CONNECTING POINT: Who is Jesus? A Short Review Inspired by the Letter to the Hebrews

The Letter to the Hebrews provides a clear review of Christ all in one spot! You might like to get your Bible out and read it. It is not long. In 2013 authors Steven Skiena and Charles B. Ward wrote Who’s Bigger? Where

Historical Figures Really Rank, (Cambridge University Press), is a book

examining a wide scope of data on who are in fact the most influential people. The top five included; 5-Abraham Lincoln, 4-William Shakespeare,

3-Muhammad, 2-Napoleon, and 1-Jesus Christ. Written some time close to the Destruction of the Temple in AD 70, Hebrews is appreciated as a strong exhortation to people who were eager to know about Christ.

Many Jews were converting from their deep Jewish tradition to Christ. They recognized that Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus. Here is how Hebrews 2:5-9 reads in the Contemporary

English Version (CEV). “We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. Somewhere in the Scriptures, someone says to God, ‘What makes you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for

weaklings such as we? You made us lower than the angels for a while. Yet you have crowned us with glory and honor. And you have put everything under our power!’ God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don’t see it all under our control. What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God’s gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has

suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!”

First, according to the Bible, Jesus was fully God and fully man. One of the first false teachings found in the early church was Docetism, which taught that

Jesus was only God but seemed to be human. Verse 14 lets us know that Jesus “shared” our humanity so that by his death the devil could be destroyed. Jesus was given a special distinction; he wasn’t an angel or brother of an

angel. Atonement for all sins required Jesus to be our mediator; he took on flesh and blood. David Guzik said, “He (Jesus) had to enter the prison to free the captives.”

Second, Jesus was the victor. Did the devil take Jesus’ life on the cross? No, Jesus laid down his life willingly (John 10:17-18). A foreshadowing is seen in

Genesis 3:15, the devil was allowed to bruise Christ’s heel; in return, Jesus would bruise the devil’s head. Quite remarkably, the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection served to defeat the devil.

Third, to the Jews, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, whose teachings must not be understated in their influence. Isaiah’s ministry extended from 742 to 701 BC, a very long time. He foresaw “the suffering servant.” During his short ministry, Jesus often unrolled the scroll of Isaiah in the temple and read to them prophecies that pertained to himself.

Isaiah taught “the one to come…will be “pierced and crushed for all sin.” The Letter to the Hebrews reemphasized this traditional history, and to the young Christian church, it was a compelling reminder. This is precisely why Jesus came into this world, being fully God and fully man. Chapter two concludes: “Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”