Hebrews 13:1-17
Various Exhortations In Heb 13:1-17, the author presents a series of exhortations to his readers. In Heb 13:1, he tells them to "keep on loving one another as brothers," which is self-explanatory. He then tells them not to forget to entertain strangers (Heb 13:2), and as a warrant for this adds, "For by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." How the author knows this is not stated, but precedent for the fact that sometimes the strangers who apparently need hospitality are actually angels is found in the Old Testament (Gen 18:2-15; 19:1-14; Judg 6:11-18; 13:3-22; see also Tobit 12:1-20). In Heb 13:3, the author exhorts his readers to "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Those in prison (for their faith) and suffering are believers from their midst (Heb 10:32-34). He then says that “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure" (Heb 13:4). There follows a warrant for this exhortation: "For God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." He is convinced that sexually immorality will always eventually lead to an undesirable outcome, which he identifies as God's judgment. In Heb 13:5-6, the author exhorts his readers to "keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have." There follows a warrant in the form of a promise for this exhortation: "Because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' (Deut 31:6). So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Ps 118:6-7). These two scriptures quoted by the author are passages in which God promises to provide for and protect his own. His point is that the love of money sometimes masks a fear that one may not have enough of what is necessary to live; thus, to be satisfied with what one has is an expression of faith. He then instructs them to "remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith" (Heb 13:7). Who these leaders are and their relation to the readers is not known. After this, the author makes the statement: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). In spite of the obvious christological importance of such a statement, it is not immediately clear what the author means by this. Probably, he is affirming Jesus' constancy in his role as mediator of the new covenant (see Heb 7:24-25).
The author then warns his readers against being carried away by all
kinds of strange teachings, instructing them to have their hearts "strengthened
by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who
eat them" (Heb 13:9-10). The nature of the strange teaching is not stated,
but must involve the observance of the Jewish dietary laws, which the
author considers to be spiritually useless. Rather, the readers are
to receive grace (charis) from God. As already indicated, for
the author grace is God's help to human beings (see Heb 4:16), which
comes apart from all ritual observance. The author adds a partial warrant
for the exhortation: "We have an altar from which those who minister
at the tabernacle have no right to eat." He means that believers
have an "altar" (i.e., sacrifice) superior to the one in Jerusalem:
the heavenly altar in the heavenly tabernacle, where Christ offered
his own blood, as it were (see Heb 9:11-12, 24). The benefits of
this sacrifice is a spiritual "food," symbolic of the
benefits derived from the work of Christ. Thus, given this warrant,
the strange teaching to which the readers were drawn also probably included
continued participation in the Temple cult. In Heb 13:11-14, the author
exhorts his readers to be willing to identify with Christ in disregard
of all opposition. He explains, "The high priest carries the blood
of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies
are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside
the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us,
then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For
here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city
that is to come." The author expects his readers to identify with
Christ even if this means suffering and disgrace; their ultimate hope
is eternal life, symbolized as "the city that is to come"
(see R. Johnson, Outside the Camp, 74-80). He then exhorts
his readers, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer
to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his
name" (Heb 13:15); he uses the metaphor of sacrifice and offerings
to God to depict praising God (see Ps. Sol. 15.3; 1QS 9.4-5
for parallels). He adds "And do not forget to do good and to share
with others" (Heb 13:16). There follows a warrant for this for
exhortation: "With such sacrifices God is pleased." Finally,
he tells them to "obey your leaders and submit to their authority"
(Heb 13:17). There also follows a warrant for this exhortation:
"They keep watch over you as men who must give an account."
The exhortation continues: "In order that their work may be
a joy, not a burden." There also follows a warrant for this second
exhortation: "For that would be of no advantage to you." Again
who these leaders are is unknown. Discussion Questions 1. What sense do you make of the author's claim that the readers have shown hospitality to angels without realizing it? 2. How might a believer be required to "go to Christ outside the camp, bearing the disgrace that he bore"?
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