Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary

on the Whole Bible

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1721)

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Hebrews

Completed by WILLIAM TONG.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

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AN

EXPOSITION,

W I T H   P R A C T I C A L   O B S E R V A T I O N S,

OF THE EPISTLE TO

T H E   H E B R E W S.

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CONCERNING

this epistle we must enquire,

I. Into the divine authority of it; for this has been questioned by

some, whose distempered eyes could not bear the light of it, or whose

errors have been confuted by it; such as the Arians, who deny the

Godhead and self-existence of Christ; and the Socinians, who deny his

satisfaction; but, after all the attempts of such men to disparage this

epistle, the divine original of it shines forth with such strong and

unclouded rays that he who runs may read it is an eminent part of the

canon of scripture. The divinity of the matter, the sublimity of the

style, the excellency of the design, the harmony of this with other

parts of scripture, and its general reception in the church of God in

all ages–these are the evidences of its divine authority.

II. As to the divine amanuensis or penman of this epistle, we are not

so certain; it does not bear the name of any in the front of it, as the

rest of the epistles do, and there has been some dispute among the

learned to whom they should ascribe it. Some have assigned it to

Clemens of Rome; other to Luke; and many to Barnabas, thinking that the

style and manner of expression is very agreeable to the zealous,

authoritative, affectionate temper that Barnabas appears to be of, in

the account we have of him in the acts of the Apostles; and one ancient

father quotes an expression out of this epistle as the words of

Barnabas. But it is generally assigned to the apostle Paul; and some

later copies and translations have put Paul’s name in the title. In the

primitive times it was generally ascribed to him, and the style and

scope of it very well agree with his spirit, who was a person of a

clear head and a warm heart, whose main end and endeavour it was to

exalt Christ. Some think that the apostle Peter refers to this epistle,

and proves Paul to be the penman of it, by telling the Hebrews, to whom

he wrote, of Paul’s having written to them,

2 Pet. iii. 15.

We read of no other epistle that he ever wrote to them but this. And

though it has been objected that, since Paul put his name to all his

other epistles, he would not have omitted it here; yet others have well

answered that he, being the apostle of the Gentiles, who were odious to

the Jews, might think fit to conceal his name, lest their prejudices

against him might hinder them from reading and weighing it as they

ought to do.

III. As to the scope and design of this epistle, it is very evident

that it was clearly to inform the minds, and strongly to confirm the

judgment, of the Hebrews in the transcendent excellency of the gospel

above the law, and so to take them off from the ceremonies of the law,

to which they were so wedded, of which they were so fond, that they

even doted on them, and those of them who were Christians retained too

much of the old leaven, and needed to be purged from it. The design of

this epistle was to persuade and press the believing Hebrews to a

constant adherence to the Christian faith, and perseverance in it,

notwithstanding all the sufferings they might meet with in so doing. In

order to this, the apostle speaks much of the excellency of the author

of the gospel, the glorious Jesus, whose honour he advances, and whom

he justly prefers before all others, showing him to be all in all, and

this in lofty strains of holy rhetoric. It must be acknowledged that

there are many things in this epistle hard to be understood, but the

sweetness we shall find therein will make us abundant amends for all

the pains we take to understand it. And indeed, if we compare all the

epistles of the New Testament, we shall not find any of them more

replenished with divine, heavenly matter than this to the Hebrews.

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1721)

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