Who in the days of
his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying
and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that
he feared; (Heb 5:7)
Some Muslim apologists have argued that
this verse shows us that the author of Hebrews (who I believe to be the author
of Luke-Acts) did not believe Jesus died but instead, as Muslims believe, was
saved from death. To say that this is a stretch is an understatement: the
Epistle to the Hebrews is the work that speaks the most about the sacrificial
death of Jesus Christ (e.g., Heb 10:10-14). Furthermore, this verse teaches
that Jesus' prayer was answered with his resurrection, not deliverance from
being killed by means of crucifixion. As David M. Moffitt noted:
Hebrews 5:7 clarifies
at least one of the ways in which Jesus’ faith expressed itself. In the midst
of his ordeal, he cried out to the one who was able to safe him out of the
realm of death. By highlighting the fact that Jesus cried out to God, the
author implicitly presents Jesus as an illustration of the very kind of bold
reliance upon God in times of need that he has just urged upon his audience in
their own times of testing (cf. 4:14-16). Additionally, the identification of
God as having the “power to save out of the realm of death” suggests that a key
element of Jesus’ faith was the belief that God was able to resurrect him out
of the realm of death. Two facts further substantiated this interpretation.
First, such an understanding
of faith accords well with some of the most rudimentary Christian teachings the
writer does on to outline . . . 6:1-2 indicates that faith in God along with
belief in the resurrection belong to the most elementary principles of “the initial
teaching” (see also 11:6 and 11:35 where these same elements are also presented
as constitutive of faith). Second, as weill be argued in more detail below, in
the only other passage in the letter where God is described as having the power
to save out of death, the reference is explicitly collocated with belief in
resurrection (see 11:17-19). All of this suggests the conclusion that the portrayal
of Jesus’ own response in the midst of testing in 5:7 illustrates the kind of
faith that the author impresses upon his readers. Of particular note, however,
is the comment that as a result of Jesus’ reverence, he was heard.
Hebrews’ reference to
Jesus’ “prayers” (δεησεις) and “cry” (κραυγης) being “heard” (εισακουσθεις) echoes the rich
biblical tradition of God’s people and/or the afflicted righteous one crying out
to God in times* of dire need and being heard. In such contexts God’s “hearing”
typically connotes the salvation of those crying out. In view of this
background, the author’s comment that Jesus’ cry “was heard” should be
understood as an indication that God did in fact save him. Yet, in contrast to
much of the tradition just mentioned, Jesus’ suffering ultimately ended in his
death (2:9). Since he was not saved from dying, the author’s claim that Jesus “was
heard” most likely points to God’s salvific action on his behalf as something
that occurred after his death—i.e., as salvation out of the realm (not
salvation from having to endure suffering or fear of death).
Jesus’ own faith when
tested was rewarded in that God heard him and, by implication, saved him out of
the realm of death. If this is correct, then the mention of 5:7 of Jesus crying
out and being heard is consistent with the author’s emphasis throughout the letter
on faithful endurance and the reception of God’s promises (see, for example,
6:12-15 which anticipates 11:1-12:2). That Jesus’ salvation out of death is
indeed a reference to his resurrection becomes clearer when one considers other
passages in the letter where this pattern of faith and reward is explicitly linked
with resurrection.
Resurrection and Abraham’s Faith in the Midst of Testing
The similarities
between Heb 11:17-19 and 5:7 are striking. First, it is notable that in this
homily both Jesus and Abraham are explicitly described as having been “tested”
(2:18, 4:15, and 11:19). Second, in both 5:7 and 11:19 the writer speaks of God
as having the “ability” or “power” (cf. the participle δυναμενον in 5:7, the
adjective δυνατος in 11:19) to deliver someone “out of” (εκ) death. Third, this
particular belief about God—that God is able to save people out of death—appears
to be the primary element of faith being emphasized in both passages. In other
words, faith in God’s power to save someone out of death motivated the
exemplary faithful behavior both of these individuals demonstrated when tested.
Fourth, in both cases the faithful endurance is rewarded. Jesus was heard.
Abraham received Isaac back again.
In both passages,
then, faithful perseverance leads to some form of salvation in relation to
death. In the case of Abraham that salvation is said to be a resurrection εν παραβολη (v. 19)—only a hint
or type of the good things to come. In the case of Jesus, the situation is obviously
different because unlike Isaac, he actually did die. Nevertheless, the same
basic pattern underlies these texts: 1) faith in God as the one who can raise
the dead is an essential component of endurance in times of testing, and 2) God
is shown to reward such faithful with salvation. In 11:17-19 one sees, even if
only in a parable, that this reward or salvation is ultimately the
resurrection.
The linguistic and
conceptual parallels between 5:7 and 11:17-19 provide good grounds for
concluding that when the author states in 5:7 that Jesus’ prayer to the one who
could save him out of death was heard, he is alluding to Jesus’
resurrection. In the midst of Jesus’ faithful suffering, God heard his cry and
did exactly what 13:20 claims—brought him out of the dead. (David M. Moffitt, Atonement
and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews [Supplements to
Novum Testamentum 141; Leiden: Brill, 2013], 190-93)
