Professor Kwon Yeon-kyung's commentary on the text of Hebrews, conveying a message relevant to today's Christians.
In the first century, under the Roman Empire, the readers of the letter to the Hebrews were weary of their faith due to social hardship and persecution, and were in danger of abandoning their faith.
To maintain their faith, they needed a new vision to interpret this painful situation.
The author of Hebrews encourages his readers to follow him and run the race by reminding them of the ministry of Jesus Christ, the forerunner who ran ahead toward salvation.
Of course, this vision of Hebrews is also a valid response for believers today who ask desperate questions in the midst of their burdensome lives.
The Epistle to the Hebrews, once difficult to approach due to its unknown sender and recipient and complex theological arguments, is now transformed into a message conveying the true power of the gospel that leads to salvation through Professor Kwon Yeon-kyung's outstanding research and new, accurate translation.

In the first century, in a city under the Roman Empire, the community that received and read the book of Hebrews was also in the midst of its own powerful 'shaking'.
Life was hard, and I was always tempted to give up.
To continue the life of a believer, there had to be a reason for it.
We needed a vision that would transform the meaningless 'suffering' of faith into a productive 'experience.'
The book of Hebrews is a contemporary response to this urgent need.
It may not be the only answer, but it is an answer important enough to be part of the New Testament, which we confess today as the Word of God.
--- From the "Introductory Note"

If so, we do not necessarily need to limit the readers of Hebrews to Jewish Christians.
Anyone, whether Jew or Gentile, who is tired of the hardships of living a life of faith and who is thus in danger of becoming lazy in one way or another is a reader of the book of Hebrews.
Although our circumstances are different from those of the original readers, we too are exposed to temptations and are anxious about trials.
Therefore, the eloquent arguments about the excellence of Christ and the greater salvation he has accomplished, the stern warnings against religious sluggishness and inevitable judgment, and the moving appeals to look to Christ, our Forerunner who deeply sympathizes with our weakness and leads us, are in themselves teachings for us today.
--- From "Introduction: Hebrews: Too Far to Be Close"

There is an important truth here.
The truth is that only people can save people. Salvation is the process of regaining our existence.
It is for us to wear the crown of glory and honor, for us to become that honorable being.
So the story of salvation begins in the midst of my existence.
Because I myself am participating in the work of salvation.
Of course, this isn't something that happens on my own.
So a savior must come from outside of me.
But at the same time, this is the drama of my life.
It only makes sense to me if it's a story about someone just like me.
It's not Superman with his superhuman abilities, but Mr. Clark (Superman's name when he's a normal human) with horn-rimmed glasses that resonates with my life.
So the Son of God became a human being just like me.
By personally experiencing the 'pain of death' that everyone must experience, he became the 'perfect' condition to become the forerunner of my salvation.
--- 「Chapter 2, 2.
From “The Son of God Who Was Made Lower Than the Angels”

As seen in the tragic fate of Israel in the wilderness, God's fairness does not change.
So the covenant is always heavy.
It is the weight of the glory that the covenant carries, but it is also the weight of uncompromising obedience that comes with it.
God promises us His rest.
This promise is one dimension of the covenant.
At the same time, God demands obedience befitting the covenant from us, the parties to the covenant.
Just as the salvation He promised to provide is an unbreakable covenant constant, the obedience He requires of us is also an unbreakable covenant constant.
--- 「4.
From "God's Rest We Must Enter (4:1-13)"

Although God established a sacrificial system to maintain the covenant relationship, what He originally required was not the blood or fat of animals, but the obedience of the people.
Originally, sacrifice was not a system with an end in itself, but an institutional device to lead the weak people to obedience.
However, this sacrifice is actually used as a device to aid disobedience.
There is no need to go through the trouble of obeying, as the problem can be solved by simply offering a sacrifice.
The very process of repentance and atonement, designed to promote obedience, has instead become a safeguard that facilitates disobedience.
In this paradoxical situation, the prophets cried out, “God does not want (such) sacrifices.”
So, the prophets' cry was not a true argument for the uselessness of sacrifice, but a rhetorical appeal to the fact that 'God wants obedience.'
--- 「11.
From “The Sacrifice of Christ for the Taking Away of Sin (10:1-18)”

Christ is the one who “ran ahead,” our “forerunner.”
He entered the Most Holy Place through the veil “for us” and became a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (6:20).
As it says here, when it says that He entered the Most Holy Place 'for us', it does not mean 'instead of us', but 'ahead of us'.
His 'entrance' does not make our 'entrance' unnecessary, but rather makes our 'entrance' possible.
He has gone before us and paved the way for us where we could not go before, and we follow Him on the path He has made and enter the place of glory.
This is exactly what the author wants to say.
We can enter the Most Holy Place with confidence through his blood (10:19).
This forerunner Christ bestows an amazing grace that cannot be fully contained in the single word 'redemption' (2:10; 12:2).
--- 「12.
From “Admonitions for a Life of Worship, Warnings Against Sin and Judgment (10:19-39)”

The paradox of living as a foreigner even in the “Promised Land” is not trivial.
The author of Hebrews notices this tension and delves between the lines of the story.
The reason Abraham did not long for settlement and stability even in the Promised Land was because the 'promise' he expected belonged to a more distant future.
Canaan was not the true promised land.
Rather, the land was a place of pilgrimage where one had to live by faith in the hope of a more permanent promise.
--- 「Chapter 11, 13.
Among the “Witnesses of Faith Surrounding Like Clouds”

The opposite of obsession with money is “being content with what you have” (1 Timothy 6:6, 8).
Self-sufficiency is not irresponsibility or laziness, but rather the strength to not turn life, which is a stage for obedience, into an opportunity for 'financial investment.'
We work to earn money for a living.
But healthy labor easily degenerates into a struggle for greed.
What used to be about earning money for a wonderful life has degenerated into selling one's life for more money.
This kind of self-sufficiency that does not change the front and back is universal wisdom and an expression of religious piety.
Paul also speaks of self-sufficiency, not being swayed by desires, and teaches that piety toward God is the 'best trade' (1 Timothy 6:6).
As Jesus said, the desires and worries that lead to self-sufficiency are not believing in God, who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field.
Self-sufficiency is the basis of an attitude of trust in God (Psalm 62:1-2, 5-6; 131:1-3; Psalms of Solomon 16:12).

--- 「Chapter 13, 15.
From “Sacrifices that Please God”