We do not know who wrote this letter but the content shows that he loved Jesus so much. He described Jesus as being superior to everybody else, and His work as superior to every other way to Father God's heart. Jesus is the subject, content and object of this letter. It was designed to have special meaning to Jewish believers who may have been tempted, through persecution or false teaching, to stop trusting in Jesus. But it will refresh all of us.

The Old Testament, which was the Jewish Bible at the time, clearly showed how God had spoken in many different ways to the world. Over more than two thousand years, He appointed prophets who said what is true – representing God to the people He had made, despite the sin of the world and the unwillingness of many to obey. God spoke through the educated like Moses, children like Samuel, the isolated like Elijah, the depressed like Jeremiah and a shepherd-come-king like David. However, most were ill-treated and many killed. Jesus said that despite the appalling catalogue of martyrs, the religious establishment which once hounded them, later honoured them … when they could no longer upset their power-systems (Luke 11:47-51).

But finally, as Jesus explained in the parable of the tenant farmers (Mark 12:1-12), God sent His only Son. Jesus is the same person who, before His incarnation, was the chief-executive of creation (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17). The Son of God is God (John 20:28). He is a co-partner with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit in what we describe as the Trinity or Godhead; working together to win the love of those they have always loved from before creation (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus is God's personal Word to the world. He is the person who made the beginning, will be the judge at the end, and, in the meantime, He never changes in character and so is utterly reliable (Hebrews 13:8). Those who put their trust in Him will never be ashamed or disappointed (1 Peter 2:6).

What a relief to find such a person as Jesus. Good, loving, sacrificing, wise, protecting, sustaining, saving, keeping and very patient. This letter will open our minds and hearts to the amazing provision God has made in His salvation plan; not just to exercise righteous judgement on the wicked, but to welcome sinful and scarred people into His presence as children of God when they put their trust in Jesus. What a wonderful person Jesus must be! And He is! Soak your soul in this letter and you will freshly understand how loved you are and how much Jesus has done for you (Romans 5:1-8).