Hebrews

Smith Bible Dictionary Intro
http://biblehub.com/topical/e/epistle_to_the_hebrews.htm

Those To Whom It Was Written.
This is the only New Testament book that is primarily written to Jewish Christians. It was, no doubt, addressed to Hebrew (Jewish) Christians (Notice the name) (perhaps second-generation Christians, see 2;3, but whether to a special church or to those in a special locality, is a matter of dispute. The many references to the Old Testament would be better understood by the Jews. The epistle shows the superiority of Christianity over Judaism. There is no mention of the conflict between Gentiles and Jews. There is no indication of where these Jews were located. It is possible the epistle was written to all Jewish Christians wherever they lived. It is not possible to designate a certain city where the Jews lived. Of course, all would agree there is much instruction for Gentile Christians as well as Jewish Christians.

Several things, however, may be learned about them.

(1) They had steadfastly endured persecution and the loss of property. 10:
(2) They had shown sympathy with other Christians, 6:10; 10:32-34.
(3) They had been Christians some time, 5:12.
(4) They knew the writer whom they are, by their prayers, to help restore to themselves, 13:19.
(5) They knew Timothy who was to visit them, 13:23, and people in Italy 13:24.
(6) They were now in danger of apostasy to Judaism but had not yet resisted to blood, 12:3-4; 5:11; 6:9.

The Purpose of Writing

These Jewish Christians were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Many were even considering abandoning the faith and returning to Judaism. Therefore, the purpose was to present the superiority of Christ over Judaism. The primary object of the epistle of Hebrews was to persuade his Hebrew brethren to persevere to the end of their Christian lives. He wanted them not to turn back to Judaism. Christianity is better than Judaism in every way. The writer uses this expression thirteen times to show that Jesus is better than the angels, Moses, the prophets, Aaron, Joshua, and the Levitical priesthood. Jesus is the great High Priest of the Christian Age. He reminds the readers of the amazing revelation and salvation given by God to men through Jesus Christ. He reminds them of the great blessing of Christianity through Jesus. He reminds them of the place of suffering and patient endurance by faith in the present earthly pathway to the goal of God’s purpose through Jesus. He reminds them of the terrible judgment which will befall those who turn away from Jesus Christ.

Their danger of going back to Judaism might arise from several sources.

(1) There was a tendency to disbelieve Christ and his claims, 3:12.
(2) The elaborate worship of the Temple compared with the simple worship of the Christian church.
(3) The Jews branded them as traitors and taunted them for turning against the law, which was given by prophets, angels, and Moses, and from the sanctuary ministered to by the priests of God.
(4) They were suffering persecution.

Theme: The theme of this book is “The Superiority of Jesus.” This book has the purpose of trying to convince Christians to never leave Jesus. He is the only source of salvation!

Breakdown of Book
Chapters 1-7 Superiority of Christ
Chapters 8-10 Christ's covenant is superior
Chapter 9 Greater Tabernacle
Chapter 10 Greater Sacrifice than Old Testament
Chapter 11-13 Christ and Christian living is superior

By Chapter
01 - Christ is Greater than Angels
02 - Greater Salvation
03 - Greater than Moses
04 - Greater than Joshua
05 - Greater than Aaron and Priesthood
06 - Don't Give Up
07 - Christ is Greater than Levites
08 - Christ's Covenant is Superior
09 - Christ's Blood makes for a better Place of Worship
10 - The Weakness of Old Testament Sacrifice
11 - Application: Christian living is Superior
12 - Application: Encouragement
13 - Application: Exhortation

Outline Overall

The Revelation Of God In His Son 1:1-2:18

God’s Final Word Spoken Through His Son 1:1-4
Christ’s Superiority Over The Angels 1:5-2:4
The Incarnation, Suffering And Death Of The Son Of God 2:5-18

The Prince Of Salvation 3:1-4:13

The Superiority Of Christ Over Moses 3:1-6
Exhortation To Faithfulness And Warning Against Apostasy 3:7-4:13

The Great High Priest 4:14-10:18

Christ The Christian’s Great High Priest 4:14-5:10
An Admonition To Progress In Knowledge And Faithfulness 5:11-6:20
Characteristics Of Christ’s Eternal Priesthood And Its Superiority Over All Others 7:1-8:6
The Superiority Of The New Covenant Over The Old Covenant 8:7-10:18

Practical Exhortations 10:19-13:25

Draw Near To God And Hold Fast The Faith 10:19-39
The Triumphant Achievements Of Faith 11:1-40
A Call To Serve God Acceptably 12:1-29
Final Exhortations And Benedictions 13:1-25

DATE OF WRITING

The latest date for the writing of this epistle has to be A.D. 96. Clement of Rome quoted from Hebrews in his epistle at this time. However, it seems to have been written between A.D. 60-70. At the time of the writing it seems that the temple was still standing and the rituals of Judaism were being practiced (Hebrews 8:4; 10:11). The temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. This would make it written before A.D. 70. The rebellion of the Jews which ended in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple began in A.D. 66. Therefore, this epistle was probably written around A.D. 65. Timothy was still living when the epistle was written (Hebrews 13:23). Again, no one knows the exact date the epistle was written.

PLACE OF WRITING

Since the author of the letter of Hebrews is not known, it is very difficult to determine from where the epistle was written. Those who believe Paul wrote the epistle think it was written from Rome. The sentence, “They of Italy salute you’ (Hebrews 13:24) lead many to believe the epistle was written from Rome. However, this sentence could mean the Romans in the city in which the epistle was written are sending their greetings to the church in Rome. Many scholars do not seem to know with certainty from where the letter was written.

Who Wrote It?

Holy Spirit is the easy short answer. The is great debate by some, but this should not overly concern us that it is "scripture". Don't let this get you too sidetracked from the message of the book.

The correspondence of Hebrews is anonymous, though its authorship is usually attributed to Paul. This is the only New Testament book where we are uncertain of the author. For the first three hundred years of Christianity, it appears the author of Hebrews was unknown. Clement of Alexander refers to Paul as the author around A.D. 200. Jerome and Augustine in the fifth century had doubts that Paul was the writer; however, they were influenced by the Eastern tradition to push Paul as the author so that the epistle to the Hebrews would be accepted in the canon of the Bible. The inscription “To The Hebrews” was added in the third century. The inscription “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews” was added in the 4th century. Due to this inscription being in most King James Versions of the Bible, many people have accepted Paul as the author.

However, there is little internal evidence to support Paul being the author of Hebrews. In the other epistles Paul wrote, he states that he is the author. There is no claim in the letter of Hebrews that Paul wrote the epistle. Some would say the Greek in the writing of Hebrews is not the type of Greek that Paul wrote. It is more classical Greek. It is more like the Greek of Luke. Some feel and do not believe Paul would have written Hebrews 2:3. This verse says, “This is so because it was first proclaimed by the Lord Himself, and then it was proved to us to be validated by the very men who heard Him themselves” (William’s Translation). Paul makes it clear that he did not receive the gospel from men, he received it directly from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1 and 2). Many scholars today do not believe Paul wrote Hebrews. Since A.D. 1900 most translations title the epistle Hebrews or To The Hebrews. Origen who lived in A.D. 200 said, “Who the author of the epistle of Hebrews is, only God knows.” There have been many speculations concerning who might have written this wonderful epistle; however, there is no real evidence for any of these speculations. Other than Paul, other suggestions are Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Silas, Priscilla, and others have been suggested because the name of the author is not given in the biblical text itself. Whoever it was speaks of Timothy as a “brother” (13:23).

Not sure who as an individual it was written through. Many good suggestions and possibilities. The important thing is the letter of Hebrews is inspired by God and is a part of the Word of God, the Bible.

Thoughts:

The Book of Hebrews: We don't know who wrote it other than HS, but it is good.
It's About Jesus. Everything is, you know.
Jesus, the name above every name.
Possible key verse: Hebrews 1:3
Although Hebrews is called a “letter” (13:22), it has the form and the content of a sermon.
It can be a difficult book to understand (especially without a lot of background in the Old Testament). Some equate its difficulty with Revelation.
This book clearly shows that Christians can fall away (Hebrews 3:12). This teaching poses a huge problem for the doctrine of Calvinism.

Key Word: "Better" (13 Times)

"Encouragement" Chapter 13

Race Through the Bible, Hebrews

https://youtu.be/EbSCbf1YCus

Lesson One - Introduction to Hebrews
https://youtu.be/dPBrl4ZnkOo

Introduction to Hebrews
https://youtu.be/Qget2G4nBeA

Tonight we resume our Wednesday night meal and devotional time by restarting our study of the book of #Hebrews, which we unfortunately had to cut short in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hebrews #1 - Book of Encouragement

https://youtu.be/j8D3qSwMR2I