The Bible readings for Sunday 10 Feb will be Hebrews 1:1-14 and 2:1-4. These are a continuous section and should be read together.

One of the immediate things we notice is that this section is full of Old Testament references. This is a consistent pattern in Hebrews, as elsewhere in the New Testament. In this segment of the letter the writer quotes from seven Old Testament locations: Heb. 1:5 = Ps. 2:7 and 2 Sam 7:14; Heb. 1:6 = Ps. 97:7; Heb. 1:7 = Ps. 104:4; Heb. 1:8-9 = Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:10-12 = Ps. 102:25-27; and Heb. 1:13 = Ps. 110:1. The writer quotes from a Greek version of the Old Testament. The Septuagint (or LXX) was widely used by Greek speaking Jews and by other Greek speakers, and this (or a version of it) lies behind the Old Testament quotes throughout Hebrews.

The use of the Old Testament in this way highlights a couple of things. Firstly, God really has spoken to the fathers (i.e. our spiritual ancestors) in many portions and in many ways (Heb. 1:1). Throughout Hebrews Old Testament quotes are received as the word of God, given by the Spirit (e.g. Heb. 3:7). The quality of the revelation was, so to speak, undiminished. The content of the revelation was not complete, and it could not be until the Son came. By the very nature of things, only the Son can reveal the Father. So, secondly, the Old Testament quotes underline the point that all the previous speaking of God was with a view to the coming of Jesus. All the Scriptures point to him (as Jesus himself made plain words in Luke 24:25, 44 etc.), and this fact formed the foundation of all the apostles' preaching and teaching (e.g. Acts 26:22-23).

The passages quoted make exalted declarations of the nature of the Son. The Son who comes is God's firstborn (Heb. 1:6) i.e. not the first created being, but the one first in pre-eminence and authority, after the pattern of Psalm 89:27 (cf. Col. 1:15f.). The Old Testament citations emphasise Jesus' Messianic Kingship (Heb. 1:5); his pre-eminence over the angels (Heb. 1:6-7 cf. Heb. 1:14); his oneness with God himself, as the one who possesses the throne of God and who himself has eternity (Heb. 1:8-12); and the authority he has at the right hand of God (Heb. 1:13). These passages contain some of the highest statements of the nature of the God the Son in the New Testament, and in turn unpack the descriptions given of him in Heb. 1:2.

Some speculate that there was a particular problem among the recipients of the letter, perhaps an over emphasis on the role of angels, or even a heresy regarding the nature of Jesus as the Son of God. However, there is nothing in the rest of the letter that supports this view. Instead we should see this section in the light of the writer's overall purpose: Christ's superiority over the angels is emphasised because in his person and work Jesus has established a covenant superior to the old, which came through the administration of angelic powers (Acts 7:38, 53; Gal. 3:19 cf. Deut. 33:2). When God speaks ‘Son-wise' we have an unmediated and direct revelation of the nature of God, which by its very character and mode is superior to anything that could come beforehand.

Though the writer has no hesitation in ascribing the attributes and qualities of God to the Son, the main themes of the letter revolve around his true humanity. This eternal Son, through whom the world was created, and who upholds the world through the word of his power - the one who is the very outshining of God's glory and the exact representation of the nature of God - is none other than Jesus! The writer does not use this name until chapter 2 where he begins his exposition of the work of the incarnate Son (Heb. 2:9). However, that exposition gains its weight from the reality of the incarnate humanity of the Son of God. Jesus is really and truly a man! He took human nature to himself in the incarnation, never to divest it. If it were a human nature that was merely a cloak, all of the work accomplished in the incarnate state would be of no consequence. In taking human nature to himself, God was at the same time committing himself to that human nature for eternity. Thus Jesus abides forever as our High Priest in heaven, where he lives forever to make intercession for us. But, in making these statements, we are running ahead of ourselves!

We are given some indication into the nature of the writer's audience in Hebrews 2:1-4. They had clearly heard the gospel through those who had been converted by the apostolic preaching of the cross, the message being confirmed by signs and wonders as it broke into the virgin territory of the hearers' lives and culture. However, now the congregation was on a slippery slope. They had not yet committed the sin of apostasy (not even a casual reading of chapter 6 will allow us to say that!), but they were beginning to show signs of backward movement. They were in danger of ‘neglecting' the word they had heard (Heb. 2:3), and had begun to drift from it (Heb. 2:1). Later, in chapters three and four, we read that they were in danger of unbelief and disobedience, and that they were developing a hard heart to the hearing of the voice of God. We see that they had become ‘dull of hearing' (Heb. 5:11) and were stunted in growth, being still immature (Heb. 5:14). They had become ‘sluggish' instead of diligent (Heb. 6:11-12), and they needed again to consider how to stimulate one another in love and to rejoin the assemblies of God's people (Heb. 10:23-25). In these and in other ways, the writer warns them to turn from their path. The road to apostasy is fully populated with stop lights, warning signals, billboards and placards! None commits apostasy by accident.

While the warnings are necessary, the main burden of the writer's message is that they would see again the grace, mercy, love and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Here, in the holy, self sacrificing, propitiating love the cross, is the medicine for a hard heart. The writer is tireless in administering this to his flock, tender in his care for his brethren.

"If you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have reasoned out of it by honest argument. Do not most people simply drift away?" C.S. Lewis