The First Message: 1:5-5:10

Outline

• The message had three points, but giving titles to them is not easy, since the author is actually accomplishing several things at once.

One set of titles, focussing on Christ, might be:

1. Jesus Christ, higher than the angels, Son of God, brother to us
2. Jesus Christ, the faithful one
3. Jesus Christ, the merciful high priest

Second alternative

• This is good for 1. & 3. but most of 2. is about the failure of Israel to enter their inheritance.
• If we look at the summary in 6:13-18, the theme is very clearly about entering into our promised inheritance
  • we are taken back to the promise of Abraham which stand behind Israel’s failure
  • Abraham inherited the promise because he “persevered” 6:15
  • Israel were “heirs of the promise” 6:17 (but of course they didn’t enter into them)
  • We are heirs if we “have found refuge in him” and so we should “hold fast the hope set before us” 6:18
• With this emphasis, we can go with a different, but equally valid, set of titles
  1. Jesus, crowned with glory and honour enters his inheritance 1:2,3,6,8,13; 2:8,9 as our pioneer 2:9,10,12-18
  2. In past times people have failed to enter the promised inheritance
  3. But Jesus Christ, even in human weakness has succeeded, and so can give us the help we need and take us to glory with him.

Third alternative

• This is by comparison with Message 3.
• Message 3 has a form something like:
  1. People in past time who have shown faith and persevered
  2. So you must endure, since you are the ones to enter into the promises
  3. What this endurance (running the race) looks like in practice
• There is obviously a very close parallel between the first and third sermon, (to be considered in more detail later)
• The outlines would be:

  Message 1	Message 3
  a. Jesus: Son of God & our brother/forerunner
  b. Faith in times past—failure	a. Faith in times past—success
  c. Endurance now (Jesus our pioneer)	b. Endurance now (Jesus our pioneer)
  	c. Practical application

First Part of point 1a

• 1:5 Did God ever say this to Angels?
  • quoted from Ps 2 must have been a puzzle to the readers of the Psalm (and even to the writer?)
  • what event does this refer to?
• 1:8-9 quoted from Ps 45:6-7 again, speaks of two “God’s”
• 1:10-12 quoted from Ps 102:25-27 —no indication in the Psalm that this is about Christ

Central warning in point 1a

Last part of point 1a

• 2:8b shows that we are “between the ages” where the Kingdom is coming but not fully come. (cf Lord’s prayer)
• 2:10-15 stresses the connection Jesus has with us, sharing our flesh and blood and suffering with us
• This is necessary for his death to be valid for us

Part 1b

• To enter God’s rest is to see his works 3:9 and trust in the provision for us.
  • Is it good, is it finished?
• opposite of rest: harden/unbelief/disobedience 4:6,11
• enter in 4:2,3 by faith
• the seventh day goes back to Adam
  • he failed to enter into the rest
  • he failed to remain in Eden, which the promised land typifies
• The Sabbath required faith, because it was a trust that God would provide even if we didn’t work.