Written by an unknown author and written to unknown group of the people, the book of Hebrews may seem like a challenge to understand; however, from the content of the book we are able to derive many things about it’s purpose. We must not also forget that, ultimately, the Holy Spirit is the author. During the time of this writing the Levitical priesthood and the Old Testament sacrificial system were still in place. Since the temple was destroyed in AD70 and there is mention of Timothy being released from prison (13:23) as well as believers experiencing persecution (10:32-39), we must assume that Hebrews was written prior to that time so it is estimated between AD67-69. It is clear that the author was seeking to prove the superiority of Jesus Christ and Christianity over Moses’ law and Judaism. The author of Hebrews also brings out the fact that all believers have direct access to God and therefore have no need for a priest to make sacrifices for them (Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-25). As far as the recipient of Hebrews, we can safely assume he was writing to three specific groups of people: believers, unbelievers who only believed with their intellect, and unbelievers who did not know what they thought about Jesus Christ. The writer wanted the believers to let go of their traditions and system of Judaism in order to embrace the finished work of Jesus Christ, while warning those who still did not believe the truth about Jesus Christ. Hebrews is a book whose purpose is to show that Jesus Christ is better than any other thing that attempts to connect us with God.
Dear God, give me understanding as I read the book of Hebrews.
