Delve Into Matthew, Hebrews, and JamesExemplo

DAY 3 – HEBREWS

The book of Hebrews was written to encourage Jewish believers in Jesus to remain faithful during a time of persecution. These believers were probably living in Rome in the AD 60s. The author doesn’t give his name, and he doesn’t say specifically who he’s writing to, but we can determine much about him and his purposes from the book itself. 

The recipients are clearly Jews who have come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah, since the author expects them to be familiar with specific details of Israelite history and customs, and he also addresses them as followers of Jesus. They seem to have lived in Italy, since the author passes on greetings to them from “those who are from Italy”—that is, their friends from back home who are now traveling elsewhere in the Roman Empire. They aren’t eyewitnesses of the ministry of Jesus, but have heard about it from others: the author notes that the good news announced by Jesus “was confirmed to us by those who heard him,” suggesting that it’s now a generation later. 

The recipients are facing persecution and need to remain faithful. The book seems to have been written before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 and the end of sacrifices there, since if sacrifices could make us right with God it asks, “Would they not have stopped being offered?” It therefore appears that the book is describing the persecution of Christians that took place in Rome under the emperor Nero in the mid-60s AD. This would fit the situation of the recipients, who have the option of escaping persecution by identifying themselves as Jews rather than as Christians. The author warns them not to do this. He explains that through Jesus, God has now established a new arrangement or “covenant” by which people can belong to him. This new covenant discloses the meaning and fulfills the purpose of the covenant that God previously established through Moses. Now that the new covenant has begun, refuge can no longer be taken in the old covenant.

While this book has been traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul, it’s unlikely that he was its author. Paul always insisted on his firsthand experience of the resurrected Jesus, while this author says that he’s heard of Jesus from others. Paul’s quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures are specific and accurate, while this author often quotes passages without being sure of their location. This book doesn’t begin with Paul’s name, unlike all of the other writings we have from him. However, the author does move in the same circles as Paul, since he refers to “our brother Timothy” in his closing section. But we cannot tell for certain who the author was. 

PRAYER: Help me to remain faithful to You, no matter what happens in my life and in this world. Don’t let me drift away.