Hebrews 1:1-4
Jesus and the Prophets
Today, we begin a five-week series
on the book of Hebrews. The author is unknown, though it was once thought to be
Paul. Currently, scholars believe that it was written by Barnabas, who was Paul’s
companion, or by Apollos, who helped grow some of the congregations Paul
started.
It appears to have been written
before 70 CE when the temple was destroyed because the author speaks of the
temple in the present tense. It is written to exhort, to encourage people to
believe in Jesus, to stay faithful to him, in spite of any persecution they are
experiencing.
The author begins with a familiar-to-us saying: In many and various
ways, God spoke to the people through the Prophets. I want to clarify what a Prophet
is. A Prophet is someone who speaks God’s words to a particular community, in a
particular place and time. It is not someone like Jean Dixon or the Manhattan
Medium or a palm reader. Prophets in the Bible spoke God’s word and encouraged
and exhorted the people in his or her community to act in certain ways and not
other ways. They also reinforce the idea that God loves God’s people and wants
their love in return.
Let’s look at a few quotes from some
Old Testament Prophets:
Isaiah offers words of
encouragement. This is what it is like when you believe in the Lord. “Those who
hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings
like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.” Isaiah 40:31
God is frustrated with people giving lip-service faith. God wants our
hearts, not our cash. “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of
God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6
Amos confronts the leaders of the Northern
Kingdom, who are creating an extreme gap between the wealthy and the poor. "But let justice roll down like waters and
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24
Micah calls the people to live what they say they believe, just as Amos
did. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require
of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
Israel’s prophets had a lot more
to say, but these few provide the essence of their message. Love God, take good
care of each other.
… The author of Hebrews wants his
readers to know that Jesus is much more than a Prophet. He is God’s Son. He is
the agent through whom creation happened. He is the mirror image of God’s being
and he shines with God’s pure, divine light. No one else in the Jews’ past has
ever been Jesus’ equal; he is superior to them all. He is even above the angels.
And he came to earth so we humans
could hear God’s message directly from God’s Son, so in a sense, directly from
God’s mouth. Let’s look at some things Jesus tells us God wants us to know. Notice
how these quotes agree with the Prophets’ messages, and sometimes expand on
them.
To test Jesus on his beliefs, someone asks Jesus ‘what is the greatest
commandment. Jesus replies, “This is the most important [commandment]: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is
this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than
these.” Mark 12:29-31
In Luke 15, we hear three parables. The first is about the son who runs
away, squanders a fortune, and is welcomed home. The second and third are about
the shepherd who searches for his lost sheep and the woman who searches for a
lost coin. There is forgiveness and welcome for the son, and there is rejoicing
in all three stories when what has been lost is found.
Jesus challenges us to go beyond what is normal. In Matthew’s version
of the Beatitudes, Jesus raises up a list of contrasts. Instead of this, do
this. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
Jesus’ messages go beyond the
message of the Prophets. Our culture teaches us to hate those who are
different, to give back tit-for-tat, and to want to hurt those who hurt us.
Instead, Jesus says, Love God, love each other, be kind to each other, no
matter what!
There are people since Jesus, and
in our lifetime, who have brought us God’s message as clearly as those ancient Prophets
did.
Francis of Assisi became
passionate about living without possessions and tried to be as much like Jesus
as he could. We are familiar with his care for the animals, because he sees God
in them. He also teaches his followers to put God and the other first. He says,
“It is better to love than to be loved, and in pardoning, we learn that we are
pardoned.”
Luther taught us about grace. I often explain grace this way: There is
nothing we can do to make God love us more. At the same time, there is nothing
we can do to make God love us less. These
quotes from Luther say: “God doesn’t love us because of our worth. We are of
worth because God loves us.” And, “God
does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”
Martin Luther King
Jr carried on the message of the Prophets and Jesus. He was more outspoken than
many people liked. We know too well that outspoken prophets don’t live very
long. Two quotes: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And, “Forgiveness is not an
occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
Desmond Tutu oversaw the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South
Africa after Apartheid ended. “Forgiveness does not condone what has been done.
Forgiving means abandoning your right to pay back the perpetrator in his own
coin.”
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our
children.” Chief Seattle is credited with saying this over 100 years ago.
Whether he said it or not, we have been called by God since the very beginning to
take care of the earth on which we all live. (Genesis 1:28)
Do these recent
prophets speak the truth as the Israelite Prophets spoke it? Do they speak the
truth as Jesus spoke it? They all echo Jesus and the Prophets in saying, Love
God, love each other, take good care of each other.
