A. INTRODUCTION
1. Literary and Historical Background
a. Who wrote this epistle? Whoever it was had extensive training in the J __ __ __ __ __ faith, a classical G __ __ __ __ background ( every single Old Testament reference in the letter is taken from the S __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ [ "LXX" ], the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures made originally at Alexandria, Egypt ), and exquisite command of the Greek language. The author apparently knew T __ __ __ __ __ __ personally ( 13:23 ) and was a "second generation" believer ( 2:3 ). A few of the "candidates" suggested by scholars down through the years:
(1) the apostle P __ __ __;
Many feel that the letter was finally included in the New Testament canon only because some early church leaders attributed its authorship to him. The epistle contains some Pauline theology, but there is also much which is unlike anything else Paul ever wrote. Most contemporary Bible scholars are convinced that he did not write Hebrews.
(2) A __ __ __ __ __ __;
A cultured Jew from Alexandria, known to be "eloquent, and mighty in the scriptures" ( Acts 18:24 ), he was a ministering contemporary of both Paul and Timothy. Martin Luther was convinced of his authorship.
(3) B __ __ __ __ __ __ __;
The Hellenistic Levite from Cyprus was instrumental in Paul's ministry, accompanying him on his first missionary journey. He certainly would have had command of the intricate details of the priesthood contained in the letter as well as complete familiarity with Greek culture. The early church father Tertullian thought that he wrote it.
(4) C __ __ __ __ __ __ of Rome;
A late first-century Christian, a few of Clement's epistles were considered for inclusion in the New Testament canon. Some contain wording virtually identical to parts of Hebrews, but some also contain theology widely different from that of this epistle.
(5) L __ __ __;
The beautiful Greek prose of Hebrews is rivaled only by some of Luke's most literary passages, and on this basis some have suggested that he might have written this letter. His reputation has been that of an historian rather than a theologian, however, and few scholars see him as the possible author of this book.
(6) A __ __ __ __ __ and P __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Aquila was a teacher ( Acts 18:26 ), and the notion of a woman as co-author tickles our fancy, having been used by some to suggest why the author does not identify himself (herself?) in the letter, since women were not usually allowed to speak -- let alone teach -- in the early church.
b. When was Hebrews written? The book itself provides some clues.
(1) 8:3-5 seems to indicate that the Levitical priesthood was still active at the time the letter was written, still "offering g __ __ __ __ according to the l __ __."
(2) 10:11 says that "every priest standeth daily," offering sacrifices in accordance with Jewish tradition. This would indicate that the T __ __ __ __ __ was still in operation, which would place authorship before ____ A.D., when the temple was destroyed by the Romans under Titus.
(3) 13:11-12 makes reference to b __ __ __ __ sacrifices in the s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ in the present tense. This would also indicate a time period consistent with (2).
(4) If A.D. 70 represents the latest date for the epistle, the reference in 2:3 to the author's having received the Gospel at second hand provides a clue for the earliest date, which can be further pin-pointed with the reference in 10:32 to the readers' having already suffered [ Claudius expelled all Christians from Rome in A.D. 49 ] coupled with the reference in 12:4 to their not having yet "resisted to bloodshed" [ martyrdom at the hands of the emperor N __ __ __ began officially in A.D. 64 ].
c. To whom was the epistle written? [ NOTE: Hebrews is not an epistle in the classic New Testament sense; it reads more like a thoroughly-researched treatise or a carefully-crafted sermon. ] Three possible types of readers have been suggested.
(1) G __ __ __ __ __ __ Christians of Greek culture, philosophical background, and religion (which would make the traditional title of the letter -- Hebrews -- inaccurate!);
(2) Hebraic Jews of the Holy Land;
(3) Hellenistic Jews of Greek-speaking provinces -- the dispora ( "dispersed ones" ).
This third group represents the most logical readership. They would have been second generation Christians who had been reared in the Hebrew religious tradition, including its rules of scriptural interpretation and the standards of the synagogue, and many of them had probably made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once in their lifetimes and had witnessed first-hand the sacrificial Temple system in operation. The letter indicates that they are having second thoughts about their Christian beliefs and are contemplating a return to the historic Hebrew faith. If this is an accurate description of the readership of the epistle, Apollos would be the most logical author.
"Our writer is well-versed in the Jewish rules of interpretation used by the rabbinic schools. By using those principles of argument and interpretation, he hoped to persuade his readers regarding the superiority of Jesus to all the Judaism of his day." - Louis H. Evans, Jr.: Hebrews ( Volume 10, The Communicator's Commentary )
d. What is the primary purpose of this letter? The author seeks to nurture his readers.
(1) He e __ __ __ __ __ __ them to continue in the faith.
(2) He e __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ them in this by presenting perhaps the greatest single work of Christology -- the study of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ -- ever written.
"Hebrews contains a series of contrasts between the good things of Judaism and the better things of Christ. Christ is better than the angels, better than Moses, than Joshua, than Aaron. And the New Covenant ( Hebrews 8:7-13 ) is better than the old Mosaic Covenant." - C.I. Schofield
"The main person of Hebrews is Jesus. The author of the epistle is convinced that all that is necessary to restrain from apostasy is to hold up Christ in all the dignity and beauty of His person and the importance of His work. It might be said that Hebrews consists of a series of pictures of our Lord. We behold Him in His deity, His humanity, His sacrificial work, His priestly office, and His kingdom glory." - Irving Jensen: Hebrews
"Hebrews, like every book of the New Testament, must be understood in its own historical context, even if that must be, to some degree, a product of inference. Yet there is also a sense in which the message of Hebrews transcends its own historical situation. This message has a universal applicability and an ongoing relevance to every generation of Christians whatever their cultural context. For the main themes of this book -- the incomparable superiority and finality of Christ, the fulfillment of the old covenant, the establishment of the new covenant, the universal significance of the Christian faith -- must always be central wherever authentic Christianity is to be found. But more than that, this book with its rich theological content is at the same time wonderfully practical. From its pages Christians of every era can learn of the pilgrimage of faith and of the great personal resources available to them through the finished work of Christ." - Donald A. Hagner: Hebrews (Volume 14, New International Biblical Commentary )
B. TEXT
1. The author of Hebrews will describe with comprehensive scholarship the superiority of Jesus Christ over every single facet of the Hebrew faith, and he will do so while taking care not to disparage Judaism. Indeed, his great regard for the old covenant, his thorough knowledge of Old Testament history and doctrine, and his detailed understanding of the intricacies of the Levitical priesthood are without peer in the Bible. He begins his treatise in 1:1 by reminding his readers that God throughout history had spoken through the Hebrew p __ __ __ __ __ __ __, had done so often, and had done so in many different ways. ( NOTE: It is widely held that the use of the term "prophets" in this verse should be broadened in our understanding to include the patriarchs who preceded the prophets. )
a. He spoke in d __ __ __ __ __.
ref: Genesis 28:10-22
Job 33:14-16
b. He spoke in v __ __ __ __ __ __.
ref: Genesis 15:1-17
Numbers 24:2-9
Isaiah 6:1-8
Ezekiel 1:1-28
Daniel 7:1 - 10:21 ( four visions )
Zechariah 1:7 - 6:8 ( eight visions )
c. He sometimes spoke in an audible v __ __ __ __. He did so with Moses "face-to-face!"
ref: Numbers 12:1-13
1 Kings 19:9-18
d. He spoke through t __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __, often as the "Angel of the Lord."
ref: Genesis 18:1-33
Genesis 32:22-32
Exodus 3:2-6
Exodus 13:21-22
Exodus 19:18-20
Joshua 5:13-15
Judges 6:11-24
2. Two important qualifiers to what God had spoken to and through His prophets will be seen in our study. One of them is contained in v.1 and the other presented in v.2.
a. The Greek verb translated as "spoke" in v.1 is used to indicate a "progressive past:" something which continued over a long period of time but which is now a permanent part of the past. God spoke to and through His prophets over many centuries but, the language strongly suggests, that has now ceased.
b. The revelation God allowed to His prophets was f __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. This is called by theologians "p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ revelation."
(1) "God did not say all about Himself at one time or in one period of revelation. Rather, He spoke in bits and pieces at various times and through different methods -- events, prophets, individuals, history. At any point during that process the revelation was not complete, and, in fact, later periods of revelation would clarify and enlarge previously partial and, by themselves, misleading understandings of God." - Louis H. Evans, Jr.: Op. cit.
(2) "The most illuminating revelations came through the prophets. These were men raised up by God to challenge their own time. Their badge of office was the unshakable conviction that they spoke from God. Their ability to say, 'God says,' gave their words a unique authority. They were ill-treated and yet they persisted with their message. Their stories make heroic reading, but what they said was incomplete" - Donald Guthrie: Hebrews ( Volume 15, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries )
(3) "Priest and prophet, sage and singer were in their several ways His spokesmen; yet all the successive acts and varying modes of revelation in the ages before Christ came did not add up to the fullness of what God wanted to say." - Ray C. Stedman (quoting F.F. Bruce): Hebrews (Volume 15, The IVP New Testament Commentary )
3. This line of thinking leads the author to the direct message of v.2: That was then; this is now.
a. "In these l __ __ __ days" as opposed to "in the p __ __ __."
b. "God has s __ __ __ __ __ to us by His S __ __" as opposed to "God spoke to our f __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __" [ NIV ].
(1) In v.2 the Greek verb rendered as "has spoken" indicates that the process is finished; that it has been completed and will not continue. From this we infer that all that God has wished to speak has been completely revealed in Jesus Christ -- "logos," the Word of John 1:1-14.
"Jewish people familiar with [ the stories of the prophets ] would not have found it hard to believe that God was still revealing His will, but it was astonishing for them to think that God has revealed Himself by speaking through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment and culmination of God's revelation through the centuries. When we know Him, we have all we need to be saved from our sin and to have a perfect relationship with God." - Notes on Hebrews 1:1-2, The Life Application Bible
(2) The term "last days" is, of course, eschatological ( concerned with the end time ), but the sense in which the author uses "last" is more theological than chronological.
"There is no way our writer can have recognized the reality of Jesus Christ -- who He is and what He has done -- and not have confessed this to be the last time. The cross, the death, and exaltation of Jesus point automatically to the beginning of the end. Theologically we have reached the turning point in the plan that God has had all through the ages, so by definition we are in the last days. Eschatology is of one theological fabric: when God has spoken through His Son, the eschatological age has begun, and we are necessarily in the last days theologically. These are the last days because of the greatness of what God has done." - Donald A. Hagner: Op. cit.
4. The superiority of Christ is presented in v.2-3 in seven profound phrases.
a. He is the One "whom He [ God ] appointed h __ __ __ of all things."
ref: Psalm 2:7-8
2 Samuel 7:1
b. He is the One "through whom He made the u __ __ __ __ __ __ __."
ref: Colossians 1:15-19
1 Corinthians 8:6
c. He is "the radiance of God's g __ __ __ __."
ref: John 1:9, 14
2 Corinthians 4:6
d. He is "the e __ __ __ __ representation of His [ God's ] being." The noun translated here as "being" actually means "essence" or "substance." This is a most definitive declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ as God the Son, the second person of the Triune God-head.
(1) This phrase is a strong argument against those cults -- like the Jehovah's Witnesses -- who see Jesus as the highest of all God's creation, denying His deity. The Greek word translated as "exact representation" (charakter), as it is used in this passage, declares that "Jesus represents in human form the exact character of God." ( Stedman )
(2) The Greek word charakter appears nowhere else in the New Testament.
ref: 2 Corinthians 4:4
Colossians 1:15
John 14:7-11 ( It is important to note here that Christ proclaimed Himself to be God. )
e. Christ is depicted as "sustaining all things by His powerful w __ __ __." This statement provides Biblical support for a "christocentric" world view.
ref: Colossians 1:17
2 Peter 3:4-7
f. Christ has "provided p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ for sins." A literal translation of the Greek here would read "provided the cleansing of sins." This, of course, is the pre-eminent work of the Son of God. By inserting this phrase the author is preparing his readers for his elaborate presentation of Christ as the superior h __ __ __ p __ __ __ __ __ in the kingdom of God in Chapters 9 and 10. What is God-like in Christ's function as the great high priest is that He is both the sacrificer and the sacrifice, able to both cleanse and forgive sins.
ROMANS 3:23-26 [ NLT ]
For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this though Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when He did not punish those who sinned in former times. And He is entirely fair and just in this present time when He declares sinners to be right in His sight because they believe in Jesus.
g. Having fulfilled the primary purpose of His incarnation, Christ "sat down at the right hand of M __ __ __ __ __ __ in heaven." This final phrase of our text passage communicates a sense of completion and the fulfillment of God's purpose. It is taken directly from the Messianic Psalm 110, and marks the first of several times in this letter that this Psalm is referenced. It will be made instrumental in the author's two main arguments throughout his letter:
(1) the incomparable s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of Christ, and
(2) the extraordinary high p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of Christ.
C. APPLICATION
1. What the psalmist promised in Psalm 110 has come to pass. All had been completed by the time this letter was written in the second half of the first century. Jesus Himself alluded to this psalm and applied it directly to Himself.
ref: Mark 12:36
Mark 14:55-65
2. All seven of the descriptive phrases applied to Jesus Christ in these verses are impressive and significant, but the last two stand together as those which have had the greatest impact on all of mankind.
a. The "purification of sins" has been the singular quest of all religions since the dawn of time. Man's varied attempts to obtain such purification have included desperate self-efforts of "good works," desperate self-efforts at "thought control," and a long list of religious acts of devotion, penitence and penance. Sin all such efforts begin with man and rely on his own strength of will, they fail. And, at any rate, the very highest level of human endeavors to "be good" fall far short of what the Bible states clearly that God demands: holiness.
The Christian faith is unique in that it is the only "religious system" which does away with all pretense that well-meaning people can manage sufficient qualification to please God. The Christian faith declares flatly that man cannot, under any circumstances, accomplish such a goal. "All have sinned," honest Christians know, "and fall short of the glory of God." Only through the sacrifice of a Perfect Lamb on behalf of sinful people can God's perfect justice be executed and His perfect love be expressed. Our study of Hebrews will show that Jesus Christ -- the perfect expression of the character of God in human form -- is both the perfect high priest to offer such a sacrifice and is Himself also that Perfect Sacrifice.
b. That Christ has been seated at the right hand of God clearly indicates a finished work. The Levitical priests could never "sit down," since their work was never finished. Sacrifices for the sins of the people -- as well as their own sins -- had to be offered continually. This is the very essence of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. IT HAS BEEN DONE! Nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ. Those who would be reconciled to God need only to accept Christ's finished work on the cross of Calvary for themselves by faith. That is the gift of God to a sinful world. Hallelujah!
