#40 Hebrews

New Testament Overviews
Written By Logan Lancour

Background Information

Because the author of Hebrews is unknown, it can only be said that the Epistle is the work of “one of the [greatest] theologians of the New Testament.”1 While it is unclear to whom this title belongs, there have been many assumed authors, such as the Apostle Paul. However, Pauline authorship is not accepted by many scholars today.2 Other candidates for the authorship of Hebrews include “Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Apollos, Luke, Silas, Priscilla, Philip, and even Mary the mother of Jesus.”3 The obvious problem with these assumptions is that no known texts are written by any of these supposed authors apart from Luke, and Lukan authorship is mostly refuted due to linguistic and rhetorical differences.4 This debate, comprised of many interpretations, shows no signs of stopping. Therefore, it is best to agree with Origen’s statement: “but who wrote the [E]pistle, in truth God knows.”5 However, the authorship of the Epistle is not the only unknown of Hebrews.

The author of the Epistle states, “those from Italy greet you (Heb. 13:24).”6 There are two interpretations relating to the destination and provenance based on this verse. On the one hand, it is viewed that the letter was composed in Italy, and the Italians there sent greetings to the letter's destination. On the other hand, the letter was intended to reach Italy, and the Italians of the letter’s provenance greet those in their ethnic home. The latter of these two interpretations is preferred by scholars insofar that the English Standard Version explains the greeting this way: “Those who come from Italy send you greetings.”7 If the Italians are not presently in Italy, they must be somewhere else: the provenance of the Epistle. However, the task of determining this statement's meaning is not easily done. It is possible that the letter was written in Italy and sent with the Italians to the letter’s destination, where they greeted the Hebrews. This situation would make Italy as a location of provenance plausible. Because of this ambiguity, it is best “to reappropriate Origin, ‘the provenance of Hebrews, only God knows.’”8

The date of the Epistle to the Hebrews is also wrapped in obscurity. A date prior to AD 45 is unlikely as “the author indicated that some time had elapsed after his readers’ conversion (5:12) and after they had been persecuted for their faith in the past (10:32; 12:4).9 Furthermore, the letter greatly influenced Clement of Rome (1 Clem. 36:1-6), was written during the lifetime of Timothy (13:23), and the author was a second-generation Christian (2:3).10 Therefore, at the very latest the Epistle was written in AD 95.11 Still, this wide range of dates can be reduced, considering the Epistle “speaks of the sacerdotal ministry in the present tense (9:6-10) and lacks references to the temple's destruction in AD 70.12 It is safe to say the Epistle was written in the mid-60s under the rule of Nero (AD 64-66) if a position of Roman destination is upheld.13

While most background information about Hebrews is debated, there is a clear consensus on the purpose of writing the Epistle. As mentioned, the Hebrews experienced and are still experiencing persecution under Nero’s tyranny at the time of writing. The harsh persecution was forcing some of the Hebrews to consider returning to Judaism (10:35). For that reason, the author wrote to encourage and exhort them to remain steadfast, knowing that Jesus is the superior revelation, creation, prophet, priest, and sacrifice (10:36; 13:22).

    1. Andreas J. Kӧstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016), 762.

    2. Ibid., 762-763.

    3. Ibid., 763.

    4. Ibid.

    5. Ibid.

    6. Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the New American Standard Bible (NASB) (La Habra: Foundation Publication, 1995).

    7. Hebrew 13:24, English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016).

    8. Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles, 768.

    9. Ibid., 767.

    10. Ibid.

    11. Ibid.

    12. Ibid.

    13. Ibid., 768.

Christ is Superior

The first section of the Epistle focuses on Christ as the divine and Messianic Son (1:1-4). The author begins by declaring that God spoke through the prophets in the former days. However, now He speaks through Jesus, who, according to His Messianic Sonship, was appointed the title “heir of all things,” according to His divine Sonship, He eternally possesses the title of Creator of the world.14 The Father eternally begets him in His divine Sonship, and as the Messianic Son, He was begotten as the God-man born of Mary.15 This authority of the divine and Messianic Son is superior to the revelations of the Old Testament prophets. In other words, the author clarifies that “the Son is the final revelation because by His nature He is God Himself. God speaks to [Christians] through His very being, and His very being is the Son because the Son is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.”16 The author of Hebrews understands Jesus’ Sonship similarly to Paul:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.17

Because of this Christology, “[Christians] do not need another word because [they] have the Word; [they] do not need more revelation because [Christ] is the Revelation.”18 Indeed, these four verses alone prove Jesus’ superiority, yet “the rest of the [Epistle’s] argument flows from the nature of the Son and His work.”19 It is worth mentioning that these two iterations of Christ’s Sonship do not distinguish His natures. The Son is the Creator, Sustainer, and Heir of all things according to His Person comprised of His human and divine natures. Indeed, the Messiah is human and divine; God, in the Second Person of the Trinity, is human and divine. 

The following section demonstrates Christ’s superiority to the angels (1-2). The angels of the Old Testament and those that appeared in the Gospels20 are deliverers of the law and mediators (Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2).21 However, in the present time, Christ has become the ultimate mediator through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. He comes with the news of His Law.22 Christ is superior because “His name is [greater] than theirs,” and “His throne is forever and ever.”23 He rules over all of creation, including the angels. Because of this reality, the author of Hebrews implores the recipients of the Epistle: “[The Hebrews] must pay much closer attention to what [they] have heard, so that [they] do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will [they] escape if [they] neglect so great a salvation?” (2:1-2). Again, the author's goal is to keep the Hebrews from returning to traditional Judaism, and this question is part of his plea. Christ is better than all things, and abandoning Him is very serious.

Chapters 3-4 focus on Christ as a superior prophet. Unlike Moses, the Son is God and reigns in heaven; “Moses, [the servant], was simply a helper in God’s house.”24 Just as the previous section’s conclusion ends with the priesthood of Jesus (2:5-18), so does this section. He states, “since [Christians] have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let [them] hold fast [their] confession… let [them] draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that [they] may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:14, 16). He also implores them not to let their hearts grow hard like the Israelites during Moses’ time (3:7-4:13). Furthermore, a specific example of this superiority can be found in the Gospel of John. Jesus declares that “[He is] the bread of life. [The Israelites of Moses] ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. [He] is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. [He is] the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which [Jesus gives] for the life of the world is [His] flesh” (John 6:48-51).

The author then identifies Jesus as the better Priest (Heb. 5-7). Christ is sufficient and superior as the high priest because He is sinless. Therefore, He does not have to offer sacrifices for Himself (5:5-10). This theme flows throughout Hebrews, and Christ as the superior priest is central to the Epistle's message and theology. The author of the Epistle has much to say concerning this topic, yet the recipients of the letter are “dull of hearing” and immature in their faith (5:11). He, therefore, implores them to become mature (5:11-6:12).

Jesus is the superior sacrifice. Priests of the Mosaic Covenant offered gifts and sacrifices to pay the consequences of sin, but “Jesus offers His own body and blood.”25 Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, Jesus’ sacrifice is “once for all” (7:27). He gave “His own blood, which truly sanctifies, and He only [had] to enter once rather than repeatedly.” The author concludes this argument by telling the Hebrews to draw near to God (10:19-39).

    1. Patrick Schreiner,  “New Testament Survey II - Dr. Patrick Schreiner - Hebrews,” YouTube.com, December 5, 2023, 2:30-4:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuBGPwS5iyw

    2. Ibid., 6:06-15.

    3. Ibid., 5:10-24.

    4. Col. 1:15-20 demonstrates that Christ both has authority as the divine Son in that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and as the Messianic Son in that He comes to have first place in everything and reconciles all things to Himself through His propitiatory sacrifice.

    5. Patrick Schreiner, “New Testament Survey II - Dr. Patrick Schreiner - Hebrews,” 6:35-45.

    6. Patrick Schreiner, The Visual Word: Illustrated Outlines of the New Testament, illustrated by Anthony M. Benedetto (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2021), 138.

    7. Matt. 1:20-24; 2:13-15, 19-20; Mark 1:13; 16:5-7; Luke 1:11-20, 26-38; 2:9; John 1:51; 20:12.

    8. Patrick Schreiner, The Visual Word, 138.

    9. Ibid.

    10. Ibid.

    11. Ibid.

    12. Ibid., 140.

    13. Ibid.

Application

The following two chapters paint a picture of a great cloud of witnesses who have run the race, and Jesus is at the forefront (11-12). The Hebrews are to replicate these saints in their endurance of faith as “the people of the Old Testament, [such as Abraham, his descendants, Moses, and others]… had faith and endured persecution while waiting for the promises [of Christ’s supremacy].”27 While these words of past reflection were meant to encourage and exhort the Hebrews, a lot can be learned from them today. For example, Abraham, while he was yet Abram, “believed in the Lord; and [God] reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). However, these saints are inferior to Christ, the Son. The author reminds the Hebrews that because Christ is the “Author and Perfector of faith… and that He endured such hostility by sinners against Himself” (12:1-3), they must run the race, “fixing their eyes on Jesus”28 (12:2). Christians today should emulate this race, Christ, and remind each other of the Gospel (13:7-19).

    1. Patrick Schreiner, The Visual Word, 140.

    2. Ibid.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kӧstenberger, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016.

Schreiner, Patrick. “New Testament Survey II - Dr. Patrick Schreiner - Hebrews.” YouTube.com. December 5, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuBGPwS5iyw 

______. The Visual Word: Illustrated Outlines of the New Testament. Illustrated by Anthony M. Benedetto. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2021.

Logan Lancour https://Theologan.org
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