Hebrews

The superiority of Jesus Christ: better than prophets, angels, Moses, Aaron, and the old covenant—go on to perfection and do not turn back.

Hebrews was written to Jews who had heard the gospel and were tempted to go back to the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. Some had truly believed and were suffering for it; others had acknowledged Christ intellectually but had not yet fully committed to Him. For both, the ritual of Judaism looked solid and the invisible Christ seemed like a shadow. Hebrews shows that the opposite is true: the old system was the shadow, and Christ is the substance.

The argument moves through a series of comparisons. Christ is better than the prophets, being God’s final word (1:1–3); better than the angels, as the Son who made the worlds and took human nature to taste death for every man (1–2); better than Moses, a Son over His house (3); better than Aaron, a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek who lives forever (4–7); and the Mediator of a better covenant, ministering in a better sanctuary, having offered a better sacrifice once for all (8–10).

Woven through the argument are five solemn warnings against drifting from the word, doubting it, growing dull toward it, despising it, and refusing it. Chapter 11 then parades the heroes of faith, who endured seeing Him who is invisible, and chapter 12 calls the readers to run with patience, looking unto Jesus. The letter ends with practical exhortations and the call to go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach (13:13).

Writer: Paul
Written: Chapters 1–12 about AD 35–47 to the scattered Hebrew believers; chapter 13 about AD 62–64 from Italy.
Name: Addressed to Hebrews, the people associated with Abraham and Israel.

Title and authorship

“The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews,” as the King James heading reads. “Hebrew” comes from Eber and is connected with the idea of one who crossed over—Abraham “the Hebrew” came from beyond the river (Genesis 14:13; Joshua 24:2).

The letter does not name its author. The strongest case is for Paul. Peter says Paul wrote an epistle to the same scattered Jewish readers he addressed (2 Peter 3:15–16), the closing chapter mentions Timothy and greetings from Italy and asks for prayer for the writer’s release (13:18–24), and the writer shared Paul’s training in the Law. Paul, the sworn enemy of the Jewish leadership, had good reason not to put his name on a letter to Hebrews, and the unsigned letter bears a timeless, Melchizedek-like character, “without genealogy.”

Historical background

Hebrews speaks of the temple service as still going on (8:4; 10:11), so it was written before AD 70. One view held in this handbook places chapters 1–12 early, about AD 35–47, addressed to the Jewish believers scattered by the persecution of Acts 8, with chapter 13 added about AD 62–64 from Italy. Most writers date the whole letter in the 60s.

Hebrew believers and professing believers, possibly the scattered remnant of Acts 8, under pressure to return to Judaism—both those who had believed and those who had only heard.

The temple still standing

Hebrews speaks of priests who “offer gifts according to the law” (8:4) and of sacrifices offered “year by year continually” (10:1). The destruction of the temple in AD 70 would have been the strongest argument that the old system had passed; its absence places the letter before that date.

A persecuted community

The readers had endured “a great fight of afflictions,” been made a gazingstock, lost their goods, and shown compassion to Paul “in my bonds” (10:32–34). They had not yet resisted unto blood (12:4).

Melchizedek

Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14 as king of Salem and priest of the most high God; Abraham gave him tithes and received his blessing. Psalm 110:4 declares the Messiah “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7 builds its argument on the silence of Scripture about his genealogy, birth, and death.

Key passages

Hebrews 1:1–3

God, who spoke by the prophets, has spoken by His Son, the heir of all things, who purged our sins and sat down.

Hebrews 4:14–16

We have a great high priest who can be touched with our infirmities; let us come boldly unto the throne of grace.

Hebrews 12:1–2

Run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Outline

1:1–4:13 · The superior Son

Christ surpasses the prophets, angels, and Moses; hearers must respond to God’s word.

4:14–10:18 · The superior priesthood and sacrifice

His priesthood, covenant, sanctuary, and offering accomplish what the earlier shadows could not.

10:19–12:29 · Faith and endurance

Access to God brings responsibility, illustrated by faithful witnesses and disciplined endurance.

13 · Life under the better covenant

Love, purity, contentment, worship, and faithful conduct express the response.

Original language

κρείττων (kreitton, G2909) — “better”

The key word, used thirteen times: better than the angels (1:4), a better hope (7:19), a better testament (7:22), better promises (8:6), better sacrifices (9:23), a better country (11:16), a better resurrection (11:35), and blood that speaks better things than that of Abel (12:24).

ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus, G749) — “high priest”

Only Hebrews calls Christ our High Priest, about seventeen times. He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron—eternal, royal, and without successor.

ἐφάπαξ (ephapax, G2178) — “once, once for all”

Once for all time. Christ offered Himself once (7:27), entered the holy place once (9:12), and believers are sanctified by the offering of His body once for all (10:10). Repeated sacrifices contradict the finished work.

διαθήκη (diatheke, G1242) — “testament, covenant”

A covenant or last will. Hebrews 9:16–17 plays on the second sense: a testament takes effect only after the death of the testator. The new testament was ratified by Christ’s death.

ὑπόστασις (hupostasis, G5287) — “substance”

That which stands under, a foundation or title deed. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (11:1). In 1:3 the same word describes Christ as “the express image of his person.”

Doctrinal study

The finished work

Every Levitical priest stood daily offering sacrifices that could never take away sins; “this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (10:11–12). By one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified (10:14). These verses leave no room for any repeated sacrifice, such as the Roman Catholic Mass.

The warning passages

Five warnings run through the book: drifting from the word (2:1–4), doubting it (3:7–4:13), dullness toward it (5:11–6:20), despising it (10:26–39), and refusing it (12:14–29). Passages such as 6:4–6 and 10:26 cannot mean that a Church-age believer loses eternal life, which Paul’s epistles declare secure. Placed in their proper context, they speak to Hebrews who professed without possessing, and doctrinally to the Tribulation, when faith must be demonstrated by enduring to the end and refusing the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:12).

The new covenant quoted

Hebrews 8 quotes Jeremiah 31:31–34 in full: a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Christ is its Mediator, and His blood is its seal. The Church enjoys its spiritual blessings now; Israel will receive it nationally when the Lord returns.

Commentary notes

The Jew in the crowd

Picture a Jewish believer of the priestly family standing in the temple crowd as the trumpets call to the evening sacrifice. He knows the ritual is only a shadow of Christ, yet it looks so real and speaks with such authority that the shadow seems to be the substance. Or picture another Jew who has put his faith in Jesus, been disowned by his family, and wonders whether to go back. The epistle to the Hebrews was written for them.

“Let us”

Hebrews is full of “let us”: fear lest we come short (4:1), labour to enter into rest (4:11), hold fast our profession (4:14), come boldly (4:16), go on to perfection (6:1), draw near (10:22), hold fast without wavering (10:23), consider one another (10:24), lay aside every weight (12:1), run with patience (12:1), have grace (12:28), go forth unto Him without the camp (13:13), and offer the sacrifice of praise (13:15).

Be careful with Hebrews

Hebrews is a transitional book, like Matthew and Acts, moving doctrinally from the Church age toward the Tribulation. Many build doctrine against eternal security from it without rightly dividing. For every verse that seems to teach insecurity (2:1; 3:6; 6:4–6; 10:26), there are others that affirm security (7:25; 9:12; 10:10, 14).

Christ in the book

The Son, heir of all things, brightness of God’s glory (1:2–3)
The Captain of salvation made perfect through sufferings (2:10)
The Apostle and High Priest of our profession (3:1)
The priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (7:17)
The Mediator of a better covenant (8:6)
The author and finisher of our faith (12:2)
The great Shepherd of the sheep (13:20)

Applications

Historical

Written to Hebrews—possibly the scattered remnant of Acts 8—some of whom had embraced Christ and were struggling to stay free of ritualism, and others who had acknowledged Him intellectually but would soon face the choice of turning back to Judaism or dying for Him.
The letter’s recipients and author are not named with the precision found in Paul’s other letters. The Pauline attribution emphasizes the closing personal details and the argument’s Jewish setting.

Doctrinal

The awakened Jewish remnant of the Tribulation will find this book addressed to them as the explanation of God’s better way through the finished work of Christ. Its language fits that setting: “these last days,” “the world to come,” an inheritance of salvation, and enduring “unto the end” (1:2; 2:5; 3:6, 14).
Christ’s offering is sufficient and complete; repeated animal sacrifices cannot replace his finished work.
The warning passages have particular future application to a Jewish remnant in the tribulation. Their present exhortations to faith and maturity should be considered alongside the letter’s affirmations of Christ’s saving work.

Devotional

Hebrews shows Jesus as the fulfillment of every Old Testament sacrifice, priest, and type, calls the immature to go on to perfection, and teaches a better way of righteousness through Christ alone.
The invitation to draw near to the throne of grace encourages believers to seek mercy and help in their weakness.
The argument concerning the priesthood and sacrifice directs faith toward the living Christ and his completed work.
Run with endurance, receive God’s discipline, and encourage others toward love and good works.

Answering the critics

Scholars debate the authorship of Hebrews intensely, and some—Roman Catholic theologians and certain reformers among them—have questioned its canonical authority because no apostle’s name is attached.

It is no surprise that the highest written record of Christ’s superiority is attacked. Unknown human authorship is no ground for excluding a book; the Holy Ghost is its Author, and the priesthood of believers received it from the beginning. The case for Paul’s authorship is strong, and the church’s acceptance of the book has been unwavering.