The New Covenant's Sacrifice - Sunday School Lesson 1

Last weekend, I taught Sunday school at Annual Conference.  Today's post and the ones that follow are my notes for the lesson, based on Hebrews 9:11-28.

Foundation for Reading the Scripture

The scriptural basis of today’s lesson is Hebrews 9:11-18.  So let’s start with a look at the book of Hebrews.

Format:  I think I always thought that it was an epistle – much like other letters in the New Testament.  My reading in preparation for this lesson contradicts that – Hebrews is sermon or a treatise that was sent as a letter.  It does not begin like a letter with a normal greeting, but it does end like a letter would.  Structurally, it alternates between discourse and application.

Authorship:  There is a tradition that it was written by Paul, but it very much more that likely was not written by Paul.  One of the sources I read said that when the New Testament was compiled, one of the criteria to be included was that the “book” had to have been written by an apostle or at least by someone who had been in direct contact with the apostles.  But the book was well loved, and it was felt that it had to be included.  So they said Paul wrote it.

The text itself doesn’t claim to have been written by Paul – in fact the text is not very Pauline, and Origen said, “Who wrote the Letter to Hebrews only God knows for certain.”

There are a few theories.  Martin Luther thought that Apollos write it. He was a Jew who had been born in Alexandrea.  Another theory said that Barnabas wrote it.  A third theory is from a German scholar.  He thought that maybe Aquila and Priscila wrote it, and that the authorship information vanished later because the main author of Hebrews was a woman.  All interesting theories, but Origen is right – only God knows.

Time it was written:  Most evidence points to the idea that Hebrews was written in the later half of the first century. It is likely that since the destruction of the temple (which happened in 70 CE) that it was before that date. A likely date is 65 CE.

To whom was it written: It was probably written to a church in Rome, perhaps to Jewish Christians who were facing persecution, who were tempted to abandon their faith.  The author is trying to demonstrate to them the superiority of the Christian faith to persuade them not to return to Judaism.

Overarching theme:  The author wants to demonstrate that Christ has offered us access to God.  Through Christ, we are drawn into the presence of God


Background information for the lesson – context

Let’s place today’s passage in context in the book.  The first part of the chapter (verses 1-10) contain a description of the sacrificial rituals of the Hebrew faith.  I think it is important to have a grasp on this in order to understand the part of the scripture on which we’ll focus.  Imagine the tabernacle.  Two tents were part of the larger tent.  The outer tent was the Holy place.  Behind the second curtain was the inner tent – called the Holy of Holies. The priests carried out their sacrificial duties in the outer tent – but once a year, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with sacrifices for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.  This is where God was – only the high priest could enter into God’s presence, and only once a year.