw o as s umptions which underlie the
.
 SECOND PETER -
13

water , an d on
the other wi th fire reflects thi s typ e of pro
, ,

ph e t i capoc alyptic contras t between th e tw o elements ( s ee M att

-
.

3: 1
O n the b asis ofthes e two prOph et ic postu lates then Second , ,

Peter argue s that the s overeign G od of the universe will of ,

cour s e judge an d destroy all of h i s cre ation ( including ungodly

,
“

men ) that he find s to be unworthy of h i s s alvation ( v s

”
.

“ ”
Second Peter s se cond ar gument ag ainst the s coff ers an d their
’

v iews with reg ar d to the Fina l Coming an d the Judgment repre

s ents h is mos t origin al contribution to thi s s ubject He d erive s it .

from P s alm though he does not quote the P s alm as it ap ‘

pears in either the Hebrew or the Greek In both thos e l angu age s .

the p s almist speak s of yes terd ay as being comp arable to a

“ ” “

”
thous and ye ars in th e Lord s s ight It i s however not h in ds igh t
’
.
, ,

with which S econd Peter i s de aling but rather fores igh t Con s e .

quently he al ters the Ps alm to re ad with the Lard one day is as

,
“
,
”
a thou sand ye ars an d a thou s and ye ars as one d ay
, ( v s 8 And .

hi s argument ass umes th at Je su s promi s e of h is coming w as of

’ “ ”

the most general s ort in line with the prophetic te aching regard
,
“
ing the day of the Lord which began s o far as our information
, ,
“ ”
le ad s u s to believe with Amos ( se e Amos 5
, Thi s day ,

argues our author on the b as i s of P s alm i s not to be reck

""
omed with any yardstick known to man It i s God s day an d is t o .
’

be cal cul ated only by s uch method of reckoning as he employs .

“
Consequentl y it i s fallacious to argue that inasmuch as the
, ,
”
fathers h ave fallen asleep the promi s e h as failed This could
, .

only be true if Jes u s in m akin g the promis e h ad s tated it in term s

of m an s chronologic al reckoning a n d o u r a u thor as s u mes t ha t
’

h e n e v er d id any s uch th in g Inste ad we s hould ass ume that the

.
,
“ ”
app arent s lownes s about the promi s e s fulfillment i s due to the
’

“ ” “
fact that the Lord i s forbeari ng and not wi shing th at any
( v s 9 ) We
”
s houl d pe ri s h but th at al l s hould re ach repent ance
, .

“ ”
s hould rather count the forbearan ce of ou r Lord as s al vation
( v s
. 1 5 ; comp are Luke Rom -2 6 Heb
; . 8 ; I Peter .
-

Rev .
-1 1
;
Th e author now conclude s hi s s econd argumen t adding to hi s ,

ow n original formul ation of it a thought which mu s t h ave b ec ome

by hi s day a commonpl ace in Chri sti an thinking— namely that ,
“
the day of the Lord will come like a thief ( v s 1 0 ) According
”
.

to the Gospel writers Je sus him s elf h ad taught this (s ee Matt

, .

Luke and comp are M ark it w as als o

SE COND PETER 3 : 1 4- 1 8 1 75

the teaching of the Apos tle Paul ( see I Thess an d it i s .

found al s o in the Revelation t o John Th e d es cription

of the end which follows ( v s 1 0 ) i s a repetition in s lightly dif
.

feren t terms of wh at we h ave already seen ( v s 7 ; see als o v ss . .

11
But the end of God s pu rpos e for m ankind i s n ot des truction
’
.

Th e author add s to hi s twofold reply to the scofi ers the assurance ,

whi ch i s comm on to the Scripture s firs t an d las t th at God i s more ,

“
th an Judge ; he i s als o S avior an d Re cre ator It i s true th at the
-
.

he avens will be kindled an d diss olved an d the elements will melt

,

with fire ( v s 1 2 ) Thi s i s by no me ans al l that the comin g of the

”
.
“

” “ ”
day of God wil l mean for m ankind for hi s promi se includes
,

the coming of new he avens an d a new e arth in whi ch ri ghteou s

“

”
nes s dwells ( v s And it is b ec aus e Chri stians look for thi s
.

re cre ation th at they re alize th at they should order their lives in

-

“ ”
holi ness an d godlines s ( v s .

“ ”
This te aching with regard to new heavens an d a n ew e arth
goes b ack to I sai ah And it i s a m aj or theme in the
Revelation to J ohn ( se e ch s 2 1 an d 22 ) as of other ap ocal yptic
.

writings Th e thought is fund amental to the prophetic conception

.

of the n ature of God as a G od o f righteou s ne ss grace an d truth , ,

.

Second Peter does not explain h ow Chri sti an s may further the
“ ” “
has teni ng of the coming of the day of God ( v s ”
But in .
,

the context of hi s thought W e may perhap s conclude th at live s

,
“

”
of holine ss an d godline ss are the in s trument s whi ch God h as

pl aced at m an s dis pos al for f urthering thi s end ( v s

’
.

EXHORTATION TO RIGHTE OUS LIVING

11 Peter 3 : 1 4 1 8 -

Th e uthor devotes th e l as t s ection of hi s s ermon an d letter to

a

an exhortation to his Chr i stian re aders to live

“
lives of holiness
an d godline ss
”
( see v s .or as he now says h e ze alous to be
“
,

found by him without s pot or blemi sh an d at peace ( v s 1 4 )”

, .

This is to say th at the Fin al Coming an d the Judgment together ,

“
with the thought of n ew he avens an d a new earth in whi ch
righteous nes s dwells ( v s
”
are to s erv e as the Chri s tian s
.
’

motive for ri ght li vi ng Th e motive of fear it s hould be ob serv ed

.
, ,

is not sugges ted Nor is there anything morbid about the motive
.

w hich he does su gges t Th e point i s the one found everywhere

.
1 76 SECOND P ETER 3 : 1 4- 1 8

thr oughout the Scrip t ures Of the O ld and New Te staments : that
God i s both Judge and S avior of m anki nd an d that man i s al
,

ways to live hi s life in ri ghteous ness an d pe ace in love an d truth , ,

becaus e God i s a God Of holines s an d righteous ness who dem ands

th at man s hall S O live hi s lif e ( see I Peter Man is not
t aught t o live in terror Of thi s holy God but rather s imply to
,
“ ”
count the forbe arance of ou r Lord as s alvation ( v s 1 5 s ee v s . .

9 above ) In cl os ing accordingly the author returns to the first

.
, ,

theme Of the letter sugges ting th at it i s the functi on of Christi ans

,
“
to grow in the gr ace an d kn owledge of our Lord an d S avior
”
Jesus Chri s t (v s 1 8 ; s ee
. 5 Such growth will le ad to a
deepening unders tanding of the natur e of God an d at the s ame
time induce in us a like natur e .

In the mid st Of hi s exh ortation S econd Peter again warns hi s

re aders ag ains t the error of lawle s s men th at i s pre s um ably
“
, , ,

the s coflers of whom he h as been spe akin g ( v s 1 7 ; s ee 2 : 1 7 22 .

-

-7 And agai n identifying hi ms elf with the Apostle Peter he ,

“ ”
refers to the m anner in which hi s be loved brother P aul wrote .

“ ”
He decl ares th at there are s ome things in P aul s letters whi ch are ’

“ ”
hard t o unders tand ( v s 1 6 ) — pre sum ably in the present con
.
,
“
text a doctrine lik e P aul s glorious liberty Of the children Of
,
’

G od ( Rom
“
. Such a doctrin e s ays the author the i g
, ,
”
n oran t an d unst able twis t to their own des tr uction ( converting
liberty into licentiousness ) an d it i s cle ar from P aul s own ’
“

writing th at thi s s tatement i s in accord ance with the facts ( see hi s

Second Peter ends hi s letter with a benediction : TO hi m be “

the glory both now an d to the day Of eternity Amen Th e term . .

“
glory s tands alone as in Rom an s
”
an d Hebrews a

phenomenon however which i s in accord ance with the general

, ,

thought of Second Peter that man i s to reflect the glory of God

“ ”
( s ee Th e expre ss ion the day Of eterni ty i s found no
where els e in the New Tes t amen t It is cle arly intended to refer
.

to the total extent of the eternal order an d no doubt is a reflection

Of the teachi ng in verse s 8 -9 .