CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Letter to the Hebrews

Orientation

The Letter to the Hebrews is the most mysterious book of the New Testament. Its author and audience are unknown to us. It is also the book that most directly focuses on Israel’s religion, how the old covenant points forward to Christ, and how Christ is its ultimate fulfillment.

The Historical Origins of Hebrews

The letter is remarkably Christocentric, with its main points looking to the supremacy of Christ over all other revelations of God, the angels, Moses, and Israel’s priesthood, temple, and sacrificial system. Jesus is the great high priest who mediates between humanity and God, making all other mediators redundant. Jesus mediates the new covenant, which is far superior to the old, and offers himself as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sins.

The Structure of Hebrews

Given the supremacy of Christ over all previous revelations of God, the old covenant, and Israelite religion, the author strongly urges his readers not to turn back from Christ in the face of pressure or persecution. Instead, they ought to endure to the end, following the example of Israel, whose history demonstrated faith in the face of opposition.

Who Wrote Hebrews?

The authorship of Hebrews remains one the great puzzles of the New Testament. Though early copies of the New Testament included Hebrews along with Paul’s Letters, the early church was divided as to whether Paul was the author. The book does not indicate authorship, Pauline or otherwise, and the language is very different from that of Paul’s Letters. Some speculated that Paul was the original author of the letter in Hebrew and Luke translated it into Greek (its known form), since the language is much more similar to Luke’s than Paul’s. Alternatively, a modern suggestion is that Paul preached its contents in Aramaic and Luke transcribed the sermon into Greek. Other suggestions have included Apollos (Luther), Clement of Rome (Calvin), and Barnabas. But in short, there is not enough evidence to endorse any such suggestions. We admit ignorance as to who wrote Hebrews. Probably its original readers knew the author, a well-educated (Hellenistic?) Jewish believer versed in the Old Testament.

Exploration—Reading Hebrews

The Superior Son

READ HEBREWS 1:1–14

Hebrews begins by establishing the superiority of the Son of God over all others. He is superior to the heroes of Israel’s history to whom God spoke (1:1–2), just as he is superior to the heavenly angels (1:3–14). The opening verses articulate the Son’s superiority in revealing God, in his power in and over creation, in saving humanity from sin, and in his position over all things. Though God has revealed himself to Israel’s patriarchs (the fathers) and to Israel’s prophets, such as Samuel and Isaiah, in these final days he has spoken by his Son (1:1–2a). This Son is heir of all things, and all things were made through him (1:2b). The Son perfectly reveals God’s glory and nature and is the sustaining force of the created universe (1:3a). He dealt with human sin and was exalted to the ultimate position of authority at the right hand of God (1:3b).

Is Hebrews Really a Letter?

Hebrews lacks most of the features of a normal letter. There is no greeting, no author is mentioned, and the recipients are not named. Though the author refers to the document as something he has written, he also calls it “a word of exhortation” (13:22), which was a common way to refer to a sermon. There are also many references to saying, speaking, hearing, and so forth scattered throughout. These facts have led some interpreters to regard Hebrews as a sermon that has been written down. Perhaps it was written down by the person who originally preached it, or perhaps it was transcribed by someone who heard it. Either way, this explanation goes a long way to account for the document’s unusual features.

The Son is also superior to the angels (1:4). To prove this point, the author launches into a collection of Old Testament texts (known as a “catena”) taken from Psalms, 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and Deuteronomy (1:5–13). Together, this collection of texts definitively declares that the Son has a unique relationship with the Father and is enthroned as God’s anointed king (Messiah), and all the heavens and earth owe their existence to him. Though they are temporary, he is eternal. The angels acknowledge the Son’s superiority, and their job is to help and serve those who will receive salvation through the Son (1:14).

Why Was Hebrews Accepted into the Canon?

Given our agnosticism about its authorship (see the sidebar “Who Wrote Hebrews?”), it is natural to ask how and why Hebrews was included in the canon of New Testament texts. The early Western church did not immediately accept Hebrews as canonical, though some early church fathers cited or alluded to it, implicitly acknowledging its authority. Hebrews probably was included in the collection of Pauline Letters in Alexandria in the second century and hence was regarded as canonical in the Eastern church—without any doubt so far as we know. Thus, in the East its theological authority was clear from the beginning. The church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260–340) listed Hebrews as one of the “acknowledged” books, and through the influence of Jerome (ca. 347–420) and Augustine (354–430), the opinion of the Eastern church won over the West. The canonical status of Hebrews was finally secured at the Council of Carthage in AD 397.

Hold On to Your Salvation

READ HEBREWS 2:1–18

The author shifts to exhortation, drawing on all of what was set up in chapter 1: we must pay attention to what was heard so that we don’t drift away (2:1). Now the comparison with angels in chapter 1 is applied: if their message was legally binding (referring to the law of Moses), with its punishments for failures, how much more serious is it to neglect the salvation that comes through the superior Son (2:2–3)? In other words, the old covenant was very serious; how much more serious is the covenant that overtakes it? God ratified it through signs and wonders—miracles and gifts from the Spirit (2:4).

What Is “the Message Spoken through Angels”?

In 2:2 the author refers to “the message spoken through angels,” which in context seems to refer to the law of Moses. Why is the law described as spoken through angels? In Deuteronomy 33:2 Moses spoke of God coming from Mount Sinai (where he gave the law to Moses) with “ten thousand holy ones.” These “holy ones” traditionally have been understood to be angels, leading to the Jewish tradition that angels mediated the law to Moses. Since the author of Hebrews has already established the superiority of the Son over angels, the point is that if the message spoken through angels “was legally binding” (2:2), how much more important is the message of salvation spoken by the Son (2:3).

Although Jesus is superior to the angels, he became a man in order to share in our humanity. Psalm 8 talks about humanity being made “lower than the angels” but crowned with glory and honor with everything under their feet (2:6–8). Though we do not yet see the reality of this, we do see Jesus, who was lowered below the angels so that he might die for humanity, and then was crowned with glory and honor (2:7–9). In other words, Jesus fulfilled God’s intention for humanity.

Glory, Descension, Ascension, Glory

Figure 23.1.

This U shape comes from putting together the many statements about who Jesus is as the divine Son of God, what he accomplished on earth, and where he now is as the ascended Savior at the right hand of God. The eternal Son of God was glorious before the creation of the world (John 1:1–3). He descended to the earth by taking on flesh and becoming the man Jesus of Nazareth (Matt. 1:18–24; John 3:13; Eph. 4:9). He suffered, died, and was resurrected (Mark 15:1–47). Then he ascended bodily to reside in glory again in heaven with God the Father (Acts 1:9–11; Heb. 1:3), having received the name that is above every other name (Phil. 2:5–11).

Jesus shares in our humanity in order to save humanity, so that the one who sanctifies (Jesus) and those who are sanctified (believers in Jesus) “all have one Father,” and Jesus calls them his brothers and sisters (2:11–13). Jesus shared in our flesh and blood in order to destroy the devil and free those in slavery to him and to death (2:14–15). Jesus did not become human in order to save angels, but Abraham’s offspring (2:16), which meant that he had to become like us in every way in order to serve as a high priest for us, making atonement for us, and experiencing human temptation like us (2:17–18).

All this underscores the greatness of our salvation (cf. 2:3). Not only is Jesus superior to the angels (1:4–14), but also the salvation he brings is superior to anything prior to Jesus’s ministry. Though superior, Jesus lowered himself to save humanity and to serve as mediator between God and humans.

Jesus Is Superior to Moses Too

READ HEBREWS 3:1–19

Believers should consider Jesus, who is described as “the apostle and high priest of our confession” (3:1). He was sent by God (apostle), and he mediates between God and humanity (high priest). Like Moses, Jesus was faithful to the one who sent him, but he is worthy of more glory than Moses because “the builder has more honor than the house” (3:3). As the author explains, God built the house and Moses was a servant within it (3:4–5). But Christ was faithful as a Son over the household (3:6a). Because he is God’s Son, Jesus rules over his Father’s house, since it belongs to him as the Son who inherits from his Father. But Moses was simply a servant within the Son’s house. The author adds that “we are that household” (3:6b), indicating that the house he’s talking about is the collected people of God.

Given that Christ is over the household, believers should not turn away. The author offers a lengthy citation of Psalm 95:7–11, warning his readers not to harden their hearts like the Israelites did during their forty years in the desert (3:7–11). Instead, they should encourage one another daily so that they hold fast until the end (3:13–15) and enter God’s rest, unlike the rebellious Israelites (3:16–19).

Figure 23.2. Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus by Cristóbal de Villalpando [Wikimedia Commons]

Receiving the Promised Rest

READ HEBREWS 4:1–13

Though the rebellious Israelites failed to enter God’s rest (the promised land of Israel), believers in Christ should make sure not to fall short of God’s promise of heavenly rest (4:1–3). This rest is grounded in God’s rest after the creation of the world (4:4). This Sabbath day of God’s rest is available for his people to share in, but not if they persist in disobedience (4:5–11). The word of God is his instrument for judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart so that no one is hidden from him (4:12–13). This means that disobedience cannot be ignored or overlooked.

Our Great High Priest

READ HEBREWS 4:14–5:10

Believers are encouraged to hold on to the confession of their faith because Jesus is our great high priest, who has lived the human experience and understands our weaknesses (4:14–15). As priestly intercessor between God and us, Jesus enables believers to approach God’s throne with boldness rather than fear (4:16).

This is similar to the high priest in Israelite religion, who too was human but, unlike Jesus, was sinful and had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins before sacrificing for the sins of the people (5:1–3). Just as that high priest had to be called to the role, so Jesus was called by God to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek (5:4–6, 10). Because of his obedience through suffering to the point of death, Christ now offers salvation to all who obey him (5:7–9).

The Many Pictures of the Atonement

This new state of at-one-ness is described in many ways throughout the Bible. For example, Jesus’s death is like but better than the Old Testament sacrifices that resulted in the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’s death and resurrection are also a victory over the forces of evil in the world, defeating even death itself. Jesus’s saving work is also described as a ransom and a redemption, a rescuing and purchasing of those who are enslaved by sin. Jesus’s death is also pictured as a substitution, where he takes the legal penalty that has been rightly declared over sinful humanity (this is known as substitutionary atonement).

Growing in Faith

READ HEBREWS 5:11–6:12

The author turns to rebuke his readers for their laziness and the fact that they should be teachers by now rather than students again of the basics. Instead of being mature enough to eat “solid food,” they are infants in the faith still requiring a diet of milk. So it is time to move them beyond the basics (5:11–14).

Moving forward in maturity of faith is the only direction to take, since going backward is spiritually very dangerous. To fall away and then try to come back would be to recrucify Christ and to show him contempt (6:1–8). But the author is confident of better things for his readers, who have demonstrated good deeds and love in the past. Now they must continue to the end in the same manner as those who inherit God’s promises through faith (6:9–12).

Falling Away and Coming Back?

In Hebrews 6:4–8 the author says that someone who falls away from Christ cannot be brought back to repentance. The harshness of this warning seems to contradict the Protestant Reformation principle “once saved, always saved.” How could a genuine Christian fall away? And if a believer rejects Christ and then turns back, how can there be no forgiveness for them? Some have argued that this refers not to a true believer, but to someone who appeared to be but was not. However, descriptions such as tasting the heavenly gift, sharing in the Holy Spirit, and tasting God’s word and the powers of the age to come (6:4–5) seem to push against that reading. Additionally, even the apostle Peter denied knowing Christ and was restored. Since Hebrews addresses the problem of turning away from Christ because of persecution, the author warns his readers against public and final apostasy. Once a decisive rejection of Christ has occurred, there is no possibility for restoration.

God’s Promises Can Be Trusted

READ HEBREWS 6:13–7:28

Speaking of those who inherit God’s promises through faith, the author turns to consider the example of Abraham. God promised to bless Abraham and to greatly multiply him, meaning that his descendants would be many. Abraham waited patiently and received the promise (6:13–15).

But God has sworn an oath to Abraham’s heirs (believers in Jesus) too so that believers can hold on to hope even amid difficulty (6:17–18). This hope is an anchor for our souls and connects believers to the most holy place of God’s dwelling, “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain” (6:19). This hope is secured by Jesus, who entered the inner sanctuary for us because he is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek (6:20).

Melchizedek

Melchizedek appears twice in the Old Testament, in Genesis 14:18–20 and Psalm 110:4. In Genesis 14 Melchizedek appears out of nowhere and is introduced only as the king of Salem (Jerusalem) and a priest of God Most High. He brings Abraham (at this point still called Abram) bread and wine and blesses him. Abraham then gives him a tenth of his belongings. And as mysteriously as Melchizedek appeared, so he disappears and is never again mentioned in the book. Psalm 110 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament, seen as fulfilled in Jesus as David’s “Lord” who will sit at God’s right hand (110:1), rule over his enemies (110:2), and be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (110:4). In the New Testament Melchizedek appears only in Hebrews (5:6, 10; 6:20–7:1; 7:10–11, 15, 17), where the author quotes Psalm 110:4 twice (5:6; 7:17).

The author explains the significance of Melchizedek, describing him as a priest who blessed Abraham and whose name means “king of righteousness.” Strangely, he had no father, mother, or genealogy, and no beginning or end of life. In fact, he resembled the Son of God (7:1–3). In a complicated little piece of argumentation the author effectively asserts Melchizedek’s superiority of both Abraham and the Levitical priesthood that would develop later from Abraham’s descendants (7:4–10).

The author then leaves Abraham to focus on the Levitical priesthood and its contrast to Melchizedek. Since perfection did not come through the Levitical priesthood, there was need for another priest of a different order (7:11). The author argues how Jesus can be regarded a high priest though he comes not from the tribe of Levi—the source of all Levitical priests—but from the tribe of Judah (7:12–17). And through Jesus’s priesthood a better hope is introduced as he enables believers to draw near to God (7:18–19).

The Levitical Priesthood

God made Jesus a priest by an oath (unlike the Levitical priests), in connection with a better covenant than the old covenant (7:20–22). Under the old covenant, the Levitical priests could not remain in office because each one died, but the eternal Jesus is a permanent priest, enabling him to unceasingly intercede for his people (7:23–25). He is without fault or sin and offered only one sacrifice—himself—once and for all. Unlike the weak high priests of the past, God’s perfected Son has been appointed to be the ultimate priest (7:26–28).

Figure 23.3. Sixteenth-century Roman coin depicting Abraham and his captains met by Melchizedek [National Gallery of Art. Gift of Lisa and Leonard Baskin.]

Melchizedek in the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards

The High Priest of the New Covenant

READ HEBREWS 8:1–13

Jesus the high priest sat down at God’s right hand, serving his people in the presence of God (8:1–2). Just as the previous high priests offered gifts and sacrifices, so Jesus as high priest makes an offering (8:3). The earthly priests, however, were just a copy and shadow of the heavenly reality that is fulfilled in Jesus (8:4–5). His ministry is superior to theirs, and the covenant that he mediates is superior to the old covenant (8:6).

The author turns now to focus on the superiority of this new covenant. With a lengthy quotation from Jeremiah 31:31–34, the author reminds readers of God’s promise that a new covenant would come that would be different from the covenant made with Israel through Moses. This new covenant will see God write his law on the people’s minds and hearts, and each one will know God personally. He will forgive their sins forever (8:7–12). The author then interprets Jeremiah’s mention of a new covenant to mean that the old covenant is now obsolete (8:13).

Old- and New-Covenant Ministry

READ HEBREWS 9:1–28

The author describes the earthly sanctuary for the tabernacle (9:1–5). The priests entered the first room of the sanctuary regularly, but only the high priest would enter the second room, and only once a year (9:6–7). All of this served as a symbol pointing to the fact that access to the most holy place had not yet been achieved for humanity, and sacrifices for sin did not cleanse people’s consciences (9:8–10).

Figure 23.4. Drawing of the high priest offering a sacrifice, from Treasures of the Bible by Henry Davenport Northrop [Wikimedia Commons]

But Christ is the ultimate high priest, who ministers in the true tabernacle, which is not a creation of human hands, entering the most holy place permanently through the sacrifice of his own blood (9:11–12). If the blood of animals served a purpose in sacrifice, how much more does the blood of Christ cleanse believers’ consciences and enable them to serve God (9:13–14)?

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, offering believers an eternal inheritance and dealing with sins under the old covenant (9:15). An inheritance can be received only once someone has died, so believers receive their eternal inheritance because of the death of Christ. Blood was required under the old covenant, since without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (9:16–22). The same is true under the new covenant, but Christ’s sacrifice of himself supersedes the old animal sacrifices (9:23). As ultimate high priest, Christ has entered heaven itself to intercede for us to God (9:24). This was done only once, having removed sin once and for all (unlike the old priests). And Christ will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who trust in him (9:25–28).

The Ultimate Sacrifice

READ HEBREWS 10:1–18

The sacrificial system under the old covenant was unable to make worshipers perfect by the blood of bulls and goats, which was clear from the fact that the sacrifices had to be offered again and again each year (10:1–4). But the sacrifice of Jesus successfully cleanses believers in fulfillment of God’s will (10:5–10; cf. Ps. 40:6–8). While earthly priests must stand and repeat their sacrifices, Jesus offered one sacrifice and sat down at God’s right hand—symbolic of his completed work (10:11–13). His completed work has completely sanctified his people in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s expectation of a new covenant and the final forgiveness of sins (10:14–18).

Godliness and Deliberate Sin

READ HEBREWS 10:19–39

Since believers can confidently enter the sanctuary of God’s presence through Jesus’s blood and priesthood, we should draw near to God (10:19–22). We ought to hold on to hope, love one another, do good deeds, and continue to meet together (10:23–25).

But the author warns his readers that believers’ deliberate sin falls outside Christ’s sacrifice for sins and will lead to God’s judgment and fury (10:26–27). Deliberately turning away from Christ and all that he has done is to trample on him and dishonor the new covenant and the Spirit (10:28–29). God will take vengeance on such rebellion and judge his people (10:30–31).

What Is Deliberate Sin?

Theologians debate what is meant by “deliberate sin,” which, according to Hebrews, cannot be forgiven: “For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (10:26). In the context of Hebrews, the most likely understanding of “deliberate sin” is that it is the conscious, intentional, and permanent rejection of Christ. After all, there can be no salvation outside Christ. And it seems that the original readers of Hebrews were facing temptation to reject Christ in the face of persecution (10:32–36). To do so would be apostasy.

The author clarifies the sin he has in mind by reminding his readers of the persecution they once endured for their faith in Christ, including public taunts and confiscation of their possessions (10:32–34). Instead of giving up their faith in the face of persecution, believers should hold on to their confidence in Christ and run with endurance (10:35–38). But those who fall back to their pre-Christian lives will be destroyed by God’s judgment (10:39).

The Great Examples of Faith

READ HEBREWS 11:1–39

In order to encourage his readers not to fall back from their confession of Christ, the author offers an extended discussion about the robust faith of Israel’s heroes. Faith is defined as the assurance of what is hoped for and the conviction of what is not seen (11:1). After all, faith understands that God created what is seen from what is unseen (11:2). The author works through the faithful examples of Abel, Enoch, and Noah before reaching Abraham (11:3–7). Abraham and Sarah trusted in God’s promises of a land of inheritance and descendants to inherit it (11:8–12). They and their sons—indeed, all of Israel’s heroes mentioned here—died before receiving all of God’s promises and lived by faith as aliens and strangers in the world, as all believers should, in anticipation of a better, heavenly home (11:13–22).

By faith Moses chose to identify with his suffering people instead of Pharaoh’s family, and he led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt (11:23–29). The Israelites took the promised land by faith, and several individuals demonstrated faith as they performed great feats and endured great persecutions and suffering (11:30–38). All of these faithful believers had to wait for what was promised so that later believers in Christ could share the inheritance with them (11:39–40).

Run the Race with Endurance

READ HEBREWS 12:1–29

Like a crowd of runners who have already finished the race, these faithful ones cheer on those who are running it now. Encouraged by them, believers need to throw off whatever slows them down and run the race without giving up (12:1). As they run, they need to keep their eyes on the prize—Jesus, the one who began the race of faith and completed it (12:2). He is the model runner, and just as Jesus endured hostility, so believers need to resist opposition (12:3–4). God trains his runners with discipline, and such discipline reminds us that we are his children. The training of discipline is not always pleasant, but it pays off (12:5–11). Since the Christian life is like a marathon, runners need to strengthen their knees and make a clear path for their feet (12:12–13). This means they should pursue peace and holiness, avoiding bitterness and immorality (12:14–17).

Unlike those in Moses’s day who were terrified by the presence of God at Mount Sinai—with its blazing fire, gloom, and storm—believers now come to the heavenly Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem (12:18–22). By coming to the heavenly city, believers join myriads of angels, the gathering of believers to God himself and to Jesus (12:23–24). Unlike the Israelites in Moses’s day who rejected God, believers today ought not reject God. Instead, we should hold on to his grace to us (12:25–29).

William Perkins’s A Cloud of Faithful Witnesses

Final Exhortations

READ HEBREWS 13:1–25

As the author concludes, he offers his readers some final exhortations. They should continue in brotherly love, show hospitality, remember prisoners, respect marriage, and resist greed (13:1–5). They should respect their leaders and not be led astray by false teachings (13:7–9).

Just as animal sacrifices were burned outside the camp, so Jesus suffered on the cross outside the city of Jerusalem in order to sanctify the people by his blood (13:10–12). Believers must also identify with him there, outside the metaphorical gate, sharing his disgrace (13:13). After all, this world is not our home, but we belong to the one to come (13:14). Believers are to offer up sacrifices of praise to God, to do good, and to obey their leaders (13:15–17). The author prays that the God of peace will equip his readers with all that is good for doing his will (13:20–21) and urges them to receive his written message (13:22). He informs them that Timothy has been released from prison and may accompany the author when he visits from Italy (13:23–24).

Implementation—Reading Hebrews as Christian Scripture Today

The Letter to the Hebrews is both scary and encouraging. It has some of the strongest warnings in the New Testament about the dangers of falling away from Christ. But it also presents an amazingly supreme Jesus, who towers above previous servants of God, above the old covenant, and above all previous revelations of God. He is their fulfillment and culmination. Thus, believers are to stick with him through thick and thin. Even in the face of severe persecution it is never worth abandoning Jesus, and believers must endure the race until the end. Jesus himself has already run the race, has faced temptation, and has endured to the end. He stands at the finish line beckoning all to finish well like him, encouraging us not to give up, and mediating for us with God in the meantime.

Individuals and churches alike will benefit richly by drinking from the deep well of Hebrews’ Christology, encouragements, and warnings. But we also learn from Hebrews how to understand the whole Bible. The relationship between the old and new covenants is explained, as are the old and new priesthoods, mediators, and revelation of God. In every way the new is superior to the old, with Jesus as the key to it all. So when believers read the Old Testament, we are able to see how it fits in the framework of the whole Bible, and how it points to Jesus, its ultimate fulfillment.

Christian Reading Questions

Read Psalms 8 and 110. How do these two psalms inform the author’s understanding of Jesus throughout Hebrews?
Trace the word “better” throughout Hebrews. How many times does it occur, and what is “better” than what in each instance?
Put into your own words why Christians no longer sacrifice animals, no longer need priests, and no longer need a temple. Support your conclusions with relevant texts from Hebrews.
What encouragements does Hebrews offer to help believers endure until the end? How do they apply to believers today?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE The Letter to the Hebrews

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Letter to the Hebrews