This document discusses Jesus' role in relation to humanity and religion. It argues that Jesus rules over creation and humanity, not just the religious domain. The religious domain is obsolete and did not achieve its purpose. It proposes adopting non-religious language and categories to describe Jesus' role at the center of life, not just at the boundaries or in weakness. It discusses how the gospel spread through organic conversation rather than deliberate plans, and how the Hellenized Jews in Alexandria integrated Greek thought and the Logos concept in a way that recognized deeper truths in Moses.

1. Hebrews Series:
Resurrection trumps Religion
Part 2: Jesus and the
rule of humanity

2. Recalling the problem Hebrews was
addressing
• Judaising of the gospel
– Sucking back into ‘religious’ or sacrificial terms
– Implicit downgrading of role of Jesus v Moses
• Only way out is radical repositioning outside the category of religion
– Cosmos and creation
– Where Jesus rules
– He does not rule the religious domain
– The religious domain is obsolete since it did not achieve its purpose
– So What ???? New non-religious language and categories???

3. Schizophrenia of Sunday to Monday???
“Distinction between sacred and profane; Sacred places and profane
places; profane working days and sacred days; secular people and
priests; profane love and sacred love; the religious aspect and human
sentiments”

4. So we cannot be religious ‘specialists’
“God is no stop-gap; he must be recognised at
the centre of life, not when we are at the end
our resources. It is his will to be recognised in
life, not only in death; in our activities, not only
in our sin. In Christ, there are not ‘Christian’
problems”
“The Christian adds nothing to the human; the Christian does not add anything
more to the human than God adds to the world. The Christian is the human
being, the entirely human man.”

5. A ‘moral’ message condemns faith to
the edges of life …
“I should like to speak of God not on the boundaries but at the
centre, not in weakness but in strength; and therefore not in death
and guilt but in man’s life and goodness”
“The attack by the Christian apologetic on the adulthood of the world I
consider to be pointless, ignoble and unchristian. It seems to me like an
attempt to put a grown-up man back into adolescence …it exploits man’s
weakness for purposes that are alien to him and to which he has not freely
assented. It confuses Christ with one particular stage in man’s religiousness
ie a human law”

6. The Big Picture of Hebrews

8. Six big words in Hebrews
• ‘Brother’ – unique in NT Epistles
• ‘Made perfect’ – (teleiosis) unique in NT epistles
• Melchizedek
• House of God/City of God
• Order
• Inheritance

9. The Structure of Heb 1 & 2

10. 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom
he made the universe. 3 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.
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to
which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father" ? Or again, "I will
be his Father, and he will be my Son" ? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him." 7 In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, his
servants flames of fire." 8 But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and
righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." 10 He
also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of
your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up
like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." 13
To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet" ? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

11. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the
message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3
how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,
was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place
where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything
under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we
do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now
crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for
everyone. 10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything
exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men
holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He
says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." 13
And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me.“
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
destroy him who holds the power of death --that is, the devil-- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in
slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this
reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

12. Bonhoeffer’s problem
Metaphysics Interiority
“Adding God, as reality, to reality”
Profane/visible
Sacred
“God” is relegated outside the
world & public sphere of life
“God” is retained in the sphere of
personal, intimate, private life
God limited to boundaries of human
experience
“The religious man searches furiously to reserve a place for God and today
this place is at the boundaries”

13. New landscape of gospel

14. The Brain—is wider than the Sky—
For—put them side by side—
The one the other will contain
With ease—and You—beside—
The Brain is deeper than the sea—
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorb—
As Sponges—Buckets—do—
The Brain is just the weight of God—
For—Heft them—Pound for Pound—
And they will differ—if they do—
As Syllable from Sound—

15. New activity of gospel

17. The Devastation of its Destruction
“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here
will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.
“Tell us when will these things happen?”
“This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.”

18. An apocalyptic disaster for the Jews
“When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it does
not belong – then those who are in Judea feel to the mountains. Let no
one on the roof of his house go down or enter into the house to take
anything out. …How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers!..”

19. The drama of Acts:
Struggle not just expansion
• Ever widening spread of the gospel – Geographical theme
(Missionary journeys + Paul-centric view)
• Struggle to break free from “Jerusalem” – New wine needs new
wineskins.
• Social drama – finding a new social identity to house the gospel.
A reluctant and tortured journey – not a deliberate one.
• Personal drama – Paul and his lifelong agonised struggle with his
Jewish roots & identity
• Three assumptions they made -
• The “Way” would be a Jewish movement not separate
• Hoped Jews would be converted as an entire nation
• Did not at first believe/expect wholesale Gentile conversions
& would never have expected what history unfolded…

20. Acts of the Apostles:
A tale of two cities
Acts 1:12 “Then they returned to
Jerusalem…”
Acts 28:28 “For two whole years Paul
stayed there (Rome) in his own rented
house and welcomed all who came to
see him”

21. The dramatic structure of Acts
“Trust the tale not the teller”
Acts 20 - 28
The Pauline ‘agony’ & struggle with
Jerusalem – trip to Rome
Acts 1 – 9
The Early days and the first rift -
Martyrdom of Stephen & Paul’s
conversion
Acts 10 – 13
Peter & Cornelius, defence to the
elders & Antioch church
Acts 13 – 20
Paul’s missionary journeys &
defence at Council of Jerusalem
“Heaven is my throne and the
earth is my footstool. What kind
of house will you build for me?”
says the LORD (Acts 7:49)

22. The dramatic tension of Acts
“The tug of Jerusalem on the gospel expansion
not just geographical but spiritual/cognitive apprehension”
Acts 20 - 28
The Pauline ‘agony’ & struggle with
Jerusalem – trip to Rome
Acts 1 – 9
The Early days and the first rift -
Martyrdom of Stephen & Paul’s
conversion
Acts 10 – 13
Peter & Cornelius, defence to the
elders & Antioch church
Acts 13 – 20
Paul’s missionary journeys &
defence at Council of Jerusalem
Peter is ‘stretched’ by the Holy Spirit but
rapped on the knuckles by the elders..
“please explain”
The ‘Jerusalem’ core becomes ‘Jewish
believers’ NOT ‘Jewish priestly antagonists
The Religion was infecting the church & the
Jerusalem clique ran the church as its leaders.
Acts 11:2
“So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the
circumcised believers criticised him and said,
“You went into the house of uncircumcised
men and ate with them.”

23. The dramatic structure of Acts
“James & the old guard run the show”
Acts 15
“Some men came from Jerusalem
teaching the brothers, “Unless you
are circumcised …you cannot be
saved.”
Believed in Christ
AND circumcision
as way of salvation
Acts 15
“Some of the believers who belonged
to the party of the Pharisees
…”Gentiles must be required to obey
the law of Moses”
Some believers
remained part of the
Pharisees publicly
Acts 15
“James said ‘We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to
God. Instead we should write to them, telling them (four Jewish rules to keep)
For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in
the synagogues on every Sabbath”
Moses, the law & social
compliance still dominate their
frameworks and decisions

24. The personal agony of Paul
“The authentic unresolved journey of a rejected man”
“In my experience of it, age has a tendency to make one’s sense of oneself harder to
maintain, less robust in some ways…” John Ames in ‘Gilead’ by Marilynne Robinson
Acts 20:16 “Paul had decided to avoid spending time in Asia because he was
in a hurry to reach Jersualem. …’And now compelled by the Spirit I am going
to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there (a sense of gathering
doom). … They pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul
answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?”

25. Acts 21:17 “Paul went to see James and all the elders and reported in detail what
God had done among the Gentiles. When they heard this they praised God. Then
they said to Paul: ‘You see brother how many thousands of Jews have believed and
all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the
Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to
circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? … so do
what we tell you. There are four men here with us who have made a vow. Take these
men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that everyone can have
their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports
about you but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them”
Paul’s doomed plan & futile hope
“The plan backfires …”
When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia
saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him
shouting, ‘Men of Israel, this is the man who teaches all men everywhere
against our people and our law and this place…”

26. A new voice emerges
“The viral power of conversation and connections”
Acts 18: “Paul left Aquila and Priscilla at
Ephesus. Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a
native of Alexandria came to Ephesus…
He was a learned man with a thorough
knowledge of Scripture. … instructed in the way
of the Lord, spoke with great fervor & taught
about Jesus accurately, though he only knew the
baptism of John. P & A heard him, invited him
to their home and explained the way of God to
him more adequately.
(went to Corinth) he was a great help to those
who by grace had believed. For he vigorously
refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from
the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ”
Intellectual
Accuracy which
results from
carefulness
Relentless pure
pursuit of Jesus &
truth
Educated in Jewish
reasoning
Pastoral
Eloquent and
rhetorically trained
Organic and gradual
conversion that included ‘pre-
gospel’ elements

27. The “Hellenist” Jews:
Contrast between East and West dispersions
Eastern (Babylon) – only
minority returned to Israel.
Wealthiest remained. Millions
remained. Pharisees camp –
purists. Powerful political
influence. Contemptuous of
Hellenist Jews. Tight knit and
ethnically pure.
Western (Hellenists) – Influenced
by Greek culture and thought.
Much more diverse and integrated
into host cultures. Translation of OT
into Greek – Septuagint. Philo was
key. He taught many who became
Christians and influenced them
heavily.
“So there were two worlds in Jerusalem side by side: the one represented the
old Israel, groping back into the darkness of the past; the other, young Israel,
stretching forth its hands to where the dawn of a new day was about to break.”
Edersheim.
“Act 6:1 “In those days, the Grecian Jews among them complained against
the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food.”

28. New voice from a new city:
Fertile interaction of Jewish mind with Greek thought
Alexandria – the New York of the
ancient world.
Three worlds met – Africa, Asia and
Europe.
Wealthy port, huge cosmopolitan
populace.
One eighth of Population was
Jewish (1m from 7.8m). Ran whole
grain trade, and the harbour.
Philo’s brother, Alexander, was rich
banker like Medici.
. “When the Jew stepped outside the narrow circle, he was confronted by
Grecianism. In the forum, in the market, in the counting house, in the street.
Refined, elegant, profound, supremely attractive… One step remained – frankly to
recognise truth in the results of Greek thought.”
Thus they recognised deeper truths in Moses – under the letter not in the letter.

29. How integration occurs…

30. Alexandria and the ‘Logos’ of Philo
• Greek idea of “Logos” – ‘archetypal Idea’ or ‘’world reason” that pervades
matter
• Note – this goes back to the creation and the nature of matter….
• “Memra” – frequently used in Targumim = ‘God-as-revealing-himself”
• Embryonic Trinitarianism???
• Logos = ‘shadow’ which the Light of God casts as the matter is his habitation
• Image of God upon which man was made
• Logos connects reality of God with materiality of world/mankind
• Announces & interprets man to will and mind of God – mediator
• Logos = high priest & paraclete, sun whose rays illuminate man, medium of
divine revelation to the soul
• Logos = Melchisedek, King of righteousness and peace
The Alexandrian ‘ingredients’ -
The cake that Philo baked -

31. John & Hebrews build on Philo:
How???
• Logos of Philo is shadowy and unreal – Platonic.
• No need for an atonement
• High priest intercedes but has no sacrifice to make as the basis of
intercession least of all Himself
• OT types are only typologies/ideas not typological fact
“In the beginning
was the Word … and
the Word was made
flesh and dwelt
among us”
“In the past God spoke to our
forefathers by the prophets but in
these last days he has spoken to us by
His son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, and through whom he made
the universe. The Son is the radiance
of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining
all things by his powerful word”
JOHN
HEBREWS - APOLLOS

32. Prepared by Alexandria, Apollos picked the baton from
Paul and extended it…
• Free from the ‘Jerusalem’ pull and history.
• Mind expanded by the Alexandrian/Greek/Philo teaching
• Highly skilled in debate and philosophy
• Took Gospel to its logical conclusions fearlessly
Philo had no successor. In him Hellenism completed its cycle. Its
message and mission were finished. ..it needed, like Apollos its
great representative in the church, two things – the baptism of
John to the knowledge of sin and to have the way of God more
fully expounded.
On the other hand Eastern Judaism … was incapable of
transformation. It must go to its final completion – either be true
or swept aside and destroyed.

33. The ‘sins’ of Hebrews are all religious.
“Don’t underestimate Jesus”
“Religious” sins (piety & ritual) were holding them back from grasping supremacy of
Jesus. One foot in the camp, and one foot out. Dragging Jesus/gospel back under the
domain of the Mosaic law and custom
2:1 How shall we escape if we
neglect such a great salvation? “Since this work of God in
Jesus was not accompanied by
supernatural fanfare we can
afford to treat it as an optional
extra. It is less dangerous to
ignore Jesus than Moses….”
It is far more dangerous to
ignore the message God has
given us in Jesus than it was to
ignore the angelic messages.
3:12 “See to it that none of you has a sinful
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living
God” & “Today if hear his voice, do not harden
your hearts as you did in the rebellion”.
4:13 “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter
that rest so that no one will fall by following their
example of disobedience.”
6:4 ff “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the
Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of
God, and the powers of the coming age, if they shall fall
away, to renew them again to repentance because they are
crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him
to public disgrace.”

34. Once more I will shake heaven and earth so that what cannot be
shaken will remain

35. That was the day they killed the Son of God
On a squat hill-top by Jerusalem.
Zion was bare, her children from their maze
Sucked by the dream of curiosity
Clean through the gates. The very halt and blind
Had somehow got themselves up to the hill.
After the ceremonial preparation,
The scourging, nailing, nailing against the wood,
Erection of the main-trees with their burden,
While from the hill rose an orchestral wailing,
They were there at last, high up in the soft spring day.
We watched the writhings, heard the moanings, saw
The three heads turning on their separate axles
Like broken wheels left spinning. Round his head
Was loosely bound a crown of plaited thorn
That hurt at random, stinging temple and brow
As the pain swung into its envious circle.
In front the wreath was gathered in a knot
That as he gazed looked like the last stump left
Of a death-wounded deer's great antlers. Some
Who came to stare grew silent as they looked,
Indignant or sorry. But the hardened old
And the hard-hearted young, although at odds
From the first morning, cursed him with one curse,
Having prayed for a Rabbi or an armed Messiah
And found the Son of God. What use to them
Was a God or a Son of God? Of what avail
For purposes such as theirs? Beside the cross-foot,
Alone, four women stood and did not move
All day. The sun revolved, the shadows wheeled,
The evening fell. His head lay on his breast,
But in his breast they watched his heart move on
By itself alone, accomplishing its journey.
Their taunts grew louder, sharpened by the
knowledge
That he was walking in the park of death,
Far from their rage. Yet all grew stale at last,
Spite, curiosity, envy, hate itself.
They waited only for death and death was slow
And came so quietly they scarce could mark it.
They were angry then with death and death's
deceit.
I was a stranger, could not read these people
Or this outlandish deity. Did a God
Indeed in dying cross my life that day
By chance, he on his road and I on mine?
“The Killing” by Edwin Muir