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Mystery:Did Jesus Write the Epistle to the Hebrews? (view source)
Revision as of 20:57, April 4, 2020
, 20:57, April 4, 2020Added Counter Evidence
*the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] contains more warnings against [[apostasy]] than any other book in the [[Bible]], as one might expect [[Jesus]] to emphasize. See Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 12:15-29.
*the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] contains more warnings against [[apostasy]] than any other book in the [[Bible]], as one might expect [[Jesus]] to emphasize. See Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 12:15-29.
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== Counter Arguments that Christ Didn't Author Hebrews ==
Although, technically, He is the co-author of ALL of Scripture, but that is a different matter. Overall, the arguments in this post are flawed and thin at best.
*Hebrews 10:7 quotes Jesus in the first person: "Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
This is misleading, as it is merely a quote of Christ speaking in the OT. It doesn't mean that He wrote Hebrews.
*Hebrews 4:15 makes observations about Jesus that only Jesus himself could make, and does so in the present perfect progressive tense to convey his ongoing presence at the time, such as "in every respect [Jesus] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
Notice that the author says, "as WE are," distinguishing himself from Christ.
*By describing Hebrew culture in perfect Greek, this has Jesus' trademark intellectual style of overcoming ostensibly insurmountable barriers, analogous to His walking on water and turning water into wine.
This is a paper-thin argument. Paul was capable of doing the same thing, especially inspired by the Holy Spirit.
*The tone of authority in Hebrews is no greater than any of the other epistles. For example:
Romans 14:12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
*//This Epistle was written before any physical persecution of the disciples: "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (12:44)//
This just means that the AUDIENCE had not yet been persecuted in that manner, not ALL Christians. The author makes this SAME point contradicting himself later when he argues that the speaker is distinguishing himself from the audience with respect to shedding blood (see rebuttal later).
It is more likely that Hebrews was written in the early sixties, just before the tribulation began.
Hebrews is FILLED with timing statements that allude to the very nearness of the coming judgment upon the Jews and Jerusalem and the end of the age, which began in AD 66/67.
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who are ABOUT to inherit salvation?
Hebrews 2:5 He did not subject to angels the age ABOUT to come.
Hebrews 6:5 ...and have tasted ...the powers of the age ABOUT to come.
Hebrews 8:13 In the calling [it] new He has declared the what is now former,' is becoming obsolete, even growing old near disappearing.
Hebrews 9:8-10 The Holy Spirit was making clear, that the way of the [heavenly] Holy Places was not yet revealed, while the first tent was standing, which [is] a symbol for the present time, in which both the gifts and sacrifices are offered [are] not able to perfect the conscience of the worshiper… flesh until a time of correction (compare Gal. 4:19; Eph. 2:21-22; 3:17; 4:13).
Hebrews 9:11 But Christ has come as a high priest of the good things ABOUT to come...
Hebrews 9:26 …NOW but once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin, by the sacrifice of Himself, He has appeared.
Hebrews 10:1 …the Law, a shadow of the good things ABOUT to come...
Hebrews 10:25 ...encouraging [each other], even much more as you see the Day DRAWING NEAR.
Hebrews 10:27-28 ...a certain expectation of judgment and a fury of a fire which is ABOUT to consume the adversaries, anyone who rejected the Law of Moses…
Hebrews 10:36-37 In order that… you may receive the thing promised, for yet in a VERY, VERY LITTLE WHILE, the one who is coming will come, and not delay.
Hebrews 13:12-14 Because here we do not have a permanent city but we are seeking the one coming (see Rev. 18:4)
*MOST of the Epistles quote or refer to what Jesus said in the Gospels. That doesn't mean He authored them.
*The scholarship and grammar of the Epistle does not prove that the author is Christ.
*//Why isn't this message to Hebrews in the Hebrew language? It shows that God does have a sense of humor...//
This is speculative at best. We don't know that it wasn't FIRST written in Hebrew. There is a great deal of historical evidence that the Gospels, other than Luke, were first written in Hebrew or Aramaic. However, many of the Jews in the first century were of "the dispersal" and did not even speak Hebrew as their primary language, but the common language of the day--koine Greek.
*//The substance of this work is a firsthand account of Jesus becoming man, subsequently crying out to God to save Jesus from real death, which God then did by intervening; only Jesus could have described this;[6] the work quotes Jesus' thought process, which only Jesus would know.//
Again, the Gospel authors did the exact same thing. For example, they wrote what Christ was THINKING, when it says that He KNEW what was in man's hearts, or He KNEW their thoughts.
*//The Epistle was directed at the Hebrew population, which was Jesus's first priority in His ministry.//
As was Peter's primary mission. Furthermore, Paul always went to the Jews FIRST, in every city he came to. He expressed his burden for his fellow Jews in Romans (Romans 9:3; 10:1). In addition, Peter wrote to the Jews twice (1Pet. 1:1; 2Pet. 3:1) and said that Paul had written to them before (2Pet. 3:15).
*//It is fitting that Jesus would make one last attempt -- post-Resurrection -- to persuade the Hebrew people for whom His ministry was originally intended.//
//Jesus spent 40 days on Earth between the Resurrection and the Ascension, and it is implausible that He did not continue His ministry in an effective way. Writing (or distributing) an Epistle is most plausible activity, given what had transpired.//
True, but this is again, speculative. Furthermore, why is it that the early church fathers were virtually unanimous that this letter was written by Paul, and NONE of them said or suggested that it was Christ.
*//The Epistle to the Hebrews is unique in its attempt to explain the concept of faith -- something that Jesus emphasized in His ministry, and perhaps only He could explain as this Epistle does.//
Again, as does Paul in Romans.
*//Many have attributed the Epistle of James to a brother of Jesus, and if His brother wrote a letter, then why wouldn't Jesus?//
Yet ANOTHER paper thin argument.
*//Hebrews 5:5 quotes something that God said directly to Jesus, which no one else would know.//
First, MANY of the Scriptural authors quote things that they couldn't have known. They were revealed to them by the Spirit.
Second, this is a direct quote of Psalm 2:7.
*//The sermon/writing was likely intended for an audience in Jerusalem, which is where Jesus was most focused.//
The recipients of the letter were predominantly Jewish, with few gentiles in their group, which fits with the church of ROME. The majority of the Jewish recipients were facing persecution, or pressure from unconverted Jews to remain Jewish, and many were turning away from Christ. Paul dealt with this in Romans and Galatians.
Hebrews appears to have been written in Italy, likely Rome, where Paul was imprisoned for a time; or rather the author was with Italians and writing it to Jews who were in Rome (13:24). Clement was in Rome and he quoted Hebrews very early, so the latter as the more accurate conclusion.
There is also a possible reference to a previous, brief letter from the author to the recipients (13:22), unless that is a reference to the present letter. If this is the case, then it fits with Paul’s previous letter to the Romans. However, if this was the letter in which Peter was referencing to his recipients (2Pet. 3:15), then this letter was not to the Romans, as Peter’s letters were to the dispersed Jews. If Paul wrote this from Rome, after release from his first imprisonment, then this is also fitting.
*//Unlike most other writings in the New Testament after the Gospels, there is no reference to post-Ascension events.//
There are hardly ANY references to post-ascension events in ANY of the Epistles.
*//Ancient manuscripts refer in Hebrews 13:21 to God working among "you", not "us", which is what Jesus (rather than a disciple) would say.//
OR someone was not AMONG the recipients would say. The NT epistles are full of second person references like this...
*//"Amen" was typically added later at the end of New Testament letters (and the Book of Revelation), which means that the ending following Hebrews 13:21 is almost certainly not part of the original. Someone probably thought this letter was by Paul (since disproven) and copied the endings from his letters (see, e.g., Titus).//
Several of Paul's letters have the amen well BEFORE the end (Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 4:20; 1Timothy 6:16; 2Timothy 4:18), and Peter's first epistle did too (1Peter 5:11).
And some of the letters don't even CONTAIN an "amen" (2Corinthians; Colossians; 1Thessalonians; 2Thessalonians; Titus; Philemon; and James).
*//The father-son analogy to explain the nature of God (Hebrews 7:4) was a personal favorite of Jesus in explaining life.//
This verse speaks nothing of a father-son analogy. The ONLY father-son analogy is in Hebrew 12:5-8, about the father disciplining a son. This was a reference to Proverbs 3:11-12. Christ NEVER used this analogy.
Hebrews 7:3 speaks of Melchizedek being without a father and mother listed in Scripture as a type of Christ, but Jesus never spoke of this.
*//In Hebrews 12:4, the distinction between the speaker and the audience with respect to shedding blood in resistance to sin would have likely been only by Jesus: "You have not yet shed blood in resistance and striving against sin."//
Earlier, this verse was used to say that NO ONE had been persecuted yet. So which is it.
And again, this could have been nearly ANY of the Apostles. Paul especially had been through NUMEROUS physical trials where his blood was shed (2Corinthians 11:23-25).
*//Any writing by Jesus would intentionally be anonymous, so that it does not eclipse the other valuable writings by disciples.//
Another speculation. And, as said previously, ALL Scripture is co-authored by Christ.
*//The Epistle to the Hebrews contains more warnings against apostasy than any other book in the Bible, as one might expect Jesus to emphasize. See Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 12:15-29.//
This is one final speculation. The warning about Jews returning to their tradition is fitting for the audience, regardless of the author.
*The only interesting coincidental argument is that Hebrews is the same length as the walk to Emmaus. However, this doesn't prove that Christ was the author. It could just as easily have been one of those whom HEARD Christ on that walk, or even someone whom they shared it with. Given the brilliance of the entire discussion, is it any wonder that the two who heard Christ that day shared this with numerous people?
== Objections -- and Rebuttals to the Objections ==
== Objections -- and Rebuttals to the Objections ==