Hebrews Study Questions/Thoughts - May 7

HEBREWS STUDY QUESTIONS/THOUGHTS

My Sunday School Life Group started a study in Hebrews yesterday. Until we finish that study, my Expression of Faith posts--except for a couple in Advent and Lent--will be from Hebrews. 

Every Monday, I'm posting questions that were discussed the day before in Sunday School. I encourage you to ponder/think and jot down your thoughts.

STARTING TODAY, on Wednesdays, I will post some of the ideas that came up in the Life Group's discussion for you to consider. 

Make yourself comfortable, this is most likely going to be a year-long experience.

These questions were discussed in my Life Group Sunday. Samples of the group's "answers" are posted below each question.

Keep this in mind as we go through the study: 

"Religion" is a group responsibility to Jews but an individual responsibility to Christians.

Introduction

Who wrote this letter?
No one knows for sure. It was attributed to Paul in early editions of the King James Version of the Bible. Candidates include Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla and Aquila. I personally lean toward Apollos because the style and complexity of the writing, which is far different than Paul's. In addition, Paul often presents arguments for or against a topic out of sequence. The author of Hebrews finishes one topic before moving on.

When was this letter written?
Sometime in the 1st Century, AD. There is no verifiable date.  It's probably pre-destruction of the Temple, which occurred in 70 AD.

Who is the target audience?
The most common thought here was Jewish Christians who were about to abandon Christianity and return to the Jewish faith.

What “general information” about this letter can you find?
Possible themes: Superiority of Christ. Guide to Christian Living. Sufficiency of Christ. Contrasts between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 

Track down some information on how the Jews felt about angels at this time in history.
From the class: They are messengers from God. 

What characteristics or attributes of Jesus does the writer of Hebrews find in the Old Testament to prove his claim that Jesus is superior to angels?

Jesus Is Superior to the Angels (Hebrews I :4-14)

As highly as the Jews venerated the prophets, even that paled in comparison to their awe of angels. While it is difficult to stitch together a comprehensive "angelology" from the Old Testament, in that they flit in and out of the story under so many different guises, such was not true by Jesus' time. The rabbis had filled in the gaps, and had a vast "theology of angels" that rivaled their "theology of salvation." Angels were needed because God seemed more remote than ever. To the Jews, He had long since stopped making himself known in flaming bushes, on fiery mountaintops, or by routing enemies on fields of battle. Even His voice through the mouths of prophets had grown silent.

In the gap between a remote, transcendent, and unapproachable God, and weak, frail, and fallible human beings, the Jews had created a vast population of spiritual intermediaries. They had even rewritten the ancient story of God giving the Law on Mount Sinai directly to Moses. They taught that God gave the Law to an angel who in turn gave it to Moses, for even Moses could not exist in the unmediated presence of God (see Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19).

The principal function of angels is to serve as God's messengers ( Genesis 28:10-15). God lives surrounded by His angelic hosts. They bring God's Word to people and work His will on earth. They are the mediators between God and humans. There are angels of punishment and death (Exodus 11:4-12:30; 2 Kings 19:35). Every aspect of the physical universe, as well as every human being, family, and nation, had its own special angel. The rabbis believed angels to be so numerous that "every blade of grass has its angel."

There were two very real dangers, however, in this widespread angelology. First, the line between admiring and worshiping angels was very thin, and could be crossed in a flash. It could result in the kind of idolatry that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church for centuries: that is, ascribing to angels and saints divine powers that belong solely to God. Second, instead of opening up access to God, all of these interposing angels only made Him more remote and inaccessible. That is why the author of Hebrews draws an even sharper distinction between the angels and Jesus than between the prophets and Jesus.

By citing a series of texts drawn from various parts of the Hebrew scriptures (our Old Testament), especially the Psalms, the author is able to clearly demonstrate the superiority of Jesus (v. 4). 

• First, while the angels are ministering spirits, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (vv. 5-6). While angels were insubstantial and fleeting spirits of fiery substance like blazing light, Jesus was flesh and blood (john 1:14-18). 
• Second, while God "makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire" (v. 7), He has given His Son authority to sit on His "throne," and has put into His hand "the scepter of [His] kingdom" (v. 8).
• Third, while it was unknown whether angels face temptations common to human beings, it is clear that Jesus is one "who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin" ( 4: 15). In the fiery furnace of all the seductions that Satan could throw at Him, He "loved righteousness and hated wickedness" (v. 9a).
• Finally, the author contrasts the supportive work of angels in laying "the foundations of the earth" and the formation of "the heavens" (v. 10), and the primary role of Jesus. While angels are "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation" ( v. 14), Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will rule and reign over all (v. 13).

What angels could never do—that is, effect our salvation so that we can "enter the Most Holy Place" of immediate access to God—Jesus has done for us "by [His] blood" (10:19) having opened up a "new and living way . . . through the curtain" (v. 20). No wonder the author urges us to "draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith . . . Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful" (vv. 22-23).

What practical difference does it make to you that Jesus is "heir of all things" and that the Father made the universe through Him?

Apart from Jesus Christ, what are some of the many different, but futile, ways that people try to get connected to God today? Why is any way to God, apart from Jesus Christ, doomed to failure?

The information on angels above is reprinted from  

Church of the Nazarene

©WordAction Publishing Company. Adult Bible Fellowship Study Book. Volume 26. Number 1. September/October/November 2002. Pages 44-45

There will be periodic reprints from this resource throughout this study of Hebrews.

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