1. Portraits of Jesus A Lent Course at Aldridge Parish Church
6 Wednesday evenings 7.45pm – 9.30pm
14th Feb Jesus - the Trailblazer (Letter to Hebrews)
21st Feb Jesus - the History Maker (Luke and Acts)
28th Feb Jesus - the Hidden King (Mark’s Gospel)
7th Mar Jesus - the new Moses (Matthew’s Gospel)
14thMar Jesus - the Lord who Reigns Now (Paul’s letters)
21st Mar Jesus - the Meaning of Life (John’s Gospel)

2. Creating a Portrait A Portrait is ‘the Remembrance of a Friend’
Portraits attend to the inner life, character and importance of the subject and the artist builds that into how the ‘appearance’ is re-presented.
The artist ‘plays’ with the tension between the visual (literal) and the ‘significant’ - which is less tangible, harder to express and usually more important.

3. A Portrait of Jesus

4. The Tools of the Literary Portrait Painter
The shape of the Text – ‘editor at work’
The Interactions between different characters
The selection of language – ‘playing with words’
The adoption of a ‘Point of View’ in the text
The invitation to the Reader to be a detective
The Scriptural ‘Trinity’ – Text, Readers, Holy Spirit

5. Jesus - the Trailblazer a portrait of Jesus in the Letter to Hebrews
Portraits of Jesus
Jesus - the Trailblazer
a portrait of Jesus in the Letter to Hebrews

6. The ‘Shape’ of the Letter to the HebrewsJ
Jesus
God’s son
Jesus
angels
men
women
Jesus and Judaism
Moses
High Priest
New Covenant
Jesus
and faith
Run looking to Jesus
Come to Mt Zion
Jesus
Jesus has blazed a way to heaven
Jewish faith foreshadows Jesus
Jesus is ‘better than the best’ of Jewish faith
Let us run the race
Let us run in faith
Do not miss out
Live for Jesus
1 v.1 – 10.18

7. The ‘Shape’ of the Letter to the HebrewsJ
Jesus
God’s son
Jesus
angels
men
women
Jesus and Judaism
Moses
High Priest
New Covenant
Jesus
and faith
Run looking to Jesus
Come to Mt Zion
Jesus
Jesus has blazed a way to heaven
Jewish faith foreshadows Jesus
Jesus is ‘better than the best’ of Jewish faith
Let us run the race
Let us run in faith
Do not miss out
Live for Jesus
1 v.1 – 10.18 J
Jesus is God’s son, and is better than the
Prophets
Jesus is higher than
angels and
also human
Judaism was limited,now obsolete
Jesus is better than Judaism
Moses
High Priest
New Covenant
People lived by faith, looking forward
Let us also run the race, looking to Jesus
The Finish
Welcome to Mount Zion
Until we arrive, let us Live for Jesus
1.1- 4

8. The ‘Shape’ of the Letter to the Hebrews
Do not drift away
No hard hearts
Hold firmly to faith
Care no way back
Need to keep going
Do not fall short
Do not refuse him
Do not forget good J
Jesus is God’s son, and is better than the
Prophets
Jesus is higher than
angels and
mankind
Judaism was limited,now obsolete
Jesus is better than Judaism
Moses
High Priest
New Covenant
People lived by faith, looking forward
Let us also run the race, looking to Jesus
The Finish
Welcome to Mount Zion
Until we arrive, let us Live for Jesus
1.1- 4
Warnings to the Readers

9. in the Letter to the Hebrews
1. Jesus and the Prophets
in the Letter to the Hebrews
In the past God spoke through the prophets…
In these last days, he has spoken by his Son 1v.1
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory,
The exact representation of his being
who sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
So he became superior to angels 1v.3-4
Where is the clearest picture of what God is like?
Better than the Old Testament history…
Better than the visions of the prophets…
It is Jesus the Son of God
Let Jesus improve your picture of God

10. Jesus is made fully human in every way 2.17
2. Jesus and Humanity
in the Letter to the Hebrews
Jesus is not ashamed to make people holy… and calls them brothers and sisters
Jesus is made fully human in every way
Because he suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted 2.18
We have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are – yet he did not sin.
Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need

11. in the Letter to the Hebrews
3. Jesus and Jewish Faith
in the Letter to the Hebrews
Moses was faithful… (yet) Jesus has been found of greater honour than Moses
Jesus was a priest like Melchizedek… (the Levitical priesthood) is set aside because it was weak and useless… and a better hope is introduced
There have been many priests…. But because Jesus lives for ever… he is able to save completely those who come to God through him 7.25
Jesus establishes the New Covenant which Jeremiah foretold ( )… by calling it ‘new’, God has made the first covenant obsolete
Jesus the High Priest offered his blood in the Heavenly Holy Place (once) to cleanse our conscience… so that we may serve the living God 9.14

12. 4. Jesus and the Marathon of Faith in the Letter to the Hebrews
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance faith brings…
The ancients were still living by faith when they died… they saw them and welcomed from a distance
Surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Let us run with perseverance the race marked for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith
Fix your eyes upon Jesus
Throw off everything which hinders
and the sin that entangles
Run with perseverance
Do not grow weary and lose heart

13. 5. Jesus and God’s Wonderful Future in the Letter to the Hebrews
You (will) have come to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem
You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly
to the church of the first born whose names are written in heaven
You have come to God, Judge of all
to the spirits of the righteous made perfect
to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant….
So….. Fix your eyes on Jesus
who sits at the Father’s side in heaven
with countless sisters and brothers
and waits to welcome you
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name

14. Jesus - the Trailblazer
Portraits of Jesus
A Lent Course at Aldridge Parish Church
6 Wednesday evenings 7.45pm – 9.30pm
Jesus - the Trailblazer
a portrait of Jesus in the Letter to Hebrews