Hebrews 12:18-13:23

Introduction

This final section of the book of Hebrews contains:

A final reminder on why the New Covenant is greater than the Old.

An ending list of ‘announcements’ and practicalities for the church.

A final benediction and farewell.

But before we dive into these final chapters I want to share with you a really cool story about a conversation I had while on my trip a few weeks ago that involved Hebrews...

12:18-29: Shaken but not stirred.

The author has spent a lot of time telling us why the ‘invisible’ things that we have faith in are greater than the more tangible things of the Old Covenant. This final section of chapter 12 really hammers this idea home by reminding us that the Old Covenant was actually pretty scary.

When the people stood at the bottom of Mount Sinai for the introduction to the Old Covenant, it was extremely scary. Sure it was physical, but they couldn’t actually touch it - anything that touched the mountain had to die.

The whole seen - from the darkness, to the storm, to the loud trumpets, was so terrifying that the people couldn’t handle it. Even Moses was scared! The people even got to the point where they told Moses, “You speak to us, because if God does, we will die.”

In contrast, as Christians we have come to ‘Mount Zion’. Zion was in Jerusalem and symbolizes the true ‘city of God’ that we want to be a part of - not the old mount.

Paul uses this same imagery when comparing the covenants in Galatians.

As Christians, we aren’t ‘tied’ to some earthly city. Jerusalem, Mecca, Washington D.C. - no, we’ve come to the ‘city of the living God’.

Instead of a terrifying experience, what do we experience as being citizens of this city?

We get to experience the ‘heavenly Jerusalem’ (which John sees in Revelation).

‘innumerable angels in festal gathering’ - our home is full of angels in celebration!

‘the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven’ - this is the Church and all of her saints.

Notice that the citizens of heaven are us (saints) and angels. This is what John sees in Revelation, and it also explains why Jesus said that after the resurrection we will ‘be like the angels’.

‘to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect’ - While God being a judge may sound terrifying, judgement is no longer to be feared by ‘the spirits of the righteous made perfect’, which is what Christ’s blood is making us.

‘and to Jesus, the mediator…and to the sprinkled blood’ - it’s as if the author has been taking us on a tour of heaven saying, “Look at all the benefits we have, but wait that’s not all! Drum roll please...” and he then reveals our greatest reward of all: Jesus, who made all of this even possible!

We may not be tempted back to the Old Covenant like the original audience was - but we certainly find ourselves in a world that attracts us through physical things.

Have you ever seen pictures of Mecca? It’s a beautiful city. I remember seeing a picture of it in school and thinking, “Man, I’d love to see that in person.” There’s just one problem.....non-Muslims are not allowed to enter Mecca under any circumstances. After thinking about it for a minute I laughed and thought, “I’d love to see that city. But give up Jesus to do it? No way, you can keep it!”

We’re part of a heavenly city that trumps all earthly cities no matter their allure. Whatever may be tempting you away from Jesus - I promise, nothing is worth it.

The New Covenant is clearly greater, and more joyful than the Old. But that doesn’t mean it’s a different God - it’s the same God who still deserves respect and reverence.

Let’s not refuse him! Earlier in the book the author made a similar point: ‘If what happened to them was bad, how much worse would it be for us to ignore Jesus?’

If heaven’s calling, we better answer and not hang up!

During the first Covenant, God shook a mountain when he spoke. With this New Covenant he has shaken the entire world. And when Christ returns, everything will be shaken down to it’s foundations.

But you know what will remain? The Kingdom of God.

So let’s be grateful for that kingdom. That kingdom that has stood for 2000 years while all the others have crumbled, and will stand for eternity longer.

And with our gratitude comes obedience, treating God with reverence and awe and giving him ‘acceptable worship’ that comes from the heart.

13:1-23: A few final announcements

It could be said that the end of chapter 12 was the conclusion of this sermon, which is kind of true. Chapter 13 seems to be the preacher giving some ‘announcements’ in the form of encouragements and blessings.

First, he says to treat everyone we encounter well.

First, ‘let brotherly love continue’ that means treating our fellow Christians with love and kindness.

Second, ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers’ - this isn’t just being ‘nice’ to people we don’t know. It’s truly loving them and showing them real care. And as it so happens, when we do treat strangers well sometimes we’re even entertaining angels and have no idea!

These two commands also have a similar reverse effect as well. Someone once said, “If Christians accidentally entertain angels and are blessed, how much greater the blessing for someone who entertains a Child of God (Christian) without knowing it?”

Remember, Jesus said that anyone who gives even a glass of water to the ‘least of these’ (that’s us!) will be blessed and not forgotten.

Be mindful of how you bless strangers, but also be mindful of how strangers bless you, Child of God. The Muslim man I encountered offered me a stick of gum as our flight descended to help with my ears - did he know he was blessing a Child of God? Probably not - but it will not be forgotten, by me, or our Father in Heaven.

‘Remember those in prison’ - The previous commands were somewhat passive. Brothers and Sisters and Strangers come to us. But taking care of our brothers and sisters who are in prison means we have to take initiative - especially in times of persecution when taking care of them may put ourselves in danger too.

‘Let marriage be held in honor among all’ - The original readers lived in a culture that didn’t respect marriage (sound familiar?), which meant honoring marriage was important and set Christians apart ethically.

There were also some false teachers who probably taught something like, “The flesh is bad, spirit is good - therefore do not partake in any sexual activity.” OR “The flesh is bad, spirit is good - therefore indulge in all the sexual immorality you want, since your true (spirit) self won’t be affected.”

Both of those teachings were wrong! Sex is a good thing, but needs to be honored within the context of marriage. In line with the rest of the New Testament, the author here reminds us that ‘the sexually immoral and adulterers’ will be judged.

‘Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have.’ - This doesn’t mean having things and money is bad, but the love of money can be a real distraction from Jesus and heavenly things.

Being content is key. Paul talks about how he learned to be content in all things and at all times. Can the same be said about us? If we lose everything today, especially because of our faith, will we be okay? Will we be content?

It’s no surprise that the author gives us this encouragement for when those times come: “God said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

And if everything we have is stripped away? “We can confident say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Let’s be honest, these last two commands are two of the most difficult for Christians like us living in a culture that idolizes two things: sex and money. When the world around us sees us NOT in love with sex and money? They notice, big time.

‘Remember your leaders, whose who spoke to you the word of God.’ - The author is going to talk about our leaders, past and present. Here he’s talking about the past leaders.

We all know Church leaders who made huge impacts on our lives. We should imitate them. In the case of the original readers, their leaders had even died for the faith.

I don’t know who you think of when you think of ‘leaders who spoke to you the Word of God’ but I hope you remember how they acted and behaved - living out a life of faith. And I hope you imitate them. Paul even calls for it, ‘Imitate me as I imitate Christ.’

‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ - leaders come and go, and their examples should be imitated. But you know who doesn’t come and go? Jesus. He is the same today as he was when this letter was written 2000 years ago. And he’ll be the same forever. When it comes to ‘role models’ you can’t beat Jesus!

‘Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings...’ - Show hospitality to strangers - but don’t get caught up in their teachings!

This is a hard one for many people. Every few years some ‘guru’ writes a book on some ‘fantastic’ new teaching that lures people in. Jesus never changes, and we don’t need anything ‘new’.

The author notes that it’s good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. Not foods, or anything else. As Paul tells us elsewhere, those kinds of things just don’t matter. Sorry, eating the best meats, or being a vegan, or exercising 10 times a week doesn’t make you a better person, no matter what those people might tell us!

Don’t be ashamed of Jesus: verses 10-16 illustrate the cost and reason for following Jesus.

An earliy criticism of Christians was that we didn’t have an ‘altar’. But in fact we do - our altar is the cross. And those like the old priests, don’t get to partake in that altar because they refuse to come to Jesus. But not us - we come to Jesus, at His altar, on the cross.

Illustrating the shame of the cross, the author reminds us how under the Old Covenant, the blood of offerings was brought inside the tent, but the bodies - which were considered unclean at that point - were burned outside the camp.

Like garbage, Jesus, was also ‘tossed’ outside the city and suffered outside the gate (Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem).

But unlike trash and dead animals (who’s blood couldn’t save anyone), Jesus suffered there to sanctify us (make us holy) through his blood.

And so the call is for us to go ‘outside the camp’ to Jesus, and endure the same shame he did.

The big picture here is that the readers were being tempted back to the Old Covenant which was very much still happening in the physical city of Jerusalem. The author here is pointedly saying, ‘You gotta give it up. If you want to be with Jesus, you have to leave the ‘camp’ (which represented Jerusalem).’

If we’re doing it right, following Jesus will ultimately bring shame to us from the world. We’re going to have to give up things we’re comfortable with. Face uncomfortable questions. “Hey, why don’t you do this anymore?” “How come you don’t hang out with us anymore?” “Why don’t you go there anymore?”

And sometimes that can be a tough pill to swallow. Which is why we have this reminder, ‘For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.’ Like Lot, we leave the city we are so comfortable and familiar with - and we can’t go back if we want to follow Jesus.

Christians were knocked for not having an ‘altar’ (but we do), nor ‘sacrifices’ - but that’s not true either. We just don’t have to offer ‘sin’ or ‘atonement’ sacrifices. In fact our sacrifices are better because they are ‘living sacrifices’.

Praise to God, and the things that come off our lips that are fruitful in acknowledging His name - does what we say glorify God?

Not neglecting to do good and sharing what we have - beyond our words, do our actions glorify God? These are the sacrifices he is looking for.

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Finally, the author rounds out this list with a return to our leaders - but this time it’s our current leaders. He tells us to ‘submit’ to them - and make their lives ‘joyful’ rather than with ‘groaning’.

Remember, our church leaders have a very important task: like shepherds, they keep watch over us as their flock. When the time comes, they’ll have to answer for how they cared for you.

Do you cause our pastors joy, or sorrow? Do they smile and laugh when they think of you....or groan and get headaches? Make their lives easier, for your sake and theirs.

18-19 is a personal request for prayer from the author. He is apparently being accused of wrongdoing, but he says that him and his team have a ‘clear conscience’. This is a good reminder to pray for our leaders and ministry teams - especially those under ‘heavy fire’.

20-25: Wrapping up the sermon…almost.

Verses 20-21 are a beautiful blessing called a ‘Benediction’. In some denominations, like Lutherans and Catholics, benedictions are common endings to their services. To be honest, I wish we did these too!

Verse 20 is an outstanding list of superlatives and titles of God and Jesus.

God of Peace

Lord Jesus

Great Shepherd of the Sheep

by the blood of the eternal covenant

By starting out with ‘God of peace’ you almost feel the collective calming breath being let out as this benediction is read aloud. No matter our trials and turmoils - God is the God of peace.

This is the only verse in Hebrews that mentions the resurrection directly, but it’s clearly important - showing the power of God.

The Lord Jesus is our ‘great’ Shepherd. The Greek word for ‘great’ is where we get our word ‘mega’ from.

Jesus’ blood forges the ‘eternal covenant’. It’s funny, it’s almost like the preacher is using this prayer to reiterate his point one more time.

Verse 21 is what the blessing is truly for: he prays that God may equip us for everything good to do His will - but notice that it’s God who is working those things that are ‘pleasing in his sight’ through us.

If we’ve gotten to this point in Hebrews and thought, “Man, there’s a lot of I have to do.” the author reminds us with this prayer that, while yes we do, God is equipping us for the task, and ultimately doing the work through us himself.

Finally, God does all these things through Jesus, ‘to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen’!

9. The last 3 verses of Hebrews provide us with a little bit more context for the letter overall.

a. He asks them to bear with his ‘word of exhortation’ - let’s be honest, this sermon wasn’t the easiest thing to hear!

b. Apparently lacking self-awareness the preacher says that he’s ‘written to you briefly’. Uh…you sure about that? While a bit funny, we have to admit that this sermon covered a lot of BIG topics....pretty quickly. So in that sense, it is a little brief.

c. He tells us that Timothy has been released, so if Paul is NOT the author, we at least know that whoever is writing this is in Paul’s circle, and knows Timothy.

d. He asks them to greet their leaders and ‘all the saints’ which means this sermon/letter was probably intended to be passed around. The author apparently as some Italians with him as well who say hello.

e. ‘Grace be with you all.’ For an audience that was tempted back to law, hearing this would be a crucial reminder of God’s grace - and one we also shouldn’t take for granted.

Conclusion

As we wrap up Hebrews, I hope you’ve learned something new a long the way, but more importantly I hope you’ve been encouraged. I know that this book can feel long and tedious at times. And at others it can feel downright boring and irrelevant. We aren’t Jewish Christians being tempted back to the Old Covenant.

But the Book of Hebrews lays down many core doctrines of our faith that have become so ingrained, we sometimes take them for granted. Especially when it comes to the atonement and the High Priesthood of Jesus.

Having had the opportunity to show Hebrews 1:1 to someone who knew absolutely nothing about our faith, it truly made me realize that something like God revealing himself to us by His Son truly is amazing and something that so many other religions crave for - so we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Second, I hope you’ve learned from Hebrews that Jesus is greater....than everything. And that means we need to persevere in our faith. When things are good and when things are bad. During times of blessing and times of persecution. Whatever person, object, city, religion, or sin may be tempting you away from the faith - don’t give in. Don’t turn back. Don’t listen.

And finally, the church needs one another to make sure none of us fall away. Living out our faith is hard. But we aren’t alone. We keep persevering, following those who came before us, and becoming examples for those who will come after us, until we reach the finish line - always keeping our eyes on Jesus ‘the author and perfecter of our faith’.

Until we finally see that heavenly city and our Great King in all it’s majesty let us pray that closing benediction that the author prayed so many years ago:

Hebrews 13:20-21 “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, 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.”