Hebrews
Author
•
Suggestions: Paul, Barnabas, Luke, Apollos, Silas, Priscilla/Aquila, Jude, Epaphras,
Timothy, Philip, Mary? (all people in Paul’s circle)
•
Only God knows
•
Very Educated, familiar with Greek philosophy (Neoplatonism) and Hebrew Scriptures.
•
Knows/travels with Timothy
Why not Paul?
•
Does not claim to be Paul, unlike his other letters.
•
Does not address the church he is writing to (no personal greeting)
•
Style, vocabulary, and approach different from Paul
•
Author’s receipt of the gospel was second hand (received from the apostles) – Paul
always talks about receiving the gospel from the Lord.
•
Date 60’s-95 at latest – dated here because they talk about temple sacrifices as things
that are still going on and temple was destroyed in 70 AD.
Audience
•
No location given.
•
Composed more as a sermon than occasional letter, though includes a greeting and
benediction.
•
Persecuted as believers
•
Jewish Christians (in Rome?)
o Receiving pressure to go back to the way things were before they knew Jesus
(pre new covenant understanding)
•
Among the “general epistles” which have broader audiences in mind
Message
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The Supremacy of Christ
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The New Covenant (from the good to the better)
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Apostasy and Perseverance
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Maturity in Christ
The Supremacy of Christ (A Better Mediator)
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Introduction (1:1-4)
o “In the past God has spoken to us through the prophets but in these last days he
has spoken to us through his Son…”
•
Angels and Torah
o “Jesus is greater than the angels”
o There was this idea circulating at the time that the Old Covenant was mediated
by the angels.
•
Jesus made lower “for a short time” and “crowned with glory and honor”.
•
Jesus incarnate so he “might destroy death” and “free those in slavery”.
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“make atonement” and “help those who are tempted”.
The Supremacy of Christ (A Sabbath Rest)
•
Moses the faithful servant, Christ the faithful son (Moses was a good servant but Christ
is a GREATER son)
•
Unfaithfulness of the wilderness generation
•
Christ “tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin”
o Where Israel failed, Jesus has reigned victorious and He was obedient.
•
Christ offers a rest that Moses could not provide.
o (Moses’ generation could not inherit the promised land).
The Supremacy of Christ (A Greater Priesthood)
•
Priests and Melchizedek
o Melchizedek’s name means “king of righteousness” and is called the “king of
Salem” in the psalms, which means peace.
o The author in Psalms says his line has an eternal priesthood.
•
Author of Hebrews makes a case that Jesus is greater than Melchizedek:
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Christ without sin.
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Melchizedek:
o Righteousness and peace
o Without beginning or end
o A priest forever
o Received a voluntary tithe (from Abraham the father of the nation)
•
Christ’s priesthood is not a Levitical priesthood, but a heavenly one.
•
Showing that Jesus is from a better lineage than the Levitical priests. You understand
Jesus’ priesthood through the line of Melchizedek and not Levi because Jesus could not
have been a Levitical priest.
The Supremacy of Christ (A Permanent Atonement)
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First covenant tabernacle: limited access for the high priest.
•
Second covenant: unlimited access for all believers.
•
“Copies of things in the heavens”
o The tabernacle on earth is just a copy of what is in heaven, and we can come to
Christ because Jesus is mediating for us in the heavenly tabernacle and he
provides a greater sacrifice.
•
Jesus sacrifice “once and for all”
o We can approach the presence of the Lord because of Christ.
o Jesus did not simply cover our sins, but he removed is (a permanent
atonement).
•
The things in the OT were good, but the New Covenant is way better.
The New Covenant
•
First covenant participants not faultless.
•
New covenant:
o Blameless priest
o Unblemished sacrifice
o Removal of sins
o Eternal perfection
•
Jesus is the reason why the New Covenant is the greater covenant because he fullfills its
obligations on our behalf.
Apostasy and Perseverance
•
Five warning passages
o 2:1-4 (how will we escape this judgment?)
▪
If the new covenant has greater rewards, it also has a greater
punishment.
o 3:7-4:13 (don’t fall into disobedience)
o 5:11-6:12 (impossible to renew)
▪
If people can fall away from the Christ after having tasted the goodness of
God, there is no way for them to be renewed.
o 10:19-39 (no sacrifice available)
o 12:14-29 (no escape for turning away)
Maturity in Christ
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Maturity of beliefs
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Maturity of ethics
•
Maturity of actions
•
Live by faith
o “Trustful confidence in the future reality God has promised”
•
Persevere, even through suffering.
The letter of Jacob Written by James
Jacob is a Jewish name, James is the English name
Author
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“James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1)
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Initially disputed in the early church as to canonical status
•
Likely well known (other “James-es” in the NT not) But most likely it was the James that was the
leader of the church in Jerusalem, (Jesus brother)
•
Does not fit pseudonymous characteristics (likely by James - 50s’)
Style/ Genre
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Letter, Sermon, Wisdom (The topics are very random)
•
Witherington- “enthymeme” (argument premises not always stated; ethical argumentation/
direction) (He will leave you with a premise, and he expects you to read through the lines)
•
Message informed by Torah – Prophets – Wisdom – Kingdom (James rarely cites his sources)
•
Wisdom sage: one how synthesizes truth for the situation of his audience
Audience
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“to the twelve tribes in the dispersion” (1:1) (Jews that are living outside of Judea)
•
Most likely Jewish Christian communities outside of Judea (e.g., “synagogue” reference in 2:2)
(The author is Christian, not jewish)
•
Facing economic challenges within the community
Message
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James and Jesus
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The Law of Liberty
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Faith and Works
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True Speech
•
Poverty and Riches
James and Jesus (both talk about the same topics)
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Joy trials: Matt 5:11-12; Jas 1:2
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Be perfect/mature: Matt 5:48; Jas 1:4
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Asking God for what is needed: Mtt 7:7; Jas 1:5
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Good gifts from God/ Father: Matt 7:11; Jas 1:17
•
Be doers of the word, not fools: Matt 7:24-26/ Jas 1:22-23
•
The poor receive the kingdom: Matt 5:3; Jas 2:5
•
The smallest matters of the law are important : Matt 5:18-19; Jas 2:10
•
The merciful are shown mercy: Matt 5:7; Jas 2:13
•
Known a tree by its fruits: Matt 7:16-18; Jas 3:12
•
Peacemakers are rewarded: Matt 5:9; Jas 3:18
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Do not have because do not ask : Matt 7:7-8: Jas 4:2-3
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Cannot serve two masters: Matt 6:24; Jas 4:4
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Pure in heart are near to God: Matt 5:8; Jas 4:8
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Those who mourn will be lifted up: Matt 5:4 ; Jas 4:9
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Do not Judge one another: Matt 7:1-2; Jas 4:11
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Wealth rots are corrodes: Matt 6:19-21; Jas 5:2-3
•
Do not swear oaths: Matt 5:34 -37; Jas 5:12
The Law of Liberty
•
Law and Wisdom (1:5) (The law is the source of wisdom)
•
Implanted word as planted us to maturity (1:21; Jer. 31)
•
Be doers of the perfect Law of Liberty (1:25; 2:12) James focuses on the things that can do
according to the law, unlike Paul
•
Royal Law: Love Others (Lev. 19:18; cf. Jas. 2:8)
•
Love God (Deut 6:4-5)
Faith and Works
Martin luther wasn’t a big fan of this letter, called it “an epistle of straw”
•
“For we consider a person to be justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” (Rom 3:28)
•
“A person if justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Jas. 2:24) When james talks about faith
and works, he talks about helping or discriminating against the poor
•
“for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the
law will be declared righteous.” (Rom. 2:13)
•
Paul: Writing to Gentile Christians who do not need to adhere to certain Jewish markers of
identity (circumcision, food laws, etc., cf. Acts 15)
•
James: Writing to Jewish Christians who are showing favoritism to the wealthy and neglecting
love (the royal law)
•
When james was talking about faith, he meant that belief alone doesn’t save a person.
•
Faith (belief) without works is dead. (Belief without trust is dead)
True speech
•
Teachers receive a stricter judgment (3:1)
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Tongue like a bit, rudder, fire (3:1-8)
•
Bless God but curse people? (3:9-12)
•
Wisdom from above produces peace, gentility, humility, mercy, and honesty (3:17-18)
Poverty and Riches
•
Showing favoritism to the wealthy (2:1-13)
•
Wealthy, pride, and power (4:1-16)
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Judgment for the rich who oppress (5:1-6)
The letters of Peter and Jude
The authors think that there is something similar between these two books
Authorship
Questions of authorship (We don’t have a specific historical event that could help us identify the
authorship)
•
Style of Greek
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Little information about Jesus
•
No debates about law
•
Peter as an “elder”
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persecution? (It’s not a second century letter)
•
Relation of 2 Peter to Jude
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Date of earliest witnesses (especially 2Peter)
1 Peter Written by Sylvanus
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Author: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ (1:1); at the end, elder and witness of Christ (5:1)
•
Fine Greek prose, through Sylvanus (1 Peter 5:12)
•
Amanuensis makes Petrine authorship more likely, his name is Sylvanus (mid 60s at latest)
•
Audience: in the regions of modern Turkey (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, And Bithynia)
facing persecution and suffering, Exiles and dispersed (Jews or Gentiles?)
•
The purpose of this letter is the encouraging of the churches during the persecution and writing
against false teachers. (we don’t get informations about these false teachers)
2 Peter
•
Author: “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ”
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Most disputed of NT books (includes much of Jude in 2 Peter 2:1-2:7)
•
Mentioned by 1 clement? (c. AD 96) AND USED IN Apocalypse of peter (c. 125 AD) ; peter
authorship (c. 65 AD)
•
Audience: Gentile believers ?
•
Peter dies between 62-65 AD
Jude
•
Only 25 versus
•
Author: “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James”
•
Familiar with Jewish literature (1 Enoch and assumption of Moses)
•
Audience: addressing an issue of apostates (rejecting faith) and false teachers in the community
•
Likely written in 60’s-80’s
Theology of 1 Peter, 2 Peter and Jude
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Faithfulness in persecution and suffering
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Christian conduct
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False teachings
•
Imprisoned spirits
Faithfulness in persecution and suffering
•
Joy in suffering (1 Pet. 1:6; 4:12-19)
•
Strangers in the world (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11) our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth
•
Live honorably (1 Pet. 2:12) (suffer but don’t revenge)
•
Submit to authorities and silence the foolish with good deeds (1Pet. 2:13-17)
•
Suffer for good (1Pet. 2:18-25; 3:13-22)
•
Bless those who curse you (1 Pet. 3:9)
•
Reward in faithfulness (1 Pet. 1:6-9; 4:19; 5:10; 2 Pet. 2:9)
Christian Conduct
•
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through knowledge of
him who called us” (2 Pet. 1:3)
•
“He has given us every great and precious promises so that through them you may share in the
divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4)
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Sober-minded and obedient
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Holy; sincere love; humility
False teachings
•
Message from Jesus, not myths. (separate the truth about Jesus from myths)
•
Judgment of false teachers.
•
The day of the Lord
•
Be on guard, grow in grace and knowledge
Imprisoned spirit
•
Christ descended- (1 Pet 3:18-22; 4:6) he proclaimed victory over the dead, and proclaimed his
future judgment
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2 Pet. 2:4-11- Spirits imprisoned in the days of Noah
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Jude 5-7- abandoned their proper dwelling
The letters of john
Author (letters Don’t name their author)
•
Linguistic and thematic similarities make single of all three letters likely
•
“the elder” – one who “has seen”
•
Traditionally: the apostle John, but Eusebius (cf. his interpretation of Papias) distinguished elder
from apostle (so that there were 2 johns)
•
Nameless in the letters
•
Many thematic connections with the Gospel of John
Audience
•
1 John: possibly a circular letter intended for a group of churches
•
2 John: sent to a specific church/person (it was written for a specific lady; referring to the lady)
•
3 John: sent to a specific person (Gaius)
•
Typically dated c. 85-95 AD
•
Addressing gnostic (philosophical ideas blended with Christian ideas) / Docetic (a belief that
denied that Jesus has a physical body) heresies?
Message
•
Love
•
False teachers
•
Jesus
•
The family of God
Love
•
Love God made complete in obedience. (if you love, you’ll keep my commandments)
•
Do not love the world. (the meaning here is don’t love the sin of the world)
•
Jesus’ message: love one another.
•
Love is sacrificial
•
God’s love is for our life
•
Do you believe God loves YOU?
•
When do you doubt about God’s love for You?
•
What helps reaffirm God’s love for You?
False Teachers (he didn’t mentions the false teachings, but he corrected them)
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Not of us: denied Jesus is the Christ
•
Denied the incarnation
•
Claimed sinlessness
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Practiced Disobedience
•
Lacked love
Jesus
•
Witness of “the word of life”
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Fellowship with one another and the Father and Son
•
False teachers denying Jesus as Messiah or God incarnate?
•
Abide in Him/ Keep his commands
The Family of God
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We are God’s children. (John mentions believers as siblings and brothers and sisters)
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My children
•
Brothers and sisters. (the most common way of calling believers) (blood relationships are the
strongest)
Revelation
Author (people were involved writing this letter with John)
•
Identified as “John” in 1:1, but in third person
•
Blend of letter (to the seven churches), prophecy (1:3), and apocalypse (cosmic conflict,
symbolism, and revelatory experiences (2 Barush, 4 Ezra, 1 Enoch, etc.)
•
In OT Daniel talks about apocalypse, In NT the 4 gospels talk about apocolypse
•
Purpose to “admonish, correct, and encourage”
Apocalypse
John Collins:
•
" A genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which
a revelation is mediated by an other - worldy being to a human
recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal,
insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial insofar as
it involves another, supernatural world.
•
The apocalypse is symbolic, and so it contains a lot of weird symbols
Audience
•
“I john, your brother and co-sharer in the affliction and kingdom and steadfastness in Jesus.”
(1:9)
•
“Seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea)
•
Likely written near the end of 1st century (after Nero, during Domitian?)
Approaches (overall approaches to the book)
•
Historicist: Revelation tells the history of the church, ancient to modern (Reformers) (the most
uncommon way)
•
Preterist: The events of the book are mostly/ entirely confined to the early church/ original
audience. (all symbols and seals were referring to the destruction of the temple, and the
persecution of the church in the 1st century)
•
Futurist: The events of the book are mostly/ entirely confined to the end of time events
(eschatology)
•
Idealist: Portrays the ongoing struggle between good and evil, without specific historical
references. (that this book is like a metaphor between the struggle of good and evil)
•
Marks of the beast means that you sold out to Satan and rejected Jesus
Approaches (approaches to the question of the millennium)
•
Premillennialism: Christ returns before a literal one-thousand year reign on earth, after the
events of judgment in Revelation (Pre-tribe, mid-tribe, post-tribe/historic premillennialism
believing that there is only one return of Christ)) (believing that there is a secret return and a
public return which is the thousand year reign of Jesus)
+ the tribulation is called to be 2 to 3 and a half years
•
Postmillennialism: Christ returns after a one-thousand year period (literal or figurative) of the
church age, generally in which positive progress is made.
•
Amillennialism: The millennium is figurative period of the church age, begun at the ascension,
after which Christ will return. (so we are in the 1000 years of reign)
•
“The symbols are not the message; they carry and embody the message”
•
Literal non-realism” or “symbolic reality”
CHRIST TO THE CHURCHES
•
Ephesus (2:1-7): Doctrine without love. (Knowledge without love)
•
Smyrna (2:8-11): Faith without fear.
•
Pergamum (2:12-17): Accommodation. (sexual immoralities that they need to cast out)
•
Thyatira (2:18-29): Impurity of practice
•
Sardis (3:1-6): Outward religion
•
Philadelphia (3:7-13): Obedient church
•
Laodicea (3:14-22): Self-sufficient and useless
Worship: which king?
•
Roman Emperors (Nero/Domitian) or the Lamb who is Lord. (Roman emperors were considered
to be God after they die, but after Nero they were considered to be God while they were alive)
•
Faith/loyalty to Caesar or Jesus? (they are persecuted)
•
Empire forever or new creation? (thought that the roman empire will be forever )
Politics (Themes)
•
Which lifestyle, the Roman Empire or the Kingdom of God?
•
Bauckham, “political resistance literature”
•
Christians “atheists”- no emperor worship, gymnasium contests, food sacrificed to idols, society
participation, drinking parties, orgies, etc.
•
Room required “sacred status given to secular power, requiring the allegiance of heart, mind and
body to the empire and its values.” (Gorman)
WORSHIP (Themes)
•
To him be glory (1:5-6)
•
God is worthy (4:8-11)
•
Christ is worthy (5:9-13)
•
Blessing, honor, glory, power (7:10-12)
•
We give thanks (11:15-18)
•
Great are you Lord (15:3-4)
•
You are just, Holy One (16:5-7)
•
Hallelujah! (19:1-8)
Victory and New Creation (Themes) (when we die we’re gonna live in a new earth, not in heaven)
•
No chaos (Sea-21:1) (seas are represented as chaotic metaphorically)
•
No death (21:4)
•
No mourning (21:4)
•
No evil (21:8)
•
No mediated presence of God (21: 22) (there are no barriers)
•
No Insecurities (night- 21:23)
•
No Threats (open gates- 21:25) (there is going to be a kingdom of peace)
So the main points from this book the we must take are that we need to reaffirm, re solidify our
commitment to Christ above everything else. And cling to the hope that he’ll make everything right and
new.
How did the Bible become compiled into one volume?
Canonization? Canon: a standard or rule used to measure
NT literature became authoritative
•
G. Luke referred to as “Scripture” (1 Tim 5:18)
•
Paul’s letters referred to as “Scripture” (2 Pet 3:16)
•
AD 125. Polycarp quotes Ephesians twice and refers to it as part of the “Sacred Scriptures.”
•
Justin Marter (c. AD 150): “memoirs of the apostles”
•
Irenaeus (c. AD 180): “fourfold form” of gospel
Lists
•
In the 4-5th cent., Lists of authoritative Christian literature allowed to be read in church.
Criteria for Canonicity (accepted criteria now adays)
•
Was it written by an Apostle or a colleague (most used)
•
Orthodox (That’s why Hebrews was accepted because it was an orthodox teacjing)
•
If it was Relevant to the church
•
Widespread/ longstanding (If the church used this scripture for the spread)
Criteria that were accepted by churches long ago
1- Eusebius (C. AD 320-330): the first church haustorium
•
Recognized 22, doubtful 5 (James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2+3 John)
•
They considered them doubtful because they didn’t know who was actually the author who
wrote these books.
2- Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 350)
•
He (or the church) recognized 27, 26 of the books were the same that we have in the bible now,
and 1 wasn’t. And he wanted to include the gospel of Thomas (the only time a guy wanted to
include Thomas)
•
He excluded Revelation because he didn’t think that John wrote it
3- Laodicea Synod (AD 363)
•
Recognized 26 (the same we have now), but excluded Revelation.
4- Athanasius (AD 367)
•
Recognized 27 (included Revelation for the first time)
5-Gregory of Nazianus (AD 390)
•
Recognized 27
5- African Canons (C. AD 393-419)
•
Recognized 27
6- Jerome (AD 394)
•
Recognized 27
7- Augustine (C. AD 395-400)
•
Recognized 27
8- Carthage Synod (AD 397)
•
Recognized 26 (excluded Revelation)
•
But when they met back in AD 419, they included revelation
*Was Hebrews one of Paul’s letters?
•
Eusebius: perhaps
•
Cyril, Athanasius, Gregory, Jerome, Augustine, Laodicea Synod: Yes
•
African Canons, Carthage Synod (both of them): No (they said no but they still included it)
■
13 books where written by Paul, 7 of them are considered universally that Paul wrote them, 6 of
them are in question? 3 of them are in serious question (1+2 timothy and Titus)
■
These books were undisputed (4 Gospels, Acts, Paul’s letters (10), 1 John, 1 Peter). And disputed
are ( Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, Jude, 2-3 John, Revelation, Paul’s letters (3)) All of these were still
included
■
Not included at all, but thought to be helpful and they were used too. (Didache, 1 Clement,
Barnabas, Ignatius’ letters, Thomas, Polycarp, Shephered)
■
Not even considered to be in the canon at all. (G Mary, G Egypt, G Philip, G Peter, The acts of
paul, G Hebrews)
