The TL;DR Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews

The New Testament is not a long collection of books.  Most of the books can be read in just a couple hours.  Still, we have short attention spans.  A lot of folks look at the sacred texts and say:

"Too long; didn't read"

So I had the silly idea to start summarizing the New Testament letters.  What are the key points and assertions when you boil it down?   That's what I want to try today.

We'll start with one of my favorites...

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Chapter 1:

Jesus is God.  He isn't an angel. He's God.

Chapter 2: 

On the other hand, Jesus is also one of us.  That's why He could make a sacrifice on our collective behalf.

Chapter 3: 

Moses was a servant of God, but Jesus is the Son of God.  That makes Jesus way better than Moses.  Therefore, you ought not apostatize back to Judaism.

Chapter 4:

Jesus, who is in Heaven, is the high priest of the New Covenant.  And despite being sinless, He still understands our weaknesses.

Chapter 5:

This may be difficult to explain, but Jesus is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Chapter 6:

Once again, don't apostatize.  If you do, you're in big trouble with God.

Chapter 7: 

The Old Testament priesthood comes through the family line of Levi... but Jesus was from Judah.  How then can Jesus be a high priest?

Well, the Old Testament mentions another order of priesthood which is without lineage.  That is, the aforementioned priesthood of Melchizedek.  That's  the order of priesthood to which Jesus belongs.

And since Abraham recognized Melchizedek as a superior, the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than any coming from Abraham.  That means Jesus is actually superior to the priests in the Jewish Temple.

Lastly, the sacrifice which Jesus offered was... Himself.

Chapter 8: 

If the New Covenant wasn't greater than the old one, why would God have promised it in the Old Testament?  Was He promising something worse?  Of course not.

Chapter 9:  

The Jewish high priests would slay their sacrificial offering and then enter the inner sanctum of the Temple to present it to God.  In like fashion, Jesus made his sacrifice outside Jerusalem, then ascended into Heaven to present His offering before the throne of God.

Also, the Old Testament sacrifices of bulls and rams couldn't take away sins.  But Christ's single, perfect, and infinite self-sacrifice actually can.

Chapter 10:  

This makes repeated sacrifices of bulls and rams unneeded. So don't go back to the Jewish worship.

Chapter 11: 

Faith makes you do some pretty cool stuff.  Just look at all these examples from the Old Testament.

Chapter 12: 

All those Old Testament heroes are watching you, so do your best.

Also, don't be afraid of God disciplining you. It's for your own good - for your growth in holiness.  And without holiness, you won't be able to stand in the presence of God.

Chapter 13: 

Lead a pure life and offer your good works to God. Obey your bishops and pastors.  Later!