Letter to the Hebrews
Hebrews is a bit mysterious. We aren’t sure who the author is. There are a number of different theories. The author seems to be a “he” as he refers to himself using masculine grammar (11:32). He seems to have been highly educated based on writing style and vocabulary. He also seems to have known Timothy, who knew Paul. He may have known some of those who heard Jesus and the original disciples. So, he would be considered a second-generation Christian. He believed on the basis of hearing the witnesses of Jesus.
The title is the “letter to the Hebrews”, but it doesn’t really follow the letter writing forms of the day. Hebrews seems to be a sermon that was probably written to be read out loud to a house church. … They were probably located in or around Rome. That would make Hebrews the oldest complete Christian sermon we know of. … This house church was made up of people who were second generation Christians- probably made up of no more than 15 or 20 people, but they would probably have been connected to a larger network of house churches. Like the author, who they seem to know very well, they learned from people who heard Jesus and the Apostles preach. They knew eyewitnesses. These Christians were probably Greek-speaking Jews, who were very used to the Greek Old Testament Scriptures (Septuagint). They knew their Scriptures very well, based on some o the assumptions the author makes about what his hearers know.
It was likely written between 60 and 70 AD. Around this time is was not an easy time to be a Christian. Emperor Claudius expelled a number of Jews and Jewish Christians from Rome in 49AD. It seems like there were severe disagreements in some of the synagogues over the name of Christ, and it was causing enough of a disturbance that he commanded they be expelled from the city for a time. About 15 years later, Emperor Nero instigated a persecution against Christians after a fire in Rome in 64AD. He scapegoated the Christians, who were an easy target since people didn’t seem to like them very much anyway. It is suspected that Nero actually set the fire. So, this is a time of tension. They would probably have memories of caring for Christians in prison, and having to show hospitality to travelling Christians, or threatened Christians. Maybe they hid people. They might have known people who were killed for their faith.
The sermon is written to those who seem to have grown weary, and they are drawing back from their commitments. This might be because of the threatening times they were living in, or it might have been because they were expecting Jesus to come back sooner and are becoming impatient. Or, it could be a mixture of things, or something else entirely. But, it seems like they are wavering in their faith.
The sermon is written to strengthen and encourage the hearers. Hebrews proclaims a God who speaks to those who are surrounded by anxiety and a sense of insecurity. It is written to encourage those who are discouraged, or have fallen away, and have lost their sense of purpose. They are in danger of being stuck in apathy, or going back to their old ways. The author is wanting to help them in their crisis of faith, and call them to a renewed faith and obedience to God. … He is also trying to prepare them for the suffering that is to come.
The sermon itself is an argument about the superiority of Christ. The hearers are very established in the thinking and history of the Old Testament- for them, that is not in question. Remember that at this time, all they would have for Scripture would be the Old Testament and the stories and letters of witnesses who told them about Jesus. The news about Christ is exciting and relatively new, and they are probably still trying to understand how Christ fits into the story of God and God’s people.
The sermon compares Jesus with well known aspects of Old Testament faith. The sermon shows the superiority of Jesus in all these aspects. The letter opens with a teaching about how God has communicated to God’s people. God spoke through people like prophets, priests, poets, and philosophers, but now God has spoken through His Son. This is a superior communication that they have the privilege to benefit from. Not only is Jesus God’s Son, but Jesus is also spoken of as “the exact imprint of God’s very being” (1:3); the "heir of all things" (1:2); "Through whom [God] created the world" (1:2); the "radiance of the glory of God" (1:3); he "upholds the universe" (1:3). The line dividing Jesus and God is vanishing. To know Jesus is to know God.
First, he deals with angels and the Law. For Jewish people at this time, it was believed that angels delivered the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Jesus is superior to angels in that he is able to teach without these intermediaries. His message is good news that surpasses the greatness of the Law, and he delivers this good news in great humility as a human being, even enduring the suffering of the cross. (1:5-2:18). None of this is meant to diminish the Law, but what Christ is doing is furthering and completing what God has been doing.
Then he compares Jesus to Moses, Joshua, and the Promised Land. Moses saved the people from slavery in Egypt and led them through the wilderness. He led them to build the Tabernacle, as they made their way to the Promised Land. Moses was the builder of the Tabernacle- a tent-temple. … Christ was the builder of all creation. … The sermon warns the hearers that the people rebelled under Moses and were not permitted to enter the Promised Land. The hearers are warned to learn from these ancestors and to not make the same mistake as they walk through their own wilderness before entering this new ‘Promised Land’. (3:1-4:13).
Next, the sermon compares Jesus and the priesthood, which descended from Moses’ brother Aaron. These priests ministered in the temple offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. They represented the people of Israel before God. The sacrifices they offered were meant to cover the sins of the people, as well as their own, since they are flawed like the rest of the people. … The sermon argues that Jesus is the superior priest. Jesus didn’t come from the line of Aaron, but from the order of Melchizedek. This is a mysterious figure, both a priest and a king, from ancient Jerusalem who Abraham meets (Gen 14, Ps 110). Jesus is the ultimate priest-king. He is morally flawless and always available to the people. He is the superior mediator between God and human beings. He is the best way to be reconciled to God. (4:14-7:28).
Lastly, the sermon compares Jesus to Old Testament sacrifice and covenant. These Aaronic priests continuously offered the blood of animals in the Temple. These sacrifices happened daily (morning and evening) and yearly (on the Day of Atonement). … Until the year 70AD the Temple sacrifices continued. Rome destroyed the temple in the year 70. So one of the reasons scholars place this sermon before the year 70AD is that the destruction of the temple would have been impossible to ignore and not bring into his argument, but he doesn’t mention this. … The sermon goes on to say that, as opposed to the sacrifices the priests offer, Christ is able to make one perfect sacrifice to deal with the sins of the whole world- the Crucifixion. This is the foundation of the New Covenant spoken about by the prophets. … His superior sacrificial ministry is made possible by being the pre-existent Son, having come from the Father, and taking on human flesh. He is both the priest and the sacrifice. He is able to stand before the Father as one of us, on our behalf, because he is human and has been tempted as we all are (but didn’t sin, as we do). His heavenly origin makes him able to deal with sin in a once-for-all-time way that the old priests couldn’t.
According to these images, Jesus is God’s Word to us- he is superior to the revelation of the Law. Jesus is our hope for entering into the new Promised Land of the New Creation, he is superior to what Moses and what Moses was building in the wilderness. He is superior to the Old Testament priesthood- He is the eternal High Priest in the heavenly temple. He is not only the Priest, but he is also the Perfect Sacrifice, that is only needed once, as opposed to the daily and yearly sacrifices that were needed to cleanse the people from their sin.
The sermon then lists off many examples of faithful people, especially from the Old Testament. When we follow these heroes of the faith, we see that God will not abandon His people. He speaks about some who were even tortured but who refused to give up on Jesus. The sermon encourages the hearers to remain patiently faithful to Jesus in spite of persecution or hardship. In the end, God will be faithful to His people.
My hope in giving this overview of Hebrews is that we can go back and read the “letter to the Hebrews” with a renewed sense of what it is trying to say. And then, we can hopefully have a better sense of what God is trying to say to us through this letter. We don’t know the kind of persecution they knew, but we face our own difficulties. Most of our lives aren’t threatened for believing in Christ, but it can be uncomfortable. That discomfort can maybe lead us to not want to tall about Jesus with the people we know. But, when we are reminded of what Christ has done, and the faith of those who followed him even into their own deaths (and into the promise of everlasting life), maybe we can find the courage to creatively and compassionately let people know the loving work Christ has done for them. Just as others have let us know- even through it meant discomfort and sacrifice on their part- like those who first heard the letter to the Hebrews and passed it on, maybe even at personal risk, so we would have the privilege of learning from it. AMEN
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