Hebrews 2: 12 And The Christology Of Worship

Book Outline

Ron Man’s Proclamation and Praise: Hebrews 2:12 and the Christology of Worship.
Chapter 1 : The Context of Hebrews 2:12 A. The Immediate Context : Apostle and High Priest (3:1) a. consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession b.qualified to be the Apostle, the Father’s Messenger as man, and as Hi High Priest before God. B. Apostle a. Messenger of God (1:1-2) sent by the Father b. Prominent themes : God has “spoken to us by” / “spoken of” / “spoken to” / His son -> identifies as the words of Jesus Himself C. High Priest a. Jesus : High Priest in the he represents us to God and maintains the relationship formed with God through Him (2:17; 5:1, 7:25) b. greater than Moses and Aaron
Chapter
2 : The Content of Hebrews 2:12 A. The Words of Jesus a. identifies Himself with us as brethren b. Psalm 22:22 : introduces as the words of Jesus Himself B. The Quotation from Psalm 22 a. A number of commentators have identified this principle as being at work in the evangelists’ (and Jesus’) use of Psalm 22 in the passion narrartives b. The structure of the psalm is commonly seen as a two-part one : lament (vv. 1-21) and thanksgiving (vv.22-31) C. The Time Options a. During His Earthly Ministry : Jesus went to temple, sang the psalms of worship and declared the message of salvation by which he revealed the name or reality of God b. At the Consummation : “It is the glorified saints whom Christ is leading in praise” - as the signing priest leads the redeemed community…in songs of praise c. In The Church : Christ calls his people brothers (2:10-11) D. Vocabulary a. The author’s choice of a LLX text may be a deliberate move to highlight the word’s identification with Christ’s “brethren,” the New Covenant people go God
Chapter 3 : The Significance of Hebrews 2:12 A.
Proclamation (2:12a) a. The Passage : (1) His intention to proclaim the Father’s Name, that is, His nature, to those whom He is not ashamed to call His brethren (2:11) (2) Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the “prophet like Moses” promised in Deuteronomy 18 b.Acts 3:22 hints at His role as proclaimer and redeemer, which is then so succinctly stated in Hebrews 2:12 b. Other Passages and Insights : The idea of Christ’s continuing ministry of revelation (1) In Matthew 11:27, there is no reason to think, especially in light of the other evidence, that this does not have continuing validity (2) Speaking on the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus speaks of the coming ministry of the Spirit as one of continuing Jesus’ revelatory ministry (3) John 16:25 : the hour is coming (4) John 17:26 (5) Acts 1:1 (6) Romans 10:14 (7) Romans 10:17 (8) Colossians 3:16 B. Praise (2:12b) a. The Passage : Referring to two quite distinct, though marvelously complementary, activities: the declaration of God’s praiseworthiness to the people, and the appropriate praise then lifted go God in response b. Worshipped and Worshiper : Christ actively leads us in our worship and leads us to the throne of
God
Chapter 4 : Contiguous New Testament Themes A.
The Continuing Humanity and Priesthood of Christ a. Christ in His incarnation was “made for a little while lower than the angels” , subjected Himself to death on a cross, and has therefore been exalted to the Father’s right hand b. the “priesthood of all believers” to the point where we lose sight of our need for our great High Priest to clothe us with Himself and lead us into the Father’s presence B. The Two-Way Mediation of Christ a. Moses was the archetypical mediator between God and man : God communicated His message to him on the mountain, and then as God’s spokesman he delivered God’s Word to the people b. Aaron, as the first high priest, was responsible for leading the people in their response of worship back to God through the sacrificial system C. The Revelation-Response Pattern of Scripture a. The rhythm of revelation and response is characteristic of all God’s dealings with man. b. The pattern of revelation and response is clearly pot rayed in the two halves, respectively, of Hebrews 2:12; and most importantly, the Person of the living Christ is seen as the agent and mediator of both those activities.
Chapter 5 : Towards a Christology of
Worship A. 12 themes of meaning and significance of Hebrews 2:12 a. The living Christ is present in our midst when we gather for worship b. Only in and through Christ can we enter into God’s presence in worship c. Our worship is pleasing and acceptable to God not because of its own excellence, but because of the excellence of His Son d. The word of God, by which christ proclaims His Father’s name to His brethren, deserves priority and centrality in our worship e. The corporate praise of God’s people is an integral and crucial part of the gathering of the church f. No matter how they may differ in the externals, all true expressions of worship share in common that they are led and mediated by Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.