The Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews

The Letter to the Hebrews is of particular significance for the most important explanation of the sacrificial death of Christ contained in the New Testament. In this study, Barnabas Lindars explains the circumstances in which Hebrews was written, and expounds the writer’s argument at length. At each stage in his survey the teaching of Hebrews is related to the major topics of New Testament theology, so that the distinctive character of the Letter’s contribution can be assessed in depth. At the same time this topical arrangement serves the purpose of a systematic theology, so that the reader can discover what Hebrews has to say on such subjects as christology, the atoning death of Jesus, the new covenant, the Holy Spirit, and the use of the Old Testament. Special attention is paid to the rhetorical power of the Epistle, which is seen to mark it out as a work of great persuasive power, written in response to an urgent practical situation. A summary chapter indicates the place of Hebrews in the context of the development of early Christianity, while a final section assesses the influence Hebrews has had on subsequent Christian theology, and the way it has been used as a resource for liturgy and worship from ancient times to the present.