The Theme of Hebrews | Clip from The Jaw-Dropping Beauty of Jesus
Hebrews is an amazing, Christocentric sermon preached during the first century. It was written to converted Jews who were being tempted to return to Judaism due to persecution. Chapter 1 of the book has several wonderful descriptions of Jesus well deserving of our attention and meditation.
Transcript
We're going to be looking at a number of times at the book of Hebrews. So we'll take three looks at Hebrews and This time we're going to be looking at what
Jordan has called the jaw -dropping Beauty of Jesus in Hebrews chapter 1
Which is certainly a chapter that we could spend many months on but we just want to whet your appetite
So Jordan, why don't you get us started by giving us kind of the backdrop of Hebrews? Yeah, so Hebrews is a you know, sometimes an intimidating book there's some challenging themes, but it's really
Got one main aim and before I even say the aim. Let me say I Personally take it as one sermon the end of the letter says
Hebrews 1325 I urge you to bear with this brief word
So he calls it brief after 13 chapters, but brief word singular of Exhortation sermon
So I take Hebrews to be representative of what a New Testament Church sermon would sound like well that alone should
Lead us to ask some really important questions. Well if a New Testament average sermon
Was it takes me about an hour to read Hebrews aloud? Was about an hour and had this much
Christocentric density Then, you know, I would like for a few hundred of my sermons to vanish forever
Never be remembered again. So first off it's one sermon But the theme is as you said
The beauty of Christ really his all superiority He's better than anything and everything.
Yeah, that's a simple Yeah, and really in Hebrews is so practical for the particularly for the modern evangelical church
Because it gives us some very concrete ways to take the superiority of Christ and to apply it
In all areas of the Christian life, you know, so if if you have the question on your heart Well as I'm getting to know
Christ better through the scriptures and and he's ever expanding before my heart Well, how do
I what do I do with that? And it's so practical. Yeah. Yeah, it is I mean just speaking of practical it's written to Converted Jews, so so completed you
Jews who found Christ to be the Messiah hence Hebrews and Once they came to Christ the
Messiah they started to Realize that there's some cost and so chapter 10 talks about some of the the physical challenges your properties plundered
Your friends are put in prison you go identify with them. So there's cost so Hebrews is written because I Think the letter is pretty clear
People were being tempted to trade on Jesus like embrace all his saving benefits eschew some of the
Fidelity and faithfulness so if I can get Jesus minus the persecution What compromises do
I need to make to retain Christ and not have so much cost involved? So this letter is
Let me show you the superiority of Christ over anything and everything In order to enhance
Your fidelity to him no matter what and you know, you're gonna meet the king of the ages one day really soon
So to trade on Christ is a really foolish compromise at the end of the day