In this series we offer brief introductions to the books of the Bible, including background, authorship, content, and application to the lives of today’s Christians.
In the early days of Christianity, as the message of Jesus Christ as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6) spread through Jerusalem and Palestine, believers themselves spoke of their faith as “the Way.” The Pharisee Saul, in his zeal to abolish the Christ-believers, made it clear that he was pursuing those who were of “the Way.” (Acts 9:2) But as Saul-soon-to-be-Paul would discover, these were people who had in fact found a better way than the one he was on.
It is generally accepted that the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to Jewish (Hebrew) Christians who were being persecuted; specifically, they were under significant pressure to abandon their Christian faith and return to the traditional Jewish rituals and practices. The letter does not have the typical “feel” of letters of the time; there is no address, no formal expression of brotherliness, or mention of the audience intended. Rather, it just begins, and begins in such a riveting way that readers immediately sense that they are reading the Spirit-led work of a masterful writer and a scholar of the holy Scriptures: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV) From that point on, it reads like a treatise, very unified but working through a range of topics all relating to the superiority of the Christian faith as the fulfillment of the promises God had made to the Hebrew fathers. Drawing heavily upon passages from the Old Testament, the letter assures its readers of the divine origin and majesty of the Lord Jesus, but also of His human birth and common brotherhood with those who “are to inherit salvation.” (1:14) It shows how Jesus is the highest Prophet of God; how His ministry is superior to that of Moses; how He is a unique, eternal Priest, ministering on behalf of His people in an eternal temple. All these well-supported arguments drive home the point that Jesus, and Jesus alone, can bring His people into a true rest from their labors (4:10).
After the first ten chapters lay out the case that the Christian “Way” is far superior to any other spiritual path his readers might follow, the readers are guided into a better understanding of the life of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (11:1) In living such a faith, they have for a pattern, first of all, Jesus Christ Himself as “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (12:2) Additionally, members of the family of God can look back upon the faith-lives of their spiritual ancestors, living by faith rather than by sight; people like Abel, Enoch, Abraham, and more who held onto the promised grace and salvation of God, notwithstanding the hostility of the world and impossibility of circumstances. This is a “cloud of witnesses” (12:1) of whom “the world is not worthy.” (11:38) The Hebrew Christians are directed to apply that Way to their own situation: to live in love and fidelity within their own community of faith; to respect those who have spoken the Word; to honor marriage and to live selflessly, free of bondage to the “love of money.” For their riches lay in the knowledge that “I [the Lord] will never leave you, nor forsake you.” (13:5)
This inspired letter comes with its own puzzles. Was it sent to Hebrew Christians in Palestine (as one might expect), or westward (there are hints that it might have been intended for house churches in Rome, 13:24)? Who is the author? The best answer to authorship came from Origen in the 3rd century: “God only knows.” But there is evidence that the writer had been a student of the apostles (2:3) and worked in Timothy’s sphere of activity (13:23). What we can be sure of is that here is a testimony that Jesus Christ is the better Way than any other way humankind will ever find.
All these well-supported arguments drive home the point that Jesus, and Jesus alone, can bring His people into a true rest from their labors.
is a former pastor who now teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He makes his home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.