United Theological College,

Bengaluru
Name: Arnon Christian
Topic: Christology: Jesus is our High Priest
Course: Letter to the Hebrews
Course Code: MNT016
Facilitator: Prof. Rev. Dr. Johnson Thomaskutty
Date: 25 July 2022

Introduction
The central figure in the letter to the Hebrews is Jesus Christ. The letter begins with the
emphasis that in the last days, God has spoken to us through his Son. It is interesting to note
that the name Jesus does not appear here because it is taken for granted that the Son refers to
Jesus. So, right at the onset we find assumptions about the identity of Jesus which are
expounded throughout the letter. Therefore, it becomes important to study the way in which
Jesus is portrayed in the letter to the Hebrews which will in turn help us in our hermeneutics.
Keeping this in mind, this paper aims to study the Christology of the letter to the Hebrews. The
paper intents to answer the questions like who is Jesus? What is his nature? What is his identity
according to the Hebrews? This paper will employ exegetical method as and when necessary,
in order to bring out the Christological elements.
1. The Humanity of Jesus in Hebrews
In the letter to the Hebrews, the first passage that clearly talk about the humanity of Jesus Christ
is 2:9-18. In v. 9, the author claims that for a little while Jesus was made lower than the angels.
In the verses above v. 9, the author was quoting Psalms 8:4-6 which talks about how the Son
of Man is made for a little while lower than the angels. Attridge believes that the force of
association of Jesus with man of the Psalm is unclear from exegesis. One possibility that he
suggests is that the author is evoking the eschatological Son of Man Christology. However, he
argues that there is no development in the Son of Man imagery in the rest of the letter and
therefore the author does not seem to be referring to the Son of Man Christology. Another
possibility that Attridge suggest is the association with the heavenly prototype of Adam. This
association led to the rise of Gnostic Man in the gnostic literature. However, such an association
cannot be possible here because we do not see any gnostic elements in the letter. Attridge says
that the association of Jesus with the man of the Psalm reveals that the exalted status of Son is
dependent on what happens to Jesus as a human being. This is the reason why the human name
Jesus is used here.1 Guthrie also says that it is here the Son is referred to by the human name

1
Harold W. Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, ed. Helmut Koester, Hermeneia-A Critical and
Historical Commentary on the Bible (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), 73–75.

1
Jesus for the first time which is significant because it stresses the humanity of Jesus.2 The future
ruler of the world is not at focus here but rather the man Jesus who in the historical past was
for a time made lower than the angles.3
What does it mean when the author says that Jesus was made a little lower than the
angels? Is it referring to the incarnation of Jesus? At first look, it does seem to be that the author
is talking about the incarnation of Jesus. However, the focus here appears to be his suffering
of death. Luke Timothy says that the expression διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου has more to it than
it appears. For Hebrews, Jesus just taking on the human nature would not have lowered him
below the angels because the Son never ceases to sustain the universe. However, the Son was
fitted with the human body so that he would completely entire into the sphere of human
existence and therefore embrace mortality. It is interesting to note that suffering is added to the
death by the author. This signifies that the Jesus’ death is important not “merely because he
share mortality with other humans but also because he has participated fully in the distinctive
experience of death under the reign of sin, namely fear and suffering.”4
Another important phase in this section regarding the humanity of Jesus is found in v.
14 which implies that Jesus shared in the ‘flesh and blood’ like his brothers and sisters. The
expression ‘flesh and blood’ is a customary Jewish and Christian expression for human nature
especially in contrast to the divine nature.5 However, it is important to note that in the Greek
the expression is ‘blood and flesh’ instead of ‘flesh and blood.’ This expression may stress the
suffering associated with humankind.6 George suggests that this expression may have taken
the human nature for granted and could be referring to the fact that Jesus was of the same ‘blood
and flesh’ as other children of Abraham.7 However, the emphasis does seem to be here that
Jesus shared in the human condition of weakness because in v. 17 it is made clear that Jesus
was made like his brothers and sisters in all things. Attridge argues that “the emphatic κατὰ
πάντα indicates that the likeness is not a superficial, quasi-docetic one.” It is only qualified in
the matter of Christ’s sinlessness (4:15).8
Another important verse in the letter to the Hebrews which talks about the humanity of
Jesus is 5:7. In this verse, the author says that while Jesus was in his flesh, he offered up prayers
and supplication with loud crying and tears because of his piety. Bruce McCormack believes
that this is the most vivid portrayal of the humanness of Jesus in NT. This verse shows the
human frailty and weakness that Jesus experienced which extends to the experience of real fear

2
Donald Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary, The Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1983), 86.
3
Ernst Käsemann, The Wandering People of God: An Investigation of the Letter to the Hebrews, trans.
Roy A. Harrisville and Irving L. Sandberg (Minneapolis: Augsburg Pub. House, 1984), 125.
4
Luke Timothy Johnson, Hebrews: A Commentary, 1st ed., The New Testament Library (Louisvill, Ky:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 91–92.
5
George Wesley Buchanan, ed., To the Hebrews, 1st ed., The Anchor Bible 36 (New York: Doubleday,
1972), 34.
6
Edgar V. McKnight and Christopher Lee Church, Hebrews-James, Smyth & Helwys Bible
Commentary (Macon, Ga: Smyth & Helwys Pub., Inc, 2004), 74.
7
Buchanan, To the Hebrews, 34.
8
Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 92–95.

2
and dread.9 This verse expresses the intensity of the human lot which Jesus experienced. The
author probably has in mind the agony of Jesus which he experienced in the Garden of
Gethsemane. William Manson believes that “no demonstration could be clearer of the place
which the human life of Jesus has in the Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews.”10
From our analysis above, it is clear that in the Christology of the Letter to the Hebrews,
humanity of Jesus plays a major role. Jesus is not just the divine Son, but the Son incarnated
who shared the same flesh and blood with his brothers and sisters. Not just that but he also
suffered with temptations and sorrows to the fullest sense of human frailty and weakness until
death. The human condition of Jesus is as important as the divine nature of Jesus for the author
of the Hebrews.
2. The Divinity of Jesus in Hebrews
The author of the Hebrews starts the letter by listing some of the characteristics of the Son in
1:1-4. These verses indicate that the Son is the heir of all things, the one through whom all
things are made, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature, the
upholder of all things, and is seated at the right hand of God. These phrases explain many things
about Jesus but take some things for granted. The name Jesus does not appear at all in the first
chapter. For Lindars, Jesus in these verses is shown as the Son of God-the first-born of God as
he is the Word of God. Therefore, he sees Wisdom Christology in these verses. Lindars argues
that the author only thinks of the pre-existence of Jesus in the limited sense. “He thinks of the
pre-existent Son of God, active in the creation and expressed partially in the prophets and
expressed fully and finally in the man Jesus.”11 On the contrary, Richard Bauckham sees the
Christology of divine identity in these verses. He believes that early Christians consciously
created a Christological monotheism by adding Jesus in the unique identity of the one God of
Israel. He sees 1:2-4 as doing exactly the same. The phrases like πάντων and τοὺς αἰῶνας are
part of the monotheistic language which was designed to distinguish God from the rest of the
reality. These same phrases are used for Jesus and therefore Jesus is being put on the divine
side of that distinction.12 If this is true then right at the onset, we see that the author of the
Hebrews is proclaiming that Jesus is the pre-existent Son of God who shares in the unique
monotheistic identity of God of Israel.
Thomas Aquinas as also made some of the observations regarding the divinity of Jesus
found in Hebrews 1:1-3. From v. 2, he has made three observations regarding the divinity of
Christ. First, he says that God has spoken to us ‘by a Son’ which shows the uniqueness of
Christ as the true and natural Son of God as compared to humans as the adopted sons (and
daughters). Second, Christ being appointed the ‘heir of all things’ shows the magnitude of his

9
Bruce L. McCormack, “‘With Loud Cries and Tears’: The Humanity of the Son in the Epistle to the
Hebrews,” in The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology, ed. Richard Bauckham et al. (Grand Rapids,
Mi.: Eerdmans, 2009), 64.
10
William Manson, The Epistle to the Hebrews: An Historical and Theological Reconsideration
(Edinburgh: Hodder and Stoughton, 1957), 110–11.
11
Barnabas Lindars, The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, New Testament Theology (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1991), 33–34.
12
Richard Bauckham, “The Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Epistle of the Hebrews,” in The Epistle to the
Hebrews and Christian Theology, ed. Richard Bauckham et al. (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2009), 17–21.

3
dominion. Third, God ‘made the world’ through Christ shows that he is not just a created
instrument but one who is equal to God. Aquinas also finds three attributes of Christ from v. 3.
First, Christ being called ‘the brightness of his glory’ demonstrates not just the wisdom of
Christ but indicates that he himself is Wisdom. Second, ‘the figure of his substance’ shows that
Christ is of the same nature as the God. Third, the phrase ‘uphold all things by his word of
power’ indicates that Christ is not just powerful but power itself. Therefore, for Aquinas the
letter to the Hebrews begins by showing the excellence of the Son and reveals his divinity with
the use of mutually reinforcing statements.13
Another important section that talks about the divinity of Jesus is 1:5-14. The first thing
that we notice in these verses is that the author is trying to establish the superiority of the Son
over the angels. Why is the superiority of Jesus over the angels so stressed in Hebrews? Many
suggestions have been made for this. It is argued that the author wants to counter the angel
Christology because the community to which the letter is addressed tended to conceive the
nature and work of Jesus Christ along the lines of angel theories prevalent in those times.14
Jesus was considered as the angel or the lord of the angels by the Jewish-Christian sect of the
Ebionites. This theory probably rose in a Jewish setting which had an advanced doctrine of the
angels and was developed to preserve the Jewish monotheistic doctrine.15 Another theory
suggests that the author wanted to establish the superiority of Jesus over angels in the beginning
so that no parallels be made between his High Priestly Christology and the imagery of the
heavenly High Priest.16 However, Lindars argues that the superiority of Jesus over the angels
is important for the author of the Hebrews because the readers of the letter had strayed away
from the original teaching. It was believed that the Jewish Law was given to Moses by the
mediation of an angel. So, by showing the superiority of Jesus over the angels, the author is
proving the superiority of the Christian message over the Jewish Law.17 This does seem to be
an interesting theory and the one which is in line with the overarching purpose of the letter.
Richard Bauckham as another theory to understand the function of angels in Hebrews.
He argues that first the author expounds Psalm 110:1 to show that the exalted Christ is far
superior to the angels. Then the author moves to Psalms 8:5-7 in chapter 2 to show that before
Jesus was exalted for a time being, he was lower than the angels. Bauckham believes that the
author is using the Jewish cosmological understanding of the imagery of height as indicative
of status and identity. In Jewish worldview, the cosmic throne of God was placed above the
heavens and at the summit of the cosmos. Which means that it is far above the ranks of angels
present in the heavens. This spatial superiority of God’s throne makes God transcend over all
creation even the majestic angels who were mistaken as gods. So, when Jesus shares the God’s
throne on high, he has the superiority of God over the angels. But when the Son became
incarnate as human, he took the lowly condition of being below the angels. Therefore, the

13
These are the views of Thomas Aquinas as mentioned by Daniel Keating. See, Daniel Keating,
“Thomas Aquinas and the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘The Excellence of Christ,’” in Christology, Hermeneutics, and
Hebrews: Profiles from the History of Interpretation, ed. Jon C. Laansma and Daniel J. Treier (London:
Bloomsbury, 2013), 88–89.
14
Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 51.
15
Lindars, The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, 38.
16
Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 52.
17
Lindars, The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, 38.

4
angels in the text function to show the divine identity of Jesus as creator and ruler of the angels
transcending all creation.18
3. High Priest Christological Motif of Hebrews
The High Priest Christology is a unique contribution of Hebrews to the New Testament
Christology. It is only in the Letter to the Hebrews that we see Jesus being represented as a
High Priest. In this section, we will try to understand how the author is developing his High
Priest Christology.
Even though theme of High Priest is the important for the author, s/he does not
introduce it immediately. The author gradually builds up his argument to a climax. Jesus as the
High Priest is first introduced incidentally in 2:17 and 3:1 and not again till 4:14.19 In 2:17, the
adjectives merciful and faithful are used for Jesus. This shows that as a High Priest, Jesus will
serve as a sympathetic intercessor before the throne of God and can be completed trusted.20
This first introduction of Jesus as the High Priest entails the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is merciful
and sympathetic because he was made like his brothers and sisters in all things. The full
humanity of Jesus is an integral part of the High Priest Christology of Hebrews.
The first major section that talks about Jesus being a High Priest is found in 5:1-10.
This section brings forward the qualifications of a High Priest. It is important to understand
these qualifications in order to understand the High Priest Christology of the author. F.F. Bruce
points out a chiastic structure in this passage21 which indicates that the High Priest
qualifications are fulfilled by Jesus.
A) High Priest must be able to sympathies with the ones whose cause he represents
(vv. 1-3)
B) High Priest must receive divine appointment to priestly office (v. 4)
B1) Jesus is divinely appointed and fulfills requirement B (vv. 5-6, 10)
A1) Jesus sympathizes with the ones whom he represents and fulfills requirement A
(vv. 7-10)
It is clear from the structure that the author lays the argument that Jesus successfully
fulfills the qualifications of being the High Priest. However, Jesus lacked one essential
qualification that was needed to be a High Priest. He was from the tribe of Judah and not Levi.
That was a major problem. If Jesus was to be a High Priest, then he would have to be of a
different kind. Therefore, the author identifies a new order to priesthood with its origination in
Melchizedek. The author was probably inspired for this idea from Psalms 110:4 which then led
him/her to the original reference in Genesis 14:17-20.22

18
Bauckham, “The Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Epistle of the Hebrews,” 23.
19
Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews, 51.
20
Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 95.
21
F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Commentary on the New Testament
(Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1990), 88.
22
Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews, 52.

5
 It is in the seventh chapter of the letter that the author fully explores the High Priesthood
of Jesus with reference to Melchizedek. There are two passages in the Hebrew Bible that talk
about Melchizedek as we have seen above. In both the passages, Melchizedek appears as a king
and a priest. Hence, he serves the Christological purpose of Hebrews in developing a High
Priestly profile of Jesus alongside his messianic lordship.23 The figure of Melchizedek in
Hebrews is often compared with the figure of Melchizedek scroll from Qumran. It is insisted
in the fragment that the eschatological judgement will be performed by a representative of God
called Melchizedek. He therefore appears to be a messianic figure. However, the document is
an exposition of Isa. 61:1-2 and other passages but makes no allusion to Psalms 110:4 and
Genesis 14:17-20. It is suggested that Melchizedek in this fragment is the symbolic name of
Michael, the prince of angels, who acts on behalf of God. There is no direct connection between
the Melchizedek of Qumran document and Hebrews because the Melchizedek of Qumran
document is not the Messiah, does not act as a priest, and is not the mediator of the sacrifice of
the new covenant.24
The author seems to be interested in Melchizedek not for his own sake but in order to
understand what it would mean for Messiah of Psalm 110 to be a priest in the order of
Melchizedek.25 In Hebrews 7, Melchizedek is presented as without mother, without father,
without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of
God, and he remains a priest forever. Jereme Neyrey says that this is a Hellenistic true-god
language which was used by philosophically inclined writers to show what it means to be a
true deity as distinct from a deified hero.26 However, Richard Bauckham argues that the author
of Hebrews has adopted this Hellenistic true-god language and refunctioned it as monotheistic
language. The things which are said for Melchizedek in 7:3 are the same things which are said
for Christ by applying the words of Psalm 102 in chapter 1. It is the full eternity of the only
true God which is in focus here. The God of Psalm 102 remains while all the creation perishes.
Similarly, the Melchizedekian High Priest remains a priest while the Levitical priests come and
go. We see in 7:16 that Jesus has become a priest by the power of the indestructible life.
Therefore, Jesus qualifies for his never-ending priesthood because he shares the fully eternal
being, the indestructible life, of God.27 The divinity of Jesus is the focus of the author in
comparing the High Priesthood of Jesus to the order of priesthood of Melchizedek.
From our analysis, we can confirm that the High Priesthood of Jesus entails both his
humanity and divinity. As divine, Jesus had no beginning and is eternal whereas as human he
shares the same flesh and blood as his brothers and sisters.

23
Deborah W. Rooke, “Jesus as Royal Priest: Reflections on the Interpretation of the Melchizedek
Tradition in Heb 7,” Biblica 81 (2000): 81–94.
24
Lindars, The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, 74–75.
25
James Thompson, The Beginnings of Christian Philosophy: The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly 13 (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1982), 117–18.
26
Jerome H. Neyrey, “Without Beginning of Days or End of Life" (Heb 7:3): Topos for a True Deity,”
n.d., https://www3.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/days.html. Accessed on 2022-07-24 at 12:47 p.m.
27
Bauckham, “The Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Epistle of the Hebrews,” 28–31.

6
4. The Protest Motif of High Priest Christology
It is difficult to date the letter to the Hebrews. However, based on the references made by 1
Clement, the persecution factor, and the destruction of the temple, Peter O’Brien suggest that
the letter was written somewhere between 60 CE to 90 CE but prefers a date before 70 CE. 28
This dating places the letter to the Hebrews in the context of Roman Empire.
In the year 23 BCE, under Octavian, a new form of government was formed which was
called as a principate. Under the principate, the Roman empire was ruled by the emperor and
the Roman Senate. Octavian was given the title Augustus and with each passing year, the power
of the emperor increased. Augustus was given the title of imperium maius. It means that he
now had the rank higher than any provincial governor authorized by the Senate. This rank gave
him the power to interfere with the affairs of any province and maintain an army detachment
even in the capital.29 Augustus was also vested with the title of tribunicia potestas which means
that he now had the power of the board of tribunes, and he could initiate legislation on behalf
of the people.30 From 28 BCE, Augustus was called as princeps senatus which means that he
had the right of speaking first in debate. Finally, in 12 BCE., he also took the office of pontifex
maximus and restored the religion of the republic. The title of Pontifex Maximus made
Augustus a supreme religious authority along with being an Emperor.31 We can say that with
this title, the emperor became the High Priest of the empire.
When the letter to the Hebrews was written, emperor worship was prevalent throughout
the Roman empire. The deceased as well as the ruling emperor were dedicated temples. The
emperor who was alive was considered as the religious authority and one has to follow
whatever religious guidelines were given by him. In such a context, the Letter to the Hebrews
with its High Priest Christology functions as a protest literature against the colonial Roman
Empire. Hebrews is saying that Christ is our High Priest and not the emperor. It is claiming the
Lordship of Christ in opposition to the lordship of the emperor. Therefore, the Christological
motif of the Hebrews can be considered as a form of passive resistance against the colonial
Roman empire.
5. Towards an Indian Christology
The High Priest Christology of Hebrews was developed as a response to the issues that the
community of Hebrews was facing. One of the factors which led to the letter being written was
the possible apostacy to Judaism.32 Some of the Jewish Christians wanted to leave their faith
and go back to Judaism amidst persecution. In this context, the author develops a High Priest
Christology in order to assert the supremacy of Christian message over Judaism. The High

28
Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand
Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2010), 16–22.
29
Helmut Koester, Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1995),
1:294.
30
Ferguson explains “In order to protect the power of the people, the Republic had elected ten tribunes-
a troublesome office to the aristocracy, for a tribune held veto power and could initiate legislation, and an offence
against a tribune was considered as an offence against the gods.” See, Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early
Christianity, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2003), 21.
31
See, Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 22.
32
Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews, 38.

7
Priest Christology of Hebrews is an apt example of theology addressing the pertinent questions
of the context without compromising the basic tenets of the faith. This can be taken as a model
to develop an Indian Christology in the context of the social, political, and economic conditions
of the Christians in India.
Most of the Indian Christologies focuses on the liberating aspect of Christology
grounded in the Jesus of history. They are more focused on the function of the Christ and less
focused on the person of the Christ. Thomas believes that prioritization of the liberating aspects
is good, but it is incomplete because “it neglects an equal focus on how there is a much deeper
liberation in the form of theosis (deification or divinization) that is grounded on the “heavenly
session” of Jesus.” In that case, the High Priest Christology of Hebrews can be a corrective for
Indian Christologies.33 Taking our inspiration from the Letter to the Hebrews, we can develop
an Indian Christology which not only addresses our contextual problems but also focus on the
person of Jesus as fully divine and fully human.
Conclusion
The Christology of the Letter to the Hebrews has a unique place in the New Testament. The
author develops a High Priest Christology in order to address pertinent issues of the
community. This High Priest Christology fully explores the identity of Jesus Christ.
Christology of Hebrews has an exceptional blend of the person and work of Jesus Christ in
which the person of Jesus Christ qualifies the work of Jesus Christ. Christology of Hebrews
not only has a high Christology when it comes to the divinity of Jesus but also contains one of
the most vivid portrayals of the humanity of Jesus. Jesus for the author of Hebrews is the divine
Son who shares the identity of the God of Israel as well as humanity of his brothers and sisters
because he took on in their flesh and blood mortal nature. Therefore, we can say that the
Christology of the Letter to the Hebrews has the shade of the Chalcedonian Christology.
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to the Hebrews and Christian Theology. Edited by Richard Bauckham, Daniel R.
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8
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Webliography
Neyrey, Jerome H. “Without Beginning of Days or End of Life" (Heb 7:3): Topos for a True
Deity,” n.d. https://www3.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/days.html.