I was reading from Hebrews 1 today. Hebrews opens unlike any other letter or epistle. There is no prologue, or greeting of any type. It opens with a declaration, a statement of fact. This declaration is one long sentence in the Greek (1:1-4). The structure of the sentence:
In the prophets
/ To the fathers
/ Long ago in various ways and portions
/ God / has spoken
\
In these last days
\
To us
\
In His Son
|| whom he appointed heir
|
| through whom He made the world (ages)
|
| He is the radiance of His glory
|
| the exact representation of His nature|
| upholds all things by the word of his power
|
| He had made purification of sins
|| sat down at the right hand of Majesty on high
\
Having become better than the angels
|
| He has inherited a more excellent name
\
than they (angels)
Three things struck me about this passage and I was reading and diagramming it. First, God has spoken. This is the subject and verb of the sentence. Speaking is the action of God. This speaking is clearly progressive. Note how some of the phrases parallel each other in the passage.
In the prophets In the son
To the fathers To us (Hebrews)
Long ago… In these last days
Second, this speaking was to the Hebrews. In old days God spoke by various means through the prophets, and in these last days in the person of the Son. The Greek text reads more literally, “In the last days of these” or at the end of these days. The word these refers back to the prophets. At the end of the Old Testament prophets God spoke in His Son. Remember, Jesus lived in the Old Testament time. I believe it is a reference to the Son’s incarnation. Both phrases speak of when God spoke to the Hebrews. One was in an imperfect fashion (various ways and manners), the other is in a perfect fashion (in His Son).
Third, God is speaking through His Son Who is the superior revelation. The author makes that clear by listing the characteristics of the Son that makes Him superior.
Jesus Christ is the center of God’s revelation, the living Word.
No comments:
Post a Comment