Another Bible Commentary: Hebrews

The next batch of letters were addressed to Jewish Christians. As you recall, they were still zealous for the Law of Moses (Acts 21:20) but even James himself said the standard for Gentile believers was different (Acts 21:25). The first of these letters we will cover is Hebrews, which agrees with Paul that no Christian is under the Law anymore (Hebrews 8:13). It was written relatively late, likely close to the destruction of the Temple (which made keeping much of the Old Covenant even more impossible, anyway). Just as the more Gentile-focused letters began with a big dose of systematic theology in Romans, so do these letters beginning with Hebrews. Many Christians skip the Book of Hebrews thinking it’s not for them and wind up trying to apply stuff from James that was for people still trying to keep the Law; instead, please appreciate the Book of Hebrews as the culmination of everything we’ve studied so far.

There are many references to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was in common use then, much like a Bible you read today that isn’t in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. Instead of wild orgies in honor of idols, the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ is the primary context for this letter to on-the-fence Jews. The temptation to stick with the synagogue system was strong, as becoming Christian could have meant losing economic support, jobs, and family ties.

Feel free to skip this speculation: the author of Hebrews is a topic of ongoing debate. Some people say Paul wrote it anonymously; I’ll grant that Paul told the truth, and that the truth sounds like Paul. While the thinking in this letter is very Paulinian, there are details that suggest it wasn’t written by Paul, but instead by perhaps Apollos (seems likely to me – Acts 18:24-28, especially verse 28). Paul told the Galatians not to convert to Judaism to become Christians, and Paul told us that we’re not under the Law anymore, but Hebrews seems closer to Acts 21:21 than that. Priscilla and Aquila set the vigorous debater of the Jews Apollos straight about Christianity (Acts 18:2,26) and Hebrews 13:24 could be a nod to them. Other good candidates include Sosthenes, Silas/Silvanus, Barnabas (a Levite – Acts 4:36), Priscilla (possible female author alert), Aquila, etc. Hebrews 2:3 mentions hearing from those who had heard Jesus; Paul emphasized that his revelation was first-hand (Galatians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 15:8) (but Paul used the “received” phraseology in 1 Corinthians 15:3). Hebrews 13:23 refers to Timothy as a brother and Paul had a father/son dynamic with him (1 Timothy 1:2) (but Paul called Timothy brother in 1 Thessalonians 3:2).

1:1-2 See John 1:1-18 and Colossians 1:15-17.

1:3 See John 14:9 (and Wisdom of Solomon 7:25-26 for bonus points). Jesus is God. Jesus is the Logos, the Wisdom and Reason through which all things were made and are sustained. Jesus finished His work of saving us, He sat down (Psalm 110:1).

1:4 Hebrews demonstrates that Jesus is greater than everything: Moses, the Law of Moses, the angels involved with delivering the Law of Moses, etc.

1:5 See Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.

1:6 See Deuteronomy 32:43 in the Septuagint. The latter part of the Song of Moses (from Deuteronomy 32:20 on) was thought to be Messianic and about the last days.

1:7 See Psalm 104:4. Wind and fire are ephemeral, unlike the Son. (Angels were thought to be made of fire as we are of dirt, so Hell is an “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” scenario for the fallen.)

1:8-9 See Psalm 45:6-7. He is the Anointed One (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:14-21).

1:10-12 See Psalm 102:25-27. Jesus is the Word/Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-30).

1:13 See Psalm 110:1.

2:2 “message…through angels” The Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 33:2, Galatians 3:19). Regarding “every violation…received…punishment”, Jesus was punished for us already (Hebrews 2:9, Hebrews 9:22)...

2:3 …so don’t miss out on His deal.

2:6-8 See Psalm 8:4-6.

2:10 “perfect” Jesus was never imperfect, but His experience among us is part of Him being perfect in His role (verse 18).

2:12 See Psalm 22:22. See also Micah 5:3 (Micah 2-4 for context).

2:13 See Isaiah 8:17-18.

2:14 The devil had the power of death. This makes me give things like Exodus 12:23 (“the destroyer”) a second look. Jesus won and took that power (Revelation 1:18). The devil is squatting in Jesus’ office here on Earth for the moment (Ephesians 2:2, 1 John 5:19), despite Christ’s ownership (Hebrews 2:8-9).

2:16-17 “make atonement” See Leviticus 16. Hebrews is explaining why Jesus came to Earth as a human instead of something seemingly “cooler” like an angel covered with eyes (Ezekiel 10:12).

2:18 “tempted” The audience of Hebrews was tempted to pick Judaism over Christianity (Hebrews 10:19-39).

3:1 Not every line of every Epistle was written to people that were already saved. The Book of Hebrews was written to Hebrews. They were a holy (set apart) nation (Exodus 19:6) with a heavenly calling (because they were invited to Heaven). “We” (the author of Hebrews and the rest of us Christians) acknowledge Jesus as our High Priest, and the author of Hebrews invited the Hebrews to do the same.

3:2 Having addressed Jesus being greater than the angels, the new topic is Jesus being greater than Moses.

3:3 See Hebrews 1:2.

3:4 Moses had a Creator. See Colossians 1:15-17.

3:5 See Numbers 12:7.

3:6 “confidence…hope” There are plenty of synonyms for faith. Worried about someone who now lacks faith, like say, an Alzheimer’s patient? If they ever knew Him, then He’s got them (Romans 8:39, 2 Timothy 2:13), and there is leeway for ignorance (1 Timothy 1:13).

3:7-11 See Psalm 95:7-11.

3:8 “...do not harden your hearts” Evangelistic appeals would be playacting, dishonest, and a waste of time if the popular notion of predestination of individuals were true.

3:11 This was God’s oath to unbelievers. There are better oaths for us coming later in the Book of Hebrews.

3:12 Again, the sin that is dealt with in this letter is unbelief. That will be important for context later.

3:14 Opponents of eternal security like to use this verse, but remember that the Hebrews’ “original conviction” was faith in the living God (verse 12) and holding that conviction to the very end (Hebrews 1:2) would have meant them staying on the Jesus train (Romans 10:4) since all of Scripture has been pointing to Him.

3:15 See Psalm 95:7-8.

3:16 in Numbers 14.

3:19 This is not a threat for Christians whose observable commitment and religious feelings ebb and flow. The author of Hebrews is saying that God brought the Jews through history to the time of Christ just as He led them through the wilderness and that picking Jesus was like choosing to enter the Promised Land. Paul said something similar in Romans 10:4 when he said that Christ is the end of the Law for believers.

4:1 Here’s another evangelistic appeal. Your pastor hopefully throws out an altar call pretty regularly instead of assuming everyone in the room is already saved.

4:2 Joshua and Caleb believed and they got to enter the Promised Land.

4:3-5 See Psalm 95:11. He’s always working (John 5:17), but God had a chill spot way back in Genesis 2:2. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, so the Rest has been there for us since the beginning (John 1). We who have believed enter that rest (John 17:20-26), and it is glorious (Isaiah 11:10).

4:7 See Psalm 95:7-8.

4:8 “Joshua” taking Canaan wasn’t the end of God’s promises.

4:9-10 See Romans 4:4-5 and Ephesians 2:8-9. Trusting Jesus’ finished work is retiring from relying on your own efforts. It’s not taking a day off to check a box (Hebrews 10:1, Colossians 2:16-17), but believing the truth of Matthew 11:28-29.

4:11 “us” The effort is simple faith (John 6:28-29). The author of Hebrews used a polite “us” to address fellow Jews to encourage them to make sure all of them had come to Christ and that no one would be left behind again as in Numbers 14.

4:12 as in Revelation 1:16.

4:13 See Jeremiah 11:20. Rather than stop there and seek sermons about how we all need to get busy for the Kingdom, please keep reading.

4:14 “Therefore” When we see words like “therefore”, we know the cure for whatever problem we just read about is nearby and the author is coming to a point. Our remedy is our High Priest, and all we have to do is “hold firmly” or trust Him. This is not meant to scare us into worrying whether our endurance is enough (human effort never is), but to get the half-in-half-out still-doing-Temple-sacrifices-for-righteousness audience to pick Christianity. “Don’t go back to Second Temple Judaism” is the bar to clear.

4:15 See John 8:46.

4:16 See Ephesians 3:12 and 1 John 4:18. Does having a throne of grace you can approach confidently sound like we have anything to fear from Dad?

5:2 We ignorant, wayward sheep are fine (Luke 23:34).

5:3 as in Zechariah 3.

5:4 in Exodus 28:1.

5:5 See Psalm 2:7.

5:6 See Psalm 110:4. We are safe as long as Jesus lives; He is our High Priest forever (Hebrews 7:25). The significance of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20) is explained in Hebrews 7.

5:7 He prayed for deliverance in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was saved from death at the Resurrection.

5:8 “learned obedience from what he suffered” references a Greek proverb; it’s not like Jesus was disobedient (John 8:46).

5:9 “made perfect” for His role as our Sacrifice and our High Priest through that experience. “Obey” Jesus by believing in Him (John 6:28-29). The same word for “obey” here is used in Acts 12:13 for hearing/answering a knock at the door. Our Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

5:11-12 These verses are sometimes used to say that this letter was to the Church, but see Romans 10:16-21 to see why this book is called “Hebrews” instead of “Christians”.

5:13 Babies can’t talk very well yet, much less witness for Christ (verse 12). The audience of this letter should have been saved already due to the centuries of Scriptures pointing to Jesus, but they were still trying to make up their minds. Believers in Christ are not only familiar with the teaching about righteousness, they are entirely righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 10:14).

5:14 Christian maturity provides the ability to better distinguish the Indwelling Christ’s voice from Sin’s voice.

6:1 “acts that lead to death” can also be translated as “dead works” or “useless rituals”.

6:2 The Pharisees and Sadducees debated with each other about whether there would be a resurrection. The Pharisees insisted on additional washing rituals, etc. Remember all the details in Numbers 19 (water of cleansing and when to use it), Leviticus 16 (transferring sin to the scapegoat through touch, plus some more washings), Leviticus 15 (more about when to wash and what not to touch), etc? The author of Hebrews said it was time to graduate from laying their hands on animals to slaughter (Leviticus 1:4) and instead cling to Jesus.

The Accuser lurks near this next bit, trying to scare believers with threats of loss of salvation:

6:4 The Old Testament Jews tasted the effects of the Holy Spirit frequently. Think of every time someone had the spirit of God on them for a time to complete a task like prophesying, making art for the Tabernacle, liberating their people from the Philistines, etc.

6:5 Old Testament Jews saw and heard Jesus personally during His pre-Cross ministry. Five thousand of them (John 6) literally tasted the goodness of the Word (John 1) of God and His power.

6:6 It is impossible to bring them back to repentance because Jesus is both boats and the helicopter, so to speak. This is not like in the days of the Judges; there is no other Savior coming for them (John 14:6). The audience of this letter sticking with Judaism would have been equivalent to joining the crowd demanding His crucifixion. There was a partial hardening to the Gospel (Romans 11:11) for the benefit of the Gentiles, and Jesus remains faithful to the unfaithful (2 Timothy 2:13). Coming to your senses is always possible for the wayward; Peter was welcomed back, etc. Those “fallen away” in this verse quit God’s plan at its climax by not accepting Christ after centuries of anticipating Him under the Old Covenant.

6:7 Believers receive Christ and produce the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

6:8 Rejectors of Christ produce nothing worthwhile (Isaiah 64:6). Believers can still have doubts (2 Timothy 2:13, Jude 22-23).

6:9 Despite the gloomy talk from the author of Hebrews, they didn’t even think it applied to people still on the fence about Judaism.

6:10 Here’s a whiff of the old tzedakah righteousness to fellow Jews from places like Psalm 112:9. Like the good Gentile from Acts 10:2, the cups of water (Matthew 10:42) would surely keep them within earshot of the Gospel – just ask Paul about the eventual fate of the descendants of Abraham (Romans 9 through Romans 11).

6:11 They’ve been doing nice things, and that plus the “hope for” adds up to another appearance of Believe and Love. The author wanted them to be like the Faith Hall of Fame coming up in Chapter 11, showing the same diligence in belief as they had in tzedakah toward the end of fully realizing that the culmination of their faith, the Messiah, had come to them.

6:12 “lazy” sluggish and stupid like the Numbers 14 people that failed to enter the Promised Land for unbelief.

6:13 He also did this in Isaiah 45:23, etc.

6:14 in Genesis 22:17.

6:18-19 You may have heard from pulpits your whole life about a covenant between certain Bible characters or you and God, with expectations to uphold on the humans’ end of things. That is not what the Bible teaches us on this side of the Cross. Along with Abraham, we (as we’ll see later in Hebrews) are the beneficiaries of promises that God (He does not lie or change) made to God (He does not lie or change). What He promised is rock solid. What He swore by is rock solid, too. Good luck trying to mess that up.

6:20 This is about to get explained in the text.

7:1 See Genesis 14:18-20.

7:2-10 This mention of a one-time tithe of bandit loot is in service of proving Jesus’ superiority to the Levitical priesthood and is not indicative of a duty under the New Covenant. Genesis had genealogies and lifespans for many of its major characters. Melchizedek, an exception, is seen by some as an appearance of the pre-Incarnate Christ. Jesus lives and is a priest forever (Psalm 110:4), and Levi, in/through Abraham, paid tribute to Him in recognition of His blessing. Regarding Levi being in Abe, if your ancestor died before you were conceived, you would have been missing from the world. We were all within Adam (or “in Adam”) since the beginning of humanity.

7:11-12 What of nary a jot nor a tittle of the Law disappearing until Heaven and Earth disappear? The Law remains, but we died to the Law (Romans 7:4), and we’re under a different covenant now.

7:13-14 How could the Law of Moses apply to believers when it says our High Priest is from the wrong tribe for that?

7:17 in Psalm 110:4.

7:19 See Romans 3:20.

7:20 The author resumes the line of thinking we discussed in the Hebrews 6:18-19 note.

7:21-24 in Psalm 110:4. To repent is to change your mind as seen when comparing this with other instances of “repent”. See Isaiah 9:6-7; God the Eternal Father swore to God the Immortal Son (verse 16) that He would be the Intercessor (Isaiah 53:12, Romans 8:34) on our behalf forever.

7:25 “Therefore He is able to save completely…He always lives to intercede…” Are you forgiven your past sins but still on the hook for new stuff? No, He is able to save you completely. “Purgatory?” Nope. “But what if I…?” You are safe as long as Jesus lives, which is forever. Moses interceded for the Israelites to prevent their destruction in Exodus 32, and Jesus is an even better Intercessor. You are saved because of His indestructible life, not for anything you do or don’t do (Ephesians 2:8-9).

7:26 like John 8:46.

7:27 Remember in Numbers 35:25 how the Old Covenant high priest’s death absolved killers and they could go home? Our High Priest’s death absolved us, and we get to go home to Heaven as God’s children. The Cross worked. Jesus isn’t up there dying over and over again, and you’re not being forgiven again and again or a little at a time, either. This letter goes on to say that you have been perfectly cleansed for all time already thanks to Jesus (Hebrews 10:14).

7:28 “after” Psalm 2 came after the Law, as did the announcement of Jesus’ status at His baptism.

8:1 “main point…sat down at the right hand” See Psalm 110:1. There are no chairs in the Tabernacle/Temple because the human priests’ work was never done. Jesus sits because His work is finished, and believers are totally forgiven people.

8:2-5 There are things above that resemble things here (Galatians 4:26, Revelation 21:10). The heavenly Tabernacle that served as a blueprint (Exodus 25:40) for Moses’ is a part of the Heaven that has yet to be replaced (Revelation 21:22). It appears again in Revelation 11:19.

8:6-7 “superior…new covenant…better promises” We benefit from promises that God made to God. You’re just not powerful enough to mess that up. Maintaining a family identity, history, Torah study, etc., per Romans 3:1-2 is fine as long as your source of righteousness is Christ. However, Christians died to the Law of Moses so that we can bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4).

8:8-12 See Jeremiah 31:31-34.

8:8 “found fault” as with their brickmaking abilities in Exodus 5:16. The point of the Law was to fail so God’s grace could be seen. The “New Covenant” was new for Israel and Judah, but it’s not limited to them (Isaiah 49:5-6). It’s the one and only option.

8:9 “not be like…because they” The Old Covenant was based on human faithfulness; the New Covenant is based on God’s.

8:10 “laws” That’s a plural here, not the usual singular for the Law of Moses. The laws on our hearts under the New Covenant are behavior instructions like Believe, Love, and a straightforward application of Acts 15:20. A life that doesn’t look like that won’t ultimately satisfy a believer.

8:12 As promised back in Jeremiah 31:34, God says He’s not remembering your sins anymore. He is trustworthy. The performance-based deal is over. He says that the past is hidden from His eyes (Isaiah 65:16). See also Isaiah 43:25 and Psalm 130:3-4.

8:13 The Old Covenant is no more. If Jesus hadn’t settled it in the audience’s minds, then the events of 70 AD were coming to put an exclamation point on it. The Law of Moses remains only to reveal the need for Christ’s grace. The “disappearance” of the Old Covenant was foreshadowed by no one knowing where Moses was buried (Deuteronomy 34:6). The priests couldn’t do their job in the presence of God’s glory (1 Kings 8:11), which we have (John 17:22). See also Hebrews 10:9, Galatians 3:24-25, and 2 Corinthians 3:11-13.

9:4 See Leviticus 16:12-13. The Old Covenant involved a lot of hiding from the One who is always with believers now. Regarding the ark, the manna, the staff that had budded, and the tablets, Mary’s womb contained the fulfillment of the Law, the Bread of Heaven, and the Resurrection.

9:7 “once a year” See Leviticus 16:29-34. Christians have historically treated Jesus’ blood as less effective than that of animals. Whether it’s going to a “priest” in a confessional booth or keeping short accounts with God by praying for forgiveness on a sin-by-sin basis, at least the Hebrews got a whole year of offenses dealt with at once. The often-overlooked point that Jesus died once and that you were therefore cleansed once for all your past, present, and future sins is coming soon in the text.

9:10 “ceremonial washings – external regulations” Receiving the Holy Spirit is the baptism that matters (1 Peter 3:21, Galatians 3:2,5).

9:12 “once for all…eternal redemption” Our salvation is forever. Eternal is without beginning or end. If we could mess it up, it wouldn’t be eternal. See Romans 6:10.

9:13 references the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) and the Red Heifer (Numbers 19) to set us up to hear about the better once-for-all cleansing available through Jesus.

9:14 “How much more” are familiar words in Jewish thought as we saw in Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels.

9:16 “will” What we would translate as a will, a testament, and a covenant are all the same Greek word.

9:17 The New Testament begins at the Cross.

9:20 in Exodus 24:8.

9:22-28 He’s not up there dying over and over, so you’re not being forgiven over and over. The Cross worked. You are fully forgiven. The ledger for recording your sins is gone (Colossians 2:13-14); the Accuser has no evidence. See also John 1:29 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.

9:22 God doesn’t accept apologies. God accepts blood (Leviticus 17:11). Logically, if an activity required neither sacrifice nor the death penalty it is hard to call it a sin (Romans 6:23). Conversely, there were plenty of sacrifices for other reasons like ritual cleanliness or gratitude, so this principle is for “ruling out” but not for “ruling in” definable sins.

9:28 He’s not coming back to deal with our sins again. That’s over. Don’t join the devil in accusing our brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 14:4) in ways that don’t build them up in the faith.

Hebrews 10 – The whole Bible has been leading up to this point. Don’t forget that He has made you blameless (Colossians 1:22). There are Arminian works-based readings of portions of chapters 6 and 10 that trample His blood by treating it as less effective than that of bulls and goats. The whole point of chapter 10 is that we are forgiven once for all thanks to the finished work of Jesus Christ; we cannot mess that up.

10:1-4 See Acts 13:39 and Colossians 2:17. The same animals for the Old Covenant sacrificial system were used for Abe’s blood path in Genesis 15. They served as a reminder of God’s one-sided deal; we sin, and He died instead.

10:5-7 is Psalm 40:6-8 from the Septuagint. God never wanted the meat bribes (1 Samuel 15:22, Proverbs 21:3, Jeremiah 7:21, Hosea 6:6) as much as He wanted obedience, and Christ’s is perfect. God’s will was our sanctification through His sacrifice (verse 10). Don’t fall for heresies: Real human Jesus’ physical body really bled real blood and really died for a few days. See Isaiah 53:5-6, 1 John 1:1, Leviticus 17:11, and Hebrews 9:22.

10:8-9 The pivot from what the Law of Moses required (that God did not want) to God’s actual will is emphasized here to show that the Old Covenant passed away with the advent of the New Covenant.

10:10 We have already been sanctified/set apart/made holy thanks to the finished work of Jesus Christ once for all. See 1 Corinthians 6:11. Human “priests” dispensing forgiveness a little at a time with confession, baptisms, communion, last rites, etc., are not consistent with this biblical reality.

10:11-12 Priests stood because the meat bribes kept coming, but Jesus finished the job. Christians are totally forgiven people.

10:13 in Psalm 110:1.

10:14 I have sent you to this verse over 68 times so far in this commentary, and I am highly likely to keep doing it. Firstly, “For by one sacrifice” means that the Cross worked completely. Our High Priest bore our guilt (Exodus 28:38) and freed us to return to God with His death (Numbers 35:25). Second, “He has made perfect forever” means that you cannot possibly be any more cleansed or forgiven. If you could mess it up, it wouldn’t be forever. If you still had anything to answer for, it wouldn’t be perfect. Third, let’s look at “those who are being made holy”. Believers are already sanctified/set apart/holy (Hebrews 10:10, 1 Corinthians 6:11) and have new hearts, new human spirits, and the Holy Spirit living inside them permanently (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26-27, John 14:16), but we’re still waiting for new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-57). Our attitudes and actions are a work in progress (James 3:2), but an oak is still an oak as it grows from a sapling to a tree. See John 15:5, Romans 14:4, Hebrews 13:20-21, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, and Jude 24. Whatever great thing you meant to do whenever you finally deemed yourself close enough to God, please do that (Ephesians 2:8-10).

10:15-17 in Jeremiah 31:33-34. See also Ezekiel 36:26-27.

10:18 The audience of the letter to the Hebrews consisted of Hebrews. Going back to the Temple to hedge their bets with animal sacrifices was an insult to Jesus’ finished work on the Cross.

The next section in your Bible may be titled “A Call to Persevere in Faith”. In context, it could be titled “A Call to Become Christians”. Essentially, the faith has been Christian all along, since everything was pointing to Jesus. Rabbinic Judaism, trying to maintain a Temple-less Old Covenant and denying their promised Messiah (Romans 10:1-4), went out from us. 1 John 2:19 isn’t about exactly that, but it’s worth contemplating here, as is Numbers 14:44.

10:19 “confidence” See Ephesians 3:12.

10:22 See 1 John 4:18 and 1 John 5:13. Faith brings full assurance. The water metaphor for the rejuvenation the Holy Spirit brought us continues from Ezekiel 36:25 and Ezekiel 47:9.

10:23 People worry about how to “hold unswervingly” and miss that the point is that “He who promised is faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). It’s great for us to hold as unswervingly as we can (if we can – 2 Timothy 2:13, 1 Timothy 1:13) to Him who is absolutely unswerving (Romans 8:39).

10:24 Grace teaches us to say “no” to Sin (Titus 2:11-12). A great way to spur someone on toward love and good deeds is to remind them that Christ has made them into a good, loving person. If you believe that you are clean and close to God, you will tend to act clean and close to God (Hebrews 13:18).

10:25 This verse has been used to harangue Christians into perfect attendance at specific church buildings. The concept of “church membership” as being on the roll of a specific subset of believers at a specific building is a consequence of the record-keeping requirements for tax-exempt status. The eternal security of an acquaintance of mine was questioned with regard to him missing a Sunday for a fishing trip, “What if you died? Then, what could I say at your funeral?” In context, “giving up meeting together” for the audience of this letter would have been ceasing to associate with Christians altogether and instead crawling back to the Temple/synagogue system. The Church is its people (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), and we have some buildings we have been known to meet in regularly. If some location or some group of people isn’t a good fit for you, you’re free in Christ. Lending an ear to a believing friend in need of support is one of many ways of “meeting together”. Also, in those days, the only Christian instruction most people could get was hearing what was read aloud or preached in person at the assembly. Now, the airwaves, Internet, books, etc., have opportunities to connect with the rest of the Body of Christ at any time. We’re “meeting together” on this page right now, and He is with us (Matthew 18:20) as well as united with us (John 17:20-23).

10:26-29 These verses have been used to scare Christians into trying to perform better. Please re-read Hebrews 3 and come back here. When the author of Hebrews says “we”, they mean fellow Jews. The “sinning” here is unbelief in Christ like in Hebrews 6:4-6, not the ignorant/wayward behavior of Hebrews 5:2. This is an evangelistic appeal to Jews on the fence about Christianity. Jesus is the way to get saved; if they rejected Him, there was no effective back-up sacrifice coming for them later. Your sins are forgotten (Hebrews 8:12) because Jesus dealt with them already (Hebrews 9:26); He’s got you (Hebrews 10:10,14). Your doubts as a believer aren’t a dealbreaker (Jude 22-23). Read Hebrews 6:9 again, please.

10:30-31 in Deuteronomy 32:35-36, “His people” were Old Testament Jews. The wrath is not for believers (John 3:36), and we’re safe with Him (John 6:37). It was “a dreadful thing” for Him to endure the wrath so that I never would. We get what He deserves. Thank you, Jesus.

10:32-34 Becoming a Christian could mean getting stripped and beaten. Becoming a Christian could mean getting disinherited by a Jewish family, being kicked out of the family business, etc.

10:35 “confidence” is another word for faith. Trust Him.

10:36 “persevere” in context is “Stay with us until you arrive at belief in Jesus” and “Don’t knowingly renounce Christ and return to Judaism” rather than trying to meet some level of performance. God’s will is belief (John 6:28-29). Unbelievers were still waiting to receive the promises of the New Covenant, and all believers are still waiting for our Happily Ever After (Hebrews 11:13,39-40), so “keep on keeping on” is good advice for a blended audience.

10:37-38 See Isaiah 26:20 and Habakkuk 2:3-4 (Septuagint). The “faith” is not “faithfulness” like some works-focused commentators say because Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15:6 for believing God’s promise, not for jumping through hoops. It’s even explained in Hebrews 11:1.

10:39 The “we” here are believers. Faith saves. The next section keeps going about how faith is better than unbelief.

11:1-2 The faith that is required is belief, not perfect faithfulness in deeds. What you believe will change how you act, but we’ll get into that again in James. This next bit of Hebrews is like a Faith Hall of Fame.

11:4 Abel had what seemed to be a faith in substitutionary atonement derived from Genesis 3:21, and his blood speaks from the ground as a martyr (Genesis 4).

11:5 in Genesis 5:24.

11:6 See Psalm 34:10 and Psalm 119:2.

11:7 in Genesis 6, Noah wrecked the grading curve for the rest of humanity.

11:8-9 beginning in Genesis 11:31. The faith to uproot his life for something better would have been inspirational to disinherited Jewish Christians. Abe delaying and Sarah laughing are left out of this account; God forgets our sins as He promised.

11:13-16 See Psalm 39:12. Heaven is our home.

11:17 in Genesis 22. Isaac was Abe’s “one and only” freeborn son.

11:18 in Genesis 21:12.

11:19 In Genesis 22:5, Abe had faith that “we” (Abraham and Isaac) would come back from the mountain. Faith in the Resurrection is a sizable chunk of what’s required (Romans 10:9).

11:20 They had faith in the pronounced future.

11:21 “leaned” due to his old wrestling injury (Genesis 32) from the match that redefined him and the destiny of national Israel.

11:22 in Genesis 50.

11:24-25 This is very generous. Moses was an Egyptian until a Hebrew called him out for a well-intentioned killing and he became a fugitive. Thanks to Jesus, our stories will be remembered as kindly.

11:26 “for the sake of Christ” Moses told people to look for Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15). John 1:18 implies that it was Christ that Moses spoke to in Exodus 33:11.

11:28 He had faith that blood would save, foreshadowing the New Covenant.

11:31 See Joshua 2:11.

11:32 Once-timid Gideon (who basically ended up like a pagan king), Barak the reluctant-to-arrive from the days of Deborah, Samson (What would the church folk think of someone who re-enacted parts of his story?), and Jephthah the daughter-sacrificer are all found among the Faith Hall of Fame. Jesus is faithful when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).

11:33-34 There is such a thing as a “just war”.

11:35 in graphic detail in 2 Maccabees 7.

11:37 “sawed” Isaiah died this way according to Church tradition. King Manasseh allegedly gave the order. Simon the Zealot is also said to have experienced this.

11:39-40 The General Resurrection will happen at the return of Christ. They can’t get there until we all get there. Never be envious of an Old Testament hero’s relationship with God; we have something much better. David begged frequently not to lose the Holy Spirit that we have permanently (John 14:16). We can realize some of the benefits of being God’s children even now.

The author of Hebrews pivots to what could be called “Encouragement for the Persecuted”. God comforts us in our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

12:1 The race is the “No Apostasy 500”.

12:2 “pioneer” Author. Our faith depends on Jesus, who He is and what He did, from start to finish.

12:4 “shedding your blood” in contrast to what Christ did (verse 3). Rather than a command to “Bleed!” this is more like “If He can bleed for you, you can quit the Temple/synagogue system for Him despite some rough stuff”. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. To resist him, don’t obey him (James 4:7).

12:5-6 See Proverbs 3:11-12 (Septuagint). Some translations say “scourge” as in to beat with a barbed whip, but it’s “inquire deeply”. The weapon was named a “scourge” later as it “inquired deeply” into the flesh of its target. God does not abuse His children like that (Ephesians 6:4). He’s not sending illnesses, etc. (Matthew 7:11). His discipline is usually just imparting wisdom (John 15:3), and familiarity with Scripture accelerates that learning (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

12:7 The author of Hebrews attempted to put a positive spin on persecution. The thief kills, steals, and destroys, but Jesus came to give us His abundant life (John 10:10). Look at Deuteronomy 8:5 in the context of Deuteronomy 8:2-5. God doesn’t punish us for our past, but He trains us for our future. The author of Hebrews didn’t say that all hardship is God’s discipline, but to use it thusly (Romans 8:28-29). Look at John 15:18-25 through the lens of Hebrews 12:3.

12:8-11 Reading the Bible, hearing sermons, and experiencing the stuff of life that doesn’t seem coincidental can provoke feelings of regret for bad/dumb behavior and inspire change (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Corinthians 7:10). To “live” is to really live the lives He saved us for.

12:12 See Isaiah 35:3.

12:13 See Proverbs 4:26.

12:14-15 It wouldn’t be a New Testament Epistle without some “Don’t Live Like the Unsaved” House Rules, would it? However, since Jesus already made believers holy (Hebrews 10:10,14) and is carrying us on to completion, in context this is more like “make sure all your church members actually accept Christ”. See Deuteronomy 29:18.

12:16 Worshiping other gods was consistently portrayed as whoredom in the Old Testament. While staying within the boundaries of biblical sexual morality as enumerated in Leviticus 18, etc., is a good thing to encourage, mentioning it in the same sentence as Esau’s disregard for his birthright looks like an admonition to remain faithful to Christ instead of Judaism, emperor worship, etc.

12:17 in Genesis 27:30-40. Refusal of the Gospel isn’t final until death; Peter was welcomed back after several denials (John 21). Where there’s life, there’s hope (John 9:4-5, Hebrews 3:13).

12:18-19 in Exodus 19:16 and Exodus 20:19.

12:20 in Exodus 19:12-13.

12:21 in Deuteronomy 9:19.

12:24 “better word” Jesus’ blood graciously forgives instead of calling for vengeance upon us.

12:25 Listen to the truth about Him and believe in Him.

12:26 in Haggai 2:6.

12:29 “consuming fire” with regard to removing the non-eternal like chaff and with regard to jealousy for being the sole recipient of worship (Exodus 24:17, Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24, Deuteronomy 9:3). Yet, He does not burn us (Exodus 3:2). Jesus as fully God and fully human demonstrates that His divinity and our humanity are compatible.

13:1 Hospitality shown to fellow believers (like traveling teachers) for the sake of our siblinghood in Christ shows up again in John’s letters.

13:2 Abe knew Whom he served in Genesis 18, but there are many stories we don’t know (John 21:25).

13:3 No matter when you are reading this, odds are a believer is suffering (John 15:18) and you may be able to help with some of that.

13:4-10 are a unit about committing to our union with Christ even though it meant breaking family ties, employment arrangements, etc.

13:4 “kept pure” from defilement by things like sexual relations with other dudes or their wives as we saw in 1 Thessalonians 4, Leviticus 18, etc. Don’t live like the unsaved. Your sins are forgotten, though, even the next one (John 6:37). (And what believers consider sinful has drifted over the centuries: The Bible allows polygyny, concubinage, relations with slaves, masturbation, male-to-female and female-to-male oral stimulation, etc., and lacks a consistent problem with some non-Temple prostitution, viewing nudity, etc…) He has made us holy, so it just makes sense to live that way. In addition to the meaning at face value, keeping our union with Christ pure by avoiding false ideas (verse 9) fits the Old Testament “idolatry = whoredom” paradigm.

13:5 Contentment with your financial status contrasted with God’s faithfulness may seem like a non sequitur outside the context of the Hebrews being exhorted to accept menial jobs rather than go back to the Temple/synagogue system to reclaim family businesses, etc. God won’t leave you (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, etc.), so you shouldn’t try to leave Him.

13:6 See Psalm 118:6-7. What could mortals do to them? They could throw them out of the synagogues, stop feeding them if they were widows, etc.

13:8 like Psalm 55:19.

13:9-10 “ceremonial foods” like showbread and Passover.

13:11-13 They were to go to Him despite it getting them kicked out of the Temple/synagogue system.

13:14 The New Jerusalem descends in Revelation 21:2.

13:15-16 Praise and sharing are offerings (Psalm 69:30-31, Acts 10:4, 2 Corinthians 9:13).

13:17 Jesus is our Advocate with God, so the accounting is demanded by those outside the community. The church leaders were like the paterfamilias of an ethnic group and had to speak for us. The faith already got enough bad press without members doing scandalous things.

13:18 The author knew they were clean, so they wanted to live honorably. Amazing how that works and keeps coming up.

13:20-21 See Romans 14:4, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, 2 Peter 1:3, Jude 24, and Ecclesiastes 3:14.

The letters after Hebrews are important in their own right, but they’re also background reading for Revelation, which shares themes like the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, lack of hospitality, false teachings, etc.

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