To Whom Was Hebrews Written?
October 27, 2002
Dear Friends,
Much ink has been used to discuss who wrote the letter to the Hebrews. A lot of excellent scholarship and Biblical sleuthing has gone into this effort. However, compared to discerning author to the letter to the Hebrews, relatively little effort has gone into determining the recipients of the letter.
Who were these people? Does it even matter to whom the letter was sent? We would suggest that understanding to whom the letter was sent is vital to understanding the message of the letter.
Most would assert that the letter was written to Jewish converts. This is undoubtedly true. In several places in Hebrews does the author call the recipients “brethren.” “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” (3:12) “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus…” (Hebrews 10:19) “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” (13:22) There is not a whole lot of deduction involved in concluding that these people were brethren. It is very easy to deduce that the recipients were Jewish as there are references to the patriarchs or Jewish fathers.. Hebrews 1:1 states “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.” Finally, the recipients were obviously familiar with the Law as the entire book is filled with references to it.
With all of this said, simply leaving the receivers as Jewish converts is not accurate enough. Think about this. Would you need to make the argument that Jesus is superior to the angels to your average believer? Would you need to make the argument that Jesus’ priesthood was superior to the priesthood or Aaron to the average believer? Would you need to argue that faith was the key principle in lives of Abraham, Noah, Moses, and so on to the average believer? Hopefully not!
The point is that the book of Hebrews was not just written to Jewish converts, but Jewish converts with a big problem. These particular Jewish converts were under the influence of the Judaizers. They were trying to save themselves by adhering to the Law of Moses. Unless we grasp this important fact, the letter’s true import is lost on us. Granted, we are thankful to God for this wonderful epistle even outside of the context of the Judaizers for the wonderful types and shadows and basic Bible truths that are brought out in the book. Yet the context of the books is to address a specific problem (a problem which in other forms still manifests itself today); that of legalistic, self-righteousness. If we still read it solely as a window into the Old Testament’s types and shadows, we miss the point.
To crystalize this point, mull over the import of this passage (and we really could have picked any passage) in light of its true context: “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; while it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”
Have a great week!
