HEB-02 Content and Structure

We often find ourselves in situations where we want to persuade people to agree with us. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective ways is to build as much as possible on beliefs that we already hold in common. Then, on the basis of that common ground, we can try to convince them of other matters. In many respects, this is what the author of the book of Hebrews did. He wrote to a church that was tempted to seek safety from persecution by returning to teachings held by their local Jewish community. So, to persuade them to remain faithful to Christ, he built a case as much as he could on the basis of beliefs that he and his audience held in common.

This is the second lesson in our series The Book of Hebrews and we’ve entitled it “Content and Structure.” In this lesson, we’ll see how the author of Hebrews followed this persuasive strategy as he exhorted his audience to renew their commitment to Christ.

Our lesson on the content and structure of Hebrews will be divided into two parts. First, we’ll see the recurring content that appears in every major division of the book. Second, we’ll explore Hebrews’ rhetorical structure, how the author wove these recurring elements into persuasive presentations. Let’s look first at the recurring content of Hebrews.

In our preceding lesson, we summarized the overarching purpose of the book of Hebrews in this way:

The author of Hebrews wrote to exhort his audience to reject local Jewish teachings and to remain faithful to Jesus.

At this point in our lesson, we want to see how the author accomplished his purpose by using similar elements over and over.

A closer look at the recurring content of Hebrews reveals that the author fulfilled his overarching purpose by repeating three main elements. First, he called attention to the fact that history had reached its last days in Jesus. Second, he presented Old Testament support for this belief. And third, he offered his audience a number of exhortations to persevere in their Christian faith. Let’s begin with the author’s belief that the last days had come in Jesus.