Letter to Hebrews
Title: The title “to Hebrews”, unlike many
of Pauline letters, is taken from the traditional listings of the letters (at
least by the second half of the II century AD by Clement of Alexandria). Yet,
the text for sure was known earlier. Clement of Rome [who died in 96 AD] quotes
the passages it the “letter.” The letter also is a conditional title. There is a
final greeting (13:22-25), but there is none in the beginning of the letter,
which is a strong sign against epistolary genre. I personal idea (IMHO): it was
a presentation (13:22, exhortation) for the gathering of overseers/bishops
(12:15) that later was distributed or sent to other regions (13:22 could be
translated as “sent” not “written”).
Date of
writing: Nowhere
else in the Bible we hear about the imprisonment of Timothy – it should happen
after or during his deployment to Ephesus. On the other hand, it should be
completed at least a couple of years before 70 AD, overwise the comparison with
the sacrificial “current” system (9:25, notice the present tense) would not
make any sense. Therefore, connecting the great anti-Roman revolt of 66-70 AD
in Jerusalem with 12:4, the letter was written 67-68 AD.
Structure: adapted (and improved) from TLSB,
p. 2104:
A. 1:1-3a, Intro: Christ is the true and final
revelation
B. 1:3b –
10:18, Superiority of Jesus
a. 1:3b –
2:18, superiority over angels
b. 3:1 –
4:13, superiority over Moses
c. 4:14 –
7:28, superiority over priesthood, Jesus is new Melchizedek.
d. 8:1 –
10:18, superiority of His sacrifice
B’. 10:19 –
13:19, Exhortation to Faithfulness
a.
10:19-39, invitation to faithfulness
b. 11, OT examples of faithfulness
c. 12:1-13, Jesus the faithful
b’. 12:14 – 13:29, warning based on OT
examples of disobedience
a’.
13:1-19, final exhortation
A. 13:20-21, Final blessings
C. 13:22-25,
“Epistle” greeting attachment
Main
themes: As one can
see from the structure, there are two MAIN themes: superiority of Jesus and,
based on the confidence of access to the holy place because of Him, exhortation
to faithfulness.
Main
Characters:
|
As presenters:
|
As characters:
|
|
author/presenter (I believe – St. Paul)
Timothy, leaders, all the saints, Italians
|
Angels, Moses, Melchizedek, Aaron, priests, list of the OT
saints (both man and women).
|
Reflection
in other parts of the Bible: to understand and fully appreciate the Letter to Hebrews one needs
to know:
Story of Creation (Gen. 1:1 – 2:3)
Angelic role in the world (Gen. 3:22-24; Ps. 8, 91;
Job 1-2; Is. 6:1-6; Lk. 1:19, 2:13-15; 1 Cor. 6:3 etc.)
The story of Moses (Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Structure of the OT liturgical system: priests,
sacrifices, calendar etc.
Story of the
Patriarchs (Gen. 11 – 50)
There are
many things that are good to know, but it’s too long of a list for us.
Lutheran
teaching: It is a
well-known fact that Luther had “suspicions” on place of the Epistle in the
Canon of Scripture. Yet, holding his reservations to himself, Luther wrote on
the author and the content of the Letter, “we should be satisfied with the
doctrine that he [author] bases so constantly on Scripture. For discloses a
firm grasp of the reading of the Scriptures and of the proper way of dealing
with them” (LW 35:395).
OT
sacrificial system was transformed through the sacrifice of Christ. Pastors are
not the mediators but the ministers of grace (AC XXIV:36).
Lutheran
hymnody:
LSB 834 – O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth
LSB 520 –
Stars of the Morning, So Gloriously Bright
Relevancy
of the Book: The
author shows with depth the superiority of Jesus as the Messiah over any
created element of the world, be it angels, humans, rituals, or sacred space.
He Himself created the world and paid the price to redeem the brokenness of the
world. Now we are invited to enjoy the benefits of this redemption and follow
His footsteps as the agents of the world’s transformation.
Memory
verses: 9:27 “As
it is appointed for man to die once, and after that judgement comes”.
