Hebrews Overview

Start Off By Reading the Introduction to Michael Whitworth’s “The Son’s Supremacy”

Our New Wednesday Night Study is Going to Be Over the Book of Hebrews

Hebrews is One of the Most Amazing Books in the Entire Bible

Definitely One of My Favorites

For Our First Lesson, We are Going to Do an Overview of the Book

Lord Willing, We Will Start Chapter 1 Next Wednesday

No Other NT Books Ties Together the OT With the Life of Jesus as Thoroughly as Hebrews

Walking Away From Hebrews, it Ought to Be Obvious to Us that Jesus Has Fulfilled the OT

Author

No One Really Knows for Sure Who Wrote Hebrews

That Already Makes Things Interesting

Let’s Speculate for a Few Minutes

For a Long Time, People Speculated that Paul was the Author

But Very Few People Seem to Believe that Anymore

There are Several Similarities But Also a Lot of Differences in the Writing Styles of Paul and the Author of Hebrews

Paul Typically Identified Himself at the Beginning and End of His Letters

Whether By Name or By Some Identifying Mark

This is Not Present in Hebrews

Hebrew’s Style and Vocabulary are Different From Paul’s

Paul Used “Christ Jesus” About 90 Times in His 13 Letters

It’s Not Used a Single Time in Hebrews

One of the Major Themes of Hebrews is the High Priesthood of Jesus…

And We Don’t Really See that in Paul’s Writings

The Writer of Hebrews Claims to Have Heard the Gospel From Others

Hebrews 2:3 (NASB)

how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,

Paul Claimed to Have Received the Gospel By Revelation of Jesus

Galatians 1:11–12 (NASB)

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

So it’s Definitely Not Paul

2 Likely Names that Have Been Suggested are:

Apollos

He was a Jew From Alexandria Who was Known for His Great Knowledge in the Scripture

Barnabas

He was a Levite and was Named “Son of Encouragement”

And Author of Hebrews Called His Writing a “Word of Encouragement”

Hebrews 13:22 (NASB)

But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

Some Other Names Include:

Luke

Peter

Jude

Stephen

Silas

Epaphras

Philip

Aquila

Clement of Rome

It Would Probably Be Easier to Make a List of NT Figures Who Haven’t Been Suggested to Be the Author of Hebrews

What Do We Know About the Author?

He Knew His Recipients

Hebrews 13:19 (NASB)

And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

The Author and His Recipients Knew Timothy

Hebrews 13:23 (NASB)

Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.

The Author Was Most Likely Male

Because He Refers to Himself Using a First-Person Masculine Participle

He Passes On the Greetings of Those “From Italy”

Hebrews 13:24 (NASB)

Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

Was He in Italy Writing to a Church Somewhere Else?

Or Was He Writing Somewhere Else Accompanied By Italians and Writing to Those in Italy?

He was Likely a Hellenistic (Greek Speaking) Jew

When Quoting OT Scripture, He Would Predominantly Use the Septuagint (Greek OT)

And He Used Advanced Greek Rhetoric

He Uses 169 Greek Words that Occur Nowhere Else in the NT

And He Uses Another 100 Greek Words that Occur Only One Other Time in the NT

He was a Second-Generation Christian

As We Noted Earlier, He Received the Gospel From Others Who Received it From Jesus

All That Being Said, My Favorite Speculation of the Author of Hebrews is Timothy

There are Some Who Believe that Hebrews was Not Originally a Letter…

But a Sermon Preached By Timothy

And an Anonymous Author Copied it Down and Distributed it as an Epistle

Why Timothy?

It Would Make Sense of the Similarities and Differences With Paul’s Writings

Timothy was Raised in Greek Culture But Knew the OT Very Well

2 Timothy 3:15 (NASB)

and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Timothy was a Second-Generation Christian

The Letter Seems to End in Verse 21, But Then Verses 22-25 are Added On

Those Extra Verses Mention Timothy’s Release From Prison

All in All, We Don’t Know Who Wrote Hebrews

One of the Church Fathers (Origen - Died Around 254 AD) Said of the Author of Hebrews:

“Who actually wrote the epistle, only God knows.”

And That’s Okay

Title & Audience

Like with Paul’s Letters, We Get the Name of the Book From the Recipients Instead of the Author

When Paul Wrote Romans, Who was He Writing to?

What About 1 & 2 Corinthians?

What About 1 & 2 Timothy?

So Who was Hebrews Written to?

Hebrew People - Members of the Israelite Nation

But it’s Not Just to Hebrew People…

But Specifically to Hebrew Christians

Where Were These Jewish Christians From?

We Don’t Know

Because of the Use of the Septuagint (Greek OT)…

It Seems Like the Recipients Were Likely Hellenistic Jewish Christians as Well

But That’s Not Certain

Like the Author, They Were Second-Generation Christians

But They Had Been Christians For Quite Some Time

Hebrews 5:12 (NASB)

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Purpose

Why was This Sermon Letter Given to Hebrew Christians?

The Author Describes it as a “Word of Encouragement”

It was to Encourage These Hebrew Christians

But to Encourage Them to What?

He is Encouraging Them to Not Leave Christ

How Does the Author Do This?

By Showing How Jesus is Better

The Greek Word for “Better” is Found 19 Times in the NT

13 of Those 19 are Found in Hebrews

Jesus is Better Than the Angels

He is Better Than Moses

He is the Better High Priest

His Law is Better Than the Old Law

He Gives Us a Better Hope

He’s the Mediator of a Better Covenant

He Has Given Us Better Promises

He is the Better Sacrifice

He Has Given Us Better a Possession Than Our Current Possessions

He Will Give Us a Better Home

He Will Give Us a Better Resurrection

He Has Sprinkled Us With Better Blood

He Has Established For Us Better Works

Jesus is Greater, Superior, Better

The Book of Hebrews is About Showing These Jewish Christians that Following Jesus is the Most Jewish Thing They Could Do

A True Descendant of Abraham…

A True Israelite…

A True Keeper of the Law of Moses…

A True Follower of the Scriptures…

Would See Jesus as the Long-Awaited Messiah and Join His Ranks

Being a Follower of Jesus Didn’t Mean Rejecting the Law of Moses…

Rejecting the Prophets

Rejecting Moses

Rejecting the Temple

Rejecting the Priesthood

or Rejecting the Sacrifices

Jesus is the One to Whom All of Those Things Point

Jesus is the Fulfillment and the True Reality of All of Those OT Shadows

The Hebrews Writer Tells His Audience that “Faith is the Assurance of Things Hoped For, the Conviction of Things Not Seen”

They Could See the Shadows of the Temple, the Priests, and the Sacrifices

But They Couldn’t Yet See the Reality of What Jesus Brought

By Following the High Priest They Could Not See…

Who Made Atonement in the Temple They Could Not See…

And Were Waiting for a City They Could Not See…

They Were Living By Faith Like All of Their Faithful Fathers Who Came Before Them

These Jewish Christians Started Off Strong in the Beginning of Their Faith

But Now, They are Being Tempted From Several Different Angles to Abandon Their Faith in Jesus

Angles Like:

Temptation to Sin

Hardships Brought On By Being Ostracized From Their Jewish Community

Persecution By the Jewish Community

Imprisonment

Plateauing in Their Spiritual Growth

They Were Experiencing a Crisis of Faith

Should We Return to the Mosaic Covenant or Continue Trusting in Jesus?

Throughout This Sermon Letter, the Recipients are Encouraged to Stay Faithful to Jesus Because He is Better

But Not Only is Jesus Better Than Everything They Had Before

But the Punishment For Abandoning Jesus is Worse Than Any Persecutions, Punishments, or Trials They Were Currently Facing

Though This Book was Written to Jewish Christians 2,000 Years Ago…

Whose Experiences Were Much Different Than Our Own…

I Hope You Can Already See How Amazingly Encouraging This Book is Going to Be for Us

Just as it Has Encouraged Jewish Christians to Stay Faithful and Grow in Their Faith in Jesus

It Can and Will Encourage Us to Stay Faithful and Grow in Our Faith in Jesus as Well

Date

We Aren’t Given an Exact Date for the Book

But Clement of Rome Cited it in 96 AD

This Means it was at Least in Circulation in the Early 90s AD

But it’s Very Unlikely that it was Written After 70 AD

The Author Speaks of the Jewish Sacrificial System as if it is Still a Present Reality

And He Definitely Would Have Mentioned the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple if it Had Already Happened

Why, When Trying to Dissuade Jewish Christians From Returning to Judaism…

Would You Not Mention the Termination of the Sacrificial System?

Also, These Jewish Christians Were Experiencing Persecution…

But Not Martyrdom

Hebrews 12:4 (NASB)

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

That Seems to Fit the Persecution of Christians Before 70 AD

To the Jewish People, Jerusalem Would Have Been the Most Important City in the World

But Jerusalem Would Soon Fall

The Writer of Hebrews Wanted His Audience to Know Understand that to Be Ostracized From Their Jewish Community was Okay

Because Jesus Experienced the Same Thing

Hebrews 13:12–14 (NASB)

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

A Greater City Than Jerusalem is Coming

A New Jerusalem

Key Themes

There are Several Themes that We Will See Throughout This Book

Jesus is Superior

The Law of Moses

Over and Over Throughout Hebrews, the Law/Covenant of Moses Will Be Referenced

Access to God

Several Times We Find the Phrases “Draw Near To” and “Come to” in Hebrews

All of These References are About How These Jewish Christians Should and Can Have Access to God

Faithfulness/Perseverance

Faithfulness is a Huge Theme in Hebrews

The Book is All About Jewish Christians Remaining Faithful to Jesus

Without Faith, it is Impossible to Please God

Jesus, Our Eternal High Priest

He is Able to Sympathize With Our Weaknesses as a Human

And Not Only is He the High Priest, But He is Also the Sacrifice

We Have Salvation and Hope Because of Our High Priest

Key Words

Better

Typically Used to Speak of Jesus’ Supremacy

Perfect

Used to Speak of Jesus’ Sacrifice and Our Status in Him

Eternal/Forever

Used to Speak of Jesus’ as Our High Priest

But Also of Our Salvation and Inheritance in Him

Outline

Jesus is Better Than the Angels (1-2)

The Supremacy of God’s Son (1:1-14)

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation (2:1-4)

The Author of Our Salvation (2:5-18)

Jesus is Better Than the Mosaic Law (3-10)

Jesus is Greater Than Moses (3:1-6)

Warning: Enter Into God’s Rest (3:7-4:13)

The High Priesthood of Jesus (4:14-10:18)

Call to Faith & Endurance (10:19-12:29)

The Full Assurance of Faith (10:19-39)

Hall of Faith (11)

Endurance Until the Kingdom Fully Comes (12)

Concluding Exhortations (13)