OPENING COMMENTS
FIRST MESSAGE
Introduction to the Book of Hebrews … courtesy of PTM/CWR
Leviticus to Hebrews—the Link to Christ: Christ’s life, ministry and atoning death was foreshadowed by Leviticus. This is apparent from Jesus’ own words—quoting the second greatest commandment from Leviticus (19:18; compare Mt 22:39) — and the letters of the NT that exhort Christians to holiness based on the holiness of God, just as Leviticus does (e.g., 1Pe 1:15). But the most obvious link to Christ is the letter to the Hebrews, which brings out so many ways that the priests and sacrifices in Leviticus typified the atoning work of Christ (Heb 3:1; 4:14-16; 7:1-28; 9:11-28; 10:1-18; 13:10-15) ….
Authorship: Unknown. The book of Hebrews was commonly called The Letter of Paul to the Hebrews for some 1,200 years, from about A.D. 400-1600. Yet for the first three centuries of church history there was no agreement about authorship. Some suggested that Barnabas may be the author, as he was a traveling companion of Paul and a descendant of the priestly tribe of Levi.
Protestant reformers showed that, due to differences in literary style, the apostle Paul was probably not the author of Hebrews, although he may have been the inspiration behind it. Another leading candidate for authoring Hebrews is Apollos — an intellectual Hebrew Christian well-versed in the Greek OT Scriptures, and a close associate of Timothy, who worked with
Paul. Other suggestions include Luke, Silas, Clement of Rome and Philip.
Date: Hebrews was probably written before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which occurred in A.D. 70. Had the book been written later, the author probably would not have referred to temple activities in the present tense and would instead have noted the end of the Jewish sacrificial system, made obsolete by Christ.
Setting and purpose: No geographical references appear in this book. The recipients of the letter knew its author (13:18-24) and Timothy. They were Jewish believers in Jesus — not recent converts. But they were in danger of slipping back into Jewish practices, for several reasons. Perhaps a return to Jewish culture and practice would have immunized them from the severe persecution that Christians were suffering, socially and physically, from both Jews and Romans.
Distinctive features: Unlike Paul’s letters, the literary style does not conform to standards of first-century correspondence. The book reads more like a highly developed sermon than a letter. Christianity is presented as far more “superior to” or “better than” (words that occur 15 times in the letter) anything the readers could have considered before Christ. Hebrews explains how a redeemed people approach a holy God. In Leviticus, holiness may appear ritualistic and tiresome, but in Hebrews holiness is a blessed gift from God, made possible by Christ. Christ is superior to angels, Moses and the OT priesthood. As high priest and intercessor, Christ guarantees our access to God. However, trusting in Christ for grace and help in time of need are but the initial steps. Christians are to go on to maturity living holy lives, setting aside sin, enduring hardship and discipline and persevering to the end.
Outline: Each subpoint in the outline below corresponds to a day of reading.
I. SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST OVER THE OLD COVENANT, 1:1–7:28
A. Christ Greater Than Angels, 1:1–2:18
B. Christ Greater Than Moses, 3:1–4:13
C. Christ Greater Than OT Priesthood, 4:14–7:28
II. SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST’S WORK AS OUR HIGH PRIEST, 8:1–10:18
A. Christ Embodies a Better Covenant, 8:1-9:12
B. Christ Embodies a Better Sanctuary and Sacrifice, 9:13–10:18
III. SUPERIORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, 10:19–13:25
A. Faith Through Perseverance, 10:19-39
B. Faith Exemplified by Past Heroes, 11:1-40
C. Faith Results from Discipline, 12:1-29
D. Faith Despite Circumstances, 13:1-25
The Book of Hebrews … courtesy of GCI Home Office
Who would you name as the greatest of all time? It may be hard to do with the various arenas of human triumph. In the realm of sports, music, and leadership, we’ve witnessed remarkable feats of human achievement. But none can compare to Jesus, who transcends every category with unparalleled love, boundless mercy, and unmatched power.” He was able to accomplish what no other human could do.
In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is portrayed as superior to all and worthy of all worship and devotion. The author presents numerous examples to elevate Jesus’ greatness and to challenge believers to remain faithful amidst persecution.
Jesus is superior to all other messengers. While the law was given to Moses from an angel, the new commandment comes directly from Jesus, the Son of God.
Jesus is superior to Moses. While Moses built a tent, Jesus built all creation. His power and authority extend far beyond the limits of human understanding.
Jesus is compared to Israelite priests, who were from the line of Aaron. But Jesus, from the line of David, surpasses them all. He is both king and priest, ruling with justice and mercy.
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. While priests offered daily and yearly offerings, Jesus offered himself once for all, reconciling humanity to God and granting eternal salvation.
Jesus is God’s very Word, the eternal priest, the perfect sacrifice, and the embodiment of truth. In him, all things hold together, and through him, all things are made new.
Amidst trials and tribulations, Hebrews urges believers not to abandon Jesus, but to cling to Him as the anchor of their faith.
He is the source of strength, hope, and eternal life.”
Hebrews 1:3 reminds us: ‘[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Let us worship as we exalt Jesus Christ – the greatest of all time in every aspect.
Let his name be praised, his glory be magnified, and his love be proclaimed to all the nations.
Amen
1 God, who [a]at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged [e]our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him [a]a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[b]And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made [c]a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who [d]sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying:
“I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
WHAT IS THE PASSAGE SAYING? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US?
1 God, who [a]at various times (in many portions) and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds (Gr. aiones = ages); 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged (cleansed) [e]our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
a. God: The Book of Hebrews begins with no mention of the author, only of God. The human author of Hebrews remains unknown, but the book’s inspiration by the Holy Spirit is evident.
vii. No matter who the human author of Hebrews was, there are indications that it was written fairly early in the New Testament period, probably somewhere around AD 67 to 69. The reference to Timothy (Hebrews 13:23) places it fairly early. The present lack of physical persecution (Hebrews 12:4) puts it fairly early. Finally, the lack of any reference to the destruction of the temple probably puts it before AD 70, when Jerusalem and the second temple were destroyed. Since the writer to the Hebrews was so concerned with the passing of the Old Covenant, it seems unlikely that he would ignore the destruction of the temple if it had already happened before he wrote.
b. God: There is no attempt to prove God’s existence; Scripture assumes we learn of God’s existence and some of His attributes from nature (Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20). The writer of the Hebrews knew that God existed and that He spoke to man.
The revelation given through the prophets was brought in various ways – sometimes through parables, historical narrative, prophetic confrontation, dramatic presentation, psalms, proverbs, and the like.
i. It is true that God spoke in a variety of ways in the Old Testament.
· He spoke to Moses by a burning bush (Exodus 3).
· He spoke to Elijah by a still, small voice (1 Kings 19).
· He spoke to Isaiah by a heavenly vision (Isaiah 6).
· He spoke to Hosea by his family crisis (Hosea 1:2).
· He spoke to Amos by a basket of fruit (Amos 8:1).
Yet the idea here is that the prophets spoke to the fathers in various ways; not that God spoke to the prophets in various ways (though that is true also).
Using the properties of light as an illustration, we may say that God spoke in a spectrum in the Old Testament. Jesus is a prism that collected all those bands of light and focused them into one pure beam.
Hebrews is a book deeply rooted in the Old Testament. Hebrews has 82 references to the Old Testament. Significantly, Hebrews does not refer even once to the books of the Apocrypha.
Hebrews was obviously written to Christians with a Jewish background, but it was also written to a Greek frame of mind with its analysis of Jesus as the ultimate reality. This approach to the nature of Jesus explains the Savior to the mindset of the Greek philosophers.
Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He did for us.
Spoken to us by His Son: It isn’t so much that Jesus brought a message from the Father; He is a message from the Father. Jesus is far more than the best prophet. He has revealed something no other prophet could.
The revelation from Jesus was not only God’s message but it was also God’s personality through which the message came. The personality of Biblical writers is clear in their writings … but in the revelation from Jesus we see the personality of God.
There is a sense in which the Son does not speak in Hebrews; the Father speaks concerning the Son. The book of Hebrews is God the Father telling us what God the Son is all about.
A sevenfold description of the glorious Son.
a. Heir of all things: This is the idea that Jesus is preeminent. It is connected to Jesus’ standing as firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).
b. He made the worlds: The ancient Greek word translated worlds is aion, from which we get our English word “eons.” Jesus made more than the material world, He also made the very ages – history itself is the creation of the Son of God.
c. The brightness of His glory: The ancient Greek word for brightness is apaugasma, which speaks of the radiance that shines from a source of light.
We have never seen the sun, only the rays of its light as they come to us. Even so, we have never seen God the Father, but we see Him through the “rays” of the Son of God.
Philo used the word apaugasma to describe the Logos, the being or intelligent mind who ordered the universe. The writer of Hebrews explained Jesus in terms that made sense to both first-century Jews and those familiar with Greek philosophy.
d. The express image of His person: The exact likeness as made by a stamp. Jesus exactly represents God to us.
e. Upholding all things by the word of His power: The idea is better thought of as “maintaining” all things … not passively holding, but of actively sustaining.
Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all at the expression of one word. Here we see that His word is so powerful that it can uphold all things.
Himself purged our sins: He purged the guilt and shame of our sins … by Himself, showing that no one else could do it for us and we could not do it for ourselves.
g. Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high: This is a position of majesty, of honor, of glory, and of finished work. This position of Jesus sets Him far above all creation.
Jesus is so much better than the angels.
Having become so much better than the angels: This tells us that Jesus became better than the angels. We could say that He is eternally better than the angels … but He also became better than the angels … in the sense that He was made perfect (complete as our redeemer) through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10) – something that no angel ever did.
Griffith Thomas linked together the descriptions of Jesus given in these first few verses, culminating in Hebrews 1:4:
· Christ the Heir.
· Christ the Creator.
· Christ the Revealer.
· Christ the Sustainer.
· Christ the Redeemer.
· Christ the Ruler.
· Christ Supreme.
A more excellent name than they: Jesus’ superior status is demonstrated by a superior name, which is not merely a title, but a description of His nature and character. There are many reasons why it is important to understand the surpassing excellence of Jesus, setting Him far above every angelic being.
· We often best understand things when they are set in contrast to other things.
· Though the Old Covenant came by the hands of angels to Moses, a better covenant came by a better being, Jesus. First century Jews might think that the gospel came at the hands of mere men – the apostles. But in truth, the gospel came by Jesus, who is superior to the angels.
· There was a dangerous tendency to worship angels developing in the early Church (Colossians 2:18, Galatians 1:8), and Hebrews shows that Jesus is high above any angel.
· There was the heretical idea that Jesus Himself was an angel, a concept that degrades His glory and majesty.
· Understanding how Jesus is better than the angels helps us to understand how He is better than anyone or anything in our life.
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him [a]a little (for a little while) lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[b]And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made [c]a little (for a little while) lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who [d]sanctifies (sets apart) and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying:
“I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
We know Jesus is human, because God put the world in subjection to man, not angels (quoting from Psalm 8:4-6).
a. He has not put the world to come…in subjection to angels: God never gave angels the kind of dominion man originally had over the earth (Genesis 1:26-30). Angels do not have dominion over this world or the world to come.
b. What is man: The quotation from Psalm 8:4-6 shows both the smallness of man in relation to the God of creation, and the dominion God gave to man, even though he is a little lower than the angels.
c. You have made him a little lower than the angels: In chapter one, the writer to the Hebrews brilliantly demonstrated from the Scriptures the deity of Jesus and His superiority over all angels. Now he demonstrates the humanity of Jesus from the Scriptures and applies the implications of Jesus’ humanity.
It is Biblically wrong to think of Jesus as merely God or merely man. It is wrong to think of Him as half God and half man (or any other percentage split). It is wrong to think of Him as “man on the outside” and “God on the inside.” The Bible teaches Jesus is fully God and fully man, that a human nature was added to His divine nature, and both natures existed in one Person, Jesus Christ.
Significantly, the first false teaching about Jesus in the days of the early church did not deny that He was God, but it denied that He was really human and said He only seemed to be human. The heresy was called Docetism, coming from the ancient Greek word “to seem,” and was taught by Cerinthus, who opposed the apostle John in the city of Ephesus and whose teaching is probably the focus of 1 John 4:2 and 1 John 5:6.
He left nothing that is not put under him: The writer emphasizes the point that God put all things (not some things) under subjection to human beings. This shows that Jesus must be human, because God gave this dominion to humans and Jesus exercises this authority.
But now we do not yet see all things put under him: By all appearance the promise of Psalm 8:4-6 seems to be unfulfilled. We do not see that all things are subjected to man.
But we see Jesus: The promise is fulfilled in Jesus, who is Lord over all. Through Jesus, man can regain the dominion originally intended for Adam (Revelation 1:6, 5:10 and Matthew 25:21).
There are many things we will not understand until we see Jesus. The answers to life’s most perplexing questions are not found in asking “Why?” The greatest answer is a Who – Jesus Christ.
Some wish they might truly see Jesus with their natural eye, instead of the eye of faith. Yet, “Sight is very frequently used in Scripture as a metaphor, an illustration, a symbol, to set forth what faith is. Faith is the eye of the soul. It is the act of looking unto Jesus.” (Spurgeon)
Think of how many who saw Jesus with the natural eye resisted Him, mocked Him, rejected Him. It’s better to see Jesus with the eye of faith than with the natural eye.
· It does not say, “We can see Jesus” though that is true.
· It does not say, “We have seen Jesus” though that was true of some in his day.
· It does not say, “We shall see Jesus” though that is certainly true.
· It says, we see Jesus, both now and continually. He is the focus, the center, the main aspect of our spiritual life.
So, look unto Jesus with the eye of faith – as imperfect as your vision of faith may be, look unto Him who is perfect.
· See Him as the One who loves sinners and died for them.
· See Him as your Savior.
· See Him as your Master.
· See Him as your Friend.
· See Him as your Forerunner.
· See Him as your Healer.
· See Him at home, at work, out and about – not only here at worship times.
Who was made a little lower than the angels: This promise of dominion could only be fulfilled through the humility, suffering, and death of Jesus. The Son of God defeated the evil Adam brought into the world – which was death (Romans 5:12).
God gave man dominion over the earth, but man forfeited his power (not his right or authority) to take that dominion through sin, and the principle of death took away the power to rule. But Jesus came and through His humility and suffering He defeated the power of death and made possible the fulfillment of God’s promise that humans will have dominion over the earth – fulfilled both through Jesus’ own dominion, and the rule of believers with Him (Revelation 20:4).
Made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death: If God the Son did not add humanity to His deity, and in His humanity become a little lower than the angels, then He could never experience the suffering of death on our behalf.
Crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone: This tells us that the suffering of death for Jesus was only a prelude to being crowned with glory and honor. It also tells us that His death was, in some way, for everyone.
For it was fitting: It was more than necessary – it was fitting for the sovereign God – for whom are all things and by whom are all things to be made perfect through sufferings in the task of bringing many sons to glory.
Conceivably, God could have engineered a way to save us that did not require the suffering of the Son of God. But it was fitting for Jesus to save us at the cost of His own agony.
ii. This is the ultimate illustration of the fact that real love, real giving, involves sacrifice. As David said: nor will I offer… offerings to the LORD my God which costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). God’s love for us had to show itself in sacrifice and God could not sacrifice unless He added humanity to His deity and suffered on our behalf.
b. The captain of their salvation: Jesus is the captain – the leader, the advance – of our salvation. This has wonderful implications:
· A captain makes all the arrangements for the march, and Jesus makes all the arrangements for our progress as Christians.
· A captain gives the commands to the troops – “Go” or “Stay” or “Do this.” Jesus commands us as our captain.
· A captain leads the way and is an example to his men, and Jesus does this for us.
· A captain encourages his men, and Jesus encourages us.
· A captain rewards his troops, and Jesus rewards His followers.
i. “Now, seeing that it is the will of the Lord to lead us to glory by the Captain of our salvation, I want you to be worthy of your Leader. Do you not think that, sometimes, we act as if we had no Captain? We fancy that we have to fight our way to heaven by the might of our own right hand, and by our own skill; but it is not so. If you start before your Captain gives you the order to march, you will have to come back again; and if you try to fight apart from your Captain, you will rue the day.” (Spurgeon)
c. Perfect through sufferings: There was nothing lacking in the deity of Jesus. Yet until He became a man and suffered, God never experienced suffering.
i. “To make perfect does not imply moral imperfection in Jesus, but only the consummation of that human experience of sorrow and pain through which he must pass in order to become the leader of his people’s salvation.” (Vincent)
ii. “We know that had he only been God yet still he would not have been fitted for a perfect Savior, unless he had become man. Man had sinned; man must suffer. It was man in whom God’s purposes had been for a while defeated; it must be in man that God must triumph over his great enemy.” (Spurgeon)
iii. The point is that it was fitting for the Father to do this, in the sense that it pleased the LORD to bruise Him (Isaiah 53:10), to do it for the sake of bringing many sons to glory.
d. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one: Therefore we are sanctified by One who has been sanctified. We are all of the same human family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them (that is, us) brethren. He could not be our brother unless He was also human like us.
i. Being sanctified: “Well, then, dear friends, are you sanctified? I have heard some make a jest of that word, and jeer at certain persons as ‘saints.’ They might as well call them kings and princes, and then mock at them, for there is nothing mean or despicable in the name ‘saint.’ It is one of the most glorious titles that a man can ever wear.” (Spurgeon)
ii. It is not remarkable that I am unashamed to associate with Jesus. But it is remarkable that He is not ashamed to call us brethren.
e. He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: The writer cites three proofs that Jesus the Messiah calls His people His brethren from Psalm 22:22, Isaiah 8:17, and Isaiah 8:18.
i. In each of these examples the Messiah is willing to associate Himself with His brethren, whether it be in a congregation of worship, a community of trust in the Father, or declaring a common family association.
f. In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You: This wonderful quote from Psalm 22:22 (from the ancient Septuagint) reminds us that Jesus sang, singing worship to His Father among His brethren.
i. “Did Jesus sing? Yes, literally. After supper, they sang a hymn. It must have been most thrilling to hear Christ’s voice, quivering with emotion, singing the Psalms, which constituted the Great Hallel.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “Behold, then, in your midst, O Church of God, in the days of his flesh there stood this glorious One whom angels worship, who is the brightness of his Father’s glory in the very heaven of heavens; yet when he stood here, it was to join in the worship of his people, declaring the Father’s name unto his brethren, and with them singing praises unto the Most High. Does not this bring him very near to you? Does it not seem as if he might come at any moment, and sit in that pew with you; I feel as if already he stood on this platform side by side with me; why should he not?” (Spurgeon)
g. Here am I and the children whom God has given Me: The phrasing of this quote from Isaiah 8:18 shows how precious Jesus’ people are to Him. “He likes to dwell on that fact. They are precious to him in themselves, but far more precious as the Father’s gift to him. Some things are valued by you as keepsakes given by one you love; and so are we dear to Christ because his Father gave us to him.” (Spurgeon)