Relevance of Hebrews to the Modern Reader
I once asked my great aunt, the Jewish missionary, Hilda Koser, to list what she considered to be the indispensable books of the New Testament, without which inclusion our theology and understanding of our faith would be deficient. Within the New Testament, my assumption was that one synoptic gospel along with the gospel of John and a fistful of Pauline epistles would be more than sufficient for establishing orthodox faith and practice. In my estimation, of course, Hebrews would be included in the shortlist of least essential books. Having struggled with the author of Hebrews’ complexity of expression, I could confidently affirm the book’s less than scintillating nature.
Imagine my surprise when my aunt expressed her opinion that perhaps the one indispensable New Testament book was the epistle to the Hebrews! ...
