Contextual Study of the Letter to Hebrews

Two Major Themes of Hebrews

There are two threads that run through the entire book of Hebrews. The most prominent one is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old. The second theme is warning against slipping away from the New, back into the Old.

These two themes frame the purpose of the writing of the letter to the Hebrews, to show the Superiority of the New above the Old and the folly of returning to what was a mere shadow [10:1] and became “ obsolete and growing old” and ready to vanish away. [Heb. 8:13]

Theme About Warnings of Falling Away

The first theme we will look at is warnings about falling away from faith in Christ and going back to the Old Sinai System of offerings and sacrifices. The one who does this, “has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace” [Heb. 10:29]

The Five Warnings

[Heb. 2:1]
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

[Heb. 3:12]
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

[Heb. 6:6]
and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

[Heb. 13:9]
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

Paul gives a very similar warning to the churches of Galatia, when he says,
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. [Gal. 5:4]

All the warnings above are based in the idea that those who have heard the truth of the gospel and have professed a faith in Christ, should not loosen their grip or allow themselves to be led away from the truth of the gospel message. There is no reason not to think that this danger of being drawn away from their devotion and confidence in Christ was a very real possibility. The author would not have given so many warnings against it, if it wasn’t a clear and present danger.

If they allow themselves to be led away, fall or drift away from the truth of the gospel, it would not end well for them. This is due to the fact that they would have separated themselves from the only means by which God has provided access to Himself, which is through His Son, Christ Jesus. When they walk away from the New (Christ) and return to the Old (Law), “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” [Heb. 10:26] In other words, for those who no longer trust in the atoning work of the blood of Christ, there is no other sacrifice that can take away sins. There is no sacrifice performed in the temple that can atone for man’s sin.

Is there any evidence in the Scripture that there were Jewish believers who were disposed to stand in two opposing positions? Actually, yes there is.

Examples of those who might Fall Away

The first instance we come upon in the narrative of Acts, where those who were devoted to the Law, and are also said to come to believe in Christ, is found in Acts 6:7.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Now there is nothing in this verse that would lead us to think that these Levitical priests were not solely devoted to their new faith in Jesus. It clearly states that they were “obedient to the faith.” However, the fact that they were priests in the system that demands the loyalty of all Judeans, is one hint that some could be pressured back into it.

The second example is found in Acts chapter 15, where we have the record of the first church council in Jerusalem. The main question before the council was how are the Gentiles who have believed to be accepted into the community of faith. There was a certain group of Pharisees who professed a belief in Jesus as Messiah, who came to the council to make their demands known. The Scripture reports,

But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. [Act. 15:5]

These Pharisees who professed a belief in Christ Jesus, demanded that in order for the Gentiles to be accepted into the community of disciples, they must first be circumcised, and then they were to be obligated to keep the Law of Moses. These are the same ones who followed Paul around during his journeys and tried to undo his work among the Gentiles. See Galatians 2:4-5 for Paul’s account of this council meeting. He refers to these “believing Pharisees” as “false brethren.” This was the whole purpose of the Letter to the Churches of Galatia, to counteract the poison being spread by these false teachers.

A third example and the best candidates for the targeted recipients of this letter is found in Acts 21. Here, Paul has just returned to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey. He meets with James and the other elders of the Jerusalem Church. Paul reports the glorious things God accomplished during his time among the Gentiles. Then the Scripture reports,

And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. [Acts 21:20-21]

James boasted that there were “many thousands” of Jews who have believed. The word here for thousands is actually the Greek word for myriad. The definition given for myriad in Strong's is ten thousand or an innumerable multitude. If he had stopped there, it would have been a glorious report. However, he then emphasized that these many thousands “are all zealous for the law.” The word here translated as zealous, is actually the Greek word for zealots (ζηλωτής, zēlōtēs). It is a noun, not an adjective. The definition given for this word is, one burning with zeal; a zealot. Just as there were political zealots who sought to pick a fight with Rome, these were zealots who sought to defend the Mosaic/Levitical Law within the Jewish community.

The fact that they were described as zealots for the Law, instead of being zealots for the Lord, says a lot. John Gill’s comment on this is helpful,

"for though they believed in Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah, yet they had not light enough to see, that he was the sum and substance of all the ceremonies of the law, and that they all ended in him; and therefore were zealous in the observance of them, and could not bear to hear of their abrogation."

These obviously were still feeding on the milk of the Word, and not the meat [Heb. 5:11-13]. If they had been fed the meat of the Word, they would have understood that Jesus came and fulfilled the “law and the prophets” [Matt. 5:17]. These believers in the Lord and zealots for the Law may have been the target group for Paul in this letter.

Was Paul guilty of what these Jew who were zealots for the law accused him of? They accused him of teaching the Jews in the Diaspora that they should not circumcise their children, nor should they follow the traditions or customs of the Jews. There is no evidence that he was guilty of the first, but possibly was of the second. It depends on what is meant by “customs.” If by customs they meant the seven annual festivals of the Lord, then no, he was not guilty of that. He himself sought to keep as many of the feasts as he was able [Acts 20:16]. But if by customs they meant the traditions of the elders, then yes, he did do that. These traditions were the Pharisaic traditions which Jesus said nullified the Word of God [Matt. 15:6; Mark 7:13]. These were the oral traditions of the Pharisees, which they brought with them out of Babylon. These oral traditions became codified in writing in about AD 500, known as the Talmud. The Talmud is the holiest book in Rabbinic Judaism.