Daniel Goepfrich

By: Daniel Goepfrich The Faith of the Patriarchs Hebrews 11 expounds on the nature of persevering faith, providing examples of many great heroes from Israel’s history. The readers would have been well-versed in all the stories recounted (which is why the writer could simply give names or broad details toward the end of the chapter, knowing the readers would understand), and the faith of the fathers would have bolstered their own. The writer chose the only three faithful patriarchs from before the flood [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich Jesus, the Final Sacrifice Hebrews 9 continues the exposition of the Jeremiah text by describing the ancient Tabernacle that Moses had built in the desert. It is noteworthy that the writer continued to refer to the ancient Tabernacle, not the Temple in Jerusalem (either Solomon’s or Zerubbabel’s/Herod’s). This may be another indication that the original readers were not as familiar with the Temple because they lived outside the land of Israel. Although he knew the details were not that important, [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich A New Priesthood and a New Law Hebrews 7 returns to the theme of “Jesus the High Priest,” picking up the teaching on Melchizedek left off in Hebrews 5:10, with a specific focus on the nature of his priesthood (as opposed to the Aaronic priesthood) and how Jesus fulfills it. Proving yet again that Jesus is better than an Old Testament hero, the writer showed that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because he received a tithe from Abraham and blessed [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich A Warning for Those Who Fall Away Hebrews 6 continues the theme of maturity from the end of chapter five and provides the third warning. Hebrews 6:1-8 is one of the most debated sections in the book because of the strong warning of judgment. However, all of chapter six is part of a parenthetical section in the middle of the Hebrews 5:10 and Hebrews 7:1 teaching on Melchizedek. Simply put, a believer (which the writer assumes all the readers [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich Israel's Eternal Rest Hebrews 4 continues the second warning by expanding on the concept of promised rest from chapter three. Under Moses and Joshua, the Israelites thought that reaching the Promised Land was the extent of their rest. However, the promise was not limited to the rest from slavery that “Joshua had given them” because “the promise of entering his rest remains open,” both in the writer’s time and until today (Hebrews 4:1-9). Coming back to Psalm 95, the [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich Jesus Greater than Moses Hebrews 3 continues the writer’s subject of Jesus the Man and introduces his next major comparison. Not only is Jesus better than the angels, but he is also superior to Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6). For the Jewish readers, this was a significant claim, because no one in Jewish history is greater than Moses.[1] He was the great law-giver, the one who faithfully led the Israelites from Egypt, oversaw the building of the Tabernacle, and mediated the Law between [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich The First Warning Hebrews 2 continues the writer’s comparison between Jesus and the angels and introduces the first of five warning passages in the letter. The writer’s concern was that the readers’ situation would cause them to “drift” from “what we have heard”(Hebrews 2:1-2), referring to the revelation that came through Jesus. Drifting could result in “neglect,”which would bring some sort ofpunishment. In fact, the writer pondered, if the old message delivered by angels[1] resulted in punishment for those who [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich Jesus - The Final Revelation Hebrews 1 introduces Jesus as the final and ultimate revelation from God. Most importantly, it presents Jesus as the Son. Although God had previously spoken through prophets, “IN THESE LAST DAYS HE HAS SPOKEN TO US IN A SON” (Hebrews 1:1-2). So Jesus, the eternal Son, is better than all the Old Testament prophets, dreams, visions, etc. and provides a better revelation of God than they did. This was John’s point three decades later [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich Author and Audience Hebrews is the only letter in the New Testament with an unknown writer. However, this does not mean he was an “anonymous” writer because the readers knew exactly who he was (Hebrews 13:18-19, 22-24). Although Paul has been a perennial favorite, several factors seem to rule him out. First, the lack of a clear greeting was certainly not his style. Second, Hebrews 2:3-4 implies that the writer was a second-hand witness to Christ and did not [...]

By: Daniel Goepfrich The Personal Letter The short letter to Philemon is the most personal of all of Paul’s preserved writings. In his three decades of ministry, Paul certainly wrote many other short notes and personal letters, but God chose to preserve only this one for our benefit. Although nowhere does this letter give the location of Philemon, Colossians 4:7-18 provides a list of names almost identical to those in Philemon, including Philemon’s slave, Onesimus. It seems that Paul sent Tychicus and [...]