The New Testament in 90 Days

Like when I hear a good sermon (even though Hebrews is a letter, not a sermon), when I read this section of Hebrews, I sense that we are coming to the peak, the climax, the mountain, of the letter.  Here is where everything is leading, the encouraging and exhorting, the theological arguments for the superiority of Jesus as high priest and sacrifice.  Here we can sense so much the letter writer's desire that the people not give up, not turn away from their faith, even though (it seems) the times are tough and they are not seeing much evidence for the truth of their faith. By faith.  What is faith?  Generations of Christians have used this definition:  "The substance of things hoped for."  We believe in this we do not see, but we believe that they are coming, and we live differently because of it.  But there are things that we do know and have seen and heard about, and they give substance to our faith and our lives. The author of Hebrews recites a wh...

That is what the author of Hebrews also calls Jesus:  the better sacrifice.  He intentionally sets Jesus up against the priests of the old covenant, and the sacrifices of the old covenant, and declares Jesus to be better, more effective, good Forever.  Because he is perfect (unlike any other priest), he is able to save completely, because he died and rose and is now seated at God's right hand, he is able to intercede continually for us.  That is one of his jobs. And this kind of priest, and this kind of covenant was foretold by Jeremiah, who wrote, "Look, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.  I will place their laws on their minds, and write them on their hearts...."  So God always intended for this old covenant to become real. Some people think that this letter is written to Jewish Christians, who were considering abandoning their new faith, and returning to pre-messianic Judaism.  Sometimes the rhetoric ma...

Next, the writer of Hebrews points out Jesus as a high priest:  and not just any high priest, but a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek."  What does that mean?  Melchizedek is a sort of shadowy figure from the book of Genesis, who appears mysteriously to bless Abraham, and then disappears again.  He is not apart of the formal line of priests.  He is prior to the levitical priesthood.  In fact, he does not even appear to be an Israelite.  But he is unique, like Jesus. The other priests -- they were good, make no mistake.  But they had flaws.  There were many of them.  There had to be many of them.  They all died, but Jesus continues for all time as our priest.  As well, unlike the other priests, Jesus is blameless.  He does not have to worry about his own sins or his own standing before God.  He fully sympathizes with our weaknesses, but he himself has been made perfect. Jesus is a priest, our high priest, ...

The anonymous writer of Hebrews begins chapter three by comparing Jesus to Moses -- except Jesus is MORE worth of praise, more worthy of following.    Moses is the house, and Jesus is the builder of the house.  But now, we are God's house, the whole church, and Jesus is the one who has built us and is also our firm foundation. So, the writer continues, it's important that we hold fast to the covenant, don't get discouraged, don't harden our hearts.  He (or she?) reminds them of the story of the Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, and the promise of sabbath rest.  But there's more to the story than meets the eye.  Sabbath rest is about a literal rest from labors once a week, but it's more than that:  it's about entering God's rest, it's about trusting the faithfulness of God, whether in the wilderness or the promised land. So ultimately Jesus is God's sabbath rest -- the One who trusted God perfectly also offers us a Sabbath rest when we tr...

We don't know much about Hebrews. We don't know who wrote it (very long ago it was ascribed to Paul, but his name is never mentioned in the greeting.  In fact, there isn't a greeting at the beginning, although there are some final greetings at the end.)  We don't know who it was written to, despite the fact that the title says it was written to "the Hebrews."  (Some people think perhaps it was written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem; others disagree.) We're not sure when it was written, either. Some people even think it wasn't a letter, actually, but a sermon, an idea which sort of intrigues me.  I am also intrigues by the idea that perhaps Apollos wrote it, or even Aquila or Priscilla.  But don't mind me, I'm also the one who thinks that Lazarus could have been the "Beloved Disciple." Whatever else it is, Hebrews is a hymn of praise to Jesus.  The mysterious author makes the case for the uniques of Jesus as Savior and Son o...