Hebrews 1

Pay very close attention to the contrast in the opening verses to this chapter. They shout, "Everything has changed!"

"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" (vv 1-2)."Long ago" stands in contrast to "in these last days." God speaking to "our fathers" stands in contrast to the fact that he now speaks "to us." And the most important contrast to notice is the way in which he speaks. Previously it was "in many ways...by the prophets." And now it is simply "by his Son."

So what does all of this mean? Well it means that we are to understand a difference between what came before Jesus, and what came after Jesus. The author is saying that the revelation which came from God in the Old Testament, came in the form of many books as God was unfolding redemptive history. The revelation which came after that (the New Testament) is, quite simply, Jesus himself. So we are to understand the New Testament as bearing witness to Jesus.

This is the idea of seeing the Bible as a metanarrative. That's just a fancy word for "big story." It means that the Bible may appear to be just a collection of random stories, but in fact they are all woven together by a grand theme, a metanarrative. In short, the grand theme of the Bible is that God sent his Son to save his people.

We'll explore that grand theme some more in the future, but for now I want you to make a practice of considering that grand theme as you read Scripture. When you read a passage, ask yourself, "What does this passage have to do with the grand theme of the Bible?"