Two things that stand out to me in reading Hebrews lately are 1)Jesus' role as mediator; 2) the writer's focus on godly fear.
The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs) occurs six times in the GNT; out of those occurrences, Hebrews refers to Jesus as mediator of the new covenant three times:
νῦν δὲ διαφορωτέρας τέτυχεν λειτουργίας, ὅσῳ καὶ κρείττονός ἐστιν διαθήκης μεσίτης, ἥτις ἐπὶ κρείττοσιν ἐπαγγελίαις νενομοθέτηται. (Hebrews 8:6)
Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο διαθήκης καινῆς μεσίτης ἐστίν, ὅπως θανάτου γενομένου εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῶν ἐπὶ τῇ πρώτῃ διαθήκῃ παραβάσεων τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν λάβωσιν οἱ κεκλημένοι τῆς αἰωνίου κληρονομίας. (Hebrews 9:15)
καὶ διαθήκης νέας μεσίτῃ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ αἵματι ῥαντισμοῦ κρεῖττον λαλοῦντι παρὰ τὸν Ἅβελ. (Hebrews 12:24)
Why does the author of Hebrews not only use μεσίτης but also explicitly identify Jesus as mediator of the new covenant, unlike 1 Tim. 2:5, which just calls Jesus the mediator with the implicit understanding that Christ mediates the new covenant?
Secondly comes the notion of godly fear:
ὃς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, δεήσεις τε καὶ ἱκετηρίας πρὸς τὸν δυνάμενον σώζειν αὐτὸν ἐκ θανάτου μετὰ κραυγῆς ἰσχυρᾶς καὶ δακρύων προσενέγκας καὶ εἰσακουσθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλαβείας, (Hebrews 5:7)
Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε περὶ τῶν μηδέπω βλεπομένων εὐλαβηθεὶς κατεσκεύασεν κιβωτὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, δι' ἧς κατέκρινεν τὸν κόσμον, καὶ τῆς κατὰ πίστιν δικαιοσύνης ἐγένετο κληρονόμος. (Hebrews 11:7)
Διὸ βασιλείαν ἀσάλευτον παραλαμβάνοντες ἔχωμεν χάριν, δι' ἧς λατρεύωμεν εὐαρέστως τῷ θεῷ μετὰ εὐλαβείας καὶ δέους, (Hebrews 12:28)
See https://fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.com/2018/09/cowardice-fear-and-awe-of-divine-words.html
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42614281?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Hello Ed-
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you. For perhaps a future post, I would be curious to hear your defense of the JW view of Christ as mediator and where you find support for it in the book of Hebrews. That is, I understand the JW view to be that the great crowd are not in the new covenant and do not have Christ as their mediator. Only the anointed have this.
Hello Mike, I will definitely address that question in the next 2-3 days. Other Witnesses here might also have some input. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I look forward to it!
ReplyDeleteMike, I want to begin the discussion this way. You're correct that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe the great crowd of Revelation 7 are in the new covenant; hence, they don't have Christ as their mediator. The identity of the great crowd is a larger question that's been discussed here and elsewhere. I don't know of any verses which speak of that great crowd being in the new covenant or having Christ as their mediator. One might infer such ideas, but Rev. 7 does not exactly say that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, would you disagree with the idea that Christ is only mediator of the new covenant? As my post pointed out, Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24 all speak of Christ being mediator of the new covenant. 1 Tim. 2:5 doesn't call Christ Jesus "mediator of the new covenant," but mesites is likely used of one who mediates a covenant even in 1 Timothy. Compare Moses' role as mediator of the law covenant in Gal. 3:19-20.
So if the great crowd are not in the new covenant, how could Christ be their mediator? Yet that does not mean Christ is not savior and high priest (intercessor) for the great crowd.
See also https://fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.com/2017/03/mesiths-christ-as-mediator.html
ReplyDeleteHello Edgar-
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments, but what I was hoping to see was a discussion of these things in finding support in the book of Hebrews. That is, do we find Christ mediating directly for some Christians but not others? Do we see some Christians in the new covenant but not others?
Mike, if you want to stick with the book of Hebrews only, then the answer is found in what I've already written. According to Hebrews, Christ is mediator of the new covenant simpliciter--so that would mean that he only mediates for those believers who are part of the new covenant. And while Hebrews does not differentiate between Christians in the new covenant and those not in the new covenant, that isn't necessarily an impediment to belief in an earthly class of Christians not in the new covenant since Witnesses believe the "great crowd" of earthly Christians (with an earthly hope) would only asppear in the last days, that is, much later in history.
ReplyDeleteEdgar, it would seem to me that if any book detailed how all Christians are to view Christ as mediator, their connection to the New Covenant (or lack thereof), etc. it would be the book of Hebrews. Am I understanding you correctly in saying that Hebrews only speaks to a group of 144K and leaves out the vast majority of Christians who follow Christ, even if said group won't be around for another 2,000 years?
ReplyDeleteWith that said, where else can we go to find a discussion of Christ's role as mediator for the new covenant and how it relates to the vast majority of Christians who won't have Christ as their mediator and won't be in the New Covenant? It would seem that we should have something like a book of Hebrews for these ones, but we don't.
Mike, you probably know that the GNT Epistles are really occasional letters (i.e., they're written to address situations or problems that existed in the first century). So Hebrews, like other Epistles, was written to a specific group of people who had particular interests some 2000 years ago. Yet by extension--the letter is written to other partakers of the heavenly calling, that is, Christians in the new covenant.
ReplyDeleteSo while Hebrews has meaning for Christians with an earthly hope, we have to differentiate between its original audience and the extended audience.
Why would the GNT be required to discuss explicitly and specifically those who are not part of the new covenant? Furthermore, while Christ does not mediate for those with an earthly hope, he still is their savior and intercedes for them. But if one accepts the premise of gradual enlightenment on scripture and progressive revelation, why expect that all things would be spelled out clearly in Scripture?
One premise operative here is that the 1st century Christians did not know or understand there would be a group of Christians that would emerge with the hope of living forever in a paradise earth. That understanding would come later.
Hello Edgar-
ReplyDeleteThank you for your explanations and questions. It's a rare opportunity to get this far into a conversation on a topic like this with a JW.
I just don't see any reason to believe based on what you've argued that there is an exegetical basis for excluding the vast majority of Christians from the New Covenant and Christ as mediator. That is, Hebrews doesn't offer any exclusions based on earthly or heavenly hopes. If it does, please show me where. Otherwise, it is reasonable to conclude it applies to all Christians.
To answer your questions directly: if it were the case that the vast majority of Christians would be excluded from Christ as mediator and the New Covenant, I couldn't imagine why such an important thing would be completely left out, even if such a group wouldn't come for 2,000 years. While I agree with progressive understandings of Scripture, we still have a lack of any exegesis in Hebrews to substantiate this view. Also, where does Scripture state that Christ intercedes for the earthly hope Christians?
Lastly, i'm ok with the first century Christians not knowing things, but when it comes to doctrine, we have to base what we believe on what those inspired first century Christians wrote down in Scripture. Otherwise, why believe it?
Besides a lack of explicit reference to the Great Crowd of Revelation 7 are in the New Covenant, are there any other texts to lead you to conclude that Christ isn't the mediator for the vast majority of Christians? Keep in mind that the 144,000 aren't described explicitly in Rev. 7 and 14 as being in the New Covenant either. But if we get into that, we're leaving the book of Hebrews.
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteOne problem is that the Witness belief in a group of Christians, who are not in the new covenant, is not based on Hebrews or just one biblical book. The belief derives from a reading of Tanakh and the GNT as a whole: one cannot arrive at the belief by appealing to one book. However, Hebrews makes it clear that Christ is mediator of the new covenant. So if a person is not in the new covenant, this suggests that Christ does not mediate for them.
I would say that Hebrews applies to all Christians as the first-century ecclesia understood that term. The writer of Hebrews was not aware of a group of Christians with an earthly hope. That point I concede. On the other hand, while I know you disagree, Witnesses believe the earthly group of Christians (righteous people) is discussed in the Tanakh and GNT. For example, in Ps. 37 and in Revelation 7 and 21. But none of these doctrines are comprehensible unless they're understood within the larger framework of Witness teaching, which is outside the orb of my post.
To answer your other questions, according to the Bible, Christ intercedes for all his followers. See John 14:6; 16:23-24.
ReplyDeleteHis intercession is not restricted to only those in the new covenant (Acts 4:12) Compare Heb. 7:25.
We believe the early Christians did write about an earthly class, but they did it prophetically and so that future generations would understand it.
https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2020/07/20/lost-ancient-text-found-in-armenia-cyril-of-alexandrias-commentary-on-hebrews/
ReplyDeleteThanks! This looks like a significant discovery.
ReplyDeleteMany people think Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant that includes all men.
ReplyDeleteBut why are only some part of the first resurrection mentioned at Revelation 20:5, 6 or the earlier resurrection at Php 3:11? Why do only these ones rule as kings and priests in heaven? We also see at Revelation 20:5, 6 the second death has no authority over these ones and it also looks they will not be a part of the final test.
But we see many will be a part of the final test when Satan is let out of the abyss at Revelation 20. Those he misleads will thrown into the lake of fire which means the second death.
Ask yourself why are those who are a part of the first resurrection to rule with Christ but others will be tested again by Satan when he is loosed from the abyss? The scripture says many will be misled and the second death is there fate.
If the new covenant is just for those who rule with Christ in the Kingdom and we these distinctions between the those part of the first resurrection and those not. Those tested by Satan and those not, it makes sense.
I like the reasoning point that you use. If all Christians have one fate, then why are some believers immune from the second death, but then others must be tested after the millennium. Good thoughts.
ReplyDelete