This webinar will examine three passages in the Epistle to the Hebrews that assert that Jesus Christ has been “perfected” (2:10-18; 4:14–5:10; 7:20-28). Clearly, these passages do not refer to the eternal perfection of Christ’s divinity, nor to the perfection of the hypostatic union as such, but to something that took place in and through Christ’s suffering and glorification. According to the author of Hebrews, the Lord Jesus “learned obedience from the things he suffered and, having been perfected, became the cause of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (5:8-9). This teaching takes us to the heart of the mystery of the high-priestly self-offering by which Jesus Christ has expiated our sins and delivered us from bondage to “the fear of death” (2:14-17).
Dr. Gregory Vall is Professor of Scripture at Notre Dame Seminary, in New Orleans (1992–2000 and 2015–present). He also taught at Ave Maria University (2004–2015), where he served as Director of the Ph.D. Program. Dr. Vall holds a Ph.D. in Semitic Languages and Literatures from the Catholic University of America (1993). He is the author of Ecclesial Exegesis: A Synthesis of Ancient and Modern Approaches to Scripture (CUA Press, 2022), and Learning Christ: Ignatius of Antioch and the Mystery of Redemption (CUA Press, 2013). He has published articles in Biblica, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Josephinum Journal of Theology, Journal of Biblical Literature, Nova et Vetera, Seminary Journal, The Thomist, and Vetus Testamentum. Dr. Vall is a native of Cleveland. He and his wife Lourdes reside in Covington, Louisiana. They are the parents of Teresa, Greg, Ezra, and Mark.
