GW not AI

After reading Hebrews 1-7 in order to write this blog, I asked an AI generator to write a short summary of these chapters.  This is what it gave: “Jesus superior to angels, Moses, priests.  New covenant replaces old.  Warning against apostasy.”

Right, well I suppose that was something to work with!  (What is apostasy?  Abandoning belief)

The letter to the Hebrews was written by an unknown author to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem (probably).  So really, scholars aren’t sure about its origin, but as you read it, you will soon notice that it deals with several controversies that had been developing among the believers.  Let’s look at the first of these: angels.

Angels appear in the Bible, but also in popular culture and lots of beliefs have grown up around them, even today.  Are they people who have died?  Do they have wings and halos?  Do they know everything?  None of these ideas come from the Bible, but the recipients of this letter had been thinking that Jesus was an angel.  Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) quickly tells us who Jesus is:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

And in the rest of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2, the writer gives proof from the Old Testament that Jesus is indeed superior to the angels.  This is a reminder to get your information from the Bible, not from those around you or from tradition.

The next controversial topic is whether Jesus was a real person.  Chapter 2 deals with this: 

Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters (2:11)

Jesus is part of the same family as us: the human family!  But the writer also provides proof from Psalms and Isaiah.  It’s always crucial to back up your thoughts with evidence from a number of sources, in this case the Old Testament.

The readers were probably Jewish believers, for whom Moses was hugely important.  The writer explains (with proof) that Moses was great within God’s house, but that Jesus is superior to Moses because he is THE BUILDER!  He is the creator, so he is superior to the creation.

Following a section on God’s rest, the writer continues to place Jesus in an even higher place: (the) great high priest who has ascended into heaven.  Through chapter 5, Jesus’ priestly credentials are explored in the context of the priests of the old covenant.  But Jesus is different: he is the high priest FOREVER!  He made the perfect, eternal sacrifice for our sin and has released eternal salvation to those who have faith in him.

So we have seen that Jesus is above the angels, that he lived as a normal man and that he has been appointed the great high priest forever.  And now, in chapter 6, the writer encourages us to live in the promise of the hope that Jesus has brought.  Verses 19-20 say:

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

You might remember that Melchizedek was mentioned in chapter 5.  He’s a mysterious figure - why not find where else he is mentioned in the Bible?  The important thing is that he was a permanent priest, not like the old covenant priests, and Jesus is also a permanent priest.

The title of this blog is “GW, not AI”.  This is short for “God’s Wisdom, not Artificial Intelligence”.  As I finish writing, I want to encourage you to always check your facts in the Bible.  These 7 chapters are quite difficult for us, as 21st century believers, but if you look through the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) you will find explanations for everything that you read elsewhere in the Bible.  Run after God’s Wisdom.  As James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”