The Superiority of the Son in His Person and Work
1:1 to 10:18

The first readers of Hebrews were part of a community whose recent history and experiences had been tragically discouraging. Following Isra’el’s captivity in Babylon, hopes were revived for the return of the visible manifestation of God. Yet, the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah regarding the return of the Sh’khinah glory, to rebuild the Temple had not been realized. Five centuries of frustration followed.

In the generation preceding Yeshua’s day, revolts and other bloodshed took the lives of more than 100,000 Jews. In 31 BC, an earthquake had killed another 30,000. Severe famine and pestilence also took their toll. Herod the Great bled the land mercilessly with unrelenting taxation, a blight that continued long after his death. Messages of hope were rarely heard; despair was everywhere. The average person felt the hopelessness of the times and longed for relief, something to buoy the spirit.

In this depressing situation the writer of Hebrews urged his readers to look at Messiah quite differently from the usual way, as the coming Liberator.

The most prominent Jewish expectation associated with Messiah was the exaltation of the Davidic throne. This would be accompanied by a golden age of peace and joy. No rabbi anticipated the magnitude of His glory as it is seen in 1:1 to 10:18. The commonly held Jewish views of Messiah required radical revision. He is no monarch, not even a super-David, but a being of awe-inspiring nature. God had identified with a man by becoming a man. In Him and through Him, YHVH had spoken most conclusively and completely. Nothing remained to be said, for the Son is the radiance of the Sh’khinah glory and the very image of God’s essence (1:3 CJB). When Jewish people speak of the glory of God they use the word kavod. The word conveys the idea of heaviness. In our time, concepts of the LORD are characterized by a kind of weightlessness. You hear it in the songs and prayers, the attitudes of people. But for Isra’el, God’s weightiness is seen in all that He is and all that He does.

The glory that Isra’el witnessed on Sinai (Exodus 24:16) also filled all of God’s world (Isaiah 6:3). Now that same kavod, revealed in Messiah could be known by all who trusted in His saving work on the cross. The writer of Hebrews wanted to strengthen the followers of Yeshua by helping them focus on the superiority of the Son in His Person and His work. It is impossible to estimate the importance of this truth to those Jewish believers who received this letter. Branded mesbumadim (traitors to Isra’el’s faith), they were subject to enormous pressures. Then, as now, faith in Jesus comes at a price. You cannot be a believer without suffering at the hands of the world. Therefore, the rejection of family and friends needed to be offset by the love and full acceptance they received from ADONAI’s eternal Messiah, the God-Man, and sustainer of all things.¹¹

There were three pillars of Judaism in the days when Hebrews was written: angels, Moses, and the Levitical Priesthood. The writer will deal with each one separately: first the angels (1:4 to 2:18), then with Moshe (3:1-6), and finally the Levitical Priesthood (4:14 to 10:18).

The Audience of the book of Hebrews

As John MacArthur relates in his commentary on Hebrews, there are no references to Gentiles in the book. Problems between Jews and Gentiles are not mentioned, so the congregation being addressed was strictly Jewish. To those suffering Jewish believers – and some unbelievers – are revealed the merits of Yeshua Messiah and the B’rit Chadashah, in contrast to the Levitical system that they had lived and worshiped for so long. We do not know the exact location of this group of Hebrews. Perhaps they were somewhere near Greece. We do know that apostles and New Covenant prophets had evangelized this Messianic community (2:3-4). Evidently this congregation had been founded fairly soon after Yeshua’s ascension. By the time the letter was written, a small congregation of believers already existed there. They were not very mature spiritually, and some were tempted to go back to the entire Levitical sacrificial system.

The book of Hebrews was written to three basic groups of Jews in the diaspora. If one does not keep these groups in mind, the book becomes very confusing, especially in Chapters 6 and 10. If, for example, as some have said, it was written exclusively to believers, there are a number of passages that could not apply to believers. And because it so frequently addresses believers, it could not possibly have been written primarily to unbelievers either. It must have been written to include both. Hence, it is no surprise that there is no greeting to God’s Messianic community like we find in most of the letters in the New Covenant.

Group One: Messianic Jews: There was a Jewish congregation of true believers in Jesus Christ. They had come out of Judaism, in which they were born and raised. They had been born again. The result, as it is many times today, was tremendous hostility from their own people – ostracism from their families, persecution and suffering of all kinds, though not martyrdom (10:32-34 and 12:4). They suffered greatly.

They should have anticipated as much and have been mature enough to deal with it. But they had not and were not. They lacked full confidence in the Good News, and, consequently, in the Lord. They were in danger of going back into the Levitical system – not losing their salvation but confusing the gospel with Jewish ceremony thereby weakening their faith and testimony. They could not bring themselves to accept the clear-cut distinction between the New Covenant in Messiah and the forms, ceremonies, patterns and methods of Judaism. They were still hung up, for example, on the Temple ritual and worship. That was why the Ruach ha-Kodesh talked to them so much about the new priesthood, the new Temple, new sacrifice, and new sanctuary, all of which were better than the old ones.

They had gone beyond Judaism and received Messiah as their Lord and Savior, but, understandably, they were tempted to hang on to many of the Jewish habits that had been a part of their lives for so long. When their friends and countrymen began to persecute them, the pressure led them to hold on even tighter to some of the old Jewish traditions. They felt they had to keep a foothold in their old and familiar relationships. In other words, it was hard for them to make a clean break.

With all the pressure, together with their weak faith and spiritual ignorance, they were in great danger of mixing the new and the old. They were in danger of coming up with a watered-down faith. Jesus had warned the church at Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I AM about to spit you out of My mouth” (3:16). They were a whole congregation of weaker brothers (Romans 14:2; First Corinthians 8:9), who were still calling unclean what God has made clean (Mark 7:19; Acts 10:15; Romans 14:12).

The Ruach ha-Kodesh directed this letter to them to strengthen their faith in the New Covenant, to show them that they did not need the Temple to worship God (which in a few years would be completely destroyed by Titus Vespasian anyway, showing that YHVH had brought an end to the Dispensation of the Torah). They did not need the old Levitical system. They did not need the continual sacrifices. They did not need the ceremonies. They had a new and better covenant with a new and better priesthood, a new and better sanctuary, and a new and better sacrifice. The shadow was to give way to the reality.

Group Two: Unbelieving Jews who were Intellectually Convinced: We have all met people who have heard the truth about Jesus Christ and who are intellectually convinced that He is indeed who He claimed to be, but are not willing to step over the line from knowledge to faith. In this Jewish congregation to whom the letter was written, there were such unbelievers. It is likely that every gathering of the congregations of God since Shavu’ot has had people in it who have been convinced that Yeshua is the Messiah, but who have never committed themselves to Him. Why? Perhaps they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God (John 12:42-43). But whatever the reason, they were not willing to make the sacrifice required. And so the Ruach ha-Kodesh urged them to go all the way to saving faith; to go all the way to commitment to the lordship of Christ.

What is the unforgivable sin? They were guilty of acknowledging – but not committing. They were guilty of the great sin of neglecting to do what one is intellectually convinced is right. The truth of the gospel had been confirmed to them through the apostles, with all the miracles and gifts of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. Jesus says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin (Matthew 12:31b; Mark 3:29-30). The unforgiveable sin is rejecting Yeshua Messiah. If someone has heard the Good News, understands it, and is intellectually convinced of its truth, but then willfully rejects Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, what more can YHVH do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing! All Ha’Shem can promise is a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:27).

Group Three: Unbelieving Jews: The Spirit of God in the book of Hebrews not only spoke to Jewish believers in order to strengthen their faith, and to the intellectually convinced in order to push them over the line from knowledge to saving faith, but He also speaks to those who have not believed at all. He seeks to clearly show them that Yeshua is in fact who He claimed to be. This message speaks directly to unbelievers, not Jewish believers or those who had already been intellectually convinced of the gospel. It is given to those who first need to know who Jesus really is.

These, then, are the three groups addressed in Hebrews. The key to interpreting any part of the book is to understand which group is in view. If we do not understand that, we are bound to confuse the issues. For example, the Holy Spirit is surely not saying to believers: People are destined to die just once and after that to face the judgment (9:27 CJB). We must always understand who the Ruach is speaking to. As we study the book of Hebrews, we will relate each file to one of those three groups.

The primary message is addressed to Jewish believers. But from time to time the Ruach ha-Kodesh interspersed five warning passages to the two other unbelieving groups. To see these links, lick on letters

Al – The first warning is the danger of neglect: intellectually convinced Jews

As – The second warning is the danger of a hardened heart: unbelieving Jews

Ba – The third warning is the danger of dullness of hearing: unconvinced Jews

Bb – The fourth warning is the danger of falling away: hesitating Jews

Ci – The fifth warning is the danger of apostasy: apostate Jews

In a skillful way the Ruach ha-Kodesh speaks to all three groups. There is confidence and assurance for the Messianic Jews. He warns the intellectually convinced Jews that they must receive Messiah or their knowledge will damn them. Finally, there is a convincing presentation to the unbelieving Jews who were not even intellectually convinced, that they should believe in Yeshua. To these three groups of Hebrews, the author presents Messiah, the Author of a B’rit Chadashah that is greater than the first one. The First Covenant was not bad; it was God-given and therefore good (Psalm 19:7-8 CJB). But it was incomplete and preliminary. It set the stage for the New Covenant.¹⁰

Background of the B’rit Chadashah and the New Sacrifice

Messiah came as the Mediator of a better covenant because it is one that doesn’t have to be repeated every hour, every day, every month, or every year. The Lord comes as the mediator of a better covenant because His sacrifice removes every sin ever committed forever. Yeshua comes as the mediator of a better covenant because He is a High Priest who doesn’t need to make any sacrifices for Himself. He is totally perfect, the Perfect Priest and the Perfect Sacrifice. Christ, in His own sacrifice – His sacrifice of Himself – showed the perfection that eliminated sin. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (10:10). Once. That was something wonderfully new in the sacrificial system – one sacrifice, once offered. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God (10:12). This was something no priest could ever do. There were no seats in either the Tabernacle or the Temple. The Levitical priest would never sit down because his work was never finished. But Yeshua made His sacrifice and sat down. It was finished. It was done. The atonement for sin had been paid in full (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God). For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (10:14).

Hebrews emphasizes contrast. Everything is presented as better: a better hope, a better testament, a better promise, a better sacrifice, a better substance, a better country, a better resurrection, a better everything. Yeshua Messiah is presented the supreme Best. And we are presented as being in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14), in a completely new dimension – the heavenlies. We read of the heavenly Messiah, the heavenly calling, the heavenly gift, the heavenly country, the heavenly Yerushalayim., and of our names being written in the heavenlies. Everything is new. Everything is better. We have the Substance (Jesus Christ), we don’t need the shadow (the Levitical priesthood). Here is the whole point of what we have been saying: we do have just such a high priest as has been described. And He does sit at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 8:1). This is the whole summary of the book of Hebrews in just one sentence. Ours is the High Priest of high priests, and He is seated. His work is done, completely finished for all time.⁸ Hebrews leads us to the resources that are available when life threatens to overwhelm us. Here we can find the strength to resolve and overcome life’s relentless pressures.⁹

Difficulties for Jewish Believers

Keep in mind that the idea of a new covenant (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el) was not easy for the Jews to accept. Even after accepting Yeshua as Messiah, it was hard for them to make a clean break from everything they had known for their whole lives. The Gentiles didn’t have that problem since they had not taken on the yoke of the Torah or been a part of the Levitical system. They had long before lost any real knowledge of the true God, and therefore, were worshiping idols – some primitive and some sophisticated – but idols nonetheless: For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen (Romans 1:21-25). But since Abraham’s covenant with ADONAI (see the commentary on Genesis Ee – God’s Covenant with Abram), the Jews believed they had a special relationship with God (which they did) and didn’t need anyone or anything else. The Dispensation of Grace was a mystery until Christ came (Ephesians 5:32).

It was not easy for Jews to, in effect, turn their backs on their heritage, especially when they knew the Torah was God given. Even after receiving Messiah as Lord and Savior it was still difficult. The audience of the book of Hebrews was essentially a Messianic congregation. How much Levitical ceremony should they keep? How much should they let go? This had been a part of their lives since early childhood. The Temple was still standing and the Levitical priests were still ministering in it. Thus, part of the purpose of Hebrews was to confront those born-again Jews (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bv – Jesus Teaches Nicodemus) with the fact that they should let go of all the Levitical trappings. All.

Hebrews was written to a people under siege. Many of those Jewish believers were beginning to say to themselves, “This is too hard. We received the Good News about Yeshua and believed it. But it’s tough to break with our own people and traditions that we’ve practiced our whole lives and face all the persecution we’ve received.” When you consider what they were going through at the time, it’s easy to appreciate the difficulties and temptations they faced.

The high priest Ananias was especially hard and unrelenting. He had Messianic Jews automatically expelled from the Temple and considered them cherem, or devoted to destruction. They had access to the Temple their whole lives. Now they could have no part in the Levitical system, they could not communicate with the priests or attend the festivals. They were considered unclean. They could have nothing to do with their own people. They were cut off from their own society. Because of their faith in Yeshua Messiah their world had been turned upside down. Though in the eyes of ADONAI they were the only true Jews (Romans 2:28-29), they were considered worse than Gentiles by their fellow Jews.

Throughout Hebrews these immature believers are encouraged to keep their confidence in Christ, the mediator of a better covenant and their new Great High Priest. They are reminded that they were losing nothing for which they were not getting something infinitely better. They had been deprived of an earthly Temple, but they were going to get a heavenly one. They had been denied an earthly priesthood, but they now had a heavenly Priest. They had been deprived of the Levitical sacrifices, but now they had a final one.⁷

Background of the Torah and the Outdated Sacrifices

No Jew could see God and live: In the Jewish mind, it had always been dangerous to approach YHVH. But you can’t see My face, because no one may see Me and live (Exodus 33:20 GWT). On Yom Kippur (the great Day of Atonement), which occurred only once a year, the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle or Temple. There, above the ark of the Covenant (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fr – The Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place: Christ at the Throne of Grace) and on the mercy seat (see the commentary on Exodus Fs – The Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place: Christ at the Throne of Grace), YHVH met mankind. As the high priest sprinkled the blood of a male goat (the azael) onto the mercy seat, the Sh’khinah Glory, the visual manifestation of God’s presence, filled up the Most Holy Place. That was as close as they could get.

Since there was naturally no personal nearness to God, there had to be some basis for communication between ADONAI and Isra’el. So the LORD established a covenant. In this covenant God, in His grace, offered Isra’el a special relationship with Himself. In a unique way He would be their God and they would be His people to reach the world (Exodus 6:7). They would have special access to Him if they obeyed His 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments. To break any one of these was a sin, and sin interrupted their access to Him. Because they were constantly sinning, their access to God was constantly being interrupted.

The outdated sacrifices: So ADONAI instituted a sacrificial system to allow a repentant Jew to atone for his or her sin. But the righteous of the TaNaKh were brought to Abraham’s side (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Hx – The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) on the basis of faith. Salvation, whether in the Dispensation of the Torah or in the Dispensation of Grace has always been by faith. When that Jew brought an offering to the priest at the Temple, the fact that there was a piece of meat burning on the bronze altar (see the commentary on Exodus Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze) did not please God in and of itself. It was the attitude of faith by the one bringing the sacrifice that was pleasing to YHVH. It was that kind of an offering that brought forgiveness of sin. Sacrifices brought in the wrong attitude, just going through the motions, were of no avail. Ha’Shem was very clear about this, both in the days of Isaiah (see the commentary on Isaiah Aj – Stop Bringing Meaningless Offerings) and in the days of Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cc – False Religion is Worthless).

Through the Levitical priesthood, the sacrifices of the Jewish people were made to symbolize atonement for sin. And if they were brought in faith, the barrier between them and God was taken down and they would have access to Him. It worked something like this: YHVH gave His covenant, which included 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments, and thereby offered the people access to Him. However, mankind sinned, His prohibitions or commandments were broken and the barrier went up again. Then another repentant act of sacrifice was made so that the barrier would be dropped and the relationship reestablished.

The problem was that every time the Israelite felt the weight of his or her sin, another offering of some sort had to be made (see the commentary on Exodus Fb – The Five Offerings of the Tabernacle: Christ, Our Sacrificial Offering). Their sin was only covered up until they sinned again. Atonement for their sin was never removed forever. As a consequence, the sacrifices continued hour after hour, day after day, year after year. They never stopped. Besides this, the Levitical priests themselves were sinners. They had to make sacrifices for their own sins before they could make sacrifices for the sins of the people. And so the barrier went up and down, up and down, up and down. This in itself proved to be an ineffective system. It was a losing battle against sin and the barrier it erects.

What was needed was a Perfect Priest and a Perfect Sacrifice to open the way to God once and for all – a sacrifice that didn’t deal with just one sin at a time, over and over again, but a one-time sacrifice that took all sin away forever. That, says the writer of Hebrews, is exactly what Yeshua was and what He did.⁶

Introduction to Hebrews from a Jewish Perspective

To Gary and Georgia, co-workers in ministry.
Through their spiritual gifts, their skills and heart,
they are true friends and mighty warriors for Yeshua.

Hebrews is a stunning portrait of Yeshua Messiah seen through the lens of the TaNaKh. The author’s intent, under the influence of the Ruach, is to show the superiority of Jesus over the prophets, angels, Moshe, priests, and the entire Levitical system. Christ is the new priest with the new sacrifice that establishes a new covenant between YHVH and His people.

The Use of the New International Version

Because I am writing this commentary on Hebrews from a Jewish perspective, I will be using both the New International Version (NIV) and also relying heavily on the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by David Stern. There is a good blend between the two.

The use of ADONAI

Long before Yeshua’s day, the word ADONAI had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as YHVH. The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of God, and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition, which is unnecessary but harmless, I will be using ADONAI or Ha’Shem where YHVH is meant.¹ In ancient times when the scribes were translating the Hebrew Scriptures, they revered the name of YHVH so much that they would use a quill to make one stroke of the name and then throw it away. Then they would make another stroke and throw that quill away until the name was completed. His name became so sacred to them that they started to substitute the phrase the Name, instead of writing or pronouncing His Name. Over centuries of doing this, the actual letters and pronunciation of His Name was lost. The closest we can come is YHVH, with no syllables. The pronunciation has been totally lost. Therefore, the name Yahweh is only a guess of what the original name sounded like. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

The use of TaNaKh

The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Nevi’im,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” or the Sacred Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. The term “Old Covenant” implies that it is no longer valid, or at the very least outdated. Something old, to be either ignored or discarded. But Jesus Himself said: Don’t think I have come to abolish the Torah and the Prophets, I have not come to abolish but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). I will be using the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh instead of the phrase the Old Testament throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of the phrase, “the righteous of the TaNaKh,”
rather than using Old Testament saints

Messianic synagogues, and the Jewish Messianic Community in general, never use the phrase Old Testament saints. From a Jewish perspective, they prefer to use the phrase, “righteous of the TaNaKh.” Therefore, I will be using “the righteous of the TaNaKh,” rather than Old Testament saints throughout this devotional commentary.

Author

The human author is unnamed and unknown. How fitting, since the book’s purpose is to exalt Jesus Christ. I stand with Origen, one of the great teachers of the early Church, who simply said, “No one knows.” Many have speculated about his identity, but we do know that it was written by an inspired believer to a suffering, persecuted group of Jews living somewhere in the East, outside of Isra’el. We also know that he was a dynamic preacher, he was knowledgeable of the TaNaKh and its interpretation, he was highly educated, he was a committed minister of Yeshua Messiah, and he was deeply concerned about the spiritual state of the congregation of Jews he was addressing.²

Date

It is impossible to fix an exact date to the composition of the letter. However, it seems likely that it was written prior to the destruction of the Temple (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD), since the author consistently refers to it in the present tense. The seeds of the Jewish revolt were being sown, but the full-scale revolt had not yet begun. Therefore, the book was probably written somewhere between AD 64 and 66 [Jewish revolt AD 66-70].

The use of Midrash by the Human Author

The author’s method was to show the superiority of the Messiah over the Levitical system. That which they had in Yeshua superseded what they had in Judaism. The contrast was not between what was good and what was bad because YHVH had given the whole Levitical system. The contrast was between what was good and what is better. Biblical Judaism was good, but Messiah is better. As the author gives further details about the good and the better, he takes the three main pillars of Judaism of the day – angels, Moshe, and the Levitical priesthood – and shows what the readers now have in Yeshua is superior to all three pillars of Judaism. This is a concept also found in the Midrash (an ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures).

The book of Hebrews attempts to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is greater than the prophets (1:1-3), greater than the angels (1:4-2:14), and greater than Moshe (3:1-6). A parallel Midrash is found in Tanhuma (Buber’s edition, Toldot 134-135; and Vulgar edition, Toldot 14). The Midrash is on Isaiah 52:13: My Servant will accomplish His purpose. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. The Messiah will be raised up more than Moshe, lifted up more than Abraham, and more higher than the angels. This Midrash is found in a late collection; but it is clear that the book of Hebrews proves that it had existed already at the time of the Second Temple or soon after its destruction. The fact that this Midrash existed in the ancient past is also demonstrated by a Tannaic Midrash, namely Sifre, on Numbers 12:3-7. There, the rabbinic tradition states that Moses is greater than the Patriarchs, including Abraham, and the Archangels. This is a Midrash we find in both Tanhuma and in Hebrews. It is interesting that a medieval Jew who converted to Christianity, Friar Paul Christiani, noticed the similarity between the Tanhuma Midrash and the book of Hebrews, and tried to prove that the Talmudic Sages had known the truth about Yeshua, but had concealed it from the Jews. In his debate with the Jewish Rabbi Nachmanides, this convert to Christianity said, “Indeed, your own Sages have said that the Messiah has more honor than the angels, which cannot be anyone other than Jesus.” Then he quoted what was written in the Midrashic legend, “Raised up more than Moshe, lifted up more than Abraham, and more high than the Archangels.” Nachmanides, of course, had his answer at hand (The Writings of Rabbi Moses be Nahman, Chavel’s edition, Volume I, page 311).³

Quotations from the TaNaKh

Throughout the book of Hebrews the inspired human author quotes liberally from the TaNaKh. In an effort to show which portions of any verse are direct quotations, I have put the quote in purple and the scripture quoted in parenthese in purple. In that way, it is easy to get a feel for how often the Ruach uses the TaNaKh to make His point that Yeshua is better and more superior than all that came before Him.

Literary Form

Hebrews is commonly referred to as a letter, though it doesn’t have the typical form of a letter. It ends like a letter (13:22-25), but it begins more like an essay or sermon (1:1-3). The author does not identify himself or those addressed, which letter writers normally did. And he offers no manner of greeting, such as is usually found at the beginning of ancient letters. Rather, he begins with a magnificent statement about Jesus Christ. He called his work a message of exhortation (13:22), the conventional designation given to a sermon in a synagogue service (see Acts 13:15). Like a sermon, Hebrews is full of encouragement, exhortations and stern warnings. It is likely the author used the materials that made up his sermons and sent them out in modified letter form.⁴

Key Words

There are five key words in Hebrews. One is perfection, not meaning sinlessness, but maturity in contrast with immaturity (2:10; 5:9; 6:1; 7:11, 19, 28; 10:14; 12:1-2). The second key word is eternal in contrast to what was temporal such as the 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments of the Torah to be obeyed, the sacrifices, and the Levitical system in general (5:9; 6:2; 9:12, 14-15; 13:20). The third key word is forever, which is a corollary to eternal (1:8; 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 28; 13:20-21; 8:1; 9:24; 12:25-26). The fourth key word is heavenly in contrast to what is earthly (3:1; 6:4; 8:5; 9:23; 11:16; 12:22). And the fifth key word is better in contrast to what is good (1:4; 6:9; 7:19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:4, 16; 11:35, 40; 12:24).⁵

Theme

The theme of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of Yeshua Messiah.

The Outline of the Book of Hebrews

The basis for this commentary and outline
is taken from the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Hebrews

Introduction to Hebrews from a Jewish Perspective (Ac)

Background of the Torah and the Outdated Sacrifices (Ad)

Difficulties for Jewish Believers (Ae)

Background of the B’rit Chadashah and the New Sacrifice (Af)

The Audience of the book of Hebrews (Ag)

I. The Superiority of the Son in His Person and Work – 1:1 to 10:18 (Ah)

A. The Superiority of Messiah to the Prophets – 1:1-3 (Ai)

B. The Superiority of Messiah to Angels – 1:4 to 2:18 (Aj)

1. The Proof of Messiah’s Superiority to Angels from the Scriptures – 1:4-14 (Ak)

2. The Danger of Neglect: Intellectually Convinced Jews – 2:1-4 (Al)

3. The Proof of Messiah’s Sovereignty – 2:5-9 (Am)

4. The Proof of Messiah’s Salvation – 2:10-18 (An)

C. The Superiority of Messiah to Moses – 3:1-6 (Ao)

1. The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Person and Work – 3:1-4 (Ap)

2. The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Position – 3:5-6 (Aq)

D. The Superiority of Messiah in the Rest He Gives – 3:7 to 4:13 (Ar)

1. The Danger of a Hardened Heart: Unconvinced Jews – 3:7-19 (As)

2. A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God – 4:1-13 (At)

E. The Superiority of the Messiah to the Levitical Priesthood – 4:14 to 10:18 (Au)

1. Messiah is in a Better Position Than Aaron – 4:14-16 (Av)

2. Messiah is a Better Priest Than Aaron – 5:1 – 7:28 (Aw)

a. Qualifications for the Great High Priest – 5:1-4 (Ax)

b. Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest – 5:5-10 (Ay)

c. Unbelievers and Believers in Messiah – 5:11 – 6:20 (Az)

(1) The Danger of Dullness of Hearing: Unbelieving Jews – 5:11-14 (Ba)

(2) The Danger of Falling Away: Hesitating Jews – 6:1-8 (Bb)

(3) We Have This Hope as an Anchor for the Soul – 6:9-20 (Bc)

d. The Priesthood of Melchizedek – 7:1-28 (Bd)

(1) Melchizedek Was a Type of Christ – 7:1-3 (Be)

(2) The Order of Melchizedek and the Order of Aaron – 7:4-10 (Bf)

(3) The Levitical Priesthood and the Priesthood of Jesus – 7:11-25 (Bg)

(a) The Former Priesthood Has Changed – 7:11-14 (Bh)

(b) The Former Priesthood Was Temporary – 7:15-19 (Bi)

(c) The New Priesthood Is Unchangeable – 7:20-22 (Bj)

(d) The New Priesthood Lasts Forever – 7:23-25 (Bk)

(4) Yeshua the Melchizedek Priest – 7:26-28 (Bl)

3. A Better Covenant – 8:1-13 (Bm)

a. The Superiority of the New Covenant – 8:1-6 (Bn)

b. Proof of the Superiority of the New Covenant – 8:7-13 (Bo)

c. The Dispensation of Grace (Bp)

4. A Better Sanctuary – 9:1-10 (Bq)

a. The Insufficiency of the Former Sanctuary – 9:1-5 (Br)

b. The Insufficiency of the Former Priestly Service – 9:6-7 (Bs)

c. The Insufficiency of the Former Sacrifices – 9:8-10 (Bt)

5. A Better Sacrifice – 9:11 to 10:18 (Bu)

a. The Superiority of Messiah’s Sacrifice – 9:11-12 (Bv)

b. The Results of Messiah’s Sacrifice – 9:13-28 (Bw)

(1) The Insufficiency of the Blood of Bulls and Goats – 9:13-14 (Bx)

(2) Forgiveness Demands Blood – 9:15-22 (By)

(3) The Better Tabernacle Purified with Better Blood – 9:23-28 (Bz)

c. Messiah, the Perfect Sacrifice – 10:1-18 (Ca)

(1) The Insufficiency of the Levitical Sacrifices – 10:1- 4 (Cb)

(2) The Sufficiency of Messiah’s Sacrifice – 10:5-10 (Cc)

(3) Messiah’s Sacrifice Was Once For All Time – 10:11-14 (Cd)

(4) I Will Put My Torah in Their Hearts – 10:15-18 (Ce)

II. The Practical Application of the Supremacy of the Son – 10:19 to 13:25 (Cf)

A. Messiah’s Sacrifice Opens the Way to God – 10:19-39 (Cg)

1. Let Us Draw Near to God – 10:19-25 (Ch)

2. The Danger of Apostasy: Apostate Jews – 10:26-39 (Ci)

B. Faith in Action – 11:1-40 (Cj)

1. Now Faith is the Assurance of Things Hoped For – 11:1-3 (Ck)

2. The Hall of Faith – 11:4-40 (Cl)

a. The Faith of Abel – 11:4 (Cm)

b. The Faith of Enoch – 11:5-6 (Cn)

c. The Faith of Noah – 11:7 (Co)

d. The Faith of Abraham – 11:8-19 (Cp)

e. The Faith of Isaac – 11:20 (Cq)

f. The Faith of Jacob – 11:21 (Cr)

g. The Faith of Joseph – 11:22 (Cs)

h. The Faith of Moshe – 11:23-29 (Ct)

i. The Faith of Rahab at Jericho – 11:30-31 (Cu)

j. Faith Through Trials – 11:32-40 (Cv)

C. Faith to Run the Believer’s Marathon – 12:1 to 13:25 (Cw)

1. Faith and Discipline – 12:1-11 (Cx)

a. We Are Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses – 12:1-3 (Cy)

b. God Disciplines His Children – 12:4-11 (Cz)

2. Warning and Encouragement to Believers – 12:12-29 (Da)

a. Falling Short of God’s Grace – 12:12-17 (Db)

b. The Earthy Mount Sinai and the Heavenly Mount Tziyon – 12:18-29 (Dc)

3. Believer’s Behavior in Relation to Others – 13:1-3 (Dd)

4. Believer’s Behavior in Relation to Ourselves – 13:4-9 (De)

5. Messiah’s Sacrifice Has Cleansed Us – 13:10-19 (Df)

6. Benediction and Final Greetings – 13:20-25 (Dg)

Glossary (Dh)

Endnotes (Di)

Bibliography (Dj)

Hebrews, Where Life and the Bible Meet

1. Look at the outline (Ab), and the Introduction (Ac) before starting the commentary.

2. The DIG and REFLECT questions are in bolded gray and will help to give you a deeper understanding of the book and make it more personal to you. Go slowly and give yourself time to answer these questions. They really strike at the heart of the commentary. What are the DIG questions for? To dig into the Scripture “story.” To find out what’s going on, to figure out the main idea, the plot, the argument, the spiritual principle, and so on. What are the REFLECT questions for? To apply the “story” in the Scripture to your own life; to take personal inventory and to decide what you are going to do about it! The DIG and REFLECT questions are taken from the John MacArthur’s Bible Study, the Warren Wiersbe series on Hebrews, “Be Confident,” and the Serendipity Bible.

3. I would strongly suggest that you look up the references that are given in each section. Many times this will greatly enhance the background, and hence, your understanding of the Scriptures that you are reading on a particular day. Take your time, read only as much as you can digest.

There are times when I refer you to either another file in Isaiah, or a file in another book of the Bible, to give you more detail on a particular person, topic, concept or theology. An example might be something like the Great Sanhedrin (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin). If you feel you already know enough about the Great Sanhedrin, you can skip the reference and continue reading. But if it interests you, or if you don’t know what the Great Sanhedrin is, you can go to that file and read it first before continuing. It’s your choice. 

4. All Scripture is in bold print. The NIV is used unless indicated otherwise. However, sometimes the purpose of the bold print is merely for emphasizing a certain point. When bold maroon is used, it is for special emphasis. The words of Jesus are bolded in red.

5. When bold teal is used, it is quoted from one of the two Jewish commentaries listed in the bibliography. This will give you the moderate Orthodox Jewish interpretation. It is useful for word studies, but its Christology is obviously entirely wrong. Where rabbinical interpretation is cited, I will add, “The rabbis teach. . .” in front of the passage. Although it is not a Christian interpretation, I think it is interesting to see how the rabbis interpret these passages.

6. The writer to the Hebrews quotes the TaNaKh extensively. When bold purple is used, it is quoting some section of the Hebrew Scriptures.

7. Read the Scriptures for a particular day first, then skim the DIG or REFLECT questions, read the commentary and reflect on it; answer the DIG or REFLECT questions, then read your Bible again. Hopefully, it will have greater meaning for you the second time you read it. Then live it out.

8. If you come to a Jewish word or phrase you do not understand, see the Glossary at the end of the book (see Dh – Glossary).

9. To download a pdf file, click on the red rectangle on the top of any page.

10. You can download anything you want from this devotional commentary for Bible study,
but nothing can be sold © 2019 all rights are reserved by Jay David Mack, M.Div.