Exalting Jesus in Hebrews

R. Albert Mohler, Dr. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, Tony Merida, Dr. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, Tony Merida

• Editorial: Holman Reference
• Año: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781433608391
• Categoría: Teología y religión
• Categoría: Comentario bíblico

Exalting Jesus in Hebrews is part of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition presented as sermons and divided into chapters that conclude with a "Reflect & Discuss" section, making this series ideal for small group study, personal devotion, and even sermon preparation. It's not academic but rather presents an easy reading, practical and friendly commentary. The author of Exalting Jesus in Hebrews is Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Hebrews

Jesus: The Glorious King Who Speaks

Hebrews 1:1-3

Main Idea: God has spoken to his people in many ways, but he has now spoken to us by his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the exact imprint of his Father’s glory, the agent of creation, the purifying sacrifice for our sins, and the King who rules the cosmos from his rightful place at the right hand of his Father.

I. Introduction

A. Title

B. Original audience

C. Date of composition

D. Author

E. Prolegomena: keeping our Old Testament open

II. Hearing God’s Revelation from Long Ago (1:1)

III. Listening to God’s Revelation in the Last Days (1:2)

IV. Seeing the Supremacy of God’s Final Revelation (1:3)

Introduction

Hebrews is certainly one of the most intriguing books of the New Testament. It poses unique challenges, particularly when it comes to answering introductory questions regarding its author and original audience. Hebrews is peculiar in this sense. For example, the letters of Paul not only explicitly state that Paul was the author of each epistle, they also often explicitly or implicitly indicate the historical context, the audience, and the situation surrounding the origin of the letter. Of course, similar statements could be made about the epistles of Peter, Acts, Revelation, and even the Gospels.

Yet the book of Hebrews—so rich in its biblical theological exploration of the work of Christ and the gospel—provides very little information about its own origin. In fact, we know almost nothing about who wrote it, its original audience, or the context behind it. In order to set the stage, we will examine the following introductory issues:

• Title
• Original Audience
• Date of Composition
• Author

Title

We typically refer to this book simply as “Hebrews.” The title found in most ancient manuscripts reads, “to the Hebrews,” thus identifying this book as a letter or an epistle. Hebrews, however, is unique in that it does not begin with a salutation, as in the case of Paul’s epistles. Yet, while the book does not have a typical epistolary salutation, other features of this book (particularly its end) share similarities with other epistles in Scripture.

Original Audience

Who were the original recipients of this letter? As already stated, in ancient manuscripts the epistle is addressed “to the Hebrews.” The tone of the book assumes that the readers were Christians. This indicates that the book must have been meant for a Jewish community that had converted to Christianity. But this does not necessarily answer every question about the original audience. Some in the early church suggested that the letter might have been intended for converts who were formerly Jewish priests, since Hebrews assumes a great deal of knowledge about the Old Testament Scriptures and the Levitical priesthood. As intriguing as this suggestion may be, there is no evidence that the letter is intended for such a specific group.

The most detailed description we can give of the overall audience is that they were converted Jews. Other clues in Hebrews also reveal some traits of the original recipients. Hebrews is obviously written to people who have a significant amount of knowledge of the Old Testament. At the same time, the author of Hebrews frequently quotes from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), demonstrating that this is the version of the Scriptures most familiar to the original audience. Since they were depending on the Septuagint, it is likely that the audience was made up of Hellenistic Jews. They composed part of the cosmopolitan areas in the Greco-Roman Empire outside of Palestine. Their primary language was Greek, and they mainly resided in Alexandria and Rome.

Ultimately, we must exercise a certain reluctance to be dogmatic in our historical reconstructions. Three things we do know about the Epistle to the Hebrews are that it was written to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim 3:16-17), it plays a unique role in the canon, and it instructs all Christians on how to read the Old Testament in proper relation to Christ.

Date of Composition

Hebrews was probably written prior to AD 70 and the destruction of the Jewish temple. The epistle was almost certainly penned prior to this date because the book mentions the sacrificial system in Jerusalem as if it were still in place (7:27-28; 8:3-5; 10:1-3). Furthermore, the book mentions Timothy (13:23), who we know from elsewhere in Scripture was a contemporary of the apostle Paul. These clues point to the fact that Hebrews was written sometime before the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem temple in AD 70.

Author

Who wrote Hebrews? Ultimately we do not know. Biblical authority and inerrancy require that we affirm the authorship of every book as it is attributed within the Scriptures. Therefore, we must contend for the fact that Peter wrote 1 and 2 Peter because that claim is made within the inerrant text itself. The same applies for the epistles of Paul. When it comes to anonymous authors of New Testament books (e.g., Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts), we have good historical and textual reasons to continue to affirm the traditionally proposed authors. Hebrews, however, does not give any hints as to who wrote it. Furthermore, there is no unanimous historical tradition that testifies to a specific author. In fact, scholars have posited several possible authors for the letter.

Many in the history of the church have proposed that Paul wrote Hebrews, but there is no evidence that Paul wrote this letter. As a matter of fact, the grammar, syntax, and phraseology found in Hebrews are not characteristic of Paul’s writing. What is characteristic of Paul’s writings, however, is a salutation in which Paul makes clear that he is the author! Moreover, Paul often indicates that he writes as one with apostolic authority. The author of Hebrews, however, never makes such claims. Instead, the author of Hebrews communicates as one who is affirming the truth of what was revealed to the church through the apostles.

Other suggestions as to who wrote the book include Apollos, Barnabas, and Luke. The reason these names crop up is because the author of Hebrews seems to have known Timothy intimately, thus linking him with the apostolic circle. There are, however, problems with each of these proposals. Luke, for example, comes from a Gentile background—a background that has obviously influenced the way he wrote both his Gospel and the book of Acts. Hebrews, on the other hand, seems more likely to have been written by someone immersed in Judaism. Barnabas is an attractive choice since he was a Levite. His Levitical status would explain the book’s attention to priestly issues, but there still remains a lack of evidence for assigning authorship to Barnabas. The eloquence of the letter could point to Apollos as the author, but again, there is insufficient evidence to ascribe Hebrews to Apollos. Proposed authors for the book of Hebrews are simply appealing guesses.

Ultimately, we need to limit our imaginations and trust that the Holy Spirit has given us all that we need. God, in his providence, did not reveal to us the human author or the original recipients. Evidently we are not meant to know these things and can still understand this book. Perhaps God did not reveal that data because with it we might read the book differently from the way the Holy Spirit has intended for us to read it. What is clear is that the Holy Spirit desires for us to read this book—along with all of Scripture—as written to “the church.” Therefore, we must approach the book of Hebrews understanding that it is God’s word to all Christians, and we must allow the book to shape how we read the Old Testament after the reality of Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross.

Prolegomena: Keeping Our Old Testaments Open

Many Christians find Hebrews a very challenging book to understand. This is most likely because Hebrews assumes a certain amount of knowledge of the Old Testament. Hebrews discusses most of the major figures, covenants, and biblical-theological themes found there. The book even spends a significant amount of time discussing minor characters in the Old Testament such as Melchizedek. Therefore, in order to understand this New Testament letter we must become familiar with the history, themes, and theology of the Old Testament. Hebrews will guide us along this journey, but it is important that we keep our Old Testaments open as we read this epistle.

Hearing God’s Revelation from Long Ago

Hebrews 1:1

Hebrews 1:1 begins with the words “long ago.” Just like Genesis and the Gospel of John, Hebrews opens with a chronological reference taking readers back to the beginning of creation. This is a remarkable feature of Hebrews, one that sets a t...