Hebrews

November 7th, Hebrew Chapter 11 vs. 30-40 
Part 3. The hall of Faith.

• It is interesting to note that the writer of Hebrews ignored the 40 years of wandering in the dessert of the children of Israel. The probably reason is that this time in the history of Israel does not show the Jews with a lot of faith and trust in God or his plan.
• Verse 30 picks back up the Israelites and their display of faith at Jericho.
• It may not have made sense as far as the directions that were given them, but they obeyed God and won their first victory.
• It is odd that verse 31 includes Rahab in the hall of faith. She was a gentile and a prostitute.
• This shows us that faith helps us turn around and do what is right regardless of our past or what people might believe about us.
• Verses 32 – 34 give us a rundown of some other members of the hall of faith, but no information is given.
• Gideon Judges 6:11 – 8:35 300 men defeated Midian.
• Barak Judges 4:4-23 Served with Deborah defeated Sisera.
• Samson Judges 13 – 16 Another Judge, defeated Philistines.
• Jephthah Judges 11:1 – 33 Another judge defeated Ammonites.
• David 1 and 2 Samuel Beloved King defeated all enemies.
• Samuel 1^st Samuel Last Judge of Israel and was a prophet.
• They conquered kingdoms Old Testament Great Warriors listed in OT.
• Administered Justice Book of King Judges and great leaders (Nehemiah).
• Gained what was promised Old Testament Some actually saw fulfillment.
• Daniel Daniel 6 Was saved from Lions.
• 3 Hebrew Children Daniel 3 Kept safe in the furnace.
• Elijah and Jeremiah Jeremiah 36:19 Was sparred from the sword.
• Hezekiah 2 Kings 20 Regained strength after sickness.
• Sometimes living by faith will cost us. In verse 35 we see a reference to the persecution of believers during the first century.
• Some were mocked like Elisha (2 Kings 2:23 – 25)
• Some were cut open with whips like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15)
• Some were chained in dungeons like Joseph, Samson, Micaaiah, Hanani and and Jeremiah.
• We see in verse 38 that some were stoned like Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-21). Others were sawed into two like Isaiah. This is what tradition tells us happened to him. The support from this comes for the apocryphal book, The Ascension of Isaiah, chapters 1 – 5.
• Some were put to death by the sword. ( 1 Kings 19:10.
• Some may be surprised by the writer’s way that he ends Hebrews.
• He leaves the reader with examples of those who never saw the promise, yet continued to be faithful.
• Verse 40 ends with the promise that God has something better planned for all who believe and persevere to the end.

October 3, 2007 - Hebrews 11 

• We are holy, meaning we are set apart by Jesus for service to God.
• Salvation, the “heavenly calling” refers to both a present and a future reality.
• Just as God brought the Jews into their promised land, so he promises to bring Christians into their promised land which is heaven.
• In chapter 2, we see an admonition to Christians to not drift away.
• This verse tells us how to achieve this, by fix your thoughts on Jesus.
• The word fix comes from a strong Greek verb katanoesate.
• This has the meaning of “to give thoughtful and diligent reflection to.”
• Hebrews calls Jesus apostle and high priest.
• The first word means sent one.
• For the Jews the highest human religious authority was the high priest
• Verse 2 – Few people have these 3 roles prophet, priest and leader
• We know that Moses served very faithfully in these 3 areas.
• Verse 3 – Moses was a human servant; Jesus is worthy of great honor
• How does Moses compare to Jesus?

                 Moses                                                             Jesus
                Served as a prophet                                       Served as the greatest prophet
                Honored God as a servant remains                Honored as God’s Son
                Led God’s people out of bondage.                Leads people out of bondage of Sin
                Administered the law                                    Fulfills the Law
                Received the law from angels                       Recieves worship from angels
                Sinned                                                            Never sinned
                Died and was buried                                       Died but rose from the dead
                Had a ministry that could only condemn        Had ministry that brought righteousness
                Had a fading glory                                          Has glory that is eternal

• Verse 4 – If the builder deserves more praise than the house, how much more does God deserve praise, for he built all things.
• Now is the time to listen to God Hebrews 3:7 – 19
• Verse 9 refers to the Israelites who had hardened their hearts.
• This is as useless as a hardened piece of clay.
• In Psalms 95, the writer warns against hardening our hearts as Israel did in the wilderness.
• What causes hardening of the heart? The deceitfulness of sin. This is observed in verse 13
• How does Sin Deceive Us?
• Genesis 3:1 – 2 Satan lied to Eve
• Genesis 3:13 The serpent had deceived her.
• John 8:44 Satan is the father of lies
• 2 Corinthians 2:11 Satan schemes in order to outwit us.
• 2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan blinds the eyes of the unbeliever
• 2 Corinthians 11:13 Satan masquerades as an angel of light
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Satan will deceive many in the end times.
• Revelations 12:9 Satan is the deceiver of the whole world.

• The author’s purpose for writing Hebrews was not primarily to provide true theology or proper doctrine,
• The purpose was to encourage Jewish Christians not to turn away from the faith.
• Some of the pressures that were weighing on the early Christians were pressure from no believing Jews or other people in the community.
• Just as a boat can drift away, so a Christian can drift away from Christ.
• These believers were encouraged to pay more careful attention.
• They were told to pay attention to the message of salvation.
• The Greek word for “pay careful attention is Prosechein.
• It carries with it the idea to “encourage readers” and also to act on what they have heard.
• Do we pay as close attention to Christian truth as we do to our stocks or the sports results on ESPN or in the morning paper?
• The book of Hebrews calls readers to pay attention so that they may not be a causality of drifting.
• There are 4 ways that Christian’s drift.

1. We may become careless or complacent in our devotion to Christ.
2. We may backslide into sin we formerly had rejected.
3. We may compromise our morals and disobey Christ’s teaching
4. We may neglect Christian service and thus become inactive Christians.

• If the disregard for the Law of Moses was punished, then the disregard for the gospel would bring even far greater punishment
• Although the book of Exodus does not mention angels, the Jews believed that God worked through angels.
• Hebrews 2: 3-4:
• Here is the progress of verses 3 and 4

o The Old Testament law spoken by angels was binding on God’s people
o Those who rejected the law received just punishment
o Christ is far above the angels.
o The message of salvation brought from God surpasses the message of the law, for it fulfills the law and brings true forgiveness.
o Those who reject the gospel are indifferent to this great salvation, and therefore will receive greater punishment.
o Those who are indifferent to the message of salvation will not escape punishment.

• As Christ surpasses angels, so Christ’s message surpasses their message.
• Verse 4 –
• Three witnesses prove the authenticity of this salvation and why the readers should not be indifferent to it.

1. The Lord: He announced this salvation.
2. Those who heard Him: Eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry
3. God: By signs, wonders and various miracles, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Christ Came as a Human Being 2:5 – 18

• You can’t understand a person until you’ve walked in his shoes.
• Jesus came to this earth to experience what human beings had to experience. Not only emotional experiences, but also things like temptation.
• The phrase “the future world we are talking about” refers to the future kingdom that Christ initiated and will fully inherit at his second coming.
• Many Jews believed that angels ruled this present world.
• This idea comes from passages of scripture such as Deut 32:8 and Dan 10:13.
• In looking at verses 6 – 9, there is some discussion as to whom “Son of Man” is referring to. There are some who feel that this term refers to Jesus both most believe that the title refers to man.
• In verse 10, the pioneer of their salvation refers to Jesus.
• The Greek word “archegon” means “pioneer: or founder / champion”.
• In the Hellenistic world, the hero figure, Hercules, was called Archegon because he entered the world, wrestled with evil forces and saved his people. 
• Verse 12 alludes to a sense of Family Assurance.
• We have assurance that Jesus is not ashamed to call you His brother. Here are some assurances.

1. Jesus died in your place, as your substitute. (2:9)
2. Jesus faced suffering in order to provide your salvation (2:10)
3. Jesus makes you holy and accepts you into his family. (2:11)

• We can learn great lessons from Christ’s Humanity:
•  God in Christ, became a living , breathing human being. Hebrews presents many reasons why this is so important.
• Christ becomes the perfect leader…………..He wants to lead you.
• Christ becomes the model……..……He is worth imitating.
• Christ becomes the sacrifice………...He died for you.
• Christ becomes the conqueror………….He conquered death to give you life.
• Christ becomes the perfect High Priest….He is merciful, and intercedes for us.

The book of Hebrews is the only place in the New Testament where Jesus is referred to as a High Priest. The role was understood by the Hebrews reading this book because of their religious background.
1. Jesus is our merciful High Priest 2:17
2. We are to focus our thoughts on Jesus 3:1
3. Jesus is our great High Priest who has gone through. 4:14
4. Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. 4:15
5. Jesus did not glorify himself but became our High Priest. 5:5
6. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation. 5:9-10
7. Our hope in eternity is sure. 6:18 - 20
8. Jesus meets our needs, he is holy and blameless. 7:26
9. Jesus sits at the right had of the father. 8:1
10. Jesus came as High Priest of the good things to come. 9:11

July 25, 2007 - HEBREWS 1

Purpose: To Present the superiority of Christ over Judaism
Author: Possibly Paul. Other names are Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Silas
To whom written: Hebrew Christians
Date Written: Probably before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Setting: These Jewish Christians were probably undergoing fierce persecution.

Key Verse: Hebrews 1:3
Key People: Old Testament men and women of Faith

Features: Although Hebrews is called a “letter” it has the form and the content of a sermon.

Hebrews 1: 1 – 3 / JESUS CHRIST IS GOD’S SON
Hebrews tells us that God spoke through many prophets, at many times and in various ways. All of this set the stage for the unveiling of God’s Son, who is the “radiance of God’s glory. The first part of Hebrews shows how Christ is superior to key aspects of Judaism.The book of Hebrews carefully explains how Christ is superior to angels and Moses and high priests.

The writer divides history into 2 segments or ages. before Christ and after Christ. He calls the first segment the past and the last segment these last days. God had spoken through the prophets of old. God used many approaches to send his messages to people in the Old Testament.

• Visions
• Dreams
• Personally
• Object Lessons
• Through a prophet’s marriage
• Pillar of clouds
• Pillar of fire

The Ultimate Authority: God revealed himself by speaking through his son. We see on the mount of transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared. Moses symbolized the law and Elijah represented the prophets, yet God said that Jesus was his beloved son that he was welled pleased. This showed the fact that Jesus is greater than the law or prophets.

Seven Affirmations of Christ’s Deity

1. Christ is heir of all things 1:2
2. Christ is creator of the world 1:2
3. Christ as the radiance of God’s glory 1:3
4. Christ as the representation of God’s being 1:3
5. Christ as the sustainer of the world 1:3
6. Christ as the purifier of people’s sins 1:3
7. Christ as King over all 1:3

Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.

The message of forgiveness in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews links God’s saving power with his creative power. In other words, the power that brought the universe into being and that keeps it operating is the very power that removes our sins.

Hebrews 1: 4 – 14 / GOD’S SON COMPARED TO THE ANGELS
What did Jesus do to our Sins?

• He took them away. 2:17
• He forgot them. 8:12; 10:17
• He freed us from sin’s penalty. 9:15
• He removed sin’s power over us. 9:26
• He offered himself as a sacrifice. 10:12
• He offered himself as an offering. 10:18
• He forgives our sins. 10:19

Christ and the Angels
Hebrews                 Old Testament                     How Christ is Superior

1:5-6                       Psalm 2:7                             Christ is called Son of God, not the angels.

1:7,14                     Psalm 104:4                         Angels are important but are still only servants under God.

1:8 – 9                     Psalm 45:6                           Christ’s kingdom is forever.

1:10                        Psalm 102:25                       Christ is the Creator of the world.

1:13                        Psalm 110:1                         Christ is given unique honor by God.