From the beginning you can see something is missing in this 1st Century letter – did you notice it when you first started reading Hebrews? Let’s have a look at some other books so we can notice what is missing in this one. We’ll jump back to Colossians, how does Colossians begin? author, quick intro, who it is meant for, grace and peace.

In the New Testament book of Hebrews, we are introduced to a new character, Melchizedek. This individual has been aptly described by some as one of the most enigmatic individuals of scripture, and soon you will understand why.

From the beginning of the Book of Hebrews, you’ll get a sense that the author wants us, as the audience, to move on. Beginning in Hebrews 1:1 with ‘In the past God’, he then shows the other side seen throughout the book with the word ‘but’ or ‘today’, Check out Hebrews 1:2

The unusual and enigmatic nature of the Book of Hebrews has caused it to yield more questions than answers. The issue of authorship, the recipient context, even the compositional date, as well as the letter’s dominating themes all coalesce to form an epistolary kaleidoscope of Jewish themes, Old Testament allusions, and Levitical overtones that the modern reader must wade through.

Among all the warnings to stay soft and open to what God is doing (as we went through in our last Dive), there is a warning that I wanted to address specifically in this Dive: the warning against falling away and the need to go forward to maturity in your Christianity.

After spending the whole text showing how Jesus is better than anything that the Jewish Christians are currently pining for in their old lives, the author of Hebrews ends the letter with one final knock-out punch, the holy and untouchable Mount Sinai. For a Jewish Christian this text is a ‘renewing their mind’ moment.