Presbyterian Women's Annual  Bible Study Helps
  • Home
  • 2013-2014
    • Introduction/Helpful Resources
    • Lesson 1 - God at Work
    • Lesson 2 - God's Call to Serve
    • Lesson 3 - Set Free by God
    • Lesson 4 - Passing Through the Waters
    • Lesson 5 - God Provides
    • Lesson 6 - Becoming a Holy People
    • Lesson 7 - Covenant Living
    • Lesson 8 - Temptations Along the Way
    • Lesson 9 - God's Abiding Presence
  • 2014-2015
    • Introduction/Helpful Resources
    • Lesson 1 - The Promise and Problem of Paul
    • Lesson 2 – Paul in the Context of Ancient Corinth
    • Lesson 3 – Covenants and God’s Enduring Faithfulness
    • Lesson 4 – Carrying in Our Bodies Jesus’ Acts of Healing, Love, Reconciliation and Love
    • Lesson 5 – Reconciliation and the Whole Community
    • Lesson 6 – The Aroma of God Around Us
    • Lesson 7 - Economy of Grace
    • Lesson 8 – Power, Authority, and Honor are Not Always What We Might Expect
    • Lesson 9 – A Call to Apostleship in the Twenty-First Century
  • 2015-2016
    • Introduction/Helpful Resources
    • Lesson 1 - Birthing Waters-Creation
    • Lesson 2 - Life Giving Waters - Baptism
    • Lesson 3 - Absence of Water - Thirst and Longing
    • Lesson 4 - Dangerous Waters - God's Deliverance
    • Lesson 5 - Stormy Water - Faith
    • Lesson 6 - Waters of Justice and Righteousness - Justice
    • Lesson 7 - Streams of Mercy - Forgiveness
    • Lesson 8 - The Hospitality of Living Water - Compassion
    • Lesson 9 - River of Life - Hope
  • 2016-2017
    • Lesson 1 - According to Mark
    • Lesson 2 - According to Matthew
    • Lesson 3 - According to Luke
    • Lesson 4 - According to John
    • Lesson 5 - According to Paul
    • Lesson 6 - According to Hebrews
    • Lesson 7 - According to Non-Canonical Gospels
    • Lesson 8 - According to Other Abrahamic Faiths
    • Lesson 9 - According to Contemporary Cultural Interpretations
  • 2017-2018
    • Lesson 1 – In Community with Jesus Christ
    • Lesson 2 - In Community with the Living God
    • Lesson 3 - In Community with the Living God
    • Lesson 4 - In Community with God’s Messengers
    • Lesson 5 - In Community with the Traditions of the Past
    • Lesson 6 – In community with the Reality of the Present
    • Lesson 7 – In Community with the Hope of the Future
    • Lesson 8 - In Community with the Household of God
  • 2018-2019
    • Lesson 1 – God is with Us Wherever We Are
    • Lesson 2 – God is with Us in Our Uncertainty
    • Lesson 3 – God is with Us in Our Discouragement
    • Lesson 4 – God is with Us When We Seek God
    • Lesson 5 – God is with Us When We’re Powerless
    • Lesson 6 – God is with Us Through Our Trials
    • Lesson 7 – God is with Us as Emmanuel
    • Lesson 8 – God is with Us as the Holy Spirit
    • Lesson 9 – God is with Us

Lesson One
​In Community with Jesus Christ

printable notes
What is Hebrews?
Though this is called The Epistle to the Hebrews (meaning a letter to the Hebrews), it is in actuality, a sermon.  It is structured so as to move between teaching and convicting. 
 
To Whom Was this Written? 
It was written to Jewish Christians who were struggling with their faith in Jesus Christ.
 
Why Were They Struggling?
The problem which Hebrews addresses is that many Jewish Christians were leaving the church and returning to Judaism.  They were returning for two reasons.  The first reason was because the Church had entered into a time of persecution (which means Hebrews was written sometime after 64 CE when Nero began the first Christian persecutions) while the synagogue and its Jewish adherents were still protected by Roman Law.  The second reason Jews were leaving was the theological issue which the persecutions raised.
​               The theological issue was, how could Christianity be the culmination of Judaism’s quest for the Kingdom of God, when rather than finding freedom, its adherents were finding persecution and death?  In the Old Testament, persecution came about because of unfaithfulness.  Faithfulness resulted in blessing.  The writer of Hebrews then had to explain, to his Jewish audience how the new Jesus way was superior to the old Jewish way, in such a way as to offer hope in the midst of increasingly difficult times.
 
The Place of Jesus in the Letter:
Hebrews 1:1-4: In this passage we learn several things about Jesus. 
First, he is the Son, heir and co-creator of the world.  This reflects the Johannine view of Jesus that everything that was made was made through Jesus, the Word (John 1:3) and that he is the Son (John 3:16) to whom God gives everything (John 14:8-11). This means that there is an intimate relationship between Jesus and God that no other human being can possess and that God had given the salvation and care of creation to Jesus. 
Second, we see that he is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.  This once again echoes the language of John 1 when we learn that the Word was God.  This also reflects Paul’s language in Philippians 2, where we read that Jesus did not count equality with God as something to be held to firmly.  
He is also the one who made purification for sins, which is a priestly reference.
 
Hebrews 4:15-5:6: This passage turns us to Jesus as priest…as the ultimate priest. 
All other priests were human and so on an annual basis had to be forgiven by God.  Jesus on the other hand does not need to be forgiven because he was sinless.  Even so, he had an intimate connection with humanity because he was tempted…even if he did not give in. 
Melchizedek, as the study book tells us, was a mysterious figure who is only mentioned here, in Genesis 14:18-20 and in Psalm 110:4.  Tradition tells us that because Melchizedek is not mentioned as having been born or having died, then he is the eternal priest.  He is a “type” after which Jesus is modeled.  
 
Questions
 
  1. What initially interested you about Hebrews, or caused you to want to study this book?
  2. Which of the names/image of Jesus is most meaningful/important to you? Why?
  3. Which of the names/images of Jesus is most confusing to you? Why?
  4. When did you first learn about Jesus and what was the image of Jesus that was offered to you?
  5. What role has Jesus played in your life?
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