T. W. Parker

One of the most important contributions of the Book of Hebrews is its balance of continuity and advancement in relating the (OT) and (NT) to each other. The same God who spoke in former times has revealed Himself fully and finally in His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). Hebrews argues for the superiority of Christ and His saving work and supports its argument from (OT) Scripture, viewed as God’s revelation by the Spirit (Heb. 3:7, 9:8, 10:15). The author often does this by quoting an (OT) passage and then explaining a few keywords to draw out their theological meaning in context (Heb. 2:8-9, 8:13, 10:8-10).

Also, a distinctive dimension of Hebrew’s balance of continuity and advancement in God’s redemptive plan is tracing the relationship of (OT) to (NT) using pattern and escalation. The (OT) presents God-intended patterns or types (Heb. 9:8-10) to foreshadow in incomplete ways (Heb. 10:1) specific (NT) parallels that are true in a heightened or ultimate sense (for example, “how much more” fulfillment). Moreover, Hebrews has typologies of covenant and sacrifice (Heb. 8:6, 9:1-14, 18-23), judgment and deliverance (Heb. 2:1-4:3:6-4:11, 10:28-29, 12:25), and sonship and priesthood (Heb. 1:5-13, 2:5-18, 5:1-10, 7:11-28). In addition, many of these (OT) types are only accurate metaphorically or in a manner of speaking, while the (NT) counterpart has come to be so in profound reality (Heb. 1:5, 8-9, 7:3, 9-10, 9:13-14).

However, this does not diminish the experience of the (OT) believers, who, by God’s grace, responded with faith and obedience to the provision God made for them, a provision whose core reality still lay ahead. As a result, the central theme of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ, as holy Son and the high priest, is God’s final revelation and provides complete cleansing from sin and open access to God, the reality that the (OT) anticipated but was never meant to accomplish.

Above all, this view of the exalted Christ is the focal point at which the major theological themes of Hebews converge: its teaching on who Christ is, all that He has accomplished for human salvation, and how God’s prior revelation to Israel and His restoration of all things will be fulfilled through Christ. Based on these themes, the central argument of Hebrews is that Christians today can and must hold firmly to faith in Christ’s high priestly work despite what is happening in the world and governments.