Participants: Ty Gibson, James Rafferty
Series Code: BOTB
Program Code: BOTB00001A
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00:20 Welcome friends to "Books of the Book."
00:22 The program that studies the Bible, 00:25 one book at a time just as the word of God reads. 00:28 The more you watch or the more you listen by radio, 00:31 as the case may be, the more deeply, 00:34 personally and intimately 00:35 acquainted you will become with the word of God 00:38 and the more acquainted you will become 00:40 with the character of God 00:42 is the central theme of Scripture. 00:45 Today we're going to be considering the Book of Hebrews 00:47 and I have my co-host with me here, James Rafferty. 00:51 And we're going to launch into the Book of Hebrews 00:53 and so we want to invite you to get your Bible 00:56 and pull up a chair, get comfortable 00:58 somewhere there in your house, 01:00 and open into the Book of Hebrews. 01:01 And James we're gonna began by exploring 01:04 the authorship of the Book of Hebrews. 01:06 Because as you open the Book of Hebrews, 01:10 it doesn't have these beginning salutations 01:14 that we have come to expect 01:17 from the writings of the Apostle Paul 01:19 and the other Apostles in the New Testament. 01:21 It just begins rather a breathily, 01:24 just launching right into the subject matter 01:26 and because of that, some people, 01:29 many people in fact, have questioned 01:31 whether or not the Apostle Paul is the author. 01:34 Well, at the same time there are a numbers of scholars 01:36 and Bible students who do believe 01:39 that Paul is the author of the Book of Hebrews 01:42 and we take that position and we'd like to just flush out, 01:46 first of all here as we launching the Book of Hebrews, 01:48 why it is that we believe that Paul 01:51 is in fact the author of Hebrews. 01:53 And you know, Ty this is a major thing. 01:55 I mean this is something we can talk about but it is not major. 01:58 We were talking on the plane over here 02:00 and the real emphasis that we want to emphasize that-- 02:04 we want to make emphasis we want to make here is 02:06 the Bible is a life changing book. 02:09 And we were talking on the plane, 02:10 you remember about how, we were just wondering, 02:13 where would our lives be 02:15 if we had never accounted the word of God? 02:17 Yeah, I shutter to think of it. Yes. 02:19 And so to us and to our viewers 02:21 we want to make sure that they understand 02:23 as we study this and our listeners out there 02:27 that the core emphasis of what we gonna be looking at 02:30 is the life changing power the word of God 02:32 can have a upon us as we read and study. 02:34 Yeah, and James, we need to remember 02:36 that as Peter tell us that 02:38 "Holy men of old spoke 02:40 as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit." 02:42 So there is the sense in which we need to understand 02:46 that when we take the word of God in hand, 02:48 we are encountering the word of God, 02:53 the word of God, not the word of any Apostle 02:55 or Prophet in a primary sense. 02:57 Of course they are the channels through which God is speaking. 03:00 But the Holy Spirit is working through these authors. 03:03 But the fact is that there are some good insights 03:07 that we can gain from recognizing that Paul 03:10 was the channel through whom the Holy Spirit worked 03:13 for the composition of the Book of Hebrews. 03:15 Yeah and sometimes, there are the reasons 03:18 why perhaps the authorship needs to be a little bit mysterious. 03:21 For example, one of the struggles 03:23 or problems that we have 03:24 as we look at Paul being the author of Hebrews 03:26 is that he consistently introduces himself 03:29 and every other epistle and every other letter 03:32 that he basically writes to these different churches, 03:35 he introduced himself, an apostle of Jesus Christ. 03:38 Paul, an apostle, a prisoner of the Lord et cetera. 03:40 We don't see any introduction in the Book of Hebrews. 03:42 Now one of the reasons for that I believe 03:44 is because Paul in most of his letters 03:47 and most of his epistles 03:49 is writing to the gentile believers. 03:52 In the Book of Hebrews, he's writing specifically 03:54 to the Hebrews, the Israelites, 03:56 his kinsmen according to the flesh. 03:57 And I think what Paul is seeking to do here is divert himself. 04:03 In other words, divert attention from himself. 04:04 Diverse himself and focus here and get right to God. 04:09 Right to the Old Testament Prophets 04:11 which is how he introduces the Book of Hebrews 04:13 so that he doesn't need to be the one that is focused upon 04:17 and he definitely doesn't want to direct people to himself 04:20 being the Apostle of Christ 04:21 because there is a little bit of prejudice there 04:23 about Christ being the Messiah et cetera 04:26 and he wants to move past that. 04:27 There is also prejudice as we look at the history 04:30 in the New Testament especially the Book of Acts. 04:32 There is a prejudice against Paul 04:34 from the Jewish standpoint because the Apostle Paul 04:38 can converted to Christianity. 04:41 He has become one of the foremost champions 04:44 of the Christian faith. 04:46 He's a turncoat in many of the Hebrew people minds. 04:50 And so he is not wanting to make himself prominent 04:53 and while there is a not an opening salutation, 04:56 there is a closing salutation that is very interesting 04:59 in Book of Hebrews that very clearly indicates 05:01 that the Apostle Paul is the person 05:03 that is addressing us here. 05:05 James in Chapter 13:23 and 24 05:08 it's very clear we read these words. 05:11 "Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, 05:14 with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly." 05:18 And then these words in verse 24, 05:20 "Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. 05:24 Those from Italy greet you. 05:26 Grace and peace be with you all. Amen." 05:28 So there is a couple of points here 05:30 concerning the authorship of Hebrews. 05:32 Number 1 in verse 23, Timothy is mentioned. 05:36 So it's very clear that the author of Hebrews 05:39 is a companion of Timothy. 05:41 With Timothy, right. That's right. 05:42 And it's clear in the other epistles 05:44 of Paul in the New Testament. 05:45 The Timothy was in fact 05:47 a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. 05:50 The second point that we know here 05:52 is that he is writing from Italy. 05:55 Where Paul was in prison for a couple of days. 05:58 And Romans 16:21, tell us that and Philippians, 06:02 Philemon, Colossians, 2 Corinthians, 06:04 Thessalonians first and second, 06:05 all tell us that Timothy and Paul 06:07 were traveling companions. 06:08 That's right. That's right. 06:09 So from Italy this letter is issued to the Jewish people, 06:13 to the Jewish believers and obviously an effort 06:16 to convert more Jews to Messiah 06:20 and this person is traveling with Timothy 06:23 and will be coming with Timothy when he is set free. 06:26 Clearly this is the Apostle Paul. 06:28 But there are other evidences that Paul is the author, James. 06:31 Absolutely, that's the powerful one though. 06:33 I think when you look at the writing style of Hebrews 06:36 even though you see a little bit of different of approach 06:38 and we will look at that some more as we go on. 06:40 We also recognize a lot of illustrations 06:43 that we used that we used to Hebrews 06:44 that are very compatible with it, 06:46 and almost identical to other illustrations 06:48 that are used by Paul and others of his writings. 06:51 For example, he refers to running a race 06:54 in Hebrews Chapter 12, that's the same illustration 06:57 that we find in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9. 07:00 He talks about the wilderness experience of God's people 07:03 and then failing to enter into rest and fearing lest we do. 07:07 He uses those illustrations in Hebrews 3 and 4 07:10 and uses the same illustrations that he talks 07:12 about the Israelites in Romans Chapter 11. 07:16 He, in fact in Romans Chapter 9, 07:18 we see Paul ardently, fervently desiring 07:22 to reach his kids when according to the flesh. 07:24 Want to do anything and everything 07:26 he can to reach them. 07:28 In First Corinthians he talks about being babies in Christ 07:31 and he uses that same illustration 07:33 in Hebrews Chapters 5 and 6. 07:35 So we have a lot of these similar illustrations 07:38 that are used in the Book of Hebrews 07:39 that we find in other of Paul's writings. 07:41 Not only that James, but it's very clear 07:45 that if you'd look at all the characters 07:48 that we encounter in the New Testament, 07:50 Peter, James, John, all of them, Timothy even. 07:55 You would very much conclude that the person 07:59 who would be best qualified to write the Book of Hebrews 08:02 just from a pure educational background standpoint, 08:05 scholarship standpoint, the Apostle Paul 08:08 is best qualified to address the Jews on these levels. 08:12 Pharisees. Yeah. 08:13 He was born of the tribe of Benjamin, 08:15 circumcised on the eight day. 08:16 According to the law he was blameless. 08:18 He knew, he understood the Jewish economy. 08:20 He was very familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures. 08:22 He was very familiar with the sacrificial system. 08:25 He was an educated Hebrew 08:27 and we find that whoever wrote the Book of Hebrews 08:30 as you read it through really knows their stuff. 08:32 Yes, of all the Apostles, of all the disciples 08:35 he is the most qualified. 08:36 He is the one that uses illustrations, 08:38 here that you like his other writings. 08:40 He is the one that was traveling companion with Timothy. 08:42 So we see a lot of evidence point toward Paul. 08:44 There is another thing that I find fascinating James 08:47 regarding Paul is the author of Hebrews. 08:50 One of the reasons why some people have said, 08:52 no, Paul couldn't possibly be the author of Hebrews 08:56 is because Hebrews has a slightly or may be even 09:00 a strong different flavor then much of the other epistles, 09:05 many of the other epistles that Paul 09:07 has written in the New Testament, 09:08 there is in the Book of Hebrews an intimate feel. 09:11 Paul in Hebrews is speaking to the heart 09:15 to reach the mind more than reaching 09:19 into the heart through the mind. 09:20 The other epistles are clearly addressing gentile believers 09:25 and they need to be persuaded intellectually 09:27 and their hearts reached through their intellect, 09:30 but here the Hebrews their familiar with 09:32 the Jewish economy and so on. 09:34 So Paul is appealing to their hearts. 09:37 And why is he doing that? 09:39 Because he was a Jew who is intellectually persuaded 09:43 of the trues of the Old Testament, 09:44 however he did not have disbelieve in Jesus Christ. 09:48 How was he converted to Jesus? 09:49 It was personal encounter with Christ 09:51 that converted him on the road to Damascus. 09:53 And so he is appealing to the Jews in the same way 09:55 that he was brought to Christ. 09:57 He is actually wanting to introduce 09:59 them to a personal encounter with Christ. 10:01 So immediately he totally sets himself aside, 10:04 doesn't even introduces himself as the author 10:06 and goes directly from the Prophets to Jesus Christ. 10:10 He's spoken by the Prophets in his last days. 10:12 He's spoken was through Jesus Christ 10:13 and goes right into who the Son of God is? 10:16 Yeah, so some people have thought, well, 10:19 Paul's other writings are so intellectual, 10:21 there are so propositional, so factual. 10:24 It doesn't seem like the same characters 10:26 right in the Book of Hebrews 10:27 because when we go to the Book of Hebrews 10:29 the open to the book is immediately introducing 10:33 God on a personal level through Jesus Christ. 10:36 And then he's launching into all of this language 10:39 that is directed-- it's irrational, 10:43 it's irrational language. 10:44 It's come to God boldly, draw near to the Lord, 10:48 enter into His rest, enter into the presence 10:51 behind the veil in chapter 6. 10:54 It's a call to relationship. 10:55 Which takes us right into another theme 10:57 and that is the theme of something better. 10:59 This theme is really in essence is contrasting 11:03 religion with relationship. 11:05 Paul had religion, he always had religion. 11:07 But now he wants to move to relationship. 11:10 He moved to a relationship when he saw Christ. 11:12 And he wants to move the Hebrews to relationship 11:14 because he knows that's the last hope 11:16 to reach them for the Messiah. 11:18 And anybody who's spent time in the word of God 11:21 and has had a Christian experience 11:23 for any length of time and has gone through 11:26 the experimental process of navigating 11:28 through Christianity knows that rules 11:31 and religion without relationship 11:33 result in rebellion. 11:34 The fact is that the Bible is not just about 11:40 communicating doctrinal facts. 11:41 The Bible is about introducing God as a personal being, 11:46 who as it is very clearly communicated in Hebrews, 11:49 wants to enter into personal relationship with us. 11:52 Relationship is the essence, not only of Christianity 11:54 but of family, of marriage, of community. 11:58 Relationship is the essence of everything 12:00 we're about as a human family. 12:02 And so Paul here is directing us to relationship 12:05 as the essence of how we can enter into this experience 12:08 that we are supposed to have with Jesus Christ. 12:10 And that highlights what Paul was trying to communicate 12:14 in his usage of this word better over and over again. 12:18 Thirteen times in the Book of Hebrews, 12:21 so obviously is the theme, the Apostle Paul 12:24 uses the word "better." 12:26 And this word is very interesting James. 12:29 It is the Greek word, Crichton, and literally means stronger, 12:33 more powerful or superior in strength. 12:37 Everything that we encounter in Jesus Christ 12:41 is superior in strength, in power, 12:44 than everything that has gone before him 12:47 precisely because it is a relationship 12:50 that transcends anything that can be attained 12:53 through the typical symbolic systems 12:55 of the Hebrew economy and the sacrificial service. 13:00 We have to be careful Ty. 13:01 When you advocate a book, a Bible book, 13:05 or anything as better, as superior, as stronger, 13:09 we want to be careful that we don't come across 13:11 as being a hardy and I don't think 13:13 that's what the idea is here with Paul 13:15 or even with our emphasis. 13:17 The point here is this world 13:19 is full of pain and sorrow and misery. 13:21 And God has something better. 13:22 He had something better for you. He had something better for us. 13:25 Something that is superior to the evil and the suffering 13:28 that we experience in this present world. Amen. 13:30 Let's just move through the better things 13:33 that Paul delineates through the Book of Hebrews 13:36 because this is kind of overview as we launch in 13:38 to our study of the Book chapter by chapter. 13:41 In Hebrews 1:4 for example, "Paul uses the word "better" 13:46 for the first time, and he says that Jesus is better 13:49 than the angels which is just gonna come alive 13:52 in a future study." 13:53 In Chapter 6:9, "There are better things, 13:56 superior things that accompany salvation." 13:59 In 7:7, "The Melchizedek priesthood 14:03 of which Jesus is the fulfillment 14:04 is better than the Levitical priesthood. 14:07 So Jesus is the superior high priest." 14:09 In Chapter 7:19. 14:12 "There is a better hope by which we can draw near to God." 14:17 In verse 22 of Chapter 7. 14:19 "There is a better covenant, a superior covenant." 14:22 In Chapter 8:6, "There is a mediator 14:26 of a better covenant." 14:28 In Chapter 9:23, "There is a better sacrifice, 14:32 even the Lord Jesus Christ." 14:34 Chapter 10:34, "There is a better 14:36 and more enduring possession." 14:38 Chapter 11:16, "A better, even in heavenly country or city." 14:44 Amen. Chapter 11:35. 14:46 "There is a better resurrection through Jesus." 14:50 In verse 40, "There is just something better, 14:53 a better experience through Jesus 14:55 for all who come to him." 14:56 In Chapter 13:12, "There is a mediator 15:00 of the better covenant," repeated again. 15:03 And in verse 24, finally Paul summarizes 15:05 all this better stuff by saying 15:07 there are better things, my friends, 15:09 better things through the Lord Jesus Christ 15:13 than is available apart from him. 15:15 Let's take a break and we'll be right back. |
Revised 2014-12-17