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September 19, 2004
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Hebrews
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Pastor Brian Shimer
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"Jesus, our Lord!"
Hebrews 1:1 - 2:4
The question came out of nowhere as far as I was concerned. Here I was a pimply, pudgy, Freshman at Turlock High School when Sharon spoke to me.
She was a senior in High school and said, "Hi Brian, How's life?" Well, I did not connect to the thought that what I was living at the time was a life at all, so that was a new thought. And the question of how it was left me bewildered. I did not answer. I looked at her dumbly in a bit of a daze as she waited for my reply. In that day in my life I was adrift. I had no place to "moor my boat" so to speak. My most spiritual moments were watching the horror soap opera Dark Shadows. So how was life? Truly I had none. Were I to ask you that question, how would you answer?
At that time, were you to ask me to locate anything in the Bible I would have likewise frozen.
Even though the New Testament is laid out in a logical fashion, I could not have described what the logic was. But now I know.
First there are five historical books, four about Jesus one about the church. Say that with me. Then, 9 letters by Paul to churches (say that): Romans, 1 and
2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Then, 4 letters by Paul to pastors: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Finally, 9 general letters, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation.
Now, to remember the order, think of the first letter of the books after Corinthians. You can remember "Go Eat Pop Corn" to help you remember the order of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians Colossians. Then, you might like something to drink with popcorn, and in the NT that would be Tea. For the T's follow "Go Eat Pop Corn." And lemon is good with tea, hence, "phi-lemon" and after you run out of tea you need to brew some more so "HE brews" comes next.
After this, you ought to be able to find the book of Hebrews fairly easily, located in those 9 general letters, the longest book before you come to Revelation. And it is good to know where this book is for we are going to be walking with these brothers and sisters a bit over the next 9 weeks, and if you are in Sunday School over this whole year.
This book is surprising. There is no greeting, no naming of the author, no naming of the audience, which is a common beginning to all the letters in the New Testament. As you read through the book you can identify that the author is a Jewish Christian who is very familiar with both Jewish custom and with the Christian faith. The author is writing to encourage his readers (13:22), and although separated from the hearers of this letter, hopes to be restored to them soon along with Timothy who is currently in prison (13:23). This author came to Christ through the apostolic witness (2:3) and may have been Barnabas or Apollos, so I will be using the male pronoun to refer to him.
Based upon the content of the book it is clear the hearers and readers of this letter are Jewish Christians probably living in Jerusalem, which is the only place with temple worship to which the author refers frequently. There is then a good possibility that the timing of this letter is before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and during a Jewish persecution of those who had converted to the Christian faith.
One eminent scholar, Adolph Saphir, himself a converted Jew writes that after the persecution told of in Acts 8:1, that there arose another persecution under the High Priest Ananias, who favored the Sadducees. The Christian Hebrews "were persecuted as transgressors of the law. Some of them were stoned to death; and though this extreme punishment could not be frequently inflicted by the Sanhedrim, they were able to subject their brethren to sufferings and reproaches… It was a small thing that they confiscated their goods; but they banished them from the holy places…. they were treated as unclean and apostates. Unless they gave up faith in Jesus, and forsook the assembling of themselves together, they were not allowed to enter the Temple, they were banished from the altar, the sacrifice, the high priest, the house of Jehovah…." . (From AW Pink's Commentary on Hebrews www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Hebrews/hebrews_007.htm, p. 3)
Had you asked them how life was, they may have had much to tell you!
In the midst of these times, these Christians were leaning back toward their Jewish roots and losing hold of all they had already gained in Christ. This book addressed their need to see that Jesus is better than angels, than Moses, than Joshua, than Aaron, than the Levitical Priesthood, than any high priest, even the temple, and that Jesus calls them to align their lives with those faithful who lived by faith while looking toward the day when Jesus would come.
So, this author begins by saying that: "God has spoken!"
The Bible rests that authoritative claim. God has spoken. We do not believe that man has conceived ideas about God and written a few of them down. Nor, that the text is not a production of the ingenuity of man, but of the genius of God, who carried those authors along by His Holy Spirit as they wrote (2 Peter 1:21), who breathed out His word so that as we hear the Word we can hear God speaking personally to us (2 Timothy 3:16).
- If Jesus is God's final Word, and if Jesus is the Lord over all, doesn't it make sense that we ought to be paying more careful attention to Him?
That is why our author exhorts us "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."
The hearers were in danger of drifting and they were Jewish Christians in the first century living in the very place where Jesus had taught within 30 years of His death and resurrection. They lived among those who knew Jesus while on earth. And they were in danger of drifting away.
The author says that of himself as well, saying "we must pay more careful attention" -
so he too is in danger of drifting away.
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How could they have drifted away from what they had heard? |
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First, the author says, |
| | by no longer paying careful attention to it, they could replace Jesus with
religious practice.
When religion has replaced relationship - even the religious doing of a devotional time without a desire to meet with Jesus - we have drifted.
We are a people who like religious practice. We talk about doing things "religiously" meaning by habit, and do our faith that way too. It is far too easy for us to just put motions or words on faith without heart. Had this happened to them? Has it happened to you? Then, moor your life again to Jesus. Pay heed to Him.
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Second, by adding other teachings to what they knew of Jesus -- | | | Jesus plus
angels or Moses or anything, would miss the point of this Final Word.
Those would not be what we would add - perhaps it is Jesus plus TV, plus Orpah, plus the NEW, plus the lodge, plus any plus you choose - we can be very creative. Anything we add to find fulfillment in our lives because Jesus is somehow not enough, says we have drifted.
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The boat of our lives must be moored to Jesus to keep from drifting, and that is a 24-7 reality not just a visit with Him on Sunday morning or a few minutes each day during the week. We tie down by relating to Jesus in and through our days. We anchor to Him by inviting Him into the circumstances we encounter.
If asked, "How's life?" would your answer reflect the fact that you find your life's mooring in Jesus?
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