The Writings of Hebrews

The Bible is made up of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each testament relates to a season when God was at work bringing salvation to humanity. The Old Testament tells of God’s work through the nation of Israel. The New Testament tells of God’s work through His Son, the Person of Christ and His Church. But the two testaments are not separate from each other.

How are they connected? What is the link between these two major parts of the Bible? They cover different time periods, separated by thousands of years. They tell of different people groups and different languages. On the surface the two testaments seem very different and disconnected from each other. Its as if God tried to save humanity through the nation of Israel and the Law but then gave up because it didn’t work. Then He tried to save the world through His Son, Jesus.

God knew the Bible needed a book that would link the two testaments together, showing that link to be Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews is a letter sent to Jewish Christians struggling to stay in relationship with other Christian communities. We don’t know who wrote the letter but the author wants the believers to know that Jesus is the High Priest who gives everyone access to God. The author also wants to challenge Christians to remain faithful to Jesus even when they face all kinds of challenges and hardships.

The author of Hebrews starts by telling his readers about Jesus, so they can be encouraged in their faith and they can understand His connection with God’s covenant. Jesus is God’s Son. God gives Jesus everything as an inheritance. Jesus is a faithful High Priest. As a high priest he sits in the place of honor next to the throne of God. Jesus is like a bridge between God and people, fulfilling the Law and sacrifice. Jesus represents the new promise that is better than the law written in the time of Moses. Just like the prophet Jeremiah foretold, the old promise was written on stones, but the new promise is written on the hearts of people. Jesus offered his blood and died as a sacrifice for people’s sins so that people could live free from the bondage that comes from sin. 

The author doesn’t want his readers to disregard the old covenant. There are great heroes of the faith who lived their lives by faith in God. Some Hebrews may have been expecting that when the Messiah came that their lives would be very different, that they would have riches and power and continual happiness. However, they continued to face opposition, hardship and pain. Was Jesus truly the Messiah or were they mistaken? The author reminds his readers that Jesus faced the same challenges as they do so he understands and can help them in their times of weakness. The author reinforces the link of Christ between the two covenants. 

Towards the end of the letter, the author emphasizes that life should be lived with others. He wants his readers to draw near to God together. He wants readers to hold onto hope together. He wants readers to encourage each other to show love and do good. Together they can live in the New Covenant. Together they can follow the example of Jesus and run the race of life that is before them without giving up.