“A fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”: A study of fear in the Epistle to the Hebrews

Abstract

Does the author of Hebrews seek to quell fear or create it? The answer to both seems to be yes. To better understand the argument as a coherent whole, however, readers must seek to understand how he makes these dual moves with fear and why. First, God acts to eliminate fear. Through the death and resurrection of the Son become High Priest, God destroyed the enslaving fear of death. The fear of death has been eliminated, but another more terrifying fear remains: the fear of departing from God. The author of Hebrews views this departure as a possibility, and so, he warns his community about it in the starkest terms possible. Without muting that warning, I want to affirm with equal intensity the answers the author provides to that fear. First, he asks something of them, namely to pay attention, persevere, and run with endurance. Second, he reminds them of the community around them that will aid their endurance. Finally, he focuses on the priesthood of Christ. His one-time sacrifice as well as his living intercession give aid. The balance between assurance and warning resides in this: the author does not want them to presume upon the grace of God, but it is God, the just, holy, as well as faithful and merciful to whom he entrusts them.