I. Introduction
A. We have come to the end of our year-long journey through the epistle to the Hebrews, written to Jewish converts to Christ whose newfound faith was wavering under the pressure of persecution from their former friends and families. They are being tempted to return to Judaism.
1. I want to remind you again of Heb.10:23, which summarizes the overall message of the epistle so well: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
B. Today we come to the last words of the epistle, including its famous benediction.
II. Let’s look more closely at the four sections of Hebrews 13:18–25.
A. 18-19 “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.”
1. It seems the author is afraid his readers might be offended by how long he’s been away from them, especially in light of his long and heavy exhortation.
2. Lack of presence, lack of attention sometimes makes the heart grow bitter, feel unloved. But it doesn’t mean that the person’s actually done anything wrong.
3. But the author is not offended that they might be offended. Instead, he humbles himself by asking for their prayers. He asks them to pray that he might be able to visit them soon.
4. Here are people whose faith in Christ is questionable, and instead of being angry or dismissive, the author tries hard to win them by requesting their prayers, implying that he still sees them as his brothers and sisters in Christ, communicating to them how much he needs them.
B. 20-21 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.
1. Here is the well=known benediction.
2. “The God of peace” – I don’t know why God is referred to in this way. They are at three possibilities:
a. There may be been conflict/tension between different groups in the church – see 13:17 and 12:14.
b. He may be appealing to their Hebrew notion of Shalom, which means well-being/prosperity, implying that God will bless and prosper His faithful people.
c. He may be referring back to one of the great themes of the epistle: God’s work in Christ to establish peace between God and man.
3. It seems clear that v.20 is summarizing what he’s been saying about Jesus throughout the book, and in particular, v.20 is glorifying Jesus in comparison to Moses, as he did earlier in Heb.3:1-6 .
a. “The shepherd of the sheep” is an expression from Is.63:11 (in the LXX). In that context it refers to Moses being brought up out of the sea (in the Exodus).
(1) But now the expression is applied to Jesus, who was brought up not out of the sea but from the dead.
(2) There are shepherds and then there is the great shepherd, the chief shepherd. In his time, Moses was the shepherd of Israel, but Jesus is the GREAT shepherd of the sheep.
b. The expression “the blood of the covenant” has already been used in Heb.9:20, referring to God’s covenant with Israel through Moses.
(1) But we’ve seen in this epistle how God’s covenant through Moses was an inferior covenant, an earthly covenant. So now when referring to the new covenant, the author of Hebrews changes the expression from “the blood of the covenant” to “the blood of the ETERNAL covenant.”
c. Why is the author exalting Christ over Moses and the new covenant over the old?
(1) They’ve come to Jesus. Now they’re being tempted to go back to Moses.
(2) They’ve come into the new covenant. Now they’re being tempted to go back to the old.
4. His concluding prayer is that God would give them power and grace to do all the things he has exhorted them to do.
5. Here is the only reference to Christ’s resurrection in the whole letter.
a. It may also be a word of encouragement in the face of persecution.
C. 22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
1. In v.18-19 we saw that he was afraid they would be offended by his not visiting them sooner.
2. Now he’s concerned about how they’re going to respond to what he’s been saying. He’s concerned that they might be offended by his exhortations, by their length or perhaps their strength.
3. He’s telling them that in reality, Hebrews is brief. Honestly, how can this letter be thought of as brief?
a. What if it’s not a letter?
b. It seems to be a sermon. The same expression, “word of exhortation” is used in Acts 13:15 to refer to a sermon.
c. It takes about an hour to read it aloud.
d. An hour is a long sermon in our context, but not in many contexts in the world and down through history. (Remember Paul’s all-night sermon in Troas in Acts 20.)
e. Sometimes the word of God seems unbearable. It might seem unbearably long or difficult to understand. Or it might seem unbearably contrary to the way we think, or the things we want to believe. But the problem is usually with us.
f. Just because something is long doesn’t mean it’s not of the Lord.
g. The fact is, sometimes the Lord has a lot to tell us.
h. I’m not excusing sermons which are too long. The preacher can’t use this to justify his irresponsibility.
i. But the listener also can’t use the length of the sermon to justify not listening.
D. 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. We can understand only a little from passages like this because we don’t know the context — like overhearing a part of a conversation. E.g. we don’t even know who wrote this book.
2. But this doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot we can get from this.
3. One thing we can see in them is the love of Christ.
4. Greetings communicate love. Wanting people to greet each other is a sign of love. (He’s still working to encourage their relationship with their leaders – see.v.7&17.)
5. Wanting to hear news of others is a sign of love.
6. These final statements are not just literary forms. They’re not just good manners. This is love.
7. This is the word of God, it’s not just final words in an ancient letter. It is a calling. It’s a pattern given us as an example to follow.
III. Application
A. Conservative or progressive, old or new
1. We all tend to go back to our old securities and patterns when the going gets tough.
a. This was the great temptation of these young Hebrew Christians.
b. In the face of increasing pressure and affliction, they began to be tempted to forsake Christ and return to the Judaism of their youth.
c. Jesus was the new, radical reality in their lives.
2. This raises a question. Is it better to be conservative or progressive? Is it best to preserve the things of the past, to continue on in the way of your parents and your people? Or is it best to break free from the old ways and look at things from a new perspective, to shake off the old traditions and structures and be more pioneering and cutting edge?
a. Let me tell you how I think the Bible answers this question: Neither is inherently superior.
b. You see, the issue isn’t conservative or progressive. The issue isn’t old or new. The issue is Jesus. The way of Jesus is the way of life. And whatever you have to do to have your feet on His path, do it — and keep doing it.
c. Is the way of Jesus what you’ve grown up with? Does it represent the tradition in which you’ve been reared? Then be conservative: stick to it.
d. But if – like me – the way of Jesus is the new, radical reality that contradicts the ways of your childhood, then be progressive: forsake your past and your traditions and latch onto Christ and don’t let go.
e. The reality sometimes is somewhere in between. Christ is indeed an important part of your tradition, but not in the way He should be. And so moving forward must be a matter of both change and of maintenance of the past, maintaining the good but changing the defective.
3. We have in this room some who have faced a million obstacles and have remained true to Christ. They are proving themselves true believers, enduring to the end.
a. We have others who are going along with the Christian faith but have not yet been severely tested. But the day of testing will inevitably come, the day when their friends will think it ridiculous to believe in Christ, the day when they are tempted to think of Christ as a great obstacle to pleasures and experiences which seem so desirable. The book of Hebrews calls them to be ready.
B. Fruit
1. Hebrews fits into a pattern which is common in the NT epistles. The first part of the book contains glorious truths of what Christ has done for us, and the second part contains exhortations about how we should live in light of these truths.
2. The emphasis in Hebrews is on what God has done in Christ to redeem us. And that is the emphasis of most of the books in the NT.
3. However, like most NT books, that’s not where this book ends.
4. It ends with a call to live our lives consistent with the glorious truth of Christ, consistent with the grace we’ve been shown in Him.
5. Both are necessary. You can’t have one without the other.
6. The fruit of all God has done is born in the way we live.
7. We, transformed by Christ, full of the knowledge of Him, must live lives then of honesty and hope and kindness and generosity and self-control.
C. Communicating in love
1. The author is concerned about how his readers will react to what he’s saying.
2. For the author this is so much more than doing a job or fulfilling a duty. He loves his readers and so it’s very personal for him. He is eager for them to be blessed.
3. We all should be concerned about this. We all should be trying to adapt our communication to others so that they can hear what we say without unnecessary offense.
4. Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
5. You don’t want to turn people off to Christ because of the way you come across or communicate.
6. Today the mantra is: “Just be yourself!” The problem with this is that each of us is corrupted by sin. We don’t want to be ourselves in our sinfulness. We want for Christ to live through us, so that it’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Gal.2:20).
7. But it’s not just about communicating lovingly. It’s about truly having love and desiring the best.
D. Prayer
1. 18-19 is a request for prayer
2. 20-21 is a prayer for his readers
3. And v.25 is his final statement: “Grace be with all of you.” — which is a prayer of sorts.
4. Once he’s said all he can say, here is where he has to leave it.
a. We wish we had the power to go in and adjust what’s going on in a person’s heart.
b. There’s a certain helplessness that goes along with working with people.
c. It is clear here that none of us have the power in ourselves to fulfill the duties which God requires.
d. It takes more than information. It takes transformation. And that’s something only God can do.
e. And so, in the end, we’re left with prayer.
5. 25 He has pled with them: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:14–16
a. Now he prays for them
(1) 21 May God equip you with everything you need to do His will.
(2) 25 May God’s grace be with you.
6. He knows that God’s grace is what they need. So, in the end, all there is left to do is pray.