Hebrews
Well, it is good to see you, church. Do me a favor: grab a seat, grab a Bible, and go ahead and turn to the book of Hebrews, because that is where we are going to be spending our time this evening.
On the heels of last week, where Brad walked us through Philemon and, in particular, Philippians, we studied what it means to have joy in Christ in all things. What a beautiful promise that is to remember, and what a beautiful reality it is to embrace. But if you are like me, there have probably been times in your life where you know there is anything but joy. Those times in your life where, as much as you have grown to love and worship Jesus, you find yourself in really dry seasons—seasons of despair and disbelief where it is hard to truly believe that Christ is who He said He is.
Have you ever been there? Has anybody ever been in those seasons of dryness where the hunger has just dissipated a little bit? Absolutely. And if you have walked with Christ for any considerable amount of time, even if you have not gone through it personally, you certainly know somebody who has.
See if this sounds familiar: somebody who was at one point flourishing in their relationship with Jesus Christ, had come to a saving faith, and began to see the Lord transform their life. You saw fruit born in their life—a growing hunger for God’s Word, a hunger for prayer, a passion to reach the lost with the gospel, and a desire to be deeply engaged in the church. You saw this person on fire for Christ. But then something happened. Something along the way began to choke out that joy and passion. Slowly but surely, you watched this individual begin to fade. They stopped gathering with the church. They stopped opening the Word of God. They stopped praying. They stopped sharing their faith with friends. Before long, months went by, and you had not even seen them.
If you have known somebody like that, or if that is where you are currently at, imagine if in the middle of the night they shot you an email saying, “Listen, I feel like I’m at the end of my rope. I’m teetering on the edge right now of either pressing forward in this faith in Christ or walking away from it altogether.” If somebody wrote you that letter, what would you say in return? What would be your words to someone in a very dry place who feels like they are not even sure if they believe anymore?
What I think you would write—and if that is you, what I think you would want to read—is the book of Hebrews. Because that is exactly what Hebrews is about. It is a friend, possibly a pastor, writing to believers he loves who have somehow lost their confidence to the point where their tether to Christ is lengthening and their affections for Christ are waning. He speaks life into them, encouraging them that whatever they are tempted to turn to, none of it will ever compare to Jesus. Jesus is infinitely better than any other person or power we might turn to for deliverance from our struggles.
The Heart and Purpose of Hebrews
To give you a little background on Hebrews: over the last two weeks here at The Well, we finished walking through the prison epistles—Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. About six years after those were written, roughly thirty-something years after Jesus died, resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, the book of Hebrews was penned.
It is known as a “general epistle” because, unlike Paul’s letters written to a specific person or church, Hebrews is like James, 1 and 2 Peter, or Jude—written to a broader audience wrestling with a specific issue. There has been a lot of debate over the centuries about which human author penned it. The language and theology sound very similar to Paul, yet in other ways, it is vastly different. There is no standard apostolic greeting or identification of a specific local church. Some have speculated it was Barnabas, Apollos, or Luke. But while we may not know the exact human author, we know precisely why it was written.
It was written to a group of Orthodox Jews who had put their faith in Jesus Christ and were thriving, until persecution came along and began to choke out their faith. Persecution made them doubt whether Jesus was truly worth following. At the same time, strange and varied teachings began to deceive them, convincing them that they needed to turn away from Christ and go back to the Old Testament sacrificial system and the Mosaic Law to find their significance and salvation. Slowly, their hunger for Christ was stunted, and they began drifting away from the body.
The author steps in to show them one overarching reality: whatever you are considering turning to, Jesus is better.
You can see three clear divisions in this book:
- Chapter 1 through the first half of Chapter 4: Jesus is better in His personhood. Whatever leader you are tempted to look to, they do not compare to Christ.
- The middle of Chapter 4 through Chapter 10: Jesus is better in His priesthood. What Jesus accomplished for you on the cross did what no religious system of works could ever do.
- Chapter 10 through Chapter 13: Jesus is better in His promises. Because His promises are sure, we must persevere in faith, hope, and love despite our doubts and spiritual dryness.
Jesus is Better in His Personhood
When we find ourselves in seasons of struggle, doubt, and despair, there is always a temptation to turn away from Christ to other people or powers to find our worth and salvation. For these Jewish believers, the temptation was to turn back to Old Testament figures.
They were tempted to look back to the prophets—men like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, who were the authoritative voice of God declaring truth to the nation. But notice how Hebrews opens.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NASB)
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
As powerful as the voice of the prophets was, Jesus is God’s final, authoritative revelation. Thus, Jesus is better than the prophets.
Next, they looked to the angelic realm. In Judaism, angels were highly regarded as divine messengers and ministering agents sent to encourage God’s people. But look at what the author says about Jesus in comparison to angels.
Hebrews 1:3-4 (NASB)
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
As highly regarded as angels were, Jesus was the very substance of their message. The word angel means “messenger,” but the name Jesus means “the Lord saves.” They pointed to Him. Jesus is better than the angels.
What about Moses? Moses was the revered leader who triumphantly led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt and received the Law on Mount Sinai.
Hebrews 3:3 (NASB)
For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.
Hebrews 3:5-6 (NASB)
Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ [was faithful] as a Son over His house– whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
As great a leader as Moses was, he was merely a servant in God’s house. Jesus is the Son who reigns over the house. Jesus is better than Moses.
What about Joshua? Joshua took up the mantle after Moses and led Israel into the Promised Land, leading them into what Psalm 95 refers to as God’s rest.
Hebrews 4:8 (NASB)
For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
If Joshua had provided the ultimate rest, God would not have spoken later of another day. Joshua brought them into a physical land, but Jesus provides an eternal rest in our souls, bringing us into the true promised rest of God. Jesus is better than Joshua.
Why would you turn away from that which is superior to pursue that which is inferior?
The same temptation exists for us today. When we walk through dry desert lands in our faith, we are tempted to look to other people or powers for our salvation and significance. We think, “I’m in my twenties or thirties, and I’m still single. If only I had a spouse to complete me, then my life would be whole.” When we say that, we are essentially saying, “Jesus is not enough.” We do the same thing with political figures, celebrities, or career success, hoping they will deliver us.
If we are honest, we even do this inside the church. In our media-driven podcast culture, we can easily turn pastors into demigods, saying, “I follow Piper,” or “I follow Keller,” or “I follow Chandler,” or “I follow Brad Bell.” It is the exact same thing Paul confronted in Corinth. But all of these leaders are just broken, fallen human beings. They cannot quench the deepest thirst of your soul. Only Jesus—the Creator, Sustainer, and eternal Heir of all things—can give you peace with God, the forgiveness of sins, and a transformed life.
Jesus is Better in His Priesthood and Covenant
Starting in the middle of chapter 4, the author demonstrates that Jesus is also better in His priesthood. What Jesus accomplished on the cross is far superior to any religious system or works-based righteousness.
Under the Old Testament sacrificial system, God gave Israel roughly 613 laws. These laws revealed the holy character of God and set an expectation for His people. But because the penalty for breaking God’s law was death, God instituted the priesthood in His mercy. Priests like Aaron served as mediators between sinful humanity and a holy God. When you sinned, instead of you dying, an unblemished animal was sacrificed as a substitute. God’s wrath was averted, and you received forgiveness—until you sinned again.
If you lied to your parents, you brought a goat to the priest to be sacrificed. You were clean until you went home and lied again. At that rate, you would need to buy an entire zoo just to make it through the year! The system was inherently temporary and futile. It was designed to show you your depravity and make you cry out for a perfect, final substitute.
The law was never intended to save you; it was intended to show you your need for a Savior. Yet these Jewish believers wanted to walk away from the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus and go back to the shadow.
The author shows that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest. Aaron and the Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins first because they were sinners, and they all eventually died. But Jesus is holy, unstained, and eternal. He conquered sin and death, and He lives forever to intercede for us.
The author even connects Jesus to Melchizedek, that mysterious Old Testament figure who was both a king and a priest with no recorded genealogy or end to his priesthood. Jesus holds a permanent priesthood that never ends.
Hebrews 7:22-27 (NASB)
so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The [former] priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the [sins] of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
Jesus did what no system of works could ever do. Trying to pull yourself up by your moral bootstraps will only lead to further condemnation. Jesus stepped in as the perfect sacrifice, freeing you from the treadmill of performance.
There is nothing you can do to make Jesus love you any more, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you any less. He does not love you based on your performance; He loves you based on Christ’s finished performance on your behalf.
Under the Old Covenant, the dynamic was conditional: obey and be blessed, disobey and be cursed. But in the New Covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31, God writes His law upon our hearts and forgives our sins once and for all. Obedience is no longer a “have-to”; it becomes a “get-to” fueled by grace.
When we hit seasons of dryness and doubt today, we usually drift in one of two directions: toward the law or toward licentiousness.
When we drift toward the law, we assume our spiritual dryness means God is angry with us, so we resolve to work harder, pray harder, and do more good deeds to earn His favor. That is just digging ourselves into another prison cell.
When we drift toward licentiousness, we give up entirely and say, “My old life was easier. I’m just going to go back to the bottle, back to sexual immorality, or bury myself in my career.” But those are mirages that will leave you empty. Only Jesus satisfies.
The Warnings: The Danger of Drifting
Woven throughout Hebrews are five or six serious warnings. Much like a good pastor or friend, the author not only reminds them of what they have in Christ, but warns them of what they will forfeit if they walk away. You may think following Christ costs you something right now, but walking away from Him will cost you everything.
The author warns against drifting from truth (chapter 2), disbelieving the gospel (chapter 3), deliberately sinning (chapter 10), and despising God’s discipline (chapter 12).
The heaviest warning comes in chapters 5 and 6 regarding delayed spiritual growth. The author wanted to teach deep truths, but his readers had grown dull of hearing. They were still drinking milk when they should have been eating solid food because they had stopped opening the Word, stopped praying, and detached from the body.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NASB)
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and [then] have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
Some people read this passage and panic, thinking they can easily lose their salvation. But Scripture repeatedly teaches that a true believer cannot lose what Christ purchased for them. Salvation is a gift of grace, not something we earned.
The author is warning against a chronic, high-handed rejection of Christ. If someone professes faith, enjoys the blessings of Christian community, and then deliberately spits in the face of Jesus and walks away permanently, it demonstrates that their faith was never genuine to begin with.
Matthew 7:22-23 (NASB)
’Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
It is possible to immerse yourself in Christian culture, wear the right clothes, and say the right things without ever genuinely trusting in Christ alone. When persecution comes, superficial faith falls away.
If you have never truly trusted Christ, let today be the day you surrender to Him. But if you are a believer wrestling through a dry season, hear this: struggling with doubt is not the same as apostasy. The author writes to his readers, “Beloved, we are confident of better things in your case.” Do not let the enemy whisper the lie that Jesus is not enough.
A Call to Persevere in Faith, Hope, and Love
Because Jesus is better in His person and His priesthood, the author calls us in the final chapters to persevere in three specific areas: faith, hope, and love.
First, we are called to persevere in faith (chapter 10).
Hebrews 10:19-22 (NASB)
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since [we have] a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
When we enter dark seasons, we often demand complete intellectual certainty, falling into the paralysis of analysis. Faith does not mean checking our brains at the door, but it is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. In chapter 11, the author gives us the “Hall of Faith”—over twenty examples of broken, imperfect people who held fast to God’s promises.
Second, we are called to persevere in hope (chapter 12). Looking at the great cloud of witnesses and looking ultimately to Jesus, who endured the cross for the joy set before Him, we run our race with endurance.
Finally, we are called to persevere in love (chapter 13). If Jesus is better, let us actively display His love in our marriages, in our church community, and toward those who are suffering.
Conclusion: Jesus is Better
If you walked in here today in a dark place, wrestling with doubts, feeling disconnected from God, and wondering if this is all real, hear this: whatever the world is offering you will ultimately fail you.
Jesus is better.
He alone provides true peace with God, complete forgiveness of sins, and a transformed life. Anchor your soul in Him. Hold fast to the hope that will never let go of you.
Let’s pray.
Father, we thank You for the book of Hebrews. We thank You for the reminder that You know exactly where we are in our seasons of dryness and doubt. Our hope is not in human leaders, relationships, careers, or the empty promises of this culture. Our hope is in Jesus—our eternal, holy, and faithful High Priest. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, lift our affections tonight. Remind our hearts that Jesus is enough, and that Jesus is better. In His name we pray. Amen.