The Son Of God Rhetorical Analysis

Introduction:

When the writer of Hebrews introduces his audience to the Son of God, he does so with extraordinary flourish. “Our fathers had the prophets speak to them but we have the Son, God’s son, the heir of all things. He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature. The word of the Son has the power to uphold the universe. In contrast to the angels, the Son is much superior and has inherited a more excellent name” (1.1-4). Subjugated to a foreign power and experiencing persecution, hearing these words would have evoked a long held hope for the people: “Surely God has seen our affliction, heard our cries, knows our suffering, and has come to deliver us.” In their present circumstances, salvation is understood as

In our community, you would think that those who choose not to take part in our way of life would simply not participate. Instead, they work to dissuade others through a variety of tactics including ways that malign and discredit members or participants. It is little wonder that the author encourages the people to “pay greater attention” to what they have heard. The din of other voices is dulling their hearing and confusing their minds (5.11). Shaming is coupled with suffering. As a result, some are beginning to “renounce the confession that first alienated them from the dominant culture.” Without knowledge of the word of God, without the encouragement of others and without steadfast faith, it is easy to look back toward Egypt and see

The community that the preacher is addressing has found such confident commitment in one another. Hebrews 10 recalls the days when public exposure to abuse and persecution failed to deter this community from supporting one another. The loss of reputation and financial security did not discourage them from “sustaining one another through mutual assistance and care” (6.9-10). However, the endurance of the believers in “those earlier days” is showing signs of faltering in “these last days” (10.32; 1.2). It is at this time of faltering, under the pressure of suffering that the preacher speaks of God’s son Jesus, “the founder of their salvation, made perfect (mature) through suffering” (2.10). The heir of all things, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, shares in the suffering of his ‘brothers’ as a merciful and faithful high priest. “Jesus,” the preacher says, “merciful as a brother, faithful to the covenant as a son, and worthy to atone for the sins of the people as a high priest.” Jesus is a high priest that is able to sympathize in the weaknesses of humanity, tempted “as we are,” yet without sin. For a people are watching their brothers return to their former lives, feeling the weight of suffering, the loss of worldly security, and social alienation, they need to hear these words – they need