Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 13:1
Let brotherly love continue.
1. Let brotherly love continue ] Not only was “brotherly love” ( Philadelphia) a new and hitherto almost undreamed of virtue but it was peculiarly necessary among the members of a bitterly-persecuted sect. Hence all the Apostles lay constant stress upon it (Rom 12:10; 1Th 4:9 ; 1Pe 1:22; 1Jn 3:14-18, &c.). It was a special form of the more universal “Love” ( ), and our Lord had said that by it the world should recognise that Christians were His disciples (Joh 13:35). How entirely this prophecy was fulfilled we see alike from the fervid descriptions of tertullian, from the mocking admissions of Lucian in his curious and interesting tract “on the death of Peregrinus,” and from the remark of the Emperor Julian ( Ep. 49), that their “kindness towards strangers” had been a chief means of propagating their “atheism.” But brotherly-love in the limits of a narrow community is often imperilled by the self-satisfaction of an egotistic and dogmatic orthodoxy, shewing itself in party rivalries. This may have been the case among these Hebrews as among the Corinthians; and the neglect by some of the gatherings for Christian worship (Heb 10:25) may have tended to deepen the sense of disunion. The disunion however was only incipient, for the writer has already borne testimony to the kindness which prevailed among them (Heb 6:10, Heb 10:32-33).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let brotherly love continue – Implying that it now existed among them. The apostle had no occasion to reprove them for the want of it, as he had in regard to some to whom he wrote, but he aims merely to impress on them the importance of this virtue, and to caution them against the danger of allowing it ever to be interrupted; see the notes on Joh 13:34.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 13:1
Let brotherly love continue
Brotherly love
I.
WHAT IS BROTHERLY LOVE? It is that feeling of mutual regard, subsisting among the members of the faithful, which is felt to be due from one brother to another, and without which, in the intercourse of domestic life, there could be neither peace in families nor comfort in society. If, though hatred should not exist among them, there were yet no cordial affection, nothing like a desire to promote each others welfare, the members of that family would deprive themselves of the most fruitful source of enjoyment still permitted to fallen human nature. But brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus form but one family in the eyes of our common Parent; and He has commanded them to love as brethren.
II. How IS BROTHERLY LOVE TO BE CULTIVATED AND ATTAINED? There may be differences of sentiment and practice in many particulars, which human infirmity will always occasion, even among those who are endeavouring to find the way to the same heavenly city. But there must be a reception of the Lord Jesus; in all His offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, and a desire to submit to the guidance of His Word, and to be led by the gracious direction of His Spirit, as a foundation for that brotherly love in which we are commanded to live. Common feelings imply common principles; and the peculiar love of Christians must have the peculiar faith of Christians for its basis and origin.
III. How MAY BROTHERLY LOVE MOST SECURELY CONTINUE?
1. Of course the first object, with this view, should he to retain the feelings in which that pure affection for the Christian brotherhood originated; to recollect, from day to day, that one is our Master, even Christ, and that all we are brethren; and still more especially to look upon every trait of Christian character as a link of attachment, a feature in that family likeness which belongs to all the faithful, and gives them an instinctive interest in each others well-being. But, after all, the chief preservative of this characteristic grace of Christianity is, the love of Christ Himself, which will always necessarily expand in love for the brethren.
2. But, further; if we desire this mutual regard for all the brethren to continue among us, and to grow, we must attend to two things.
(1) We must be on the watch to do those actions which have a tendency to promote and to strengthen brotherly love. We must inquire into each others wants, with a view to relieve them, and thus exercise the affections which we wish to cultivate.
(2) We must be careful to remove those impediments which thwart and retard its growth. Now, there are a number of little causes, which, by being suffered to grow up in the bosoms of Christians, tend to narrow their affections, and restrain that brotherly love which ought to be their delight. Differences of taste will sometimes, if not controlled, engender personal dislikes, against which a wise man can never be too much on his guard. It is surprising how often some slight, but frequently recurring, peculiarities of manner will produce a distaste for the society of a person who is yet a Christian.
3. Again; every man has his infirmities, his failings, his besetting sins. There is no habit more injurious to the exercise of brotherly love than that of dwelling unnecessarily on the defects of those whom we are bound to love as brethren. Whatever be your neighbours faults, he is still your brother, for whom Christ died. I have not now spoken of the duty of forgiveness, because, among those who are Christians indeed, the occasions for the exercise of this virtue ought to be rare. But yet a forgiving disposition is so essential an attribute of Christianity that brotherly love cannot be cultivated without it.
4. But the grand instrument for the removal of all impediments to our charity, from within or from without, is intercessory prayer. (E. G. Marsh, M. A.)
Brotherly love
A brother is a hallowed name. Born of the same parents, nursed with the same untiring, tender care, dependent on the same protection, and sharing in the same blessings of the same common hearthstone, expectant heirs of a common inheritance, the tie that binds me to my brother is one most sacred in its nature, and nothing ought to be allowed to injure, much lest to destroy, this hallowed relationship.
I. BROTHERLY LOVE MAY BE DISTURBED AND SOMETIMES SEVERED. Christianity does not deprive us of our individuality. With the same inspired truth before us we differ, honestly, in our opinions as to the meaning or extent of that truth. We still have our pride of opinion. Again, we are liable to have our preferences and prejudices as well as our opinions. Here is need for the exercise of that charity that thinketh no evil; that, in honour, prefers another to itself. Love is magnetic. It attracts pure hearts together and all to God. It throws its wondrous power over sinful opposition, and with more than the skill of Orpheus is a true tamer of wild beasts. Love is the great law of gravity in Gods spiritual universe; it binds each orb and keeps it coherent, while it rolls all in harmony around the grand central sun. Love is the vitalising principle of truth and experience and duty. Love concentrates individual piety in intense beauty in the character of the Church, while it unifies and employs all the strength of the Church in its sacred mission on the earth.
II. Again, THERE IS THE PURPOSE FORMED BY EACH LOVER OF THE SAVIOUR THAT BROTHERLY LOVE SHALL CONTINUE. The first approaches of the small foxes that injure the vines are carefully guarded against. Special care is taken to put out the least spark of envy, or malice, or uncharitableness, that the enemy may throw into the soul. The little courtesies of Christian as well as polite society are tendered with suitable delicacy, and little deeds of kindness are kept busily at work receiving and reciprocating true brotherly love.
III. BROTHERLY LOVE ACCORDS TO OTHERS WHAT WE CLAIM FOR OURSELVES, AND MORE–for, in true humility, in honour it esteems others better than itself. It is deferential, forbearing, and forgiving. To rejoice in the success of a brother, more than in our own, is strong evidence that we have been with Jesus, and breathed largely of His Spirit. Let brotherly love continue.
1. This should be the theory and practice of the ministers and officers of the Church.
2. Among different denominations of Christians this should be observed.
3. Among members of the same Church this apostolic injunction is a vital necessity. It is utterly opposed to detraction of the gifts, ability, and usefulness either of ministers or of any member of the Church.
4. We should cultivate this principle of brotherly love, for through it we must show, by contrast with unsanctified human nature, that Christs religion makes us gentle, kind, patient, and forgiving; and as Christs history is the loveliest exhibition of Divine love, so we must reflect the highest honour on our once crucified but now risen Lord, by loving the brethren.
5. Nowhere is there a more attractive picture of genuine piety than in the fellowship of the saints. (W. H. Anderson, D. D.)
Love one another:
Love is one of the most important and distinctive of all Christian graces, and some of the churches seem to have been distinguished by a great abundance of it. Writing to the Thessalonians, the apostle says: Concerning brotherly love, ye have no need that I write unto you. I thank God for all the grace that has abounded in you; still let it continue. Let us now glance at the objects of brotherly love. In the first place, it must mean Christian brotherhood. Only as we love them for Christs sake have we any true brotherly love. But what is to be the rule of our brotherly love? It is to be after the measure and the pattern of our Lords love to us. This is the revealed standard, and it has been set before us most plainly again and again. When the Saviour announced it to His disciples He said: A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, and very soon after He refers to it again and says: This is My commandment, that ye love one another. Then He refers to the strongest proof of love: Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend. The Apostle Paul said: Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and the Apostle John said: Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Why, this laying down of His life is the mystery of redemption, the strongest revelation of the Divine compassion, the innermost sanctuary of the absolute goodness. How can we attain to this standard of love? It is a good rule–aim high, or you will never excel. Ay, and this, too, is needed–for brotherly love has a good deal to do, to endure, and to give–a heart divinely tender, a hand divinely strong, a soul divinely generous. And now consider some reasons why we should join the apostle in his desire: Let brotherly love continue. First, it has a power of living and growing. Brotherly love is a living power. We may well and consistently say, Let it continue. In the trials that will come of the furthering of the cause of Christ, let brotherly love ever continue. The want of it hinders more than almost anything else. Besides, the presence and power of it is mightily helpful. The Saviour prayed that His disciples might be all one–not in oneness of ceremonial and creed, but in character and life with the Father and with the Son. But that was only to secure another object–that the world might know, that the world might believe that the Father had sent the Son. This was the direct effect produced by the descent of the new Christian life on the Day of Pentecost. The primitive disciples were few and poor, unlearned and despised. Yet by moral force alone they emptied the temples and demolished the altars, vanquished Caesar, the philosophers and priests, and changed the aspect of the world. By what? Supremely by the vision of the Crucified–that manifestation of matchless love, which at once showed what love for sinners was and could do. And next to that was the image of brotherly love, a Divine creation, sent amongst men. In a world where the few were tyrants and knew no mercy, and the many crushed and toiling slaves that found no pity–lo! they looked up, saw this new creation–men loving one another–and they said: See how these Christians love one another! and their hearts were eased, and a new life began in them, and a new life was conferred upon them. Was it so? There is no question. Then let brotherly love continue. Further, brotherly love is for the edification and establishment of the cause of Christ. Paul says: Knowledge puffeth up; charity edifieth. The great appointed force for all Christians, where by each believing man may attain to a full salvation, is faith; but faith works by love. Christian fidelity consists not merely in speaking the truth–you only want a hot temper to do that sometimes–but in speaking the truth in love–a very rare and a very difficult thing. In the midst of all infirmities andsufferings to have a patience that never frets and an energy that never tires, forbearing one another in love–oh, there is the calm and glow of the divinest life that can possess the soul of a man I God grant that this grace of love may abide with you, because it edifies every way and everywhere. Let it continue in the midst of the infirmities and sufferings of life. One brother is rash, another sluggish; one vain, another proud; one rude, another sensitive; one shy, another forward. Amidst all imperfections there is nothing so good and nothing so helpful as brotherly love–meek, generous, thinking no evil, seeking not its own, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things. And in one way or another all have their sufferings. These sufferings are to us a great mystery; yet one feels that they furnish a grand field for the exercise of brotherly love in which to speak its kind words, do its best deeds, win its triumphs, and shine forth in all its glory. Brotherly love is also a sign of grace, and a good one. A sign of grace, I say, and a blessed sign of grace, a mark of the true Church if you try to get it and keep it. Finally, let brotherly love continue until it return unto glory; for by Divine appointment it shall live in heaven and be perfect there. (John Aldis.)
The duty of brotherly love
1. There is the express command of God and of Christ in regard to it. It is a permanent obligation.
2. The relationship continues, and so should the affection; the bond of brotherhood abides, and the love of the brotherhood should abide also.
3. The fountain from which it flows continues, and so also should the stream that flows from it.
4. The necessity for its cultivation continues,
(1) You have need of it.
(2) Your brethren have need of it; for oh, you know not how you grieve and wound them.
(3) The glory of Christ and the triumphs of the gospel need it. (Thos. Main, D. D.)
The preservation of brotherly love:
Brotherly love is very apt to be impaired if we do not endeavour continually to preserve it. It is a part of the wisdom of faith to consider aright the occasions of the decay of mutual love, and the means of its preservation. Without this we cannot comply with this caution and injunction in a due manner.
I. The CAUSES OF THE DECAY OF THIS LOVE, whence it doth not continue as it ought, are
1. Self-love.
2. Love of this present world.
3. Abounding of lusts in the hearts of men.
4. Ignorance of the true nature, both of the grace and the exercise of it, in its proper duties.
5. Principally, the loss of a concernment in the foundation of it, which is an interest in gratuitous adoption, and the participation of the same spirit, the same new nature and life. Where this is not, though conviction of truth and the profession of it may for a season make an appearance of this brotherly love, it will not long continue.
II. THE OCCASIONS OF ITS DECAY AND LOSS ARE
1. Differences in opinion and practice about things in religion.
2. Unsuitableness of natural tempers and inclinations.
3. Readiness to receive a sense of appearing provocations.
4. Different, and sometimes inconsistent secular interests.
5. An abuse of spiritual gifts, by pride on the one hand, or envy on the other.
6. Attempts for domination, inconsistent in a fraternity; which are all to be watched against.
III. THE MEANS OF ITS CONTINUANCE OR PRESERVATION ARE
1. An endeavour to grow and thrive in the principle of it, or the power of adopting grace.
2. A due sense of the weight or moment of this duty, from the especial institution and command of Christ.
3. Of the trial which is committed thereunto, of the sincerity of our grace, and the truth of our sanctification. For by this we know that we are passed from death unto life.
4. A due consideration of the use, yea, necessity of this duty to the glory of God, and edification of the Church; and
5. Of that breach of union, loss of peace, disorder and confusion, which must and will ensue on the neglect of it.
6. Constant watchfulness against all those vicious habits of mind, in self-love, or love of the world, which are apt to impair it.
7. Diligent heed that it be not insensibly impaired in its vital acts; such as are patience, forbearance, readiness to forgive, unaptness to believe evil, without which no other duties of it will be long continued.
8. Fervent prayer for supplies of grace enabling us thereunto, with sundry others of a like nature. And if we judge not this duty of such importance as to be constant in the use of these means for the maintenance of it, it will not continue. (John Owen, D. D.)
Christian union
I. ITS NATURE.
1. Unity in sentiment.
2. Union of feeling.
3. Union of effort.
II. THE DESIRABLENESS OR IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNION.
1. The teachings of Scripture.
2. The example of the early Christians.
3. The evils of division.
4. Christians are engaged in the same cause.
5. Union is strength.
6. Union is promotive of happiness.
7. It is only by the exercise of that love, which is the substratum of union, that one can resemble God, and become imbued with the spirit of heaven. (W. C. Whitcomb.)
Motives to brotherly love
1. Brotherly love is a grace absolutely necessary. It is the foundation whereon all duties that have relation to the brethren are erected.
2. Brotherly love is one of the fairest and most glorious flowers in the Christian garden. It makes men amiable before God and man. It sends forth a sweet fragrant savour wheresoever it is.
3. Such is the life and vigour of brotherly love, as it puts on them in whom it is unto all duties. A stronger incitation and enforcement thereunto cannot be given.
4. So violent and irresistible is the power of love, as it will pass through all difficulties, and overthrow all obstacles. It will not be hindered from doing the good it should do.
5. Love is as salt, which infuseth a savoury and wholesome taste into such things as would otherwise be fresh and flashy. It is therefore joined with sundry other duties for this very purpose, even to season them. The apostle so far commends love in this kind, as he maketh all things unsavoury and unprofitable without it (1Co 13:1-3). He therefore giveth this general advice, Let-all your things be done in love (1Co 16:14).
6. Love hath a strong operation on others. It is a fire which heateth the things that are near it. As apprehension of Gods love to us works love in us to God (1Jn 4:19), so others apprehension of our love to them will make them love us. And as love puts us on to all kindness unto them, so their love of us will put them on to do all kindness unto us. David and Jonathan.
7. Love is one of the most comfortable graces that a man can have. It gives evidence to others, and brings assurance to a mans own soul of the love of God to him, of his right to Jesus Christ, of the Spirits abode in him, and of his right to the heavenly inheritance.
8. Love is an especial means of strengthening and establishing the kingdom of Christ. It unites the subjects and members of that kingdom in one, which is a means of great stability.
9. The nearest union that is betwixt any in this world is betwixt professors of the faith, and that in their mutual relation one to another, and in the joint relation that they all have to Christ. Resemblances of the nearest relation that be, are used to set this forth, as of a foundation and edifice Eph 2:20-21) of a vine and branches (Joh 15:5), of a husband and wife (Eph 5:32; 2Co 11:2), of a head and body (Eph 1:22-23). This near union should stir us up to brotherly love; for therein we love that body which is styled Christ (1Co 12:12).
10. This world s hatred of saints should the more stir us up to love them. Christ enforceth this duty upon this ground (Joh 15:17-19). The world most hateth saints, and that, in this very respect, because they are saints.
But brotherly love is a sovereign antidote against the poison of the worlds hatred, and a precious cordial to revive and support the saints spirits. (W. Gouge.)
Brotherly love:
A truly pious man, of rank in society, was in the habit of entertaining persons of very humble circumstances of life, if they only gave evidence of true religion. A friend of his, who was accustomed to measure everything according to the standard of this world, pleasantly rallied him on the subject of his associates; intimating his surprise that he should admit to his hospitality and friendship persons of so obscure origin, and of so little estimation among men. He replied, in a tone of unaffected humility, that as he could scarcely hope to enjoy so elevated a rank as they, in a future world, he knew not why he should despise them in the present. The reproof came home to the feelings of the proud man, and he was silent; conscience whispering, meanwhile, how dim were his prospects of rising in the future world to an equality with the pious poor, if his Christian friend was in danger of falling below them.
Brotherly love among the early Christians
A striking instance of the brotherly love of the early Christians transpired in the great plague that raged round Alexandria, during the reign of Gallienus. At the first appearance of the symptoms, the heathen drove the infected man from their sight; they tore themselves from their dearest connections; they threw their friends half-dead into the streets, and left their dead unburied. But, in contrast with this cruel selfishness, the Christians, in the abundance of their brotherly love, as their Bishop Dionysius says, did not spare themselves, but mutually attending each other, they would visit the sick without fear, and ministering to each other for the sake of Christ, cheerfully gave up their lives with them. Many died after their care had restored others to health. Many, who took the bodies of their Christian brethren into their hands and bosoms, and closed their eyes, and buried them with every mark of attention, soon followed them in death.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XIII.
Exhortations to hospitality to Strangers, 1, 2.
Kindness to those in bonds, 3.
Concerning marriage, 4.
Against covetousness, 5, 6.
How they should imitate their teachers, 7, 8.
To avoid strange doctrines, 9.
Of the Jewish sin-offerings, 10, 11.
Jesus suffered without the gate, and we should openly confess
him and bear his reproach, 12, 13.
Here we have no permanent residence; and while we live should
devote ourselves to God, and live to do good, 14-16.
We should obey them that have the rule over us, 17.
The apostle exhorts them to pray for him, that he might be
restored to them the sooner, 18, 19.
Commends them to God in a very solemn prayer, 20, 21.
Entreats them to bear the word of exhortation, mentions Timothy,
and concludes with the apostolical benediction, 22-25.
NOTES ON CHAP. XIII.
Verse 1. Let brotherly love continue.] Be all of one heart and one soul. Feel for, comfort, and support each other; and remember that he who professes to love God should love his brother also. They had this brotherly love among them; they should take care to retain it. As God is remarkable for his , philanthropy, or love to man, so should they be for , or love to each other. See the note on “Tit 3:4“.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The apostle in this chapter pursueth his counsel to the subjects of the unmoveable kingdom of Christ, for their performing suitable duties to such a privilege, and especially such as more immediately terminate on their neighbour, and are contained in the second table of the Redeemers laws; as the chief and fundamental one, brotherly love. Let love, a fruit of the Spirit, show forth itself and its existence in you, in pre-eminence, and in duration, by disposing always the inward man, mind, will, and affections, to seek the good, to speak all the good to and of, and to do all good to their Christian brethren, to all true Christians, eminently styled by the Spirit the brotherhood, Mat 12:50; 28:10; Joh 13:34,35; 20:17; 1Co 13:1-13; Eph 4:32; 1Th 4:9; 1Jo 3:14,16.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. brotherly lovea distinctspecial manifestation of “charity” or “love” (2Pe1:7). The Church of Jerusalem, to which in part this Epistle wasaddressed, was distinguished by this grace, we know from Acts(compare Heb 6:10; Heb 10:32-34;Heb 12:12; Heb 12:13).
continueCharitywill itself continue. See that it continue with you.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let brotherly love continue. The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions add, “in you”; or among you, as a church and society of Christians; for this is not to be understood of love to all mankind, or to those of the same nation, or who are in a strict natural relation brethren, though they are all in a sense brethren, and to be loved; but of love to those who are in the same spiritual relation to God, as their Father, to Christ, as the firstborn among many brethren; and are in the same church state, at least partakers of the same grace: and which love ought to be universal, and reach to all the saints, and be fervent and unfeigned, and as Christ hath loved us; and when it is genuine, it is active and laborious; and shows itself in praying with and for one another; in bearing one another’s burdens; in forbearing and forgiving one another; in admonishing one another in love; in building up each other in the most holy faith; and in stirring up one another to the several duties of religion: and without this excellent and useful grace, a profession of religion is in vain; this is an evidence of regeneration; it is the bond of perfectness, and what renders the saints’ communion delightful and edifying: many are the arguments moving to the exercise of it; as the love of God, and Christ; the new commandment of Christ; the relation saints stand in to one another; the comfort and joy of Gospel ministers, and our own peace and edification: and this should continue; for the love of God and Christ continues; the relation between the saints continues; and without this, churches cannot continue long: the apostle means, not the grace itself, the internal principle, for that, where it once is, always continues, and can never be lost; but the exercise and increase of it, an abounding in it yet more and more. One of the Jewish prayers is to this purpose q;
“he that dwells in this house, let him plant among you
, “brotherhood and love”, (or brotherly love,) peace and friendship.”
q T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 3. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Various Duties. | A. D. 62. |
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 honourable 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 to day, and for ever. 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.
The design of Christ in giving himself for us is that he may purchase to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Now the apostle calls the believing Hebrews to the performance of many excellent duties, in which it becomes Christians to excel.
I. To brotherly love (v. 1), by which he does not only mean a general affection to all men, as our brethren by nature, all made of the same blood, nor that more limited affection which is due to those who are of the same immediate parents, but that special and spiritual affection which ought to exist among the children of God. 1. It is here supposed that the Hebrews had this love one for another. Though, at this time, that nation was miserably divided and distracted among themselves, both about matters of religion and the civil state, yet there was true brotherly love left among those of them who believed on Christ; and this appeared in a very eminent manner presently after the shedding forth of the Holy Ghost, when they had all things common, and sold their possessions to make a general fund of subsistence to their brethren. The spirit of Christianity is a spirit of love. Faith works by love. The true religion is the strongest bond of friendship; if it be not so, it has its name for nothing. 2. This brotherly love was in danger of being lost, and that in a time of persecution, when it would be most necessary; it was in danger of being lost by those disputes that were among them concerning the respect they ought still to have to the ceremonies of the Mosaic law. Disputes about religion too often produce a decay of Christian affection; but this must be guarded against, and all proper means used to preserve brotherly love. Christians should always love and live as brethren, and the more they grow in devout affection to God their heavenly Father the more they will grow in love to one another for his sake.
II. To hospitality: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for his sake, v. 2. We must add to brotherly kindness charity. Here observe, 1. The duty required–to entertain strangers, both those that are strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to our persons, especially those who know themselves to be strangers here and are seeking another country, which is the case of the people of God, and was so at this time: the believing Jews were in a desperate and distressed condition. But he seems to speak of strangers as such; though we know not who they are, nor whence they come, yet, seeing they are without any certain dwelling place, we should allow them room in our hearts and in our houses, as we have opportunity and ability. 2. The motive: Thereby some have entertained angels unawares; so Abraham did (Gen. xviii.), and Lot (Gen. xix.), and one of those that Abraham entertained was the Son of God; and, though we cannot suppose this will ever be our case, yet what we do to strangers, in obedience to him, he will reckon and reward as done to himself. Matt. xxv. 35, I was a stranger, and you took me in. God has often bestowed honours and favours upon his hospitable servants, beyond all their thoughts, unawares.
III. To Christian sympathy: Remember those that are in bonds, v. 3. Here observe,
1. The duty–to remember those that are in bonds and in adversity. (1.) God often orders it so that while some Christians and churches are in adversity others enjoy peace and liberty. All are not called at the same time to resist unto blood. (2.) Those that are themselves at liberty must sympathize with those that are in bonds and adversity, as if they were bound with them in the same chain: they must fell the sufferings of their brethren.
2. The reason of the duty: As being yourselves in the body; not only in the body natural, and so liable to the like sufferings, and you should sympathize with them now that others may sympathize with you when your time of trial comes; but in the same mystical body, under the same head, and if one member suffer all the rest suffer with it, 1 Cor. xii. 26. It would be unnatural in Christians not to bear each other’s burdens.
IV. To purity and chastity, v. 4. Here you have, 1. A recommendation of God’s ordinance of marriage, that it is honourable in all, and ought to be so esteemed by all, and not denied to those to whom God has not denied it. It is honourable, for God instituted it for man in paradise, knowing it was not good for him to be alone. He married and blessed the first couple, the first parents of mankind, to direct all to look unto God in that great concern, and to marry in the Lord. Christ honoured marriage with his presence and first miracle. It is honourable as a means to prevent impurity and a defiled bed. It is honourable and happy, when persons come together pure and chaste, and preserve the marriage bed undefiled, not only from unlawful but inordinate affections. 2. A dreadful but just censure of impurity and lewdness: Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (1.) God knows who are guilty of such sins, no darkness can hide them from him. (2.) He will call such sins by their proper names, not by the names of love and gallantry, but of whoredom and adultery, whoredom in the single state and adultery in the married state. (3.) He will bring them into judgment, he will judge them, either by their own consciences here, and set their sins in order before them for their deep humiliation (and conscience, when awakened, will be very severe upon such sinners), or he will set them at his tribunal at death, and in the last day; he will convict them, condemn them, and cast them out for ever, if they die under the guilt of this sin.
V. To Christian contentment, Heb 13:5; Heb 13:6. Here observe, 1. The sin that is contrary to this grace and duty–covetousness, an over eager desire of the wealth of this world, envying those who have more than we. This sin we must allow no place in our conversation; for, though it be a secret lust lurking in the heart, if it be not subdued it will enter into our conversation, and discover itself in our manner of speaking and acting. We must take care not only to keep this sin down, but to root it out of our souls. 2. The duty and grace that is contrary to covetousness–being satisfied and pleased with such things as we have; present things, for past things cannot be recalled, and future things are only in the hand of God. What God gives us from day to day we must be content with, though it fall short of what we have enjoyed heretofore, and though it do not come up to our expectations for the future. We must be content with our present lot. We must bring our minds to our present condition, and this is the sure way to contentment; and those who cannot do it would not be contented though God should raise their condition to their minds, for the mind would rise with the condition. Haman was the great court-favourite, and yet not contented–Ahab on the throne, and yet not contented–Adam in paradise, and yet not contented; yea, the angels in heaven, and yet not contented; but Paul, though abased and empty, had learned in every state, in any state, therewith to be content. 3. What reason Christians have to be contented with their lot. (1.) God hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,Heb 13:5; Heb 13:6. This was said to Joshua (ch. i. 5), but belongs to all the faithful servants of God. Old-Testament promises may be applied to New-Testament saints. This promise contains the sum and substance of all the promises. I will never, no, never leave thee, nor ever forsake thee. Here are no fewer than five negatives heaped together, to confirm the promise; the true believer shall have the gracious presence of God with him in life, at death, and for ever. (2.) From this comprehensive promise they may assure themselves of help from God: So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man shall do unto me, v. 6. Men can do nothing against God, and God can make all that men do against his people to turn to their good.
VI. To the duty Christians owe to their ministers, and that both to those that are dead and to those that are yet alive.
1. To those that are dead: Remember those that have had the rule over you, v. 7. Here observe,
(1.) The description given of them. They were such as had the rule over them, and had spoken to them the word of God; their guides and governors, who had spoken to them the word of God. Here is the dignity to which they were advanced–to be rulers and leaders of the people, not according to their own will, but the will and word of God; and this character they filled up with suitable duty: they did not rule at a distance, and rule by others, but they ruled by personal presence and instruction, according to the word of God.
(2.) The duties owing to them, even when they were dead.
[1.] “Remember them–their preaching, their praying, their private counsel, their example.”
[2.] “Follow their faith; be stedfast in the profession of the faith they preached to you, and labour after the grace of faith by which they lived and died so well. Consider the end of their conversation, how quickly, how comfortably, how joyfully, they finished their course!” Now this duty of following the same true faith in which they had been instructed the apostle enlarges much upon, and presses them earnestly to it, not only from the remembrance of their faithful deceased guides, but from several other motives.
First, From the immutability and eternity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though their ministers were some dead, others dying, yet the great head and high priest of the church, the bishop of their souls, ever lives, and is ever the same; and they should be stedfast and immovable, in imitation of Christ, and should remember that Christ ever lives to observe and reward their faithful adherence to his truths, and to observe and punish their sinful departure from him. Christ is the same in the Old-Testament day, in the gospel day, and will be so to his people for ever.
Secondly, From the nature and tendency of those erroneous doctrines that they were in danger of falling in with.
a. They were divers and various (v. 9), different from what they had received from their former faithful teachers, and inconsistent with themselves.
b. They were strange doctrines: such as the gospel church was unacquainted with foreign to the gospel.
c. They were of an unsettling, distracting nature, like the wind by which the ship is tossed, and in danger of being driven from its anchor, carried away, and split upon the rocks. They were quite contrary to that grace of God which fixes and establishes the heart, which is an excellent thing. These strange doctrines keep the heart always fluctuating and unsettled.
d. They were mean and low as to their subject. They were about external, little, perishing things, such as meats and drinks, c.
e. They were unprofitable. Those who were most taken with them, and employed about them, got no real good by them to their own souls. They did not make them more holy, nor more humble, nor more thankful, nor more heavenly.
f. They would exclude those who embraced them from the privileges of the Christian altar (<i>v. 10): We have an altar. This is an argument of the great weight, and therefore the apostle insists the longer upon it. Observe,
(a.) The Christian church has its altar. It was objected against the primitive Christians that their assemblies were destitute of an altar; but this was not true. We have an alter, not a material altar, but a personal one, and that is Christ; he is both our altar, and our sacrifice; he sanctifies the gift. The altars under the law were types of Christ; the brazen altar of the sacrifice, the golden altar of his intercession.
(b.) This altar furnishes out a feast for true believers, a feast upon the sacrifice, a feast of fat things, spiritual strength and growth, and holy delight and pleasure. The Lord’s table is not our altar, but it is furnished with provision from the altar. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Cor. v. 7), and it follows, therefore let us keep the feast. The Lord’s supper is the feast of the gospel passover.
(c.) Those who adhere to the tabernacle or the Levitical dispensation, or return to it again, exclude themselves from the privileges of this altar, from the benefits purchased by Christ. If they serve the tabernacle, they are resolved to subject themselves to antiquated rites and ceremonies, to renounce their right to the Christian altar; and this part of the argument he first proves and then improves.
[a.] He proves that this servile adherence to the Jewish state is a bar to the privileges of the gospel altar; and he argues thus:–Under the Jewish law, no part of the sin-offering was to be eaten, but all must be burnt without the camp while they dwelt in tabernacles, and without the gates when they dwelt in cities: now, if they will still be subject to that law, they cannot eat at the gospel-altar; for that which is eaten there is furnished from Christ, who is the great sin-offering. Not that it is the very sin-offering itself, as the papists affirm; for then it was not to be eaten, but burnt; but the gospel feast is the fruit and procurement of the sacrifice, which those have no right to who do not acknowledge the sacrifice itself. And that it might appear that Christ was really the antitype of the sin-offering, and, as such, might sanctify or cleanse his people with his own blood, he conformed himself to the type, in suffering without the gate. This was a striking specimen of his humiliation, as if he had not been fit either for sacred or civil society! And this shows how sin, which was the meritorious cause of the sufferings of Christ, is a forfeiture of all sacred and civil rights, and the sinner a common plague and nuisance to all society, if God should be strict to mark iniquity. Having thus shown that adherence to the Levitical law would, even according to its own rules, debar men from the Christian altar, he proceeds,
[b.] To improve this argument (v. 13-15) in suitable advices. First, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp; go forth from the ceremonial law, from sin, from the world, from ourselves, our very bodies, when he calls us. Secondly, Let us be willing to bear his reproach, be willing to be accounted the offscouring of all things, not worthy to live, not worthy to die a common death. This was his reproach, and we must submit to it; and we have the more reason because, whether we go forth from this world to Christ or no, we must necessarily go forth in a little time by death; for here we have no continuing city. Sin, sinners, death, will not suffer us to continue long here; and therefore we should go forth now by faith, and seek in Christ the rest and settlement which this world cannot afford us, v. 14. Thirdly, Let us make a right use of this altar; not only partake of the privileges of it, but discharge the duties of the altar, as those whom Christ has made priests to attend on this altar. Let us bring our sacrifices to this altar, and to this our high priest, and offer them up by him, Heb 13:15; Heb 13:16. Now what are the sacrifices which we must bring and offer on this altar, even Christ? Not any expiatory sacrifices; there is no need of them. Christ has offered the great sacrifice of atonement, ours are only the sacrifices of acknowledgment; and they are, 1. The sacrifice of praise to God, which we should offer up to God continually. In this are included all adoration and prayer, as well as thanksgiving; this is the fruit of our lips; we must speak forth the praises of God from unfeigned lips; and this must be offered only to God, not to angels, nor saints, nor any creature, but to the name of God alone; and it must be by Christ, in a dependence upon his meritorious satisfaction and intercession. 2. The sacrifice of alms-deeds, and Christian charity: To do good, and to communicate, forget now; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased, v. 16. We must, according to our power, communicate to the necessities of the souls and bodies of men; not contenting ourselves to offer the sacrifice of our lips, mere words, but the sacrifice of good deeds; and these we must lay down upon this altar, not depending upon the merit of our good deeds, but of our great high priest; and with such sacrifices as these, adoration and alms thus offered up, God is well pleased; he will accept the offering with pleasure, and will accept and bless the offers through Christ.
2. Having thus told us the duty Christians owe to their deceased ministers, which principally consists in following their faith and not departing from it, the apostle tells us what is the duty that people owe to their living ministers (v. 17) and the reasons of that duty: (1.) The duty–to obey them, and submit themselves to them. It is not an implicit obedience, or absolute submission, that is here required, but only so far as is agreeable to the mind and will of God revealed in his word; and yet it is truly obedience and submission, and that not only to God, but to the authority of the ministerial office, which is of God as certainly, in all things belonging to that office, as the authority of parents or of civil magistrates in the things within their sphere. Christians must submit to be instructed by their ministers, and not think themselves too wise, too good, or too great, to learn from them; and, when they find that ministerial instructions are agreeable to the written word, they must obey them. (2.) The motives to this duty. [1.] They have the rule over the people; their office, though not magisterial, yet is truly authoritative. They have no authority to lord it over the people, but to lead them in the ways of God, by informing and instructing them, explaining the word of God to them, and applying it to their several cases. They are not to make laws of their own, but to interpret the laws of God; nor is their interpretation to be immediately received without examination, but the people must search the scriptures, and so far as the instructions of their minister are according to that rule they ought to receive them, not as the word of men, but, as they are indeed, the word of God, that works effectually in those that believe. [2.] They watch for the souls of the people, not to ensnare them, but to save them; to gain them, not to themselves, but to Christ; to build them up in knowledge, faith, and holiness. They are to watch against every thing that may be hurtful to the souls of men, and to give them warning of dangerous errors, of the devices of Satan, of approaching judgments; they are to watch for all opportunities of helping the souls of men forward in the way to heaven. [3.] They must give an account how they have discharged their duty, and what has become of the souls committed to their trust, whether any have been lost through their neglect, and whether any of them have been brought in and built up under their ministry. [4.] They would be glad to give a good account of themselves and their hearers. If they can then give in an account of their own fidelity and success, it will be a joyful day to them; those souls that have been converted and confirmed under their ministry will be their joy, and their crown, in the day of the Lord Jesus. [5.] If they give up their account with grief, it will be the people’s loss as well as theirs. It is the interest of hearers that the account their ministers give of them may be with joy, and not with grief. If faithful ministers be not successful, the grief will be theirs, but the loss will be the people’s. Faithful ministers have delivered their own souls, but a fruitless and faithless people’s blood and ruin will be upon their own heads.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Brotherly love (). Late word from (1Pe 3:8). See 1Th 4:9. It is always in order in a church.
To show love unto strangers ( ). Old word for hospitality, from (1Ti 3:2), in N.T. only here and Ro 12:3. In genitive case with (present middle imperative, cf. Heb 6:10).
Have entertained angels unawares ( ). Second aorist active indicative of , old verb to escape notice and first aorist active participle of , old verb to entertain a guest (, stranger), according to a classic idiom seen with , , , by which the chief idea is expressed by the participle (supplementary participle), here meaning, “some escaped notice when entertaining angels.” The reference is to Heb 13:18; Heb 13:19 (Abraham and Sarah did this very thing).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Let brotherly love continue [ ] . Filadelfia in Paul, Rom 12:10; 1Th 4:9. As a proper name, Rev 1:11; Rev 3:7. It is not necessary to suppose that the admonition implies signs of estrangement among those addressed. Comp. ch. Heb 3:13; Heb 6:10; Heb 10:24; Heb 12:12 – 15.
Heb 13:2Be not forgetful to entertain strangers [ ] . Lit. be not forgetful of hospitality. Filoxenia only here and Rom 12:13. o LXX Filoxenov hospitable, 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9. The rendering of Rev. to show love unto strangers, is affected. On the injunction comp. Rom 12:13; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9, and see Clem. Rom. Ad Cor. 10, 11, 12. The virtue of hospitality is not distinctively Christian. It appears with the very beginnings of history, largely as the result of nomadic conditions. It was peculiarly an Oriental virtue. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, commendatory judgment is awarded to him who has fed the hungry and clothed the naked. The O. T. abounds in illustrations, and the practice of hospitality among the Arabs and Bedoueen is familiar through the writings of travelers in the East. 244 Great stress was laid on the duty by the Greeks, as appears constantly in Homer and elsewhere. Hospitality was regarded as a religious duty. The stranger was held to be under the special protection of Zeus, who was called xeniov, the God of the stranger. The Romans regarded any violation of the rites of hospitality as impiety. Cicero says : “It seems to me eminently becoming that the homes of distinguished men should be open to distinguished guests, and that it is an honor to the Republic that foreigners should not lack this kind of liberality in our city” (De Off 2:18).
Have entertained angels unawares [ ] . The Greek idiom is, “were not apparent as entertaining angels.” The verb elaqon were concealed represents the adverb unawares. For similar instances see Mr 14:8; Act 12:16; Aristoph. Wasps, 517; Hdt 1:44; Hom. Il. 13 273. Xenizein to receive as a guest, mostly in Acts. In LXX only in the apocryphal books. In later Greek, to surprise with a novelty; passive, to be surprised or shocked. So 1Pe 4:4, 12; comp. 2 Ep. of Clem. of Rome (so called), 17 To be a stranger or to be strange, once in N. T., Act 17:20. Xenismov amazement, perplexity, not in N. T. LXX, Pro 14:17. Comp. Ignatius, Ephesians 19. The allusion to the unconscious entertainment of angels is probably to Genesis 18, 19, but the idea was familiar in Greek literature. The Greeks thought that any stranger might be a God in disguise. See Hom. Od. 1. 96 ff.; 3. 329 – 370;
Heb 13:17485. Comp. also the beautiful story of Baucis and Philemon as related by Ovid (Metam. 8 626 – 724). The thought appears in our Lord ‘s words, Mt 25:34 – 46.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Exhortations to Social Manifestations v. 1-6
1) “Let brotherly love,” (he philadelphia) “The brotherly love,” love of brethren existing love, work and labor and ministry of love, which they had formerly shown, Heb 6:10.
2) “Continue,” (meneto) “Let it remain,” abide, roll out and on, be shown to others. By it others could see that they were disciples of Jesus, obeying his final biddings, Joh 13:34-35; Ecc 11:1-6.
a) In honor preferring one another, Rom 12:10.
b) As taught of God, 1Th 4:9-10.
c) With a pure heart fervently, 1Pe 1:22.
d) Love the brotherhood, the church especially, 1Pe 2:17.
e) Have compassion, be courteous and pitiful, 1Pe 3:8; 1Pe 4:8; and charitable, for such covers a multitude of sins.
f) What one knows by love, 1Jn 3:11; 1Jn 4:7; 1Jn 4:20-21.
It appears that brotherly love was growing careless, decaying, causing them to drift from regular fellowship, church attendance, and communion around the word of God. This was a charge to a kindling or revival of that first love, Heb 10:24-25.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. Let brotherly love, etc. Probably he gave this command respecting brotherly love, because a secret hatred arising from the haughtiness of the Jews was threatening to rend the Churches. But still this precept is generally very needful, for nothing flows away so easily as love; when everyone thinks of himself more than he ought, he will allow to others less than he ought; and then many offenses happen daily which cause separations. (275)
He calls love brotherly, not only to teach us that we ought to be mutually united together by a peculiar and an inward feeling of love, but also that we may remember that we cannot be Christians without being brethren; for he speaks of the love which the household of faith ought to cultivate one towards another inasmuch as the Lord has bound them closer together by the common bond of adoption. It was therefore a good custom in the primitive Church for Christians to call one another brothers; but now the name as well as the thing itself is become almost obsolete, except that the monks have appropriated to themselves the use of it when neglected by others, while at the same time they show by their discords and intestine factions that they are the children of the evil one.
(275) “Continue” or remain, implies that they had manifested this love, Heb 6:10; as though he had said, “Let the love of the brethren be such as it has been.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
VIRTUES AND GRACES BEFITTING THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Heb. 13:1. Brotherly love., the mutual love of Christians as such.
Heb. 13:2. Angels unawares.As Abraham (Gen. 18:2-22); Lot (Gen. 19:1-2); Manoah (Jdg. 13:2-14); Gideon (Jdg. 4:11-20).
Heb. 13:3. Also in the body.And therefore liable to similar treatment. Remember those who are injuriously treated, as it becomes those who are themselves still in the body. Lucians tract dwells on the effusive kindness of Christians to their brethren who were imprisoned as confessors.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Heb. 13:1-6
The Spiritual Mans Earthly Sphere.Christianity is a spiritual life that can live and thrive in earthly scenes and relations. Two things concerning it need to be constantly presented. It is a spiritual religion. It is a religion of everyday, commonplace, human life. And on each of these sides Christianity is placed in some peril when frail human nature has to deal with it. Overpress that Christianity is the religion of common life, and men will exaggerate the place and importance of good works. Overpress that Christianity is a spiritual religion, and men will soon take up with the idea that evil lies in matter itself, and then will try to separate themselves from every-day interests, responsibilities, and duties, and think that spiritual religion is best represented by hermits, monks, and nuns. This mistake is in no sense supported by the Scriptures. Our Divine Lord is precisely the example of a spiritual man who brought His spiritual life into relation with every-day, earthly scenes. And the first Christian teachers insist, most emphatically, that faith must be shown in the life, and they who believe must be careful to maintain good works. With great variety of treatment, with much persistency, this writer has argued that Christianity is a spiritual religion. He will not close his letter without making it quite clear that the spiritual is the practical. It is the sanctifying of the earth. It puts the tone into the commonplace. The best man of the world is the man of God. Of our Divine Lord it can be said, The highest, holiest, manhood Thou. And after Him, and in the human measures, that should be true of all who bear His name. The plea of the writer in the closing verses of the previous chapter is thisBecause we are spiritual members of a spiritual kingdom, therefore let us seek grace whereby, in meeting our human obligations, and fitting to our earthly places, we may serve God acceptably. And in this chapter he indicates some of the earthly spheres in which our spiritual life ought to find constant, free, and beautiful expression.
I. The spiritual mans brotherly love.The new life which we have in Christ Jesus is essentially a sonship. The quickened soul, born again, finds itself born into a family life, with relations and duties to Father, and to brothers. And even the anxiety with which we try to meet our obligations to our Father must not lift us away from our holy concern for our brothers. If we do not love our brother whom we have seen, how can we love God whom we have not seen? But the duty of brotherly love may be approached from a lower standpoint than this. It may, however, be more persuasive on us if we have not ourselves reached the higher spiritual levels. In times of persecution and temptation, such as the Jewish Christian Churches were passing through, there were constant calls to brotherly helpfulness. Some were deprived of their means of living, on account of their profession of faith in Christ. Brotherly love could help them over times of strain and stress. Some were weak in faith, and in grave peril of yielding to enticement and persuasion. Brotherly love could steady the feet that were sliding, and restore the fallen in the spirit of meekness. In family life the brothers are considerate and helpful one toward another. There is no jealousy. Each rejoices in the others success; each shadows the other when he is imperilled; and each lifts the other when he falls. And within the brotherhood of the spiritual there should be the mutual bearing of burdens, which is the sure sign of brotherly love. The chief peril of brotherly love in a Christian community is the sectarian spirit, the dogmatism, and masterfulness, of exclusive and sectarian opinion. Brotherly love needs an atmosphere of mutual trustfulness, freedom to think, and freedom to let one another think.
II. The spiritual mans hospitality.This is a virtue which takes various forms in adaptation to the social conditions of different ages and countries. Essentially it is cheerful willingness to give of our food and our shelter to those who may be journeying. Hospitality is temporary help, and help given in the form of a supply of passing bodily needs. It is seen in its simplest form in tribal life. The stranger is cheerfully entertained, and pays for all he receives by the news he brings or the pleasure of his conversation. So long as life is in its simpler forms hospitality to passers-by can be freely and safely given, as indeed it is in many parts of the world to-day. Civilisation changes the forms in which hospitality can be offered. Welcome of anybody and everybody to our homes becomes impossible; and there is danger of losing the spirit of hospitality, or of keeping it within such limitations as allow it to bear no impress of charity. The hospitality which had come to be only entertaining in order to be entertained our Lord severely condemned. The generous giving of our food and shelter to those who are temporarily brought within our rangeas in times of convention, congress, etc.is a distinctly Christian duty, an expression of the life of the spiritual man. The importance of the duty to the Jewish Christian Churches, in their times of persecution, will readily be understood. Men were often driven away from their town, and in wandering to find work would be placed in grave difficulties. They could not expect to receive hospitality from the bigoted Jews; among them these wandering Christians would only be scorned. Their hope of food and shelter lay only in the hospitality of those who, with them, named the Christ-name, those who shared with them the spiritual life. And some of these wanderers proved to be angels unawares; in their brief visits ministering such spiritual blessings that they who offered the hospitalities were more richly blessed than those who received them.
III. The spiritual mans sympathy with the persecuted.Whenever disabilities, afflictions, or persecutions come upon the Church, they directly affect certain individuals. They vicariously bear the burden for the whole Church, and therefore have special claim upon the sympathy of their fellow-members. What is said of the suffering servant of the Lord in Isaiah is continuously truesublimely true of the Son of God, but in measures true of all the sons. We are too ready to say of the suffering ones, They are stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. We do not see or feel as we should that they are bearing our burdens, and that therefore we should keep ourselves close knit with them in brotherly sympathy. There were some in bonds for Christ: the others should feel bound with them. There were some evil entreated for Christs sake: the others should have a fellow-feeling, and realise how hard to bear bodily suffering may be. Persecution may be a thing of the past; the vicarious suffering of some for the many is not. And the few sufferers still claim the sympathy of the many.
IV. The spiritual mans sanctifying of human relationships.The most prominent of these, and the typical ones, are connected with the sexes, and consequently the Scriptures illustrate the general relationships of human life by them. But it must also be added that Christianity, as a spiritual religion, distinctly raises the tone of the marriage relation, dignifies womanhood, and makes the natural relations spiritual friendships. The wrong is best conquered by the inspiration of the right. Find the full spiritual satisfaction in marriage friendships, and moral temptations altogether lose their power upon us. There is nothing active in us to which they can appeal.
V. The spiritual mans culture of the spirit of contentment.The most enslaving thing to man is the love of money. It wakens a restlessness and a dissatisfaction with everything; it excites a pushing to get which is too often not only a pushing before others, but also a pushing aside of others. That love of money is altogether out of place in the spiritual man. This does not say a spiritual man may not find fitting spheres for his energy, his activity, his enterprise, his ambitions. It does say that the restlessness and undue worry should be kept down by a cherished spirit of contentment; a restful satisfaction in the assurance that God provides, and never leaves His people desolate; and when He does not permit worldly success to be attained, even by earnest and persistent endeavours, works some higher benediction through the discipline of disappointment. Take what sphere of the earthly life and relation we may, there is room for illustrating the tone and character which the spiritual man can put upon it all. Let us seek grace, whereby we may offer service well pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our Godthe God of the spiritual Christianis a consuming fire.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Heb. 13:1. Brotherly Love.As the spokes of a carriage-wheel approach their centre they approach each other; so, also, when men are brought to Jesus Christ, the centre of life and hope, they are drawn towards each other in brotherly relationship, and stand side by side journeying to their heavenly home.J. F. Serjeant.
Sonship involves Brotherhood.The counsel of the writer was especially necessary, because times of peril and persecution tend to nourish self-interest, and to separate men from each other in order to secure themselves and their own. Brotherly love is the first result of Christian faith The sense of Sonship to God carries with it the sense of brotherhood with those who are also sons of God. Brotherly love is
I. Based on a common birth.This is true of the human brotherhood. Nothing can create the sentiment but the idea of a common parentage. A gentleman of Marseilles, named Remonsat, shortly before his death, desired that his numerous family might be assembled about his bed. He acknowledged the delight which his children had afforded him by their affection and attachment, and especially for the tender love which they bore to one another. But, continued he, I have a secret to disclose, which will remove one of you from this circle. So long as I had any hopes of living I kept it from you, but I dare not violate your rights in the division of the property which I leave you. One of you is only an adopted childthe child of the nurse at whose breast my own child died. Shall I name that child? No, no, said they with one accord, let us all continue to be brothers and sisters. They who are born of God, born from above, born of the Spirit, are brothers by virtue of their very birthspiritual birth.
II. Sustained by a common fellowship.If brotherly love is to continue, the family must keep together. If members are separated by distance, they must be kept in touch by letters and by gifts. Brotherly love in Christs Church is only maintained on the same condition. Those members always fail in this who are careless about keeping up constant relations.
III. Expressed in a common service.It will always be found that the most loving members of a family are those who are most watchful of opportunities, and most ready to do kindnesses to the other members. And this is at least equally true of the brethren in the spiritual family of God.
Heb. 13:2. On Behaviour towards Strangers.A dislike of strangers is one of the earliest developed, most permanent, and most widely diffused passions of mankind. Thus arises the feeling of dislike between nations. The antipathies that are summed up in the one word race constitute the chief part of the history of mankind. The secret dislike of strangers clings to humanity even after civilisation has conquered its grosser antipathies. It appears even under its religious transformations. Let us set down a few of the arguments which might impel Christians of differing name to cultivate, and earnestly seek for, the company of strangers.
1. Communion with devout minds of ideas and habits foreign to our own is favourable to the vigorous development of all alike. The human race thrives on intermixture and intermarriage. Religious bodies which act on the non-intercourse principle soon lose their vigour, and sink from arrogant dogmatism into indifference.
2. Every Christian is a member of Christ, to whom all good men are assuredly dear, and we should strive to bring our sympathies into accord with those which burn in the bosom of the good Shepherd. To him unitya real, social unity of heart and lifeis the grand object of aspiration and prayer.
3. Every Christian has the prospect of being introduced sooner or later to every other Christian in existence, on the ground of the most intimate and eternal friendshipa friendship based on a common relation to redeeming Love. How vain, then, the shyness which shrinks in this world from intercourse with those who must be our companions for ever! It is the work of the Holy Spirit not only to reveal Christ to each of His members, but all the members of His body to each other.Edward White.
Heb. 13:3. Interest in Those under Disability.The writer bases an argument, by which to urge the duty of Christian consideration and sympathy, on the fact that we are all sharers in a common experience. That experience, however, comes with special heaviness on certain individuals, who should therefore be treated as burden-bearers for the rest.
Heb. 13:4. Marriage.Society is generally in a sound and peaceful state, and its individual members virtuous and happy, in proportion as the nature of marriage is understood, and its obligations respected. The first efforts of wisdom in ancient lawgivers and poets were to render sacred the rights and duties of wedlock. But in almost every age, and especially in more matured states of society, there have not been wanting persons to maintain, in one form or another, that passion ought rather to be destroyed than controlled; and that instead of aiming to ingraft refined and spiritual feelings on the animal instincts of our nature, these should be wholly eradicated. Marriage, to many of this class, has seemed but an unworthy compromise between the flesh and the Spirit. An equal contempt for marriage appears to exist in some who disgrace our age. Marriage is not below, but above, them; it is too pure, not too gross, for their taste. Proud of what they call liberty, they laugh at the restraints of marriage, while it can be avoided, and submit to it at length as to a catastrophe. With the discretion of a wise man, and the authority of an inspired man, the writer draws a firm line between the extremes of sensuality and spiritual asceticism; he denounces lust, but extols holy and wedded love. The sentiment of the text appears to be at variance with 1 Corinthians 7, but the sentiments, though different, are not contradictory. The advice given in Corinthians applied to circumstances of present distress, in which a man might wisely limit his obligations.
I. What things belonging to the marriage state render it honourable, and enable it, as we may say, to put honour on those who enter it.
1. Its institution. The time when, the place where, the manner in which, the Being by whom, marriage was instituted, all increase the honour with which its institution invests it.
2. Its nature. It is a union of two, and only two, human beings; a union not only of hands but of hearts, of soul as well as body. There is in marriage, when its true nature is realised, a union of souls, whose affections intermingle until two spirits become one, and, by a mutual consciousness, understand each others thoughts and share each others feelings. It is this which meets the wants of our intellectual and moral natures. Marriage is a permanent union. We need not think that, although marriage terminates in death, the union which it involves must then also necessarily close for ever. We may cheerfully expect its renewal.
3. Its purposes.
(1) The development of mind, formation of character, promotion of happiness, in all who are married.
(2) The preservation and increase of the human species.
(3) The education of the young in successive generations.
(4) Its typical import also renders it honourable.
II. What must be the course of those who would enter on and pass through it, so as to do honour to the state.
1. Every step towards it must be taken in the fear of God.
2. If we would do honour to marriage, it must be solemnised with decency, according to the form prescribed by the laws of our country.
3. When marriage has been thus entered on, its duties must be steadily and cheerfully discharged. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Love, displaying itself in cheerful submission on the part of the wife, in gentleness of authority on the part of the husband, in soft words, kind actions, and delicate attentions on the part of both; love which takes the love of Christ to the Church, and the Church to Christ for its pattern; and becomes respectively, in turn, the image of each.Jonathan Glyde.
The Honourableness of Marriage.Probably this is an exhortation. Let marriage be held honourable in all respects. Scripture never gives even the most incidental sanction to the exaltation of celibacy as a superior virtue, or to the disparagement of marriage as an inferior state. Celibacy and marriage stand on an exactly equal level of honour according as God has called us to the one or to the other state. The medival glorification of monachism sprang partly from a religion of exaggerated gloom and terror, and partly from a complete misunderstanding of the sense applied by Jewish writers to the word virgins.Farrar.
Heb. 13:5. The Lawful and Unlawful Love of Money.A strict adherence to the original gives us a very simple and beautiful form of this precept. Let the turn be unsilver-loving, and be contented with what comes to hand, for He Himself has said, I will never leave thee; no, never, no never forsake thee. There are some of the commands of the New Testament which, taken without the salt of wisdom, seem to be poisonous, and to strike not merely at the welfare but at the existence of society. Such are the precepts against the love of money. Everybody loves money. Without it no man can live. It is a natural and necessary instinct which makes us love possession. The love of getting is the basis of the love of giving. But the love of money in Scripture means love in a bad sense, in the sense of covetousness. It may become greed and avarice.
1. Do not seek after money in this world as if it were God, the chief good.
2. Do not fix upon any amount of property which you must obtain, or else set yourself down as in a state of destitution.
3. Steadily adhere to Gods laws in the gaining, and in the expenditure, of property. In nothing is character more shown than in money matters. A man who is right here is usually right everywhere; a man who fails in money matters is probably corrupt to the core. We have just as much of the love of God as we have of the desire to submit to His rule in our personal affairs; and this is a test which will exclude multitudes from heaven. They banish God from their expenditure.Edward White.
God with Us all the Days.We can be sure of this, that God will be with us in all the days that lie before us. What may be round the next headland we know not; but this we know, that the same sunshine will make a broadening path across the waters right to where we rock on the unknown sea, and the same unmoving nightly star will burn for our guidance. So we may let the waves and currents roll as they list; or rather, as He lists, and be little concerned about the incidents or the companions of our voyage, since He is with us.A. Maclaren, D.D.
No Leaving, No Forsaking.This is Gods own word of promise to his people. In giving it He has, as it were, sworn by Himself, because He could swear by no greater, pledging Himself to His faithfulness.
This promise is
I.
Emphatic.He hath said.
II.
AncientHe hath said.
III.
DivineHe hath said.
IV.
PersonalNot us, nor them, but thee.
V.
Unconditional.
VI.
UnalterableNever.
VII.
ComprehensiveNever leave, never forsake.
VIII.
Unique.
IX.
Has been tested.
We have then
1. The promise of Divine presence. He will ever be with us as the Witness of our livesthe Comforter of our heartsour sovereign Lord.
2. Divine assistance for every time of need.A. Griffin.
Heb. 13:5-6. What is Characteristically Christian.It was usual for the Christian teachers to close their epistles with direct practical applications. Here doing so is especially appropriate, because it was necessary to show that morals and piety were substantially the same in both dispensations. We may, however, properly expect these things to be more refined in the new. Absolute trust in Jehovah was the attitude of the older Jews; and this was met by the bestowment of material and temporal rewards. In trying to lift them into the spiritual region, it might seem to the Jewish Christians that their teacher was unduly negligent of the material and temporal. Practical Christian obligations and duties had to be dealt with by our Divine Lordas in the Sermon on the Mount; and by His apostlesas in the close of their epistles. In this chapter the following practical things are dealt with. The duty of each Christian to his brother-Christian. The practice of hospitality. The expression of personal sympathy. The gaining of personal purity. Then there is summed up in the text the characteristic Christian tone. Three things are characteristically Christian.
I. A manner of life that is characteristically Christian.Recall the New Testament use of the word conversation. Our Christian turning about in all the thousand-fold relations of life is to be without covetousnessthat is, without a trace of grasping or getting for self. Covetousness was the great Jewish sin. This Christ corrects, by becoming the supreme aim of the soul. When the end of conversation is Jesus Christ, it cannot be getting for self. For us covetousness is self-centredness; and the remedy is Christ-centredness. To be without covetousness is quite consistent with enterprise and ambition in life. We may win the noblest things if we mean to win in a Christly way, and hold for Christs honour.
II. A cherished spirit that is characteristically Christian.Be content. Advice easily misunderstood. Contentment is very difficult to a master or a father, but not at all difficult for a servant or a son; and these represent the Christian relations. Contentment is not indifference, or listlessness, though the confusion between these very differing things is often made.
1. Contentment means cheerfully accepting our place and duty, whatever it may involve.
2. Contentment involves fully doing the duty, when it is placed before us.
3. Contentment is consistent with prayer for change. True prayer is contentment.
III. A restful assurance that is characteristically Christian.The Lord is my Helper.
1. We need covet nothing, since He gives all good.
2. We need be anxious about nothing, since He provides.
3. We need never be discontented, since what He gives must be best.
We know then three things that are characteristically Christian:
1. Making Christ our life-aim.
2. Accepting what He provides.
3. Resting our hearts in the sense of His presence with us.
Never Forsaken.No need to name the Speakerthat majestic He. Two speakers and their two sayings.
I. Gods speech from heaven to earth.I will never leave thee. These words nowhere occur literally. In Old Testament.
1. Jacob at Bethel (Gen. 28:15). The lonely pilgrim, with dim, dark future before him; we all face it sometimes. God speaks; the ladder descends, and bright in the blue star-depths the angels; surely God is in this place. One man, with that Companion, always in the majority.
2. Moses dying words to Joshua (Deu. 31:7-8). God ratifies it to Joshua afterwards (Jos. 1:5). The promise to a warrior on the eve of sore battle. Count the cost, reckon the enemys strength, but count not your resources and forget Me. Brennus sword in the Capitol; Christs sword flung in for us.
3. Davids dying words to Solomon (1Ch. 28:20). Blessed are the parents who can so pass the covenant promise to their children. Pilgrim, warrior, builderthese sum up all our needs and all the promises. Its highest beauty in Christs word (Mat. 28:20).
II. Mans answer from earth to heaven.The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear (Psalms 118). The Revised Version says, So that we do. (not may) boldly say. We say we believe the promises: do we answer with perfect confidenceThat promise I take for mine (Gal. 2:20), He is my Helper, so I shall not fear? No use to say to a man, Do not be afraid. World too strong for any man in it; life and death have tremendous powers to make cowards of the bravest. We would not be wise, if we were not, except on one condition: Believe, and fear not. You can resolve, I will trust; then surely comes the triumph and the shelter of the Divine companionship.A. Maclaren, D.D.
The Joy of Memory.The past struggles are joyful in memory, as the mountain-rangeswhich were all black rock and white snow while we toiled up their inhospitable steepslie purple in the mellowing distance, and burn like fire as the sunset strikes their peaks.Ibid.
Contentment based on Security.The Revised Version makes important changes in these verses. Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we may say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear: what shall man do unto me? The one thing that makes restlessness and anxiety in life is uncertainty. When we are quite sure about anything, we either quietly submit, or we brace ourselves up to deal with it, for its mitigation or its removal. If everything is uncertain, contentment is impossible. If there is anything absolutely certain and wholly reliablewhether it be so to our faith, or whether it be so in what we call actual factupon it contentment can be based. The writer of this epistle reminds his readers that, for them, there is something absolutely certain: there is the unqualified Divine assurancethe word of the ever-living GodI will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. In that unquestionable fact there was full ground on which to build a life of sweet content. What we have is secure to us, for He has given it. What we have not we are better without, for He has not thought fit to give it. What we wish for we may fully submit to His consideration who is always with us, and is our Helper to everything that is really good. The writer is evidently dealing with that kind of restlessness men feel when they want some more money, It is so easy to be caught and carried away by the love of money; so easy to think that every difficulty and anxiety of life would be mastered if only we had more money; and then it is so easy to fret and worry, and lose all contentment of heart, because of the limitations under which we are placed. The passage therefore has very pointed application to many of us in these days. We shall find our own applications of the counsels of this writer, if we considerI. The spirit of Christian contentment; II. Something which makes Christian contentment impossible; and III. Something which provides a secure foundation for it.
I. The spirit of Christian contentment.The apostle Paul tells us, that godliness with contentment is great gain; and it must be borne in mind that we are dealing, not with a common-place virtue, which can be urged on purely moral grounds, and grounds of expediency, but with that virtue as it is purified, ennobled, and inspired by Christian principle and the Christian spirit. We deal with that contentment which has godliness at the heart of it. The counsel of the text is precisely addressed to Christian disciples, and to them as, by their Christian faith, put into limitations, and even brought under persecutions and sufferings. It is assumed that their anxious conditions are out of their own control; and it is altogether unbecoming for the Christian to fret at what cannot be helped. He ought to have powerthrough his life in Christto bring his mind to his circumstances; to cheerfully accept his lot; to make the best of it, and to do the best with it; to endure, as seeing Him who is invisible. It is not an easy thing to speak wisely about contentment, because it seems to oppose the restlessness of ambition, which is the inspiration of endeavour, and the secret of all progress. Man is a restless, discontented being, by virtue of his very endowment as a moral being. He is always wanting what he has not, always reaching out his hand for something, always pushing into some dark place. And if he had not been thus, he could never have replenished the earth and subdued it, never have developed his civilisation, and never have looked on this life as the training-school of the eternal life. It may even be said, that mans discontent is essential to his highest good, and that the individual and the nation are ruined when they become contented. A simple illustration will suffice to show this. The first inhabitants of the world massed themselves in the plains of Asia; and if they had been content there, the whole earth would never have been peopled and won. God filled them with restlessness and discontent, and they pushed out this way and that, streamed forth over hills and plains and rivers, and so the whole earth was won. Contentment is not the highest virtue for man, and it is not even for the Christian man. It may be the right thing at a particular time, and under particular circumstances, but we must be careful not to talk about it in an exaggerated way. Discontent may quite as truly honour God as content; but, given the condition of these Jewish Christians, and it may properly be urged that, for them, contentment was the duty of the hour. In pressing upon attention the claims of any one virtue, we are apt to forget that it must be developed in harmony with the development of other virtues. Christian enterprise, Christian hope, Christian ambition, must grow harmoniously with Christian contentment. A man who wants nothing is a poor, weak specimen of humanity, one who brings no honour to Christ. It is the man who wants desperately, and yet brings his want into obedience to Christ, and cheerfully accepts His will, who has the true contentment, and who honours Christ. In the perfect man in Christ there is this virtue of contentment; but it is proportionate with other virtues, and it is harmonious with a noble restlessness of discontent, which keeps the man pressing toward the mark for the prize. And it may further be shown, that contentment can never be the same thing in every man, because it must always be relative to disposition, and our response to different circumstances. There really is not much credit in some persons being contented. The truth is, that they have everything which heart can wish for; or else the truth is, that they have not spirit enough to be discontented. Some are naturally of a contented disposition, and there is no more credit in their being contented than in their being bodily sound. The only contentment worth having is that which is won in the sore conflict of life against natural disposition and hindering circumstance. Think of the Mark Tapley of fiction, who considered it was no credit to be jolly, unless circumstances were overwhelmingly distressing. A great many people are simply contented because they have no reason in the world to be anything else; and there is no Christian principle, no Christian triumph, in that. Contentment is put in the text in relation to covetousness. It is the opposite of a wrong state of mind and heart. It is not opposed to the getting of money, which may be perfectly legitimate, and indeed, for us, the duty of the hour. It is opposed to the fretfulness which always comes with the love of money, the passion for money, the craving merely to possess. That is wrong, bad, from every point of view, ethical, religious, and Christian. That love of money for its own sake is the root of all evil. They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. What we need to see is, that Christian contentment is a soul-mood, which properly belongs to the new life in Christ, and that necessarily attends upon that daily trust, dependence, and obedience which the Christian is ever seeking to nourish into strength. The life of faith on the Son of God is necessarily a life of soul-content that is quite consistent with active service. As a soul-mood it enables us rightly to appraise what we have; helps us to submit when we cannot have what we would; and above all permits of our recognising Divine, wise love in the provision that is made for us, which our relations with God in Christ assure us are arranged in precise and particular adaptation to us. The right spirit is seen in a striking example, taken from the life of our Divine Master. In the hour of His arrest there was the soul-mood of content with what was so evidently the will of God concerning Him just then, that He could rebuke hasty Peter, saying, Thinkest thou that I could not even now pray to the Father, and He would immediately send Me more than twelve legions of angels? Contentment is close kin with submission. To the open, trusting soul Gods will is revealed, and then the fitting response is a quiet acceptance of what must be, and a cheerful falling back to enjoy what we have. Lest any of you should be discouraged, because in you are high hopes and ambitions, and you feel that it is hard to be told to let all go, and rest content with your poor, limited present, let me remind you that, like unselfishness, contentment begins with a day of small things. It is but a germ in the character and life of the young, who very properly aim at high things, and mean to attain them. But the germ grows as life unfolds, and strain-times and cares and limitations nourish it. It comes to be the secret of peaceand of true power alsoin the cultured Christians life.
II. There is something that can make Christian contentment impossible.Be ye free from the love of money. Can we see the immediate application of these words? They were addressed to Jews; and grasping for money, scheming to get money, has been the Jewish characteristic through the long ages. It is the Rebekah-taint in the blood of the Abrahamic race. The Jews addressed in this epistle were trade-folk, busy getting money in the various towns where they dwelt. But becoming Christian proved a serious and often unexpected hindrance to their money-getting. It acted in two ways. Men cut off their dealings with them because of their faith in Christ. And they found that the Christ-conscience would not let them do the tricky things which they had done. So their incomes were failing, and they were tempted to apostatise, and fall back upon the old condition, which gave them free scope for their money-getting. The writer of the epistle appeals to them to master this money-loving, covetous spirit; to cheerfully accept their disabilities for Christs name sake; to see what gracious provisions their Divine Lord was making for all their real need; and to be content with such things as they had. It was a time of temporary limitations, such as does come in the histories of families, and towns, and Churches. Such times come and pass, and we are called to be heroic while they pass over us. Do not fret about being unable to get money; be thankful for what you have got. Remember He is yours, and with you, who could say, The silver and the gold are Mine. Be content with such things as ye have: for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Think how the cherished love of money may, in a time of strain, badly influence us, spoil our Christian spirit. It may put us on schemes; and schemes so inspired are sure to be grasping, inconsiderate schemes, that mean the ensuring of our success at the cost of our yet more suffering fellowsschemes with the strong self-seeking taint in them. The poor motive, the covetous feeling, will master good motives, and close our hearts to all sweet charities and generosities. And even more spiritually serious is the way in which the love of money nourishes soul-trust in money, and that effectually puts God out of our thoughts, and makes all beautiful, satisfying, happy reliance on Him well-nigh impossible. Indeed, when our thoughts are so fully occupied with this getting of money, and we find ourselves put into limitations here, and limitations there, it is not easy to keep ourselves from complaining of God, as if, in some sort of wilfulness and forgetfulness of due consideration, He were dealing with us. Nothing He does seems to us to be right, for the love of money always spoils spiritual vision. Swell money-loving out into the spirit of the miser, and then ask, What sort of a God is the misers God? Can he see God aright? Can he know Him as He is? Would you care to be known as the servants of the misers God? Then let us beware lest any circumstances of life, or any negligences of our soul-culture, allow that love of money, that anxiety about money, to begin its fatal work in our souls Mammon soon gets to be our god; and ye cannot serve God and mammon.
III. Something that makes contentment quite possible.Here again it must be kept in mind that the writer addresses Christians, and endeavours to meet their particular case and condition. It is assumed that there is in them a due sense of God, and of the importance of having God in gracious relations. Those in whose hearts and lives God is enthroned alone will appreciate His promise, I will in no wise fail thee. Such a man has gained a right idea of his several possessions, and can put them in the right order of their value. What does he possess? God. That stands first. Then come, ranged in order, wealth, learning, family, and other self-things. The Christian possesses God, and in Him possesses all things. And our text does but help him to feel what all-satisfying possessions he has in having God. The Christian having God, God dominates him, makes his ends, as well as provides for his needs. He is no longer his own, and so no longer worries to secure the attainment of his own ends. But money-getting is a mans own end. It is never Gods end for any man. It may be Gods means of disciplining a man, or of giving him the material for some useful service; but it is well to have it clearly stated, that getting money never was, and never will be, the end which God sets before any man. God with us becomes the all-sufficient basis of the true Christian contentment. This is plain enough if we see what it involves. I will in no wise fail thee. Can He fulfil so unqualified a word of promise? May we fill out that in no wise, to the very uttermost of our ever-changing circumstances and needs? Is God so present that He has the actual control of our life? Is it true that not even a farthing sparrow falls to the ground without our Father? Is power adapted to us there? and wisdom, precise to meet our need, there? Is love, working in all ways of gentleness, there? And may we be sure that everywhere in our life God is; always working; never failing; never failing to carry out His purpose, and secure our highest good? I will in no wise forsake thee. That is, I will not be absent at any time when I may be pressingly needed. The help is always efficient, and the help is always at command. On what safer basis could Christian contentment rest? But it is Divine help making its appeal to faith, not to sense or sight. It is the contentment of a living faith.
A Song of Contentment.John Bunyan pictures his pilgrim in a time of sore strain comforted by hearing a little lad singing a song of peaceful, submissive content: He that is down need fear no fall, etc. It is such a song for the soul which our text providesa song that can be crooned over day and night, sung over and over again when the stress of life is great. Peace, quietness, contentsoul-content, may keep up this music, and get it echoed back from the experience of the saints of all the agesThe Lord is my Helper; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Here is one echo that comes from a long-by past: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Here is another echo from times somewhat nearer to our own: I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the sure ground of Christian contentment: All things are yours, and ye are Christs, and Christ is Gods.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
IV.
Final exhortation regarding duties pertaining to the Truth. Heb. 13:1-25.
A.
Social duties. Heb. 13:1-7.
Text
Heb. 13:1-7
Heb. 13:1 Let love of the brethren continue. Heb. 13:2 Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb. 13:3 Remembering them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are ill-treated, as being yourselves also in the body. Heb. 13:4 Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will Judges Heb. 13:5 Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Heb. 13:6 So that with good courage we say,
The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear:
What shall man do unto me?
Heb. 13:7 Remember them that had the rule over you, men that spake unto you the Word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith.
Paraphrase
Heb. 13:1 Let that brotherly love, for which I commended you, continue to be exercised by you to all the disciples of Christ, whether they be Jews or Gentiles.
Heb. 13:2 Do not neglect to entertain strangers, though unacquainted with them, for thereby some have had the happiness to entertain angels, without knowing they entertained angels.
Heb. 13:3 By your prayers and good offices assist them who are in bonds for their religion, as equally liable to be bound for that good cause; and them who suffer any kind of evil, as being yourselves also in the body, subject to adversity.
Heb. 13:4 In opposition to the notions of the Essenes, let marriage be esteemed an honourable state among all ranks, and let adultery be avoided. For fornicators and adulterers, though not punished by men, God will severely punish, as invaders of their neighbours dearest rights.
Heb. 13:5 However poor ye may be, show no immoderate love of money in your dealings; being contented with what things ye have. In every difficulty rely on God. For, when he ordered Joshua to conduct the Israelites, He Himself said, (Jos. 1:5), As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee, I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb. 13:6 So that when afflicted, but especially when persecuted, taking courage, we may say with the Psalmist, (Psa. 118:6. LXX.), The Lord is my Helper, and I will not be afraid of any evil that man can do to me in opposition to Him.
Heb. 13:7 Remember your teachers who have preached to you the Word of God; of whose conversation attentively considering the ending, imitate their faith in the doctrines, and precepts, and promises of the Gospel, that when ye end your conversation, ye may be supported as they were.
Comment
Let love of the brethren continue
This sounds as though brotherly love characterized them.
a.
This is true. See Heb. 6:10-11.
b.
They must have been strong on the social gospel and weak in other ways.
1.
In Heb. 5:11 they were dull of hearing, were in need of teaching.
2.
The many exhortations to lay hold, press on, etc., are indications of a special need.
This virtue characterized the early Hebrew church. See Act. 2:44-47; Act. 12:5-12; Act. 15:22; Act. 15:25.
forget not to show love unto strangers
What does love mean if strangers are to receive it?
a.
This was a command for Jews in the Old Testament. Lev. 19:34.
1.
The Hebrews would therefore understand what was meant.
2.
This just reminds them to not neglect it.
b.
It probably meant the exercise of love which all owe to all men. 2Pe. 1:7.
There is no honor to us if we love only those that love us. See Mat. 5:43-46.
a.
The church will grow when strangers, visitors, now Christians, are warmed with the friendly helpfulness of Christians.
b.
The world needs love, for there is so much of bitterness and strife in the world.
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares
Instances of it are found in the visit to Abraham and Lot.
a.
Calvin and Milligan agree to this.
b.
See Gen. 18:2-10; Gen. 19:1-3.
Our guests may often be messengers sent to us from God for our special benefit.
remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them that are ill-treated, as being yourselves also in the body
The people had been in bonds themselves at one time. See Heb. 10:32-34.
a.
These people at that time had remembered one another. Heb. 10:34.
b.
The possibility of them forgetting others in bonds must have been a possibility now that their days were easier.
c.
Perhaps these people were the strangers, for to their own countrymen they had been so helpful in the past. Ill treatment was often displayed in that day.
a.
Romans were known for their cruelty to their children and to their slaves.
1.
All slaves were slain if the master were slain by a slave.
2.
A story is reported of a master who killed a slave so that a guest could see the spectacle of a dying man.
3.
Another Roman fed his fish with the mutilated body of a slave.
b.
The early church received severe persecutions.
1.
The Jews were cruel, as seen by Stephens treatment.
2.
The Romans were severe, as seen by Nero and others.
As being yourselves also in the body, suggests identifying ones self with them as the Golden Rule suggests. Luk. 6:31.
Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Let marriage be had in honor among all suggests that is a state that should be revered.
a.
God instituted marriage by providing Eve for Adam.
b.
The conduct of married people to each other is suggested often in the New Testament.
1.
Eph. 5:22-28 : Subjection of the wife is in order.
2.
1Co. 7:1-5 : A clean marriage state.
3.
1Pe. 3:1-7 : The wife is to be honored.
c.
Celibacy is advocated by some as though marriage is not honorable.
1.
If it is to be honored by all, it is honorable for all.
2.
Fornication is a disregard for marriage, and adultery is a defilement of marriage.
God will judge those guilty of defiling the honorable marriage relationship with fornication and adultery.
a.
It was a sin that brought capital punishment in the Old Testament. See Lev. 20:10.
b.
The New Testament indicates that people guilty of this will be in hell. 1Co. 6:9; Rev. 2:22.
Be ye free from the love of money
It is a root of all kinds of evil when it is loved, 1Ti. 6:10.
a.
It causes people to lie, steal, cheat, commit murder.
b.
It causes people to hope for the death of those leaving money to them as an inheritance.
c.
It corrupted the temple in Jerusalem. Joh. 2:14; Mat. 21:12.
d.
It kept the rich young ruler from Jesus.
This section has an alternate translation.
a.
Let your conversation be without covetousness.
b.
Let your mind be free.
The passage in all translations teaches us to avoid a covetous life.
a.
Men with money are sometimes possessed of it.
b.
Money only seems to bring contentment.
content with such things as ye have
Paul gave us an example of this in his own life.
a.
In Php. 4:12 he said he knew how to be abased.
b.
Paul gave up everything for Christ.
It is not a destruction of ambition or legal endeavor as seen by other passages. See Rom. 12:11 : In diligence not slothful, Also Eph. 4:28; 2Th. 3:11. We are not to be like animals reaching across a fence for grass no greener than we deserve.
for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee
Deu. 31:6 is probably the source of this quotation.
a.
Similar expressions are found in Jos. 1:5; 1Ch. 28:20.
b.
This, says Milligan, became a proverbial saying among the Hebrews because of its consolation.
This is a sentiment expressed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Mat. 6:25-30.
neither will I in any wise forsake thee
This was conditional, however, for those who would not forsake God.
a.
Israel found God forsaking them in the day of provocation.
b.
We have no right to expect God to reward us for unfaithfulness. Jesus promised to be with us even unto the end of the world if we preach the Gospel. Mat. 28:18-20.
so that with good courage we say, The Lord is my Helper
We may speak confidently that the Lord is our Helper.
a.
The word we appears often in this book.
b.
We do not need to understand that Paul had an assistant author.
c.
Anyone who has faith can make the statement.
The Lord is my helper is an expression of faith. Psa. 118:6 is quoted, but observe that in the original Psalm it is translated, The Lord is on my side.
a.
Milligan says this was one of the collection of hymns that was sung at the close of the feast of tabernacles.
b.
Paul expressed the same thought: If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom. 8:31.
I will not fear: what shall man do unto me?
This verse does not suggest that man will never do man bodily harm.
a.
David knew differently.
b.
Paul knew differently; so did these brethren, for they had been afflicted.
The idea is, What can man do that God cannot undo?
a.
Man can bring pain, but God will give us a body that knows no pain.
b.
Man can kill, but God can make alive.
remember them that had the rule over you
This very likely refers to such men as Stephen, James, the brother of John, and other faithful preachers.
a.
These men had preached the gospel to the Hebrews.
b.
Actually, it means those leading you.
Newell suggests that the Greek word means to go before, which suggests it was their work, not an office.
a.
There were no bosses in the early church, such as Popes, etc.
b.
These men were leaders because of work.
men that spake unto you the Word of God
Paul once was spoken of as the chief speaker, Act. 14:12, and the same Greek word appears here.
There were others who spoke. Act. 14:12
The elders also were responsible to speak. 1Ti. 5:17;
Act. 20:28-31.
and considering the issue of their life
In Greek, the manner of their life.
a.
Blessed is a people who have a leader whose good life is worthy of consideration.
b.
These leaders had been unmoved in their hours of trial.
c.
Their lives were like Abraham of oldlived in faith. Something was to be learned from their leaders.
imitate their faith
Faithcan it be imitated?
a.
It is all that should be imitated.
b.
Imitate faith, not mannerisms.
c.
Imitate their method with God.
d.
Imitate their reliance, confidence in God.
In all other respects we must imitate God. Eph. 5:1 : Imitation of God as beloved children.
Study Questions
2765.
Characterize the 13th chapter.
2766.
What may we assume characterized the Hebrew brethren by Heb. 13:1?
2767.
Does Heb. 6:10-11 verify this?
2768.
Did they major on the social gospel and fall short in other respects? Cf. Heb. 5:11.
2769.
What verses in Acts show that the Hebrews loved one another?
2770.
What did the Jerusalem church require of Paul at the Jerusalem Conference?
2771.
What is meant by show love unto strangers? Is it possible?
2772.
Were the Hebrews consistent in their love?
2773.
Who would strangers be?
2774.
How would the Jews know who was meant? Cf. Lev. 19:34.
2775.
Compare 2Pe. 1:7, as it includes all men.
2776.
Is there any honor in loving those who love us? Cf. Mat. 5:43-46.
2777.
Explain have entertained angels unawares.
2778.
Who could be included in the word some?
2779.
Compare Gen. 18:2-10; Gen. 19:1-3.
2780.
Who could be referred to as being in bonds?
2781.
Had the Hebrews ever been in bonds?
2782.
What is meant by, as bound with them?
2783.
What would such identification do?
2784.
Was cruelty, ill treatment, common in that day?
2785.
What does the author teach concerning marriage?
2786.
How do we know marriage is to be revered?
2787.
What is meant by the word honor?
2788.
Give other verses of scripture that speak of married conduct. Cf. Eph. 5:22-27; 1Co. 7:1-5.
2789.
Does celibacy teach that marriage is honorable for all?
2790.
Were the apostles married?
2791.
What is meant by, God will judge?
2792.
How serious a sin was adultery in the Old Testament?
2793.
What is the difference between fornication and adultery?
2794.
Is it serious today? 1Co. 6:9; Rev. 2:22.
2795.
How could Jesus allow remarriage in the case of adultery?
2796.
If adulterers are not killed under our law, is it less serious with God now?
2797.
Why are we exhorted to be free of the love of money?
2798.
Show instances of corrupted people in the New Testament.
2799.
What does love of money cause today?
2800.
If it causes murder, jealousy, envy, thefts, kidnapping, etc., is it not a very dangerous sin?
2801.
How is this verse translated by some?
2802.
Is the meaning the same?
2803.
Does contentment destroy ambition?
2804.
What is our attitude to be toward our possessions or lack of them?
2805.
Compare Paul in this regard. Php. 4:12.
2806.
Is this verse against ambition? Cf. Rom. 12:11; Eph. 4:28; 2Th. 3:11.
2807.
Where is this verse quoted?
2808.
Did Jesus express this sentiment?
2809.
What consolation does he give for those in need?
2810.
Did God place any condition on it?
2811.
Did He ever forsake the Hebrews?
2812.
Did Jesus promise to be with us? Cf. Mat. 28:18-20.
2813.
Does Heb. 13:6 suggest a double authorship?
2814.
How is the Lord our Helper?
2815.
What may be the source of the expression, The Lord is on my side?
2816.
Does this verse suggest that God will not allow man to suffer ill treatment?
2817.
Can God undo everything that man does to the body?
2818.
What is implied by remember?
2819.
Who had the rule over them?
2820.
Who are the rulers referred to in Heb. 13:7?
2821.
What seemed to constitute the rule?
2822.
Were they leaders, or bosses?
2823.
Who might they have seen?
2824.
Who spoke the word in the early church?
2825.
Besides remembering, what were they to consider?
2826.
Define issue of their life.
2827.
What does he recommend to imitate?
2828.
How can you imitate faith?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Brotherly love.Better, The love of the brethren. (See Rom. 12:10, and Note; 1Th. 4:9; 1Pe. 1:22.) The love which they had shown to the Christian brotherhood is commended in Heb. 6:10 (Heb. 10:33); and yet there was some ground for fear that such affection might not continue (Heb. 10:25).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 13
THE MARKS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE ( Heb 13:1-6 )
13:1-6 Let brotherly love be always with you.
Do not forget the duty of hospitality for, in remembering this duty, there are some who have entertained angels without knowing that they were doing so.
Remember those who are in prison for you yourselves know what it is like to be a prisoner; remember those who are suffering ill-treatment for the same thing can happen to you so long as you are in the body.
Let marriage be held in honour among you all and never let the marriage bed be defiled. God judges those who are adulterers and immoral in their conduct.
Let your way of life be free from the love of money. Be content with what you have for he has said: “I will never fail you and I will never forsake you”; so that we can say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper: I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
As he comes to the close of the letter, the writer to the Hebrews turns to practical things. Here he outlines five essential qualities of the Christian life.
(i) There is brotherly love. The very circumstances of the early Church sometimes threatened brotherly love. The very fact that they took their religion as seriously as they did was in one sense a danger. In a Church which is threatened from the outside and desperately in earnest in the inside, there are always two dangers. First, there is the danger of heresy-hunting. The very desire to keep the faith pure tends to make men eager to track down and eliminate the heretic and the man whose faith has gone astray. Second, there is the danger of stern and unsympathetic treatment of the man whose nerve and faith have failed. The very necessity of unswerving loyalty in the midst of a heathen and a hostile world tends to add rigorousness to the treatment of the man who in some crisis had not the courage to stand for his faith. It is a great thing to keep the faith clean; but when the desire to do so makes us censorious, harsh and unsympathetic, brotherly love is destroyed and we are left with a situation which may be worse than the one we tried to avoid. Somehow or other we have to combine two things–an earnestness in the faith and a kindness to the man who has strayed from it.
(ii) There is hospitality. The ancient world loved and honoured hospitality. The Jews had a saying: “There are six things the fruit of which a man eats in this world and by which his horn is raised in the world to come.” And the list begins: “Hospitality to the stranger and visiting the sick.” The Greeks gave Zeus, as one of his favourite titles, the title Zeus Xenios, which means Zeus, the god of strangers. The wayfaring man and the stranger were under the protection of the king of the gods. Hospitality, as Moffatt says, was an article of ancient religion.
Inns were filthy, ruinously expensive, and of low repute. The Greek had always a shrinking from hospitality given for money; inn-keeping seemed to him an unnatural affair. In The Frogs of Aristophanes, Dionysus asks Heracles, when they are discussing finding a lodging, if he knows where there are fewest fleas. Plato in The Laws speaks of the inn-keeper holding travellers to ransom. It is not without significance that Josephus says that Rahab, the harlot who harboured Joshua’s scouts in Jericho, kept an inn. When Theophrastus wrote his character sketch of the reckless man, he said that he was fit to keep an inn or run a brothel; he put both occupations on the same level.
In the ancient world there was a rather wonderful system of what were called “guest friendships.” Throughout the years families, even when they had lost active touch with each other, had an arrangement that at any time needful they would make accommodation available for each other. This hospitality was even more necessary in the circle of the Christians. Slaves had no home of their own to which to go. Wandering preachers and prophets were always on the roads. On the ordinary business of life, Christians had journeys to make. Both their price and their moral atmosphere made the public inns impossible. There must in those days have been many isolated Christians fighting a lonely battle. Christianity was, and still should be, the religion of the open door. The writer to the Hebrews says that those who have given hospitality to strangers have sometimes, all unaware, entertained the angels of God. He is thinking of the time when the angel came to Abraham and Sarah to tell them of the coming of a son ( Gen 18:1 ff.) and of the day when the angel came to Manoah to tell him that he would have a son ( Jdg 13:3 ff.).
(iii) There is sympathy for those in trouble. It is here we see the early Christian Church at its loveliest. It often happened that the Christian landed in prison and worse. It might be for his faith; it might be for debt, for the Christians were poor; it might be that they were captured by pirates or brigands. It was then that the Church went into action.
Tertullian in The Apology writes: “If there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in prisons for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God’s Church, they become the nurslings of their confession.” Aristides the heathen orator said of the Christians: “If they hear that any one of their number is imprisoned or in distress for the sake of their Christ’s name, they all render aid in his necessity and, if he can be redeemed, they set him free.” When Origen was young it was said of him: “Not only was he at the side of the holy martyrs in their imprisonment and until their final condemnation but, when they were led to death, he boldly accompanied them into danger.”
Sometimes Christians were condemned to the mines which was almost like being sent to Siberia. The Apostolic Constitutions lay it down: “If any Christian is condemned for Christ’s sake to the mines by the ungodly, do not overlook him but from the proceeds of your toil and sweat send him something to support himself and to reward the soldier of Christ.” The Christians sought out their fellow Christians even in the wilds. There was actually a little Christian Church in the mines at Phaeno.
Sometimes Christians had to be ransomed from robbers and brigands. The Apostolic Constitutions lay it down: “All monies accruing from honest labour do ye appoint and apportion to the redeeming of the saints ransoming thereby slaves and captives and prisoners, people who are sore abused or condemned by tyrants.” When the Numidian robbers carried off their Christian friends, the Church at Carthage raised the equivalent of L1,000 to ransom them and promised more. There were actually cases where Christians sold themselves as slaves to find money to ransom their friends.
They were even prepared to bribe their way into gaol. The Christians became so notorious for their help to those in gaol that at the beginning of the fourth century the Emperor Licinius passed new legislation that “no one was to show kindness to sufferers in prison by supplying them with food and that no one was to show mercy to those starving in prison.” It was added that those who were discovered so doing would be compelled to suffer the same fate as those they tried to help.
These instances are taken from Harnack’s Expansion of Christianity and many others could be added. In the early days no Christian in trouble for his faith was ever neglected or forgotten by his fellow Christians.
(iv) There is purity. First, the marriage bond is to be universally respected. This may mean either of two almost opposite things. (a) There were ascetics who despised marriage. Some even went the length of castrating themselves to secure what they thought was purity. Origen, for instance, took that course. Even a heathen like Galen, the physician, noted of the Christians that “they include men and women who refrain from cohabiting all their lives.” The writer to the Hebrews insists against these ascetics that the marriage bond is to be honoured and not despised. (b) There were those who were ever liable to relapse into immorality. The writer to the Hebrews uses two words. The one denotes adulterous living; the other denotes all kinds of impurity, such as unnatural vice. Into the world the Christians brought a new ideal of purity. Even the heathen admitted that. Galen, in the passage we have already quoted, goes on: “And they also number individuals who, in ruling and controlling themselves and in their keen pursuit of virtue, have attained a pitch not inferior to that of real philosophers.” When Pliny, the governor of Bithynia, examined the Christians and reported back to Trajan, the Emperor, he had to admit, even although he was looking for a charge on which to condemn them, that at their Lord’s Day meeting: “They bound themselves by an oath not for any criminal end but to avoid theft or robbery or adultery, never to break their word nor repudiate a deposit when called upon to refund it.” In the early days the Christians presented such a purity to the world that not even their critics and their enemies could find a fault in it.
(v) There is contentment. The Christians must be free from the love of money. He must be content with what he has, and why should he not be for he possesses the continual presence of God? Hebrews quotes two great Old Testament passages– Jos 1:5 and Psa 118:6 –to show that the man of God needs nothing more because he has with him always the presence and the help of God. Nothing that man can give him can improve on that.
THE LEADERS AND THE LEADER ( Heb 13:7-8 ) 13:7-8 Remember your leaders, the men who spoke the word of God to you. Look back on how they made their exit from this life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
Implicit in this passage is a description of the real leader of men.
(i) The real leader of the Church preaches Christ and thereby brings men to him. Leslie Weatherhead somewhere tells of a public schoolboy who decided to enter the ministry. He was asked when he had come to that decision and said it was after hearing a certain sermon in his school chapel. He was asked the name of the preacher and his answer was that he had no memory of the preacher’s name. All he knew was that he had shown him Jesus. The duty of the real preacher is to obliterate himself and show men nothing but Christ.
(ii) The real leader of the Church lives in the faith and thereby brings Christ to men. A saint has been defined as “a man in whom Christ lives again.” The duty of the real preacher is not so much to talk to men about Christ as to show them Christ in his own life. Men listen not so much to what he is saying as to what he is.
(iii) The real leader, if need be, dies in loyalty. He shows men how to live and is prepared to show them how to die. Jesus, having loved his own, loved them to the end; and the real leader, having loved Jesus, loves him to the end. His loyalty never stops halfway.
(iv) Thereby the real leader leaves to those who come after two things–an example and an inspiration. Quintilian, the Roman master of oratory, said: “It is a good thing to know, and always to keep turning over in the mind, the things which were illustriously done of old.” Epicurus advised his disciples continuously to remember those of old time who lived with virtue.
If there is one thing more than another that the world and the Church need in every generation, it is leadership like that.
Then the writer to the Hebrews moves on to another great thought. It is in the nature of things that all earthly leaders must come and go. They have their part in the drama of life and then the curtain comes down. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. His pre-eminence is permanent; his leadership is for ever. Therein lies the secret of earthly leadership; the real leader is the man who is himself led by Jesus Christ. He who walked the ways of Galilee is as powerful as ever to smite evil and to love the sinner; and, as then he chose twelve to be with him and sent them out to do his work, so now he is still seeking those who will bring men to him and him to men.
THE WRONG AND THE RIGHT SACRIFICE ( Heb 13:9-16 ) 13:9-16 Do not let yourselves be carried away by subtle and strange teachings, for it is a fine thing to have your heart made strong by grace not by the eating of different kinds of food, for they never did any good to those who took that line of conduct. We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of the animals, whose blood is taken by the High Priest into the Holy Place as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. That was why Jesus suffered outside the gate, so that he might make men fit for the presence of God by his own blood. So then let us go to him outside the camp, bearing the same reproach as he did, for here we have no abiding city but arc searching for the city which is to come. Through him, therefore, let us continually bring to God a sacrifice of praise, I mean, the fruit of lips which continually acknowledge their faith in his name. Do not forget to do good and to share everything, for God is well pleased with a sacrifice like that.
It may be that no one will ever discover the precise meaning behind this passage. Clearly there was some false teaching going on in the Church to which this letter was written. The writer to the Hebrews did not need to describe it; his readers knew all about it, because some of them had succumbed to it and all were in danger of it. As to what it was, we can only guess.
We may start with one basic fact. The writer to the Hebrews is convinced that real strength comes to a man’s heart only from the grace of God and that what people eat and drink has nothing to do with their spiritual strength. So then in the Church to which he was writing there were some who placed too much importance on laws about food. There are certain possibilities.
(i) The Jews had rigid food laws, laid down at length in Lev 11:1-47. They believed they could serve and please God by eating and by not eating certain foods. Possibly there were some in this Church who were ready to abandon their Christian liberty and once again put themselves under the yoke of Jewish rules and regulations about food, thinking that by so doing they were going to add strength to their spiritual life.
(ii) Certain Greeks had very definite ideas about food. Long ago Pythagoras had been like that. He believed in reincarnation, that a man’s soul passed from body to body until finally it merited release. That release could be hastened by prayer and meditation and discipline and asceticism; and so the Pythagoreans were vegetarians. There were people called Gnostics who were much the same. They believed that matter was altogether bad and that a man must concentrate on spirit which is altogether good. They therefore believed that the body was altogether bad and that a man ought to discipline it and treat it with the greatest austerity. They cut down food to the bare minimum and they, too, abstained from meat. There were any number of Greeks who thought that by what they ate or refused to eat they were strengthening their spiritual life and releasing their soul.
(iii) Neither of these things seems quite to fit. This eating and drinking has something to do with the body of Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews goes back to the regulations for the Day of Atonement. According to these regulations, the body of the bullock which was an offering for the sins of the High Priest and the body of the goat which was an offering for the sins of the people must be totally consumed with fire in a place outside the camp ( Lev 16:27). They were sin offerings and the point is that even if the worshippers had wished to eat their flesh they could not do so. The writer to the Hebrews sees Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. The parallel for him is complete because Jesus, too, was sacrificed “outside the gate” that is, outside the city wall of Jerusalem. Crucifixions were always carried out outside a town. Jesus, then, was a sin-offering for men; and it follows that, just as none could eat of the flesh of the sin-offering on the Day of Atonement, no one can eat of his flesh.
It may be that here we have the clue. There may have been a little group in this Church who, either at the sacrament or at some common meal where they consecrated their food to Jesus, claimed that they were in fact eating the body of Christ. They may have persuaded themselves that because they had consecrated their food to Christ, his body had entered into it. That was indeed what the religious Greeks believed about their gods. When a Greek sacrificed he was given back part of the meat. Often he made a feast for himself and his friends within the temple where the sacrifice had been made; and he believed that when he ate the meat of the sacrifice, the god to whom that meat had been sacrificed was in it and entered into him. It may well be that certain Greeks had brought their own ideas into Christianity with them; and talked about eating the body of Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews believed with all the intensity of his being that no food can bring Christ into a man and that Christ can enter into him only by grace. It is quite likely that we have here a reaction against an overstressing of the sacraments. It is a notable fact that the writer to the Hebrews never mentions the sacraments; they do not seem to come into his scheme at all. It is likely that, even thus early, there were those who took a mechanical view of the sacraments, forgetting that no sacrament in the world avails anything by itself and that its only use is that in it the grace of God meets the faith of man. It is not the meat but the faith and the grace which matter.
This queer argument has set the writer to the Hebrews thinking. Christ was crucified outside the gate. He was exiled from men and numbered with the transgressors. Therein the writer to the Hebrews sees a picture. We, too, have to sever ourselves from the life of the world and be willing to bear the same reproach as Christ bore. The isolation and the humiliation may come to the Christian as they came to his Saviour.
Hebrews goes further. If the Christian cannot again offer the sacrifice of Christ, what can he offer? The writer says he can offer certain things.
(i) He can offer his continual praise and thanks to God. The ancient peoples sometimes argued that a thank-offering was more acceptable to God than a sin-offering, for when a man offered a sin-offering he was trying to get something for himself, while a thank-offering was the unconditional offering of the grateful heart. The sacrifice of gratitude is one that all may and should bring.
(ii) He can offer his public and glad confession of his faith in the name of Christ. That is the offering of loyalty. The Christian can always offer to God a life that is never ashamed to show whose it is and whom it serves.
(iii) The Christian can offer deeds of kindness to his fellow men. In fact that was something which a Jew knew well. After A.D. 70 the sacrifices of the Temple came to an end when the Temple was destroyed. The Rabbis taught that with the Temple ritual gone, theology, prayer, penitence, the study of the law and charity were sacrifices equivalent to the ancient ritual. Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai comforted himself in those sorrowful days by believing that “in the practice of charity he still possessed a valid sacrifice for sin.” An ancient Christian writer says: “I expected that thy heart would bear fruit and that thou wouldst worship God, the Creator of all, and unto him continually offer thy prayers by means of compassion; for compassion shown to men by men is a bloodless sacrifice and holy unto God.” After all, Jesus himself said: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” ( Mat 25:40). The best of all sacrifices to bring to God is the gift of help to one of his children in need.
OBEDIENCE AND PRAYER ( Heb 13:17-20 ) 13:17-20 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they sleeplessly watch over your souls, conscious that they will have to give account of their trust. This do that they may carry out this task with joy and not with grief, for, if you grieve them, there would be no profit to you either in that. Keep on praying for us, for we believe that we have a clear conscience, for we wish in all things to live in such a way that our conduct will be fair. I urge you to do this all the more that I may the more quickly be enabled to return to you.
The writer to the Hebrews lays down the duty of the congregation to its present leaders and its absent leader.
To the present leaders the duty of the congregation is obedience. A Church is a democracy but not a democracy run mad; it must give obedience to those whom it has chosen as its guides. That obedience is not to be given in order to gratify the leaders’ sense of power or to increase their prestige. It is to be given so that at the end of the day the leaders may be seen to have lost none of the souls committed to their care. The greatest joy of the leader of any Christian fellowship is to see those whom he leads established in the Christian way. As John wrote: “No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth” ( 3Jn 1:4). The greatest sorrow of the leader of any Christian fellowship is to see those whom he leads growing further away from God.
To the absent leader the duty of the congregation is that of prayer. It is a Christian duty always to bear our absent loved ones to the throne of God’s grace and daily to remember there all who bear the responsibility of leadership and authority. When Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister of Great Britain, his friends thronged round to congratulate him. He said: “It is not your congratulations I need; it is your prayers.”
We must give our respect and our obedience to those set in authority over us in the Church when they are present with us, and when they are absent we must remember them in our prayers.
A PRAYER, A GREETING AND A BLESSING ( Heb 13:20-24 )
13:20-24 May the God of peace, who brought up from among the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the eternal covenant, it is our Lord Jesus I mean, equip you with every good thing that you may do his will and may he create in you through Jesus Christ that which is well-pleasing in his sight. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Brothers, I appeal to you to bear with this appeal of mine, for indeed it is but a short letter that I have sent to you.
I would have you know that our brother Timothy is at liberty again. If he comes soon I will see you along with him.
Greet all your leaders and all God’s dedicated people. The folk from Italy send you their greetings. Grace be with you all. Amen.
The great prayer of Heb 13:20-21 draws a perfect picture of God and of Jesus.
(i) God is the God of peace. Even in the most troublous and distressing situation, he can bring peace to men’s souls. In any fellowship where there is division, it is because men have forgotten God and only the remembrance of his presence can bring back the lost peace. When a man’s mind and heart are distracted and he is torn in two between the two sides of his own nature, it is only by giving his life into the control of God that he can know peace. It is only the God of peace who can make us at peace with ourselves, at peace with each other and at peace with himself.
(ii) God is the God of life. It was God who brought Jesus again from the dead. His love and power are the only things which can bring a man peace in life and triumph in death. It was to obey the will of God that Jesus died and that same will brought him again from the dead. For the man who obeys the will of God there is no such thing as final disaster; even death itself is conquered.
(iii) God is the God who both shows us his will and equips us to do it. He never gives us a task without also giving us the power to accomplish it. When God sends us out, he sends us equipped with everything we need.
The picture of Jesus is also threefold.
(i) Jesus is the great shepherd of his sheep. The picture of Jesus as the good shepherd is very precious to us but, strangely enough, it is one that Paul never uses and that the writer to the Hebrews uses only here. There is a lovely legend of Moses which tells of a thing he did when he had fled from Egypt and was keeping the flocks of Jethro in the desert. A sheep of the flock wandered far away. Moses patiently followed it and found it drinking at a mountain stream. He came up to it and put it upon his shoulder. “So it was because you were thirsty that you wandered away,” said Moses gently and, without any anger at the toil the sheep had caused him, he carried it home. When God saw it, he said: “If Moses is so compassionate to a straying sheep, he is the very man I want to be the leader of my people.” A shepherd is one who is ready to give his life for his sheep; he bears with their foolishness and never stops loving them. That is what Jesus does for us.
(ii) Jesus is the one who established the new covenant and made possible the new relationship between God and man. It was he who took away the terror and showed us the love of God.
(iii) Jesus is the one who died. To show men what God was like and to open the way to him, cost the life of Jesus. Our new relationship to God cost his blood.
The letter finishes with some personal greetings. The writer to the Hebrews half apologises for its length. If he had dealt with these vast topics the letter would never have ended at all. It is short–Moffatt points out that you can read it aloud in less than an hour–in comparison with the greatness of the eternal truths with which it deals.
What the reference to Timothy means no one knows, but it sounds as if he, too, had been in prison for the sake of Jesus Christ.
And so the letter closes with a blessing. All through it has been telling of the grace of Christ which opens the way to God and it comes to an end with a prayer that that wondrous grace may rest upon its readers.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
5. PERSONAL. Admonitions and salutations to the Jerusalem Church, Heb 13:1-21.
Though this epistle begins as a treatise and continues as an oration, it ends as a personal letter.
1. Brotherly love A single word, used in the classics of love between brothers and sisters. The Jews applied the word brother to any Jew; the Christians appropriated it from a racial use to a religious one.
Remain It had existed in past times; it was liable to be broken by tendencies to apostasy; let it be firm and permanent.
Entertain strangers A branch of brotherly love. The absence of hotels in the East made hospitality a cardinal virtue. The itinerant servants of Christ ever needed an itinerant home.
Entertained angels unawares A beautiful allusion to Abraham (Genesis 18) and to Lot, Gen 19:1-3. Our author does not suppose that his readers will ever entertain an angel in like manner, but the entertainers of Christian ministers have often in past times found that they entertained something better than angels, namely, messengers of salvation to the family. The successive phrases, remain, be not forgetful, remember, are forms of reminder of virtues which had existed but were liable to perish from negligence. Many a Christian at the present day is lost to the Church because, in going to a new locality, he is received by the Church there with inhospitality and neglect. Christian sociality is a virtue of great churchly value, and ministers should emphasize it in their teachings.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Call To Love Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ ( Heb 13:1-9 ).
‘Let love of the brothers and sisters (phil-adelphia) continue.’
This is the third mention of Christian love in the letter, although here with a different Greek word. Compare Heb 6:10; Heb 10:24 (both ‘agape’). 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 emphasises love among Christians. He possibly especially had in mind to address those who forsook the assembling of themselves together (Heb 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 (Joh 13:34-35; Joh 15:12; Joh 15:17; Joh 17:26. Compare also Rom 12:9-10; Rom 13:8; Gal 5:13-14; Gal 5:22; Eph 4:2; Eph 4:15-16; Eph 5:2; Php 1:9; Php 2:2; Col 1:4; Col 2:2; 1Th 3:12 ; 1Th 5:8; 2Ti 1:7; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 2:17 ; 1Pe 3:8; 1Jn 2:11; 1Jn 3:11 ; 1Jn 3:14; 1Jn 3:19; 1Jn 3:23 ; 1Jn 4:7-12; 1Jn 4:16-21; 1Jn 5:2). It is defined in 1 Corinthians 13. And this is now considered in more detail
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Brotherly Love Under the New Covenant In Heb 13:1-8 we have a definition of love under the new covenant in Christ Jesus, which moves us into a place of “Sabbath rest” (Heb 4:9). We walk in love with our Christian brothers (Heb 13:1) when we from the heart show mercy towards the stranger (Heb 13:2). The stranger represents the person in society who is not in a position to reward us for acts of kindness. Thus, we have to do it as unto the Lord, not expecting anything in return from men. We walk in love with our Christian brothers when we with the minds remember to pray for those suffering for Christ’s sake (Heb 13:3). We walk in love with the brethren with our bodies when we honor God by restraining from fleshly passions (Heb 13:4). We walk in love with the brethren materially and financially when we refuse to covet their possessions (Heb 13:5). Finally, we walk in brotherly love when we honor our church leaders (Heb 13:6-7). This love walk was instituted under the old covenant, and still is required under the new covenant; for God does not change. His character, reflected in Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).
Heb 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
Heb 13:1
Heb 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Heb 13:2
Heb 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Illustrations – Both Abraham (Gen 18:2-10) and Lot (Gen 19:1-3) entertained angels; but they were aware of this fact. Manoah, Samson’s father, clearly entertained an angel unawares until he offered his sacrifice (Jdg 13:1-25). Many testimonies in today’s church tell of angels who came in the likeness of men to minister and help deliver someone miraculously out of danger. So, these angels are in our midst often to help us. Note:
Psa 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
Mat 4:11, “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
Mat 18:10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Mar 1:13, “And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”
Joh 20:12, “And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.”
1Co 4:9, “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
1Co 11:10, “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”
Heb 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Paul, the most likely author of the book of Hebrews, was well acquainted with needs of a traveling minister. How often he thanked God for the warm reception from other believers in foreign cities. This made him even more sensitive to the needs of strangers. It is very likely that he experienced supernatural encounters with angels during his missionary journeys. For example, Paul testifies of an angel coming to him during his trip to Rome.
Act 27:23, “For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,”
We find ministering angels mentioned throughout the book of Acts. Heb 13:2 confirms that angels are very much involved in the daily affairs of the New Testament church.
Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Heb 13:3
Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Heb 13:4
Heb 7:26, “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled , separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;”
Jas 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
1Pe 1:4, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled , and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”
Comments – We must keep in mind that Paul was writing to Jewish Christians who lived amongst pagans in a Greco-Roman culture of idolatry. Such cultures rarely honor marriage, while fornication is widespread. I live in an African culture on the mission field, and I rarely see a couple honor their marriage over the years. It causes a wife or daughter to wonder if a man exists who will actually honor the marriage bed. Thus, in the midst of a tremendous problem of fornication, Paul tells his readers to keep marriage pure and holy. Do not defile this holy bond. Defilement can affect the spirit, soul and body of a man. Such defilements come spiritually with an unclean heart that becomes out of fellowship with God; defilement comes psychologically into the minds of people through guilt and condemnation of their sins; and defilement comes physically through sexually transmitted diseases.
Heb 13:5 Comments – Although Paul was single according to ancient Church tradition, he understood the sanctity of the divine institution of marriage as it was taught in the Jewish faith and Scriptures. He also observed the low value given to this institution in the Roman-Greco world of polygamy and slavery. He felt the challenges and temptations of celibacy, as any other man in the flesh would feel, yet he need to establish the sacredness of this institution within the Church.
Heb 13:5 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.
Heb 13:5
Comments – Note these insightful words from Frances J. Roberts regarding this verse.
“I (Jesus) suffered in all ways as ye suffer, but ye shall never suffer as I suffered; for I experienced one awful moment of separation from the Father; but I have promised that I will never forsake thee, and I will never leave thee.” [269]
[269] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 170.
Heb 13:5 Comments – Heb 13:5 is a quote from Deu 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
In the Hebrew text the word “fail” is ( ) (H7503), which means, “ to slacken.” The Hebrew word “forsake” ( ) (H5800) means, “ relinquish, permit .”
Scripture References – Also, note similar verses regarding God’s faithfulness to always be with us:
Gen 28:15, “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
Deu 31:8, “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”
Jos 1:5, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Psa 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
Paul the apostle had learned to suffer without, and he had learned to receive honor and prosperity (Php 4:11-12). He had learned God’s divine providence and provision through many years of servanthood.
Php 4:11-12, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Heb 13:6
[270] Darryl Woodson, “Sermon,” Victory City Church Ntinda, Kampala, Uganda, 16 May 2010.
Heb 13:7 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.
Heb 13:7
Heb 13:7 “considering the end of their conversation” Word Study on “considering” Strong says the Greek word “considering” ( ) (G333) means, “look again attentively.”
Heb 13:7 Comments Theodoret (A. D. c. 393 to c. 466) believed that Heb 13:7 is a reference to early leaders of the church in Jerusalem, who had since died; those like Stephen, the first martyr, and James the brother of John, and James the Just, who all died at the hands of Jewish rage. [271] These men set the example of how to live by faith, both in their life and by their death.
[271] Theodoret, Comments on Hebrews 13:7 ( PG 82 col. 781)
However, the context of this passage is best understood as a charge to honor those who are currently leaders in the church.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Heb 13:8
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Glorification: Our Rest The author of Hebrews offers his final exhortation with a series of practical applications on how to conduct our lives in holiness so that we may enter into the rest that Jesus Christ made available for us. The author explains how to walk in brotherly love under the New Covenant (Heb 13:1-8), then discusses how to make spiritual sacrifices under this New Covenant based on an Old Testament analogy (Heb 13:9-17).
Outline – Note the proposed outline:
A. Brotherly Love Under the New Covenant Heb 13:1-8
B. How to Make Spiritual Sacrifices Heb 13:9-17
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Final Admonitions and Conclusion.
Exhortations of a general nature:
v. 1. Let brotherly love continue.
v. 2. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
v. 3. Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body.
v. 4. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
v. 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,
v. 6. so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The inspired author has presented the matter to which he wanted to call the special attention of the Hebrew Christians. But in connection with this doctrine he now takes occasion to address some special admonitions to his readers: Brotherly love should continue. Love of the brethren had existed in their midst, as he had frankly acknowledged, chap. 6:10. But if they did not heed the appeal and warning addressed to them in the preceding chapter, there was danger that the general decay of their faith would be accompanied by the inevitable corresponding loss of true brotherly love. But in order that brotherly love might remain, it required constant exercising, two forms of which are here mentioned. First of all: Entertainment of strangers do not neglect; for through this some have entertained angels without knowing it. True hospitality is here earnestly recommended, not an indiscriminate feeding of loafers. Conditions often made it necessary for the Christians to move from one place to another in those days, and many of them could ill afford to make use of the public inn. In such cases the brethren should be willing to show their love by receiving others, often fugitives, into their homes and providing for their wants. In this work of love the thought was to encourage them that some people at least who practiced hospitality in that way had entertained angels without knowing it, Gen 18:19. The hospitality of the early Christians was commented upon favorably even by heathen writers. It is a virtue which might be practiced with far greater liberality in our days, when a suspicious coldness has come to mark the intercourse of Christians with one another, Rom 12:13; 1Pe 4:9; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8. But some of their fellow-Christians might be in even a worse plight, and therefore the text continues: Be mindful of those in bonds as fellow prisoners, of those that suffer evil as being yourselves also in the body. The Christians to whom these words were addressed were living in troublous times. The general persecution which came upon them after the death of Stephen had indeed subsided, but the hatred of their enemies remained, and there were probably local disturbances. The believers, then, should feel a prayerful sympathy for all those that were languishing in prison for the sake of the Gospel, just as though they had been bound with them and were suffering the same hardships. In the same way they should remember those that were being abused, maltreated, showing this cordial sympathy all the more readily since they, being in the body, were liable to similar ill-usage. It was in accordance with these and similar instructions that the early Christians composed special prayers for those suffering imprisonment and in every way provided for their relief.
A special admonition concerns the sacredness of holy wedlock: in honor let marriage be held by all, and the marriage-bed be kept unstained; but fornicators and adulterers the Lord will judge. Whether a person has already entered the state of holy wedlock or is still unwed, marriage should be held in honor, sacred as an institution of the Lord. There must be no violation of its sanctity either by the unmarried, by presuming upon the special functions of this state, or by the married, by defiling the marriage-bed through unfaithfulness or in entering this holy estate for the mere gratification of sexual lust. The conjugal relations should be chaste. With solemn emphasis the writer adds that it is God who will judge and condemn the fornicators and adulterers, those who in any manner violate the sacredness of the boundaries which He has drawn around the state of marriage.
Of the entire conduct of the Christians the author says: Your mode of life be without covetousness, being content with what you have: for Himself has said, I mill by no means leave thee, nor will I at all forsake thee. The entire life of the Christians, all their thinking and doing, their conduct under all circumstances, should be free from avarice, from the love of money, for God demands that His children on earth should be satisfied, content with what they have, with what He has given them. This contentment has a firm foundation in the promise of God that He mill under no circumstances leave His own to want, nor mill He in any manner forsake them, Deu 31:6-8; 1Ch 28:20. See Gen 28:15; Jos 1:5; Isa 41:17. This promise of God being secure, we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear, Psa 118:6. The Psalmist asks the challenging question, but the author here changes the question to the bold statement of faith which fears no danger with God on its side. See 1Ch 28:20. Men can at their worst but take our lives; but our salvation in Christ Jesus is secure in the hands of the Father. The body they may kill, but the soul has been entrusted to the certainty of everlasting Mercy.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
CONCLUDING EXHORTATIONS
EXPOSITION
As in St. Paul’s Epistles, practical directions as to conduct conclude the treatise, such as the readers may be supposed to have especially needed. They are urged to evince and confirm the faith which was the subject of Heb 11:1-40, and to maintain their communion with the world invisible spoken of in Heb 12:1-29, by attending especially to those daily duties which they might be in danger of forgetting. By perseverance in a life consistent with profession faith is not only evidenced, but also kept from faltering. In the course of these hortations (Heb 12:10-13), being suggested by one of them, there is introduced a yet additional view of the meaning of the Levitical symbolism.
Heb 13:1
Let brotherly love continue. does not mean general philanthropy, but the peculiar love of Christians to each other as brethren; “a narrower sphere within the wider sphere of ” (Delitzsch); cf. 1. Peter Heb 2:17, “Honor all men, love the brotherhood;” and 2Pe 1:7, where Christians are exhorted to add to their . This grace of they had already, and had evinced it by their conduct (cf. Heb 6:10, etc); they are only to take care that it court, me; and let them, among other ways, evince it in hospitality (2Pe 1:2), and in sympathy with the afflicted brethren (2Pe 1:3).
Heb 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers (or, of hospitality): for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Allusions to this duty are frequent in the Epistles; its exercise would be of especial importance, in those days of persecution, towards scattered and destitute brethren as well as towards missionaries, though it by no means appears that it was meant to be confined to “them that are of the household of faith.” Possibly some of the wavering Hebrew Christians might be becoming less ready to open their doors to the persecuted from fear of “reproach” in Jewish circles. The allusion of the latter part of the verse is evidently to Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:1-33. and 19). At any time the visits even of our fellow-men may be to us as visits of angels, as being messengers of God’s purposes for good when least expected. And especially to be noted are our Lord’s own words, “He that receiveth you receiveth me,” etc., and “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Mat 25:40).
Heb 13:3
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. The Hebrew readers have been also specially commended for their past sympathy with their imprisoned and despoiled brethren (Heb 10:33, etc), having been themselves also at the same time persecuted. Whether or not sufferers themselves now, they must not be forgetful of those that are “As bound with them” seems best taken as expressing the sympathy of one member with another (cf. Heb 10:33, Heb 10:34 and 1Co 12:26, “If one member suffer,” etc). “As being yourselves,” etc., reminds them that they are still in the flesh, and so not only on this account bound to sympathize, but also liable themselves at any time to the like afflictions. Exhortations to personal purity and to contentedness follow next. Of the need, and prominence in the Epistles, of warnings against impurity see what was said on (Heb 12:14). St. Paul is given to couple covetousness ‘rod uncleanness together in his warnings, as cognate sins, and alike incompatible with the kingdom of God (cf. 1Co 5:10, 1Co 5:11; 1Co 6:9, etc; Eph 5:3,Eph 5:5; Col 3:5). Greediness, or inordinate desire (), may be for sensual indulgence or for wealththe same word is used in both senses; and such , whatever its object, is fatal to the spiritual life. So here, after a warning against impurity, comes a like one against covetousness.
Heb 13:4
Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. So in the A.V. the first clause of this verse, which is taken as an assertion, the copula , being understood. So it is also taken by Chrysostom and other ancients. If so, it is a declaration, interposed among hortations, of the honorableness of the” estate of matrimony,” with the hortatory purpose of suggesting this “remedy against sin “(as in 1Co 7:9), or as a protest against false asceticism, such as is alluded to in 1Ti 4:3, “forbidding to marry.” And certainly the expression, , taken by itself, would most naturally have this meaning. But most modern commentators understand it as an exhortation, supplying ; and this for the following cogent reasons: it occurs in the midst of a series of exhortations, and is therefore more likely to be one; it is difficult to understand the connected clause, “and the bed undefiled ( ),” as a statement; and the exactly similar phrase in 1Ti 4:5, , seems evidently hortatory. Hence we take it to mean “Let marriage be .“ Two questions remainthat of the import of , and whether is masculine or neuter. elsewhere, when applied to persons, means “held in honor” (as in Act 5:34, of Gamaliel); when applied to things, it means “precious” (as in 1Co 3:12; Revelations 17:4; 18:12, 16; 21:19, of precious stones; in 1Pe 1:19, of the blood of the Lamb; 2Pe 1:4, of promises; Act 20:24, of “my own life;” Jas 5:7, of the fruit of the earth). Bengel explains thus: “Caelibes, quibus periculum scortationis imminet, hortatur ut matrimonium contrahant, tanquam pretiosum quiddam agnoscentes, ejusque bone digne utantur. Conf. 1Th 4:4.’ And, taking as masculine, he explains further: “Omnesque debent matrimonium magni facere, ut, si quis eo ipse non utatur, alios tamen non prohibeat.” According to this view the first clause is an injunction to all to appreciate marriage, the second warns those that are married against any violation of the bond: ” antitheton ad scortatotes, ad adulteros” (Bengel). But the more natural, and the usual, meaning of the common expression is “in all things,” not “among all persons” (cf. Jaffa, 1Th 4:18; also Col 1:18; Tit 2:9; 1Ti 3:2; 2Ti 4:5). If so here, must be taken rather as an injunction with respect to the sanctity of marriage when contracted: “Let it be held in honor in all respects; in all ways reverently regarded as a holy bond;” the succeeding clause, , being a further explication of the same idea (cf. 1Th 4:4, “That every one of you should know how to possess his own vessel [meaning, probably, as seems to be required by the verb , ‘get to himself his own wife‘] in sanctification and honor ( );” where may express the same ides as in the text). ‘In the conclusion of the verse “for” () suits the drift of the sentence as above understood, and is considered to be supported better than “but” () of the Textus Receptus. Observe, lastly, that, in “God will judge,” “God” is emphatic, being placed last. Though the kind of sin spoken of is lightly regarded among men, and may escape detection or punishment now, yet certainly God will judge it.
Heb 13:5
Let your conversation (i.e. manner of life, or disposition) be without covetousness; be content with such things as ye have: for he (, emphatic) hath said, I will never (i.e. in no wise) leave thee, neither will I ever forsake thee. The reference seems to be to Deu 31:6, .. , the same assurance being repeated in Deu 31:8. But similar promises occur elsewhere in the Old Testament (see Gen 28:15; Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20; Isa 41:17; “Est igitur instar adagii divini,” Bengel).
Heb 13:6
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me; rather, I will act fear: what shall man do unto me? The quotation is from Psa 118:6. The memory of their former pastors who had finished their course is next urged upon the readers as an encouragement to perseverance in the life of faith.
Heb 13:7, Heb 13:8
Remember your leaders ( , wrongly rendered in the A.V., “them that have the rule over you;” for the reference is to departed chiefs. The word is similarly used by St. Luke (see Luk 22:26; Act 15:22; also below, Act 15:17 and Act 15:24). St. Paul, with a like meaning, calls the rulers of the Church : see Rom 12:8; 1Th 5:12; 1Ti 5:17), who spake to you the Word of God; of whose conversation (i.e. course of life, ), considering the end (or issue, ), imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is yesterday and today the same, and forever. This allusion to departed leaders shows the comparatively late date of the Epistle. Those who had died as martyrs, and hence, having a peculiar halo round them in the issue of their lives, may be supposed to be especially referred to; such as Stephen the proto-martyr at Jerusalem, James the son of Zebedee, and possibly James the Just, the acknowledged leader of the Jewish Christians. It may be that Peter, the apostle of the circumcision, had also suffered before the writing of the Epistle. This supposition, however, which would involve a date for the Epistle after St. Paul’s death also, is by no means necessary. Others, too, may be alluded to of whom we have no record, but whose memory would be fresh in the minds of the readers. But it does not follow that martyrs only are intended. Others also who had died in peace, and whose end had been blessed, might be pointed to as models for the imitation of survivors. Verse 8 must be taken as a distinct appended sentence, the watchword on which the preceding exhortation is based. Its drift is that, though successive generations pass away, Jesus Christ remains the samethe Savior of the living as well as of the departed, and the Savior of all to the end of time. It may be here observed that, though his eternal Deity is not distinctly expressedfor “yesterday” does not of necessity reach back to past eternityyet the sentence can hardly be taken as not implying it. For his unchangeableness is contrasted with the changing generations of men, as is that of Jehovah in the Old Testament (e.g. in Psa 90:2-4), and surely such language would not have been used of any but a Divine Being.
Heb 13:9
Be not carried away (so, according to the best authorities, rather than carried about) by divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, in which they that were occupied (literally, that walked) were not profited. From the exhortation to imitate the faith of the departed leaders, the transition is natural to warnings against being carried away from it by new teachings. The faith, which was their faith, remains unchanged, as Jesus Christ remains unchanged; why, then, these doctrines, new and strange (of. 1Co 3:11; Gal 1:6-10)? What these doctrines were is not shown, except so far as is intimated by the word (“meats”), which reminds us at once of similar warnings in St. Paul’s Epistles (cf. Rom 14:2, Rom 14:14, Rom 14:21; Col 2:8, Col 2:16 -723; 1Ti 4:3). These passages seem to refer in the first place to purely Jewish distinctions, still held to by Jewish Christians, between dean and unclean or polluted meats; and further to a new kind of asceticism, not found in the Old Testament, but based probably on notions of the impurity of matter, which led to entire abstention from flesh or wine, and also in some (1Ti 4:3) from marriage; also, as appears from the passage in Colossians, a false philosophy about angels and the spiritual world. We may perceive in these allusions the germs at least of later Gnostic heresies, such as found (as that of the Ebionites) their first congenial soil in Jewish circles; Oriental theosophy, or neo-Platonic philosophy, being supposed to have been engrafted on Jewish modes of thought. Some, misled by what is said in verse 10, see in the word an allusion to those sacrifices of the Law which were eaten by the worshippers, against any fancied obligation to partake in which the readers are supposed to be warned. But the word is never so applied in the Old Testament or the New (see above, Heb 9:10; Le Heb 11:34; 1 Macc. 1:16; Rom 14:15, Rom 14:20, 31; 1Co 6:13, 1Co 8:8, 1Co 8:13); nor would such error be likely to be classed among “strange doctrines.” The drift of the warning is that the religion of the gospel does not consist in any of these notions or observances, the supposed importance of meats being specially noted, and that to make them its essence is a misconception of its whole meaning, and a departure from the faith: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17).
Heb 13:10
We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. Here there is a plain allusion to the eating of offered sacrifices. If, then, there was no such allusion in the preceding verse, what is the connection of thought? It appears to be this: “Some would teach you that meats are of religious importance. Nay, but what are meats to us who have Christ himself for our spiritual food? This is our peculiar privilege, not shared by the very priests of the old dispensation.” Then, in Heb 13:11, “That this is so is shown by the very symbolism of the Day of Atonement.” Then, in Heb 13:12, “Let us, then, be well content to leave Judaism entirely, and cleave to Christ alone.” By “those that serve () the tabernacle” are meant the priests of the Law, whose service is, as in former passages, referred to as still going on. It is evidently implied that we have the right which they have not.
Heb 13:11, Heb 13:12
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin (i.e. as sin offerings; for this sense of , cf. Heb 10:6), are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate. The allusion is to the sin offerings on the Day of Atonementthe bullock for the high priest, and the goat for the people. Of the flesh of some sacrifices of ordinary peace offeringsthe people ate, being themselves “partakers of the altar;” that of ordinary sin offerings was partaken of by the priests alone: but the special sin offerings of the great day, which typified complete atonement, and the blood of which alone was taken into the holiest of all, were consumed entirely by fire without the camp, and not even the priests might eat of them (Le 16:27, etc). This part of the ceremonial, not mentioned in Heb 9:1-28., completed the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. It not only typified (together with the other goat that was set free) the entire removal of sin from the congregation; it also signified that the Law itself made none, not even the priests, partakers in such complete atonement. Christ fulfilled the first significance of this type by suffering “without the gate;” the Jews, in casting him out from their midst, were the unconscious instruments of his so fulfilling it; he thus bare and took away the sins of all outside the holy city which represented the Israel of God. But further, in him is supplied what under the Law was wanting; for of him, the true Sin Offering, we may all partake: he declared this himself when he spoke of our caring his flesh and drinking his bloodin which words the mention of the blood as well as of the flesh is peculiarly significant; for of the blood, which was “given upon the altar to make atonement for sins” (Le 17:11), none might in any case under the Law partake; but of him we even drink the blood, in token that atonement is completed, and that we are now full partakers in all its benefits. The only seeming discrepancy between the type and the Antitype, as above set forth, is in the order of the different parts of the old ceremonial. The sin offering was slain in the camp before it was burnt outside, whereas Christ fulfilled both these parts of the type by one act upon the cross outside. Again, the blood of the sin offering was taken into the holy of holies before the body was consumed by fire outside, whereas Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary “with his own blood” after he had suffered “without the gate.” But the general significance of the symbolism in its several parts is not thus disturbed; it is viewed as a whole, and all parts of it are found to be fulfilled. In saying, “we have an altar,” and implying that we eat of it, the writer has surely the Eucharist in view, though it does not follow that means definitely the table on which it is celebrated. He may, as some explain, have especially in his mind the cross on which the sacrifice was once for all completed; or he may have had no definite local image before him, seeing rather (as elsewhere in the Epistle) in spiritual realities and relations the counterparts of the Levitical symbols. But that the Holy Communion is alluded to, even if it were not apparent here, might be concluded from 1Co 10:14-22, where similar phrases are used with distinct reference to it. There St. Paul is dissuading from participation in heathen sacrificial feasts, as being inconsistent with partaking of the Holy Communion; and he says in this connection, “Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices ( ) partakers of the altar ( )?“ It is evident that “partakers of the Lord’s table” (1Co 10:21) are regarded as being thereby partakers of the Christian altar, of which mention is made in the text before us. It may be observed that the use here of the word may be held to justifyand this without implying any actual repetition of the one accomplished sacrificethe application of the term “altar” to the table on which the Eucharist is celebrated, as does 1Co 10:21 the term “the Lord’s table.” Both terms were so applied from very early times. The holy tables in our churches are altars, in that on them is continually commemorated and pleaded the one sacrifice of the cross, and that from them the spiritual food of the body and blood is given to the faithful.
Heb 13:13
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. By a happy turn of thought Christ’s having suffered without the gate is viewed as representing his exclusion from the Jewish Church and polity, outside which we are now to follow him, though we with him be reproached by the Jews as outcasts. There may be a tacit reference, such as Bengel sees in the word , to our bearing our cross after him.
Heb 13:14
For here we have no abiding city, but we seek that which is to come; i.e. not Jerusalem, representing the transitory dispensation of the Law; but the “city of the living God,” which is eternal.
Heb 13:15
Through him therefore let us offer the sacrifice (or, a sacrifice) of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips confessing to his Name. is the designation in the ritual of the Law of the voluntary peace offering, offered by individuals on occasions calling for special thanksgiving (Le Heb 7:12). In the psalms it is used to express generally praise and thanksgiving (see Psa 1:1-6 :14, 23; Psa 116:17. , etc). In virtue of their participation in the true and complete Sin Offering, Christians may fulfill this part of the ancient symbolism, not occasionally, but “continually;” bringing to God, not fruits of the earth, but the “fruit of the lips” (an expression found in Hos 14:2, where the LXX. has ), i.e. continual praise, springing from thankful hearts. In the Eucharist especially (hence so called) such sacrifice is continually offered, over the one atoning Sacrifice which is pleaded and partaken of. But not in communions only, but ever in their daily lives, such “sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving” is due. But, as the next verse reminds the readers, the “knit of the lips” is not enough; there is a further sacrifice of our own, whereby we must show that we are true partakers of Christ, and truly thankful.
Heb 13:16
But to do good and to communicate forget not; while expresses the sense of Christian fellowship evinced by communicating to others a share of what we have; cf. Rom 15:26; 2Co 9:13): for With such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Heb 13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you ( , as in Heb 13:7), and submit yourselves (to them): for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it With joy, and not With grief (literally, groaning); for that is (rather, were) unprofitable for you (i.e. their ministry is for your profit; if its result be their giving in their account with groans, its whole purpose will be frustrated). In this allusion to the as in Heb 13:7 and Heb 13:24, there is evidence of the existence of a regular order of ministry in the Hebrew Churches, such as many allusions in St. Paul’s Epistles show to have formed part of the constitution of the Churches to whom those Epistles were addressed (cf. also Act 14:23 and Act 20:17, Act 20:28, etc). The word itself () which is here used might, indeed, denote any persons who took the lead in the congregations; but the urging of the duty of submission to them, in virtue of their office of watching for souls for which they would have to give account, shows plainly that a special order is here, as elsewhere, referred to. Observe also below, Heb 13:24, where “all the saints,” i.e. what we should call the laity, are mentioned in distinction from the . (For similar injunctions, cf. 1Th 5:12 and 1Ti 5:17, and being the words there used) The special injunction here to obey and submit may have been called for by some deficiency in this respect among the Hebrew Christians. Possibly it was among the people rather than the pastors that there were any signs of wavering between the Church and the synagogue, and that one purpose of the admonition is to strengthen the hands of the former, in whom confidence is placed.
Heb 13:18
Pray for us: for we trust (rather, we are persuaded, ) that we have a good conscience, in all things willing (i.e. desiring) to live honestly. When St. Paul uses the plural he usually at least, if not always, includes his colleagues (cf. 1Th 5:25; 2Th 3:1; Col 4:3). So probably the writer here, especially as there is a transition to the singular in the following verse. Whoever he was, he associates himself in sending the Epistle with his fellow-laborers, i.e. with others of what we may call the Pauline circle, who were engaged with him elsewhere. Both this and the request for prayer, and also the assertion of integrity, which seems to imply suspicion of possible mistrust, are quite in St. Paul’s way, and confirm the view that, though the author may not have been St. Paul himself, it was at any rate some one who was, or had been, closely connected with him.
Heb 13:19
And I beseech you the more abundantly (the Pauline word, ) to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. The author of the Epistle proceeds here for the first time to speak of himself individually; and what he thus says shows that the Epistle was addressed to some definite circle of Hebrew Christians, and one which he had been among before. What circumstances, whether of imprisonment or other hindrances, were in the way of his revisiting them does not appear. We remark that this verse again reminds us strongly of St. Paul (cf. Phm 1:22). The possibility may be here noted that, if the Epistle was composed by one of St. Paul’s friends, and sent under his authority, he may have himself dictated this concluding portion (beginning possibly at Heb 13:17) which is in a more epistolary style than the rest, and contains personal allusions.
Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through (literally, in) the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, 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 (i.e. to God, the subject of the sentence) be glory forever and ever. Amen. It is St. Paul’s way also to introduce, in the end of his Epistles, a solemn prayer or benediction, couched in terms suitable to the subjects that have been dwelt on (see e.g. Rom 16:25, etc). The term, “God of peace,” is also usual with him; and it is appropriate here after so many warnings against disturbing the Church’s peace; as is, with reference also to what has gone before, “make you perfect” (), and what follows. On “the great Shepherd,” etc., Bengel says, “Habemus, inquit, antistites multos, Heb 13:17, sed hic omniam est Antistes. Ego sum absens, Heb 13:19, sed DEUS non abest, neque deerit.” The expression is taken from Isa 63:11, “Where is he that brought them out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? ( ; LXX).” The reference in Isaiah is to Moses and the Red Sea, the well-known types of Christ and his resurrection, and of ours to a new life, leading to eternal life, through him. He is called “the great Shepherd,” as in Heb 4:14 the “great High Priest,” as being the true fulfillment of the ancient types. “In [i.e. ‘in virtue of’] the blood of the covenant” seems to be suggested by Zec 9:11, : being added (as before) to distinguish the new covenant from the old. The suitableness of the words to the contents of the Epistle is obvious. It is observed that the above is the only distinct allusion in the Epistle to Christ’s resurrection, the writer’s treatment of his subject having led him to pass at once from the sacrifice to the heavenly intercession. But “non concludit apostolus, autequam menti-onem fecerit resurrectionis Christi” (Bengel).
Heb 13:22
But I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. This and the following verse are in the manner of a postscript, such as is usual with St. Paul. Some little apprehension is implied (of. Heb 13:18) of the admonitions not being taken well by all. Though the Epistle is not short as compared with others, yet it has been compressed with as “few words” as the subject would allow (cf. Heb 13:11). If, however, this concluding portion of the Epistle was written or dictated by St. Paul himself, as suggested under Heb 13:19, the “few words” may possibly refer to it only.
Heb 13:23
Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. This allusion to Timothy shows that the Epistle, whatever its exact date, was at any rate written in the apostolic age, before his death. Further, though not proving St. Paul’s authorship, it supports the conclusion that the writer, if not himself, was one of his associates, Timothy having been peculiarly his disciple and companion. It seems that Timothy had been, as the readers were aware, in prison; and the joyful news is communicated of his release, and of the prospect of his visiting them. This again shows that the Epistle was addressed to a definite circle of readers. It is observable that the word , which does not occur in St. Paul’s writings, is, like so many expressions throughout the Epistle, one usual with St. Luke (Luk 22:68; Luk 23:1-56. 16, etc; Act 3:13; Act 4:21; where it expresses release from prison or captivity). He uses it also for dismissal of persons on a mission (Act 13:3; Act 15:30); and hence one view is that Timothy’s having already set out to visit the Church addressed is all that is here meant. But the other meaning of the word is more likely.
Heb 13:24
Salute all them that have the rule over you ( , as before), and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. The fact that no names are here mentioned, as is usual with St. Paul in sending salutations to Churches he was personally well acquainted with, leads us to infer that there had been no such close association, at any rate recently, between the writer and the readers in this case; or else that a circle of Churches in some locality is addressed. Nothing certain can be concluded as to the writer’s whereabouts at the time of writing from the expression, “they of Italy ( ),” though it seems to favor the idea, rather than otherwise, that he was in Italy at the time, possibly at Rome. For the phrase means simply “natives of Italy” (cf. Act 10:23; Act 10:38; Act 12:1; Act 17:13; Act 21:27; Act 18:13; all these being, we observe, expressions of St. Luke’s); it by no means implies that they had left Italy. In fact, as Delitzsch observes, “if the author was then in Italy, and at the same time was not a native of Italy, he could not have selected a more appropriate designation for the Italian Christians.” The Epistle is concluded by St. Paul’s accustomed words, which, with some variations, seem to have been appended to all his letters as his authenticating autograph (see 2Th 3:1-18., etc)
Heb 13:25
Grace be with you all. Amen.
HOMILETICS
Heb 13:1-6
Personal exhortations.
This book “to the Hebrews” begins like a doctrinal treatise; but it ends like a letter. Heb 13:1-25. is written quite in the epistolary form; and concludes with some personal noticesthe only such that are to be found in the book. The verses before us contain counsels suited to the individual Christian life. Here the apostle says in effect to his readersBe not selfish (Heb 13:1-3); be not sensual (Heb 13:4); be not sordid (Heb 13:5, Heb 13:6).
I. AN EXHORTATION TO BROTHERLY LOVE. (Heb 13:1-3) In the New Testament, love of the brethren means love of the spiritual brotherhood of believers. The natural affection which subsists between brothers and sisters, although very sacred and beautiful, is not in itself Christian brotherly love. No more is patriotism, or love of country, a distinctively Christian sentiment. The brotherly love which the gospel inspires forgets all differences merely of kindred and nation. It is a spiritual bond, and unites the saint to all his fellow-believers everywhere. This love is not one of the things “that can be shaken” (Heb 12:27); it “never faileth” (1Co 13:8, 1Co 13:13). So, the apostle exhorts the Hebrews to make sure that it shall “remain” among themselves, and be as actively exercised in the future as in the past (Heb 6:10). For, the spirit which rejoices to recognize fellow-believerstaking pleasure in their society, laboring to promote their welfare, and throwing the veil of charity over their failingsis one of the richest and ripest fruits of the Christian life. Love of the brethren is the cement of a congregation. And only the man who cherishes it is, in the proper meaning of the word, a gentleman. In Heb 13:2, Heb 13:3, the apostle specifies two modes by which it is essential that brotherly love should be manifested; those, viz. of hospitality and sympathy. It is to be shown towards:
1. Brethren who are strangers. (Heb 13:2) The Christian Hebrews were to account it a sacred duty hospitably to entertain fellow-believers from other lands or districts, who might be traveling either on business, or in the service of the Church, or because driven from home by persecution. And not only a sacred duty, but a blessed privilege. For as Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:1-33., 19) “entertained angels unawares,” so the stranger whom the Christian receives may turn out to be a messenger from God to his soulone whose presence may fill his house with the atmosphere of heaven. Should the stranger be a man whose mind is stored with the treasures of spiritual truth, and whose affections are devout and pure, his visit may prove a means of direct quickening to the religious life of the household. Samuel Rutherford experienced this privilege, when one Saturday evening he received a stranger into his pleasant manse at Anworth; for after being impressed at the family catechizing with the guest’s answer that the number of the commandments was eleven, the “new commandment” (Joh 13:34) being cited as proof, he discovered by-and-by that his visitor was Archbishop Usher, the learned and devout primate of the Church of Ireland. But another and a still sweeter thought is not remote from the motive to hospitality contained in this verse, viz. that in entertaining Christ’s servants we are receiving the Master himself: “I was a Stranger, and ye took me in” (Mat 25:35).
2. Brethren who are sufferers. (Verse 3) The Hebrews were to “remember” the saints who might be in prison. They were to do so “as bound with them;”a beautiful expression, breathing the aroma of true Christian sympathy. They were to pray earnestly for them, if possible visit them, minister to their wants, and strive to secure their liberation. Brotherly kindness would lead them to conceive of themselves as occupying the position of the sufferers. It would cause them to realize the “bonds” of their brethren as an affliction personal to themselves, just as the elder Brother’s love does (Act 9:4). But, since imprisonment is not the only calamity to which believers are exposed, the apostle proceeds to bespeak sympathy for all who in any way “are evil entreated” for Jesus’ sake. We ourselves are liable to the same adversities which our brethren endure. Let us, therefore, identify ourselves with them. It is not enough that we contribute to public charities. Neither do we discharge all our duty when we employ some person as our proxy to care for the sufferers. True Christian sympathy requires that we bring ourselves into personal contact with them. Strength is often received from the glance of a sympathizing eye, or the grasp of a loving hand, or the utterance of a tender word of holy comfort.
II. A WARNING AGAINST IMPURITY. (Verse 4) The first part of this verse should certainly be translated as an exhortation. Marriage is to be” had in honor;” not so much here, however, as against celibacy, but in opposition to unchastity. The apostle in this precept elevates marriage to its rightful place as a Divine ordinance. The ethics of the New Testament magnify family life. The Christian religion, in honoring the family, guarding its rights, and proclaiming its duties, has invested home with a halo of loveliness. Wherever the sacred character of marriage is recognized and felt, the result will be purity. And, adds the apostle, there is judgment in reserve for those who dishonor God’s ordinance in this matter. For the adulterer is guilty of the greatest of all social crimes, murder alone excepted. Whether, therefore, the breaker of the seventh commandment be a single or a married person, he shall not escape. The doom of impenitent sensualists will be none the less dreadful that the apostle does not here enlarge upon it. He feels it enough to say solemnly regarding such persons, “God will judge.”
III. A DISSUASIVE AGAINST THE LOVE OF MONEY. (Verses 5, 6) Constantly in the New Testament sensuality and avarice are mentioned together as being sins of the same class. If sensuality hardens the human heart, sordidness does so also. The love of filthy lucre will drag a man down to perdition quite as readily and insidiously as the love of filthy lust. Avarice is often regarded as the national sin of the Hebrew race. The natural man Jacob is very prone to developunless Divine grace preventinto the sordid, grasping Shylock. But the Anglo-Saxon nations are all powerfully predisposed to this sin too. In our own time how largely are riches over-estimated, both as a means of happiness and as an evidence of success in life! Even the Church of Christ is tempted to pay court to wealth. Yet it cannot be denied that the Savior forbids his people to make it one of their chief aims to accumulate gold. We are to be diligent in business, and neither despise money nor set our hearts upon it. To be “content with present things” (verse 5) is a high Christian attainment. And a man’s habits of thought and life in connection with money are a touchstone of his character. “A right measure and manner in getting, saving, spending, giving, taking, lending, borrowing, and bequeathing, would almost argue a perfect man” (Henry Taylor). The apostle sustains his precept by an appeal to Scripture (verse 5). The words quoted, “I will in no wise fail thee,” etc., contain in the original no fewer than five negatives, and are thus, as it were, a fivefold assurance of the Divine support. God gave this same promise to so many of the ancient saintsto Jacob, Joshua, Solomon, etc.that it possesses the force of a spiritual adage, and thus may be personally appropriated by every believer. In all ages thousands of the people of God have rested on it, and have accordingly exemplified the rare and difficult grace of contentment. This is matter of history and of observation.
“O earth, so full of dreary noises!
O men, with wailing in your voices
O delved gold, the wailers heap!
O strife, O curse, that o’er it fall!
God strikes a silence through you all,
And giveth his beloved sleep.”
(Mrs. Browning)
Seeing, then, that we who believe are assured of the Divine presence and help, why should we not have the “good courage” (verse 6) to say with the psalmist, “I will not fear: what shall man do unto me” (Psa 118:6)? Avarice has its root in want of faith in God; but no one who is persuaded that the Lord is with him need dread any kind of poverty. Having Jehovah for his Champion, he will not “make gold his hope, or say to the fine gold, Thou art nay confidence.” Divine grace will root up out of his heart the noxious weed of covetousness, and plant in its room the fair arid fragrant flower of contentment.
Heb 13:7, Heb 13:8
Deceased pastors.
Passing from admonitions bearing upon the individual Christian life, the writer now proceeds to exhort the brethren about matters arising out of their Church relations. He charges them to cherish the memory of their departed Christian teachers.
I. THE WORK OF THE PASTORATE. The duties of the gospel ministry, when these are faithfully discharged, may be said to be threefold.
1. To bear rule over the Church. Christ has given to his Church the “power of the keys,” vesting it in her pastors and presbyters. This power, however, is simply ministerial. The rulers of the Church merely administer the laws given by the Lord Jesus Christ, her King and Head. While at liberty to frame by laws which may promote the edifying celebration of the ordinances which be has founded, they dare not prescribe new laws or appoint new ordinances. They are to admit to Church communion and exclude from it; but only upon the lines laid down in the New Testament.
2. To speak the Word of God. The main function of the ministry is to preach the gospel, and to teach Christian truth. The gospel is a definite “word;” and it is enshrined in a Book which is called “The Word.” The preacher’s text-book is not the newspaper, or the current literature of the day, but “the oracles of God.” The great design of the Christian pulpit is to promote the intellectual and experimental knowledge of the Bible. And no minister “shall have lived in vain if it can be written over his grave, ‘He made the people understand the Scriptures'” (Dr. John Hall).
3. To live a consistent Christian life. When a pastor is, like Barnabas, “a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,” it is to be expected that “much people will be added unto the Lord” (Act 11:24). A holy example lends incalculable momentum to Christian teaching. “The life of a pious minister is visible rhetoric” (Hooker).
“To draw mankind to heaven by gentleness
And good example, was his business
And Jesus’ love, which owns no pride or pelf,
He taught; but first he followed it himself.”
(Chaucer)
II. THE DUTY OF BELIEVERS TOWARDS THEIR DECEASED PASTORS. Although these are removed from us, we still have duties towards them. Indeed, the relationship of pastor and people, being spiritual in its nature, may be said to be prolonged into eternity. We must:
1. Remember their official work. We should recall the strain of their Christian teaching, and think with gratitude of their spiritual supervision. If we continue to “esteem them exceeding highly in love for their work’s sake,” they “being dead, shall yet speak” to us. Many a believer tools that he has had one spiritual guide in particular whose influence over his heart and life must continue unaffected by change or time; viz. the pastor under whose ministry he was converted, or whose teaching helped most powerfully to mould his Christian thought and give direction to his spiritual energies.
2. Consider their consistent Christian life. When a man’s career is finished, it can be surveyed as a whole, and its moral worth appraised. So the character of a godly minister comes to be appreciated at its full value only when we are in a position to “consider the issue of his life.” The early spiritual guides of the Hebrews had all died in faith; and some of them, it may be (e.g. Stephen, James the son of Zebedee, and James the Little), had obtained the crown of martyrdom. And what an evidence still of the truth of Christianity is the blameless, unselfish, beneficent career, continued through perhaps two generations, of a faithful Christian minister! What a magnificent sunset the close of the life of the pastor who can say upon his death-bed, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2Ti 4:7).
3. Imitate their holy fidelity. These primitive pastors had been sorely tried; yet they had never swerved from their loyalty to Christ and to his truth. Like the heroes of the old dispensation, whose exploits are recounted in Heb 11:1-40., they had “lived by faith.” Why, then, should any of the members of the Church, whom they had taught, be guilty of apostasy? Those doctrines of grace which the teachers had held fast were surely worthy of the adherence of the disciples. Let us also continue steadfastly in the pure gospel truth which our departed spiritual guides adorned in their lives, and let us copy their holy and persevering fidelity to the Redeemer.
III. A BLESSED ENCOURAGEMENT TO DISCHARGE THIS DUTY. Heb 11:8 is to be read as an affirmation: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,” etc. It expresses the glorious thought of the changelessness of the Redeemer. He is ever the same in his Divine nature, in his true humanity, in his mediatorial power, in his love and tenderness, in his gospel and its promises. More particularly here he is immutable:
1. As the theme of the pulpit. The preacher of the gospel dies, but “the Word of God” which he spoke is immortal. That Word has its focus in the person and work of the Savior. Its central fact is the death of Christ. The backbone of evangelical preaching is the scheme of redemption by him. And the singular vitality of the pulpit, as compared with other institutionsas, e.g. schools of philosophy, scientific societies, commercial guildsis due to this undying theme; undying, because coeval with the deepest needs of men in all time. We should, then, remember those who “spake the Word of God,” because the Word which they spoke is indestructible.
2. As the confidence of the sailors. The apostolic missionaries who had first preached to the Hebrews had made Jesus Christ their own Stay during life, and their “Guide even unto death.” It was he who had succored them under all their afflictions and persecutions as ministers of the Word. And, although they were now dead, the same Savior still lived. It was fitted to be a powerful stimulus to the Hebrews to imitate the faithfulness of their ministers, that the immutable Redeemer remains forever with his people; and that they, too, could link their souls with him, and share in his immutability.
3. As the perpetual Pastor of the Church. The under-shepherds are taken away, but the chief Shepherd abides. Each of them was one of his “gifts for men,” lent only for a season. But the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ himself is perennial and inexhaustible. During the “yesterday” of the Jewish dispensation he made his sheep “to lie down in green pastures” (Psa 23:2). During the today of the Christian dispensation he presides over his flock by his Spirit, “that they may have life, and may have it abundantly” (Joh 10:10). And, during the blessed “forever” which shall begin with the second coming, when all his sheep shall have been gathered from their various folds into the infinite meadows of heaven,” the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be their Shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life” (Rev 7:17).
Heb 13:9-16
“Without the camp.”
These words occur repeatedly in this passage; and, used as a motto, they express appropriately the nerve-thought which pervades it. Indeed, the entire Epistle may be described as an urgent and affectionate exhortation to the Hebrews to “go forth unto Jesus without the camp, bearing his reproach.” We are required to withdraw from the polity and life of Judaism
I. AS REGARDS DOCTRINE. (Heb 13:9) The reference here seems to be to the Levitical distinctions between clean and unclean “meats,” and perhaps also to the traditional customs on the same subject which had been elevated to equal authority with those. The apostle reminds his readers that all such precepts are only “carnal ordinances,” which the coming of Jesus Christ has rendered no longer necessary, and the observance of which can now have no influence upon a man’s spiritual life. Christ has “made all meats clean” (Mar 7:19). The principle and power of his religion consists in “grace,” and not in fanciful distinctions connected with food. “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking” (Rom 14:17). No consciousness of external observances can ever “profit” a man spiritually. Only the “grace” of God, given by his Spirit, can regenerate and ennoble the human soul. We must therefore forsake the materialistic “teachings” of Judaism for the spiritual doctrines of Christianity.
II. AS REGARDS OUR SIN OFFERING. (Heb 13:10-13) Our “Altar” is Christ (Heb 13:10), and he is also our Sacrifice “for sin” (Heb 13:12). He is at once High Priest, Altar, and Victim. Under the Levitical law, while the priests were allowed to partake of many of the sacrifices, there were certain sin offerings of which they were expressly forbidden to eat (Lev 6:30). Those, e.g. which were presented on the great annual Day of Atonement were wholly consumed by fire “without the camp.” This ordinance typified the fact that Christ, the true Sin Offering, was to suffer for us “without the gate” of Jerusalem; and that, if we would participate in the atonement which he has made, we must voluntarily renounce the Jewish Church from which he was expelled. The law of the tabernacle forbade those who remained in connection with the camp of Judaism to eat of the flesh of any sin offering the blood of which had been presented within the tabernacle; but every one who worships before the true altar which has been set up on Calvary is encouraged freely to partake of the flesh of Christ, which he has “given for the life of the world.” To cleave to the Law, therefore, is to reject the gospel. If we would eat of the real sin offering which has been provided under the new covenanti.e., obtain the blessings of pardon and peace, of access and sanctification, which the atonement of Jesus has purchasedwe must “go forth unto him without the camp.”
III. AS REGARDS OUR THANK OFFERINGS. (Heb 13:15, Heb 13:16) These are not to be presented any longer through the medium of the Aaronical priesthood and of the Levitical oblations. Christ’s people are to offer them “through him” as Mediator, and depending for their acceptance upon his atonement and intercession. So soon as we partake of the New Testament sin offering, we are ourselves constituted “a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Pe 2:5). The great substantive thank offering which the believer presents is himself (Rom 12:1; 2Co 8:5). But the man who has given himself to the Lord will also offer:
1. Words of praise. (Heb 13:15) The most direct means by which we can honor God is publicly to “make confession to his Name” in words of faith and songs of adoration. When the spirit of praise takes root within the soil of the heart, it will spread its buds and blossoms over all the soul, and adorn the “lips” with its “fruit.”
2. Works of piety. (Heb 13:16) These are spiritual sacrifices also. Christianity is eminently a practical religion, and regards every deed of charity done for Jesus’ sake as a sweet and holy psalm. The truly grateful heart is always generous, and “willing to communicate” for the relief of brethren who are in need. And “God is well pleased” with every act of beneficence done out of gratitude for his grace. He accepts such as a “sacrifice” offered to himself.
IV. AS REGARDS OUR SPIRITUAL CITIZENSHIP. (Heb 13:14) Very soon, now, Jerusalem and its temple were to be razed to their foundations; and the entire Jewish polity, both civil and ecclesiastical, thus to be brought to a perpetual end. But that event would entail but small loss upon the Christian Hebrews, if only they remained steadfast in the faith. For, in embracing the gospel, they had transferred their affections from the earthly Jerusalem to the heavenly. Not only so, but all believersJew and Gentile alikemust “go forth unto Jesus without the camp,” in the sense of living a life of separation from the prevailing spirit of the world. The believer is to cultivate habits of reserve in reference to earthly pursuits and interests. His “citizenship is in heaven” (Php 3:20). He looks beyond even the kingdom of grace to that of glory.
He knows that the whole visible order of things in this world shall pass away, and just as completely as the Jewish polity has already done. And he anticipates for himself a permanent home in the New Jerusalem that shall “come down out of heaven from God.”
CONCLUSION. Seeing we possess such transcendent privileges “outside the camp,” let us bear patiently the “reproach” of Christ. We must be content to appear “singular” for his sake. We must be willing to be ostracized by the world on account of our love for him. The spirit of devotion to Jesus will be always diametrically opposed to the prevailing spirit of the ungodly. But what an honor to be permitted to suffer with him! And “if we endure, we shall also reign with him.”
Heb 13:17-19
Duty to present pastors.
In Heb 13:7 the apostle had exhorted the Hebrews to honor the memory of their deceased ministers. But, if this was a duty incumbent on them, it was equally their duty to render Christian obedience to their living spiritual guides. These precepts connected with the pastoral relation remind us that even in the earliest times the Churches possessed a definite organization, and were presided over by regularly appointed spiritual office-bearers. A twofold duty towards their leaders is pointed out in these verses.
I. TO OBEY THEM. (Heb 13:17) The spiritual government of the Church is an ordinance of Christ, and a means of grace to his people. It is not, however, a despotic government. Pastors and presbyters are simply to administer the Law of Christ. They may not demand submission to what is based only upon their own will or caprice. But, within the limits of their rightful authority, they are to be honored and obeyed. Their public teaching is to be received with a view to personal edification. Their private pastoral admonitions are to be accepted as “an excellent oil “(Psa 141:5). The censures of the Church, administered after conviction of scandalous sin, are to be submitted to, not as a penance, but as a means of spiritual benefit. The exhortation of this verse is needed in our own time. The present age is characterized not only by a healthy independence of thought, but also by an unhealthy impatience of legitimate authorityat once in the family, in the state, and in the Church. Yet there must be both government and discipline in every ecclesiastical society; and the proper administration of such is indispensable to the order and purity of the Church, if not even to her visible existence. In the latter part of the verse some reasons and motives are presented by which to enforce this duty of obedience in spiritual things.
1. The solemn work of the pastor. He “watches in behalf of your souls.” If the Church ruler be worthy of his office, he will be full of vigilant solicitude for the salvation of the people whom the Lord Jesus has committed to his care. He will take trouble for their souls. He will seek to know the flock personallytheir individual condition, character, and needs. He will try to establish true sympathy between himself and them. He will watch, that he may teach and warn and comfort, with a view to their salvation.
2. His responsibility to the chief Shepherd. Every minister knows that he “shall give account.” In his private communion with his Master he ought from time to time to report to him upon the condition of his charge. And he must not forget that at the end of the days, when the Son of man shall separate the sheep from the goats, he shall address to him the solemn question, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” (Jer 13:20).
3. The hurtful recoil upon the souls of the people if they fail in obedience. A spirit of docility in the congregation will encourage its spiritual guides to do their responsible work with cheerfulness and joy. But when there is resistance to counsel and contumacy under discipline, the heart of the pastor will become cast down; he will be prone to feel his work irksome, and to do it “with grief,” if indeed he be not tempted to abandon it altogether. And such a frame of mind in him will react in turn upon the congregation. A dejected minister will be more or less inefficient. The people will suffer much spiritual loss, for which they can only have themselves to blame.
II. TO PRAY FOR THEM. (Heb 13:18, Heb 13:19) In the verse preceding, the apostle has had in view the anxieties and burdens of the Christian ministry; so he now requests the prayers of the Hebrews for the pastors of the Church, and specially for himself. Here, for the first time in the course of this Epistle, the authorwhoever he wasallows his personality to appear. He claims to stand in a pastoral relation to the Hebrews, not only on the ground of former intercourse, but in virtue of this letter, which he has weighted with precious instruction and affectionate appeal, Now, if apostles and inspired men felt the need of the intercessions of the Church, how earnestly ought she to pray for her ordinary pastors and teachers! And a congregation should not only implore Divine grace for “our beloved pastor”a duty which is sometimes done in a spirit of parochial selfishness; we should also embrace in our intercessions the ministers of all the congregations with which we are associated in Church fellowship, and all the Lord’s servants in the gospel everywhere. The writer advances two considerations in support of his request.
1. His purity of conduct. (Heb 13:18) He had the testimony of “a good conscience;” and yet he yearned for the sympathy of his brethren in all his labors and sufferings. Jewish zealots might asperse his motives and defame his character; but the prayers of his fellow-Christians would fortify him against such trials. And the Church ought still to pray for her godly pastors, that they may have grace “to live honestly in all things,” preserving “a good conscience” in keeping their own hearts, in maintaining habits of study, in faithfully preaching the gospel, and in watching for souls by means of pastoral work.
2. His desire to revisit the Christian Hebrews. (Verse 19) The writer had resided among them at some former period, and he strongly wished to return to them so soon as circumstances might permit. He solicits their prayers, that the hindrances presently in his way may be removed. He makes this request very earnestly, and as a great personal favor to himself. We are reminded here, accordingly, that prayer is one of the powers which co-operate in the government of the world. The author of this Epistle was persuaded that the almighty energy of God is roused into action by the supplications of his people. He was quite sure that human prayers, not less than human deeds, are a factor in the Divine government. So he begged that the “voice” of the Church might “rise like a fountain for him night and day.”
Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21
Concluding prayer for the Hebrews.
The apostle, having earnestly requested the prayers of the Christian Jews for himself, proceeds to plead for them at the throne of the heavenly grace. He virtually says, “Pray for me, brethren; I pray for you.” And what a wonderful prayer is this! How brief, yet how comprehensive; how exquisitely simple, yet how deeply sublime! It is a benediction as well as a petition. And it is so richly colored with the doctrine which the writer has been discussing that it reads almost like a summary of the Epistle. Consider
I. THE TITLE UNDER WHICH GOD IS ADDRESSED. “The God of peace.” This is a Pauline expression. Outside of this book it occurs only in the writings of Paul. The appellation is profoundly suggestive. God is “the God of peace”
(1) in his own being and characterhe loves peace, and it dwells within him;
(2) in his moral administration, the end of which is to work peace in the world, and within the hearts of men. These Hebrews lived during a time of political turmoil and of religious persecution; but the apostle directs their thoughts to the Lord that “sitteth upon the flood,” who “will bless his people with peace.” There are some very solemn and terrible passages in this Epistle about the sin and doom of apostates; but the writer points us once more to the rainbow of grace shining in front of the gloom, and tells us how the hands of “the God of peace” have bonded it.
II. THE SPECIAL REDEMPTIVE ACT HERE CELEBRATED. It is that of the resurrection of the Lord Jesusan event not referred to elsewhere in the Epistle. The God who works peace had sent his Son to obey and suffer and die for man’s sin; and the same God had brought him again from the dead, and confirmed him in his high dignity as “the great Shepherd of the sheep.” Throughout this prayer of benediction the writer seems to have in view Isa 63:11-14, and to think of the Lord Jesus by contrast with Moses, and the other shepherds of ancient Israel. Jacob and Joseph, Moses and Aaron, Samuel and David, had all been true” shepherds of his flock;” but the Lord Jesus is “the great Shepherd.” The Hebrews were to cherish the memory of their own former pastors (Isa 63:7), and they had other pastors set over them now (Isa 63:17); but the Lord Jesus, the crucified and risen One, was ever their chief Pastor. He had laid down his life as “the good Shepherd,” but in rising from the dead and ascending to heaven he had shown himself to be “the great Shepherd.” On every account he is entitled to be called “great;” e.g. because all the prophets spoke of him, because all former true shepherds were types of him, because he is himself mighty to save, and because of the vastness of the flock over which he shall preside. Here in particular, however, the apostle calls him “great” because he has sealed the new and “eternal covenant” with his “blood.” That blood was the blood of God’ himself (Act 20:28); and so the covenant confirmed with such a costly sacrifice cannot but be everlasting. Not only so, but the Lord Jesus died, not merely as a federal offering; he died as a Sin Offering. His death completed the fulfillment of the covenant stipulations on his and our part; and, as we know that God also will be faithful to the treaty on his side, we are sure it shall stand forever. Christ is “the Mediator of the new covenant” and “the great Shepherd of the sheep,” through virtue of the merit of his blood.
III. THE SPIRITUAL BLESSING PRAYED FOR. (Verse 21) It is the gift of perfect sanctification, a blessing that had been expressly promised and guaranteed in connection with the new covenant (Jer 31:33, Jer 31:34). The God who has elevated the Lord Jesus to be the Head of the final dispensation is both able and willing to perform his own covenant promise. “Make you perfect;” i.e. put you into order, restore you, equip you. Naturally, every man needs to have his soul reorganized before he can learn to do God’s will. And sometimes a good man requires, as many of these Hebrew believers did, a second conversion. The apostle prays that their equipment may be thorough; that it may be a deep and comprehensive work within the soul, wrought there by the power of the Holy Ghost, and which shall bear fruit outwardly in a career of perfect holiness that shall be “well-pleasing in God’s sight.” It is not enough to practice only some of the virtues of the Christian character; we must be “perfect in every good thing “in worship and work, in thought and feeling, in body and spirit. The rule of our perfect equipment is “his will”the mind of God as made known to us in Holy Scripture. And the medium by which it is accomplished is “through Jesus Christ”by means of his gracious operations upon the heart by his Spirit. Perfect holiness in man is all of his creation: not by his doctrine merely, or by faith in him; but through himself, and by virtue of the believer’s union to him.
IV. THE DOXOLOGY WITH WHICH THE PRAYER CLOSES. “To whom “i.e. as we take it, to “the God of peace” who is addressed in the prayer. And yet, when “the glory” is ascribed to him, it is given to all the three Divine Personsto God the Father, who “brought again our Lord Jesus from the dead;” to God the Son, “the great Shepherd of the sheep” and Mediator of “the eternal covenant;” and to God the Spirit, the executive of the Deity, who personally “worketh in us” and “makes us perfect.” This doxology is the language of spiritual instinct; and, being such, it is irrepressible. So soon as any human heart really apprehends that Jehovah is “the God of peace,” and feels grateful for his unspeakable gift of “the great Shepherd,” and accepts the blessings of “the eternal covenant,” and becomes conscious of the transforming influence of grace within itself,how is that heart to be restrained from breaking forth into adoring praise, and from uttering the desire that the Divine glory should be universal and eternal? May our souls be in such full sympathy with this prayer of benediction as to join with emphasis in the apostle’s rapturous and fervent “Amen”!
Heb 13:22-25
Last words.
If the previous part of this chapter is of the nature of a postscript, these closing verses seem to be a second and briefer postscript appended to the first. The apostle’s loving heart lingers fondly over the close of the letter, and prolongs its last words.
I. HE CRAVES A KINDLY RECEPTION FOR THE EPISTLE. (Heb 13:22) Although his book is an inspired message, he does not urge its Divine authority as the reason why it should be carefully studied. He rather solicits the Hebrews as his “brethren,” and “for love’s sake,” to “bear with the word of exhortation.” It is interesting to mark the description of the book which is thus given by its author. The theologian deals with it as a profound theological treatise; the expositor regards it as the New Testament counterpart of the Book of Leviticus; but the writer himself calls it simply a “word of exhortation.” But when we study the structure of the Epistle, we find that this description, although modest, is most appropriate. What is often spoken of as the doctrinal part (Heb 1:1-10:18) is itself full also of earnest expostulations and warnings; and these but prepare the way for the prolonged and solemn practical appeal of the closing chapters (Lev 10:19 to the end). The Epistle was written for the purpose of pressing upon its readers the duty of unflinching loyalty to Christ. “The key-note of it is struck and heard throughout in the hortatory parts, to which the doctrinal elements are subservient” (Dr. A. B. Davidson). The apostle might have enforced his request in this verse by many weighty reasons; but he mentions only one, viz. the brevity of the Epistle. He had written “in few words”few, as compared with
(1) the extent and importance of the subject;
(2) his own burning interest in it, which would have made it easy for him to dilate;
(3) the gravity of the crisis in relation to the spiritual life of the Hebrews. But he had rigorously condensed his matter, that his readers might not be deterred from the study of the Epistle, or their patience exhausted before the close of the argument. It was desirable that when it should be read aloud in their Churchesa task which would occupy less than an hourthe last words of it should leave the people longing rather than loathing. And what a marvel of condensation is this book to the Hebrews! During the preparation of these homilies, the writer has had his conviction of the plenary inspiration of the Epistle greatly deepened,especially in view of its wealth of holy thought, its lucid expositions and arguments, its rhetorical splendor, its singular spiritual elevation, and its living power to pierce the heart and conscience. What a blank there would have been in Holy Scripture had this book, which is the key to the entire Levitical system, been excluded from the canon! Had such a calamity been allowed to happen, the New Testament would have been utterly silent about the priesthood of Christthis great theme being dealt with exclusively in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
II. HE SENDS KINDLY TIDINGS AND GREETINGS. (Verses 23, 24) Cheering news is given about Timothy; he “hath been set at liberty.” The expression seems to imply that this beloved spiritual “son” of Paul had been in prison and had been discharged. It was the writer’s intention, should Timothy and he meet, that the two should together visit the Hebrews. (This reference to Timothy, as well as the salutations in verse. 24, have been eagerly canvassed by commentators, in their vain endeavors to arrive at certainty regarding the author of the Epistle, the place of its composition, and the Churches to which it was addressed) The apostle’s greetings are sent through the members to the spiritual rulers, as if to remind us that it is the members of congregations that constitute the Church, and not their pastors alone. Still, the apostle is careful to give honor to the office-bearers: he has already exhorted the people to “obey” them (verse 17), and now he sends his farewell salutation first to them. “They of Italy” refers to the greetings of Italian brethren; but it cannot be determined from the words whether the Epistle was sent from Italy or to Italy. Such Christian courtesies as those of verse 24 are not to be dismissed as mere formalities. They remind us of the duty of loving our brethren in the Lord everywhere. Spiritual love is international. It is cosmopolitan. Wherever Christians are, our hearts should warm to them. Salutations like those before us derive their value
(1) from the character of the sender, and
(2) from their substance.
Here we have the affectionate messages of a great apostle, or at least of an eminent apostolical manthe author of one of the noblest of the Epistles of the New Testament. And his greetings are not empty compliments. He has shown himself on every page of his letter to be deeply in earnest, and to have a heart brimful of loving solicitude for the souls of those to whom he writes. Let us learn, accordingly, the duty of courtesy and kindliness in our Christian intercourse. “As ye enter into the house, salute it” (Mat 10:12).
III. HE CLOSES WITH THE, PAULINE BENEDICTION. (Verse 25) The same form of blessing is used by Paul at the close of every one of his thirteen letters; and, apparently because Paul had already appropriated this form, none of the other writers of New Testament Epistles conclude with any expression which is at all similar. This fact seems to corroborate the opinion that this anonymous Epistle is to be ascribed to the Apostle Paul, so far as regards the authorship of its thoughts, and although it may have received its literary form from another mind and hand. The final adieu is brief; but it could not be richer or more comprehensive. The word “grace” expresses the sum of all blessing, both temporal and spiritual. The author desires for his dear readers grace of every kindefficacious grace, preventing grace, co-operating grace, habitual grace. For grace blesses with pardon. It purifies from sin. It comforts amid sorrow. It strengthens for duty. And it will at length ripen into glory.
HOMILIES BY W. JONES
Heb 13:1-3
Brotherly love.
“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to,” etc. The writer now proceeds to exhort his readers to the practice of sundry Christian virtues. He begins by enjoining the maintenance and manifestation of brotherly love.
I. THE MAINTENANCE OF BROTHERLY LOVE. “Let brotherly love continue.”
1. That this affection existed is implied. That it had been exercised in former times is clear from Heb 10:32-34. That it was existent and active at the time when this Epistle was written appears from Heb 6:10.
2. That this affection was imperiled is also implied. There are several things which may check the growth and extinguish the life of brotherly love.
(1) Diversity of opinion. We are each gifted with individuality; we sometimes look at things from different standpoints; we arrive at different conclusions. This is the case in the interpretation of the sacred Scriptures, and in other matters. Differences of opinion sometimes lead to differences of feeling, to coldness and estrangement.
(2) Diversity of gifts. The great Master gives to one man five talents, to another two, and to another one. There is danger that pride in those of superior gifts, or envy in those who are less gifted, may crush this holy affection.
(3) Misunderstandings may arise amongst Christian brethren and blight their love of each other.
3. That this affection should be maintained. “Let brotherly love continue.” Let it remain. Guard against those things which endanger its existence. Cherish it. This love of the brethren is not to be limited to those who belong to the same ecclesiastical community, or to those who hold the same views of Christian doctrine; it should embrace all the disciples of the Lord Jesus. “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in uncorruptness.“ The importance of maintaining this affection is manifest from many Divine utterances (Joh 13:34, Joh 13:35; Joh 15:12, Joh 15:17; 1Jn 3:11, 1Jn 3:14-18; 1Jn 4:7, 1Jn 4:8, 1Jn 4:11, 1Jn 4:20, 1Jn 4:21).
II. THE MANIFESTATION OF BROTHERLY LOVE. TWO forms in which this affection should be expressed are adduced in our text.
1. Hospitality towards strangers. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Consider:
(1) The duty. Hospitality is frequently enjoined and commended in the Bible (Mat 10:40-42; Mat 25:34-46; Luk 10:4-7; Rom 12:13; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9). “The primitive Christians,” says Calmet, “considered one principal part of their duty to consist in showing hospitality to strangers. They were, in fact, so ready in discharging this duty, that the very heathen admired them for it. They were hospitable to all strangers, but especially to those who were of the household of faith. Believers scarcely ever traveled without letters of communion, which testified the purity of their faith, and procured for them a favorable reception wherever the Name of Jesus Christ was known.” In the parable of the good Samaritan the great Teacher presented to his disciples a perfect example of Christian hospitality.
(2) The motive by which we are encouraged to perform this duty. “For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” There is a reference to Abraham (Gen 18:1-33) and to Lot (Gen 19:1-38). Many a guest has proved as an angel to his entertainers, brightening the home by his presence, and leaving behind him precious memories and saving influences. The kindness we have shown to strangers has often come back to us with compound interest, and in higher and holier forms. Therefore, “forget not to show love unto strangers.”
2. Sympathy towards sufferers. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Notice two points:
(1) The obligation. “Remember them,” etc. All who are distressed should be remembered tenderly, sympathized with heartily, and succored as far as opportunity will allow. “Weep with them that weep.” “Bear ye one another’s burdens,” etc.
(2) The consideration presented as an incitement to the fulfillment of this obligation. “As being yourselves also in the body.” We are not beyond the reach of persecution or distress. We may be called to suffer as some of our Christian brethren are now suffering, and then we should need the sympathy which they now require. Here is a beautiful example of this sympathy. “Thomas Samson was a working miner, and working hard for his bread. The captain of the mine said to him on one occasion, ‘Thomas, I’ve got an easier berth for you, where there is comparatively little to do, and where you can earn more money. Will you accept it?’ What do you think he said? ‘Captain, there’s our poor brother Tregoney. He has a sick body, and he is not able to work as hard as I am. I fear his toil will shorten his useful life. Will you let him have the berth?’ The captain, pleased with his generosity, sent for Tregoney, and gave him the berth. Thomas was gratified, and added, ‘I can work a little longer yet.'”W.J.
Heb 13:5
Christian contentment enjoined and encouraged.
“Let your conversation be without covetousness,” etc. Our subject naturally falls into two main branches.
I. THE DUTY TO WHICH WE ARE SUMMONED. This duty is here stated negatively and positively.
1. Freedom from the love of money. “Let your conversation be without covetousness.” Revised Version, “Be ye free from the love of money.” This is a sin to which many are very prone, and the descendants of Jacob, to some of whom this letter was addressed, as much, or perhaps more so, than others. It is an exceedingly insidious and perilous sin. It does not carry any outward and visible stigma, as some sins do. They who are guilty of it may be respectable in appearance, maintain a good reputation in society, and retain their position in the communion of the Christian Church, while the vigor and health and even the very life of their Christian character are being subtly consumed by it. There is no sin more destructive of spiritual life, or more fatal to the highest and divinest things in man. It quenches the nobler aspirations of the soul. It degrades the soul itself until, oblivions of its high calling, and looking simply upon material or perishable possessions, man says, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.“ And it is the prolific parent of other sins,” the root of all kinds of evil” (1Ti 6:10). Let us endeavor to be free from this ensnaring and destructive sin.
2. Contentment with present possessions. “Be content with such things as ye have.” Ward Beecher says well, “It is not to be the content of indifference, of indolence, of unambitious stupidity, but the content of industrious fidelity. When men are building the foundations of vast structures, they must needs labor far below the surface and in disagreeable conditions. But every course of stone which they lay raises them higher; and at length, when they reach the surface, they have laid such solid rock under them that they need not fear now to carry up their walls, through towering stories, till they overlook the whole neighborhood. A man proves himself fit to go higher who shows that he is faithful where he is. A man that will not do well in his present place because he longs to be higher, is fit neither to be where he is nor yet above it: he is already too high, and should be put lower.” When we consider how few our real needs are, we may well cultivate contentment “with such things as we have.” “Having food and raiment, let us therewith be content.” And contentment is blessed. It softens our privations and sweetens our provisions. “Contentment will make a cottage look as fair as a palace. He is not a poor man that hath but little, but he is a poor man that wants much.” In St. Paul we have an illustrious example of this virtue: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content,” etc. (Php 4:11-13). Like him, let us seek to learn this lesson completely, and to practice this virtue constantly” in him that strengtheneth” us.
II. THE FACT BY WHICH WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO FULFIL THIS DUTY. “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” These exact words do not occur in the sacred Scriptures; but the sentiment is frequently expressed therein (cf. Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20). Extraordinary is the emphasis of expression in this assurance. No less than five negatives are employed by the writer to give force to this one brief yet blessed promise. The argument of the text is this, that the abiding presence of God with us is a sufficient reason for contentment. It is so because his presence guarantees:
1. The supply of all our need. We have all things in him; e.g.:
(1) Provision (Psa 84:11; Mat 6:25-34).
(2) Protection (Psa 121:1; Rom 8:31; 1Pe 3:13).
(3) Guidance (Psa 73:23, Psa 73:24; Pro 3:5, Pro 3:6).
“My God shall fully supply every need of yours, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
2. The sanctification of our portion. His gracious presence will sweeten the poorest fare, and cheer the most depressed condition, and exalt the lowliest circumstances. To his faithful suffering servants his presence transformed a loathsome dungeon into a palace beautiful (Act 16:24, Act 16:25). It is stated that Seneca said to Polybius, “Never complain of thy hard fortune so long as Caesar is thy friend.” How much more may we say to every true Christian,” Never complain of such things as you have so long as you have God for your Portion”!
“The rich man in his wealth confides,
But in my God my trust abides.
Laugh as ye will, I hold
This one thing fast that he hath taught:
Who trusts in God shall want for naught.
Yes, Lord: thou art as rich today
As thou hast been, and shall be aye;
I rest on thee alone.
Thy riches to my soul be given,
And ’tis enough for earth and heaven!”
(Hans Sachs)
W.J.
Heb 13:6
A triumphant assurance.
“So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper,” etc. The writer in our text adopts the language of Psa 118:6. Three distinct, yet closely related topics for meditation are suggested.
I. MAN‘S NEED OF HELP. What a dependent creature is man! Mark this in the different stages of his life.
1. How utterly helpless in infancy!
2. How needy in youth! Instruction, direction, counsel, support, are indispensable to youthful life, if it is to grow into usefulness unto men and acceptability unto God.
3. How dependent in manhood! No one is independent. Even the wealthiest, the wisest, the mightiest, cannot stand alone. We need help
(1) from each other. “We are members one of another.” “The members should have the same care one for another” (cf. 1Co 13:1-13) We need help
(2) from God. “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things for in him we live, and move, and have our being.” It was truly said by Fenelon, “God has but to withdraw his hand which bears us, to plunge us back into the abyss of our nothingness, as a stone suspended in the air fails by its own weight the moment it ceases to be held.”
4. How imbecile in old age! This is often a “second childhood,” a season of almost complete dependence upon others both physically and mentally.
5. There are times, when man specially feels his need of help. In affliction we feel our need of patience; in sorrow, of consolation; in perplexity, of guidance, etc.
II. GOD‘S PROVISION OF HELP. God has put it into our hearts to help each other. Many are the ways in which this is done; e.g. by sympathy, by counsel, by gifts, etc. But God himself is the great Helper. A helper does not do everything for us. He supplements our weakness with his strength; our ignorance and inexperience with his wisdom. We must do our part, and he will not fail in his. Consider what a glorious Helper God is.
1. He is all-sufficient. His wisdom is infinite. The treasures of his grace are inexhaustible. It is conceivable that the sun, after the lapse of many and vast ages, may become dark and cold, or that the waters of old ocean may be drank up; but it is impossible and inconceivable that the infinite resources of our Divine Helper should ever fail.
2. He is ever-available. We cannot seek him and discover that he is inaccessible to us. We cannot approach him inopportunely. He is “a very present Help in trouble.” “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
3. He is ever-gracious. His willingness to help is as great and as constant as his ability. Man varies in his moods: today he is genial and kind, to-morrow he is cold and harsh. But God is ever merciful, ever disposed to help and bless his creatures.
III. THE BELIEVER‘S ASSURANCE OF THE HELP OF GOD. “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear: what shall man do unto me?”
1. This confidence rests upon the promise of God. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (verse 5). His promises are perfectly reliable. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man,” etc. (Num 23:19). “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” “The Scripture cannot be broken.” “He abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.” His promise, then, is an immovable basis for our confidence.
2. This confidence inspires the courage of the believer. “The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear: what shall man do unto me?” The man over whom God casts his shield is invulnerable. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” “Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” No crafty foe can elude the vigilance of his eye; no subtle scheme can surprise his infinite mind; no strong antagonist can cope with his almighty arm. If he is our Helper, man cannot injure us. If he is our Helper, our resources cannot fail. If he is our Helper, we may pursue our life-path chanting cheerfully, “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble,” etc. (Psa 46:1-11).W.J.
Heb 13:8
The unchangeableness of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” The Lord Jesus Christ is unchangeable
I. IN HIS PERSON. “Our Lord’s Godhead is the seat of his personality. The Son of Mary is not a distinct human person mysteriously linked with the Divine nature of the eternal Word. The Person of the Son of Mary is Divine and eternal. It is none other than the Person of the Word.” This personality is immutable. This has been already asserted by the writer of this Epistle: “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth,” etc. (Heb 1:10-12). He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” in his great attributeshis eternity, spirituality, omniscience, omnipotence, etc. He is the same in his perfect and blessed characterin his righteousness and faithfulness, his love and mercy, his forbearance and tenderness, etc. In this respect how vast is the difference between him and us! We are ever changing in many respects. Our outward appearances, the particles of which our bodies are composed, the opinions which we entertain, the experiences which we pass through, the characters which we are forming,all these change. But he is sublimely unchangeable, eternally and infinitely perfect.
II. IN HIS WORD. The teaching of our Lord, like his personality, continues and changes not. His words are true, vital, suited to the conditions and needs of human nature and life. More than eighteen centuries have passed away since they were uttered; but they have lost none of their clearness, or freshness, or force. They are still the great fountains of religious light to our race. And the noblest human spirits still say to him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” It has been well said by Dr. Parker, “Plato’s definitions are practically forgotten, but the Nazarene’s words intermingle with universal civilization. A great composer said he was spending a long time over his work because he intended it to live long, but this Galilean peasant talks extemporaneously, as if simply answering the question of the hour; yet his words float over all generations, and are prized by men today as if they had been addressed exclusively to themselves. These ‘sayings’ are not local lamps, but suns set in the firmament commanding the range of all nations…. In Christ’s ‘sayings’ there was always something beyonda quickening sense that the words were but the surface of the thought; there was nothing to betoken conclusion, much less exhaustion; there was ever a luminous opening even on the clouds that lay deepest along the horizon, which invited the spectator to advance and behold yet fuller visions” (‘Eece Deus’). How different is the teaching Of Jesus Christ from the changing opinions, speculations, and theories of meneven of distinguished men! Of every province of human thought and investigation we may truthfully say
“Our little systems have their day;
They have their day, and cease to be.”
But Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” “The Word of God liveth and abideth The Word of the Lord abideth forever.”
III. IN HIS WORK. Part of his great work was perfectly and splendidly accomplished while he was upon earth. The work which was given him to do upon earth, says Dr. Wardlaw, “was the expiation of human guilt, and the provision of a righteousness for the justification of the ungodly; the laying of the groundwork of man’s redemptionthe foundation on which might rest together the glory of God and the hopes of sinners. But his mediatorial work did not cease then. It does not properly terminate till ‘the end come,’ when he shall have accomplished all the ends for which his office as Mediator had been assumed.”
“He who for man their Surety stood,
And poured on earth his precious blood,
Pursues in heaven his mighty plan;
The Savior and the Friend of man.”
(Logan)
Many of the miracles which he wrought when upon earth are illustrations, parables, of the work which he is ever performing in human spirits.
1. As Savior of sinners he is the same. The cross upon which he gave himself in death for us has lost none of its ancient power. By his glorious gospel and his Holy Spirit he is still convincing men of sin, drawing them to himself, and imparting to them pardon and peace, liberty and joy.
2. As the Helper of his people he is the same. “He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25). “Christ’s perpetual presentation of himself before the Father,” says Canon Liddon, “is that which constitutes his intercession.” He is in the presence of God as our Representative, our Advocate, and our Friend.
From the unchangeableness of Jesus Christ we infer:
1. That he is essentially Divine. All created beings change. This is one thing in which each and all of them are alike. We are different today from what we were yesterday, and tomorrow we shall differ from what we are today. Immutability belongs only to God (cf. Heb 1:10-12).
2. That be is worthy of our utmost confidence. If he were fickle, changeable in his character and purposes, loving man today and regarding him with indifference to-morrow, how could we trust him? Nay, if it were even possible for him to change, how could we calmly and confidently commit cur souls to him? But seeing that he is what he is in his character and in his relation to us, and that he is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” we may repose in him the fullest confidence of our being.
3. That the success of His cause is assured. In the preceding verse we were reminded of the death of Christian ministers and elders; but the great Head of the Church ever liveth and is ever the same. “He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,” etc. (Isa 42:4).W.J.
Heb 13:10
The Christian altar.
“We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat,” etc. Here are three points which require notice.
I. THE CHRISTIAN ALTAR. “We have an altar.” One of the positions which the writer of this Epistle endeavors to establish is this, that by the renunciation of Judaism these Hebrew Christians had not lost anything of real value, or that the good in Judaism was perfected in Christianity. He shows that in Jesus Christ, the Head of the Christian dispensation, they had One far greater than Moses, by whom the elder economy was given. For giving up the Levitical priesthood there was far more than compensation in the possession of an interest in the great High Priest. Moreover, the tabernacle in which our great High Priest appears for us is “greater and more perfect” than either the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple at Jerusalem. And in our text he points out that Christians have also an altar with its provisions and blessings. By this altar we understand the cross upon which our Lord offered himself a Sacrifice for human sin.
1. On this altar the perfect Sacrifice was offered. (We have already dealt with the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice in our homilies on Heb 10:5-10, and Heb 10:12, Heb 10:13)
2. This altar has superseded all other altars. The perfection of this sacrifice rendered its repetition unnecessary, and abolished forever the imperfect and typical sacrifices of the earlier dispensation (cf. Heb 7:27; Heb 10:10-18).
II. THE PROVISION WHICH THIS ALTAR FURNISHES. The writer speaks of eating of this altar. The reference is to the fact that certain portions of some of the sacrifices under the Mosaic economy were eaten by the priests, and certain by the Levites also (cf. Le Heb 6:14-18, 24-30; 7; Num 18:8-11; 1Co 9:13). The provision from the Christian altar is Jesus Christ himself, the great Sacrifice. By faith” we become partakers of Christ;” we appropriate him as the Life and the Sustenance of the soul. Our Lord said, “I am the living Bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever,” etc. (Joh 6:51-58).
1. This provision is spiritual. Not of the literal or material flesh and blood of Jesus do we eat and drink, but by faith we become partakers of his mind, his feelings, his principles, his spirit, his life, himself. Hence St. Paul writes, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,” etc. (Gal 2:20). Again, “Christ our Life” (Col 3:3, Col 3:4).
2. This provision is delightful. To those who are healthy the eating of suitable provision; Is not only necessary and satisfying, but pleasurable. It gratifies the palate. The spiritual appropriation of Christ is joy-inspiring. In Christianity we have “a feast of fat things.”
3. This provision is free, and free to all. Some of the Levitical sacrifices belonged to the sacrificing priest only, others only to the priest and Levites. But all may come to Christ by faith, and partake of the inestimable benefits of his great sacrifice. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,” etc. (Isa 4:1, Isa 4:2; Rev 22:17).
III. THE EXCLUSION OF SOME FROM‘ PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROVISION. “Whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” The reference is to the Jewish priests and Levites. They who clung to Judaism rejected Christianity, and were necessarily excluded from its benefits. They were self-excluded. They would not come unto Christ that they might have life. All who reject the Lord Jesus are in a similar condition: e.g. the self-righteous moralist, the modem representative of the ancient Pharisee; the captious and the scoffing skeptic; the worlding who elects to have his portion in this life; and others. The provision is free, free for all; but these exclude themselves from participation therein. How is it possible for any one to enjoy the blessings of Christianity who rejects the Christ?W.J.
Heb 13:15, Heb 13:16
Acceptable sacrifices.
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise,” etc.
I. THE NATURE OF THE SACRIFICES WHICH ARE REQUIRED OF CHRISTIANS.
1. Praise to God. “Let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his Name.” The sacrifices which are obligatory upon us are not expiatory or atoning, but eucharistic. The great atoning sacrifice in all its perfection has been offered. To it nothing can be added. But we should confess the Name of God, and gratefully acknowledge his great goodness to us, and celebrate his infinite perfections. Two things show our obligation to offer this sacrifice.
(1) The number and preciousness of the blessings we receive from him. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?… I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” etc. (Psa 103:1-5).
(2) The perfection and glory of his own being and character. We ought to bless God because of what he is in himself. “For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?” etc. (Psa 89:6, Psa 89:7). “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,” etc. (Isa 6:3).
2. Beneficence to man. “But to do good and to communicate forget not.” God requires not only “the fruit of our lips,” but the fruit of our lives. Our gratitude to him is to be expressed in kindness to our fellow-men. “Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better.” Dr. South has well said, “The measures that God marks out to thy charity are these: thy superfluities must give place to thy neighbor’s great convenience; thy convenience must yield to thy neighbor’s necessity; and thy very necessities must yield to thy neighbor’s extremity.”
II. THE MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH THESE SACRIFICES SHOULD BE OFFERED. “By him let us offer,” etc. More correctly, “through him let us offer.” Our sacrifices should be offered through the mediation of Jesus Christ. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me,” or, “through me.” “There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” We offer our sacrifices through him because:
1. He represents God to us as accessible and attractive. “No man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.” “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the besom of the Father, he hath declared him.” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” “The Father himself loveth you.” Through this revelation we are encouraged to draw near to God with our thanksgiving and praise.
2. He represents us to God in his own humanity. “When he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” “Christ entered into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us.” He is there still, bearing even in his glorified body the marks of the wounds which he endured for us. “A Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.”
III. THE TIME WHEN THESE SACRIFICES SHOULD BE OFFERED.
1. The sacrifice of praise to God should be offered “continually.“ “Daily praise should ascend from each of us to God, as the perfume of the daily sacrifice ascended in olden times; there must not be fewer sacrifices under the new dispensation than there were under the old; we are priests to offer up unto God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.” Praise should be not an occasional exercise, but an abiding disposition of the soul. We should cultivate a thankful, praiseful, adoring spirit. “In everything give thanks.”
“Not thankful when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart whose pulse may be
Thy praise.”
(George Herbert)
2. The sacrifices of beneficence to men should be offered according to our opportunities. “As we have opportunity, let us work that which is good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Let us not neglect any opportunity of kindness and beneficence; for all our opportunities may soon be ended, and that forever.
IV. THE FAVOUR WITH WHICH THESE SACRIFICES ARE REGARDED BY GOD. “With such sacrifices God is well pleased.” He not only accepts them, but he is gratified by them. He is “well pleased” with them, because they are expressions of that spirit in which he delights. He is infinitely beneficent. He is “good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.” “He is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil.” He loves to find the same disposition in his creatures. Moreover, our Lord regards our acts of beneficence as done to him (cf. Mat 25:40). And not even the least of them escapes his notice, or will fail of its reward (cf. Mat 10:42; Heb 6:10).W.J.
Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21
Concluding prayer and doxology.
“Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead,” etc. (Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21). Let us notice
I. THE GREAT BEING WHO IS HERE ADDRESSED. “The God of peace.” This title is fitly applied to the Most High.
1. He is infinitely peaceful in himself. All those elements which disturb and distress souls are entirely absent from his nature. Pride, anger, jealousy, remorse, fear, foreboding,these are the things which agitate and alarm us; but they have no existence in him. He is infinitely pure and perfect, and, therefore, he is infinitely peaceful.
2. He is the Giver of peace to others. He gives peace in the conscience by means of the forgiveness of sin. “Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luk 7:48, Luk 7:50; cf. Rom 5:1). He gives peace in the heart by the expulsion of evil passions therefrom and the inspiration therein of holy affections. Anger, revenge, jealousy, he expels from the heart, and he awakens in it supreme love to himself and love to our fellow-men. He quickens within us confidence in himself, and so gives us peace as we contemplate the possibilities of our future. A calm trust in his fatherhood is an unfailing antidote to our anxieties and forebodings. “Be not anxious for your life,” etc. (Mat 6:25-34). He gives peace in the Church. There is, perhaps, an allusion to this fact in the present application of the title to him. The nineteenth verse suggests that there was danger of disobedience and insubordination amongst those who are addressed. And it was appropriate to remind them that God is the God of peace and the Giver of peace, and to wish for them the enjoyment of this blessing.
II. THE GREAT WORK ATTRIBUTED TO HIM. “Who brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus?’ We must notice here what is said of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The relation which he sustains to his people. “The great Shepherd of the sheep.” This relationship implies
(1) provision for the wants of his people. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,” etc. (Psa 23:1-6).
(2) Direction of their way. “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out,” etc. (Joh 10:3, Joh 10:4).
(3) Protection of them from dangers and enemies. “I will save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey.” “I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,” etc. (Joh 10:11-14; cf. Eze 34:11-31).
2. The means by which he entered into his relationship. “Through the blood of the eternal covenant.” Jesus Christ became the great Shepherd of the sheep through the great sacrifice of himself which he offered. Ebrard: “Christ is the great, true, chief, and superior Shepherd, inasmuch as he has made an everlasting covenant by his blood (cf. Heb 10:11, etc). The best commentary on these words is found in Joh 10:1-42. He is the good Shepherd because he has given his life for the sheep.” This great Shepherd of the sheep was brought again from the dead by the God of peace. In the New Testament the resurrection of our Savior is almost invariably attributed to God the Father. “God raised him from the dead, and gave him glory” (1Pe 1:21). Thus his resurrection was an evidence that the work which was given him to do upon earth was perfectly completed, and was accepted by the Divine Father.
III. THE BLESSING SOLICITED FROM HIM. “Make you perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ.” Perfection is the blessing prayed for.
1. The nature of this perfection. “Make you perfect in every good thing to do his will.” Absolute perfection is not solicited here; but that they may be enabled fully and heartily to accomplish the holy will of God. Cf. Heb 10:36, “That having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.”
2. The means of this perfection. “Working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight.” To the same effect St. Paul writes, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.” The inspiration and strength for our out-working of his wilt must come from his in-working with us.
3. The medium of this perfection. “Through Jesus Christ.” God works within us through the Savior, through his mediation and by his Spirit. Through him alone can man attain unto perfection of being.
IV. THE HONOUR ASCRIBED TO HIM. “To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1. Glory is ascribed to God the Father. Some hold that the glory is attributed to Jesus Christ. But it seems to us that it is ascribed to God the Father, “the chief Subject of the whole sentence,” as Alford says; “God, who is the God of peace, who brought up the Lord Jesus from the dead, who can perfect us in every good work, to accomplish his will, and works in us that which is well-pleasing to him through Jesus Christ. The whole majesty of the sentence requires this reverting to its main Agent, and speaks against the referring ‘to whom be the glory’ to our blessed Lord, who is only incidentally mentioned.” To the God of all grace the highest, fullest, divinest honors are due.
2. Glory is ascribed to God perpetually. “Forever and ever.” “Unto the ages of the ages. Amen.” His own essential glory is eternal, and the honors attributed to him will not only continue, but increase throughout endless ages.W.J.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Heb 13:1
Brotherly love.
I. ESPECIALLY NECESSARY AT THE PRESENT SEASON. It was a time of trial from outside. Brothers needed to be brotherly, helping one another. We cannot expect anything from strangers, and must be ready even for their hostility. But we must do everything to guard against alienation amongst friends at a time when the closest union will be serviceable.
II. THE COUNSEL NECESSARY BECAUSE SELF–REGARD IS SUCH A SUBTLE SIN. Carnal views of the kingdom of heaven, such as seem to have been prevalent among these Hebrew Christians, inevitably led to each one of them thinking what in the expected glorious state of things he would get for himself. So it was among the disciples of Jesus. They disputed who should be greatest. There was even intrigue to get promise of the principal places. Christians need to be ever on their guard lest any feeling get dominion in their hearts hostile to the good of the whole body.
III. WE ARE REMINDED OF ABIDING THINGS THAT DEPEND ON OUR OWN DISPOSITION. The writer has just been referring to things that can be shaken and removed, and things that cannot be shaken. These are things that God deals with by his power. But the continuance of some things depends on whether we will have them continue. Whether brotherliness shall be a deep and abiding thing depends on the state of our hearts.
IV. CONTINUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THE REAL RELATION OF EVERY CHRISTIAN TO EVERY OTHER CHRISTIAN. By the same Spirit we are all born again, and therefore members of the same Divine family. Each of us, therefore, is under certain obligations; each of us may prefer certain claims. But there can be no proper treatment either of
the obligations or the claims unless there be real affection underneath. It is in the spiritual sphere as in the natural; the mere relation may only irritate unless there be the feelings that properly belong to the relation.Y.
Heb 13:2
Hospitality.
Note the connection of Heb 13:1 and Heb 13:2. First is enjoined, then . The stranger as well as the brother must have a proper place in our consideration. Brotherliness must not lead to exclusiveness. We must go by the golden rule. If we came to a strange place at nightfall, footsore with a long day’s walking, we should be very grateful to any who would open the door and give us shelter and food. The injunction to hospitality very needful in times when facilities of travel were not what they are now. Hospitable feelings are strong in many who have not yet attained to Christian virtues; let the Christian, then, be in no way behind. He will be prudent and cautious in his treatment of strangers, he will be wise as the serpent; but he will remember, too, that he is under the protection of God. Now and then he will be deceived and robbed, but this is a little matter compared with the maintenance of hospitable duties. It may seem at first as if a low motive for hospitality were here introduced; but if it be considered, we shall see that it is not so much a motive to hospitality as to unremitting watchfulness in hospitality. Let the stranger be ever in your mind. Let not one slip past your gates, or go away knocking in vain. What will it avail to admit a thousand who bring you nothing but their needs, if you let the one go who will bring you blessings far more than anything you can do for him?Y.
Heb 13:3
Sufferers to be remembered.
I. THOSE IN BONDS. Doubtless those in bonds for Christ and conscience sake. In the worst of persecuting times there seems to have been a body of Christians suffering nothing, or comparatively little. Some, in bonds, have preached all the more effectively; others have continued free to make known the gospel far and wide. This admonition becoming ever less needful so far as literal imprisonment for Christ’s sake is concerned. But still we must bear in mind the admonition, so far as the essence of it is concerned. For the persecuting spirit of the world remains; the world persecutes, not meaning to persecute; does not know all the suffering it inflicts. We must be quick to discover all sufferers for conscience’ sake, and intercede for them. Then let the exhortation also include those in bonds as evildoers. Of such, alas! there is still abundance. Civilization is not able to do without the prison. Let us consider that in less favorable circumstances we also might have been criminals. Let Christians be forward in all that tries to prevent the child growing into a criminal manhood, and the liberated criminal lapsing again into evil ways. “Put yourself in his place,” and so let your heart go out in pity and effort for the vilest of mankind.
II. THEM WHICH SUFFER ADVERSITY. All that a man can suffer because he is in the bodylet that draw out your pity and help. Here, again, no doubt, the primary reference is to a state of things that has largely passed away. Christians had to suffer physical violence. This was a readier and cheaper way of venting hatred against them than putting them in prison. The fist and the cudgel are soon got in action. And here again, too, let the exhortation pass far beyond the limits of its first occasion. You are in the body, and can suffer pain through the senses; and what you can suffer, many actually do suffer.
III. THE MEANING OF THE REMEMBRANCE. Merely to remember would do no good. The remembrance must be so constant, so burdensome, as to make you act. There is a kind of reproach in the word; it implies that we only too easily forget the prisoner and the oppressed.Y.
Heb 13:5
The love of money.
No body of the most important precepts for practical Christian life can be without some admonition bearing on the proper use of money. Money, with all it represents, has a most insidious and potent charm for the great majority of men. Even in times of trial and persecution this spiritual peril has to be remembered. A man may become so deluded by external possessions that the risk of losing them may lead him to apostasy. Money must not be allowed to become the great center of attraction, the controller of our life’s orbit, else how shall we be properly influenced by nobler things? Distinguish, of course, between the possession of money and the love of money. There may be possession of much wealth with no love of it, and there may be very little in actual possession with a most intense desire after it. The writer indicates two reasons especially for guarding against love of money.
1. There can be no contentment along with this love. The Christian is to attain his true contentment in that which becomes an integral part of his own life.
2. There can be no honoring trust in God. God has said, “I will not leave thee,” yet every, act of the money-loving man expresses doubt on this point.Y.
Heb 13:7
Treatment of the leaders.
In properly treating all Christian leaders and rulers four acts are enjoined, coming in a regular and appropriate sequence.
I. LISTENING. These men lead and rule because they speak the Word of God. If they spoke their own word then it would not be right to follow them. And because they speak the Word of God we have no choice but to listen. The writer has just been quoting a word of God intended to guard against a great spiritual perilthe love of money. All who really speak the Word of God are to be reckoned as our leaders, Jesus himself in the very front, giving in his own words a sure test whereby every other word is to be tried.
II. REMEMBERING. All instructions and promises must be at hand in the mind when they are wanted. Spoken before being wanted, they were ready when the want came. Hence the value of regularly and penetratively reading the New Testament. We cannot go far anywhere in it without coming across the most profitable directions for our daily life.
III. STUDYING THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LEADERS. As they spoke they acted. The Word of God they pressed on others they first of all believed themselves. There was no inculcated duty in which they did not lead by practice as well as by precept. Some of these leaders, at least, had now passed beyond the vicissitudes of earth. Their whole Christian life was open to observation. Results could be seen. Take a life, for instance, like that of Stephen, consummated by a revelation of glory and reward such as might well inspire any follower. And especially the faith of the leaders is to be studied. Examine the true riches that have come to men by trusting in God.
IV. IMITATING THEM, or rather imitating one particular thing in themtheir faith. We are no real followers of any Christian leader unless we do this. It is not peculiarities in a man’s teaching, commanding influence of a personality, that should make him a leader. It is the reality of his faith in God. Such a leader we follow most and honor most when his example makes us as true believers as himself.Y.
Heb 13:8
The unchanging Jesus.
I. THE NEEDS OF MEN DO NOT CHANCE. No doubt there is change and progress in some respects. Each generation of the human race, like each succeeding wave when the tide is flowing, is an advance on the generation going before it. As the world grows older this advance is more marked. Our fathers traveled in stage-coaches, we by express trains; they had to wait weeks for the answer of a letter, we have the telegraph to bring the same answer in an hour. But all these changes, however impressive, are only on the surface of life. Our nature has not changed, it wants the same ministries, though they may come in a different way. Though each wave is an advance on the preceding wave, they are all composed of the same elements. We who travel in railway trains are exactly the same sort of beings as those who rode in stage-coaches. The great facts of existence are the samebirth and death, sin and sorrow, hope and fear. A picture is not altered because you put it in a different frame. Man is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
II. THE SERVICE OF CHRIST DOES NOT CHANGE. Let the words be taken as true of Christ in his relation to us, that relation arising out of his life among men in the flesh. He has come into special relations to us, and it is in those special relations that we have to consider him as “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” He came to this world to do a work for all generations. As to us, the closer we keep to the evident and pressing wants of our generation, the better work we shall do. We know not the wants of posterity, and therefore we had better leave it to look after its own wants. But Jesus in his brief life did a work for the whole worldfor all who ever have lived or will live on the broad surface of the earth. Because there are sinners still, Christ is still a Savior, The world is still full of Pharisees and Sadducees, publicans and harlots, sinners of every type and shade; full of the sick and the sorrowing; full of women like the widow of Nain and the sisters of Lazarus, weeping for their departed kindred.
III. NO CHANGE IN THE THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT CHRIST. Do not be carried away, says the writer of the Epistle, with new doctrines concerning Christ, however attractive and plausible. Let us ever remind ourselves of what Christ has been in the great yesterday. Especially let us consider that yesterday which is revealed to us in the Scriptures of the New Testament. If that day was not a dream of the imagination, then it is one of the most glorious of soul-supporting realities. Jesus justified the name he bore, for he did indeed save his people from their sins. The yesterday of which we are now able to speak is a long one. It has known many changes in the world, but none in Jesus Christ.
IV. NO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. The world will not change in its need of him. They are certainly wrong who tell us the religion of Christ has seen its best days. Look at the future in the light of the past, and you will be assured of your Savior ever standing in the midst of the golden candlesticks, watching that their light goes not out. We may change in our faith and hope and patience, but Christ changes not. Rising to the measure of our duties and opportunities, this would become a practical truth to us. We are not straitened in him, but in ourselves. He asks to let him do for us what he has done for those going before. He asks for admission. Let the door no longer be locked with the key of unbelief and double bolted with indolence and worldliness. Let us not go from the world without leaving a testimony that shall if possible have a savoir of life unto life to those following in our steps.Y.
Heb 13:14
The continuing city.
The two previous verses express, in a thoroughly Hebraistic way, an invitation to be crucified together with Christ. At the same time, these Hebrew Christians are reminded of the wilderness and tent life which their forefathers led for forty years. What they experienced in the outward reality let us experience by the inward spirit. We belong to the future more than to the present.
I. OUR VIEW OF PRESENT SURROUNDINGS. We have cities, but not continuing ones. It would be very foolish in us, knowing all we do and hoping for all we do, to look upon the states and governments of this world as do those in whom nationality is the very strongest feeling. We must pray to be preserved from that narrow and one-sided idealism which so glorifies fatherland as to make it the chief object of one’s enthusiasm and effort. Our hearts must not be deceived by the outward splendors of capital cities. And yet, while the pilgrim spirit is in us, let it not be a restless and a carping one. No one should be more interested in the life, prosperity, and good government of a state than the Christian.
II. OUR OUTLOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE. An abiding city, a city where there is true stability and true glory, is no dream. We have it not yet, but we shall have it if we seek for it. What an interest the Christian is exhorted to have in abiding, continuing things! Faith, hope, and love are to abide; all abiding things will be manifested after the great shaking; and they will cohere into the true dignity of the heavenly state. Never has the human imagination been more nobly employed than in bodying forth the conditions and appearances of a perfect state. But those indulging such imaginations had no definite way of reducing them to fact. Here, however, the Christian is spoken of as seeking for the coming city in a very definite way. True, our present life is as it were a camp-life, but not for all that like the life of savage or gipsy. Our camping-places are all stages in the journey to the new Jerusalem.Y.
Heb 13:15, Heb 13:18
The sacrifices with which God is well pleased.
Vain is any attempt of ours to take in the full significance of this exhortation. We have not to turn away from any literal altar or any literal sacrifice. But the injunctions in themselves, apart from the special aspect of them, are permanently important.
I. OUR CONSTANT AIM MUST BE TO PLEASE GOD. Literal sacrifices had degenerated into a traditional safeguard against displeasing God. The ordinances of Sinai with respect to sacrifice had aimed to lift it into a great teaching and self-revealing institution. But probably only a few in every generation had grasped the spiritual significance of sacrifice. Though, doubtless, many too, because their motive was sincere as far as it went, were accepted, as was the woman with her alabaster box, and the widow with the two mites. The illuminating gospel of Christ leaves us without excuse as to what will please God. We know that the old sacrifices never could have pleased him in themselves. He could not eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats. But now no offering can please unless it be in itself helpful to men or glorifying to God.
II. INTELLIGENT PRAISE PLEASES GOD. Praise which comes from overflowing heart-experiences must always be acceptable to God. For the fruits from outward possessions are substituted the fruits from an inward life. The habitual acknowledgment of God’s Name means an habitual consciousness of all the services he renders in supplying all our needs from the highest down to the lowest. It is not enough that there be praise; it must be praise abounding in the right elements. Mere words of the lip can give no more pleasure to God than the mere slaying of animals.
III. THE DOING OF GOOD PLEASES GOD. Praise cannot stand by itself. Real doing of good shows that God’s Spirit of love, direction, and power is working in us. Work must not stand instead of praise, nor praise instead of work; going together, they are as the sacrificial body and the smell proceeding from it. Note the significant injunction not to forget. How much easier it is to go through a round of praise than to muster the self-denial needed for a course of practical good!
IV. FELLOWSHIP PLEASES GOD. Christians must associate. Real Christians coming together cannot but associate. God delights in the process of mutual giving and receiving observable in every Christian community. Making up for each other’s defects, bearing each other’s burdens, having fellowship as the eye has with the hand, the head with the feet, let this be the sight God ever sees when he looks upon his people. So shall the carcasses of all beasts slain in sacrifice be glorified when we think of the real offerings which they typified, and towards which they iF, some manner prepared.Y.
Heb 13:17
The watchful leaders.
Under the details of this exhortation there seems to lie a reference to the shepherding of sheep. The shepherd goes before his sheep, leading them out and in, and finding pasture. This reference made probable by the further reference in Heb 13:20. Consider, then
I. THE SHEPHERD‘S AUTHORITY. Christians must maintain the liberty wherewith Christ hath set them free, but at the same time there is a discipline also to be maintained, a provision and protection to be accepted. Few are the Christians who can do without counsel, comfort, and spiritual supply from those who in various ways are qualified to give these. We must look for the shepherd ability and tenderness wherever we can find it. Those formally constituted shepherds may have very few of the qualifications. Let intrinsic authority be recognized; more than that, let it be looked for. It is quite possible to be the shepherd in relation to certain fellow-Christians and the sheep in relations to others.
II. THE SHEPHERD‘S FIDELITY. He remembers that he has to give account. If any of the sheep be lost or slain he has to explain how it happened, and show that the blame did not lie with him. This makes a true shepherd ever vigilant and foreseeing, always ready to suspect danger under an appearance of the greatest safety.
III. THE SHEPHERD‘S DIFFICULTY. The literal shepherd has difficulties enough. He has to do with stupid sheep who have to be watched continually. But, then, he can always employ main force. The spiritual shepherd, on the other hand, deals with human beings. They have to be persuaded. If they are bent on going into pasture-less and dangerous places, then the shepherd cannot stop. He warns, he expostulates, he entreats, with tears in his eyes, again and again; and that is all he can do. Hence the need of appeal to those who add the responsibility of a human being to the helplessness of the sheep.
IV. THE SHEPHERD‘S ACCOUNT. The faithful shepherd can keep the day of account before him, with a calm and ready heart. He can justify himself for every sheep committed to his trust. But all this will not prevent him bewailing the sheep that are lost. Every one with the shepherd instinct in him will think with deepest sorrow of those who would listen to no counsel and believe in no peril.
V. THE SHEPHERD‘S REWARD. He is rewarded according to his faithfulness. He may have to present a most deplorable list of lost sheep; but if he can show that no blame is histhat every one has been lost purely through self-willthen his profiting will appear all the same. The shepherd will have sorrow for a season, but he cannot suffer in the end. The sole suffering and loss remain in the end with those who reject the counsels.Y.
Heb 13:18, Heb 13:19
A request for prayer
Here is a new and unexpected relation between the shepherd and the sheep; for as a shepherd the author of this Epistle must be viewed, whoever he may be. The shepherd instinct, striving to guard Christians from error and backsliding, is manifest in every page. But while there is authority, the authority of one who sees with a clear eye right into truth, there is also, as expressed in this request, a most touching sense of need. The guiding and comforting of Christians is an awful burden. To be in any way charged with the diffusion and enforcement of the truth keeps the heart continually on the strain. There are so many things to say, so little time in which to say them, and such lack of the best words, as makes one say, “Who is sufficient for these things?” Hence the earnestness with which one who is busy from the heart in working for Christ asks for the intercession of others. Only a man himself knowing the power of prayer could utter such a request. A prayerless man will never have an inward impulse prompting him to say, “Pray for us.” Note where this request comes injust at the end of the Epistle. As if the writer intended his friends to feel that he would first of all do all he could for them before he asked anything from them. If indeed they had profited by his instructions then, both intellectually and spiritually, they would be in the fittest mood to pray for him.Y.
Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21
A most comprehensive wish.
This is both a wish and a prayer, None the less a prayer because referring to God in the third person. The writer both prays that God may prosecute a course of operations in the hearts of these Christians, and indirectly solicits them at the same time to make this course possible by their submission and co-operation. This prayer-wish, it will be noted, was peculiarly correspondent with the position of Hebrew Christians.
I. THE REFERENCE TO THE COVENANT. There had been a covenant, not everlasting, seeing there was no possibility of everlastingness in it. But now there is a new covenant, stable and consecrated by the blood of Jesus himself. The very Lord’s Supper, in which these Hebrew Christians must repeatedly have taken part, made it impossible for them to forget the blood of the new covenant. This new covenant was really established in the raising of Jesus from the dead. And well might God be called a God of peace in connection with it. As God of the old covenant he had too frequently to be a God of wrath and of hostility to those transgressing the terms of the covenant.
II. THE COMFORTING REFERENCE TO GOD‘S POWER AND DISPOSITION. Great as the troubles through which these people were passing seemed, yet they were not as the troubles of ancient Israel, idolatrous and apostate from the living God. It is a matter of the greatest importance to be assured that one is not contending with the Divine wrath. If God be against us, all comforts and hopes, however promising, are only delusions. [But here is the proof that God is for us, in raising Jesus from the dead. Jesus had been the great Benefactor of men, a true Shepherd. Had he not compassion on the crowd, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd? And when he died, how many lost their hope and comfort then] But God raises him from the dead, brings him back from among the corpses, and so constitutes him in a higher sense than ever the great Shepherd of the sheep.
III. THE GREAT THINGS YET TO BE EXPECTED AND PREPARED FOR. A risen Savior is not only to secure us immortality, but to confirm us in a new life in every way. Things are prayed for that belong to the very essence of the Christian life, whatever its external circumstances may be. We need to be properly placed and endowed for every good work; we need to be fitted to carry out the will of God. The Divine intent is that we should in all ways be strong for usefulness as well as strong to bear trial. The God of the resurrection can work in us all that is acceptable to himself, and he will do it through Jesus Christ.
IV. THE DOXOLOGY. How fittingly it comes in after this recital of the Divine power and ability! All true praise must be based upon a real and deep apprehension of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.Y.
Heb 13:22
Suffering the word of exhortation.
The writer wishes to be prepared for every state of mind in those to whom he writes. He knows very well that much of what he has said will not be welcome upon the first reading of it. He may seem not to be sufficiently sympathetic, not sufficiently alive to the present troubles of others. More than that, in the midst of their troubles he calls them to exercises of thought and feeling which run counter to old hopes and old associations. And now, in conclusion, he lets them know how he quite understands their attitude of mind towards his letter. He does not expect his exhortations to commend themselves at first. But, knowing the word of truth to be in them, he knows they will guide his friends to higher duties and higher hopes, if only they will consider them. Thus he shows at the same time regard for the feelings of his friends, and anxiety that truth may not be repelled because at first it does not look serviceable.Y.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Heb 13:1. Let brotherly love continue. By this exhortation the apostle plainly implies, that they did already love their Christian brethren; accordingly, he commended them before, (ch. Heb 6:10.) for their ministering to the saints: consistently with this, he exhorted them (ch. Heb 12:14.) to follow peace with all men, which implies, that they were defective as to this duty of charity towards the Gentile Christians. There is a difference between , brotherly love, and , charity, or love in the general; according to what St. Peter says, 2 Eph 1:7.add to brotherly love, charity. Brotherly love signifies men’s loving those whom they esteem to be their brethren, answerably to that relation; but the word expresses the love which men bear to such also as they do not own to be their brethren, even those who are not of the Christian religion,and even to enemies. Dr. Heylin reads, Let brotherly love ever remain; and he observes, that in the progress of religion there is a vicissitude of states, of which the apostle had just beforetreated: but whatever our inferior state be, brotherly love is an invariable duty.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Heb 13:1 . Exhortation to enduring brotherly love.
] The love of the brethren, i.e. love to the fellow-Christians. Comp. Rom 12:10 ; 1Th 4:9 ; 1Pe 1:22 ; 2Pe 1:7 .
] abide, cease not . For, according to Heb 6:10 , Heb 10:33 , the readers had already exercised this virtue before, and were still exercising it. Yet in their case, since they had become doubtful regarding the absolute truth of Christianity, and in part already sought to withdraw from the outward fellowship of Christians (Heb 10:25 ), and, moreover, in particularistic prejudice closed their hearts against a brotherly intercourse with the Gentile Christians, the renewed inculcation of this virtue was of special importance.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Heb 13:1-25 . Concluding exhortations partly of a general nature, partly in special relation to the main purport of the epistle, and concluding notices, followed by a twofold wish of blessing.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
CONCLUSION OF THE EPISTLE
A
Moral exhortations of a more general character
Heb 13:1-6
1Let brotherly love continue. 2Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and [om. and] them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in 4the body. Marriage is honourable in all [Be marriage held in honor in all things], and the [be its] bed undefiled: but [or for]1 whoremongers and adulterers God will Judges 5 Let your conversation [disposition, or mode of life] be without covetousness; and be [being] content with such things as ye have: for he [himself] hath said, I will never 6[by no means] leave thee, nor [will I at all] forsake thee. So that we may boldly [with confidence] say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me [I will not fear; what shall a man do unto me?].
[Heb 13:2. , hospitality. , by means of this. ., escaped notice entertaining=entertained unawares; the Aor. pointing back historically to the time of the event.
Heb 13:3.Is more forcible with the asyndeton of the original; the and is unnecessary and enfeebling. , those in distress.
Heb 13:4.The Imperat. is (with Moll, Del., Alf., etc.) much better than the Ind. construction of the Eng. ver. We might hesitate to supply the Imperat. rather than the Indic., but we must do so in Heb 13:5, and there is no difficulty here, because the imperative idea which belongs to all the preceding clauses, would naturally be transferred to this, in the absence of the verb. in all things; with persons , would be more natural (Moll, Alf.).
Heb 13:5. , habit, disposition; Moll: Sinnesart; Alf.: mode of life. , being contented, with what ye have. , for he himself. , , etc., much more emphatic than the construction of the Eng. ver., I will by no means leave thee, nor will I by any means abandon thee.
Heb 13:6., with confidence. : Sin. follows Vulg., etc., in omitting ; Alf., Del., Moll etc., retain it. But all agree in reading the following clause, as an independent question, ., etc., what will a man do unto me?
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Heb 13:1. Continue.The form of the injunction shows that the brotherly love, once so prevalent in the church, i.e., the mutual love of Christians, must, at the time of the composition of our Epistle, have still been active in it, as indicated also at Heb 6:10; Heb 10:32 ff.; while Heb 10:26 shows the necessity of their being exhorted to the practice of this virtue. This brotherly love ) which, according to 2Pe 1:7, constitutes a specific form of the broader virtue of was designated by the Lord Himself as a special characteristic of His disciples (Joh 13:35. Also Tertullian paints in the liveliest colors its prevalence in the church of his time; and even the scoffer Lucian is obliged to pay an unwilling tribute to its power when he says (de morte Peregrini): Their principal Law-giver has inspired in them the sentiment that they are all mutually brethren so soon as they had passed over, i.e., had denied the Grecian Gods, and devoted themselves to the worship of that crucified sophist, and were living in accordance with his precepts. Moreover, Julian (epistle 49) says that kindness toward strangers ( ) had been a principal means of propagating the of the Christians.
Heb 13:2. Forget not., with the participle, is a familiar Greek construction. The reference is to the experiences of Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:19). Perhaps also to Mat 25:44-45. Substantially parallel are Rom 12:13; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9. Whether forms a paronomasia with (Lun.) is doubtful.
Heb 13:3. As bound with themas being yourselves also in the body.It is neither necessary nor admissible, in order to give to the same signification in both clauses, to understand, with Bhme, and others, the bound with them, of life and sufferings in the ecclesia pressa, [travelling too far from the context.Alf.], or, with Calvin, and others, to understand the body of the church as the body of Christ. We may, with c., give in the first clause, also the causal significance, which it unquestionably has in the second; but his translation, inasmuch as we are closely connected with them, merely involves the idea that, by virtue of our membership and communion with our imprisoned brethren, we should feel ourselves under obligation to remember them in loving sympathy. It is more advisable, therefore, to take the first as a particle of comparison. [As being your selves also in the body, i.e., as being yourselves in a body which exposes you to like suffering with them, and might therefore be expected to secure your sympathy for the sufferer.K.].
Heb 13:4. Marriage in all.In the New Testament means, elsewhere, the wedding and its celebration; here, as in classical Greek, wedlock. [Alf. takes it here as wedding, and renders it your marriage]. means not with all nations (Pesh., Beza, Grot., and others, who, with , erroneously supply ); but, in every respect, in all respects. Were the injunction intended to be that marriage should be held honorable with all persons. (Luth., etc.), or that no unmarried person should regard it with contempt (Bhme, Schultz, etc.), or that it should be forbidden to no man, the form would probably be .
Heb 13:5. He himself has said.Not Christ (Bez., Bhm., Klee), but God, in the Scripture. These words are found in full, Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8, and repeated, 1Ch 28:20. But God is there spoken of in the third person. Individual elements of this consolatory address, representing God as speaking in the first person, are found, Gen 28:15; Jos 1:5; Isa 41:17. It is found, in precisely the same terms as here, in Philo, Ed. Mang., I. 430. That the author has drawn immediately from Philo, (Bl., De W.), is scarcely to be supposed. We may rather conjecture that the saying had in this form already become a proverb (Beng.), or that it originated in the liturgical and homiletical usage of the Hellenistic Synagogue from the confounding of kindred expressions with the original passage, Deu 31:6 (Del.). The double negation in the first, and the triple negation in the second member, serve for emphasis. The mention of the persecutions of the church, suggests the trustful declaration cited from Psa 118:6.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Brotherly love stands preminent among the distinguishing marks of the children of God (1Jn 3:1), and if genuine, never ceases (1Co 13:8). Its purity, power, and permanence, however, depend upon the nature of our relation to Christ, and with this, upon that of our faith. It can therefore, on the one hand, never dispense with nourishment, culture and discipline; and on the other cannot do without exercise.
2. The practice of hospitality may very easily prove disagreeable; one may exercise it unwillingly, sullenly, and enviously; may limit it by caprice and selfishness; may regard and treat it as a burden and a plague. We must therefore be kindly reminded of this duty, as a duty of love, and learn to give heed to the blessing it brings with it, in order that the offerings which we are required to bring, and the privations which we impose upon ourselves, may not fall too heavily or incite us to self-glorification. And this blessing transcends our knowledge and conception. We may receive into our house messengers of God; nay, may receive Christ Himself, in His humblest servants (Mat 25:35 ff.).
3. The connection, which, in a two-fold way, we have with sufferers, viz., by spiritual and by natural ties of friendship, must make itself be recognized by compassionate and effective sympathy, in every individual case; and inasmuch as this is deficient, and often inconvenient, we are reminded, on the one hand, of the law in accordance with which, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it (1Co 12:26); and on the other, of our own liability to suffer, a liability inseparable from our bodily life.
4. The character belonging to marriage, as an ordinance instituted and blessed of God, and the purity which, according to the will of God, befits the marriage bed, and the rites of matrimony, need special attention and care. The terrible sentence pronounced on fornicators and adulterers is one which pays no heed to the false reasonings and cavilling interpretations, which will plead in excuse for such impurities the fierce lusts of man, the course of the world, and the difficulties of ordinary wedlock. At the judgment of God it will also be made manifest how much power and light the knowledge of God and of our Lord, Jesus Christ, have imparted to each one, by which to escape from this corruption of the world; nay, it will also become manifest that the majority have fallen, not from an irresistible power of their nature, but from lusts wilfully indulged, and nurtured and heightened by the reading of mischievous books, and by profligate intercourse; nay, that frequently they have themselves inflamed, and urged on anew the nature which had been wearied out in the service of sin, and had withdrawn from it with loathing. Then, too, it will become evident what evasions men have resorted to, in order to escape the judgments of men, and why many have so aided others, and how many a one has chosen rather to carry his lusts with him to the bar of God, than to free himself from them upon the dying-bed (Rieger).
5. Pleasure and licentiousness lead not only to extravagance, but also to discontentment, thence to covetousness, and finally, not unfrequently to miserly niggardliness. Yet even apart from this, an insatiable and covetous habit of feeling and action stands in direct antagonism to the Christian temper and conduct (Mat 6:19-34; Col 3:5; Php 4:11-12; 1Ti 6:6), and plunges one into severe temptations and great dangers (1Ti 6:9 ff). An effective weapon against this, as against the fear of human wickedness and violence, is the use of the word of God, by which confidence in the living God, who has promised that He will withdraw from us neither His presence, nor His help, is awakened and nourished.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
What most hinders, and what most promotes the exercise of Christian love.We have in suffering and assaults, not merely the sympathy of the brethren, but also the comfort of the word of God, and the help of the Lord.Faith, the mother of all virtues.The characteristics of true Christianity.How, while living in the world and in the flesh, we conquer world and flesh.We are either judged or saved of God; there is no alternative.
Starke:Love is a cardinal virtue, which embraces in itself all others (Rom 13:10), and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, in which faith becomes active (Gal 5:6).Brotherly love must not be love in words, but must evince itself in act, especially toward those who are, for the sake of the Gospel, imprisoned, or otherwise suffering persecution, so that we may extend to them counsel, aid and refreshment (1Jn 3:18).It is a gracious provision of God that although the ungodly would gladly see all the righteous destroyed at once, or at least oppressed, still sufferings pass but gradually from one to another, in order that those who as yet have been spared, may be able to receive and succor the oppressed (Rev 12:12).He who is prudent will let the consideration of the righteous judgment of God hold him back from sin (Ecc 12:13-14).Sin, the sin of fornication and adultery, cannot be too sharply rebuked before the world. Hence God has pledged Himself to punish them.The little which a righteous man hath, is better than the great possessions of the ungodly.A Christian must faithfully apply to himself what he reads in the Holy Scriptures, according to the, exigencies of the case.Human weakness fears before men, as if they could disturb its pleasant repose and satisfaction. But comfort! who shall be able to harm those whom God has taken into His protection? (Rom 8:31; 1Pe 3:14).
Rieger:It belongs to the nature and power of faith to receive promptly and interpret for itself every word of God, but along with this to set to its seal, that God is true. He who makes God alone his goal, has in God a rich consolation.This is the holiest feature of the book of the Psalms that in it the Divine promises are placed before us, transformed already into pure nourishment for faith, and into living power.
Hahn:A guest has frequently an invisible companion, and thus the cost of his entertainment is richly repaid.Worldlings leave one another in the lurch; but believers all stand firm for a man.Brotherly love has two hinderances, the unchaste flesh, and avarice.God makes a marvellous distribution of suffering; one suffers early, another late. Thus what has no yet arrived, may still come. Hence, both in prayer and in benefactions remember the miserable.Man is always anxious lest his supplies may fail; but God is good for all our deficiencies.
Schleiermacher:On Christian hospitality. (Sermons on the Christian household).
Heubner:The dearer to us is our faith, the dearer to us are our kinsmen in the faith.In Christianity purity has a religious ground.Confidence in God is the best preservative against anxious care for food, and makes us free from the fear of men.
Hedinger:Love has extraordinary impulses; the best love gladly entertains guests. Whom? Those who are unable to render any temporal recompense.
Footnotes:
[1]Heb 13:4.The particle is found in C. D***. J. K.; on the contrary, in Sin. A. D*. M. The Pesh. follows the former reading; the It. and Vulg. the latter. [Tisch., Del., Moll retain . Alf. substitutes .K.].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The Epistle is here closed; and a Blessed Conclusion is made. Christ in his Person, Relations, and Character, the same forever: Several weighty Exhortations are used; and the whole is summed up in praying for grace to the whole Church.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(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.
This Chapter opens with some very engaging exhortations, arising out of the foregoing doctrines. And, first, of the brotherly love, as members of Christ’s body, and brethren in the faith. For as the Church, in heaven and earth, is but one, so Christ’s love to each, and they to one another, should be formed upon his standard. From the love of the brethren, the Church is next directed to regard strangers; simply as strangers, and from the case of Abraham’s entertaining the heavenly Guests he did, an inducement is made that the Church should give kind reception to strangers, under the hope that there may be some of God’s dear children among them, and a such, well known to Him, though unknown to them, Gen_18:3; Gen_19:1-3 . To this precept succeeds another, namely, of tenderness to those in bonds; not merely prisoners in the body, but bondage frames of soul. And indeed in the times in which the Apostle lived, there were opportunities for the exercise of compassion to both. Then follows a very delightful observation on the marriage-state. And as all marriages of honor, and undefilement are evidently typical of Christ’s marriage with his Church; it is very blessed to hear the Holy Ghost, thus continually approving of in. And this paragraph closeth with arguing the weakness of an over anxiety for the things of the body, when God by his Covenant promise, hath made such ample provision, for his redeemed, in the engagement first given to Joshua, and in him to all the Lord’s people, Jos 1:5 . I do not enlarge on these different subjects, being in themselves so plain, as to need no comment.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Heb 13:1
Only love rooted in sympathy and expressed in action to the point of a complete destruction of self-will is Christian love.
Wagner’s Letters (1880), p. 339.
References. XIII. 1. T. C. Finlayson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlviii. p. 401. F. J. A. Hort, Village Sermons in Outline, p. 134.
Heb 13:1 ; Heb 13:13
People are not most conscious of brotherhood when they continue languidly together in one creed, but when, with some doubt, with some danger perhaps, and certainly not without some reluctance, they violently break with the tradition of the past, and go forth from the sanctuary of their fathers to worship under the bare heaven.
R. L. Stevenson, in Men and Books.
Unaware of Angels
Heb 13:2
In a recent novel, where great power is on the whole misdirected, there is one sentence that cannot easily be forgotten. A stern old mother has a daughter given to writing. The mother disapproves, but when the daughter dies we are told that what her mother used to speak of as verses she always afterwards called poems. That is what death does for our loved ones. It changes their verses into poems. Were we to write for ever we could not say a word more. Everything is then transfigured and stands out in a new light, a light in which we could not see it while the dear ones were yet with us.
In this dim world of clouding cares
We rarely know, till wildered eyes
See white wings lessening up the skies,
The angels with us unawares.
But we know them then.
I. The Ideal was once among us, and we beheld His glory, and did not know it for the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. While He tabernacled among men they doubted Him, questioned Him, criticised Him, scorned Him. It was not till He was taken from them that the full truth burst upon their sight. He knew that it would be so. As He neared the Great Altar where He offered up the Perfect Sacrifice, He said that He would send the Spirit to reprove the world of righteousness, ‘because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more. In a hush of love and reverence He was laid in His new tomb, and since that hour He has been the Hope, the Glory, the Ideal, and the Crown of our fallen humanity.
II. It was so, as each of us knows, with our own beloved. However much we cared for them, however deeply we understood them, however we looked up to them, we know them better now. Even here we understood their truth and pity and patient loving kindness, but now everything comes more nearly and dearly home. In a measure our eyes were holden, but they have been open long since. Now that the past is cast upon a ground of wonder it seems comprehensible, and we marvel that we were so dull. The loves that have been taken from us, the venerating regard of childhood, the passion of youth, the restful affection of mature years, the trust of lost little children, the kind, true friendships that we hoped would bridge all the changes over we know how to prize them as we sit with our yearning and sometimes remorseful thoughts. Were they faultless? Perhaps they were not, but whatever there was of frailty, imperfection, ignorance, was no true part of their redeemed being, and has all fallen from them now. Others may recall such things, but we cannot. Our forgetfulness is even as the forgetfulness of God, Who casts our sins behind His back, and neither remembers them nor, if we may dare to say it, can remember them. So much besides is clear to us that in the old time we never saw. They were dead in Christ while they were living here, and their life was hid with Christ in God. Now it seems to issue from Christ and to be part of Christ’s glory.
But all this is true in Christ and in Christ only. It is in Him that the dead are living and the lost are found. It is in Him that
We give blind grief and blinder sense the lie,
And say, ‘They did not live to die’.
It is in Him that the golden hope of immortality, so often clouded, springs unbaffled from its sleep. In Him the soul’s prevision in its moments of intensest life is true, the very truth of truths. It is through Him we know that we cannot idealise the dead, that they are more lovely and gracious than our loveliest and most gracious dreams. In Him the promises of God are Yea, and in Him Amen. And so it is to Him, to His Cross, and His Resurrection that all our hopes are nailed.
W. Robertson Nicoll, Sunday Evening, p. 53.
The Larger Hospitality
Heb 13:2
Reading this verse for the first time, it almost seems as if this plea for hospitality were based upon a selfish motive. Are we to do good that we may win good? Not so. If a man be hospitable on the bare chance of entertaining angels, he is no hospitable man. But if a man be hospitable from loftiest motives, sooner or later, God will bring angels to his door. Our text tells the joy of every open home and heart and mind. It reads the doom of every closed door. Shut it and bar it! You will shut out a hundred vagabonds. One day you will shut out an angel. And it were better to be deceived a score of times than miss a heavenly messenger like that. I want to take this thought and run it out into three realms.
I. And first, the realm of home. Are all the angels dead? Have none in the garb of strangers ever appeared on your horizon? To answer that, we have to ask, What is an angel? An angel is a messenger of God. And every word that ever cheered you from a stranger’s lips, and every thought that ever reached you from a stranger’s heart, and every Christlike sight that ever touched you in a stranger’s home, these have been angel ministries to you the messengers of God. Entertain strangers. It is the noblest hospitality. Sooner or later you shall find, by the tokens of a larger heart and fuller life, that you have been entertaining angels unawares.
II. Now, look at the realm of experience. For years life is one uneventful drudgery; we wake, we eat, we work, we tire, we sleep. But the day comes when at our doors there stands a stranger. Perhaps it is poverty. Perhaps it is sickness. Perhaps it is death. How will you treat that stranger? that is the question. Some men rebel. And some grow bitter. And some despair; but they are brave, and plod along without a prayer, without a hope, till men say, ‘See how resigned they are!’ They do not know it is the resignation of a broken heart. There is a nobler way. Be not forgetful to entertain the stranger: you shall be entertaining angels unawares. God’s blessings come in strange disguises.
III. Lastly, I want to take our text into the realm of thought. It is amazing what cold entertainment the world has always given to great thoughts, when first they came as strangers. But do not quarrel with the world. Perhaps that same inhospitality is yours and mine if not today, tomorrow. ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,’ that is the Christian attitude.
G. H. Morrison, Flood-Tide, p. 271.
Heb 13:2
I was a little acquainted,’ says Boswell in his Tour to the Hebrides (Saturday, 21st August), ‘with Mr. Forbes, the minister of the parish. I sent to inform him that a gentleman desired to see him. He returned for answer, “that he would not come to a stranger”. I then gave my name, and he came. I remonstrated to him for not coming to a stranger; and, by presenting him to Dr. Johnson, proved to him what a stranger might sometimes be. His Bible inculcates, “be not forgetful to entertain strangers,” and maintain the same motive. He defended himself by saying, “He had once come to a stranger, who sent for him; and he found him a little worth person!” ‘
References. XIII. 2. S. A. Tipple, The Admiring Guest, p. 166. H. J. Bevis, Sermons, p. 120. Expositor (4th Series), vol. x. p. 71. XIII. 3. C. O. Eldridge, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xviii. p. 37.
Heb 13:4
Discussing the origin of the Canons of Nicaea ( History of the Eastern Church, lect. v.), Dean Stanley relates how ‘a proposition was made, enjoining that all married clergy (according to one report, including even sub-deacons) were to separate from their wives. The opposition came from a most unexpected quarter. From amongst the Egyptian bishops stepped out into their midst, looking out of his one remaining eye, and halting on his paralysed leg, the old hermit-confessor, Paphuntius or Paphunte. With a roar of indignation rather than with a speech, he broke into the debate: ‘Lay not this heavy yoke upon the clergy. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled. By exaggerated strictness you will do the Church more harm than good. All cannot bear such an ascetic rule…’ His speech produced a profound sensation. His own austere life of unblemished celibacy gave force to every word that he uttered; he shared that rare excellence of appreciating difficulties which he himself did not feel, and of honouring a state of life which was not his own.
Neither Left Nor Forsaken
Heb 13:5
I. ‘I will never leave thee.’ The nearest and the dearest even cannot say this to us. Life is full of partings, and we come to feel at last, with Ruskin, ‘That word goodbye shakes me from head to foot’. Even when the closest relationship has been reached, when two have walked side by side through life, and have shared every variety of existence, when the warmer passion has passed and is replaced by something deeper and truer, till the duality of being becomes a unity, one must die, and the other, stranded and helpless, must go on living. It is the constant experience that such partings leave behind them something more than sorrow, something of compunction, which may even be remorse. It is the universal testimony that the strength of a dear bond is never known till it is broken, till the ancient depths are stirred, till the vanished faces appear upon the background of the young spring skies. The heart reaches far back and vainly into the forgotten years, and longs to recover them, not so much to fill them more fully with love as with the signs and tokens of love. But there is a far greater tragedy than that of the death parting. There is such a thing as living together and yet drifting farther and farther apart. The heart may stray, and a river broader and deeper than Jordan may lie between those who outwardly are close together. Better to look with love and reverence and yearning and gratitude and repentance across the straits of death than to feel that in the home the cruel grave of the dead love has been dug and filled. But our Lord’s promise means that no matter how we are impoverished we have left to us His presence and His heart. No matter how sorely broken we may be with the assaults of life, no matter by what separations we may be left lonely, He never leaves us, and never forsakes us. When that becomes a weight which was once no weight at all, when we have less and less to do with things around us, when, as the phrase has it, our day is over, there is One Who remains, One on whom our dying eyes may rest, one hiding place from the wind, one covert from the tempest.
II. For the promise is not only ‘I will not leave thee;’ it is also ‘I will never forsake thee’. We change ourselves. This is at once the misery and the blessedness of life. We shall all be changed, says the Apostle, to those who had already changed much. Think how we have altered from our childhood in body and mind, in thought and in feeling. All our life has been made up of stages of one long change, and what would happen if Christ changed, too? But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. His love burns on through the storms as steadily as a lamp in a windless place. We have suffered cruelly from the loss of the living and the loss of the dead. Friend and lover have gone far from us and have found others to care for; but He never changes. He bears with our falling, with our wandering, with our forgetfulness, and His love is as ardent and forgiving and helpful at the last as it was at first. It is not only that He never leaves us; it is that He neither leaves us nor forsakes us.
So it is with trial. It is this the writer to the Hebrews is thinking of, and we can almost see the sudden light leaping into those steadfast eyes, that had faced the worst which time could do, as he spoke. He had told his fellow-Christians to imitate the faith of the martyrs whose faith imitate, considering the end of their conversation, considering how it brought them to that to the hard bed, with its pillow of sharp thorns, on which the Redeemer fell asleep. They died the death of the Righteous, and their last end was like His, and they found Him as good as His word. We vex and weary ourselves thinking what we shall do, how long we shall be able to work, what will happen when we are perforce idle, how we shall bear the pains and partings that are to be. He wants to put an end to all this by His promise that whatever befalls we shall neither be left nor forsaken. He tells us to do the duty of the moment in the moment, and for the rest to hold by him. And when the last bonds are loosened, and we are delivered from our earthly troubles, we shall be for ever with the Lord, and we shall be like Him, for we shall sec Him as He is. The blessedness of that vision, who can tell but those who stand before Him?
W. Robertson Nicoll, Sunday Evening, p. 97.
Heb 13:5
I find that the Spirit of God taught the writers of the New Testament to apply to us all in general, and to every single person in particular, some gracious words which God in the Old Testament spake to one man upon a special occasion in a single and temporal instance. Such are the words which God spake to Joshua; ‘I will never fail thee, nor forsake thee,’ and upon the stock of that promise St. Paul forbids covetousness and persuades contentedness, because those words were spoken by God to Joshua in another case.
Jeremy Taylor, Holy Dying (ch. v. sec. 5).
But now I began to exercise myself with new thoughts; I daily read the word of God, and applied all the comforts of it to my present state. One morning, being very sad, I opened the Bible upon these words, ‘I will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee’. Immediately it occurred that these words were to me; why else should they be directed in such a manner, just at the moment when I was mourning over my condition, as one forsaken of God and man? Well then, said I, if God does not forsake me, of what ill consequence can it be, or what matters it, though the world should all forsake me; seeing on the other hand, if I had all the world, and should lose the favour and blessing of God, there would be no comparison in the loss?
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, pt. 1. (ch. III.).
Most people have had a period or periods in their lives when they have felt thus forsaken; when, having long hoped against hope, and still seen the day of fruition deferred, their hearts have truly sickened within them. This is a terrible hour, but it is often that darkest point which precedes the rise of day; that turn of the year when the icy January wind carries over the waste at once the dirge of departing winter, and the prophecy of coming spring. The perishing birds, however, cannot thus understand the blast before which they shiver; and as little can the suffering soul recognise, in the climax of its affliction, the dawn of its deliverance. Yet, let whoever grieves still cling fast to love and faith in God: God will never deceive, never finally desert him. ‘Whom He loveth, He chasteneth.’ These words are true, and should not be forgotten.
Charlotte Bronte, Shirley (chap. XX.).
References. XIII. 5. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii. No. 477; vol. xxxii. No. 1880. XIII. 5-6. A. Maclaren, After the Resurrection, p. 291. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiv. No. 1449. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 277.
Heb 13:7
Imitation: it enters into the very fastnesses of character; and we, our souls, ourselves, are for ever imitating what we see and hear, the forms, the sounds, which haunt our memories, our imaginations.
Pater, Plato and Platonism, p. 272.
References. XIII. 7. T. Arnold, The Interpretation of Scripture, p. 310. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. iv. p. 98. XIII. 7, 8. G. Campbell Morgan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lvii. p. 3.
Discipleship
Heb 13:8
What do the Gospels certify to have been the character of original Christianity? The answer is on the surface. Original Christianity was a discipleship to Jesus Christ.
I. The followers of Christ are in the Gospels commonly described as His disciples. Discipleship implied the frank acceptance of Christ’s personal claims, and the power which won that acceptance was the power of Christ’s personal influence. But what did discipleship practically involve? Obviously, at the time to these first disciples, peril, loss, temporal ruin. Nothing could be sterner or more threatening than the prospect which He unfolded before His disciples. Discipleship goes deeper than the external circumstances of life. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to day, yea and for ever’. The terms of His service reflect His changelessness.
II. Discipleship is the abiding aspect of Christianity. Churches and creeds, as such, have no immunity from the law of change, but if the essence of Christianity be not the membership of a church, nor yet the acceptance of a system of belief, but rather discipleship to a living Person, then it seems possible to hope that Christianity may possess an indestructible life. Discipleship, in the common experience of mankind, terminates in one of two ways. On the one hand, the disciple may outstrip his teacher, learn all he has to teach, and advance into regions where he has no message. On the other hand, the disciple may lose confidence in the teacher, shake off the spell of his personal influence, set himself free from his moral and intellectual control. Can either of these contingencies happen in the case of the Christian discipleship? Are there any signs that Christians have outgrown the teachings of the Master? Is the world growing weary of the Ideal presented in the Gospel? As far as I can see, the evidence points in the opposite direction.
III. The changes of Christianity which, at first sight, perplex and distress us, are not only intelligible, but even necessary, when Christianity is conceived as a discipleship. For discipleship must always include the notion of advance. In truth, not to advance is to cease to be a disciple.
IV. Finally, it is in realising our Christian profession as before all things a discipleship to Christ that we shall recover fraternity. The nearer we draw to our Master, the nearer we draw also to one another.
H. H. Henson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. LXI. p. 17.
The Unchangeable Christ
Heb 13:8
I. The Christian Conception of God Involves Immutability. Capricious divinities abound in the history of the race. They are the creatures of imagination. The idea of a changeable God is an absurdity to the Christian mind. The Divine nature suffers no variableness. The Divine purpose is unchangeable also. (1) The physical universe suggests Divine immutability. The universe is under the dominion of law which is absolutely universal, penetrating all spheres, space and time. Behind the law is the lawgiver in Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (2) This is supported by the moral law. Righteousness, justice, truth, goodness, love, these are the same everywhere in God, and in man; and every moral being everywhere. (3) The unchangeableness of God is emphasised in the Scriptures.
II. The Unchangeable Christ is the Gospel we Preach. He is the Author, Finisher, and essence thereof. The permanency of the Gospel is secured in Him who is from everlasting to everlasting the same. The unity of truth is secured in Christ The Gospel is essentially the same in all ages, and under all conditions of life. It is preached to the barbarian, and to the civilised, everywhere the same Christ the Saviour of man. This is quite consistent with variety of forms, expressions, and methods. All truth is in Christ, the garment in which it is clothed is of many colours. Unity of essence, and diversity of expression are not inconsistent. The old Gospel is always new. Divers and strange doctrines present themselves on every hand, but there is no substitute for the old Gospel. We may speak in other terms. The pronunciation of some words is not precisely the same, but the unchangeable Christ abides. The worlds revolve around Him still.
The Unchanging Christ
Heb 13:8
I. We must take account of the supreme claim which is enshrined in the declaration that, amid all the chances and changes of the world, Jesus Christ is always the same. This could not be true if He were but as the great saints and heroes of history. They assuredly change dramatically. We alter our minds about them; the reason and conscience of men goes away from them; they cease to appear worthy of homage; they come to be the symbols of delusion, and the beacons of warning. Of none of them could it be truly said that they change not as the ages pass. But when we come to the Master, whom Apostles and saints worshipped and strove as best they could to follow, we have reached fixity at last. His supremacy remains secure and unchallenged through all the revolutions of thought and sentiment. There is but one explanation of this sole and unchallenged prerogative of unchanging power. It is the core of the Christian creed, the truth on which the Church stands, by which the Christian lives. Jesus Christ is not as the rest. He is the unique, the only-begotten of the Father, God Incarnate.
II. We must observe that this supremacy, absolute and immutable, is independent of ecclesiastical systems, and of specific theologies. The emphasis placed on the various parts of the scheme of Christian doctrine is constantly changing. Yet through all the changes the one assured and unalterable factor is precisely the sole and incommunicable supremacy of Christ.
III. This unchanging and unique supremacy of Jesus Christ is not disallowed by the larger view of religion, which is now everywhere laying hold of men’s minds. It is not the Church alone, but all mankind, speaking through its infinite variety of spiritual utterances, which says to Christ with St. Peter: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.’
IV. Finally, if we turn from every outward sphere and enter within the sanctuary of our own minds, and there face the anxiety which rises on our thought from the knowledge of our own weakness and falsehood, it is still the same fact on which we must build our hopes. Being what I know myself to be, we ask, How dare I make the profession of Christianity at all? The only justification in reason and in religion for the venture of discipleship is found, not in ourselves, but in the unchanging Christ. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yea, and for ever.’ Courage, then, though memories of failure hang darkly on our minds, and our hearts fail us as we listen to the Babel of conflicting voices, and are shocked by the reckless vehemence of unloving zeal, or chilled by the questionings of an age which has forgotten God!
The Ever-living Christ
Heb 13:8
In the context the author of this Epistle exhorts the Hebrew Christians not to forget their guides and leaders who had spoken unto them the Word of God. Some, like St. Stephen and St. James, had won a martyr’s crown. Many had been scattered by persecution as fallen leaves before the autumn wind. But let them remember, said he, this grand and blessed truth: ministers may die or be removed, but ‘Jesus Christ’ the object of their faith and the subject of their preaching ‘is the same yesterday, and today, yea and for ever.’
Over the vast gateway of the deserted city of Futtypore Sikri, in Northern India, is an Arabic inscription to this effect: ‘This world is but a bridge; pass over, build not thy dwelling there’. The statement is true; the exhortation is wise. And yet in that sentence lurks a great sorrow. The antidote to that sorrow lies in the words of the Psalmist: ‘Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations,’ and in the words of my text, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yea and for ever’.
For a moment observe the names of our Lord which we have here. Jesus, His personal name; Christ, or the ‘anointed one,’ the name which speaks of His official capacity which tells that He was set apart by God for the complete and perfect salvation of His people, and which opens out to us His offices of Prophet, Priest and King.
I. Prophet. The title of Prophet was given to Christ as the great Revealer and Teacher of the will of God. Moses predicted that this Prophet was to be a man like unto himself. ‘Unto Him shall ye hearken.’ All the leaves of prophecy, like one great sunflower, turn to Christ the Light. Like its author, the Bible is the same ‘yesterday and today’. ‘Other books,’ writes the Archbishop of Armagh, ‘pass away; but of that the silver cord shall never be loosed, nor the golden bowl broken, nor the mourners that go about the streets proclaim that at last the great book is dead and carried to the charnel-house of dead religions.’ The Prophet teaches, as I have said, not only by the written word, but by a Divinely appointed ministry. Because Christ ever lives the Gospel ministry will never die.
II. Priest. Christ is ‘a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec’. By the sacrifice of Himself upon the cross the God-Man took the ‘Divine anathema against sin upon His own immaculate head’. He suffered ‘the just for the unjust’. ‘We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.’ The atonement proclaims an accepted world, a reconciled Father, a redeemed humanity. In these days, when an ethical revival is the great need of the Church and the world, and when by the law of reaction there is a growing danger of the divorcement of duty from dogma yes! and when the hearts of men are craving for a morality which they do not possess we must summon them afresh to the cross of Christ as the fulcrum of a moral life and the mainspring of holiness.
Earthly ministers, like the Mosaic priests, are by succession. The time comes when we must die or be removed. Our voices are hushed, and the footfall of our steps is no longer heard in the street It is my comfort to speak of one whose Priesthood is unchangeable: who, seated amid the heavenly glories, ever pities, ever intercedes, ever pardons, ever helps, ever blesses.
III. King. If the Jew in the old dispensation looked for a Messiah who was to reign as King and not for a Messiah who was to suffer as Priest, we in this dispensation continually think of Christ as Priest almost to the forgetfulness of Christ as King. Do not forget that Christ is King as well as Priest Turn your thoughts ofttimes from the pathetic beauty of the sunset on Calvary to the glorious sunrise on Olivet. Amid the clouds of night let us look for the brightness of the coming dawn.
This kingdom is yours if you will but accept its conditions.
J. W. Bardsley, Many Mansions, p. 349.
Heb 13:8
Is it conceivable that the God who made the seven stars and Orion, and who is without variableness or shadow of turning, played off caprices on the narrow seaboard of Asia Minor in the centuries before our era, which, having come to another mind, or being weary, He has ceased to enact in modern days, cowed and overfaced by steam and penny newspapers reeled off without stopping? Is the strength of Israel lying or repenting now the world has waxed older and wiser and more scientific, and is clothed in cloth, and builds magnificent clubrooms in Pall Mall, where His name goes for nothing?
James Smetham, Letters, p. 347.
References. XIII. 8. Reuen Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlviii. p. 107. H. H. Henson, Godly Union and Concord, Phi 1 and 269. A. Coote, Twelve Sermons, p. 12. T. Rider, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lii. p. 40. J. Cartwright, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xviii. p. 180. Bishop Nickson, The Record, vol. xxvii. p. 1084. A. H. Stanton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liii. p. 7. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 170; vol. xv. No. 848, and vol. xl. No. 2358. F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. i. p. 36. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. iv. p. 290. C. Vince, The Unchanging Saviour, p. 1. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 285. XIII. 8, 9. W. Alexander, Primary Convictions, p. 3. XIII. 9. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 143. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 294. XIII. 10, 15. Ibid. p. 303. XIII. 11, 12. J. Bannerman, Sermons, p. 219. XIII. 12. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlvi. No. 2660. XIII. 13. Ibid. vol. x. No. 577.
Heb 13:12-13
In early times the graveyards and cemeteries were always outside the towns or villages, partly and here is shown our forefathers’ likeness to us for the greater healthiness, partly and here is shown their romance, which we have lost in realisation that all men are strangers and pilgrims upon earth, and because of the great sacrifice ‘offered without the camp’.
J. H. Shorthouse.
Heb 13:14
From this text Becket preached in the chapter-house of Canterbury Cathedral in December, 1170, on returning from France after his hollow reconciliation with Henry II. ‘The cathedral,’ says Dean Stanley, ‘was hung with silken drapery; magnificent banquets were prepared; the churches resounded with organs and bells; the palace-halls with trumpets; and the Archbishop preached in the chapter-house on the text, “Here we have no abiding city, but we seek one to come”. On Christmas Day, he preached from the words, “on earth, peace to men of goodwill”. He began by speaking of the sainted fathers of the Church of Canterbury, the presence of whose bones made doubly hallowed the consecrated ground. “One martyr,” he said, “they had already Alfege, murdered by the Danes, whose tomb stood on the north side of the high altar. It was possible,” he added, “that they would soon have another.” The people who thronged the nave were in a state of wild excitement; they wept and groaned; and an audible murmur ran through the church. “Father, why do you desert us so soon? to whom will you leave us?” But as he went on with his discourse, the plaintive strain gradually rose into a tone of fiery indignation. “You would have thought,” says Hubert of Bosham, who was present, “that you were looking at the prophetic beast, which had at once the face of a man and the face of a lion.”‘
Stanley’s Memorials of Canterbury, pp. 66, 67.
Heb 13:14
Life is not designed to minister to a man’s vanity. He goes upon his long business most of the time with a hanging head, and all the time like a blind child. Full of rewards and punishments as it is so that to see the day break or the moon rise, or to meet a friend, or to hear the linnet call when he is hungry, fills him with surprising joys this world is yet for him no abiding city. Friendships fall through, health fails, weariness assails him; year after year, he must thumb the hardly varying record of his own weakness and folly. It is a friendly process of detachment
R. L. Stevenson, in A Christmas Sermon.
And so it came about that John Gladwyn Jebb left both Mexico and this land where we have ‘no abiding city,’ almost as naked of the world’s goods as when he entered it…. He was too sanguine, too romantic, too easily deluded by others, and too mystical a curious vein of mysticism was one of his most striking characteristics for this nineteenth century. As a crusader, or as a knight-errant, doubtless, he would have been a brilliant success, but as a manager of companies and a director of business matters it must be confessed that he was a failure. Would that there existed more of such noble failures the ignoble are sufficiently abundant for then the world might be cleaner than it is. It matters little now: his day is done, and he has journeyed to that wonderful Hereafter of which during life he had so clear a vision, and that was so often the subject of his delightful and suggestive talk.
Rider Haggard, in The Life and Adventures of J. G. Jebb, pp. xxiv, xxv.
Heb 13:14
Perhaps one fact which lies at the root of all the actions of the Turks, small and great, is that they are by nature nomads. It is their custom to ornament the walls of their houses with texts instead of pictures, and, if they quoted from the Bible instead of the Koran, no words would better characterise their manner of life than ‘Here have we no continuing city’.
Sir Charles Eliot, Turkey in Europe, p. 89.
References. XIII. 14. R. W. Church, Village Sermons (2nd Series), p. 10. E. M. Geldart, Faith and Freedom, p. 117. E. T. J. Marriner; Sermons Preached at Lyme Regis, p. 63. F. Bourdillon, Plain Sermons for Family Reading (2nd Series), p. 225.
The Sacrifice of Praise
Heb 13:15
‘The sacrifice of praise.’ We are apt to pass over the words and miss their deep meaning. The sacrifice of praise is not the mere natural expression of joy. The word carries a red stain. Praise in a world like this, and from creatures such as we are, must often be sacrificial if it is to be continual. Continued thanksgiving carried through a life of faith is a sacrifice which may be laid upon the altar where the Perfect Oblation was offered up for the sins of the whole world.
When the father of Principal Cairns died, after protracted suffering, there was a short pause till each of the family circle had realised what had happened. Then the mother in a broken voice asked that ‘the books’ might be laid on the table, and gave out the verse:
The storm is changed into a calm
At His command and will;
So that the waves that raged before
Now quiet are and still.
It was her voice that raised the tune. Then she asked her eldest son to read a chapter of the Bible, and afterwards to pray. When they knelt down the son made a strong effort to steady his voice, but failed utterly, and ‘the dear mother herself lifted up the voice of thanksgiving for the victory that had been won’. That was the sacrifice of praise.
I. To understand the words fully we turn back to the place where they are used, the last chapter in Hebrews. ‘We have an altar,’ says the Apostle. That Altar is Christ upon His Cross. It is an Altar whereof those who remain in Judaism and serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. But what is denied to them is the privilege of Christian believers. They feast upon the sacrifice. ‘He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.’ Christ for us becomes Christ in us. By eating of the sacrifice, the supernatural life is sustained, and the years are turned into one long thanksgiving. Our Altar stood without the gate of Jerusalem. ‘The bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own Blood, suffered without the gate.’ Even as the Christian Church of those days was cast out of the Jewish Synagogue, so the Christian Church is to be separated from the world that it may be united to Him. It is detached from the visible order that it may be united with the invisible. Its true home is not here, not even without the camp, where its Altar stands. That is a stage on the way to the stable city beyond the sea of death, where the eternal order holds, which we seek,’ ‘for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come’. So then, being outside the gate, and exiles by the Christian Altar, we are to offer up our sacrifices, not the sacrifice of propitiation, but the sacrifice of praise. It is a sacrifice, seeing that it has to be offered continually. It is also a sacrifice, seeing that it is the fruit of lips that make confession of His name. Confession when the Apostle wrote meant much, and it is not well with us if it means little now.
II. To offer the sacrifice of praise, is to bless the Lord at all times, to give thanks in everything, to make the mornings, noons, and midnights of life one Eucharist. How different is the sacrifice of praise from the mere exultation of youth! Youth, with its profuse illusions, demands happiness as its right, and even if it recognises God as the giver of joy, turns away from Him when the shadow falls. Youth demands victory, and cannot wait. It grows weary in a long and losing fight. But if we have learned to offer the sacrifice of praise upon the Altar, we need not covet youth. God has provided some better thing for us. We know it even when we see ourselves grey haired and wrinkled in the mirror, and feel that the battle is as much as ever we can fight, and the race as much as ever we can run. We have learned to give thanks as the tide of battle rolls this way and that. The inner life wells up as the outer sinks into the ground. There is within us something better than the light-heartedness of youth, a joy, a buoyancy, a confidence which the world cannot give and cannot take away. We have learned to drink in the sunlight when exposed to it, and give back that light in the brightness of the night. To offer the sacrifice of praise is to give thanks, as the Lord gave thanks when He took the bread and blessed it and brake it. He gave thanks for the wayfaring behind and the Cross before.
III. We learn, too, as life goes on that the Christian sacrifice of praise means much more than the acceptance of sorrow in the hope that it may pass and be succeeded by. gladness. There is less meaning for the Christian Church than there was for the Jewish in the words, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’. It is Jewish rather than Christian to watch the unbidden guest Sorrow with impatience and wretchedness, taking comfort in the thought that her presence must pass with the dreary night, that at morning she will be gone, and we shall find Joy in her room. There is an element of truth in that view. Mornings of joy, even in this life, sometimes follow nights of weeping. When the worst comes to the worst, men say things mend, and they say also that it is always darkest before dawn. But we have come to know that Sorrow does not pass even though Joy enters, and those who can offer the sacrifice of praise do not even pray that she should pass. They learn to make room for the two angels, the veiled angel and the shining. Both are welcome guests, both are sent from God, both will work for us a gracious ministry if we will only suffer it. For the veiled angel we are to praise God, though it must be the sacrifice of praise.
W. Robertson Nicoll, Sunday Evening, p. 867.
References. XIII. 15. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiv. No. 2048. J. Keble, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany, p. 337.
Heb 13:15-16
‘His tenderness,’ says George Eliot, of Adam Bede, ‘lay very close to his reverence, so that the one could hardly be stirred without the other.’
References. XIII. 15, 16. C. S. Laird, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. v. p. 79. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 323. XIII. 16. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ix. p. 222 XIII. 17. E. H. Bickersteth, Thoughts in Past Years, p. 39. J. H. Holford, Memorial Sermons, p. 228. G. Matheson, The Sunday Review, vol. i. p. 105. XIII. 18. J. C. M. Bellew, Sermons, vol. i. p. 36. J. Keble, Sermons for Septuagesima Ash Wednesday, p. 411. W. Robertson Nicoll, Ten Minute Sermons, p. 181. Expositor (5th Series), vol. x. p. 25.
The Five Scholars of Lausanne
Heb 13:20
These words are associated with the martyrdom of the Five Scholars of Lausanne, whose names are among the most honoured in the French martyrology. They were executed at Lyons on 16th May, 1553. Earnest appeals had been made on their behalf by the Swiss Cantons, but Henry II. refused to pardon them. Their progress to the place of execution was marked by the recital of psalms, the benediction, ‘The God of peace, that brought again from the dead,’ etc., and the Apostles’ Creed, and after mutual embraces and farewells, their last words, as their naked bodies, smeared with grease and sulphur, hung side by side over the flames, were: ‘Be of good courage, brethren, be of good courage’. Dr. H. M. Baird says: ‘Their mission to France had not been in vain. It is no hyperbole of the historian of the Reformed Churches, when he likens their cells to five pulpits, from which the word of God resounded through the entire city and much further. The results of their heroic fortitude, and of the wide dissemination of copies of the confession of their Christian faith, were easily traced in the conversion of many within and without the prison, while the memory of their joyful constancy on their way to the place of execution which rather resembled a triumphal than an ignominious procession and in the flames, was embalmed in the heart of many a spectator.’
Heb 13:20
This text has an association also with the great Ejection of 1662. Dr. Stoughton says: ‘Pepys, who liked to see and hear everything which was going on, walked to old St. Dunstan’s Church, at seven o’clock in the morning, but found the doors unopened. He took a turn in the Temple Gardens until eight, when, on coming back to the church, he saw people crowding in at a side door, and found the edifice half-filled, ere the principal entrance had been opened. Dr. Bates, minister of the church, took for his text, “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, make you perfect”. “He making a very good sermon,” reports the Secretary, “and very little reflections in it to anything of the times.” After dinner, the gossip went to St. Dunstan’s again, to hear a second sermon from the same preacher upon the same text. Arriving at the church, about one o’clock, he found it thronged, and had to stand during the whole of the service. Not until the close of this second homily did the preacher make any distinct allusion to his ejectment, and then it was in terms the most concise and temperate. “I know you expect I should say something as to my nonconformity. I shall only say thus much, it is neither fancy, faction, nor humour that makes me not to comply, but merely for fear of offending God. And if after the best means used for my illumination, as prayer to God, discourse, study, I am not able to be satisfied concerning the lawfulness of what is required; if it be my unhappiness to be in error, surely men will have no reason to be angry with me in this world, and I hope God will pardon me in the next.”‘
References. XIII. 20. H. Alford, Easter-tide Sermons, p. 32. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v. No. 277. Expositor (4th Series), vol. i. p. 34; ibid. (6th Series), vol. xi. p. 60. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 332. XIII. 20, 21. Ibid. (4th Series), vol. ix. p. 239. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx. No. 1186, and vol. xxiii. No. 1368. XIII. 22. Expositor (6th Series), vol. xi. p. 435. XIII. 24. Ibid. (5th Series), vol. iii. p. 393; ibid. vol. x. p. 159. XIII. 25. Ibid. (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 143.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
1 Let brotherly love continue.
Ver. 1. Let brotherly love continue ] It shall continue in heaven; pity therefore but it should on earth. No such heaven upon earth, next unto communion with God, as the communion of saints.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 16 .] Various exhortations to Christian virtues : more especially to the imitation of the faith of their leaders who had departed in the Lord: to firmness in the faith: and following of Jesus, who suffered outside the camp to teach us to bear His reproach .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1 .] Let brotherly love ( in the classics, the love of brothers and sisters for one another: in the N. T., the love of the Christian brethren. In ref. 2 Pet. it is expressly distinguished from , the more general word) remain (we learn from the Acts, on the hypothesis of this Epistle being addressed to the church at Jerusalem (on which, however see Prolegg.), how eminent this brotherly love had been in that church, and, without any hypothesis as to the readers, we see from our ch. Heb 10:32 ff. that the persons here addressed had exercised it aforetime, and from ch. Heb 6:10 , that they still continued to exercise it. Let it then remain, not die out. And it is put first, as being the first of the fruits of faith. The exhortations in ch. Heb 3:12 f.; Heb 10:24 f.; Heb 12:12 ff., point the same way).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
19 13:25 .] THE THIRD GREAT DIVISION OF THE EPISTLE: OUR DUTY IN THE INTERVAL OF WAITING BETWEEN THE BEGINNING AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR SALVATION. And herein, Heb 10:19-39 , exhortation to enter boldly into the holiest place, Heb 10:19-22 : to hold fast our profession, Heb 10:23 : to stir up one another, Heb 10:24-25 : in consideration of the fearful punishment which awaits the rejecters of Christ, Heb 10:26-31 : and in remembrance of the previous sufferings which they underwent when first converted, Heb 10:32-34 . Finally, exhortation not to cast away confidence, for the time until His coming is short, and during that time, faith is the life of the soul.
There has been no exhortation, properly speaking, since ch. Heb 7:1 , i. e. during the great doctrinal argument of the Epistle. Before that, argument and exhortation were rapidly alternated. But so exquisite is the skill of arrangement and development, that the very exhortation with which he closed the former portion of the Epistle where first he began to prepare the way for his great argument, ch. Heb 4:14-16 , is now resumed, deepened indeed and expanded by the intervening demonstration, but in spirit and substance the same: here, answering to there, and here to there.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Heb 13:1-6 . Exhortations to social manifestations of their Christianity. . “Let love of the brethren continue”; it existed (Heb 6:10 ) and so, as Chrys. says, he does not write , , . In the general decay of their faith tendencies to disown Christian fellowship had become apparent, Heb 10:24-25 . This might also lead to a failure to recognise the wants of Christians coming from a distance, therefore hospitality is urged; not as a duty they did not already practise, but, gently, as that which they might omit through forgetfulness and as that which might bring them a message from God: , “Entertainment of strangers do not neglect; for thus some have entertained angels unawares,” as in Genesis 18-19; Jdg 6:11-24 ; Jdg 13:2-23 [For testimonies to the hospitality of Christians Bleek refers to Lucian, De Morte Peregrin. , chap. 16 and to the 49th Epistle of Julian. On the hospitality of the East see Palgrave’s Essays , p. 246 7.] though a common classical idiom, occurs nowhere else in the N.T. Some of their fellow Christians might be in even more needy circumstances and therefore.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Hebrews Chapter 13
Next follow exhortations of a practical kind for holy brethren of a heavenly calling on the earth. And first the word is, “Let brotherly affection abide” (verse 1). This is very needful in the long run; and the Epistle was among not the early but the latest ones. It was easy enough in the glow of first love, and was strengthened instead of checked by prevalent persecutions for the sake of the faith. But when these trials do not so much press, the very nearness of the saints to each other, as God’s family here below, exposes them to danger. For the less grace souls have personally for daily difficulties, the more they expect from others, and the harsher the judgments they hastily form. In the world there is distance kept up by mutual consent, and reserve is cultivated as to the affairs of one another, without which things could scarcely go on decently for any space; but the closeness of spiritual relationship, where it;.S loyally felt and in lively exercise, as it was and ought ever to be, soon brings to light self-will and worldliness at work, unless there be a walking according to the light into which we are brought in Christ. God is love; and he that abides in love abides in God, and God in him. When this fails in the practice of the saint, brotherly affection will ere long give way, and hasty speech engender variance, or suspicion cloud the light of love. In Heb 6:10 the love they had shown to His name was recorded in having ministered and still ministering to the saints. In Heb 10:34 we see how it wrought in deep trials and afflictions. Here the word is for the continuance of brotherly affection. There is much to try such love.
The verses that immediately follow give the direction that was more particularly needed. “Forget not hospitality; for by it some unawares entertained angels. Remember the prisoners, as bound with [them], the ill-treated, as being yourselves also in a body” (verses 2, 3). To entertain strangers is a happy form of exercising brotherly kindness. Yet is it especially liable to be imposed on, were it not that the Lord’s over-ruling eye is over all, and He permits nothing that does not work for good to those that love God. The danger for the believer is that he should be vexed at advantage taken, and lest he should slacken in consequence. But if men abuse kindness thus, the Lord accepts the good and forgets it not. The encouragement assigned is that some, as Abraham and Lot of old, entertained angels unawares. To receive God’s children now is assuredly no less honour in His eyes. Another mode of brotherly kindness is in active remembrance of those who, as early Christians, had to bear the stigma of public bonds or prison. If we failed to realise the uncomeliness of holding aloof from brethren thus put to shame, the affecting reference of the apostle to Onesiphorus in his own case at Rome, which we find in 2Ti 1 and with less detail elsewhere, may give a just sense of its sweet seasonableness and value before the Lord. Then again how many are the “ill-treated” though not in a prison! Let us not forget such, as being ourselves also in a body.* Compare Heb 10:32-34 .
*The notion that this refers, not to the earthen vessel but to Christ’s body, the church, is the more untenable, as this relationship is never once touched in the Epistle.
A new topic comes before us in verse 4: “[Let,] marriage [be] honourable in all things and the bed [be] undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Here the Jewish Christian is called to stand the more on his guard, as the law allowed a latitude which the Lord showed to be far from God’s mind. The A.V. is faulty in two respects. It is not a mere affirmative sentence stamping the relationship with dignity, but an exhortation in the imperative calling us to carry it on worthily, and to guard it from all taint of unchastity or impureness. And we are bid to set it in honour, not in this respect or in that, but “in all things.” Thus it is in no way a certificate of respectability which all people possess because they are in wedlock, but a solemn charge to married saints that, their use of the relationship be thus pleasing to the Lord in every detail. To say it is honourable “in all men” overlooks, if it does not destroy, the force of the scripture for the Christian’s conscience. and this is the more evident as we hear next that God will judge every violation of its sanctity whether in neglect or in misuse.
Then comes the call, “Let your course of life be free of avarice, contented with things present. For he hath said, I will in no wise leave thee, no, nor at all forsake thee; so that we say confidently, Jehovah [is] my helper, land] I will not fear: what shall man do to me?” (verses 5, 6.) Avarice, sordid and unworthy of moral men, is peculiarly beneath those called to follow Christ in faith and love, with their eyes opened to their better and enduring substance where Christ is. Discontent with things is natural to unbelievers. It is good and due that we confide in His word to one, although no less meant for all His own. The vulgar text falls far below the impressive promise and challenge the O.T. furnished: and God as a Father only gives it more force.
The hearts of the brethren are next recalled to their departed guides, who, as they had been remarkable for their faith, had closed their course faithfully to the Lord’s praise.
“Be mindful of your leaders, who were such as spoke to you the word of God and, considering the issue of their course, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and today and for ever. By teachings various and strange be not carried away; for [it is] good that the heart be established with grace, not meats; in which those that walked were not profited” (verses 7-9).
It is well that we should distinguish in our tongue what the Holy Spirit had distinguished in verses 3, 7: the former (compare Heb 2:6 ) is practical remembrance of need, trial, and suffering; the latter is calling to mind those apt to be forgotten who had passed away. Hence the text of the A.V. is not in accordance with the truth; nor is the margin though more literal. But in this case we must say were, not “are,” your guides, for their course was closed, as the verse itself intimates. They had been “leading” men among the brethren like Judas Barsabbas and Silas (Act 15:22 ), whether elders or not, for those so named had a larger and higher sphere than a local charge. And the saints are exhorted to hold them in honoured memory; as the clause that follows characterises them as having spoken to them the word of God, not the bare fact that they had so spoken in their day. It is probable that some of their “leaders” had the rule among the saints; but this is not the force of the word here employed, which is of a more general import, and may not have been other than prominence in teaching and exhortation.
There is another word it is well to observe (> ) of similar import, as we may see in Rom 12:8 , 1Th 5:12 , which these scriptures show not to have been restricted to elders, though of course applicable to the exercises of their office. It means “presiding,” and has its importance in its due place. But the great present value, as in the past, is that it depended on the spiritual strength which God supplies, and not on official position to which an apostle or an apostolic delegate had appointed: a thing also to be fully owned where the fact was so, as Scripture clearly proves. However this may have been, they had been their leaders, and the brethren are told, considering the issue of their course of life (in old English “their conversation”), to imitate their faith. Some among the Hebrew confessors were in danger of drawing back, as others seem to have actually done. There had been in earlier days a noble stand and severe endurance for it; and here they are exhorted to that which shone in departed guides, some at any rate of whom, it would appear, had resisted to blood.
But a far higher object follows: the great Sufferer, He of all glory who always abides. “Jesus Christ [is] yesterday and today the same, and for ever (unto the ages).” Such is the true meaning. There is no real ground for viewing it in apposition with “the end (or, issue) of the conversation” that precedes, which not only violates grammar but destroys the bearing of both clauses. It does beautifully introduce Him who not only remains alive again for evermore, but changes not. It is the creature’s weakness to change. And of all creatures none more given to change than man, though he be head of all and endowed beyond all on earth; yet most changeable, like a reed bending to every wind through his will and his passions. But here we have real man, and tried as none other ever was, yet the Unchanging One, as indeed He was and is God no less really. What a stay for our faith! For we who believe on Him have still the fallen nature; and who so competent as He to deliver us from our liability to swerve from the good, holy, and true into some snare of the enemy! To look to Him, depend on Him, delight our souls in Him, follow Him, is an immense safeguard, given of grace to this end; and He knows how to keep and hold the least stedfast of saints that wait on Him. Truly He is the rock that never moves, to sustain such as without Him must be the sport of wind and wave.
Of all men the Hebrews had shown themselves of old the most ready to adopt the strange and false gods of the nations. So their own prophets reproached them with a folly beyond example; yet were they the only people favoured with the living God, Jehovah of Hosts, deigning to be their God. But they rebelled against Him, people, priests, and kings, till there was no remedy; and except He had left them a very small remnant, they had been as Sodom and like Gomorrah. None but the Messiah could meet their desperate case, when they had become Lo-ammi, and even He only by the sacrifice of Himself when they had rejected and crucified Him. But now He was risen from the dead and glorified, crowned with glory and honour, and all things put in subjection under His feet, as David sung in spirit. True, now we see not yet all things put under Him. But we behold Himself exalted on high, the pledge of all that will surely be displayed at His appearing. To this blessed object of faith and hope are the eyes of these believing sons directed, that they might cleave to Him with purpose of heart, as their fathers never did, through unbelief no more tossed to and fro. “Be not carried about by various and strange doctrines.” Such is the connection of thought, such the preservation in fact from that great danger. By this all saints may be blessed. “For it is good that the heart be established with grace not with meats,” however much the lovers of tradition discuss and commend them, “in which those that walked were not profited.” How indeed could it be? Meats perish in the using, as those do who look not to the Highest. He is now dealing in nothing but sovereign grace, that the weakest may be sustained, and that the most wicked be saved through Christ and His redemption.
The Holy Spirit is not content with repudiating various and strange teachings, and such ordinances of flesh as He had already shown to characterise an imperfect system and a provisional time. (Heb 9:9 , Heb 9:10 ) when the way into the sanctuary had not yet been made manifest. He affirms for the Christian the positive realities which the Jews might have thought non-existent. So He had proved throughout the Epistle. What Judaism had in form and shadow, in an earthly measure, those who are Christ’s even now possess as heavenly truth in unfailing and abiding virtue, while ample scope was still left for the power of hope. The purification of sins was already made (Heb 1:3 ), the great salvation confirmed unto us by most ample and excellent witness, God Himself deigning to testify in the powers of the Spirit (Heb 2:3 , Heb 2:4 ). He even declares that, though we see not yet all things subjected to Jesus, the Son of man, as we surely expect, we do behold Himself, because of the suffering of death too, crowned with glory and honour (Heb 2:8 , Heb 2:9 ). We are invited to consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus indeed (Heb 3:1 ), but Jesus already shown to be unique, Son of God and Son of man (Heb 1:2 ), passed through the heavens (Heb 4:14 ), a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:10 ).
O the folly, if we have Him, of hankering after a blasphemer like Caiaphas, or a Sadducean persecutor like Ananias. Nay, was there to be ever so ideal an heir of Aaron, “such a high priest became us” (said He, Heb 7:26 ), “holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens.” For He has sat down on the right hand of the throne of the greatness in the heavens, as befits the surpassing glory of His person and His office, thus proved incontestably superior to Aaron’s at his brightest; as He is become surety of a better covenant, which the prophets declared was to supersede the first and faulty one (Heb 8:13 ) of which the Jews boasted. Now only was the work of God done by the Son, and witnessed by the Holy Spirit (Heb 10 ), but also God provided for us some better thing (Heb 11:40 ). So He speaks now:-
“We have an altar of which they, have no right, to eat who serve the tabernacle.” So run the words, not only because the Epistle ever looks at the wilderness way and its accompaniments, but because they were to know that “these great buildings” had no longer glory but shame, and that shortly should be left not one stone upon another. What altar of copper or gold can compare with Him through whom we draw near to God and approach boldly even unto His throne of grace?
Let them understand better the figures of the true. “For the bodies of the beasts, whose blood is brought for sin into the holies by the high priest, are burned without the camp.” It is only in Christianity that the two-fold truth is realised; in Judaism. it was unknown, still less enjoyed. The two extremes meet in the true sin-offering, which points to the blood which fits for the holiest, and to the body burnt in the place of rejection outside. The Christian has access into the sanctuary, but along with this he shares the place of scorn here below. So it was with the Master and Lord. “Wherefore also Jesus, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Here is not type only but fact, the ground of the exhortation so needed then by the Jewish confessors, so needed at all times by the Christian: way we not add more urgently now, when men revive Jewish elements in that disguise?
Therefore let us go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach; for we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the coming one” (verse 14). We are not of the world, as our Lord was not; and as He never sought its ease or honour, but accepted its shame, so are we called to follow His steps “outside the camp,” the scene of religious respectability; as Heb 10:19 , etc., sets forth our boldness to enter the holies by the blood of Jesus. We are now constituted meet to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. The Jewish system by its nature not only offered no ‘such privilege but denied it to all, even to the high priest who could approach but once a year its figure, and then with awful fear lest death should avenge any failure on his part. It was the then via media.
And where are God’s children now as to all this? Are they not in general, as far from availing themselves in practical ways of approach to the holies, as they run after man’s mind and the world’s honours? In fact, as in doctrine, the two things are closely tied together. And as grace makes us first free of the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, we are the better strengthened next to obey the call to go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.
Soon the unbelieving or half-believing Jew had to learn that here he had no abiding city. But this should be ever true to a Christian’s faith, if he dwelt in Rome or in London, as then in Jerusalem. Like Abraham we look for the city which rests not on sand but “hath the foundations.” But it is “to come,” and will never be built of human hands, let men vaunt as they may. Its architect and maker is God; and Christ has prepared us for it. “Through him therefore let us offer sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, fruit of lips making confession to his name. But of doing good and of communicating be not forgetful, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (verses 15, 16).
However serious our souls may well be, as we justly estimate the enmity of the world to God, His grace, truth, word, and ways, as well as our own danger of compromise or of sin in any form, we are exhorted to offer sacrifice of praise continually to Him. It is through Christ. This prepares and accounts for it. For He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever; and our blessing through Him is as complete as it is everlasting: salvation (Heb 5 ), redemption (Heb 9 ), inheritance (Heb 9 ), and covenant (Heb 13 ), all everlasting. No wonder we are called to praise God, not as Jews now and then, but “continually.” So in 1Th 5:18 the apostle bids us “in every thine, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning, you.” Here it is appropriately said to be a sacrifice of praise which we offer to God continually. Is it, can it be so, where souls are under law? Are we not under grace? It is making confession to His name, and in no way our own righteousness any more than a form. But the Holy Spirit carefully reminds “of doing good and communicating” (i.e. of our substance to others in need). It is a real exercise of love and in faith, that it be a sacrifice, if of a lower sort than praise to God. “Forget not”; for there was danger of overlooking. These acts were also acceptable: “with such sacrifices God is well pleased,” although those of praise have the higher place.
In verse 17 it is no question of remembering the dead leaders (as in verse 7), but of the attitude which becomes the saints to their living guides. And this is shown by an obedient and submissive spirit.
“Obey your leaders and submit, for they watch for your souls as having to render an account; that they may do this with joy and not groaning, for this [would be] unprofitable for you. Pray, for us; for we are persuaded* that we have a good conscience, desiring in all things to behave well. And I more abundantly beseech you to do this that I may more quickly be restored to you” (verses 17, 18).
*The common reading , followed by the Vulgate, Armenian, the A.V., etc., has numerous support, but of inferior antiquity and weight as compared with which is more suited to a subjective state.
Reaction from new truth is a danger at one time, and at another a return to old ways when the new become irksome. So these Christian Jews are exhorted to that which is a constant duty for us no less than for them. Self-will increasingly characterises this present evil age; and self-will is always sin. Elsewhere, as in 1Ti 3 , Tit 1 , those called to preside or take the lead, elders or not, are exhorted how to fulfil their work in the Lord. Here, as in 1Co 16 , and 1Th 5 , the saints are reminded of what God looks for on their part. Scripture sanctions neither assertion of human right nor arbitrary claim of divine authority in the church of God. All are bound to serve, all responsible to obey the Lord who has made His will sure and plain in the written word. But there is such a thing as spiritual wisdom, and experience which grace forms by the word of righteousness; there is practical power which faith gives by the action of, the Holy Spirit, which is eminently serviceable to those less exercised in discerning the path of Christ
Hence as one must feel in the intricacies which so frequently beset the saints in such a world as this, and with a nature on which the enemy can readily act through present things, there is ample room for constant need of godly counsel, serious admonition, or even sharp rebuke: and as to all this the word is “obey your leaders and submit.” How often a real guide can point out what a perplexed saint saw not before it was set before him, but, when so set, at once perceives to be of God! For if there be a word of wisdom given to the one through the Spirit, the same Spirit dwelling in the other appreciates the true and the right, through the grace of Christ which sets independence aside as well as worldly lust or any other evil thing. Thus is the Lord honoured in the chiefs no less than in those who submit to them. Sacerdotal claim is now excluded; and lawlessness is judged as hateful to God. Christ Himself led the way here below in this path of invariable and unswerving obedience; and those that guide will only guide aright if walking in the revealed ways of God which they urge on others; as these are only blessed as they walk in obedience and submission, instead of a vain clamour for their own rights, which if realised would be Satan’s slavery. We are, every one of us, bondsmen of the Lord Jesus.
But it is well to note that the Vulgate has fallen into the perversion, so natural to the official mind, that the guides will have to give an account of the souls under their supervision. Such is the strange reading of the Alexandrian MS. followed by Lachmann in his Greek Testament of 1831. Tischendorf who noticed this should have seen that L. corrected the error in his larger ed. of 1840-50. Certainly there is no excuse for anyone failing to recognise the overwhelming testimony in favour of the ancient copies as well as of the Received Text, which speak of the guides exercising their wakeful care on behalf of the souls of the saints, as having to render an account. But this means not of other men’s souls, but of their own conduct in relation to them. For each shall bear his own burden; and whatever, or whoever, comes between the conscience and God is of the enemy. Herein Romanism is the chief but far from the only offender in availing itself of a transparent error, and pursuing its most evil consequences. As the saints are shown the solemn responsibility of their leaders, they are told to cultivate a gracious readiness to obey and submit, that the guides might do their watchful work with joy, and not with groans over their refractoriness, which would be profitless for the saints. Compare for the other side 1Jn 2:28 , and 2Jn 1:8 and for this side 3Jn 1:4 .
There is a fine link of connection in the request of the next verse: “Pray for us; for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience,” etc. How many more ask prayer because their conscience is bad! But the inspired writer could ask that the hearts of his brethren might plead with God for sustainment in his work, as the Spirit was leading him on without the sad need of getting morally restored from this or that evil which burdened him. For the fact is that of all saints none more need prayer – their own and of others – than such as are very prominent and active in the Lord’s work. Habitually occupied with preaching and teaching others, how great the danger is of going on with a conscience not good about themselves! And what can more decidedly defile or harden? The apostle, in writing to his brethren, does all the more ask their prayers, because he exercised himself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men, as he could say before the governor Felix and the high priest Ananias, both of them grievously and notoriously far different in this respect.
There is added an appeal to their affection. “But I more abundantly beseech you to do this, that I may be more quickly restored to you” (compare Phm 1:22 ). It is beautiful and cheering to know that he counted on the love of the saints in the evil day, and that their prayers were so highly valued as efficacious with God.
The closing prayer is as worthy of this great Epistle as it corresponds with its character.
“Now the God of peace that brought up from [the] dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, in [virtue of] blood of an eternal covenant,, perfect you in every good work to the doing of his will, doing in you what is well pleasing before him through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] the glory, for the ages of ages. Amen” (verses 20, 21). There is no blessing of the gospel, no need of the unbeliever, more characteristic than peace. As to the Roman saints peace with God was assured, so here to the believing Jews as well as the believing Greeks of Philippi, God is proclaimed as the God of peace. The peace of God has its suited limits; the God of peace is illimitable. The departure of some disheartened others. Ere long, city and temple would be destroyed. But wants, difficulties, and dangers only furnish Him the occasion to bring His children through, purged of earthly associations and more than conquerors. The proof and pledge they see in our Lord Jesus, whom God brought up from the dead, not only the “good” and “chief” but “the great Shepherd of the sheep,” whose blood is of no temporary covenant but of an eternal, avails not only for the present redemption and heavenly nearness of those who believe, but as their sure title to be similarly brought up from death at His coming.
Nothing can move such a Saviour, standing, and hope. The “better thing” we possess rests on the God of peace and a Shepherd so great that those of Israel are utterly small and weak in comparison. And God is no otiose or capricious being such as pagans feigned, but active unceasingly according to the perfect and perfecting work of His Son. He lends an ear to His own in their perilous pilgrimage, and is ready to fully adjust them in ever good work to the doing of His will, even as Christ has shown us the example unfalteringly. Thus only can be what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; as He is the One who does all the good in His saints who deny self and depend on Him by faith. To Him then be the glory for ever and ever, Amen. For an end so holy, what can others, what can self do? “There is none good but One, God.” And the Son is the way to the Father, the truth, and the life. So the Holy Spirit works in glorifying Him, whom the Father will have all to honour even as they honour the Father. Thus only is His will done in principle and in detail.
“Now I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation; for also in few words have I written to you. Know that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty, with whom if he come soon, I will see you. Salute all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy salute you. Grace [be] with you all, Amen” (verses 22-25).
The Epistle as a whole abounds in exhortation, based as ever on the truth of Christ, His work, and His offices, drawn from the. O.T. with a skill and power and simplicity which the Holy Spirit alone could give the inspired vessel; yet vast and profound and far-reaching as the result is, in what few words comparatively has all been conveyed! What scope for others to enlarge and enforce in their exhortations! and without controversy how subversive of all that Rabbinism loves to hear, not only hiding the waste to which their unbelief has reduced “the pleasant land,” but shutting out from their disciples the more than fulfilment of their highest aspirations in Him, who as concerning flesh came of Judah and of David’s lineage doubly, but is infinitely more, for He is over all, God blessed for ever, Amen.
The Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets are seen in a N.T. setting, self-evidently intended to be so understood when the due time came, which also saw the blotting out even of the returned remnant, and most righteously; for had they not hated and rejected their own Messiah? Marvellous is the way in which all the unfolding of His person and work and offices is turned to practical profit in detail; so that it is with the best right styled “the word of exhortation,” about to yield unfailing subjects and varied appeals for the ministry of His servants, whose eye is simple to His glory, whose heart appreciates His grace, whose faith in the crucified Christ follows Him on high and approaches God in the holiest. And this is Christianity, the present living truth. with its heavenly and everlasting issues. By-and-by a remnant in the latter day shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of Jehovah; and the Lord Jehovah too shall say to the dry bones in the open valley, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. Yes, they shall surely live, those dry bones of Israel in that day, stand up an exceeding great army, and be placed in their own land. Yea more, the twelve tribes shall be one in Jehovah’s hand, one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and that king the trite Beloved, great David’s greater Son. and there shall they dwell for ever, and the Beloved, Jehovah’s Servant, their prince for ever. This will be His kingdom, for His world-kingdom is not yet come but will assuredly. But those who now share His rejection and wait for heavenly glory have “the better thing.”
The reference to Timothy suits the apostle Paul fully, while the omission of his own name is quite intelligible, as writing outside his province of the uncircumcision, yet just the expression of his heart always toward his brethren after the flesh, and characterised by the knowledge of Christ dead, risen, and ascended as became him beyond other men. The allusion in 2Pe 3 is decisive that the apostle Paul wrote an Epistle to the believers of the circumcision, to whom Peter addressed both his Epistles. That letter of Paul can only be the Epistle to the Hebrews, unless we suppose God allowed such a unique document to perish and someone else to do that work over again for a permanent place in the canon of scripture. Only speculative rationalism could receive suppositions so harsh, capricious, and unworthy; but those who do not give its true value to God’s word as it is are proverbially credulous of fancies such as these.
No doubt the style differs strikingly; but even men of genius only have often shown themselves equal to some such difference in their works. But here all concurred to give a new and deep character, if indeed the apostle Paul was the one employed by the Holy Spirit for this great Epistle to the saints in Jerusalem, in view of the impending catastrophe, as well as their defective apprehensions which exposed them to such serious danger spiritually. We can understand how this and more must call out his heart who reciprocated God’s mingled pain and pity over Israel, as well as the grief of the Spirit over their comparative insensibility to the superiority of their Christian privileges, and to the glory of Christ in the heavens above any Davidical hopes, bright as they surely are. Who can wonder that duly weighs all this, that a final divine message from one who so tenderly loved them, and who felt for the honour of Christ in person, work, and office, faintly seen by true yet feeble saints, should engage his heart profoundly, and give scope, elevation, and power to his language in a way as uncommon as the occasion which drew it forth?
No doubt the absence of the writer’s name is quite sufficient to show that God is here pointing to the importance of the teaching rather than to the teacher. And the blessedness of the truth, if the most prejudiced of the Hebrew Christians heard to the end, would so disarm him of such unworthy feelings that he could not but own that he had never realised the gospel and Christ Himself and his Christian standing as he did now. Thus he would be fitted, and enabled to thank God heartily for what the apostle of uncircumcision wrote to them of circumcision. The sore point would be thoroughly healed; and as faith and hope were strengthened, love would prevail to the praise of grace.
It is probable enough that the Epistle was written in Rome. But if so, we may admire the wisdom that withheld any such mention to swell the pride of a later day. The saints there had a great and suited Epistle written to them; and well had it been if the truth conveyed had ever been their confession in deed and in word. But the silence here precluded a boast of the emptiest kind in Rome’s fall from the truth. But from the end of verse 24 it would appear that saints from Italy, not of Rome only, were with the writer when and where he wrote. They would be sure to flock round him before his departure; and he would rejoice to communicate the salutation of love to Jews, no longer despised but beloved in the Lord, from such a centre of the world’s pride and selfishness.
The greeting here desired embraces “all your leaders and all the saints.” This was emphatically called for then, but seasonable always. How many are apt to be narrow, if not alienated! Not so was his heart who wrote, “Grace be with you all, Amen.”
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb 13:1-6
1Let love of the brethren continue. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. 4Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will Judges 5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you, 6″so that we confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”
Heb 13:1
NASB”Let love of the brethren continue”
NKJV”Let brotherly love continue”
NRSV”Let mutual love continue”
TEV”Keep on loving one another as Christians”
NJB”Continue to love one another like brothers”
This is a present active imperative (not a subjunctive, as NASB translates), meaning “abide” or “continue.” The thing the readers are to continue is “brotherly love” (philadelphia, cf. Rom 12:10; 1Th 4:9; 1Pe 3:8). They have done this in the past (cf. Heb 6:10; Heb 10:32-35) and are encouraged to continue. It is a clear sign that one knows God (cf. Joh 13:34-38; Joh 15:12; Joh 15:17; 1Jn 2:10; 1Jn 3:11; 1Jn 3:14; 1Jn 3:17-24; 1Jn 4:7-21; 2Jn 1:5, see Special Topic: “Abiding” in John’s Writings .).
There are several philo compounds.
1. brother love, Heb 13:1
2. stranger love, Heb 13:2
3. money love, Heb 13:5
Heb 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” This is a present middle (deponent) imperative. It is a compound of “phile” and “stranger” i.e., “love of strangers.” There were no motels in those days except immoral inns and they were very expensive. Christians are called on to open their homes to itinerant ministers (cf. Mat 25:35; Rom 12:13; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9; 2 John; Didache 11:4-6).
“entertained angels without knowing it” This is an allusion to Genesis 18, where Abraham meets three angels who looked like men (cf. also Tobit chapters 4-7). Angels also appeared to Gideon (Judges 6); Manoah (Judges 13); Lot (Genesis 19); Hagar (Genesis 21). This does not mean that Christians may have angels visit; as men of old helped strangers and received a blessing, so too, are believers to do.
Heb 13:3 “Remember the prisoners” This is a present middle (deponent) imperative. These readers had followed Christ’s words of Mat 25:44-45, for in Heb 10:32-36 they had helped other believers. Their imprisonment was not for evil deeds, but for their faith in Christ (cf. 1Pe 4:14-15). Imprisonment was a real possibility for all early believers, as it is for many believers in today’s world also.
“since you yourselves also are in the body” This could refer to (1) the physical body (cf. 2Co 12:2, same Greek structure), susceptible to persecution and imprisonment or (2) the body of Christ (although the text does not have the expected Greek article), the Church, which was the object of persecution.
Heb 13:4 “Marriage is to be held in honor among all” There is no verb. If one supplies an indicative, “is,” then the statement is against false teaching (cf. 1Co 7:38, which made marriage morally inferior to celibacy or 1Ti 4:3). If one supplies an imperative, “Let. . .be. . .,” as in NASB of Heb 13:1, then it is an encouragement against the immoral tendencies of pagan culture (Heb 13:4 favors this option).
“the marriage bed is to be undefiled” Marriage is a gift from God and the norm for all (cf. Gen 1:28; Gen 9:1; Gen 9:7). It is not sinful or shameful. The Greek philosophical concept of asceticism, the view that the body is evil and that to deny its wants and needs show a superior spirituality, affected the early church! And still does! The term “undefiled” is used in Heb 7:26 to describe the sexual purity of Jesus, our high priest. It was used in the Septuagint to refer to adultery.
This warning against sexual promiscuity is surprising if this book is written to Jewish people. The Gentile culture of the first century was characterized by sexual exploitation, but not the Jewish community. There is so much about the historical setting and recipients of Hebrews that is uncertain.
“fornicators” The term in the OT means sexual relations between two unmarried people, but in the NT it has the wider connotation of sexual immorality of any kind. We get the English word “pornography” from this Greek term.
“adulterers”This refers to sexual relations between people, one or both of whom are married to other people. Sexual sins were a major concern of the early church because of the rampant immorality and worship practices of pagan culture (cf. Gal 5:19-21).
“God will judge” God’s judgment of improper human sexuality can be seen in Rom 1:24-32; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 4:19; Col 3:5; Rev 21:8; Rev 22:15. However, there are other passages like 1Co 5:5 and 1Ti 1:9-11, which relate to believers who commit these immoral acts. The early church had to face immorality in the lives of believers and try to draw some guidelines.
1. they need to repent
2. other believers are to help them (cf. Gal 6:1; Jas 5:16; Jas 5:19-20)
3. believers are not to be “best” friends with immoral believers (cf. 1Co 5:9-13).
The Christian witness of morality, strong marriages, hospitality, and brotherly love are as crucial today as in the first century.
Heb 13:5
NASB”Make sure that your character is free from the love of money”
NKJV”Let your conduct be without covetousness”
NRSV, TEV”keep your lives free from the love of money”
NJB”Put avarice out of your lives”
There is no verb, again an imperative is implied. The noun is a compound of
1. an alpha privative
2. phile ( the third compound with phile since Heb 13:1), to love
3. a silver coin
It means “not a lover of money.” The problem is not the money, but the love of money (cf. Luk 12:15; Luk 16:14; 1Ti 3:3; 1Ti 6:10; 1Ti 6:17-19; 2Ti 3:2).
“being content with what you have” This is a present passive participle used in an imperatival sense. This is a key issue for happiness. It is a worldview that does not focus on the physical and the immediate. Contentment is a wonderful gift from God that must be accepted by faith and lived out daily (cf. 2Co 9:8; Php 4:11-12; 1Ti 6:6-10).
“I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” This is a loose quote with two emphatic double negatives, taken from God’s promises to His leaders and people. God is with us and for us (cf. Deu 31:6-7; Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20; Isa 41:10; Isa 41:13-14; Isa 41:17). Believers do not have to fear for daily provisions (cf. Mat 6:19-34).
Heb 13:6 “The Lord” This is a quote from the Septuagint of Psa 118:6, but this same truth is also found in Psa 56:4; Psa 56:11.
“The Lord is my helper” Psalms 118 is a powerful word of confidence in God’s love, forgiveness, presence, and help.
The noun “helper” is used only here in the NT (but the verb is in Heb 2:18), but is used often in the LXX. It means “to give aid,” “to come to one’s rescue.”
“What will man do to me” This great truth (cf. Psa 56:4; Psa 56:11; Psa 118:6) is also stated in slightly different terms in Rom 8:31 b and then illustrated in Heb. 8:32-39.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
brotherly love. Greek. Philadelphia. See Rom 12:10.
continue. Greek. meno. Seep. 1511.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1-16.] Various exhortations to Christian virtues: more especially to the imitation of the faith of their leaders who had departed in the Lord: to firmness in the faith: and following of Jesus, who suffered outside the camp to teach us to bear His reproach.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Chapter 13
Chapter 13, closing out the book.
Let brotherly love continue. Don’t forget to entertain strangers: for some have entertained angels without knowing it ( Heb 13:1-2 ).
Interesting. I believe it. I don’t think I have ever really entertained angels, not to my knowledge. I have never really thought, “Oh, I wonder if that was an angel.” I haven’t really had that kind of an experience. I would not challenge it. There are stories about angels and all, but I guess in some ways I am a skeptic to a lot of rumors that go around. And yet, I surely do not dismiss the possibility, because it is here in the scripture that it is possible that angels could come disguised as people and we wouldn’t even know it. That would be sort of awesome.
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them ( Heb 13:3 );
Now this is one of the reasons why I think Paul was perhaps the author of Hebrews, because he was in jail so much. And when he was in jail he was encouraging the people to remember him, pray for him and all; pray for him in his bonds. And here he is encouraging those to remember those that are in prison as bound with them.
and those which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body ( Heb 13:3 ).
He taught in 1Co 12:1-31 , we are all one body in Christ and when one member suffers, they all suffer. So, if one within the body of Christ is suffering adversity, be in prayer, remember them, because we are all one body.
Now, I personally feel very guilty that I do not spend more time in prayer for the Christians in Russia. You see, I, like you, have been such a victim of propaganda; everybody in Russia is a horrible atheist. There are no good people in Russia. They are Russians, how can they be good when they are wanting to destroy us? But that is not so. In Russia there are many beautiful, godly people who have really suffered for their faith. In Siberia multitudes of people there suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ. And you know, I rarely think about praying for them, yet they are all one body with me in Christ. They are a part of the same family. They are really my brothers and sisters in Jesus, and yet, I really don’t pray for them very often. I don’t think of praying for them. And that is wrong. They should be on our prayer list. And the thing that really convicts me is when I get letters smuggled out from a group there in Siberia who listened to translations of my tapes in their Bible studies and they write and tell what a blessing it is and how that they pray for Calvary Chapel every day. And I think, “Oh God. I forget to pray for them and they are really going through it, and here I am living in these conditions so blessed of Thee and they’re praying for me and I forget to pray for them and that is not right.”
Remember those that are in bonds, those that are in prison in China, in Siberia for their faith in Jesus Christ. Those that are in the church that are suffering behind the Iron Curtain, remember them in your prayers, hold them up, because we are all one body, and when one member suffers, they all suffer.
Marriage is honorable in all, the bed undefiled ( Heb 13:4 ):
There is a proper place for close, intimate, sexual relationship within the bonds of marriage; the bed is undefiled. God has purposed that it be a beautiful experience whereby two lives might be made one.
but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your manner of living be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have ( Heb 13:4-5 ):
Paul the apostle said, “Godliness with contentment is really being rich. I’ve learned in whatever state I am to be content.” Here again, “Be content with what things that you have.”
for he hath said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you ( Heb 13:5 ).
I’ve got so much. I’ve got Jesus. Be content with what you have. If you’ve got the Lord, you’ve got everything. He is everything. He is our resource. He is all that we need. For He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man is going to do unto me ( Heb 13:6 ).
Oh I love that! “If God be for us,” Paul said, “who can be against us?” ( Rom 8:31 ). The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man might do.
When Asa, the king of Judah, came to the throne, the Ethiopians invaded the land with a tremendous army. Hopelessly outnumbered, he prayed unto the Lord, and said, “O God, it is nothing for You to help, those who are strong, or those who have no power. Help us, O Lord, for in Your name we are going to go out against this huge army. Don’t let man prevail against You” ( 2Ch 14:11 ). I like that. There is a lot of wisdom in that prayer. “God, it doesn’t make any difference to You if we have a huge army or no army; we need Your help. We don’t have any power. We need Your help. It is in Your name we are going to go out against them. Don’t let Your name get whipped. Don’t let man, Lord, whip You. We’re on Your side.” It’s not, “Hey God, please get on our side; help our program.” “God, we’re just getting on Your side and don’t let man prevail against You.” The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man is going to do to me. The Lord is my helper, my strength.
Remember them which have the rule over you ( Heb 13:7 ),
And this is spiritually, those who are spiritually responsible for your spiritual welfare. Remember them,
who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their manner of life ( Heb 13:7 ).
I mean the end of the godly life, the end of a life following Jesus Christ; considering the end of that kind of a life.
“So remember them which have the rule over you, have spoken to you the word of God; whose faith follow.”
And then this interesting verse,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines: for it is a good thing that your heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein ( Heb 13:8-9 ).
So, that our faith be established in grace, not in works, doctrines that would stress the works of man, the works of righteousness that we might do. You know, the things that I can eat and can’t eat and so forth. “Don’t be carried about by divers and strange doctrines,” really referring here to men like Herbert W. Armstrong who tells you the types of meat you should eat and shouldn’t eat and so forth. That your righteousness becomes a manner of keeping the law and the Sabbath law and so forth. It is a good thing that your heart be established with grace and not with outward ordinances, the meats, which have never profited anybody that got all involved in those things.
We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp ( Heb 13:10-11 ).
When they would use an animal, the carcass of the animal that they used for the sin offerings, they always took them outside the camp and cremated them; burned them outside of the camp.
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate ( Heb 13:12 ).
That is why in Jerusalem I do not feel that the church that the Catholics have built over the supposed site of the cross of Christ is legitimate. It is within the city. Jesus was taken without the gate. That’s why I think that the area of the Garden Tomb across from Herod’s gate, across a block or so away is probably the more legitimate sight of the crucifixion of Jesus, because it is outside of the Damascus Gate.
“Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.”
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp ( Heb 13:13 ),
That is, without the camp of Judaism, without the law of Israel, and without that religious system; let’s go outside of it.
that we might bear his reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we do seek one to come ( Heb 13:13-14 ).
We are like Abraham who was searching for the city which has foundation, whose maker and builder is God. We have no permanent residence here. We are pilgrims and strangers on the earth. We are just passing through. We do seek that permanent city, the city of God, where we shall dwell with Him.
By him [that is, Jesus] therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name ( Heb 13:15 ).
With these sacrifices, God is well pleased. He spoke of His displeasure with the sacrifices that they were bringing. He said, “I’m sick of your offerings.” “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body thou hast prepared me,” prophecy concerning Jesus. Now, here is the sacrifice that is acceptable to God: our praises, the fruit of our lips. Rather than taking a little goat to the priest to be slain or something, let’s just give thanks to God. Let’s just praise the Lord. Spend time in praising the Lord, that is the sacrifice that is well pleasing unto Him.
But to do good and to communicate don’t forget ( Heb 13:16 ):
That is, to help those that are in need.
for with such sacrifices ( Heb 13:16 )
Another way we can sacrifice is in the giving to others.
God is well pleased. Obey those that have the rule over you ( Heb 13:16-17 ),
Here we were told earlier to remember those that had the rule, and now, obey them that have the rule over you.
and submit yourselves: as 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 ( Heb 13:16-17 ).
John wrote and said, “I had no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth.” And I think that is the story of every pastor. No greater joy than to know that your children walk in truth.
Pray for us: for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner ( Heb 13:18-19 ).
In other words, “Pray for me and I really ask you to do this that I might be restored sooner, because remember those that are in bonds, that are in prison. I want to come to you, so I want your prayers that I might be able to come sooner to you.”
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, make you perfect in every good work to do his will ( Heb 13:20-21 ),
This is a beautiful benediction, “The God of peace that brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep.” Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I give my life for the sheep” ( Joh 10:11 ). He’s a great shepherd of the sheep. May He make you fully matured. The word perfect in Greek literally is fully matured, 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 for ever and ever. Amen. Now I beg you, brothers, allow the word of exhortation [or receive the word of exhortation]: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy has been set free ( Heb 13:21-23 );
He probably was in prison with the author and now has been set free.
with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. Greet all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy greet you ( Heb 13:23-24 ).
This letter was written from Italy, probably from the prison in Rome and probably one of Paul’s Roman epistles.
Grace be with you all. Amen ( Heb 13:25 ).
Fabulous book of Hebrews, so much, so rich.
When we get into James, he is going to exhort us, “Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself” ( Jas 1:22 ). We’ve been given a lot of exhortation in these two chapters this evening. It would be well for you to go and read them again; review them once more. Review again the exhortations; praying for those that are in bonds as being bound with them. Remember those who are suffering for their witness for Jesus Christ, because we are all one body. Don’t forget to communicate to those that are in need; give a helping hand. Great exhortations!
Now let’s not just be hearers of the Word and say, “Ya, we really ought to pray for those in Siberia,” let’s pray for them. Let’s put Christianity into action. Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. We don’t want to deceive ourselves.
May the Lord be with you as you put your faith into practice, as you put into practice the things of the Word, as you begin to walk obediently to the injunctions of the scriptures. May the Lord be with you, and may the Lord bless you. And may He guide you and keep you in His love, fill you with His peace, cause your heart and life to overflow the richness of His goodness as you walk in the consciousness of His presence day by day this week. May your life be deepened in the Lord and in the things of the Spirit as we deny the flesh to take up our cross and follow Him. In Jesus’ name. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
This is a practical chapter at the close of this most instructive Epistle.
Heb 13:1. Let brotherly love continue.
The word continue implies that the brotherly love exists, there are many things which might put an end to it, so see to it that, as far as you are concerned, it continues. Under all provocations, and under all disappointments, let brotherly love continue.
Heb 13:2-3. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
And being likely therefore to take your own turn of suffering, and to need the sympathy of your fellow-Christians. Show sympathy to others while they need it, and they will gratefully remember you when you are in bonds or in adversity.
Heb 13:4. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
And terrible will be their doom when God does judge them. They may think that, because they sin in secret, therefore they shall escape punishment; but it shall not be so. Whether men judge them or not, God will judge them.
Heb 13:5. 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.
You have a grand reserve, therefore. What you have in possession is only a little spending money to use on the road to heaven, but he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. You may confidently fall back upon the providence of God in all times of straitness and need.
Heb 13:6-8. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 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. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
It is for your own benefit to remember in your prayers those who preach the Word of God to you, for what can they do without divine assistance and how can you be profited by them unless they are first blessed of God? Remember them, therefore.
Heb 13:9. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
Do not put yourself into every mans hand to let him play with you as he pleases. The fish that never nibbles at the bait is not likely to be caught by the hook, and he who will not give heed to divers and strange doctrines is not likely to be carried away in the net of heresy.
Heb 13:9. 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.
Some in the apostles day made religion to consist almost entirely in observing certain rules as to what they ate and what they drank. Be not so foolish, says Paul, there is something better than that; seek to have your heart established with grace.
Heb 13:10. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
Those who cling to the external and ceremonial observances of religion have no right to the privileges which belong to those who come to the spiritual altar; they cannot share that secret.
Heb 13:11-14. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Then, my brother or sister, do not look for a continuing city here. Do not build your nest on any one of the trees of earth, for they are all marked for the axe, and they will all have to come down, and your nest too, if you have built upon them.
Heb 13:15. 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.
If you are believers in Christ, you are Gods priests, and this is the sacrifice that you are continually to offer, the fruit of your lips, giving thanks to Gods name.
Heb 13:16. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
We are to do good to others, to communicate of our own good things to those who need them, and to do this at some sacrifice to ourselves, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Heb 13:17-19. 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. Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
You must have noted how often the apostle asks for the prayers of those to whom he is writing, so we are following a good example when we ask you to pray for us.
Heb 13:20-21. 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, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Heb 13:1. , brotherly love) The parts of this virtue are unfolded in the sequel. Paul uses the same word elsewhere.-) continue, although old things have passed away: it does abide or continue (the word of Paul) in itself (as far as concerns itself): 1Co 13:8; 1Co 13:13 : let it also continue with you (in your case, as far as concerns you).
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Heb 13:1-7
SECTION TWELVE
Heb 13:1-25
ANALYSIS
The Apostle has now accomplished his main object in writing this unique epistle. In trains of profound thought and lofty sublimity, he has presented to us Jesus in all his varied relations and transcendent excellencies: with the hand of a master he has also traced the leading features of the economy of redemption; shown the infinite superiority of Christianity over Judaism; and most strikingly and impressively illustrated the obligations of all Christians to follow Jesus, if need be, through floods and flames on their way to the everlasting Zion. And now in conclusion, he simply exhorts his brethren to be faithful in the discharge of various personal and social duties: and particularly
1. To love one another as brethren in Christ (Heb 13:1).
2. To be hospitable (Heb 13:2).
3. To sympathize with those in bonds (Heb 13:3).
4. To be faithful in their marriage relations (Heb 13:4).
5. To be satisfied with their condition and circumstances (Heb 13:5-6).
6. To follow the example and imitate the faith of their departed leaders (Heb 13:7).
7. To be firm and stable in the faith of Christ, who was offered up without the gate of Jerusalem, in order to lead our minds away from that which is symbolical and earthly to that which is real and heavenly (Heb 13:8-15).
8. To be benevolent (Heb 13:16).
9. To obey their overseers who had the care of their souls (Heb 13:17).
10. To pray for himself and especially that he might soon be restored to them (Heb 13:18-19).
After delivering these several exhortations, our author brings the Epistle to a close as follows:
1. He offers up a brief but earnest prayer for their perfection (Heb 13:20-21).
2. He beseeches them to receive with favor what he had written for their encouragement and edification (Heb 13:22).
3. He announces to them the fact that Timothy had been set at liberty; and that it was his purpose to see them in connection with Timothy very soon (Heb 13:23).
4. He sends his own salutation and also that of his Italian brethren to the elders and saints in Jerusalem (Heb 13:24).
5. Benediction (Heb 13:25).
From this general analysis of the section, we see that it may be naturally and properly divided into the following paragraphs:
I. Heb 13:1-7. Exhortation to steadfast perseverance and fidelity in the discharge of sundry personal and social duties.
II. Heb 13:8-16. Exhortation to stability in Christian doctrine and practice; and to avoid being carried away from the faith of Christ by unprofitable discussions and controversies about such matters as clean and unclean meats.
III. Heb 13:17-19. Our duties to the overseers, and other public servants of the Church.
IV. Heb 13:20-21. An earnest benedictory prayer in behalf of the Hebrews.
V. Heb 13:22-25. Closing remarks.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
.
Vulg. Lat., charitas fraternitatis, the love of the brotherhood; not so properly. Syr., love of the brethren. And unto , both add, in vobis, in you. Amor fraternus, charitas fraterna. , maneat; that is, constans maneat. Why it is thus enjoined, we shall inquire.
Heb 13:1. Let brotherly love continue, [abide constant.]
The duty commanded is brotherly love; and the manner of the injunction of it is, that it remain, or continue.
First, Love is the fountain and foundation of all mutual duties, moral and ecclesiastical; wherefore it is here placed in the head of both sorts, which are afterwards prescribed. And thereon the apostle immediately subjoins the two principal branches of it in duties moral, namely, hospitality and compassion; wherein he comprises all acts of mutual usefulness and helpfulness, instancing in such as principally stood in need of them; namely, strangers and sufferers.
All love hath its foundation in relation. Where there is relation there is love, or there ought so to be; and where there is no relation there can be no love, properly so called. Hence it is here mentioned with respect unto a brotherhood.
There is a threefold brotherhood, or fraternity:
1. Natural;
2. Civil;
3. Religious.
1. Natural brotherhood is either universal or more restrained.
(1.) There is a universal fraternity of all mankind: God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, Act 17:26. Hence every one, by the law of nature, is every ones neighbor and every ones brother, his keeper and helper. Wherefore all strife, envy, hatred, wrong, oppression, and bloodshed among mankind, is of the evil one, 1Jn 3:12. There is a love, therefore, due unto all mankind, to be exercised as opportunity and circumstances do require. We are to do good unto all men, Gal 6:10. And where this love is wanting in any, (as it is in the most,) there dwells no real virtue in that mind.
(2.) Again, this natural brotherhood is restrained; and that,
[1.] With reference unto some stock or spring, from whence a people or nation did originally proceed, being therein separated from other nations or people. So there was a brotherhood among all the Israelites, who descended from the same common stock; that is, Abraham. Hence they esteemed themselves all brethren, and called themselves so: My brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, Rom 9:3. So they are constantly called brethren in the law, in the prescription of duties unto them: He is thy brother, etc. [2.] With respect unto a near stock, as the children of the same parents; which in the Scripture is constantly extended unto grandfathers also. Hence they are commonly in the Scripture called brethren and sisters who are descendants from the same grandfather or grandmother; on which account some are called the brethren of Jesus, Mat 12:46-47. The love required in this relation is known; but it is not here intended.
2. There is a civil fraternity. Persons voluntarily coalescing into various societies, do constitute a political brotherhood; but this hath here no place.
3. This brotherhood is religious. All believers have one Father, Mat 23:8-9; one elder Brother, Rom 8:29, who is not ashamed to call them brethren, Heb 2:11; have one Spirit, and are called in one hope of calling, Eph 4:4; which being a Spirit of adoption, interesteth them all in the same family, Eph 3:14-15, whereby they become joint-heirs with Christ, Rom 8:17. See the exposition on Heb 3:1. This is the brotherhood principally intended in the duty of love here prescribed. For although there was the natural relation also among these Hebrews, yet it was originally from their coalescency into one sacred society, by virtue of their covenant with God, that they became brethren of one family, distinct from all others in the world. And this relation was not dissolved, but further confirmed, by their interest in the gospel; whence they became holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, Heb 3:1.
This brotherhood is the foundation of the love that is here enjoined; for every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him, 1Jn 5:1. It is not convenient to our purpose to insist long on the declaration of the nature of this grace and duty. It hath also been spoken unto in the exposition on Heb 6:10-11. Here I shall observe some few things only concerning it, and they are those wherein it differs from the natural love, or that which hath only moral or civil motives or causes. For,
(1.) The foundation of it is in gratuitous adoption: Ye are all brethren, and one is your Father, which is in heaven, Mat 23:8-9. And it is by adoption that they. are all taken into and made brethren in the same family, 1Jn 3:1.
(2.) It is a peculiar grace of the Spirit: The fruit of the Spirit is love; and therefore it is frequently, almost constantly, joined with faith in Christ Jesus, Phm 1:5; 1Jn 3:23. It is that which no man can have in nor of himself; it must be given us from above.
(3.) It is peculiar in its example; which is the love of Christ unto the church, 1Jn 3:16; which gives it a different nature from all love that ever was in the world before.
(4.) And it is so in the commandment, given for it by Christ himself, with the ends that he hath assigned unto it. He calls it his commandment in a peculiar manner, Joh 15:12, and thence a new commandment, Joh 13:35. 1Jn 2:7-8; 2Jn 1:5; that wherein he will be owned above all others And he designs the ends of it to be, the special glory of God, and an evidence unto the world that we are his disciples, Joh 13:35.
(5.) It is so in its effects, both internal and external: such are pity, compassion, joy in prosperity, prayer, usefulness in all things, spiritual and temporal, as occasion doth require patience, forbearance, delight, readiness to suffer for, and lay down our lives towards and for each other; which are all frequently inculcated and largely declared in the Scripture. And two things I shall only hence observe:
Obs. 1. That the power and glory of Christian religion are exceedingly decayed and debased in the world. Next unto faith in Christ Jesus, and the profession thereof, the life and beauty of Christian religion consist in the mutual love of them who are partakers of the same heavenly calling, which all pretend unto. And this is that whereon the Lord Christ hath laid the weight of the manifestation of his glory in the world, namely, the love that is among his disciples; which was foretold as the peculiar glory of his rule and kingdom. But there are only a few footsteps now left of it in the visible church; some marks only that there it hath been, and dwelt of old. It is, as unto its lustre and splendor, retired to heaven, abiding in its power and efficacious exercise only in some corners of the earth, and secret retirements. Envy, wrath, selfishness, love of the world, with coldness in all the concerns of religion, have possessed the place of it. And in vain shall men wrangle and contend about their differences in opinions, faith, and worship, pretending to design the advancement of religion by an imposition concerns of religion will more and more run into ruin.
The very name of a brotherhood amongst Christians is a matter of scorn and reproach; and all the consequents of such a relation are despised. But it is marvellous how any men can persuade themselves that they are Christians, and yet be not only strangers, but enemies unto this love.
Obs. 2. Where the pretense of this love is continued in any measure, yet its nature is unknown, and its effects are generally neglected. Such a love as arises from a joint interest in gratuitous adoption, powerfully infused into the mind and wrought in the heart by the Spirit thereof, effectually inclining unto its exercise, both internal and external, with a spiritual sense of a fraternal relation by the same new nature created in them all, of whom this love is required; extending itself not only unto all duties of mercy, bounty, compassion, and delight, but even unto the laying down of our lives for each other when called thereunto; is neither known by many nor much inquired after.
Secondly, The manner of the prescription of this duty is, that it should continue, or abide constant; which is peculiar. For he supposes that this love was already in them, already exercised by them; and he doth not therefore enjoin it, but only press its continuance. So he treateth them in like manner, Heb 6:9-12. And this insinuation or concession is of great force in the present exhortation. Men are free and willing to be pressed to continue in doing that which of themselves they have chosen to do. And it belongs unto ministerial wisdom, in exhortations unto duty, to acknowledge what is found of it already in them with whom they treat.
For the owning of any duty is an encouragement, due unto them by whom it is performed.
Besides, the apostle in this charge seems to give an intimation of the difficulty that there is in the preservation of this grace, and the performance of this duty. So the word is used, and so rendered by many, to abide constant; that is, against difficulties, and temptations. It is not merely, Let it continue,but, Take care that it. be preserved;for it is that which many occasions will be apt to weaken and impair. When men are first called into that relation which is the foundation of this duty, they are usually warmly which are seated in the affections are apt of themselves to decay, if not renewed by fresh supplies from above. Against all those things which might weaken mutual love amongst them, the apostle gives them caution in this word, Let it abide constant. And,
Obs. 3. We are especially to watch unto the preservation of those graces, and the performance of those duties, which in our circumstances are most exposed unto opposition.. In particular,
Obs. 4. Brotherly love is very apt to be impaired and decay if we endeavor not continually its preservation and revival. This is evident in the sad event of things before mentioned. And,
Obs. 5. It is a part of the wisdom of faith to consider aright the ways and occasions of the decay of mutual love, with the means of its preservation. Without this we cannot comply with this caution and injunction in a due manner.
1. The causes of the decay of this love, whence it doth not continue as it ought, are,
(1.) Self-love:
(2.) Love of this present world;
(3.) Abounding of lusts in the hearts of men;
(4.) Ignorance of the true nature both of the grace and the exercise of it, in its proper duties;
(5.) Principally, the loss of a concernment, in the foundation of it, which is an interest in gratuitous adoption, and the participation of the same Spirit, the same new nature and life.
Where this is not, though conviction of truth and the profession of it may for a season make an appearance of this brotherly love, it will not long continue.
2. The occasions of its decay and loss are,
(1.) Differences in opinion and practice about things in religion;
(2.) Unsuitableness of natural tempers and inclinations;
(3.) Readiness to receive a sense of appearing provocations;
(4.)Different, and sometimes inconsistent, secular interests;
(5.) An abuse of spiritual gifts, by pride on the one hand, or envy on the other;
(6.) Attempts for domination, inconsistent in a fraternity: which are all to be watched against.
3. The means of its continuance or preservation are,
(1.) An endeavor to grow and thrive in the principle of it, or the power of adopting grace
(2.) A due sense of the weight or moment of this duty, from the especial institution and command of Christ; and,
(3.) Of the trial which is committed thereunto, of the sincerity of our grace and the truth of our sanctification; for by this we know that we are passed from death unto life:
(4.) A due consideration of the use, yea necessity, of this duty unto the glory of God and edification of the church; and,
(5.) Of that breach of union, loss of peace, disorder and confusion, which must and will ensue on the neglect of it:
(6.) Constant watchfulness against all those vicious habits of mind, in self- love or love of the world, which are apt to impair it:
(7.) Diligent heed that it be not insensibly impaired in its vital acts; such as are patience, forbearance, readiness to forgive, unaptness to believe evil; without which no other duties of it will be long continued:
(8.) Fervent prayer for supplies of grace enabling us thereunto: with sundry others of a like nature. And if we judge not this duty of such importance as to be constant in the use of these means for the maintenance of it, it will not continue.
The continuance of the church depends in the second place on the continuance of brotherly love. It doth so in the first place on faith in Christ Jesus, whereby we hold the Head, and are built on the Rock; but in the second place, it doth so on this mutual love. All other pretences about the succession and continuance of the church are vain. Where this faith and love are not, there is no church; where they are, there is a church materially, always capable of evangelical form and order.
It is not improbable but that the apostle might also have a respect unto the especial condition of those Hebrews. They had all relational foundations of mutual love among them from the beginning, in that they were all of one common natural stock, and were all united in the same sacred covenant for the worship of God. Hereon they had many divine commands for mutual love, and the exercise of all its effects, as became a natural and religious fraternity. Accordingly, they had an intense love towards all those who on these accounts were their brethren. But in process of time they corrupted this, as all other divine orders and institutions. For their teachers instructed them that the meaning of the command for mutual love did include a permission, if not a command, to hate all others. So they interpreted the law of love recorded Lev 19:18, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy, Mat 5:43. And the people practiced accordingly, not thinking themselves obliged to show the least kindness unto any but their own countrymen. Hereon they grew infamous in the world. So Tacitus affirms of them:
Apud ipsos, tides obstinata, misericordia in promptu; adversus omnes alios hostile odium. Hist, lib. 5.
And the satirist:
Non monstrare vias eadem nisi sacra colenti, Quaesitum ad fontem solos deducere verpos. Juv. Sat. 14:103.
This horrible corruption and abuse of the law, which exposed them to reproach, whereas the due observance of it was their glory, our Savior corrected as unto the doctrine of it, Mat 5:43-44; and rectified as unto its practice in the parable of the Samaritan, Luk 10:30-31, etc. But yet their mutual love, on the grounds and reasons mentioned, was good, useful, and commendable. But whereas by the gospel their original brotherhood was as it were dissolved, the Gentiles being taken into the same sacred communion with them, some of them might suppose that the obligation unto mutual love which they were under before was now also ceased. This the apostle warns them against, giving in charge that the same love should still continue in all its exercise, but with respect unto that new fraternity which was constituted by the gospel.
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
The last chapter contains a series of general exhortations. It is evident that the letter was sent to those whose faith was being challenged and weakened, and whose love, therefore, was cooling. These are enjoined to love in its simple fact, then in its manifestation toward the stranger, and, finally, in tenderness to those who are in bonds. Paul enjoined them to purity and contentment.
Having dealt with matters of their inner life, he showed their true relationship toward teachers, truth, worship, service, and the overseers of the flock. Jesus Christ, concerning whom the whole epistle has been written, is declared to be unchanging. Therefore they, too, are not to be carried away by strange teaching.
The final words of the letter constitute a great prayer combined with personal messages. Paul’s prayer for them is that they may be made perfect to do the will of God. The ground of confidence in this prayer is made clear by the statements surrounding the petition itself. It is prayer to the God of peace, who, through Jesus Christ, is “working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight.” Everything closes with the inclusive benediction, “Grace be with you all.”
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
1Let your brotherly love continue. 2Never forget to be hospitable, for by hospitality ( , as 12:15) some have entertained angels unawares. 3Remember prisoners as if you were in prison yourselves; remember those who are being ill-treated (11:37), since you too are in the body.
Neither nor is a &LXX term, though the broader sense of the former begins in 4 Mac 13:23, 26, 14:1. (cp. 6:10, 10:24, 32f.), though its demands might be severe at times (cp. Rom 12:10, Rom 12:1 P 1:22; Clem. Rom 1:2; Herm. Mand. 8:10); the duty is laid as usual on members of the church, not specially on officials. In v. 2 a particular expression of this is called for. was practically an article of religion in the ancient world. The primary reference here in is to Abraham and Sara (Gen 18:1f.), possibly to Manoah (Jdg 13:3f.), and even to Tobit (Tob 12:15); but the point of the counsel would be caught readily by readers familiar with the Greek and Roman legends of divine visitants being entertained unawares by hospitable people, e.g. Hom. Odyss. xvii. 485 f. ( | , , cp. Plat. Soph. 216 B); Sil. Ital. vii. 173 f. (laetus nec senserat hospes | advenisse deum), and the story of Philemon and Baucis (Ovid, Met. viii. 626 f.) alluded to in Act 14:11. In the Hellenic world the worship of Zeus Xenios (e.g. Musonius Rufus, xv. a, ) fortified this kindly custom. According to Resh Lakish (Sota, 10a), Abraham planted the tree at Beersheba (Gen 21:33) for the refreshment of wayfarers, and was always honoured in Jewish tradition (e.g. Sabbath, 127. 1, there are six things, the fruit of which a man eats in this world and by which his horn is raised in the world to come: they are, hospitality to strangers, the visiting of the sick, etc.). But there were pressing local reasons for this kindly virtue in the primitive church. Christians travelling abroad on business might be too poor to afford a local inn. Extortionate charges were frequent; indeed the bad repute which innkeepers enjoyed in the Greek world (cp. Platos Laws, 918 D) was due partly to this and partly also to a general feeling against taking money for hospitality (cp. Jebbs Theophrastus, p. 94). But, in addition, the moral repute of inns stood low (Theophrastus, Char. 6:5 .); there is significance in the Jewish tradition preserved by Josephus (Ant. v. 1. 1) that Rahab (11:31) kept an inn. For a Christian to frequent such inns might be to endanger his character, and this consideration favoured the practice of hospitality on the part of the local church, apart altogether from the discomforts of an inn. (In the better parts of the empire and in the larger places of resort there were houses corresponding in some measure to the old coaching inns of the eighteenth century; in the East there were the well-known caravanserais; but for the most part the ancient hostelries must have afforded but undesirable quarters. They were neither select nor clean, T. G. Tucker, Life in the Roman World, p. 20.) Some of these travellers would be itinerant evangelists (cp. 3Jn 1:5-8).
According to Philo the three wayfarers seen by Abraham did not at first appear divine ( ), though later on he suspected they were either prophets or angels when they had promised him the birth of a son in return for his splendid hospitality (Abrah. 22-23). In a wise mans house, Philo observes, no one is slow to practise hospitality: women and men, slaves and freedmen alike, are most eager to do service to strangers; at the same time such hospitality was only an incident () and instance ( ) of Abrahams larger virtue, i.e. of his piety. Josephus also (Ant. i. 11. 2) makes Abraham suppose the three visitors were human strangers, until at last they revealed themselves as divine angels ( ). It was ignorance of the classical idiom (cp. Herod. i. 44, ) in , which led to the corruptions of in some Latin versions into latuerunt, didicerunt, and placuerunt. Note the paronomasia , and-the emphatic position of . You never know whom you may be entertaining, the writer means. Some humble visitor may turn out to be for you a very (cp. Gal 4:14).
(bear in mind, and act on your thought of) . Strangers come within sight; prisoners (v. 3) have to be sought out or-if at a distance-borne in mind. Christian kindness to the latter, i.e. to fellow-Christians arrested for some reason or other, took the form either of personally visiting them to alleviate their sufferings by sympathy and gifts (cp. Mat 25:36, 2Ti 1:16), or of subscribing money (to pay their debts or, in the case of prisoners of war, to purchase their release), or of praying for them (Col 4:18 and 4:3). All this formed a prominent feature of early Christian social ethics. The literature is full of tales about the general practice: e.g. Aristid. Rev_15; Tertull. ad Mart. 1 f. and Apol. 39, with the vivid account of Lucian in the de Morte Peregr. 12, 13. This subject is discussed by Harnack in the Expansion of Early Christianity (bk. 2Ch_3, section 5). Our author urges, remember the imprisoned . If is taken in the same sense as the following , the meaning is: (a) as prisoners yourselves, i.e. in the literal sense, since you know what it means to be in prison; or (b) as imprisoned, in the metaphorical sense of Diognet. 6, . A third alternative sense is suggested by LXX of 1 S 18:1 ( ), but the absence of a dative after and the parallel phrase rule it out. Probably is no more than an equivalent for . Christians are to regard themselves as one with their imprisoned fellows, in the sense of 1Co 12:26 , . This interpretation tallies with 10:34 above (cp. Neh 1:3, Neh 1:4). It does not, however, imply that , in the next clause, means in the Body (of which you and your suffering fellows are alike members); for refers to the physical condition of liability to similar ill-usage. See Orig. c. Cels. ii. 23, (Bouhreau conj. ) , and especially Philos words describing some spectators of the cruelties inflicted by a revenue officer on his victims, as suffering acute pain, (de Spec. Leg. iii. 30). So in de Confus. Ling. 35, (i.e. by exile, famine, and plague; cp. Heb 11:37) , .
Seneca (Ep. ix. 8) illustrates the disinterestedness of friendship by observing that the wise man does not make friends for the reason suggested by Epicurus, viz., to have someone who will sit beside him when he is ill, someone to assist him when he is thrown into chains or in poverty, but that he may have someone beside whom, in sickness, he may himself sit, someone whom he may set free from captivity in the hands of the enemy. The former kind of friendship he dismisses as inadequate: a man has made a friend who is to assist him in the event of bondage (adversum vincula), but such a friend will forsake him as soon as the chains rattle (cum primum crepuerit catena). In Ep. Arist. 241, 242, when the king asks what is the use of kinship, the Jew replies, , . Cicero specially praises generosity to prisoners, and charity in general, as being serviceable not only to individuals but to the State (de Offic. ii. 18, haec benignitas etiam rei publicae est utilis, redimi e servitute captos, locupletari tenuiores).
4Let marriage be held in honour by all, and keep the marriage-bed unstained. God will punish the vicious and adulterous.
5 Keep your life free from the love of money; be content with what you have, for He () has said,
Never will I fail you, never will I forsake you.
6So that we can say confidently,
The Lord is my helper (, cp. 2:18, 4:16), I will not be afraid,
What can men do to me?
As vv. 1, 2 echo 10:24, 32, 33, v. 4 drives home the of 12:16, and vv. 5, 6 echo the reminder of 10:34. Evidently (v. 4), as among the Macedonian Christians (1Th 4:3-9), could be taken for granted more readily than sexual purity. (sc. as in v. 5, Rom 12:9, the asyndeton being forcible) , i.e. primarily by all who are married, as the following clause explains. There may be an inclusive reference to others who are warned against lax views of sexual morality, but there is no clear evidence that the writer means to protest against an ascetic disparagement of marriage. is, like the classical , a euphemistic term for sexual intercourse, here between the married; is used of incest, specially in Test. Reub. i:6, : Plutarch, de Fluviis, 18, , etc.; but here in a general sense, as, e.g., in Wisdom:
,
,
(3:13),
and ,
(14:24).
In ., the writer distinguishes between , i.e. married persons who have illicit relations with other married persons, and of the sexually vicious in general, i.e. married persons guilty of incest or sodomy as well as of fornication. In the former case the main reference is to the breach of another persons marriage; in the latter, the predominating idea is treachery to ones own marriage vows. The possibility of in marriage is admitted in Tob 8:7 ( ), i.e. of mere sexual gratification1 as distinct from the desire and duty of having children, which Jewish and strict Greek ethics held to be the paramount aim of marriage (along with mutual fellowship); but this is only one form of . In the threat (as in 10:30) , the emphasis is on . Longe plurima pars scortatorum et adulterorum est sine dubio, quae effugit notitiam iudicum mortalium magna pars, etiamsi innotescat, tamen poenam civilem et disciplinam ecclesiasticam vel effugit vel leuissime persentiscit (Bengel).
This is another social duty (cp. Philo, de Decalogo, 24). In view of the Epicurean rejection of marriage (e.g. Epict. iii. 7. 19), which is finely answered by Antipater of Tarsus (Stob. Florileg. lxvii. 25: , . .), as well as of current ascetic tendencies (e.g., 1Ti 4:3), there may have been a need of vindicating marriage, but the words here simply maintain the duty of keeping marriage vows unbroken. The writer is urging chastity, not the right and duty of any Christian to marry. Prejudices born of the later passion for celibacy led to the suppression of the inconvenient (om. 38. 460. 623. 1836. 1912* Didymus, Cyril Jerus., Eus., Athan, Epiphanius, Thdt.). The sense is hardly affected, whether ( A D* M P lat sah boh) or (C Dc 6 syr arm eth Clem., Eus., Didymus, Chrys.) is read, although the latter would give better support to the interpretation of the previous clause as an antiascetic maxim.
A warning against greed of gain (vv. 5, 6) follows the warning against sexual impurity. There may be a link of thought between them. For the collocation of sensuality and the love of money, see Epict. iii. 7. 21, , , , : Test. Jud 1:18, , and Philos (de Post. Caini, 34) remark, that all the worst quarrels, public and private, are due to greedy craving for . In de Abrah. 26, he attributes the sensuality of Sodom to its material prosperity. Lucian notes the same connexion in Nigrin. 16 ( ., the love of money having been already set as the source of such vices). In 1Co 5:10f. Paul brackets with , and (cp. 1Th 4:6) as selfishness covers adultery as well as grasping covetousness. But the deeper tie between the two sins is that the love of luxury and the desire for wealth open up opportunities of sensual indulgence. In injuries to other people, Cicero observes (de Offic. i. 7. 24), latissime patet avaritia. When Longinus describes the deteriorating effects of this passion or vice in character (de Sublim. 44), he begins by distinguishing it from mere love of pleasure; , . Then he proceeds to analyse the working of in life, its issue in , , and .
(the rebel Appianus tells Marcus Aurelius, in OP xxxiii. 10, 11, that his father , , ) (in sense of mores, as often, e.g., M. Aurelius, i. 16, ). is the plur. ptc. after a noun (as in 2Co 1:7, Rom 12:9), and with reproduces a common Greek phrase for contentment, e.g. Teles, vii. 7, , , and xxviii. 31, . The feature here is the religious motive adduced in (of God as usual, e.g., 1:13), a phrase which (cp. Act 20:35 ) recalls the Pythagorean (thus said the Master). The quotation is a popular paraphrase of Jos 1:5 or Gen 28:15 (cp. Deu 31:8, 1Ch 28:20) which the writer owes to Philo (de Confus. Ling. 32), who quotes it exactly in this form as a , but simply as a promise that God will never leave the human soul to its own unrestrained passions. The combination of the aor. subj. with the first and the reduplication of the negative (for , cp. Mat 24:21) amount to a strong asseveration. Note that the writer does not appeal, as Josephus does, to the merits of the fathers (Antiq. xi. 5. 7, ) in assuring his readers that they will not be left forlorn by God.
(so all the uncials except D) may be simply an orthographical variant of the true reading (aorist subj.). In Deu 31:6 the A text runs , in Jos 1:5 , and in Gen 28:15 . The promise originally was of a martial character. But, as Keble puts it (Christian Year, The Accession):
Not upon kings or priests alone
the power of that dear word is spent;
it chants to all in softest tone
the lowly lesson of content.
(v. 6) (on the evidence for this form, which Plutarch prefers to the Ionic variant , cp. Crnerts Memoria Graeca Herculanensis, 133:2) (om. M, accidentally) . What God says to us moves us to say something to ourselves. This quotation from Psa 118:6 is exact, except that the writer, for the sake of terseness, omits the ( = so) before , which is reinserted by c A D K L M syrhkl etc. For the phrase , see Pro 1:21 (Wisdom) : and for and in conjunction, see Xen. Cyr. v. i. 25, 26, . Epictetus tells a man who is tempted (ii. 18, 29), , . This is the idea of the psalm-quotation here. Courage is described in Galen (de H. et Plat. decr. vii. 2) as the knowledge , a genuinely Stoic definition; and Alkibiades tells, in the Symposium (221 A), how he came upon Sokrates and Laches retreating during the Athenian defeat at Delium , . In the touching prayer preserved in the Acta Pauli (xlii.), Thekla cries, , , , , , .
According to Pliny (Epp. ix. 30: primum est autem suo esse contentum, deinde, quos praecipue scias indigere sustentantem fouentemque orbe quodam societatis ambire) a mans first duty is to be content with what he has; his second, to go round and help all in his circle who are most in need. Epictetus quotes a saying of Musonius Rufus: ; (i. 1. 27); but this refers to life in general, not to money or property in particular. The argument of our author is that instead of clinging to their possessions and setting their hearts on goods (10:34), which might still be taken from them by rapacious pagans, they must realize that having God they have enough. He will never allow them to be utterly stripped of the necessaries of life. Instead of trying to refund themselves for what they had lost, let them be content with what is left to them and rely on God to preserve their modest all; he will neither drop nor desert them.
Hitherto the community has been mainly (see on 12:14f.) addressed as a whole. Now the writer reminds them of the example of their founders, dead and gone, adding this to the previous list of memories (12:1f.).
7 Remember your leaders, the men who spoke the word of God to you; look back upon the close of their career, and copy their faith.
(since they were the men who) . The special function of these primitive apostles and prophets was to preach the gospel (cp. 1Co 1:17) with the supernatural powers of the Spirit. Then the writer adds a further title to remembrance, their consistent and heroic life; they had sealed their testimony with their ( .) blood. , like , was a substantival formation which had a wide range of meaning; here it is equivalent to president or leader (cp. Epp. Apollon. ii. 69, = your leading citizens, or prominent men, and Act 15:22).1 It was they who had founded the church by their authoritative preaching; recalls the allusion to the which (i.e. Jesus) (2:3). The phrase denotes, in primitive Christianity (e.g. Did. 4:1 where the church-member is bidden remember with honour ), the central function of the apostolic ministry as the declaration and interpretation of the divine . These men had died for their faith; here, as in Wis 2:17 ( ), is, like , a metaphor for death as the close of life, evidently a death remarkable for its witness to faith. They had laid down their lives as martyrs. This proves that the allusion in 12:4 does not exclude some martyrdoms in the past history of the community, unless the reference here is supposed to mean no more than that they died as they had lived (11:13), without giving up their faith.
In Egypt, during the Roman period, a liturgical college of or was at the head of each temple (GCP i. 127), the latter term being probably taken from its military sense of officers (e.g. ).
is scanning closely, looking back (-) on; and is used in this sense even prior to Polybius; e.g. Magn 4635, 44 (iii b.c.) and Magn 165:5 (i a.d.) . As for , the verb never occurs in the LXX except as a v. l. (B*) for in Psa 31:6, and there in a bad sense. The good sense begins in Wis 4:2 ( ), so far as Hellenistic Judaism goes, and in 4 Mac 9:23 ( ) 13:9 ( ) it is used of imitating a personal example, as here. In the de Congressu Erudit. 13, Philo argues that the learner listens to what his teacher says, whereas a man who acquires true wisdom by practice and meditation ( ) attends , . He is referring to living examples of goodness, but, as in de Vita Mos. i. 28, he points out that Moses made his personal character a . This stimulus of heroic memories belonging to ones own group is noted by Quintilian (Instit. Orat. xii. 2. 31) as essential to the true orator: quae sunt antiquitus dicta ac facta praeclare et nosse et animo semper agitare conveniet. Quae profecto nusquam plura maioraque quam in nostrae civitatis monumentis reperientur Quantum enim Graeci praeceptis valent, tantum Romani, quod est maius, exemplis. Marcus Aurelius recollects the same counsel: (11:26).
Human leaders may pass away, but Jesus Christ, the supreme object and subject of their faithful preaching, remains, and remains the same; no novel additions to his truth are required, least of all innovations which mix up his spiritual religion with what is sensuous and material.
8 Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 9 Never let yourselves be carried away with a variety of novel doctrines; for the right thing is to have ones heart strengthened by grace, not by the eating of food- that has never been any use to those who have had recourse to it. 10 Our ( as 4:15) altar is one of which the worshippers have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of the animals whose blood is taken into the holy Place by the highpriest as a sin-offering, are burned outside the camp; 12 and so Jesus also suffered outside the gale, in order to sanctify the people (cp. 10:2f.) by his own blood (9:12). 13 Let us go to him outside the camp, then, bearing his obloquy 14 (for we have no lasting city here below, we seek the City to come). 15 And by him let us constantly offer praise to God as our sacrifice, that is, the fruit of lips that celebrate his Name. 16 Do not forget ( , as in v. 2) beneficence and charity either; these are the kind of sacrifices that are acceptable to God.
V. 8 connects with what precedes and introduces what follows. 1 refers to his life on earth (2:3, 5:7) and includes the service of the original ; it does not necessarily imply a long retrospect. as in 3:15, and as in 1:12. The finality of the revelation in Jesus, sounded at the opening of the homily (1:1f.), resounds again here. He is never to be superseded; he never needs to be supplemented. Hence (v. 9) the warning against some new theology about the media of forgiveness and fellowship, which, it is implied, infringes the all-sufficient efficacy of Jesus Christ. (6:2) (2:4 in good sense) . (cp. Jud 1:12) is never used in this metaphorical sense (swayed, swerved) in the LXX, where it is always literal, and the best illustration of in the sense of foreign to (the apostolic faith) is furnished by the author of the epistle to Diognetus (11:1), who protests, . Such notions he curtly pronounces useless, , where goes with ; they have never been of any use in mediating fellowship with God for those who have had recourse to them. It is exactly the tone of Jesus in Mar 7:18.
was altered (under the influence of Eph 4:14) into (K L 2, 5, 88, 330, 378, 440, 491, 547, 642, 919, 920, 1867, 1872, 1908, arm sah). (c C Dc K L M P syrhkl arm Orig. Chrys. etc.) and (* A D* 1912 lat) are variants which are substantially the same in meaning, being used in its common sense = living in the sphere of (Eph 2:10 etc.), having recourse to.
The positive position is affirmed in . (, as in 1Co 7:1, Rom 14:21 etc.). denotes that kind of goodness which is at once seen to be good (Hort on 1 P 2:12), i e. by those who have a right instinct. The really right and good course is , i.e. either to have ones heart strengthened, or to be strengthened in heart (, accus. of reference). Bread sustains our physical life ( , Psa 104:15), but here means more than vitality; it is the inner life of the human soul, which Gods alone can sustain, and Gods in Jesus Christ is everything (2:9 etc.). But what does this contrast mean? The explanation is suggested in the next passage (vv. 10-16), which flows out of what has just been said. The various novel doctrines were connected in some way with . So much is clear. The difficulty is to infer what the were. There is a touch of scorn for such a motley, unheard of, set of . The writer does not trouble to characterize them, but his words imply that they were many-sided, and that their main characteristic was a preoccupation with . There is no reference to the ancient regulations of the Hebrew ritual mentioned in 9:10; this would only be tenable on the hypothesis, for which there is no evidence, that the readers were Jewish Christians apt to be fascinated by the ritual of their ancestral faith, and, in any case, such notions could not naturally be described as . We must look in other directions for the meaning of this enigmatic reference. (a) The new may have included ascetic regulations about diet as aids to the higher life, like the which disturbed the Christians at Coloss. Partly owing to Gnostic syncretism, prohibitions of certain foods ( , 1Ti 4:3) were becoming common in some circles, in the supposed interests of spiritual religion. We may assume, says Pfleiderer, one of the representatives of this view (pp. 278 f.), a similar Gnostic spiritualism, which placed the historical Saviour in an inferior position as compared with angels or spiritual powers who do not take upon them flesh and blood, and whose service consists in mystical purifications and ascetic abstinences. (b) They may also have included such religious sacraments as were popularized in some of the mystery-cults, where worshippers ate the flesh of a sacrificial victim or consecrated elements which represented the deity. Participation in these festivals was not unknown among some ultra-liberal Christians of the age. It is denounced by Paul in 1Co_10, and may underlie what the writer has already said in 10:25. Why our author did not speak outright of , we cannot tell; but some such reference is more suitable to the context than (a), since it is sacrificial meals which are in question. He is primarily drawing a contrast between the various cult-feasts of paganism, which the readers feel they might indulge in, not only with immunity, but even with spiritual profit, and the Christian religion, which dispensed with any such participation. (c) Is there also a reference to the Lords supper, or to the realistic sense in which it was being interpreted, as though participation in it implied an actual eating of the sacrificial body of the Lord? This reference is urged by some critics, especially by F. Spitta (Zur Geschichte u. Litteratur des Urchristentums, i. pp. 325 f.) and O. Holtzmann (in Zeitschrift fr die neutest. Wissenschaft, x. pp. 251-260). Spitta goes wrong by misinterpreting v. 10 as though the of Christ implied a sacrificial meal from which Jewish priests were excluded. Holtzmann rightly sees that the contrast between and implies, for the latter, the only possible for Christians, viz. the Lords body as a food. What the writer protests against is the rising conception of the Lords supper as a . On the day of Atonement in the OT ritual, to which he refers, there was no participation in the flesh of the sacrificial victim; there could not be, in the nature of the case (v. 11). So, he argues, the of our sacrifice cannot be literally eaten, as these neo-sacramentarians allege; any such notion is, to him, a relapse upon the sensuous, which as a spiritual idealist he despises as a vain thing, fondly invented. A true insight into the significance of Jesus, such as he has been trying to bring out in what he has written, such as their earlier leaders themselves had conveyed in their own way, would reveal the superfluousness and irrelevance of these . As the writer is alluding to what is familiar, he does not enter into details, so that we have to guess at his references. But the trend of thought in vv. 10f. is plain. In real Christian worship there is no sacrificial meal; the Christian sacrifice is not one of which the worshippers partake by eating. This is the point of v. 10. The writer characteristically illustrates it from the OT ritual of atonementday, by showing how the very death of Jesus outside the city of Jerusalem fulfilled the proviso in that ritual (vv. 11, 12) that the sacrifice must not be eaten. Then he finds in this fact about the death of Jesus a further illustration of the need for unworldliness (vv. 13, 14). Finally, in reply to the question, Then have Christians no sacrifices to offer at all? he mentions the two standing sacrifices of thanksgiving and charity (vv. 15, 16), both owing their efficacy to Christ. Inwardness is the dominating thought of the entire paragraph. Gods grace in Jesus Christ works upon the soul; no external medium like food is required to bring us into fellowship with him; it is vain to imagine that by eating anything one can enjoy communion with God. Our Lord stands wholly outside the material world of sense, outside things touched and tasted; in relationship to him and him alone, we can worship God. The writer has a mystical or idealistic bent, to which the sacramental idea is foreign. He never alludes to the eucharist; the one sacrament he notices is baptism. A ritual meal as the means of strengthening communion with God through Christ does not appeal to him in the slightest degree. It is not thus that Gods is experienced.
The clue to v. 10 lies in the obvious fact that the and the belong to the same figurative order. In our spiritual or heavenly , the real of the soul, there is indeed a (partitive; cp. , 1Co 9:13) (emphatic by position) 1 (1Co 9:4) ( with dative as in 8:5). It makes no difference to the sense whether means worshippers (9:9, 10:2) or priests (8:5), and the writer does not allegorize as Philo does (e.g. in de Leg. Alleg. i. 15, , ). His point is simply this, that the Christian sacrifice, on which all our relationship to God depends, is not one that involves or allows any connexion with a meal. To prove how impossible such a notion is, he (v. 11) cites the ritual regulation in Lev 16:27 for the disposal of the carcases of the two animals sacrificed ( ). For a moment the writer recalls his main argument in chs. 7-10; in v. 10 Christ is regarded as the victim or sacrifice (cp. in 9:28), but here the necessities of the case involve the activity of the Victim. . (v. 12). The parallel breaks down at one point, of course; his body was not burned up.2 But the real comparison lies in (sc. , as Exo 32:26, Exo 32:27). The Peshitto and 436 make the reference explicit by reading , which seems to have been known to Tertullian (adv. Jud 1:14, extra civitatem). The fact that Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem influenced the synoptic transcripts of the parable in Mar 12:8 = Mat 21:39 = Luk 20:15. Marks version, , was altered into () () . Crucifixion, like other capital punishments, in the ancient world was inflicted outside a city. To the writer this fact seems intensely significant, rich in symbolism. So much so that his mind hurries on to use it, no longer as a mere confirmation of the negative in v. 10, but as a positive, fresh call to unworldliness. All such sensuous ideas as those implied in sacrificial meals mix up our religion with the very world from which we ought, after Jesus, to be withdrawing. We meet Jesus outside all this, not inside it. In highly figurative language (v. 13), he therefore makes a broad appeal for an unworldly religious fellowship, such as is alone in keeping with the of God in Jesus our Lord.
(beginning a sentence as in Luk 20:28 ., instead of coming second in its classical position), let us join Jesus , for he is living. The thought of the metaphor is that of Pauls admonition (Rom 12:2), and the words recall the warnings against false shame (11:26, 12:2), just as the following (v. 14) reason, (in the present outward order of things) 1 recalls the ideas of 11:10, 14-16. The appeal echoes that of 4:11 . It is through the experiences of an unsettled and insulted life that Christians must pass, if they are to be loyal to their Lord. That is, the writer interprets figuratively (Egrediamur et nos a commercio mundi huius, Erasmus). Philo had already done so (cp. specially quod. det. pot. 44), in a mystical sense: , . Similarly in de Ebrietate, 25, commenting on Exo 33:7, he explains that by ( = ) Moses meant allegorically , the material interests of the worldly life which must be forsaken if the soul is to enjoy the inward vision of God. Such is the renunciation which the writer here has in view. It is the thought in 2 Clem. 5:1 (, , , ) and 6:5 ( ). Only, our author weaves in the characteristic idea of the shame which has to be endured in such an unworldly renunciation.
The next exhortation in v. 15 () catches up , as carries on . For once applying sacrificial language to the Christian life, he reminds his readers again of the sacrifice of thanksgiving. The phrase explains ( ) the sense in which is to be taken; it is from the LXX; mistranslation ( ) of Hos 14:3 where the true text has (bullocks) instead of (fruit). In , is used in the sense of by an unusual2 turn of expression. The means, as usual, the revealed personality. Probably there is an unconscious recollection of Ps 54:8 ( ); 3 is also from the psalter (e.g. 50:14, 23). elsewhere in the NT is only used of spiritual sacrifices in the parallel passage 1 P 2:5 . We have no sacrificial meals, the writer implies; we do not need them. Nor have we any sacrifices-except spiritual ones. (The after , which c A C Dc M vg syrhkl boh arm eth Orig. Chrys. etc. retain, is omitted by * D* P vt syrvg; but * D* om. also 1Co 6:7, as D in Rom 7:25). The thought of 12:28 is thus expanded, with the additional touch that thankfulness to God is inspired by our experience of Jesus ( , as Col 3:17 ); the phrase is a counterpart of in v. 11. This thank-offering is to be made (sc. ), instead of at stated times, for, whatever befalls us, we owe God thanks and praise (cp. 1Th 5:16). The Mishna (cp. Berachoth 5:4) declares that he must be silenced who only calls upon Gods name with thankfulness in the enjoyment of good (Berachoth 5:3 . . . ).
The religious idea of thanksgiving was prominent in several quarters. According to Fronto (Loeb ed. i. p. 22) thank-offerings were more acceptable to the gods than sin-offerings, as being more disinterested: . Philo had taught (de Plant. 30) that is exceptionally sacred, and that towards God it must be an inward sacrifice: – – , , . He proceeds (ibid. 33) to dwell on the meaning of the name Judah, . Judah was the last (Gen 29:35) son of Leah, for nothing could be added to praise of God, nothing excels . This tallies with the well-known rabbinic saying, quoted in Tanchuma, 55. 2: in the time of messiah all sacrifices will cease, but the sacrifice of thanksgiving will not cease; all prayers will cease, but praises will not cease (on basis of Jer 33:1 and Psa 56:13). The praise of God as the real sacrifice of the pious is frequently noted in the later Judaism (e.g. 2 Mac 10:7).
In v. 16 the writer notes the second Christian sacrifice of charity. , though not a LXX term, is common in Hellenistic Greek, especially in Epictetus, e.g. Fragm. 15 (ed. Schenk), ; Fragm. 45, (where the context suggests beneficence). in the sense of charity or contributions had been already used by Paul (2Co 9:13 etc.). To share with others, to impart to them what we possess, is one way of worshipping God. The three great definitions of worship or religious service in the NT (here, Rom 12:1, Rom 12:2 and Jam 1:27) are all inward and ethical; what lies behind this one is the fact that part of the food used in ancient OT sacrifices went to the support of the priests, and part was used to provide meals for the poor. Charitable relief was bound up with the sacrificial system, for such parts of the animals as were not burnt were devoted to these beneficent purposes. An equivalent must be provided in our spiritual religion, the writer suggests; if we have no longer any animal sacrifices, we must carry on at any rate the charitable element in that ritual. This is the force of . Contributions, e.g., for the support of , who were not priests, were unknown in the ancient world, and had to be explicitly urged as a duty (cp. 1Co 9:6-14). Similarly the needs of the poor had to be met by voluntary sacrifices, by which alone, in a spiritual religion, God could be satisfied- (perhaps including the sacrifice of praise as well as and ) (cp. 11:5, 6; 12:28) . This counsel agrees with some rabbinic opinions (e.g. T. B. Sukkah, 59b: he who offers alms is greater than all sacrifices). The special duty of supporting the priesthood is urged in Sir 7:30f., but our author shows no trace of the theory that almsgiving in general was not only superior to sacrifices but possessed atoning merit before God (Sir 3:14 , ). In the later rabbinic theology, prayer, penitence, the study of the Torah, hospitality, charity, and the like were regarded as sacrifices equivalent to those which had been offered when the temple was standing. Thus Rabbi Jochanan b. Zakkai (cp. Schlatters Jochanan ben Zakkai, pp. 39 f.) consoled himself and his friends with the thought, derived from Hos 6:6, that in the practice of charity they still possessed a valid sacrifice for sins; he voiced the conviction also (e.g. b. baba bathra 10 b) that charity () won forgiveness for pagans as the sin-offering did for Israel. In the Ep. Barnabas (2:7f.) the writer quotes Jer 7:22, Jer 7:23 (Zec 8:17) as a warning to Christians against Jewish sacrifices ( , , ), but he quotes Psa 51:19 as the description of the ideal sacrifice.
The tendency in some circles of the later Judaism to spiritualize sacrifice in general and to insist on its motive and spirit is voiced in a passage like Jth 16:15f.:
,
:
:
,
.
Also in a number of statements from various sources, of which that in Ep. Arist. 234 ( ; , ) may be cited as a fair specimen. The congruous idea of bloodless sacrifices was common in subsequent Christianity. Thus the martyr Apollonius (Acta Apollonii, 44; Conybeares Monuments of Early Christianity, pp. 47-48) tells the magistrate, I expected that thy heart would bear fruit, and that thou wouldst worship God, the Creator of all, and unto Him continually offer thy prayers by means of compassion; for compassion shown to men by men is a bloodless sacrifice and holy unto God. So Jeromes comment runs on Psa 15:4 . , , , , , (Anecdota Maredsolana, iii. 3, 123). Both in the Didache (14:1 , ) and in Justin Martyr (Dial. 117, , , , , ), the very prayers at the eucharist are called , but this belongs to a later stage, when the eucharist or love-feast became the rite round which collections for the poor, the sick, prisoners, and travelling visitors (vv. 1f.) gathered, and into which sacrificial language began to be poured (cp. Justins Apol. i. 66, 67). In we find a simpler and different line of practical Christianity.
Now for a word on the living of the community (v. 17), including himself (vv. 18, 19).
17 Obey your leaders, submit to them; for they () are alive to the interests of your souls, as men who will have to account for their trust. Let their work be a joy to them and not a grief-which would be a loss to yourselves.
18 Pray for me, for I am sure I have a clean conscience; my desire is in every way to lead an honest life. 19 I urge you to this (i.e. to prayer) all the more, that I may get back to you the sooner.
The connexion of vv. 17f. is not only with v. 7, but with vv. 8-16. It would be indeed a grief to your true leaders if you gave way to these doctrines, instead of following men who are really (this is the force of ) concerned for your highest interests. (cp. Epict. Fragm. 27, , ) ( is not a LXX term); strong words but justified, for the which Christian leaders preached meant authoritative standards of life for the community (cp. 1Co 4:17, 1Co 4:21, 1Co 4:14:37 etc.), inspired by the Spirit. Insubordination was the temptation at one pole, an overbearing temper (1 P 5:3) the temptation at the other. Our author knows that, in the case of his friends, the former alone is to be feared. He does not threaten penalties for disobedience, however, as Josephus does (c. Apionem, ii. 194) for insubordination on the part of the Jewish laity towards a priest: . Rather, he singles out the highminded devotion of these leaders as an inducement to the rank and file to be submissive. , almost as Epictetus says of the true Cynic who zealously concerns himself with the moral welfare of men, (iii. 22, 95; he uses the verb once in its literal sense of a soldier having to keep watch through the night, iii. 24, 32). The force of the phrase is flattened by the transference of to a position after (as A vg). The latter expression, (conscious that) ( with fut. ptc. here only in NT), is used by Chrysostom, de Sacerdotio, iii. 18 (cp. vi. 1), to enforce a sense of ministerial responsibility ( , , ;), but in the writer assumes that the are doing and will do their duty. Any sadness which they may feel is due, not to a sense of their own shortcomings, but to their experience of wilfulness and error among their charges. is more common in the NT than the equivalent , which recurs often in Greek literature, e.g. in Platos Sympos. 189b, , or in the complaint of the Fayyum peasants (A.D. 207), who petition the local centurion that the disturbers of their work may be called to account: , , (GCP i. 354:25, 26). In Clem. Alex. Quis div. salv. 42, John says to the captain of the robbers, .
The clause ( ) goes back to . The members have it in their power to thwart and disappoint their . . refers to , and the best comment on is in Dennys hymn:
O give us hearts to love like Thee,
Like Thee, O Lord, to grieve
Far more for others sins than all
The wrongs that we receive.
The last four words, , form a rhetorical litotes, as when Pindar (Olymp. i. 53) remarks, . It would be a sore loss to them if their lives failed to answer the hopes and efforts of their , hopes like those implied in 6:9 and 10:39. (no profit) is probably used after with its sense of reckoning. Compare the use of the adverb in Theophrastus, viii. 11 ( ), and the dry remark of Philo (in Flaccum, 6), speaking about the attempt of the Alexandrian anti-Semites to erect images in Jewish places of worship, when he says that Flaccus might have known ! The term lent itself to such effective under-statements, as in Philos aphorism (Fragments of Philo, ed. J. Rendel Harris, p. 70) .
The next word (v. 18) is about himself. (continue praying) (cp. 2 Mal 1:6 ) (plural of authorship), (a modest confidence: whatever some of you may think, I believe) . He is conscious of a keen desire ( as in 12:17) to act in a straightforward, honest way; hence he can ask their prayers. Hence also they may feel confident and eager about praying for him. The writer chooses (cp. on v. 9) instead of as his adjective for , probably for the sake of assonance with the following , perhaps also to avoid the hiatus after . When he adds, (here neuter) (a phrase which occurs in the Pergamos inscript. 459:5 , in the 1st century b.c. inscription (Priene, 115:5) [], and in Epict. iv. 40, 46, , , etc.), the language recalls that of 2Co 1:11, 2Co 1:12 where Paul appeals for the help of his readers prayers and pleads his honesty of conscience ( , .). Perhaps the writer is conscious that his readers have been blaming him, attributing (say) his absence from them to unworthy motives, as in the case of Paul (e.g. 1Th 2:18, 2Co 1:17f.). This may be the feeling which prompts the protest here and the assurances in vv. 19, 23. I am still deeply interested in you; my absence is involuntary; believe that.
is inserted before by D vt Chrys. (possibly as a reminiscence of 1Th 5:25), i.e. pray as well as obey (et orate pro nobis, d); this would emphasize the fact that the writer belonged to the . But the plural in v. 18 is not used to show that the writer is one of the mentioned in v. 17, for whom the prayers of the community are asked. He was one of them; here is the literary plural already used in 5:11, 6:9, 11. There are apt parallels in Ciceros de Officiis, ii. 24 (Quem nos e Graeco in Latinum convertimus. Sed toto hoc de genere, de quaerenda, de collocanda pecunia vellens etiam de utenda), and OP x. 1296 (the letter of a boy to his father), . ( 256, 1319, 2127) has been changed into by c Cc D W 6, 104, 263, 326 (Blass), probably because the latter (we are confident) is stronger than , which (cp. Act 26:26) only amounts to we believe (though implying we are sure). Retaining , A. Bischoff (Zeits. fr aie neut. Wiss. ix, 171 f.) evades the difficulty by altering the order of the words: . . , . . , i.e. taking as because.
As in Phm 1:22, the writers return is dependent on his friends prayers (v. 19); specially (see p. 17) let them intercede with God for his speedy restoration to them, (cp. OP i .81 (a.d. 49-50) ). may mean the sooner (i.e. than if you did not pray) or simply soon (as in v. 23, where, as in Hellenistic Greek, it has lost its comparative meaning). What detained the writer, we cannot tell. Apparently (v. 23) it was not imprisonment.
A closing prayer and doxology, such as was not uncommon in epistles of the primitive church (e.g. 1Th 5:23, 1Th 5:1 P 5:11), now follows. Having asked his readers to pray for him, he now prays for them.
20 May the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord (7:14) Jesus (see p. lxiii), the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 furnish you with everything that is good for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him (i.e. God) be (sc. ) glory for ever and ever. Amen.
means the God of saving bliss (see on 12:11), being taken in a sense like the full OT sense of the secure prosperity won by the messianic triumph over the hostile powers of evil (cp. 2:14, 7:2). There is no special allusion here, as in Pauls use of the phrase (Rom 15:33, 2Co 13:11 etc.), to friction in the community; the conflict is one in which God secures for his People, a conflict with evil, not strife between members of the church. The method of this triumph is described in some OT phrases, which the writer uses quite apart from their original setting. The first quotation is from Isa 63:11 , which the writer applies to Jesus-his only reference to the resurrection (cp. on vv. 11, 12). But there is no need (with Blass) to follow Chrysostom in reading here for . With in this sense, (so Rom 10:7) or some equivalent ( , Psa 30:4, Wis 16:13, Joseph. Ant. 6. 14. 2) is much more natural. In , is applied to him as in 4:14, 10:21. The figure of the , which never occurs in Paul, plays no rle in our authors argument as it does in 1 Peter (2:25, 5:4); he prefers or , and even here he at once passes to the more congenial idea of the . Jesus is the great Shepherd, as he has made himself responsible for the People, identifying himself with them at all costs, and sacrificing his life in order to save them for God. But as death never occurs in the OT description of the divine shepherd, not even in the 23rd Psalm, the writer blends with his quotation from Isaiah another- , a LXX phrase from Zec 9:11 ( ), Isa 55:3 ( ), etc. goes with , not with , in which case would need to be prefixed to the phrase. Jesus was raised to present his blood as the atoning sacrifice which mediated the (9:11, 24f.). To the resurrection (cp. on v. 12) is thus ascribed what elsewhere in the epistle is ascribed to the . But as the stress falls on , then more is implied than that apart from the no could have been instituted. In reality the thought resembles that of 9:14 ( ), where corresponds to below; . is equipped with, not in virtue of. This interpretation is in line with the authors argument in chs. 7-10. Videtur mihi apostolus hoc belle, Christum ita resurrexisse a mortuis, ut mors tamen eius non sit abolita, sed aeternum vigorem retineat, ac si dixisset: Deus filium suum excitavit, sed ita ut sanguis, quem semel in morte fudit, ad sanctionem foederis aeterni post resurrectionem vigeat fructumque suum proferat perinde ac si semper flueret (Calvin). In (the aor. optative)1 ., there is a parallel to the thought of Php 2:13. recalls the language of 10:36, and goes with : the power of God in our lives as for our lives (v. 20) works through the person of Jesus Christ. To take . . with yields an unobjectionable sense, corresponding to the thought of v. 15. But stands quite well by itself (cf. 1Jn 3:22).
The writer makes no such use of the shepherd and flock metaphor as, e.g., Philo had done. The Jewish thinker (Vit. Mos. i. 11) argues that the calling of a shepherd is the best preparation for anyone who is to rule over men; hence kings are called shepherds of their people as a title of honour. He also interprets the sheep as the symbol of a nature which is capable of improvement (de sacrif. Abel. 34, , , ). The classical habit of describing kings as shepherds of their people would help to make the metaphor quite intelligible to readers of non-Jewish origin. Compare, e.g., the saying of Cyrus (Xenophon, Cyropaedia, viii. 2. 14), that a good shepherd resembled a good king, , , .
was soon furnished with the homiletic addition of (C K M P syr sah arm eth Chrys. Thdt. etc.), or even (A, from 2Th 2:17). has either (* A C* 33 * 1288 boh) or (Greg. Nyss.) or (d 1912) prefixed. Hort, admitting that it is impossible to make sense of (B. Weiss, Blass = ), maintains that is original. It is a homiletic insertion, out of which arose by corruption. ( D M 33, 104, 181, 326, 1917, 927, 1288, 1739, 1912, etc. syrvg sah boh arm) is merely an error for , due to the preceding .
A personal postscript (vv. 22-24) is now added, as 1 P 5:12-14 after 5:10, 11.
22 I appeal to you, brothers (3:1, 12, 10:19), to bear with this appeal of mine. It is but a short letter.
23 You must understand that our brother Timotheus is now free. If he comes soon, he and I will see you together.
24 Salute all your leaders and all the saints. The Italians salute you.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
The Timotheus referred to (in v. 23) is probably the Timotheus who had been a colleague of Paul. The other allusions have nothing to correspond with them in the data of the NT. But there is no ground for supposing that vv. 22-25 were added, either by the writer himself (Wrede) or by those who drew up the canon, in order to give a Pauline appearance to the document (see Introd., pp. xxviii f.). Seebergs reasons for regarding vv. 22-25 as a fragment of some other note by the same writer are that 23b implies not a church but a small group of Christians, and that vv. 18, 23 presuppose different situations; neither reason is valid. The style and contents are equally unfavourable to Perdelwitzs theory, that vv. 22-25 were added brevi manu by some one who wrote out a copy of the original and forwarded it to an Italian church.
In v. 22 , for which (J. Pricaeus apud Tit 1:9) is a needless conjecture, takes a genitive (as in 2Ti 4:3 , and in Philo, quod omnis probus, 6 , ). It has been flattened into (infinitive as in 1 P 2:11) by D* vg arm 181, 436, 1288, 1311, 1873, etc. (Blass). A written homily may be like a speech (Act 13:15), a (cp. on 12:5); echoes He is not the only early Christian writer who mildly suggested that he had not written at undue length (cp. e.g. 1 P 5:12 , .; Barn 1:5, 1:8) (etenim as 4:2) (sc. ) 1 (epistolary aorist) . was a common phrase in this connexion; e.g. Lucians Toxaris, 56 ( , ). may be read aloud easily in one hour. The writer has had a good deal to say (, 5:11), and he has now said it. Not I hope, he adds pleasantly, at too great length! As for the , that is another question which he does not raise here. He is not pleading for a patient reading, because he has had to compress his argument into a short space, which makes it hard to follow, owing to its highly condensed character. What he does appear to anticipate is the possibility of his readers resenting the length at which he has written. When the younger Pliny returned a book to Tacitus, with some criticisms upon its style and matter, he said he was not afraid to do so, since it was those most deserving praise who accepted criticism patiently (neque enim ulli patientius reprehunduntur quam qui maxime laudari merentur, Epp. vii. 20). The author of might have taken this line, for he has done justice to the good qualities of his friends (e.g. 6:9f. 10:39, 13:1f.), even in reproving them for backwardness and slowness. But he prefers to plead that his words have not been long; his readers surely cannot complain of being wearied by the length of his remarks. Not long before, Seneca had made the same kind of observation to Lucilius (Ep. xxxviii. 1) about short letters being more effective than lengthy discussions. Merito exigis ut hoc inter nos epistularum commercium frequentemus, plurimum proficit sermo, quia minutatim inrepit animo aliquando utendum est et illis, ut ita dicam, concionibus, ubi qui dubitat inpellendus est: ubi vero non hoc agendum est ut velit discere sed ut discat, ad haec submissiora uerba ueniendum est. facilius intrant et haerent: nec enim multis opus est, sed efficacibus. But Senecas practice was not always up to his theory in this respect. His Stoic contemporary Musonius Rufus gave examples as well as precepts of brevity, which were more telling (e.g. , , , ed. Hense, Php 1:2). The literary critic Demetrius considered that the length of a letter should be carefully regulated ( , De Elocut. 228); letters that were too long and stilted in expression became mere treatises, , as in the case of many of Platos, whereas the true , according to Demetrius (ibid. 231), should be in a brief compass (). Which would apply to . Erasmus comments: Scripsi paucis, ut ipse vos brevi visurus. He may have, but he does not say so.
In v. 23 is imperative; he is conveying a piece of information. See, e.g., TebtP 37:2 (73 b.c.) : ibid. 12:2 (118 b.c.) 36:2 56:5. The construction with the participle is common (e.g. Luk 8:46); you must understand (omitted by c Db.c. K P 6 Chrys. etc.) , i.e. is (set) free, not necessarily from prison. The general sense, ranging from is free to has started, may be illustrated, e.g., from the application of a woman to leave Alexandria via Pharos (OP 1271:4, 5, iii. a.d.: ), or from B G U. i. 27:12-15 ( [] ), where . = has set out, as in Act 28:25 (). The interpretation of the next words depends upon whether Timotheus is supposed to join the writer or to journey straight to the community addressed. In the latter case, the writer, who hopes to be coming soon (v. 19) himself, looks forward to meeting him there. In the former case, they will travel together. It is natural to assume that when the writer sent this message, Timotheus was somewhere else, and that he was expected ere long to reach the writer. For = visit, see 3Jn 1:14 , etc. may mean either, as soon as he comes, or if he comes soon. The latter suits the situation implied in v. 19 better. The writer (in v. 19) asks the prayers of his readers, that some obstacle to his speedy return may be removed. If this obstacle were the hindrance that kept Timotheus from joining him on a journey which they had already planned to the church (Riggenbach), he would have said, Pray for Timotheus, I cannot leave for you till he rejoins me. But the idea is: as the writer is rejoining his friends soon (he hopes), he will be accompanied by Timotheus, should the latter arrive before he has to start. Written advice is all very well, but he hopes soon to follow up this with personal intercourse, like Seneca in Ep. vi. 5 (plus tamen tibi et uiua vox et convictus quam oratio proderit. in rem praesentem uenias oportet, primum quia homines amplius oculis quam auribus credunt, deinde quia longum iter est per praecepta, breue et efficax per exempla).
The greeting comes as usual last (v. 24). . is an unusual turn, however; the homily was evidently sent to the community, who are told to greet all their . This finds its nearest parallel in Pauls similar injunction (Rom 16:3f.) to the Ephesian Christians to salute this and that eminent member of their circle. Still, no other NT church is bidden to salute its leaders; and though the writer plainly wishes to reinforce his counsel in v. 17, the suggests that the persons addressed were part of the whole church of a large city a congregation attached to some household (Zahn); they are to convey the writers greetings to all the leaders of the larger local church-and to all their fellow-members ( being more intelligible, in the light of a passage like Php 4:21 ). To his personal greetings he now adds greetings from some Italians. In , may have its usual sense of domiciled at (practically = ), as, e.g., in OP i. 81 (a.d. 49-50), where means the inhabitants of Oxyrhynchus, or in , i.e. at Phmau (ostracon of a.d. 192, quoted in Deissmanns Light from the East, p. 186). If it thus means residents in Italy, the writer is in Italy himself. But , on the analogy of Act 21:27 ( ), might equally well mean Italians resident for the time being outside Italy; in this case the writer, who is also abroad, is addressing some Italian community, to which their countrymen forward greetings. Grammatically, either rendering is possible, and there is no tradition to decide the question. Perhaps is more natural, however, as a description of some Italian Christians abroad who chanced to be in the same locality as the writer and who take this opportunity of sending their greetings by him to an Italian community. If the writer was in Italy, we should have expected , considering the size of Italy and the scattered Christian communities there at this period.
The final benediction, (sc. or ) (Tit 3:15, 2Ti 4:22) has a liturgical , which is omitted by * W fuld sah 33; the homily was, of course, intended to be read aloud at worship.
LXX The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint Version (ed. H. B. Swete).
216 [ 469]
B [03: 1] cont. 1:1-9:18: for remainder cp. cursive 293.
Josephus Flavii Josephi Opera Omnia post Immanuelem Bekkerum, recognovit S. A. Naber.
Philo Philonis Alexandriai Opera Quae Supersunt (recognoverunt L. Cohn et P. Wendland).
The Coptic Version of the NT in the Northern Dialect (Oxford, 1905), vol. iii. pp. 472-555.
1 , as Paul would say (1Th 4:5).
Bengel J. A. Bengelii Gnomon Novi Testamenti (1742).
38 [ 355]
460 [ 397]
623 [ 173]
1836 [ 65]
1912 [ 1066]
Athan Athanasius
Thdt. Theodoret
[01: 2).
A [02: 4].
D [06: 1026] cont. 1:1-13:20. Codex Claromontanus is a Graeco-Latin MS, whose Greek text is poorly* reproduced in the later (saec. ix.-x.) E = codex Sangermanensis. The Greek text of the latter (1:1-12:8) is therefore of no independent value (cp. Hort in WH, 335-337); for its Latin text, as well as for that of F=codex Augiensis (saec. ix.), whose Greek text of has not been preserved, see below, p. lxix.
M [0121: 1031] cont. 1:1-4:3 12:20-13:25.
P [025: 3] cont. 1:1-12:8 12:11-13:25.
sah The Coptic Version of the NT in the Southern Dialect (Oxford, 1920), vol. v. pp. 1-131.
C [04: 3] cont. 2:4-7:26 9:15-10:24 12:16-13:25.
[044: 6] cont. 1:1-8:11 9:19-13:25.
6 [ 356] cont. 1:1-9:3 10:22-13:25
OP The Oxyrhynchus Papyri (ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. Hunt).
K [018:1:1].
L [020: 5] cont. 1:1-13:10.
1 In Ep. Arist. 310, of the headmen of the Jewish community at Alexandria.
GCP Grundzge und Chrestomathie der Papyruskunde, von L. Mitteis und U. Wilcken (1912), I. Band.
Magn Die Inschriften von Magnesia am Maeander (ed. Kern, 1900).
1 The forms vary; but this, the Attic spelling, has the best repute upon the whole (see W. G. Rutherfords New Phrynichus, pp. 370 f.), and strong support here in A C* D* M
2 [ 253]
5 [ 453]
88 [ 200]
330 [ 259]
378 [ 258]
440 [ 260]
491 [ 152]
547 [ 157]
642 [ 552] cont. 1:1-7:18 9:13-13:25
919 [ 113]
920 [ 55]
1867 [ 154]
1872 [ 209]
1908 [O 103]
Pfleiderer Primitive Christianity, vol. iii. (1910) pp. 272-299.
1 The omission of by D* M and the Old Latin does not affect the sense; then has the same meaning as in 6:13.
2 The blood, not the body, of the victim mattered in the atonement ritual. Hence, in our writers scheme of thought, as Peake observes, while he fully recognises the fact of the Resurrection of Christ, he can assign it no place in his argument or attach to it any theological significance.
436 [ 172]
1 In the sense of Aeneas (Verg. Aen. iii. 85, 86, da moenia fessis | et genus et mansuram urbem). Note the assonance .
Erasmus Adnotationes (1516), In epist. Pauli apostoli ad Hebraeos paraphrasis (1521).
2 But occurs in 3 Es 4:60 Est 4:5:58 (A).
3 In the LXX is generally preferred to as an equivalent for .
vg vg Vulgate, saec. iv.
vt vt Old Latin, saec. ii. (?)-iv.
256 [ 216]
1319 [ 180]
2127 [ 202]
W [I] cont. 1:1-3, 9-12. 2:4-7, 12-14. 3:4-6, 14-16 4:3-6, 12-14 5:5-7 6:1-3, 10-13, 20 7:1-2, 7-11, 18-20, 27-28 8:1, 7-9 9:1-4, 9-11, 16-19, 25-27 10:5-8, 16-18, 26-29, 35-38 11:6-7, 12-15, 22-24, 31-33, 38-40 12:1, 7-9, 16-18, 25-27 13:7-9, 16-18, 23-25: NT MSS in Freer Collection, The Washington MS of the Epp. of Paul (1918), pp. 294-306. Supports Alexandrian text, and is quite free from Western readings.
104 [ 103]
263 [ 372]
326 [ 257]
Blass F. Blass, Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch: vierte, vllig neugearbeitete Auflage, besorgt von Albert Debrunner (1913); also, Brief an die Hebrer, Text mit Angabe der Rhythmen (1903).
1 This lonely occurrence of the optative points to its tendency after the LXX to disappear; thus, apart from , it only occurs once in a writer like Epictetus (iii. 5. 11).
33 [ 48] Horts 17
1288 [ 162]
d (Latin version of D)
Weiss B. Weiss, Textkritik der paulinischen Briefe (in Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, vol. xiv. 3), also Der Hebrerbrief in Zeitgeschichtlicher Beleuchtung (1910).
181 [ 101]
927 [ 251]
1739 [ 78]
1311 [ 170]
1873 [ 252]
1 For (here as in Act 15:20, Act 15:21:25; Theophr. 24:13 . = write, send a letter), see Laqueurs Quaest. Epigraph. et Papyr. Selectae, 16 f. ( = communicare aliquid cum aliquo sive per hominem sive per epistolam).
TebtP Tebtunis Papyri (ed. Grenfell and Hunt), 1902.
Zahn Theodor Zahns Einleitung in das NT, 45-47.
Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament
Sanctify Daily Life
Heb 13:1-13
We may not like all the brethren, but there is something in each of them that Christ loves. Let us try to discover it, or love them for His sake. We can love people with our mind and think for them, or with our strength and serve them, even though the heart is somewhat reluctant.
Strangers and captives must never be forgotten, either in our prayers or our ministry. The love within the marriage tie must be unsullied, and we must watch against the insidious lust of gold. Why should we always be thinking of money, when God has promised, with two negatives, never to fail us, Heb 13:5? Thrice we are asked to remember those who bear office and rule in the church, Heb 13:7; Heb 13:17; Heb 13:24.
We are called to a holy crusade. It is not for us to linger in circumstances of ease and self-indulgence when our Master suffered without the gate! Let us go forth unto Him, bearing His reproach! Has not the Church tarried in the city long enough, enervated by its fashions and flatteries?
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Section D. Heb 13:1-6
Sundry Exhortations
The doctrinal part of the Epistle is now finished and the last chapter gives us, as is usual in Pauls writings, exhortations regarding the behavior of those who have laid hold in faith upon the truth heretofore declared. Brotherly love is emphasized. Those who have been drawn to Christ out of a world that rejects Him, should be characterized by love for each other. Alas, how often has it been otherwise!
Then there follows an exhortation to show hospitality to strangers, probably visiting servants of Christ first of all, and then of course others of Gods children who might be in need of kindly-entertainment as they pass from place to place, particularly those who were fleeing from persecution. Of old, some who thought they were thus showing courtesy merely to men, found it was their hallowed privilege to serve angelic visitors.
Many were already in bonds for Christs sake. The saints were exhorted to remember them and to keep in mind all who were suffering, from whatever cause, as being themselves still in the body and therefore exposed to similar testings. None knew when his turn might come to endure affliction for the sake of that worthy Name.
In contradistinction to the loose and immoral ideas so common in that day, and even in our day unblushingly held by many, marriage was to be recognized as honorable because of a divinely ordained relationship, and to be preserved in purity, knowing for certain that those who violated the marriage covenant would have to face God regarding their sin.
The Christian too should live a quiet consistent life, not coveting what others might possess, but content with what God had given, knowing that in Christ Himself he had been granted more than any worldling ever knew. To have His promise, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, was enough. What more could be desired until called Home to be forever with Himself. Therefore in faith, each believer could confidently exclaim, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Some one has well said, God is a Substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for God.
In that circle of Gods favor,
Circle of the Fathers love,
All is rest, and rest forever,
All is perfectness above.
Blessed, glorious word forever!-
Yea, forever is the word,
Nothing can the ransomed sever,
Nought divide them from the Lord.
Section E. Heb 13:7-21
The Call to Absolute Separation from the Old System, Judaism
If we are correct in believing, in spite of what many have alleged to the contrary, that the apostle Paul was the author of this Epistle, we can well understand how earnestly he would now plead for complete separation from the ancient system, the glory of which had departed since the rejection of Gods Son. The dark clouds of judgment were hanging low over the land of Palestine. In a little while the sacred city would be a ruined heap. No more would the smoke of sacrifice ascend from Jewish altars. Moreover, most of the apostolic company had either been called Home or were laboring in distant lands. Paul himself was very shortly to be martyred by the executioners axe. With all these things pressing upon his soul, he urges the Hebrew believers to make a complete break with that system which had rejected the Lord of Glory.
And first he calls upon them to remember those who had been their guides in days gone by, who had instructed them in the Word of God, for here, in Heb 13:7, it is evident that he has in mind those who are no longer with them. They are to remember their leaders of the past and to imitate their faith, considering the end, or issue, of their manner of life. These men for Christs sake had suffered and toiled, gladly resigning all thought of worldly preferment that He might be glorified in their lives. The object of their faith was Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and unto the ages to come; the unchanging Christ ever abiding amid changing scenes who is to be the Object of His peoples hearts. It is important to remember that this does not imply that our Lords administrations are always of the same character. There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. He does not act in the same way in every dispensation, but He Himself abides the same in Person. If this were constantly kept in mind, Christians would not confuse things which God has clearly distinguished. For instance, it is often said by those who do not think clearly, that because the Lord healed all the sick who came to Him when He was here on earth, He will do the same to-day for all who seek His help, because He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Strange that they do not go farther, and insist that He will raise the dead and restore to them their loved ones now as He did three times when here on earth. Such confusion of mind would be avoided if the differences of administrations were clearly apprehended.
The next warning is against false teaching. From a very early day men arose in the Christian companies and particularly in Jewish assemblies, presenting new and perverse teaching, against which it was necessary to warn the disciples. Some of these laid great stress on Mosaic and Rabbinic commandments concerning meats and ordinances which were connected with the temple service and had no proper place in the Christian economy. And so he writes, Be not carried about with various 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.
And now in Heb 13:10-14 we have the direct commandment to come outside the camp of Judaism in holy separation to the Lord Jesus Himself. We have an altar, he tells us, of which they who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat; that is, our altar and our service are all of a heavenly character. Since Christ has died there is no altar on earth; but in Heaven, that of which the golden altar was a type, abides, where Christ makes intercession for us. To talk of any other altar, as is done in Romanism for instance, and some sects of Protestantism, is to deny the truth of the finished work of Christ.
No blood, no altar now,
The sacrifice is oer;
No flame nor smoke ascends on high,
The Lamb is slain no more.
In the time when the old Testament ritual was still recognized by God, the bodies of those beasts whose blood was brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, when the sin offering was presented to God, were burned in a clean place outside the camp. In fulfilment of the type, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, that is, that He might set them apart to God in all the value of His atoning work, suffered without the gate. He took the outside place there to bear the judgment that our sins deserved, and now we put our trust in Him, the rejected One, as our Saviour, and confess Him as our Lord. In faithfulness to the call of God we are to be identified with Him in His rejection, so the apostle exhorts, Let us go forth unto Him.
To these Hebrews this would mean even more than to believers in a later day, who have never been attached as they were to a divinely ordained system which was afterwards disowned by God. The deepest affections of their hearts, until they knew Christ, were twined about that system, but the apostle, speaking as a Jew to those who like himself had owned the Messiahship of Jesus, says, Let us go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. It was a tremendous challenge to these Hebrew Christians. It meant the breaking of the tenderest of ties, and would necessarily lead to the gravest misunderstandings, but in no other way could they be faithful to the One whom the nation of the Jews had refused, but who had bought them with His blood. They must imitate their father Abraham, who left country and kindred because he sought a city which had foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.
I need hardly dwell on the fact that this expression, Let us go forth unto Him without the camp, has been gravely abused and greatly misused by many who would make of it the ground for separation from Christians often as godly as themselves, on the pretence that if they do not see eye to eye with them they themselves constitute the camp. But it is separation from Judaism of which the apostle is speaking; and not, thank God, from Christendom, which however far it may have departed in some respects from New Testament truth, has not yet been disowned by God.
In saying this, I would not for a moment be understood as condoning what is admittedly evil and unholy, but I do not think it can be insisted upon too strongly that there is no ground in this scripture for ecclesiastical pretension of any kind whatsoever. Ruin and failure are everywhere, and call for humble confession and self-judgment, not for pride of position.
We next have two verses that bring before us in a very precious way the sacrifice which believer-priests are now privileged to offer, for be it remembered, all Christians are now holy and royal priests. As holy priests we are to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. God has said, Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me. As holy priests, we enter into the sanctuary to present our worship and adoration to Him whom we now know as our God and Father. Then as royal priests we go out to man on Gods behalf, and so we have the exhortation, But to do good and to share what you have with others, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Our priesthood has both a Godward and a manward aspect, thus preserving that even balance which is so characteristic of the Word of God.
We have seen, in verse seven, how the writer called upon the saints to remember those who in days gone by had the rule over them. Now in verse seventeen he stresses obedience to those who now care for them in holy things. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as those that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you. True spiritual authority will be manifested by real shepherd-care of the people of God, and when the Head of the Church gives the pastoral gift, it is for the blessing of all. To flaunt such a gift or to refuse recognition of it is to ignore and despise the Head Himself. On the other hand to confound the pastoral gift with the so-called clerical order is utterly unscriptural. No amount of training or ecclesiastical recognition can make a man a pastor. It is the Head of the Church Himself who gives such a gift to His people.
In true Pauline fashion the writer begs for an interest in their prayers. How characteristic this was of Paul! He says, Pray for us; for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this that I may be restored to you the sooner. At the most, he realized that in all probability it would not be very long until he sealed his testimony with his blood, and yet if in answer to prayer he might be restored to service for a little time, he would value this, while being in all things subject to the will of God. Who can tell how much each servant of Christ is indebted to the prayers of Gods hidden ones? To bear such up before Him is a wondrous ministry, the full fruit of which will only be manifested in that day when every secret thing will be revealed and each one will be rewarded according to his own service. Let none think that it is a little thing to pray. There is no higher ministry, no more important office, than that of the intercessor.
The beautiful benediction of verses twenty and twenty-one brings the Epistle proper to a close. How often the words have been uttered through the centuries; how preciously they still come home to every believing heart! 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, 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 for ever and ever. Amen. How blessed the title, The God of peace! It is found elsewhere in the New Testament, as we know, and it tells of peace made by the blood of the cross, on the basis of which God is now speaking peace to all who trust His Son. Having raised from the dead Him who as the Good Shepherd offered Himself in behalf of the sheep and shed His blood for their redemption, thus sealing the everlasting covenant, God has now made that same Jesus to be both Lord and Christ. Exalted to the Fathers right hand, He is now the Great Shepherd guiding His chosen flock through the wilderness of this world. Soon, as the apostle Peter tells us, He will return in glory as the Chief Shepherd (1Pe 5:4), to whom all the under-shepherds must render their account. Meantime, by His Spirit, He is working in those for whom He once wrought so effecttually on Calvarys cross. By this inward work He is sanctifying His people to Himself, daily making them more like their blessed Master, to whom all the glory of their salvation belongs both now and for eternity. And so the Amen closes the doctrinal and practical parts of the letter.
Section F. Heb 13:22-25
Concluding Salutations. Pauls Secret Mark
The concluding salutations need not occupy us long. In verse twenty-two he pleads with them to receive the word of exhortation, which will cut right across all their natural inclinations, but which he was pressed in the spirit to write, because of the circumstances in which they were found.
His companion Timothy who had apparently also been in prison, was now at liberty, and he hoped with Timothy to visit again the churches in which these Jewish believers were found, if it should be the will of the Lord. Then once more he mentions their guides, those who had oversight in spiritual things, sending to them a special salutation as well as to all the saints. This recognition of their leaders would come with good grace indeed from the apostle Paul, for there had been many who sought to bring about a breach between him and them. But he himself refuses to acknowledge anything of the kind, and he recognizes them in their God-given place as caring for the souls of the saints. The Italian brethren, doubtless Christians in Home, and elsewhere, joined with him in this salutation.
He concludes the letter by putting upon it what we have seen to be his own secret mark, Grace be with you all. Amen.
While specifically set apart by God as the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul never forgot that he himself was a Jew by nature. He knew all that it meant for his people to declare themselves followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. His heart yearned over them, and he was jealous with a holy jealousy lest they should come short of their full blessing by temporizing and clinging too long to forms and ceremonies, the legality and carnality of that which had now become a mere lifeless system since Gods own Son had been crucified. He would have them enter into and enjoy in the fullest possible way that grace which was the very centre and epitome of his message both to Jew and Gentile.
As we review the history of Christendom we can see today how necessary was this cleavage. The heart of man readily falls in with forms and ceremonies. It is only those who are led of God who worship in Spirit and in truth. On every hand men are turning back to ritualistic forms and liturgical systems, seeking thus to make up for the increasing lack of true spirituality and devotedness to Christ. Unsaved men can enjoy a religious service, but only the regenerate can worship by the Spirit of God.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Heb 13:1-16
I. Having warned the Hebrews against the dangers of selfishness, fleshly lusts, and covetousness, the Apostle proceeds to warn them against the dangers threatening their faith and loyalty to Christ. He reminds them of the guides, the teachers and rulers, whom God had given to them-men who laboured in the ministry of the Lord, and sealed their testimony with their death. They had passed away, but the great Prophet, the great Apostle and High Priest, the true Shepherd, remained, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever. He is the only foundation, and His the only name. The heart finds rest in thinking of Him, the Rock of ages, the eternal unchanging Son of God, our Lord, Saviour, and Mediator.
II. We who believe possess the true altar. Of the type of this altar they who served the tabernacle were allowed to eat, but the reality was hid from them. By faith we behold it, and our hearts are stablished.
III. A joyous heart is also a generous heart. When we praise the Lord, the bountiful Giver, and thank Him for the gifts of His grace, gifts so undeserved, precious, and abundant, our hearts will be liberal. We shall not forget to do good and communicate; rather shall we be anxious to discover the good works ordained for us, that we may walk in them, to find out the poor and needy, the lowly and afflicted members of Christ, that we may help and cheer them. And as both the praise and the works are fruits of the Spirit, brought forth by the living branches, so it is by Christ’s intercession that they ascend unto the Father and are well-pleasing unto Him.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 423.
References: Heb 13:1-19.-R. W. Dale, The Jewish Temple and the Christian Church, p. 276. Heb 13:2.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. viii., p. 296; H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2619; Homilist, 3rd series, vol. ix., p. 99. Heb 13:3.-Bishop Westcott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxvi., p. 97; Case, Short Practical Sermons, p. 114. Heb 13:4.-R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 267.
Heb 13:5
I. This word is sufficient, because God has spoken it. We say of some men, “Their word is their bond.” Shall we say less of the living One, of whose eternity our life is but a spark?
II. This word is inspiring, because it pledges the personal fellowship of God. “I will never leave thee”; not, “Angels shall be sent to thee,” etc. To the Church Jesus says, “I am with you alway.”
III. This word is complete, because it embraces all time. The child becomes free of the parent; the apprentice is liberated from his bonds; the hireling fulfils his day; but union with God is perpetual, and its joy is an ever-augmenting sum.
IV. This word is condescending, because it is personal in its application. It is not a pledge given to the universe as a whole; it is spoken to the individual heart, and is to be applied by each heart according to special circumstances. The whole exists for the part as well as the part for the whole. Every flower may claim the sun.
V. This word is assuring, because it is redundant in its expression. “I will never leave thee” would have been enough for a merely technical bond; more is added: we have word upon word, so that the heart cannot escape the golden walls of protection and security. Love does not study terseness; it must be emphatic: it must be copious.
Parker, City Temple, vol. ii., p. 16.
References: Heb 13:5.-W. C. Heaton, Church Sermons, vol. i., p. 73; C. Morris, Preacher’s Lantern, vol. ii., p. 620; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 477; vol. xxxii., No. 1880; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 52; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ii., p. 269. Heb 13:7.-A. Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 312. Heb 13:7-9.-J. Oswald Dykes, Sermons, p. 369.
Heb 13:8
The Unchanging Christ.
Note:-
I. The unchanging Christ in His relation to our changeful lives. The one thing of which anticipation may be sure is, that nothing continues in one stay. There is only one thing that will enable us to front the else intolerable certainty of uncertainty, and that is to fall back upon the thought of my text.
II. Think of the relation between the unchanging Christ and the dying helpers. Just as on the face of some great wooded cliff, when the leaves drop, the solemn strength of the everlasting rock gleams out pure, so, when our dear ones fall away, Jesus Christ is revealed, “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.”
III. We may apply the thought to the relation between the unchanging Christ and decaying institutions and opinions. His sameness is consistent with an infinite unfolding of new preciousness and new powers as new generations with new questions arise, and the world seeks for fresh guidance.
IV. Look at the words in their application to the relation between the unchanging Christ and the eternal love of heaven. It will be the same Christ, the Mediator, the Revealer, in heaven as on earth, whom we here dimly saw and knew to be the Sun of our souls through the clouds and mists of earth.
A. Maclaren, The Unchanging Christy p. 1.
References: Heb 13:8.-A. Mackennal, Christ’s Healing Touch, p. 276; H. W. Beecher, Sermons (1870), p. 391; J. Vaughan, Sermons, 12th series, p. 45; E. Paxton Hood, Dark Sayings on a Harp, p. 157; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv., No. 170; vol. xv., No. 848; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 97; A. Blomfield, Sermons in Town and Country, p. 1; T. J. Crawford, The Preaching of the Cross, p. 198; J. P. Gledstone, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 187; J. Culross, Ibid., vol. xxxv., p. 49; A. Rowland, Ibid., vol. xxxvi., p. 291; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 560. Heb 13:9.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 294; J. Natt, Posthumous Sermons, p. 345. Heb 13:10-14.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 67; vol. xxvii., p. 188. Heb 13:11-14.-Ibid., Plymouth Pulpit, p. 305. Heb 13:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x., No. 577.
Heb 13:13-14
Without the Camp.
Consider:-
I. The exhortation in the text, “Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp.” (1) It is a call to abiding trust in Christ as our great atoning sacrifice. (2) It is a call to separation from the world in spirit and character, and from whatever would hinder our loving fellowship with Christ.
II. The trial connected with due obedience to that call, “bearing His reproach,” that is, reproach for Christ. Let us take this to ourselves. (1) It teaches that, while the Lord exercises a gracious sovereignty in His dealings with His people, He would have them reckon while here on reproach and trouble. (2) It is a call to steadfastness and perseverance in the path of duty, notwithstanding all reproach and suffering.
III. The reason or argument to enforce the exhortation: “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (1) The statement describes the condition of Christ’s people here in this present world. (2) The thought is an argument and encouragement in pressing the exhortation of the text.
R. Elder, The Redeemer’s Cry, p. 61.
Heb 13:14
An Ever-changing Scene.
These words sum up what was certainly the Apostolic mind as to the position of Christians in this world. They were members of a vast, and powerful, and complex association which we call human society; but, with all its great attributes, it wanted one-it wanted permanence. The world passes away, is passing away, as we work and speak. But though here we have no continuing city, yet we do seek one to come. Born amid change, surrounded by change in every form, knowing nothing by experience but change, the subject and the sport of change, the human heart yet obstinately clings to its longing for the unchanging and the eternal. Christian souls, thought the Apostle, not only long for it, but look for it. We seek that which is to come-seek it by believing that we shall one day reach it.
I. “Here have we no continuing city.” We are all of us under the unalterable necessity of change in one way or other. It is the absolute condition of existing now and here. The fact may affect or impress us in many ways; it may darken or it may brighten life; it may depress or discourage, or it may inspire with undying hope. We may find in it the highest summons to courage, or the excuse for the most enervating sentimentalism. The idea of the sovereignty of God is the counterpart throughout the Psalms set over against all that is unsatisfying, disastrous, transitory, untrustworthy, not only in man’s condition, but in the best that he can do. The Psalms are always the expression of the will to fulfil God’s purpose, though very often of that will baffled; but they always fall back when the will is baffled, not on despair, but on the conviction that men’s lives are in the hand of God.
II. The Psalmists cast themselves into the arms of God, and they were blessed. Oh that we could catch something of the contagion of that faith and hope as day by day we repeat again their wonderful words! Search as we will, we can find nothing to rest upon, nothing that will endure the real trial, but the faith of the Psalmists in the eternal kingdom of God, the faith of the Psalmists lit up by the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, the faith of men who are not afraid to meet their real circumstances, who are not afraid to trust in longing and self-surrender.
R. W. Church, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 369.
References: Heb 13:14.-H. W. Beecher, Plymouth Pulpit, 10th series, p. 337; Ibid., Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 83; S. Martin, Sermons, p. 77; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 88; E. Blencowe, Plain Sermons to a Country Congregation, vol. ii., p. 473; Homilist, 1st series, vol. v., p. 101. Heb 13:15.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iii., p. 89. Heb 13:16.-G. G. Bradley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxiv., p. 337; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 189. Heb 13:17.-Ibid., vol. i., p. 11; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 1st series, p. 211; E. Cooper, Practical Sermons, vol. ii., p. 256.
Heb 13:17-25
I. The Author of peace. From all eternity God purposed in Himself the counsel of peace; and when, by reason of sin, discord and misery came into the world, the Lord always comforted His people by the promise of redemption. Our peace is complete the moment we believe in Jesus; our peace is consummated when we are presented unto the Father at the coming of our Lord. In like manner we are still looking forward to our salvation and our adoption.
II. Jesus the channel of peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the Paschal Lamb on Calvary. From that moment our peace was purchased, and we were identified with the Substitute. God has raised and exalted Him and us with Him; God has thereby made peace and perfection.
III. God works in us. He gives good desires, true petitions, loving words and works. He prepares us for the work in time, as He prepared the work for us in eternity. Look with the eye of faith to the Lord, and you will receive not merely the commandment, but the spirit and the power to obey it; you will not merely see the Example, but be conformed to His image.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 439.
Heb 13:20
The Great Pleas of a Great Prayer.
I. The name of God is the warrant for our largest hope. “The God of peace” wills to give to men something not altogether unlike the tranquillity which He Himself possesses. What is it that breaks human peace? Is it emotion, change, or any of the necessary conditions of our earthly life? By no means. It is possible to carry an unflickering flame through the wildest tempests, if only there be a sheltering hand round about it; and it is possible that my agitated and tremulous nature, blown upon by all the winds of heaven, may still burn straight upwards, undeviating from its steady aspiration, if only the hand of the Lord be about me. Just because God is the God of peace, it must be His desire to impart His own tranquillity to us. The sure way by which that deep calm within the breast can be received and retained is by His imparting to us just what the writer here asks for these Hebrews-hearts ready for every good work and wills submitted to His will.
II. Note, secondly, how the raising of the Shepherd is the prophecy for the sheep. The principal thought implied here is that where the Shepherd goes the sheep follow. Christ’s resurrection and session in glory at the right hand of God point the path and the goal for all His servants. In Him there is power to make each of us as pure, as sinless, as the Lord Himself in whom we trust. He rose, and sits crowned with glory and honour. “The God that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,” has pledged Himself thereby that the sheep, who imperfectly follow Him here when He goeth before them, shall find Him gone before them into the heavens, and there will “follow Him whithersoever He goeth,” in the perfect likeness and perfect purity of the perfect kingdom.
III. The everlasting covenant is the teacher and pledge of our largest desires. It is not fashionable in modern theology to talk about God’s covenant to us. Our forefathers used to have a great deal to say about it, and it became a technical word with them; and so this generation has very little to say about it, and seldom thinks of the great ideas that are contained in it. But is it not a grand thought, and a profoundly true one, that God, like some great monarch who deigns to grant a constitution to his people, has condescended to lay down conditions by which He will be bound, and on which we may reckon? Out of the illimitable possibilities of action, limited only by His own nature and all incapable of being foretold by us, He has marked a track on which He will go. If I may so say, across the great ocean of possible action He has buoyed out His course, and we may prick it down upon our charts, and be quite sure that we shall find Him there. Your desires can never be so outstretched as to go beyond the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ; and through the ages of time or eternity the everlasting covenant remains, to which it shall be our wisdom and blessedness to widen our hopes, to expand our desires, conform our wishes, and adapt our work.
A. Maclaren, Paul’s Prayers, p. 80.
The Work of God.
I. Look at the aspect in which God is here presented. (1) A God of peace. Sin banished the peace which God sent His Son to restore; and when the world is won over to Christ, and the crowns of earth, like those of heaven, are laid at His feet, then shall God be known as the God, and our world shall be known as the abode of peace. (2) God has made peace, not peace at any price; it is peace at such a price as satisfied the utmost demands of His law, and fully vindicated His holiness in the sight of the universe. For see, by the cross where Jesus hung, mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace are embracing each other; and there the great God appears as just, and also the Justifier of all those that believe in Jesus.
II. He brought Christ from the dead. (1) In one sense the glory of His resurrection belongs to Christ Himself. His death was in a peculiar sense His own act. In no case do we lay down our lives. Who dies a natural death has his life taken from him; who commits suicide throws his away. But He who said, “I have power to lay down My life,” also said, “I have power to take it up again.” (2) Here our Lord’s resurrection is attributed to God. His resurrection is the crown of His labours; the token of His acceptance; the fruit of His deed. The God of peace raises Him from the dead, not simply by His almighty power, but “through the blood of the everlasting covenant,” His own blood, as if the blood that washes away our sins, sprinkled on His dead face, restored Him to life; sprinkled on the chains of death, dissolved them; sprinkled on the doors of the grave, threw them open. Most precious and potent blood! May it be sprinkled in red showers from God’s hand on us! If that blood, in a sense, gave life to a dead Christ, shall it not impart life to us? Yes. Through its power, dead with Him to sin, crucified with Him to the flesh, and buried with Him in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we rise to newness of life.
T. Guthrie, The Way to Life, p. 117.
Heb 13:20
I. Notice the simple, human name Jesus. (1) Let us ever keep distinctly before us that suffering dying manhood as the only ground of acceptable sacrifice, and of full access and approach to God. The true humanity of our Lord is the basis of His work of atonement, of intercession, and of reconciliation. (2) Then, further, let us ever keep before our mind clear and plain that true manhood of Jesus as being the type and pattern of the devout life. He is the Author and Finisher of faith, the first example-though not first in order of time, yet in order of nature and perfect in degree-the pattern for us all, of the life which says, “The life that I live, I live by dependence upon God.” (3) Then, again, let us see clearly set before us that exalted manhood as the pattern and pledge of the glory of the race. “We see Jesus, crowned with glory and honour.” Pessimism shrivels at the sight, and we cannot entertain too lofty views of the possibilities of humanity and the certainties for all who put their trust in Him. If He be crowned with glory and honour, the vision is fulfilled, and the dream is a reality; and it shall be fulfilled in the rest of us who love Him.
II. Secondly, we have the name of office. Jesus is Christ. Is your Jesus merely the man who by the meek gentleness of his nature, the winning attractiveness of his persuasive speech, draws and conquers and stands manifested as the perfect example of the highest form of manhood, or is He the Christ in whom the hopes of a thousand generations are realised, and the promises of God fulfilled, and the smoking altars and the sacrificing priests of that ancient system and of heathenism everywhere find their answer, their meaning, their satisfaction, their abrogation? Is Jesus to you the Christ of God?
III. Lastly, we have the name of Divinity. Jesus the Christ is the Son of God. (1) The name declares timeless being; it declares that He is the very raying out of the Divine glory; it declares that He is the embodiment and type of the Divine essence; it declares that He by Himself purged our sins; it declares that He sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Further, the name is employed in its contracted form to enhance the mystery and the mercy of His sharp sufferings and of His lowly endurance. “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.” The fuller form is employed to enhance the depth of the guilt and the dreadfulness of the consequences of apostacy, as in the solemn words about “crucifying the Son of God afresh” and in the awful appeal to our own judgments to estimate of how sore punishment they are worthy who trample under foot the Son of God.
A. Maclaren, The God of the Amen, p. 8.
References: Heb 13:20.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 277; S. A. Tipple, Echoes of Spoken Words, p. 19. Heb 13:20, Heb 13:21.-A. Raleigh, The Way to the City, p. 175; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx., No. 1186; vol. xxiii., No. 1368. Heb 13:20-24.-R. W. Dale, The Jewish Temple and the Christian Church, p. 286.
Heb 13:21
The Great Prayer Based on Great Pleas.
I. Consider the prayer which the name excites: “Make you perfect in every good work.” We should expect that all the discord of our nature shall be changed into a harmonious cooperation of all its parts towards one great end. We bear about within us a warring anarchy and tumultuous chaos, where solid and fluid, warm and cold, light and dark, storm and calm, contend. Is there any power that can harmonise this divided nature of ours, where lusts, and passions, and inclinations of all sorts, drag one way and duty draws another, so that a man is torn apart as it were with wild horses? There is one. “The worlds” were harmonised, adapted, and framed together, chaos turned into order and beauty, and the God of peace will come and do that for us, if we will let Him, so that the low schism which affects our natures may be changed into perfect harmony.
II. Note, secondly, the Divine work which fulfils the prayer: “Working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.” Creation, providence, and all God’s works in the world, are also through Jesus Christ. But the work which is spoken of here is yet greater and more wonderful. There is, says the text, an actual Divine operation in the inmost spirit of every believing man. God does not work by magic. The Spirit of God, who cleanses men’s hearts, cleanses them on condition (1) of their faith, (2) of their submission, and (3) of their use of His gift. If you fling yourselves into the war of worldly life, the noise of the streets and whirring of the looms, and the racket of the children in the nursery, and the buzzings of temptations round about you, and your own passions, will deafen your ears so that you will never hear the still small voice that speaks a present God.
III. Lastly, notice the visible manifestation of the inward work. God works in order that you and I may work. Our action is to follow His. Practical obedience is the issue, and it is the test, of our having this Divine operation in our hearts. There are plenty of people who will talk largely about spiritual gifts, and almost vaunt their possession of such a Divine operation. Let us bring them and ourselves to the test, Are you doing God’s will in daily life in the little things? If so, then you may believe that God is working in you. If not, it is of no use to talk about spiritual gifts. The test of being filled with the Divine operation is that our actions shall be conformed to His will. Action is the end of all. We get the truth, we get our souls saved, we have all the abundance and exuberance of Divine revelation, we have the cross of Jesus Christ, we have the gift of the Divine Spirit, miracles and marvels of all sorts have been done, for the one purpose to make us able to do what is right in God’s sight, and to do it because it is His will.
A. Maclaren, Paul’s Prayers, p. 91.
References: Heb 13:22.-Expositor, 1st series, vol. vii., p. 155; Fletcher, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 157.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 13
1. The practical walk (Heb 13:1-6)
2. The call to separation (Heb 13:7-16)
3. Conclusions (Heb 13:17-25)
Heb 13:1-6
No comment is needed on the simple exhortations with which this concluding chapter of this Epistle begins. Brotherly love stands in the foreground. Hospitality and loving kindness to prisoners and those who suffer adversity is especially enjoined. The great high priest in glory sympathizes with such a condition of His saints and we too are to be sympathizers as well as intercessors with Him. The life is to be clean and undefiled. Walking in faith there should be not covetousness but happy contentment in view of His never failing promise.
Heb 13:7-16
The first exhortation in these verses is that they should remember their leaders who had spoken the Word of God to them, to follow their faith and to consider the issue of their walk. These leaders had passed away from the earthly service into the presence of the Lord. One abides the same. He must be exalted above everything and He alone can satisfy the hearts of His people. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He is the unchanging Jehovah who had spoken of old I am the Lord who changeth not. What a One to follow and to trust. From Him and His gracious riches the enemy tries to lead away Gods people and ensnare them. Christ is the person whom Satan hates and all wicked and strange doctrines are invented by him to dishonor that worthy name and to spoil Gods children.
Then follows the call to separation, the great exhortation at which the Holy Spirit aimed from the beginning of this document and which He now presses upon the conscience. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat who are serving the tabernacle. That altar is Christ for those who have left the shadow things behind and who have found in Him their all in all.
Those who still cling to the Jewish things have no right of access; they have no right to eat if they serve the tabernacle, for everything has passed away since the substance in Christ has come. They had put Christ outside. All had been done as foreshadowed by the legal sacrifices. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. And now all is done and the whole Jewish system has no more meaning. To remain in it and practice the old things, which are gone, is a denial of Christ and His work as the sin-bearer. The camp is the people who continued in the things of the law, who denied thereby that the new sacrifice had been brought; who still used an earthly priesthood and denied thereby that the new and living way into the holy place had been made by the blood of Jesus, the rent veil.
Ritualistic Christendom with its man-made priesthood, its so-called saving ordinances, its legal principle, so prominent, not only in the worst form of apostate Christendom (the Romish church), but in other systems and sects, is but another camp in which the truth of Christ and His all sufficient work is denied. Outside of the camp is found the cross of Christ with all its grace and glory. And therefore the exhortation, which seems to us was the all-important message for these Hebrews (and for us as well) let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. In other words, leave all behind, be separate from all, which denies the cross and the work accomplished there. And outside the camp must mean inside the veil, to enjoy the perfection in Christ, to be in Gods holy presence as a true worshipper. For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Php 3:3).
This priesthood of which Peter speaks (1Pe 2:5) is mentioned here also. By Him therefore (not by an earthly priest or in an earthly tabernacle) let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. And besides this, which is done inside the veil, there is another aspect to the sacrifice we bring in His name–to do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Heb 13:17-25
They were to obey the leaders and submit themselves. These leaders watched over their souls as those that shall give account in the coming day of Christ. And by obedience and submission they honored Him who has made them the overseers of the flock of God. Well it would be if all workers would never lose sight of the fact that they are accountable to the Lord. The writer of the Epistle, no doubt the apostle Paul, requests their prayers, pray for us. (The fact is that none need the prayers of Gods people more than those who are active and prominent in the Lords work. Practically occupied with preaching and teaching others, how great the danger is of going on with a conscience not good about themselves! And what can more decidedly defile or harden?) In true humility, so characteristic of Paul he writes for we persuade ourselves that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honestly. Most ask prayer because their conscience is bad. He beseeches them that they may do this, so that by their prayer of intercession he might be restored to them the sooner. (See Phm 1:22.) He valued the prayers of the saints.
Then follows that blessed prayer so well suited to this epistle and its great truths. Now the God of peace that brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, perfect you in every good work to do His will, working in you what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever (unto the ages of the ages). Amen.
In the final words the apostle beseeches them to bear with the word of exhortation as contained in the letter. The mention of Timothy is another evidence that Paul wrote Hebrews. Brief salutations and the benediction closes this wonderful portion of the Word of God. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Let Brotherly Love Continue
Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb 13:1-2
How often our Lord encourages us to love one another! Nothing is more like our Savior than love. Nothing is more unlike him than the absence of love. As he brings his Epistle to its inspired conclusion, the Apostle Paul makes his final word of instruction an encouragement to brotherly love. The last chapter of the Book of Hebrews begins with these wordsLet brotherly love continue.
Paul has been encouraging us to persevere in the faith, to continue in the grace of God, to run with patience the race that is set before us. Then, he says, Let brotherly love continue. It is as though he is saying, The way to run this race, the way to persevere in grace, the way to walk in faith is to keep on loving one another.
Multitudes live in religious bondage, trying to obey rules and regulations imposed upon them by their leaders. These rules of bondage people everywhere call practical godliness. Our Lord calls them vain traditions, works of the flesh, a vain show in the flesh, and a form of godliness. Here, in these seven verses of Inspiration, the Holy Spirit shows us that godliness is to be measured by love. This is very much the same thing that James says in Jas 1:26-27.
Love Expressed by Deeds
First, we see that love is expressed by deeds (vv.1-4). As was his custom, having finished his doctrinal instruction, Paul here applies his doctrine to our everyday lives. He begins the application of his doctrine with these words, Let brotherly love continue. He is saying, Children of God, never cease loving one another. Let nothing divide your hearts. Make it your lifes business to love one another and to show your love to one another. Let brotherly love continue in you and among you.
We are to love all men, even our enemies; but the love Paul is talking about here is that special family love that God plants in the hearts of his people for one another. It is the love of hearts united to Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is love Gal 5:22; Joh 13:35; 1Jn 3:7-11; 1Jn 4:20; 1Jn 5:1).
I am not talking about lip love. Anyone can say, I love you, or I love my brethren. Lip love is no love. Love is manifest by deeds. And the deeds, by which the love of Christ in us is manifest, are not matters about which we have to guess. If we love one another, we pray for one another. Thats how Christ loves us. Isnt it? If we love one another, we bear one another’s burdens. Thats how Christ loves us. Isnt it? If we love one another, we are forbearing, patient, longsuffering, and forgiving with one another. Thats how Christ loves us. Isnt it? If we love one another, we meet together to encourage and exhort one another. Thats how Christ loves us. Isnt it?
If we do not love one another, any profession of faith we have is but a meaningless, vain delusion (1Pe 2:17; 1Jn 3:14-18; 1Co 13:1-7). Paul says, Brethren, see that you make this the fixed principle by which you live, the unbroken habit of your lives. Love one another. As you grow in love for Christ, grow in love for one another.
Hospitality
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Heb 13:2). Here the Holy Spirit tells us something about how this love for the brethren is to be expressed. Love is hospitable, given to hospitality. We know that a pastor must be a man given to hospitality; but the reason that is a requirement for one who preaches the gospel is simply the fact that faith in Christ makes people loving, gracious, hospitable.
The Amplified Version gives us an excellent paraphrase of this verse. Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.
We must never neglect or fail to care for and meet the needs of Gods people in this world. When the Apostle tells us to entertain strangers he is not suggesting that we open our homes and invite people into them who are strangers to us, though that may certainly be included. We have a responsibility to protect our families. The strangers he speaks of here are the strangers spoken of in Heb 13:13 of chapter 11. They are our brethren who are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We must never fail to use that which God has trusted to our hands, as stewards in his house, to benefit, minister to, and comfort his people in this world. We are to make it a matter of conscious effort to be friendly, cordial, and gracious toward Gods people (especially those who cannot return the kindness), sharing the comforts and provisions of our homes generously.
When you invite one of Gods people into your home and into your life, you may just be inviting an angel of God, a special messenger of God into your home and life for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Gen 18:1-8; Gen 19:1-3; Luk 24:28-31). And our Savior tells us that entertaining one of his people is entertaining him (Mat 25:38-40).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
angels
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Heb 6:10, Heb 6:11, Heb 10:24, Joh 13:34, Joh 13:35, Joh 15:17, Act 2:1, Act 2:44-46, Act 4:32, Rom 12:9, Rom 12:10, Gal 5:6, Gal 5:13, Gal 5:22, Eph 4:3, Eph 5:2, Phi 2:1-3, 1Th 4:9, 1Th 4:10, 2Th 1:3, 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 2:17, 1Pe 3:8, 1Pe 4:8, 2Pe 1:7, 1Jo 2:9, 1Jo 2:10, 1Jo 3:10-18, 1Jo 3:23, 1Jo 4:7-11, 1Jo 4:20, 1Jo 4:21, 1Jo 5:1, 2Jo 1:5, 2Jo 1:6, Rev 2:4
Reciprocal: Gen 13:8 – brethren Gen 43:29 – God Gen 49:1 – Gather 1Sa 30:21 – came near 2Ch 11:4 – against 2Ch 28:11 – deliver Job 1:4 – sent and called Psa 133:1 – how good Mat 25:35 – I was a Act 6:1 – there Act 21:17 – the brethren Heb 13:16 – to do Heb 13:22 – suffer Jam 1:16 – my 1Jo 3:14 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
AN APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
Let brotherly love continue.
Heb 13:1
Brotherly love had been a conspicuous feature of the early Church (Act 2:44-46; Act 4:34-35; Act 11:27-29; Heb 10:32-33). But in the perilous times foretold, the love of many would wax cold; hence the call to continuance. This love is described in 1 Corinthians 13. as very different from mere friendliness of disposition. And this, so contrary to our natural tendency, may reveal where, above all, the battle of our spiritual life must be fought.
Let brotherly love continue. Why?
I. It is necessary for the well-being of the Church.Love is the bond which keeps Christians together. Love is the only atmosphere in which Christian life can flourish. Love raises the fallen, cheers the sorrowing, encourages the timid, and restrains by affectionate concern the wavering and tempted. Love is the element in which the Divine Spirit can do His work, for love is of heaven, and God is love.
II. It is necessary for the fulfilment of our duty to one another.Gather together the laws which describe our treatment of one another: Forbearing one another; Forgiving one another; Let each esteem other better than himself; Envying not; Seeking not our own, but others good; Bear ye one anothers burdens; In honour preferring one another, etc. These lofty, comprehensive commands, embracing thoughts as well as deeds, are wholly impracticable save to the man who has learnt to love. Love is the motive-power of all right feeling and action towards our brother: Love is the fulfilling of the law.
III. It is necessary for our personal deliverance of self.Love is an old form of the word to live: to love is to live; we never truly live till we have learned to love. Until love possesses us, life is little more than a sepulchre, or, at best, a dungeon. He who only loves himself must be a lonely man, and live in a narrow place. The depressed, miserable, complaining (except those made so by disease) are those wrapped-up in themselves. To be imprisoned in oneself is to have a dreary home: love is the hand that opens the doors and admits us into liberty.
IV. It is necessary for the vindication of our Christian standing.Give diligence to make your calling and election sure (1Jn 3:14; Joh 13:35; 1Jn 4:7; 1Co 13:1-3). Can we stand the test?
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
THE FIRST VERSE of our chapter is very short but very important. The word continue is virtually the same as the word remain, which closes verse 27 of the previous chapter. Only the things which cannot be shaken are going to remain when the great day of shaking arrives; then, let brotherly love remain amongst the saints of God today. It is one of the things which will remain unshaken in eternity.
Let us recall that in the early part of the epistle believers are spoken of as the many sons being brought unto glory. Christ was seen to be the Captain of their salvation, who is not ashamed to call them brethren. Hence most evidently Christians are brethren, and the love existing between them, the fruit of the new nature divinely implanted, is to be cultivated. In fostering it we shall not be like children building a sandcastle to be washed away by the next tide, but like those who build for eternity.
Verses Heb 13:2-3 indicate two directions in which brotherly love is to express itself. First, in hospitality; that is, in the love of strangers. The world is usually prepared to receive those they esteem as important or influential, and thus to do honour to the distinguished guest. We are bidden to rise above merely worldly motives and to receive brethren unknown to us simply because they are brethren. This is true brotherly love in manifestation: a manifestation all too often but very little seen in our land. Second, it is to come out in the remembrance of brethren in adversity, particularly of those suffering imprisonment.
The word, remember, means to recollect in an active way; not merely to call to mind, but to do so with active sympathy. If one member suffer all the members suffer with it, we are told elsewhere; and what we find here is in keeping with that fact. True brotherly love would lead us so to remember all such sufferers as to sympathetically support and succour them, as far as we are able.
In verse Heb 13:4 natural love is in question, and that in the world has been sadly perverted and marred. By Christians it is to be preserved intact as a sanctified thing, which originated in God. In verse Heb 13:5 another love comes before us-the love of money. The Christians manner of life is to be characterized as being without this altogether, since this is a love which never originated in God at all. Only when man had become a fallen creature did he lose all love for God and enthrone in his heart earthly objects, and more particularly the money which enabled him to pursue them.
The word for us is, be content with such things as ye have, or, your present circumstances. A very searching word it is too! The world is filled with covetousness as much as ever, perhaps more than ever. God is not in all its thoughts, which are concentrated upon material gain. Out of this spring all the strifes. Envies, jealousies, heart-burnings, quarrellings are everywhere! Oh, let us so live as to present a very definite contrast to all this! May it be manifest to all that we are actuated by another love than the love of money!
But, it may be said, in these days of competition we must bend all our energies to the making of money, else we shall not long retain such things as we have, but shall sink into poverty. The answer to this thought is however immediately anticipated in these verses. We have the definite promise of His unfailing presence and support; consequently we may boldly count upon the Lord for all our needs, and have no fear of man.
There are two points of great interest about verses Heb 13:5-6. The first concerns the way in which the Old Testament Scripture is quoted. It was to Joshua that the Lord said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. We might very properly say to ourselves, But I am no Joshua. He was a very eminent man of faith, and I am a very insignificant and often a very feeble believer. Would it not be a rather forward and impertinent thing for me to calmly assume that a promise made to him is equally valid for me? It is delightful to discover from these verses that such an application of this ancient promise is not the boldness of presumption but the boldness of faith. The fact is, of course, that what God is, He is towards His people in all time and circumstances. There is no variableness nor shadow of turning with Him. He will not be less towards His people in this dispensation than He was in a past dispensation. We may wholly count upon Him.
The Christian poetess has said,
They that trust Him wholly,
Find Him wholly true.
This of course is so, but it is well when quoting these happy words to lay the stress on the word, find; since it is equally a fact that He is wholly true to those who do not trust Him wholly. Their defective faith will never provoke Him to defective faithfulness. No! But their defective faith will obscure their view of His faithfulness, and possibly they may never FIND Him wholly true,-never really wake up to it, as a realized and enjoyed thing-until they discover it in glory.
The second point of interest is not so much the application of this Old Testament text but rather the reasoning which is based upon it. The skeleton outline of the reasoning runs thus, He hath said… so that we may boldly say… If God speaks we may accept what He says with all confidence. More than this, we may assert what He asserts with all boldness. And we may do even more than this. For if He asserts things concerning Himself in regard to His people, we may, since we are of His people, assert these things boldly as applying to ourselves. Indeed we may take it home with all confidence as applying to each individually; even as here we read, The Lord is MY Helper, I will not fear. In our reading of Scripture let us form the happy habit of thus applying the words of God to ourselves.
Before leaving the first six verses let us notice the simplicity which is here enjoined upon believers; a simplicity all too much lost in these days of civilized artificiality. How striking a testimony would be rendered if we were marked by that brotherly love which expresses itself in hospitality and practical sympathy, by natural love preserved in undefiled honour, and by a holy contentment, the fruit of the realized presence of God, and the very opposite of the mad covetousness and discontent of the world.
The seventh verse bids us remember those who are guides or leaders, having ministered the word of God. To be a leader one needs not only to minister the word but to practise it. When this is the case faith is made evident and the end or issue of their conduct can be seen, and we can safely be exhorted to imitate their faith. Their faith, be it observed. It is all too easy to start imitating the speech and ways and idiosyncrasies of those we look up to. But if we imitate anything let it be the faith which underlies and inspires all else about them.
In verse Heb 13:8 also our thoughts are carried back to the things with which we started in Heb 1:1-14. There we discovered that the words occurring in Psa 102:1-28, Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail, were not addressed to God in a general way, but specifically to the One whom we know as our Lord Jesus Christ. This thought is amplified in the great statement that He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Of whom could such a statement be made but of One who was and is God?
Now just because the One in whom our faith centres is the same, there must be a certain kind of sameness in all the truth that also centres in Him. He can never be the Centre and Theme of doctrines which are various and strange. There is no place for that unsatisfied restlessness of the human mind that is for ever running after notions, however contradictory they may be. Now the real knowledge of Jesus establishes the heart with grace, and mere variety and novelty cease to attract. The danger immediately threatening the Hebrews was the importation of strange doctrines from their own former religion, as is indicated by the allusion to meats.
A certain proportion of the meats consumed by the Jews reached them through their sacrifices. Lev 7:1-38 shows us that not only the priests, but also in some cases those who offered were privileged to eat parts of the things offered: that is, they ate of the altar. How often must unbelieving Jews have flung the taunt at their believing brethren that they now had no altar in which to claim their share! But the fact is, We have an altar! And of the Christians altar the proud orthodox Jew had no right to eat, having shut himself out by his own unbelief.
What is the Christian altar, and where is it to be found? Come to us, say the Romanists, and in our high altars, ornamented with crucifix and candles, where mass is daily said, you will find it. And so also, though with slight variations, say Greek and Anglo-Catholics. But what says the
Scripture ? It says, We have an altar,… for… Jesus also,… suffered without the gate. Patriarchal and Jewish altars-the only altars made by hands that ever were sanctioned by God-where just types of the death of Christ. We eat of that Altar, inasmuch as every bit of spiritual blessing that we are able to appropriate comes to us from thence. We eat His flesh and drink His blood, according to our Lords own words in Joh 6:1-71; and in this there is no allusion to the Lords supper, but rather to a spiritual appropriation of His death. Just as Baptism sets forth in figure our burial with Christ, so the Lords supper sets forth in figure this spiritual appropriation: that is all.
In the death of Christ, then, we have our Altar; but in His death we have also the antitype of the sin offering. According to Lev 4:1-35, if the sin in question was of such a nature as to involve the whole congregation, then the blood of the offering had to be carried into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, and the carcase of the animal had to be burned without the camp. Our Lord Jesus has taken up the whole question of sin in all its gravity. His blood has spoken in the fulness of its virtue in the immediate presence of God, and, true to the type, He died as the rejected One outside the gate of that very city which was the crown and glory of mans religion. We are glad to be identified with the virtue of His blood before God; are we as glad to be identified with Him in His place of rejection without the camp? Except we have come powerfully under the attraction of His love, we are not!
Verse Heb 13:11 gives us the type. Verse Heb 13:12 gives us the fulfilment of the type, in Jesus suffering without the gate of Jerusalem. Verse Heb 13:13 gives us the exhortation based upon it, but using again the language of the type. We are not exhorted to go without the city, for here we have no continuing city as verse Heb 13:14 reminds us, but to go without the camp. To the believer the world has become a wilderness.
Moreover, had the exhortation been, Go forth… without the city, the words might have had a merely political significance to these early Hebrews. As a matter of fact, when a few years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, the Christians had almost to a man fled the city; but that was not the point here. The camp was Israel viewed religiously, Israel grouped around the Tabernacle according to the divine order. The call to these Hebrews was to go outside the religious system of Judaism, and thus to take up the reproach of Christ. Only one thing could induce them to obey this call, and that the love of Him. Let us go forth therefore UNTO HIM.
If we attentively read the Acts we become aware that the mass of believing Jews by no means broke their links with Judaism. They thought now to proceed with Christ AND Judaism. With many indeed it was a case of Judaism and Christ; for the outstanding feature with them was, they are all zealous of the law, rather than zealous for Christ. When this epistle was penned the hour had struck for a decisive move. It could no longer be Christ and Judaism. It had to be Christ OR Judaism. If they wanted CHRIST, then outside the camp to HIM they must go.
A few years passed and in the fall of Jerusalem the very heart of Judaism disappeared. Temple, altars, sacrifices, priests, all were swept away. The camp strictly speaking had gone. Are we to suppose that therefore this exhortation had lost all its force? By no means, for the Jews carried on some resemblance of their religion by means of Synagogues and Rabbis, and have done so to this day. They still have a camp of a sort, though not the camp as originally instituted of God. When a Jew is converted today, this exhortation without a question calls him out of his Judaism unto the rejected Christ as effectively as ever.
And what of that sad travesty of primitive Christianity which today is called Christendom? It has almost entirely organized itself after the pattern of the Jewish camp. It boasts its priests, its worldly sanctuaries and often its sacrifices. It rests upon a worldly basis and frequently encourages alliance with the world. Has this exhortation no voice to us in connection with this? Is it likely that God would begin by calling His people out of a religious system that He had originated Himself, and then end by expecting them to remain within religious systems which He never instituted, but which were created through long ages of unfaithfulness and decay? What a reviving we should see if every Christian really heard the cry, Unto HIM without the camp, and obeyed it!
Doubtless there are a thousand reasons against our obeying it. Here is one, We should be isolating ourselves. It would be a dull and miserable business. Would it? Why then does verse Heb 13:15 go on to speak of praise and thanksgiving? Those who have gone forth to Christ without the camp are filled with praise and thanksgiving! They offer it by Him, for He is their High Priest, and they are exhorted to offer it continually. The Jewish camp had the silver trumpets and the high sounding cymbals without a doubt. But what were they worth? Christendoms camp has, without a question, magnificent organs and orchestras and lovely choirs. But what about, the fruit of lips, confessing His name? That is another matter, and that is the thing that counts!
Here is another objection, We should be sacrificing all our opportunities of doing good. Should we? Why then does verse Heb 13:16 speak of our doing good? The fact is that unlimited opportunities for doing real GOOD lie before those who are obedient, and instead of sacrificing their opportunities, they offer real sacrifice in doing good.
Again it may be said, If you go outside the camp it will be all disorder and confusion. What then about verse Heb 13:17 ? These Hebrews, though coming outside the camp, would have leaders or guides, raised up of God, who would watch over them for their souls good. To such it would be a pleasure to submit. This does not look like disorder but rather the reverse.
Yet once more, it may be said, But we need the outward framework of organization that the camp supplies. Without hurdles the sheep will always be straying. But look at verses Heb 13:20-21. Long before this, as recorded in Joh 10:1-42, the Lord Jesus had spoken of Himself as the Shepherd who had entered the Jewish fold in order that He might call His own sheep by name and lead them out. Now he is presented to us as the great Shepherd of the sheep, raised again from the dead by the God of peace. In going forth unto Him they were but leaving the fold finally and for ever, in order to come altogether under His authority and His shepherd care. They were coming to Him by whom they could be made perfect in every good work to do the will of God.
All this stands as true for us today as for the Hebrew believers of the first century. If we have gone forth to Him, who is our risen Shepherd, we have come to a place where Psa 23:1-6 applies, with a fulness of meaning that David himself could never have known. Instead of knowing want we shall be like sheep who lie down in green pastures, because abundantly satisfied.
On this note the Epistle ends. The writer speaks of it as a word of exhortation, and such indeed it is. It is also a letter… in few words. Though only two epistles exceed it in length yet it is indeed in a few words if we consider the magnitude and scope of its contents. If we have really taken in these few words we shall have received some knowledge of things which are so great that all eternity will not exhaust them.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Heb 13:1. The main argument of this epistle is completed and the present chapter is given to various subjects pertaining to the church and individual duties. Brotherly love signifies the love extended to others by reason of the common relationship in the family of God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 13:1. The first admonition is to brotherly lovea term used in the N. T. (not as in classic Greek to describe the love of brothers and sisters, but) to describe the love which Christians bear to one another in Christ, and as children of one Father (cp. Heb 2:11), part of the wider love which describes (2Pe 1:7). It was not extinct (Heb 10:32), the precept therefore isas in the case of their faiththat it should continue, or abide. It is appropriately put first among earthly duties, as it is the first-fruit of faith and the beginning of all else. How the title here given to this grace struck the heathen is made very clear by a passage in Lucian: Their most distinguished lawgiver (? Paul) has taught that they all become brethren one of another as soon as they are changed; that is, when they deny the Greek gods, and adore the crucified sophist. He also enlarges on their sympathy with those in bonds, and on their hospitality. The sentiment struck the observer even while he scorned it as new and impracticable (see the passage in Delitzsch, ii. 371).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
CONCLUDING EXHORTATIONS
Farrar thinks that the exhortations of this chapter being mostly of a general character, probably formed a characteristic feature in all the Christian correspondence of this epoch interesting if true.
BROTHERLY LOVE (Heb 13:1-3)
A virtue undreamed of until the time of Christianity, but peculiarly necessary among members of a persecuted sect like these Hebrew Christians. (See also Rom 12:10; 1Th 4:9; 1Pe 1:22; 1Jn 3:14-18).
Here it was expected to take a very practical turn, made necessary by the absence of places of public entertainment like our hotels and boarding houses (Rom 12:13; Tit 1:8; 1Ti 3:2; 1Pe 4:9). For illustrations of the latter part of Heb 13:2, see Gen 28:2-22; Jdg 13:2-14; also Mat 25:35-40. If Paul was the writer of this epistle, how particularly touching is the reference in Heb 13:3? Being yourselves also in the body may be related to what he says to the Colossians (Col 1:24; see comment).
CHASTITY (Heb 13:4)
Light is thrown on the meaning here by the RV (see Act 15:20; 1Th 4:6). The Gospel of Christ introduced a wholly new conception of the sin of fornication which among the heathen was not regarded as a sin.
CONTENTMENT (Heb 13:5-6)
Conversation here means your turn of mind: let it be free from the love of money. The rest of the section gives good reason for such trustfulness.
STEDFASTNESS AND HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS (Heb 13:7-16)
Heb 13:7 is rendered in the past tense in the RV them that had the rule over you, which is more consistent with the words whose faith follow. The end of their conversation means the outcome of their life and testimony. Their faith is expressed in the terms of Heb 13:8, to which the readers are further exhorted in Heb 13:9. The close of Heb 13:9 points back again to the Jewish ceremonials they had left and to which some of them were being tempted to return again. Such sacrificial altars they did not require as they had a better one (Heb 13:10). Christ Himself is the Christians altar as well as that which is upon it. On Him the Christian feeds in a heavenly and spiritual sense. Heb 13:13 is another of the many exhortations for these Jewish Christians to separate themselves from their past at whatever cost for Jesus sake, while Heb 13:14 offers the encouragement for them to do it (refer to Php 3:20). The sacrifices we have to offer through Christ are not the bodies of beasts, but thanksgiving and good works (Heb 13:16).
SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE (Heb 13:17) PRAYER FOR THE WRITER (Heb 13:18-19) BENEDICTION (Heb 13:20-21) CONCLUSION (Heb 13:22; Heb 13:25)
QUESTIONS
1. What is Farrars idea about these exhortations?
2. What two practical applications of brotherly love are indicated in the lesson?
3. How are we to understand Heb 13:4?
4. Why may true Christians be content?
5. What summing up of the Christians faith is found in Heb 13:8?
6. How would you explain Heb 13:9-10?
7. What sacrifice has the Christian to offer?
8. Memorize the benediction of Heb 13:20-21.
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Love being the fountain and foundation of all moral duties, our apostle begins with it, and places it at the head of all the rest, as comprehending our whole duty towards our neighbour.
Note here, The duty commanded is love; the special duty recommended is brotherly love, or that brotherly affection which every true Christian chiefly bears to all his fellow members in Christ for grace’s sake; and the manner of the injunction or command is, that his brotherly affection do continue and constantly abide, not in the pretence and appearance of it only, but in the truth and reality of it, for there are innumerable occasions which will be ready to impair and weaken it, if it be not well grounded; alas, unsuitableness of natural temper, differences in judgment, and matters of opinion, inconsistent worldly interest, readiness to provocation, or to be provoked, pride on the one hand, or envy on the other, will sadly occasion the temporary decay, yea, at last the total loss of this noble grace, if it be not well grounded and deeply rooted.
Learn hence, That brotherly love is very apt to impair and decay, if we endeavour not continually its preservation and revival. Lord, how marvellous is it, that so many amongst us can persuade themselves that they are Christians, and yet be not only is the power and glory of Christianity will run very low, yea, the concerns of religion will more and more run to ruin.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The Christian’s Daily Duties
Further, they were encouraged to be mindful of those who were bound and in prison. They, especially those who were prisoners because of wearing the name of Christ, deserved the sympathy of a loving people ( Heb 13:3 ).
It was also important for followers of Jesus to exhibit proper conduct in marriage, since God established it as the proper place to satisfy natural sexual desires. At the same time, the writer of Hebrews warned against the sins that so often slip in on those who do not keep their marriages honorable in all points ( Heb 13:4 ).
The author exhorted his readers to stay away from the world’s greed. He asked them to be happy in the state in which they found themselves. This is more readily done when one remembers God will not forsake the righteous ( Psa 37:25 ). All things will be for the best as long as God is on one’s side ( Rom 8:28 ; Rom 8:31 ). This realization should help one to affirm the bold statement of Psa 118:6 , which displays the same total trust as Psa 23:1-6 ( Heb 13:5-6 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Heb 13:1-2. In this concluding chapter we find fresh instances of that divine wisdom wherewith the apostle was influenced in writing this epistle; improving still more the doctrines he had advanced to practical purposes; in which he gives all ministers of Christ an instructive example of the order and method proper to be pursued in teaching Christianity; first to declare the great doctrines of it, and then to improve them to promote holiness. And they will be mistaken who propose to themselves any other method, and those most of all who think one part of it is sufficient without the other.
Let brotherly love continue Or abide constant. Love is the fountain and foundation of all moral and religious duties which Christians owe to each other and to all men, and therefore it is here placed at the head of them all. Several of the fruits of this love are touched on in the following verses. It is justly observed by Diodati, that this exhortation was peculiarly suitable to the converted Jews, as the prejudices of many of them against their Gentile brethren were so strong that they were ready to disown them with abhorrence. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers The apostle chiefly means those of their Christian brethren who were travelling from place to place at their own cost to preach the gospel. Thus St. John speaks of some who went forth for the sake of Christ, taking nothing of the Gentiles, to whom they preached, 3Jn 1:7. Add to this, the church being then under great persecution in sundry places, many Christians were obliged to leave their own habitations and countries, and to flee for safety to other parts where they were strangers. Such as these the apostle recommends to the love and charity of those to whom he wrote. For thereby some For instance, Abraham and Lot; have entertained angels unawares So may an unknown guest, even now, be of more worth than he appears, and may have angels attending him, though unseen.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Hebrews Chapter 13
In this next chapter there is more than one truth important to notice. The exhortations are as simple as they are weighty, and require but few remarks. They rest in the sphere in which the whole of the epistle does: what relates to the Christians path as walking here, not what flows from union with Christ in heavenly places. Brotherly love, hospitality, care for those in bonds, the strict maintenance of the marriage tie and persona! purity, the avoiding of covetousness: such are the subjects of exhortation, all important and connected with the gracious walk of a Christian, but not drawn from the higher and more heavenly sources and principles of the Christian life as we see in Ephesians and Colossians. Nor, even though there be more analogy-for the Epistle to the Romans rests in general in life in Christ in this world, presenting Christs resurrection, without going on to His ascension [40] -are the exhortations such as in this latter epistle. Those which follow connect themselves with the circumstances in which the Hebrews found themselves, and rest on the approaching abolition and judgment of Judaism, from which they had now definitely to separate themselves.
In exhorting them (Heb 13:7) to remember those who have guided the flock, he speaks of those already departed in contrast with those still living. (Heb 13:17.) The issue of their faith might well encourage others to follow their steps, to walk by those principles of faith which had led them to so noble a result.
Moreover Christ never changed; He was the same yesterday, today, and for ever. Let them abide in the simplicity and integrity of faith. Nothing is a plainer proof that the heart is not practically in possession of that which gives rest in Christ, that it does not realise what Christ is, than the restless search after something new- divers and strange doctrines. To grow in the knowledge of Christ is our life and our privilege. The search after novelties which are foreign to Him, is a proof of not being satisfied with Him. But he who is not satisfied with Jesus does not know Him, or, at least, has forgotten Him. It is impossible to enjoy Him, and not to feel that He is everything, that is to say, that He satisfies us, and that by the nature of what He is, He shuts out everything else.
Now with regard to Judaism, in which the Hebrews were naturally inclined to seek satisfaction for the flesh, the apostle goes farther. They were no longer Jews in the possession of the true worship of God, a privileged worship in which others had no right to participate. The altar of God belonged now to the Christians. Christians only had a right to it. An earthly worship, in which there was no entering within the veil, into Gods own presence in the sanctuary, could no longer subsist-a worship that had its worldly glory, that belonged to the elements of this world and had its place there. Now, it is either heaven or the cross and shame. The great sacrifice for sin has been offered; but by its efficacy, it brings us into the sanctuary, into heaven itself, where the blood has been carried in; and on the other hand it takes us outside the camp, a religious people connected with the world down here, into shame and rejection on earth. This is the portion of Christ. In heaven He is accepted, He has gone in with His own blood- on earth cast out and despised.
A worldly religion, which forms a system in which the world can walk, and in which the religious element is adapted to man on the earth, is the denial of Christianity.
Here we have no continuing city, we seek the one which is to come. By Christ we offer our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. By sharing also our goods with others, by doing good in every way we offer sacrifices with which God is well pleased. (Ver 16)
He then exhorts them to obey those who, as responsible to God, watch over souls, and who go before the saints in order to lead them on. It is a proof of that humble spirit of grace which seeks only to please the Lord.
The sense of this responsibility makes Paul ask the saints to pray for him, but with the declaration that he had assuredly a good conscience. We serve God, we act for Him, when He is not obliged to be acting on us. That is to say, the Spirit of God acts by our means when He has not to occupy us with ourselves. When the latter is the case, one could not ask for the prayers of saints as a labourer. While the Spirit is exercising us in our conscience, we cannot call our selves lahourers of God. When the conscience is good we can ask unreservedly for the prayers of the saints. The apostle so much the more asked for them because he hoped thus the sooner to see them again.
Finally, he invokes blessing upon them, giving God the title he so often ascribes to Him- the God of peace. In the midst of exercise of heart with regard to the Hebrews, of arguments to preserve their love from growing cold, in the midst of the moral unsteadiness that enfeebled the walk of these Christians, and their trials in the breaking down of what they considered stable and holy, this title has a peculiarly precious character.
The Spirit sets them also in the presence of a risen Christ, of a God who had founded and secured peace by the death of Christ, and had given a proof of it in His resurrection. He had brought Christ again from the dead according to the power of the blood of the everlasting [41] covenant. On this blood the believing people might build a hope that nothing could shake. For it was not, as at Sinai, promises founded on the condition of the peoples obedience, but on the ransom which had been paid, and the perfect expiation of their disobedience. The blessing was therefore unchangeable, the covenant (as the inheritance and the redemption) was everlasting. He prays that the God who had wrought it, would work in them to grant them full power and energy for the accomplishment of His will, working Himself in them that which was well pleasing in His sight.
He urges them to give heed to exhortation; he had only sent them a few words.
He who wrote the letter desires they should know that Timothy had been set at liberty; he himself was so already; he was in Italy; circumstances which tend to confirm the idea that it was Paul who wrote this letter-a very interesting point, although in nowise affecting its authority.
It is the Spirit of God who everywhere gives His own authority to the word.
Footnotes for Hebrews Chapter 13
40: It is only spoken of in Heb. 8:34, and an allusion in Heb 10:6.
41: The word everlasting is specific, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in contrast with a system which was passing away. It speaks of eternal redemption, eternal inheritance, the eternal Spirit even.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
Heb 13:1. Let brotherly love continue. The love as when you first believed, and when many of you sold your possessions to raise a fund for the widows, who were cut off from the alms of the synagogue.
Heb 13:2. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, whether accredited ministers of the word, or brethren fleeing from persecution. Abraham and Lot, in so doing, entertained Angels, unconscious of their guests. Tertullian recites a proverb of the first believers. See how these christians love one another. Dr. Caves account of Pachome, an Egyptian father, and celebrated as a pillar in the church, is deficient. He was an officer attached to a Roman legion, and gives this account of his own conversion. That being on a forced march, and the men in great distress, we came, says he, to a town whose inhabitants afforded every supply; but with an openness and generosity of heart we had nowhere before witnessed. Struck with their benevolence, we enquired who those people were that had been so impelled to do good? It was replied, that they were Christians, whose maxim was, to aid every one as much as they could; to do good to all men, even to their enemies, or rather to be the friends of all the world, and thus disarm every foe. I then lifted up my hand to heaven and said, if this religion make men so much better than others, then from this very day I would be a christian.
Heb 13:4. Marriage is houourable in all ranks and degrees of men, which forms a double argument against concubinage and adultery. The apostles affirmation however is chiefly intended to counteract the pernicious notion of some ascetics, who at this early period denounced marriage as incompatible with the pure spirit of christianity; and who, if their vile imposture had been continued, they would well nigh have depopulated the human race. The Corinthian church was partly infected with this error, and wrote to Paul apparently on this subject. 1Co 7:1-2. The apostle in this passage to the Hebrews restores the institution to its primitive honour as one of the first proofs of divine beneficence and goodness towards man. Gen 2:18-22.
Heb 13:5. Let your conversation be without covetousness. , mores sint absque avaritia. Let your manners be without avarice, or inordinate desire. Seeing the Lord has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, let it be apparent from your conduct that your heart is not set on worldly riches, but on seeking to please him who is the alsufficient God, and a satisfying portion to the soul.
Heb 13:7-8. Remember them who have the rule over you: , your leaders and guides, ducum vestrorum; who have spoken to you the word of God: whose faith follow, and abide in their doctrine. Considering the end of their conversation, which is Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The poets say, Jupiter rex omnibus idem. Jove, the king, is the same to all. The immutability of Christ is stated in equivalent terms, in Rev 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Theophylact says, Idem est Christ heri; id est, omni prterito tempore, et hodie, hoc est, prsenti tempore, et in seculo futura, ideoq, infinita. Christ is the same yesterday, that is, in all preseding time; and to-day, that is, the present time; and in future ages, and therefore he is infinite.
These phrases, according to Estius, speak of Christs divinity, which is always the same; or according to Heinsius, without any beginning or ending. Junius says, we may infer the identity of his essence, from the identity and effects of his actions. And Tirinus says, that Jesus Christ is now the same to us in power and munificence, and will be always and everywhere the same, and in all things. To the same effect are the words of Cyril, St. Thomas, Anselm, Ribera, and Lapide, as may be seen in the Biblia Magna. Erasmus explains this jointly of Christs person and doctrine, and proper enough from the immutability of his person is inferred his truth, which shall remain when the heavens are no more.
I have been careful to collect learned illustrations here, because Dr. Doddridge expounds this text solely of Christs power and grace; and out of respect to some great expositors, who urge Act 5:4, and 2Co 4:5, as instances in which Christ signifies not his person but his word. And who are those great expositors? Why truly, Grotius and Limborch, two avowed Arians. The illustrious authors cited above are all fathers in sacred criticism, and are hostile to the doctors notion. It is a lamentable fact, that if there be an Arian gloss, however futile, Dr. Doddridge is sure to favour his readers with it, and in some wary or bye way to state it with beguiling force.
Heb 13:9-10. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. Novelty in doctrine is but a beguiling charm; it is, on the contrary, infinitely preferable for the heart to be established with grace, in all the power of regeneration, and all the habitudes of piety and holiness. Then the buzzings of the pharisees about meats and drinks cannot hurt you. We have in Christ a better priest, and a better altar, at which they, through unbelief, have no right to eat.
Heb 13:14. Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. A city conveys the idea of society and of opulence, the leading objects of mans desire. Our highest enjoyments are indeed of a social nature, and a competence, if not affluence, is a laudable object of ambition. Comfortable accommodation as we pass through life is what all seek, but few find; and when found, there we are for making our home, and taking up our rest. But there is no continuance; we are often bereaved by some unforeseen causes, or if not, we are soon removed from them by death. Our enjoyments arise in great measure from agreeable connections, in domestic or in religious life; but in these there is no abiding. Providence often separates chief friends, persecution scattered the early christians, and death separated David and Jonathan. If we acquire a competence for the present life, it may all be scattered by the wind: riches make themselves wings and fly away. Job said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand; but how soon were all his hopes put to flight. The world is full of changes, death takes away those whom we love, and will soon take us away. Here we have no continuing city.
But we seek one to come. Heaven is also called a city, one that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That is a state of glorious society, enjoying all the delights of mutual intercourse without any alloy; a home that is undisturbed by domestic discord, and friendship without deceit. A state perfectly exempt from all that tends to mar our present enjoyment and satisfaction in religious society; no cold indifference is found there, no jealousies, no divisions, no dissensions, no disputes, neither sin nor imperfection of any kind. All is harmony and love, and that for ever. Our highest enjoyments here are transient only, and are quickly succeeded with clouds and darkness. There all is permanent, a high noonday, and our sun shall no more go down.
All true believers are seeking to enter this city, making it the great and leading object of pursuit, and by that are they distinguished from the men of the world. To them it is a glorious reality; they are here strangers and pilgrims only, the world on which they tread will soon be burnt up, and nothing will remain but the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and its ever-blessed inhabitants.
Heb 13:17. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves. Be guided by those holy elders who by age, by wisdom and experience, and incessant labours, have a paternal voice in the house of God. (See on 1Th 5:12-13) Those true shepherds who govern their flocks as fathers, taking the judgment and consent of the people along with them, like Romaine, Cecil, and Hill, in London; Crosse, in Bradford; Venn, in Huddersfield; Ryland, in Bristol, and many others, who admirably succeeded in preserving concord and peace among large congregations. They are models for us to study and imitate. On collating this verse with 1Th 5:12-13, we discover another proof that Paul wrote this letter to the Hebrews.
Heb 13:20-21. Now the God of peace, who having harmony in himself, and promotes concord in his works, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, after he had reconciled all things to himself on the cross, that great shepherd of the sheep, celebrated by the prophets, Psalms 23; Psa 95:3. Eze 34:11, through the blood of the everlasting covenant; and he could not have been raised without the ransom of his life being paid; make you perfect. Paul prays here for the Hebrews as he had just solicited them to pray for him. The peace of God which passeth all understanding is the grand source of personal happiness, and the earnest of future felicity.
Heb 13:23. Timothy is set at liberty. This marks a respect not unlike that of St. Paul for Timothy, and that the writer of this epistle was well known to the Hebrew christians. The slight variation in the style may be accounted for from the variation in the subjects of this and his other epistles.
REFLECTIONS.
The meekness of wisdom displayed by this great apostle in his treatment of the Hebrews cannot be too much admired, and ought to be regarded as a model to all christian pastors in their conduct towards the flock. He mourns over them, but he deals not in censures or criminations, nor does he threaten them with exclusion from his society and fellowship, but is gentle among them, as a nurse cherisheth her children, and owns them still as brethren, notwithstanding their numerous errors and defects. How holy and how lovely is such an example, and how deserving of imitation.
Paul well reflected on the trials and difficulties they had met with, on the weakness of their faith, their want of information, their exposedness to the seductive influence of judaizing teachers, and their national prejudices and predilections in favour of the ritual economy, once established by divine authority, and guarded by the highest sanctions. He therefore endeavours to reclaim them by a display of the superior excellence of the gospel, as realizing all that types and prophets had foretold, and advancing so near to the suburbs of heaven as to give admission to the company of angels, and the glorified spirits around the throne. And what could the Hebrews desire more? The christian church is placed on the highest pinnacle of glory; and when Christ shall take to himself his great power and reign, it shall be as the days of heaven upon the earth. Deu 11:21.
The apostle having spoken at large, closes with a few short requests, enforcing charity, guarding nuptial chastity, and enjoining a conduct exempt from every sordid vice. In particular he exhorts them to love, to honour and esteem their ministers, without which how can prosperity attend the church? The people who glory in their pastors, will ever find pastors who rejoice over them.
A happy and heavenly frame of mind is recommended, and strongly too, by the consideration that we are all strangers and pilgrims on earth. Why should this old man build a mansion; he is but a tenant at will, he has no lease of life. Heaven only is the pilgrims home. Suffer then the word of exhortation, and offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, giving thanks to his name.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Heb 13:1-6. Emphasis is first laid on the duty of brotherly lovei.e. kindness towards fellow-Christianswhich was all-important in a struggling community like the early Church. Three aspects of this duty are particularly mentionedhospitality to travellers, care of prisoners, helpfulness towards those who are persecuted. The readers are to bear in mind that they also are in the bodyi.e. sojourners in this world and liable to its troubles. They are warned against two forms of vice to which the heathen society of the day was especially pronelaxity in the marriage relation, and covetousness. Christians may well resist this latter temptation, for they have Gods own promise that He will remember His people and provide for them. A promise like this ought to free them from all anxieties, and not merely from the fear of poverty (Heb 13:5 f.).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The first six verses of this chapter have a striking moral relationship to what has gone before. We have seen that though God’s dispensational ways have undergone a mighty change in the advent of His beloved Son, yet His nature and character remain unchangeable. Now these verses show that moral responsibilities are not abolished either. “Let brotherly love continue.” Dispensational change was not to change this at all: It is a character applicable to all ages. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Abraham’s hospitality (Gen 18:1-33) is a lovely example, not only for his earthly seed, Israel, but for ourselves. This is a general rule, though 2Jn 1:8-11 is an important exception: one who comes propagating a doctrine that dishonors the Person of Christ, must be refused all hospitality, and not even accorded the courtesy of a common greeting.
“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Thus, our present dispensation, though Heavenly and spiritual, does not relieve us from having to face the groans of creation: just as godly Israelites suffered for their faith in the Old Testament, so Christians also endured persecution and imprisonment for Christ’s sake; and compassionate sympathy for such is but normal and proper Christianity.
“Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Here again Christianity in no wise annuls the sanctity of relationships established in creation. Some have dared to teach this; but this involves the wicked denial of moral principles that remain unchanged through all dispensations. Indeed, even the law allowed inconsistencies because of the hardness of men’s hearts-not because God approved, – but Christianity reaffirms God’s creatorial rights in this regard (Matt 19:39). But the law demanded death for an adulterer. Such evil is no less serious today than then, but judgment for it is in God’s hands, not in ours. Of course, in the assembly of God, such abuse would require the firm discipline of the assembly as such, and putting away from fellowship, (1Co 5:1-13) but the actual judgment for such guilt God reserves for Himself, rather than now appointing His people to execute capital punishment.
“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. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Personal godly conduct and character was not to be changed because of a changed dispensation, though “Thou shalt not covet” is replaced by the more gentle, persuasive language of grace. Two quotations are found in these verses from the Old Testament, first the blessed promise of God to Joshua, a man of faith, and seen here to be applicable to every child of faith, in every age. Secondly, there is the bold response of faith to such language of the Psalmist (Psa 118:6), which every believer may adopt at all times, regardless of dispensation; and certainly ourselves, whose lot is fallen in a dispensation which is preeminently addressed to faith.
But if the first six verses have dealt with that which continues in spite of dispensational change, what follows now is characteristic of the new dispensation, to which no addition can be allowed, nor is advance possible. Let us consider this most thoroughly and digest well its implications.
“Remember your leaders who have spoken to you the Word of God; and considering the issue of their conversation, imitate their faith: Jesus Christ is the Same yesterday, and today, and to the ages (to come)” (N. Trans.). In verse 17 we shall find that leaders are to be obeyed, but in verse 7 it is evident that deceased leaders are referred to, and to be remembered. Some had doubtless suffered martyrdom for Christ: their faith had stood fast even unto death. Blessed example! Their faith was worth following. This is no mere imitation of their methods, but acting upon the vital principle of faith, as they did. Let us remember today not to dismiss from our minds the godly example and faith of men of God who are now with the Lord. Leaders of this kind are those who have sought no following for themselves, but have directed souls to the Lord,-guided them in the paths of the pure Word of God. Their conversation, that is, their entire manner of life and conduct, had a definite end in view: it was no mere haphazard conglomeration of motives that moved them: there was a vital issue above all else that influenced their actions. This we are bidden to consider. What was the secret of their stability? Their faith was in “Jesus Christ, the Same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Why ought a believer to change when he has a Master who does not? “Yesterday” would refer to the blessed manifestation in flesh of the Son of God, His entire earthly path of infinite grace and truth. “Today” at the right hand of God He is the Same. Of course, having died and risen again, He is changed in bodily condition, but in Person, in nature, in moral character, He remains unchangeable. Blessed, faithful Lord. “And forever!” No possible circumstance can ever alter this holy, gracious lord of glory. What an Object for faith! What a consideration for our souls! How comforting, refreshing, encouraging, strengthening, stabilizing! May we unceasingly adore His precious Name.
“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart he established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein” The revelation of God in Christ is certainly infinitely better than the forms and laws of Judaism; but after such revelation, advance or improvement is impossible. Men may introduce new and diverse doctrines, but they are an insult to the blessed Person of Christ, and strange in the sense of being foreign to God’s revelation. Unstable souls may be beguiled by them, but as we have seen, stability is found in the Person of Christ. The heart must he established with grace. May we know more fully and purely the sweet significance of that grace which has met the claims of a broken law, delivered us from bondage, and provided a liberty wherewith to serve God with wholehearted, voluntary devotion. How much more than conscientiousness is this! Not indeed that conscience is ignored, but rather that, being exercised by the Word of God, the soul gladly acquiesces in that which conscience approves. Thankful affection for the Lord thus becomes the motive, not a mere sense of duty. The legal principle is banished, as are its forms and ceremonies. “Not with meats” is a word added here to insist that mere temporal instances of selfdenial must be no object in a believer’s life. They are good indeed if practiced honestly for the Lord’s sake, with no thought of spiritual merit in them; but refraining from certain meats will make a soul no better or no worse. “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, but the Lord shall destroy both it and them” (1Co 6:13). A believer ought to be able to give up his rights easily, whether eating of meat or anything else, without attaching any sanctimonious virtue to it, or considering it a legal imposition. Let grace reign in it, and it is very simple and honorable, as well as profitable. But those who occupy themselves with those things rather than with the grace of God, do not find profit for their own souls.
“We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” The Person of the Lord Jesus is the altar that sanctifies the gift, that is, which gives value to His work of sacrifice. The believer partakes of this altar, as the offerer was privileged in Israel to eat of the peace offerings. But one who serves the tabernacle, that is, clings to Judaism (which was but a temporary order of things), by that very fact ignores the glory of the Person of Christ and the efficacy of His sacrifice.
What right then could he possibly have in the fellowship of Christianity? There was the clearest line of demarcation between the two.
“For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” Here another comparison with Judaism serves to strongly illustrate the great contrast between this and Christianity. On the great day of atonement, once each year, the high priest must take the blood of the sin offering into the holy place, sprinkling it before and on the mercy-seat (Lev 16:11-19). But the body of the sin-offering, whether bull or goat, was to be taken outside the camp and burned (Lev 16:27). None of this was to be eaten at all, but outside the camp all was to ascend in smoke, as it were, to God.
How strikingly beautiful is such a type as this. The blessed Lord of Glory, in order to fulfill the type perfectly, was rejected by His own earthly people, led outside the city of Jerusalem. and crucified. That which was solidly established as Cod’s testimony on earth, having received the oracles of God, having the promise of the Great King, for Whom they professed to look with fervent anticipation, has yet been guilty of completely refusing this holy, gracious Messiah, who came with every possible proof of His glory, in fulfilment of the Scriptures they revered. Totally rejected by Israel, He “suffered without the gate.”
Is this not a clearest indication of the fact that both the world in general, and mere formal religion in particular, will allow no place for the blessed Son of God?
But in so suffering outside the gate, He sanctifies the people with His own blood. Indeed, His blood speaks inside the holiest of all, in such manner as to eternally satisfy and glorify God, and this is sanctification to God. Yet sanctification to God must also involve sanctification from the world,-a setting apart in a very real and holy manner. He Himself was forced apart from all that was considered dignified and honorable on earth, and His people must expect to share with Him the same rejection, if they would follow Him. Yet such a path will be actually sweet to the soul, in just such proportion as we appreciate and enter into the sorrows of our Lord as the One “despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” May we deeply meditate upon Him and upon the holy reality of His sufferings, both from man’s hand of hatred and contempt, and from God’s hand of perfect justice on account of our sins. How truly this will temper the trials of our own path, and give us actual joy in “bearing all things.”
What then does it require but simple, decided energy of faith to heed the exhortation, “Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach”? For a Jew to leave the camp of Judaism was no light matter: he could expect the same reproach that Israel meted out to his Master. But it is well to insist that our going forth is to be “unto Him.” There is no real comfort, no shelter, no strength at all for a path of reproach such as this, unless these are found in the very real presence of the Lord. His blessed Person is the only sufficiency for this, and thank God a perfect sufficiency. Do we love Him? Do we trust Him? Then let us gladly bear His reproach. If it pains us, let us rather think of His greater pain. If it incurs men’s contempt or mockery, let us think of His patiently bearing that which was far worse.
The camp of Judaism was what had been previously established by God, but had degenerated into a mere formal religion, leaving no room for the gracious authority of the Lord Jesus. How similar to Exo 33:1-23, where, on account of the sin of the golden calf, Moses pitched the tabernacle afar off from the camp, and everyone who sought the Lord went out to Moses. It was a case clearly demonstrated, of the Lord’s authority being refused: then the believer must go to where the Lord’s authority actually is.
The same principle must apply at all times. If, for instance, Christian testimony should degenerate to such a state as to be comparable to formal Judaism, where religious ritual is observed, but the Name and authority of the Lord Jesus ignored, then it has become the mere “camp,” degraded to an earthly basis, marked by worldly principles. The believer is called to go forth unto Him, from all such hollow profession. He may be reproached for it, he may be made to feel the loneliness of such a path, but if it is truly “unto Him,” the recompense is infinitely sweet. His own presence will more than compensate for every present loss.
For, after all, our time on earth is exceedingly brief at the most: “here we have no continuing city,” no place of settled fellowship, for all here is both greatly impaired, and rapidly passing away. “But we seek one to come.” What a prospect of unspeakable joy!-a fellowship of perfect purity and blessedness, where the Person and authority of the Lord Jesus is the very basis of its holy unity and sweetness for eternity. In view of so marvelous an end, how small indeed in comparison is whatever reproach and suffering we may bear in the present time, for Christ’s sake. We shall welcome this in just such measure as our minds are set on things above.
“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. But to do good and communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” A proper stand for the truth of the Word of God will not tend to make us critical or bitter toward others, nor haughty and self-satisfied, but to rather fill our hearts with the lowly spirit of praise to God continually. This is said also to be a sacrifice, for is it not the willing giving up of confidence in the flesh, the refusal of personal honor in order that true honor and glory be given to the eternal God? If such praise and thanksgiving is our delight “continually,” there will of course be no place whatever for complaint or cold criticism. But another sacrifice is closely linked with this, that is the active energy of goodness toward others, the willing sharing of our earthly goods with those who are in need. Blessed to have the assurance in this that “God is well pleased.” Is it not the most blessed occupation on earth to please Him?
This will of course also be conducive to orderly conduct. “Obey your leaders, and be submissive; for they watch for your souls as those that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.” These of course are living leaders, in contrast to verse 7; but the verse supposes a normal Christian character of godly concern for souls. If leaders depart from the faith, they must not be followed, but if seeking to walk with God and to watch for souls, it is a serious responsibility to obey them. A truly worshipping heart will find no difficulty in honest submission in matters of order and government. For let us remember that leaders must give account to the God whom they are responsible to serve. It would seem that this refers, not to the future judgment seat of Christ, but to a present accounting before God of the state and welfare of the assembly,-which may be with “anguish of heart,” in which exercise before God the apostle wrote to Corinth, (2Co 2:4); or with profound joy, as in the case of the Thessalonians: “For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before God” (1Th 3:9). But though a leader may have to give account with groaning, let us mark that this is not said to be unprofitable for the leader, but “for you.” It is the insubject heart that suffers loss, while godly leaders may be deeply pained for the sake of that precious soul, and pour out their hearts in humiliation and prayer before God. Indeed, this very exercise will prove spiritually profitable for the leader, but the disobedient child of God will lose.
“Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.” ‘The lowliness of the apostle is a lovely example for us. He solicits the prayers of which he feels the need, but it is no request to be lightly made: the request ought to be backed up by an honest willingness to live rightly before God. To ask prayer while desiring a self-willed, self-pleasing course, is an effort to enlist God’s help in wrongdoing. As to verse 19, it does not appear that he means release from prison, for it seems he was not in prison at the time; but evidently he had a longing to return to Judea, and sought their prayers to this end. Compare vs. 23.
“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, 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 for ever and ever. Amen.” How full and appropriate this lovely closing prayer! For troubled Hebrews there was a God of peace, Who had laid the firm basis of peace in raising from among the dead Him whose heart was that of a faithful Shepherd, – great indeed also in the power of resurrection life. And this resurrection was consistent with the preciousness of His death: the value of the blood of the eternal covenant was such that resurrection was the righteous result. Again, let us mark, here is eternal virtue in contrast to all that was temporal in Judaism: the covenant is eternal because the value of the blood is eternal; and the blessed Shepherd lives in the power of an endless life. Wonderful fulness. and perfection of blessing for His sheep! With such a provision. how can our hearts fail to respond with real desire to be made perfect or mature in every good work to do His will? Yet again, the working of this must be on the part of God. Our resources are all in Him, through Jesus Christ; and practical results in our lives must be the result of submission to the working of His hand. Then we shall seek no credit for ourselves, but heartily ascribe to Him “glory for ever and ever.”
“And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” It is a tender appeal to his own nation, or at least to those in the nation who professed Christianity. Certainly any reasonable and thoughtful mind cannot but be amazed at the few words with which so great and wonderful a subject is expounded. The inspiration of God is the only answer.
“Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty: with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.” The apostle counts upon their affection for Timothy, and thankfulness for his liberty. Is there not a designed analogy here? For the object of the entire epistle is surely to set at complete liberty from Judaism these Hebrew believers. And Timothy’s name (means “honoring God”) bears its bright witness to the fruits of true Christian liberty.
“Salute all your leaders, and all the saints. They from Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen.” For the third time in the chapter leaders are spoken of, and as worthy of respect. For though the epistle sets aside mere officialism and ritualism, yet it would carefully guard against any ignoring of proper godly authority in the hands of those whom God has given to care for the sheep. But all the saints are to be shown kindly respect. And the saints of Italy too witness their unity with the Hebrew saints. Blessed the workings of the matchless grace of God! May it be with us all.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
12 Outside the Camp
(Hebrews 13)
The great object in the Epistle to the Hebrews is to present Christ in glory as our great High Priest, bringing many sons to glory. A brief summary of the contents will make this clear:
Hebrews 1 and 2 present the glories of the Person of Christ and His place in heaven.
Hebrews 3 to 8 present Christ as the great High Priest, maintaining His people in earth as they travel home to heaven.
Heb_9-10:18 present the sacrifice of Christ, opening heaven to the believer, and fitting the believer for heaven.
Heb 10:19-23 shows that we have access to heaven, where Christ is, while we are still here.
Hebrews 11 traces the path of faith that leads to Christ in heaven.
Hebrews 12 speaks of the different means, used by God, to keep our feet in the heavenly path.
Hebrews 13 shows that the heavenly path lies outside the religious world, and that the present portion or those who belong to heaven is one of reproach.
Thus it becomes clear that, in the Epistle, Christ is seen in heaven, and believers are viewed as a heavenly people – partakers of the heavenly calling – running a race that begins on earth and ends in heaven.
In this closing chapter of the Epistle we are reminded that we are still in the body, and therefore subject to bonds and afflictions; are still in the relationships of life, which have to be respected; and with temporal needs, which have to be met. While, however, we are viewed as on earth, we are looked at as outside the religious world. If we share with Christ His place of favour in heaven, we must be prepared to accept His place of reproach on earth. If it is our privilege to go inside the veil, it is also our privilege and responsibility to go outside the camp. Thus the exhortations in this last chapter are all directed to securing conduct suited to those who share with Christ the outside place on earth. We do well to remember, however, that these exhortations as to the relationships of life clearly show that being outside the camp does not mean that we are outside what is natural.
(Vv. 1, 2). The first exhortation supposes the Christian circle governed by love. This is not natural love that loves those with whom we are linked by the ties of nature, however right in its place, but it is brotherly love, the portion of those linked together as brethren in Christ. We are to see that this love abides. The danger is that the love that is called forth by special trial, or persecution, may wane in the every-day life amongst those who are in daily contact with one another. By this daily intimacy we get to know the little weaknesses and peculiarities of one another, and this may tend to cool our love. Love is tested most by those with whom we are most in contact. With such we are to be careful that brotherly love continues, and that we practically express it by hospitality.
(V. 3). This brotherly love can further find an outlet by having practical fellowship with the Lord’s people who may find themselves in bonds for Christ’s sake, or who are suffering adversity. We are to remember such as ourselves having bodies that can suffer from bonds or adverse circumstances.
(V. 4). Moreover, while down here, there are the relationships of life. Marriage, which is the closest of all human ties, is not to be decried, but held in respect, and maintained in purity. Every violation of holiness, or of the marriage tie, will meet with judgment, either governmental or eternal.
(Vv. 5, 6). Furthermore, we have temporal needs to meet. We are to beware that they do not become the occasion of avarice. We are to be content with the present circumstances in which God has placed us. The reason given is very blessed: whatever our circumstances, the Lord is with us. He has said, I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee. If the Lord speaks thus, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid: what will man do unto me? The last sentence is really a question. If the Lord is my helper, what can man do?
(V. 7). We are to remember our leaders – those who have passed from this scene. This word remember is a different word to that translated remember in verse 3. There it is a practical remembrance of those in need; here it is the remembrance of those we are apt to forget. They are worthy of remembrance because they have spoken to us the Word of God. Moreover, we are to consider the end of their conversation. If they spoke the word of God, it was not to attract to themselves, but to Christ in heaven. Further, we are to imitate their faith – not their peculiarities, their mannerisms, or even their ministry.
(Vv. 8, 9). In verses 8 and 9 we pass from the leaders who have gone from us to Jesus Christ who remains. Others pass away and others change, but Jesus Christ (is) the Same yesterday, and today, and for ever. At times we speak of the former great men of God as if, with their passing, we were almost left without resource. In so speaking there is the danger of putting an unintentional slight upon Christ. They have gone, but Christ remains with perfect love in His heart and perfect power in His hand. He too is the Head with perfect wisdom for His body. There is not a difficulty that He cannot enable us to overcome, not a danger from which He cannot preserve us, and not a question that may arise which He cannot settle. He is our stay and resource – our all. With this blessed presentation of Christ as the unchanging One the Epistle opens; and with this it closes. In the first chapter He is hailed as the abiding and unchanging One – Thou remainest and Thou art the Same. Others pass away but He remains: others change, but He is the Same. Seeing then that Christ is our resource, let us not be carried away with various and strange doctrines. Have we an itching ear seeking new light, or fresh light as people say? Let us beware lest, by our restless search after something new, we are carried away from Jesus Christ.
It is the active grace of Christ that establishes and sustains the soul, and not divers and strange doctrines, which appear to be very intellectual meat, but only minister to the mind, and therefore do not profit those occupied with them. The vanity of the flesh has a craving after that which is new, and seeks to exalt itself by presenting truth in a way that is different to all that has been taught before, the result being that the leaders who have gone before are belittled, Jesus Christ loses His place as the unchanging Object before the soul, and we are carried away by strange doctrines.
Thus we are led to the great theme of the chapter – the place which Christ has down here. We have learnt that He is with us; we have heard who this glorious Person is who is with us; we are now to learn where He is as regards the religious world, in order that we may take our place with Him.
(Vv. 10-12). To introduce this great theme a contrast is drawn between Judaism and Christianity. In the Jewish system there was indeed an appointed way of drawing near to God outwardly, in which the Gentiles, as such, had no right to participate. Now the altar – the way of approach to God – belongs exclusively to Christians, and of this altar those on Jewish ground have no right to partake. From Heb 9:14 we learn that Christ by the eternal Spirit offered Himself spotless to God, in order that we might have the conscience purged from dead works to worship the living God. And again in verse 15 of this chapter, which is a continuation of verse 10, we read, By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Christ and His cross constitute our altar. The sacrifice which settles the question of sin is the way of approach by which the believer draws nigh to God as a worshipper. It is evident that those who clung to Jewish altars were really despising the great sacrifice of Christ. They were clinging to the shadows and ignoring the substance. Obviously such had no right to partake in the Christian altar – Christ and His sacrifice.
The Jewish community were outwardly the people of God upon earth, composed of the seed of Abraham. Hence to participate in this religious system natural birth, in the line of Abraham, was the great necessity. With such the question of new birth was not raised. In this system God was testing man as man; hence a definite appeal was made to the natural man. Its gorgeous ceremonies, elaborate ritual and magnificent buildings were entirely adapted to appeal to the mind of the natural man. It was a worldly religion, with a worldly sanctuary, and a worldly glory. No reproach attached to it: on the contrary, it gave man a great position in the world, and a portion on earth; but the system, as such, gave man neither position nor portion in heaven.
How different is Christianity! It blesses us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. It gives us a wonderful place in the brightest spot in God’s universe – a place, the infinite blessing of which can only be measured by Christ Himself, the One who appears in heaven itself before the face of God for us. If, however, Christianity gives us Christ’s place in heaven, it also gives us Christ’s place on earth. The riches of Christ in heaven entail the reproach of Christ on earth. The inside place with Christ up there involves the outside place with Christ down here. The Jewish system is thus the exact contrast with Christianity. Judaism gave a man a great place on earth, but no place in heaven: Christianity gives the believer a great place in heaven, but no place on earth, save one of reproach.
What, then, is Christ’s place on earth? It is clearly brought before us in this passage by the one word without, used three times in verses 11 to 13. In verse 11 we have the expression without the camp, in verse 12 without the gate, and again in verse 13 without the camp.
What, then, are we to understand by this phrase without the camp? It may help to a better understanding of the passage to notice that verse 11 presents the type, verse 12 Christ the anti-type, and verse 13 the practical application to the Christian. In reference to the type, two facts are stated which are brought before us in greater detail in Leviticus 4, the chapter to which verse 11 refers. In that passage we learn that, after the bullock had been killed, the priest was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood before the Lord in the sanctuary; then the body was to be carried forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes were poured out, and burnt on the wood with the fire (Lev 4:6; Lev 4:12).
The camp was composed of a people in outward relationship with God. Outside the camp is a place where there is no recognised relationship with God or man. It is viewed either as the place of judgment from God, or as the place of reproach from man. Viewed in the light of judgment, it is the place of forsaking – a place without God. It is the outer darkness that no ray of light can ever pierce, no love can cheer, where there is no compassion to sustain, no mercy to relieve. The body of the sin offering burnt without the camp fitly presents God’s holy judgment in respect of sin. Into this place Jesus went. In order that He might sanctify His people with His own blood He suffered without the camp, or, as the Word says, without the gate, for when Christ died the city had taken the place of the camp. In order that we might have the place of blessing within the veil, He must take our place of judgment outside the camp The judgment our sins demanded must be borne before we could be set apart from sins, to live for the pleasure and praise of God.
We do well to ponder with adoring hearts the stupendous fact that Christ has been into the distance and darkness, and uttered that solemn cry, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Think what this means: He the righteous One – the only righteous One – forsaken of God. Never before or since has man died such a death. When has God ever forsaken the righteous? The fathers trusted in Jehovah and were delivered (Psa 22:4). Others suffered with cruel mockings and scourgings, with bonds and imprisonments; others were destitute, afflicted, tormented: but not one was forsaken. In the midst of their sufferings they were sustained by grace, strengthened by the Spirit of God, and cheered with the conscious presence of the Lord. The light of heaven and the love of the Father so filled their souls that, in the midst of their martyr sufferings, they went out of the world with joy in their hearts and songs on their lips – not one was forsaken. Here, however, is One who is forsaken, One who can say to God, Why art Thou so far from helping Me?, One who cries to God, but has to say, Thou hearest not. Forsaken by God, no help in God, no answer from God.
Why, indeed, was He forsaken? The One who utters the cry alone can give the answer – But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. God is holy: there is the sublime answer to the forsaking of the Cross: it is not simply that man is evil, but that God is holy. It was God, not man, that the righteous One had before His holy soul when He went into the awful forsaking of the Cross. It is God’s great purpose to dwell in the midst of a praising people – a people made suited by the work of Christ to stand before the face of God. To gain this people for the pleasure of God, Christ went into the forsaking. When His soul was made an offering for sin, the pleasure of the Lord began to prosper in His hand. Throughout the ages there will be a people to the praise of the glory of His grace standing within the veil, because once in the ages that are gone Jesus went into the forsaking without the camp.
(V. 13). Thus we come to the practical exhortation, Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp. Here, however, we must carefully note that this outside place is viewed no longer as the place of judgment from God, but as the place of reproach from man. We are not called to go outside under the judgment of God, but we are called to go outside under the reproach of men, and that to the uttermost. He suffered as the holy victim under the judgment of God: He endured as the patient martyr under the reproach of men. We cannot share His sufferings at the hand of God, but it is our privilege to share the insults He received from the hands of men. He went outside the camp to bear our judgment: we go outside the camp to bear His reproach.
This raises the question, What was it that brought Christ into reproach? Psalm lxix verses 7 to 9 give the answer. There we hear the Lord saying, The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up. He was zealous for God in the midst of a God-hating nation, and in result He was treated as a stranger and an alien. His zeal brought Him into the outside place of reproach and shame. He represented God in a world that hated God. His presence among men gave them an occasion for expressing their hatred. They vented their hatred to God upon Christ, as the Lord says, For Thy sake I have borne reproach, and again, The reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me.
The Christian is called to accept the place that man has given to Christ, and thus go outside the religious system that appeals to the natural man, which, in this passage, is called the camp. The camp, as we have seen, was composed of people outwardly in relationship with God, and with an earthly order of priests who stood between the people and God. It had a worldly sanctuary and an ordered ritual. It is briefly summed up in Heb 9:1-10, where we are also told that it gave no access to God and no purged conscience to the one that did the service; and we may add, in that system there was no reproach.
In contrast with the Jewish camp, the Christian company is composed of a people, not in mere outward relationship with God by natural birth, but in vital relationship by new birth. Instead of a special class set aside as priests, all believers are priests. Instead of a worldly sanctuary, the Christian has heaven itself. Moreover, Christianity gives a purged conscience and access to God. Instead of appealing to the natural man, it entirely sets aside man in the flesh, and hence carries the reproach of Christ in a world that has rejected Him.
Bearing in mind these characteristic differences between the Jewish camp and the Christian company, we can easily test the great religious systems in Christendom. Do these national and nonconformist religious systems bear the characteristics of the camp or of Christianity? Alas, beyond all question, the truth compels us to admit that they are framed after the pattern of the camp. They have their worldly sanctuaries and have their special order of humanly ordained priests standing between the people and God. Moreover, these systems as such cannot give a purged conscience or approach to God in heaven itself. They recognise man in the flesh; they appeal to man in the flesh; they are so constituted as to embrace man in the flesh; and hence in these systems there is no reproach.
Are we to conclude then that such systems are the camp? Strictly speaking they are not. In one sense they are worse than the camp, inasmuch as they are merely imitations, framed after the pattern of the camp, with certain Christian adjuncts. In its inception the camp was set up by God, and in its corruption it was set aside by God. These great systems have been originated by men, though, admittedly, oftentimes most sincere and pious men, acting with the best of intentions. It follows that if the exhortation to Jewish believers is to go forth without the camp, how much more incumbent it is upon the believer of today to go forth outside that which is merely an imitation of the camp.
A difficulty, however, arises in the minds of many by the fact that numbers of true Christians are found in these great religious systems. It is argued, Can it be wrong to remain in systems in which there are many true, devoted Christians? In reply to this difficulty we may ask, Are we to be governed by what Christians do, or by what God says? Surely obedience to God’s Word is the supreme obligation of every believer. If others have not the light of that Word, or the courage to face the reproach and suffering that obedience may entail, are we, therefore, to remain in a position that the Word of God condemns? Surely not.
Furthermore, while it is true that in the midst of the lifeless profession that mainly composes these great systems there are devoted saints of God, it must ever be remembered that the fact of there being such is not due to the system in which they may be found, but to the sovereign grace of God that ever works for the blessing of souls, in spite of the system. Such saints are not the product of the system they are in, nor do they give character to the system. Another has pointed out that the position of such saints is strikingly illustrated by the godly remnant in the midst of Thyatira. That church was characterised by Jezebel and her children. There were, however, those in Thyatira who were not the children of Jezebel. They were not the product of that evil system, nor did they give character to it. Such, it would seem, is very much the position of those saints who remain in these man-made systems; and, though in all love we would seek to make every allowance for such, yet, in the face of the plain exhortation to go forth without the camp, their position is a solemn one. It is not for us to judge the motives that hold many from going forth. Ignorance of the truth, lack of simple faith, the fear of man, the dread of consequences, the prejudices of religious training and associations, not to speak of more sordid motives, may hold many back. Perhaps, however, the most powerful influence to hold saints in these systems is the natural dread that we all have of being in reproach. To take a place outside the great religious systems of Christendom, in company with a rejected Christ and the poor and weak and despised of this world, entails reproach. From this everyone shrinks.
Is there then no power that will enable us to overcome this shrinking from reproach? Surely there is! And does it not lie in affection for Christ? Hence the word is, Let us go forth therefore unto Him. This word is of the first importance, for it gives us a positive reason for leaving the camp order of things. Going forth from that which we have learned to be evil is merely negative, and no man can live on negatives. Going forth without the camp unto Him does indeed involve separation from evil, but it is much more – it is separation unto Christ. It is a separation that gives us a positive object.
Moreover, apart from having Christ as an object, the act of separation would be sectarian; it would simply be leaving one camp and seeking to make an improved camp. This, indeed, is the actual history of the great dissenting movements. True Christians were awakened to the evil and corruption of that with which they were connected, and they laid hold of certain important truths. Forthwith they broke their connection and formed a party to protest against evil and to maintain a truth. This, however, is only to form another camp, which in process of time becomes as evil as the camp they originally left. However precious the truth, be it the truth of the Lord’s coming, the truth of the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, or the truth of the one body, if we separate from the religious systems around simply to maintain these great truths, we are only forming sects. On every hand we see this has been done. Christians are exercised as to holiness, and forthwith they form a holiness league; they are awakened as to the reality of the Holy Spirit, and they must needs form a pentecostal league; they are awakened as to the truth that the Lord is coming, and they form a second advent mission; they lay hold of the truth of the one body, and they drift into a sect to maintain this great truth.
There is one way, and only one, whereby we can be kept in separation from evil and maintain the truth without sectarianism, and that is by going forth unto Him. He is the Head of the body, and all religious systems are the outcome of not holding the Head. There is much meaning, and rich instruction, as well as solemn warning in that great word of the Lord, He that gathereth not with Me scattereth (Luk 11:23). That beloved servant of the Lord, J. N. Darby, writing on this verse, said, It is not Christians but Christ who is become God’s centre. We may gather Christians together, but if it is not Christ in one’s own spirit, it is scattering. God knows no centre of union but the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Himself the Object, and nothing but Christ can be the centre. Whatever is not gathering round that centre, for Him and from Him, is scattering. There may be gathering, but if not with Me, it is scattering. We are by nature so essentially sectarian that we have need to watch against this. I cannot make Christ the centre of my efforts if He is not the centre of my thoughts.
We have seen that the Lord promises to be with each of His people individually, but there is no promise that He will give the sanction of His presence to the systems in which many of His people may be found. On the contrary, He is outside in the place of reproach. He is with us individually, but are we collectively with Him? Let us go forth implies a company gathered to Christ.
(Vv. 14-21). Having thus exhorted us to go forth … unto Him without the camp, the writer indicates some of the blessings and privileges that can be enjoyed by those who obey the exhortation. It will be found that the outside place is one in which many privileges can be enjoyed, and many scriptural directions carried out with a fulness that is impossible to those who remain in the camp order of things. Thus we learn that those who gather to Christ in the outside place are viewed as having certain characteristics:
(1) They are a pilgrim company – Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. In the outside place we can take up our proper character as strangers and pilgrims. A stranger is one that has no continuing city here; a pilgrim is one that seeks the city to come. We may, alas, fail in the outside place to be true to our pilgrim character, but in the camp it would be well nigh impossible to wear that character with any consistency (verse 14).
(2) They are a worshipping company – Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. How difficult, in the camp, to worship God in spirit and in truth. Outside, it is possible to find, not only worshipping individuals, but a worshipping company (verse 15).
(3) The company in the outside place is one in which bodies are cared for. Hence we are exhorted to do good and to communicate (verse 16).
(4) It is a company where souls are watched over. So we are to obey our leaders and submit to those who seek the good of our souls (verse 17).
(5) It is a praying company, where the leaders who care for souls are sustained by the prayers of the saints. If the saints require the ministry of the leaders, the leaders need the prayers of the saints (verses 18, 19).
(6) It is a company in which it is possible to do the will of God, and thus be well-pleasing in His sight (verses 20, 21).
(7) Lastly, it is a company to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever (verse 21).
Very blessedly the Epistle opens with Christ in glory. Then we have a company of believers being brought to glory. Now, as the Epistle draws to its close, we learn that it is God’s desire that those who are going to glory should take the outside place with Christ down here, and thus be for His glory in time, as they will be for eternity.
How blessed is the truth, as presented in Scripture, of a company of people who have gone forth to Christ in the outside place, bearing His reproach; having a pilgrim character; marked as a worshipping company, where bodies are cared for and souls watched over; in which prayer is made; and which is here for the pleasure of God and the glory of Christ. Alas! how little have we answered to the picture. Nevertheless, in spite of all our failure, let us press on, seeking to answer to the truth, and having nothing less before our souls.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
13:1 Let {1} brotherly love continue.
(1) He comes to the second table of the law, the sum of which is charity, especially toward strangers and such as are afflicted.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
1. Pastoral reminders 13:1-21
This section consists of parenesis: reminders of what the readers already knew or were doing or of what they knew they should avoid. As in the Mosaic Law, moral directions (Heb 13:1-6) precede religious instructions (Heb 13:7-19).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Instructions regarding morality 13:1-6
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
When love for Jesus Christ falters, love for the brethren normally fades as well (cf. Rom 12:10; 1Th 4:9-10; 1Pe 1:22; 2Pe 1:7; 1Jn 2:9).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER XVI.
SUNDRY EXHORTATIONS.
Heb 13:1-25
Let love of the brethren continue. Forget not to shew love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are evil entreated, as being yourselves also in the body. Let marriage be had in honour among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say.
The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?
Remember them that had the rule over you, which spake unto you the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and for ever. Be not carried away by divers and strange teachings: for it is good that the heart be established by grace; not by meats, wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us therefore go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after the city which is to come. Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account: that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this were unprofitable for you.
Pray for us: for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honestly in all things. And I exhort you the more exceedingly to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you perfect in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
But I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation: for I have written unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty; with whom if he come shortly, I will see you.
Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
The condition of the Hebrew Christians was most serious. But one excellence is acknowledged to have belonged to them. It was almost the only ground of hope. They ministered to the saints.[385] Yet even this grace was in peril. In a previous chapter the writer has exhorted them to call to remembrance the former days, in which they had compassion on them that were in bonds.[386] But he considers it sufficient, in reference to brotherly love, to urge them to see that it continues.[387] They were in more danger of forgetting to show kindness to their brethren of other Churches, who, in pursuance of the liberty of prophesying accorded in Apostolic times, journeyed from place to place for the purpose of founding new Churches or of imparting spiritual gifts to Churches already established. Besides, it was a time of local persecutions. One Church might be suffering, and its members might take refuge in a sister-Church. Missionaries and persecuted brethren would be the strangers to whom the enrolled widows used hospitality, and whose feet they washed.[388] We can well understand why in that age a bishop would be especially expected to be given to hospitality.[389] Uhlhorn excellently observes that “the greatness of the age consisted in this very feature: that Christians of all places knew themselves to be fraternally one, and that in this oneness all differences disappeared.”[390] In the case of a Church consisting of Hebrews the duty of entertaining strangers, many of them necessarily Greeks, would be peculiarly apt to be forgotten. When a Church wavered in its allegiance to Christianity, the alienation would become still more pronounced.
The constant going and coming of missionary brethren reminds the author of the ministry of angels, who are like the swift breezes, and carry Christ’s messages over the face of the earth.[391] Sometimes they are as a flame of fire. When they were on their way to destroy the Cities of the Plain, Abraham and Lot entertained them, not knowing that they were heaven-sent ministers of wrath.[392] It would be presumptuous in any man to deny the possibility of angelic visitations in the Christian Church; but the Apostle’s meaning is not that hospitality ought to be shown to strangers in the hope that angels may be among them. They are to be received unawares; otherwise the fragrance of the deed is gone. But the fact remains, and has been proved in the experience of many, that kindness to strangers, be they preaching friars, or itinerant exhorters, or persecuted outcasts, brings a rich blessing to children’s children. A Syrian builds for himself a hut on the riverside, and offers to carry the wayfarers across on his shoulders. One day a child asks to be taken over. But the light burden becomes every moment heavier. The exhausted bearer asks in astonishment, “Who art thou, child?” It was Christ, and the Syrian was named the Christ-bearer in remembrance of the event.[393]
The next exhortation is to purity. It is better not to attempt to connect these exhortations. Their special importance in the case of the Hebrew Christians is reason enough for them. Abstinence from marriage is not commended. Our author is not an Essene. On the contrary, he would discourage it. “Let marriage be held in honour among all classes of men.” It is the Divinely appointed remedy against incontinence. But in the married state itself let there be purity. For the incontinent, whether in the bonds of wedlock or not, God’s direct, providential judgments will overtake.
Then follows a warning against love of money, and the Lord’s promise not to fail or forsake Joshua[394] is appropriated by our author on behalf of his readers. Their covetousness arose from anxiety, which may have been occasioned by their distressing poverty in the days of Claudius.[395] That the advice was needed shows the precise character of their threatening apostasy. Worldliness was at the root of their Judaism. It is still the same. The self-righteous do not hate money.
Let them imitate the trustfulness of their great leaders in the past, who had not given their time and thoughts to heaping up riches, but had devoted themselves to the work of witnessing and of speaking the word of God. Let them review with critical eye their manner of life, and observe how it ended. They all died in faith. Some of them suffered martyrdom, so complete and entirely unworldly was their self-surrender to Jesus Christ! But Jesus Christ is still the same One. If He was worthy that Stephen and James should die for His sake, He is worthy of our allegiance too. Yea, He will be the same for ever. When the world has passed away, with its fashion and its lust, when the earth and the works that are therein are burned up and dissolved, Jesus Christ abides. What He was yesterday to His martyr Stephen, that He is to all that follow Him in earth’s today, and that He will for ever be when He shall have appeared unto them who expect Him unto salvation. The antithesis, it will be seen, is not between the departed saints and the abiding Christ, but between the world, which the Hebrew Christians loved too well, and the Christ Whom the saints of their Church had loved better than the world and served by faith unto death.
If Jesus Christ abides, He is our anchorage, and the exhortation first given near the beginning of the Epistle once more suggests itself to the Apostle. “Permit not yourselves to drift and be carried past[396] the moorings by divers strange doctrines.” The word “doctrines” is itself emphatic, “Be not borne aside from the personal, abiding Jesus Christ by propositions, whether in reference to practice or to belief.” What these “doctrines” were in this particular case we learn from the next verse. They were the doubtful disputations about meats. The epithets “divers and strange” restrict the allusion still more nearly. He speaks not of the general and familiar injunctions of Jewish teachers respecting meats, the subject rather contemptuously dismissed by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans: “One man hath faith to eat all things; but he that is weak eateth herbs.”[397] Our author could not have regarded these doctrines as “strange,” and he could scarcely have spoken of “strengthening the heart with meats” if he had meant abstinence from meats. A recent English expositor[398] has pointed out the direction in which we must seek the interpretation of this difficult passage. The Apostle brushes aside the novel teaching of the Essenes, who, without becoming Christians, “had broken away from the sacrificial system” of the Mosaic law and “substituted for it new ordinances of their own, according to which the daily meal became a sacrifice, and the president of the community took the place of the Levitical priest.” Such teaching was quite as inconsistent with Judaism as with Christianity. But the writer of this Epistle rejects it for precisely the same reason for which he repudiates Judaism. Both are inconsistent with the perfect separateness of Christ’s atonement.
It is well, as St. Paul said, for every man to be fully assured in his own mind.[399] A doubting conscience enfeebles a man’s spiritual vigour for work. The Essenes found a remedy for morbidness in strictness as to meats and minute directions for the employment of time. St. Paul taught that an unhealthy casuistry would be best counteracted by doing all things unto the Lord. “He that eateth eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord.”[400] The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews considers that it betokens a littleness of soul to strengthen conscience by regulations as to various kinds of food. The noble thing[401] is that the heart–that is, the conscience–be stablished by thankfulness,[402] which will produce a strong, placid, courageous, and healthy moral perception. The moral code of the New Testament is direct and simple. It is entirely free from all casuistical crotchets and distinctions without a difference. Those who busy themselves[403] about such matters have never gained anything by it.
Do the Essenes repudiate the altar the sacrifice of which may not be eaten? Do they teach that the only sacrifice for sin is the daily meal? This is a fatal error. “We have” says the Apostle, “an altar of which the worshippers are not permitted to eat.”[404] All these expressions are metaphorical. By the altar we must understand the atoning sacrifice of Christ; by “those who serve the tabernacle” are meant believers in that sacrifice, prefigured, however, by the priests and worshippers under the old covenant; and by “eating of the altar” is meant participation in the sacredness that pertains to the death and atonement of Christ. The purpose of the writer is to teach the entire separateness of Christ’s atonement. It is true that Christians eat the body and drink the blood of Christ.[405] But the words of our Lord and of St. Paul[406] refer to the passover, whereas our author speaks of the sin-offering. In the former the lamb was eaten;[407] in the latter the carcases of the beasts whose blood was brought by the worshipper through his representative,[408] the high-priest, into the holiest place on the day of atonement, were carried forth without the camp and burned in the fire.[409] Both sacrifices, the passover and the sin-offering, were typical. The former typified our participation in Christ’s death, the latter the separateness of Christ’s death.
Many expositors see a reference in the Apostle’s words to the Lord’s Table, and some of them infer from the word “altar” that the Eucharist is a continual offering of a propitiatory sacrifice to God. It is not too much to say that this latter doctrine is the precise error which the Apostle is here combating.
Two other interpretations of these verses have been suggested. Both are, we think, untenable. The one is that we Christians have an altar of which we have a right to eat, but of which the Jewish priests and all who cling to Judaism have no right to eat; and, to prove that they have not, the Apostle mentions the fact that they were not permitted to eat the bodies of the beasts slain as a sin-offering under the old covenant. There are several weighty objections to this view, but the following one will be sufficient. The reference to the sin-offering in the eleventh verse is made in order to show that it was a type of Christ’s atoning death. As the bodies of the slain beasts were carried outside the camp and burned, so Christ suffered without the gate. But there is no real resemblance between the two things unless the Apostle intends to teach that the atonement of Christ stands apart and cannot be shared in by any other person, which implies that the tenth verse does not convey the notion that Christians have a right to eat of the altar.
The other interpretation is that we, Christians, have an altar of which we who serve the ideal tabernacle have no right to eat, inasmuch as the sacrifice is spiritual. “Our Christian altar supplies no flesh for carnal food.”[410] But if the reference is to carnal food, the expression “We have no right to eat” is not the appropriate one. The writer would surely have said, “of which we cannot eat.” Besides, this view misses the connection between the ninth and tenth verses. To say that Christ’s death procured spiritual blessings and that we do not eat His body after a carnal manner does not affect the question concerning meats, unless the doctrine concerning meats includes the notion that they are themselves an atoning sacrifice. Such was the doctrine of the Essenes. The argument of the Apostle is good and forcible if it means that Christ’s atonement is Christ’s alone. We share not in its sacredness, though we partake of its blessings. It resembles the sin-offering on the day of atonement, as well as the paschal lamb.
But it was not enough that the slain beasts should be burned without the camp. Their blood also must be brought into the holiest place. The former rite signified that the slain beast bore the sin of the people, the latter that the people themselves were sanctified. Similarly Jesus suffered without the gate of Jerusalem, in reproach and ignominy, as the Sin-bearer, and also entered into the true holiest place, in order to sanctify His people through His own blood.
We must not press the analogy. The author sees a quaint but touching resemblance between the burning of the slain beasts outside the camp and the crucifying of Jesus on Golgotha outside the city. The point of resemblance is in the ignominy symbolized in the one and in the other. Here too the writer finds the practical use of what he has said. Though the atonement of the Cross is Christ’s, and cannot be shared in by others, the reproach of that atoning death can. The thought leads the Apostle away from the divers strange doctrines of the Essenes, and brings him back to the main idea of the Epistle, which is to induce his readers to hold no more dalliance with Judaism, but to break away from it finally and for ever. “Let us come out,” he says. The word recalls St. Paul’s exhortation to the Christians of Corinth “to come out from among them, to be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing. For what concord can there be between Christ and Belial, between a believer and an unbeliever, between the sanctuary of God and idols?”[411] Our author tells the Hebrew Christians that on earth they have nothing better than reproach to expect. Quit, therefore, the camp of Judaism. Live, so to speak, in the desert. (He speaks metaphorically throughout.) You have no abiding city on earth. The fatal mistake of the Jews has been that they have turned what ought to be simply a camp into an abiding city. They have lost the feeling of the pilgrim; they seek not a better country and a city built by God. Shun ye this worldliness. Not only regard not your earthly life as a permanent dwelling in a city, but leave even the camp; be not only sojourners, but outcasts. Share in the reproach of Jesus, and look for your citizenship in heaven.
Reverting to the teaching of the Essenes, the writer proceeds: “Through Jesus let us offer a sacrifice of praise.”[412] The emphasis must rest on the words “through Jesus.” The daily meal is not a sacrifice, except in the sense of being a thanksgiving; and our thanksgiving is acceptable to God when it is offered through Him Whose death is a propitiation. Even then lip-worship only is not accepted. Share the meal with the poor. God is pleased with the sacrifices of doing good to all and contributing[413] to the necessities of the saints.
The Apostle next exhorts them to obey their leaders, and that with yielding submission. The atmosphere is certainly different from the democratic spirit of the Corinthian Church. Yet it is not improbable that the safety of the Hebrew Christians everywhere from a violent reaction towards Judaism was due to the wisdom and profounder insight of the leaders. Our author evidently considers that he has them on his side. “They, whatever we may think of the common herd, are wide awake. They understand that they will have to give an account of their stewardship over you to Christ at His coming. Submit to them, that they may watch over your souls with joy, and not with a grief that finds utterance in frequent sighs.[414] When they give their account, you will not find that your fretful rebelliousness has profited you aught. The Essenian society gain nothing by absorption of the individual in the community, and you will gain nothing, but quite the reverse, by asserting your individual crotchets to the destruction of the Church.”[415]
He asks his readers to pray for him and Timothy, who has been released from prison. Their prayers are his due. For he believes he has an upright conscience in breaking with Judaism. For the same reason he is confident that their prayers on his behalf will be answered. He and his friends wish in all things to live noble lives. He is the more desirous of having their prayers because of his eagerness to be “restored”[416] to them. He means much more than to return to them. He wishes to be “restored,” or “refitted.” Their prayers will put an end to the perturbation of his mind, and bring back the happiness of their first love.
He, too, prays for them. His prayer is that God may furnish them with every gift of grace to do His will, and His will is their consecration,[417] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. God will answer his prayer and provide in them that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. For He has not left His Church without a Shepherd, though it is in the wilderness. He has brought up from the dead, and restored out of the ignominious death without the gate, our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd, Who is ever with them, whatever may become of the undershepherds. That He has been raised from the dead is certain. For, when He was crucified in ignominy without the gate, His blood was at the same time offered in the true holiest place. That blood has ratified the new and final covenant between God and His people. It was through His own blood of this eternal covenant that He was raised from the dead, and it is in virtue of the same blood and of the same covenant that He is now the Shepherd of His Church.
Here, again, we must not draw too broad a distinction between the resurrection of Christ and His ascension to heaven. On the one hand, we must not say that by the words “bringing up from the dead” the Apostle means the ascension; on the other hand, the words do not exclude the ascension. The resurrection and the ascension coalesce in the notion of Christ being living. The only distinction present, we think, to the writer’s mind was that between the shame of Christ’s death without the camp and the offering of His blood by the living Christ in the holiest place. He Who died on the Cross through that death liveth evermore. He lives to be the Shepherd of His people. Therefore to Him must be ascribed the glory for ever and ever.
The Apostle once more begs his readers to bear with the word of exhortation. Let them remember that he has written briefly in order to spare them. He might have said more, but he has refrained.
He hopes to bring Timothy with him, unless his friend tarries long. In that case he will come alone, so great is his anxiety to see them.
He sends his greetings to all the saints, but mentions the leaders. Brethren who have come from Italy are with him. They may have been exiles or fugitives who had sought safety during the first great persecution of the Church in the days of Nero. They too send greetings.
He closes with the Apostolic benediction. For, whoever he was, he was truly an Apostolic man.
FOOTNOTES:
[385] Heb 6:10.
[386] Heb 10:34.
[387] Heb 13:1.
[388] 1Ti 5:10.
[389] 1Ti 3:2.
[390] Christian Charity in the Ancient Church, English Trans., p. 92.
[391] Heb 1:7.
[392] Gen 18:2; Gen 19:1.
[393] The legend of Christopher is beautifully told by Oosterzee at the beginning of his book on The Person and Work of the Redeemer, English Trans. (Ed. 1886).
[394] Jos 1:5.
[395] Act 11:28.
[396] m parapheresthe (Heb 13:9).
[397] Rom 9:13.
[398] Rendall: The Epistle to the Hebrews, pp. 25: and 139.
[399] Rom 14:15.
[400] Rom 14:6-8.
[401] kalon (Heb 13:9).
[402] chariti. The author has chosen a more classical word than that which St. Paul uses.
[403] peripatountes.
[404] Heb 13:10.
[405] Joh 6:51-55.
[406] 1Co 10:16.
[407] Exo 12:1-51
[408] dia.
[409] Lev 16:27.
[410] So Rendall, loc. cit.
[411] 2Co 6:15 sqq.
[412] Heb 13:15.
[413] koinnias.
[414] stenazontes (Heb 13:17).
[415] alysiteles. Comp. Heb 13:9.
[416] apokatastath (Heb 13:19).
[417] Heb 10:10.