The letter to the Hebrews was written to first–century Christians who had grown up Jewish, and it features elements that were connected to the ancient sacrificial system of Israel. According to Hebrews, Jesus Christ came to be “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” He entered “into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” Jesus “suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.” In chapter 4, the word of God is described as a “two–edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow.”

The recipients of this letter would have been familiar with the book of Genesis, which tells the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth. On the first day, God created the powerful light that was essential for life, using only the words, “Let there be light.” God saw that the light was good, and then God separated the light from the darkness. God used a set of words to bring order out of chaos — creative speech that God has continued to offer through all of history. God’s word is a world–building word.

All of this set the stage for the author of Hebrews to say, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two–edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”

So, the word of God was not only a world–building word, active on the first days of creation. It is also a world–changing word, one that “is living and active and sharper than any two–edged sword.” The word of God continued to be spoken through the words of the prophets, through the preaching of the apostles and most powerfully through the teachings of Jesus, the Word of God in human form. It judges “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” and reveals the truth of who we are to “the one to whom we must render an account.”

Although it might sound odd to describe a word as a sword, the prophet Isaiah said that God made his “mouth like a sharp sword,” and the apostle Paul described the word of God as “the sword of the Spirit.” To call the word of God a sword is to say that it is a powerful tool for achieving the changes that God wants to see in the world. In the book of Revelation, a rider on a white horse appears, and his name is The Word of God. “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations … On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’” So even Jesus, the Word of God in human form, speaks words that are as sharp as a sword.