HEBREWS
Commentary by John W. Gregson
PREFACE
"Jesus Christ (is) the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). What a blessing to
claim that promise which the author gave to his readers, to those who had converted from
Judaism to the Christian faith. In fact, what a blessing to you and me! Yesterday Jesus came to
earth in His Incarnation as Jehovah God's Sacrificial Lamb. At Calvary He paid the sin debt for
all who will look to Him by faith. To know my sin debt has been paid 2,000 years ago is bliss
indeed. Today that same Jesus is now seated at the right hand of Jehovah God as my Intercessor
- pleading my case before a righteous God Who loved me enough to die, then He arose and is
now my Intercessor. Forever includes tomorrow and all the future days that will follow into
eternity. One day in that forever that same Jesus Who was God's Sacrificial Lamb and my
Redeemer, one day in the future (it is now September 5, 2000) that same Jesus is coming back to
earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. In fact
There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye;
All is peace for evermore on that happy golden shore-
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One Who died for me-
What a day, glorious day, that will be.
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face--the One Who saved me by His grace,
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day, that will be.
--Jim Hill
Again, from the pen of the author of Hebrews, he wrote a promise from our Lord - "I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5b). What a promise to know that in sickness and
health, in sorrow and joy, in the midst of persecution and good times, in death and in life, I can
claim that promise. No one or no thing can persuade the Lord Jesus Christ to leave me nor
forsake me. Paul indicated that nothing can separate us from the love of God. "For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39).
I must admit my reluctance to write this commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews since the
principles contained therein were more applicable to the Hebrews than the Gentiles. What a
blessing it was, however, to see God at work among the Hebrews, but many of the same
principles also apply to mankind regardless of culture or clan, nationality or ethnic background,
race or color, creed or belief. His principles apply to all.
I have tried to give synonyms where synonyms were applicable to explain the Scriptures further. I
have in the main used Scripture from the King James Version, the New King James Version, the
New Testament in the Greek, and the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old
Testament (LXX). When quoting from the Old Testament the author either quoted verbatim or
from memory using the Septuagint Version.
What a blessing it was as I read and reread the text itself, and then read the commentaries of other
writers (a list can be found in the bibliographical section) and put my feelings down on paper. I
am greatly indebted to other writers, and where I quoted from them I have tried to give credit
were credit is due, I have referred to the author and page number in their work. I claim neither
originality nor any degree of inspiration beyond that enjoyed by any of the servants of Christ in
this age. I am reminded of what Emerson said concerning originality, "Every man is a quotation
from his ancestors." I am a part of everyone whom I have met, a part of every professor under
whose tutorage I have sat, a part of every minister I have heard preach, and a part of every author
after whom I have read, and the experiences I have had in my over fifty-one years in the ministry,
all this information has gone into what is found on these pages. Furthermore, there is probably
nothing new within the binding of this volume; in fact, whatever is new in religion is by the same
token false.
I pray that my readers will be strengthened as I have been from this commentary on the Epistle to
the Hebrews. Maybe something that is written herein will help to "prime the pump" as these
lessons are read and as the student ministers and laymen and women prepare to preach and teach
God's Word. I still do not know who the human author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was, but I
can be assured that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, so God the Holy Spirit is the real Author,
and that makes it worth man's consideration. If any benefits are derived from my feeble efforts,
may Jehovah God and His blessed Son receive the honor and the glory. May God bless these
words to His honor and glory.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
Certainly the book of Hebrews is a very important book; the fact that it was included in the canon
of the New Testament proves its importance. If one believes that the Holy Scriptures are verbally
inspired of God, one can believe that the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the writers to pen the
Scriptures also superintended the placing of them in the canon of Scriptures. The book seems to
exhibit the connection between the Old and the New Testament Scriptures (the writer quotes
from the Old Testament at least thirty-five times), and illustrates the harmony of the scheme of
redemption in the midst of changing ages and economies. Of the book, Attridge writes, "...(It) is
the most elegant and sophisticated, and perhaps the most enigmatic, text of first-century
Christianity. Its author is unknown and the circumstances of its composition remain mysterious.
Its argumentation is subtle; its language refined; its imagery rich and evocative" (p. 1). Barnes'
Notes indicate that Hebrews contains the most sublime descriptions of the dignity and glory of
Christ's person, the excellence of His sacrifice, and the superiority of His gospel; intermingled
with hortatory matter, wherever the grand argument can admit of a pause, full of solemnity and
pathos (p. 2)
Genre
Is the book of Hebrews a letter (epistle) or a sermon (homily)? It has few of the characteristics of
a letter or epistle. Some think it is a combination of several sermons collected and combined by
an author into one manuscript. Hebrews does not begin as other letters or epistles of the New
Testament. The writer uses the words, "speak," "speaking," "saying," "say," "discuss,"
"hearing," and "listening" (2:5; 5:11; 6:9; 8:1; 9:5; 11:32) leading one to think of it as a homily or
sermon. It is, however, a masterpiece of first century Christian prose. Some scholars think it is
the best Greek of the New Testament; it contains sheer eloquence. The writer concludes the
teaching part of the book with a "word of exhortation" - 13:22. Could the book be an essay?
Regardless of one's opinion of the genre of Hebrews it is the Word of God. In this study we will
deal with it as the inspired Word of God and an epistle.
Authorship
The writer of Hebrews does not begin with the usual greetings and salutations that are typical of
Paul's letters nor that of James, Peter, John or Jude. The name of the author is not mentioned;
however, he does mention Timothy - 13:23. The authorship of Hebrews doubtless will not be
settled until Jesus comes. Origen's comment is: "Who wrote the epistle, in truth God knows,"
and this comment has been repeated by modern commentators; he stated that the style of Hebrews
was not Pauline. Tertullian suggests Barnabas; Luther proposed Apollos; Erasmus attributed it to
Clement of Rome; other possibilities are Priscilla in collaboration with her husband, Aquilla.
Clement, writing in the early part of the third century, suggests that Paul wrote it in Hebrew, and
that Luke translated his text for the Greek speaking Jews. To support his argument he cited the
similarity between the Greek of Hebrews and that of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.
Luke was in close association with the Apostle Paul; he knew Paul's theology, he could have
taken notes while listening to Paul preach or while talking with Paul. Luke never gave his name
to his Gospel or to Acts; nor does the writer of Hebrews give his name. Westcott says Hebrews
possesses a likeness in style to the Gospel of Luke. Others say it was written by Silas (Silvanus), in collaboration with Paul.
Some think the writer is more Jewish than Paul and more Greek than Paul. Whoever wrote it, he
had a remarkable knowledge of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
herein referred to as LXX), and he uses it exclusively.
In the first, second and third centuries the churches of the Western world (Italy, as well as well as
Europe and Asia Minor) did not claim the book for Paul, however, in the fourth century they
claimed it for Paul. As a whole the churches of the Eastern world (Egypt, Syria and Palestine)
accepted Paul as the author, and it was received into the canon as such. If Paul wrote the book of
Hebrews, did he want to disguise his epistle because the Jews looked upon him as "an apostle to
the Gentiles?"
Date
Of course, if one could be sure about the author, the date might be easier to determine. If Paul is
the author, it was written prior to A. D. 64 and prior to the fall of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 or at
least no reference is made to the fall. In A. D. 95 Clement wrote to the church at Rome and
quoted the passage in Hebrews concerning the superiority of Christ over angels. It was written at
a time of disillusionment and discouragement. The Hebrew Christians were sorely tempted to
renounce their faith, and the author hoped to save the Christians from getting lost in a wandering
maze. He reminded these perplexed individuals that while the outward was destroyed the central
citadel was impregnable. There are verses, however, which refer to the Temple or its
accouterments which are still intact, (5:1 - 4; 7:20, 21, 23, 27, 28; 8:3, 4ff, 13; 9:6ff, 9, 13, 25;
10:1 - 3, 4, 8, 11; 12:27; 13:10, 11); Paul uses the present tense verbs in these verses. Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and He would never fail them. This was his
slogan and watchword for days of distress (Expositor's Bible, p. 491).
Destination or Recipients
The earliest manuscripts gave no title, of course the original manuscript has not been found. The
title written much later was simply Pros Hebraious, however, at a later date the inscription was
given - "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews." Internal evidence points to the fact
that the book was written to Hebrew converts; it treats of Hebrew institutions. It makes no
allusion to Gentile customs or laws; moreover, its converts were from Judaism to Christianity.
Was it written for the Hebrew Christians in Palestine? If it were written to the Jews of Palestine,
however, would it not have been written in Aramaic, the language of the Jews in Jerusalem? Was
it written from Italy, in 13:24, the writer writes, "...They of Italy greet you." There were many
Christians living in Rome, and the epistle was first known and used in Rome by Clement of Rome.
Roman Christianity was originally Jewish. Some maintain, however, it was written to the Hebrew
Christians living in Palestine in contradistinction from the foreign Jews who were Hellenists. The
word Hebrews occurs only three times in the New Testament (Acts 6:1; II Corinthians 11:22;
Philippians 3:5) and none in the book of Hebrews.
Purpose
What was the purpose of the book of Hebrews? Its "targeted" audience was an assembly in
crises; it could have been a "house" church. It seems to have been written to combat religious
formalism. It magnifies the romance of primitive religious orthodoxy and the essential excitement
of the Christian faith. It also magnifies the Christ over the priesthood of Judaism in 1:24; it
combats a drift toward complacency and a warning against the danger of apostasy. It encourages
those who suffered religious persecution - 10:32, 33; it combats ethical compromise - 10:33; 13:6.
It further establishes the coming of the Lord - 9:28; 10:37; 11:1. Robertson states, "...this Epistle
deserves to be called the Epistle of the Priesthood of Christ...This conception of Christ as our
Priest who offered himself on the Cross and as our Advocate with the Father runs all through the
New Testament...but it is in Hebrews that we have the full-length portrait of Jesus Christ as our
Priest and Redeemer. The Glory of Jesus runs through the whole book" (Volume V, p. 328) .
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