Book of hebrews theme

No other book in the new testament integrates the gospel with the old testament better than the book of hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11 is often called the hall of faith or the faith hall of fame. The book of hebrews may briefly be summarized in this way. Hebrews was written for christians who had been in the church for a while. There is no time like the present to delve right in. The whole book of hebrews negates that idea and supports what paul says in galatians 3. New testament and second temple judaism scholar eric mason argues that the conceptual background of the priestly christology of the epistle to the hebrews closely parallels presentations of the messianic priest and melchizedek in the qumran scrolls. The author is anonymous, although either paul or barnabas was traditionally accepted as the author. These warning passages appear throughout the book 2. Heroes of faith in the book of hebrews learn religions. It shows us his heavenly ministry at gods right hand, resting from the completed work. The prophecies and promises of the ot are fulfilled in the new covenant or new testament, of which christ is the mediator. May 02, 2020 it is the superiority of our lord jesus, then, that remains the theme of this eloquently written letter. The author of the letter to the hebrews remains shrouded in mystery.

The early church father clement quoted from the book of hebrews in 95 a. In extrabiblical greek and the nt apart from hebrews, the meanings revolve around the idea of bringing a person or action to completion. Jesus is the great high priest, the eternal mediator between god and man who never stops mediating, and is the perfect fulfillment of all prophecies and types and shadows pointing to the. Perseverance, of which jesus presents the supreme example, 5. What does it mean that jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered hebrews 5. With its myriad references to hebrew customs and the old testament, the book was likely sent to a jewish christian community, possibly in rome. The book of hebrews displays a clear and profound awareness of redemptive history. Themes in the book of hebrews jesus christ is superior. He is greater than moses, aaron, the angels, the tabernacle, the sacrifices.

Israels sin had continually interrupted gods fellowship with his chosen and covenant people, israel. Book of hebrews bible survey who wrote the book of hebrews. The apostle paul wrote more than half of the new testament. Watch our overview video on the book of hebrews, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The author encourages faithfulness, love, and sound doctrine. Moreover, barnabas is referred to as an apostle and, being a levite, would have had the interest in and knowledge about the priesthood that forms such a dominant theme in hebrews. The theme of the epistle is the doctrine of the person of christ and his role as mediator between god and humanity. Taken together, these themes distinguish the book of hebrews from books that we know were written by paul. What i mean by theme verse first of all, i should probably define theme verse for this conversation. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college faculty.

A biblical study guide on the book of hebrews ford. The book of hebrews solves this problem by arguing that the hebrew scriptures also foretold that the. Aug 29, 2011 the main theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as our high priest and revealer of god. As we studied through the book of hebrews, several overarching topics kept popping up again and again. The believers are seen as men on earth having free entrance to god and a heavenly calling by the work of christ. The writer to the hebrews constantly compares the inadequacies.

Theme verse a verse or set of verses that sums up the story, structure, andor theme of the book of the bible it was written in. Unlike some books, the epistle to the hebrews doesnt have a clearcut verse that everyone agrees is the theme of the whole book. The theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as revealer and as mediator of gods grace. The son of god is better than angels, priests, old testament leaders. A workbook suitable for bible classes, family studies, or. Introduces perspectives on the author, audience, date and purpose of the book of hebrews that can help us interpret the original meaning and apply this book to our modern world. Believers in jesus christ, as gods perfect sacrifice for sin, have the perfect highpriest through whose ministry everything is new and better than under the covenant of law. The readers had undergone some form of persecution in the past and were under a present threat of persecution from 10. The main themes in hebrews include the superiority of christ, the superiority of the new covenant, and urgent calls for the believer to persevere in his faith. Faith in hebrews is viewed primarily in terms of pilgrimage a long trek over the path of life with the distant shore in view hebrews 11. Angels were prominent in their ministry to israel in the old testament. He is greater than angels, the torah, moses, the promised land, priests, melchizedek, sacrifices, and the covenant. Hebrews, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of.

The conjunction te is used most frequently in lukes writings and hebrews. Hebrews uses old testament quotations interpreted in light of first century rabbinical judaism. Nov, 2014 unlike some books, the epistle to the hebrews doesnt have a clearcut verse that everyone agrees is the theme of the whole book. This book portrays christ as our great high priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. These folks knew about angels, the old testament heroes, the devil, and moses tabernacle, but someone thought they needed to know a little more. Bible study series on the book of hebrews chapter by chapter. Perhaps nowhere in the new testament does the old testament come into focus more than in the book of hebrews, which has as its foundation the levitical priesthood.

Since the book of hebrews is grounded in the work of the levitical priesthood, an understanding of the book of leviticus is essential for properly interpreting hebrews. Jan 02, 2020 book of hebrews bible survey who wrote the book of hebrews. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed. The use of the phrase en gar to is found only in hebrews 2. The book of hebrews elevates jesus above historical people. Christs sacrifice for our sins was perfect and complete. Nearclassical style of the prologues of luke, acts, and hebrews.

The author of this epistle is relentless in his effort to reveal christ as greater than the prophets, angels, moses, and the levitical priests. He is gods word, the hope for a new creation, our eternal priest, and. A study of the book of hebrews and join us downtown on sundays at 9. The book of the new testament routinely known as hebrews is a difficult nut to crack. The book of hebrews also gives us a very high christology since the central theme is the supremacy of christ. Its theme is the high priestly ministry of christ in behalf of believers. Significantly, the book makes no reference to the destruction of the temple at jerusalem in ad 70, and the author wrote as if the sacrificial system were still in existence hebrews 10. The book of hebrews starts off by saying that jesus is the final revelation from god spoken about in the old testament lightfoot 35. It is in many ways an enigma, but it is also in many ways the clearest teaching in the whole nt about the value of christ and his ministry on our behalf before god. Jesus is greater, so hold fast to him overviewbible.

The main theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as our high priest and revealer of god. The book of hebrews boldly proclaims the superiority of jesus christ and christianity over other religions, including judaism. The main theme of the book of hebrews can be found in the opening verses. God is not called father of the believers hebrews 12. Clement of alexandria suggests that paul wrote the book originally in hebrew and that luke translated it into greek, though the greek of hebrews bears no resemblance to translation greek e.

Study of the book of hebrews let us study the book of hebrews the subtitle is an obvious reference to the hortatory study hortatory subjunctive subjunctive mood wish or desire. According to this book, from the beginning of time, jesus was there, hanging with god and the angels, plotting to be the savior of the universe. The broad theme of the book implies that a group of jewish believers was considering regressing back into the fold of judaism, which in essence was a rejection of christ. Jun 25, 2019 hebrews chapter 11 is often called the hall of faith or the faith hall of fame. The prologue presents christ as gods full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in the ot. Should it be listed with the rest of the new testament.

By examining the relationship of literary form to theological argument in the book of hebrews, seven theological themes. Hebrews differs in some respect with the other epistles of the nt. Holiness is to be pursued in the community of faith. This summary of the book of hebrews provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of hebrews. Authors such as luke, barnabas, apollos, and even clement have been considered as possibilities. The epistle to the hebrews, or letter to the hebrews, or in the greek manuscripts, simply to the. The book reveals to us that christ is the substance of all the old testament shadows. What does it mean that jesus was a little lower than the angels psalm 8. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed fellowship.

In a logical argument, the author demonstrates christs superiority, then adds practical instructions for following jesus. Summary of hebrews, the general epistles and revelation. Even though clement of rome drew much from hebrews in his latefirstcentury letter to the corinthian church, many in the western church pointed away from paul as the source of the book. Hebrews with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.

In this noted chapter, the writer of the book of hebrews introduces an impressive list of heroic figures from the old testament remarkable men and women whose stories stand out to encourage and challenge the faith. Jesus is the great high priest, the eternal mediator between god and man who never stops mediating, and is the perfect fulfillment of all prophecies and types and shadows pointing to the hebrew messiah within the old covenant. Other new testament books play up jesus lowly origins more, but the author of hebrews is pretty big on the power and the glory part. Its purpose was to present the lord jesus christ as perfect and superior in comparison to anything.