Because He was the Son of God, really?

A brother in Christ was reading a passage in Revelation and it prompted him to make the declaration that Jesus would have known the Old Testament. My friend took his claim one step further by asserting that this knowledge would have been instilled from the womb because He was the Son of God. His assertions were posted in a group chat that is part of a devotional several of us take part in. 

This is my response.

If I approach my understanding of Jesus through the word "learned," the rabbit hole, as one "brother in Christ" put it, takes me to Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Let's stop here for a moment and see if we can figure out where or how Jesus obtained His education.

For me, the obvious observation was that Jesus was NOT operating within the same educational patterns that we humans have to deal with. We gain some defining expressions from Hebrews.

Hebrews 5:7-9 MKJV  For Jesus, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death and was heard in that He feared,  (8)  though being a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  (9)  And being perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him,

He was flesh from the moment God placed that embryo in Mary, with her permission of course; and, these two humans (Joseph and Mary,) had to teach Him who He was according to what was written and spoken about the Father. Now, consider that even one scroll, of perhaps Deuteronomy, would have been extremely expensive and so valued that you probably would not have touched it.

Here is something you rarely hear a preacher say, to make matters worse Jesus was deemed an illegitimate child, and the law of God forbade an illegitimate child from entering the Synagogue or Temple (Deuteronomy 23:2.) With that in mind, all that Jesus came to understand was from the oral traditions. As Jesus grew beside Joseph all the law, stories, and history were recited at every opportunity.

Another consideration is that silly game we played as children where a sentence is whispered into the ear of the person next to you. The sentence has typically changed its meaning drastically by the time it hits the fourth person. Now add thousands of years to these stories; it could only be the Holy Spirit of God that could have preserved the truth and details of these epic adventures God has taken with us.

How is it that I should have an impulse such as this, for I find myself constantly telling these same stories of and about God?

So let's break down Hebrews 5:7-9.

• "in the days of His flesh."

  In a human frame or body, humanity.

• "Though he were a Son."

  Generally used of the offspring of men, but, in the case of Jesus, he was deemed a male offspring. But it is also used to describe one who depends on another.

• "Yet learned obedience"

  Obedience also means to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo.

• "By the things which he suffered."

  Suffered means to be affected or have been affected, to feel, or to have a sensible experience, to undergo.

So, it is clear that Jesus had to undergo life as a human, but without the drive to sin.

If you cannot understand this concept of being without sin, then you have missed the importance of God having Mary carry a fertilized embryo that bypassed the genetic damage sustained through Adam; damage that apparently pushes us to lust. Remember, the lamb (Jesus) had to be unblemished.

The plan of God to redeem humanity had to work this way to be legal. This legality goes back to the garden and Adam's treason as Adam relinquished the dominion of the earth to Satan with his actions. Therefore, everything we see in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is part of God's plan to redeem the world and humanity; and thus we have Jesus being born of man.

Because Mary stood her ground, saying that God was the father of Jesus, she was scorned, and Jesus was deemed an illegitimate child. Give me a break, none of those neighbors in Bethlehem bought into the idea that this baby was the product of God doing an in Vitro fertilization, they did not even have terminology like that. So Mary was thought of as nothing less than a liar. Joseph's acceptance of Mary's claim made him just as unbelievable. 

Do you struggle with this, too bad because this is reality? 

Did you notice that when Joseph went back to his hometown, with his betrothed wife, a wife that apparently continued to hold her belief and understanding of what transpired, NONE of Joseph's kinfolk would take him and his betrothed into their homes?

Continuing down the rabbit hole, as one brother in Christ puts it.

How did Jesus learn the Old Testament?

Well, Matthew 1:19 gives us one of the greatest clues about Jesus' education when it says Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man. Righteous, according to Thayer, is one who observes divine laws, and, keeps the commands of God. Jesus, being a Mumzer (an illegitimate child according to God's law,) would not have been allowed into the synagogue or their schools to learn the scriptures, therefore, it was the father's role to teach the young Jesus, and he did just that; he was qualified.

Want proof?

At age twelve we find the young Yahshua (Jesus) in the Synagogue in Jerusalem, a place where he was not known, intelligently discussing scriptures with the scribes and elders.

Paul ends his letter to the church in Rome with a validation. Romans 16.

Paul ends this journey through his letter to the church in Rome with what the NASB calls:

Personal Greetings.

It is so much more than that.

Romans 16:1-2 [CEV]  I have good things to say about Phoebe, who is a leader in the church at Cenchreae.  (2)  Welcome her in a way that is proper for someone who has faith in the Lord and is one of God's own people. Help her in any way you can. After all, she has proved to be a respected leader for many others, including me.

Immediately this phrase, “I have good things to say about Phoebe,” draws my attention. The Contemporary English Version is often a good one, but this phrase is pathetically weak here. The NASB puts it this way, I commend to you our sister Phoebe.

Commend is the Greek word sunistáō meaning to cause to stand with.

What Paul was doing was directing this congregation to treat Phoebe with respect, and to stand by her in ministry.
To add to what I believe I am seeing here, check out Eugene Peterson's Message, which often leans to the more emotional side of the conversation.

“Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She's a key representative of the church at Cenchrea.”

Now, ask yourself this question, why is an introduction like this necessary?

Have you ever heard someone speak on the fact, that we do not see women, treated as human beings until Jesus comes on the scene? While you might want to argue that point and say, there were, what some would call powerful women in the Biblical narratives, but on the whole, you get junk like King David merely taking Bathsheba, a married woman. After the circumcision of Moses' sons, we do not see much of his wife; and note how Sarah, after Abraham takes Issac to sacrifice disappears from the conversation. What Jesus did for that woman caught in the act of adultery is amazing and life-changing.

So, is Paul aware of attitudes? Absolutely, and he, being a Jew, knows full well what the Jewish attitude toward women is. Considering that I have heard that Pharisees, as Paul was, were to be married men, and we never see Paul speaking of a wife or in-laws (much.)

I have wanted to be able to hold bible studies at the church. One of my pastors told me that I was too edgy to teach. He offered no explanation of what that meant. I know that if the pastor had told the audience to welcome me as a teacher; I have good things to say about him; and, you need to know that he has a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and an understanding of the Bible, that many would come, all because I was validated, just as Paul did with Phoebe.

What else did Paul say about her?

• “I heartily endorse both her and her work.”
• “She's a key representative of the church at Cenchrea.”
• “Help her out in whatever she asks.”
• “She deserves anything you can do for her.”

And

• “She's helped many a person, including me.”

Paul does not define what that help looked like; it could have been financial or she gave him a place to stay. The point is, that Paul showed tremendous respect for her and endorsed her to this new audience.

Continuing on.

Romans 16:3-5 NET. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, (4) who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. (5) Also, greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

So many translations call her Priscilla, it is unimportant. What is important, is that Paul is also throwing his support to this couple. The husband, Aquilla, is a Jew, and that alone may play a role in Paul's support of them. (I suppose it is best to think in terms of those who have served in the United States Marine Corps. They may now be 80 years old but they will insist that once you are a Marine, you are always a Marine.) We learn more about Priscilla and Aquilla in Acts 18.

After this, Paul left Athens and went on to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, for Emperor Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and stayed and worked with them, because he earned his living by making tents, just as they did. (Acts 18:1-3 GNB)

When Paul meets them in Corinth, they were effectively exiled from Italy. Since we know that the book of Acts was written around A.D. 33-29, then we know that Paul is writing this letter to the church that meets in Rome, some twenty years later. This would be plenty of time for Prisca and Aquilla to get the news of Claudius death and the rescinding of the Emperor's order for expulsion.
Paul tells us, they risked their own necks for my life. What do we have that explains what they did?

Paul went to see them, “and stayed and worked with them, because he earned his living by making tents, just as they did. He held discussions in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul gave his whole time to preaching the message, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. When they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them, "If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." So he left them and went to live in the house of a Gentile named Titius Justus, who worshiped God; his house was next to the synagogue.” (Acts 18:3-7 GNB)

The problem we have with scripture is that we seldom get a clear timeline, and therefore assume that it was merely five minutes between events. So when Paul is not teaching or studying, he is making tents to support himself.

• “Every Sabbath Paul held his discussions in the Synagogue,”
• and we are told that he is trying to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus as the Messiah.
• Now that Silas and Timothy have arrived, Priscilla and Aquila have somehow removed Paul's financial burden and Paul is now able to commit his entire time to preaching the message, and testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah (this is huge.)

Suddenly, we learn that Paul is receiving not only opposition, but evil things are now being said about him. Is it possible that the opposition was strong enough, and ugly enough, to jeopardize the lives of Priscilla and Aquila? That is possible, but we don't know. Without casting any dispersion upon the couple, Paul shakes the dust off his clothing/shoes and moves into another house, the house of a Gentile, who happened to live right next to the synagogue.

We do know, based upon the accolades Paul is bestowing upon the couple in his letter to the church at Rome,

• that they risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but
• all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

And, that Priscilla and Aquila, now back in Rome, have a house church; and that, this church Paul is writing to should also greet the church that gathers in Priscilla and Aquila's house.

More Greetings

Romans 16:6-12 GNB  Greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for you.  (7)  Greetings also to Andronicus and Junia, fellow Jews who were in prison with me; they are well known among the apostles, and they became Christians before I did.  (8)  My greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the fellowship of the Lord.  (9)  Greetings also to Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ's service, and to Stachys, my dear friend.  (10)  Greetings to Apelles, whose loyalty to Christ has been proved. Greetings to those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.  (11)  Greetings to Herodion, a fellow Jew, and to the Christians in the family of Narcissus.  (12)  My greetings to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work in the Lord's service, and to my dear friend Persis, who has done so much work for the Lord.

It feels like this Church is a typical small-town church, where everybody knows each other.

Romans 16:13 GNB  I send greetings to Rufus, that outstanding worker in the Lord's service, and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son.

" and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son." Where and how did this interaction take place? Aside from the information in this letter, we are not aware. It could be that Priscilla and Aquila made some introductions, as the Jews who dispelled from Rome may have followed each other.

Romans 16:14-16 GNB  My greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the other Christians with them.  (15)  Greetings to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, to Olympas and to all of God's people who are with them.  (16)  Greet one another with the kiss of peace. All the churches of Christ send you their greetings.

• “Greet one another with the kiss of peace.”

Final Instructions and Greetings

Romans 16:17 NET. Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!

• “watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!”

These people you are trying to avoid, are espousing self-willed opinion, and mean to split the church
.
Me and my stories. A brother invites me to his home church. He had only recently started coming to the church I go to. Our introduction to each other, was nothing short of rough as I had judged the man over a tee-shirt he was wearing one Sunday morning. Having apologized to him for my negativity, he said, I rarely meet people like you, who are willing to accept responsibility for their actions, would you like to come to my home church? I must have felt like I owed him, and so I said sure. After several meetings I found myself thoroughly disgusted. He wasn't holding to the doctrines of the church - things like mercy and grace, but hammered the small crowd of believers over SIN and hell. One night he said, does anyone have anything to say? And I now had plenty to say. I read him a scripture that rebutted his preaching, and made a comment about the seven layers of hell he was espousing. A dear lady also said something, in contrast, that night. We were squelched that evening, and ridiculed, publicly, the following meeting. I no longer attend there, and they fed you well. And to think, I was deemed too edgy to teach.

Paul goes on to explain,

Romans 16:18 NET. For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.

• “For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.”
• “By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.” I have seen and heard it all; they try to come across as concerned for the health of the Church, but in truth they are merely trying to advance their own egos.

A slight shift in the greeting.

Romans 16:19 NET. Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

Obedience to what?
The gospel that Paul preaches. Some could immediately see this as Paul dispensing his own law, but if you have read through the entirety of Romans, as a few of us have, then you would see that Paul preaches freedom, and does not evade the law.

Romans 16:20 ASV And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Let's take this letter, where Paul talks of God bruising Satan under our feet, as a relative thing, especially since the letter was written about two-thousand years ago and we are still battling with Satan and those who choose to be used by him. I get it, God has things in control, but it is difficult, at times, to remember that, especially when you are in anguish. However, the day will come, and there will be peace.

The greetings continue.

This next verse is in italics.

Romans 16:24 ASV The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

In almost every translation, italicized words are there merely for clarity. It then is presumed that Paul would have said this.

Doxology

Romans 16:25-27 ASV Now to him, that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, (26) but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith: (27) to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

• “Now to him, that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,”

The obvious question is, WHO is establishing you?
The answer is the Holy Spirit/Jesus/God.

But by what standard?
The message that Paul preached.

• “according to my gospel”
• “and the preaching of Jesus Christ,”
• “according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested,”
• “and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God,”
• “is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.”

All in all, this sort of demands that we understand the message that Paul preached. Simple, and yet, not so much. We think it was all mercy and grace, but it included the law, the prophets, the revelation of “the mystery, and things that Jesus taught.”

Now wait a minute, did Saul/Paul learn from the things that Jesus taught while He walked the earth? Not a chance, but then there was that day that Saul, the pharisee, got knocked to the ground, and Jesus spoke to him.
We seem to forget that Saul/Paul, went away by himself to seek God's voice. I can only believe that he heard that voice.
And, since the only documented “word” they had were the precious scrolls, kept in the synagogues, then Saul/Paul learned from this grace from the law and the prophets.
In there he found the mystery that many in Israel still seek.

What a joy it is to know that the mystery is made known unto all the nations, who express obedience of faith.


Know this, He is the only wise God, through Jesus Christ; and, to whom be the glory forever.
So Be it.

A heavily modified version of an old post on Hebrews 5:11. It's hard for you to learn.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. (Hebrews 5:11, NIV)

With an opening like this, many could perceive this as an insult. The writer of Hebrews may well have meant it to be just that, a shot at this particular group of Hebrew converts that made up a portion of the early church.

“We have much to say about this,”
"What is the “this” the author is speaking of?" Obviously, by starting here, we have lost critical components of the conversation and therefore have missed the context. We find the context by returning briefly to Hebrews 5:1-10. Chapter five of Hebrews opens by speaking of Jesus as the better high priest, ordained by God. Because he achieved all this as a man, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

“but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.”
I, for the longest time, thought of myself as a slow learner. It turns out that I am more of a visual learner, for once I get the imagery in my head, that scriptural scene usually stays with me forever. So, when it comes to my experiences in comprehending the Bible, the understanding has come through repetition and a great deal of writing. The writing has been my opportunity to ask God my questions, no matter how awkward or embarrassing, and put forth my heartfelt challenges. (A comparison for this would be a friend of mine who feels he is comfortable enough to say, God, lied about some situation! It might be how he feels at the time, as he searches for more appropriate words to express himself; but the reality is, God cannot lie, and my friend needs to grasp that concept.)

In our journey through Hebrews, we come to recognize that the entire book is in part a discourse proclaiming the superiority of Christ and why.

The cross plays a dominant role in this affirmation and here is why:

• "His reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7)

Jesus voluntarily became a man; set aside His glory and position with the Father; submitted to death not only in his body but in his spirit; and, he did all this as a man.

• “ yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

There is more to this than what the eye can see. It will require you to think it through.

J. Vernon McGee said this in his commentary on chapter 5 of Hebrews,
“What is obedience? A crowd of people asked Jesus, "… What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" (Joh_6:28). Jesus replied, "… This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (Joh_6:29). Do you want to obey God? Then trust Christ. That is what He is saying.”
Maybe we should be paying attention to words like Dr. McGee's. Since so few of us trust Christ, try to imagine having to trust the Father God with your life – Jesus did.

Dr. McGee goes on to say, that in all honesty, there is something here he did not understand; “Why did the Son of God need to learn obedience by suffering? And why did He need to be made perfect when He already was perfect?” Dr. McGee proposes perhaps the best answer one can give - “Now I am well acquainted with the explanation that men gave, but none of them satisfy me. I just recognize that it is a great mystery.” 
For myself, I have learned to relax in the knowledge that He loves me, just as He loves you, and that Jesus was willing to go through horrible punishment for us.

• "and once made perfect." (Hebrews 5:9)

The NIV translates the verse right before this as, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” That obedience is one of the things that made Him perfect.

A couple of things jump out at me when I read that He was made perfect. Jesus was and is God; John chapter one spells that out for us when it says, He spoke the worlds into existence. I know that God, Jesus, Holy Spirit being God thing is hard to handle, but none the less, it is what it is. Therefore, His voluntarily stepping down to be a human disabled Him in a sense; at least momentarily. Think about that; He became a human – a defenseless baby, dependent upon Mary to nurse and change His diapers. He, like victims of trauma often do, had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Any powers associated with the Father were set aside until He learned who He was and what His powers were, just as we have to do.

This transition from heaven to earth provokes my second thought.

Because Mary, at such an early age, had enough strength of character that she was able to stand her ground and say, He is the Son of God, it did not fare well with anybody and gossip spread quickly. No one was buying Mary's story, and for a time, neither did Joseph. Jesus, once he was born, was now reliant upon the protective covering of Joseph. Without this covering, He would have been thought of and treated as nothing more than an illegitimate child of an unnamed father. Accusations like this should have prevented Him from entering a Synagogue, or being taught in a Rabbinical school; and yet, what do we see, Jesus, at the age of accountability amazing the teachers in the synagogue with His understanding and knowledge.

Where would He have learned all the things necessary to make Him who He became?
1. Joseph, we are told, was a good man. This title does not necessarily mean he fared well in the community; it says he too knew the Torah and Talmud and by repetition taught Jesus.
2. At Jesus baptism in the Jordan by John, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit leads us and guide us into all truth, and, in the case of Jesus, led Him into the wilderness for forty days. We do not see Satan enter that picture until Jesus experienced a painful hunger at the end of that forty days. So, what was Jesus doing all that time? Talking to the God He had come to understand and recognize as His own Father.

Is there any doubt that He was perfect?

He was born through a woman who merely carried God's fertilized egg. This course of action is the way it had to be done to bypass the inherent brokenness that came to every human through Adam; this course action, on God's part, made Him sinless (that means, like us, He was not driven to satisfy personal desires.) And, we learn that He followed the will of the Father precisely; and yet, Jesus the Son is being made perfect again. John's gospel tells us that he is God, was with God, created all things by his word, and upholds all things by the word of his power; and yet, Hebrews has God restoring him to power. Why? Because God was restoring His firstborn Son, given to be sin, back to His rightful position of authority, seated next to the Father in heaven.

• "he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:9)

God alone has the power to give life. However, Jesus told the Jews that he was God, and they very clearly understood that because they immediately tried to kill for making that claim. There was nothing veiled about what Jesus said, and yet, here again, we have a description of Jesus becoming the source of eternal salvation. To and for whom did He become the source of eternal salvation? All who obey him. (None of us do that entirely, but His grace is sufficient enough to ensure the salvation of all who believe.)

• "designated by God to be High Priest." (Hebrews 5:10)

Pay attention to the patterns for this is what the Jewish mind is accustomed to when analyzing prophecy. Aaron was a man, and God chose him. Look for patterns (this is what the Jewish mind is accustomed to when examining prophecy) Aaron was a pattern, but there is another clue here. Not after the order of Man but after the order or example of Melchizedek. A man who had no beginning and no end, appointed by God to be High Priest. Why? Because humankind had a limited lifespan and would have to have been replaced. Jesus, like Melchizedek, now continues because He was raised from the dead. Those who serve in the priesthood are born with a broken nature and must offer sacrifices for their failings before offering a sacrifice for others. It is true, that Jesus was born without sin, but could have given himself over to the desires of the flesh, as Satan pushed opportunities at Him, and yet He did not.

The explanations for why Jesus is superior is cloaked in references to the cross and his death.

There are two forms of death: Physical and spiritual. To be spiritually dead is to be separated from God, and Christ, for the first time experienced a separation from the Father. We call it his death, and no doubt the body was killed, but when John talks about death in Revelation 20, he refers to the second death. Christ's body was not the only thing that died on the cross that day. Jesus, himself, attests to that by saying "my God, why have you forsaken me."

Everything in scripture is a pattern, and we have Abraham for a model.
When Isaac asked where is the sacrifice, Abraham answers "God will provide himself a sacrifice," and that is precisely what happened that day on the cross.

Adam was the pattern for the man Jesus would become, and neither had experienced what it was like to be separated from God. Look at our Genesis account for the pattern. God made it clear to Adam what would happen on the day He ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil – death; and yet, did Adam die that day? Not to the physical eye, but he did spiritually, as he lost his connection to God. Try to keep in mind that God is not a liar and He did say that day. Some will look at this as the eventual death of Adam, which came almost nine-hundred years later. Still, if Adam's physical death was all that was implied, then that would make God a liar, for it did not occur that day. I believe that Adam understood what God meant when God explained what would happen; that is what made Adam's act of disobedience such a critical, treasonous error.

It would seem only a few have experienced anything close to that kind of intimacy: Adam, who relinquished his relationship; Enoch, who walked off this earth, and Jesus, who was killed because he proclaimed his relationship with the Father. Of those moments that I feel separated from Him, I think I can equate it to being underwater, and not being able to breathe. Your spirit, much like your lungs need air, desperately seeks a relationship with the creator.

So, here we are back at Hebrews 5:11 where it says, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn."

Why would the writer of this letter to the Hebrews know the recipient's spiritual state?
     Perhaps the writer had been one of their teachers.

With the Law and the prophets only written on scrolls - the majority of which were held within the communities Synagogue because of rarity and expense, there were no books to enlighten the new converts about the latest theories on how grace and spiritual laws work; and, surely there was no New Testament, for it was being written as they spoke.

Another safe assumption is that these were exclusively Jewish believers considering that the entire book is a letter to the Hebrews.

Jews in the compulsory Rabbinical schools were trained in the Torah and Talmud.
Now, not everyone was a scholar like Saul/Paul, but within the Jewish community has a firm grasp of history and high Holy days was mandatory. Therefore, the knowledge of God's grace had to come through the same documents that the religious leadership used to control people with its many burdensome laws. The most significant input the new church had, would have been oral tradition and inspiration given through the Holy Spirit. Paul was a perfect example of one of those people, as he and a handful of others began to grasp the grace that God was trying to tell us.

Look at Hebrews 6:1-2 to get an idea of what the basics were/are; not one of these can be taught in 10 minutes.

• Basic teachings about Christ.
• The fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds.
• Placing our faith in God.
• Instructions about baptisms.
• Instructions about the laying on of hands.
• The resurrection of the dead.
• Eternal Judgment.

What would make this hard to explain?

I would not think that it is the telling of the story of Jesus that is difficult; although the trip to the cross can be graphic and gory. Perhaps the visualization of cross sets many people at odds with the cross. Having heard angry arguments against Jesus descending to hell and taking the keys away from Satan, I can presume that many others with their religious mindset fight against the cross. We also know that many have a cloak over their eyes, and therefore their physical mind cannot grasp the impact of the cross. And then, there are those who are not willing to spend any time looking into God's word, and therefore, will not find freedom.


What happened from the cross to the throne is what makes those of us who follow Him who we are. It is what made Jesus who He is, and it is what prompted God to call him our great High Priest, and the one who mediates for us continually.

God so desperately wanted to restore that relationship with you that he allowed his Son to die for you, and Jesus voluntarily set aside the glory he had with the Father to be the required sacrifice so that you might live. All that Christ did was done for you.