QUICK RECAP
Before we continue to study Hebrews chapter 2, let me give you a quick recap of what we have seen so far.
(1) In Hebrews 1:1-4, the author contrasts the Son to the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2) and the angels (Hebrews 1:4), establishing His superiority over each of them. We understand that His purpose in doing so is to establish the superiority of the Gospel over the Law.
Sandwiched in between Hebrews 1:1-2 and Hebrews 1:4, we see the author exalting the Son to a place of equality and oneness with the Father (Hebrews 1:2-3). And here we find a central statement being made by the author: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3, NIV)
(2) In Hebrews 1:5-14, the author continues to build on the superiority of the Son over the angels. I told you in my earlier article, that the reason why the writer of Hebrews did this was because the Law was delivered and administered through the ministry of the angels (Acts 7:53, Galatians 3:19). And by exalting the Son over the angels, the author affirms to his readers the supremacy of the Gospel over the Law.
Today, we will study Hebrews 2:1-4. As always, be ready with your pens, papers and your Bibles, but most importantly be ready with a teachable, listening heart.
OBSERVATION LEVEL
“1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
(Hebrews 2:1-4, NIV)
I encourage you to read the passage above slowly and thoroughly, observing and taking note of all the details the author relates to us.
Do you see any structure in the passage? Again, we look for the structure to see how the author formed his message.
UNDERSTANDING LEVEL
Write down all your questions at this juncture before moving on, and share it with us at the end in the comment section.
BLOCK I
Whenever you see the words “therefore”, “since”, “hence” etc., know for definite it is a conclusive remark made in reference to the passage before. As you can see, I have underlined the therefore in the above structure. What is this “therefore” referring to? It is referring to what the author has written in Hebrews 1 on the supremacy of Christ (The ultimate and complete message of God) over the Law (the message spoken by angels).
Why does the author try so hard to emphasize the superiority of Christ over the Law? As covered before, it is because the readers, who were those who came to know Christ from a Jewish background, were going back into the Jewish system of sacrifices and rituals in order to avoid persecution from the Jewish community.
BLOCK II
This is the block where we can see the contrast very clearly. As you can see, the contrast is between the message spoken by angels and the great salvation. We are left with this sobering warning: How can we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
BLOCK III
The author continues to build on the authenticity of the message in the third block of the structure, by giving us a three-fold witness. Now for those of you who do not know, in the Jewish mindset and culture, in order to validate the authenticity of any incident or person, a three-fold witness was considered a surety (Hebrews 10:28, Deuteronomy 19:15, II Corinthians 13:1, I Timothy 5:19). The author tells us that the Lord Himself first announced this salvation, and it was confirmed by those who heard it, and finally God Himself attested to it through signs, wonders, various miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were distributed according to His will.
I will stop for the time being and allow you to build on this study by asking questions. But make sure you do not detour from the contents of the passage in your questions.
Questions:
1. Who is “we?”
–Sid answered with his explanation that this is a message from Jews to Jews.
2. What is it that “we” heard?
–I think this is answered in the context, referring to Jesus as the means of salvation.
3. What are “we” drifting away from?
–Again, answered by Sid when he said that Jews were beginning to drift away.
4. What was the angel’s message?
–The Law, also answered in the context.
5. Was the angels’ message meant to be binding?
6. What was the “just punishment” that “we” want to escape?
7. What signs, miracles, and wonders were done?
8. What gifts of the Spirit were used as a testimony?
Thanks Paul for taking time to go through this study.
To answer your questions:
5. The NASB translates it as “proved unalterable”. I believe this expresses the meaning of the word very clearly. The Law or the message of the angels was unavoidable, and would not pass away. It’s like for example, the law of gravity exists on earth whether you like it or not, you cannot escape it or avoid it.
6. The “just punishment” for every violation and disobedience is a reference to consequence of breaking the Mosaic Law. You can read in Leviticus the strict consequences of breaking the Law, there are many instances where a person who broke the Law would even be stoned to death (Leviticus 20:2, Leviticus 20:27, Leviticus 24:14).
If we must take the word which came by angels seriously, how much more seriously must we take the word which came by the Son of God – who has been proven to be greater than the angels?
7. The word for “signs” in Greek is “semeion”, and it refers to “a mark by which a person or thing was distinguished”. For example, the Book of John is called the Book of Signs, because the author presents a set of seven signs that point to the identity of Jesus as the Son of God.
The word for “wonders” in Greek is “teras”. Those supernatural acts done that cause wonder. Something unique I noticed, “wonders” always go along with “signs”. Not sure if there is a relation between the two.
The Greek word for “miracles” is the word “dunamis”, and this refers to “power or might”. The word from where our English word “dynamite” comes from. Dunamis in it’s biblical usage is primarily miraculous in nature.
I don’t think it’s possible to isolate an event and define if it’s one of the three, because many times an event maybe a sign, a wonder and a miracle.
What is really important is, God attested to the identity of Jesus through all these.
8. Actually the word used for “gift” is the Greek word “merismos”, which actually does not mean “gift”. “Merismos” means “distribution”. In other words, it is better translated as “distribution of the Spirit”. This is probably a reference to outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh, and the variety of ways the Spirit manifested Himself in all (I Corinthians 12:4, I Corinthians 12:11). These distributions are manifestations of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7); in other words they are evidently seen and are from the Spirit.
Hope these help…
/Sidharth
Yay! I love the Inductive study! Makes understanding the Bible so much more ‘do-able’…don’t have to just follow preachers around who have TV or media charisma and ask them what they think. This technique can empower so many believers to hear from God’s heart…and be more sure that each of us are not going off on unintended tangents. Thank you Sid. And thanks to Egmont and Asa Mika for sharing this technique with the Imrah Ministry.
Hi Sid, Thanks for the wonderful insight. Had a small question- The king james ends verse 4 – God also bearing witness ….. according to his own will with a question mark. I have not understood that? Dos it have any significance ?
KJV has formed the sentence in such a way that the question extends into the 4th verse.
The question mark is connected to “How shall we escape…” in the 3rd verse. Which NIV translates as: