Greetings! Below you will find questions which reference the sermon preached on Sunday, April 12th, 2015 at The Park. This week we studied Chapter 2 of Hebrews. Have someone in your group read this section of scripture.
Each week new questions are posted to track along with the sermons. Work hard to facilitate discussion. Listen to the hearts around the room and close with prayer.
Intro to Hebrews:
The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God’s grace. The prologue (1:1–4) presents Christ as God’s full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in the OT. The prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the “new covenant” (or “new testament”), of which Christ is the mediator. From the OT itself, Christ is shown to be superior to the ancient prophets, to angels, to Moses (the mediator of the former covenant) and to Aaron and the priestly succession descended from him. Hebrews could be called “the book of better things” since the two Greek words for “better” and “superior” occur 15 times in the letter. (www.biblica.com)
Questions for this week:
- How does Hebrews 1 lay the foundation, or serve as an introduction to what Hebrews 2 had to say?
- Discuss this interesting excerpt from a critical commentary of the Bible, “Man, in his original creation, was set beneath angels. So the man Jesus, though Lord of angels, when He emptied Himself of the externals of His Divinity (see on Philippians 2:6, 7), was in His human nature “a little lower than the angels”; though this is not the primary reference here, but man in general.” How does this reality show that it was not “easy” for Him to attain perfection?
- Hebrews 2:14-16 talks of Jesus destroying death. What victory and confidence does this definition give you? Destroy—literally, “render powerless”; deprive of all power to hurt His people. “That thou mightest still the enemy and avenger” (Psalm 8:2). The same Greek verb is used in 2 Timothy 1:10, “abolished death.” There is no more death for believers. Christ plants in them an undying seed, the germ of heavenly immortality, though believers have to pass through natural death.”
- Often times we see Jesus as a helpless and poor soul who was ravenously attacked by the devil. How does this excerpt change the narrative we sometimes buy into? “that through death—which He could not have undergone as God but only by becoming man. Not by Almighty power but by His death (so the Greek) He overcame death. “Jesus suffering death overcame; Satan wielding death succumbed” [Bengel]. As David cut off the head of Goliath with the giant’s own sword wherewith the latter was used to win his victories. Coming to redeem mankind, Christ made Himself a sort of hook to destroy the devil; for in Him there was His humanity to attract the devourer to Him, His divinity to pierce him, apparent weakness to provoke, hidden power to transfix the hungry ravisher.”
- What does it mean that Jesus, the “founder of our salvation” was made perfect through suffering (verse 2:10)? How, through dying, did he destroy the one who “has the power of death” (verse 2:14)?
- How does Jesus’ suffering and death make him more approachable? How do we know that he understands our suffering and temptation?