One of the problems with reading Hebrews is identifying the date and recipient of the letter. I am fairly well convinced that the recipients were in Rome, living just before the Neroian persecutions. I think the standard arguments for this position are solid. Jobes (Letters to the Church) makes the point that the book does not use the destruction of the Temple as a “proof” that the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New. In addition, the church has “not yet suffered to the point of shedding blood” (12:4). If the recipients are in Rome, then the letter must refer to a time prior to Nero’s persecution of Christians (A.D.64), but after Caligula Claudius expelled Jews (A.D. 49).
Given this context, the recipients struggle with the promises of Christian faith. If Jesus is the true sacrifice and the fulfillment of the promises of the Hebrew Bible, why have they suffered so much? As J. W. Thompson says in his Hebrews commentary, the book is written to “reorient a community that has been disoriented by the chasm between Christian confession of triumph and the reality of suffering it has experienced.”
This is not apologetics in the modern sense. The author does not argue against Judaism nor does he state that Judaism was bad or wrong in any way. Rather, the writer constructs a positive argument for Jesus’ superiority to various elements of Judaism; he is superior because he is the fulfillment of these things. (He is the substance to which the shadow pointed).
If I am right about the context of the book and the recipients have suffered for their faith already (and are about to suffer even more so under Nero), then the readers may very well have struggled with the shame of suffering in a culture which did not see suffering as a virtue. Within a Jewish context, suffering is sometimes seen as a result of sin, or at the very least, a lack of blessing from God. We only need to look at the discussion in the book of Job to see that there was a lively discussion of why humans suffer. If Christians are right and Jesus has triumphed, then why are his followers not blessed? Why are they suffering?
Within a Greco-Roman context, Christians were not seen as successful because they suffered. Roman thinking was very much based on honor and shame, of one suffered shame and humiliation in public, one cannot be described as successful!
The book therefore addresses a very real problem. If Jesus is already seated at the right hand of the Father, why is it that Christians suffer shame and persecution? Christians are not “of this world,” they are part of the real, unshakeable reality which is not of this world at all.
The theological dissonance which the book of Hebrews addresses is certainly applicable to the church today, especially in America. Evangelical American Christian can be described as “triumphant,” especially in the last half of the 20th century. Evangelical churches expanded greatly and had a greater impact on culture than at any time in history.
We very well may be past that now. Studies indicate that the church is still growing, but at a pace which is slower than the general population. We are beginning to lose ground and we have in many ways lost our voice in the public square. Perhaps this is due to Christians who have humiliated themselves and brought shame to the cause of Christ, or because some very bad people chose to use evangelical Christianity as a way to advance political careers or other agendas.
I have read Jobes’ research and opinion on the purpose of Hebrews. From reading the above blog, I get the sense that the purpose of Hebrews is to tell the suffering of Christ and how his death is compared to that of Old Testament sacrifices. The real purpose of Hebrews is to show how Jesus’ death at the cross and resurrection has taken away the sin God’s people had to clean through sacrifice. Jobes (Letters To The Church) makes a good point in her chapter of Hebrews when she talks about the cleansing of the people. When Jews sacrifice animals to clean themselves of sin, they were clean in mind, but not in heart. They would still commit sins and would have to sacrifice again and again. It all changed with the death and shedding of Jesus’s blood. Hebrews 9:12 says that Jesus “entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” When Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of mankind, their minds and hearts were cleaned forever. They did not have to sacrifice animals to be clean anymore. All they had to do was believe in Jesus and what he suffered on the cross; the purpose of Hebrews.
Caligula died in 41. You mean Claudius. For that matter, you could tighten your window, as Jews apparently trickled back into Rome quickly following Claudius’ death in 54.
On the historical clues, it seems the blood shedding comment is more encouraging when the idea is “We made it. You will too.” Therefore, I wonder who else, before 64, could attest bloody persecution? I can’t think of any. Besides that, it seems to me that Roman-Jewish-Christians would me less likely to *need* this advice, and be more likely to give it; vice-versa, it seems the Palestinian-Jewish-Christians would be more likely to need it, and less likely to give it.
These are just my own thoughts, Phliip. If you’e come across similar thinking before, and/or have any arguments against such, I’d love to be further educated.
Thanks, as always, for the quality blogpost.
Egads, horrible error. You are correct of course, and I have fixed my error. BTW, good to see you on the blog again, and it is also good to see your blog returning to regular activity.
You are also correct to emphasize the post-54 date, since I am going to insist on Jewish Christians as the target audience. As for the “who else” question, immediately Paul comes to mind, although I am really not happy with Paul as the author! Silas certainly was persecuted along with Paul, and is sometimes suggested as an author.
In the end, I think that modern scholarship is much less bothered by an anonymous book in the NT than the first two centuries. We play at identifying the author since that is what we do in our ivory towers, but in the end, the author has to remain unknown.
Good to be back around. Thanks, Philip. I wish I could interact more often.
I’m afraid I was unclear in that my “who else” was an unconsciously *plural* “who”. IOW, I meant to ask – Which *communities* would have been bloodied or nearly bloodied during that era (54-70)? Again, prior to 64, I’m not aware of any whole groups being beaten. Anyway, my question was – which churches more likely fit that bill as the letter’s sending/receiving location.
To be fair, however, upon further reflection I now see how the author’s personal suffering could have been intended as the comparable reference point. For an unlikely example that makes the point, I suppose if someone like Jason from Thessalonica were the author they could have taken it as a jesting brag. So maybe you’re right that the author’s personal suffering could be
On your last point I completely agree. Ultimate anonymity for Hebrews is no problem at all. Still, these puzzles sometimes surprise us with the potential relevance of certain solutions, so I also wouldn’t trivialize the pursuit of authorship.
Thanks again.
I agree with the statement above regarding the time in which the book of Hebrews was written. The Roman recipients seemed to struggle with their faith and trust in God. However, considering the time period of culture and customs, this would be challenging. It must have been difficult to be so horribly persecuted when they thought that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and was going to relieve them of their pain and suffering. Therefore, the question of “if Jesus came why are we still suffering?” is still heavy on the residents of Rome minds. I personally believe that many Christian’s still struggle with this concept today. It is like Jobes points out later in the text “did God really say?” The people of God have doubts due to their living conditions on earth. As it states in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Our reward is eternal life through Him.
This article was both helpful in my study of Hebrews and quite intriguing.
First, understanding the time period sheds a new light on the book. The ESV Study Bible notes that the dating of Hebrews relies heavily on the if the destruction of the temple has occurred or not. It notes that it was mostly likely before 70 A. D. Using this knowledge in conjunction with information in this post – that the recipients were probably in Rome, had faced some persecution, and yet pre-Nero – provides a rich context for the letter. This, in turn, increased my understanding, curiosity, and study of Hebrews.
Secondly, the topic of suffering and the Jewish culture (paragraph four) gave me more to consider. Throughout the Torah there is a consistent pattern of blessings and curses. The well-known story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) reflects this; a case could also be made that this would also be true of the account of Adam and Eve’s banishment from the Garden (Genesis 3). Obedience vs. disobedience is central to the Hebrew peoples’ Exodus from Egypt.
This gives an increasingly helpful perspective of the context of Hebrews.
The combination of the two observations leads to a third topic: application. Understanding the context provides a broader, better way to apply the content of Hebrews. We see phrases such as “Walk by Faith and not by Sight” attributed to Hebrews on greeting cards, journals and the like. Unfortunately, this is the majority of what we see from the book of Hebrews. Knowing the context – that the Hebrew Christians are struggling and suffering persecution from an unpopular faith – sheds light on the message of Hebrews and what it may offer to Christians facing a similar struggle in the ‘already-but-not yet’ or what may be called a post-Evangelical America.
You mentioned at the end of your post that the possible reasons that christianity is still growing but not as big is because of political careers. which makes sense because the people who are in office now grew up in that era where christianity was on a big incline in the United States. so they are using it to push an agenda with the older generation. But I also have seen within the past couple of months, christian people speak up. chick-fil-a has made the news many times making progress in helping and promoting christian thinking. if I can say the pro-life group is christian and our president of the United States just attended a rally and spoke things that no other president has dared to say. Promoting God and the right to life of a child.
Each of those groups that I have mentioned suffer everyday. Chick-fil-a has LGBTQ+ members have sit ins at their restaurant to make a statement. Pro-life communities have feminists put them down, scream in their face, and in some cases attack them. Being a christian in this world is not without suffering. But “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” James 1:2. You must be doing something right if the devil is trying to tear it down.
Zachary,
I agree with your statement that Christianity is possibly still growing because of political careers. But, going off your comment of non-Christians coming after Christians and their beliefs, I believe that as Christians it is only going to get harder from here going forward. Missionaries are currently being denied access into Ireland, many Irish natives have rejected the Bible and the belief of God and Jesus. It is still common to be a Christian in the country we live in, but it is not necessarily the same in other countries like Ireland and China. 2 Timothy 3:12-13 says, “indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (ESV). As much as I wish living as a Christian will get easier as time passes, it will only get harder, especially when the generations that grew up in a society where being a Christian was a way of life leaves, it will continue to worsen. But I also agree with you that being a Christian is not without suffering, if Jesus, the perfect ideal human did not go without suffering, we cannot expect to either.
Determining who the author was, who were the original recipients of these letters and where does the original readers were living escalate a numerous amounts of presuppositions. However, just by reading the book of Hebrew plainly articulate the purpose of the book and why it was written to. I have a strong impression that one view of the purpose of the book could potentially be vary from the other person view since the author addresses a variety of theological topic.
As for me, I am certian that the recipients of this letter were both audiences (Gentile & Jewish converts ) who were living in Rome, oftentimes he use a phrase ‘us’ (Christian) and ‘them’ ( Judaism ). However, the author primary focus seem on a Jewish convert christianity because of its uses of Hebrew Old Testament scriptures as a reference to argued from a Jewish perspective to assert Jesus was indeed the Messiah (God). But Jobes views this as ‘hypothesis’ because Nero persecution did not happened in this period yet, instead they were being expelled from the city by Claudius as result of disturbance through preaching the gospel.
To sum this up, one of the many reasons (purpose) was to encourge the Christian in Rome concerning their faith, because as a result from public alienation or persecution. At this point, Christian in Rome begin to question their faith in Christ. Despite of the persecution, heresies teaching were prominent in this period as well, especially ‘gnosticism’ was the main issue concern from the apostles, such as John, Peter and other Church leaders. Therefore, the author purpose of the book was to sent a word of exhortation; reassuring them their faith in Christ, and readdressing Jesus as the final revelation who is greater then Abraham, Moses, King David, prophets and angels who sat right next to the Father in the heavenly throne. As you mentioned above, the book is not apologetics material, but a persuasive (exhortation/encouragement) sermon in attempt to exhort their faith in Christ.
The Purpose of Hebrews
The book of Hebrews is surrounded in mystery it seems. Endless debates of who the author is and what the meaning or purpose of the book is to continue even to this day. Because we do not know who the author is for sure we do not know the author’s tendencies and personal theology like we do for example with Paul’s books. I really feel that the book of Hebrews was written to both Jewish converts and gentile converts. Throughout the book itself, the author says things like us and them and vice versa. To me, it seems as if the book of Hebrews was written to clarify and encourage the Christians to whom the author was writing.
The context that the book of Hebrews may have been written under is Christians under persecution as the blog suggests. This makes the most sense to me because as Jobes and this blog indicate as well as the book of Hebrews the people to which the book is being written seem to be trying to motivate or inspire those believers. This is understandable especially if you have fellow believers being burned at the stake simply for what they believe. There would be discouragement and doubt among believers based on what they have witnessed or experienced as they tried to spread the gospel to the world a world that was very hostile to followers of Christ.
At the very end of this blog post, you touch on the fact that we are losing the population of true believers in Christ in America. I think that many people in America have been hurt by the church and thus they want nothing to do with the church. Still, others have seen others claiming to be Christians and they are not and so they then want nothing to do with Christians then because they have seen what others who claim to be Christ act like and they are not drawn to that in any way.
I agree to the explanation of the time period of which the book of Hebrews was written.
The Romans seemed to struggle with their faith and trust in God being the recipient. However, considering the customs and the time period of culture, this would turn out challenging. This must have turned out difficult to be so horribly persecuted when they thought that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and was going to relieve them of their pain and suffering.
The question of “if Jesus came why are we still suffering?” is still heavy on the residents of Rome minds. I have come to believe that many Christian’s still struggle with this concept today. Jobes points out later in the text “did God really say?” The people of God doubt due to their living conditions on earth. As it states in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Our reward is eternal life through Him.
I also agree with Zachary Johnson Blog Statement on Christianity because of people political career. I do also believe that it going to get very rough for Christians to succeed in this world because everyone have their opinion on how the world should be ran or how things should go and science and thinking it a higher power than god that running the world. I believe us Christians will have the last laugh because we know that God is the ruler of them all and loves us no matter if we are great and doing good or at our worst when we are not doing too great.
It is difficult to understand the context with reading the book of Hebrews because the identification of the date that the letter was written and who the letter was being addressed to is unclear. However, there is evidence to show that the Romans were the audience for this letter. It is likely that the recipients of the book of Hebrews had suffered for their faith and would continue to suffer for their faith in a culture that did not see suffering as a virtue. From the Jewish point of view, suffering can be seen as a result of sin, or even a lack of blessing from God.
The book of Hebrews addresses the question of if Jesus is already seated at the right hand of God, then why are Christians suffering from shame and persecution. Christians are not called to be of this world, just like Paul states in Romans 12:1-2. I feel like this is a problem that people in today’s culture still struggle to understand—why are we still suffering if Christ has already come. But we are not called to live easy lives because we are going against a dark world that is full of sin. It is a daily choice to recognize that we are living for Jesus. The book of Hebrews can also have an impact on those reading it in today’s modern world—or at least in the last half of the 20th century—in the sense of the Evangelical church’s expansion. Unfortunately, this evangelical phase is slowing down, even as the population continues to grow (COVID babies), and the reasoning might be because Christians have humiliated themselves and brought shame to what Christ is really all about or in other cases people can use evangelical Christianity to advance their political careers or selfish agendas.
At the end of your post, you state that Christianity is not growing as it once was, and you say that part of this could be because of how people are using Christianity to further political careers. I think that this is a big problem today, as there are many people in the public eye (not just politicians) who claim Christianity while their words and actions seem to completely go against that. Because these people are in the public eye, many view them as representative of all Christians. As a result of this, it seems as though many non-Christians have lost trust in anyone who professes the Christian faith. As Christians, I think it is important for us to be discerning about these politicians or celebrities and not justify what they say or do simply because they claim to be a Christian, but be able to stand up against them if necessary and show the world how a true Christ follower should act.
Within a Jewish context, suffering can be seen as a result of sin or something that is a lack of blessing from God. Sin is not seen as something that exists because of free will. Thus, the recipients of Hebrews struggled receiving the message that was written due to the struggles they had received in the past. However, there is Jewish literature that stands against this concept of struggles only being a result of God or sin, the book of Job. Job is said to be “blameless and upright,” a man who “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1 NIV). Job is struck by Satan and loses his livestock, farming fields, and children (Job 1:13-19). In response to this, Job falls to his knees to worship God and says, “naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1 :21). Job is struck further by Satan, receiving painful sores all over his body (Job 2:7). Job’s wife tells him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9), yet in response to this, Job proclaims, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). This Jewish literature is a core example of how struggles are not a result of a sin occurring but more the wrath of Satan and free will.
The book of Hebrews addressed the very real problem of why struggling occurs today even while Jesus sits at the right hand of the father. Within the Greco-Roman empire, people were seen as not successful if they were publicly persecuted. Thus, the Christians and the Jews were seen as un-successful in the eyes of the Romans due to their constant humiliation and shame.
The main purpose of Hebrews may be very distinct within the book. This book is based on encouragement and making sure Christians do not fall too far from their faith during some hard times. We see that Hebrews talks about the sufferings of Christ and the differences between the sacrifices that Jesus had to face compared to sacrifices in the Old Testament. Some people may feel in the current time that Jesus has not answered their prayers or their callings on situations that they feel they need the help from above. Hebrews 3:13 says “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘today’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Whether a sin was committed, or someone has been drawing away from their faith, it is important that we encourage others to continue fighting for their faith and that they know their sin will not hold them against their actions. I believe that Christians are becoming less and less successful in their lives. This may be because of the division our country has faced over the past couple of years with different sides of political beliefs and everyone having different thoughts on who should be at higher power for our country. As Christians we should not focus on who is or should be higher power because we know that God is the most high and we can look to him for most of our problems.
The recipients of the original audience for the message have traditionally been identified as one or more groups of Jewish Christians. And the author of Hebrews is unknown. As we read Jobes (, it was probably that the author was connected to one of the apostles and wrote within the period of time in which one or more of the apostles were still living.
As according to you said, “the recipients were in Rome, living just before the Neroian persecutions and, the church has “not yet suffered to the point of shedding blood” (12:4). If the recipients are in Rome, then the letter must refer to a time prior to Nero’s persecution of Christians (A.D.64), but after Claudius expelled Jews (A.D. 49.” It was clear that the recipients were suffered from their faith in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Therefore the epistle of Hebrews highlights the supremacy of Jesus as God’s Son and our High Priest, to whom the readers must listen and hold fast in order to receive what God has promised. In any case, each main section of the letter compares Christ to a different individuals or institution between the prophets, the priest and the kings to warn that Jesus Christ as exalted son and high priest is GOD’s final revelation and provided full cleansing from sin and open access to God. In addition, Christians can and must hold firmly to their faith in Christ’s high priestly work in spite of adversity.
Suffering is an expected part of the Christian life. Jesus told his follower, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Christians suffer for a variety reason, including many of the same reasons non-Christians suffer that life on this broken world can be difficult. Christian may also suffer the same reason Jesus did in John 15. Our ultimate hope is not in this world or in gaining earthly comfort. Our hope is in God and in His greater plan.
I have really grown to appreciate the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament that Hebrews offers. It is really helpful to gain the perspective of the Jewish faith within the context of a post-Jesus book. The idea that intrigued me the most from this post was the concept of suffering you mentioned. As a believer in this day and age, I feel as though I have been constantly reminded of God’s blessing for believers whenever it is convenient, and on the other hand I have been told numerous times of Jesus’ promises of suffering whenever I feel down per say. Remembering back to Genesis chapter 11ish we see that God promises that Abraham will be abundantly blessed. We see King David being blessed in 2 Samuel, and hear countlessly about the riches and blessing of Solomon in 1 Kings (ESV Study Bible, 2008) . Throughout the Old Testament it is a consent story of blessings when the people obey, and curses and hardship when they turn away. I had never connected this from the Jewish perspective to Jesus’ messages about suffering and hardship. I imagine that that must have been horribly confusing for the early Jewish Christian church. I would argue that in today’s context the American church could focus a little more on perseverance through suffering and less on the overwhelming blessing, but then again I most certainly can on a personal level as well.
References
ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. Print.
Nearly to the end of the post, about the Christians suffering shame and persecution because they are afraid to speak the truth of sharing the gospel. Not only the truth and sharing the gospel, but Christians have also had past experiences in their life that they do not want to share. When someone sees who Jesus is and what he can do, there are believers that know it is him. Then there is none-believers that know that the person is not Jesus and will turn things around to make sure it is not true. At the end of the post the church is still growing but losing their voice to speak in public is that they are afraid to be mistreated. Today, we do have Christians that will keep them to themselves by staying quiet and there are some Christians have the decency to use their voice to speak up for themselves of what is right in God’s eyes. Those who are in political careers are a big problem. I wonder if they do agree with politicians who they work with and are ashamed of what they want to share and how they want to help to make a difference. I don’t get why politicians and celebrities say they are a Chrisitan which they are not. They would show us some good examples of how to make a difference and know the truth about Christ.
Hebrews has a lot of points to pick apart for us to pin point the true purpose of why it was written. Luckily when we stay the texts we can have a better understanding what what the author intended the original readers to take from what they were saying. To me it seems evident that what Hebrew’s 12:4 alludes to, and what Jobes would say the purpose of Hebrews partly is to encourage perseverance to those Christians experiencing some form of persecution for their faith. The theme of Christ’s superiority and the continuity and discontinuity between the OT and NT through the book of Hebrews reveals to us how Christ has fulfilled the law, as he says in Matt. 5:17. But not only that, it is because of His suffering and shedding of his blood that he was able to become the final sacrifice for purification of sins for all (Heb. 9-10) It seems reasonable to say that for those that were experiencing persecution, which was not seen as a virtue (Long), would struggle with this idea of suffering as a positive thing. But I believe a possible idea for the purpose of Hebrews is to show that because of the suffering and persecution of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer in need of obeying the old law which is now “obsolete”, but are under a “New” law (8:13). Because of this suffering Jesus has made us Holy and righteous in the sight of the Lord. With the use of Jesus’s superiority and humility, we see how His suffering is our confidence for our faith (Hebrews 10:19-25).
As you stated, a Jewish context tells us how the recipients might struggle with the idea that suffering as a result of sin or lack of blessing.
Hebrews 2:18 says “For because He himself suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted”. What the ESVSB has to say about this is that “Jesus is a sympathetic and merciful high priest who knows human spiritual infirmities since he experienced the full range of temptations, and he has atoned for transgressions” (2001). “The necessity of the incarnation is that the Son had to experience all that it meant to be a human being and yet not sin,” (Jobes, 2011). It was necessary for Christ to suffer because Christians would continue to experience suffering in a multitude of degrees because until Jesus returns, we still live in a fallen world.
I thought your note about the growth of the evangelical church in America was really interesting; I think this growth took off with the late 20th century build-up of megachurches and megachurch culture – and in the same breath, the slow decline and fall of some megachurches in the last 10-20 years. Unfortunately, a lot of Christian suffering comes from a church wound. Which goes to show that Christians and churches are not perfect or full of perfect people – we are still very much sinners that will fail one another, and sadly, people turn away from God because they’ve been hurt by imperfect people of God.
At the end of the post you stated how the growth of Christianity is slowing. Throughout the post you spoke on the idea that the readers of the letter may struggle with the idea that they are suffering as a result of sin. I think the connection of these two points is interesting. I feel that so often today christians like to play victim rather than walking through their faith. They blame their struggles or hard times on God, rather than stepping back, walking in their faith and allowing God to reveal the whole picture to them in time.
When reading, Letters to the Church by Karen H. Jobes, chapter 2 takes us deeper into hebrews. Jobes talks about how Hebrews attributes all of the OT to the Holy Spirit no matter who the original author is. This is largely because the words in the Bible, while they may have not been physically written by God, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Looking at the Holy Spirit as part of the trinity, God wrote these words for us. They are what we should be living by. Jobes also talks about the fall in chapter two where the question of “Did God really say…” (Gen. 3:1). Adam and Eve fell trap to this doubting of God. Why are we as chrisitans today doing the same? We have seen and understand what has happened because of this in the past, why allow this to corrupt our thoughts when we know we have the Bible to lean on? I think this is the largest contributor to the slow growth of Chrisianity, the lack of chrisitans who stand strong in their faith and show the world. This is the true cause of our suffering.
The simple answer would be that Christinas are suffering because mankind is sinful. The Lord never promised us a good life on this earth rather He told us we would be persecuted for the way we believe. (Matthew 5:11) With that being said I don’t think that in the last half of the century Christians have been ‘triumphant’, understandably so they have grown immensely and led many people to the salvation of Christ. But unfortunately, that doesn’t make us ‘triumphant’ it is making the name of the Lord triumphant and glorifying the Kingdom. I don’t like to associate being ‘triumphant’ with the growth in churches or number of people who attend, that doesn’t get rid of the suffering; more often the people who attend church aren’t practicing their spirituality to the fullest. The suffering will continue throughout time until the second coming or when you die (whichever comes first). As of now Christians are still suffering as the Lord’s people did in Rome; not all believers today have freedom to worship freely so they still run into suffering of public humiliation and essentially mocking their beliefs and our God. Though the church and its people have progressed overtime I think it would be a stretch to label the religion in its integrity as ‘triumphant’
Jobes talks about who the original recipients of Hebrews may have been. She came to the conclusion that we cannot know for sure who the original audience of Hebrews was but that based on the contents of the book and the chronology of history, most think of the original audience to have been in Rome (Jobes, 32). If the original audience was in Rome, the letter, “must refer to a time prior to Nero’s persecution of Christians (A.D. 64), but after Claudius expelled Jews (A.D. 49)” (Long). This historical context makes us aware of the persecution that these early Christians were going through. “the book is written to ‘reorient a community that has been disoriented by the chasm between Christian confession of triumph and the reality of suffering it has experienced’” (Long). The book of Hebrews also serves the purpose of being a huge part of the Scriptural evidence concerning Christology. Hebrews, “presents profound insight into how Jesus Christ, particularly in His death, relates to the important elements of the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system” (Jobes, 24). The author does not call out Judaism as wrong but instead explains that Jesus is superior because He is the fulfillment of the old law which ends while the new law (which is written on our hearts) begins (Long). The letter also probably does the best job of clearly explaining why Jesus had to be fully human in order for God’s salvation plan to be complete (Jobes, 24).
I found it very interesting to hear the points about Gods allowance of suffering on Christianity. This is something that I personally have wrestled with for a very long time. Recently I have done some research and have read a book called “Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel and in this he has an entire section based on research he did in this. He interviewed people of many different religions and got their perspectives on suffering as a whole. In this he says, “Gods answer to the problem of suffering is that he came right down into it. Many Christians try to get God off the hook for suffering; God put himself on the hook, so to speak – on the cross. Therefore, the practical solution is that if we want to be with God, we have to be with suffering, we have to not avoid the cross, either in thought or in fact” (Strobel 64). This quote to me shows how suffering is part of life now after the fall. The cross brought humility from God to show that suffering is needed to be with Him. We cannot avoid suffering even if like Jobes stated the suffering is embarrassing and cannot become successful because of suffering. Everyone that has ever walked the earth has experienced suffering in some way, including Christ.
The last statement said about the slowing of Christianity’s growth I believe is so true. I do not remember the exact number but the most influential age of people (Gen Z) there is roughly 6% who are true believers which blows my mind. I completely agree and believe people are hesitant to come to Christianity because of the corruptness that it has become. So many people use Christianity as a business and as a political ploy now and it pushes people away. This is not at all how it should be nor how it is. A big point that Jobes pointed out in his book was a quote from Voltaire which states, “if we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man’s belief in the Bible.” I believe this is becoming so true today and more and more people are straying and leaving the Christian religion because those that claim to be Christians do not truly live out the Bible. If I weren’t a Christian, I would have a hard time looking at a lot of the people that I know claim to be Christian and be like “yeah I want to be like them.” This is sad, we are called to be Gods lights, but instead so many people use Christianity name as a nametag or a “ticket” out of situations.
There are some similarities and differences between how suffering used to be viewed in the first century and how it is viewed today. As was mentioned in the post, honor/shame cultures viewed suffering as shameful. There was not yet a grander view of suffering as a small price to pay for greater treasures in heaven. Similarly, there are branches of the Church that view suffering as occurring only to those who are not faithful enough. Worse yet, many of those same groups push the idea that tithing to their church is a way to gain God’s blessings. In both the past and present, there is also the idea that suffering comes as a result of a person’s sin. Though in a sense this is true, as it is the sin of mankind that caused the world to become broken, it is not necessarily a person’s individual sins which cause them to suffer.
Thankfully, Hebrews has made it clear to the majority of the Church that suffering is an earthly experience that happens to all people, especially those who follow Christ. Just because Christ is at the right hand of God does not mean that all things have been completed. Suffering also gives Christians an opportunity for soul-building and a chance to witness to the lost through action.
it seems as though there was temptation in the early Church to turn on Christ due to the current/looming persecution (Jobes 28). Similarly, there is great temptation for now for Christians to abandon the gospel as atheism becomes the norm among those who consider themselves to be too intelligent and rational for religion. However, the author of Hebrews makes it clear that the only other option besides Christ is apostasy, which is a “spiritually fatal mistake,” (Jobes 29).
What is the purpose of Hebrews? That is a question that is not simply answered. Is it to encourage the early Christians at the time? Is it an apologetic defense of the gospel? Is it rich with new theological concepts? In class and in our reading we focused on the timeline and background of when Hebrews was written. The timeline seemed to be around 60 AD, merely years after the death of Jesus, very much in the time of the early church. While the book of Hebrews very much seems to contain encouragement and wisdom for the early church, I believe there are a plethora of profound theological truths to be found in this book. I think of Hebrews 11 when we are told that faith is the assurance of things that we hope for, and faith for the things we cannot see. This verse alone could be the catalyst for 100 sermons. The way the book of Hebrews weaves the truth of the Old Testament and New Testament together is very profound and moving. It continues the theme of New Testament books bridging this gap between these two testaments and clearly showing us readers the significance of the new Covenant. Jesus just wasn’t any ordinary man, He is the Son of God, perfect and Holy. At the end of the day, there are many lessons we can learn from this book that are super applicable to our lives today.
The challenge of determining the date and recipients if the book of Hebrews complicates its interpretation. The letter addresses the struggle of these Christians in the face of suffering, questioning the promises of their faith. The recipients, having endured presecution, grapple with eh societal stigma attached to suffering, especially within a culture where it is not viewed as virtuous. The Greco-Roman context is build on honor and shame and this is a challenge for Christians facing humiliation. Hebrews talks about the theological dissonance arising from the paradox if Jesus exalted positron and the suffering of his followers. The book asserts that Christians belong to an unshakable reality that is beyond this world and its values. Long draws parallel between the ancient struggles addressed in Hebrews and contemporary challenges within the American Evangelical context. The theological tensions explored in Hebrews remain relevant, promoting reflection on the nature of Christian success, suffering, and societal influences.
As I examine and come to a decision about the purpose of Hebrew it is quite interesting that the recipients known as (Jewish Christians who lived in Jerusalem) seemed to strive with their trust and faith in God. Correct me if I’m wrong but the incident that bothers them most is “suffering”. It’s an enormous question for them around their time, therefore they were a follower of Jesus Christ who triumphed, yet this suffering still happens to exist for them. However, it’s comprehensible that during their period, it will be much more demanding, the fact that they were tortured and persecuted by Rome. As the article mentioned above today, we are fortunate as Christians but simultaneously” We are beginning to lose ground and we have in many ways lost our voice in the public square, perhaps this is due to Christians who have humiliated themselves and brought shame to the cause of Christ.” I consented to this logical statement, the fact that it articulates the truth of Christianity today regardless of their morals. Again, going back to the “suffering” and based on my experiences, the path won’t be too smooth when following Jesus Christ. I claimed that any issues could occur anytime, and only having “faith” through Christ is necessary. In Hebrews 11:6 mentioned that “without faith is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The Book of Hebrews clarifies between faith and suffering.
The Purpose of Hebrews
Thank you for your post, it was very enlightening on the purpose of Hebrews. In examining the Book of Hebrews, it becomes obvious that the struggles faced by the early Christian community in Rome parallel challenges that the modern church, specifically in America, may be found clearer. The letter, believed to have been written just before the Neroian persecutions, addresses the theological conflict experienced by believers who, despite confessing triumph in Christ, faced with the harsh reality of suffering. The recipients, facing societal expectations within both Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts, questioned the apparent contradiction of following a triumphant Christ while also enduring shame and persecution. The Book of Hebrews constructs a positive argument for Jesus’ superiority over others, emphasizing his fulfillment of Old Covenant promises. The author confirms that the suffering endured by Christians is not a sign of defeat but is seen more as a reflection of their association with a reality beyond the temporal world. As the modern church struggles with its voice in the public eye and navigates challenges, the lessons from Hebrews offer a reminder to anchor faith in the unshakeable reality of Christ’s triumph, transforming measures of success and acknowledging the complex interplay between theology and societal perceptions.
As you mentioned, during the first century people saw suffering as a result of sin or lack of blessing from God, but because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, suffering is not a direct result of our sin as believed by the culture in that time. Jesus took on the wrath of God for us on the cross, so God is not punishing us for each sin that we commit today. Our suffering is not a direct result of our sin. If we look at the apostles we see that they were killed, but was this because they were bad people? They were faithfully serving the Lord and being obedient to Him by spreading His Word. This was not favorable to the Romans and so the apostles were martyred. In obedience to God, they still experienced awful things.
James 1:2-3 “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Here in James, another Jewish Christian author says that Christians will face trials and persecution, very much like the apostles. Jobes says, “James is a book written for readers whose faith in God is threatened by a daily struggle with hardship” (Jobes, 167). This is the opposite of messages being told today like the Prosperity Gospel which essentially says that if you have more faith you will be more blessed by God in ways such as wealth. This idea is similar to the first century where people believe that God blesses people for being good. This happens when people take scripture out of context to make it say what they want it to mean. Suffering is a part of the Christian life and it is not something we can buy our way out of.
Jobes, Karen H. Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles. Zondervan, 2011.
There are a lot of changes in the Christian view of our world today; however, it is not all changes are positive. I have been a part of many conversations lately regarding the idea that sin equals punishment. This is why I connect to Hebrews so much. It highlights the faithfulness of God in multiple ways. Modern Christianity has changed the idea of suffering into a very selfish way of looking at scripture. Some modern Christians have distorted the idea of blessings. They see blessings as purely monetary, as seen in the prosperity gospel. The mindset that if someone does not have money flowing in, they must be doing something wrong is not Biblical. Furthermore, suffering for the people of this time is unimaginable to most Americans and other Western cultures. This is an incredibly first-world idea of what suffering looks like. Hebrews shows us the constant blessings coming from Christ and the fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament. The author does this by showing the connection between the Old Testament and Jesus’ teachings. This is shown by the author placing David’s words into Jesus’ life (Jobes, p.69). The author shows this in an encouraging way to the readers at the time. This can be drawn to this time when Christianity is being distorted and give hope to the New Convent.
The purpose of the Book of Hebrews is perhaps more difficult to understand than other books, as its social and historical setting is not certain. While other New Testament books are not extremely clear either, they still tend to be more easily accessible, often being addressed to specific places, along with Paul often acknowledging his opponents and their errors. Overall, it is most likely that the book was composed in the mid-60s, after the exile of the Jews from Rome in 49 AD but before the fall of the Temple in 70 AD (Long, 28). This date is derived from the fact that the author implies that he is a ‘second generation’ Christian in Hebrews 2:3, combined with a lack of mentioning the fall of the Temple and the author noting that they have not suffered to the point of bloodshed (Heb 12:4). Surely if the temple had been destroyed, this would have served to further illustrate the authors point, similar to Stephan in Acts 7, that the temple no longer necessary. Additionally, the book of Hebrews was most likely written to Jewish believers in Rome, as the author announces greetings from Italy to the recipients (Heb 13:24).
It is important to note that this book was not written with apologetics in mind, it was not an argument for why one should convert from Judaism to Christianity, as such a transition would not occur since they did not see themselves outside of Judaism. The entire book argues that Christ is the fulfillment of these elements of religious practice, with the world being created in Christ (Heb 1:2). This serves to illustrate the need for writing this book, as many Jewish believers were struggling with the promises of faith, as many questioned why they had to suffer so greatly if Christ was the messiah (Long, 29). This led some to question if they should return to their previous understanding and practice of Judaism, rejecting that Jesus truly is the fulfillment and embodiment of the word incarnate, with the author of Hebrews encouraging the believers to remain steadfast in their devotion to Christ despite their negative circumstances.
The notion of suffering was a particularly difficult concept to encounter, as it was understood in the Greco-Roman world not as a virtuous undertaking but rather a shameful and humiliating process that displayed the failure of the movement (Long, 29). This idea of suffering is not without merit within the Old Testament, as suffering or failure was often portrayed as the result of sin. This is found in books like Job, where Job’s friends assume he has committed some great sin given his suffering, or the book of Deuteronomy, where its theology details that if they are faithful to Yahweh, they will succeed, but if they are unfaithful, they will fail (Deut 30:9-12). Thus, one can begin to understand the purpose of the book of Hebrews, to encourage the Jewish believers to remain faithful despite suffering and hardship, Christ remains the messiah and true fulfillment of Judaism itself. While Christ’s triumph over death and sin may not be fully experienced in this present age, eventually He will return to inaugurate His kingdom over the cosmic and human powers and principalities.
Even though during that time the Hebrews Christians were suffering under persecution and rejection, the issues they face as familiar as they are today. The biggest aspects of being Christ-like is being unique or different from society and the world. The Christians were far different from the Roman culture, especially during a time when Roman Culture was the most dominant in the world. Why do Christians suffer as much a they do, especially when they are true to the Bible and the faith. Set apart from the world is a common quote used to describe an ideal Christian, and the “unshakeable reality” that Christians have a heavy burden of not being like the world. The early churches suffered as they did because they separated themselves from every society in which they were involved. But what does that mean for churches that are accepted by society and are popular among them. Unfortunately, in most cases churches that are “popular” with our society are not true to the faith or the Bible. These churches will heavily censor the Bible to the point where, their only critical doctrine is something like “love”. The key word tolerance is used many times in modern society, and it is what churches like this would cater too to bring in as many people as possible.
In the post, you mentioned how the recipients of the Hebrews letter struggled to trust the promise of the Christian faith due to the followers of Christ still suffering so much even after his sacrifice. This is something that people even today struggle to comprehend. Oftentimes we hear people today ask the question why God lets bad things happen to his/good people. I could imagine that the recipients of Hebrews felt a similar way when not understanding the suffering of the Christians after Christ’s sacrifice. A good verse that can help us understand this question is Romans 8:18 which says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” This points to us that no matter the suffering we go through as followers of Christ the reward will be well worth it. We can also see this answer in Hebrews 12:11 which reads, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” This question as you stated in your blog is the purpose of the Book of Hebrews. We can also see this in the class notes talking about the Book of Hebrews when it says, “The date of the book sets the context within the beginnings of the persecution of Christians in Rome and the mid-60s” (Long, 28). This also supports the that the purpose of this book is to explain to the recipients why the Christians were still suffering even after the sacrifice of Christ.
This post mentions the struggle of believers in the first century AD living in Roman occupation. This is evident throughout Hebrews, particularly in Hebrews 3 when there is reference made to the Israelites journey to the promised land throughout Exodus. “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3: 19). This is a clear reference to the Israelites. Hebrews often makes use of the Old Testament in teachings as mentioned in the post, and in fact references the Old Testament the most of any book in the New Testament. (Jobes, p 67).
It is very interesting how history has a way of repeating itself and at several times in history there can be comparisons drawn in terms of religion within contemporary culture. This post spoke on the Roman view of Christians due to their socioeconomic status, and in many ways this view exists in part throughout the world today, especially as the world has increasingly looked toward other outlets rather than Christianity. The dramatically slowed growth of Christianity modern society could be due to many factors. However, as mentioned in the post, the behavior of Christians in more recent times is certainly one of the chief reasons for the decline. The stigmatization of Christianity due to bad actors has taken an effect and led to a hostility toward all Christians by the popular culture. This is perhaps where the line could be drawn to the Greco Roman world as followers of Christ are stigmatized now as they were then albeit not to nearly the same degree.
It is quite interesting how the book of Hebrews, written years ago, still accurately applies to our present-day issues such as that of Christian suffering. A good example was given in class on how a church leader was comparing his church building to another church building, mentioning how the other had multiple stories and an amazing sound system. I think suffering is part of our Christian journey as we await the second coming of Jesus Christ where there will be no more suffering (1 Peter 4:12-13). Jesus himself, the Son of God, suffered so much during His earthly ministry. Jobes mentions how it was this suffering, death, and resurrection that created a new covenant and brought us salvation (Jobes, 76). With that being said, the book of Hebrew explains the importance of living faithfully, the relationship between the new and old covenant, and, as mentioned in the blog, works to re-establish the divide that was caused by the reality of suffering. The cultural norms and views on suffering in ancient Rome certainly did not help with this suffering reality as I am sure no one wanted to be regarded as not blessed by God. I appreciate how the blog post also draws parallels with challenges in today’s American evangelical Christianity, and how it notes the potential reasons for a perceived decline in influence.
The book of Hebrews is an attempt by the author to give hope and strength to the audience. Many of these people were suffering greatly and there was a real threat that many would decide they had suffered enough and turn away from God. These people did not see their suffering as something they were doing to gain that reward of eternal life. I can only imagine how it would feel to be true to God even in suffering, knowing that there was more suffering to come. I too would have doubts. Hebrews was something that the people of the time desperately needed to push forward and believe they had not been forgotten. I was calling for the audience to remain faithful. Hebrews was also a way to persuade the audience to be faithful by going into detail about what they were being asked to do. In Hebrews 13:1-5, the author speaks of how the people are to act and how they need to keep on the right path. He ends the verse by reassuring the audience that God is still with them and will never leave them. In a small way its like a coach talking to his team and telling them he believes in them even if they don’t believe in themselves.
Suffering has been an interesting subject for me. I feel in the last couple of years, God has been teaching me to look different to the subject of suffering. Although many times I still find myself trying to avoid situations where there are uncomfortable or suffering. I have learned that God can use those situations for His glory. When reading the book of Hebrews it makes more sense why Jesus had to suffer in order for God’s plan to be made complete. So, He could provide the redemption for our sins. At the same time, all the comparisons with the old covenant, and the steps necessary for redemption makes sense to understand that the process of sanctification it’s not easy. When we are convicted of our sins and we choose to surrender ourselves to The Lord, submitting our will to Him. It’s not an easy process. But it’s worth being transformed and made new in Christ. There is a passage in the New Testament that really speaks to me on that, when Paul says that there is nothing in life worth it compared with participating with Christ, His suffering, and being found in Him. Personally when I face trials is when I have the opportunity to get to know deeper who Jesus is. ”Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.“ (Philippians 3:8-11 ESV)
For one thing is to hear God is good, another thing is to be able to experience His love through a hard time, bowing us grace and transforming us to be more like He created us to be. This idea gives me hope for the future and a comfort that the suffering is not in vain, but God uses ultimately as part of His plan in my life. Another great encouragement is that by reading Hebrews and realizing that Jesus is God, and He could have chosen not go through all of that, yet He humbled Himself and acted in obedience to God the Father. What an example to be followed. The suffering times are a great opportunity for us to have the Lord break our pride and selfishness and surrender ourselves to God in obedience for His glory. “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,“ (Hebrews 5:7-9 ESV).
The book of Hebrews can be sometimes very confusing yet very interesting. There is a lot of content in the Book of Hebrews and a lot that we can learn from it. If I go along with your stance and say that the recipients were people living in Rome I think a lot of concepts can translate to America. I’m not saying that everything about Hebrews is secretly about America I’m just taking a nation that is a lot alike America and applying the same principles. I think it’s very interesting that the Christians are even wondering at this time why are they suffering when they live for Christ. It is very possible that they may have been told wrong or heard it wrong about what the life of Christ is really like. I see that so much in today’s Western Christianity. It’s where the prosperity gospel thrives becuase supposedly when you live for Christ your life will be cupcakes and rainbows. That when you fully live for Christ your life will be “Heaven” and if it’s down the drain you don’t have enough faith. That is just not true at all. It says in 2 Timothy 3:12 “12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” It’s not here when Paul says it, but it even comes out of Jesus’s own mouth. He told the disciples that if they were persecuting him they would persecute them. I think it also connects with what you said later and that in Jewish culture if you are suffering it’s becuase you are sinning. I know for a fact that as Western society Christians we have also adopted that. I can’t even count how many times I have heard that come from people at church all the way to even some pastors that I have listened to. I think we look at it the totally wrong way. When life is rough and we are having a hard time we can know that we are on the right path as a Christian. There will be times that it’s your own doing and maybe God does intervene, but when you are being persecuted as a Christian you are doing something right.
I think that it is interesting how we are not sure who the book of Hebrews was written for, but it is assumed by Jobes (as well as others) that the book was written for the Romans. Because it could have been written for the Romans, the people in that time were likely suffering for the faith and beliefs, and Jews saw suffering as a result for sinning or as a punishment for something, where God turned His back on them.
The question that you wrote, “If Jesus is already seated at the right hand of the Father, why is it that Christians suffer shame and persecution?” This is a question I have heard so many people ask and talk about all my life. People like to call on Jesus only when they are in need, and then they feel like their prayers have not been answered. It is important as Christian to encourage one another in their faith. Choosing to follow Christ never came with the promise of making life easy. The Church is growing slowly because of many different factors of this world. There is a huge divide in our country when it comes to many things. People need to be able to stand up against people in power who are using Christianity to their advantage, especially when they are distorting things to fit their agenda.
The book was written before the fall of Jerusalem for Jewish Christians living in Rome. The Jewish Christians were suffering and being attacked by others. They had so many challenges, and it was so easy to lose their faith because of what they were facing in Rome. The Roman Empire was very powerful and strong at that time. And Jewish Christians were living in Rome too, so they could get bullied and killed by the people of Rome. Christianity was founded not too long ago, when Jewish Christians were in Rome. Christianity was not really recognized by people, and there was a persecution of Christians in Rome. It is also happening in this century because in some other nations, they torture and kill Christians. They burn their villages and separate the families. It is so sad because believers are being killed for their faith and religion. Christians never attack others for their religion or faith. Believers were killed in my village, where I came from, and that was why we had to leave our village and country. In the end, we are all human beings, and we all should love and serve each other. They said that they had their own religion and god too, but they hate and kill believers, and this is not right. The Book of Hebrews encourages believers, and we can see that Jesus is superior and that he is the son of God. Jesus is God because he is the son of God. Jesus is always with us, and we are all the children of God. In Hebrews 3:13, it says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
One of the most interesting takeaways from this discussion of Hebrews is how (like many of the books of the Bible) the historical context shapes the meaning of the letter. I hadn’t really thought about how the recipients, Christians in Rome between A.D. 49 and 64, were caught in such a difficult spot. The real suffering they were facing and possibly even shame for their faith. But the letter isn’t trying to argue against Judaism or blame anyone, instead I feel like it reassures them that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises and that their faith is part of a bigger universal thing. The idea of theological “reorientation,” helping a community make sense of suffering despite believing in a triumphant Christ,I feel like is very relevant today.
Another takeaway is how Hebrews deals with suffering differently than modern thought. In Roman culture, suffering was seen as shameful. The letter flips that perspective, and showsthat Christian faith isn’t about worldly honor or immediate reward but about participating in a reality that isn’t measured by public status or visible success.
The question of why Christians ultimately suffer is one that arises frequently, especially when believers find themselves in seasons of hardship. As Jobes explains, one of the purposes of the book of Hebrews is to encourage perseverance among Christians who were experiencing various forms of suffering and persecution because of their faith. Rather than offering a simple explanation for suffering Hebrews places it within the larger story of God’s redemptive work, ultimately calling believers to remain faithful in the midst of trials. Suffering therefore is not meaningless or done by accident. The clearest example of this is the suffering of Jesus’ and what he endured on the cross. Christ endured suffering not in defeat but willingly and out of love for humanity. In order to secure forgiveness of sins and to pay a debt that humanity could not repay. His suffering had a redemptive purpose. By fulfilling the law and offering himself through the shedding of his blood, Christ became the final and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of all (Heb. 9:12; 10:10). In light of Christ’s completed work, human suffering has a different meaning. When believers experience suffering, it becomes a means through which they learn dependence on God and trust in his promises. Seasons of “valley lows” can serve to deepen faith and spiritual maturity. If life were lived only on the “mountaintops,” there would be little opportunity for believers to develop endurance or reliance upon God. As Hebrews emphasizes, Christians ultimately share in Christ’s sufferings while living in the hope secured by his sacrifice. This reality enables believers to endure suffering with confidence and hope, knowing that they are not alone and it is not without purpose. Overall If we were just on the “mountain tops” all the time would we really have anything to help us deepen our trust in God and rely on Him?
We can argue what the original purpose of the writing was, but we waste our time doing so. As Christians we can agree that the book of Hebrews is an inspired work of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16 ESV). It doesn’t matter who the first audience was, but what we do need to know is that its content and purpose are assurance for all Christ followers. The book of Hebrews was written for one reason and one reason alone. Which is to explain the start of a “new covenant,” paid for by the high priest, Jesus Christ. Jobes makes a fascinating statement that sums up the point of Hebrews well: “Hebrews 10:7, when the words are in the incarnate Christ’s mouth, the quote is truncated to read, I have come to do your will, my God.” What David could only desire, Jesus Christ did fully and perfectly.” In this section, Jobes is discussing a verse that originates from David’s writings in Psalms but with a twist. A few words are changed, and he quotes Jesus as the source. This word choice has a clear differentiation in wording and outcome by showing us David’s intentions and what Jesus actually did. David was a sinful man, just like the rest of us, but Jesus was the Word and capable of fulfilling the law just as the Old Testament refers to.
An interesting section of this week’s reading was about the concept of repeated sacrifices in the Old Testament. The thing about sin is that something has to die for sin to be justified (Heb. 9:22 ESV). In the Old Testament, people had to atone for their sins regularly because something had to die, but it was never enough. When Jesus came, he became the perfect sacrifice, so that sacrificial death was not only enough to pay for yesterday’s sins but for today’s and tomorrow’s sins as well. Everything the Jews did before was just a foreshadowing and proof that animal sacrifices were never enough (Heb. 10:4). This fits the Genesis Narrative of the Fall. We allowed sin in, and since then, their was always been a problem with our human heart and a problem of death that we simply can’t solve; in fact, everything we do seems to make it worse! But the book of Hebrews acts as a light of hope! Jesus came to make sure we don’t die for our own sins, so he paid the penalty we could not.
I found it extremely interesting to hear the points about God’s allowance of suffering on Christianity. This is something that I personally have struggled with for a long time. This was mentioned in the post that honor/shame cultures viewed suffering as shameful. There was not yet a broader view of suffering as a little price to pay for the greater riches in heaven. Also there are parts of the Church that view suffering as happening only to those who are not faithful enough. Even worse, many of those same groups send the idea that tithing to the church is a way to gain God’s blessings. In both the past and today there is also the idea that suffering comes as a result of a person’s sin. I feel like this is relatively true in a sense, as it is the sin of man that caused the world to become broken, it is not necessarily a person’s individual sins which cause them to suffer but the sin itself. The book of Hebrews touches a lot on suffering. It constructs a positive argument for Jesus’ superiority over others, highlighting His fulfillment of Old Covenant promises. The author confirms that the suffering faced by Christians is not a sign of defeat but is seen more as a reflection of their Tie with a reality beyond the temporal world. As the modern church struggles with its voice in the public eye and faces challenges, the lessons from Hebrews offer a reminder to have strong faith in the firm reality of Christ’s triumph.
Hebrews resists summarizing the letter to one overarching “problem,” such as “warning against apostasy” or “encouraging tired believers.” The letter seems to be doing both, and more. The author is addressing a community under real pressure and uncertainty, but instead of responding to that pressure in a pragmatic way, he responds theologically by recentering everything on who Jesus is. Christ is presented in Hebrews as not the better mediator, but the only mediator that matters. The angels, Moses, the Levitical priesthood, sacrifices, and even Sinai are all acknowledged as part of God’s former work, but incomplete. What I find interesting is that Hebrews does not argue that these things were wrong, but they were provisional. The purpose of all of these former mediators was never to be sufficient on its own, but to lead to something that would be ultimately fuller. The author isn’t warning against simple moral failure, but theological regression and returning to a system that is no longer God’s means of access. If Christ really is the final word from God (Heb 1:1–4), then turning away from him would be no small act; he would be rejecting the only means of access that works. This helps give the exhortations their urgency without turning Hebrews into a fear-ridden epistle. The letter redefines what faithfulness looks like in the call to perseverance. Faith is not an emotional longing for the way things used to be, but confidence in what God has conclusively provided in Christ. If so, then Hebrews is not just relevant to a Jewish Christian audience in the first century, but it speaks to believers in some particular ways today who might be tempted to trade confidence in Christ for religiously comfortable alternatives.
The article presents its most significant contribution through its argument that Hebrews should be studied as a spiritual guidance for a community in distress instead of being treated as a theoretical theological text. The letter reveals its dual nature through its tone and its written content because the addressees experienced religious persecution as Roman Christians who existed between Claudius expelled Jews in A.D. 49 and Nero began his persecution in A.D. 64. The believers accepted Jesus as the fulfillment of Hebrew Scripture promises yet they experienced daily persecution and social exclusion and feelings of humiliation. As the author notes, Hebrews does not appeal to the destruction of the Temple as evidence that the old covenant has passed away, suggesting a pre-70 date, nor does it describe persecution involving martyrdom, since the readers “have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood” (Heb 12:4). The author of Hebrews presents a positive Christ-centered argument which demonstrates Jesus’ superiority because he completes the law and the sacrificial system and the priesthood while being the actual reality instead of a mere shadow (Heb 8:5; 10:1). Believers who experience suffering can maintain their religious connection through this distinction because it enables them to understand their challenges by seeing things from Christ’s perspective. The Jewish perspective on suffering would have led people to believe it indicated God’s disapproval according to Job’s story while Greco-Roman society viewed public suffering as proof of one’s lack of honor. The book of Hebrews presents Christ who achieved glory through his experience of suffering to counter these two beliefs (Heb 2:10). The religious approach of the church follows the same pattern which the early Christian community in Acts experienced when they followed God’s commands which led to their rejection and imprisonment and social isolation yet they rejoiced because they received honor to bear the name of God (Acts 5:41). The article benefits from J. W. Thompson’s observation which shows Hebrews functions to guide a community through a process of reorientation. The article demonstrates that the community faces an existing problem which involves more than intellectual doubts because their beliefs do not match their actual experiences. The same feeling of discomfort continues to affect the modern American church in the same way it did during that time. Evangelical Christianity maintained a triumphant cultural position throughout most of the late twentieth century because it experienced expanding numbers and gained power in politics and received acceptance from society. The article notes that this period might be disappearing because churches are losing their social influence and public trust through their own mistakes and changes in societal values. God reveals to believers through Hebrews that they must stay away from triumphalism because their devotion needs to demonstrate strength against divine spiritual challenges instead of seeking to dominate human communities (Heb 11:1; 12:28). The book of Hebrews speaks to readers throughout different time periods by demonstrating they should rely on Christ’s eternal kingdom which continues to exist despite the challenges his followers encounter in the present.