Followers of Christ have suffered persecution
throughout history. Stolen property, beatings, imprisonment and martyrdom have been
the fate of countless Christians. And by some reports, Christ’s followers are
being persecuted more than ever in our own day. For those of us who aren’t suffering in these
ways, it’s hard to imagine the temptations that persecution brings. Christians who live
in peace and safety often compromise their faith even without threats. But can you imagine
how tempting it would be to compromise what you believe to protect yourself, your spouse, your
children and closest friends from serious harm? How could we possibly encourage
fellow believers in these conditions? This was the challenge that faced
the author of the book of Hebrews. He wrote to a group of Christians who had
suffered in the past and were now threatened with even more suffering. They’d done well
years ago, but the author of Hebrews feared that they might now turn away from
Christ to avoid further persecution. This is the first lesson in
our series The Book of Hebrews and we’ve entitled it, “The Background and
Purpose of Hebrews.” In this lesson, we’ll introduce a number of perspectives that should
guide our interpretation of this complex book. As our title suggests, we’ll look at
the background and purpose of Hebrews in two ways. First, we’ll
consider the book’s background. And second, we’ll summarize the overarching
purpose for which Hebrews was written. Let’s begin with a sketch of some important
background issues related to the book of Hebrews. We’ll explore the background of Hebrews
by considering three interrelated topics. We’ll look first at its authorship. Then we’ll
investigate the original audience. Lastly, we’ll examine the date when the book of Hebrews was
written. Let’s look first at Hebrews’ authorship. From the earliest times, there have been a variety
of positions on the authorship of Hebrews. For our purposes, we’ll touch on two issues. First,
we’ll discuss the identity of the author. And second, we’ll construct a profile for the
author by focusing on some features of his book. Let’s begin by examining the author’s identity. Identifying the author of Hebrews is not as simple
as it is with many other New Testament books because the author never identified himself.
As early as the patristic period, Clement of Alexandria, who lived from approximately A.D.
150 to 215, and Origen of Alexandria, who lived from around A.D. 185 to 254, acknowledged
that there was a variety of opinions on the authorship of Hebrews in their day. Early
on, the apostle Paul was the candidate named most frequently, but scholars also suggested
Barnabas, Luke, Apollos, and even Clement of Rome. Around A.D. 325 the church historian Eusebius in
his History of the Church referred to Origen’s outlook on the authorship of Hebrews in book
6, chapter 25, section 14. As we read there: But as to who wrote the epistle [of
Hebrews], God knows the truth of the matter. Origen’s comment reflects how uncertain
he and many others were in his day. And most biblical scholars today concur. Only
God knows for certain who wrote this book. Unfortunately, questions about authorship and
the ways some heretical groups misused the book of Hebrews, led some people during the
patristic period to doubt if Hebrews should be included in the New Testament Canon. Of
course, notable scholars like Clement of Rome, who died sometime around A.D. 99, treated
Hebrews as equal to other New Testament books. And Justin Martyr, who lived from A.D. 100 to 165, did the same. But Hebrews was omitted from both
the Marcionite Canon, written around A.D. 144, and the Muratorian Canon, written around A.D.
170. By the end of the patristic period, however, the majority of influential interpreters in the
eastern and western church came to recognize Hebrews as part of the Canon. And they generally
agreed that the apostle Paul was the author. Throughout the medieval period, most leading
scholars continued to believe that Paul wrote Hebrews. But during the Reformation,
Protestant Reformers questioned many ecclesiastical traditions, including the
traditional view of Pauline authorship. Martin Luther suggested that Apollos was
the author. John Calvin didn’t suggest an alternative, but he insisted that the
book could not have come from Paul. Today, the majority of interpreters reject
Pauline authorship. We’ll touch on three reasons for this stance. First, as we’ve
already mentioned, this book is anonymous, and it was Paul’s practice to name himself in his
epistles. In fact, as 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 2 makes clear, Paul was deeply concerned
that forgeries had spread under his name. So, it seems unlikely that he would have failed
to identify himself had he written Hebrews. Second, the book of Hebrews emphasizes subjects
that don’t receive much, if any, attention in Paul’s letters. For instance, the author of
Hebrews mentioned Melchizedek three times. He drew attention to the Old Testament tabernacle. And he dealt at length with Christ
as the high priest. Taken together, these themes distinguish the book of Hebrews
from books that we know were written by Paul. Third, the strongest reason
for doubting Pauline authorship is the way the writer of Hebrews distanced himself
from the first generation of Jesus’ followers. Listen to the words of Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3: Notice here that the author of Hebrews mentioned
how salvation was “first announced by the Lord” — in other words, by Jesus himself — and
“was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” That is, the author and his audience had
the gospel verified for them by people who had heard Jesus directly. The author’s admission
that he received his Christian faith secondarily contrasts with passages like Galatians chapter
1 verses 1, 11 and 12, and 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23 where Paul insisted that he
received the gospel directly from Jesus. The short answer to the question, “Who wrote
the book of Hebrews?” is, we don’t know. We have some clues as to who he was. Down
throughout church history there have been numerous answers as to that question. So, for
many years the church thought Paul had written it. I think probably Paul didn’t write it
because there are differences between Hebrews and Paul’s letters. For instance,
Paul often... will always identify himself and then speak to the addressees of
the letter. Hebrews doesn’t do that. There are themes in Hebrews like Christ as
the High Priest that just don’t feature very much in Paul’s letters. So, Paul’s probably
not the writer. Other suggestions have been Barnabas or Apollos, — Martin Luther thought
maybe it was Apollos — Priscilla. And yet, we just don’t know. I think the most we can say is
that the writer of Hebrews was a second-generation believer. In chapter 2 he refers to those
who heard from Christ and then handed on what they had heard from Christ, so he seems to
be putting himself in that second generation. We’ve explored the authorship of the book of
Hebrews and seen that the author’s identity remains unknown. But we can still construct
something of a profile for the author. For the sake of time, we’ll point out just two
rather obvious features of the author’s life. In the first place, the author
of Hebrews was a Hellenistic Jew. Most scholars today agree
that Paul did not write Hebrews. In the end, though, it’s best to conclude
with Origen that only God really knows. Hebrews’ authorship has been debated throughout
the years, but this shouldn’t prevent us from learning as much as we can about the author
and his character from clues found in the text. We can see from the text that both Jewish and
Hellenistic influences shaped the author and his book. The author’s strong Jewish heritage is
evident in his knowledge of the Old Testament. In fact, he quoted the Old Testament
at least 31 times in his 13 chapters. It would also appear that the author
had a strong Hellenistic upbringing. In the past, interpreters pointed to the author’s
use of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, as evidence that he was a
Hellenistic Jew. In the second half of the last century, however, research into the Dead Sea
Scrolls has revealed that quotations initially assumed to be directly from the Septuagint, could
have come from non- traditional Hebrew texts. For this reason, we can’t be certain that
the author of Hebrews used the Septuagint. But despite this discovery, we can still
be confident that the author of Hebrews was Hellenistic. His sophisticated Greek offers
strong evidence of a Hellenistic upbringing. And his vocabulary and style give
evidence of a mastery of the language that even surpasses the writings of Luke. Not only was the author of
Hebrews a Hellenistic Jew, but we can also add to our profile
that he was a passionate intellectual. Interpreters widely acknowledge that the author
of Hebrews was an intellectual. The theological arguments in Hebrews are more complex than many
of those found in the rest of the New Testament. In fact, the author himself noted the priority
of sophisticated theological reflection in passages like Hebrews chapter 5
verses 13 and 14 where he indicated that to distinguish good from evil, followers
of Christ must become doctrinally mature. From the contents of the letter of
Hebrews, there are a number of things we can say about the author. One is that
he was brilliant. He knew the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
backward and forward. He knew how to link texts in ways that were very persuasive
to traditional Jewish audiences. Probably he was a Hellenistic Jewish author, probably
writing to a Hellenistic Jewish audience. When I say "Hellenistic Jewish," I mean
Greek-speaking and probably in the diaspora, but very committed to their Jewish traditions
and very knowledgeable in Scripture. Even though the author of Hebrews
should be considered an intellectual, he was not a cold, detached academic. He was
deeply passionate about the Christian faith. His devotion and passion for his fellow
Christians is evident in his writing. Listen to the way he empathized with his
audience in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 33 and 34: In a similar way, in chapter 12 verses 1 and 2
he showed his passion for Christ when he said: It’s difficult to read these and similar
passages without realizing that this author was hardly an impersonal scholar. He was
passionate about his audience and Christ. If we miss this passion, we miss one
of the book’s most prominent features. What we also learn about the author is that
he was really concerned about the people he was preaching to and writing for. He was
concerned about their spiritual apathy, and so he comes back again and again to the danger
of becoming weak or tired, or even apostasized. And so, he was certainly a superb theologian
and interpreter of Scripture, but at the same time he was a person who knew his audience very
well, evidently personally very well. He really cared about them and was marshaling
everything that he could in terms of theology, interpretation of Scripture and application
to help them in their spiritual pilgrimage. So far in our discussion of the background
of the book of Hebrews we’ve focused on the book’s authorship. Now we should turn to our
second issue: Hebrews’ original audience. The book of Hebrews doesn’t clearly identify
its audience by name, city or region. Still, in general terms, we can be confident that
the author wrote to a specific audience with whom he was personally familiar. In chapter 13
verses 19 through 24, the author assured his audience of his intent to visit them again. He
spoke of Timothy, whom he called “our brother,” and he also mentioned a group of people from
Italy that his audience apparently knew. We’ll look at five important
factors about this original audience that we should consider
as we study the book of Hebrews. First, there’s reason to think that at least a
good portion of the original audience was Jewish. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 makes this clear: Here, the author referred to how
God had revealed himself to Israel in the Old Testament. But notice how
he called Old Testament Israelites “our forefathers” — the ancestors
of the author and his audience. It’s no wonder, that from as early as the time of
Tertullian, who lived from about A.D. 155 to 230, the traditional title attached to this book
has been “Pros Hebraious,” “For the Hebrews.” Second, it’s also likely that the
audience was in large part Hellenistic. The content of Hebrews indicates that the
audience was familiar with theological teachings that were more common among
Jews living outside of Palestine than among more traditional
Jewish circles within Palestine. A number of interpreters have tried to determine
where the audience may have lived outside of Palestine. The fact that the first epistle of
Clement of Rome referred to the book as early as A.D. 95 has led some to suggest that the
audience was in Rome. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 24 has been used to support this point of view
because it mentions “those from Italy.” These suggestions are interesting, but the most we
can say, with any degree of confidence, is that the original audience consisted in large part of
Hellenistic Jews who lived outside of Palestine. Third, the original audience
of Hebrews was immature. Listen to the way the author described
them in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12: Notice that the audience had been
believers long enough for the author to say “by this time you ought to be teachers.” They
should have made great doctrinal progress. But as the author noted, they needed to be taught “the
elementary truths of God’s word all over again.” Interestingly enough, even though the audience
was theologically immature, the book of Hebrews contains some of the most advanced, sophisticated
theological teachings in the entire New Testament. How do these features of the book fit
with the immaturity of the audience? The best way to make sense of
this situation is to keep in mind that early Christians adopted a common
practice used in first century synagogues. We learn from passages like
Luke chapter 4 verse 16, Acts chapter 13 verse 15, and 1 Timothy
chapter 4 verse 13 that leaders of synagogues and Christian churches supervised the reading and
explanation of Scriptures to their congregations. So, the author of Hebrews wrote some of the most
theologically sophisticated New Testament writings because he expected church leaders to
teach his book to their congregants. Now, in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 11, the
writer of Hebrews reprimanded his audience for being “slow to learn.” So, it’s quite possible
that the larger portion of the original audience remained theologically immature because
they didn’t properly respect their leaders. This suggestion is confirmed by Hebrews chapter
13 verse 17 where the author told his audience: Fourth, the original audience
of Hebrews was persecuted. There were two well- known times of
persecution for Christians during the first century A.D. that may have
impacted Hebrews’ original audience, at least indirectly. In A.D. 49, the Roman Emperor
Claudius expelled Jews from the city of Rome. And around A.D. 64, Emperor Nero persecuted
Christians in the vicinity of Rome. As we read through the book of Hebrews, it
becomes evident that the original audience had already faced persecution in the past, some
of them were suffering in the present, and the author’s expectation was that more of them would
suffer, perhaps even more severely, in the future. In chapter 10 verses 32 through
35, the author drew attention to the suffering that at least some in the
audience had experienced in the past: Here we see that the author praised his audience
for their strength when they were persecuted in “those earlier days after [they] had [first]
received the light.” But he also encouraged them not to “throw away [their] confidence.” The Greek
term translated “confidence” here is parrēsia, which in many contexts means “courage,”
“boldness,” or “fearlessness” in the presence of dignitaries. This word choice suggests
that the audience was facing public or official persecution of some sort, and
they were tempted to lose their boldness. In chapter 13 verse 3 the author also referred
directly to present persecutions when he said: We can see from this verse that the author
exhorted his audience to “remember those in prison as if [they] were their fellow prisoners.” And to
remember those “mistreated as if [they themselves] were suffering.” It’s clear that not all of
his audience’s persecution was in the past. In addition to persecution in
the past and in the present, the author of Hebrews acknowledged in chapter
12 verses 3 and 4 that his audience was facing the threat of more persecution in the
future. Listen to this exhortation: As this passage indicates, the author expected
more persecutions to come against his audience, and he was deeply concerned with
this feature of their experience. The original audience of Hebrews faced a number
of issues... as the author mentions in chapter 10, they had faced various forms of suffering; some
of them had lost property, some of them had been imprisoned, they’d been subjected to public
ridicule of some sort. And he still is urging the readers at this point, as he writes, to be
willing to bear the reproach of Christ to face exclusion from the camp, which he’s describing
in Old Testament terms but probably means to be excluded from the synagogue, and if they were to
go to Jerusalem, to be excluded from the temple, which I believe was still standing as
he wrote. So there are those forms of persecution they were facing. He says in
chapter 12 that their sufferings had not escalated to the point of shedding blood, and yet
he seems to be aware of their need to be assured that they have been set free from the fear of
death, as he says in chapter 2, by the victory of Jesus Christ. So, it may be that even a more
intense, violent persecution is on the horizon. Fifth, as the audience of Hebrews faced
persecution, at least some of them were near apostasy. Rather than simply being
discouraged or weakened by sufferings, they were in danger of turning
away from Christ entirely. For instance, in Hebrews chapter 10
verses 26 and 27 we read this warning: We need to be clear here that
the author of Hebrews was not concerned about peccadillos or
small sins. He warned his audience severely because for those who utterly turn away
from Christ, “no sacrifice for sins is left.” When people reject the Christian faith, like
some in the original audience of Hebrews were tempted to do, they prove that they never had
faith that saves. And for this reason, they can only have “a fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire” reserved for “the enemies of God.” As we’ll explain in our next lesson, this
and similar passages don’t imply that true believers can lose their salvation. Rather,
this verse refers to those who profess faith and experience many of its blessings, but without
regeneration and justification. In all events, it’s evident that some in the original audience
of Hebrews were sorely tempted to leave the faith. Now that we’ve investigated the background of
Hebrews by considering the book’s authorship and the original audience, we
should turn to our third issue: the date when the book of Hebrews was written. Although the exact date for
Hebrews remains uncertain, the earliest and latest dates for this book can be
established rather firmly. We’ll look first at the earliest possible date for the book, or "terminus
a quo," and then at the latest possible date, or "terminus ad quem." Both of these dates can
be determined with some degree of confidence using scriptural and historical evidence. On the one side, Hebrews chapter 13 verse 23 helps
confirm the earliest possible date for the book. In this verse the author wrote: Here we see that “Timothy [had]
been released” recently from prison. We don’t hear of Timothy’s imprisonment
anywhere else in the New Testament. In fact, in the book of 2 Timothy, Paul’s
last letter written shortly before his death, Timothy was free to travel and bring Paul
supplies. Yet, this verse tells us that by the time Hebrews was written Timothy had been
imprisoned and released. For this reason, the book of Hebrews must have been written after Paul’s
death, which took place sometime around A.D. 65. On the other side, the latest likely date for
the book would be around A.D. 95 shortly before Clement of Rome referred to the book
of Hebrews in his letter, 1 Clement. In addition, many commentators have observed that, in passages like Hebrews chapter 5 verses 1
through 3, the author used the present tense to describe the sacrificial duties of the high
priest. This is important because in the rest of his book the author consistently used the
Greek past tense when referring to past events. So, it’s likely that these priestly activities
were still going on when Hebrews was written. Also, in chapter 8 verse 13 the author
encouraged his audience not to turn back to the “obsolete” sacrificial practices
established by God’s covenant with Moses. He explained that in light of the new covenant,
these practices would “soon disappear.” We know that the high priest’s activities, and
the Levitical sacrificial system as a whole, came to an end in A.D. 70 when the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. So, these evidences suggest a date for Hebrews
sometime after Paul’s death around A.D. 65 and before the destruction
of the temple in A.D. 70. In our lesson on the background
and purpose of Hebrews, we’ve looked at several features of the
background of the book of Hebrews. Now, we’re in a position to address the overarching
purpose of the book. Why was Hebrews written? It’s fair to say that any book as long and complex
as the book of Hebrews is written with many different purposes in mind. But for this lesson,
we're primarily interested in summarizing the overarching purpose of the book. Each
part of this book has its own emphases, and we’ll explore these emphases in our next
lesson. At this point, we want to see how the book as a whole was designed to impact the concepts,
behaviors and emotions of the original audience. Interpreters have summarized the overarching
purpose of the book of Hebrews in a variety of ways. But for this study, we’ll describe
the original purpose of Hebrews in this way: The author of Hebrews wrote to exhort his
audience to reject local Jewish teachings and to remain faithful to Jesus. This description of the author’s purpose helps orient us to the main ideas
found in the book of Hebrews. As we’ve just suggested, the author of
Hebrews wrote to exhort his audience. Listen to the way the author himself
characterized his book in chapter 13 verse 22: Notice here that the writer “urge[d]” his audience
to receive his book as a “word of exhortation.” The words “I urge” derive from the Greek verb "parakaleō," the verbal form of the Greek noun
translated “exhortation” in the same sentence. The terminology of exhortation implies “to
summon to the speaker’s side” or “to call for someone to take the speaker’s point
of view.” The same expression is used to describe John the Baptist’s urgent, persuasive
call for repentance in Luke chapter 3 verse 18. Interestingly, the phrase “word of exhortation”
also appears in Acts chapter 13 verse 15 where the men of the synagogue in Pisidian
Antioch invited Paul and his companions to give “a message of encouragement” after the
reading of Scripture. It’s quite possible that the expression “word” —
or message — “of exhortation” was a first-century technical designation
for what we call a sermon today. Well, the author identifies his work as a word
of exhortation — this is in 13:22 — and what this means is that Hebrews is an exhortation; it’s like
a sermon. And so the use of rhetoric is basically a tool for persuading the audience to be faithful
in their commitment to Jesus as the Son of God and as their Lord and Savior. So, the rhetoric in
the letter of Hebrews, or the homily of Hebrews, allows the author to elaborate on themes, to
exegete Jewish Scriptures — that is, interpret Jewish Scriptures in a way that is meaningful
— and then present it in a very forceful way so that the audience understand clearly what the
author wants him to do, wants them to do. He wants them to adhere to the salvation that Christ has
offered to them, that God has offered in Christ. Every epistle or letter in
the New Testament contains exhortations to its audience. But
the book of Hebrews stands apart from other New Testament epistles due
to the intensity of its exhortations. To explore the author’s purpose, let’s look more
closely at the intensity of the exhortations that are so prominent in the book. And then,
we’ll examine the goal of these exhortations, how the author hoped his audience would respond. Let’s look first at the intensity of the
author’s exhortations to his audience. To look further at what we mean by the intensity
of the author’s exhortations, we’ll look at two issues: first, the frequency of exhortations in
the book, and second, the author’s rhetorical style associated with his exhortations. Let’s
begin by examining the frequency of exhortations. The frequency of the author’s exhortations
helps us understand the urgency of his message. These exhortations are implicit at times,
but at least 30 times they appear explicitly. On many occasions, the author used what Greek
grammarians call the “hortatory subjunctive.” These verbal forms urge or implore and are
often translated “let us” do this or that. For instance, in chapter 4 verses 14
and 16 we read two such exhortations: The author also exhorted his audience by using
imperatives, which we often translate as direct orders. For example, in chapter 12 verses 12
through 16 we read this series of exhortations: One of the reasons it’s important to keep
in mind how often the author directly exhorted his audience is that the book’s complex
theological reflections often obscure the author’s purpose for writing. He didn’t simply want to
inform his audience of theological doctrines. He informed them doctrinally in order to persuade
them to adopt different attitudes and actions. This is what he meant when he called
his book a “word of exhortation.” If we don’t keep this urgency in mind, we’ll
miss a crucial dimension of the book of Hebrews. We’ve seen how the intensity
of the author’s exhortations is reflected in the frequency with
which he exhorted his audience. Now, let’s consider how the author’s rhetorical style
also reveals his desire to exhort his audience. The book of Hebrews has often been
characterized as highly rhetorical. By this we mean that it employs many literary
devices that were associated with persuasive oratory or urgent debate in the first century.
Many of these rhetorical devices appear now and then in other New Testament books, but
we find them far more often in Hebrews. Hebrews is probably the best example in the New
Testament of an author who has strong literary and rhetorical skills, and those rhetorical skills
really help to accomplish the author’s purpose. He’s trying to demonstrate the superiority
of Christ and the new covenant over the old covenant, and he does so in part with a very
convincing strong literary argument. And he uses lots of different structural features to
accomplish that... So, beautifully structured, using rhetoric to draw his readers in, and then
to convince them of the argument that he’s making. One rhetorical device, called synkrisis in
Greek, is a detailed comparison between two or more things designed to convince audiences
to affirm the speaker’s point of view. For example, "synkrisis" appears in the book of
Hebrews in chapter 7 verses 11 through 28. There, the author argued that Jesus was a royal priest
like Melchizedek, a priest and king mentioned in the book of Genesis. But rather than simply
asserting his belief, the author of Hebrews gave his audience a compelling, eight-point comparison
between Melchizedek and Christ: their parentage, genealogy, birth, death, office, actions, status
and achievements. These detailed comparisons were designed to settle all doubts about the
claim that Jesus is the great, royal High Priest. Another rhetorical device in the book of
Hebrews is known as exempla. Exempla are lists of illustrations or examples that follow one
after the other to build a persuasive argument for a particular point of view. This oratorical
technique appears in the familiar list of the faithful in Hebrews chapter 11. There the
author listed by name: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses,
the Israelites, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.
This long list was designed to persuade the audience that servants of God should remain
faithful throughout their persecution. A third rhetorical device used by the
author of Hebrews is known by the Hebrew expression "qol wahomer." This expression is
well known from both Greco-Roman and rabbinical traditions and may be translated “light to heavy,”
“less to great,” or “simple to complex.” This type of argumentation begins with a simple premise that
isn’t disputed by the audience. It then builds to a more complex conclusion that the audience
initially doubts, but can now more easily accept. Simply put, this argument says that
because the simple premise is true, then surely the more difficult
conclusion must also be true. Listen to the way this rhetorical device
appears in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 28 and 29: Here the author began with a premise
that the audience understood: the punishment for those who rejected the
law of Moses was death. Then he pressed his audience further by arguing “how
much more” punishment should come to those who “trampled ... under foot” one
greater than Moses — “the Son of God.” These examples help us see the urgency of the
author’s intentions. He was convinced that his audience faced a very serious situation and
that it was time for them to make some very difficult decisions. So, he did all he could to
urge and persuade them to make the right choices. Now that we’ve seen how the author’s purpose was
strengthened by the intensity of his exhortations, we should turn to a second feature of
the book: the goal of these exhortations. We saw earlier that the overarching purpose of
the book of Hebrews can be defined in this way: The author of Hebrews wrote to
exhort his audience to reject local Jewish teachings and
to remain faithful to Jesus. As this definition affirms, the goal of the
author’s exhortations was twofold. He wanted his audience to reject local Jewish teachings and
he wanted them also to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah. Let’s consider how the author urged
his audience to reject local Jewish teachings. We’ve noted that the audience of Hebrews had
suffered persecution and that this persecution was tempting them toward apostasy. But this
temptation was not what we might first imagine. It seems that at the time Hebrews
was written, Christians could find safety from persecution if they rejected
their distinctively Christian beliefs and identified more closely with
their local Jewish community. In the first century, Jews often had to pay
special taxes, and they suffered persecution from time to time. But often, Jewish communities
in the Roman Empire were free to observe their faith. Early on, the same was true for Christians
because they were closely identified with Judaism. But as time passed, Christian identification as a
Jewish sect began to disappear. In fact, the book of Acts reports that even in the days of Paul,
Jewish synagogues rejected followers of Christ and encouraged local authorities to mistreat them.
In all likelihood, this was the kind of situation facing the original audience of Hebrews. And
their prolonged sufferings tempted them to accept teachings in their local Jewish community
that were contrary to the Christian faith. Interestingly, the author of Hebrews
didn’t address the sorts of issues normally associated with
Jewish hypocrisy and legalism. As crucial as these matters were, they’re
not a major concern in the book of Hebrews. Rather, the author dealt primarily with erroneous
beliefs and practices, specifically those that developed in Jewish communities outside
the mainstream of Palestinian Judaism. Listen to what the author of Hebrews
wrote in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 9: In this verse, the author contrasted
being “strengthened by grace” with being strengthened “by ceremonial foods.”
This specific focus sounds familiar enough. But notice also that this was just one example of
what he called “all kinds of strange teachings.” In other words, unusual or strange teachings
taught by local Jewish communities. So, what were these “strange teachings”
that the audience was tempted to follow? In the second half of the last century, a
number of helpful insights into this question came to light with the discovery
of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. This long- lost collection of documents included
Old Testament texts, but also extra-biblical writings that represented the distinctive
teachings of a disenfranchised Jewish community living near the Dead Sea. It contained books like
The Rule of the Community, The Damascus Covenant, the War Scroll, The Midrash on Melchizedek,
as well as sections of 1 Enoch called “The Book of the Watchers” and “The Book
of Dreams”. These books have a number of teachings that closely parallel the
theological issues addressed in Hebrews. Now, it’s important to note that these
teachings were not exclusive to this community. Other Jewish groups in the Mediterranean
world held to similar views. In ffact, the books of Ephesians and Colossians
deal with comparable issues in their locations. Yet, it will help us understand many of Hebrews’
exhortations against local Jewish beliefs if we note some of the similar subjects found
in both Hebrews and the books found at Qumran. The Dead Sea Scrolls are fascinating documents
found, of course, in the desert in Qumran, and they are the works of a radical Jewish
sect who defined themselves over and against the Jewish mainstream, particularly the temple
complex. And so, somewhat analogously to the book of Hebrews, the sectarians at Qumran
seem to have regarded themselves as a new temple under a new covenant. Now, there are
just as many dissimilarities particularly because some of the more ritual aspects of the old
covenant, the Qumran group really wanted to revitalize those rather than let them obsolesce
in the way that the writer of Hebrews suggests. For this lesson, we’ll briefly mention just
four topics found in both the book of Hebrews and the documents at Qumran. In the first place, we’ve already noted
that in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 9, the author spoke against a particular
example of eating ceremonial foods. Many practices at Qumran are described in
the book entitled The Rule of the Community. Among many other things, the community at
Qumran regularly held sacred communal meals in which they ate specially consecrated food. In the second place, an
assortment of basic teachings addressed in the book of Hebrews
also appears in texts at Qumran. For instance, in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1
and 2, the author mentioned repentance, faith, cleansing rites (or baptisms), laying on of hands,
resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. Interestingly enough, The Rule of the
Community and the War Scroll at Qumran give a great deal of attention
to these and similar matters in ways that differed from the
mainstream of Palestinian Judaism. In the third place, the literature at Qumran
helps us understand the focus on angels in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews addressed
beliefs about angels in a number of passages. This focus was in response to the kinds
of beliefs that were similar to teachings in books like The Rule of the Community,
The Damascus Covenant, and the War Scroll, as well as the sections of 1 Enoch called “The
Book of the Watchers” and “The Book of Dreams.” These books extolled the powers of good and
evil angels, their roles as messengers of divine revelation, and the influence
they had on inferior human beings. Apparently, the original audience of Hebrews had
become attracted to these kinds of teachings. In the fourth place, the documents at
Qumran help us understand the unusual interest that the author of Hebrews had in
the Old Testament character Melchizedek. For the longest time, interpreters
had difficulty explaining why the comparisons between Melchizedek and Jesus
were so important to the author of Hebrews. But one text found at Qumran, often called
11QMelchizedek or The Midrash on Melchizedek, falsely taught that Melchizedek was a heavenly
figure who was going to appear in the last days to proclaim the Day of Atonement and make final
atonement for God’s people. From all appearances, the original audience of Hebrews was tempted
to hold these or similar false beliefs. Identifying the kinds of false teachings
that circulated within Jewish communities helps us to understand why the author
of Hebrews exhorted his audience to resist these teachings
and remain faithful to Jesus. There’s a number of interesting parallels
between the teaching of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the teaching in Hebrews. The most significant
would be perhaps that both communities recognized that they were, or believed they were, living
in the end times, that God's final salvation was about to take place. Of course, the difference
is in Hebrews we see that God's salvation has arrived, whereas at Qumran — or the Dead Sea
Scrolls — they’re expecting it to happen at any time. But perhaps the most interesting comparison
between the two is the role of the figure of Melchizedek. Melchizedek, of course, in Hebrews,
the author develops this theology of Melchizedek as Jesus' high priesthood is not according to
the order of Aaron, not the traditional Old Testament one, but according to the order
of Melchizedek, because we see Melchizedek was a legitimate high priest who met
Abraham in the book of Genesis — and so, this Melchizedek comparison. Well, in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, there is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls — known as 11Q Melchizedek
because it was discovered in cave 11 of the Dead Sea Scrolls — portrays a figure,
this Melchizedek, as a mighty heavenly, glorious, Messiah-like figure who brings salvation. So,
it’s an interesting comparison since, of course, Melchizedek is a type of Christ in the book of
Hebrews, that in the Dead Sea Scrolls he becomes a messianic figure. And so scholars puzzle over
this relationship between the Melchizedek figure in Hebrews and Melchizedek as he appears in
the Dead Sea Scrolls. Interesting comparison. The goal of Hebrews’ exhortations was not only
to urge the audience to reject the local Jewish teachings. Even more, the author wanted them
to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah. To accomplish the goal of calling his
audience to faithful service to Jesus, the author of Hebrews organized his
exhortations into five major divisions. We’ll look in some detail at each of
these divisions in our next lesson. But at this point it will help to
summarize the central issues in each. In Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter
2 verse 18, the author of Hebrews called on his audience to affirm the supremacy
of Christ over angelic revelations. We mentioned earlier in this lesson that the
book of Hebrews spoke against false beliefs about angels. A number of Jewish writings often
exalted angels as powerful, glorious creatures who brought divine revelations to inferior human
beings. This honor for angels raised a serious challenge against those who followed Christ.
Jesus was flesh and blood. How then could anyone follow what he said instead of the revelations
of angels? The author of Hebrews responded to this local Jewish teaching by demonstrating
from the Old Testament, and from Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return in
glory, that he is actually superior to the angels. The second major division of Hebrews, in
chapter 3 verse 1 through chapter 4 verse 13, demonstrates that Jesus is to
be held above Moses’ authority. It was obvious to everyone that followers of
Jesus were not observing the sacrificial services God had ordained through Moses. The local Jewish
community called for Christians to return to Moses and his ways. The author of Hebrews responded by
affirming that Moses was God’s faithful servant. But Jesus was even greater
because he was God’s royal Son. After dealing with angels and
Moses, the author of Hebrews turned to Melchizedek’s priesthood in chapter
4 verse 14 through chapter 7 verse 28. In this division, the author argued that Jesus
was the supreme Royal Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Apparently, the local Jewish
community wanted the original audience to reject Jesus as the Messiah because of their beliefs
about the appearance of Melchizedek as the great royal high priest in the last days. In response,
the author of Hebrews demonstrated that Jesus was the true Royal Priest who appeared in the
last days to provide eternal atonement for sin. In chapter 8 verse 1 through chapter 11 verse
40, the author of Hebrews explained the supremacy of the new covenant in Jesus. The teachings
of the local Jewish community raised doubts about the Christian claim that Jesus had come to
mediate the new covenant promised by Jeremiah. But the author of Hebrews pointed out that Jesus
is, in fact, the mediator of the new covenant. In the last major division, in chapter 12 verse 1
through chapter 13 verse 25, the book of Hebrews elaborates on a number of ways that the audience
needed to exercise practical perseverance. This division consists of a long series of
exhortations, as well as explanations for these exhortations. In light of so many challenges
to their faith from the local Jewish community and elsewhere, the author wrote to inspire and
energize his audience. He exhorted them to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah by reminding
them of God’s promises and blessings in Jesus. By his many exhortations, the writer to the
Hebrews, to put it positively, is encouraging his readers to persevere. And some of his language is
very gentle, entreating, encouraging, but some of it is, quite frankly, blisteringly frightening.
That starts as early as Hebrews 2 — "If Old Testament saints fell away, how much more
dangerous is it if we, who are the heirs of the new covenant, who do know the Lord Jesus, ignore
the great salvation that has been provided to us?" And that sort of a fortiori argument, “If this,
then how much more that,” keeps showing up again and again in the book. And then there are two
passages that are often referred to as “apostasy passages” in Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 that warn
against the danger of those who have professed profound faith in Christ — and apparently
followed for some time — falling away. And so, even in reading the Old Testament narrative, as
in the end of Hebrews 3, the author says, don’t be like the Old Testament saints who were rescued
from Egypt and escaped slavery but never did get into the Promised Land precisely because they
didn’t persevere. They fell away in the desert. A whole generation was wiped out more or less.
And, those are the sorts of pastoral parallels that show that his incentive to encouragement is
not merely soft or cuddly, that there is warmth and encouragement and holding up the glories of
Christ so as to be drawn to him. But there is also threat and warning that this is serious business
and you don’t want to play around with it. In this lesson on the background
and purpose of Hebrews, we’ve looked at the background of the
book of Hebrews, including the author, the audience and the date of composition. We’ve
also focused on the original purpose of Hebrews by examining how the author wrote his
book to exhort his audience to turn from local Jewish teachings and to reaffirm
their loyalty to Jesus as the Messiah. The book of Hebrews is one of the most challenging
books of the New Testament. It offers so much that we may never uncover more than a small portion
of what it teaches. Yet, we can benefit in many ways from these complex teachings. As modern
followers of Christ, we also face temptations to avoid troubles in this life by compromising our
commitments to Jesus. But if we’ll open our hearts to hear how the author of Hebrews urgently
exhorted his original audience, we’ll see how crucial it is that we stand strong in our
faith, no matter what opposition we may face.
