“Introduction to Hebrews”

Friday, September 01, 2017

Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ in the first century was often a dangerous thing. There was persecution from both Roman authorities and from Jewish leaders that made it difficult for some to remain faithful to the Lord.

It was especially challenging for those Jews who had converted to Christianity. After 1500 years of being “God’s chosen people,” they realized the important place the nation of Israel held in God’s eternal plan. He had separated the family of Abraham as the lineage through which the Messiah (the Greek word is Christ) would come into the world.

But now that the Savior had come in the flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the plan of God was advancing into its next and final stage. This is commonly known as the Christian Dispensation, or the Gospel Age, or as “the last days” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

This transition was troubling for many former Jews. They had accepted and obeyed the gospel of Christ and were now New Testament Christians. But persecution and other factors were causing some of them to wonder if they had made a mistake. Some, perhaps many, were returning to Judaism.

This letter was written, by an unnamed author, to convince these Christians that they had done the right thing in obeying the new covenant. He reminds them that the Old Law was being taken out of the way (Hebrews 8:13) and had been replaced by a better way, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We commonly call this the New Testament.

The theme of this letter is “don’t turn back.”

--Roger Hillis

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