Christ of Hebrews and other religions, The

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Jun 2003 by Osborne, Grant R

Again the purpose is pastoral. As Lane says,51 "By interpreting sonship in terms of priesthood, the writer is able to show the members of the community how the Son can help them in their present adverse circumstances . . . (and) to show that the Son can save the community in the present and to the end." Thus the answer to the apostasy of 6:4-8 and the basis of the optimism in 6:9-10 is the priestly work of the Son in the community.

Yet we are not yet finished, for the superiority of Jesus to the sanctuary, covenant, and sacrifice has yet to be developed. This is the topic of 8:1-10:18. In 8:1-6; 9:11, 23-24 Christ is pictured as entering the heavenly sanctuary with his perfect offering and therefore providing final salvation as the heavenly high priest. Hughes, after a lengthy excursus in which he discusses the options for interpreting the "true tent" of 8:2 and the "greater and more perfect tent" of 9:11 (the human body of Christ, the church as the body of Christ, the earthly sanctuary/heavenly sanctuary) opts in light of the exalted language throughout these passages for the heavenly sanctuary containing the actual presence of God.52 This is certainly correct. In 8:1-6 the contrast between the earthly tabernacle built by Moses and the perfect heavenly sanctuary is developed, and once more the readers are made aware of the superiority of the way to God made possible only by Christ. This lays the basis for the superiority of Jesus' priesthood and of the covenant of which he is mediator (8:6, so Guthrie, Koester).

The new covenant established by Christ is developed in 8:7-13 and then applied throughout the next two chapters. The theme is inaugurated in 7:22, in which Christ as the permanent high priest is "the guarantor of a better covenant," and then in 8:6 in which it "is established on better promises." Jesus has already been shown as superior to Moses; and since Moses was mediator of the old covenant, he is the superior "mediator" of the new covenant. Jesus' superior mediatorial work was his sacrificial death and exaltation to the right hand of God (8:1-6). The citation of Jer 31:31-34 to anchor the new covenant is also remarkable in the sense that it is used in this way only at Qumran53 and never played a central role in Judaism. The citation occurs in Jeremiah at the time of Josiah's revival and shows that the prophet did not trust the people in their acquiescence to Josiah's reforms (cf. Jer 3:10) and foretold Yahweh's decision that only a whole new covenant would suffice.54 The reason for the extensive citation (the longest in the NT) is its message: it is caused by unfaithfulness in the people of God (v. 9); there will be a new internal relationship to God (v. 10); there will be a new access to God (v. 11); and their sins will be forgiven (v. 12). It is interesting that no midrashic development of this quote is made; the author obviously felt that the text itself was sufficient to carry his message. Instead, the author develops only one word, "new," and uses it to frame the quote with the "faulty" (v. 7) and "obsolescent" (v. 13) nature of the old covenant. This means it is "outmoded" or "antiquated," no longer sufficient to bring the people to God.