Authorship
Although Hebrews lacks the opening greetings typical of ancient letters, the book includes the expected closing. It appears to constitute a letter written in sermonic style, similarly to 1 John. The general address, "To the Hebrews," leaves questions as to the specific destination of this letter, but its contents strongly support the tradition that Jewish Christians comprised the originally intended audience. The overarching purpose of Hebrews emerges as an effort to prevent the addressees from abandoning their Christian faith to return to Judaism, and the persuasive strategy employed by the author makes Mosaic institutions the basis for demonstrating the superiority of Christ. As the perennially sufficient redemptive sacrifice and the exalted high-priestly mediator between humans and God, Christ perfects the provision of salvation, of which goal the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system fell short. By frequently quoting the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), the author invokes the Old Testament itself to support the superiority of the new covenant of grace established by Christ over the old covenant of law mandated through Moses. The use of the Septuagint may suggest a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian author and/or an original audience of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians.
The author of Hebrews appears well acquainted with the spiritual and social circumstances of the addressees. They have suffered persecution; at least some have quit attending Christian gatherings for fellowship and worship (perhaps to avoid persecution); and the halt to their maturing as Christians threatens to undo their spiritual progress thus far. So the author both challenges and inspires them with exhortation and encouragement, which climax in chapters 11 (frequently hailed as the Bible's great chapter on faith) and 12.
Authorship
Even in the oldest manuscripts of Hebrews its author remains anonymous, and the early church reached no consensus regarding authorship. Proposed authors have included the Apostle Paul, whose influence permeates the book but whose direct authorship scholars seriously doubt, largely because the rough literary style evident in Paul's other letters contrasts with the polished Greek of Hebrews. Further, Paul often backs up his teaching by appealing to his apostolic authority, but Hebrews relies on the authority of others. And Paul identifies himself in his other letters and declares his mission as one to the Gentiles (cf. Rom. 11:13; Acts 13:44-52).
Other suggestions include Apollos, the eloquent Alexandrian Jew taught in Ephesus by Paul's fellow Christian workers Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:24-28). That translators produced the Septuagint in Alexandria supports this suggestion, as do his reputed linguistic refinement, his ethnicity, and his familiarity with the teaching of Paul. Priscilla, a one-time Roman exile, might have authored Hebrews and purposely left the letter anonymous to preclude gender-based objections to her teaching. Greetings from fellow Italian Christians (13:24) could accord with this suggestion and might indicate that Hebrews was written for wavering believers in Rome, where Christian persecution became imperial policy during the reign of Emperor Nero. Barnabas represents another plausible candidate. Personal training with Paul on his first missionary journey and Barnabas's own Levitical background favor his intimate knowledge of Pauline doctrine and Old Testament law, both of which Hebrews reflects.
Date
Despite uncertainty over authorship, the early church knew and used the letter as authoritative Scripture in a writing as early as A.D. 95 (cf. 1 Clement). That Hebrews contains such abundant comparisons between Christ and the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system, centered in the Jerusalem temple, but does not mention the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70, seems strong evidence for the book's authorship prior to that event.
1 Christ Superior to Prophets and Angels
Ultimately, the supremacy of Christ rests in his divinity. Christ is the Son of God the Father, heir to "all things" (the created world as his kingdom) and agent of their creation, embodiment of God's glory and nature, and sustainer of creation. God sustains the world by the same powerful "word" with which he created it, the "Word" Jesus Christ (Genesis 1; John 1:1-3), thus establishing Christ as superior to the Old Testament prophets, through whom God spoke to the Hebrew ancestors.
The Redeemer's having "sat down" in the heavenly seat of honor at the "right hand" of God shows his authority and confirms his superiority over angels. They are created servants of God who themselves worship his "firstborn" Son, the doubly-blessed heir.
In support of the assertions about Christ that appear throughout the book, the author quotes from the Greek Septuagint. Translating into English from the Septuagint rather than from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts (on which both the Septuagint and modern translations of the Old Testament are based) produces slightly different wording, though only in minor detail and without changing their essential meaning. Compare verse 6 with Ps. 97:7; verse 7 with Ps. 104:4; verses 8-9 with Ps. 45:6-7; verses 10-12 with Ps. 102:25-27; 2:5-8 with Ps. 8:4-6.
2 Taking Salvation Seriously
The preeminent position and role of Christ constitute good reason for a warning against apostasy. The "message declared through angels" refers to the Mosaic law (cf. Acts 7:38, 53), transgression of which brought punishment for the Hebrews (v 2; cf. 3:16-19 and the covenantal curses in Deuteronomy 28). Since Christ supersedes the angels, his way of salvation supersedes the mode of salvation mediated through them and requires even more careful heeding. For "signs and wonders.... miracles.... and gifts of the Holy Spirit" as witnesses to the salvation announced and provided by Christ (v 4), see Acts 2. The rule of Christ over his kingdom has begun, but only in part (v. 8).
Christ's sinless suffering as a human being and his triumph over death (the consequence of sin) through resurrection "perfected" him for crowning as the appeaser of God's anger against sinful humanity and as the empathetic mediator between God and humans (cf. 4:14-5:10). His becoming human made him "lower than the angels," but only temporarily, without reducing or suspending his divinity, and with the purpose of his ultimate and eternal exaltation by God the Father (v. 9).
3:1-4:13 More Authoritative than Moses
As the way of salvation provided by Christ supersedes the Mosaic law, so also does the person of Christ, the Son of God, supersede the man Moses, a servant of God, as the moral authority over the church - "holy partners in a heavenly calling" (3:1). The Gospel of Matthew, also written for a primarily Jewish audience, portrays Jesus as the new and greater Moses. A second warning against abandoning the faith admonishes Christians to learn from the disobedient Hebrews of the exodus, whom Moses led but whom God denied entry into the promised land because of their failure to trust him (Num. 13:17-14:45). Apostasy from the Christian faith threatens worse consequences: denial of entry into Christ's eternal, heavenly kingdom (3:7-11, 15; cf. Ps. 95:7-11).
Mere knowledge of the gospel is not enough to effect salvation (4:1ff.). The obedient exercise of faith must follow hearing the gospel for one to gain the ultimate Sabbath rest of God. The possibility of falling short of entering this rest (through apostasy) accords with Paul's admonition to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) and to "press on" diligently (3:12-14; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; cf. Jas. 1:4). The mention by Moses' successor, Joshua, who led the postexodus generation into the promised land, of a future rest for God's chosen people provides the parallel for the promised, ultimate rest of Christ's eternal kingdom.
4:14-5:10 Jesus, the Supreme High Priest
Now the writer elaborates Jesus' role as high priest - in Judaism, the mediator of a right relationship between the holy God and his chosen but sinful people. The incarnation of Christ enables his full understanding of human weakness, evidenced through his tearful pleading with God in the garden of Gethsemane (5:7). Christ's complete ability to sympathize with human weaknesses and his appointment by God to the office of high priest put him at least on par with Aaron, the first Hebrew high priest (Exodus 28). But the sinless Christ's submission to the will of the Father by his self-sacrificial death on the cross makes him an even better high priest than Aaron, because his obedience completely qualified him as the source of eternal deliverance from slavery to sin. Aaron and his successors had to offer sacrifices repeatedly to atone for their own recurring sins and those of their compatriots.
5:11-6:20 The Risk of Falling Away
Failing to progress toward spiritual maturity by re-embracing "elementary," Law-driven Judaism opens one to the risk of eventually abandoning the faith, an irreversible trend that precludes gaining eternal salvation. An analogy from agriculture (6:7-8) contrasts Christian growth with apostasy and parallels Jesus' parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23; Luke 8:5-15).
Following this warning comes encouragement (6:9-12). The writer expresses confidence in the potential of his addressees, confirms God's faithful remembrance of their past progress in the faith, urges them to diligent perseverance, and reminds them of the salvation it promises. This assurance comes from God himself, whose having made good on his covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:2-3) demonstrates the absolute reliability of his word, as certified by sealing the promise with a vow ("two unchangeable things," 6:18; cf. 7:21). Thus the "hope" of eternal salvation constitutes not wishful thinking but certain expectation, mediated by Jesus the eternal high priest in the "inner shrine" (holy of holies) of the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 26:31-35).
7-8 Christ's Superior Priesthood
Chapter 7 establishes the superiority of Christ's priesthood, "according to the order of Melchizedek" (6:20), over that of the Levites - the Hebrew tribe within which God set apart Aaron and his male descendants for priestly service (Numbers 18). The biblical portrayal of Melchizedek ("my king is righteous"), the priestly type of the Messiah (Ps. 110:4), suggests several parallels with Christ: Melchizedek's dual role as king and priest; his claim (in name) to righteousness and peace (the active experience of divine blessing); and his symbolic eternality (7:3).
Verses 4-10 show the superiority of Melchizedek (and therefore of Christ) over the Levitical priests, descendants of Abraham. That this patriarch of the priestly line tithed to Melchizedek and was blessed by him demonstrates his inferiority to Melchizedek, thus the inferiority of Abraham's priestly descendants to Melchizedel's priestly successor, Christ.
Verses 11-26 establish the need for a priesthood superior to that of the Levites and then outline the advantages of Christ's superior priesthood. The Mosaic law, practically mediated by the Levites, is inadequate to justify sinful human beings, for they cannot follow it perfectly (cf. Rom. 3:2o; Gal. 2:16). A Jewish audience might well object to the notion of a non-Levite as their high priest, but the writer of Hebrews turns the problem into an advantage by asserting that the different ancestry of Christ (a Judahite) automatically necessitates new rules for salvation (grace through faith in Jesus). The Levites became priests by mere physical descent, and their priesthood lasted only for a lifetime; but Christ became a priest by divine oath, and his immortality guarantees his perpetual priesthood, his eternal role as mediator of salvation for "those who approach God through him." Furthermore, the Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices repeatedly, for their own sins and those of their fellow Hebrews. Not so Jesus, whose very sinlessness qualified him to be the one-time offering sufficient to appease God's anger against the sins of all humanity.
Chapter 8 demonstrates the inferiority of the imitative, earth-bound priestly service to its heavenly fulfillment, accomplished by the ascended Christ who sits in the place of highest honor, at God's right hand in the sanctuary that he himself built. The earthly ministry established through Moses represented a mere hint of the promises contained in the new and better covenant foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (8:812; cf. Jer. 31:31-34).
9:1-10:18 The Ultimate Sacrifice
Here Hebrews elaborates the comparisons between the earthly religious ritual of the first covenant and the ultimate provision of salvation by Christ. Chapter 9 outlines the floor plan and furnishings of the tabernacle, the movable tent that first served as God's sanctuary and after which Solomon modeled the first temple (cf. Exod. 25:1-27:21). Verses 6-1o point out the functional differences between the tabernacle's holy place, where the priests performed daily religious rituals, and the holy of holies, entered only by the high priest once a year to offer an animal sacrifice in atonement for the sins of the nation. The rites performed in the tabernacle purified the body, but not the conscience (vv. 9-10). They served as a stopgap till the coming
of Christ, uniquely qualified to enter the heavenly holy of holies as both high priest and sacrifice to bring about eternal redemption through the cleansing of human consciences (vv. 11-14). Thus the priestly work of Christ renders the old rituals irrelevant for obtaining eternal life.
"Redemption" (9:15-22) is the substitutionary payment of debt - moral or material - on behalf of another (cf. Exod. 13:11-16). In the Old Testament, moral redemption required the shedding of blood, which symbolized the essence of life, and the righteous anger of the holy God against disobedient sinners demanded their death. God's gracious provision in the Hebrew sacrificial system for death-bysubstitute showed his great mercy. Similarly, the ratification of a covenant often required the offering of animal sacrifices, thus the shedding of blood (v 20; cf. Exod. 24:3-11). The supreme demonstration of God's mercy, motivated by his limitless love for humans, was the giving of his own Son as the ultimate redemptive sacrifice, the shedding of whose blood seals the new covenant and guarantees forgiveness for the inheritance of eternal life.
Verses 23-28 reiterate the superior priesthood of Christ, emphasizing the perennial sufficiency of his one-time self-sacrifice. While the Hebrew high priests had to return annually to the holy of holies to make atonement for sins, Christ returns to usher in ultimate "salvation" for the "many," redeemed through their faith (v 28).
The sacrificial system prescribed in the Law is inadequate to justify ("perfect") humans before God (1o:1). The Law served its purpose of making people aware of their sins (Rom. 3:20), but only the self-sacrifice of Christ can redeem them. His accomplishment of the redemptive will of the Father brings about the new covenant that offers not just temporary atonement (through works of the Law) but eternal forgiveness (by grace through faith in Christ). No more sacrificies are needed.
Christ in majesty; mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. (www.HolyLandPhotos.org)
10:19-39 Knowledge Increases Responsibility
Jesus' continuing priestly role as mediator between God and humans enables us to "draw near" to him with full assurance that our faith in Jesus justifies us (renders us morally pure) in the eyes of God. The writer of Hebrews expresses these truths as exhortations to unwavering Christian commitment and mutual encouragement in the practical outworking of the faith. Verse 25 highlights a vital ingredient for fulfilling these admonitions: regular participation in corporate fellowship and worship.
Christ's second coming (the "day" that draws near; 10:25) will bring salvation for the faithful (9:28) but judgment for those who reject the gospel (vv 26-31). Knowing the truth of the gospel makes a person responsible to live by it. If condemnation comes to knowing transgressors of the Law, it will certainly come, and with eternal consequences, to people who offend God by purposely refusing his free gift of grace.
Having incited fear to urge his readers to faithfulness, the writer offers encouragement (vv. 32-39). Recognizing that the addressees had previously weathered persecution well, he or she observes that now they need only endurance and the determination not to let their progress in the faith go to waste. For "shrinking bacl"' leads to destruction, but continuing in faith results in the reward of eternal life.
11:1-12:11 Models of Faith
The writer defines faith and illustrates its outworking by citing from biblical history figures who proved their faith true by translating it to action. Faith means confident belief in "things not seen," which lack empirical proof. The addressees themselves show such faith by believ
ing that God created the world (11:3). Retracing biblical history, the writer groups for commendation: Abel (Genesis 4), Enoch (5:21-24), Noah (6:13-22), Abraham (12:1-8), and Sarah (17:19; 21:1-2). These individuals demonstrated their conviction that God's promises find their true fulfillment in a world that transcends the present, earthly one. Their lifelong pursuit of a "heavenly" country through continued obedience to God's commands sets the standard for persevering in the Christian faith as opposed to falling away or reverting to Judaism (cf. 5:116:20; 10:26-39).
The roster resumes with the example of Abraham, whose faith in God's ability "even to raise someone from the dead" enabled the aged patriarch's obedience in offering as a sacrifice Isaac, the promised heir of God's covenant (11:17-19; Gen. 17:15-21). Abraham "received back" his son, as though from death, by God's last-minute sparing of the boy (Gen. 22:1-19). In ancient Near Eastern society, fathers near death pronounced blessings on their sons, the heirs to the family estate. Normally, the eldest son received a double portion of the inheritance. God's covenantal promises to Abraham passed to his descendants through a chosen line of heirs that sometimes deviated from the system: Isaac (younger than his half-brother Ishmael), Jacob (the younger twin of Esau), and Joseph (the second youngest son of Jacob) through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, whose descendants' dual receipt of tribal territories in the promised land constituted the double portion of inheritance allotted to the chief heir. The accounts of Moses' birth, solidarity with his fellow Hebrews, and leadership in delivering them from slavery in Egypt are detailed in the book of Exodus.
After 40 years of wilderness wanderings, the Hebrews entered Canaan under Moses' successor, Joshua. Their first conquest occurred at Jericho, home of Rahab the harlot and an ancestress of none other than Jesus himself (11:30-31; Joshua 2; 5:13-6:27; Matt. 1:1-16, esp. V. 5). Between the death of Joshua and the rise of the prophet Samuel, various "judges" rose to leadership among the Hebrews, including Gideon (Judges 6-8), Barak (4-5), Samson (13-16), and Jephthah (10:6-12:7).1 and 2 Samuel detail the activities of the prophet Samuel and King David. Unnamed models of faith (11:33-38) include Daniel and his companions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who "quenched raging fire" (Daniel 3; 6); Elijah and Elisha, who revitalized the dead (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4); Jeremiah, who suffered beatings and imprisonment (Jeremiah 38). According to tradition, Isaiah was "sawn in two," and Zechariah was stoned to death (2 Chr. 24:15-22).
Recounting the terrible tribulations endured by these well-known figures fosters in the afflicted addressees of Hebrews an identification with their ancestors in faith (11:35-38; cf. 10:32-34). The amazing successes of these ancestors inspire perseverance in faith (11:33-35; cf. 10:35-36). God's delay in fulfilling his promises to the ancestors actually benefits the addressees of Hebrews (and by extension future generations of the faithful) and assures them of their great worth in the eyes of God (11:39-40).
Finally, the writer offers Jesus himself as the ultimate example of faithful endurance, which resulted in his exaltation (12:1-3). A footracing strategy underlies the exhortation to "look to Jesus": contestants run straight by focusing on a specific point directly ahead (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24). The exhortation continues by downplaying the severity of the addressees' suffering for their faith (12:4ff.). Their comparatively light hardships to date represent God's discipline, which shows them to be true children of a divine Father acting in their best interest (cf. Prov. 13:24). The supporting quotation in 12:5-6 comes from Prov, 3:11-12. The ultimate exaltation of the unjustly persecuted Christ undergirds the assertion that in the end discipline produces good results (12:2, 11).
12:12-29 Divine Grace Mandates Active Appreciation
The writer exhorts pursuing peace with all people (afflicters included), but not at the expense of maintaining righteous conduct. Esau's irreversible error in selling his birthright (the superior blessing bestowed on the eldest son) is an example of godlessness, because by doing so he spurned the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, which would have passed to him (cf. Gen. 25:27-34; 27:30-40). Sanctification is the process of being made holy; it must govern personal conduct for the common good (vv. 14-15). Not to pursue holiness risks falling short of God's grace. In other words, humans bear responsibility, not for earning God's grace, but for responding to it appreciatively with appropriate actions. Verses 18-29 contrast the former unapproachability of God, as illustrated at Mount Sinai, with the access to God enabled by Jesus. Mount Zion - the mountaintop in Jerusalem on which the temple sat - represents here the "heavenly Jerusalem, where the spirits of the privileged heirs (the "firstborn") of the new covenant claim their inheritance: "perfection, completion in righteousness. Verses 25-29 preclude presuming that God's provision of humanity's access to him involves a reduction in his holiness or its demand for obedience. Indeed, God is love, but God is still a "consuming fire," and his absolute holiness requires reverence and awe.
13 Summary and Conclusion
Miscellaneous exhortations comprise the bulk of this chapter. Active love toward fellow Christians requires hospitality to strangers (cf. Genesis 18; 19), intercessory prayer for afflicted members of "the body" (the church), sexual faithfulness in marriage, material contentedness, emulation of and obedience to faithful Christian leaders, and resistance to false teaching. Verses 9-15 discourage spiritual reversion to the constraints of the Law, whose food laws and animal sacrifices proved inadequate to effect salvation. The mandate to burn animals sacrificed as sin offerings "outside the camp" addressed the situation of the nomadic Hebrews of the exodus; the suffering of Jesus "outside the city gate" refers to his crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem (vv. 11-12). Jesus' all-sufficient sacrifice eliminates the need for animal sacrifices, and the writer admonishes that Christians respond by offering to God a sacrifice of praise.
Hebrews ends with closing greetings typical of other New Testament letters (vv 18-25). Verse 23 notes the release from prison of Timothy, Paul's ministerial protege and the addressee of 1 and 2 Timothy. The passing of greetings from "those from Italy" may indicate that the writer remains in the company of fellow Christians from Italy or writes this treatise from there (v 24).