Hebrews 1:1-14
Any commentaries or introductory comments on Hebrews that you read will point to the unknown identity of the author of the book of Hebrews. See my first comments from last year further below. But back on October 17 when we were reading Acts 25 (Paul appearing before Festus during his imprisonment in Caesarea) I wrote the following comments:
“I’m amazed at the Jewish leaders’ persistence in bringing their case against Paul: When he [Paul] had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. (v 7) Paul has been in “prison” (possibly “house arrest”) in Caesarea for approximately two years. That is, he has been away from the mission field for all that time. Still, the Jewish leaders bring charges against him. So, why this intense focus on the part of the Jews? I’m guessing that his mere presence in the area generated that much activity, that much enthusiasm among the Christians in Jerusalem and nearby cities that he was still regarded by the Jewish leaders as their number-one enemy! And what if – I’m going out on a limb here – what if Paul wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews while he was in prison in Caesarea? What if…? That letter, widely circulated in and around Jerusalem would have set the Jewish leaders aflame!! The arguments in that letter are so strong that many average Jewish followers could have been led to follow Jesus. Wait until we get to Hebrews and let’s chat about this possibility! What a powerful legacy Paul left!”
I’ve been thinking regularly for this past month about that possibility of Paul’s authorship of Hebrews. It is especially enticing to imagine Paul writing this letter during the early years of his Caesarea prison time, then having that letter circulated to believing and unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem, with many of those unbelieving Jews coming to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. I need to chat with some Asbury professors about that possibility.
See also: November 7 / Hebrews 1:1-7; November 8 / Hebrews 1:8-14
We need to remember that since Hebrews does not name the author, then it must not be important for us to know. Hence, we need to be careful about speculating on the authorship, and we especially need to be sure not to form any definitive interpretations of doctrine based on such speculation.