Re: Naked Bible 184: Hebrews 5:11-6:20
The writer starts off referring back to the previous verses where he described how Jesus was obedient, particularly in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He surrendered Himself to the suffering of the Cross. It was necessary that He defeat the fleshly nature. In doing so, He became the perfect sacrifice and was able to claim redemption for everyone who follows Him. Thus, He was made by the Father a high priest in the order of Melchizedek; He offered Himself. He was eternal, so His sacrifice was eternal. While his readers should have understand all of this, the writer suggests they simply weren’t ready to handle this kind of teaching.
It’s not as if they lack the intellectual rigor, but their ears have become dull. They don’t love the truth enough to remain eager to hear it and to employ it. Infants desire only milk; it’s all they know. But adult connoisseurs can savor the subtle flavors of a solid meal. They know what flavors belong together and don’t like clashing tastes. The readers of Hebrews should know this stuff, but they can’t tell the difference between what does and doesn’t belong in their souls. They might recognize obscure details about the Talmud, but they don’t recognize the teaching that builds up their moral strength.
As we read on into chapter 6, we realize that the issue is their preference for what the flesh can handle. It’s well-trod ground; they consider it safe. They know every jot and tittle of the Talmud, all the highly specific dos and don’ts, but that’s not where they meet Jesus. He’s the Son of God and the only valid High Priest; His sacrifice paid the price. Now they need to learn what He bought for them. Children look for simple rules and ways to avoid accountability. The Talmud was developed along those lines, but adults don’t operate like that. They accept the burdens that come with personal submission and constant deference to a higher power.
Heiser doesn’t use heart-led language, so he muddles the message, but the heart fits perfectly here. The writer’s audience was so pickled in human reason and human behavioral rules that they had forgotten the Hebrew tradition of walking by the heart. Once the heart rules over the fleshly nature, they should instinctively know that the priorities of God are not as they are portrayed in the Talmud. The Talmud kills; the gospel breathes life. You cannot discern the will of God by your human capabilities. It cannot be memorized or regulated into human habits. Knowing His will requires a living connection to Him through the heart.
The gospel of faith from the heart should have rewritten everything this priestly audience ever learned. They should have left the Talmud behind, never to return. The only way you can go back to the Talmud is if your heart was never alive. It’s much the same teaching that Paul covers in Romans 6. Faith rewires your whole life; you should have zero desire for living by the flesh. The flesh is death. Your identity, your whole concept of who you are, is now in Christ.
It should make you starving for a deeper understanding so you can get closer to Him. You desperately want to know more about disciplining the flesh to obey spirit. You’re always looking for a better way to grasp it. We should realize instinctively that our old ways of living by the capabilities of the flesh are gone. Jesus is not simply a different doorway back into the same old religion. He opened the door to a radical departure from that.
So, the writer says they shouldn’t have to go back and review the basics of what new Hebrew believers must pass through: repentance from the Talmud, walking in feudal submission, all the different kinds of ritual washing Jews practiced versus baptism into Christ, what the ritual of laying on hands is for, how Jesus rose from the dead as the first of many, and how the whole of humanity will face eternal judgment on That Day. Can we move on, now?
Heiser notes that most people read into the next paragraph (6:4-8) a lot of stuff that’s not there. However, I am quite certain he missed the point himself. The writer is expressing confidence in the power of genuine faith conversion. If it rested on us – if our efforts could warrant eternal salvation – then we would be ripe for losing it. At some point we might fail and it would be taken from us. Moreover, we could never come back again, because Christ is not going to go to the Cross again for you. Eternal redemption is not a come-n-go affair. Either it stands on His eternal sacrifice or it doesn’t stand at all.
The writer knew that his readers’ previous works of sacrificial love came from a genuine change in their hearts. He didn’t want them to lose track of that power that changed them. Don’t look upon God as a slot machine. The greatest blessings are not what you can point to, but the joy of knowing Christ. Don’t get tired of serving God, because God isn’t tired of giving us life.
For rhetorical proof, the writer points to Abraham. How did Abraham gain his place in God’s favor? It was not Abraham’s choice in the first place. God unilaterally chose Him and made promises that simply could not be broken. Thus, Abraham’s place in God’s favor required only his loyalty, not his performance. It rested entirely on God’s divine character. How long did Abraham endure before he finally saw the birth of his promised son?
The writer encourages his Jewish audience to abandon the Talmud and the mindset that it requires. Their old Aaronic order of priesthood had been eclipsed by something much greater: Christ’s priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. They could now all walk past the curtain into the Divine Presence anytime. The old habits of decades of Talmudic living were naturally rather hard to shed. Still, he was encouraging them to abandon their reliance on fleshly capabilities and live by faith.
Heiser goes on at length blathering against Election and some other things, so I won’t summarize that here.
