Other Faithful Servants / A Faith that Never Changes
Sermon: A Faith that never Changes (Heb.11:35b-40)
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect
A Faith that unceasingly rejoices in God (Hebrews 12:2)
A Faith that trusts the Lord at all times (Hebrews 2:13)
A Faith that perseveres to the very end (Hebrews 10:36; 12:1)
A Faith that is willing suffers for Christ’s sake (Hebrews 11:24-26; 10:32)
A Faith that finds its greatest pleasure in pleasing God (Hebrews 11:2,4)
A Faith that waits for God’s “best” (Heb 1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:4,16; 12:24)
Sermón: La Fe que nunca Cambia (Hebreos 11:35-40)
Las mujeres recibieron sus muertos mediante resurrección; mas otros fueron atormentados, no aceptando el rescate, a fin de obtener mejor resurrección. 36 Otros experimentaron vituperios [burlas] y azotes, y a más de esto prisiones y cárceles. 37 Fueron apedreados, aserrados, puestos a prueba, muertos a filo de espada; anduvieron de acá para allá cubiertos de pieles de ovejas y de cabras, pobres, angustiados, maltratados; 38 de los cuales el mundo no era digno; errando [sin rumbo fijo] por los desiertos, por los montes, por las cuevas y por las cavernas de la tierra. 39 Y todos éstos, aunque alcanzaron buen testimonio mediante la fe, no recibieron lo prometido; 40 proveyendo Dios alguna cosa mejor para nosotros, para que no fuesen ellos perfeccionados aparte de nosotros [para que solamente en unión con nosotros fueran ellos hechos perfectos]
La Fe que se goza en Cristo sin cesar (Hebreos 12:2)
La Fe que confía en Cristo en todo momento (Hebrews 2:13)
La Fe que persevera hasta el fin (Hebreos 10:36; 12:1)
La Fe que voluntariamente sufre por Cristo (Hebreos 11:24-26; 12:1)
La Fe que su mayor placer es complacer a Dios (Hebreos 11:2,4)
La Fe que espera lo mejor de Dios (Hebreos 1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:4,16; 12:24)
Sermon: A Faith that never “Changes” (Heb.11:35b-40)
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. OTHERS [heteros] were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect
RVR Las mujeres recibieron sus muertos mediante resurrección; mas otros fueron atormentados, no aceptando el rescate, a fin de obtener mejor resurrección. 36 Otros experimentaron vituperios [burlas] y azotes, y a más de esto prisiones y cárceles. 37 Fueron apedreados, aserrados, puestos a prueba, muertos a filo de espada; anduvieron de acá para allá cubiertos de pieles de ovejas y de cabras, pobres, angustiados, maltratados; 38 de los cuales el mundo no era digno; errando [sin rumbo fijo] por los desiertos, por los montes, por las cuevas y por las cavernas de la tierra. 39 Y todos éstos, aunque alcanzaron buen testimonio mediante la fe, no recibieron lo prometido; 40 proveyendo Dios alguna cosa mejor para nosotros, para que no fuesen ellos perfeccionados aparte de nosotros [para que solamente en unión con nosotros fueran ellos hechos perfectos]
Which (whose) faith would you rather have?
Heb.11:2-35a OR Heb.11:35b-38
Jeremiah or Uriah (Jeremiah 26)
8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. 10 When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”
26:20 (Now Uriah son of Shemaiah [Urías hijo de Semaías] from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. 22 King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men. 23 They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)
James or Peter (Acts 12:2-3)
[King Herod] had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Jesus is worthy of your faith (trust)…..regardless of the results!
A Faith that unceasingly rejoices in God (Hebrews 12:2)
A Faith that trusts the Lord at all times (Hebrews 2:13)
A Faith that perseveres to the very end (Hebrews 10:36; 12:1)
A Faith that is willing suffers for Christ’s sake (Hebrews 11:24-26; 10:32)
A Faith that finds its greatest pleasure in pleasing God (Hebrews 11:2,4)
A Faith that waits for God’s “best” (Heb 1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:4,16; 12:24)
A Faith that unceasingly rejoices in God
Heb.12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, & sat down at the rt hand of the throne of God
(VP) Fijemos nuestra mirada en Jesús, pues de él procede nuestra fe y él es quien la perfecciona. Jesús soportó la cruz, sin hacer caso de lo vergonzoso de esa muerte, porque sabía que después del sufrimiento tendría gozo y alegría; y se sentó a la derecha del trono de Dios.
Ps 34:1 [David] I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Ps.l46:2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds
A Faith that trusts the Lord at all times
Heb. 2:13 “I will put my trust in him.” (NBLH) “Yo en El confiare.”
Ps 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge (NBLH) Confíen en El en todo tiempo, Oh pueblo; derramen su corazón delante de El; Dios es nuestro refugio.
A Faith that perseveres and patiently waits on God
Heb.10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (NBLH) Porque ustedes tienen necesidad de paciencia (perseverancia), para que cuando hayan hecho la voluntad de Dios, obtengan la promesa.
Heb.12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (NBLH) Por tanto, puesto que tenemos en derredor nuestro tan gran nube de testigos, despojémonos también de todo peso y del pecado que tan fácilmente nos envuelve, y corramos con paciencia (perseverancia) la carrera que tenemos por delante
A Faith that is willing to suffer for the sake of Christ
Heb.11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible
(NBLH) Por la fe Moisés, cuando ya era grande, rehusó ser llamado hijo de la hija de Faraón, 25 escogiendo más bien ser maltratado con el pueblo de Dios, que gozar de los placeres temporales del pecado. 26 Consideró como mayores riquezas el oprobio de Cristo (el Mesías) que los tesoros de Egipto, porque tenía la mirada puesta en la recompensa. 27 Por la fe Moisés salió de Egipto sin temer la ira del rey, porque se mantuvo firme como viendo al Invisible.
Heb.10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. (VP) Pero recuerden ustedes los tiempos pasados, cuando acababan ustedes de recibir la luz y soportaron con fortaleza los sufrimientos de una gran lucha.
Jesus is worthy of your faith (trust)…..regardless of the results!
A Faith that wisely waits for God’s best (“better” v.40)…. over the worlds “best”
11:35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
11:40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
1:4 So he became as much [better] superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
6:9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.
7:7 And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the [better] greater
7:19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
8:6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
9:23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
10:34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead
11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
A Faith that finds its greatest pleasure in pleasing God (v.39 martureo)
Heb.11:2 This is what the ancients were commended for. (NBLH) Porque por ella recibieron aprobación (testimonio) los antiguos (antepasados).
Heb.11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (NBLH) Por la fe Abel ofreció a Dios un mejor sacrificio que Caín, por lo cual alcanzó el testimonio de que era justo, dando Dios testimonio de sus ofrendas; y por la fe, estando muerto, todavía habla.
Matt 25:21,23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (NBLH) “Su señor le dijo: ‘Bien, siervo bueno y fiel; en lo poco fuiste fiel, sobre mucho te pondré; entra en el gozo de tu señor.’
Jesus is worthy of your faith (trust)…..regardless of the results!
Heb.11:35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. [But] Others were tortured and refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection [refusing to turn from God in order to be set free; offered freedom on the terms of denying their faith; they place their hope in a better life after the resurrection]. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging [their backs were cut open with whips], while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned [died by stoning]; they were sawed in two; [they were tempted; they were lured with tempting offers to renounce their faith] they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute [hungry and sick], persecuted and mistreated [tormented]— 38 the world was not worthy of them [they were too good for this world]. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended [gained approval by God] for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised [these men of faith, though they trusted God and won his approval, none of them received all that God had promised them] . 40 God had planned [forseen, provided] something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect [for God wanted them to wait and share the even better rewards that were prepared for us].
Tortured = tumpanizō, involved stretching the victim over a large drum-like instrument and beating him with clubs, often until dead. Cf 2 Maccabbes 6-7, cruelties of the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes in the early second century b.c.
Stoned = Zechariah (2Chron 24:20-22)
Prison = Hanani (2 Chr. 16:7-10); Micaiah (1 Kin. 22:26-27)
Sword = Uriah (Jer.26:23)
Jeers and flogging = appear together in the NT only when describing Jesus’ abuse.
Sawn in Two = tradition says Isaiah cut in half w/ wooden saw during reign of King Manasseh
Our author moves now from extreme physical abuse to economic abuse and privation.
Destitute = Psalm 107:4-9
pinnacle of faith, willingness to accept the worst the world has to offer—death—because of trust in the best God has to offer—resurrection.
(RVR) Las mujeres recibieron sus muertos mediante resurrección; mas otros fueron atormentados, no aceptando el rescate [sin aceptar ser liberados], a fin de obtener mejor resurrección [a fin de resucitar a una vida mejor]. 36 Otros experimentaron vituperios [burlas] y azotes, y a más de esto prisiones y cárceles. 37 Fueron apedreados, aserrados [por la mitad], puestos a prueba, muertos a filo de espada; anduvieron de acá para allá cubiertos de pieles de ovejas y de cabras, pobres, angustiados [afligidos], maltratados; 38 de los cuales el mundo no era digno; errando [anuduvieron sin rumbo fijo] por los desiertos, por los montes, por las cuevas y por las cavernas de la tierra. 39 Y todos éstos, aunque alcanzaron buen testimonio [de Dios] mediante la fe, no recibieron lo prometido [ninguo de ellos recibió lo que Dios había prometido]; 40 proveyendo Dios alguna cosa mejor para nosotros, para que no fuesen ellos perfeccionados aparte de nosotros [porque Dios, teniéndonos en cuenta a nosotros, había dispuesto algo mejor, para que solamente en unión con nosotros fueran ellos hechos perfectos]
BKC- 11:32-35a. There were far too many heroes of faith for the writer to deal with them all in detail. Swiftly he mentioned the variegated accomplishments of some of them. 11:35b-38. In a swift transition of thought, the writer moved from faith’s obvious triumphs to what seemed to be its defeats. But these defeats were only apparent, not real. Those who were tortured and refused to be released did so because they knew their sufferings would lead to a richer and better resurrection experience. So the readers might also endure suffering staunchly and expect reward in the future world. Indeed, all manner of physical suffering (vv. 36-37, 38b cite about a dozen kinds of persecution) has been endured by people of faith, as well as ostracism from their homes and countries, treatment that the readers might also have to endure. But in a lovely touch, the writer commented that the world was not worthy of those whom it banished.11:39-40. In a concluding summary the writer pointed out that the great heroes of faith he had spoken of had not yet realized their eschatological hopes. This fact shows that God had planned something better for them and us. It is indeed “better for us” that the future hopes they strove toward be delayed, since only thus could believers enjoy the present experience of becoming companions of the Messiah who leads them to glory. As a result, the perfecting (10:14; 12:23) of the Old Testament worthies—that is, the realization of their hopes—awaits that of all believers.
JM-11:35 tortured. The word indicates that they were beaten to death while strapped to some sort of rack (2Macc. 6,7 about Eleazar and the mother with 7 sons who were martyrs). better resurrection. See 9:27. The deliverance from certain death or near death would be like returning from the dead, but would not be the promised resurrection. This was especially true of those who had died and were raised. The first time they were raised from the dead was merely resuscitation, not the true and glorious final resurrection (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 5:10; James 1:12).11:36 others. Joseph (Gen. 39:20), Micaiah prophesizes vs. Ahab (1 Kin. 22:26-27 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely), Elisha (2 Kin. 2:23), Hanani (2 Chr. 16:7-10 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 10Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people), Jeremiah (Jer. 20:1–6; 37:15), and others (2 Chr. 36:16). 11:37 stoned. The prophet Zechariah (son of Jehoiada) was killed in this fashion (2Chron 24:20-22 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’ 21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account). sawn in two. According to tradition, this was the method Manasseh employed to execute Isaiah. slain with the sword. Uriah the prophet died in this fashion (Jer. 26:23). However, the expression here may refer to the mass execution of God’s people; several such incidents occurred during the time of the Maccabees in the 400 years between the OT and NT. wandered about. Many of God’s people suffered from poverty and persecution (Ps. 107:4–9 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things). 11:38 See 1 Kg 18:4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water; 1 Kgs 18:13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water; 1Kgs 19:9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 11:39,40 something better. They had faith in the ultimate fulfillment of the eternal promises in the covenant (v. 13). 11:40 apart from us. The faith of OT saints looked forward to the promised salvation, whereas the faith of those after Christ looks back to the fulfillment of the promise. Both groups are characterized by genuine faith and are saved by Christ’s atoning work on the cross (Eph. 2:8,9).
*Nelson - 11:35 the author of Hebrews also points out that not all who had faith won victories, at least not in the same hour. tortured: This is usually understood to be an allusion to the heroic martyrs of Maccabean times, who were well known. A better resurrection is a reference to a richer resurrectionn, an abundant entrance into the kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ), which is our eternal reward.11:37 Zechariah was stoned (2 Chr. 24:20,21). According to Jewish tradition, the prophet Isaiah was sawn in two. Urijah was slain with the sword (Jer. 26:20–23). Wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins is probably a reference to Elijah (2 Kin. 1:8).11:39,40 Made perfect means “made complete.” This completion, the realization of all of God’s promises in Christ’s coming kingdom, awaits all believers.
*Open Bib -11:35 Some would not accept deliverance because to do so would have meant denying their faith. They preferred a better resurrection (10:34), choosing reward in the life to come rather than a longer life here and now.
11:37 aserrados. Aunque no mencionada en la Biblia, una escritura judía del siglo 1 d.C. “El martirio de Isaías” cuenta que Isaías fue aserrado por orden del rey Manasés.11:39 por su fe. El énfasis en que los devotos viven por fe sigue hasta el fin: este es un recuerdo importante a los creyentes hebreos que pensaban regresar al judaísmo. la promesa. Aunque recibieron las promesas inmediatas (6:15; 11:8, 33) no recibieron el cumplimiento de la promesa final, la venida de Jesucristo y la glorificación de ellos (vers. 13). 11:40 algo mejor. La venida de Jesús trajo algo mejor: El reveló al Padre (1:3; Jn 1:14, 18), hizo expiación una vez para siempre por los pecados de la humanidad (2:9; 9:26, 28; 10:12), proveyó la salvación, resurrección, vida eterna (He 2:10; Jn 11:25, 26; 3:16) e intercesión efectiva (He 7:25).
*Baker - Those Who Suffered 11:35b–38 In the next few verses the author summarizes the physical suffering that the heroes of faith endured. They were martyrs for God’s cause. By faith they conquered even though they lost their lives. 35b. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. The instrument on which people were tortured in ancient times was called the tympanum. Presumably it consisted of a large wheel on which victims were stretched out. Then they were beaten to death. In the Maccabean period during the first part of the second century before Christ, an almost ninety-year-old scribe named Eleazar was put on the rack and endured blows that led to his death. Said Eleazar, “It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him” 30 But when he was ready to die with stripes, he groaned, and said, It is manifest unto the Lord, that hath the holy knowledge, that whereas I might have been delivered from death, I now endure sore pains in body by being beaten: but in soul am well content to suffer these things, because I fear him. 31 And thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble courage, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his nation. (II Macc. 6:30-31). In this same period seven brothers and their mother were tortured by King Antiochus Epiphanes. They were put to death one after the other. One theme of this gruesome tale is that the martyrs believed in the “everlasting renewal of life” (II Macc. 7:9).
2 Macc.7 hapter 7 1 It came to pass also, that seven brethren with their mother were taken, and compelled by the king against the law to taste swine’s flesh, and were tormented with scourges and whips. 2 But one of them that spake first said thus, What wouldest thou ask or learn of us? we are ready to die, rather than to transgress the laws of our fathers. 3 Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: 4 Which forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that spake first, and to cut off the utmost parts of his body, the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. 5 Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, he commanded him being yet alive to be brought to the fire, and to be fried in the pan: and as the vapour of the pan was for a good space dispersed, they exhorted one another with the mother to die manfully, saying thus, 6 The Lord God looketh upon us, and in truth hath comfort in us, as Moses in his song, which witnessed to their faces, declared, saying, And he shall be comforted in his servants. 7 So when the first was dead after this number, they brought the second to make him a mocking stock: and when they had pulled off the skin of his head with the hair, they asked him, Wilt thou eat, before thou be punished throughout every member of thy body? 8 But he answered in his own language, and said, No. Wherefore he also received the next torment in order, as the former did. 9 And when he was at the last gasp, he said, Thou like a fury takest us out of this present life, but the King of the world shall raise us up, who have died for his laws, unto everlasting life. 10 After him was the third made a mocking stock: and when he was required, he put out his tongue, and that right soon, holding forth his hands manfully. 11 And said courageously, These I had from heaven; and for his laws I despise them; and from him I hope to receive them again. 12 Insomuch that the king, and they that were with him, marvelled at the young man’s courage, for that he nothing regarded the pains. 13 Now when this man was dead also, they tormented and mangled the fourth in like manner. 14 So when he was ready to die he said thus, It is good, being put to death by men, to look for hope from God to be raised up again by him: as for thee, thou shalt have no resurrection to life. 15 Afterward they brought the fifth also, and mangled him. 16 Then looked he unto the king, and said, Thou hast power over men, thou art corruptible, thou doest what thou wilt; yet think not that our nation is forsaken of God; 17 But abide a while, and behold his great power, how he will torment thee and thy seed. 18 After him also they brought the sixth, who being ready to die said, Be not deceived without cause: for we suffer these things for ourselves, having sinned against our God: therefore marvellous things are done unto us. 19 But think not thou, that takest in hand to strive against God, that thou shalt escape unpunished. 20 But the mother was marvellous above all, and worthy of honourable memory: for when she saw her seven sons slain within the space of one day, she bare it with a good courage, because of the hope that she had in the Lord. 21 Yea, she exhorted every one of them in her own language, filled with courageous spirits; and stirring up her womanish thoughts with a manly stomach, she said unto them, 22 I cannot tell how ye came into my womb: for I neither gave you breath nor life, neither was it I that formed the members of every one of you; 23 But doubtless the Creator of the world, who formed the generation of man, and found out the beginning of all things, will also of his own mercy give you breath and life again, as ye now regard not your own selves for his laws’ sake. 24 Now Antiochus, thinking himself despised, and suspecting it to be a reproachful speech, whilst the youngest was yet alive, did not only exhort him by words, but also assured him with oaths, that he would make him both a rich and a happy man, if he would turn from the laws of his fathers; and that also he would take him for his friend, and trust him with affairs. 25 But when the young man would in no case hearken unto him, the king called his mother, and exhorted her that she would counsel the young man to save his life. 26 And when he had exhorted her with many words, she promised him that she would counsel her son. 27 But she bowing herself toward him, laughing the cruel tyrant to scorn, spake in her country language on this manner; O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee such three years, and nourished thee, and brought thee up unto this age, and endured the troubles of education. 28 I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. 29 Fear not this tormentor, but, being worthy of thy brethren, take thy death that I may receive thee again in mercy with thy brethren. 30 Whiles she was yet speaking these words, the young man said, Whom wait ye for? I will not obey the king’s commandment: but I will obey the commandment of the law that was given unto our fathers by Moses. 31 And thou, that hast been the author of all mischief against the Hebrews, shalt not escape the hands of God. 32 For we suffer because of our sins. 33 And though the living Lord be angry with us a little while for our chastening and correction, yet shall he be at one again with his servants. 34 But thou, O godless man, and of all other most wicked, be not lifted up without a cause, nor puffed up with uncertain hopes, lifting up thy hand against the servants of God: 35 For thou hast not yet escaped the judgment of Almighty God, who seeth all things. 36 For our brethren, who now have suffered a short pain, are dead under God’s covenant of everlasting life: but thou, through the judgment of God, shalt receive just punishment for thy pride. 37 But I, as my brethren, offer up my body and life for the laws of our fathers, beseeching God that he would speedily be merciful unto our nation; and that thou by torments and plagues mayest confess, that he alone is God; 38 And that in me and my brethren the wrath of the Almighty, which is justly brought upon our nation, may cease. 39 Than the king’ being in a rage, handed him worse than all the rest, and took it grievously that he was mocked. 40 So this man died undefiled, and put his whole trust in the Lord. 41 Last of all after the sons the mother died. 42 Let this be enough now to have spoken concerning the idolatrous feasts, and the extreme tortures.
Accounts from the dark days of persecution that led to the Maccabean revolt were well known to the Jewish people whom the author of Hebrews addressed. These martyrs suffered and died because of their faith. They looked for a better resurrection. That is, they did not expect to return to this earthly life. A better resurrection, however, is an everlasting renewal of life in the presence of God. Saints of the Old Testament era had a vague idea about the doctrine of the resurrection. But during the immediate centuries before Christ’s coming to earth, the teaching of a resurrection after this life developed. And later when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus, Martha expressed this doctrine when she said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). By faith believers endured suffering and hoped for a better resurrection in the life hereafter. 36. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. The author of Hebrews moves from specific incidents to the more general occurrences of jeering, flogging, and being chained and imprisoned. From the New Testament we learn that jeering, flogging, and imprisonment were rather common. Jesus had to endure the sneers of Jews and soldiers. He suffered flogging during his trial at the court of Pontius Pilate. The apostles repeatedly spent time in prison. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again” (II Cor. 11:23). The recipients of the Epistle to the Hebrews had experienced public insult and persecution. They themselves had seen the inside walls of a prison (10:33–34). They knew that their trust in God would be richly rewarded. Old Testament examples of people who were mocked, scourged, or imprisoned include the prophet Michaiah, who was slapped in the face and sent to prison for predicting the future (I Kings 22:24–28). Jeremiah was beaten by the officials of King Zedekiah and placed in prison for a long time (Jer. 37:14–21; 20:1–3; 38:1–13). And at the time of the Maccabean revolt, King Antiochus Epiphanes had the seven brothers and their mother tortured “with whips and cords” (II Macc. 7:1). Once again the writer of Hebrews becomes specific in listing the types of suffering that believers had to bear. He puts three of them in brief succession.37a. They were stoned;they were sawed in two;they were put to death by the sword. a. Because stones are plentiful in Israel, the practice of throwing stones to kill someone was common. The law of Moses specified that a blasphemer had to be stoned by the community (Lev. 24:14–23). Naboth the Jezreelite, although he was innocent, was put to death by the scheming Jezebel (I Kings 21:10–15). Also, prophets of the Lord God met a similar fate. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest, died in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple during the reign of Joash, king of Judah (II Chron. 24:21–22; Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51). That the practice of stoning the prophets had been quite prevalent in ancient Israel is evident from Jesus’ remark in his discourse of the seven woes. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together” (Matt. 23:37). Nowhere in Scripture is there a parallel to the clause “they were sawed in two.” Tradition is strong that the prophet Isaiah was cut in half with a wooden saw. This happened during the reign of King Manasseh. The Old Testament has no record of this incident. c. Prophets who were killed by the sword are the contemporaries of Elijah. Complains the prophet to God, “The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword” (I Kings 19:10). King Jehoiakim in the days of Jeremiah struck down with the sword the prophet Uriah. This prophet prophesied in the name of the Lord and predicted the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer. 26:20–23). And John the Baptist died at the hand of Herod’s executioner because he had told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:14–29). Many of the unknown heroes of faith were living in miserable conditions and sordid circumstances. 37b. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38a. The world was not worthy of them. The prophet Elijah is an example of those servants of God who lived in abject poverty. His lifestyle became a message of God’s impending judgment on Israel. Elijah’s appearance suited his prophetic calling. He was depicted as “a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist” (II Kings 1:8). His successor Elisha inherited his coat, and in successive generations a garment of hair was the distinctive attire of a prophet (Zech. 13:4). With this apparel the prophet proclaimed a message of repentance and faith in God. John the Baptist, dressed in “clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist” (Mark 1:6), preached “a baptism of repentance” (v. 4). The darker hair of a camel or of a goatskin gave the prophet’s garment more of a mournful appearance than did the lighter colored sheepskins.These prophets of old, persecuted and mistreated, were the world’s refugees. Their adversaries denied them bread to eat and water to drink. Consider the plight of Elijah. He depended on the ravens to supply him with bread and meat, and he obtained drinking water from the brook Kerith (I Kings 17:2–6). King Ahab sent search parties to every nation and kingdom to find Elijah, so that he might put the prophet to death (I Kings 18:9–10). In the eyes of Ahab, Elijah was not worthy to live on the face of the earth. The text, however, says the exact opposite: “the world was not worthy of them.” That is, God’s enemies cannot be compared with God’s servants. These servants are great in honor and stature. King Ahab cannot be measured against Elijah, and King Herod is no match for John the Baptist. By their faith, believers tower above an unbelieving world in which God has placed them for man’s benefit. Referring to the prophets of the Old Testament era, the writer of Hebrews says, 38b. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Obadiah, in charge of King Ahab’s palace, “hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water” (I Kings 18:13; and v. 4). Elijah fled into the Negev desert (I Kings 19:4). For him the land of Israel was no longer safe. Caves were rather numerous in Israel (I Sam. 13:6). As fugitives, David and his men had no difficulty finding shelter from their pursuers or from the elements of nature (I Sam. 24:1–13). Constantly they endured the hostilities of Saul and his soldiers. The believer is always surrounded by an unbelieving world. He is often lonely but never alone, for Jesus is his faithful companion in life.
Commendation 11:39–40 The author has come to the end of his discourse on the heroes of faith. Throughout the chapter the expression by faith is the golden thread that characterizes the life and deeds of God’s people. He concludes this chapter by commending these heroes of faith and by including the readers of his epistle in God’s blessing. 39. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. In this text the writer stresses a positive element and a negative. We consider them in sequence. a. Positive The word choice in the first part of this verse reminds us of the beginning of the chapter. After the brief definition of faith, the author writes, “This is what the ancients were commended for” (11:2). Then he provides examples of those who have been commended: Abel (v. 4) and Enoch (v. 5). He seems to imply that all the other people he mentions are commended for their faith—all the known and unknown believers. And who commends these saints? God, of course. God forgets none of his children. He recognizes everyone who acts in faith, because he has promised to be the God of his people (8:10). As Father of his children, he expects them to put their trust in him. Instinctively a child puts full confidence in his parents and sometimes expects a parent to perform impossible feats. So God wants the believer to come in faith and ask for seemingly impossible things. Why? Because God takes pleasure in commending the believer for his faith. b. Negative Although believers in Old Testament times received words of praise for exercising their faith, and although many promises that God had given them were fulfilled in their lifetime, they failed to obtain that which had been promised. They saw some promises come true, but not the one promise of the coming of Christ. The writer of Hebrews already stated that the Old Testament believers saw and welcomed the promises in Christ from a distance (11:13). These believers looked forward to a heavenly country where God himself had prepared a place for them. At the conclusion of this chapter, the author once more testifies that although the saints received divine approval for their faith, they did not obtain that which had been promised. What, precisely, did these Old Testament believers not receive? They had the promise of the coming of the Messiah and salvation in him. They were the heirs of the messianic prophecies (Gen. 3:15; 49:10; Num. 24:17; II Sam. 7:13; Job 19:25; Ps. 2:6–12; 16:10; 22:1; 45:6–8; 110:1; and numerous passages in the books of the prophets). But all these believers died before Jesus appeared on earth. To be sure, they died in faith and entered heaven. Nevertheless, they entered the presence of God with the promise that they had received and in expectation of its fulfillment. Their understanding of the plan of salvation was vague and incomplete. With the revelation God had given them, they tried to understand the mystery of redemption. Peter testifies to this when he writes, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (I Peter 1:10–11). The author of Hebrews ends the chapter by including the readers of his epistle in the discussion of faith and the promise of salvation in Christ. Before he began this discussion, he already had exhorted his readers to persevere in faith, “so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (10:36). He brings the Old Testament saints and New Testament believers together in Jesus Christ. He considers them one family, and “a family is not complete unless all its members are present.”40. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Here the pastor speaks not with words of exhortation or admonition. Rather, he teaches his readers the unity and continuity of the believers of both the Old Testament and New Testament eras. He is saying that they (the heroes of faith) and we (believers in Jesus Christ) are one. In the next chapter the writer brings the “great cloud of witnesses” and the readers of his epistle together in Jesus (12:1–2). Jesus is the originator, the author, and the captain of faith. He leads the believer to perfection. Says the writer, “God had planned something better for us.” In view of its repeated use in Hebrews, we know that the word better relates to the era of fulfillment in Jesus Christ. That is, believers who belong to the Christian era have become recipients of the promised salvation in Christ. The Old Testament believers look forward to this fulfillment. Because we look back upon the accomplished work of Christ, by faith we are able to appropriate the fullness of salvation. In other words, we are privileged above the saints who had only the promise.What is the significance of Christ’s coming for the Old Testament believers? The author puts it this way: “Only together with us would they be made perfect.” During the time of the old covenant (Heb. 8:6–7), believers were unable to reach perfection. With his coming, Christ brought “many sons to glory” (2:10) and made them perfect (10:14). Through his atoning work, Christ caused Old Testament and New Testament believers to share in his perfection (12:23). Christ, then, perfects believers, for he is the perfecter of their faith (12:2). No believer can ever make himself perfect, because this work belongs to Christ. However, this does not mean that man should remain idle. Not at all. The author of Hebrews spurs his readers on to perseverance in the faith. Both Old and New Testament believers not only share the perfection Christ provides; they also have a common faith. And as the heroes of faith diligently exercised their faith, so the readers of the Epistle to the Hebrews must persevere. The saints of the Old Testament era serve the New Testament believers as incentives to persevere in faith. In the unity we have with them, we know that through faith we inherit the promise of salvation (6:12; 13:7).Practical Considerations in 11:32–40 The word saint makes us think of a person who walks around with hands folded, with eyes turned heavenward, and with a halo around his head. Somehow we get the impression that he is not one of us. But when the author of Hebrews takes us to the art gallery of the Old Testament and shows us the portraits of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and numerous other people, he confronts us with paintings of people in action. These saints are our brothers and sisters in faith. The paintings are scenes of battles, feats of courage, and instances of suffering. The dominant people in these portraits are ordinary men and women. They have one thing in common, and that is faith. These people are saints, and because of this common faith, we are intimately related. We belong to the same family, for their trials and triumphs are ours, too. And just as they depended on divine help, we also trust in the Lord for aid. They spent their time in prayer; so do we. We pray and work for the coming of Christ’s kingdom; as the second petition of the Lord’s prayer has it, “your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). And thus as prayer partners and coworkers for God (I Cor. 3:9), we ourselves are saints who put faith into practice.Ever since childhood we have been told not to boast about ourselves. Solomon said it well: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips” (Prov. 27:2). But we must not only listen to what the author of Hebrews tells about our spiritual possessions; we must also tell everyone about them. In fact, we have to brag about them because they are so much better than the possessions of the Old Testament believers. We have a better salvation (6:9), a better hope (7:19), a better covenant (7:22), better promises (8:6), and better and lasting possessions (10:34). We are privileged sons and daughters of God, heirs and coheirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). We may not keep silent. God wants us to talk about our riches in Christ, so that others, too, may share our spiritual wealth.By contrast, the Old Testament believers, mentioned in Hebrews 11, had only fragments of God’s revelation. With these bits and pieces, they persevered in faith. We, who have God’s full revelation in Jesus Christ, ought to strive more earnestly to do the will of God (Heb. 10:35). “A small spark of light led them to heaven; when the sun of righteousness shines over us, with what pretence can we excuse ourselves if we still cleave to the earth?”Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 11:32–40. Verse 32 λέγω—an instance of the deliberative subjunctive in a rhetorical question.διηγούμενον—the present middle participle (from διηγέομαι, I relate) modifies the accusative singular personal pronoun με. The gender of the participle is masculine.Verse 33 διὰ πίστεως—this construction is a variant of πίστει, much the same as κατὰ πίστιν (v. 13). Compare also δι᾽ ῆ̔ς (vv. 4, 7) and δι᾽ αὐτῆς (v. 4). κατηγωνίσαντο—derived from καταγωνίζομαι (I overcome), this verb in the aorist middle is a compound with perfective force. The compound consists of κατὰ (down) and ἀγωνίζομαι (I fight). ἐπέτυχον—a verb in the aorist active from ἐπιτυγχάνω (I obtain) governs a genitive case. Verse 34 παρεμβολάς—the accusative plural of the compound noun παρεμβολή derives from παρά (along), ἐν (in), and βάλλω (I throw). Here it refers to an army that is placed in line of battle. ἀλλοτρίων—from ἄλλος (another), with the meaning belonging to another. The secondary meaning is “foreign,” that is, “enemy.”Verse 36 ἕτεροι—in verse 35 the term ἄλλοι occurs. Although the two words are quite often differentiated, here they are synonymous.πεῖραν ἔλαβον—see verse 29.Verse 37 ἐπρίσθησαν—from πρίζω (I cut in two with a saw), the aorist passive form perhaps has led to dittography in the word ἐπειράσθησαν (they were tempted). But the expression they were tempted, sometimes appearing before the verb they were sawed in two and sometimes after it, breaks the sequence of those verbs used for describing the administration of the death penalty. In short, ἐπειράσθησαν does not fit the context. Conjectural emendations of this form are numerous. Verse 39μαρτυρηθέντες—the aorist passive participle of μαρτυρέω (I testify) has a concessive denotation.διὰ τῆς πίστεως—see verse 33. The definite article takes the place of the possessive pronoun their.τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν—some manuscripts, perhaps because of verse 13, have the plural. The singular also appears in 9:15 and 10:36.Verse 40 προβλεψαμένου—the aorist middle participle from the compound πρό (before) and βλέπω (I see) is with τοῦ θεοῦ a genitive absolute construction and has a causal meaning. In the middle voice the verb means “to provide.”ἵνα—the conjunction seems to introduce a result clause instead of a purpose clause.τελειωθῶσιν—from τελειόω (I complete), this form is the aorist passive subjunctive. The verb occurs nine times in Hebrews out of a total of twenty-three times in the New Testament. The negative μή appears to negate χωρὶς ἡμῶν more than the verb itself. Summary of Chapter 11 What is faith? The author answers this question by giving the readers first a brief definition and then the application of faith in the lives of many believers. The definition is not designed to be comprehensive; rather, it is introductory in nature. Using examples taken from life, the writer demonstrates the characteristics and qualities of faith.After an initial reference to the origin of the world, the author chooses his illustrations from specific periods of history. First, from the period between creation and the flood he selects the names of Abel, Enoch, and Noah. These people lived by faith and experienced intimate fellowship with God. With these examples, the writer depicts a gradual progression: Abel’s faith eventually resulted in physical death; Enoch’s faith brought translation to glory; and Noah’s faith provided salvation for him, his family, and the animals.Then, from the period of the patriarchs, the author selects incidents from the life of Abraham. He shows Abraham’s obedience relative to traveling to the land of Canaan, the birth of a son, and the sacrifice of Isaac. The patriarchs died without seeing the promises of God fulfilled: they longed for life eternal in a heavenly city. Also, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph looked to the future. From the time of the exodus from Egypt to the conquest of Canaan, the writer gleans events from the life of Moses: his birth, childhood, education, and departure from Egypt. He also relates the faith of the Israelites in crossing the Red Sea and in marching around Jericho’s walls. A brief remark on Rahab’s faith concludes his comments about that era. When the author comes to the period of the judges, kings, and prophets, he lists only some representative names. He summarizes the types of trials and triumphs that believers endured and enjoyed. Although he refrains from providing details, he intimates a relation between these persons and deeds of faith. In his conclusion, the writer discloses that the Old Testament saints and the readers of his epistle share a common faith and together reap the benefits of a fulfilled promise. Believers are made perfect through the work of Christ.
Wiersbe - The transition in Hebrews 11:35 is important: not all men and women of faith experienced miraculous deliverance. Some were tortured and died! The word translated “others” v.36 means “others of a different kind.” These “others” had faith, but God did not see fit to deal with them in the same way he dealt with Moses, Gideon, and David
BHDV - 11.35–38 Muchos piensan que el dolor es la excepción en la vida cristiana. Cuando el sufrimiento tiene lugar dicen: «¿Por qué a mí?». Sienten como si Dios los hubiera abandonado o que quizá no era tan confiable como pensaban. En realidad, vivimos en un mundo malvado, y la vida incluye mucho sufrimiento, incluso para los creyentes. Pero Dios sigue dominando las circunstancias. Él permite que algunos cristianos lleguen a ser mártires por la fe, y permite que otros sobrevivan a la persecución. En lugar de preguntarse «¿Por qué a mí»?, es mejor decir «¿Por qué no a mí?». Su fe y los valores morales de este mundo están en pugna. Si esperamos dolor y sufrimiento, no nos aplastarán cuando ocurran. También podemos recibir consuelo al saber que Jesucristo sufrió de igual modo. Él comprende nuestros temores, nuestras debilidades y nuestros desalientos (véanse 2.16–18; 4.14–16). Ha prometido no dejarnos nunca (Mateo 28.18–20) e intercede en nuestro favor (7.24, 25). En tiempos de dolor, persecución o sufrimiento debemos confiar plenamente en Cristo. 11.39,40 Se le ha llamado a Hebreos la galería de la fama de la fe. No hay duda de que el autor sorprendió a sus lectores con esta conclusión: estos héroes judíos admirables no recibieron el premio total de parte de Dios porque murieron antes que Cristo viniera. En el plan de Dios, ellos y los creyentes cristianos (que de igual manera soportaron muchas pruebas) serán recompensados juntos. Una vez más Hebreos muestra que el cristianismo ofrece una mejor alternativa que el judaísmo. 11.40 Hay solidaridad entre los creyentes (véase 12.23). Los creyentes del Antiguo y del Nuevo Testamentos serán glorificados juntos. No sólo somos uno en el cuerpo de Cristo con todos los que están vivos, sino que también somos uno con todos los que ya han vivido. Todos somos necesarios para ser perfectos en Él
College - Many suffered faithfully to “gain a better resurrection.” This shows an awareness of both the fact of resurrection and a differentiation in that resurrection. Resurrection was known to Daniel (Dan 12:2–3), to Isaiah (Isa 53:10, 12) and to Abraham (Heb 11:17–19), and probably the Psalm writers (Ps 22:29; 49:12–15; 73, especially v. 24; 102:25–28). See Job 19:25–27 and Jeremiah 31:15–17. 11:36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. Jeers and flogging appear together in the NT only when describing Jesus’ abuse. The first noun “jeers” (ἐμπαιγμός, empaigmos) occurs only here in the NT, although its cognate verb, ἐμπαίζω (empaizō, “to ridicule, mock”) is used thirteen times. The second noun “flogging” (μάστιξ, mastix, “lashes” or “torment”), on the other hand, appears six times in the NT, while its cognate verbs, μαστιγόω (mastigoō, “to whip, flog, scourge”) and μαστίζω (mastizō, “to strike with a whip”), appear respectively seven times and only in Acts 22:25. In the NT these words appear together only when Jesus predicts his mistreatment in Jerusalem. Matthew records “mock, flog and crucify” (20:19); Mark and Luke add “spit” (Mark 10:34; Luke 18:32–33); and Luke further adds “insult.” The word “mock” is used almost exclusively of Jesus’ abuse, either being predicted or carried out (Matt 27:29, 31, 41; Mark 15:20, 31; Luke 22:63; 23:11, 36). The only two exceptions are the wise men mocking Herod by not returning to tell him about the baby king (Matt 2:16) and the mocking of the man who only half built a tower (Luke 14:29). Upon the death of Judas Maccabee, the Syrian leader Bacchides sought out the friends of Judas and “mocked” them, taking vengeance on them (1 Macc 9:26). Saul feared this abuse at the hands of the Philistines and prefered death (1 Sam 31:4; 1 Chr 10:4). The torture and slow death of the seven martyr brothers is called “mocking” or “sport” (2 Macc 7:10). The general “mocking” of the the people of God is mentioned in Isaiah 33:4; Ezekiel 22:3; Zechariah 12:3 and 2 Maccabees 8:17. The claim that “still others were put in prison,” should perhaps be better translated with the rough addition, “and even fetters and prison.” This would match the striking Greek syntax where the genitive forms seem to couple with the genitives of the previous phrase. Verse 36 would then read more literally, “And others received a trial of mockings and of lashes, and even of fetters and of prison.” These two words are never joined as a pair like this anywhere else in the NT or LXX, although many were bound and imprisoned for their faith, for example, Joseph (Gen 39:6–20), Hanani (2 Chr 16:7–10), and Paul (Acts 16:22–24). God broke Israel’s “bond” of slavery in Egypt (Lev 26:13; Ps 107:14). Many others were put in prison or in bonds for their faith in God. 11:37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated The Bible record tells of several people who were stoned for their faith: Naboth (1 Kgs 21:13–15); Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest (2 Chr 24:19–22); Stephen (Acts 7:59); Paul (Acts 14:19; 2 Cor 11:25). Jesus was attacked by stoning (John 10:31–33). Moses and Aaron were nearly stoned (Exod 17:4; Num 14:10), as was David (1 Sam 30:6). Jesus’ parable was not foreign to real life when he described wicked men’s stoning the messengers and the heir of a vineyard-owner to get possession of a vineyard (Matt 21:33–44). Stoning was the prescribed death penalty for a number of crimes: worshipping other gods (Deut 17:1–7); tempting people to turn away from God (Deut 13:1–11); offering children to Moloch (Lev 20:2); wizardry or having a familiar spirit (Lev 20:27); blasphemy (Lev 24:10–16, 23); gathering wood on the Sabbath (Num 15:32–36); being a rebellious son (Deut 21:18–21); not penning up a goring ox (Exod 21:28–32); adultery or even slandering a new wife (Deut 22:13–24). Montefiore reminds us that the land of Israel was full of stones which could be used for this purpose.The verb “sawed in two” may be from πρίζω (prizō) or πρίω (priō), both of which Liddell and Scott defines as “to saw.” Their fuller discussion is given under πρίω, “to saw, saw asunder; sever, cut in twain; II to grind or gnash the teeth, esp. with rage; generally to bite; III. to seize as with the teeth, grip.” There is some textual uneasiness since this word occurs only here in the NT. BAGD makes prizō primary over priō. The sin of Damascus was seen at its worst when “she threshed (ἔπριζον, eprizon) Gilead with sledges having iron teeth” (Amos 1:3). Here the LXX adds “the pregnant women (of Gilead).” The verb appears a second time in the apocryphal Daniel (Sus, 59) where Daniel told the second evil judge who wrongfully condemned Susanna that the angel of God was waiting with his sword to “saw him in two so as to destroy them both.” He told the first judge (Daniel, Sus, 55) that the angel of God would “cut him in two” (σχίζω, schizō, “to split, cleave; generally, to part asunder”). The death of Isaiah is frequently presented as the clearest example of a believer who was sawed in two. In one place the Talmud says that in Babylon 2 Kings 21:16 is interpreted to mean that Manasseh killed Isaiah (Sanh. 103b). In another account the story says that Isaiah pronounced the unpronounceable Name of God and was swallowed up by a cedar. The cedar, however, was brought and sawn asunder. When the saw reached his mouth he died. This was his penalty for having said, ‘And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.’ (Yeb. 49b). Rist presents the version in the Jerusalem Talmud (Sanh 10) that Isaiah, fearing Manasseh, hid in a cedar-tree. Seeing the fringes of his garment which were not hidden, Manasseh caused the tree to be sawn in half. The Ascension of Isaiah, a pseudepigraphical work, said Isaiah made some dire predictions about Manasseh. Belchira, a false prophet, then offered Isaiah his freedom if he would renounce his prophecies as lies. Isaiah refused and died bravely. “Put to death by the sword” is the expression ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρης ἀπέθανον (en phonō machairēs apethanon, lit., “in murder of a sword they died”). BAGD translates, “(by being murdered) with the sword.” [they died]. This exact expression occurs in Exodus 17:13 of Joshua’s routing the Amalekites; in Numbers 21:24 of Israel’s destroying Sihon, king of the Amorites; in Deut 13:15 of Israel’s destroying any idolatrous city of Israelites; and in Deut 20:13 of killing all the men of a city which refused to make peace with Israel. A list of good people who died by the sword because they were trusting people must include the people of Nob who helped David (1 Sam 22:19), the prophets of God killed by Jezebel (1 Kgs 18:4; 19:10, 14); James (Acts 12:2), perhaps Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), perhaps even Abner and Amasa (1 Kgs 2:32). The Apocrypha reported several people who died by the sword in the Maccabean era because they adhered to God’s laws: Jonathan and his men (1 Macc 12:46), the people of Jamnia (1 Macc 15:38), the people of Jerusalem (2 Macc 5:23, 26), and numerous unnamed Jews (2 Macc 6:1–7). The sword was widely used because it was such an effective and inexpensive weapon of death. Examples of death by the sword could be multiplied. As the final statement in a list of many different kinds of suffering, death by the sword could representative of many other kinds of violent death which believers endured. See, for example, Numbers 20:18; 21:24; 1 Chronicles 21:12, 16, 27, 30; 2 Chronicles 20:9; 36:20 and Psalm 22:20. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records many kinds of extreme torture used against believers in the beginning church. Our author moves now from extreme physical abuse to economic abuse and privation. They wore sheepskins and goatskins. Either they were barred from labor to earn money or barred from shops to spend money to purchase normal clothing. In either case they would have homemade clothes. Driven from ordinary society, “they wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” It appears that many of them had to make their own clothing directly from animal products. So these were not top quality leather luxuries, but crude, homemade necessities. The phrase is included here in a list of things which people suffered because of their faith. The two phrases, “in sheepskins” (ἐν μηλωται̂ς, en mēlōtais) and “goatskins” (ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, en aigeiois dermasin), should be taken together. The first phrase is used “of the cloak worn by prophets” (BAGD), specifically of Elijah’s mantle (1 Kgs 19:13, 19; 2 Kgs 2:8) which subsequently came into Elisha’s possession (2 Kgs 2:13–14). Liddell and Scott gives the classical Greek meaning as “a sheep’s skin.” The word appears nowhere else in the Greek Bible. Lampe defines the word as used by the church fathers as “sheepskin, hence rough hairy cloak worn by monks.” Ahab’s messengers observed that Elijah “was a man with a garment of hair and a leather belt around his waist” (2 Kgs 1:8; cf. Matt 3:4). Elijah’s mantle, then, may have been (1) an additional leather (“sheepskin”) garment he occasionally wore over his usual “garment of hair” to display his prophetic role. This fits Myers’ idea of a “mantle of distinction” (אדרת, ,addereth) which kings and prophets wore. It may have been (2) a “sheepskin” in the modern sense of the skin of a sheep dressed with the fleece still on it. There is no direct indication that Elijah had to wear this kind of clothing because of privation or punishment. Levites shared the third tithe along with the very poor (Deut 14:28–29; 16:11, 14), but they were never associated directly with the prophets. John the Baptist wore clothes made of camel’s hair and a leather belt. His fare of locusts and wild honey suggests privation. Motyer says the “curds and honey” of Isaiah 7:15 is “the food of poverty. … The divine child is to be born into the poverty of his people.”They were “destitute, persecuted and mistreated.” The word ὑστερέω (hystereō) means “to be in need of, to lack.” The prodigal son had spent everything. He was “destitute” in a distant country when the famine came. He began “to be in need.” His condition was so poor he wanted to eat what he fed to the pigs (Luke 15:14–16). The word describes how far beneath the glory of God the lives of men may fall. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). The cognate noun ὑστέρημα (hysterēma, “need, deficiency”) describes the poor widow who out of her “need, poverty” gave two very small copper coins to God. While others gave out of their wealth, this was “all the living that she had”(Luke 21:1–4). Though “destitute” of the world’s goods, in a sense these believers lacked nothing when following God, for he provides for his own (Neh 9:21; Ps 23:1 and Luke 22:35). The ten NT references of θλίβω (thlibō, “to press together, oppress”) help focus the meaning of “persecution.” The “way” which Jesus’ followers much walk is “narrow, confined,” the opposite of the broad way which others preferred (Matt 7:14). Jesus told the disciples to have a boat ready to keep people from “crowding, pressing upon” him (Mark 3:9). Paul was often persecuted in his work (2 Cor 1:6; 4:8; 7:5; 1 Thess 3:4). Sometimes relief would come from a courageous believer (1 Kgs 18:3–4; 1 Tim 5:10; Heb 10:32–34). This is the word the LXX uses to describe the persecution of the Jews by various nations in the period of the judges (Judg 4:3; 6:9; 8:34; 10:8, 9, 12; 11:7 and summary 1 Sam 10:18). It is a common term of warfare. The oppression is usually of the whole nation, not of individuals, as here. It is also usually because of sin, not because of mistreatment for being faithful to God. Wicked enemies are often called “oppressors.” Isaiah said the Messianic influence would bring an end to oppressing one another (Isa 11:13). In its summary of the oppression of the people of God, Psalm 107 (106 LXX) itemizes traits like those in Hebrews 11:37. The word for “maltreated,” κακουχέω (kakoucheō, “to maltreat, torment”), appears only twice in the NT, both in Hebrews (here and 13:3). It is also rare in the LXX, and found only a few times in other OT Greek versions. BAGD says it is used in marriage contracts. Perhaps that is why marriage is discussed immediately after this rare word in Hebrews 13:3. 11:38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These believers were clinging to God in faith. They were fugitives and outcasts, the displaced persons of the world. Accepted by no one, treated like “the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world” (1 Cor 4:13), these homeless wanderers longed to be home in heaven. Their citizenship was in heaven (Phil 3:20). All they had left on earth was the promise of God. To this they clung as they wandered about in deserts and mountains, in caves and holes in the ground. Israel hid in caves from the Midianites (Judg 6:2) and later from the Philistines (1 Sam 13:5). David escaped from Saul by hiding in the caves of Adullam and Engedi (1 Sam 22:1; 24:3). Obadiah kept 100 prophets alive in caves to escape the murderous apostasy of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kgs 18:3–4, 13). Upon recapturing the temple after three years of absence the Maccabees “celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals” (2 Macc 10:6; see 6:7–11). Montefiore says the description in Hebrews “suits the freedom fighters against the Seleucids (1 Macc. ii. 31; 2 Macc. v. 27; vi. 11; x. 6),” then adds, Israel abounds in uninhabitable territory with excellent hiding-places for fugitives and outcasts, and these were later used in guerrilla warfare against Herod (cf. Josephus, Bell. Jud. I. 16. 4) and against Rome (cf. P. Benoit and others, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, II (Oxford, 1961), and Y. Yadin and others, Judaean Desert Caves, I and II (Jerusalem, 1961 and 1962). The “world” here means the world “as that which is hostile to God,” the seventh definition BAGD gives for κόσμος (kosmos). Ironically, the world rejected as unworthy the very ones of whom the world itself was not worthy. Men of faith were the ones commended by God (vv. 4 and 5). “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). GOD PLANNED TO MAKE THEM PERFECT WITH US (11:39–40) 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
They were all commended for their faith. In discussing the word “commended” (μαρτυρηθέντες, martyrēthentes) BAGD defines the active voice, “bear witness, be a witness;” and the passive voice, “be witnessed, be well spoken of.” Six of the seven appearances of this word in Hebrews are in the passive voice, four are in this chapter (7:8, 17; 11:2, 4, 5, 39). Only 10:15 is active, where it says the Holy Spirit bears witness to us, then quotes an OT passage which is that witness. Melchizedek was “declared to be living” (7:8). Jesus was “declared” to be “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (7:17). In this chapter the ancients are commended for their faith (11:2), Abel was commended as a righteous man (11:3), and Enoch was commended as one who pleased God (11:5). Then, all the people of the chapter “were commended for their faith” (11:39). Though commended for their faith, these heroes and others like them only had the promise that good things were coming if they remained faithful. They had not received the things promised. God’s plan was to join believers of the Old Covenant with believers of the New Covenant, redeem them all with the blood of Christ and place them together in his blessed future city. There is something better for us than our current abundant blessings in the church. Before he ever created the world, God made the plan and the commitment that Jesus would die for fallen man (1 Pet 1:18–21; Rev 13:8). He evidently planned then the things that are described in Hebrews 5–7 about Jesus’ being our high priest and the things described in Hebrews 9–10 about Jesus’ being our perfect sacrifice for sins, hence also Jesus’ high priestly activities in the “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” i.e., “heaven itself” (Heb 9:11–14, 23–25). Other NT writers reveled in this glorious future God is preparing for man (Rom 8:18–39; Eph 2–3; Rev 21–22). The only other place in the LXX or NT where the word προβλέπω (problepō, “to plan, foresee”) is Psalm 37:13 (LXX 36:13), where the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he “plans or foresees” what their future holds. To balance the scales of right and wrong, the future holds heavy blessings for those faithful to God and heavy punishment for those who oppose him. Jesus said, “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will … come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28–29). The Son of Man will sit on his throne and divide all nations, rewarding some and punishing others appropriately (Matt 25:31–46; Rev 20:11–15). It is this blessed future heavenly country for which the patriarchs longed (11:17).The previous paragraph assumes that the perfecting of verse 40 is to be future for us. The perfecting may be done now. Jesus has already died for us. Upon accepting him anyone becomes perfected. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom 8:1). Sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38; 1:3; 2:17; 7:27; 8:12; 9:28). “By one sacrifice he [Jesus] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb 10:14). Hebrews 12:22–23 points the same direction. The believing readers have already come “to Mt. Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, … to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.” This is the perfecting which the Law could not achieve (Heb 7:19; 9:7, 9; 10:1). “He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Heb 9:15). There is a third sense of “perfection” as growing to maturity, but this is not in the author’s mind as he finishes the chapter on faith. See Colossians 1:28; 4:12; Hebrews 5:14; 6:1; James 1:4. It is not clear whether Philippians 3:12 points to maturing in Christ or to the final end. Here, the best sense is probably the current perfection of forgiveness given to all through the sacrifice of Jesus. It is in the church that he has purposed to create in himself one new man out of people from various backgrounds and times; “in this one body he reconciles both of them to God through the cross” (Eph 2:15–16). They were not perfected apart from us. We are not perfected apart from them. While on earth Jesus promised that there would be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16; Isa 19:23–25; 49:6; Joel 2:28, 32; Amos 9:11–12; Mic 4:1–3; etc.). Paul said he was “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6). It is strange that in this concluding paragraph the readers are not asked to copy the faith of the believers who are on the list. They had been asked not to follow the unbelievers discussed in chapter three (4:1). They will be asked to “imitate the faith” of their leaders (13:7), like they had been asked to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (6:12). In the introduction to this section on faith (10:35–39) they were asked not to throw away their “confidence,” but to “persevere.” Then they were almost assumed into the circle of the faithful with the words, “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Though they believed, they, too, like these heroes of faith, had not received the final reward. They must keep believing till the very end. Perhaps their faith felt tiny like the faith of Rahab. Maybe they felt their faith brought mistreatment like the faith of Moses. Whatever the size or nature of their faith, it was faith. The size of their faith did not matter. It was the presence of faith that knit them to Enoch and Noah and Abraham. God’s plan was that believers of all ages, OT and NT, would one day be joined together and rewarded together. The text says, “together with us they would be made perfect” (11:40). The readers will be asked to fix their eyes on Jesus (12:1–3), as they had been urged to fix their thoughts on him (3:1). It was this fixing of his vision on the Messiah that helped Moses make his decision of faith (11:24–26). He kept looking off at him who is invisible (11:27). None received what was promised. Let us briefly trace the connection between God’s promise and his covenant. At his call God made a promise (ἐπαγγελία, epangelia) to Abraham that consisted of several parts: (1) God would make him into a great nation; (2) he would make his name great; (3) he would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed him; and (4) all peoples on earth would be blessed through him (Gen 12:1–3). The promise was formalized into a covenant with accompanying sacrifices (Gen 15). Then circumcision was added as “a sign of the covenant” (Gen 17:11). Isaac was singled out as the child through whom the covenant would be established (Gen 17:17–21; 21:13; 22:15–18). It was confirmed to Isaac (26:1–6). It was for this covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt (Exod 2:24–25). The land of Canaan was given as part of this covenant (Exod 6:4). God offered to make Israel his “treasured possession” when he gave them the law at Mt. Sinai, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” (Exod 19:5, emphasis added). When they heard the laws of God, they agreed to do all that God said. This further advance in their relationship was sealed with blood,
Then he [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant, and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Exod 24:7–8).In Exodus 34 Moses was allowed to see a limited vision of God. At that time God was making a covenant that he would drive out the nations of the land of Canaan before Israel; but they should be careful to destroy their altars, make no treaty with them, plus, plus. The condition of obedience is repeated that was given in Exodus 19:5. The ten commandments are called “the words of the covenant” (Exod 34:28; Deut 4:13).What began as a promise to Abraham of posterity and honor from God, who is always faithful to his word, was expanded into a formal covenant agreement including a sign, laws, sacrifices, protection and blood confirming the covenant. What began as a response from Abraham, who trusted God, was expanded into a lifetime of expectation, privation and even heavy abuse for a whole group of people whose eye was on God and his future reward as being far superior to anything this world could offer.
JM - The women suffered for a while, but the pain was alleviated when their children were restored to life. God does not always work in this way, however. Many of the afflictions mentioned in Hebrews 11:35–38 were long-term, even lifetime. God gave power through faith to see some of His people through these problems, not to escape them. Just as it is sometimes God’s will for His people to conquer in a struggle, it is also sometimes His will for His people to continue in their suffering. He will give them victory, too, but it may only be spiritual—the only kind of victory He guarantees. It often takes more courage to hold on than to fight on, and where there is need for more courage there is need for more faith.Sometimes affliction is inescapable; sometimes it is not. To the person of faith, no affliction is escapable that requires denial or compromise of God’s Word. What is easily escaped for the worldly person is not for the faithful. When it is suffered because of God’s Word and standing for Him, God’s people will take torture, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection. Here is the pinnacle of faith, willingness to accept the worst the world has to offer—death—because of trust in the best God has to offer—resurrection. Tortured is from the Greek tumpanizō, from the same root as the English tympani, a kettledrum. The particular torture referred to involved stretching the victim over a large drum-like instrument and beating him with clubs, often until dead. God’s faithful are willing to be beaten to death rather than compromise their faith in Him. They would not sacrifice the future on the altar of the immediate. They preferred being put to death, because by faith they knew that one day they would be resurrected. They endured both mental and physical anguish, mockings as well as scourgings. Jeremiah was as emotionally abused as he was physically abused, and it is not strange that he was called the weeping prophet. He did not weep so much for himself as for the people, who rejected God by rejecting him. He endured, and continued to endure, all sorts of pain for the sake of God’s Word. Tradition holds that Isaiah was sawn in two. The people became so irritated at his powerful preaching that they cut him in half. Like Abel, however (11:4), he continues to speak even after death. The many kinds of suffering mentioned in these verses, just as the conquests mentioned in the preceding verses, apply generally to the faithful saints. They are a summary of the many and varied kinds of affliction God’s people face and are often called to endure for Him. Whether they were killed or made outcasts, the point is the same—they courageously and uncompromisingly suffered for the Lord because of their faith. Whether for conquering in a struggle or continuing in suffering, they trusted the Lord. The world is not worthy of having such people in its midst, just as these people did not deserve the sufferings they received. For its inflicting the suffering, the world will be judged and punished; for their enduring the suffering the faithful saints will be resurrected and rewarded. They knew with Paul that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18), and they looked forward with Peter to ‘can inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4). God does not promise His saints deliverance from all suffering. To the contrary, Jesus told us to take up our crosses and to follow Him (Mark 8:34), and that “if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Both Paul (Phil. 3:10) and Peter (1 Pet. 4:13) advise us to rejoice in our sufferings for Christ’s sake. Paul told the Corinthian believers, “I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction” (2 Cor. 7:4). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were perfectly confident that God would save them from the blazing furnace. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king” (Dan. 3:17). But their greatest faith was not shown in their certainty of deliverance. They went on to say, “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (v.18). Their primary concern was not for the safety of their lives but for the safety of their faith. Physical deliverance or not, they would not forsake their trust in God. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (11:39–40) True faith has the courage to count on salvation. These faithful saints had to live in hope. They knew very little about the nature or the time or the means of God’s salvation. But they knew it was coming, and this was the basis of their trust. They had abiding confidence that one day God would do the necessary thing to redeem them and reward them. What happened to them before that time was not consequential. They did not receive what was promised but they had gained approval through their faith. Their faith was not in some immediate fulfillment, but in the ultimate fulfillment of the promises. Here is where faith is most tested and where it most matters. The ultimate promise was of a redeemer, the Messiah, and of His covenant that would bring righteousness before God. “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet. 1:10–11). All these, from Enoch through the prophets, had that courageous faith which counts, without reservation, on final salvation. Many of them never received the land. Sometimes they had earthly victory; sometimes they did not. Sometimes their faith saved them from death; sometimes it brought them death. No matter. They knew that God had provided something better. God has provided this “something better” for us, that is for those under the New Covenant, which is why apart from us they should not be made perfect. That is, not until our time, the time of Christianity, could their salvation be completed, made perfect. Until Jesus’ atoning work on the cross was accomplished, no salvation was complete, no matter how great the faith a believer may have had. Their salvation was based on what Christ would do; ours is based on what Christ has done. Their faith looked forward to promise; ours looks back to historical fact. Yet, though their salvation was not completed in their lifetimes, these were not second-rate believers. They were believers of the highest order. They courageously struggled, suffered, and counted on salvation. They believed all of God’s Word that they had, which is what counts with Him. How much less faith do we often have, in spite of our much greater light. “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).
IVP- Verses 35–38 record the other side of the picture. The incidents described here seem to be drawn mainly from the days of the Maccabean revolt and the cruelties of the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes in the early second century b.c. The word for tortured reveals the type of torment used: a wheel or rack upon which the victim was stretched and then beaten to death. The better resurrection they looked for was not a return to this life, but the resurrection to eternal life, which was promised to all who were faithful unto death. The jeers, flogging, chains and prisons of verse 36 were experienced in many places and times, even by some recipients of this letter, as 10:32–34 declares. Jeremiah may have been the reference to some who were stoned, for tradition says he so died at the hands of the Jews in Egypt. Isaiah was thought to be sawed in half during the reign of Manasseh, the wicked son of King Hezekiah. Many were reduced to poverty and had to dress themselves in animal skins (Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptist, for example), and wandered about in deserts and mountains, living in caves because they were unacceptable to society. But the writer notes that the world was not worthy of them. God’s heroes and heroines are often unrecognized while they are alive. Like Jesus himself, they are “despised and rejected of men.” But what does that matter when the final triumph sees them honored and acclaimed before the whole universe? As another ardent Christian, Jim Elliot, put it: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” One cannot think on these verses today and not notice the contrast with the so-called health-and-wealth gospel. For the person of faith, material comforts mean less and spiritual values mean more. The question of Jesus comes to mind: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” The people of God may often be poor and despised, but their faith opens to them riches of spirit which the world has never known.(11:39–40) The closing verses (39–40) bring us back to the opening statement of the chapter, that faith is what the ancients were commended for. Though all those referred to by name or described by action in this chapter received commendation from God even in this life, yet they did not receive the promised city “with foundations” which Abraham sought (vv. 10 & 16). The reference to foundations indicates something material and earthly, rather than purely spiritual. They looked for more than their own personal satisfaction, but still longed to see God’s purposes fulfilled on earth. The something better for us denotes the reality we have found already in Christ, which the men and women of faith in the Old Testament would attain only after their earthly life ended. We are already recipients of the blessings of the new covenant. They would not fully know them till the resurrection. The New Jerusalem, come down from heaven to earth, in which God will dwell among us and by which all the supernal vision of the prophets will be fulfilled, blends the two peoples of God together. The hope of being made perfect includes the hope of physical resurrection, as many Scriptures declare. In that “first resurrection” (Rev 20:6–7) believers of both old and new covenants will join. This is the way that together with us would they be made perfect. This is the mystery of God’s will which Paul describes in Ephesians 1:9–10 “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” What transcendent glory is described in those words, no one now really knows. John gives us the best description in Revelation 4–5. There the redeemed are gathered from all ages, amid millions of angels, to sing the praises of the One who redeemed them from the miseries and death which sin causes, and gave them an eternal ministry of glory and power beyond human description. The Redeemer will be forever the center of universal worship.
Life App Comm - All these faithful people experienced the blessings and endured persecution because they placed their hope in the resurrection. These people lived by faith because they knew that gaining the world and achieving this world’s success was not their objective. They waited for a better life that would begin after death. This promise of a better life encouraged them during persecution and other difficulties. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. It is so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.Martin Luther
WHY ME?” Many think that pain is the exception in the Christian life. When suffering occurs, they say, “Why me?” They feel as though God deserted them, or perhaps they accuse him of not being as dependable as they thought. In reality, the world is sinful, so even believers suffer. God allows some Christians to die as martyrs for the faith, and he allows others to survive persecution. Rather than asking, “Why me?” we should ask, “Why not me?” Our faith and the values of this world are on a collision course. If we expect pain and suffering to come, we will not be shocked when they occur. But we can also take comfort in knowing that Jesus also suffered. He understands our fears, our weaknesses, and our disappointments (see 2:16–18; 4:14–16). He promised never to leave us (Matthew 28:18–20), and he intercedes on our behalf (7:24–25). In times of pain, persecution, or suffering, trust confidently in Christ.
11:36 Some were mocked, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons. These descriptions could apply to many people who lived by faith—including some who were part of the community of the original readers of this epistle. Many Christians were persecuted and punished for their faith in the ways listed in verses 36–37.
They were
• mocked—like Elisha (2 Kings 2:23–25), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:12);
• cut open with whips—like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:15);
• chained in dungeons—like Joseph (Genesis 40:15), Samson (Judges 16:21), Micaiah (1 Kings 22:26–27), Hanani (2 Chronicles 16:10), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:16; 38:6).11:37–38 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. More examples of unwavering faith included other people:
• They were stoned—like Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20–21); according to Jerome, Jeremiah was stoned at the hands of Jewish Egyptians because he denounced their idolatry.
• They were sawed in two—like Isaiah, presumably. Although we do not know for sure, tradition (from the apocryphal book, The Ascension of Isaiah, chapters 1–5) says that the prophet Isaiah was sawed in half at the command of King Manasseh because Isaiah had predicted the destruction of the temple. Isaiah had at first escaped and hid in the trunk of a tree while in the hill country. Manassah supposedly had the tree sawed in half with Isaiah in it.
• They were put to death by the sword—although some prophets did escape death by the sword, others did not (see 1 Kings 19:10).
Many of God’s followers who lived before Christ and many who have lived after Christ have been persecuted. When they were destitute, persecuted and mistreated they were sometimes forced to live in the wilderness apart from others. Despite their difficult lot, the writer of Hebrews claims that the world was not worthy of them. These people were great men and women of faith. Scars are the price which every believer pays for his loyalty to Christ.William Hendricksen 11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. All of the above people mentioned by name and those alluded to were all commended for their faith. These people looked forward to a better day and salvation, but none of them received what had been promised in this life. Of course, they saw some of God’s promises fulfilled, but not the promises that referred to the new covenant and the promised eternal kingdom. These people did not live to see the kingdom arrive, but their future citizenship was secure there. Thus, they were able to endure suffering. God did not forget or neglect them; “all” were commended for their faith. They maintained their faith because they were not content with the success of the visible world. They maintained their faith by continually looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises. Hebrews 11 has been called faith’s “hall of fame.” No doubt the author surprised his readers by this conclusion: these mighty Jewish heroes did not receive God’s full reward because they died before Christ came. In God’s plan, they and the Christian believers (who were also enduring much testing) would be rewarded together. 11:40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. The something better that God has in mind refers to the new covenant, so that only together with us would they be made perfect. The forefathers did not receive this “something better”; rather, it is experienced by those who live after the death and resurrection of Christ, for he is the one who introduced the new covenant and the new promises (see commentary on 1:2). There is a solidarity among believers (see 12:23). Old and New Testament believers will be glorified together. Not only are we one in the body of Christ with all those alive, but we are also one with all those who ever lived. One day all believers will share in the promised blessing with Christ. We will then be complete and perfect in him.
Rkhughes - EMPOWERED FOR PERSEVERANCE (VV. 35B–39)Now to balance the record, the writer changes the emphasis by showing that faith also provides a different empowerment—the power to persevere to the end. Perseverance in Persecution The switch comes abruptly in the middle of verse 35 and on through 36 where the writer describes the power to persevere in persecution: “Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.” The apparent reference here is to the Maccabean persecution because the word for “tortured” has etymological reference to the tympanum, a large drum or wheel on which Maccabean victims were stretched and beaten or even dismembered. Second Maccabees details the gruesome torture of a ninety-year-old priest, Eleazar, who refused to eat swine’s flesh (6:18–31), and then goes on to recount the even more revolting accounts of the systematic torture of seven brothers for the same reason (7:1–42). Each of them could have been released if they had compromised, but each categorically refused—the reason being, as our text explains, “so that they might gain a better resurrection” (v. 35b). Better? How can one resurrection be “better” than another? Is one slow and another like a rocket launching? What is meant here? It is a “better resurrection” because it is a resurrection not just back to life on this earth, as happened to women’s sons mentioned in verse 34, but a resurrection to everlasting life in the world to come. Significantly, the Maccabean accounts of the torture of the seven brothers carry the words of heroic encouragement by their mother based on her hope of the resurrection:I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in hismercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws. (2 Maccabees 7:22, 23) The point of these macabre examples is that through faith God’s children can experience triumphant perseverance—even preferring torture to compromise and release.
Perseverance to Death The preacher moves on to explicitly remind his little church that some of the faithful persevered even to death: “They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword” (v. 37a). Since stones are plentiful in Palestine, they were often the murderous weapons of choice against the prophets. Jesus mourned this fact, crying out: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together” (Matthew 23:37). As to being sawed asunder, there is no record of this happening to a martyr in the Bible. However, the writer here draws on a non-Biblical haggadah in Ascension of Isaiah, which asserts that the prophet Isaiah was sawn in two by the false prophets of Manasseh, who stood by “laughing and rejoicing,” and that “he neither cried aloud nor wept, but his lips spake with the Holy Spirit until he was sawn in twain” (5:1, 2, 14). And, of course, untold numbers of the faithful were devoured in a more conventional manner by the sword. So we see that although some “escaped the edge of the sword” through faith (v. 34), others, equally faithful, suffered its pain. But through faith they persevered to death whether stoned or sawed or stabbed. What power! Perseverance in Deprivation Lastly, there were those of the faithful who knew deprivation: “They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (vv. 37b, 38). The calculated irony here is that the world has rejected such people, and yet the world does not deserve to have them even if it were to accept them. So much for the prosperity gospel! Here are saints who are so holy and so full of faith that the world is not worthy to contain them, and yet they are called to persevere in persecution, deprivation, and death. Not only that, but the reason they are able to persevere is their great faith! Christians under the oppressive old paganism of Roman culture were to take note, and so must we in the darkening neo-paganism of our day. Now, what was the result for those who were faithful in persecution, deprivation, and death? Beautifully, it was and is the same as for those who experienced great public triumphs in their lives (the Noahs and Moseses and Gideons). First, they “were all commended for their faith” (v. 39a). This is the way the chapter began—“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (vv. 1, 2)—and this is how it ends. All the faithful (the known and unknown, the famously triumphant and those who anonymously persevered in suffering) were “commended for their faith.” God forgets no one who loves and serves him! It is his great pleasure to commend faith! The second result is that “none”—that is, none of the great triumphant members of the Hall of Faith or those who persevered without earthly triumphs—“none of them received what had been promised” (v. 39b). Although many promises had been given and fulfilled in their lifetimes, they did not receive the great promise—namely, the coming of the Messiah and salvation in him. Every one of the faithful in Old Testament times died before Jesus appeared. They entered Heaven with the promise unfulfilled.
Why is this? The answer is given in our final verse: “God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (v. 40). No one was “made perfect” under the Old Covenant, because Christ had not yet died. They were saved, but not until Jesus’ work on the cross was complete could salvation be perfect. Their salvation looked ahead to what Christ would do. Ours looks back to what he has done—and ours is perfect. The surpassing excellence of this is that the faithful of all the ages would not be made perfect apart from Christians. As Leon Morris says: Salvation is social. It concerns the whole people of God. We can experience it only as part of the whole people of God. As long as the believers in Old Testament times were without those who are in Christ, it was impossible for them to experience the fullness of salvation. Furthermore, it is what Christ has done that opens the way into the very presence of God for them as for us. Only the work of Christ brings those of Old Testament times and those of the new and living way alike into the presence of God. All the faithful of all the ages are made perfect in Christ. We are all in it together—from Abel to Rahab—from Paul to Billy Graham. And the message to the embattled little church, and to us, is: how great our advantage! Right here, while we walk on earth, we have the perfection of Christ. And it is so much better under the New Covenant. We now have a high priest who has offered a perfect sacrifice for our sins once and for all. Our Savior/priest sits at the right hand of the Father and prays for us. We have, then, a better hope!
How much easier it is for us to walk in faith—even if the walk is down the shadowy roads of neo-pagan culture. We are called to a dynamic certainty on the basis of God’s Word. It is a future certainty that makes the future as if it were present. It is a visual certainty that brings the invisible into view.This is survival truth! We must not succumb to the delusion that gentle rain and sunshine will continue to fall on the church in America as the culture sinks further into neo-paganism. What foolishness! How ahistorical. What ego! What hubris to imagine that the church will sail untouched through the bloody seas.Those who have ears, let them hear God’s steeling Word through the saints of old!
Reformation - § 11:40 something better … apart from us. This verse asserts both the redemptive-historical difference between the Old Testament and New Testament periods, and the unity of the people of God in both eras. Though the Old Testament believers lived by faith (10:38), they were not privileged to witness on earth the fulfillment of the great promise of God. Nevertheless, they too participate in the benefits of Christ’s high-priestly work, and, along with new covenant saints, they are “made perfect.” Those of the old and new eras together await the perfection that will appear only at the Second Coming (12:26; 13:14; Rom. 8:18; Eph. 1:9, 10).
Jn 15:20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also
Job 1:1-5 VS Job 1:6-21
1:20-22 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing!
James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 5:11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Rom.5:3-4 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
1Cor.13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
2Thess 1:4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
“planned” [cf Sept] Ps 37:13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he “knows” their day is coming……..προβλέπω, to see beforehand, implying the need is seen beforehand
Heb. 1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:4,16; 12:24
Heb.2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
Heb.10:15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
tortured. The word indicates that they were beaten to death while strapped to some sort of rack (2Macc. 6,7 about Eleazar and the mother with 7 sons who were martyrs).