The Epistle to the Hebrews
The
writer
of
Hebrews
is
unknown,
but
he
would
certainly
have
been
known
to
his
readers,
and
would
have
had
the
respect
and
authority
necessary
for
his
letter
to
be
influential.
Its
content
tells
us
that
his
readers
were
Jewish
converts
who
were
either
being
tempted
back
to
Judaism,
or
were
perhaps
attempting
to
Judaise
the
gospel.
The
date
of
writing
is
only
known
to
precede
A.D.
70
as
there
is
no
mention
of
the
temple
destruction,
and
references
to
the
temple
are
in
the
present
tense.
The
theme
of
his
letter
is
the
absolute supremacy of Christ, and is beautifully structured to present that message to a Hebrew audience.
The letter can be subdivided as follows:
Christ is greater than the angels [1-2]
Christ is superior to Moses [3]
Rest for God’s people [4]
Christ is superior to the Aaronic priesthood [5-7]
The superior sacrificial work of Christ, our High Priest [8-10]
Perseverance in faith [11-12]
Concluding exhortations [13]
Christ is greater than the Angels
[Heb 1-2]
Christ
is
the
firstborn
of
the
Father
who
calls
him
his
son,
who
laid
the
foundations
of
the
earth
and
now
sits
on
the
right
hand
of
God.
All the angels worship him, but angels are servants, ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
If
words
spoken
by
angels
were
steadfast,
how
can
we
neglect
the
message
of
salvation
spoken
of
by
the
Son
of
God?
Jesus
came
to
us,
having
been
made
a
little
lower
than
the
angels,
to
suffer
death
and
then
be
crowned
with
glory
and
honour,
in
order
that
death
and sin be conquered, and that man might be sanctified and brought back to God.
Christ is superior to Moses
[Heb 3]
Consider
Jesus,
our
High
Priest,
who
was
faithful
to
the
Father
who
appointed
him.
Moses
was
also
faithful,
but
Moses
was
a
servant
in
God’s house, whereas Christ is the son in God’s house.
Beware
of
being
provoked
into
turning
away
from
God,
remembering
the
people
in
Moses’
time
who
failed
to
inherit
the
promised
land because of their unbelief; we must not fail through such unbelief.
Rest for God’s people
[Heb 4]
Christians
too
have
a
‘rest’
to
enter.
We
must
be
careful
we
do
not
fail
through
unbelief
as
the
Hebrews
did
in
Moses’
time.
The
‘rest’
the
Hebrews
entered
in
the
promised
land
was
a
physical
rest.
Using
Psalm
95,
the
writer
concludes
that
God
made
a
promise
of
rest
to
those
who
believed.
David,
in
this
psalm,
still
spoke
of
the
possibility
of
entering
a
rest
if
people
would
hear
God’s
voice,
which
must
therefore
be
a
spiritual
rest,
which
still
remains
to
this
day.
The
way
to
this
rest
is
provided
by
coming
to
God
through
Jesus
Christ,
our
great High Priest.
Christ is superior to the Aaronic priesthood
[Heb 5-7]
Aaron
was
high
priest
in
the
time
of
Moses,
and
all
priests
were
of
the
house
of
Aaron.
Jesus
is
more
than
our
High
Priest;
he
is
a
Priest-King in the order of Melchizedek
[Ps 110:4]
whom Abraham met
[Gen 14:18–20]
.
The
writer
now
warns
his
readers
against
falling
away,
saying
they
should
by
now
be
mature
in
their
faith,
but
are
still
as
babes.
The
writer
urges
them
to
move
on
from
basic
principles
of
faith
towards
perfection,
warning
them
that
they
would
not
be
able
to
recover
from
apostasy.
They
should
therefore
not
be
spiritually
lethargic,
but
have
faith
and
patience
as
Abraham
did,
for
Christians
have
the
certainty of God’s oath and promise given to Abraham, of which they are now heirs.
Melchizedek,
who
had
no
ancestors
or
descendants,
was
a
king
and
priest
of
the
most
high
God,
superior
to
Abraham
who
gave
him
tithes,
and
therefore
superior
to
the
Levitical
priesthood
who
were
descendants
of
Abraham.
Righteousness
could
not
be
obtained
under the law administered by the priesthood, hence a priesthood that offered a means of righteousness must be superior.
The
priesthood
of
Christ
is
superior
in
that
it
was
not
given
through
the
law
but
by
a
solemn
oath,
saying
that
Christ
is
of
the
order
of
Melchizedek,a
perpetual
priest
with
no
succession,
whereas
there
were
many
priests
in
the
Levitical
priesthood.
Furthermore,
Christ
does
not
have
to
first
offer
sacrifices
for
his
own
sins
before
the
people’s,
since
he
is
holy
and
without
blemish.
Consequently,
he
is
able
to offer righteousness through his own one-time sacrifice.
The superior sacrificial work of Christ, our High Priest
[Heb 8-10]
Our
High
Priest
has
much
more
to
offer
because
the
earthly
priesthood
was
only
a
shadow
of
things
to
come.
Had
the
original
covenant
been faultless, there would have been no need for the second, foretold through Jeremiah and quoted here in verses 9 to 12.
We
are
reminded
of
the
nature
of
the
earthly
tabernacle,
and
that
it
could
not
make
the
high
priest,
who
enters
the
holiest
place
to
perform
a
service,
perfect.
The
pattern
of
that
service,
which
first
required
a
sacrifice,
was
imposed
until
the
coming
of
Christ
whose
tabernacle
is
more
perfect,
not
made
by
hands,
but
is
in
heaven.
Christ
has
entered
this
heavenly
tabernacle
by
a
more
superior
sacrifice.
In
previous
days,
there
could
be
no
covenant
or
forgiveness
of
sins
without
sacrifice,
but
now,
the
new
covenant
has
been
made with the sacrifice of Christ, who is our path to forgiveness of sins.
In
those
days,
there
had
to
be
many
sacrifices
for
a
person’s
sins.
Now,
Christ
has
offered
himself
as
a
one-time
perfect
sacrifice
and
the
old
sacrifices
are
no
longer
needed.
Readers
are
warned
to
hold
fast
to
the
profession
of
their
faith
in
Christ
without
wavering,
and not to reject God’s grace given through him.
Perseverance in faith
[Heb 11-12]
Examples
of
faith
are
shown
in
Abel,
Enoch,
Noah,
Abraham,
Isaac,
Jacob,
Moses,
and
Rahab.
Others
mentioned
in
passing
are
Gideon,
Barak,
Samson,
Jephthah,
David,
Samuel
and,
collectively,
the
prophets.
These
men
and
women
of
faith
could
not
receive
the
fulfilment of promises before the coming of Christ.
With
so
many
examples
of
faith,
we
should
be
encouraged
to
persevere,
for
we
now
have
Jesus,
the
author
and
finisher
of
our
faith.
The
sufferings
we
experience
are
to
be
considered
as
fatherly
chastisements
from
God,
which
will
benefit
and
encourage
us.
But
we
should
take
heed
that
we
do
not
fall
from
grace
as
Esau
did.
The
writer
warns
his
readers
not
to
reject
Jesus,
for
we
have
not
been
brought
to
the
physical
mountain
as
the
Israelites
had,
but
to
the
spiritual
mountain
that
is
Sion,
the
heavenly
Jerusalem,
and
to
the
church
of
Christ,
who
will
be
our
judge.
Since
we
are
called
to
partake
in
an
eternal
kingdom,
we
should
have
the
grace
to
serve
God
in
an acceptable manner.
Concluding exhortations
[Heb 13]
Practical
guidance
is
given
for
Christian
living,
with
a
reminder
that
Christ
suffered
for
us
and
we
should
continuously
offer
our
sacrifice
of praise and witness.
The letter closes with a prayer, a request for prayer, messages and greetings.
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