1. Hebrews

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God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds

Hebrews 1:1-2

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Introduction to Hebrews

One theologian said of Hebrews: If we compare all the epistles of the New Testament, we shall not find any of them more replenished with divine, heavenly matter than this to the Hebrews. Perhaps it is for this reason John Owen spent 16 years and 7 volumes writing on this particular book.

As we embark on a consideration of the book of Hebrews we will get acquainted with the book by considering three things: 1) The Historic Setting of Hebrews; 2) The Human Writer of Hebrews; 3) The Holy Message of Hebrews.

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The Historic Setting of Hebrews

Hebrews is a book written originally to the believing Jews scattered around the Roman empire. The key focus of chapter 13 on the brethren highlights the primary focus of the book to the churches rather than a generic letter to all Jews everywhere.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus…Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God…Let brotherly love continue (13:1)…And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: For I have written a letter unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at Liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you (13:22-24).I

Excerpts from Hebrews 13

It is also a book with a larger audience. The Lord said in II Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, correction, instruction, in righteousness. God puts no qualifiers or limitations on whom it is profitable. It is not profitable for the Jew only nor for the Gentile only. It is profitable for all. It means then that this book is for you and me. We must not neglect the great gift of the Word that has come to us from the mouth of God for our salvation.

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The Human Writer of Hebrews

The human author is not stated in the text as a signature though if you have an authorized version of the Scripture it will state, The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. There are six things we can note about the human writer:

1. It was a great burden of the writer that his fellow countrymen would be saved

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

Romans 9:1-5

You see that zeal for the Hebrews from Paul the Hebrew. It seems very likely that God used Paul to write to those Hebrews. Ask yourself today, is your heart heavily burdened for your neighbors and fellow countrymen to know Christ unto salvation as was Paul’s desire all through his ministry?

2. The letter was written from Italy likely at the hand of Paul’s dear companion Timothy – Written to the Hebrews, from Italy, by Timothy

Hebrews was likely written between 60-66ad when Paul was in Italy in prison ;

Acts 28:16,31 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him… and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house…

Acts 28:16,31

For you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

Hebrews 10:34

We should learn from this that God’s Word is never bound. Great writings took place from inside prison. Following in Paul’s footsteps, many of the greatest writings and letters from martyrs to their families or churches were written while in prison suffering for the cause of Christ. Even Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress was largely written from prison.

Paul was in prison, the letter to the Hebrews was written seemingly while the human writer was in prison, lending further evidence to Paul as the author of the Hebrews.

3. The letter is written with understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Which apostle was as learned in the Scriptures as Paul? Brought up at feet of Gamaliel, stock of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews! (Acts 22:3, Philippians 3:4-6) Is it any wonder that the Hebrew of the Hebrews would be used of God to write God’s Word to His fellow Hebrews? Whether you agree or disagree, don’t think so much about Paul today, rather, ask yourself this: Do you know the Scriptures this way?

Do you men wish to be able to defend the faith, evangelize, preach? Then know the Word. Believe the Word. Obey the Word! Know the Old Testament and the New. John proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God…” You cannot proclaim what you do not know, but what you know. Proclaim it! Do you women desire to teach your children like Eliza Spurgeon taught and prayed for her children? Then know the Word!

Can you reason with men from the Scriptures? Christ and the apostles always did this. You must know the Scriptures in order to reason from the Scriptures! A woman I was witnessing to said, “God doesn’t judge!” Where does the Bible say that? It doesn’t! It says the opposite as we will see. But she was taught a lie about God, did not know or believe the Bible, and so believed a lie. Don’t fall for lies, know the truth, and the Truth will set you free!

4. Many similarities between Hebrews and other Pauline epistles

Throughout the book, Christ is exalted. This is a great theme of Paul’s epistles where at times Paul almost interrupts himself to exalt Christ’s name. Hebrews is no different. There is a glorious doxology at the close of the book similar to other epistles. The Gospel of God so clearly articulated in the opening chapters of Pauls letter to the Romans is articulated clearly again throughout Hebrews. As Paul boasted in the cross in Galatians 6 so the sufficiency of Christ’s work is the boast of the book of Hebrews. Christ crucified! To know Him and the power and sufficiency of His salvation is the beginning and the end of the message. Is this the message of your life? Do you know this Christ to this degree that you boast in Him and nothing else?

5. Lack of the name

Those that object to Paul as the author of Hebrews will often do so on the ground that Paul doesn’t give his name at the opening as he does in all the other epistles. I would agree that this is the strongest argument for another apostle as the human author. I cannot tell you why the name is not given though I presume because He was well known. But perhaps for another reason that is theological – that more focus might be given by us on the one truly speaking, that is God through His eternal Son Jesus Christ, and less on concerns of the human author.

Is your name what is important in your Christian life or is it the name above every name? Do you receive the Word today only if you know the holy man used by the Holy Spirit to write the Word of God? Only if you know and admire the preacher? Or do you receive the Word because of what it truly is the very Word of God. Love not any other message but the true message of God from God concerning His Son Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians received it that way and so must we.

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

I Thessalonians 2:13

6. The Testimony of Scripture

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

2 Peter 3:14-16

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Hebrews 5:9-12

Romans sets out Paul’s desire to minister to the Jews, his fellow countrymen. Peter refers to Paul’s writings. Paul writes of the hard things Peter references. Scripture gives an indication that Paul is the human writer.

Now if you disagree with this interpretation, you would not be the first. Nevertheless, I hope that you will at least agree on this. When we have questions of Scripture, we must always find the answer from Scripture. I will make passing reference to Paul as the human author from time to time but it is not of the essence of this book and its message that you take Paul as the holy man led by the holy Spirit to write this portion of Holy Scripture.

This is God’s Word. The human author is at best a servant of God to bring God’s divine word to us. This is not the book of Paul, Timothy, Apollos, or Luke. This is the Word of God to be received by all as such. If you finish reading and are only debating in your mind the human author, I fear I have failed in my purpose and the main points have been missed.

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The Holy Message of Hebrews

Some things about the book of Hebrews are difficult to understand. However, the great themes of the whole book and the primary call of the book is not difficult to understand. The great themes are these:

The Divinity of Christ and thereby His supremacy over all else

The person always must come before the work. Before we consider the sufficiency of the work of Christ, we must consider the supremacy of Christ whose work is sufficient. God has spoken to us in the last days through His Son Jesus Christ who is the express image of His person, by whom also all the worlds were made. This is the Christ Hebrews is speaking of even the Creator whom the world despises and rejects. This is the message the world and the church desperately need today. Too many are pursuing and proclaiming a weak Christ, the great victim. This great pitiable character whom we should emulate. Oh yes, Jesus condescended greatly to the point of the humiliation of birth, suffering, even the painful and shameful death on the cross. He did this not because He was inherently weak but He became weak that we might know the power of God who saves from our sin. The Christ of Scripture and the book of Hebrews declares the great I AM. The maker and upholder of all the worlds by this Word of His power. He is the one who says, if you love me, keep my commandment. To the storms He says be still. To the 5,000 he says eat and be filled from five loaves and two fishes.

From the beginning to the end of Hebrews, Jesus is proclaimed to be supreme Christ. He is the heir of all things and by Him all things were made for He is the same in substance with the Father, equal in power and glory with the Spirit and the Father. He is supreme because of who He is. He is supreme because of what He did, or as the third verse in the third chapter tells us, He who built the house is greater than the house that was built. This is the great message of Hebrews, this is the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ – He is God in the flesh, supreme over all creation. He is both Lord and God. He is the Christ.

The Sufficiency of Christ as Priest, Sacrifice, and Savior

With the supremacy of the divine person of Christ comes next the sufficiency of His divine Work. He hath by Himself purged our sins (1:3). He is the surety of a better testament – He is able to save them to the uttermost because He did once offer up of Himself. Knowing the person, the work is made known in its fullness. No greater salvation can be wrought because no greater work can be done than the work of the divine Christ. His work is once and for all completed for He is the divine Son of God. The term sufficient implies there are things insufficient for salvation and we see this all around us as false Christs are presented who are weak, lacking supremacy, and insufficient to save.

The religion of Rome tells you that Jesus Christ from beginning to end is insufficient to Redeem and save to the uttermost. Judaism and Islam are alike in calling Christ a prophet or teacher but not the promised Messiah. Christ to these religions is unable to do what He claimed to do because they deny His person and His work. The devil constantly desires one thing for you – to doubt the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. The book of Hebrews crushes the heads of these foolish myths. There is nothing and no one above Christ. There is nothing above God. There is no other God at all. He who can swear by no higher swears by Himself that He is able to save to the uttermost – no one can pluck His children away (6:13-18).

Christ alone is the sufficient high priest. This is the message of Hebrews. By comparisons, explanations, expositions, instruction, and proclamation, the writer of Hebrews lays out the argument in unrelenting manner that you and I might know with great assurance the one whom we have believed and that we might be persuaded that He is able to keep that which has been committed until the great day of the LORD. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God!

Hebrews then can be called a book regarding the gospel, even the gospel, as Paul says in Romans 1:1-4, the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord who became man of the seed of David and was declared to be the Son of God with Power through the resurrection of the dead.

The Method of Instruction

The unrelenting method of proclamation in the book of Hebrews is this: The God, Gospel, Message of the Old Testament is the same in the New Testament. The Faith all are called to embrace is the same faith in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament. Christ Jesus, the Messiah, is the glorious message of Old and He is come in the flesh in the New. This is the reference of I John 2, My Little Children, I write no new commandment unto you but an old commandment which you had from the beginning… And yet it is still new in this way – a better messenger, the Son of God Himself Has come, has spoken, has worked. The veil of the old way has been torn away. The once and for all sacrifice is made. All that was looked forward to in the Old has come to pass in the New. But you must know what was looked for in the past. So the Old Testament plays a major part in Hebrews as it does throughout the New Testament. You can barely go one passage in the New Testament without reference to the Old Testament. This method is only heightened in Hebrews. Christ is the antitype of the Old Testament types. He is the Redeemer and only Redeemer of God’s elect promised in Genesis 3:15. He has come!

The Call of Hebrews

The call of Hebrews is straight forward – Listen to God, Obey God, Praise God.

Listen to God by faith. Believe in Him who spoke in the Old Testament and the New. The word did not profit the Israelites in the wilderness for they did not listen with faith. We have a greater prophet than they did, a greater priest, a great king, the Lord Jesus! Listen to Him. Believe in Him. Trust in Him.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the LORD, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him

Hebrews 2:1-3

Finally the writer will bring us to praise of the Lord in the doxology. All of Scripture leads to praise of God who reigns above and it is no wonder then that as the book reveals the glory of God who spoke by His Son in these last days it draws all the wonders and glory together with great praise.

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:21-22 NKJV

As we consider the book of Hebrews, let us always keep in mind Jesus Christ, the express image of the Godhead bodily, is the eternal divine supreme Son of God, ruler over all creation. His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient for the saving of the souls of all His elect. Brothers and sisters, see that ye refuse not him that speaks to you in the book of Hebrews.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, and the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from Heaven.

Hebrews 12:22-25

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These articles are derived from exhortations that have been given or are planned to be given in the future on the book of Hebrews. The audio versions can be found on Sermon Audio.

I am indebted to the work of Theologians such as Matthew Henry, John Owen, and many others for their commentaries on Hebrews. Where I quote the theologian I will always aim to give proper credit. If I inadvertently neglect to quote the person, please do not hesitate to contact me with the observation and I will seek to update the blog accordingly.

The NKJV is used for exhorting and will often be referenced here. On occasion as in this first post, due to the common use of a KJV passage, I may use the KJV. I always seek to give credit to the NKJV when used and again please contact me if I miss this credit.

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