Hebrews is often referred to as an ‘epistle’ or letter, despite the fact that it jumps straight into things without the customary greetings and introductions. And straight away, we get the sense we are reading someone else’s mail. Hebrews is clearly addressing a Jewish audience …
Read More king, angels, divine nature of Jesus, underestimating JesusThink for a moment about the close friends you had when you were sixteen years old. How many of them are still your close friends? Chances are you are not in touch with most of them – not because of any great falling out but just because life got in the way; you got busy, you moved to a different city, your interests diverged.
Read More salvation, roots, drift, high stakesHave you ever met a celebrity you’ve held in high regard from a distance, only to find they are rather ordinary looking and awfully obnoxious in person? There is an American writer (who shall remain nameless!) whose books have been formative in my Christian life and who I have admired for many years.
Read More humanity of Jesus, radiance, mediatorMoses loomed large in the Jewish mind, and rightly so. This is the man who God addressed from a burning bush; the man who challenged Pharaoh and led the Israelites to freedom through a parted sea; the man who God entrusted with the Ten Commandments, the foundation of their identity as a chosen and holy nation.
Read More Future, Moses, honour, houseAs the Spanish philosopher George Santayana so wisely said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Quoting from Psalm 95, the writer to the Hebrews here calls to mind a tragic episode in Israel’s past by way of encouraging steadfast faith and believing hearts.
Read More rest, turning away, effort, staying alertI wonder how rest features in your life. Do you suffer from the modern epidemic of workaholism? Do you struggle to wind down at the end of the day? Do you check your email as soon as you wake? Do you write ‘to do’ lists in the shower and take your laptop on vacation? So many of us lead lives with very little margin …
Read More workaholism, rest, dependence on GodJewish worship from the earliest times was mediated by a priest, set apart to offer gifts and sacrifices on their behalf. When Jesus is referred to as our “great high priest,” what we are meant to understand is that he is our representative before God. And when he’s called a high priest ‘like Melchizedek’ …
Read More high priest, human weakness, relating to God, advocateYou can hear the frustration here, echoing down the centuries and bursting from the page: when will they make some progress? When will these baby Christians do what it takes to mature? As with all the other New Testament letters, we only have one side of the correspondence, so we have to make some assumptions.
Read More faith, maturity, spiritual lifeMy high school year group was known to be particularly troublesome. We were often gathered together to receive harsh words from one teacher or another and as someone who generally tried hard to abide by the rules and do my best, all these reprimands could feel very unfair.
Read More hope, losing salvation, eternal securityLife can be brutally hard; faith in a good God doesn’t shield us from disease, betrayal, financial difficulty, bereavement or any sources of pain that all humanity is exposed to. But we have tenacious hope founded in a promise: one day we will live face to face with God, and he will wipe away every last tear (Revelation 21:4).
Read More promise, patience, anchor