Revelation's Candlepower- Hebrews 2:1-4

In this series so far we have been presented with a case for the superiority of the gospel message of the New Testament over and above the Old Testament (along with its law/sacrificial system) and the superiority of Jesus Christ over and above the rulers of old and the angels of heaven. These two truths, the revelation of God’s Word and the reality of God in Jesus Christ are firmly fixed fundamentals in an increasingly relativistic and postmodern world. Like an ancient lighthouse still used to guide vessels to safe harbor, these truths are not only beautiful and formidable structures, they are the only salvation available for those vessels lost in the swells of skepticism and storms of sinfulness. The luminosity of a lighthouse's beam was and is measured in "candlepower," as the first lighthouses made use of candles and mirrors to form their piercing beams. Depending on how high the candlepower was determined how far away a captain could see the shore indicated by the lighthouse. If it proved important for a captain to pay special attention to the lighthouse and its corresponding candlepower while navigating to safe harbor on the high seas, how much more do you think people ought to pay attention to what God has revealed and its candlepower as they navigate through life? In answering this question, let us head two parts of a warning found in Hebrews 2:1-4. By the end of this message, we will learn revelation's candlepower and why we must pay close attention to its piercing beam. 

I. PART 1: The Recommendation-2:1

As the preacher moves from chapter 1 to chapter 2, he takes a brief break from the Christology he is building to entertain a very important warning. This warning applies as much to him as it does to those listening. This is made clear by the first person plural pronoun “we” that we see in his speech, “for this reason, we…” (2:1). Also, beginning with “for this reason” demands that we ask “what reason is that?” as we seek to connect what has been discussed in chapter 1 with the contents of chapter 2. Most nearly, the preacher is trying to connect what he has made reference to in the Old Testament with an encouragement he is going to give here are the beginning of the next section. Given all that Jesus is, the Most High in all of the heavens (see 1:5-14), and given that God’s new revelation has been given through Christ and not some intermediary (see 1:1-4), it is incumbent that the reader respond appropriately. This is made clear by the recommendation made in verse 1, “For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard…” (2:1a). What Jesus revealed, as already argued, is vastly superior to what was found in the Old Testament (in that it completed the Old Testament, came from the primary source of the God-man, has been made available to all, and gives the greatest hope). Therefore, it demands special attention, in fact, “much closer attention.”

A reminder of Israel’s checkered history of responding to revelation is appropriate here. When God spoke through signs of plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, the people were quick to turn away and complain (leaving them wandering in the desert for 40 years). When God inscribed clear directions on tablets, the people rebelled. When God appointed kings, corruption and idolatry set in. It would appear that revelatory attempts made in the past, attempts that the preacher’s audience would have been privy to, were unsuccessful at sticking with God’s people. Perhaps this is why the preacher encourages those listening to pay “much closer attention” to what has been made available/clear in Christ—the greatest of all revelations.

This recommendation becomes clearer when one understands exactly what is meant by “pay attention to.” The verb used (prosecw) means to “hold firmly to a particular belief” following careful consideration. Holding beliefs in what has been shared by God, especially the gospel, is of supreme importance for these are matters of eternal life and death. I’d say these are worth wrestling with and nailing down.

The purpose for having God’s revelation in Jesus firmly held is “so that we do not drift away from it” (2:1b). The danger of drifting away from what God has revealed in Jesus Christ cannot be treated too gravely, for this compels the reader to check himself/herself for perseverance over profession and firm belief over mere lip service. Those who are shallow professors, not persevering believers, are going to be those who by their very nature slowly drift away from Jesus and His teachings as preserved in the New Testament, like a ship wandering aimlessly on the high seas.

What is described by the United States Coast Guard as the world's most powerful lighthouse stands in Charleston, S. C. The light has twenty million candlepower and is visible for twenty miles. Standing on the north side of Charleston Harbor’s entrance on Sullivan's Island, the installation is one hundred and forty feet high. It replaced a lighthouse built in 1876 and was the last lighthouse built by the United States military. I’d compare the old lighthouse that needed replacing in Charleston S.C. to the old covenant found in the Old Testament. Though it served a purpose for a time and was used to guide many, something far better, brighter, and more powerful has come along to provide potential salvation to many more in Jesus Christ and His gospel message. Therefore, the preacher says, we would do well to pay attention to it.

Consider what has been revealed in the New Testament. “…before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father, accept through me” (John 14:6).  ^“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). These revelations together illuminate the only lighthouse leading to salvation on the shores of the stormy seas of this world. Any divergence from these fundamental truths spells disaster for any vessel. There is no room for error when it comes to these. We cannot just be close when it comes to Jesus’ identity and His ministry of redemption. Therefore, the preacher says to all those listening, pay close attention, hold fast to these things, keep the rudder of your vessel pointed toward this light, so that you do not drift away from it to your doom.

II. PART 2: The Reason-2:2-4

Having made the recommendation to pay close attention to the Gospel and its Christ, the preacher begins to describe the reasons for doing so in verses 2-4. First, a rabbinic style of argumentation is used to provide reason #1. This argument consists of two parts-the lesser and the greater. First, the lesser situation is described as follows, “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty…” (2:2). Here, the preacher reminds his audience of the harsh punishments that were dealt the forefathers whenever they disregarded God’s Word as spoken through angelic beings. The disobedience of the Jews under the old covenant was two-fold: commission of sin contrary to God’s will and, in some situations, an unwillingness to listen to God in the first place (see semantic range of disobedience). Whether they were dispersed and thrown into exile, enslaved, or made to wander for forty years, God made sure to provide just consequences for those who disobeyed His revelation in the past.

The preacher’s point is made when the “greater” part of the argument is given. If that was how God dealt with the Jews in Old Testament under the purview of the old covenant, the preacher asks of New Testament believer, “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (2:3). If, as has been argued in chapter 1, God’s revelation in the New Testament is superior to that which is found in the Old and Jesus Christ has perfectly revealed God in His incarnation for the benefit of all who call Him Lord, then surely to disregard what is new is worse than ignoring the old. The rhetorical question posed demands a negative answer, “No, we could never escape if we neglect so great a salvation.” If one finds scriptural precedent in God’s punishment of those who were disobedient in the Old Testament, then they should expect a more severe punishment for neglecting what has been made available in the New Testament. The word “neglect” means “to not care about” or “be apathetic toward” something. “Thus, those who care so little about the word of salvation that they neglect it will find no escape from the punishment they deserve” (Guthrie, 85).  

Ultimately, the first reason given for paying special attention to God’s newest and greatest revelation is to escape just punishment. Instead of caring less about what God has said in Jesus Christ, we must care about nothing more—then and only then will we escape the wrath of God in His judgment. I’d say this is a compelling reason to listen well and apply appropriately the Word of God.

However, another compelling reason to “pay much closer attention to what we have heard” in Jesus  is offered by the preacher in the second part of verse 3 through verse 4. In these verses, analysis is made on the nature of the Word given that consists in two parts. First, the route that the Word took is described, “After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed by those who heard…” (2:3b). “It” in this verse is the message of salvation that, according to our preacher was first spoken through the Lord Jesus when He said things like, “the time has come…the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk. 1:15) and did things like “going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…” (Mt. 9:35). Only God Himself could be the source/author of something as great as salvation from sin, i.e. the gospel. However, this message did not stop with Him. In fact, according to most, neither the preacher nor the original recipients of Hebrews had directly heard Jesus preach the message of salvation. They were “second generation” Christians who received the message from those who first “heard” Jesus in person. However, this word, verse 3 says, was “confirmed” or guaranteed to be true. Therefore, while they had not heard the message of salvation from Jesus directly, they could count on its truthfulness because of the confirmation they received from eyewitnesses.

If these were second generation believers, then we are third generation believers: Jesus’ original disciples—writers and first preachers—today’s believers who read recorded accounts. This is the route the Word has taken to reach us—a word that is trustworthy as it has been confirmed not only by eyewitnesses when originally recorded, but also by the Church itself over 2000 years of tradition and history.

Though eyewitnesses and church history are good proofs/evidences for God’s revelatory act in Jesus Christ, the greatest of all confirmations on the gospel message is God Himself who, the preacher says, “also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will…” (2:4). The word picture created here by the preacher is a legal image in which God enters the courtroom of history to corroborate the testimony of those who followed the Lord by proclaiming salvation in various ways (Guthrie, 85). The “signs and wonders and…miracles” offered by God accompany the preaching/promulgation of the gospel message and add apologetic value to the message that goes forth into all the world.

However, in sticking with our image of a vessel trying to navigate toward safe harbor, let us think of the Lord’s initial message of the Gospel as preached by Jesus Christ as the bright beam of the lighthouse that calls us to port from the tumultuous seas of life. To help us navigate those waters to reach safety we have the maps recorded for us by those who have gone before, charting out with as much precision as possible the rocks and dangers to avoid along the way. Added to these is the church itself, which travels with us giving advice and encouragement for the journey. However, the most important one on board, guiding us to turn our rudder this way and that, is God Himself who through His Spirit and special works leads us along so that we can arrive to our desired destination with God. To neglect God or His call is to be, again, forever lost at sea. To not pay special attention to what He has made available in this journey (the preserved message, the history of His church, and the signs and wonders evident in the world), spells disaster on the unforgiving rocks which lurk beneath the surface that threaten our vessel.

So What?

To what or to whom are you paying close attention? Is the vessel of your life directed toward Jesus Christ and the hope that He offers in salvation? We live in a world in which reporters are shot while giving live coverage, not in an urban slum or during a riot, but in a quiet place like Franklin County. We live in a world with volatility in markets as well as in relationships. We live in the kind of world in which millions of adulterers are exposed all at once via a website devoted to facilitating affairs. However, those who are focused on Jesus, paying special attention to what He has revealed, live in a world of hope that guides them to safe harbor. There is no question that we are made to navigate treacherous waters but there is also no question that God’s people can be guided through when they have Jesus as their lighthouse and God as their captain. We would do well not to neglect these.