HEBREWS: “A Greater Remembrance (Hebrews 13:7-25)” | 12/17/23
Hebrews 13:7-25 | 12/17/23 | Thad Yessa
Hebrews 13:7-25
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you.
1) Remember Your SHEPHERDS (13:7-9;17-19)
These two sections 7-9 and 17-19 point towards past leaders as well as present ones. The call to remember has been something the author of Hebrews has done over and over again. He has previously called the readers to remember Jesus is greater than angels, prophets, sacrifices, etc. and those saints who have gone before us: Abraham, Moses, Noah those unnamed saints who died under persecution etc. and here again he is calling the reader to remember specifically those past leaders/shepherds who have gone before and calls us to do Three things: Consider Imitate, and Avoid.
Consider - Shepherds don’t just point out the path; they walk it in front of you. Look at the life they live and see what the outcome is. Their words and way of life go together: they not only speak the word but model a way of life and a way of finishing their course that validates their words. Words and way belong together. Words give meaning to way of life. And way of life models and confirms words.
Imitate - Imitate their faith, NOT imitate their life. There needs to be a recognition of the limitations of earthly shepherds; leaders will make mistakes because we also still struggle with sin. We do not imitate their worldly methods, not their sins; we imitate their faith. Study and reflect upon when they relied on the Lord and boldly stood for him. Where in their weakness, their trust in God never waivered.
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Jesus is the same - this is not some random interjection of abstract theology. The author calls the readers to remember the gospel and the lives of the leaders who are no longer with them. The life and teaching of their leaders "yesterday" is still relevant to the lives of the readers "today" for Jesus, whom the leaders served, has not changed, for he is always the same. Outward circumstances may change, but Jesus doesn't. They should look to Jesus, who, as 12:1-3 demonstrates, is "the supreme example of faithfulness and constancy." The grace that enabled the leaders to trust in God and to live in a way that pleases God is still available, and it will always be available.
Avoid - Christianity, if rightly understood, is the same yesterday, today, and forever: This is because Jesus Christ does not change. And it is by his unchanging nature that we should be able to detect false teaching and not be led astray by it. This is what the author presses his people toward in verse 9.
The author uses two words to describe the kind of teaching we should avoid: various and strange. Theological variation in the gospel is not something to be embraced; it must be avoided. After all, there is only one faith, one gospel, and one Savior. Good leaders should identify and instruct us to be able to recognize teaching as strange when it runs contrary to the sound doctrine of Scripture.
“Strange is attractive because it is unusual, but it ultimately leads us astray.” - Al Mohler
Though these strange teachings are not explicitly identified, the following verses suggest that the author has teachings from the Old Testament law in mind. They most likely focus on food regulations meant to distinguish the Israelites as God's holy people. Whatever they are, these teachings contradict the theological unity of the gospel message. One of the dangers of external laws like the Jewish dietary restrictions is that we tend to emphasize them more. We think we can be justified by keeping them. It seems that the Jewish Christians to whom this letter was addressed were focusing so much on Old Testament dietary laws that they forgot the greater and weightier things—-salvation through grace by faith in Christ. They, like us today, desperately needed to hear the central message of Hebrews: the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus's blood is far superior to the old covenant.
Therefore, it does not matter how concerned we are with dietary rules. Christians live by grace, and our hearts are strengthened by grace. External matters cannot strengthen or save us. We are saved by the mercy of God, which has been demonstrated in the new covenant.
Jumping down to verse 17 the author moves back to our leaders and gives three more commands: Obey, submit, and Pray.
Obey your leaders. Submit to their authority. That’s what the text says. Now the framework here isn’t because they have the title and you don’t, when they say, “Jump,” you just do what they say. I also want to acknowledge that in the time we live it seems as though there is more and more authority/spiritual abuse going on inside the church by those who have been put in positions of authority. I want to remind us who have experienced such things that these verses also say, “Those who will give an account.” All shepherds will have to give an account of their leading to God.
“Obey” here comes conveys the idea of one who has convince, or persuade, or make confident, or win trust. Follow those who have proven themselves to be worthy of being followed.
Christians, if they are spiritually healthy, want to be led by worthy leaders. They’re eager to be taught, eager to be persuaded from the word, eager to be convinced. They have a disposition to yield to and receive worthy leadership, and when finding worthy leadership, they gladly submit. And in this disposition, wise Christians know that it will be to their own advantage and gain if their leaders labor with joy and not with groaning. A healthy dynamic in the church is leaders that don’t presume submission, but seek to persuade and win the congregation from the heart, and a congregation that isn’t just willing, but eager, to be led and persuaded by the leadership.
The reason to follow the shepherds is because they are following the gospel, because they’re teaching the Word of God, because they’re living it out, because they’re new covenant centered, because they’re self-denying, because they’re demonstrating good works. So obey. Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. You do it for two reasons.They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them, so that their work will be a joy and not a burden.
Pray. One of the most important things a church, this church can do for its shepherds is to pray for them. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12 Your pastors need and covet your prayers, for we too fall into temptation, and attacks from the wicked one. Richards Phillips says, “If obedience is our duty to Christian leaders, surely prayer is the GREATEST ministry anyone can offer a pastor or elder.”
2) Remember Your SAVIOR (13:10-13)
"We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood" (vv. 11, 12).
The scene portrayed here is that the sacrifices offered on the Jewish great Day of Atonement were a prophetic type for the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). On the Day of Atonement a bull was slain to atone for the sins of the priest and his family, and a lamb likewise was sacrificed for the sins of the rest of the people. The blood of these sacrifices was taken into the Holy of Holies, but both the carcasses were taken outside the camp and burned up (Leviticus 16:27). Therefore, those under the old sacrificial system could not partake of this great offering as a meal.
Because Jesus taught the truth about God, about man, and about the only way of salvation, he was despised and rejected by men, and was literally cast outside the city gates. There he was put to death as one accursed. Jesus' whole ministry and message were outside the pale of worldly religion, and so he became an object of scorn and abuse. Outside the gate he suffered and died.
In that separation, a principle is established for all who come to God through him. Outside the camp is where we go to find the grace of God, for that is where the cross was raised, where God meets with us to forgive our sins and to accept us in the righteousness of the Son whom the world despised. This means that if you want acceptance in the courts of public approval, to be admired by worldly wisdom, and to avoid the scandal of a religion that man rejects, then you may not have fellowship with this Jesus Christ. You may not approach his cross by staying within the safe confines of the worldly city, for the cross is found outside the camp. But if you go outside the gates of worldly acceptance, not because you have some grudge against the world but because you see Jesus there, you will gain the salvation he bought with his blood to make you holy unto God. This is an often suppressed truth about Christianity, that the blessings of salvation cannot be had without the disgrace of Jesus' cross.
Paul wrote, "Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:22-24). To Timothy he wrote, All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12). Jesus made it quite clear that following him means rejection by this world. He said to the disciples, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated You. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you' (John 15:18-19). If we want to be joined to Christ and his salvation, there is no way for us to avoid bearing the disgrace with which he was sent outside the camp.
But Jesus, the ultimate atoning lamb, was sacrificed outside the camp outside Jerusalem's walls, on Golgotha—as an offering to God. Jesus' death outside the camp also means that he is accessible to anyone in the world who will come to him. Jesus planted his cross in the world so all the world could have access. And there he remains permanently available!
There remains only one thing to do, and so the writer exhorts us:
"Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
And because he is outside the camp, he will always be accessible. In fact, he is with us, in us, and coming to us! This understanding that he nourishes us and is accessible to us will help us keep on course.
3) Remember Your SACRIFICE (13:14-16)
This may be the most countercultural of all, especially in a day when our world is so focused on the here and now that we can see and hear and touch and smell and taste.
Verse 14 is not the first mention of the city in chapters 11 and 12. We have already heard about looking to the city to come:
11:10: Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
11:14–16: “people who speak thus [acknowledging they are strangers and exiles] make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. . . . [T]hey desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”
Two Sundays ago we looked at the glories of Mount Zion that are not only to come but also already ours, in some sense, by faith — 12:22: “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”
Then verse 14:
“here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
There is, in Christianity, a principled liberation from the present scope of this world. Clearly that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other and love strangers and show sympathy to the mistreated and prize marriage as we looked at last week. We don’t neglect to do good or share what we have — such sacrifices are pleasing to God — but in it all, above it all, beneath it all, we are not finally at home here — which frees us to love and serve our earthly city and neighbors. We seek the city that is to come. “Our citizenship is in heaven,” Paul says in Philippians 3:20.
Which is such an important reminder as 2023 draws to a close. Because next year is 2024. And 2024 is an election year in this country. And in an election year, some otherwise seemingly sober minded people lose their heads. But as we orient ourselves in our here-and-now city, Christians, in principle, are those who say, “Here we have no lasting city. We seek the better city, the heavenly city that is to come'' — which frees us to love and serve here.
So while we look forward to that heavenly city, we praise him. Lips of praise are an aspect of lives of worship. God is pleased by heartfelt words of praise. Verse 15:
“Through him [that is, through Jesus] let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
So, the God-pleasing sacrificial life includes praise. We “acknowledge his name” with our mouths. We say out loud, I’m a Christian. I love Jesus. I worship him. He is my Lord. He saved me. He is my Treasure. Jesus is better. And we gather here weekly to “acknowledge his name” together.
We express our joy in Jesus both in professing our faith and in corporate praise. We clearly, publicly, unashamedly identify with and commend Jesus, and we make a habit of corporate worship, beginning each new week together, setting the tone, and re-consecrating ourselves to him with joyful praise. And lips that praise him lead to lives that please him.
Or as John Stott puts it, “What spiritual sacrifices, then, do the people of God as a "holy priesthood" offer to him? Eight are mentioned in Scripture. First, we are to present our bodies to him for his service, as "living sacrifices." (Rom 12:1).Second, we offer God our praise, worship and thanksgiving, "the fruit of lips that confess his name." Our third sacrifice is prayer, which is said to ascend to God like fragrant incense, and our fourth "a broken and contrite heart," which God accepts and never despises. Fifth, faith is called a "sacrifice and service." So too, sixth, are our gifts and good deeds, for "with such sacrifices God is pleased." The seventh sacrifice is our life poured out like a drink offering in God's service, even unto death, while the eighth is the special offering of the evangelist, whose preaching of the gospel is called a "priestly duty" because he is able to present his converts as "an offering acceptable to God" (Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6; Rom 15:16).”
4) Remember Your SENDING (13:20-25)
The author of Hebrews follows his exhortation in the form of a benediction(verses 20-21) and a call to the reminder that Christianity is a call to community. He lets them know of the good things that are occurring, his desire to see them, and the reminder that the Grace of Jesus is the foundation of their faith/relationship. And very prominent in his benediction — certainly anchoring and supporting his exhortation — is the unparalleled power of God and what the resurrection means for believers.
The wording here doesn’t seem to emphasize the new life to which Jesus was raised to, but rather on the death he was taken out from by the resurrection. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.” In order to grasp just how that bringing out of death shows us about God’s power, we need to begin by asking, “What is death in the first place?”
Death is the wall between man and every one of God’s promises. Death is the dividing line between man and everlasting joy, peace, and life. Death is the chasm of darkness that swallows sinners whole. Death is the final ticking of the clock, the “game over'' moment, the snuffing out of one's hope, happiness, and wholeness. Death is the thing that all of us naturally fear. Because Death is the thing that we are all born into. And Death is the thing that we all deserve. “For the wages of sin is death.”
Even more, Death, if it were to be the end for Christians, would render our preaching vain, and our faith vain, and prove we are still hopelessly lost in our sins, and of all people most to be pitied.
BUT, we’re not hopelessly lost in our sin, and death doesn’t render our faith in vain, because Jesus, has been: “crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Heb. 2:9) Jesus, through death, destroyed the one who had the power of death,(Heb. 2:14). And Jesus “has delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:15).
For the Christian, that death is dead and buried. That Death has breathed its last. That “Death has been swallowed up in victory, and been robbed of its sting” because it was in Jesus’ death, (Col. 2:14), that God canceled our record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, nailing them to the cross.
And it was in Jesus’ death that God disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him (Col. 2:15).
And the proof of all this – our own freedom and victory over the death which had us so enslaved and shackled in its grasp – is in a Messiah who breathes – 3 days following his own death. We as Christian are by nature resurrection people.
The goal throughout this letter to instill in his brothers and sisters a confidence in God – confidence that God can keep his promises, keep his people, equip them with all they need, work in them that which he pleases, and both hear and answer their prayers – says, “Allow me to remind you who bound the hands of the greatest enemy the world has ever known!” Allow me to remind you of how powerful my affection is for you.
J.I Packer writes, “The measure of love is how much it gives, and the measure of the love of God is the gift of His only Son to be made man, and to die for sins, and so to become the one mediator who can bring us to God. The NT writers constantly point to the Cross of Christ as the crowning proof of the reality and boundlessness of God’s love.”
How powerful is God? Powerful enough to conquer the grave. More than that, conquer the grave for the good of his people.
It's fair to say we don’t often associate power with peace, do we? We associate power with destruction. Power with violence. Power, when we hear about it on the news or see it in the papers, is not usually, to us, a good thing. But our God, verse 20, is the “God of peace” because he puts his power to work for the good of his people — to bring them peace with him, and the outflow of that peace, a growing peace with self, with others, with the world, leading on into the final peace, final rest, heaven.
Col. 1:20, “God, through Jesus, reconciled to himself all things making peace by the blood of his cross.” For that reason we call it, Eph. 6:15, “the gospel of peace.”
Do you believe that?
Do you believe that God puts his power to work for you? That you’re not running on your own strength in this Christian life? It’s not all up to you? But that it is instead the God who conquered the grave who equips you with everything good that you may do his will (verse 21)?
Just look at that verse: It’s his power that is without limit (equipping you), and it is his will – the very thing he wants, the very thing he desires – that he’s equipping you for (verse 21). It’s what he finds pleasing that he’s moving you toward. And if the grave could not stop him, why would something as simple as equipping you for the very things that he desires for you to be and do this side of glory?
If that is all true, should we doubt God’s love for us here and now? The message of Hebrews is a call to remember that Jesus is greater and has greater things in store for us, therefore REGARDLESS of circumstances cling to Jesus because he has proven himself to be greater than anything else.