The Book of Hebrews is the superiority of Jesus Christ contrasted with the Law demonstrated to strengthen the faith of the Christian Jews to endure persecution.

Outline :

1. The Superiority of the Person of Christ, 1:1-4:16
   1. Christ Is Superior to the Prophets, 1:1-3
      1. In His divine person, 1:5-14
      2. In His saving proclamation, 2:1-4
      3. In His delivering purpose, 2:5-18
   2. Christ Is Superior to Moses, 3:1-6
   3. Christ Is the Supreme Object of Faith, 3:7-4:16
      1. The catastrophe of unbelief, 3:7-19
      2. The consequences of unbelief, 4:1-10
      3. The cure for unbelief, 4:11-16
2. The Superiority of the Priesthood of Christ, 5:1-10:39
   1. Christ Is Superior in His Qualifications, 5:1-10
   2. Parenthetical Warning: Don’t Degenerate from Christ,  5:11-6:20
   3. Christ Is Superior in the Order of His Priesthood,  7:1-8:13
      1. The portrait of Melchizedek, 7:1-3
      2. The preeminence of the Melchizedek priesthood,  7:4-8:13
   4. Christ Is Superior in His Priestly Ministry,
      1. The earthly priesthood, 9:1-10
      2. Christ’s priesthood, 9:11-14
      3. Christ’s fulfillment of the promise, 9:15-10:18
   5. Parenthetical Warning: Don’t Despise Christ, 10:19-39
3. The Superiority of the Power of Christ, 11:1-13:19
   1. The Power of Faith in Christ, 11:1-40
      1. The description of faith, 11:1-2
      2. The examples of faith, 11:3-40
   2. The Power of Hope in Christ, 12:1-29
      1. The debatable things of life, 12:1-3
      2. The debatable things of life, 12:1-3
      3. The direction of life, 12:12-17
      4. The drive of life, 12:18-24
      5. The duty of life, 12:25-29
   3. The Power of the Love of Christ, 13:1-19
      1. In relation to social duties, 13:1-6
      2. In relation to spiritual duties, 13:7-19
4. Concluding Benedictions, 13:20-25

(source: C. Ryrie Study Notes) Schedule: Week 1

Who: Probably Apollos.  When one reads the Greek text of Hebrews it is closer to classical Greek than anything in the NT. Brooke Foss Westcott says of Hebrews: “The language of the Epistle is both in vocabulary and style purer and more vigorous than any other book of the NT….It includes a large number of words which are not found elsewhere [in the NT].” [The Epistle to the Hebrews: the Greek texts with notes and essays (London 1892), p.xliv] “The style is even more characteristic of a practiced scholar than the vocabulary.” [p.xlvi] In my opinion (and many scholars would say this) Hebrews is clearly not Paul’s writing, but scholars have questioned whether the writer was in the “Pauline” school of thought. While there are some “Pauline” motifs in Hebrews, there are also some interesting differences. Along with some other scholars, I think Apollos is a good guess for who wrote the letter, better described as a long exhortation (even a sermon).Source: http://www.churchhistory101.com/feedback/paul-apollos-hebrews.php

Acts 18:24-28 Describes Apollos:

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. (NASB)

We can see from this passage some of Apollos’ qualities we can emulate:

• A Jew – To him familial heritage, to us, a brother spiritual Jew
• Alexandrian – A spiritual Jew in a Gentile culture, also like us
• Eloquent – See Exodus 4:10-11 and Luke 21:12-16  if you don’t think you can be eloquent.
• Mighty in the Scriptures – Is there some reason we cannot be?
• Instructed in the Lord – Same as Mighty
• Fervent in Spirit – This is a man given to prayer and devotion, fully yielded.
• Speaking and teaching accurately – A gift of the Spirit
• The brethren encouraged him – He associated with other Christians, koinonia.
• Powerfully refuting the Jews in public – he was not cowered by politically correct speech.

See also Acts 4:18-19 on Peter & John’s response to the Sanhedrin. This is very important. The things concerning Jesus – Could you or I show Jesus as Messiah using only the Old Testament?

When: Had to have been prior to the destruction of the Temple by Titus in 70 AD. Hebrews 9:6-7 speaks of the daily sacrifices in the present tense, not past. Heb 13:10, 23 seems to link Timothy’s release to Paul’s time in Rome before his death argues for a date of around 64 to 68.

Where: A good guess is Palestine, but this is based on the assumption that the persecution mentioned in Heb 10:32-34.

Why: See Heb 10:32-39, They had need of endurance, losing faith that God would provide their needs, and therefore … Heb 5:11, they had become dull of hearing, having become “milk drinkers” instead of solid food. Chapter 1: Introduction – Application – Heb 1:1-14 Hebrews 1:1-4, use Luke 20:9-18 as an illustrate God the Father’s assignment of Jesus as His final, best spokesman. Heb 1:4 name: Jesus’ essential person, that is the second person of the Trinity as opposed to the lesser angelic Sons of God (Job 1:6)  or adopted human (Gal 3:26, 4:6)