God’s grace, peace and
mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled Hebrews’ Clues, and
my focus is the Letter to the Hebrews. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the
house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are standing within your gates,
we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds
and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most
Holy Trinity. Amen.
When we were
children and teenagers, we loved playing the game of Clue. For those of you who
have never played, it is a board game for two or three to six players that
involves solving a murder. Each player assumes the role of one of six suspects
and attempts to figure out the correct answer by moving around the board
representing rooms of a mansion and collecting clues concerning circumstances
about the murder from the other players.
I thought of Clue
because the Letter to the Hebrews leaves me wondering about clues. For 20 centuries,
we have never determined Hebrews’ author or audience, the place or the precise
time it was written. So, let’s see if any clues can help us better understand
Hebrews.
The author of
Hebrews is anonymous since no claim within its work is made about its writer. The
other New Testament letters are signed by or attributed to a specific author,
but not Hebrews. By the end of the 2nd century, it was attributed to
Paul, and gradually the name of Paul was introduced into the title of the work.
One reason it was attributed to Paul is the mention of “brother Timothy” in
13:23. Timothy is found in Acts and 10 letters of Paul. “Brother Timothy”
appears four times in Paul’s letters.
The ending of this
Letter and some of the phrases also resemble Paul’s style. The themes and
theology Paul took up are akin to what we read in Hebrews. And yet, there is
overwhelming evidence to concede that Paul is not the author. While many have
guessed the author must be Barnabas, Luke, Clement of Rome or Apollos, we must
remain satisfied that our author is anonymous. The Good Doctor Martin Luther
also came to this conclusion.
What we do know is
that the author was a master of the Greek language and quite knowledgeable of
Scripture. He was familiar with Greek philosophy, and his theology reflects
that of Philo and the early Alexandrian (Egypt) theologians. So far, our
chances of solving a murder in Clue are greater than solving the author of this
New Testament Epistle.
How about the
place? Obviously, based on the fact that the writer was familiar with the early
theologians from Alexandria, we might take the bait, and assume he wrote it
from there. But we know so little about the origins of the Church in
Alexandria.
How about
Jerusalem? Some have guessed that the place was Jerusalem because of the
mention of visitors from Italy in the last verses of chapter 13, and we know
from Acts 28:21, that there was correspondence between Rome and Jerusalem. So,
maybe we’re on to something? Additionally, our author writes about Jewish worship
and priesthood. He must have attended the Temple! Yet, I know something about
hockey, but never laced up a pair of skates. The writer’s presentation of
Jewish worship is more book-knowledge than personal experience. And given the
writer’s knowledge of Greek, it is likely that even if he was attending Temple
worship, it was in the Court of the Gentiles. Alas, we don’t have a clue about
who the author is or where he wrote this Letter.
Not as important
as the author or the place, is the date of Hebrews. We know that this is a later
letter from what we read in 2:3, that the people have heard the Lord’s teaching
from other Christians. They had been believers for some time (see 5:12; 10:31-32).
Among the many factors for dating Hebrews before 70 AD is that there is no
mention of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Maybe the author had no
interest in mentioning this, but given that he emphasized that Jesus replaced
the Jewish liturgy, priesthood and holy place, its destruction would have
strengthened his argument. At the end of the day, and without covering all the
detailed arguments, most scholars agree that Hebrews was written in the 80s.
Still, it remains a minor mystery.
To whom the author
was writing this Letter is most important. The Letter’s title “To the Hebrews”
was added on later because the content of the Letter deals mainly with the
practice of Israel’s religion, but they were not necessarily Hebrews. The
recipients of this Letter were enlightened by the teachings of Christ and
baptized. They received the Gospel from evangelists whose ministry was
accompanied by working miracles. In other words, the Holy Spirit was part of
their Christian experience. We read that in chapters 2 and 6 (2:3-4; 6:4-5).
They also had a
favorable attitude towards Israel’s worship, but that does not mean that they
had to be Jewish. Think of Missouri Synod Lutherans who not only love the
traditional Divine Service, but also enjoy the worship of Eastern Orthodox
Churches or listening to contemporary Christian music. That does not make one
Orthodox or nondenominational.
What occurred some
time after these Christians were baptized was something common to many
Christians of the early Church and even today – persecution, hostility and
harassment. They were deprived of property, and some were imprisoned,
suggesting that the local officials were against them.
Hebrews was
written after this persecution passed, but tension and dejection remained.
Worse yet, members of the congregation became dull and sluggish (5:11; 6:12).
They were tempted to return to Jewish roots. It was not so much that the
recipients saw themselves as totally Jewish, but were nostalgic for the cultic
heritage. Think of Lutheran pastors with a German heritage who forget that the
Synod opened itself up to the English and Slovak Lutherans, and has had for
some time congregations that are primarily Hispanic or African American. Nostalgia
does little to advance the Gospel.
These early
Christians needed to be reminded not to place too much value on their nostalgic
feelings, but to focus on the enormous change brought about by God through
Christ. Put away the old and embrace the new. Embrace what Christ did for you. I
think as every congregation moves forward, we need to keep in mind that the
most important thing is what God did and does for us through Christ and the
Holy Spirit, 2022 years ago and today.
In order to strengthen
the points of his argument, the author strongly emphasizes the superiority of
Christ over Moses, and the replacement of Jewish sacrifices and the high
priesthood. In addressing this superiority, the author indoctrinates his
readers with a proper understanding of the Gospel in order to prevent any further
backsliding. His examples of endurance during past persecutions were meant to
encourage steadfastness now.
While there are
strong reasons to think that the audience lived in either Rome or Jerusalem, another
view is that it was addressed to those converted priests we read about in Acts
(6:7), who were no longer permitted to offer sacrifice after professing Jesus;
or perhaps they were Jews who fled the Temple and were no longer permitted to
return. Nevertheless, what is important is that the message of Hebrews would
have been as important for any congregation of its time.
Hebrews is also
important for Christian churches everywhere today. Yet, most pastors and
Christians shy away from understanding or explaining the Letter. As one pastor
wrote, even if the people in our churches know some Bible stories, they’re
often still missing the Bible’s story.
Why is Hebrews
important for us today? Hebrews shows us that the Bible is not a collection of
unrelated stories, but is rather one unified story—the story of redemption
through Jesus Christ. It helps us unlock the glorious tapestry of God’s
progressive revelation, and unfold the mystery of seeing Jesus Christ
throughout the Old Testament.
By quoting,
alluding to or referencing the Old Testament, Hebrews argues that God’s glory
and redemptive plan are finally and most clearly revealed in Jesus Christ. The
central theme is that the glory of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. When you
understand this, things become less complicated and easier to understand.
Throughout
Hebrews, we see that Jesus is superior to angelic beings (1:5–2:18) and Moses
(3:1–4:13). Jesus is the superior High Priest (4:14–5:10; 7:1–8:13) and the
superior sacrifice (9:1–10:18). In Christ, we see the fulfillment of all the
Old Testament hopes and promises, ushering in the long-awaited Kingdom of God.
Now, the goal of
theology is to better understand what God is doing in history in a way that you
seek to join him on his mission through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews
reminds us to live faithful and fruitful lives for the glory of God, and
central to our endurance in faithfulness is understanding — understanding that
comes from seeing and savoring Jesus Christ as supreme above all things.
Like the original
readers of Hebrews, we may be tempted through nostalgia or newness to abandon
our faith and embrace our former ways or innovative lifestyles that we think
enhance our lives. Some people become so involved with work or hobbies that we
would say that they are passionate about them. Case in point: When I served as
pastor in Oakmont, a number of people of the church were members of the Oakmont
Country Club. Some of them were scratch golfers and club champions. One of
these individuals was Shawn, a member of the congregation, who once said to me,
“No matter how much you put into golf, you always get less back. No matter how
much you put into God, you always get more back.” His perspective was spot on.
Friends, the
spirituality of Hebrews keeps our minds focused when we turn to prayer. When
you follow Jesus Christ, you are not mentally directionless or endlessly
flexible. You mind is set on the concrete story of Him and its implications for
your life. Every day, try to wrap your mind around the Paschal Mystery – the
reason Jesus lived, suffered, died, was raised from the dead and ascended to
the Father’s right hand.
No matter how much
time you spend trying to grasp the truths of our faith, you may not figure out
God’s plan for you like a game of Clue, but you will begin to appreciate what
God has in store for you every day, no matter how good or bad your day is. If
you are grieving, you know that believers are there for you. If you are
suffering, you know that Jesus suffered innocently and sacrificed Himself for
you. If you are lonely, you understand that there is no lonelier place than the
Cross. If you are satisfied, you are challenged to follow Christ more dearly
and nearly. If you are exuberant because of the love God has poured forth into
your heart through the Holy Spirit, you are well aware that God wants you to
share that love with others.
I close with
verses 14-16 of chapter four. “Since we have a great high priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our
confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet
without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
As you go from
here, my hope is that when your faith life starts to feel sluggish, you will
turn in prayer to the words of Hebrews or any other page of the Bible and draw
strength from God through Christ as He intercedes for you at the Father’s right
hand, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all
understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
