Hebrews 13:18-25 (03/21/2024)
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18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. 20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. 23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. 24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
This is the final Hebrews study, so if there’s any study that you wanted to pay attention to, this is the one. I’ll be summarizing all 13 chapters at the end, and we’re going to see how we can live this long after this study is over.
v. xviii-xix
v. xviii-xix
18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
If you remember v. xxvii, it instructed the Hebrews to submit to their spiritual leaders based on their good behavior and responsible teaching. Here, the author seems to include himself in that list; he doesn’t say “submit to me” though. Instead, he stays humble and asks for something else: “Pray for us.” Even here, he’s asking for prayers for himself and all those that are with him. Whenever you’re unsure what to pray for, pray for others. All Christians need prayers from their brothers and sisters, and Jesus Himself gave an example by praying for His disciples in John 17. You need others to pray for you. I need others to pray for me. The author asks the Hebrews for special prayers, that he “may be restored..the sooner”. He was likely far away, and some situation prevented him from coming, but he wanted to be there. Whenever we hear that one of our brothers has a specific request, we must be ready to pray for it. Remember that the life of the Christian is as a part of the body of Christ, not as a self-governing body that claims to associate with Christ. So we are called to pray for our brothers out of love for them and love for Jesus.
v. xx-xxii
v. xx-xxii
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.
Here begins what is called a doxology: basically a praise given to God. We see this in many other places in the Bible: the end of Romans 11, the end of the book of Romans, the end of 1 Timothy, and many other examples that I can’t remember. This is the perfect place to write such a thing, after the author finishes this long letter (even though he claims to have written in a few words, it can take 1 hour just to read out loud). What does this doxology consist of?
The God of peace: I hope that you have seen through this whole letter how the God of peace has worked through His covenants.
The one who brought Jesus up from the dead: I hope that you have also seen a God of power throughout this letter: such power as is unimaginable for any other.
The great Shepherd of the sheep: I hope you have seen how God has taken care of us better than any shepherd in those days could, even though they would give their lives for the sheep.
His ability to help us: I hope you have seen this, too, and how He can help us to do His will and every good work. Notice how this is done: “through the blood of the everlasting covenant”. This is such an important part of the book, which is included at the end, much like a conclusion tends to include many references to the body of the written work. He also mentions that this is “through Jesus Christ”: only Jesus can help us.
Doxology to Jesus:
“to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”: The doxology concludes, but it is expressed in terms that can never end. This doxology is a call for everything in the universe to continue glorifying Him forever and ever, to never stop. Only One is worthy of such worship, and Hebrews has made the case that Jesus is that One.
v. xxiii-xxv
v. xxiii-xxv
23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. 24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
Even more hope arrives at the end; Timothy, one of their brothers, has been freed from prison. This serves as a reminder that the persecution does not last forever, and today, we live without persecution. The Hebrews will shortly see both the author and Timothy. But in the meantime, he sends his greetings to close out the letter. Who does he greet?
a. “those who rule over you”: These men served similar positions to the author, and could authoritatively instruct just like the author has in these final chapters.
b. “all the saints”: He sends greetings to every single member of the church of the Hebrews. He shows no favoritism; sure, he knows some better than others, but wants them all to receive his greeting and the final sentence of this letter is directed to all of them.
“Grace be with you all. Amen.”
God’s grace is what sustains us. His throne is a throne of grace (cf. Heb 4:14), and by the grace of God, Jesus underwent death for us all (cf. Heb 2:9). Hebrews 12 :28 tells us that since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, “let us have grace”. And this last chapter said in v. ix that “it is good that the heart be established by grace”.
Let us establish ourselves in the grace of God, and may it be with us all
Thus concludes the epistle to the Hebrews.
So, after five months of deep study, what have we learned? Have we learned anything?
So, after five months of deep study, what have we learned? Have we learned anything?
This letter is packed with doctrine regarding Christ: that He is God, He is King, He is humble, He is exalted, He is priest, He is sacrifice, He is Mediator. He is our example. He is our God, our King, our example of humility, hope of future glory, priest, sacrificial lamb, Mediator. I hope these five months weren’t just killing time, but making the most out of it.
I’d like to give a final summary of the whole letter, and please, soak it all in if you’ve missed anything:
ch. 1: Throughout time, God has spoken through covenants and prophets to our ancestors, but now speaks through Jesus and His power. The whole Old Testament has signs of how Jesus is God and worthy of our worship. Jesus is even greater than angels.
ch. 2: Jesus is greater than any human, who is even less than angels. Yet He humbled Himself through death for our benefit.
ch. 3: Jesus is greater than Moses, who seemed to be the head of the first covenant.
ch. 4: Jesus is our High Priest who can usher us into His heavenly rest.
ch. 5: Jesus is compared to the High Priest and proved even further to be greater. We cannot miss this information and be immature listeners.
ch. 6: We need to make progress in our faith, like Abraham did, and so much more considering the weight of Jesus’ greatness and the price He paid.
ch. 7: Jesus is shown to Abraham in the Old Testament as Melchizedek, and is worthy of our worship just as He was the only one worthy of such a priesthood. He sealed his priesthood with His sacrifice and death.
ch. 8: God has ushered in the new covenant promised in the Old Testament, and He’s doing it through Jesus.
ch. 9: Jesus’ presence is greater than the sanctuary of the Old Testament, despite all its holiness.
ch. 10: Animal sacrifices are not enough to pay for sins anymore; only Jesus can, who willingly paid for our sins. In the same way, we have to willingly follow God and not sin, even if that’s what we want.
ch. 11: We can follow many examples of faith from the Old Testament, even willing to pay a price for the faith.
ch. 12: We need to continue in the race of faith, just as those Old Testament people did. We have to accept God’s discipline and live in His peace and holiness.
ch. 13: We must love one another and live in the freedom of God’s new covenant, and above all, give Jesus the glory.