Title: You Are Not Ready
For at least the next three weeks (Lord willing, consecutive weeks) we will be in this utterly fascinating passage that concludes Hebrews chapter 5.
There is so very much here in the way of warning, practical application to our lives, and a glimpse into the not-so-different from us original audience that the Author was writing to.
I’m very excited to start this series as I think these four verses represent the first of about 3 or 4 “Woah” moments of Hebrews. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote, and forced myself to stop at 6 pages and 14 slides for today’s sermon, and that really just covers SOME of verse 11.
Let’s dig in.
(read/pray)
11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become poor listeners.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.
“Concerning him we have much to say”
(PB amplified paraphrase)
“Concerning Jesus, the High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek, the guy we have been explaining to you in detail since the beginning of chapter 5…we have so much (more) to say, but we are holding back, not because we want to, but because you have not yet shown you are ready for what we want to cover concerning this vast and difficult topic.”
“you have become poor listeners”
The Greek translates literally as “you have become dull of hearing”
I want to focus on two concepts before we go any further, if you will indulge me.
First concept: BECOME
It is crucial to note the text does not say, nor imply that the audience IS dull of hearing. Nor does the text say or suggest that the audience WAS ALWAYS dull of hearing.
Rather, this dullness of hearing is something that HAS BEEN HAPPENING, AND CONTINUES TO HAPPEN.
Greek: Ginomai
Paul is a big fan of this phrase, but he usually uses it in the negative sense, as “me ginomai” which means “May God forbid it to be so.”
Most notably we see Paul use this phrase in Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Far from it!
In other words, “May it NEVER come to be.”
But the author of Hebrews is already past that point, he is saying, “Your dullness is already happening, it continues to happen, and because of it, there’s only so much we can tell you.”
Have you ever been told: “You are not ready.”
How did you feel?
Were they right or wrong?
If they were right, how did if feel once you were ready?
Any examples from your life come to mind?
Second Concept: “Dull of hearing”
“dull” is nōthros in Greek
slow, sluggish, indolent, dull, languid
The Greek the author uses here makes it clear this is not a deficiency of skill, but of desire and discipline.
In other words, they have become lazy, and they are “losing” their zeal for God.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”
Guzik:
This explains why the writer didn’t go deeper into the topic of Melchizedek right away. He wanted to address some critical basics before going on to more intricate topics, but their spiritual condition made it hard to explain.
He feared the discussion of Aaron and Melchizedek and Jesus would sound too academic and theoretical to his readers. At the same time, he recognized this said more about his dull hearers than it did about the message. It wasn’t that the message was too complicated; it was that the hearers were dull of hearing.
Being dull of hearing is not a problem with the ears, but a problem with the heart. The hearer isn’t really interested in what God has to say. Not wanting to hear the Word of God points to a genuine spiritual problem.
It can even be a reason for unanswered prayer, according to Proverbs 28:9: One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
These Christians who felt like giving up with Jesus were also dull of hearing. The dullness usually comes first, then the desire to give up. When the Word of God starts to seem dull, we should regard it as a serious warning sign.
Application and Challenges:
How can we know if we are becoming dull of hearing to the wonders of Scripture?
(take answers)
- The things we KNOW are not affecting the things we DO. (Including how we think).
- Believers around us love us enough to dig into our lives and challenge us.
- There is a sense of “lost wonder” where the things of the Infinite God become strangely mundane to us.
Okay, then, what do we do if we find ourselves in such a valley?
- Discipline: Focus more on what we KNOW, focus less on how we FEEL. FIGHT internally for what is true.
- Transparency: Let some people in, really close, tell them what’s going on in your heart. Heed their counsel, let them cry with you, let them pray with you, let them ache with you. Then, and only then, can they challenge you in a way that you will hear it.
- Meditation: (Western not Eastern). Concentrate DEEPLY on God. Preach the Gospel to yourself, place yourself before wonder (nature, babies, beauty, nostalgia). Think critically about how amazing grace is. Sing songs that “return unto you, the joy of your salvation.”
Pray/QA