Heb. 10:11-18, Where Are We Headed?

Having considered the introduction that “Hebrews” provides for itself (1:1-3), let’s provide more introductory information on this letter.  It was written by some human author but the Holy Spirit did not tell us the name of this person.  We can say for sure that he is of Jewish background (he knew the Old Testament well) and was well-known by the recipients of the letter.

Speaking of the recipients, who might they have been?  Again, there is no geographical identification.  They also are of Jewish background.  We can also say they are believers in Christ.  They claim this and the human author calls them “brethren,” considering them to be Christians.  They have experienced severe persecution and could experience more of the same (Hb. 10:32-34).

One important thing is that they must live close enough to Jerusalem and the temple to be tempted to return to the old form of worship, involving sacrifices offered through the Levitical priests at the temple.  Thus, this letter was not addressed to the Jews of the dispersion like James (Jas. 1:1) and 1 Peter (1 Pt. 1:1). One excellent possibility, I think, is that they were the Churches of Judea (1 Thess. 2:14; Acts 8:1-3).  After the death of Stephen, the Jerusalem Church was scattered, and the persecution was strong in the Judean area around Jerusalem.

This letter is all about the superiority of Jesus Christ.  But it is a very pointed superiority.  He is better than the angels (1:4) having a more excellent name than the angels (1:4).  He is more glorious than Moses (3:3), offering a better hope (7:19) and having a more excellent ministry (8:6) because He is the Mediator of a better covenant (8:6), better because it is based on a better sacrifice (9:23).

Being superior to the angels (Ch. 1-2) and more glorious than Moses (Ch. 3-4), the central argument of the letter, that Christ’s “High Priestly ministry” is better than Aaron’s, runs from 4:14 through 10:18.  From 10:19 to the end of the letter there are different levels of application.  Today’s reading was intended to give you a glimpse of where we are headed in Hebrews.

Along the way we will come across 5 challenging “warning” passages.  They warn against neglecting salvation (2:1-4), failing to enter God’s rest (3:7-4:16), not going on to maturity (5:12-6:20), willful sin (10:19-39) and despising the Father’s chastening (Ch. 12). 

Related to these warnings is the question as to the date this letter was written.  We are given a few clues to help.  With the emphasis on the “temple worship” it was written before 70AD (the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem), and probably before 68AD when the Jewish rebellion against Rome became quite heated.  On the other hand, it was not likely written very long before that because Timothy had apparently spent time in prison, something we do not learn from Paul’s epistles (13:23).  A date around 64-66AD makes a lot of sense.