INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS

Introduction

      The first year I was in Bible Institute, one of the first courses I took was on the Book of Hebrews.  It is a fascinating book.  It shows to the Hebrew Believers the new and better way that Jesus provided for the believers on this side of the cross.  As we travel through this book together I hope you will see Jesus as the new and better way.  You can and will find confidence in the Lord Jesus in this unique book.

      There are three key words or phrases in this book.  They are “better”, “Let us” and “greater”.   Let us look at these words very quickly in their places.  Why take your pen or pencil and underline these references as we go along.

      The phrase “Let us” is found 12 times.  They are

Hebrews 4:1 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”

Hebrews 4:11 “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,”

Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised;

Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”

Hebrews 13:13 “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”

Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” 

      The word “better” is found 12 times.  Let’s look at these references also.

Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

Hebrews 6:9 “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.”

Hebrews 7:7 “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.”

Hebrews 7:19 “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”

Hebrews 7:22 “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”

Hebrews 8:6 “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Hebrews 9:23 “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

Hebrews 10:34 “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.”

Hebrews 11:16 “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

Hebrews 11:35 “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:”

Hebrews 11:40 “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

Hebrews 12:24 “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

      Now last but not least the word “greater”.

Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself”

Hebrews 6:16 “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.”

Hebrews 9:11 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building”

Hebrews 11:26 “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”

      The author even though he is anonymous is most likely to be Paul.  It has his style of writing throughout it.  One reference within the book points to this:  Hebrews 13:23  “Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.”

Another reference in 2^nd Peter 3:15 points to this also:  “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”

      The theme of the book is two fold:  (1) To conform Jewish Christians by showing that Judaism had come to an end through the fulfillment of Christ of the whole purpose of the law; (2) There are many passages that shows the writer had in view the danger ever present to Jewish believers of either lapsing back into Judaism or even mingling the law and Christianity.  This was a snare that Christians among the Jews could fall.

      I believe Paul wrote this book to the Hebrew Christians because they were probably under trials and persecutions.  It was to help to them keep on keeping on.  More important, however, than the identity of the human author is the fact that the divine Author is the Holy Spirit under whose direction the sublime document was prepared and the human literary instrument was preserved from error.

      As we travel through this book, we will be taking each chapter and look at the richness of each chapter.  There will sometimes that we will be stepping back into the Old Testament to get a greater understanding of what Paul is trying to tell us in his comparisons to the better way.

      To meet the needs of readers of this Book, the author has a twofold task.  First, he must urge the Hebrews to be strong in their convictions and true to Christ; he must instruct, encourage, warn them, he must furnish them with rugged examples of fortitude, continuance, perseverance, heroism; he must undergird, fortify their faith.  But second, he must demonstrate the absolute superiority of Christ and the gospel over anything offered in Judaism; he must show that Jesus is incomparably greater than all the religious assets of Israel; he must point out that in His Person, earthly ministry and present mediatorial work at God’s right hand.  He far transcends any ancient Hebrew rite or observance.

Chapter one deals with the Deity of Christ.

Chapter two deals with the Concern of Christ.

Chapter three deals with the Faithfulness of Christ.   

Chapter four deals with the Rest in Christ.

Chapter five deals with the Priesthood of Christ.

Chapter six deals with the Stedfast in Christ.

Chapter seven deals with the Power of Christ.

Chapter eight deals with the Promise of Christ.

Chapter nine deals with the Blood of Christ.

Chapter ten deals with the Sacrifice of Christ.

Chapter eleven deals with the Faith in Christ.

Chapter twelve deals with Chastising and Christ.

Chapter thirteen deals with Obedience to Christ.

      Let us go onto the better way in Christ as we look confidently unto Jesus.  A magnificent epistle lies before us, awaiting our study.  Pray that from the out set the Holy Spirit will make our efforts profitable, edifying and inspiring.  He who understands the central thrust of Hebrews and puts its teachings for his own soul’s good will not likely stray into by-paths of ignorance or confusion.