This commentary was originally slated to be a part of Baker’s Teach the Text series, but that series was cancelled. Laansma states, “The intended reader of this commentary is a motivated, curious, experienced reader of the Scriptures . . . who wants a specialist to get straight to the bottom line with each passage” (xiii). References to primary and secondary sources are kept to a minimum. The commentary is geared towards busy pastors and teachers.
In the introduction, Laansma notes that the genre of Hebrews is best described as a sermon with an epistolary ending. He believes that chapter 13 is a genuine part of the book. The author is a rhetorically skilled communicator, but he does not follow a set rhetorical structure but shapes his argument in order to address pastoral concerns. Laansma briefly outlines the argument of Hebrews and presents an outline. The outline follows the fairly standard paragraph divisions. Laansma divides the commentary into 37 units for the purposes of exposition.
The author of Hebrews cannot be determined. He is likely a highly educated male. There are some good reasons to suspect that the audience was in Rome, but nothing definitive can be asserted. Laansma surmises that the audience was ethnically mixed. He seems inclined towards a date in the 60s, but again nothing definitive can be determined. The church addressed has been in existence for some time. It started out as a robust Christian community but persecution had begun to wear on them and some were beginning to flag in their faith. The author calls them to persevere in their faith.
Laansma next considers the reception and canonicity of Hebrews. Hebrews was more quickly accepted in the East than in the West. It did not receive broad acceptance until well into the fifth century. Laansma opines that “Hebrews declared its own authority and its place in the Christian canon, possessing the (finally) irrepressible voice of apostolicity” (p. 12). Ultimately, Hebrews has passed the test of time and must be read as “inspired, canonical divine speech” (p. 12).
Laansma gives an overview of the preacher’s strategy. It involves including the readers in the salvation story of Israel which finds its culmination in the Son. He then considers the author’s thought world. While Hebrews seems to share similarities with Philonism, these similarities are more confined to “parallels of expressions that substantially differ in meaning” (p. 17).
Laansma then examines the Christology of Hebrews. He focuses in particular on the names and titles (Son, Jesus, Christ, Lord, priest, mediator) and what they reveal about him, though he cautions that we should not understand these titles apart from whole portrait of Christ portrayed in the book. Hebrews also affirms both the full deity and humanity of Christ. Hebrews appropriates the Old Testament witness. It foreshadows the person of Christ, but not in a complete way. Laansma then makes some comments about the heavenly tabernacle in Hebrews. It is not entirely clear whether we should take Hebrews’ imagery literally or figuratively; these may be modern categories imposed upon an ancient text. Nor is Hebrews’ heavenly tabernacle imagery entirely consistent. What the imagery does accomplish is point to the person of Christ.
Laansma then discusses the vast soteriological terminology of Hebrews (i.e., purification, sanctification, atonement, perfection, forgiveness, redemption). He then analyzes Hebrews’ soteriology through the lens of John Barclay’s paradigm of “the gift”. Laansma also notes that “covenant” is one of the driving themes in the discourse of Hebrews.
Laansma also spends some time situating Hebrews within the larger witness of the apostolic writings. The Jewish people are “near” to God by virtue of God’s grace, while the Gentiles are “far” away and must be grafted into God’s elect people. Yet in another respect the Jew is just as far from God as the Gentile; both need forgiveness and cleansing. The history of Israel is also humanity’s history for it is through the Jewish people that God would enact his saving plan for humanity. Furthermore, the history of humanity is divided between the time before Christ and the time after; between Moses’ covenant and the new covenant of Christ.
Laansma then notes that the goal of salvation, according to Hebrews, is a place: the Most Holy Place in which resides God’s throne; it is God’s resting place; it is the heavenly Jerusalem. It is the place of the holy God to whom access is obtained only through the bodily sacrifice of his Son. Hebrews summons its readers to obedience by drawing near to this God through Christ.
In the commentary proper, each unit is divided into five parts: (1) context: situates the passage within the literary context of Hebrews. Some of the chapters contains outlines which help give a sense of the flow of thought in Hebrews; (2) background: deals with background material that will aid in the interpretation of the passage; (3) comments on wording: this section is essentially a verse-by-verse commentary on the phrases and clauses contained within each passage. However, it is not an exhaustive, detailed commentary. The commentary is more in the way of notes or brief comments; (4) comments on theological terms; and (5) teaching Hebrews: this section highlights certain themes that will aid in teaching the book. For example, for 1:1–4 the themes highlighted are: scripture, revelation, and canon; Christology; salvation; and preaching. Occasional side-bars are found sprinkled throughout the text. The commentary contains one excursus on “the Sabbath celebration in God’s resting place.” End matter includes a moderate-sized bibliography and a subject index.
As can be seen in the previous paragraph, this commentary is somewhat distinctive from other commentaries. First, let us be clear about what this commentary is not. It is not a highly technical commentary. It does not deal with text-critical issues; it does not delve into the grammatical or syntactical issues of the Greek text; it references comparative literature sparingly; and it does not often weigh interpretive option regarding contested passages. Rather, this commentary is pitched at a more popular level (which is not to imply that it is unscholarly). Its writing style is more accessible and occasionally the author uses homely illustrations and metaphors to get his point across. I would say that this commentary is directed more towards busy pastors and teachers who need to get at the heart of the message of Hebrews, without plodding through the lengthier, more technical treatments of some Hebrews commentaries. I will confess that I prefer commentaries that having a running exposition of the text, but some readers may prefer the more segmented approach of this commentary.
As I noted above, this is not a highly technical commentary. Readers looking for intricate discussions on the Greek text or the weighing of interpretive options will need to go elsewhere. Only on a few occasions does Laansma acknowledge the difficulty of certain passages, but often he gives no hint that some passages have been highly contested among scholars. Clearly Laansma has other purposes in mind for this commentary. I think he has tried to offer a more accessible commentary by gliding over some of the more contested passages. This commentary is quite distinctive, not only in its format, as I have noted above, but also in much of its discussions. His discussions are not the usual fare that one finds in many of the more technical commentaries. I think readers will find that the unique manner in which he discusses the text will help them discover some fresh angles from which to view Hebrews.
For a fuller review, see my blog post: http://polumeros.blogspot.com/2017/10/review-of-laansma-letter-to-hebrews_13.html
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