translation (Septuagint or LXX) of the Old Testament.
The most important feature for interpreting the book of Hebrews is its rhetorical structure. As early as John Chrysostom in the fourth century, Hebrews has been described as containing comparison. In my doctoral dissertation, I pointed out the location of these comparisons and demonstrated how they function in Hebrews. Ancient Greco-Roman rhetorical handbooks and elementary exercises (progymnasmata) demonstrate how to write a comparison. Speeches from antiquity contain examples of formal comparisons. The second-century author Plutarch wrote comparisons of famous Greeks and Romans.
Hebrews is structured around a series of comparisons: Jesus is compared with angels (1–2), with Moses (3–4), and with the high priest (5–6); the Melchizedek priesthood of Jesus is compared with the Levitical priesthood (7), and the Tabernacle of the Old Testament is compared with the heavenly tabernacle (8–10). After each comparative section, the author draws the lessons for life and encourages the people to remain steadfast in the midst of suffering and persecution.
One of the clues when comparison occurs is that the Greek author would use a construction that is similar to our method of saying, “on the one hand,” and “on the other hand.” These Greek words, called particles, do not usually get translated in our Bibles. So when we encounter these comparisons, I will point out where this construction occurs.
The way these comparisons function is to take something that is agreed to be a great example or model of something. Then the rhetorician shows how the thing being praised is even better than the great thing. It looks something like this: On the one hand, Moe is a great leader, who rose to the challenge when times looked desperate. On the other hand, Joe is an even greater leader, since not only did he lead the people but he was successful in accomplishing the goal set before him. This is significant for the interpretation of Hebrews. For much of church history, Hebrews has been understood to be about the problem of Jewish Christians lapsing back into the legalism of Judaism in the face of mounting persecution. The rhetoric of Hebrews suggests rather that the author is seeking to encourage the people of God to continue to be faithful by persuading them that, while God was active in the past through people and institutions God enacted, God is now doing something even greater through God’s Son. God’s people weren’t able to accomplish the goal of what God planned, but now they can be assured they will make it all the way together.
Circumstances Then and Now
We really know very little about the circumstances of the community for whom Hebrews was written. We will find that they are not that different from us. We often take what we have for granted and tend to forget what is the central and guiding force in our lives. We face difficult times, and sometimes people fall away from the faith. We need the reminders and encouragement that Hebrews has to offer us. Our faith will be enriched by coming to know better who Jesus is and how we know Jesus is the fulfillment and embodiment of who God is and what the Bible teaches us.
Hebrews functions like an open letter. Although we get glimpses of the historical and social setting of the intended audience, Hebrews contains no explicit address. The closing of the document helps us little, since “those from Italy” (13:24) could mean residents or expatriates. So we don’t know the location of the author or the audience. The assumption has been that they were Jewish Christians. But the title of the book, “To the Hebrews” is not considered part of the original writing and was added later to copies of the document. There is nothing explicit in the text to suggest the audience’s ethnicity, and it is just as likely that they were primarily Gentile proselytes to a form of Jewish Christianity (for example, 6:1–2 is the language of Gentile conversion).
As to the date of writing, we are also at a loss. Scholars have assumed, since Hebrews fails to mention the Jerusalem temple, it must have been written after the temple’s destruction in 70 CE. Again, it’s just as likely that the author wrote in the 50s or 60s. The author’s world is not that of a particular historical setting as much as it is a biblical worldview. He writes as though the tabernacle is still in place and priests continue to carry out their duties. In all these ways, Hebrews transcends place and time. Its message, therefore, is still speaking to us today.
Message of Hebrews
As you will see from my writing, I developed a habit early in my preaching days to arrange my messages with three points and to alliterate words. I can’t tell you how many times two points of a message come to my mind alliterated and then I spend mind-wracking hours trying to come up with a third. That may happen in this section, because two fundamental aspects of Hebrews that come to mind for me are comparison and community.
Comparison, according to the ancient Greco-Roman texts, functions to show side-by-side how one object is greater than another object considered to be good in itself. One is not praised and the other denigrated. Rather, one is shown to have its merits, and then the other is shown to be even superior. The problem Hebrews surmounts is one of human failure. It’s not that Christianity has superceded Judaism. Hebrews states the law of Israel, the Torah, was valid (2:2); Israelites were evangelized (4:2, 6); the roll-call of the faithful begins with the figures of biblical history. What God has done in Jesus is a Jewish response to a human dilemma. For that, we Gentiles must be eternally grateful.
That leads me to the second alliterative term, community. In the ancient world people thought of themselves as members of a community, which might be as small as a family unit or it might be as large as an ethnic group or nation. Our mentality in the post-enlightenment Western world has been to focus on our individual selves. The religious effect of this is often illustrated by the title words of the popular song, “I Come to the Garden Alone.” That’s not really the biblical view, nor is it the view of Hebrews. The Apostle Paul, for example, sees people relating to God as members of the ethnic/nationalistic groups of Jews/Judeans and Gentile nations. The author of Hebrews conceives of people as being members of the people of God, either as pre-Jesus members or post-Jesus members. The first group failed as they tried to reach the intended goal of the Promised Land. Hebrews claims that God has given God’s people a second chance to remain faithful and enter God’s rest.
You’ve been waiting to see if I would come up with a third alliterated point. I won’t disappoint you—unless you don’t like alliteration. The third is completion. I will spend a considerable amount of time discussing the word “perfect” and other related terms. The language of perfection has to do with attaining the goal (telos). Our English words “complete” and “mature” most clearly describe the concept of the Greek language regarding “perfection” (teleiōsis). Put simply, we as followers of Jesus—the one whom God made perfect (2:10; 5:9; 7:28)—must strive to complete God’s work in us, so that together the people of God will complete the goal of entering God’s rest. The author of Hebrews portrays Jesus as a human person who endured suffering and persevered through trials. Because of that God exalted Jesus, and Jesus inherited the position of Son of God. Through his experience he was appointed to be a heavenly high priest. All of this was for the purpose of bringing the people of God to its stage of completion in the heavenly realm. Within our communities we function to help each other achieve spiritual and moral maturity, to fulfill the grand design God has for each one of us together.
Section One
Jesus Is the One (1:1–4)
A father’s relationship to a son is a special bond. But I wouldn’t know about that—I have five daughters. I wouldn’t trade any of them for a son, but I can’t help feeling I’ve missed something other men have experienced with their sons.
While we were expecting our first child, we picked out boy names and girl names. I was elated to watch our first child being born. After discovering we had an Abby and not a little Timmy, I probably told myself, Maybe the next one will be a boy. In spite of what you may think, I did not keep
