The Message of Hebrews

Christ above All

Raymond Brown

formerly Principal of Spurgeon’s College, London

Series editors: J. A. Motyer (OT)

John Stott (NT)

Derek Tidball (Bible Themes)

InterVarsity Press

InterVarsity Press, USA

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515, USA

World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com

E-mail: mail@ivpress.com

Inter-Varsity Press, England

38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, England

© Raymond Brown 1982. Originally published under the title Christ Above All.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press®/USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a student movement active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, is the book-publishing division of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (formerly the Inter-Varsity Fellowship), a student movement linking Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and national activities in Great Britain write to UCCF, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission.

USA ISBN: 0-87784-289-2

UK ISBN: 0-85110-738-9

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Brown, Raymond, 1928

The message of Hebrews.

(The Bible speaks today series)

Originally published under the title: Christ above all.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Bible. N.T. Hebrews—Commentaries. I. Brown, Raymond, 1928–. Christ above all. II. Title III. Series.

BS2775.3.B673 1998 227´.87077 87-36653

ISBN 0-87784-289-2

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record is available from the British Library.

General preface

The Bible Speaks Today describes three series of expositions, based on the books of the Old and New Testaments, and on Bible themes that run through the whole of Scripture. Each series is characterized by a threefold ideal:

• to expound the biblical text with accuracy

• to relate it to contemporary life, and

• to be readable.

These books are, therefore, not ‘commentaries’, for the commentary seeks rather to elucidate the text than to apply it, and tends to be a work rather ...