Description:
What constitutes a faithful life?
At its most basic level, the New Testament book of Hebrews considers this essential question and pleads with its audience to find in faithful living the rest that Christ offers. Hebrews begins with a poetic reflection on the one who lived the most faithful of lives--Jesus--and concludes with exhortations to go and do likewise. In the 37th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, scholars Debra J. Bucher and Estella Boggs Horning examine at great length one important aspect of Hebrews: Jesus as the new covenant and the once-for-all, better sacrifice who replaces the daily and yearly temple offerings in Jerusalem. The authors also consider how this idea has been used to minimize other religious traditions and even to legitimize the horrors of the mid-20th century. They carefully unpack the language around sacrifice and covenant based on the saving work of Jesus, drawing out encouragement found in Hebrews to live as individuals and as a community led by Jesus, the pioneer and high priest. Bucher and Horning don't shy away from the difficult language in Hebrews. Instead, they draw out its historical context and help readers understand how to use the text with love within our own.About the Believers Church Bible Commentary series
This readable commentary series is for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today--Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. --From the Series Foreword
Brief description: Debra J. Bucher is head of collections and discovery at Vassar College Libraries. She has also taught first-year writing seminars on the history of the Bible as book, and most recently a course on race and racism in the historical collections at Vassar. She grew up in the Church of the Brethren and received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009. She also enjoys gardening, baking, singing, and taking long walks in the Hudson Valley with her husband Mark Colvson.
Review Quotes: "All preachers, pastors, and other followers of Jesus who seek to understand the mysterious Letter to the Hebrews will find a source of God's loving and life-giving Word for today in this wise and insightful commentary. With reverent attention to the Jewish roots of Christian faith (and keen awareness of the damaging effects of Christian supersessionism), Debra J. Bucher and Estella Boggs Horning stay close to human experiences and struggles as they help us search for what it means to live faithfully and simply in today's multilayered and complex world."
--Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Brightbill Professor of Preaching and Worship at Bethany Theological Seminary and senior editor of the journal Homiletic