Hebrews 8:1 to 10:18. Continuing to expand on the “better covenant”, it is Jesus as the great High Priest who is now described as the only one to be called the “mediator [of a new covenant which is] superior to the old one” (8:6). It is in chapter 9 that we’re moved towards our Easter […]
Hebrews 6:13 to 7:28. If by this point the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews still needed further convincing, the writer turns once again to the Old Testament. The focus this time is on the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham, another of the Hebrews’ much revered ancestors. They too are “heirs of […]
Hebrews 5:11 to 6:12. It is clear from the second half of chapter 5 and into chapter 6 that the writer of the letter to the Hebrews would have expected them to have got further than they have in their understanding of who Jesus is. They are still reliant on others to teach them the […]
Hebrews 4:14 to 5:10. Against the background of their firm understanding of the role of the Priest as the one to bring sacrifices to God on their behalf, the Hebrews are now to understand the place of Jesus as above all Priests – Jesus is “the great high Priest” above all others (4:14). And so […]
Hebrews 3:1 to 4:13. Claiming that Jesus is superior to the angels would have been a big enough thing for the recipients of this letter to get their minds around, but now they need to add to that: how can Jesus be above their great leader, Moses? Moses is commended in this section of the […]
Hebrews 2: 1-18. With hearts and minds turned to be focused on the supremacy of Jesus, chapter 2 gives us a clear and straightforward warning to “pay more careful attention to what we have heard” (2:1). This is the first of 5 warnings in the letter to the Hebrews, and this one takes us back […]
Hebrews 1: 4-14. “To most Jews angels were exalted beings, especially revered because they were involved with giving the law at Sinai to the Jews” (NIV Study Bible). They were the ones to whom “God’s supreme revelation” had been given, but now the attention grabbing claim that they need to grapple with is that Jesus […]
Hebrews 1: 1-3. The letter to the Hebrews begins by looking back to Jewish roots of this particular group of Christians who are being written to. That’s done carefully and respectfully by stating that God had spoken through the prophets of old, and so the importance of their place in history is not overlooked. Then […]
Phil 2: 1-11, Matthew 2: 1-12. Has your journey through this Christmas season happened with the right motivation, expectation and response? Herod sent the Magi in search of Jesus with them believing that their purpose was to enable Herod to find the way to the new-born King so that he could bow down to worship […]
Isaiah 9:2-8, Luke 2:1-20. “Today, you will find Him and so find your hope”. That was the message of the Angel of the Lord to the shepherds (slightly paraphrased!). It’s a message we need to hear, be transformed by and responded to in the midst of our Christmas celebrations.