Last week as we began our study of the book of Hebrews, we learned a bit about the background and the author. Click here for that post. This week we will delve into who the intended readers of the book of Hebrews were.
To whom was the book of Hebrews written? Most scholars agree that the book was written to a house church comprised of Jews who had accepted Christ, but whose numbers had decreased recently because of persecution for their faith. The author encourages them to not fall away or turn back to Judaism because of the persecution. Obviously the intended audience was Jewish because the writer contrasts the old Levitical system with the new system and covenant established by Jesus Christ. In that day, referencing Moses, the wilderness tabernacle and the Levitical system would have gotten the attention of any observant Jew and this was the obvious intention of the writer of Hebrews. Scholars disagree, however, on whether this group was comprised completely of Jews who had come to know Christ and were being tempted to return to Judaism or whether there were some within the house church who had heard the gospel message but had never truly accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) (page lxi – introduction) says the following of the recipients of the book. “The targeted audience was an assembly in crisis. There had been defections from their number (Hebrews 10:25). Among those who remained, there was a loss of confidence in the viability of their convictions. They displayed a lack of interest in the message of salvation they had embraced (Hebrews 2:1-4), which formerly had given them a sense of identity as the new covenant people of God. The writer implies that they were no longer listening to the voice of God in Scripture and preaching (Hebrews 2:1, 3:7b-4:13, 5:11, 12:25). They clearly had regressed from the stance of bold commitment they had exhibited shortly after identifying themselves with the Jesus movement, when they had endured public abuse, imprisonment, and loss of property (Hebrews 10:32-34). They are described as lethargic and disheartened (Hebrews 5:11, 6:12, 12:3, 12-13). They had become weary with the necessity of sustaining their confession in a social climate hostile to their presence (Hebrews 12:3-4).”
This description sounds a lot like the church of today, doesn’t it? Think about it.
- Loss of confidence in the viability of their convictions – Many Christians roll with the tide of changing opinion regarding the inerrancy of the Scripture, the fact that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, and other foundational principles. The things that would have been disgraceful to speak of 50 years ago are today accepted and celebrated lifestyles, i.e homosexuality, pre-marital sex and adultery. The Bible calls these things sin, yet today they are simply alternative lifestyles.
- Lack of interest in the message of salvation – People today are often more interested in hearing the name it and claim it, health and wealth preachers than they are in hearing the gospel preached. Many of these so-called preachers speak to packed stadiums and arenas and never mention the name of Jesus or present the message of salvation.
- No longer listening to the voice of God in Scripture and preaching – Second Timothy 4:3 says that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” Again, look no further than the television or movie screen to find what a large percentage of those who call themselves Christians desire to hear and see. It is most definitely NOT the things of God.
- Lethargic and disheartened – The apathy in the church of Jesus Christ is incredibly frustrating today. I am not saying that the church as a whole is apathetic, but a sizable segment of Christianity could not be distinguished from the world if their lives depended on it and an even larger number show little interest in growing their faith through daily study of God’s Word and time spent in prayer.
- In a social climate hostile to their presence – Our nation and world are becoming less and less tolerant of Christians. We, as Christians are asked to be tolerant of other religions, beliefs, lifestyles and choices yet those who profess the name of Christ are being tolerated less and less in the public square. I fear that in my lifetime we will see persecution of Christians for their faith right here in God-bless-America. Without any doubt, Satan is turning up the heat of persecution on those who name the name of Jesus Christ! Expect it to get worse, friends, much worse!!
While the modern day church is not being tempted to turn toward Judaism per se because of persecution, she is being tempted to abandon biblical Christianity in favor of a significantly watered down version of Christianity or New Age theology (think Oprah and her buddies) and moral relativism.
Whoever the recipients of the book of Hebrews were, the following was true about them as stated in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Hebrews (hereafter referred to as ‘MacArthur’): The Holy Spirit directed this letter to them to strengthen their faith in the New Covenant, to show them they did not need the Old Temple. They did not need the old Aaronic-Levitical priesthood. They did not need the old day-in, day-out, day-in, day-out sacrifices. They did not need the ceremonies. They had a new and better covenant with a new and better priesthood, a new and better sanctuary, and a new and better sacrifice. The pictures and symbols were to give way to the reality.”
Next week we will begin to delve deeper into our study and look at “A Better Covenant”.
