Brief Background

Note
For reference use:

Hebrews My Outline-html —  Outline-pdf

  • The writer of Hebrews is unknown

  • Time of writing thought to be between AD 60 - AD 70

    • Hebrews 8:13 (WEB), In that he says, "A new covenant," he has made the first old (obsolete, other translations). But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.

    • "near to vanishing away," "soon to disappear" indicates that the temple is still standing (and functioning), but it will soon disappear.

    • History tells us that the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70

  • At the time of the writing Christians are being persecuted first by the Jewish leadership, and now by the Romans.

    • The audience has doubled down on the elementary teachings of Christianity, we see from Hebrews 5:11-14, perhaps searching for meaning, for relief from the persecution.

    • By feeding solely on the elementary teachings they have returned to their infancy as Christians. They became unable to digest deeper things and were unacquainted with the teachings of righteousness. Which means they didn’t know where their righteousness came from or perhaps if they were even righteous.

  • The writers presentation of solid food throughout the book is intended to bring his audience to maturity so that they can withstand the persecutions fortified with the deep things of God.

  • One other thing I’d like to bring to our attention before we begin our study comes from our investigation into the discovery of "milk" and "meat" or "solid food" from Hebrews 4:14 - 7:28.

    • Even as the writer, beginning in Hebrews 4:14, is making his 4th major point (Jesus is Our Great High Priest) he emphasizes that before Jesus became our high priest, He WAS and IS the Son of God, our confession. It is a point that will be repeated throughout the book. Perhaps it is a point we need to get, maybe better than we do. Our confession is, and our faith rests upon the fact that, Jesus IS the Son of God.

Now let’s begin our study.

Note
For reference use:

Hebrews My Outline-html —  Outline-pdf

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Hebrews Study

Hebrews 1:1-4 - God Now Speaks to Man Through His Son

Hebrews 1:1

Hebrews 1:1 (WEB)

1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

Hebrews 1:2

Hebrews 1:2 (WEB)

2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

Keeping in mind the audience of the letter, notice that in starting his letter the writer doesn’t mention Jesus by name, but by His relationship to God. In fact, Jesus is not named until Hebrews 2:9, until then he is referenced as the Son (of God).

The first four verses comprise the writer’s opening statement. Most translations break these four verses as two sentences. The KJV & NKJV structure them as one sentence.

  • In the past

    • God spoke to some directly - Adam, Cain, Noah, Moses

    • but from before Moses on, He spoke to prophets in visions & dreams until…​

    • Now, "at the end of these days,"

    • We are in the end days

  • God speaks through His Son

    • The writer establishes that God’s spokesperson is now His Son

And even in just this sentence and the next look at how much we learn about Him

  • Whom God appointed heir of everything (all things)

    • This is an interesting concept

    • To inherit, someone has to die

    • But the only person of the Godhead who HAS died is Jesus, the Son

    • And it is the Son who inherits! Who, of course, is NOW alive

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  • THROUGH WHOM (Jesus) HE (God) MADE everything (THE WORLDS)

    • Another interesting concept: Jesus inherits everything the He has made!

    • The bigger point here, of course, is that Jesus IS the creator. God made everything through His Son. This means the Son did the actual making/creating.

Note

The perspective changes here from God to His Son

Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:3 (WEB)

3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification for our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

  • His Son is the radiance/brightness of his (God’s) glory

    • Brings to mind John’s statement, 1 John 2:5b (WEB) God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Note

Radiance

STRONG’S NUMBER:g0541
Dictionary Definition

g0541. ἀπαύγασμα apaugasma; from a compound of 575 and 826; an off-flash, i.e. effulgence (shining brightly, radiant): — brightness.

AV (1) - brightness 1;

  1. reflected brightness

    1. of Christ in that he perfectly reflects the majesty of God

  2. effulgence

    1. shining forth, of a light coming from a luminous body (Vine)

    2. out-raying (Vincent)

  • The very/express image, exact imprint/representation of His (God’s) nature/being/person/substance

    • The words tell us that the Son & Father aren’t exactly the same, but one is an exact imprint/representation/image of the other

    • The Son compares to the Father quite favorably

    • Combined with the radiance (bright reflection) of His glory and you get the idea that the Son is a perfect radiant reflection of the Father

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  • And he (the Son) upholds/sustains all things/the universe by "the word of his power"/powerful word

    • This tells us we have an active savior. He is actively sustaining/upholding everything today.

    • How appropriate that it is "the Word" who is sustaining by His powerful word

  • After/When he had (by himself - KJV,NKJV,WEB) made/provided "purification for/of (our - KJV,NKJV,WEB) sins"

    • What does it take to provide/make purification of our sins?

    • The Hebrews writer will say later in this letter that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins

    • The Son is THE person of the Godhead who died, shed His blood

  • (He)Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high/in heaven

    • After the crucifixion, came the resurrection, because it was impossible for death to hold him (Acts 2:24)

What Have We Learned

What’s the first thing we might want to tell someone who is thinking of giving up on their faith?

Evidently, we should tell them about the Son of God, what it means to be the Son of God, and God’s Son is God’s sole spokesman today.

The first two chapters of Hebrews continue the discussion of the Son of God with a brief interruption at the beginning of chapter two for the writer to chastise and warn his audience as we observed in our look at Hebrews 4:14-7:28

We learn more about His deity in chapter one as He is compared to angels

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