Hebrews: Christ Is Better

Hebrews in Brief

Hebrews was written to believers who were weary, pressured, and tempted to go back. Its answer is one long, careful argument: Jesus Christ is better than everything they were tempted to return to.

• Author. Not named. The writer knew our brother Timothy (Hebrews 13:23), so he belonged to the circle of the apostles, but the letter never gives his name. Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, and Luke have all been suggested. In the third century Origen said that God alone knows who wrote it. We do not need the name. The Holy Spirit is its true Author, and the churches received it as Scripture.
• Date. About AD 64 to 68. The letter speaks of priests who still offer gifts according to the law (Hebrews 8:4), so the temple was standing. It was destroyed in AD 70.
• Written To. Jewish believers in Jesus who were under pressure to go back to the sacrifices and customs of Judaism. They had already lost property for Christ (Hebrews 10:34). The place is not named.
• Setting. The old system was familiar and respected, and following Jesus was costly. Some were drifting (Hebrews 2:1), and some had stopped meeting with the church (Hebrews 10:25).
• Key Verse. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
• Key Word or Theme. Better. The word appears thirteen times in the KJV, each time showing that Christ and what He brings surpass what came before.