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Preamble

The Bible is a book that claims to have been given to us over many centuries by many human authors acting under the inspiration of God. Within the Bible are therefore sixty-six individual writings or ‘books’. If the Bible is inspired by God and is in this sense ‘God’s Word’ then - the truth of this claim ought to demonstrate itself as the Bible is read. However the Bible is often quoted from, often preached from or about, often attacked, and frequently dissected in the name of study without actually being read to discover what its message really is.

Purpose of these studies

The purpose in these studies is to discover what the unit of Bible literature that we call the book of Hebrews would have us understand and appreciate. They have been prepared to help the reader of the Bible to see more clearly what this book of the Bible claims is its message from God. They are therefore for anyone who has an interest in exploring and understanding the Bible.

Approach

Absent from this commentary are any analyses of textual sources, or any attempt to prove or to disprove the story or argument that the Bible records. The approach is to consider the flow of thought in the book so that the argument (or message) can be appreciated. The studies have been prepared on the premise – if the Bible is the word of God, what actually is its message?

If the Bible is the word of God there is an important consequence. It is a message for each generation that reads it. This means that the circumstances surrounding the writing of any particular book may be of great interest to the Biblical historian, but must be of little interest to the reader and interpreter of the Bible. What is important for the Bible scholar is the text that has come to us. If that is the inspired word of God to us, then the message of God to us is in the text and not bound up in the historical circumstances that may have influenced its production.

For this reason and in order to concentrate on the message of Hebrews – as it comes to us as literature – there is no attention given to the known or assumed historical circumstances surrounding the writing of the book.

The principle in the approach is that if the text makes reference to history or geography that is not now familiar then some help may be necessary for the reader, but where the Bible text is silent on historical or geographical detail then the message that the text has for us should not be sought in imported intelligence.

The general approach may therefore be summed up as – If the Bible is the word of God then its message is contained within the text of the Bible itself and the historical circumstances are only of concern to the historian.

As far as is reasonably possible no previous knowledge of the Bible is presumed or required on the part of the reader. The commentary accompanying the text has been designed to provide a simple presentation of the message of each book. However the argument (or the flow of thought) of the books in the studies has not been simplified at the cost of losing important threads in the construction of the book.

Text

In order to achieve the above objectives it is desirable to base the studies around a modern, scholarly and reliable English translation of the original Hebrew and Greek sources. Because the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is a precise rather than an interpretative translation and will already be familiar to many readers of the Bible it is well suited to the purposes of these studies.

Gratitude is recorded therefore to The Lockman Foundation for their kind permission to use their translation in these studies.

Introduction

Who is Hebrews for, and what kind of literature is it?

It is unfortunate that the book of Hebrews comes to us with baggage. This baggage is the title. ‘To the Hebrews’ sounds as though it is directed at people far removed from us. And worse still it has led commentators to expound the book against an assumed background of Jewish converts to Christianity who are in danger of committing apostasy by retuning to Judaism. I sometimes wonder if the proponents of that argument have ever read about Paul’s attitude to Judaism in Acts 21, because it does not support this assumed backcloth to the book.

Many writings on the book of Hebrews illustrate why these studies deliberately eschew the historical background to the book. If this book is read against an assumed historical background (because the actual background is not known) then the interpretation of the book is influenced by events and details that are at best only guesses and at worst fantasy. The consequence however is that the strength of the message in the book is diluted or even lost.

There is no evidence that the title ‘To the Hebrews’ was part of the original book. It was probably given to it because of the volume of Old Testament references in it, especially the use that is made of the sacrificial and temple traditions of Judaism. The issue is important because the title begs assumptions about the background that colour the way in which we, nearly two thousand years later, come to this book. If we read the book as an attempt to prevent Jewish converts reverting to the temple rituals, then it is of little relevance to us today. The majority of the world today is not Jewish, and anyway even for the Jews today there is no temple to go to.

Thus for those who insist on trying to interpret the book against an assumed historical background the arguments in the book (especially the great warning passages in chapters 3-4, 6 and 10) appear principally as special pleading in relation to a group of people who passed into history a long time ago. If that is how we read this book we will lose out entirely on the living relevance of this mighty explanation of salvation.

It is clear that the author of the book has a deep knowledge of the ‘Old Testament’ scriptures, and it is very likely that the first recipients of this message were Jewish Christians. But it is far from clear that the book is any kind of special pleading to a Jewish congregation.

If therefore the purpose of this book is not to prevent apostasy among Jewish converts, who is it for? In some ways this question is bound up with the other popular matter for debate about the book, that of the authorship of it. So far the book has resisted all attempts to identify from whose pen it has come to us. But is the authorship of the book and its audience so hard to identify? Let us look at how the book begins in comparison with all of the other New Testament letters:-

New Testament letter salutations

Romans

^{RO 1:1} Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; ⁷ to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:

From this we learn that the letter is from Paul, to the Christians living in Rome.

1 Corinthians

^{1CO 1:1} Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, ² to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Again the author is Paul, this time writing to the church at Corinth.

2 Corinthians

^{2CO 1:1} Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:

This is almost the same introduction by Paul addressed to the Christians at Corinth.

Galatians

^{GAL 1:1} Paul, an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), ² and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:

Here Paul is writing to a group of churches in the province of Galatia.

Ephesians

^{EPH 1:1} Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus …

Paul again, addressing this letter to the Christians living in the seaport of Ephesus.

Philippians

^{PHP 1:1} Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi

A letter from Paul and Timothy together addressed to the church at Philippi.

Colossians

^{COL 1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae

In this Paul is writing to a church that he has never visited, at Colossae.

1 and 2 Thessalonians

^{1TH 1:1} Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians

^{2TH 1:1} Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians

Both letters to the Thessalonians have exactly the same salutation, from Paul, Silas and Timothy.

1 and 2 Timothy

^{1TI 1:1} Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope; ² to Timothy,

^{2TI 1:1} Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, ² to Timothy

Here Paul addresses two personal letters to Timothy in very similar fashion.

Titus

^{TIT 1:1} Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, ³ but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; ⁴ to Titus

Another letter from Paul to an individual called Titus.

Philemon

^{PHM 1:1} Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon

The shortest and most personal of all of Paul’s letters, this time to a man called Philemon.

James

^{JAS 1:1} James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad

This is a letter from James, a half-brother of Jesus. It is not sent to any one group of people but to ‘the twelve tribes scattered abroad’. Curiously this salutation would better merit the title ‘To the Hebrews’ than the book we are studying.

1 and 2 Peter

^{1PE 1:1} Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens,

^{2PE 1:1} Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours,

Both letters are Peter’s messages to all those who are trying to live the Christian life.

1, 2, and 3 John

^{1JN 1:1} What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life-- ² and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you

^{2JN 1:1} The elder to the chosen lady and her children,

^{3JN 1:1} The elder to the beloved Gaius

John does not give his name in any of the letters, but the opening of the first is so similar to the gospel of John that the authorship is clear. This letter is addressed to ‘you’. The second letter is probably to a specific church and the third one was sent to an individual called Gaius.

Jude

^{JUDE 1:1} Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called

Jude was another half-brother of Jesus, and he has written a letter to the church in general.

Revelation

^{REV 1:1} The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

^{REV 1:4} John to the seven churches that are in Asia

It may seem strange to call the book of Revelation a letter, but if we look carefully we can see that it is addressed by John to the seven churches in the small Roman province of Asia.

So we have seen that all of the New Testament letters, apart from 1 John, state clearly who the letter is from and to whom it is intended. With this in our minds let us look at how the book called Hebrews begins -

Hebrews

^{Heb 1:1} God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us

This begins in the same way. The originator of the message is clearly identified as ‘God’, and the intended recipients are ‘us’. This book is therefore also presented to us as a letter – from God to us.

If this is so then it should immediately make the reader stop and consider. How important are you? Do you matter? Are you important enough for God to send you a letter? If you are, and if I am, and if God has done just that, how should we receive such a message?

Bible teachers often pick up (say) Paul’s letter to the Romans and rightly apply its teaching as though it is also intended for us. Consider however the significance that this book of Hebrews presents itself as a communication that is specifically addressed to us. And it is a message issued, not by Paul, or Peter or John, but by God. Does that not put the book into a different context? Does that not make you important? Does that not make this book very special?

I would suggest that the reason why it is so hard to identify the specific group of people who were the first recipients of this letter, or who was the author of it, is that this book is intended to be received as God’s direct communication to each one of us, and if God’s authorship is of such prominence, then no man would dare to put his name to it. It is therefore not a failure in Biblical scholarship that the author or the recipients of the first copy have eluded identification. It would seem to be a deliberate part of the Holy Spirit’s presentation, so that we do not miss the relevance of its message to us.

But there is an important addendum which shows that in another sense this book is not actually the letter from God to us. Consider carefully how the opening continues –

^{Heb 1:1} God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us in His Son

God has indeed sent a message for each one of us. Yes we are as important as that. But the message is not in a book, the message is the Son. Note carefully that the book does not say that the Son has given us the message, or that the message has come through the Son, but that the Son is the message. If that is so, then how can we understand the message and what is the point of the book?

The Son is the message, but the book is a commentary on the message, given so that we can understand the message. It is quite unique in the Bible. It explains God’s salvation from heaven’s perspective. The book of Romans is the great rational analysis of salvation from our perspective. But Hebrews gives us the description and explanation of salvation as it is seen and understood in heaven.

In doing so it presents salvation in such terms that no piece of writing ever, by anyone, anywhere, holds out a bigger or better vision of hope and excitement for mankind. Not even the most optimistic version of utopia comes close to the dynamite in the claims made in this book. It goes with even greater boldness than Star Trek ever did, into the unknown of the future for mankind. This book makes claims about the hope for mankind of such magnitude that no politician would ever dare to assemble a manifesto like it. No one would believe them, even though everyone would want to. The gap between what is credible, between what our cynical experience teaches us is likely or possible, and the heights boldly claimed in this book, is so vast that the book deserves to be considered. If the claims of this book are true, then they represent a far better hope than anything else that ever has been devised or ever could be. Yet amazingly the book is neither a ‘pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die’ promise, nor a hope which is conditional upon some unreasonable condition, such as ‘if world peace and contentment could be achieved then ….’ It is not a fantastic hope that flies in the face of reason, but a confidence rooted in the ‘already’ and the present. So let us begin our voyage of discovery into how God sees our salvation.

The structure and outline of Hebrews

Section 1 – Setting the theme and main argument, the significance of the incarnation of Jesus  -  1:1  – 2:16

Section 2 – The implications of Jesus, the Son of God, becoming man - 2:17 – 7:28

Section 3 – The argument continued – the significance of the death and life of Jesus - 8:1 – 10:18

Section 4 – The implications of salvation in how Christians live day by day - 10:18 – 13:25

Section 1 - The book opens with a tightly argued presentation of the wonder of God’s salvation, and how it is not just about saving individual men and women from God’s wrath, but about recovering and elevating the name of man to the purpose that God had originally designed for man. All of this is the achievement of the Son who is identified as Jesus.

Section 2 – If Jesus has truly become a man, and tasted death for everyone, then there are important consequences. This section sets out the consequences and explains the implications of the incarnation and how it affects the approach to God through religion.

Section 3 – This part sets out from the perspective of heaven, exactly what Jesus has achieved. It shows the real business that Jesus as our agent or representative has performed or contracted with God, through His death and life.

Section 4 – The final section of the book is firmly rooted in the problems and challenges of living in this or any age, and explores the spiritual and physical realities that are part of living on earth as a Christian who is united in an indissoluble relationship with God because of the achievements of Jesus the Son (as set out in section 3).