Ep6. How To Exegete Hebrews 12.22-24 Web V

Hebrews 12:22-24 A Class in

Exegesis Paul Burgess with Peter Percy *

PCJB PP Presentation devised and prepared for Gujranwala Theological Seminary may be copied for non-commercial use only March 2009

Why PowerPoint? 

Clarity of outline

Central formatting Use few words per frame One unit of thought to each line 

Ease of editing / manipulating text 

Force of impact

This Presentation… 

Is prepared for use in the classroom (using a multimedia projector beamed onto a white wall or screen)

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Can be easily adapted by the teacher Allows for class interaction with the text (using the edit mode for class suggestions, e.g. for “best” lay out of the Scripture text)

This Lesson adopts the pattern of a master-class in which the class attempts an exercise and is critiqued by the teacher Marks are given out of ten as evaluation for an exercise

The Headings are written…  

In light blue: The model answer In white: The class attempts

The Main Text is written in white with various colours added 

In light blue: The Tutot’s answer is added to the class response

PRAY

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For God to speak to us first For a desire to learn together For God to guide our thinking

Hebrews 12:22-24 The TEXT But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

From a Paragraph to a List… But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

First step: Section off the text to show the separate units of thought as a list

List the UNITS of THOUGHT WORKSHOP (Edit Mode) But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The Units of THOUGHT (Class attempt)

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The UNITS of THOUGHT (Tutor’s answer) [Sign post: indicates a previous thought - investigate under CONTEXT]

But

you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, [adds the thought of a heavenly location] the city of the living God. [adds the thought of God’s ownership] You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, [adds the thought of their

joyful state]

to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Shape the Structure But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The second step: Shift the lines to show the shape of the (grammatical) structure

Shape the Structure

WORKSHOP (Edit Mode)

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Shape the STRUCTURE

(Class attempt)

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MARK: 5/10 (incomplete!) The problem with the above (incomplete) analysis:  It only considers the obvious, i.e. the relationship of “to” with “you have come”  It misses further relationships, e.g. “Zion”, “heavenly Jerusalem” and “God” in the first sentence; “the sprinkled blood” (of Jesus) contrasted with “the blood of Abel”

Shape The STRUCTURE (Tutor’s answer) But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. you have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Analysing the CONTENT

(Class attempt)

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WHO is involved (persons)? Believers/ God/ angels/ Jesus

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WHAT is happening (verbs)? come/ written/ made perfect/ speaks WHAT else is mentioned (things and ideas)? Zion/ City of God/ Heavenly Jerusalem WHERE the action is taking place? in heaven/ in WHEN? in PAUL’s TIME (past) or in HEAVEN (future)?

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WHY? HOW?

-----------------MARK: 10/10

Content Analysis:

(Class attempt)

Who is doing what, when, where, how, why? But you have come

Participants (WHO – WHAT)

to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

………………………………………………………………………………………

You have come

to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.

………………………………………………………………………………………

You have come to God, the judge of all men,

to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (COMPARISON)

----------------MARK 10/10

The CONTENT

(Tutor’s

answer)

Who is doing what, when, where, how, why? But you have come to Mount Zion, Participants (WHO – WHAT) to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood

The Topics covered

(Class attempt)

But you have come Believers’ coming to Jesus / God to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. [Heaven] Heavenly Jerusalem/Zion The Living God …………………………………………………………………………………… You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, Joyful Assembly in Heaven to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. Heavenly Church …………………………………………………………………………………… You have come to God, the judge of all men, God as a Judge to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, The Righteous to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, Jesus the Mediator and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. -----------------------------------------------------------------------Blood of Jesus MARK 8/10 [correction and omissions] The Blood of Abel

The TOPICS

(Tutor’s answer)

But you have come to Mount Zion, The believers’ arrival in Zion to the heavenly Jerusalem, Heavenly Jerusalem/Zion the city of the living God. The living God ………………………………………………………………………… you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels The joyful assembly in Heaven in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, The Heavenly Church whose names are written in heaven. ………………………………………………………………………… You have come to God, the judge of all men, God as judge to the spirits of righteous men The righteous made perfect, to Jesus Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, the Mediator and to the sprinkled blood The Blood of Jesus that speaks a better word than v.

The Over-All Subject: Possibilities (Class attempt)       

A Believer & Heavenly Jerusalem? Living God? Joy in Heaven? Jesus the Mediator? Blood of Jesus? Blessings of being with Jesus? God as Judge?

**** * ** ** *

** *

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------MARK: 9/10 (The passage addresses the position of the believer regarding heaven) Better answer: (next frame)

The Over-All SUBJECT (Tutor’s answer)

The Believers’ Place in Heaven [the emphasis on “have come” and (initially) the Place (as well as the Persons)]

Kinds of CONTEXT Literary Context Concerned with what precedes and what comes after the passage Ranges from Immediate text, whole section, whole book, total writing (corpus) of the author, and the whole OT/NT, to the whole Bible (Canonical Context)

Kinds of CONTEXT

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Literary Context Historical Context Canonical (Theological) Context

Kinds of CONTEXT Literary Context (Is the text part of a larger passage?

Concerned with what precedes and

what comes after the passage

Kinds of CONTEXT (What part does the text play in the wider context?)

Literary Context, (author’s thinking >)

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ranging from:

The immediate text, The whole section, The whole book,

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to: 

The total writing (corpus) of the author,

Canonical Context, (> Biblical theology)

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the whole OT or NT, the whole Bible

Kinds of CONTEXT Historical Context Concerned with the background to the passage Evidence found within the passage itself, the rest of Scripture, or outside of Scripture

Kinds of CONTEXT Canonical Context (Context of Biblical theology)

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Concerned with what the rest of the Bible (the canon: the body of Scripture) says about the themes of the passage  Allusions in the text to Bible themes / events elsewhere Place in the total teaching of Scripture (the big picture)

Background Study Generally requires the use of

Bible Aids. These can provide two sorts of information: 1.

Related material found elsewhere in Scripture conveniently collected together 2. Information only found outside the Bible

Using Bible Aids 

Concordances - to discover what other biblical passages say on the same theme / subject passages

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Bible Dictionaries - for more information on a word / subject / person

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Bible Atlases - to locate places mentioned

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Commentaries - for other interpretations and further insights about the content and authorship

Using Bible Aids

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Concordances - to discover what other biblical passages say on the same theme / subject  

Lists key words in alphabetical order Records instances where such words appear in other biblical passages (using Bible references)

The Context (Literary) 

“But” signals a vivid contrast between two mountains with spiritual significance…

“The author of Hebrews has been arguing that Christ’s new covenant is far better than the old one between God and the Jews.” There is a “great difference between encountering God in the way Moses did (with fear and trembling on Mt Sinai!) in the Old Testament and encountering him through Jesus.” (- NIV Student Bible p.1077)

The Context (Historical) Is there some historical event / experience involved or referred to here?

(A Commentary might supply the answer here)

Written to a group of “Hebrews” (Jewish background believers) in danger of reverting back to Judaism under pressure from their Jewish friends

The Context

(Canonical: Allusions to other Scriptures) ( A concordance helps here) 

“The first-born”: all allusion to Exodus To rescue his people God slew the first-born of Egypt But his angels passed over the first-born of the Hebrews wherever the blood of a lamb had been sprinkled on the door-posts In this way they were marked out for salvation

The Context

(Canonical: Allusions to other Scriptures) ( A concordance informs us that:) 

“The blood of Abel” refers to the murder of an innocent worshiper by his brother jealous that his own sacrifice had not been accepted by God

Jesus’ blood was shed voluntarily as a sacrifice so we might be able to come to God

The Context

(Canonical: The Big Picture of Scripture) Are there any significant theological themes referred to? Where does it fit into the total story of redemption?

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The heavenly Jerusalem is the destination of God’s people. Entry qualification has been achieved through Christ’s sacrifice Not only do believers have a future place secured in Heaven in the sense that they have already arrived! The fact that they have already come to Jesus means they can enjoy a relationship with the living God – now!

Teaching on O/A Subject : A Believer & Heavenly Jerusalem (Class attempt) But you have come

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. * One can come to God.[We have come already] God in Christ is approachable. Heavenly Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, * In heavenly Jerusalem, there are thousands of angels worshipping the living God. to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. * No need to worry, those who believe in Him, their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, * For a believer, God is the judge of all men. to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

Teaching on O/A Subject : A Believer & Heavenly Jerusalem (Class attempt)

* Believers of past generations are there in God’s presence. to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, * Entrance in heavenly Jerusalem is possible only through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between man & God. and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. * The shed Blood of Jesus made it possible for a person to enter the Heavenly Jerusalem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

MARK 9/10 [omission of the idea that already believers have come to God and His heaven – the CONTEXT (what precedes “But”) makes this clear]

The Main Lessons of the passage (Class attempt)

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Heavenly Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the living God. In Heavenly Jerusalem, there are angels & believers of past generations. Only believers can enter in Heavenly Jerusalem. This is already their privilege Jesus Christ is the only source of entering in Heavenly Jerusalem, because he shed his own precious blood for us.

----------------MARK: 9/10

The TEACHING on SUBJECT: The Believer’s Place in Heaven

(Tutor’s answer) But We believers are much better off than you have come to Mount Zion, those under the old covenant to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. We have reached God’s own city …………………………………………………………………… you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels We have joined the joyful company of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, …and of the redeemed whose names are written in heaven.

heaven

enrolled in

The TEACHING on SUBJECT: The Believer’s Place in Heaven You have come to God, We have reached God Himself the judge of all men, who judges everyone to the spirits of righteous men We have reached the home of the saints made perfect, …now rid of all flaws to Jesus We have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, who mediated the new covenant and to the sprinkled blood …through his shed blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. We have a much better sacrifice than Abel’s Because we have already come to Jesus

The Main LESSONS 

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The old covenant based on the Law won’t get you to heaven, but the new covenant based on Jesus will! Heavenly Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the living God. In Heavenly Jerusalem, there are angels & believers of past generations. Only believers can enter the Heavenly Jerusalem. This is already our privilege Jesus Christ is the only source of entering in Heavenly Jerusalem, because he shed his own precious blood for us.

The Heart-Beat

(Class attempt)

(core message of the passage) (O/A subject: A Believer & Heavenly Jerusalem)

Be assured of your destination, the living God

----------------MARK:10/10

The HEART-BEAT (Tutor’s answer)

You have already joined the heavenly assembly of Christ’s redeemed people

The Universal APPLICATION

We may be a minority, but our security is in Jesus. Our names are written in heaven! And we can experience life with the living God – now!

The End