INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

by Ray Shelton

1. Author. The Epistle to the Hebrews, as can be seen by a comparison with other New Testament epistles (see I Timothy 1:1-2; II Timothy 1:1-2; Philemon 1-3), does not begin with the identification of the writer in a salutation which was characteristic of first century letters (Acts 23:26; 15:23). The authorship according to tradition (in the Eastern church and later in the Western church) is ascribed to the Apostle Paul as indicated by the title in the Authorized Version (King James Version). But it is by no means certain that this tradition is correct. The author does not associate himself with the original apostles (2:3) nor call himself an apostle. (Compare with Gal. 1:1) He had received the gospel second hand from those who personally knew the Lord Jesus and not by direct revelation from the Lord as Paul had (Gal. 1:11-12). In addition the author has a language, style and form of argument different from that of the Apostle Paul. Paul never employs the cultivated diction and polished form that sets this epistle in sharp contrast to the other books of the N.T.

   The opinion of the early church was quite divided as to the epistle's authorship. The Eastern Church usually regarded Paul as its author, who either wrote it directly in Greek or in Hebrew from which it was translated by Luke into Greek (according to Clement of Alexandria, about 190 to 202 A.D.). Origen of Alexandria (about 185 to 251 A.D.) felt that the style and language was un-Pauline but, because of the strongly entrenced Alexandrian belief in the Pauline authorship, held that the thought and content was Pauline and it was most likely written by a disciple of Paul. "But who wrote the epistle God only knows certainly." The Western church usually rejected the claim of Pauline authorship. Origen mentions that, according to an account which had reached him, some held Clement, Bishop of Rome, was the author and others Luke. In the North African branch of the Western church, Tertullian (about 150-222 A.D.) held that Barnabas is the true author (a plausible view but with its difficulties). In recent times, Luther suggested that Apollos is the author (a very plausible view which accords with what little we know about his background and approach as given in Acts 18:24, but without any support in antiquity). Along with most present day scholars, it seems best to agree with the conclusion of Origen that God only knows certainly who wrote the epistle. But no matter who the human instrument God used to write it, the primary author is God Himself (Compare Heb. 1:1-2).

2. Destination. In the early days of the church, the Jews first became Christians and later (Acts 10:45; 11:18,20,21) the Gentiles. Thus there were in the early church two groups of Christians--the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. However, among the Jewish Christians there seem to be two groups: "Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists [Grecian] murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution." (Acts 6:1 RSV) The Hellenists were the Jews of the Diaspora, that is, Jews who had been born and reared outside of Palestine in the lands of the Gentiles where their forefathers had been scattered or dispersed (Acts 2:8-11; 6:8-9). They had been converted to the Christian faith. To this group belonged Stephen, Philip, Paul and Barnabas. The Hebrews were Jews that born and reared in Palestine and had also come to faith in Christ Jesus. The Hebrews probably included the original disciples at first and the priests who believed (Acts 6:7) and the followers of James.

   It is to this group of Jewish Christians that the Epistle to the Hebrews (note the title) was written. The Epistle of James is probably a sample of the outlook and thinking of this group. It is possible that the grievance over the distribution to the widows was only a symptom of a greater tension between the two groups arising from a broad difference of outlook and sympathy. The Hebrews probably tended to think of Christianity as a sect of the Jews (Acts 28:22) and thus tended to cling to the temple and its ritual (Acts 3:1; 5:4-2; 15:1,5). The Hellenists, on the other hand, not feeling as closely tied to the temple and its ritual understood Christianity as independent of the law, temple and its ritual and centering in the person and work of Jesus (see Stephen's defense in Acts 7, particularly verses 47 to 53). As a result of the persecution that arose over Stephen they were scattered preaching the gospel wherever they traveled (Acts 8:1; 11:19-20). Thus they became missionary minded, carrying the gospel to the Gentiles.

   The Hebrews to whom this epistle is addressed are probably not in Palestine or Jerusalem. For there were many Christians in Jerusalem that heard the gospel directly from the lips of the Lord Himself and not second hand (Heb. 2:3). Also the church at Jerusalem was not spiritually backward as were those who received this epistle (Heb. 5:11-6:2). Furthermore, some believers in Jerusalem had suffered actual martyrdom (Acts 7:57-60; 12:1-2). None of those to whom this epistle was addressed had died for the Lord (Heb. 12:4 "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.") although they had suffered moderate persecution, such as public ridicule and reproach and loss of property (Heb. 10:32-34). The epistle to the Hebrews was probably written to the Hebrews in the city of Rome. For the reference in Heb. 13:24 ("Those who come from Italy send you greetings") seems to suggest that those who send the greetings came from Italy originally and are sending their greetings back to the readers who reside in Italy. Also the mention in Heb. 10:32-34 of a moderate persecution seems to be a reference to the mild persecution of the Jews under Emperor Claudius in 49 A.D. A contemporary Roman, Seutonius, records the incident in his Life of Claudius: "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome..." (See also Acts 18:2) The name Chrestus is probably a garbled form of the Latin word for Christ, Christus. The authorities probably took Chrestus to be a contemporary individual, especially since his supporters would insist that he was still alive. The disturbances referred to were probably caused by the preaching of Christ among the Jews at Rome. These disturbances could become quite serious in so large a Jewish community as to draw down upon the Jews the unfavorable notice of the public authorities. The Jews were protected by the privilege of religio licita [permitted religion] so long as they kept the peace. The privilege was forfeited by their intra-synagogal disputes. The ensuing persecution would, of course, involve the Christian members of the Roman synagogues as the prime instigators of the unrest. This probably is the persecution referred to by the writer to the Hebrews in 10:32-34.

3. Date. The epistle was probably written before the bloody persecutions of Nero in 64 A.D. Since there is no reference to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., which by the nature of the contents of the epistle would surely have been mentioned if it had occurred, the epistle to Hebrews was certainly written no later than 70 A.D.

   It was probably written quite a while after the mild Claudian persecution in 49 A.D. (Heb. 10:32 "Recall the former days"). At least one generation of Christians had passed away, including all the original leaders (Heb. 13:7). These factors seem to indicate a date around 60 A.D., a year or two after Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans.

4. Aim. Since the epistle was written to the minority Hebrew group of Jewish Christians in Rome, the aim of the writer is to get them to leave behind the past, stop holding on to the things of the present age, and rather press on to Christ and lay hold on the realities of the new age to come. These Hebrews were faced with the danger of drifting away from the things they heard (Heb. 2:1) and neglecting so great a salvation (Heb. 2:3). Their sin was not the abandoning of Christianity for Judaism but rather remaining as Christians under the cover of the Jewish religion. By trying to live under the cover of the Jewish religion, there was a danger of unbelief (Heb. 3:12) and rejecting Christ (Heb. 6:6). The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews attemps to accomplish this aim in a two-fold way:
   (a) to present the person and work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, particularly stressing His work as a high priest, and
   (b) to warn them of the sin of unbelief and encourage them to go on and enter by faith into the so great salvation God has provided through His Son.
   Thus we find in the epistle alternating sections of exposition and exhortation.

5. Form. The epistle to the Hebrews does not begin like the usual letter of the first century; there is no salutation in which the sender and the receiver of the letter are identified and a word of greeting is given. In fact, the epistle to the Hebrews is less like a letter and more like a sermon. Except for the concluding postscript (13:22-25) the Epistle to the Hebrews is a sermon. Note that in 13:22 the writer calls his work "my word of exhortation;" a very apt description of a sermon. Like all good sermons it has a threefold form: An Introduction (1:1-2:16), a body (3:1-10:18), and a conclusion (10:19-13:21). The body also contains three points ( see outline) like all good sermons. Also like a sermon there are, following sections of exposition, sections of exhortations in which the writer applies his teaching.