Abstract

This article suggests a systematic analysis of the ways the author of the Letter to the Hebrews links Christ and the sacrificial system, exploring the author’s method of using the sacrificial system in his Christology. It points to the issues in which Hebrews embraces traditional Jewish cultic ideas and—building on these basics—those in which Hebrews greatly diverges and modifies high priestly features. The manner in which the author bases his Christology on the sacrificial cult shows that he acknowledges the efficacy of the high priest and sacrifices for contending with sin. Even when modifying the priestly cult to show that Christ’s atonement is superior to, and takes the place of, the Temple cult, he bases himself on the fundamentals of the high priest entering the Holy of Holies with blood. He uses the sacrificial cult as a model for Christology, like a map for navigating Christ’s doctrine of salvation. It is suggested that Hebrews’ aim is to make sense of Jesus’ death and atonement, perhaps even to shed light on Pauline Christological and cultic metaphors.

Highlights

  • The Letter to the Hebrews is both the most detailed and the most radical treatment of the sacrificial system in the NT

  • Why is the author of Hebrews, of all NT authors, so interested in the laws of priesthood, sacrifice, and Temple imagery? And why does he systematically apply the sacrificial cult to Christ if, as he claims, Christ provides an alternative that is superior to the Temple? In other words, what is the author’s “method” of using the sacrificial system in his Christology?

  • The first part of this article shows the many ways in which in the course of introducing Jesus as the new high priest who sacrifices himself in the heavenly Temple, the author displays concern for the Temple cult

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Summary

Introduction

The first part of this article shows the many ways in which in the course of introducing Jesus as the new high priest who sacrifices himself in the heavenly Temple, the author displays concern for the Temple cult He bases the new Christology and heavenly. What does he hope to gain from portraying the complex system of Temple-high priest-sacrifice as the background for Jesus’ death and ascent to heaven? It is easier to understand the author’s acknowledgement and adaptation of the priestly concepts if they occurred at a time when the Temple cult was nothing more than a memory, and not vying with Christ’s high priesthood

Part I
The High Priest
The Tabernacle
Sacrifices and Blood Rites
Applying Sacrificial Blood
Applying the Burning of Sin Offering
The Sacrificial System as a Model for Christology
Christ’s Modification of the High Priesthood
Modifying Atonement by Blood: A Single Atonement by Christ’s Own Blood
Three Explanations
Hebrews and Pauline Christology
The Tabernacle what the
31 Rather
The TaberthereTabernacle: is a certain reservation in
Full Text
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