Insights on Hebrews

Charles R. Swindoll

• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781414393773
• eBook ISBN: 9781496410634

The 15-volume Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary series draws on Gold Medallion Award–winner Chuck Swindoll's 50 years of experience with studying and preaching God's Word. His deep insight, signature easygoing style, and humor bring a warmth and practical accessibility not often found in commentaries.

Each volume combines verse-by-verse commentary, charts, maps, photos, key terms, and background articles with practical application. The newly updated volumes now include parallel presentations of the NLT and NASB before each section. This series is a must-have for pastors, teachers, and anyone else who is seeking a deeply practical resource for exploring God's Word.

CHRIST IS SUPERIOR IN HIS PERSON (HEBREWS 1:1–4:16)

The central theme of the book of Hebrews is simple but powerful: Christ is superior in His person and work. Throughout the book, the author develops this theme in vivid detail. In this first section, 1:1–4:16, the author demonstrates that Christ is superior in His person. As the God-man, Jesus Christ is greater than all the prophets of old, being perfect not only in His prophesying but also perfect in His person (1:1-3). He is also greater than the angels (chapters 1–2), greater than Moses and Joshua (chapters 3–4), and even greater than the Law and its priesthood (chapter 4).

The application of Christ’s superior personhood is clear. With Christ standing at the pinnacle of perfection, to defect from Him would be to exchange Him who is greatest for things that are lesser. Because Jesus Christ is better than all things, we should take care not to drift away from Him or the gospel. As the author asserts in the climax of this section: “Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. . . . Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:14, 16).

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KEY TERMS IN HEBREWS 1:1–4:16

kreittōn (κρείττων) [2909] “much better,” “greater”

Though this term only occurs once in this section (1:4), kreittōn introduces the entire theme, not only of 1:1–4:16, but also of the entire book of Hebrews. The word means “being of high status, more prominent, higher in rank, preferable, better.”[13] This word expresses the primary focus of the author of Hebrews: Christ is superior in His person and work over everyone and everything —from angels to Moses, from the Aaronic priesthood to the Old Testament sacrifices.

doxa (δόξα) [1391] “glory,” “honor”

In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, God’s doxa is usually a physical manifestation of His holy, righteous, transcendent essence (Exod. 16:7; Isa. 6:1). In Hebrews, this background of doxa as a manifestation of the divine presence is assumed, but it is developed in several different directions. Jesus is the “radiance” of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3). Through a saving relationship with Christ, redeemed humanity is crowned with “glory” (2:7, 9, 10). And by His work, Christ is worthy of more glory than even Moses (3:3). As such, Christ is the epitome and embodiment of doxa —“the image and glory of God” (1 Cor. 11:7; Heb. 1:3).

katapausis (κατάπαυσις) [2663] “rest,” “cessation of labor,” “resting place”

This Greek term can mean a “state of cessation of work or activity” as well as a “place of rest.”[14] In its specific use in Hebrews 3–4, some view it as referring specifically to heavenly rest (glorification).[15] Others view the “rest” as the state of salvation entered into by faith at conversion (justification).[16] Still others consider the “rest” to be a present experience available to believers today by trusting and obeying (sanctification).[17] Though all these notions of “rest” have a basis in the Bible’s teaching concerning salvation, the author of Hebrews emphasizes “rest” as a present reality available for believers, similar to the “peace . . . which surpasses all comprehension” (Phil. 4:7), “joy” in the midst of “various trials” (Jas. 1:2), and “hope” that helps us persevere in “tribulation” (Rom. 12:12).

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THE LAST WORD . . . WORTHY OF WORSHIP

HEBREWS 1:1-14

NASB

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2[a]in these last days has spoken to us [b]in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [c]world. 3[a]And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and [b]upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“YOU ARE MY SON,

TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”?

And again,

“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM

AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”?

6 And [a]when He again brings the firstborn into [b]the world, He says,

“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”

7 And of the angels He says,

“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,

AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”

8 But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,

AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF [a]HIS KINGDOM.

9 “YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;

THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU

WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”

10 And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,

AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;

AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT,

12 AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;

LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.

BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,

AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES

A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

1:2 [a]Or at the end of these days [b]Lit in Son; or in the person of a Son [c]Lit ages 1:3 [a]Lit Who being [b]Lit upholding 1:6 [a]Or again when He brings [b]Lit the inhabited earth 1:8 [a]Late mss read Your

NLT

1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:

“You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.[*]”

God also said,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son.”[*]

6 And when he brought his supreme[*] Son into the world, God said,[*]

“Let all of God’s angels worship him.”[*]

7 Regarding the angels, he says,

“He sends his angels like the winds,

his servants like flames of fire.”[*]

8 But to the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.

You rule with a scepter of justice.

9 You love justice and hate evil.

Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,

pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”[*]

10 He also says to the Son,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth

and made the heavens with your hands.

11 They will perish, but you remain forever.

They will wear out like old clothing.

12 You will fold them up like a cloak

and discard them like old clothing.

But you are always the same;

you will live forever.”[*]

13 And God never said to any of the angels,

“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand

until I humble your enemies,

making them a footstool under your feet.”[*]

14 Therefore, angels are only servants —spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.

[1:5a] Or Today I reveal you as my Son. Ps 2:7. [1:5b] 2 Sam 7:14. [1:6a] Or firstborn. [1:6b] Or when he again brings his supreme Son [or firstborn Son] into the world, God will say. [1:6c] Deut 32:43. [1:7] Ps 104:4 (Greek version). [1:8-9] Ps 45:6-7. [1:10-12] Ps 102:25-27. [1:13] Ps 110:1.

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What happens when E. F. Hutton talks? Well, if you’re over fifty and watched TV in the 1970s, you know the answer: “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” That television ad for a once-prominent financial advising firm has stuck with me for decades —long after the company itself stopped talking!

I never watched that ad without my mind jumping to another well-known group that thrived thousands of years before anybody heard of E. F. Hutton. They weren’t a financial group peddling products or services. They were Spirit-empowered prophets, and when God’s prophets spoke, God’s people listened. They had clout because when they spoke, it was as if they were speaking with the very breath of God. Their words were God’s words. However, though every prophet’s words were worthy of obedience, not a single prophet of God was worthy of worship.

Drawing on the great regard the Hebrew people had for the major means of revelation in the Old Testament, the prophets and angels, the author of Hebrews compares these celebrated earthly and heavenly beings with God’s Final Word and Messenger, Jesus Christ. As powerful and significant as those holy people and holy angels were, they were inferior to the Son of God. He alone i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Author’s Preface
• The Strong’s Numbering System
• Insights on Hebrews
• Hebrews: Introduction
• Christ Is Superior in His Person (Hebrews 1:1–4:16)
• Christ Is Superior as Our High Priest (Hebrews 5:1–10:39)
• Christ Is Superior for Pressing On (Hebrews 11:1–13:25)
• Notes