The book of Hebrews is a call for us to mature in our faith from milk to the meat of the gospel. Don’t we want all there is in life for us? Don’t we want to live a life in freedom? Then let’s journey together through Hebrews. Let’s leave the milk and Pablum of our faith and start to chew on the meat of the gospel. When we taste the mature faith, we’ll be enthralled with the person of Jesus, and our lives will never be the same.
Lesson 1
September 21, 2017 • Meg Rice
For a Jew living in the time of Jesus, the thought of dispensing with 2,000 years of tradition was traumatic. The prophets of the Old Testament were the lifeblood of Jewish knowledge. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus spawned a new religion that seemed to be threatening their age-old values.
Lesson 2
September 28, 2017 • Meg Rice • Hebrews 3—4
The next hurdle for the author of Hebrews is to convince the Jews who profess Jesus as their Christ that he is better than Moses. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day continually confronted Jesus with the teachings of Moses to show Jesus was not who he said he was. In chapter 3, the author compares Moses and Jesus to show Jesus is far superior. This is revolutionary thought for a Jew of Jesus’ day. This takes us back to our study of Exodus and the consequences of the ancient Hebrews when they did not believe the promises of the Living God.
Lesson 3
October 5, 2017 • Meg Rice
The author of Hebrews is slowly but surely arguing to the Hebrews that Jesus Christ is superior to those things that an ancient Hebrew held dear. The first focus was the superiority of Jesus to angels, then to Moses and Joshua. The Jewish priesthood with its sacrificial system is the next institution that was foundational to the Jewish way of life. The author will be proving that Jesus is superior to the high priest and turns his focus to a mysterious ancient biblical character named Melchizedek.
Lesson 4
October 12, 2017 • Meg Rice
There is a break in the book of Hebrews in chapter 7, between verses 26 and 27. The author turns from his discussion of the person of Jesus to the work and sacrifice of Jesus. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 focus on the cross and the blood sacrifice of Jesus. The crucifixion of Jesus was not just an event in time. It changed forever how mankind could approach the Living God. It changed forever man’s ability to touch the Spirit of God and have it indwelled within him. Man no longer had to fear the world, through the sacrifice of Jesus, man could conquer the woes that the world produced.
Lesson 5
October 19, 2017 • Meg Rice
In Hebrews 8, the author makes it clear that a new covenant is at hand. The Mosaic covenant God made in the wilderness with the ancient Hebrews was now being replaced with a new covenant where Jesus Christ was the mediator. This was monumental to the ears of a Christian Jew at the time of Jesus. Their entire society functioned under the Law of Moses and the sacrificial system set up in the old covenant. In chapter 9, there is a look back to the Tabernacle and specifically the Holy of Holies and comparing it to the throne room of God.
Lesson 6
October 26, 2017 • Meg Rice
We are approaching the culmination of arguments as to why Jesus Christ is superior to the “old way” of Judaism. The first part of chapter 10 argues the finality of the sacrifice of Jesus. Blood has been required as atonement for sin since the time of The Fall in Genesis 3 (See Genesis 3:21), but God also desires hearts that are in accord with his will.
Lesson 7
November 2, 2017 • Meg Rice
Do you hear the roll of the drums? Hebrews 11 is called the "Roll Call of the Faithful" or the "Hall of Faith". It starts with the most perfect description of what "faith" means. What follows are the shining stars of that faith throughout the ages. Notice, none of these men were perfect, but they strived towards a faith of maturity.
Lesson 8
November 9, 2017 • Meg Rice
Hebrews 12 begins with the word “Therefore”. We have seen the advantages of a deepening faith in Jesus; we have heard the arguments as to why following Jesus is a new way and introduces a new covenant with the Living God. Chapter 11 pointed back to the giants of faith that were revered by the Hebrew people and their uncompromising faith. However, the author knows it is not easy to follow Jesus and deepen our faith. It takes courage and perseverance. Chapter 12 speaks of how we accomplish a faith that is deepening daily.
Lesson 9
November 16, 2017 • Meg Rice
Chapter 13 of Hebrews reminds me of my final instructions to my children as they left for college. I wanted to remind them of all the important things they had been taught and needed to remember. In this chapter, the Holy Spirit is discussing what a life lived in the body of Christ looks like and how that same life should behave in the world. It even talks about how as Christians we are to be in this world but not of it.
