Hebrews
Welcome to our Sunday night service, and welcome as we’re embarking on a really fascinating study, exciting study of Hebrews, this excellent book. You can turn there. And due to how much we don’t know about this amazing book, I know that I’m going to need this week and next week, hopefully just the two weeks, but these two weeks to work through some introductory matters.
So if you’re in Hebrews, we’ll look at chapter 1. I’m going to read the opening verses of this amazing book, and then I’m going to ask you a question. Whenever we introduce a literary work, any literary work, it’s about identifying things like the title, the author of the work, the genre of the work, the occasion, what prompted the writing, something called the providence, that’s basically saying where it was written from, the recipients, the date of writing, things like that.
Tonight we’re just going to cover two of those. We’re going to try to clarify the genre, what kind of a work this is, and then we’re going to talk about authorship, which I think is going to clarify why it’s been called Hebrews from the earliest years of church history. We’re going to get into recipients and date and occasion next time, but tonight we’ll focus on genre and authorship.
So as we read the opening verses of Hebrews, think about what we know about all those introductory matters from the way this starts. “God, having spoken long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power, who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
That is a fantastic way to start, isn’t it? Rich with meaning, powerful, clear theology, Christology, beautiful in its expression, its prose, very clear and identifying, and then also exalting and glorifying what is to be the chief subject of Hebrews. It’s the Son of God.
So having said that, here’s my question to you. What can you tell about the introductory matters from those opening verses, just those first four verses. What can you tell about the introductory matters: the genre, title, authorship, date, recipients, occasion of the letter. What can you see?
If you answer, “Not much,” you’re right. We can’t really tell much about the kind of genre it is. A little bit, though; we’ll get to that. Can’t really tell the title. It hints at the Hebrews, that this seems to be written to a Jewish audience. But it could be. I mean, Christians and Jews in the early church all shared a common background. They shared Moses and the prophets, the writings. Could be a mixed audience, could be written to a Gentile church. We’ll get into that next time.
But we don’t know anything about the authorship. There’s no formal salutation, here, so we can’t really tell much from the start, but we do get some hints.
So what I would like to do is, we’ll have two points for tonight, and I want to talk, first, about the genre of Hebrews. What kind of a work is this?
If you look at the top of the page in your Bibles where Hebrews starts, I’m guessing that you have a title up there. It’s going to delineate Philemon, which precedes it, and then where it starts Hebrews, it’s going to give you some kind of a title. And it probably says something like, The Letter to the Hebrews or The Epistle to the Hebrews, which is a more formal word for letter.
Typically we call it a letter if it’s written in a private, more intimate kind of a correspondence to an individual. An epistle is a more formal letter intended for a broader audience, a wider distribution. So that’s the distinction between a letter and an epistle. We talk about letters to Titus, Timothy, Philemon. We talk about epistles to Colossians or Hebrews or Ephesians. But the word epistle, that just translates the Greek word epistole, which in the Septuagint and the Greek describes that formal, official letter.
The title at the top of the page tells you that the publisher of your Bible has made a decision about what kind of a genre that they think that Hebrews is. Most seem to believe that it’s epistolary. So the publishers of the New American Standard, the LSB that follows it, the ESV, they all opt for The Letter to the Hebrews. That’s what top of my Bible says. The King James Version, the New King James Version go for the more formal The Epistle to the Hebrews.
The publishers of the CSB, the Christian Standard Bible, or the HCSB that preceded that, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the New English Translation, they have all chosen to remain agnostic about the genre. And that’s for all the Bible books, not just Hebrews, but for all of them. At the top of the page it just says Hebrews, just simply Hebrews.
My question, then, is, going back to those first four verses, what indication do we get from the way the author starts out? Is it that Hebrews is an epistle? And I’m going to read it again and see what you think. “God having spoken long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions, and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who is the radiance of his glory, the exact representation of his nature. And he holds all things by the word of his power, who, having accomplished cleansing for sin, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
Now hearing that again, what does that seem like to you? What kind of a start is that? Does it sound like an epistle to you? Many have recognized the problem, here, with what kind of a genre Hebrews is. And there is one insightful scholar who gave his opinion. He said, “Hebrews begins like an essay, proceeds like a sermon, and ends like a letter.” So he’s just acknowledging that there’s these different elements, here, and it’s hard to identify this.
Now, I think that comment comes closer to the truth, but I want you to listen for yourself. Go to the end of Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 18, because the ending has an important clue as to what kind of a genre this really is. Hebrews 13:18 and following: “Pray for us, for we’re convinced that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things.” He says that after that’s verse 18, so what comes before it? Verse 17. What does he say in verse 17? “Obey your leaders and submit to them.” And then he says, “Pray for us.”
The indication is he’s one of these leaders. “Pray for us. We’re convinced that we have a good conscience,” we’re ministering to you in good conscience, “desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you the sooner.
We’re going to try to clarify the genre, what kind of a work this is, and then we’re going to talk about authorship. Travis Allen
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, equip you in every good thing to do his will by doing in us what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Oh, but he’s not done. But if we stopped there, we’d say, That’s it. It’s an epistle. It’s an epistle with a personal word, there, at the end, a final benediction. We can see further evidence of its epistolary character, though, in verses 23 and 24, as there are greetings again; and then verse 25, a final benediction, a final, final benediction.
But then notice verse 22: “But I urge you, brothers, bear with this word of exhortation,” word of exhortation, “for I’ve written to you briefly. Know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. Grace be with you all.”
So the author tells us what this is. He calls it “this word of exhortation.” And he uses the word, “word,” logos. And then he uses the word paraklesis, paraklesis. The verse begins with the verb parakaleo, parakaleo, which means exhortation, to, I exhort you, or I urge you. Then he calls it a paraklesis. “I exhort you, brothers, bear with this word of exhortation.” Twice, there, he’s using that word.
What is a more churchy word for “a word of exhortation”? What would you call that in a local church setting? A sermon. What do we call someone who preaches sermons? A preacher, pastor, elder, shepherd. What do we call a group of people who gather to hear sermons, preach to them? A congregation, a church, an assembly, Christian assembly, Christians.
Folks, just give yourself a little pat on the back or pat the one sitting next to you, because you have just managed to solve one of the most fundamental, important questions about Hebrews, figuring out what Hebrews is, what kind of a person wrote it, to whom he wrote it, and you’ve even made some progress in discovering the occasion.
This is a sermon, and it’s a sermon that’s delivered in a written form, but it is a sermon. A word of exhortation is a sermon. It’s written to a church, a local church. It’s written by their pastor, which is clear from verse 22, and we know he’s a pastor because he calls this word of exhortation brief. I love that.
I actually timed it. I read it out loud in my office the other day, quietly, but in my preaching voice. I even stood up to read it, pausing here and there to take a sip of coffee, which I would never do in the pulpit, but it’s quite nice as I preached this to myself in my office.
Anyone want to venture a guess as to how long it took me to read in my preaching voice, all by myself, alone in my office, how long did it take to get through Hebrews? Forty-five minutes.
Now, before anyone starts comparing the length of my sermons to the example that seems to be set by the author of the inspired sermon to the Hebrews, who could argue with 45 minutes to the Hebrews, but allow me a little bit of defensiveness in pointing something out.
He called this word of exhortation, brief, okay, as in not his normal sermon length. So furthermore, as we’re going to read in due time, he was compelled to shorten the sermon due to, as he says in Hebrews chapter 5:11, that they “had become dull of hearing.” So dull-of-hearing people get briefer sermons.
In fact, I’d like to take you back there to Hebrews Chapter 5 verse 11 as I’m mentioning it, because this helps illustrate just this word of exhortation that he is giving to his church. Word of exhortation, illustrates what this pastor means by calling it an exhortation. There is a corrective element, and if you’ve read Hebrews at all, you know that there are some passages, some sections that are corrective in their exhortation, right? In this section, the pastor, Hebrews 5:11, the pastor wants to encourage his people about Christ’s high-priestly ministry, but he realizes that the low level of their maturity prevents him from developing the point even further.
So he really wants to give them the goods, but he’s prevented, he’s hindered in that. Hebrews 5:11 says, “Concerning him, we have much to say, but it’s hard to explain since you’ve become dull of hearing, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you’ve come to need milk and not solid food.”
Skip ahead to chapter 6, verse 1. He says, “Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let’s press on to maturity.” He wants so badly to lift the level, to lead them up higher, to expose them to more, to cause their hearts to rejoice. But he’s hindered in trying to encourage them not by his own abilities. I mean, it’s abundantly clear his abilities are off the charts, here, but it’s because of the dullness of hearing and the slowness of heart. And what is that about?
The most fundamental concern of pastoral exhortation and at the heart of the meaning of this word paraklesis is really the idea of encouragement. Encouragement, to strengthen somebody who’s become discouraged, someone who’s weary, to strengthen them, to hearten the disheartened.
In fact, go back to Hebrews 3:12 just to see this. He has, just before Hebrews 3:12, just before that, he’s got this section where he’s read a few verses of Psalm 95, which is a warning section about not entering into the rest that God has promised for his people. He’s concerned about that for some in his congregation, and the pastor then applies it in Hebrews 3:12 and following: “See to it, brothers, that there not be in anyone of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God, but encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
Skip ahead to Hebrews 6. After delivering a very strong warning, there, in Hebrews 6:1-8, as an older brother, the pastor encourages his people, starting in verse 9. After this really strong warning, he says, “But we’re convinced about you, beloved, of things that are better and that belong to salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward his name, and having ministered and continuing to minister to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence, so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not become dull, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Notice he says, we don’t want any of you to lag behind in diligence. We want every single one of you to have the same diligence together as a church. So we want all of you to do that. We want all of you to show that diligence, so every single one of you encourage every single one of you.
This is a pastor. He’s a shepherd trying to keep the sheep together and trying to keep the flock moving all in the same direction at the same pace. But he wants them to move even faster so they can know more, so they can get to better pastures and clearer waters. That’s the idea, here, though, is to hearten a disheartened flock, give them strength in their weariness, and encourage them.
And that’s what all of his many expositions of Scripture are about. What we call the Old Testament, they call Scripture. This pastor is a master exegete. He’s an eloquent expositor, a powerful preacher who’s helping these people understand the doctrine of God’s Word, helps them know how to apply it.
It’s so good, and that’s what all the doctrinal explanation is about, the teaching about the supremacy of Christ over angels, over Moses, over Aaron, the new covenant being superior to the old covenant. It’s what the teaching about the high-priestly ministry of Jesus Christ is about, the declaration of Christ’s finished work of atonement. That’s what that’s about: secure the certainty of salvation so that he can point his people to the source of their assurance, so he can exhort them to strengthen their assurance by continuing to advance in the Gospel that they believed.
He reminds them of where they’ve already come, the evidence of faith already shown, as it says in chapter 10:32-34. He points them to the example of saints in the past, that great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, which we’re going to get to. It’s a fantastic section. And he helps them also interpret the discipline of God, the suffering that they’re going through in Hebrews chapter 12.
Exhortation is not a verbal spanking. It’s not a scolding. It’s not browbeating. It’s heartening a disheartened people. It’s strength for the weak and the weary. It’s sharpening the dull. It’s instructing the ignorant, trying to take the people a bit deeper, a bit higher, a bit further in their faith in Jesus Christ. That’s what he’s doing in this brief word of exhortation. And that’s a very good way to describe the work of pastoral ministry. He is an example pastor to us.
So now having clarified the genre of Hebrews and seeing what kind of a work it is, it has a speech element to it. And that’s why you see that first-person plural, “we,” all through Hebrews. He’s one among this flock.
And now that we’ve clarified the genre, let’s see if we can identify, get a little bit of clarity about who this pastor is. So the author of Hebrews, this is point number 2. So the genre of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews. This would be a very short point if the author had identified himself in his word of exhortation, but he does not do that. So Hebrews, as we know, is an anonymous book, anonymous work, although the original recipients knew exactly who wrote it. You can tell that from the way it ends, that last word of greeting.
The oldest and the most widespread, most enduring view of the authorship of Hebrews is that Paul wrote it, the Apostle Paul wrote it. But there’ve been quite a few candidates that have been put forth: Luke, Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Apollos, even the husband-wife team of Priscilla and Aquila. Others have been put forth. I’ve got them written in a footnote, here, if you’re interested. But the multiple suggestions, and this comes from, a few of them from early church time, and it’s through the centuries that others have been added and proposed.
But it testifies the fact that the anonymity of Hebrews is a stubborn problem. And I can tell you by the end of tonight, we’re not going to really solve it. But it is worth investigating. And I’m not going to take you through everything I’ve been through. You’re welcome. But if you were to pursue that study for yourself, you’d see how fruitful it is in getting you familiar with what’s in this book.
It’s a fantastic study, one that I very much look forward to. And I hope you have found just that little, brief dipping our toe into the water to be interesting and informative.” Travis Allen
The earliest view was started among the churches of Alexandria, Egypt. So we call those the Eastern churches. And it was that Paul wrote Hebrews. But they all acknowledged it must have been translated by somebody else because the Greek in Hebrews is at the highest level in all the New Testament. It is higher actually than Luke-Acts. It’s higher than Luke’s Greek. It is a very, very refined, excellent Greek prose. In this, I can’t remember the exact number, but something like 250-plus words that are not used anywhere else in the Greek New Testament found in Hebrews. It’s an amazing vocabulary, syntax, way of expression. It’s powerful.
And so some suppose that the thought seems to be Paul’s, and he wrote it maybe in Hebrew. He’s a Hebrew of Hebrews. He wrote and thought in Hebrew, but it was translated by somebody else. Eusebius quotes Clement of Alexandria in the early second century, who said it was written by Paul to the Hebrews in the Hebrew tongue, but that it was carefully translated by Luke and then published among the Greeks.
Origin also noted the excellency of the Greek language and style. And he said, quote, “The thoughts are the Apostles’,” referring to Paul, “but the diction and phraseology belong to someone who has recorded what the Apostle said as one who noted down at his leisure what his Master dictated.” End quote.
Origen suggested maybe Clement of Rome and Luke, but the Greek of Hebrews is widely recognized, as I said, best in the Bible, superior to either Clement of Rome or Luke. This is also not a translated work. It’s very clear by the use of the Septuagint and a number of other clues throughout the book of Hebrews that this is not a translation from the Hebrew language. The author is a thoroughly Hellenized Jew, fluent in literary Greek. He quotes exclusively from the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. So it’s not Clement of Rome; it’s not Luke the physician. It’s somebody else.
Among the North African churches, Tertullian of Carthage, North Africa, second century, early second century, he suggested Barnabas. That’s another early candidate. So you’ve got Paul in the East, and then in North Africa, Barnabas, put forth by Tertullian. Barnabas would be a good candidate because his nickname is what? Son of encouragement, right? And this is a brief word of encouragement. Hey, that’s a connection. That fits. Also, we know from Acts 4:36 that Barnabas, that’s a nickname. His given name is Joseph, so he’s Jewish.
He’s also, in particular, he is a Levite of Cyprian birth. So we’re getting a little bit warmer, aren’t we? He’s a Levite and he’s of Cyprian birth. So, priestly tribe, which would fit the emphasis, here, on the Tabernacle: its accoutrements, its practices, the priesthood. He’s from Cyprus, which is a thoroughly Hellenized Greek island, which could account for strong Greek prose. I’ll come back to that and just mention something about that.
But let’s move to the West, because it is kind of broken up by geography. In the Western churches, they never did accept, from the very beginning, they never did accept Pauline authorship or offer any candidate. They just accepted the anonymity of the book, and they accepted the authority of Hebrews. They never doubted the authority of the book of Hebrews. They always thought it was inspired Scripture, but they did leave the question of authorship unanswered.
It was later, after a couple centuries, that reluctantly, they were influenced by Jerome and by Augustine, the Western churches gradually, kind of reluctantly, accepted Hebrews as Pauline, but always hesitantly, always with reservation, always with a little bit of asterisk next to it.
In the absence of any better candidates, Pauline authorship of Hebrews came to be the predominant view from basically the early church until the debate was reopened around the time of the Reformation. They just didn’t really address it anymore. Whoever had their view held their view. But then with all the return to the sources, the Renaissance and the Reformation, they returned to the sources, and it was Erasmus of Rotterdam who rejected Pauline authorship rather vocally, as did Martin Luther, who loved Erasmus.
Martin Luther offered another candidate: Apollos. He thought Apollos, maybe he wrote it. He was an Alexandrian Jew, as Luke said in Acts 18:24. “He was an eloquent man. He was a man who was mighty in the Scriptures.” Apollo says, it says, there, in Acts 18, he’d been instructed in the way of the Lord. He was fervent in spirit, according to Acts 18:25. He spoke out boldly in the synagogue.
But we do know that his knowledge of the gospel at that time was incomplete. He needed a further instruction from Priscilla and Aquila. So after he got that instruction, boned up on the specifics, clarity in the gospel, clarity of Christ, clarity about the Holy Spirit, he went to Corinth in Achaea, greatly helped those who believed through grace. And so this is a man who, again, he’s pastoral, he’s Greek. He’s powerfully refuting the Jews in public, “proving by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ,” Acts 18:28.
The problem with that is that if Apollos was the author of Hebrews, wouldn’t all those native churches in his native Alexandria, who knew him quite well, have suggested him instead of Paul as the author from the very beginning? Very hard to explain how they insisted on Pauline authorship if their own Apollos was the author. Harder still to imagine that no one thought to mention Apollos as the author of Hebrews until the 16th century, in Martin Luther.
Well, what of Paul’s authorship? Why do we doubt that? In Tyndale’s New Testament, published in 1534, after William Tyndale translated the New Testament from Greek to English, that was the very first directly from Greek into English work of its kind. The title that he gives to this book is The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. But he writes a prologue to his translation of Hebrews, and in the prologue he says this, “About this epistle hath ever been much doubting, and that among great learned men, who should be the author thereof; diverse opinions, affirming that it was not Paul’s, partly because of the style so disagreeeth. This is so unlike his other epistles, and partly because it standeth. In the second chapter this learning was confirmed to usward, that is to say, taught us by them that heard it themselves from the Lord.”
What’s he referring to there? Go back to Hebrews 2 and verses 1 to 4. “For this reason,” this is an exhortation again, “for this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we’ve heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every trespass and disobedience received a just penalty, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? That salvation, first spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard, God testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles, and by gift of the Holy Spirit according to his own will.”
You get that? “First spoken by the Lord and it was confirmed to us.” I’m a writer. I’m part of the first-person plural. Me and all of you that I’m writing to is confirmed to us by who? Those who heard, the original Apostles, the original believers. This author is a second-generation believer.
Continue with Tyndale. He said, “Now Paul testifieth in Galatians 1 that he had received not his gospel of man, nor by man, but immediately of Christ, and that by revelation.” So what it says in Hebrews 2:3, Paul would not have written that about himself. “Wherefore say they, seeing this man, the author confesseth that he hath received his doctrine of the Apostles, it cannot be Paul’s, but some disciple of the Apostles.”
Just to reinforce the point that Tyndale’s making, we heard by reading from the close of the Epistle, the author and the readers are in Paul’s circle of acquaintances because they were friends of Timothy. He was getting released from prison, presumably connected to Paul’s final imprisonment, as Paul told Timothy in his final letter, 2 Timothy 4:9, “Be diligent to come to me soon,” he says. Again in verse 21 of that chapter, “Be diligent to come to me before winter.”
We can’t imagine that Timothy did not come and visit Paul at that request, as Paul was languishing alone in his prison cell in the Mamertine prison in Rome. He’s deserted by all but the faithful historian, the beloved physician, Luke. Timothy had to come.
Since we know Paul didn’t survive his second Roman imprisonment, it’d be very hard to figure out a scenario in which Paul is the author of Hebrews, is writing about Timothy’s soon release while he himself is elsewhere. Where did that fit in?
Tyndale goes on to say this. “Now, whether it were Paul’s work or not, I say not.” That’s his words, not mine. “I say not, but I do permit it to other men’s judgments.” He’s being liberal with that. He’s being free. It’s like, if you want to believe it’s Paul’s, fine, believe it’s Paul’s. “Neither do you think it to be an article of any man’s faith, but that a man may doubt of the author.” You can believe it’s Paul’s, you can doubt it’s Paul’s. You can be agnostic about who the author is. It’s not an article of your faith, but it is authoritative revelation.
I’ll get into that maybe next time, talk about how it can be not confirmed to be connected necessarily with an Apostle as we know and yet still be divinely inspired Scripture. That’s a little bit of a puzzle for some people and, and a reason why some wanted to withhold it from the canon.
So even though Tyndale himself, along with Luther, along with Calvin, others, although they doubted Paul’s authorship of this work, Tyndale deferred to the customary opinion when he published his New Testament. Good for sales not to offend your customers, right?
But one author put the matter well when he illustrated this issue with an analogy. He said this, “We may compare,” and he’s talking about the anonymity, who wrote Hebrews; that’s what he’s talking about. “We may compare this to a painting of perfect beauty, which had been regarded as a work of Raphael. If it should be proved that it was not painted by a Raphael, we have thereby not lost a classical piece of art, but gained another master of first rank.” That’s what we see in Hebrews, a master, an artwork, a thing of beauty of first rank, divinely inspired.
So the author, not Paul and not Barnabas. By the way, I want to come back to that and just say his candidacy for the authorship of Hebrews, it suffers the same drawbacks as Paul’s because he is a first-generation Christian. He also can’t say, chapter 2, verse 3, he can’t say that about himself. He was there from the very beginning. It’s not Apollos, either, as we already said. Why didn’t the Alexandrians accept him?
What of Priscilla? This is something that’s come up in recent scholarship. Maybe Priscilla, assisted by her amanuensis-husband Aquila, put his name on it because he’s a man. And after all, you know, everybody in Scripture, they’re all misogynists. They won’t allow a woman’s name to be . . . . This is all put forth by the evangelical feminists, egalitarians. They want to see Priscilla as the author because she’d be the first female president of the United States, no, first female author of Scripture. And so evangelical feminists have been trying in vain to make that stick.
But the author reveals himself as a male. It just slips in there. He uses a masculine gender of a participle in Hebrews 11:32. It’s inescapable. It’s a man who’s writing this. So we know this: The author is male, not female. He’s a second-generation Christian, which rules out Paul and Barnabas. The early view of the Eastern churches rules out Apollos. He can’t be Clement of Rome or Luke because both are Gentiles and the author is clearly Jewish. I won’t go into all the reasons for that, we’ll get to it later.
The author is definitely within the Pauline circle. So they’re attached to the Apostle but not the Apostle. At this point he remains mysterious and unknown. The most we can say about him is that he is an intelligent, well-educated, eloquent pastor. He is a diligent shepherd who cares deeply for his flock. He is an excellent expositor of Scripture. He’s an excellent preacher, excellent teacher. He is actually a model to all of us lesser pastors and teachers because we can see how he handles texts of the Old Testament, see how he connects them to current issues and matters of concern.
It’s a fantastic study, one that I very much look forward to. And I hope you have found just that little, brief dipping our toe into the water to be interesting and informative. And I’ll invite you to come back next week to find out what else we don’t know about the book of Hebrews. For now, let’s pray and then we’ll sing.
Father, thank you so much for giving us this wonderful, splendid treatise, this sermon, this word of exhortation about the Lord Jesus Christ and his excellency. We love you, thank you for it. We look forward to a great study together as you give us grace and help along the way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.