Introduction to Hebrews

Introduction (from The Bible Project)

Today we’re starting a short series on Hebrews. The book of Hebrews has much to say to us, and we found it so inspiring in our study earlier this year that we realised that it was important to talk about it here in our Sunday gathering as well.

Today, I’m just going to be introducing the main theme of Hebrews, and then we’ll look into more specific areas in coming weeks. So, if I’m introducing Hebrews, how could I go past the Bible Project?

By the way, I don’t know if you noticed this amazing book we received from the Bible Project, as a thankyou for our support. It has all the Read Scripture posters, and the commentary on each book, and even includes behind the scenes planning sketches for some of the books. Have a look at it sometime, it belongs to Renew, so it’s a resource for us all.

Now lets have a look at how the Bible Project summarises the book of Hebrews.

[Play Bible Project video]

The benefit of vaccination

Before I talk specifically about the message of Hebrews, I wanted to talk about another message which is foremost in many people’s minds today. The message of COVID-19 vaccination.

I’m sure you’re all aware of the struggle the Australian government has had with the vaccine rollout. Extremely unlikely side-effects (such as one-in-a-million chance deaths from AstraZeneca) have been hyped by the media as if they should result in the vaccine’s withdrawal. And, in fact, they did result in the vaccine’s withdrawal, for people under 60. For a long time it looked as if Australia simply wasn’t interested in vaccines for anyone other than aged care home residents, and the federal government was happy to play it slow rather than offer some enticing rewards for getting vaccinated. But the Delta variant has abruptly changed that. The reward of not getting dangerously sick is suddenly more enticing when those around you are getting dangerously sick. Now the media is talking down the risks of vaccination, and lambasting the government for moving too slowly.

It’s been fascinating to watch and see what motivates people to make this sort of choice.

And this is just the sort of choice that the book of Hebrews is talking about.

Genre of Hebrews

Just before we talk about the message of Hebrews, I want to clarify exactly what the book of Hebrews is. Unlike most of the books in the latter part of the New Testament, the book of Hebrews isn’t really a letter. It doesn’t start with a greeting, but rather with a context setting statement like a story:

Hebrews 1:1 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

But this clearly isn’t a story, rather this is a sermon. As a sermon, Hebrews contains a mixture of argument and exhortation. The argument presents a case for Jesus’ supremacy, and the exhortation encourages the recipients of the sermon to live appropriately.

Now, Hebrews is quite a long sermon, clocking in at over an hour! I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that today’s sermon is nowhere near that long.

The supremacy of Christ

Now, I mentioned that the preacher of Hebrews is encouraging his listeners to live appropriately according to the reality of Christ’s supremacy over all things. A big part of the “appropriate” living that he is arguing for, is actually relying on Christ as the sole source of salvation. You see, the recipients of Hebrews seem to have been Jews (thus the name of the book), and they have been tempted to fall back into a form of their old religion. All people face this temptation: the idea that we can please God on our own, that we can work our way into heaven. But for Jews, this temptation is both powerful and nonsensical.

The preacher works through the entire history of God’s relationship with Israel to point out how Jesus’ relationship with his children is not only superior to every experience of the people of Israel, it is pointed to by every experience. There are no highs in Jewish history (or in any history) that are higher than Jesus. There are no means of salvation that are more effective than Jesus. And for Jews, everything points to Jesus.

The preacher appeals to both Jesus’ supremacy, as here:

Hebrews 1:13 ESV

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

And he warns his listeners of the dangers of not taking Jesus as our saviour:

Hebrews 2:1–3 ESV

1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

The preacher of Hebrews understands, probably better than the Australian Commonwealth Government did, that you must both entice and warn people to motivate them.

You might wonder why the preacher needs to spur his listeners on at all—aren’t they Christians, after all?

Yes, they are. But as his sermon makes clear, this is a church that has not faced persecution for a long time, and they have become comfortable. They have forgotten how deadly sin is, because they haven’t felt its sting. They are like Australia before the Delta variant, full of false self-confidence.

But the preacher knows that persecution is coming, and that the church must make the difficult decision to treat their faith seriously. Following Christ comes at a cost—it is not free. But the cost of not following Christ is far higher.

We are in the same situation as that ancient church: persecution is coming, and we need to take Christ seriously.

Our response—faith

So what, exactly, is the preacher’s call to action? If the government’s call to action is to isolate and get vaccinated, what is the preacher of Hebrews’ call?

Hebrews 10:19–25 ESV

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

He calls us to have genuine, life-altering faith, grounded in confidence in Jesus.

It is interesting that this call is not merely a call for individuals to act independently. This is a call for a corporate response. We are all in this together! Our faith is to be shared. Yes, we each need to nurture our own faith, we don’t need to nurture it on our own. You might say that our faith is like our children—each pair of parents are responsible for their own children, but we don’t have to raise them alone. We have a lot of support, from family, friends, our neighbourhood, society, and so on. Faith is the same. We are each responsible for our relationship with God, but we don’t have to stoke this fire on our own. We can, and indeed must, gather together to encourage one another, to fan the flame of our devotion to our Lord Jesus.

Again, there is a parallel with our response to COVID here, too. Our individual actions certainly protect us individually, but they also protect us corporately. This harmony between the individual benefit and corporate benefit is almost forgotten in Australia, but it should be familiar to us as Christians!

Again, we must remember, too, exactly what faith is. Faith is not belief despite the evidence, as many sceptics claim. No!

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

We are a people who live for the future, not for the past or the present. Our faith draws us onward, towards Jesus’ final victory over sin and death, towards the redemption and repair of everything, towards our happily ever after. But it does that by transforming us in the present.

All through this pandemic we have struggled with complex messages: what is essential work, when should we wear masks, how many people can gather together and what can they do?

In contrast, the message of Hebrews is simple: our hearts must be transformed by faith.

As we read our Bibles, as we pray, as we worship together, as we spend each day in God’s presence, let’s encourage one another to greater confidence and faith, and work together in the transformation of our hearts into the beautiful heart of Christ.