Book of hebrews theme

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 book of hebrews displays a clear and profound awareness of redemptive history. Is it the book of hebrews, the letter to the hebrews, or perhaps a sermon to the hebrews. Hebrews, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Should it be listed with the rest of the new testament. Jesus is greater, so hold fast to him overviewbible. The book of hebrews elevates jesus above historical people. Watch our overview video on the book of hebrews, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Taken together, these themes distinguish the book of hebrews from books that we know were written by paul. 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. The use of the phrase en gar to is found only in hebrews 2.

The author of the letter to the hebrews remains shrouded in mystery. Book of hebrews bible survey who wrote the book of hebrews. Angels were prominent in their ministry to israel in the old testament. The book of hebrews may briefly be summarized in this way. 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. Its theme is the high priestly ministry of christ in behalf of believers. A workbook suitable for bible classes, family studies, or. Perseverance, of which jesus presents the supreme example, 5. The author is anonymous, although either paul or barnabas was traditionally accepted as the author. The writer of this letter does not identify himself, but he was obviously well known to the original recipients. This book portrays christ as our great high priest who ever lives to make intercession for us.

Hebrews uses old testament quotations interpreted in light of first century rabbinical judaism. Unlike some books, the epistle to the hebrews doesnt have a clearcut verse that everyone agrees is the theme of the whole book. These warning passages appear throughout the book 2. 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. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college faculty. Christs sacrifice for our sins was perfect and complete. What does it mean that jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered hebrews 5. Hebrews was written for christians who had been in the church for a while.

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 prophecies and promises of the ot are fulfilled in the new covenant or new testament, of which christ is the mediator. The epistle to the hebrews, or letter to the hebrews, or in the greek manuscripts, simply to the. The author of this epistle is relentless in his effort to reveal christ as greater than the prophets, angels, moses, and the levitical priests. Heroes of faith in the book of hebrews learn religions. Bible study series on the book of hebrews chapter by chapter. 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. The son of god is better than angels, priests, old testament leaders. Summary of hebrews, the general epistles and revelation.

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. 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. Book of hebrews overview insight for living ministries. The apostle paul wrote more than half of the new testament. 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. He is gods word, the hope for a new creation, our eternal priest, and. There is no time like the present to delve right in. As we studied through the book of hebrews, several overarching topics kept popping up again and again. Themes in the book of hebrews jesus christ is superior. The author encourages faithfulness, love, and sound doctrine. The book of the new testament routinely known as hebrews is a difficult nut to crack. Israels sin had continually interrupted gods fellowship with his chosen and covenant people, israel. 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.

No other book in the new testament integrates the gospel with the old testament better than the book of hebrews. Jan 02, 2020 book of hebrews bible survey who wrote the book of hebrews. He is greater than moses, aaron, the angels, the tabernacle, the sacrifices. 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. The writer to the hebrews constantly compares the inadequacies. 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. In a logical argument, the author demonstrates christs superiority, then adds practical instructions for following jesus. Jun 25, 2019 hebrews chapter 11 is often called the hall of faith or the faith hall of fame. Hebrews differs in some respect with the other epistles of the nt. The believers are seen as men on earth having free entrance to god and a heavenly calling by the work of christ. God is not called father of the believers hebrews 12. A biblical study guide on the book of hebrews ford. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college.

May 02, 2020 it is the superiority of our lord jesus, then, that remains the theme of this eloquently written letter. Nearclassical style of the prologues of luke, acts, and hebrews. What i mean by theme verse first of all, i should probably define theme verse for this conversation. The theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as revealer and as mediator of gods grace. The whole book of hebrews negates that idea and supports what paul says in galatians 3.

The early church father clement quoted from the book of hebrews in 95 a. He is greater than angels, the torah, moses, the promised land, priests, melchizedek, sacrifices, and the covenant. 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. 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. 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. With its myriad references to hebrew customs and the old testament, the book was likely sent to a jewish christian community, possibly in rome. These folks knew about angels, the old testament heroes, the devil, and moses tabernacle, but someone thought they needed to know a little more. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 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. By examining the relationship of literary form to theological argument in the book of hebrews, seven theological themes. Jesus christ is clearly greater than anything that the old covenant had produced. The conjunction te is used most frequently in lukes writings and hebrews.

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. Specifically, some say he only wrote thirteen of the twentyseven books of new testament, while others say fourteen. It shows us his heavenly ministry at gods right hand, resting from the completed work. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed. In extrabiblical greek and the nt apart from hebrews, the meanings revolve around the idea of bringing a person or action to completion. Hebrews chapter 11 is often called the hall of faith or the faith hall of fame. The book of hebrews also gives us a very high christology since the central theme is the supremacy of christ. Authors such as luke, barnabas, apollos, and even clement have been considered as possibilities. The readers had undergone some form of persecution in the past and were under a present threat of persecution from 10. The book reveals to us that christ is the substance of all the old testament shadows. The book of hebrews compares and contrasts jesus to key historical people and events from the old testament. 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. The main theme of the book of hebrews can be found in the opening verses.

Holiness is to be pursued in the community of faith. 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. A summary of the book of hebrews limerick reformed fellowship. Hebrews with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The theme of the epistle is the doctrine of the person of christ and his role as mediator between god and humanity. The book of hebrews solves this problem by arguing that the hebrew scriptures also foretold that the. The prologue presents christ as gods full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in the ot. Through its quotations from the old testament, interpretation of past events, and reflection upon saints of old such as moses or melchizedek, hebrews presents rich teaching on the story of salvation that has culminated in jesus christ. Aug 31, 2016 the book of hebrews is a long list of reasons to cling to jesus. The world to come was not placed into subjection to angels, but to christ ps.

The main theme of hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of jesus christ as our high priest and revealer of god. 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. The book of hebrews boldly proclaims the superiority of jesus christ and christianity over other religions, including judaism. Its purpose was to present the lord jesus christ as perfect and superior in comparison to anything. 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. A study of the book of hebrews and join us downtown on sundays at 9. 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.