Ordinary Time Week 20

Psalm: Psalm 22:1-15 or Psalm 90:12-17

Old Testament: Job 23:1-9, 16-17

  or Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

Gospel: Mark 10:17-31

Epistle: Hebrews 4:12-16

We have had some very interesting readings the last few weeks. I was all set to discuss the Gospel reading, which has some really interesting and challenging things to say about following Jesus, but the Hebrews reading stopped me dead in my tracks today.

I think we all know the words of Hebrews 4:12 quite well: "For the word (logos) of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges (kritikos) the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." For my whole life, I have never heard anyone say anything other than the fact that the "word" here is in fact the Bible. And although that may be true and what the author intended, verse 13 surprised me. It says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." In looking at these 2 verses in parallel, I immediately thought that the "word" in verse 12 must be Jesus. The "word" and God both penetrate the soul and reveal all things. They are functioning in the same way. The real difficult thing in trying to understand this is that I think we mostly have to deal with the Greek texts. As an example of this, logos is actually used in both verses 12 and 13. The first instance we know, "word" in verse 12. In verse 13, the NIV translates it to "give account." The Greek actually lacks a verb, it reads "to whom we a word (logos)." These are the types of subtleties we miss when translating and also remind us the difficulties of both translation and interpretation of the text.

So, I will try to lay out my theory briefly and then try and present the claims of the other side that sees the word of God as Scripture. The first thing is that Hebrews' overarching theme is that the new activity of God in the person of Jesus Christ is greater than the Old Covenant. Jesus is a better High Priest and a better sacrifice than what was under the Old Covenant, the author will go on to argue. But in the opening verses, which we looked at last week, the author states, "In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...sustaining all things by his powerful word." (emphasis mine) Jesus is now the new and better way in which God is speaking. He is superior to the prophets and to the angels. We have the precedent set from the very first verse of Hebrews that Jesus is the voice, the mouthpiece, of God.

The second point, which I have already stated is that both the "word" in verse 12 and God in verse 13 function in the same way. The both are able to penetrate to the very soul and essence of humanity. Perhaps these 2 verses function like a lot of Hebrew poetry where the second repeats, but also intensifies the first. The "word" is able to pierce humanity, but in verse 13, God is able to see everything in all creation and nothing is hidden. This might not be too much out of line because Hebrews 3:7-4:13 is actually an exposition of Psalm 95. So the author might be employing a little bit of Hebrew poetry standards himself.

This brings up my third point: verses 3:7-4:13 are a "midrash," or mini sermon, as various commentaries have said, of Psalm 95. (NBBC, 118, 128) The important verse for us is the opening line which says, "Today if you hear his voice/ Do not harden your hearts..." (3:7-8; Psalm 95:7-8) This is important for how we read and interpret these verses in Hebrews. The second half of the Psalm, which Hebrews quotes, is an exhortation to submit to God's will (his voice) and not repeat the rebellion of the Jews at Meribah and Massah. (See Exodus 17:7) Again, I go back to Hebrews' main argument that Jesus is greater than the Old Covenant. The Jews in the Exodus failed to head the voice of God, but maybe now, when the Son speaks, the voice will be effective. Just an idea here, but there is a lot to explore in comparing Psalm 95 with these verses.

The final point is that most commentaries say that the main point of these verses is actually about rest. Psalm 95 ends with these words, "Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest" (vs. 11). The writer of Hebrews focuses on these words and encourages his readers, to "be diligent to enter that rest" (Heb. 4:11). The majority of commentaries I looked at, both ancient and modern, focused way more on this aspect of these verses rather than lifting up Scripture above all else. To be sure, the way that we enter into God's rest is by listening to and having faith in his word, (logos) which the Israelites failed to do. (4:1) The point I am trying to make is that perhaps logos here, is also the Divine Logos-Jesus.

So then, what are the points that support the argument that the "word" in Hebrews 4:12 is in fact the word of God, namely the Old Testament and by extension the New as well. The first point is that a lot of the commentaries say so. And the people that write those are smarter than I am. But why do they say so? The NBBC commentary puts it this way, "There are interpreters, both ancient and modern, who think the logos in this passage is the Word incarnate." But, "'Christ, the hypostatic Word, is not said to be a sword, but to have a sword...nor is He called kritos, judicial, but krites, Judge.'" (NBBC, pg. 146; he is quoting from another commentary here.) What interests me about both of these Greek words he brings up is that none of his references are from other passages in Hebrews. Since we don't know who wrote Hebrews, we don't have any other work by the author to compare vocabulary. So this point does have its weaknesses.

Another argument which says that the "word" in verse 12 is the Scripture, is that these verses are a midrash on the Scripture. The author is interpreting and expounding on Scripture as the source of inspiration and revelation. The Scripture he is interpreting specifically mentions the "voice" of God and the place where we most encounter God's voice is in Scripture.  Thus, it would make sense for him to say the Scripture is the primary means of God to judge and reveal humanity. (Word Biblical Commentary, pgs. 102-103) Again, this argument has weaknesses because the author of Hebrews is arguing that God's ultimate message (his voice if you will) is in fact his Son, Jesus.

So what are we to make of all this and the debate that happens in commentaries? Does it really matter if the author meant the Scriptures or Jesus? The first thing I want to say is that perhaps the author could have actually been employing a play on words. Perhaps he meant both the Scripture and Jesus. We will probably never know the answer to this. But if that is the case, I think it reminds me at least that we serve a personal God, not a book. There is a tendency in certain Christian circles to lift the Bible above all else, including the work of the Spirit and the person of Jesus in our lives. No doubt Scripture is divinely inspired and everything must be tempered and tested by its rule, but there is a reason why Wesley had his quadrilateral. Reason, tradition, experience, culture, language, personal history, gender, ethnicity, all are brought with us when we read and interpret Scripture. Thankfully we also have the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Church to guide us. My point is not to degrade the Scripture, it is purely to remind us that we serve the God the Scripture reveals to us. The Holy Spirit is still active, still guiding and revealing, and still with us as we interpret and seek to apply the Scripture to our own cultures. Perhaps it is the Divine Logos in the Spirit that is what makes the written logos living, active, and able to pierce the human soul.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. Let me know your thoughts on the matter and if you have ever wondered the same thing I did when I was reading these verses this week.

Grace and Peace.

Sources:

Lane, William L. Hebrews 1-8. Word Biblical Commentary 47A: Dallas, TX: Word Books Publisher, 1991.

Heen, Erik M. and Philip D.W. Krey. Hebrews. Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament X. Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.

Anderson, Kevin A. Hebrews: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 2013.