({vi 29965-29996}Hebrews 1:1-2:18). The writer’s name not being mentioned, we may conclude it is not of importance for us to know who wrote the Epistle. The reference by the apostle Peter to an epistle written by Paul to the Jews, which he classes among “other Scriptures,” would seem to indicate that the apostle Paul is the writer ({vi 30538-30539}2 Peter 3:15-16).
The special character of the Epistle may well account for the omission of the writer’s name for, amongst other purposes, the Epistle was written to show that God is no longer speaking through men but, in wonderful grace, has put Himself into direct contact with men in the Person of the Son. Moreover, in the Epistle, Christ Himself is presented as the Apostle by whom God has spoken to man, and therefore eclipsing all others who may, in a subordinate sense, be apostles.
The great end of the Epistle is to establish believers in the heavenly character of Christianity and deliver them from an earthly religion of external forms. Everything in Christianity—the glory it brings to God and the blessing it secures for believers—depends upon the person and work of Christ. Very fittingly, then, the Epistle opens by presenting the glories of His person. The divine glory of Christ as the Son is unfolded in chapter 1; the authority of His word in chapter 2:1-4; and the glory of His humanity in chapter 2:5-18.