Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 84:1 (Spring 2022)
Article: Son And Priest, Then And Now: Christology And Redemptive History In Hebrews In Light Of The History Of Interpretation
Author: Brandon D. Crowe

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Son And Priest, Then And Now:
Christology And Redemptive History In Hebrews In Light Of The History Of Interpretation

Brandon D. Crowe

Brandon D. Crowe is Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary.

This article looks at the Christology of Hebrews in light of recent discussion and the history of interpretation. The article addresses both the identity of Christ and the work of Christ in Hebrews, interacting with Reformed discussions of Hebrews and Christology more broadly. Hebrews speaks of Christ as the eternal Son of God, and also as the messianic, human Son of God. Christ’s sonship and priesthood, which are key themes in Hebrews, point to realities that were true prior to the incarnation, and are true now in a redemptive-historically fulfilled sense. This affirmation helps us address modern debates about the atonement in Hebrews, including when and where we should locate Christ’s sacrifice. Thus, understood rightly, we should affirm that Christ is both Son and priest prior to the incarnation, during the days of his humiliation, and now in his estate of exaltation.

I. Introduction

While one might have said thirty years ago that Hebrews was a comparatively neglected book in scholarship, the same could not be said today. In the past few decades study of Hebrews has blossomed, with significant work having been done on such topics as its structure, its OT background, and its Christology. It is this final category that I will address in the present article, for indeed Hebrews, which was written to encourage believers to persevere on the path of faith, is “unusually important” for Christology.1 If we were to summarize the Christology of Hebrews, we could say Christ is both Son and High Priest. These concepts will dominate my discussion that follows.2

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All agree that one of the keys to the Christology of Hebrews is the priestly identity of Christ, yet the timing and manner of Christ’s priesthood has proven to be elusive and controversial. Traditional understandings of Christ’s priestly activity have often been rejected in favor of interpretations that some have found theologically suspect. For example, in Hebrews Christ is clearly a priest in heaven. But was he also a priest on earth? The Reformed answer has historically been “yes,” but this viewpoint has been challenged in recent years, resulting in a paradigm shift of sorts. It has become increasingly popular to suggest that traditional statements concerning Christ’s sacrifice are actually about his heavenly sacrifice rather than the sacrifice on the cross. Similarly,...