Homilies from Hebrews
Hebrews 1:1-2
Introduction.
The title of this series of lessons is “Homilies from Hebrews.”
I’ll be honest, these won’t really be homilies.
Homilies are short, uplifting sermons, almost like a devotional.
But I wanted to keep up the alliteration.
After all the last series was call Leviticus Lessons.
Just as with that series, we will start with an introductory lesson.
Ted Wheeler gave some interesting thoughts on this epistle.
He states that it begins as an essay, progresses as sermon, and ends as a letter.
Reading this first verse, you might not think a sermon would begin this way.
You might think an article would start this way, however.
And as the letter progresses, we see the emphasis that the writer places on certain things, urging them to act—just as a sermon would.
It ends, however, with the typical ending of letters, “Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you” (Heb. 13:24).
In any event, it is an interesting letter.
The reason for studying it.
Just because it’s interesting is not a compelling reason for studying it—at least not to me.
But since we have just finished looking at Leviticus and the OT Law, you might have noticed that, when we were considering the application, that the book we cited most often was Hebrews.
That’s because Hebrews could be described as the Leviticus of the NT.
It proves without a shadow of a doubt that Christianity is far superior to the Jewish system.
While the OT Law was great for a particular people in a particular time, the NT Law is for all men everywhere—it must be better.
And that is one of the themes of Hebrews: “better.”
Preview.
Who (Author and Audience).
Why (Purpose and Themes).
What (Brief Overview).
Body.
Who?
Author.
There are some brothers who will fight you over who wrote Hebrews.
But the truth of the matter is, we don’t know.
The odds-on favorite is the Apostle Paul.
But Paul usually addresses his letters, and this one has no identification whatsoever on its author.
Even those letters that don’t directly identify its author have some tradition or internal evidence that plainly identifies who it is (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, 1-3 John).
Hebrews is different.
Some internal evidence suggests it is Paul (a connection to Timothy—Heb. 13:23), while other evidence suggests otherwise (not an eyewitness—Heb 2:1-3).
Of course there are arguments for both, but I don’t want to get bogged down in it.
What we know is that, no matter who the writer was, the Holy Spirit was its Author.
Audience.
As the title suggests, the primary audience was the Hebrews.
There is no indication exactly where this was, but based on much of the content, I think it is safe to say the original readers were Jewish Christians.
The book is steeped in OT parallels and references that would not have meant much to Gentile Christians.
And it’s why we’ll be looking at it in the coming weeks, to compare the OT system to the NT.
This goes to the purpose.
Why?
Purpose.
Before I get into this, I want to get personal for a second.
Is living the Christian life hard? Is it difficult for us to live as a Christian in this world today?
Well, yes, it is. We have so many different influences dragging us in every single direction but the right one.
Imagine how much more difficult it was back then.
Especially for Jewish Christians, they had societal and familial pressures urging them to go back into Judaism.
They were so strong that it was difficult to resist them.
That’s not even considering the persecution or the imminent persecution that they were facing.
The writer says they were “drifting” (Heb. 2:1), “disobeying” (Heb. 3:12ff), and “disengaging” (Heb. 5:11ff), and showing “disrespect” for the Lord (Heb. 10:26-29).
The purpose of this book was to encourage them that they are now in a far better place than they were following the Law of Moses.
And we, too, are in a far better place than we were before we became a Christian.
It may not always seem like it, but I know this to be true, without a shadow of a doubt.
Theme.
As we have stated, the theme (really a key word) of this book is “Better.”
So that theme could be worded: “Christ is Better.”
Better is a comparative word only when considering two options.
If we had three, we could no doubt use the superlative “best.”
Of course, this is comparing the Old Covenant system to that of the New, and in that sense it most certainly is better.
But given every other religious system in the world, given every other ideology and philosophy, the best one is right here, in Christ.
Stick it out, see it through, come what may.
That’s what the writer here is getting at.
Be steadfast, despite the hardships, struggles, and persecutions you might be facing, for this is truly a better system, and the rewards far outweigh the pitfalls.
And I hope to encourage you with this series that this is very much the case.
What?
Since the theme has been set (“Christ is Better”), let us break down the book with this theme in mind.
Themes for each chapter or section:
Christ is Better Than the Angels (1:4).
Christ Offers a Better Salvation (2:3).
Christ is Better Than Moses (3:3).
Christ Offers a Better Rest (4:9).
Christ is a Better High Priest (4:15).
Christ Offers a Better Hope (6:19).
Christ Has a Better Priesthood (7:11).
Christ Has a Better Covenant (8:6).
Christ Was a Better Sacrifice (10:12).
Christ Offers a Better Country (11:16).
Christ Has a Better Kingdom (12:28).
Christ Has a Better Doctrine (13:9).
Conclusion.
I look forward to this study with you.
We are going to cover so much in this.
I’m glad we now have a background in Leviticus to better appreciate the system we are under today.
If the Christian system really is the best system that’s out there, shouldn’t you be a part of it?