Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he didContinue reading “Near to the Heart of God”
Category Archives: Hebrews
Called to Glory
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. (Hebrews 3:1) Do you know what the athletes who will compete in the next Olympic games are doing right now? The short answer is—a lot of things we aren’t! For starters, they areContinue reading “Called to Glory”
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
The writer of Hebrews employed a cold opening long before anyone had any idea what that was! Whoever wrote Hebrews wanted to get right to his message, so he does so without identifying himself or giving any kind of greeting. Perhaps this reflects the urgency he felt about what he had to say. What isContinue reading “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”
Just Passing Through
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking ofContinue reading “Just Passing Through”
Holding Out for a Hero
Joseph Campbell spent his entire life reading, writing, studying, and lecturing about mythology. For Campbell, mythology was much more than just stories from the Egyptians, Greeks, or Romans — it embraced historical figures as well as fictitious ones. Someone asked him one time why there were so many stories of heroes in mythology and CampbellContinue reading “Holding Out for a Hero”
The Humanity Of Jesus
The Letter to the Hebrews has a good bit to say about the humanity of Christ. It was written to Jewish disciples who were under pressure to renege on their commitment to Jesus and return to strictly Jewish ways (10:19-39). After a magnificent opening showing the supremacy of Christ to Moses (and everything else), HeContinue reading “The Humanity Of Jesus”
Unshakeable
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29) We all need something unshakeable in our lives, don’t we? We have this requirement because the sober reality is that our families and relationships, jobs,Continue reading “Unshakeable”
There’s Not A Friend
Hebrews 2 starts with a conclusion—challenging its readers to anchor their lives in the glorious, eternity-altering news about Jesus (v. 1-4). After this, the writer picks up his earlier thread concerning Jesus and angels. I think he’s anticipating some objections in response to what he previously wrote concerning Christ’s superiority to the angels (1:5-14). There wouldContinue reading “There’s Not A Friend”
Thinking About Hebrews
Hebrews can be a challenging read. It’s a bit like Revelation—it’s definitely not a narrative (like the Gospels or Acts), but it’s not exactly a letter like Philippians either (although like Revelation, it has some elements of a letter in it). Commentators agree it’s best to think of Hebrews as a first-century sermon. In 13:22Continue reading “Thinking About Hebrews”
The Great High Priest
The Hebrew writer speaks of Jesus in lots of different ways that (with a little work) we can relate to: He is the radiance of God’s glory (think of the Transfiguration), superior to the angels, the Apostle/One Sent (surpassing Moses and Joshua), etc. But the book’s central image is the most challenging—Jesus as our highContinue reading “The Great High Priest”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 