Written by a devout Jew to Jewish believers, the unknown author of this book dives into the burning questions of the day: Who is Jesus in relation to God, to the angels, to us, and to Judaism itself?

 

Remember that it will be several hundred more years before the early Christian church settles the question as to whether Jesus was divine, human, a mixture of the two, or something else entirely. We’ve had the official answer for thousands of years now, but it is fascinating to follow this author as he wrestles with this dilemma in real time.

The author of Hebrews sees Jesus as the ideal High Priest. He is first and foremost wholly human so he can understand our trials. 

 

But he is not just any old high priest, he is the mediator of the new covenant, the one foretold in the Hebrew Bible where God promises that we will all know him because he will write his law in our hearts and our minds. No more need for books or teachers!

 

It’s important to recognize the switch in metaphors from that of the Paschal (Passover) Lamb used by Jesus and John to that of the Lamb of Atonement used by the writer of Hebrews. They are two completely different metaphors and yield completely different results.

We get to the “meat” of the author’s theology around Jesus and the Law. It’s interesting that the author sees Jesus in his humanity as needing to be “perfected” and to learn obedience through suffering. 

 

If even Jesus fell short as a human, you can imagine the author’s view of us! It is from him that we get theology of unforgiveness--if you once know the Holy Spirit and then sin willfully, there is no forgiveness for you. For this author, God is supremely angry and only bloodshed, specifically that of Jesus, can appease him.

 

And yet, even still, there are moments of beauty in Hebrews. We touch on some of those in this lesson.

We finish up Hebrews 11, the Faith Chapter, with a look at some rather shocking examples the author selects. Chapter 12 has more of the author’s particular theology. As we’ve come to realize, this author views God as a harsh, authoritarian parent.

Nevertheless, we end our study of the book with a final chapter that is surprisingly full of exhortation and blessing.