Hebrews: a systematic study

[Pages:233]hrist

Christ

Hebrews

a systematic study

the

writings

of

2 Cor. 4:5-7

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Contents

Preface and Explanations

3

Session 1. Introduction and Overview

4

Session 2. Hebrews 1:1-4

7

Session 3. Hebrews 1:5-14

13

Session 4. Hebrews 2:1-4

17

Session 5. Hebrews 2:5-9

22

Session 6. Hebrews 2:10-13

27

Session 7. Hebrews 2:14-18

31

Session 8. Hebrews 3:1-6

36

Session 9. Hebrews 3:7-19 (Part 1)

41

Session 10. Hebrews 3:7-19 (Part 2)

46

Session 11. Hebrews 4:1-7

50

Session 12. Hebrews 4:8-13

54

Session 13. Hebrews 4:14-16

59

Session 14. Hebrews 5:1-6

63

Session 15. Hebrews 5:7-10

67

Session 16. Hebrews 5:11-14

71

Session 17. Hebrews 6:1-3

75

Session 18. Hebrews 6:4-8

79

Session 19. Hebrews 6:9-12

84

Session 20. Hebrews 6:13-20

88

Session 21. Hebrews 7:1-3

94

Session 22. Hebrews 7:4-10

98

Session 23. Hebrews 7:11-19

102

Session 24. Hebrews 7:20-28

105

Session 25. Hebrews 8:1-6

109

Session 26. Hebrews 8:7-13

113

Session 27. Hebrews 9:1-5

117

Session 28. Hebrews 9:6-14

122

Session 29. Hebrews 9:15-22

126

Session 30. Hebrews 9:23-28

129

Session 31. Hebrews 10:1-7

132

Session 32. Hebrews 10:8-18

136

Session 33. Hebrews 10:19-22

141

Session 34. Hebrews 10:19-25

145

Session 35. Hebrews 10:26-31

149

Session 36. Hebrews 10:32-39

153

Session 37. Hebrews 11:1-3

157

Session 38. Hebrews 11:4-7

163

Session 39. Hebrews 11:8-12

167

Session 40. Hebrews 11:13-16

171

Session 41. Hebrews 11:17-22

175

Session 42. Hebrews 11:23-31

180

Session 43. Hebrews 11:32-40

185

Session 44. Hebrews 12:1-3

189

Session 45. Hebrews 12:4-8

194

Session 46. Hebrews 12:9-13

198

Session 47. Hebrews 12:14-17

203

Session 48. Hebrews 12:18-24

208

Session 49. Hebrews 12:25-29

213

Session 50. Hebrews 13:1-6

218

Session 51. Hebrews 13:7-14

223

Session 52. Hebrews 13:15-25

228

Use & Copyright Notice

233

Contributions

233

Biography

233

This document ? 2013 David S. Lampel.

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PrefaCe

This study of Hebrews originated as my prepared notes for teaching our local ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) class on Sunday mornings. As with the other resources at our web site, we make it available to others simply because it already exists. I make no claim to scholarship, special insight, or extraordinary understanding of God's holy word. I have been called in the local assembly to teach (predominantly) senior adults from God's word. Following the example of the early churches, those of us in the kingdom are encouraged to "[share our possessions] with all, as anyone might have need." (Acts :45) If others can benefit from this study, then all the better.

Different from our earlier published studies, this Hebrews study has not been overly modified or formatted, but is published in essentially the format of my original notes used in class. Scripture text has not been added after-the-fact; use these notes with your own Bible alongside.

As with all of our resources, we offer this free of charge, to the glory of God the Father, and the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.

David S. Lampel Winterset, Iowa December 2013

exPlanations

sCriPture versions

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible (Updated Edition), ? 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Passages from the New King James Version are copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Passages from the New International Version are copyright ? 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Quotations from The Message (paraphrase) are copyright ? 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All Scripture text is copied from the Bible program WORDsearch, its respective databases for the various versions are ? 2007 WORDsearch Corp. Greek and Hebrew citations are from Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, and the NASB Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.

abbreviations

NASB: New American Standard Bible Nkjv: New King James Version kjv: King James Version kjvS: Both King James Version and New King James Version NIv: New International Version RSv: Revised Standard Version yLT: Young's Literal Translation ESv: English Standard Version OT, NT: Old Testament, New Testament

PrinCiPal Commentators

Lane: William L. Lane, Hebrews: A Call to Commitment, Regent College Publishing, vancouver, British Columbia, Copyright ? 1985, Brenda Lane. Hewitt: Thomas Hewitt, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Copyright ? 1975, Tyndale Press. MacArthur: john MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Copyright ? 1983, john MacArthur. Morris: Leon Morris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Frank E. G?belein, General Editor. Copyright ? 1976, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

standard Citations

Barnes: Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible. Brown: Brown's Dictionary of New Testament Theology; Colin Brown, General Editor; English Language edition copyright ? 1975, 1986, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and The Paternoster Press, Ltd. Exeter, Devon, U.k. Carson: D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Frank E. G?belein, General Editor. Copyright ? 1976, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Clarke: Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Darby: john Nelson Darby, Synopsis of the Old and New Testaments. Grudem: Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Henry: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. JFB: Commentary on the Old and New Testaments by Robert jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown. Vincent: Marvin R. vincent, Vincent's Word Studies. Vine's: W. E. vine, The Expanded Vine's: Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.

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session 1. introduCtion and overview

intro: a Grand adventure

We are about to embark on a grand adventure. I am reminded of the time--back in February 1982--when Linda and I spent 2? weeks on safari in kenya.

? We witnessed sights of incredible beauty: the watering holes and vast savannahs at sunset, the myriad beasts of the field. ? We witnessed sights of ugliness, as well--such as one beast consuming another. ? We saw things we had never seen before--and perhaps never will again. ? We met strangers who became friends. ? We experienced ecstatic joy and profound discomfort, such as awakening one morning to a thatched hut (and ourselves) swarming with ants. ? We were, at times, bone weary and dirty, but at other times exhilarated--sometimes both! ? In those 2? weeks we experienced many of the colors, the ups and downs, the pleasures and inconveniences of a lifetime, and we came away with new knowledge and memories that warm us to this day.

It is my prayer that this study of Hebrews will be that for you--a grand adventure. In it ? we will witness sights of incredible beauty--and ugliness; ? we will see things we've never seen before, meet strangers that will become friends, or old friends that we will now appreciate in a new way; ? we will experience fresh joy, as well as discomfort; ? we will get a little dirty, perhaps weary of it all, but also exhilarated and revived; ? we will gain new knowledge and fresh perspectives on a portion of Scripture that gets little attention--and that knowledge and wisdom will warm us for many days and years to come.

william lane

As usual, for this study I have and will be consulting a number of authorities and commentators. One in particular requires special mention. Hebrews: A Call to Commitment, by the late William L. Lane was recommended to me by Pastors Gary and jeremy and has been an invaluable resource for the preparation of this class. William Lane is the author of a scholarly two-volume commentary on Hebrews, which is far beyond the scholarship of the average layman--certainly mine. But in this small volume he has done us the courtesy of condensing down the essential meat of his treatise for those of us who do not have letters after our name.

So I am indebted to Professor Lane, and when I cite him in the coming months, I refer to this book.

two missinG thinGs

The book of Hebrews contains two glaring omissions: the name of its author, and specific citations for many of its OT quotations

Regarding the authorship of Hebrews, commentators love to quote Origen of Alexandria, the great theologian who wrote and taught in the third century after Christ. Eusebius quotes Origen as saying, "Who wrote the epistle, God only knows." It seems that most older scholars favor Paul, while most modern scholars favor anyone but Paul. As for myself (as if anyone is interested) from the first time I read the book it did not sound anything like Paul's writing. But then, what do I know.

Regarding the many quotations, I have long been mystified by the manner in which some are presented. For example, look at v6 of chapter 2.

Read Hebrews 2:6. For a long time I thought how odd this was. It sounds like the way I might try to quote something when I can't quite put my finger on just where it is found or who wrote it.

But now I understand that both of these omissions--the authorship of Hebrews and these odd citations--are by design. These omissions, I believe, are not accidental, but purposeful, as the writer wants the reader--and hearer, as we will see--to have greater clarity of focus on the true purpose of the text-- The preeminence of Christ --not the wisdom of the author, nor the eminence of the ancient authors quoted, but the preeminence of Christ. So we are not going to concern ourselves with its human author. It doesn't matter.

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Read Hebrews 3:7.

just as the author treats his many OT quotations, we are going to focus our attention on the text itself, as put down by the agency of the Holy Spirit--not the human being who penned it. The writer of Hebrews certainly knew that Psalm 95 had a human author, but the only author that truly matters is God, working through His Spirit. So regarding the author of Hebrews we will agree with Origen: "God only knows." Regarding the authors of the various OT quotations, let the authorship of the Holy Spirit suffice.

what is hebrews?

just what is this book called in many Bibles, "The Epistle to the Hebrews"?

First, it is not an epistle. Oh, it is true that it was written out, probably in a scroll, bound up and carried by a courier to a relatively small group of people. In that, it was what we might term a "letter" or epistle. But after that the similarity ends.

As Lane (and others) develop, the writer of Hebrews was not an evangelist or church starter, like Paul or one of the other apostles, but a pastor. He was a preacher, and what he wrote and sent to this group of people was a sermon to be read in his physical absence as a sermon. Hebrews has the structure not of a letter, but of a sermon.

We need only look at the first few verses of the book to realize that this is unlike any other epistle in the canon. Read Philemon 1:1-3. Read Hebrews 1:1-2.

Another clue to this is found near the end of the book. Read Hebrews 13:22.

...bear with this word of exhortation... This expression--"word of exhortation" (logos paraklesis) is found in only one other place in the Bible. Read Acts 13:13-16. The setting here is obvious; the apostle Paul is invited to stand and deliver a spoken word of encouragement to the congregation of the synagogue--which he does most eloquently, by the way. And even though he could not stand before them in person, the pastor to these Hebrews wanted his written words to be so delivered: he expected someone to stand before them and read the written words as if he were delivering a sermon in person. So as we journey though this book we are to keep this context in mind: These are the spoken words of a pastor to his congregation--words of exhortation delivered to them just as our own pastor does behind the pulpit every Sunday morning.

William Lane: The proper way to listen to Hebrews is to recognize that it is an early Christian sermon and to come prepared both for encouragement and warning.

who were the reCiPients of the sermon

just as we do not know who wrote Hebrews, we cannot say with certainty to what group it was written. But the text itself contains clues.

? This was a house-church that had once stood their ground with bold faith, suffering public abuse, imprisonment, and the loss of property. Read Hebrews 10:32-34. ? This description fits the hardships borne by jewish Christians who were expelled from Rome in ad 49. Read Acts 18:1-2. ? It is now about fifteen years later. And now the congregation is facing a new and perhaps worse form of persecution. Read Hebrews 12:4. This "not yet" implies that they may be "shedding blood" in the near future. And now these people are struggling with the cost of discipleship. These people were frightened--with good reason. Fifteen years after ad 49 would be ad 64--which is the date of the great fire that almost destroyed all of Rome. The populace was enraged at the perceived indifference to the tragedy by Emperor Nero. So months later he decided to do something to distract attention away from himself. The Roman historian Tacitus writes that "to suppress this rumor Nero fabricated scapegoats, and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called)."The threat of arrest and torture was very real for the house-church in Rome, and the writer of Hebrews encourages them with a reminder of Christ's solidarity

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