PJ's Journal

Wow! God became man! It had to be that way. Think about it! Because God the Son clothed Himself with humanity, he became the perfect acceptable sacrifice for sin. God chose to show His love and justice all in one act so that you and I can be forgiven and our sin still punished. It was fitting! He became like us so that he could relate to us... a merciful and faithful high priest! He understands us... junk and all! He helps us in times of temptation, after all, He is qualified to help us because of the sinless life He lived. It was fitting! He walked in to the realm of death and destroyed it, so that we would no longer have to be a slave to our fear of death. It was fitting! This is why He became human! It was all for people! He took on suffering instead glory, experienced rejection instead of praise, and He suffered death when He didn't deserve it... all for us! It was fitting! So when the author of Hebrews says it was fitting, I say AMEN! He didn't have to!

" 10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." 13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me." 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil -- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order th

" 10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." 13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me." 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil -- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, bu

God's ways are not always our ways! I can't help but think about that phrase after studying this passage. I mean think about it! You have a whole people group that was misguided as to the purpose and timing of the Messiah's coming and reign as king. This is even evidenced by the question the disciples asked at the ascension... "Lord, when are you coming back to set up the kingdom of Israel?" Kingdom of Israel? God had much bigger plans than that. He has a plan that includes every tribe, every tongue, and every nation... all people groups! Now Jesus preached this often while He was on earth. He said, "For God so loved the WORLD." Jesus said he didn't come into the WORLD to condemn the WORLD but to save it! He has much bigger plans then what the religious leaders had anticipated. Our ways are just not His ways. Have you ever looked at life and asked God why? God, why would you allow ______ to happen? Sometimes we sit in judgment on God bec

I wanted to elaborate a little about why the Jews had a difficult time accepting Jesus as the Messiah. I mentioned yesterday that they had a misguided perspective on the timing of the Messiah's physical reign. They expected the Messiah to come and kick some Gentile tail and establish His kingdom forever. Once again the Jews would have a King who would be King of all kings. Then along comes Jesus... If you read through the gospels carefully, the conversations begin to buzz about the possibility of Jesus being the Messiah. "Could he be the one?" is the question that was being asked. Jesus asked His disciples at one point, "Who do people say that I am?" Jesus was not fishing for affirmation to stroke His ego, rather He was setting up the disciples for the more important question... "Who do YOU say that I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Christ of God!" Understand what Peter is saying... He is saying that Jesus is the one that every Jew

"It is not to the angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: 'What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet' In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at the present time we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:5-9 I wrote down several of my questions the other day. I will answer those questions and talk about what I believe the author is saying. 1. What does the author mean by "It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come"? 2. Does the phrase "world to come&q

"It is not to the angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: 'What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet' In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at the present time we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:5-9 Observations: God did not subject the "world to come" to angels. Definitely connected to the what was said early because of the phrase "about which we are speaking." The author is quoting the Old Testament again... specifically Psalms 8:4-6. Man was made a little lower th

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how 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. God 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 Whose words hold highest place in your life? Whose words do you rely on to form the foundation of what you believe which affects how you live? As the author of Hebrews forms the foundation of his argument, he is starting in the most logical place... source of truth. The message spoken by the Son, is greater than the message spoken by the angels. The prophesies tell us this, God testified to it by signs and wonders, and the nature of the messenger

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how 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. God 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 After giving this passage some thought for a few days, I have changed my questions just a little bit. 1. Who is the author talking to? Answer: I believe the author is talking to the Jewish people. I believe he identifies himself as one of those Jews. Here is a guy who loves his people and wants them to know the truth of the gospel ("such a great salvation"). There is no doubt that they're was a struggle with fully embracing the New Covenan

Not ready to blog my thoughts on this passage yet. I am still mulling it around in my head, which sometimes takes a while for a simple man like myself. I will blog about it tomorrow. In the mean time, have you come to any conclusions as to what the "message spoken by angels" is?

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how 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. God 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 Observations: 1. The word "therefore" appears in the first verse which is a sure indicator that the author is continuing his thought from the previous passage. 2. This is a warning to pay more careful attention to "what they have heard". 3. "What they have heard" indicates that they are hearing teaching that involves a message from angels that is closely connected to the law. 4. The phrase "so we do not drift away", is an

So instead of moving on to the next passage for the weekend (I will not be blogging over the weekend), I have been contemplating the last phrase in chapter 1... "Are not angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" I am particularly meditating on the implications of what it means to be a person who "will inherit salvation." It is kind of strange to think of salvation in terms of "will inherit" since I would most certainly claim to you that I am presently saved, so what is the author talking about? First of all, salvation is inherited! I love that word because it captures the truth that I had nothing to do with my salvation. I did not earn it, and I most certainly didn't deserve it. God, in His grace and mercy, sent His Son to lay down His life to provide purification for sin and then raised Him from the dead as proof that He is the Messiah. Christ made it possible for unrighteous people to become righteous people in

When forming the Big Idea of a passage, I try to determine what question is the author addressing. Is he addressing a who, what, when, where, why, or how question. Here is a simple way to find the Big Idea... Subject (what question) plus the Compliment (the answer to that question) equals the Big Idea. What we are looking for is the main point, so its important not to get caught up with the little things, though there is much we can learn about God in the little things. Big Idea: Subject... The author is trying to convince the audience that the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. As a matter of fact, we will find that he is trying to convince them that the New Covenant, of which Jesus is the author, has replaced the Old Covenant. He begins with the superiority of the Son. The Son is the author of this New Covenant and the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, therefore the New is validated by the author Himself. A Jewish person held a high view of angels since they believe

1. So why does the author compare the Son to angels? Understanding this question is huge when trying to understand what God is trying to teach us through the book of Hebrews. If your just looking at the book of Hebrews, you would come to the obvious conclusion that the people of that day held angels in high regard. You even see this in Hebrews 2:2-3... "For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" What was this message spoken by angels? Well, it is obviously something that a Jewish person would hold dear and pay attention to. It could be violated and disobeyed, so it included clear commands. Knowing that the author is proving to a Jewish audience that the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant, contextually it makes sense that this message is the law. If we look outside of this passage for insight into what the Jewish people believed in

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father' ? Or again, 'I will be His Father, and He will be my Son' ? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God's angels worship Him.' In speaking of the angels He says, 'He makes his angels winds, His servants flames of fire.' But about the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil o

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe." Hebrews 1:1-2 I find it interesting that this letter starts out with no salutation or soft introduction, but rather a straight forward declaration as to how God has spoken to us in these last days. I believe it is important for us to recognize an intentional shift pointed out by the author. God has spoken to us through His Son. Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets, has now come and has addressed us directly. To a Hebrew, the author is pointing out that the words of Jesus are greater! There is no doubt, as you read the New Testament, that a new covenant has been established through the death and resurrection of Jesus which includes the gentiles and does not include the Law. The Jewish people were struggling with this change

Today we want to look a little deeper at the passage through the questions that were brought up. Here are a few of those questions and some thoughts behind them... 1. Who was the author writing to? Thoughts: This letter never identifies the recipient outright, so it is wise to look at the internal evidence for answers to that question. Hebrews quotes the Old Testament more than any other book in the New Testament. It details the Levitical system and emphasis "fathers" like Abraham and many other "witnesses" who were all important to Jewish folks. In verse one we find that God spoke through the prophets to the "fathers". This word is used to indicate descendants. The NIV says "our Fathers", while the NASB says "the fathers". Regardless, you can't read the book of Hebrews without coming to an obvious conclusion that it was written to Jewish Christians. that is why it was given the title "Hebrews" or more specifical

OK, we are starting our journey through the book of Hebrews. My desire is to direct you through a process of self discovery as you learn a method of bible study that will help you process the intent of the writer. We are going to keep it simple, so each passage will take three days to process. The first day (Observe) I will walk you through a process of Making Observations and Asking Interpretive Questions. The second day (Examine) we will look at the questions, provide answers, and include my thoughts. The third day (Relate) we will determine the Big Idea of the passage and how it applies to life. Let's begin... God, we come to You knowing that we cannot understand and experience the transforming power of Your word without Your Spirit opening up our eyes and heart to see truth revealed. So we simply ask that Your Spirit would lead our spirit as we seek to know You through Your Word. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in var