23.09 | The Protagonist
Hebrews 1-2
‘Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.’
Hebrews 1:1-2
In some stories, the protagonist is pretty clear.
The protagonist is the main character of a story—the individual that the rest of the story wraps around. The protagonist makes everyone else side characters, for every other individual really only finds their place in the story in relation to the protagonist.
I came in the other evening to find my wife and eldest daughter watching the movie Emma, adapted from the 1815 novel by Jane Austen. The protagonist is pretty clear. In The Lord of the Rings, trying to work out who the protagonist is is far more controversial. Is it Aragorn—whose journey from ranger to king is such a key plot line? Is it Gandalf, the archenemy of Sauron? Is it Frodo, who carries the ring? Is it Sam, who centres the whole story in the protection of what is simple, good and wholesome?
We’re starting the book of Hebrews today. It’s a biblical masterclass across some huge Old Testament ideas. We’re going to cover ideas of kingship and tabernacle, angels and law, priests and sacrifice, covenant and promise. The author (who isn’t named) is going to weave together these Old Testament emblems, showing how this backstory sharpens us for faith-fuelled, sacrificial, steadfast living in the present moment. It’s a letter that is stunning in its complexity and beautiful in how it draws together so many threads of the Old Testament story into a magnificent whole.
And, as the letter begins, the author wants to give us, straight up, his1 central point.
Jesus is the protagonist.
For as we begin to read, something becomes clear: the readers have begun to dilute their understanding of Jesus. Jesus is good, they think, but not God. Jesus was significant, but not central. Jesus was impressive, but not ultimate.
The readers had started the slide into a trap that every believer faces.
They were diminishing Jesus.
Maybe Jesus was just an angel. Maybe Jesus was just like those who gave us the Law. Maybe Jesus was special, but not essential.
The author comes out swinging. In two short chapters he’s quoted seven psalms, 2 Samuel, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah. And he is laser-focused on this singular idea—the organising idea for every other idea.
Jesus is the protagonist.
Jesus is the direction of every Old Testament image. Jesus is the originator of our lives. Jesus is the direction that it is all going. Jesus is the one who reconciled us to God and liberated us from sin, darkness and death. Every single plot line of the Scriptures finds its fullness and focus in Him.
And yet, diminishing Jesus isn’t just a Hebrew problem.
Diminishing Jesus is a motion of the heart, and a distortion of our priorities. It happens, for us, every time we begin to think the solution for a problem is held more greatly in a politician, an ideology, or an economic model than it is in Him. It happens every time we relegate Jesus to merely one option amidst the myriad spirituality options of the world. It happens when we think that any unbeliever is just fine without Him. It happens every time we begin to think that Jesus is actually there to help my story — for among the greatest delusions of the age is the universal centrality of me.
But the story is not mine, and it is not yours. Our stories only find their place and purpose and shape and wholeness when they are oriented around His. For He is rightly the protagonist of my story and yours. For He alone is the protagonist of all history.
Reflect:
Diminishing Jesus.
How does this tend to happen in my heart?
Pray:
Spirit of God,
As I read Hebrews in these days,
I invite you
To reorder my heart.
Where I have put any person,
Ideology,
Thing,
Or pursuit
Before Him,
Reorder me.
Where I have positioned my desires,
My plans,
My identity,
My comfort,
My career,
And my fame
Before Him,
Reorder me.
For He is the centre of all stories,
He is the fulfilment of every movement of the Scriptures
And He is the protagonist in this my story.
I lay it all down
That my life be
Unto Him.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
1 Chronicles 16-17 | Psalm 111
Note, I’m assuming a masculine author of Hebrews throughout these readings, but it is important to check such assumptions. My use of masculine pronouns is built partly on probabilities — as male literacy was likely higher than female literacy in the Roman Empire — but more specifically is built on a masculine participle being used to describe the author in Hebrews 11:32.