Good Morning!
Hebrews is an amazing letter of exhortation {Heb. 13:22} written by an unknown pastor to Hellenistic Jews who were scattered around the Mediterranean and Middle East. They were enduring a great conflict of sufferings {Heb. 10:32-34} and were in danger of growing weary and losing hope. The pastor encourages them to consider Jesus {Heb. 3:1} who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. He warns them not to drift away {Heb. 2:1-3; 3:12} but to hold fast as a partaker of Christ {Heb. 3:14} and to draw near in full assurance of faith. {Heb. 10:22} The pastor also exhorts them to press on to maturity in faith. {Heb. 6:1}
The letter was written between 65-70 AD but not after that time because the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the text implies the building still stands. {Heb. 8:4,5; 10:11} This letter contains 86 direct Old Testament references but also has up to 100 traceable Old Testament passages. These quotes are taken from the Septuagint which was a translation of the Hebrew Bible written in Koine Greek, the language of the Roman Empire.
In Hebrews 1:1,2, the author states that “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son“. We live in these last days, the days between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ.
In Week 1, our scripture passage focus was Hebrews 1:5-14. We were introduced to the historical context of the letter as we learned about the struggles of the first century believers. Lisa Harper also shared with us details about how the New Testament writers used the Old Testament {Hebrew Bible}. In this first chapter alone, the author uses 7 Old Testament references to point out how Jesus is superior to angels. The end of our lesson centered on angels. We considered various passages in scripture and what they taught concerning angels.
Questions to Consider
- What did you learn about Jesus that you can apply to your own life?
- What did you learn about the relationship between Jesus and God, the Father in Hebrews 1?
- Have you ever faced persecution for being a follower of Jesus Christ?
- What do you think was the author’s purpose for using so many Old Testament quotes?
- What is your favorite angel story in the Bible?
- When you contrast all of the points made by the author about Jesus and the angels in Hebrews 1, what conclusions do you reach?
Begin working on Week 2 lessons this week. Also, I challenge you to memorize Hebrews 1:1-4 during this study. Memorizing scripture is a wonderful habit to develop.
Blessings,
Mimi
