Luke

written in AD 66

Hebrews was when the church was facing the height of its persecution from both Jews and Romans.
I mentioned that I believe Luke wrote this book. While the apostle Paul is a serious contender for the author (and I can respect that), there are a number of reasons why most modern scholars think that is extremely unlikely.

Why Not Paul

• Paul pledged to sign his name to every epistle that he wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:17, and this book does not have his name appended to it.

• the style, grammar, and vocabulary are quite different from Paul's.

• Paul, consistently uses the formula gegraptai ("it is written") when referiing to scripture, Hebrews does not do this.

Luke

• And that is the third reason: There are numerous points of identity between the vocabulary, Hebraisms, style, and syntax of Hebrews with Luke's writings.
• This is written with such polished Greek that there are only two other books in the New Testament that are like it: Luke and Acts.
• Historical and Patristic Support: Early church fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, recognized remarkable stylistic similarities between Luke-Acts and Hebrews. Due to this "family likeness," a tradition emerged early on that Luke either translated a Hebrew original written by Paul or authored it himself based on Paul's teachings.
• Unique Shared Vocabulary: There is a remarkably high degree of lexical similarity between the texts, including 53 words that are entirely unique to Luke-Acts and Hebrews within the New Testament. Furthermore, Hebrews and Luke-Acts share the highest ratio of hapax legomena (words used only once) to total vocabulary in the entire New Testament.
• Literary and Stylistic Affinities: Both authors utilize a highly elevated, near-Classical Greek style that features balanced sentences, genitive absolutes, and frequent use of participles, while simultaneously displaying a Semitic style influenced by the Septuagint. Additionally, both texts uniquely employ chiasmus (an inverted, parallel literary structure) as an overarching macrostructural framework for their books.
• Medical Terminology: Tradition identifies Luke as a physician, and his writings often reflect a medical background. Hebrews contains specific anatomical and therapeutic language—such as using the word machaira in Hebrews 4:12 to mean a surgeon's scalpel rather than a sword, and physiological terms in Hebrews 5:12-14 and 12:12-13—which points to a doctor's perspective.
• Old Testament Quotation Formulae: The author of Hebrews and Luke both prefer to quote from the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) almost exclusively. Unlike Paul, both consistently avoid the quotation formula gegraptai ("it is written"), instead preferring legei ("says") or other verbs of speaking, treating Scripture as the living, spoken voice of God.
• Parallel Prologues and Texts: The prologues of Luke (1:1-4) and Hebrews (1:1-4) share profound similarities, including alliteration, a lack of certain conjunctions typical of Classical Greek, and a shared retrospective/prospective theological focus. Moreover, Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 and the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11 contain massive structural, thematic, and vocabulary parallels (such as their treatments of Abraham and Moses), suggesting the same author penned both.
• Christological Alignments: Both works share an enthronement/exaltation Christology, focusing heavily on Jesus' ascension and His seating at the right hand of God rather than just His resurrection. Both also uniquely use the titles archēgos (author/pioneer) and sōtēr (savior) together for Jesus.
• The High Priesthood of Jesus: While Hebrews is famous for depicting Jesus as the ultimate High Priest, Luke-Acts heavily emphasizes this as well. Luke uniquely highlights Jesus' intercessory prayers (e.g., Luke 22:31-32, 23:34) and specifically depicts Jesus performing a priestly blessing with raised hands at His ascension, mirroring the actions of the Jewish high priest on the Day of Atonement. Both also emphasize the "perfection" (teleioō) of Christ through suffering.
• Shared Purpose and Themes: Both works are ultimately hortatory; they share a pastoral purpose designed to confirm faith, encourage perseverance amidst persecution, and warn against apostasy. Both frequently emphasize the "Word of God" and the critical importance of "hearing" that Word.
• Luke's Jewish Background: The largest objection to Lukan authorship is the assumption that Luke was a Gentile, whereas Hebrews is deeply Jewish. However, abundant evidence within Luke-Acts—including a deep interest in priests, the temple, the "house of Israel," and intricate Jewish theological debates—argues that Luke was actually a Hellenistic Jew (or at minimum, possessed the vast Jewish knowledge necessary to write Hebrews).
• Historical and Pauline Connections: Luke was a close traveling companion of Paul, which accounts for the Pauline theological influences and vocabulary scattered throughout Hebrews. Some scholars argue Luke also acted as Paul's amanuensis (secretary) for the Pastoral Epistles, which exhibit strong stylistic and lexical ties to Hebrews. A holistic reconstruction posits that Luke wrote Hebrews from Rome (shortly after Paul's death) to a group of converted Jewish priests living in Antioch.

To try to sum it up quickly, the reason is that I can't separate the commands we are given about the Lord's Supper from the commands to physically gather together as a Church.

to join Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We often say things like, "We are each the temple" or "We are each the bride." While those statements are well-intentioned, it's more presented corporately. We are members of the temple and members of the bride, fully expressed when God's people gather as He commanded. He has one body, one bride, one flock, and one temple and one tree.

This is the pattern I see throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In all the festivals meals, and Passover that they were a covenant meal.

When we assemble in worship and come to the Lord's Table, we are not simply having a private experience with God—we are coming together as His one bride, one temple, and one body. That is why I believe these commands are inseparable.