Res Biblica

The present article continues the one entitled "Endure Your Sufferings as Discipline (Hebrews 12:1-13). We have posted a Sentence Flow of Hebrews 12 showing how vv. 18-29 should be treated separately from the preceding vv. 1-17.

Outline

Hebrews 12:18-29 can be divided into the following parts, both of which are ruled by the verb form for "you have approached" :

• 18-21 The fearful manifestations at Sinai, its effect on the people and even on Moses
• 22-24 The festal assembly at Mount Zion, and the blood of Jesus that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel
• 25-29 Warning not to reject the one who speaks from heaven
  • 25 More serious consequences await those of us who do not heed His voice
  • 26-27 "I will once more shake not only earth but heaven"
  • 28-29 We who belong to the new covenant should show gratitude in our worship of God.

Dependency on the Esau section

Hebrews 12:18-29 breaks the series of imperatives in the preceding section which is continued in Hebrews 13. The "break" is occassioned by the the imperative in verse 15: "See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God,..." and the memory of Esau "who sold his birthright for a single meal". Esau is one of those who "drew back", an example of "apostasy" that in the letter to the Hebrews cannot be forgiven (see v. 17). Verses 18-29 then, with its contrast between the circumstances of the old covenant at Sinai and the assembly of the just made perfect at Mount Zion underline the serious consequence of any act of apostasy among Christians. It is for this reason too that the instruction to see to it that no one is deprived of God's grace becomes significant. Christian fellowship should not be a cause of scandal for anyone.

The Verb "Approach"

The verb "to approach" prosercomai proserchomai which appears twice in our present section (18.22) recurs five other times in Hebrews, all with a religious connotation1. Two of these recurrences are expressed as invitations to approach God with confidence and trust because of Jesus who is both offeror and offering of the sacrifice pleasing to God (4:16, 10:22, 7:25). The indicatives in our present section (18.22) underline the status of the pilgrimage already begun by Christians in respect to that "city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God" (11:10.16). They have come near to it, farther than any of those ancients in Hebrews 11 have gone. And for this reason, they are not to "draw back" (10:29).

With the author's use of the verb "to approach" in v. 18, the section in 10:19-39 is recalled and its warning regarding those who sin deliberately (vv.26-30)

²⁶If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains sacrifice for sins
²⁷ but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries.

²⁸ Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
²⁹Do you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one

who has contempt for the Son of God,
considers unclean the covenant-blood by which he was consecrated,
and insults the spirit of grace?

This warning in Hebrews 10 can be compared with the one in vv. 25-29 of our section where a warning is given about rejecting "the one who speaks", a reference to the "one who warns from heaven." This latter is in contrast with the "one who warned them on earth", Moses, whose words can be rejected but with dire consequences (cf. 10:28). The "one who warns from heaven" is a reference to the voice that will shake both heaven and earth (v. 26). The citation here is from Haggai 2:6 (and context) which the author uses to underline the eschatological expectations of his audience.

Hebrews was given at a time when the last day was expected as something imminent. It is for this reason that to sin after one has been cleansed makes one irredeemable. It is also for this reason that since the old institutions are passing away and only the sacrifice and intercession of Christ remains effective that Christians are urged to hold on to their faith and "approach" the City of God (v. 22) with more confidence and gratitude.

Lectionary Selection for Sunday XXII OT -- C

The lectionary selection Hebrews 12:18-19.22-24 highlights the contrast between the old covenant at Sinai (vv. 18-21) and the new covenant (22-24), suppressing the element of fearfulness in the first one (20-21), and the additional exhortation and warning in vv. 25-29. 2 For this particular Sunday liturgy, the selection is offered with Luke 14:1-14. This latter's emphasis on being humble (and therefore, obedient, since tapeinow is associated with slaves) recalls Hebrew's admonition to heed the voice that warns from heaven. In addition, one can also point to Mt. Zion as the place of the Messianic banquet of which the Lucan narrative speaks. More about the use of Hebrews 12:18-29 in the Lectionary and the Catechism here.

Conclusion

The author of Hebrews seeing how imminent is the moment when God will once more "shake both heaven and earth" so that only the "unshakeable kingdom" remains strongly admonishes his audience to move forward, "to approach" their destination, a destination that the ancients greeted from afar but never reached until Christ's appearance. They have come so close to it that they should not turn back now that they already envision the city of God with all those in it. Unlike Esau who exchanged his inheritance with something as paltry as soup, the Christian community should walk on enduring the difficulties of the present heeding the voice of Him who warns from heaven.

1. 1. The verb occurs in the following places: 4:16, 7:25, 10:1.26, 11:6, 12:18.22
2. 2. These latter verses are not taken up in the lectionary. The selections for Hebrews 12 always ends with v. 24, which mentions "Jesus, Mediator of the new covenant" and "the blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel". This choice is indicative: the emphasis is not on fear but on the blood of Jesus as the motivation for Christian life. Verses 25-29 is not used in the lectionary because it does not reflect the present historical context where there is the possibility of reconciliation after post-baptismal sins.