Hebrews 13: 1 –25
Can You Take In Two Homeless People?
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. 4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. 9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. 19 But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. 20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 22 And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. 23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. 24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
Let me start off by asking you a question. Please take a moment to see if you are in harmony with this question which is this, ‘do you enjoy sci-fi movies or books?’ If you answered yes to this question then this chapter should give you a real treat.
Right now we are at Christmas. Suppose you came across a young homeless couple. Would you invite them to stay at your house until they could find adequate lodging? You might be thinking right now, ‘I know where you are going with this question. You are thinking of Mary and Joseph where there was no room at the inn, right? Well, in a way I want you to think about this condition. I would say that out of the majority of people here that you would make up an excuse that the couple could not stay at your home. Here are a few. See if any of these you can use as an excuse for not letting them come to your house.
1. We’re too busy
2. Our house is too messy.
3. It’s expensive to feed company. We do not have the funds to do so.
4. It’s hard at this stage of life to be able to do it
5. I don’t have time to cook/I don’t know how to cook
6. I have roommates/I don’t have a good place to cook or seat people in my tiny apartment/We just have a baby, and our house isn’t toddler-proofed
7. We do not know who they are. They could possibly be terrorists or serial killers or wanted by the police.
I do not know if your church experiences this situation, but we come across this quite a lot. We just plainly tell them that ‘we do not have any contingencies to handle such a situation’. I am kidding of course. Actually we have arrangements with a few local motels to handle such a request. Usually we take the person or couple over to the motel, give them some money for food and check in with them after a day or so. We give them local housing agencies to assist them in finding more permanent lodging.
So why did I bring this up. Perfectly our Precious Holy Spirit has led us to this chapter in the book of Hebrews. We read in verse two that we can possibly come across angels in our day to day activity. Think about this. Have you ever come across any situation where you experience an interaction with someone and you cannot figure out what exactly happened? I will give you a firsthand example. We were on a missionary trip to El Salvador. At the end of the trip there was a free day before we were set to return to the good old US of A. A few of our group went swimming in the ocean. The beach area there is not used. There are no lifeguards of anyone else around. The area that our people selected had a strong under tow. Three of the guys who were good swimmers we being swept out to sea. All three were drowning. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere a guy came running down from the wooded area to the water, dove in and rescued all three guys. In all the commotion on checking on the conditions of our three companions when we looked up, the hero who saved the lives of our friends disappeared.
In another situation we had a couple from the west coast who were taking a vacation here on the east coast, before coming to Philly stopped to visit NY first. They had a 4 year old son. On a visit to the central park zoo they lost their son. An all out search went on by the NYPD. After many hours the police told the couple to go back to their hotel and they would contact them if they found out any information regarding their son. When the couple returned to the hotel and went to their room which was on the 12th floor, guess who was in the room? Yes their son! The little boy told them that we he got lost a big man came by and told him that he would help him. The big man took the little boy back to the hotel and without a key and put the boy back in the hotel room and told him to wait there for his parents. Amazing huh?
This final chapter begins with further exhortations to the people to whom the letter is addressed. The exhortation is to the love of fellow-Christians, followed by how that love can practically be revealed. They are especially to,
1) Show loving hospitality to ‘foreign’ Christian visitors.
2) Care for those in bonds for Christ’s sake, showing them true love.
3) Ensure the establishment of truly loving godly marriages and avoid sexual misbehavior.
4) Be free from the love of money, which would destroy their love for God and for others.
5) Look obediently to faithful leaders in loving response.
6) Not listen to false teachings which would destroy their love for one another.
Together with the original urge to reveal brotherly love these instructions make up seven in total, the number of divine perfection and each relates in some way to brotherly love. The first two are examples of outgoing love, both at home and outside; the second two are examples of the major moral dangers facing Christians which could affect their love for one another; and the third two warn of the need to respond to godly leaders and beware of heresy in order that their love may be maintained.
1 Let brotherly love continue.
We see that this point of the letter is speaking about us wonderful brothers and sisters from Philadelphia – the city of brotherly love. If you believe this I have a bridge that is for sale. As the first exhortation after the climax of the letter it demonstrates that it is central to his thinking. For without love everything else is irrelevant. The word used emphasizes love among Christians. He possibly especially had in mind to address those who forsook the assembling of themselves together (10.25). But the idea applies to all Christians.
This love has little to do with deep affection or romantic love, but is a love which is true and reveals itself in action, and while sometimes emotional is not dependent on emotion. It is a pure love. Such Christian love was urged by Christ as an essential element of being a Christian It is defined in 1 Corinthians 13. And this is now considered in more detail
13.2 ‘Do not forget to show loving hospitality to strangers, for as a result of that some have entertained angels unawares.’
The first exhortation reveals that Christians should be always receptive of others. The second will show that they must be willing to go out to put themselves out for others. Our love is to be both receptive and outgoing.
In days when inns were few and of doubtful repute, finding hospitality was always a problem for travelers. These Christians therefore are to ensure that they offer loving hospitality to visitors, especially to those unknown to them personally because it just might be that our Holy Ruler sent some of His angels our way to see how we respond.
We can never know who the strangers to whom we offer hospitality might be. Although in a sense we can, for we can be sure that they are Jesus, for when we welcome them in His name we welcome our Lord Jesus. But this is not intended to be the motive, only an added spur. The thought is that such hospitality earns its own reward, and we can never know who or what those whom we benefit might be for God, and perform in His service. And by our hospitality we will be a part of that service. To give a cup of cold water to a disciple, or as a disciple, in the name of Christ, is to be deserving of reward (Matthew 10.42).
3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
The second practical example of Christian love is that of caring for, and watching out for, those who are in bonds for Christ’s sake. They are to remember such people as though it were themselves who were bound. This was especially important in that prisoners were expected to find their own means of sustenance at the hands of friends and relatives, and such Christian prisoners would need encouragement in facing the consequences of persecution. It was, of course, always a risky business giving such help, for it might also brand the helper as being a Christian.
Onesiphorus was a living example of this principle. In 2 Timothy 1.16 Paul says of him, ‘He often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome he sought me diligently, and found me.’ Not only did he provide Paul with food and sustenance, but he gave him company in his imprisonment and went to great trouble to find out where he was being held so that he could do so, and could continue to do so.
And just as they were to imagine themselves as bound with them, so were they also to remember that they are in a body like that of those prisoners who are being ill-treated; they are thus to empathize with them in their sufferings and seek to help them in any way possible, just as they would wish for the same if they were in that situation. Being human as they are, we should feel along with them.
4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Thirdly they were all to honor marriage, such marriages being between couples who themselves were pure and had not previously indulged in sex. And even more importantly, marriage was to be honored by continually restraining from fornication and adultery. They were to be perfect examples of true love. Sexual relations were to be retained for enjoyment within marriage, for God would severely judge those who failed in this respect. This mention of God’s intervention stresses how serious a matter this was seen to be. Here the love of the brethren has pinpointed the love between a Christian husband and wife.
This was not only giving marriage the Lord’s approval and blessing, but probably had in mind some who thought that abstinence from marriage made them spiritually superior. It should not be so. All were to honor marriage. The honoring of marriage also meant that divorce would be unthinkable, except on the grounds of unfaithfulness. It would be to dishonor God. It may be that some were following the teaching of the Rabbi Hillel which allowed easy divorce. This idea is here rejected. Under God he clearly saw stable marriages as vital in upholding the witness of the church.
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Fourthly they were to beware of covetousness, especially the love of money. Nothing can destroy a man or woman, or a church, like money. It subtly by degrees takes men’s thoughts away from God. So they should not be concerned about whether they were rich or not. They should beware of craving after money (1 Timothy 6.10) and the deceitfulness of riches (Mark 4.19). For such soon takes hold on men and becomes their idol. Rather they should be content with what they have (Philippians 4.11), because godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6.6), and can be sure that the Lord will never fail them or forsake them in whatever needs they might have (Matthew 6.8, 19-34).
With Him as our banker we can never finally run short. For as our Lord Jesus emphasized, ‘you cannot love both God and Mammon (money)’ (Matthew 6.24), and whichever one we choose will always take precedence over the other. Either our love for God will result in money becoming unimportant except as a tool for doing good and showing love to our brothers and sisters, or the love of money will become idolatry and take away our thoughts from Christ and His ways and will destroy Christian love both for God and for men. Money is spiritually poisonous.
It may well be that he knew that some of them had lost their wealth for Christ’s sake and were deeply affected by their situation, and so is seeking to ensure that they recognize how important it really is. Take a look at today’s news of Christians fleeing terrorists. They leave with just the clothes on their backs.
The word for ‘fail’ means ‘to let go of, to lose the grip on’. It tells us that God will never lose His grip on us (John 10.29). The word for ‘forsake’ means to ‘abandon’, to ‘desert’. We who are His can be sure that we will never find ourselves abandoned and deserted. Note the strong emphasis on the negatives which is there in the Greek. It is saying that for God to fail or forsake us is absolutely impossible.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
And as a result of the certainty that we have that we know that He will not fail us or forsake us, we can say with good courage and confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What will man do to me?’ (Psalm 118.6)
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Fifthly they are to show their brotherly love by honoring their godly leaders who spoke to them the true word of God, keeping them before them as an example, and looking to them for guidance, both through the word of God and through their manner of life.
The word remember means ‘call to mind, consider, think upon’, in the same way as we are told to ‘remember your Creator in the days of your youth.’ In the same way these readers are to remember those who had the rule over them, especially as it was they who had brought to them the word of God.
Please take special note of the statement ‘Considering the issue (or end) of their life’ may signify that some have been martyred, or may simply mean ‘consider the manner and result of their life’. If the former this would indicate that his readers are also to be ready for persecution and possible martyrdom. Either way they are to ‘consider them carefully’ and follow their example.
And they can do this with confidence knowing that our Master and King Lord Jesus Christ does not change. The One ‘yesterday’ (in the past) revealed to them through the word, Jesus the Messiah, Is the same today and forever (James 1.17). If anyone therefore comes with some new doctrine that portrays The Messiah and Anointed Christ differently they should be rejected, for He continues always the same, unchanging forever. And it is He Whom their godly teachers hear and follow. That is why they too are to follow them.
9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Sixthly, especially therefore are they to beware of ‘many-colored’ and unusual teachings not established by God’s word, teachings which are foreign to the Gospel. For again our Lord Jesus Christ does not change and has come as God’s final revelation (1.1-3). Any further ‘new revelation’, or revelation contrary to the Scriptures, is therefore not to be even considered.
This especially applies to regulations concerning food. In the days of the early church false teachers of all kinds abounded, wandering from city to city and bringing strange ideas on religious matters. Many of these related to the eating of foods which connected with religious rituals of various kinds, and to various food regulations. Such teachings were prevalent in those days, as they are among some today. Paul had to combat them constantly (Romans 14.16-17; 1 Corinthians 8.8). Such regulations accomplish nothing spiritually, the writer assured his readers - they are of no profit to the spirit.
Let them therefore recognize that the heart and spirit are fed by what comes to them through the gracious activity of God, through His Holy Spirit working within them. Let them feed on such things as he has taught them (5.14).
The writer now goes on to apply this to their own circumstances. For their danger clearly lay in their desiring to receive meat from the ritual sacrificial meals which were connected with the levitical priesthood, when the peace or thank offering having been made, the meat would be made available to the worshippers. There was the danger of them looking to this rather than to receiving the gracious provision of God through the Spirit as previously described in the letter. They are to remember that those who look to such sacrificial meals are not ultimately profited by them spiritually. Eating such food cannot ‘establish’ them and make them impregnable, wherever the meat comes from. Food can strengthen the body but it cannot strengthen the heart and spirit. However, the grace of God, God’s freely given mercies, revealed in our God The Lord Jesus Christ, can do exactly that, "for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" (Titus 2.11). It is the grace of God revealed in salvation that can affect the whole man.
So there may well be that these words are an indication that certain types of Jews had come among them decrying their stance and pointing out that as Christians they now had no altar on which sacrifices could be offered, that they had no sacred meal resulting from those sacrifices, by which they could directly participate of their sacrifice and thus enjoy a physical contact with the numinous, and that they were even losing out in not participating in the Passover at Jerusalem. It would seem that this had deeply impressed them. His reply will now be that they can easily dismiss such suggestions because they have something better, for their ‘meat’ is found in being established in the grace of God, in other words in partaking of what is provided by God’s gracious action through His Spirit, spiritual participation in Christ and Him crucified. And that is something that is not dependent on Jerusalem. It is ‘outside the camp’ of Israel. It is universally available.
These words would strike a chord with many. Offering sacrifices and partaking of sacred meat was widely known both among Jews and Gentiles (1 Corinthians 10.18-21). And many who had come to Christ might well have looked back in wistful longing for those physical ritual acts which had meant so much to them. But the writer’s answer is clear. As he has been pointing out all along they are to look to the heavenly and not to the earthly, and he now expands on the point.
His reference to sacrificial meals leads on into a reconsideration of the contrast between Jesus Christ and the old ways. It is time, he says, that they finally chose between participating in the ritual of Jerusalem and the levitical priesthood ‘within the camp’, or participating in Christ and His sacrifice and going to Him ‘outside the camp’. The writer has already demonstrated from Scripture, the old has passed and the new has come, and the new is not found by looking to Jerusalem.
10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
His reply is that we actually have an altar which provides us with spiritual food of which they know nothing and of which they cannot partake. The Lord Jesus Christ was offered up as a sacrifice (9.12-14; 10.10), which must mean that He was offered up on a spiritual altar provided by God. We must not see this as just an answer it is a proud boast. It is a declaration of triumph. It is now time for them to recognize that they (and we) have a better altar, of which they who serve the earthly tabernacle and what it represents have no right to eat while they are in their unbelief.
Those who serve in the tabernacle with all its ritual are provided with meat from the sacrifices which have been offered on the altar in Jerusalem, (speaking loosely, they can ‘eat meat from the altar’), but we should recognize that we have a better altar, a spiritual altar, on which has been offered a better Sacrifice once for all, one which, supplies us with better spiritual food than their altar ever could.
For what is an altar? It is a place where a sacrifice is offered to God. And as they should well know, when Jesus died He was being offered up as a sacrifice, which indicates that God had arranged for such ‘an altar’ outside Jerusalem at Golgotha, where this could occur. And that being so, through His being offered up there on that altar, a superior altar to that in Jerusalem, we can participate in Christ’s sacrifice for us. We can participate of God’s Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5.7; John 1.29). We can feed on the Bread of Life (John 6.35). We can partake of Jesus Christ (John 6.48-58, 63).
So how do we thus feed and drink of Christ? Our Lord Jesus puts the answer in clear terms in John 6.35, ‘He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst’. In other words we feed and drink by coming and believing. We come in personal faith responding in our spirits to our Master and Lord Jesus as revealed to us through His word, looking to Him in our hearts, and we exercise constant trust, faith and response day by day as we continue looking to Him. So do we eat and drink of Him, and participate in Him. And this is especially so as we meet together to look to Him and honor Him and worship Him.
The important thing that mattered was that it was situated ‘outside the camp’, and therefore outside the scope of the levitical priesthood and the polluted city. And those who serve the Jerusalem altar have therefore no right there for they have not come to Him to receive life and forgiveness. They have rejected Him.
11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
He now likens The Son of God our Lord Jesus to the special sacrifices whose blood is brought into the Holy Place. If by the Holy Place he means the Holy of Holies then these are the Day of Atonement sacrifices. Otherwise they also include the sin offerings for the priests and for the people as a whole. In all cases the bodies of such beasts had to be burned outside the camp because they were especially holy.
All need to recognize the significance of Christ being offered outside the gates of Jerusalem. As all his readers knew intimately, under the Jerusalemite ritual what is dealt with outside the camp belongs wholly to God. Man cannot partake of it. It is sacred. They can only participate of sin offerings offered on the altar in Jerusalem, the blood of which is not taken within the Holy Place, and the carcasses of which were not burned outside the camp. We could call them the lesser sin offerings. Those alone may be retained within the camp, and be partaken of. And the consequence is that if The Messiah, our Lord Jesus was offered outside the camp, as He was, it is clear that He is inaccessible to them unless they are willing to leave the camp and put their trust in Him, and leave behind their faith in the Jerusalemite ritual once and for all. Otherwise He is forbidden to them by their own laws.
In order to understand this we must be aware of the niceties and significance of Old Testament ritual. All sin offerings were offered on the altar, but these were basically divided into two groups. In one group are the sin offerings which were for the whole people and those which were for the priests as the anointed of God. In these cases the blood was offered within the sanctuary and the carcasses could not be eaten, and apart from the fat which was burned on the altar, had to be burned in their totality outside the camp in a clean place. These included the great sacrifices on the Day of Atonement, the blood of which alone was presented in the Holy of Holies (in the other cases it was before the veil at the altar of incense. Any sin offering whose blood was presented in the Holy Place was to be treated in the same way (Leviticus 6.30
Then there were the sin offerings for individuals. These were offered on the altar and the blood of the sacrifice presented to God by means of that altar, and the fat was offered on the altar. The blood was not taken within the Holy Place. The edible meat from these sacrifices was then partaken of by the priests, while the remainder would be burned up on the altar.
What must be noted about all these offerings is that even the lesser sin offerings were all ‘most holy’ to the Lord (Leviticus 6.25). That is why all that could be eaten was to be eaten within the precincts of the tabernacle, and only by the anointed priests who because of what they were, were thereby also holy, while the other remains were burned on the altar in the court of the tabernacle. This being so these other sin offerings of which none could partake, and which were carried out of the camp and burned there in a clean place, being thereby given to God, must be even more holy. The fact that they had to be burned in a clean place demonstrated that they were certainly holy. Indeed they were so holy that apart from the fat which was burned on the altar because it was God’s they were burned outside the camp of Israel in their totality. The same occurred to burnt offerings which were for the totality of the people. This suggests that these sacrifices were seen as exceptionally holy, so holy that they belonged only to God.
So when we learn that ‘Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate’ we are made to recognize that His offering of Himself was also to be seen as exceptionally holy. Not only were the remains dealt with outside the camp, but the whole sacrifice and offering was made there. Even the tabernacle/temple itself was not holy enough for this offering. How holy then must be the holiness with which He sanctified His own. And God did this that it might be clear that no one who partook of the Jerusalemite ritual could have part in this sacrifice.
For the reason that ‘they’ could not partake of that altar was because what was sacrificed on it was a sin offering for the whole world, the type of offering of which none in the camp or even in the sanctuary could eat, but which had to burned outside the camp (thereby being given to God) because of its great holiness.
Now that the ‘camp’ had in the eyes of the Jews, religiously speaking, become Jerusalem the remains of these sacrifices were now in fact specifically burned outside Jerusalem. Thus Jesus sacrifice was seen as taking place outside the camp because it took place outside the city gates.
For, as we have already noted, ‘the camp’ (now Jerusalem) could never retain what was exceptionally holy. The camp was too secular. It was not therefore a fit place for God’s supreme holiness, and for the Holy One of God. And as we have seen this was evidenced by their own ritual. So when they sent Him out to be cursed, although they did not realise it they were paradoxically revealing His exceptional holiness, and even more drawing attention to the fact that the way to God could not be fully open for the people who still looked to Jerusalem, because their sacrifices could not make them perfect. Their sacrifices were not effective to fully cleanse and make fully holy. Thus they could not cope with God’s holiness. That is why, says the writer, Jesus suffered outside the camp, outside physical Jerusalem, because He was so holy, too holy for a ‘camp’ where the offerings were not sufficiently effective.
Of course the Jews stated that it was because He was accursed. They had sent Him to die outside Jerusalem as a judgment on Him. What they had failed to realize was that it was a judgment on themselves. For the real reason that it had happened in God’s eyes was that it was Jerusalem that was accursed, and that He was too holy for Jerusalem and what it represented. That was why He died outside the camp. It was another sign of Jerusalem’s rejection.
13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Here then we are faced with the grand paradox. He was sent out of Jerusalem by the Jews as a reproach, just as the reproach of Israel was to fall on the great Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 53). He was sent out to be cursed for being a blasphemer and irreligious. And yet by being thus sent out He was revealed to all but the prejudiced as truly and exceptionally holy. In the same way those who would follow Him must be willing to bear the same reproach that they too might partake in His holiness. They too must be willing to suffer at the hands of His rejecters. For that is what will demonstrate their holiness.
The Servant’s reproach resulted in His triumph after dying for sin so that he could sprinkle many nations and make many to be accounted righteous. And in the same way the reproach on our King and Master Lord Jesus has revealed His exceptional holiness, has brought about His sacrifice for the sins of the whole world outside the camp, has raised Him in triumph, and has made possible man’s acceptability to God on that basis, if they will but trust in Him. He will thus ‘make many to be accounted righteous’ having borne their transgressions (Isaiah 53.11). He will make them exceptionally holy in God’s eyes.
So while those of Jerusalem sent Him outside the camp because they thought that He was unfit, yes, even accursed, and continued to pour reproach and even persecution on His followers, they did so because they had failed to recognize Him as the sacrifice and sin offering which was for the sins of the world (in spite of Isaiah 53.10 and John 1.29). But God sent Him outside the camp so that His perfect holiness and adequacy as a perfect sin offering might be revealed, and that He was so holy that the camp could not contain Him, and to demonstrate the unworthiness of Jerusalem.
What is more in their hearts, had they been willing to admit it, even the Judaisers knew that that was the real reason that they had turned Him out, for, as the tradition (the Gospels) reveals, they had hated Him for being too good. It was precisely because they could not bear His purity and His closeness to God that they had done it. In the same way as they had, long before, remained in the camp of Israel and had let Moses deal with God outside the camp on the Mount, because God was too holy and they could not bear it, so now they had remained in the camp of Israel, in Jerusalem, and had left Jesus to deal with God ‘outside the camp’, because they could not bear His holiness. This time they had not outwardly fully known what they were doing, but God knew, and they knew underneath as the very ferocity of their persecution revealed. The truth is that His rejection was because He was too holy and they were not holy enough. Yet had they only but been willing to see it, they would have recognized that everything of ultimate value had to happen ‘outside the camp’, as it always had, because they and the camp were unfit.
The final lesson that sprang from this was that if his readers wanted to enjoy true holiness it would not be by returning to Jerusalem as a religious centre, but by turning their backs finally on Jerusalem as a religious centre and coming to Him, outside the camp, sharing His glorious reproach.
14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
So our eyes are not to be on the earthly Jerusalem. It had become a rejected and defiled city, a corrupt city (Revelation 11.8), a city which would not abide and would indeed shortly to be destroyed. For Christian’s do not have here an abiding city. Jerusalem as a religious centre is now not for God’s people. Indeed we do not want a city bound to earth at all. We have left that city and rather seek that city which is to come, the Jerusalem above (Galatians 4.26), that city that we can ‘come to’ even now (12.22), which represents all the true people of God, the city which is at present unseen to naked eye (although visible to the spiritual eye), but whose full glory will be revealed in the future, the new heavenly Jerusalem which has no part in this world.
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Therefore now when we wish to offer up a sacrifice to God we must do it through Him. For it is there, outside the camp that we can fulfill our priestly service, being as it is outside the old order priesthood and having no connection with it. There we can offer up a sacrifice to God continually, a sacrifice of praise, through Him. We are not earthly priests, offering earthly sacrifices. Legally we could not do that. But what we offer is a heavenly sacrifice, the fruit of our lips, ‘making confession to His name’, declaring ourselves to be His, and proclaiming Him to men. This is a sweet savor to God.
16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Along with this we are not to forget to ‘offer our sacrifices’ by continually doing good, and by having fellowship one with another continually, communicating with each other, sharing with each other, encouraging one another and exhorting one another. These are to be our offerings to God, knowing that with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
So having finally made the great divide between Jerusalem and all that it had come to stand for, and Christianity with its whole concern centered on Christ, the writer closes his letter with personal exhortations and assurance. Rather than looking to Jerusalem they are to obey those who are true servants of Jesus Christ who are appointed to watch over their spiritual welfare. And he requests in true Pauline fashion that they pray for him and his fellow-workers, especially so that he might be restored to them. For he is confident that God on His part will make them perfect in every good thing to do His will, working in them that which is well pleasing in His sight.
17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
He stresses firstly that they, like all those who are in churches with godly oversight, as he knew his readers were, should be careful to obey those who have the rule over them and to submit to them and to their teaching and guidance. He knows personally that they are such as are aware that they will have to give account, and are therefore trustworthy. And his yearning is that those leaders may be able to give account with joy because of the success of their efforts, and this not just for their own sakes, but because not to have cause to rejoice would be to the detriment of those for whom they were responsible.
These words, he assures them, arise not because of his concern for the leaders, but because he knows that for this not to happen will be unprofitable to them. It would mean that the leaders had failed in their responsibility, and that their flock had suffered, which would be profitable neither for them nor for the flock.
However we must remember, especially in these days, that the leaders themselves have to be tested by their own behavior. Our Lord Jesus said, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you: but whoever would be great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10.42-43). He was thus pointing out that such leaders can be tested out, and should be so. He was pointing out that the test of the truly great man of God is found in his humility as expressed at all times towards all (not just in an acted out scenario to some) and especially towards the lowliest. Once a minister becomes too conscious of his own authority he loses the right to that authority. It is only to those who clearly live showing that they know they must give account, and who live in true humility, that submission can be expected. It is God-given only to them.
18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. 19 But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
He then asks prayer for himself and his fellow-workers. He requests this on the grounds that their conscience is right towards God in all that they do, and that their aim in life is truly to live honorably before God in everything. They are living as they require of others. Thus they are worthy to be prayed for, that their ministry may be successful.
And one reason why he asks this with a greater urgency is so that he might be restored to them the sooner. This may suggest that he is under some restraint such as prison, which he expects to be of limited duration, possibly affected by their prayers, or it may suggest that he has a work to do for God which he cannot leave until it is firmly established. Either way he wants them to know that he desires to come to them, and would do so were it not for circumstances and the will of God. They are clearly very dear to him, and he wants them to know of his eagerness to see them.
20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
He then reciprocates by praying for them. His prayer summarizes briefly all that he has been saying as he prays that it will be fully effective in them. By this he reveals that in the end, the responsibility for their perseverance lies, if they are truly His, with God.
He prays to ‘the God of peace’. This is the God Who has made it possible for them to find peace with Him, and Who Himself can bring peace to their hearts in their present period of doubting. He Is The One Who has made peace between Jew and Gentile through the cross of Jesus making them both one as His people (Ephesians 2.11-22), and He Is The One Who makes life in this world one that is surrounded by peace for His own, as they dwell within God’s heavenly camp which has replaced for them the earthly camp (Revelation 20.9). They live in the spiritual realm, in heavenly places even while they walk on earth (Ephesians 2.6), for their hearts and minds are in Heaven (Colossians 3.1-3).
The writer then describes what the God of peace has done for us. He has ‘brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus’. Remarkably this is the first specific reference to the resurrection in the letter, although it is everywhere else assumed, for otherwise He could not have sat down at God’s right hand, nor could He have passed through the heavens as our great High Priest into the presence of God. The description is splendid. The Great Shepherd is brought forth from the dead bearing the blood of an eternal covenant. And those who look to Him enter within that covenant, and are sealed by His blood.
22 And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.
In these last thoughts he asks his readers, his ‘brothers and sisters’, to bear with his words. He knows that he has spoken strongly, but he insists that he could have written a lot more. ‘The word of exhortation’ aptly describes the main purpose of the letter which has been a mixture of theology and practical application and warning. Now he wants to ensure with this personal word that they will not take it amiss. As all the way through, he wants them to be aware of the confidence he has in them.
23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.
It is clear that Timothy had recently been in prison but has now been released, and that he expects to meet up with him, and then come to see them. This might be seen as supporting Pauline authorship.
24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
He then calls on them to pass his greetings on to the leadership of their church, and all the other Christians who are there. This would seem to confirm that he is writing to a group within that church, possibly a house group or a special interest group, for he wants his greeting passed on to ‘all the saints’, all God’s people in that area.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
With a final flourish he prays that God’s gracious and unmerited activity will be with them all.
The High Priest after offering the Sacrifice would come out of the Temple and give a blessing to the people who have remained. I would also like to pray for you that may our Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Bless you and keep you. May His face shine down upon you and give you peace. And all God’s people say, ‘Amen’.
