Hebrews is a great book of the Bible. I spent some time preaching on it last year as part of a slightly thematic sermon series and would love to return to it and preach through the book exegetically (which is my normal style). There is so much in Hebrews, so it is no wonder that it has become a favourite book of the Bible for many Christians.
So, when I was given the opportunity to review this book ‘Perfect Priest for Weary Pilgrims: A Theology of Hebrews‘ by Dennis E. Johnson, I jumped at it! Johnson is a seasoned pastor and scholar who in this book brings together great exegesis, theological depth and pastoral insights that are great tools to help the reader unpack Hebrews.
This book is not a commentary on Hebrews, but more of a reflection on the theology of Hebrews (it is part of the New Testament Theology series after all!). Therefore, Johnson’s structure of the book is also thematic. In just seven chapter Johnson peels back the curtain of Hebrews to help us see the theology that the writer draws out. The chapters are;
Chapter 1: The Wilderness Pilgrimage of the People of God
Chapter 2: The Historical Trajectory of Redemption and Revelation
Chapter 3: The Interpretation of Ancient Scripture
Chapter 4: The Divine-Human Mediator
Chapter 5: Jesus’s Priestly Qualifications and Tenure
Chapter 6: Jesus’s Once-for-All, Conscience-Perfecting Sacrifice
Chapter 7: Persevering Faith through Congregational Solidarity
I really enjoyed how this book looked at theology from a pastoral perspective. It’s not too academically deep that you get lost and it certainly isn’t dry and boring. In reading the book you can tell that Johnson longs for people to fall more in love with Jesus and with this letter to the Hebrews. In these pages you will find a book that has solid exegesis, deep theological truths explored in a pastoral and accessible way that always points you to Jesus as the better mediator and priest.
This book would be a great read for those in ministry and seminary, or others who want to have a theological introduction to Hebrews. It would work well as a companion to a verse by verse commentary on Hebrews so that you have both the overarching theological points and the detailed exegesis of each passage.
My critics of the book would be that 1) the themes could have been woven together a bit more – the book might have benefitted from one overarching theme to cement all the others in place a bit more – and 2) that there could have been more practical application throughout the book (kind of like how Hebrews is written). But those comments do not detract from how helpful this book is and how much I enjoyed reading it.
IN reading this book you will be informed, you will be encouraged and you will be pointed to praise Jesus more for what an amazing Saviour he is! So go read it!
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