N.T. Wright addressing Hebrews in outline

N T. Wright, in his collection of sermons entitled Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (Eerdmans, 1994), devotes a chapter to an analysis of the larger themes in the book of Hebrews. He identifies three motifs running through the book, or, as he says, “three lines of thought which may open the book up for us, not least in coming to the Eucharist.” These are: A compelling portrait of Jesus; A new reading of the Old Testament; Jesus the Final Sacrifice. In the process, he also outlines the structure of the book, and it is this that I want to reproduce here. Why? Well in order to provide context to the long-in-the-making discussion of the definition of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Now, to Dr. Wright:

“In chapter 1, Jesus is the Son of God, superior even to the angels. There were some in the early Church who thought of Jesus as just a special sort of angel; no, says the writer, he is of a different order of being altogether. But at once, in case you should get the wrong idea, chapter 2 emphasizes that Jesus is also totally and truly human. Please note: not only was Jesus totally and truly human, he still is. One writer described Hebrews’ portrait of Jesus as ‘our man in heaven’. That is one of the major thrusts of the book – to emphasize that the one who has sat where we sit, who has lived our life and died our death, has now been exalted and glorified precisely as a human being. He hasn’t, as it were, ‘gone back to being just God again’. Chapter 2 closes with the first statement of our opening theme: because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Then, in chapters 3 and 4, Jesus is the true Joshua; it’s the same name, actually, in Hebrew and Greek. He is the one who leads the people of God into their true promised land. Then, in chapters 5, 6, and 7, he is the true high priest. That’s where Melchizedek comes in. To understand this we need to take a step sideways for a moment.

It was a problem for the early Church that Jesus was from the house of David. It meant he was qualified to be Messiah, that is, King of Israel. But it disqualified him from being a high priest, who should have been from the house of Levi, a different tribe altogether. Hebrew points out that, in Psalm 110, the King is said to be a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek, whose priesthood does not depend on ancestry but on the call of God alone. Jesus is not, then, a transient high priest, to be replaced by someone else. He remains a priest for ever. In other words, summing up where we’ve got to so far, Jesus, the Son of God, the truly human one, is leading his people to their promised land, and is available for all people and for all time as the totally sympathetic one, the priest through whom they can come to God. Following Jesus is the only way to go.

We then move into chapters 8-10, which speak of Jesus’ sacrifice and the new covenant, to which we shall return. This leads us to the great list of the heroes of faith in chapter 11. There are lists like this in various Jewish writings; and the vital thing about the list is, who comes at the end? In one of the most famous lists, the one in Ecclessiasticus which begins ‘Let us now praise famous men . . .’, the answer is: Jesus himself. In chapter 12.1-3 the writer issues an appeal which could stand as the key biblical text on the whole theme of ‘following Jesus’:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

The themes we have already looked at come to a head in this passage. Take them in reverse order: Jesus, the high priest, coming at the end of the great list of heroes. Jesus, the one who leads us into our promised land, the pioneer, the one who goes ahead to blaze the trail. Jesus, the truly human being, who has travelled the road of human suffering ahead of us. Jesus, now enthroned as Son of God. Jesus, therefore – as the final chapter, chapter 13, puts it – Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today, and for ever; Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, the one brought again from the dead. That is the picture of Jesus which Hebrews offers us; . . . And at the heart of this picture we find the cross: the cross which Jesus endured on our behalf, which was, as we shall see, the final sacrifice. This, then, is the first part of the bird’s-eye view of Hebrews: a picture of the human high priest Jesus and his cross.” (pp. 5-7a)
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Cf. the previous post in this series: The danger of substantial faith - pt 2

N. T. Wright; Book of Hebrews; exegesis; New Testament.

The danger of substantial faith - pt 2

As stated, I have always had a problem with the misuse of Hebrews 11.1, a misuse given legs by misunderstandings implicit in the English translations themselves. This series of posts is an attempt to get at the truth.

The task before me progresses in three stages. First, I listed the three major groups of English translations as they present the text of Hebrews 11.1. In this post, I turn to the Greek text and provide both a translation and an accompanying paragraph or two of simple historical and contextual exegesis which will serve as a platform for comparison with the aforementioned English translations. This comparison will then be used to construct a conclusion based in dialogue with Paul's description of the faith of Abraham in Romans chapter 4.

The Greek text of Hebrews 11.1 is as follows:

Ἔστιν δὲ πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις, πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος οὐ βλεπομένων.(NA26)

which I translate:

Now faith is that state of being which results from being made absolutely certain that the things hoped for will be obtained, and this apart from being given the whole truth about them. [1]

What we have here is not a complete statement, but one coming on the heels of some previous discussion (and for this reason alone, its continued citation as "the definition of faith" is irritating.) Now, the author of Hebrews writes to encourage his readers - either Jews themselves or well-informed Gentile God-Fearers - to persevere despite persecution. In order to follow the rhetorical flow in which verse 11.1 sits, one has to go back to Chapter 2.1, 18: "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away," and "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Note, too, the warning in verse 3, "how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" These three elements: not drifting away from sound teaching; taking comfort in Christ's co-suffering; and warning against apostacy, come together in a dense, multi-layered doxology.

more to come...

[1] I am well aware that my translation sounds too philosophical and complex, as if I'm padding it to support my own preconceived opinion. Not so. Rather, the Greek itself is quite complex, referring both to a singular reality (our experience) and to the plurality of God's promises. We are certain. They are hoped for. We are convinced. They are being accomplished, and yet are unseen. The three participles - hoped for, being certain of and unseen - are passive. We aren't hoping, we are being given to hope. We aren't certain, but are being given certainty. We aren't not seeing, but are being kept from seeing, or not being allowed to see. Further, these are in the present tense, meaning that the action they describe is ongoing, describing the ongoing living of our everyday life. Combined with the modal verb "to be", which also suggests the ongoing and habitual, I felt it best to posit faith as a state of being, or, going one further, a state of human being-ness.

[2 (or some other number)] "Men are also admonished that here the term "faith" does not signify merely the knowledge of the history, such as is in the ungodly and in the devil, but signifies a faith which believes, not merely the history, but also the effect of the history—namely, this article: the forgiveness of sins, to wit, that we have grace, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins through Christ....the term 'faith' is accepted in the Scriptures not for knowledge such as is in the ungodly but for confidence which consoles and encourages the terrified mind." Augsburg Confession XX.23, 26
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Cf. the previous post in this series: The danger of substantial faith - pt 1

Hebrews 11:1; faith; biblical theology; exegesis.

The danger of substantial faith - pt 1

A long-standing pet-peeve of mine has been the use of Hebrews 11.1 to affix divine authority to silly or even dangerous projections of human psychology. I have personally heard three completely different interpretations of this text preached from church pulpits as the will and word of God, with widely different, and often damaging results. Certainly, people have always desired to affix Scripture to the coattails of their own ideas. Yet, Hebrews 11 presents a special problem.

Unlike other examples of eisegetical zeal, in which people import a product of their own imaginations into their reading of the text, the problem is right there in the translations! The translations themselves encourage interpretive license when it comes to Hebrews 11.1! Philosophical categories have so informed the way this verse has been understood over time that the English result is often misleading. What is obscured is the Jewish, covenantal context.

Now, in the cluster of translations most commonly used by English-speakers, three interpretations are easily discovered. These three interpretations match up to the three major ways this verse has been interpreted over time. My task here is to use these translations to describe these three interpretations, to compare the translations against a simple exegesis of the Greek text, and to argue for one of them based on Paul's description of the faith of Abraham in Romans chapter 4.

First, then, I will define the three interpretations to be considered. Each "group" of example translations below represents one of these three interpretations. Here they are:

• Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (KJV & NKJV)


• Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (NIV)


• Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (ESV, NAS & NRSV; also, Tyndale's 1534: Fayth is a sure confidence off thynges which are hoped for, and a certayntie off thynges which are not sene.]

It does not take long to see that the first group suggests that faith is something of itself. Faith is a substance. Faith is evidence. There is a thing among things called "faith". Consider B. W. Johnson's remarks in The People's New Testament (1861): "The old meaning of substance, as well as of Hupostasis, the Greek word here used, is "stand under," that is to be a foundation. Faith is the foundation on which all our hopes for the future are built."

The second group, represented by the NIV, is more existential. This group suggests that faith is a mode of human being-ness. I am being sure. I am exercising faith. Faith is an act of will whereby I choose to hope. The evidence for my confession is then the public strength (passion, fanaticism, political radicalism, etc.) of my advocacy.

Unlike its predecessors, the third group takes a more passive approach. In this third group, faith is the passive product of some outside influence. One does not become assured or convinced by oneself. Rather, there is something that assures, something outside the self. There is something that makes its case so that I become convinced. Faith is then not a personal state of being evoked by the intent and action of my will. It does not originate from me. Rather, faith is a creature's appropriate response to something God has done. Faith is the God-ward expression of human trust.

Now I will turn to the Greek text and provide a translation with an accompanying paragraph of simple exegesis.

Hebrews 11:1; faith; biblical theology; exegesis.