Category: <span>Hebrews</span>

The references to the Old Testament in Hebrews 12-13 show that the author did not arbitrarily employ Scripture. His use of passages from Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, and Haggai show that he viewed Scripture as a storyline that applied to the unique situation of his audience in Christ.

(1) In Heb 12:5-6, he quoted Prov 3:11-12 in order to describe how God used the audience’s struggles to train them in following Christ. While the audience had to endure their estrangement from Judaism, the author wanted his friends to know that they were in the Lord’s care. He quoted Prov 3:11-12 in Heb 12:5-6, writing, “My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly, or faint when you are reproved by Him; For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives.” God was not disciplining them for sin, He was rather training them in the steps of Christ. While natural fathers discipline their children based upon what seems good to them, Hebrews says that God disciplines His children so that they can share in His holiness (Heb 12:10). The audience in view had need of endurance not because of what they had done wrong, but in view of what they might become—those who enjoy fellowship with Him outside the camp (Heb 13:13), those who have a share in the city to come (Heb 13:14).

(2) In Heb 12:20-21, the author quoted Exod 19:12 and Deut 9:19 to contrast the manner of God’s revelation in the old and new covenants. In Exodus 19, the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai with the result that the mountain burned, and the earth shook, frightening Israel. Before the Lord came down upon the mountain, the Lord warned Moses of what was about to take place and told Moses to warn the people against approaching the place of the Lord’s presence. God said, “Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain will be put to death” (Exod 19:12). Moses later trembled at the sight of the Lord’s fierce anger upon the congregation when they bowed to the golden calf (Deut 9:19; Exodus 32). The audience of Hebrews need not fear the Lord in this way. Because of the arrival of the new covenant in Christ, they had come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an assembly of the perfected; they enjoyed the sprinkled blood of Jesus that gave them access to God (Heb 4:14-16; 10:19-25; 12:21-24; 13:20-21). By these gifts, the audience had all they needed to abstain from idolatry.

(3) In Heb 12:26, the author quoted Hag 2:6 to illustrate God’s activity in the abrogation of the old covenant and the establishment of the new covenant. The prophet spoke God’s word of promise to the returned exiles, those whose temple was meager in comparison to Solomon’s day, those who were discouraged at their small place in the broader world of their day. Through Haggai, the Lord promised to shake the earth and bring the treasures of the nations to Judah so that they could build the temple into an edifice that would surpass even the glory of Solomon’s temple (Hag 2:6-9). The author of Hebrews employed the words of the prophet to show that in the shaking of heaven and earth, only that which is in heaven, only that which is not created—only that which is distinctly of Christ—will endure. Because the new covenant provided permanent access to God, the author urged his audience to endure their difficulties, saying, “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:28-29).

(4) In Heb 13:5-6, the author quoted Deut 31:6 and Ps 118:6 to remind his audience that God would care for them in their time of financial need. Near the end of his life, Moses prepared Israel for their conquest of Canaan. Moses assured Israel that Joshua would lead them to follow the ways of the Lord just as he had done and exhorted the people to be strong knowing that the Lord would never leave them nor forsake them (Deut 31:1-6). In Psalm 118, the psalmist celebrated the Lord’s care for Israel in giving them victory over their foes. When the psalmist was in distress, he cried out to the Lord, “The LORD is for me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Ps 118:6). The author of Hebrews linked Deut 31:6 and Ps 118:6 to portray God’s care for those who rely upon Him.

(5) In Heb 13:11, the author referenced Moses’ command that Israel take the bodies of sacrificed animals outside the camp to burn them as a prompt for his audience to identify with Jesus apart from the structures of Judaism. When the Lord established Aaron and his sons as priests for Israel, He commanded Moses to consecrate them by slaughtering a bull as a sin offering. After the blood of the bull was applied to the altar, Moses was to burn the bull’s hide and flesh outside the camp (Exod 29:1-14). On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest was to burn outside the camp the remains of the bull and goat sacrificed as sin offerings (Lev 16:27). The author of Hebrews read these commands in light of Jesus’ death outside the city walls of Jerusalem. His audience therefore needed to courageously leave behind the structures of their religion and offer to Jesus the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name and bear His disgrace (Heb 13:13-15).

The author of Hebrews argued that his audience should look to Jesus—their High Priest—for help to make it through their time of testing. Just when they were tempted to let go of their distinctly Christian posture, they received this note of pastoral correspondence. In Hebrews 11, the author of Hebrews (again) looked back to the Old Testament, this time in search of heroes who could inspire his congregation to keep pressing on faithfully. His search was fruitful.

Yet Hebrews 11 is not just a list of the greats of the Old Testament; the chapter has a theological argument as well. Here the author argued that in faith Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and company endured greater struggles than those his readers had faced. And the Old Testament saints accomplished such feats in the days of preparation, before the time of Christ, before the age of a divine intercessor, before the age of perfection (Heb 2:14-18, 4:14-16, 10:14-18). These Old Testament saints thus did more, with less. The author listed the faithful of old in order to persuade his audience to endure their present difficulty—since they lived in the age of open access to the throne of God itself (Heb 9:11-28; 10:19-23). In three places, the author quoted the Old Testament to reinforce the need for his audience to endure in faith just as Enoch, Abraham, and Jacob did.

(1) In Heb 11:5, the author quoted Gen 5:24 to remind his readers that Enoch walked with God by faith and was approved for his faithfulness. After Cain murdered Abel, the Lord gave Adam and Eve another third son, Seth (Gen 4:25). Enoch descended from Seth. The author of Genesis gave few details of Enoch’s life, writing simply that Enoch walked with God and God took him. The author of Hebrews cited Enoch as a model of faith and one who experienced God’s faithfulness. He wanted his audience to know that God knew their faithful commitment to Him and would see to it that they, like Enoch, were rewarded because they labored in faith to please God.

(2) In Heb 11:18, the author cited Abraham’s faithful offer of Isaac as a model of faith because God had told Abraham that Isaac would carry on the covenant promises (Gen 21:12). After Isaac was born, Sarah became jealous for her son and felt that Isaac was threatened by Hagar’s son Ishmael (Gen 21:1-10). Sarah demanded that Abraham drive Ishmael away and the Lord told Abraham to heed Sarah’s word, saying, “Your offspring will be traced through Isaac” (Gen 21:12). When the Lord later called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac—after just receiving confirmation that in Isaac the promises would carry on—Abraham had to trust God. According to the author of Hebrews in Heb 11:19, Abraham knew that God could even raise someone from the dead, and figuratively Abraham saw Isaac raised when the angel of the Lord intervened to stop Abraham from sacrificing his son (Gen 22:12).

(3) In Heb 11:21, the author quoted Gen 47:31 to remind his audience of Jacob’s endurance even in his old age, even in Egypt. When Jacob and his family traveled to Egypt in Genesis 47, Joseph and Pharaoh welcomed them. Jacob and his family settled in the land of Goshen, the best land of Egypt, for seventeen years, and they became prosperous. As Jacob aged and knew that his days on earth were drawing to a close, he asked Joseph to swear to him that Joseph would not bury him in Egypt (Gen 47:29-30). When Joseph swore to his father, Jacob bowed his head in worship (Gen 47:31). The author of Hebrews wanted his audience to imitate Jacob’s enduring faith (Heb 11:21) “outside the camp” (Heb 13:13).

In Hebrews 5-7 the author set forth several ideas confirming the superiority of Christ’s high priesthood—and the implications this had for his readers. They could be assured that the perfection of their Priest offered them the unique benefit of unfettered access to God. In Hebrews 8-10, the author expanded his sphere of thought to include the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice over those offered in the old covenant. He wanted his audience to see Jesus’ superiority in the storyline of Scripture.

(1) In Heb 8:5, the author quoted Exod 25:40 to establish that the old covenant was organized according to a pattern, a copy and shadow that anticipated the reality of Jesus’ heavenly mediatorial ministry. When the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai in Exodus 19, He gave Moses the law and the plans Moses was to follow for constructing the tabernacle so that Israel could enjoy God’s presence as they traveled toward Canaan. The Lord commanded Moses, “Be careful to make everything according to the model of them you have been shown on the Mountain” (Exod 25:40). The author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus was unique as a High Priest because of His eternal nature and place of ministry at God’s right hand in heaven (Heb 8:1-2). What the Lord showed Moses was a copy of what Jesus would fulfill in His death, resurrection, and ascension.

(2) In Heb 8:8-12; 10:16-17 the author quoted Jer 31:31-34 to propose that Jesus fulfilled Jeremiah’s promise of a new covenant and permanent forgiveness for God’s people. Jeremiah repeatedly chastised the people of Judah because they did not heed the lesson God taught them when Israel was carried into exile by the Assyrians. Since Judah persisted in idolatry just as Israel had practiced, the Lord would bring the Babylonians against Judah and carry them from the land as well. The people needed a new heart and eternal forgiveness—they needed a new covenant. In Jer 31:31-34, the Lord promised to make this new covenant with His people and the author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus inaugurated it when He offered His own blood to atone for the sins of His followers. The use of Jer 31:31-34 in Heb 8:8-12; 10:16-17 frames Hebrews 8-10 as a unit in which the author described the efficacy of Jesus’ blood to atone for sins in a way that exceeded any sacrifice offered in the old covenant—including the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16; Heb 9:1-10).

(3) In Heb 9:20, the author quoted Exod 24:8 to illustrate that only through the offering of blood does God forgive sins. After the Lord gave Israel the law through Moses (Exodus 19-23), Moses led the people in a ceremony to confirm their participation in the covenant. At the ceremony, Moses had young men from the various tribes offer sacrifices and he took some of the blood from the sacrifices and sprinkled it on the altar and the people (Exod 24:1-8). The author of Hebrews commented that the since the blood Moses sprinkled that day cleansed the earthly elements of the old covenant, so the blood of Jesus—offered at the consummation of the ages—has cleansed the heavenly tabernacle where Jesus ministers as the High Priest of the new covenant. There Jesus now appears in God’s presence for believers until He returns to provide eternal salvation for all who wait upon Him (Heb 9:23-28).

(4) In Heb 10:5-9, the author quoted Ps 40:6-8 as words Jesus spoke through His incarnation and substitutionary death to forgive the sins of His people. In Psalm 40, the psalmist cried out for deliverance and recounted his commitment to rely upon God from his heart. The psalmist recognized that God delights more in His people understanding His instruction and placing their confidence in Him than offering rote sacrifices. The author of Hebrews exploited the psalmist’s contrast between doing God’s will and offering sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled God’s will by offering Himself once for the forgiveness of sins, sanctifying His people forever.

(5) In Heb 10:30-31, the author quoted Deut 32:35-36 to warn his readers that God will punish all who turn from Christ. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses praised God for His covenant commitment to Israel and indicted the people for their failures. Moses reminded Israel that God would display His vengeance upon those who rebelled (Deut 32:35-36). According to the author of Hebrews, if God punished Israel for failing to adhere to their covenant commitments, how much more would He punish those who disregarded the blood of Jesus and spurned the Holy Spirit (Heb 10:30-31)? But the author of Hebrews was more optimistic than Moses. The author was confident that his audience would endure to receive what God had promised, recalling their earlier days of faithfulness to the confession of Christ and the ways they cared for the suffering community (Heb 10:32-39).

(6) In Heb 10:37-38, the author coordinated Isa 26:20 and Hab 2:3-4 to exhort his audience to confidently endure their trials in Christ. Isaiah exhorted Israel to wait upon the Lord during the rise of the Assyrian threat and Habakkuk likewise encourage Judah to wait on the Lord during the rise of the Babylonians. The words of the prophets offered a plural call for endurance, warning God’s people of the dangers of apostasy. The author of Hebrews quoted the prophets, saying, “For in yet a very little while, the coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Heb 10:37-38). The author was confident that his audience would heed God’s word and endure. Placing himself amongst them he wrote, “But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life” (Heb 10:39).

By setting forth the superiority of Jesus’ high priesthood, the author of Hebrews sought to prove his thesis that during times of testing believers should look to Jesus for help. The flow of thought in Hebrews 5-7 would not be valid if both the author and the audience had not understood the Old Testament itself as a valid witness of God’s historical dealings with humanity. The author understood the Old Testament in light of Christ, and the storyline of redemptive history.

(1) In Heb 5:5, the author applied Ps 2:7 to Jesus in order to reinforce that God had addressed Jesus as His Son, authenticating the Son’s priestly ministry on earth. In Psalm 2, the psalmist portrayed Israel’s King as God’s representative on earth. God anointed the King and addressed the King as His Son (Ps 2:2, 7). From Mount Zion, God’s anointed King ruled with might (Ps 2:6-9). Thus, in vain the leaders of the earth took their stand against the Lord and His Son Who ruled as King (Ps 2:2). In Hebrews 1-2, the author compared Jesus to angels and argued that God’s revelatory work in Jesus surpassed what He had given through angels. The author cited Ps 2:7 in Heb 1:5 to accentuate his point. He wrote, “For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.” In the author of Hebrews’ logic, Ps 2:7 was God’s word to Jesus seated at His right hand. The author of Hebrews also saw in Ps 2:7 God’s word confirming Jesus’ priestly authority. In Heb 5:1-4, the author noted that priests in the old covenant dealt mercifully with the people because the priests themselves also had sins for which they had to offer sacrifices. Serving as a priest was an honorable mediatorial task as the priest stood between God and man and lived to tell about it. No man took the priestly office for himself but had to be called by God to stand before God on behalf of sinners. Jesus too, the author of Hebrews wrote, did not of Himself become a high priest who would lay down His life for the sins of the people (Heb 2:17-18; 4:14-16). Instead, in accord with Ps 2:7, God said to Jesus, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father” (Heb 5:5).

(2) In Heb 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21 the author applied Ps 110:4 to Jesus in order to portray God’s oath that Jesus is an eternal priest. The author of Psalm 110 recorded God’s oath which established Israel’s king in a place of political and religious authority over the nation. The king is seated at God’s right hand (Ps 110:1) and God is at his right hand (Ps 110:5). God promised that the king would rule with power over his enemies, crushing foreign kings when God expressed His wrath against them through the king He placed over Israel (Ps 110:2-3, 5-6). The Lord swore to the king that he would serve not only as Israel’s ruler but Israel’s priest forever, in accord with Melchizedek’s eternal priesthood (Ps 110:4). In Gen 14:17-24, Melchizedek served as the priest to God Most High in Salem. Melchizedek blessed Abraham when the patriarch returned from rescuing Lot from a cohort of kings that attacked the region of Sodom and Gomorrah. Melchizedek was recognized as a priest even before the Lord established Aaron and the Levites as priests. Melchizedek had no genealogy and was thus an eternal priest. In Heb 5:6, the author of Hebrews appended Ps 110:4, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek,” to his citation of Ps 2:7 in order to underscore that God Himself swore Jesus into His office as an eternal High Priest. The author of Hebrews quoted Ps 110:4 in Heb 7:21 to reinforce his point: God swore an oath that Jesus is an eternal High Priest. Jesus performed His priestly ministry on earth at the cross but because He is an eternal priest, He yet serves as an advocate for believers in heaven (Heb 6:20). Melchizedek was an eternal priest because he had no genealogy and the author of Genesis recorded no date of birth or death; Jesus serves as an eternal priest because He has an indestructible life (Heb 7:16-17).

(3) In Heb 6:14, the author quoted Gen 22:17 to encourage his audience in God’s faithfulness to His promise of blessing. In Genesis 22, the Lord told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah and there offer the sacrifice of his son, his only son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed God, willing to sacrifice the child of promise. When Abraham raised his hand to slay his son on the altar, the angel of the Lord intervened and stopped Abraham from completing the sacrifice. Abraham had passed the test of faith. The Lord swore an oath that He would bless the patriarch with many offspring because Abraham feared the Lord and obeyed His word when tested (Gen 22:17-18). The author of Hebrews was concerned that his friends endure to inherit the promises they had received in the new covenant (Heb 12:25-29; 13:10-14). In order to explain the stability of God’s promises—and encourage the congregation’s perseverance—he described God’s faithfulness to Abraham when He swore that He would bless and multiply Abraham’s descendants (Heb 6:14).

The author of Hebrews wrote to encourage his audience in Christ lest they falter from their faith. The heroes of Israel were examples of faithfulness despite greater opposition than what the audience of Hebrews or Jesus endured (Heb 11:1-12:2). The author of Hebrews encouraged his audience to look out for one another (Heb 3:12-14; 10:19-25; 12:14-17) that they might endure the persecution that had come upon them (Heb 10:32-34). Israel’s failure to enter God’s rest provided an example of what the author of Hebrews wanted his audience to avoid. He surveyed the storyline of the Old Testament from Genesis-Psalms to remind his audience of their special place in God’s plan of redemption, in Christ.

(1) In Heb 3:5, the author noted Moses’ faithfulness to God in the old covenant. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, the Lord confirmed Moses as the leader of Israel. After Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and Pharaoh’s army drowned in the returning waters, the Israelites feared the Lord and believed in Him and His servant Moses (Exod 14:31). When Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses, the Lord spoke to them in a pillar of cloud at the entrance of the tabernacle and reaffirmed that Moses was His special servant, the one with whom He spoke directly (Num 12:7-8). In Deut 18:15, Moses told Israel that one day the Lord would raise up a prophet like him and they should listen to the one the Lord would send them. The author of Hebrews affirmed that Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s household but said that Christ was faithful as the Son over God’s household (Heb 3:6a). The author identified believers as those belonging to Christ’s household provided that they would confidently maintain their hope in Him unto the end (Heb 3:6b).

(2) In Heb 3:8-11, 13, 15; 4:3, 7, the author quoted from Psalm 95 to warn his audience concerning the dangers of apostasy. David wrote Psalm 95 to exhort Israel to worship the Lord faithfully—lest they resemble the wilderness generation that failed to persevere in faith and were prevented from entering the Promised Land. David noted that as early as Exodus 17, just after the exodus, the wilderness generation complained against God for lack of water. And they complained when the spies sent to scout out Canaan returned with an unfaithful report about the prospects of taking the land (Numbers 12-14). Because of the latter failure, David noted, the Lord forbade Israel from entering His rest in the Promised Land. In applying Psalm 95 to his audience, the author of Hebrews said, “Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God” (Heb 3:12). To accomplish this, the believers—companions of the Messiah (Heb 3:14)—needed to encourage each other daily and be reminded that none of the rebellious in the wilderness generation survived (Heb 3:16-19).

(3) In Heb 4:4, the author quoted Gen 2:2 as the basis of his observation that a Sabbath rest remained for those in the household of Christ. Though the wilderness generation failed to enter God’s rest, that did not mean that the promise of entering God’s rest was nullified. The author of Hebrews noted that after completing His work of creation, God rested (Gen 2:2). God instituted the Sabbath as a day in which Israel could experience His rest every week (Exod 16:23; 20:8-11; Exod 35:1-3; Deut 5:12-15) and promised to drive out Israel’s enemies in Canaan so that the Promised Land could be a place of rest for His people (Exod 33:14; Josh 21:43-45). The author of Hebrews observed that: (a) since the promise of a Sabbath rest with God had never been repealed, and (b) the wilderness generation did not enter that rest even under Joshua’s leadership—verified by David’s statement in Ps 95:11 that Israel did not enter God’s rest in the Promised Land (Heb 3:11; 4:3, 5), then (c) a promised Sabbath rest was available perpetually and eternally for his audience as they obeyed Christ. The author urged his readers to labor that they might enter God’s rest (Heb 4:11) because, “the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart” (Heb 4:12). Since God’s rest could be found in Christ, the High Priest of the new covenant, the author urged his readers, saying, “Let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time” (Heb 4:16).

The audience of Hebrews was tempted to set themselves again under the umbrella of the synagogue—a religious community accepted by the Roman Empire. Such a move would provide these believers the benefits of their earthly citizenship and allow them to live in peace with their neighbors. The author argued that, as Christians, his audience enjoyed a better priest than any that existed in Israel (Heb 5:1-8:6), a better covenant than the old (Heb 8:7-9:10), and a better sacrifice than any offered since the inception of the law (Heb 9:11-10:18). The Epistle of Hebrews is thus a call to maintain a distinctly Christian posture, and—in light of future security (Heb 12:25-29; 13:10-15)—endure whatever consequences might arise. These believers needed to live as a tightly knit community if they were to endure the trials that had come upon them (Heb 3:12-14; 10:19-35; 13:1-7). The author wanted his readers to know of their special place as the people of Christ and thus explained the Old Testament in light of Jesus.

(1) In Heb 1:5-6, the author applied Ps 2:7; 2 Sam 7:14; and Ps 97:7 to portray Jesus’ superiority over angels. In Psalm 2, the author reflected on the powerful position of Israel’s king. God established the king as His Son to rule in the midst of His enemies. Though the leaders of the earth would conspire against God and the Son He anointed as king, they would fail. When David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, the Lord told David that his son would build the temple. God said, “I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me” (2 Sam 7:14). In Psalm 97, the psalmist described the Lord as the King of His people and the ruler of creation. All the idols and all the nations were thus to worship Israel’s God (Ps 97:7). The author of Hebrews quoted Ps 97:7 to describe the angels worshipping Jesus at His incarnation.

(2) In Heb 1:7, the author described angels as transient ministering spirits, in light of Ps 104:4. In Psalm 104, the psalmist noted God’s greatness as the Creator of the universe. And God created winds as His messengers and flames of fire as His servants. Angels, the author of Hebrews noted, were like that. God sent them to serve those who would be saved (Heb 1:14) but they were not saviors.

(3) In Heb 1:8-13, the author quoted Pss 45:6-7; 102:25-27; and 110:1 to reinforce Jesus’ superiority over angels. In Psalm 45, the psalmist described the glory of Israel’s king on his wedding day. The psalmist noted God’s special covenant with the king, reminding those in attendance at the wedding that God rules forever and anointed the king because the king loved righteousness and justice (Ps 45:6-7). The author of Hebrews quoted all of Ps 45:6-7 as a reference to Jesus, placing Jesus not only in the place of Israel’s king but also in the place of God, the One ruling His kingdom forever and ever. In Heb 1:10-12, the author again took a psalm that described the greatness of Israel’s God and cited it as a reference to Jesus. In the midst of suffering, the psalmist that wrote Psalm 102 cried out to God and reminded his readers that God created the world and would never change. The author of Hebrews read Ps 102:25-27 as a description of Jesus’ superiority over transient angels. And Ps 110:1 concluded the author’s portrayal of Jesus’ greatness over angels (Heb 1:13). God never invited an angel to sit at His right hand.

(4) In Heb 2:6-9, the author quoted Ps 8:4-6 to portray Jesus’ humanity and deity. Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same line: “LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!” The psalmist praised God for His creative acts and the place the Lord gave to humanity as those who would rule creation. The psalmist knew God’s supremacy and rejoiced that God made humanity a little lower than the angels, crowning mankind with glory and honor (Ps 8:4-6). The author of Hebrews saw in Ps 8:4-6 themes that would help his audience understand Jesus’ lowliness as a man and His exaltation as God’s Son. Jesus took up human flesh, lowering Himself in comparison with angels, so that through death He would be exalted above them, having accomplished redemption that angelic mediators could never secure.

(5) In Heb 2:12-13, the author cited Ps 22:22 and Isa 8:17-18 as statements Jesus spoke in His incarnation. In Psalm 22, the psalmist endured physical, spiritual, and social hardships. He began the psalm saying, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Ps 22:1). While previous generations had cried out to God and received help in times of trouble, the psalmist felt that God had turned from him (Ps 22:4-5). Despite the psalmist’s present moment of grief, he committed himself to trust God and praise Him among His people when the deliverance came (Ps 22:22-31). The author of Hebrews noted that Jesus was lower than the angels in one aspect: He took up human flesh. The author of Hebrews explained Jesus’ incarnation as His confession of Ps 22:22. Jesus was not ashamed to call humanity His kin and thus effectively said, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation” (Heb 2:12). In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz rebuffed the Lord’s offer of aid when Israel and Syria tried to overtake Judah so as to form a united front against the Assyrians. Instead of trusting God, Ahaz made an alliance with the king of Assyria (2 Kgs 16:1-9). The Lord told Isaiah to endure the king’s foolishness and Isaiah replied that he would gather the prophets he was leading, and they would trust God’s care for them (Isa 8:17-18). The author of Hebrews saw Isaiah’s bold identification with the prophets under his care as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ identification with God and humanity in His incarnation. Jesus boldly sang His identification with the human race. The author of Hebrews wrote, “He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17).