In this autumnal study, Fr. Gabrial Bullock of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church guides us through the Epistle to the Hebrews. In this Epistle, we have one long sustained argument and apologetic for the Christian faith. The writer will take us through the Hebrew Scriptures and show us the superiority of the New Covenant in Christ over the Old Covenant of Moses and the prophets. As background to our study, I am reading through William Barclay’s Letter to the Hebrews and Luke Timothy Johnson’s excerpt on Hebrews in The Writings of the New Testament. This study is for ten weeks. (Because Fr. Gabrial taught the study, the below posts are quite sparse.)
(Autumn 2016)
Hebrews 1-2, pt.1
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews takes us through the Hebrew Scriptures and shows us the superiority of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ over the Old Covenant of Moses and the prophets.
Hebrews 1-2, pt.2
For William Barclay, the great theme of the letter is how we access God, and how the barriers are removed and the doors opened through Christ so that we may forever dwell in God’s presence.
Hebrews 3-4, pt.1
In this section, the writer explores the superiority of Christ to Moses in that only through Christ can we gain the Promised Land.
Hebrews 3-4, pt.2
Tonight we will discuss these passages from the Old Testament, and discuss where Jesus can be found within these passages. (And, remember that the name “Jesus” is simply the Aramaic version of the Hebrew ”Joshua” and that in the Septuagint they would have had the exact same name.)
Hebrews 3-4, pt.3
As you read through these chapters pay attention to how the writer uses the word “rest” in 4:1-13. The writer will use the word literally, allegorically, and eschatologically.
Hebrews 3-4, pt.4
The overriding theme of this passage is the superiority of Christ to Moses. We will find this same theme running through both the Gospels of Matthew and John.
Hebrews 5-6
When we say that Jesus is our Great High Priest, we see him as fulfilling both roles of the priestly sacrifice – priest and victim. He is Abraham and Isaac, Aaron and the scapegoat.
Hebrews 5-7, pt.1
The main character in this section is Melchizedek of (Jeru)Salem –which means the King of Righteousness and Peace.
Hebrews 5-7, pt.2
Therefore, as we read through these chapters, think about whether we, like the intended recipients of the letter, fail to have a mature faith. How do we, like them, ground our salvation in legal obedience or ritual observance and not in the freedom given to us by Christ?
Hebrews 8
To paraphrase Anselm: the only sacrifice truly worthy to be made to God, is God himself. However, since it is we that sinned and caused the rupture with God, it can only be one of us that makes the sacrifice. The solution is the Incarnation.
Hebrews 8-9
If Jesus is a forerunner on our behalf then, as we discussed, so too are we part of this new priestly order. As members of this new order of priests, we do not require the intermediation of another person such as the Aaronic priesthood.
Hebrews 9-10, pt.1
The sacrifice of the Cross happens once and for everyone. Therefore, in the Eucharist, we do not re-sacrifice Christ, but we participate in this singular sacrifice.
Hebrews 9-10, pt.2
Within these chapters, the writer continues his argument that Christ is the Great High Priest and that the entirety of the Old Testament sacrificial system was simply a shadow of that ultimate true reality disclosed in the coming of Christ.
Hebrews 11
As we read through the Roll Call of Faith ask: How does each person cited demonstrate their faith in the assurance of things hoped for? How does each person prefigure Jesus? How does each person fit within the story of redemption that ends in Jesus Christ?
Hebrews 12-13, pt.1
The writer’s final exhotation begins with a beautiful explanation of the Christian life and his understanding that this life is a journey towards our goal.
Hebrews 12-13, pt.2
May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of
the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight; thought Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.