Just like the author of the book of
Hebrews the exact recipients are not actually known; so all we can do is
speculate and attempt to make intelligent guesses. Cockerill acknowledges that,
“The members of the congregation to which Hebrews is addressed were obviously
well versed in the OT and had been followers of Jesus for some time (2:1-4;
5:11-14).” When
paying close attention to the text we realize that the recipients of Hebrews
were becoming very weary in their daily living due to the persecution that they
were experiencing. Pretty much every commentator believes that this work is
written not to a large church, but to a small home church possibly located in
Rome.
There are some who feel that it may be written still to a home church but in
Palestine, Ephesus or even Corinth.
We have no clear way of knowing if
those in the congregation were Jewish Christians or Gentile believers. Either
way they were still facing some pretty harsh troubles. According to George
Guthrie, “…Nero’s rising threat to the church accounts for the feat of death and
the waning of commitment indicated in Hebrews.”
Not only were these believers facing all of these things from the Roman
government they also had to deal with consistently public harassment, imprisonment, and the confiscation
of property, but not to the point of being martyred.
The letter exhorts them to trust in the great High Priest whom they have in heaven
in the form of Jesus Christ.
The basic worldview of the letter to
the Hebrews is one the is Christocentric, meaning that the way they see the
world should ultimately be through Christ and what has been accomplished for
us. Just as the recipients of Hebrews were becoming anxious and growing weary
we have to remember that there is no trial we cannot face with Christ on our
side. Cockerill adds, “This High Priest is also the “Pioneer” (12:2) through
whom they can be certain of entering God’s future promised “rest,” the eternal “City”
that has always been the destiny of the people of God (11:8-10, 13-16;
12:22-24).”
We can apply this to our lives by understanding that we have someone who stands
before the Father to plead on our behalf; while knowing that Jesus was the ultimate
sacrifice and by being such should be honored by us as his people living
honorable and sacrificial lives.
The book of Hebrews has always been one that is
fascinated me, and like many of you we were led to believe that the Apostle
Paul was the author. However, with greater understanding and newer research we
know that it is not him. This still leaves the question of who is the author of
Hebrews. According to George H. Guthrie, “earlier suggestions include such
noteworthy people as Paul, Luke, Clement of Rome, and Barnabas. More recent
proposals set forth for Priscilla, Jude, Apollo’s, Philip, and capital Silvanus.” We
come to understand that Paul did not write this book on several different
levels. According to Cockerill, “these many ways, therefore, in which Hebrews
differs from the Pauline letters and style, vocabulary, in content all but rule
out Pauline authorship.”
There
is a great deal that can be learned from the writing found in the book of
Hebrews. Just like in our modern-day we can learn about the author of the
letter or some other material by the level of the vernacular use in said
material. As Guthrie has stated, “His use of the Greek language ranks at the
top of the New Testament authors; his rich vocabulary reveals the background of
one widely read… What is certain is that our writer brought numerous skills
gained through advanced education to his task.” On
top of observing that the author is a highly educated person, and is one that
is highly versed in the Old Testament and his interpretations while being an
extremely dynamic preacher.
It
is important to discuss the possible author of the book because it gives us a
greater insight into those he/she may have been writing to, and we could better
understand the theological background of the person writing. There are many
questions that could be answered if the human author of this work was known.
Ultimately we all should be able to agree God is the author. If I personally
were to make the pronouncement on who wrote the book I feel that it very easily
could have been Apollos. We know from Scripture that he was well educated, and
he was taught by others about the Gospel, unlike Paul who received it directly
from the Lord himself. Cockerill supports this suggestion when pointing out, “The
description of Apollos in Acts 18:24-19:1 is a descrition of the kind of person
who wrote Hebrews.”
George
H. Guthrie, The NIV Application
Commentary-Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998)23.
Gareth Lee Cockerill,. The Epistle to the Hebrews. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Edermans Publishing Co., 2012)7.
