Knowing that these Christians were in danger of drifting away from Christ, the writer calls their special attention to His Person, in order that they may carefully consider who He is before deciding to part from Him. The doctrine corresponds most exactly with that which we find in Colossians and in John. It is declared in the most positive manner that Christ is essentially divine. He reflects His Father's glory, is the expression of His essence, and the Sustainer of the universe (i. 3). He is the God whose throne is eternal, and the Lord who made the earth (i. 8, 10). Yet He became "a little lower than the angels" (ii. 9), and, though entirely sinless, He was so truly human as to become the pattern of obedience (x. 7), humility (v. 5), reverent piety (v. 7), and fidelity (iii. 2). By the discipline of suffering He was made perfect for His redeeming work (v. 8, 9). It is made evident that this process of perfection did not consist in the diminution of sin, but in the development of goodness. Nowhere do we find a more profound view of suffering and virtue, or a more pathetic delineation of the character of Jesus. It has already been hinted that the author regards the Jewish Law differently from St. Paul. The latter had lived under the goad of a Pharisaic interpretation of the Law of Moses, which laid down so many regulations as to what ought to be done, and gave so little assistance towards doing it, that escape from such a system was like an escape from penal servitude. When he speaks of the Law, he regards it primarily as a system of stern moral requirements. But the author of Hebrews regards the Law as primarily a system of worship. He implies that it was in some sense a "good tidings" (iv. 2). He teaches that the Law was a "shadow" of those real "good things" which constitute the world of truth in heaven, while the Gospel is the {217} "image" or adequate representation of those holy realities. The Law is therefore a rough unsubstantial outline of truth, while the Gospel is exact and solid. Both writers regard the Law as divine in origin, and both regard it as insufficient and rudimentary (vii. 16; cf. Gal. iv. 3, 9). But St. Paul thinks of the Law as weak "through the flesh," _unable to overcome_ the resistance which it encounters from man's lower instincts, while the author of Hebrews thinks of it as _unable to cleanse and make perfect_ the human conscience. ANALYSIS The subject of the Epistle: CHRISTIANITY AS THE FINAL RELIGION. The contrast of the Old Revelation and the New in method, time, and messengers; the divine personality and incarnation of the Son (i. 1-4). A. The superiority of the Son, the Mediator of the New Revelation, to the angels, and to the human founders of the Jewish polity: i. 5-iv. 13. a. Scripture shows the Son to be above the angels (i. 5-14). b. The danger of rejecting the Son's revelation (ii. 1-4). c. The Son of Man through suffering fulfils the high destiny of mankind (ii. 5-18).