Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 67:1 (Mar 2024)
Article: Union With Christ In Hebrews 2–5: An Exploration Of “Narrative Christological Solidarity”
Author: K. R. Harriman

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Union With Christ In Hebrews 2–5: An Exploration Of “Narrative Christological Solidarity”

K. R. Harriman*

* K. R. Harriman (PhD, Asbury Theological Seminary) is an independent researcher. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The theme of union with Christ has been well explored in NT scholarship, particularly in the works of Paul. But such a theme has been underexplored in the book of Hebrews, despite the significant amount of relevant material therein. With focus on Hebrews 2–5, I argue that the author exemplifies a particular expression of union with Christ through his references to the narrative of Jesus, including but not limited to the major gospel events, which uphold what I call “narrative christological solidarity.” Through an investigation of Hebrews 2–5, particularly 2:5–18 and 4:14–5:10, I show how the author conveys union with Christ through references to the narrative of Jesus’s life and highlight theological-ethical connections to union of the faithful with Christ made in these narrative-based references.

Key words: Hebrews, Hebrews 2–5, gospel narrative, narrative of Jesus, narrative christological solidarity, theological ethics, union with Christ

The theme of union with Christ in the NT has received extensive exploration.1 However, despite this, an area that remains curiously underexplored is Hebrews. I say “underexplored” and not “unexplored” because some scholars have attended to this theme in Hebrews. The most recent book on the subject, by G. K. Beale, addresses Hebrews insofar as it contributes to the presentation of Jesus as Messianic King and Priest, but he less specifically focuses on the union with Christ

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as such in Hebrews.2 Similarly, Grant Macaskill includes Hebrews in his survey of the NT, but he focuses more on the background for the access believers have to God thanks to the incarnational narrative of Christ than on the concepts of union as such, which are the subject of relatively brief reflection on the significance of “imitation of Christ.”3 Robert Peterson has written more than most, but his short chapter (the shortest for any text besides Philemon) addresses only Hebrews 3:14.