Hebrews 13:21-25 Grace be with you all

13:21

He then prays for the Lord to equip us of everything good and for doing His will. God is our provider in every way. And He works in our lives to make us more and more like Jesus, this is what is pleasing to Him. And all this is done through Christ.

13:22-25

This may not seem like a brief letter to us! Indeed, it is one of the longest letters in the New Testament. Timothy was one of his co-workers. There are some who think that Paul was the author of this letter, and there are a number of points in the letter which may make us think that could be the case, though there are differences as well. Another theory is that Luke wrote it sort of on Paul’s behalf. There are many other theories, none can be proved so it is best not to worry too much about it! The letter closes with greetings to all the people and leaders, and with the common Pauline greeting of grace to all of them.

Hebrews 13:18-20 - Pray for us

13:18,19

The writer asks for prayer for himself and his co-workers. It seems that they may have been the object of criticism or accusation, this is quite normal for godly leaders. The writer assures them that they have acted honourably, have a clear conscience, and seek only to please the Lord. The writer wants to be able to meet with his readers as soon as possible.

13:20

We now come to the final greetings and prayers. He starts by going to the blood of Jesus. God is referred to as the God of peace. God was against us because of our sin, but through Christ we now have peace with God. “Who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus”. How does this work? The implication is that if the death of Jesus had not been sufficient to clear our debt, our guilt, then Christ would not have been raised, indeed could not. Jesus was fully human, and His blood paid the price in full, so He was raised from the dead. His resurrection is proof that His sacrifice was sufficient.

Hebrews 13:16,17 - Have confidence in your leaders

13:16

Worshipping and praising God is also intensely practical. So here the writer urges his hearers to “do good”, and to “share with others”. The world can seek to suffocate us at times, we can forget to do good, and we can become so self-absorbed that we don’t think of others. This is not God’s way. He is pleased when we do good and do think of others, and act on this.

13:17

“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority”. If we are led by godly men we can have confidence in them. Their leadership will go against the teachings of the world. If our leaders are teaching in the spirit of the world, then we can have no confidence in them at all, for they will lead us nowhere good. But if their leading is in line with God’s word we can trust them, even if this puts us against the world. They are then acting as God’s shepherds and we should submit to them. Their job is difficult, and we should not seek to make it any more difficult, but instead seek to make it a joy for them.

Hebrews 13:14,15 - Looking for the city to come

13:14

Jesus endured the scorn of the cross for the joy set before Him. We also should do likewise, for we have an eternal city, this world is not an enduring city. This world is temporal. So we have joy set before us. We need to have an eternal perspective, not as a form of escapism, but so that we we live properly and wisely today.

13:15

So we should indeed offer sacrifices, not animal sacrifices but a sacrifice of praise. Circumstances may say we have nothing to praise God for, but we should praise God as an act of faith. And this praise is not just singing or worship, but includes the way we live our lives. We should gladly proclaim the name of Jesus.

Hebrews 13:11-13 - Let us go to Him outside the camp

13:11

The writer now goes back to the way Levitical sacrifices were offered and uses it as a source of encouragement for the situation the Hebrew Christians were encountering. It is vital to realise that throughout Hebrews the writer makes two parallel points about the sacrifices. The first is that the sacrifice of Jesus far superseded the Levitical sacrifices and renders them obsolete, but the second is that the Law points towards the gospel. It was only a shadow, but it was a shadow. I.e. if we think there is nothing to learn from the Law then we are badly mistaken. He draws attention to the fact that while the blood was taken into the Most Holy Place, the bodies were burned outside the camp.  

13:12,13

Then he points out that Jesus’ crucifixion took place outside the city gates, adding that Jesus’ blood purified the people. So Jesus bore disgrace, for crucifixion was designed to be as humiliating as possible. The Hebrews were suffering disgrace because of their faith in Christ, in doing so they were following the footsteps of Jesus. The writer urges them to be prepared to suffer disgrace for the sake of Christ. This is something we need to take on board as our societies become increasingly anti-Christian.

Hebrews 13:9,10 - Do not be carried away by strange teachings

13:9

The previous verse also leads into this one. “All kinds of strange teachings” arise, and always have done. We must not be carried away by them, the gospel remains the same, Christ remains the same, our hope remains the same. Strange teachings come in all sorts of flavours, it appears that the one around at the time of this letter concerned ceremonial foods. It may have claimed that they had some sort of magical power.  In reality the food was of no value whatsoever. There can still be teachings today which go down a similar line. They are all useless, instead we are to be strengthened by grace, by God's undeserved and unlimited favour towards us.

13:10

The teaching may also have been rooted in Judaism, going by all the teaching that has gone before on how the tabernacle and sacrifices of Judaism have been superseded by Christ. The false teachers may have claimed to have some special knowledge and access, and if others followed their teaching, then they too would have similar access. The truth was that these false teachers had no right to go to (unless, of course, they repented and believed) the true altar of God.

Hebrews 13:5-8 - Never will I leave you

13:5,6

1 Tim 6:10 warns against the love of money, and a similar warning is given here. The love of money can be associated with simple greed, but it is also closely linked with insecurity. We see it as a source of security, which is why we always want more. The writer reminds us of our true security in the Lord. First, He has promised to never leave not forsake us (Deut 31:6), so we can be confident that the Lord will be our helper (Ps 118:6,7).

13:7

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you”. Speaking the word of God probably means sharing the gospel with them. “Consider the outcome of their way of life”. This may imply that they were now dead. The Hebrews are urged to “imitate their way of life”. We are all sinners, but their should also be evidence of the new life in Christ in all of us as well, and to an increasing level as we grow older.

13:8

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” If we link this with the previous verse, then the gospel is the same. Jesus is always our once for all perfect sacrifice.  We change, the world changes, circumstances change, but Jesus does not change. This is our anchor point in life.

Hebrews 13:3,4 - Marriage should be honoured

13:3

The writer has already mentioned their helping those in prison (Heb 10:34). As noted earlier, in those days outsiders would have to provide the food and other necessities for the prisoners. So “remember” does not mean simply keeping them in their thoughts, but giving practical help as well. To be associated with those in prison for their faith, or otherwise being ill-treated, brought its own risks. You too could then become a target for persecution. As our society becomes increasingly anti-Christian we too need to remember these words.

13:4

Marriage is vital for a healthy society. This is why it is part of almost all cultures in some form or other, and also why it is so under attack. There is a responsibility for the marriage partners, with sexual fidelity being of particular importance. God created sex for marriage between one man and one woman, in any other context it is destructive. Hence the frequent warnings in Scripture against sexual immorality. “Marriage should be honoured by all”. While the primary responsibility falls upon the married couple, society as a whole should honour marriage. The failure of Western societies to do this is one reason for our decline.

Hebrews 13:1,2 - Keep on loving one another

13:1

The previous chapter has finished with the exhortation to “worship God acceptably with reverence and awe”. This does not mean the way we sing songs or hymns to Him, though that be included, but how we live our lives, and this final chapter of Hebrews outlines some of the practical ways in which we are to do this, and these are still highly relevant for us today. Loving one another as brothers and sisters is fundamental to this. Loving God and loving one another are inextricably linked throughout Scripture, most pertinently in Jesus’ answer when asked about the greatest commandment. ESV has “Let brotherly love continue”, which is a more literal translation, but the Greek word philadelphia implies love for all, both brothers and sisters.

13:2

Showing hospitality is essential, and it is noteworthy that it is the first practical application mentioned in this chapter. Showing hospitality can be far more effective than we ever imagine, and as an example the writer is almost certainly alluding to the time that Abraham entertained angels (Gen 18:10).

Hebrews 12:26-29 - Our God is a consuming fire

12:26,27

The author quotes from Hag 2:6 where God says He will shake the heavens and the earth. This shaking will remove all that is temporal, only eternal things will remain. The sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood were temporal, as the writer has explained throughout the letter. The cross is eternal. This happened in a very real way with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, after which sacrifices were no longer offered.

12:28,29

We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. So we should be thankful and worship God with awe. Today we see many signs of the world being shaken. As our Western societies abandon their Christian heritage we see instability arising in many ways. We should not fear. That does not mean we should not care, but we should not fear. “Our God is a consuming fire”, is a quote from Deut 4:24. There it is given as part of a warning against idolatry.

Hebrews 12:24,25 - Do not refuse Him who speaks

12:24

We have come to Jesus. It is Jesus, the Son of God, who makes all the difference. He is the mediator of the new covenant. And it is His blood that “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel”. The blood of Abel cried out for judgement (Gen 4:10), the blood of Jesus cries out for salvation. Peterson seems to think there is more emphasis on the faith of Abel, but I don’t think the text supports this.

12:25

At Mount Sinai God spoke out of the fire, and the people were severely punished when they disobeyed. How much more will it be bad for those who refuse the voice of God from heaven. There are at least two vital points out of this. One is that the gospel is a message from heaven, direct from God. We are not promoting a human idea or philosophy, but a God given message. The second is our attitude towards the judgements we see being executed in the Old Testament. This is a point I have made several times before, and it is so important that I will keep on making it. The naive view is that all this judgement is Old Testament and no longer applies after the coming of Jesus. This is a deeply unbiblical view, and one that is nowhere supported by Jesus nor by any of the New Testament writers. The Biblical view, of which we have an example here, is that the examples of judgement in the Old Testament are a warning to us of even more severe judgement.

Hebrews 12:22,23 - You have come to Mount Zion

12:22

“But you have come to Mount Zion ...” Mount Zion is put in contrast to Mount Sinai. Mount SInai is where the Law was given, and in essence was the starting point. Mount Zion is what Jerusalem was built upon, and is in a sense the destination. The Law was not an aberration, definitely not a mistake, but was only ever intended to be a staging post. It was also realised that Jerusalem itself was not the final destination. Is 65:17 speaks of a new heavens and a new earth. So in speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem the writer is consistent with Jewish and Biblical thought. Christ and the gospel is what all of the Old Testament was leading up to. Jewish tradition had it that the Law was mediated by angels, and the scene at Sinai was most severe. In contrast Mount Zion is associated with myriads of angels in joyful assembly. Mount Sinai, the Law, was most severe, because its primary purpose was to highlight the sinfulness of man. The gospel deals with the problem of our sinfulness, the overcoming of sin. Hence the rejoicing.

12:23

Ex 4:22 refers to Israel as God’s firstborn, stressing the value of Israel to the Lord. We are the “church of the firstborn”. We are precious to the Lord, and as the firstborn receive the full inheritance. Our names are written in heaven. We could not be more precious to God, and our salvation in Christ could not be more secure. The Israelites at Sinai could not and did not want to approach God, fearing judgement. We have come to the judge of all, and are accepted by the judge of all. The Law made them outwardly clean, the Gospel makes us fully clean, hence the term “spirits of the righteous made perfect”.

Hebrews 12:20,21 - I am trembling with fear

12:20

They could not bear what was commanded. The whole situation emphasised the holiness of God and the unholiness of the people. So if even an animal touched the mountain it had to be put to death. Now the holiness of God and the inherent unholiness of the people has not changed. What has changed is that the cross has dealt with our unholiness. It is so important to realise that the standards have not changed, but Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to those who believe.

12:21

These words are found in Deut 9:19, where Moses has been pleading with God to have mercy upon the people after the Golden Calf debacle. Moses feared the holiness of God, and the judgement that would ensue from this for such an unholy people. There can be no understanding of the gospel without an awareness of the holiness and judgement of God.

Hebrews 12:18,19 - You have not come to a mountain that can be touched

12:18

12:18-21 and 12:22-24 contrast the situation under the Law with the current situation under the gospel. The first part reminds them of what the situation under the Law was like, and focuses on the giving of the Law at Sinai. First of all it was given at a mountain that could be touched. Hebrews frequently contrasts the physical tabernacle with the heavenly one, and it is the heavenly one that is the more real! The giving of the Law was awesome, there was fire, darkness, gloom and storm. It was a terrifying experience.

12:19

The Law was given with a trumpet blast that put fear in the hearts of the people (Ex 19:16; 20:18). When they heard the voice they begged to hear no more. So they requested that only Moses go to hear what God had to say. A contrast between the Law and the Gospel is that now all can hear from God. Through the cross we are brought near. Under the Law there was always a distance.

Hebrews 2:15-17 - See that no one is sexually immoral

12:15

Two further instructions are given in this verse. The first is to “see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God”. We need to have a deep appreciation of the grace of God. It does not simply mean that we are forgiven, though it does mean that. But God’s grace towards us also means that He is at work to make us ever more Christlike. If someone thinks that the gospel just means being forgiven, then they have fallen short of the grace of God.  “and that no bitter root grows up ...”. This is not referring to bitterness in the sense of a bitter or resentful spirit. Rather it is referring back to Deut 29:18 where it gives a severe warning against turning away from God to worship idols, and calls worshipping idols a “bitter poison”. Turning away from God causes much trouble and defiles many.

12:16,17

Two more dangers are given here. The first is sexual immorality. Often the church is accused of being obsessed with sex. There are two things that can be said about this. The first is that it is the world that is obsessed with sex! The second is that sexual immorality of all kinds causes tremendous harm. The reason the world accuses the church of being obsessed with sex is that it does not like being reminded of God’s moral standards.

Then Esau is mentioned. Now the Bible makes no mention of sexual immorality on Esau’s part. There may be a link in that sexual sin can sometimes be taking a “single meal”, choosing to go for transitory pleasure, rather than eternal life. Esau was unable to repent after realising what he had done. “He was rejected”. This puts things in an extremely serious context. We need to have an eternal perspective. 

Hebrews 12:12-14 - Strengthen your feeble arms

12:12,13

“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms ...” The Hebrews were feeling weak under opposition, and if we face persecution it is natural to feel weak. The answer to this is not to give in, but to strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. And we do this by listening to God and learning from Him. Then we will be healed, rather than disabled.

12:14

While facing opposition is normal, this does not mean that we should be deliberately contentious. Rather we should seek to live in peace with everyone. Again, this must not be at the expense of compromising the truth of God’s word. We should also seek to be holy. This means seeking to be like Christ in actions and in belief. At present we see much of the church being all too happy to compromise, indeed completely abandon the truth of the Bible. “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” The present approach of many of the traditional churches will do nothing to enable people to know Christ. We all need to apply these words to our lives as well. 

Hebrews 12:10,11 - They disciplined us for a little while

12:10

Human fathers discipline children trying to develop them. We do it highly imperfectly. God is the perfect Father, and everything He does is for our good.  And the purpose is that “we may share in His holiness”. God wants to share so much of Himself with us. All man-centred religions or man-centred approaches to the gospel (which are doomed to failure) are highly impoverished, they offer so much less than the gospel does, and what they do offer, they will fail to deliver. In the end they will only deliver poison.

12:11

Discipline is not enjoyable. At the time of enduring it it is painful. However, the long term fruit from it is a “harvest of peace and righteousness”. “For those who have been trained by it”. Discipline is a two way process. God delivers the discipline, but we need to learn from it. If we react with bitterness or resentment, then we will get nowhere. If we submit to it then we can receive the harvest that God intends.

Hebrews 12:8,9 - Endure hardship as discipline

12:8

In fact, if God did not discipline us then that would be a sign that we are not actually children of God, that He is not our Father. So instead of seeing the hardship as a sign that God does not actually love us, we should see it as the exact opposite. We are “legitimate” children of God. At the start of John’s gospel he says that all who believed in Christ were given the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

12:9

Good human fathers discipline their children. This will be imperfect, for we all make mistakes, but we know that not to discipline a child is a recipe for disaster. So if we, frail and flawed as we are, do this, how much more should we expect God to discipline us? We come to Christ because we need to change, the way we are just won’t do, we are sinners. So we need to be forgiven for our sins, and we need to be transformed.

Hebrews 12:5-7 - As a father addresses a son

12:5,6

Now when an individual or a church does experience opposition, sometimes violent opposition, then it is certainly very difficult, and we may wonder why God is allowing this to happen. Has God forgotten us? Has He got something against us? Has He let us down? The writer reminds them that God is our father and quotes from Prov 12:5,6. God is disciplining His children, and He does so because He loves us. Discipline is different from punishment. Punishment’s purpose is to impose a penalty for someone’s actions. Discipline is more involved in training and developing a person. This may include removing traits within us which are sinful or harmful, and in developing characteristics which make us stronger. So the hardship is a sign of God’s love for us, and that He accepts us as sons.

12:7

So we are to endure hardship as discipline. When we go through tough times, for whatever reason, we should be seeking to understand how God is aiming to develop us. We are being treated as children by God. He is acting as our father. So we should rejoice in this. Peter, Paul and James all say the same thing when they encourage us to consider trials as pure joy, and that they develop perseverance.

Hebrews 12:3,4 - Consider Him who endured such opposition

12:3

Jesus endured extreme opposition “from sinners”. In John 15 Jesus says that if they hate us we should remember that they also hated Him. Jesus showed us how to respond to opposition. We should also remember the prize at the end of the race. The consideration of Jesus is not simply a thinking about how He lived, but if we do we will share in His sufferings, and He will be close to us. This will help us to “not grow weary”, and to not “lose heart”.

12:4

“In your struggle against sin ....” In 12:1 the “sin that so easily entangles” is referring to personal sin. Peterson takes the “sin” in this verse, and therefore in the section 12:4-13, as the sin of those who were opposing the gospel and the church. This would seem very reasonable, especially given the latter part of this verse, “resisted to the point of shedding your blood”, which makes sense in the context of resisting persecution, but hardly with dealing with our personal sin. The opposition which a faithful church experiences (sometimes from unfaithful churches!) is a result of sin, and is part of the battle of sin against the gospel.