The Week Six books of Hebrews, James, and Mark each have a different audience. Hebrews was written to Christian Jews who were facing heavy persecution, to the point of considering a return to Judaism. James was also written to Christian Jews, but it was written to give advice and building tools to well established church groups. Mark, one of the Gospel books, was written to a Roman, non-Jewish audience.
Hebrews is a challenging book for today's Christians, who are not typically well educated in Jewish history and customs (Melchizedek, anyone? See Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 110:4). The situation was dire; faithful Jewish converts were being persecuted, and there was safety in returning to Judaism. Consider the parable of the seed strewn on various landscapes. The readers of Hebrews were being choked by the thorns, and they were on the brink of being overtaken. The writer's mission was to show them that not only was a return to Judaism a mistake, but that it was absolutely impossible knowing what they now knew. The author of Hebrews set out to show that everything - every law, every custom, every designation - God gave to Israel was merely a copy of what actually exists in Heaven with Jesus Christ. The old covenant was a preview of the new covenant, and knowing Jesus Christ to be the embodiment of the new covenant, they could not go back.
Having accepted Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, they could not go back to sacrificing animals. Knowing Jesus as the perfect priest, they could not go back to living under human priests. After living by faith in Jesus Christ, they could not go back to the law. While the references in Hebrews may be a call for today's Christians to further study the Old Testament, the exhortations are poignant to any generation. Knowing what you know now, having accepted Jesus as a perfect sacrifice for your sins, there is no going back. The only choice is to move forward and grow in faith, confident in God's promises.
James, one of Jesus's brothers, became a prominent leader of the Christian Jews. Rather than a letter, James set out to write his modern day book of proverbs. James could stand alone as a pocket guide on living a Christ-like life, especially since he spent much of the book repeating the wisdom in Christ's sermons. As a blueprint, every word of James has remained relevant through time, and it is an excellent reference for laying the groundwork of a Christian life.
We will finish the week with Mark, the third Gospel of our reading plan. In literary terms, if Luke was journalistic, and Matthew was a persuasive essay, then Mark was a drama. Written in Greek to a Roman audience, Mark moved at a fast pace, telling the story of Jesus in two halves. In the first half, tension built around the identity of Jesus and culminated in Peter realizing that He is the Messiah. The second half focused on the tension between Jesus and the Jewish leadership, climaxing in His death and resurrection. In Mark, Jesus was highlighted as God's Servant, compassionately healing, teaching, and feeding wherever He went. As He began to teach his disciples about His purpose on earth, He made it clear that those who follow Him must be willing to serve and suffer as He did. What does that look like today in middle class America? In Asia? In Europe? How do you think the concepts of service and suffering for Christ are poised to change in the near future?
Continue to think about our five book club questions:
1. What's something you noticed for the first time?
2. What questions did you have?
3. Was there anything that bothered you?
4. What did you learn about loving God?
5. What did you learn about loving others?
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