Disciples Digital Library

God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial . The  Letter to the   Hebrews  encourages us not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come. It does so by emphasizing the superiority of what God has done in His “ Son .” The Word “ spoken ” in Jesus is superior to the earlier revelations provided “ to the fathers in the prophets .” The Letter compares the Levitical system with its incomplete rituals to the “ better ” priesthood and “ once for all ” sacrifice of the “ Son ,” Jesus Christ.

The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found in the Word made Flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, who alone has seen the unseen God – John 1:14-18. The Prologue to the  Gospel of John  introduces key themes of the Book, including  Life ,  Light ,  Witness ,  Truth ,  Glory , and  Grace .  Jesus of Nazareth is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle in whom God dwells, the only born Son of God, and the only one who has seen the Father. The Prologue concludes by declaring that the Son is the only one qualified to interpret God since he alone has seen the  Unseen God .

The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from this world’s “wisdom” and defy human expectations. In his teachings, Jesus declared that not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases, and in His Son, He has done so for all the world to see. In the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, God has disclosed His true nature and the salvation that He now offers to all men and women.

The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found only in the Word that became flesh, namely, Jesus of Nazareth  – John 1:14-18. The Prologue of the  Gospel of John  introduces key themes that are expanded in the book, including  Life ,  Light ,  Witness ,  Truth , and  Grace .  Jesus is the light of the world, the source of grace and truth, the true tabernacle, and the only born Son of God who dwells in “ the bosom of the Father .” Moreover, only Jesus is qualified to interpret the unseen God since he alone has seen Him.

The  Letter to the Hebrews  next demonstrates the superiority of the  sonly word  by comparing it to Moses, Israel’s Great Lawgiver. Implicit in its argument is the priority of the “ word spoken in the Son ” over even the Mosaic legislation, and at this point in the Letter, the comparison is most appropriate. Moses certainly did mediate God’s law to Israel and was the greatest of the prophets. Nevertheless, the “ Son ” surpasses even him in status and glory.