1 Divers admonitions, as to charity, 4 to honest life, 5 to avoid covetousness, 7 to regard God’s preachers, 9 to take heed of strange doctrines, 10 to confess Christ, 16 to give alms, 17 to obey governors, 18 to pray for the apostle. 20 The conclusion.
Sacrifices Pleasing to God
Heb 13:1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.
The closing chapter of the book of Hebrews consists of a series of general admonitions on various subjects (vs. 1–17) and a personal salutation (vs. 18–25).
Heb 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Apparently, many tended to become absorbed in their own affairs to the extent that they were not taking the personal interest in their fellow believers that they should have. As the church grows in numbers there is increasing danger that the same condition will prevail today.
Our neighbor is anyone in need of friendship and hospitality.
Show hospitality to strangers. Inns were not common, and strangers were often considered with suspicion. Unless individuals took an interest in wayfaring men, they might often have no place in which to lodge. In ancient times hospitality required that provision be made for strangers.
The same need may no longer exist in the same degree today, since facilities for the accommodation of travelers are generally ample. Nevertheless, the principle remains, and Christians are to seek ways and means of expressing hospitality, in keeping with the needs of modern times.
Hospitality to angels.
Such was the privilege of Abraham (Gen. 18:1–8), of Lot (Gen. 19:1–3), of Gideon (Judges 6:11–20), and of Manoah (Judges 13:2–4, 9–21).
Faithfulness in ministering to the needs of strangers will come up for consideration in the final judgment (see Matt. 25:35).
Without knowing it.
That is, at first, when the strangers were invited in.
Heb 13:3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were
together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
In prison.
Ministry to men in prison is another activity of sufficient importance to come up for consideration in the final judgment (see Matt. 25:36). As elsewhere in Scripture (see 1 Cor. 9:22), the principle is here set forth that the Christian should endeavor to think of himself as being in the same circumstances as any person he finds in need and minister to him accordingly, in harmony with the golden rule (see on Matt. 7:12).
Mistreated.
Think how you would feel if you were in the same situation as those who have met with illtreatment; then minister to their needs accordingly. The principle set forth in the golden rule is again applied to a practical situation.
The Christian is not to inquire as to whether those suffering adversity may or may not deserve help. It is enough for him to know that they need help.
Heb 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Marriage.
For comment on Christian ideals with respect to the responsibilities and privileges of the marriage relationship see on 1 Cor. 7; cf. on Matt. 5:28–32; 19:5–10.
Honourable by all. The first part of the verse may be translated, “Marriage is to be held in honor by all,” or “Let all respect marriage.” The marriage institution was ordained by a wise Creator to be a great blessing to human beings, and when the purpose of the Creator is carried out in family life, immeasurable good results.
Only when marriage is perverted to serve unworthy purposes does marriage lose the quality of being “honourable.”
Bed kept pure.
It is possible for the bed to be defiled, hence the apostle counsels his readers to keep it pure and honorable and not to degrade it into an instrument for the gratification of base lust.
On the other hand, the idea held by some that the intimacies of married life are dishonorable or that they necessarily detract from nobility of character is an artifice of the devil that dishonors one of the arrangements the Creator ordained and pronounced good. See on 1 Cor. 7:3–5.
God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
See on Matt. 5:32. Adulterers. See on Ex. 20:14; Matt. 5:32.
That is, along with all others who have persistently lived in violation of the principles set forth in His holy law, at the last day (see on Rev. 21:8).
Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Content.
See on Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:6. Such things as ye have. If men could only learn to be content with what they have, and not covet what others have, most of the problems that torment humanity would automatically be solved.
For comment on the Christian attitude toward the material things of life see on Matt. 6:19–34.
Never will I leave you.
Concerning God’s beneficent provision for our needs see on Matt. 6:26–34.
Heb 13:6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
With confidence. The quotation is from the LXX of Ps. 118:6 (see comment there).
Heb 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Leaders.
Here meaning church leaders. For comment on loyalty to the leadership of the church see on 1 Thess. 5:12, 13.
Who spoke. Implying that former leaders, perhaps now resting in Jesus, are here referred to.
Whose faith. The heroes of faith referred to in ch. 11 had all lived in the long ago. But there had also been faithful men in more recent times whose example might safely be followed.
Imitate their faith.
The writer doubtless has certain persons in mind, though he does not name them.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Jesus Christ. For the significance of the two names used together see on Matt. 1:1.
The same.
The comment of v. 8 was apparently intended to prepare the way for the warning of v. 9. Since Christ never changes, the message about Him can never change. Teachings that differ from the pure gospel already proclaimed may be dismissed without further examination. See on Gal. 1:6–8.
Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.
Some are easily influenced by any new or strange teaching. Lacking spiritual discrimination, they are unable to differentiate between truth and error by comparing the new teaching with Scripture.
For comment see on Eph. 4:14; Col. 2:4, 8.
Strange teaching.
Differing from the pure gospel message already received.
Strengthened by grace.
That is, so as not to be “carried about” with fads in religion and in theology. The stabilizing power of the grace of Christ is the Christian’s best protection against errant teachings.
For comment on “grace” see on Rom. 1:7; 3:24.
Eating ceremonial foods.
Apparently, some, at least, of the religious faddists went beyond the plain teachings of Scripture with respect to diet, and made their dietary scruples a test of faith.
For comment on the relationship of diet to religion, and for a warning against fads in diet disguised as religious obligations, see on Rom. 14:17; 1 Tim. 4:3.
No benefit.
Even those who so vehemently lauded the value of the dietary fads they advocated had received no practical benefit therefrom. Doubtless, reference is to one or more of the Judaizing factions that troubled the early Christian church, such as the Ebionites and the
Nazarenes.
Heb 13:10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
The writer here alludes to the fact that the priests and the Levites were assigned certain portions of some of the sacrificial animals brought to the ancient sanctuary or to the
Temple (see Lev. 6:16–18; 7:15, 16, 31–34; Num. 18:8–10; Deut. 18:1, 2; cf. 1 Cor. 9:13).
Perhaps the false doctrines referred to in Heb. 13:9 had stressed the importance of requiring Christians to practice the ancient rites and ceremonies of Judaism, which dealt with meats and drinks, as if a superior state of holiness could thereby be attained.
But Christians have an altar, the cross of Calvary, and a sacrifice far surpassing the ancient animal sacrifices in value and efficacy (see on chs. 9:14, 24–28; 10:10, 12, 14).
This was none other than “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Furthermore, Christ calls upon those who believe in Him to eat of His flesh (see John 6:33–58). They … which serve. That is, the priests and the Levites. No right to eat. Within the orbit of the Jewish religious system the priests and Levites enjoyed an honored position and special privileges.
But, having rejected Jesus, they were unworthy, despite their exalted position, to partake of that to which all true Christians have a right. Paul may also have been thinking of the bread and the wine of the Lord’s table. Under any circumstances, the vaunted merits of the system of religion referred to as “divers and strange doctrines” in v. 9 were infinitely inferior to the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Heb 13:11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.
When the blood of the sin offering was carried into the sanctuary, as in the case of the anointed priest or the whole congregation, the priest was not to eat of the flesh but to burn it without the camp (Lev. 6:30).
Similarly, Jesus “suffered without the gate” (Heb. 13:12; cf. John 19:17), after which He ministered His own blood in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 9:12).
Under the old sacrificial system, the priests would have had no right to eat their usual portion of such a sacrifice (ch. 13:10), but Christ said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you” (1 Cor. 11:24).
Heb 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
In order that Christ might minister His own blood on behalf of repentant sinners, in the heavenly sanctuary, He appropriately “suffered without the gate” of Jerusalem.
Heb 13:13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.
Jewish Christians would no longer seek salvation in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish religion. They were still Israelites, and as such, figuratively speaking, inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem. But if they followed the Messiah, they must go with Him beyond the bounds of Judaism.
In the setting of the book of Hebrews this situation constitutes an appeal to Jewish Christians to turn their eyes from the rites and ceremonies of Judaism and to fix them upon Jesus Christ and His ministry as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
Bearing the disgrace he bore.
Those who manifested sympathy for Jesus when He went forth to Golgotha as a condemned criminal suffered “reproach” with Him. For Jewish Christians to espouse Christianity was to incur the hatred of their fellow Jews, and for them to turn their backs on the Jewish sacrificial system as a means of salvation would be to incur the charge of apostasy and treason.
Heb 13:14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
The Jews looked upon Jerusalem as a “enduring city.” that is, they considered that the divine plan was inextricably bound up with the city and that it was, therefore, destined to stand forever. They felt security within the arms of Judaism.
But Christians have no such city. Their hopes and aspirations are not associated with any earthly city or religious system. How significant for Hebrew Christians who in a short time were to witness the destruction of Jerusalem!
Looking for the city that is to come.
That is, the New Jerusalem (cf. ch. 12:22). Compare the experience of the patriarch Abraham (ch. 11:10).
Heb 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Through Christ, or by virtue of the sacrifice that He has already made for us “without the gate” of Jerusalem.
Sacrifice of praise.
Instead of bringing a thank offering to the Temple, as prescribed by the Mosaic law (see Lev. 7:12–14), we are to offer up a continual “sacrifice of praise” to the Lord.
Heb 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Minister to the needs of others. God is not pleased with the blood of bulls and goats (see on ch. 10:5–8). It serves no useful purpose. But He is pleased with the spirit of sacrificial service for others (see on Matt. 25:24–40).
The practice of “pure religion and undefiled” (James 1:27) is ever acceptable in His sight.
Share with others. Forget not. Perhaps some had grown careless in this respect.
God is pleased.
Formal rites and ceremonies have no meaning to God. He seeks men to worship Him in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:23), that is, by reflecting His character and by demonstrating their love and devotion to Him in a life of service for others.
Heb 13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Submit yourselves.
God has appointed leaders to shepherd His flock, and He calls upon His sheep to submit to those appointed over them, the while these leaders themselves obey the Master.
Here reference is to present leaders, not to former leaders as in v. 7. Keep watch.
The leaders God has appointed over the church are responsible to Him for the welfare of His people, and He will require a strict account of their stewardship.
Keep watch over you.
A steward is accountable to his master for any goods entrusted to his care, and knows that he must answer for his stewardship. By cooperating with their appointed leaders church members make it much easier for them to render a faithful account of their stewardship. With joy.
That is, in the knowledge that they have faithfully discharged their responsibility. Compare the experience of the faithful servants who were summoned to enter the joy of their Lord (see Matt. 25:21).
Not a burden.
Literally, “not with groaning.” Compare the experience of the unfaithful servant (Matt. 25:28–30).
No benefit.
Church members gain no advantage by making it difficult for their appointed leaders to render a good account of their stewardship. Both will share together the “joy” or the “grief” of the accounting day.
Heb 13:18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
Pray for us. Or, “keep praying for us,” or “make it a habit to pray for us.” Compare Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:12.
Although he was a man of wide experience and great spiritual stature, Paul appreciated and sought the prayers of his brethren in Christ. Every true leader deeply appreciates the interest and prayers of those for whom he labors.
Trust. Gr. peithō, in the form here used meaning “to be convinced,” “to be certain.” A good conscience. That is, a clear conscience. Compare Paul’s repeated affirmations of possessing a clear conscience (see Acts 23:1; 24:16; Rom. 9:1; 2 Cor. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:3).
Desire.
It is the writer’s purpose to reflect the principles of the gospel fully in his own life (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27).
Heb 13:19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
The earnestness with which the writer appeals to his readers to pray for his release from circumstances that prevented fellowship with them is touching indeed and reflects his personal faith in the power of prayer.
Restored to you.
Verse 23 suggests that Timothy was in prison at the time and seems to imply that the writer of Hebrews was at liberty.
Other circumstances such as illness or the pressure of missionary duties may have prevented Paul’s return to his readers.
Benediction
Heb 13:20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
Verses 20, 21 constitute the apostolic benediction pronounced by the writer upon the intended readers of the book of Hebrews. He commends them to the peace of God.
God of peace.
See on Rom. 15:33.
Brought back from the dead.
See on Rom. 4:24. As so often in the epistles of the NT, the resurrection of Christ is made the heart and center of the Christian’s hope and faith.
Shepherd of the sheep.
See on Ps. 23; John 10:10, 11; cf. 1 Peter 2:25.
The blood.
The ratifying and effective agent of the eternal covenant.
Heb 13:21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Work in us. See on Phil. 2:13. Through Jesus Christ. See on Gal. 2:20. To whom be glory. See on Gal. 1:5. Forever. See on Matt. 25:41; Rev. 1:6. Amen. See on Matt. 5:18; Rom. 15:33.
Final Greetings
Heb 13:22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
Word of exhortation.
That is, the message contained in the book of Hebrews.
Quite briefly.
There was much more that he would like to have said on the subject, but space did not permit.
Heb 13:23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
The imprisonment here alluded to is otherwise unknown.
If he arrives.
Nothing further is known of the visit here proposed.
Heb 13:24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
Heb 13:25 Grace be with you all.