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Lord Jesus is our merciful and faithful high priest.
This elegant and rich picture of Jesus is one that Christians
rarely hear about. It is wonderful to know that Jesus
is our God, Savior, Lord, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, the Anointed One,
Son of Man, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the great
I Am. But would you like to understand Jesus better
and know what it means that Jesus is our high priest?
Come and study the book of Hebrews with us. This is
the only one of its kind in the New Testament, and it
gives us new, rich insights into Jesus.
The
book is written to Jews who were thinking about leaving
their new faith. So the Holy Spirit encourages them
to "hold on" to their faith in Jesus. He tells
them that Jesus is better than anything and anyone including
the angels, Moses, Aaron, and any high priest. There
is no other book like Hebrews. It will open your eyes
to Jesus as our Great High Priest.
The
book is also very practical and helps us to know how
well we are "running the Christian race."
Here are just a few questions to be answered: "Am
I a mature Christian?" "Can I lose my salvation?"
"Does the Law still apply today?" "How
do I live by faith?" What are the dark, warning
sections in Hebrews about? What are the keys to becoming
a mature, spirit-filled saint in the Lord?
Author.
The
book of Hebrews was written by two authors. The Holy
Spirit was the primary author, and the other author
was human (2 Peter 1:20-21). We are not sure who the
human author was. In Hebrews 2:3-4 it appears the writer
was not an apostle.
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After
it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was
confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing
witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by
various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according
to His own will. (NASB) Hebrews 2:3-4 |
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In this verse, the author says, " . . . it was
confirmed to us by those who heard . . ." and he then
refers to the miracles, signs and wonders performed by the
apostles. This means the author is not an apostle. He is not
Paul. So who could he be? There are many
opinions
but no agreement. John Calvin summarizes it well with, "I
can adduce no reason to show that Paul was its author."
Origen says, "But who wrote the epistle, in truth God
knows!" All that really matters is that the Holy Spirit
wrote it.
Date.
Hebrews was written around the time of the apostles (Heb.
2:3-4) and during the life of Timothy, Paul's friend. Hebrews
13:23 says that Timothy was released from prison. This places
the epistle in the first century. Clement of Rome quotes from
Hebrews (A.D. 96). This means Hebrews already existed by A.D.
96. We know from history that Rome persecuted the Christians
under Nero during A.D. 65-68 and Jerusalem, along with the
temple, was destroyed in A.D. 70. The epistle implies the
sacrifices were still going on and speaks of persecution and
suffering (Heb. 10:32-34). This means the book of Hebrews
was written before Jerusalem was destroyed and during the
persecution. So it safe to say that Hebrews was written about
A.D. 65-69.
Message.
Hebrews has several themes. You may also want to
see the outline
of the book and the PDF file of the outline. The primary one is that
Jesus is our faithful and merciful high priest, but the reason
the epistle was written was to encourage the Jewish readers
to endure in their faith: to hang on, endure, "hold fast"
to Jesus. They were in danger of going back to Judaism. So
the Holy Spirit writes a stunning book to call them and us
to faithfulness to our Lord Jesus, to understand Jesus in
a unique way, to mature in the faith, and to fix our eyes
on Jesus!
Application.
For years, the deepest desire of my heart has been to know
Jesus more and more. I have found that the most meaningful
times in my life are not sporting events, nor money, nor a
movie; but when I can see Jesus in new ways in the pages of
scripture, when He comes alive, or when I see Him in majesty.
That is what Hebrews is all about. Jesus IS our majestic high
priest. This reminds me of Luke 24:27, 31-32.
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And
beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He
explained to them the things concerning Himself in
all the Scriptures . . . And their eyes were opened
and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their
sight. And they said to one another, "Were not
our hearts burning within us while He was speaking
to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures
to us?" (NASB) Luke 24:27, 31-32 |
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As you study Hebrews, ask the Holy Spirit to open your
eyes and put passion in your heart for Him as you seek to
experience Him, as you seek to know Him as your faithful and
merciful high priest.
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