Hebrews: A Letter of Encouragement and Challenge
Hey there! Have you ever heard of the book of Hebrews in the Bible? It might sound a bit intimidating, but it’s actually a super inspiring letter written to encourage and challenge early Christians. Let’s dive into what it’s all about!
The Main Idea
Hebrews is like an inspiring talk from your youth worker, reminding us that Jesus is the ultimate champion and our faith in him is the most valuable thing we have. The writer is like a tour guide, showing us how Jesus is greater than anything or anyone else in the Old Testament. He also gives us practical advice on how to live our lives for God.
Key Points
- Jesus is Superior: Hebrews shows us how Jesus is the fulfilment of all God’s promises. He’s better than the angels, the prophets, and even Moses! He’s the perfect high priest who offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
- Faith is Essential: The writer encourages us to hold on tight to our faith, even when things get tough. He tells us stories of amazing people who trusted God and were rewarded for it. We can follow their example and persevere in our faith journey.
- Living for God: Hebrews gives us practical tips on how to live a life that honours God. It talks about the importance of community, perseverance, obedience, and generosity. It also warns us against the dangers of drifting away from God.
Questions for Reflection
- Why do you think the writer of Hebrews spent so much time comparing Jesus to figures in the Old Testament?
- How does the idea of Jesus being the “perfect high priest” change the way you think about God?
- What are some of the challenges and obstacles that can make it difficult to hold on to our faith?
- How can the stories of faithful people in Hebrews inspire us to persevere in our own lives?
- What are some practical ways we can live a life that honours God, as encouraged by the book of Hebrews?
Challenge
Take some time this week to read a few chapters of Hebrews. See if you can identify some of the ways Jesus is presented as superior. Think about how you can apply the practical advice in Hebrews to your own life. Remember, Jesus is the champion, and our faith in him is our greatest victory!
The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God’s grace. A striking feature of this presentation of the gospel is the unique manner in which the author employs expositions of eight specific passages of the Old Testament Scriptures.
This epistle shows Christ as the end, foundation, body, and truth of the figures of the law, which of themselves were no virtue for the soul. The great truth set forth in this epistle is that Jesus of Nazareth is the true God. The unconverted Jews used many arguments to draw their converted brethren from the Christian faith. They represented the law of Moses as superior to the Christian dispensation, and spoke against every thing connected with the Savior. The apostle, therefore, shows the superiority of Jesus of Nazareth, as the Son of God, and the benefits from his sufferings and death as the sacrifice for sin, so that the Christian religion is much more excellent and perfect than that of Moses. And the principal design seems to be, to bring the converted Hebrews forward in the knowledge of the gospel, and thus to establish them in the Christian faith, and to prevent their turning from it, against which they are earnestly warned. But while it contains many things suitable to the Hebrews of early times, it also contains many which can never cease to interest the church of God; for the knowledge of Jesus Christ is the very marrow and kernel of all the Scriptures. The ceremonial law is full of Christ, and all the gospel is full of Christ; the blessed lines of both Testaments meet in Him; and how they both agree and sweetly unite in Jesus Christ, is the chief object of the epistle to the Hebrews to discover.
Matthew Henry
