24th Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 9:24-28

Preaching Commentary

Jesus, Not Nero, is Supreme

To understand any written document one must understand the purpose for which it was written.  Sometimes this is stated overtly, as in the Preamble to The Constitution; sometimes it is obvious from the title, as in John Wooden’s Call Me Coach; usually it is found in the body of the text itself. Hebrews 1:1-4 clearly states the author’s purpose for this letter which is the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all matters. This letter is about him and him alone. He is the final word. It is written primarily to Jewish believers who are undergoing persecution, possibly in Nero’s Rome, and are tempted to retreat to their old, established religion, Second Temple Judaism (Not…