One of the great challenges as a Christian is to ‘keep on going…when the going gets tough’. A whole generation of the Israelites didn’t make it to the promised land; because, when thing got tough their hearts turned away from God and so they never entered their rest. And it’s the same for us when we’re called to endurance and commitment in desert periods; the temptation to ‘give up’ on Jesus can be enormous.
Well, the book of Hebrews was written for Christians who felt like that, they had started off so well in their faith but many of them were now backsliding and turning away from Jesus. So the writer of Hebrews writes to them urging them to continue with Jesus because He is better than any other alternative. Hebrews is…
A final word about a finished work
The writer of Hebrews wants to show that in Jesus they have all they need and he does that by unpacking 2 big ideas to do with revelation and redemption.
- Jesus is the full and final revelation of God
- In Jesus, there is full and final redemption
In and through Jesus everything has been said and done. There is nothing better to be heard or achieved.
The writer spends 10 chapters describing in great detail who Jesus is and what He has done before it turns to pastoral and practical details. Why? Because the writer wants to give a vision of Jesus that will win the hearts and minds of his readers, that will win their trust back and enable them to endure and keep going. Jesus is their champion, there is nothing else that needs to be said or revealed, so turn your eyes to Him, He’ll help you endure. Famously, after recounting many heroes of the faith who stayed the course, Hebrews 12:1-3 says:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
A sermon from a friend
Hebrews is a tricky letter to put in context. In fact, is it even a letter like the ones Paul and Peter wrote? It has none of the usual greetings and marks of an ancient letter, and at the end, the writer calls it a ‘word of exhortation’
Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
(Hebrews 13:22 NIV – and see Acts 13:15)
So Hebrews is more like a sermon that has been written down than a traditional letter. And the sermon is warm, it is from a friend, who longs for his friends to continue trusting in Jesus.
However, we’re not exactly sure who wrote this letter-sermon (Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, Luke, Silvanus have all been suggested) and we don’t know for certain who the recipients are (though most likely different house churches in Rome) and we don’t know when it was written (though almost certainly after the great fire of Rome in AD64, which Nero blamed on the Christians to get the pressure off himself).
It is clear from the letter that the Christians were under pressure and had been for some time. From the copious Old Testament references and details around priests and sacrifices, we can deduce the recipients of the letter were Jewish Christians. When they first became Christians they gladly accepted the trials of being a Christian, but that was 15-20 years ago…and those trials were wearing them down, as they did the Israelites in the Desert. In chapter 10:32-35 we read:
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
It is quite possible that the early persecution that they endured had got worse and now their very lives were in threat. In chapter 2 the writer reminds them about Jesus by saying:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
(Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV)
The writer of Hebrews wants them to know they can overcome the fear of death – in Jesus.
A pastoral letter
The writer has a pastor’s heart. He is aware of the fragility and emotional instability of being human (in the letter he makes much of the humanity and frailty of Jesus). The strong warnings come because he doesn’t want his people to fall away. He wants to bring:
- Comfort to despondent Christians
- Warning to backsliding Christians
- Challenge to drifting Christians
- Encouragement to suffering Christians
One of the most prominent scholars on the book of Hebrews (William Lane) puts it like this:
What then can we say about Hebrews today? Hebrews is a sermon that is rooted in real life. It addresses men and women like ourselves who discover that they can be penetrated by circumstances over which they have no control. It is a sensitive response to the emotional fragileness that characterises each one of us. It throbs with an awareness of struggles as it explores the dimensions of the cost of discipleship. Hebrews is as pastoral response to the sagging faith of frightened men and women at a time when the imperial capital was striving to regain its composure after the devastation of the great fire. It conveys a word from God addressed to the harsh realities of life in an insecure world.
If you have ever felt yourself overwhelmed by that reality, Hebrews is a sermon you cannot afford to neglect
A deeper sermon series to do us good
This promises to be the deepest sermon series we have attempted in terms of doctrine. Hebrews is not for the skim-reader! It is dense theology with carefully laid out arguments teasing out big themes and ideas from the Old Testament. It is not as light or readable as many other New Testament letters (e.g Philippians).
Here are three reasons that studying Hebrews will do us good:
(1) It will be good for us to go deeper – Hebrews will force us to delve deeper into the major doctrines of revelation and redemption, and we’ll have to wrestle and work hard at the text. This will be a fruitful and rewarding discipline and lay a good foundation in the church.
(2) It will be good for us to know Jesus is better – this is something we all need, we too can easily drift and be pulled away and our hearts can start believing we need Jesus plus something else to be happy and secure.
(3) It will be good for us so we keep going – let us not be naive that this letter is not for us or that we are not in a position to fall away. As the prevailing culture around us becomes more hostile to our beliefs we can expect the temptation to turn away from Christ to become greater. So to help us keep going for the next 15-20 years it will be good to study this letter.
As ever, do watch The Bible Project video on the letter for a great overview –
Sermon Series
(1st March – 10th May)
Here is how our sermon series will be broken down – firstly for us to understand how Jesus is better and then by receiving the calling from him.
- Christ Supreme (Hebrews 1:1-2:4)
- Christ our brother (Hebrews 2:5-3:18 & 4:14-5:10)
- Christ our rest-giver (Hebrews 3:1-4:12)
- Christ our high-priest (Hebrews 7:1-28 & 4:14-5:10)
- Christ our sacrifice (Hebrews 8:1-10:18)
- Called to persevere (Hebrews 10:19-39 & 5:11-6:12)
- A better resurrection (Hebrews 11:1-40) – Easter Day
- Called to receive God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:1-13)
- Called to worship in reverence & awe (Hebrews 12:13-28)
- Called to a normal Christian life (Hebrews 13:1-16)
- Called to obey our leaders (Hebrews 13:17-24)