The epistle to the Hebrews was primarily intended for a Jewish audience, as its theme—the contrast between the old approach to God and the new, superior one—relates directly to their experience with Levitical practices and cultural context. The author addresses Jewish converts to Christianity, urging them to compare the old system with the new, recognizing the astounding difference between what they had given up and what they had gained by choosing to live by faith in Jesus Christ. The superiority of Christ over the prophets, angels, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and the entire ritual system is proven throughout the epistle, making a distinct statement about His preeminence over everything and everyone that came before Him in God's work.

Most of the people in Jerusalem and Judea during the time of Christ were sincere Jews, believing they followed a religion formulated by God through Moses. However, what they practiced was a counterfeit of what Moses had established under God's direction. New Jewish converts were taught to abandon what they sincerely believed was a God-instituted religion founded through Moses fifteen hundred years earlier. Judaism, as they practiced it, was not the religion founded by Moses, and Gentiles were not readily accepted to participate in it, except at a significant distance. Converted Jews faced persecution from their own people, who adhered to a religious patchwork far removed from God's truth. These same types of people rejected Christ and His way of life, leading to automatic hatred against the church as it began to form. As the intensity of persecutions rose, Jewish converts were gradually excluded from participating in activities at the Temple and treated socially as worse than Gentiles because they recanted from what many sincerely believed was the true way of worship. They were persecuted for accepting the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, facing questions and doubts within their families and communities. Everywhere they looked in family and community life, they were shown through painful physical persecutions that believing in Jesus as Messiah was a tragic mistake. The persecution often occurred within family units, leading to exclusion from social, cultural, and religious activities that were still taking place at the Temple. By remaining faithful to Jesus as Messiah, they were civilly and socially banished from what they held as important before their conversion.

In the context of the book of Galatians, the enemy Paul addresses is a syncretism of Gnosticism and Judaism, with a primary emphasis on Judaistic influences. Judaism, as Paul knew it before his conversion, was a national religion that drew partially on the Bible but was not the religion of Moses or Ezra. It emerged after Ezra's reform in the fifth century BC, giving rise to sects like the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees, initially lay members opposing temple priests, and the Sadducees, the priestly and wealthy class, evolved into political parties with religious overtones by the time of Christ, vying for community power and often clashing over minor legal points. These groups, particularly the Pharisees, held significant influence, often occupying Moses' seat in synagogues, a position of teaching authority recognized by Jesus, though He criticized their abuse of power. The Pharisees and Sadducees, dominant in the Sanhedrin under Roman oversight, shaped a Jewish way of life that Paul later identifies as halakha, the traditions of his fathers. This way of life, rather than God's law, became central to Judaism, characterized by zealous adherence to human interpretations and traditions, often rejecting God's commandments in favor of their own standards. Judaism, as depicted in this context, was marked by a zeal for God but lacked true knowledge, establishing a self-righteous system that Paul, post-conversion, recognized as a barrier to truth. This system, combined with elements of demon-driven Gnosticism, formed the burdensome yoke opposed in Galatians and discussed at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. It was not merely a belief in the God of the Jews or a few laws, but the entire Pharisaic and Sadducean lifestyle that Paul challenged, highlighting its divergence from God's law and its role in dividing the early church by creating class distinctions between Jews and Gentiles.