Introduction

We begin a new series on the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews is an epistle which exalts Jesus Christ, who is superior to Israel’s prophets, superior to the angels, superior to Moses, superior to Aaron and the priests of Israel, and because of whom, life in the new covenant is vastly superior to that under the old.

John Calvin contends that the purpose of this epistle is to explain the offices of Jesus Christ and demonstrate how Jesus has fulfilled all the ceremonies and obligations of the Jewish law. As we will see, this is an epistle which was written to Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, some of whom were abandoning their Christian faith and returning to Judaism. The epistle speaks powerfully to us today. There are people all around us who have professed to believe that Jesus is the Christ, but who eventually give up their profession of faith and embrace the pagan religious impulse of our age, “spirituality.” The Book of Hebrews warns of the danger of doing so.

There are also people in our churches who believe all the right things on an intellectual level, but who never do seem to put their profession of faith into action. What is in their heads never makes its way into their hearts. There are also those who for a time profess the doctrine of justification sola fide, but who later abandon that confession and convert to Romanism or Orthodoxy and trust in their own good works or religious ceremonies to deliver them on the day of judgment. The Epistle to the Hebrews is both a warning and an exhortation to all of us not to abandon our faith in Jesus Christ. Not only is Jesus vastly superior to anything or anyone else we might imagine, but to walk away from him is to risk facing his judgment.

Hebrews Explains How We Are to Understand the Old Testament

It is important to keep the big picture before us, so that we don’t bog down in the details as we proceed. Hebrews is not an easy book to study because it presupposes that its reader is quite familiar the Old Testament. Yet because Hebrews is so thoroughly grounded in the Old Testament, it is a vital book for us to know and study since this epistle explains to us how we are to understand the Old Testament. Hebrews is also direct and pointed in its language and its rather stern warnings need to be applied to the right people in the right ways. The bruised reeds and smoldering wicks among us need to encouraged by the fact that struggling with sin as well as doubting assurance of one’s salvation is not something which characterizes apostasy–a theme which is addressed in this letter. Apostates (those who fall away) give up on their profession in Christ–they don’t worry about not having assurance of their salvation nor do they fear the wrath of God. Therefore, we need to understand the nature of the warnings we find here and then heed them.

In addressing the superiority of Jesus, the author sets forth the uniqueness of our Lord as the Son of God, who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. But Christ’s deity is not discussed in the abstract, but in the context of his role as the mediator of a new and better covenant, a covenant which was foretold by all of Israel’s prophets (especially Jeremiah). Christ’s work as mediator between sinful people and the holy God is one in which he represents us before our heavenly Father, but also ties together the rich redemptive themes of priesthood, sacrifice, and covenant–all of which are prominent in this epistle.

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