Hebrews: Jesus is Better – Book Overview • 01.15.23
Nick Lees   -   January 17, 2023

Book Overview – Hebrews

Jesus is Better

  1. Recognize Jesus is better
  2. Beware the dangers of turning away
  3. Persevere in the faith

Good morning, church family! What a sweet morning of worship. Thank you for reminding me of truth through your singing and Psalm reading. Now I have the privilege of reminding you of truth from God’s Word!

If you’re new here, I want to welcome you. You picked a great Sunday to join us, as we’re kicking off a brand-new sermon series in Hebrews called Jesus is Better. Today we’ll be doing an overview of the entire book of Hebrews, and then in future weeks we’ll go back through it in smaller segments. My hope for our time together this morning is that you would grasp the big picture of this particular book of the Bible and you would leave here with a sense of anticipation of the life-changing truth we’ll get to study in the weeks ahead. Perhaps this would even lead you to invite someone else to come and hear these truths next Sunday!

Ushers + Bibles (Hebrews, page 1187)

Without raising your hands, how many of you have ever struggled in your faith? I’m talking about facing the temptation to turn away or lose steam or grow apathetic in your walk with God. When I used to pastor college students, I knew that it was an ongoing battle for them. They faced temptation after temptation every single day, all around them. Temptations to find their identity or hope in escape via video games or movies, in pleasure via relationships, in affirmation via grades or the approval of others, and so on. And after having worked with kids and adults of all ages over the past decade, I know these struggles aren’t limited to the college-years. All of us face daily decisions about where we will find our hope and identity. And our choices have a powerful effect on our faith.

Perhaps for you this week was full of strife. It could be internal, within yourself, or external, with others. Maybe you’re growing weary of the fight against temptation and sin. It’s easy to imagine how this could be true of any one of us. And this appears to be exactly the kind of battle the audience of Hebrews was caught up in.

The audience of the book of Hebrews is not fully identified for us, but there are clues that indicate they were Christians who were fighting some real battles. That they may have been growing discouraged, some were taking sin lightly, others slowly stopped coming to corporate worship gatherings, some had lost their zeal to know God and his word more and more. Perhaps they were tempted to think or even say something like, “Isn’t this enough? Why do I need to learn or change anymore? Surely, I’ve done enough.” Hitting close to home yet?

Towards the end of this letter, the author writes to remind them of the passion and zeal they had for the Lord when they first believed:

Hebrews 10:32–36 (ESV)

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Their faith began with trials and persecutions, yet they responded with joy and compassion. In those days, they had a clear view of Jesus and what he had done was freshly on their minds. They were ready to worship him and count the cost of following him!

But time has passed, and the author knows that now they are struggling. In fact, the longer the trial goes on the easier it will be to be hardened by sin. Like a good spiritual leader/pastor, he spends a lot of time reminding them of the one who rescued and redeemed them. He points them to the hope Jesus offered them. And now he is encouraging them to press on and not lose heart. Now he calls them to persevere in their faith and anticipate the blessing of eternal life with God.

Does that resonate with you today? Do you find yourself struggling to focus and maintain momentum in your walk with God? If so, I believe the book of Hebrews will speak mightily to you. If you’re willing to listen and consider what it teaches, I believe you will be invigorated in your walk with God. That doesn’t mean it won’t be challenging. It will be. There will be repeated calls to action. To change in ways that will allow you to grow and glorify God rather than backslide and dishonor him.

Whether you’re here and you’re struggling or you’re here and you’re actively growing in your walk, I believe Hebrews will bless you. This letter is such a rich reminder of the identity of Jesus, our Savior, and all that he has done. Consequently, it’s going to help you rejoice in who he is and all that he has done. If you allow it, Hebrews will reignite or further inflame the zeal of your faith.

With that in mind, let me set the scene for this particular book. It starts by pointing out that this is actually not a “book” at all, but rather a sermonic letter. The way Hebrews starts is unlike the other epistles or letters in the New Testament, there is no greeting or introduction of the author, it simply launches into the argument of the sermon. And throughout the entirety of the message, it reads like a sermon, with teaching from many Old Testament texts, especially the Psalms, followed by exhortation (or calls to action) to the audience, with some warnings along the way.

The author of this sermonic letter is unknown to us. He never identifies himself, nor is there any certainty from the early church on who authored it. However, we do know that he was a contemporary to Timothy, who was one of Paul’s disciples, as evidenced at the very end of the letter.

Hebrews 13:22–24 (ESV)

22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.

So, while we don’t know the identity of the author, we do know some other things about him and this letter.

First, he was alive during the time of Timothy and had heard about the teachings of Jesus second-hand through others. So, while he didn’t interact with Jesus personally, he was alive and able to interact with those who did. It is highly likely, though not certain, that he wrote this letter in the mid-to-late 60s A.D.

Second, we know that he was a master of the Greek language. The letter of Hebrews is regarded as having the finest Greek in the entire NT. The author is considered a master of rhetoric. He utilizes a wide variety of literary tools to communicate and drive his points home. There is a consistent ebb and flow in his sermon of teaching, calls to action, and warnings. He was clearly a well-educated man.

Third, he was writing to a group of Christians encouraging them to endure or persevere in their faith. Likely this group had many Jewish Christians in it, given the intense focus on the Old Testament throughout his sermon. This group had already faced suffering and persecution in the early days of their faith, but it appears that their struggles were not over yet. Which leads to our final observation before we turn to the meat of the sermon today.

Finally, some in the audience were struggling to endure. They were growing weary. Which is why the author writes his letter. He wants to encourage and exhort them to hold firm and press on in Christ! He wants them to understand that Jesus is better than everything else! It’s only by turning to Jesus and drawing near to him that they will be able to combat the temptation towards sin and apathy and to endure the hardships of life in a fallen, broken world with joy and hope for a heavenly kingdom.

So, now that you’re all experts on the letter of Hebrews, let’s turn our attention to the three big ideas or takeaways from our book overview today. Starting with…

  1. Recognize Jesus is better

As we dive into the details of Hebrews, you’re going to hear over and over again the argument of the author that Jesus is better. And he backs this up with repeated references to Scripture, especially the Old Testament.

It begins in the very first verses of his sermon. Let’s read 1:1-4 together and I want you to listen for the main ideas presented here:

Hebrews 1:1–4 (ESV)

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

To put the argument very simply, Jesus is the better revelation! He is superior to the revelation that came from both the prophets and angels before him. Jesus is the Son, the radiance and imprint of God. Jesus is God!

And as the author continues, Jesus is better than the angels because, as the Son of God, he has accomplished the grand redemptive plan of God. Chapters 1-2 further unpack the supremacy of Jesus to the angels.

By the time you get into chapter 3, the author moves on to point out that Jesus is better than Moses. Moses, the greatest prophet of all time, whom God used to call the nation of Israel to himself, was considered a servant of God’s people, while Jesus is the Son over God’s people. And as the Son, Jesus is the one who provides us access to the Father. Chapters 3-4 unpack this further.

Then we get to chapters 5-7, where the author reveals that Jesus is a better high priest than all the high priests from Israel’s past. Those high priests were marked by their own sin, they were mortal and could not intercede forever on behalf of the people, but Jesus was perfect in every way, without sin, and he lives forever, always able to intercede for us.

As we enter chapter 8, now we hear how Jesus is high priest over a better covenant. If you were here two weeks ago, we did an overview of the entire Old Testament. And in that sermon, I mentioned that God entered into commitments with his people. The formal term for these are covenants. The one I drew your attention to in that sermon was the Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant, where God gave the nation of Israel the law as a guide for how they could be the holy people of God. Covenants usually have two parties involved – in the Mosaic Covenant it was the nation of Israel and God. This is also known as the Old Covenant. In it, obedience to the law was required by humans in order to experience the blessings of being God’s people. However, the nation of Israel was not able to keep their end of the covenant. In fact, they often acted like they didn’t want to even try to keep it! Hebrews chapter 8 connects the dots with Jesus being the inaugurator of the promised New Covenant with his people. In the New Covenant, God declared that he would accomplish both sides of the covenant. He would give the people new hearts/minds and he would be their God. It was no longer dependent on man’s obedience, but on God’s faithfulness! And Jesus is the one who made this New Covenant possible! He facilitated it and now presides over it! He makes it possible for both Jews and Gentiles to become the people of God through faith in him!

Which brings us to chapters 9-10, where the author reveals that Jesus is also a better sacrifice than the Old Testament animal sacrifices. Scripture makes it clear that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, but it’s also stated that the blood of goats and bulls could never cleanse humans of our sin. There needed to be a perfect sacrifice in our place to accomplish the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus accomplished this by being that perfect sacrifice who made a way for us to be reconciled to God.

Hebrews 9:11–14 (ESV)

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 10:11–14 (ESV)

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

I know these passages may seem a bit foreign to you right now, but I promise they will make a lot more sense when we dig into them in the coming weeks. What you need to understand for today is that Jesus has offered a permanent and effective sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. He is better in every way! He has accomplished what the Old Covenant and animal sacrifices could not. He has made a way for all who believe in him to be made holy and reconciled to God.

Tracing the “Jesus is better” theme through this sermonic letter will be both edifying and challenging. Do you believe in this Jesus? Do you daily recognize that he is better than everything else? Do your thoughts, words, and actions back your answers up? The book of Hebrews is here to help you grow in these areas.

But on this journey of faith, we know that there are toils and snares along the way. Some come from within and others from outside of us. The point for our time together today is regardless of where they come from you must…

  1. Beware the dangers of turning away

Just as the author repeatedly points out that Jesus is better to his audience, he also warns them about the dangers of turning away from Jesus. We find five different warning passages sprinkled throughout the book of Hebrews. These warning passages are pastoral guardrails meant to protect the people from falling into the deceitfulness of sin. They are not intended to terrify you, but they are meant to cause you to reflect and make sure that you are walking on the straight and narrow path after God.

As we arrive at each of these warning passages in the coming weeks, we will study them in detail. There has been a lot of ink spilt over the centuries about how to properly understand them. Nevertheless, what you need to understand for today, are the realities of these dangers.

Beware the dangers of:

  • Neglecting the salvation offered through Jesus (2:1-4)
  • Hardening your hearts through unrepentant sin (3:7-18)
  • Failing to grow in godliness (5:11-14)
  • Committing apostasy (abandoning the faith) (6:4-8)
  • Willfully continuing in sin (10:26-31)
  • Ignoring the discipline and warning of God (12:5-11, 25-29)

The existence of God, the reality of the finished work of Jesus Christ, the brokenness of our own lives and world through sin all reveal our need for redemption. We are a sinful, broken people in need of a Savior. And Jesus Christ is the Savior. We must trust in him by faith and then commit ourselves to a lifetime of pursuing godliness. This is what it means to be a Christian.

Unfortunately, there is a real problem within the church. There are many people every year who leave the church and even abandon the faith.

In 2014, the Barna Group, a leading research organization, conducted a study that indicated an ongoing silent migration away from the church.

According to the study, an estimated 3,500 people leave the church each day, and over 1.2 million people will leave the church in the next year.

In a recent news release about the study, Barna cited many contributing factors, with the largest being an overall sense of disconnection to the local church.

“When asked about the importance of church in their lives, 80 percent of 14-33 year-olds reported that church was ‘not important’ to them,” said the release. “’Millennials,’ as they are often called, have very different preferences of what church should look like compared to their parents. Millennials prefer worship spaces that are quiet and decorated in a classic style. They prefer casual dress and a sense of community over privacy.”

Clint Jenkin with the Barna Group says, “Millennials don’t look for a church facility that caters to the whims of pop culture. They want a community that calls them to deeper meaning.” (Site: Study reveals record numbers leaving the church | Feature Story | jcsentinel.com)

Two studies conducted by both the Barna Group and USA Today found that nearly 75 percent of Christian young people fall away from the faith and leave the church after high school. One of the key reasons they do so is intellectual skepticism. But how many of these youth were actually taught the Bible in their homes or in church?

Statistics show that children today spend an average of 30 hours per week in school where they are often taught ideas that are diametrically opposed to biblical truths, e.g., evolution, the acceptance of homosexuality, etc. Then they come home to another 30 hours per week spent in front of a television set bombarded by commercials and sitcoms, playing video games, or connecting on social media. This is in contrast to the time spent weekly in the church classroom: 45 minutes.

Given the amount of exposure to worldly influences versus Bible training, it’s understandable why young people leave the home without a Christian worldview and why many are falling away from the faith. Not only are most youth not being well-grounded in the faith, but they’re also not being taught to intelligently examine the views of skeptics who will inevitably challenge their faith. Most of these students are not prepared to enter the college classroom where more than half of all college professors view Christians with hostility and take every opportunity to belittle them and their faith. (Gotquestions.org/falling-away on 1/13/23 at 3:37pm)

There’s a real problem here! It’s a problem that starts in our hearts but plays out in our homes and in our churches! Both of these address younger folks. But what about the older folks?

(CHART) One-Third Fewer Americans Attends Church Weekly Now Than in 1993

The graph below visualizes the share of Americans who say that they attend church in the last seven days, a fairly conventional way of measuring church attendance. This is a problem across age-groups.

(CHART) Currently, Just One in Four Americans Is a Practicing Christian

From Barna.com:

To get a broad view of the role of Christianity in the American Church, as well as those outside of it, let’s start by looking at the manner in which Americans relate to Christianity, using three segments: practicing Christians, non-practicing Christians and those who are not Christians.

  • Practicing Christians identify as Christian, agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives and have attended church within the past month.
  • Non-practicing Christians are self-identified Christians who do not qualify as practicing.
  • Non-Christians are U.S. adults who do not identify as Christian.

The first and perhaps most significant change we’ll explore is that practicing Christians are now a much smaller segment of the entire population. In 2000, 45 percent of all those sampled qualified as practicing Christians. That share has consistently declined over the last 19 years. Now, just one in four Americans (25%) is a practicing Christian. In essence, the share of practicing Christians has nearly dropped in half since 2000.

I’m no statistician, but these are clearly concerning in regards to what they communicate about the spiritual state of people in our nation. Many people are declining in commitment to the people of God and thus their commitment to God.

As we study Hebrews, I would encourage you to reflect on your spiritual condition.

  • What is the state of my relationship with God?
  • Have I entered into a relationship with Him and am I living obediently to his word?
  • Am I in a condition of spiritual fatigue and apathy or spiritual rest and growth?

These next questions relate to the current direction you’re heading:

  • What path have my decisions put me on? Is the destination of this path nearness to God or drifting further away from Him?
  • Reflecting on 2022:
    • Are there specific ways in which I’ve drifted away from God?
    • In what ways did I draw near to God?
  • How will I seek to draw near to God in 2023?

I would encourage you to take time this week to evaluate and answer these questions. May they lead to a greater self-awareness of where we each currently stand with God and a desire to move towards him this year! As we aim for this, we will be accomplishing the final main takeaway from the book of Hebrews, which is a positive one…

  1. Persevere in the faith

To persevere means to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty. The original audience was facing difficulties and the author was exhorting them to not give up on their faith. He was helping them to see all the ways Jesus is better and worthy of their perseverance.

I believe we can relate to this call to persevere. If we’re being honest with ourselves and others, there are weekly, if not daily, difficulties that we face that discourage us and tempt us to turn to something other than God for comfort or satisfaction. What we may turn to may be different from person to person, but regardless, feeling discouraged or distraught is a common human experience. Whether it’s pressures in your workplace, relational tension in your home or friendships, physical limitations or disabilities, or your own struggling with sin, you know that living for the Lord is not always easy. In fact, Scripture is pretty blunt about telling us that the call to follow Christ is a call to face trials and suffering as we fight for holiness! Just like the original audience, we need to hear this call to persevere in the faith!

Throughout the course of his sermon, the author issues a variety of calls to action. I want to share a survey of those with you now. I believe these will help you understand what is meant by persevere in the faith. Bear in mind this is an extensive list over the course of 13 chapters of this book!

Persevere in the faith by…

  • Pay close attention to what you’ve heard from Jesus! (2:1)
  • Consider Jesus! (3:1)
  • Watch out for hard hearts! (3:12)
  • Exhort one another daily! (3:13)
  • Strive to enter God’s rest! (4:11)
  • Hold fast your confession! (4:14)
  • Draw near to Jesus on his throne of grace! (4:16)
  • Grow in spiritual maturity! (6:1)
  • Draw near to Jesus with a true heart! (10:22)
  • Hold fast the confession of your hope! (10:23)
  • Stir one another up to love and good works! (10:24)
    • Not neglecting to meet together! (10:25)
    • But encouraging one another! (10:25)
  • Remember your past faithfulness, compassion and joy in the Lord! (10:32-34)
  • Do not throw away your confidence! (10:35)
  • Lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely! (12:1)
  • Run the race with endurance, looking to Jesus! (12:1-2)
  • Consider Jesus’ endurance of hostility so you won’t grow weary! (12:3)
  • Do not despise God’s discipline! (12:5-6)
  • Strengthen your weak body! (12:12)
  • Strive for peace with everyone! (12:14)
  • Strive for holiness! (12:14)
  • See to it that
    • No one fails to obtain the grace of God! (12:15)
    • that no root of bitterness springs up and defiles many! (12:15)
    • that no one is sexually immoral! (12:16)
  • Be grateful for receiving God’s kingdom! (12:28)
    • Offer God acceptable worship! (12:28)
  • Letting brotherly love continue! (13:1)
  • Show hospitality to strangers! (13:2)
  • Remember those who are in prison or mistreated! (13:3)
  • Protect sexual purity inside and outside of marriage! (13:4)
  • Learn to be content, not greedy! (13:5)
  • Follow, obey, and imitate godly leaders! (13:7, 17)
  • Protect yourself from strange teachings! (13:9)
  • Be willing to bear reproach with Jesus! (13:13)
  • Continually worship God through praise and singing! (13:15)
  • Do not neglect to do good and to share with others! (13:16)

How’s that for application!? By my count, this preacher had 32 calls to action in his sermon. Don’t ever complain about me having too many in my sermons. I’m nowhere near 32! 😊

The beauty of this list is that each one of these calls to action is a different component of persevering in the faith. The author is seeking to help his audience hold firm in the faith and press on in Christ! He wants them to grow up into maturity in Christ!

We’re going to have the joy of unpacking the specifics of what each of these looks like in the weeks ahead. I hope you’re excited to dig deeper into the book of Hebrews as we go.

Let’s pray.