Background of HebrewsToday 11.15am @ ACE Room (03-05)

John Calvin on Hebrews

• Since the Epistle addressed to the Hebrews contains a full discussion of the eternal divinity of Christ, His supreme government, and only priesthood, and as these things are so explained in it, that the whole power and work of Christ are set forth in the most graphic way, it rightly deserves to have the place and honour of an invaluable treasure in the church.”

Adult Christian Ministry

• Talks on first Sunday of the month.

• Seminars on Saturday afternoon.

• BGST-Carmel classes on Friday evening

The dateWhen?

The date

• Chapter 10 verses 1-3 imply that sacrifices are still being offered.

• Hebrews was probably written before A.D. 70 when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

The date

• If the persecution mentioned in chapter 10 was due to Nero, then the letter was written after the fire of Rome in A.D. 64.

The date

• The temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman armies in A.D. 70.

• It was such a traumatic event in Jewish history that it is hard to imagine a Jewish author writing after the event and making no reference to it.

• The book of Hebrews does not refer to the temple at all.

• The most typical conclusion drawn from that fact is that the book was written before A.D. 70.

Persecution of the Christians

• Christians targeted for persecution as a group by the emperor Nero in 64 AD.

• Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed.

• Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches.

Roman Persecution of Christians

The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts scenes from the sack of the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

• Emperor Titus snuffed out a four-year Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in A.D. 70.

• Titus' legions destroyed the Temple most of Jerusalem and killed tens of thousands of Jews.

Destruction of the Temple

The date

A.D. 70A.D. 64

The author

By who?

The author

• “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews,” found as the title of the book in the KJV, is not a part of the original text of Hebrews.”

The author

• The author of Hebrews is not named, although it is commonly assumed to be the apostle Paul.

• Other suggested authors include Barnabas, Luke, Apollos, Silas, Philip and Priscilla.

The author

• The Bishop of Caesarea of the fourth century tells us of the writings of Clement of Alexandria.

The author

• Clement of Alexandria (c.155-c.220

A.D.) wrote,

“…the Epistle to the Hebrews is Paul's, and was

written to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language; but

that Luke, having carefully translated it, gave it to the

Greeks, and hence the same colouring in the

expression is discoverable in this Epistle and the Acts.”

The author

• And so, while there is no direct

proof of the book's authorship,

some believe Clement's view is likely to be

true. Clement lived just a little more than a

century after the book was written.

The author

• Toward the end of the book of Hebrews, we find

further evidence of Pauline authorship of the book.

• Hebrews 13:23 tells us that the author was well acquainted with

Timothy, as we know Paul was.

• The author speaks of Timothy's “release” from prison and then

sends greetings from Italy (13:24). We know that Paul was

imprisoned in Italy when he was taken to Rome for trial.

The author

• The flow of thought and the logic of the argument of

Hebrews is very different from anything we encounter in

the known letters of Paul.

• The way in which the Old Testament is quoted and used by the author of

Hebrews is very different from the way Paul appealed to the Jewish

Scriptures.

• The author describes himself (or herself) in Hebrews 2:3 as a step removed

from the original apostles. Galatians 1:12 and 1 Corinthians 9:1 show that

Paul expressed his awareness of the historical life of Jesus in very different

terms.

The author

• The bottom line of the discussion of the

authorship of Hebrews is that we do not know

the author's name.

The author

• There is no better conclusion

than that drawn by Origen near

A.D. 200 when he wrote,

"As to who actually wrote the epistle, God

only knows."

HEBREWS PAUL’S EPISTLES

Gospel “attested to us by those who heard him” (2:3)

“I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:12)

Elegant Greek Standard Greek

Jesus as high prist Not found in Paul

Not found in Hebrews Justification by faith

Habakkuk 2:4 refers to faithfulness of believer (10:38)

Habakkuk 2:4 refers to justification by faith (Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17)

Not found in Hebrews Polemic against the law

Emphasis on exaltation to God’s right hand

Emphasis on resurrection

Hebrews and Pauline Epistles

The author

• John Calvin in his commentary on Hebrews:

“I can adduce no reason to show that Paul

was its author.”

The author

• Origen in the third century uttered

the famous words “But who wrote

the epistle, in truth God knows.”

The reader

To who?

The reader

• The intended audience is not

specified within the letter.

• The audience had been persecuted (10:32-34).

• The author knew them personally and was

hoping to visit them shortly (13:19, 23).

The reader

• The readers understand the details of

Jewish law.

• Hebrews was written in the best Greek of the

New Testament. The reader was probably not

Jews living in Judea—for whom such a letter

would likely have been written in the “common”

Greek dialect.

The purpose Why?

The purpose

• The purpose of the epistle is clearly seen in Hebrews 13:22. The author himself states the purpose as a word of exhortation.

The purpose

• This letter was written to warn

them the readers of the dangers of

abandoning Christ and returning to Judaism.

• It may also have been written to encourage

Jews to move forward and make a decision for

Christ.

The purpose

• The book of Hebrews was probably written to Jewish Christians in Rome who were facing persecution under Nero.

• Judaism was a legal and recognized religion at that time.

• Jews who did not believe in Christ were not in danger of persecution from Nero at that time. Christians were in that danger.

The purpose

• It would have been a very tempting thought to Jewish Christians who were being persecuted to down play their commitment to Christ. If they would deny their faith in Christ and present themselves only as Jews (and not as Jewish Christians) they would be safe from the persecution.

The purpose

• Then, perhaps at a later and safer date, they could pick up their commitment to Christ again.

• Hebrews makes best sense as an argument to prevent the first readers from being enticed into following such a tempting course of action.

The style

• .How?

The style

• The Epistle to the Hebrews

differs from most of the NT epistles

in that, while it ends like a letter, it does not

begin like one.

• No opening salutation containing the names of

the writer and the people addressed.

The style

• The style of Hebrews is also

unique and unusual.

The style

• The epistle begins

– in the form of a treatise

– with a systematic exposition or argument,

– continues like a sermon and then

– ends like a letter.

The location

• Show mapWhere?

The location

• The audience possibly lived in

Rome, which would explain the

greetings from Italian Christians (13:24).

The location

• There was a large exodus of believers

from Jerusalem in the persecution that

followed the death of Stephen.

• The Roman church had a Jewish-Christian

base.

The messageWhat?

The message

• The book of Hebrew was written to mainly Jewish people to seriously consider Christianity.

• Written to those who have heard the gospel.

The message

• It mainly answers two questions.

• Is Jesus really God?

The author uses Old testament references, prophecies and comparisons with Angels. leaders, priests to prove that.

The message

• What is your Response? Hebrew 2:3 – “How can we escape, if we ignore such a great salvation?”

3 Themes

“Christ is better”

• The message of Hebrews can be summed up in three words, "Christ is better."

“Christ is better”

• The book seems to unfold the message in a crescendo of arguments. – Christ is better than the angels who revealed

the first covenant (Hebrews 1:1-2:18). – Christ is better than Moses who was the

mediator of the first covenant (Hebrews 3:1-19).

– Christ is better than Joshua (Hebrews 4:1-13).

“Christ is better”

• The heart of the argument comes in Hebrews 4:14-10:18.

• There the language of the priesthood, altar, and sacrifice comes to the forefront. – Christ is a better priest that the Aaronic priests of

Judaism. – Christ offers a better sacrifice. – He is a better tabernacle. – He is a better altar. – His priestly work is superior to that of the Old

Testament.

“Christ is better”• The word "better" occurs some 13 times.

1 Heb. 1:4 made so much better than the angels Better Revelation (a more excellent name) Better Name

2 Heb. 6:9 we are persuaded better things of you Better End

3 Heb. 7:7 the less is blessed of the better Better Priesthood

4 Heb. 7:19 the bringing in of a better hope Better Hope

5 Heb. 7:22 made a surety of a better covenant Better Covenant

6 Heb. 8:6 the mediator of a better covenant Better Mediator

7 Heb. 8:6 was established upon better promises Better Promises

8 Heb. 9:23 with better sacrifices than these Better Sacrifices

9 Heb. 10:34 in heaven a better and enduring substance Better Future

10 Heb. 11:16 but now they desire a better country Better Country

11 Heb. 11:35 they might obtain a better resurrection Better Resurrection

12 Heb. 11:40 provided some better thing for us Better Thing

13 Heb. 12:24 blood speaks better things than Abel's Better Blood

Exhortation

• Exhortations not to slip or not to neglect the superiority of Christ appear regularly in the opening nine chapters.

• In the final four chapters the exhortation becomes the dominant motif.

Exhortation

• The great faith chapter in Hebrews 11 lists numerous examples of Jewish heroes who had looked forward to their Messiah.

Pilgrimage

• Another theme that moves through the book of Hebrews is the concept of a pilgrim people.

Pilgrimage

• Recent scholars have emphasized the fact that Hebrews understands both the Old Testament community of Israel and the new community of the church as people on the journey of faith.

• In the Old Testament Israel was on a two-fold journey. The first was the journey out of Egypt and into the promised land.

• The second pilgrimage for Israel was the journey through history toward the coming of the Messiah.

Pilgrimage

• The pilgrimage motif offers the author of Hebrews several exciting possibilities for spiritual instruction.

• He is able to challenge them to understand their own spiritual experiences in terms of a journey.

• This provides a way of explaining the persecution. There are always difficult times as well as the easier times on a journey. The persecution that they were experiencing represented the difficult portions of a pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage

• However, in a true pilgrimage (as opposed to just a trip) the goal is the most important thing.

• Here, the author is able to play the second pilgrimage, the journey through history toward the coming of the Messiah, against the present experiences of his readers.

• Just as old Israel continued on through thick and thin hoping for the Messiah, the readers of Hebrews must press on, persevering under pressure because the Messiah has already come.

3 Themes

• The coming together of these three themes,

- “Christ is better”

- Exhortation

- Pilgrimage

gives the book of Hebrews its great strength and ability to be used throughout the history of the church.

3 Themes

• We in the modern world is very capable of understanding life as a journey.

3 Themes

• But the obstacles we face intimidate us.

• We are overwhelmed by uncertainty.

• Our generation especially needs to hear the basic message of Hebrews again.

3 Themes

• We need a word of exhortation, a word of encouragement, that tells us to keep on the journey.

3 Themes

• We need constant reminders of the superiority of Christ. Although we may not be tempted to turn back to Old Testament style Judaism, we are tempted to combine Christ with a system of psychology or a theory of economics.

3 Themes

• We need to be reminded that life is a journey toward the final goal of heavenly and perfect relationship with God in Christ. We need to be reminded that no price is too expensive to pay; no effort is too much to give in order to gain the final goal.

• Hence, we need to look unto Jesus…

The use of OT in Hebrews

• There are about 80 references to Old Testament!

• The author uses the LXX almost exclusively.

• Favourite sources are the Pentateuch and the Psalms.

Quotation and Allusion from OT

• Pentateuch: 12/39• Historial books: 1/0• The Prophets: 4/11• Psalms: 11/2• Proverbs: 1/1

• 23 out of 29 quotations come from Pentateuch and the Psalms

7 OT quotations in Hebrews 1:5-13

1. Psalm 2:7 Heb 1:5

2. 2 Samuel 7:14 Heb 1:5

3. Deuteronomy 32:43 Heb 1:6

4. Psalm 104:4 Heb 1:7

5. Psalm 45:6-7 Heb 1:8-9

6. Psalm 102:25-27 Heb 1:10-12

7. Psalm 110:1 Heb 1:13

1. God has spoken in Jesus2. The full humanity of the Son of God3. Christ is superior to Moses4. The remaining promise of rest5. The high priesthood of Christ6. Apostasy and divine faithfulness7. The priesthood of Melchizedek8. The new and better covenant9. Christ and the definitive sacrifice10. Moving from the imperfect to the perfect11. Supreme examples of faith12. A call to faithfulness13. Concluding exhortations and benediction

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