Benediction (13:18-25)

Throughout the letter to the Hebrews we have been looking at being fit for the Kingdom (Lk.9:62); putting our hand to the plough and not looking back.  We have a destiny in God.  We want to live in it and to be well-placed to serve Him in it.  We want to run the race, to finish the course and to receive the prize.

Now as we reach the end of the letter, the writer shows his wonderful pastoral heart as he expresses his personal desire to be with the readers again (13:18-19).  This tenderness reminds us that this is not just a collection of philosophical or abstract ideas, but, because it is based upon Christ, relationships of love form the heart of it all.  It’s as if he is saying to the readers, “I want to run this race with you; I want to walk by your side”.

Out of this tenderness he finishes, perhaps where we should always finish, especially since we started with the superiority of Christ, with the great benediction (13:20-21).  It is actually a benediction in two parts: what God has done in Christ, and what God is doing in Christ.

Our God is a God of peace, power (resurrection) and tenderness; He is the great Shepherd.  And through the blood of the eternal covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus, He has made us His own.  He doesn’t leave it there, having done such a great work, but He then equips us with everything good to do His will.  He works in us to do what pleases Him (cf. Ps.115:3, 135:6).  That work in us isn’t a ‘hammer and tongs’ work, but a beautifully crafted symphonic poem.  The work that God does in us and in our churches is a delight to Him; changing us and helping us to make it through to the end is a joy to the Father.  May we ever see it in the same manner!

As the letter started, so it finishes - it is all through Christ, the one who is superior to all things.  Our response to it all, to His superiority and our position in Him, is to shout together with the writer, “Glory to God, forever and ever, amen!”

May my final words echo that of the writer to the Hebrews (13:25), “Grace be with all of you”. 

Love (13:1-17)

Love gives substance to our faith and hope.  If we want to see the harvest of fruit in our lives, then at some point we have to put the hand to the plough!  To avoid slipping away from the faith, and to be fit for the Kingdom, we have to flesh out our love.  It is right to say that love is the obligation of faith and hope.

Firstly, love is a community obligation (13:1-6).  There is a societal obligation to love, to fulfill the commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Mk.12:33).  We love the brothers, strangers (hospitality was a key virtue of the early Church), prisoners and those mistreated.  Part of this community obligation is the marital obligation to love.  Where love exists in a marriage, and where marriage is treasured in a home, love for society flows.  There is personal security and contentment in a communal obligation to love.  It is based on something very simple: love God, or love things.  If we love God, we can rest assured that He will never leave nor abandon us.

Secondly, love is a Church obligation (13:7-17).  There is a togetherness that we seek as Christians, and this is based on love.  This letter to the Hebrews is written out of a pastoral concern for its readers, and so the writer of the letter reveals four overarching Church love obligations that will help prevent a drifting away from the faith.

He writes of a faithful love (13:7-8), built on the fact that Jesus never changes.  It is that love which enables us to remember those who have influence over us, to consider, and to act and speak in faith, hope and love, just as they do.

He writes, too, of a doctrinal love (13:9-11); a love of the truth.  That truth is not just a matter of dogma and academics.  Christian love is founded on grace, not religious ceremony…it’s what is inside that counts!  It is God’s truth that must be in us.  The Church is the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1Tim.3:15).  It is that truth which shows us how we are to live and behave in the household of grace.

In addition we are told of a living love (13:12-16).  A living love is one which is holy, worshipful and giving.  It is holy in that it needs to be felt.  It is living for Jesus despite what anyone else thinks - a love that goes “outside the camp” - a love formed by Christ, not by rules or expectations of men.  It is worshipful in that it needs to be heard.  It is giving, in that it needs to be seen.  Our deeds must match our praises; we must both sing and serve.  A living love is a giving love, and this is pleasing to God and brings joy to man.

Lastly, we are told about a submissive love (13:17); a love that grows around obedience, care and joy.  This is a love that has mutual advantage at its heart, that in loving each other we all benefit.

It is this kind of love, the obligation of faith and hope, which gives us strength and endurance to be fit for the Kingdom and to finish the race well.

Hope (12:1-29)

Faith - for life, for promise, for redemption - is given in the past, for the future, to be lived in the present.  Hope is about endurance and perseverance as we live out that faith - “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (Rom.5:3-5).  Our hope is refined in the furnace of endurance.  Anyone can hope when the barn is full, but can we hope when all we have is a handful of seed to sow (Ps.126:6)?

Our Christian life is a race.  It is not one in which we will someday participate - we are in a race already.  In that race we will not be sidelined, nor are there any withdrawals; we are in it to the end.  Since we are in it to the end, we might as well run so as to win the prize (Phi.3:14)!

When I was struggling along running the Comrades Marathon, there was a certain stretch, called Harrison Flats, that was very depressing: my body was suffering, thoughts of bailing out were frequent, and there were very few spectators to cheer the runners on.  So I took to running signposts: I would say, “Just to the next sign…just to the next big tree…just…”, until I had made it through.  In the race of life we sometimes have to look out for the signposts, signposts of hope.

Remember the witnesses (12:1).  Remember all those who have gone before and all that has happened before.  There is so much we can learn from others who have been through it all.  Through many trials and hardships I am thankful that there have been people that have been through similar trials and have helped me through mine (cf. 2Cor.1:3-4).

Run lightly.  Lay aside the burden of sin, which so easily wears us out; the “dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life” (Lk.21:34); the “anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language” (Col.3:8).  These burdens affect our endurance and diminish our hope.  The race is long, so run it lightly!

Consider Jesus (12:2-3).  Look to His life, death, resurrection and ascension as the source of our hope.  He has gone before us; He has made the way.  He did it for the joy the Father set before Him, so perhaps we should consider the joy set before us (joy is the one thing given to us that we will be allowed to take into heaven (Jude 24)).  He is the author and perfecter and our hope is secure because He started it and He will finish it.

Embrace discipline (12:4-11).  Endurance trials are a reminder that we are God’s children.  It can be painful at the time, but a source of comfort if we would just consider it.

Rise up (12:12-13).  Hope lifts us; it drags us up by our bootstraps.  Too much introspection causes spiritual weariness and discouragement.  We must have a strong and confident hope which breeds courage for those who struggle.  We are called to “build up” (Eph.4:16) - to be on the up, not always on a downer.

Live aright (12:14-17).  “See to it”.  A good relationship with God and men increases the joy of hope.  We must help one another to live rightly as mutual supervision stimulates spiritual health.  This is often an area that modern Christianity shies away from, in case we are accused of legalism, but it is important that we learn to take up our collective pastoral duty.  How does it help with hope?  Watching out for each other helps us to remember that we’re not in it alone!

Refocus on God (12:18-24).  We serve a God who is a festal God, one who delights in us.  He is not the “nasty” God, the wrathful tyrant.  There is no hope in fear, but knowledge of a God who delights in us increases our hope of seeing Him.

Receive gratefully (12:25-28).  What should we receive that increases our hope?  The Word - listen to the Lord - and the Kingdom. Living with continual thanksgiving in our hearts (and from our lips) helps us when our reserves of hope begin to dwindle.

Reverently worship (12:28-29).  Hope comes with reverence and awe, because of who God is.  We must let Him inspire our hope.  We endure because of Him, not because we feel good.  Our hope is the crown of righteousness (2Tim.4:7-8) - the joy of right-standing with God for ever.

Faith (11:1-40)

Faith belongs to that overarching theme that is the vastness and magnificence of God’s inheritance for us.  Faith is not a spatial or temporal concept that is limited in scope or time.  Faith is for the greatness of the future that is God’s (and thus ours in Christ).

We often want or have faith for small things without considering the bigger implications.  For example, we want faith for a job, but we seldom consider the bigger issue of being salt and light in the workplace; we struggle with faith for finances, yet without concern for the fruit of generosity!  Being fit for the Kingdom means that we consider the harvest, not just the ploughing.  We don’t have faith just for the straight line (although it is certainly necessary, especially when we lose sight of the marker), but for the harvest that will come.                 

Faith must be exercised from the believer’s position, which is a personal confidence in an open heaven.  A reminder is needed that this letter, Hebrews, was written to people in danger of falling away.  Perhaps their certainty in an open heaven had diminished.  So the writer has to remind them again about faith - a confident faith that is expressed even when facing blatant unbelief (cf. 4:2).

It is not easy to give a concise definition of faith, as it is more easily seen in its fruit, but an attempt may be to state that it is a “confident, certain assurance”; it is found in adhering to the promises of God, depending on the Word of God and being faithful to the Son of God.

The writer takes much of this portion of the letter to admonish the readers through the power of example.  These are broken down into ‘covenant watersheds’: those of life, promise and redemption.  It is the flow of the redemptive story of God right through from the beginning of Creation.

Life (11:3-7) - God gives life at Creation.  Abel is a constant witness to that life, even paying the ultimate price for it.  Enoch is an example of a constant walk in that life, eventually superseding life itself!  Noah lived in constant obedience to that life, a constant pattern of faith in the face of unbelief.  Faith in the life that comes from God brings the very reward of life (v.6).

Promise (11:8-22) - God gives promises.  He gave promises to Abraham.  Abraham accepted and lived in the reality of those promises even though he never got to see them in his 175 years. 

Why is it that as modern Christians we always assume that we will walk in temporal inheritance?  Maybe we need reminding that faith has no time guarantee, only a result guarantee.  We cannot accurately predict the exact time of harvest, but we can predict the fruit (cf. Jesus’ rebuke in Lk.12:56).  If we have an apple tree, we may not know the precise date when apples will be perfectly ripe for plucking, but we will know with certainty that it will be apples that are plucked!  Abraham did not look at the process of salvation, but at its conclusion.  He lived in the promise, even if he never got to see its conclusion.  Could we have as much faith?  To be fit for the Kingdom requires it, so that we don’t get disillusioned when the ‘inheritance’ does not seem to be happening.

Abraham could not “look back” because he had responded in faith to God.  We are all aliens and strangers here, so we don’t attach ourselves too firmly to this life.  We look forward to a promise, and we are prepared to consider what lies beyond our own horizon.

Isaac was the recipient of God’s favour.  He blessed his sons - he blessed one generation.  It is worth noting that he blessed both his sons, even though only one continued in a godly manner.  Parents with children that have wandered from God need to remember this principle: our children are precious and all need blessing!

Jacob was the recipient of God’s legacy.  The twelve tribes will be there in eternity as the very gates of heaven itself - now that is some legacy!  Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph - two generations.  Our legacy is seen not in just those who come after us but in those that come after them too.

Joseph was the recipient of God’s redemptive purpose.  He would begin the redemptive plan for Israel that would happen 400 years in the future.  He blessed multiple generations.  The promise of God binds us in a faith that transcends generations.  We must have faith for those who come after us.  We may not see them walk in their promises in our lifetime, but we pray for it nonetheless.

Redemption (11:23-38) - God rescues.  He rescued through Moses, a man whose faith was set apart, courageous, sacrificial, reward-seeking, persevering, passed-over and passing through.  Moses was faced with choices to deny or to accept what God was doing.  To be fit for the Kingdom means that, like Moses, we need to make the right choices.

We need a reminder, too, not just of the great heroes of redemption, but all the many who have gone before, those who I like to call, “Conquerors, Kings and Kin-folk” - the triumphs and tragedies of real people living in real faith.

There are those with mountain-moving faith (Jericho - note the faith of the people, it was a collective faith!  Never underestimate the power of the faith of people acting together).  There are those with unbounded faith, a faith with no barriers - Rahab was not your regular saint, and in fact the only thing she knew was that the Israelite God was stronger than whatever god she was used to, and God counted that as righteous.  God regards our faith in His greatness over our position in life, age, sex or wealth!  Then there were those with a minority-majority faith (Gideon); no matter how puny they thought they were, with God they were the majority.  And then there was conquering faith (David); a prayer-filled faith (Samuel); even a lion-killing faith (Samson)! 

This is the kind of faith we have been redeemed for and which we must walk in.  We have the privilege of more than just a promise, and we in no way miss out on the reward of faith.  And that is the common thread - “by faith”.  By faith we receive life - eternal life; by faith we receive the promises - yes and amen, fulfilled; by faith we receive redemption - the salvation of our souls.  “We are not of those who shrink back” (10:39); we are of those of faith; those who endure; those who receive.  We are fit for the Kingdom because we live in faith: confident, assured and certain, looking to the life, promise and redemption of God in Christ Jesus.

Playing the Game (10:18-39)

Imagine being invited to play a game without being told where it is played, whether on land or in the water, nor what its aims are, and without having the rules explained.  How would we be prepared to play?  How would we dress?  What equipment would we need?  Do we have opponents?  Is it a team game?

When it comes to being fit for the Kingdom, it is necessary to know that there are some “rules of play”.  We might say that they constitute the believer’s position.

We need to have a confidence in our position.  We need to be assured that, as believers, we have an open heaven: the veil is torn and we have full access to an open heaven (Lk.23:45).  We can have full confidence because of all that Christ has done and is (cf. 4:16).  Like Paul we can state with conviction that, “I know whom I have believed” (2Tim.1:12).  Most of all, this revelation is not something that is just academic, the blood of Jesus makes it personal (cf. 2:11).

Apart from knowing our position, we need to play to win.  Seeing as we are good Christians, we don’t cheat, and we play according to the rules.  There are three main rules to playing the game which are wonderfully expanded through the rest of the letter, but are summarised in this portion as a precursor of what is to come.  These rules are nothing less than the measure of a church: faith, hope and love.  Faith (10:22) has to do with the open heaven; it is expounded in ch.11.  Hope (10:23) has to do with our confidence and is confirmed in the persevering section of ch.12.  Love (10:24), and its practical and personal outworking, is revealed in ch.13.

“Let us draw near” (10:22).  Faith is our individual responsibility.  We draw near to God through prayer, with a true and sincere heart, without deceit, honest, genuine and committed, in full assurance, knowing that there is no reason why our access to God will be denied.  Our great High Priest never loses sight of those who belong to the household of God (cf. Jn.6:39).  If we fully accept the Gospel, then we can have complete confidence, confessing it boldly and showing courage toward man.  We draw near with our hearts sprinkled, having our inner attitudes and consciences cleansed, and with our “bodies” - our outward acts - washed.

“Let us hold fast” (10:23).  Hope is made known by professing and is based on the faithfulness of God, not on our own strength.  Our hope must be actualised.  It relies on faith, and looks to the future, with a confident expectation that Christ will fulfill all His promises in us.

“Let us consider” (10:24).  Love is a social responsibility that we put into practice.  Although something more than individual effort is needed; in fact, communal action is vital.  As Paul reminds us, loving one another is a continuing debt (Rom.13:8); loving doesn’t just happen, it needs to be stirred up!  Love isn’t always a silent thing, something we do whilst sitting on the sofa at home, feeling all warm and fuzzy.  No, the scriptures tell us that it is love and good works: we need practical outcomes of works that are visibly noble (cf. 1Pet.2:12).

Just as important as it is to know our position in the game, and to know the rules, it is also necessary to know the playing infringements.  Most games have offside rules, and rules for fouls.  To be fit for the Kingdom we need to know some of the ways we can infringe during play.

“Let us…not forsake” (10:25).  Faith, hope and love are worked out in gathering together as believers.  It is that simple.  Attendance at gatherings of the church is a visible and demonstrative expression of a love for Jesus.  Really…how can we say that we love Jesus but have no regard for His Body?!  Sometimes we forget the revelation that when we gather Jesus is present.  And He desires our presence!  The writer is not trying to manipulate people to maintain numbers in his church - there is a grim warning here, that if we abandon gathering, sin is not far behind, and its end result is the dreadful prospect of falling into “the hands of the living God” (10:31).

To avoid the infringing, being fit for the Kingdom means that we need to pay attention.  We must pay attention to the knowledge of the truth (10:26), to God’s judgement (10:27), and to the days of enlightenment (10:32).  If we pay attention we will not spurn the Son of God, nor profane His work and thereby outrage the Spirit of grace (10:29).

We stand together before an open heaven, confident in the finished work of Jesus Christ for each of us (10:34-39).  He enables us to play the game - to know the game we play and to play by the rules.  We must remain true to our confession, demonstrating our love, as we seek the fellowship of the saints.

A Superior Mediator (9:15-10:18)

In the letter to the Hebrews  we discover a third aspect of Jesus’ superiority: that of the superior Mediator.  What does that mean for us; how is it applied to our lives?  How does it make us fit for the Kingdom, able to endure to the end?

Jesus came as the mediator of a new covenant so that “those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (9:15).  In order for us to be fit for the Kingdom, and to persevere on the road marked out for us, we need to be confident in what Jesus comes to mediate on our behalf.

A mediator speaks of conditions and promises (9:16-17), and, in our case, specifically our conditions toward God and His promises toward us.  Our conditions toward God could not be kept through the Law, and because our conditions could not be met, God couldn’t open His promises to us.  Christ came to make a way so that our conditions could be met, and so that God’s promises to us could be fulfilled.

As the Mediator, He mediates our presence.  Christ enters heaven into God’s presence and so makes a way for us (9:24).  Without Christ’s blood God does not open heaven to us and does not accept our living sacrifices.  Now though, the mediating shed blood of Christ makes us more delightful than angels!

He mediates our purity.  Throughout the letter the writer shows that any outward regulated worship fails to make the worshipper holy (10:1-4).  It wasn’t that there was something essentially wrong with the Law, but it was the sacrifices that were not efficacious enough to make anyone holy.  The annual return of the high priest proved their ineffectiveness, and worshippers continued to feel their guilt.  To live in the guilt of not having sins forgiven is a heavy burden.

This results in a vocabulary of, “I must try better next time”.  But the next time we will still fall short!  Our sacrifice would not be sufficient.  Now, however, “we have been sanctified” (10:10) indicates that at a given moment someone acted on our behalf to sanctify us, and we have become pure.  His sacrifice removes sin and breaks the power of sin.  A “next time” is not necessary.  After He removed our sin, He sat down - as God did at Creation - to allow us to live as God intended and designed us.  Christ’s sacrifice covers what has gone before, even to the creation of the world (9:26), and covers what is to come.  When He returns He will not come to remove sin - He did that the first time (9:27-28) - but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

He mediates our promises.  Every believer now receives the promised benefits (10:14-18) of right standing with God: forgiveness, a cleansed conscience, peace with God, assurance of salvation, fellowship with God and eternal life.  What amazing promises Christ mediates on our behalf!

Christ, the mediator of a new and better covenant, cleanses the conscience of those receiving salvation in order “to serve the living God” (9:14).  To be fit for the Kingdom we must learn to live in what has been mediated.  What Christ has achieved must move us from intent to action.  Intent shows desire, but action reveals commitment (cf. Jas.1:22).

The letter to the Hebrews up to this point (10:18) is the backdrop for all the specific teachings that follow.  If one were to teach of love, good works, fellowship, leadership or finances on their own, they would just blend into the surrounds of culture and life.  After all, it is not the sole mandate of Christians to talk of love or generosity or leadership.  Instead, each of the specific teachings needs to be seen, and practiced, in silhouette against the superiority of Jesus Christ - the superior originator, High Priest, and mediator.

Altar Etiquette

In discussing the role of High Priest, we could perhaps take a brief detour to discuss something of the role of the altar; in particular what we might term altar etiquette.  A passage which reveals the insufficiency of our own altars and also how we should approach the altar at which the superior High Priest ministers, is described for us:

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.  You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.  An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen.  In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.  If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.  And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.” (Ex.20:22-26)

(I am indebted to some of these themes from R. Kendall Soulen’s book, “The Divine Name(s) and the Holy Trinity”[1])

Everything begins with the revelation, as we saw in the Prologue to the letter of the Hebrews, that God has spoken - “I have talked with you from heaven”.  That statement demands our attention.  We must listen to what follows!

No idols.  God is unique and must be held so.  There must be nothing of our self-creation or our own design; we must put nothing alongside God, whether family, career, personal time, finances, or anything else.  Those things that we put alongside in reality are the real gods in our lives.  To put anything alongside Him will eventually lead us toward apostasy.

No dressed stones.  God is present with us, so we bring nothing of self-making, nothing added to God; none of our own works.  Oh and how easily we think that we can offer something better, sometimes even thinking we are a new-and-improved Jesus-model!  We try our best to impress, when we should do our best because we are impressed!

No nakedness.  We ought not to reveal our shame on the altar as it is the place where God blesses us.  We must not bring anything of self-revelation; nothing against God.  The hiding of genitalia became a sign of shame for Adam (and mankind) in his sin as he realised he and the woman were naked (Adam didn’t say, "God I disobeyed", but, "God I'm naked"!).  It became a picture of that which alienated Man from God, and at the altar God does not want our shame to be the focus, because as High Priest Jesus has purified us from our sin.

To summarise the etiquette of the altar: impress no-one; prove nothing; make no excuses.  To be fit for the Kingdom we need to let God use us as we are, for who we are, with what we have.  If we will work with what we have, God will cause His name to be honoured and remembered; we respond by honouring Him, and He will come and He will bless. 

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[1]               Soulen, R. K. “The Divine Name(s) and the Holy Trinity: Distinguishing the Voices, Vol.1”, (WJK, 2011)

A Superior High Priest (5:11-9:14)

The desire among God’s people for a High Priest was not altogether wrong, after all it was a system that God Himself introduced, but a human High Priest would never be sufficient.  Primarily it is because he could never sacrifice himself for he was not without blemish.  Therefore a substitute would always be required.  And because a substitute is required, it had better be the best there is - and that is why we need a High Priest direct from God.  Really…what better sacrifice could there be than the one given direct from God, even God Himself?

The sacrifice had to be of God's work, not man's work (cf. Ex.20:22-26).  If, indeed, something did need Man's work, it had to be made exactly according to God's blueprint.  The blueprint for a sacrifice was a death - the death of something of God, not something of man.  This was shown to Adam right in the beginning: God sacrificed an animal that He had created, not anything that came from Adam’s making or growing.  The most perfect sacrifice then would have to be the most perfect thing of God, and that was His own Son.

This portion of the letter to the Hebrews (5:11-14) contains a strong rebuke.  If faith weakens it leads to unbelief, which leads on to disobedience, and finally to apostasy.  The writer wants them to be aware of the implications of Jesus' High Priesthood; it is fundamental to growth and maturity.

As High Priest Jesus became like us, in order to reveal a perfect 'us'.  He came to perfectly represent us to the Father, and the Father to us.  We don't have to come to our High Priest just for forgiveness; we come to Him for the whole disclosure of God - His compassion, mercy, truth, faithfulness, longsuffering, love and forgiveness. 

We have a High Priest… and it is not us!  Jesus came as our High Priest, not as someone who could fail, but one who is superior in everything.  He shows us a better way, with better things, built on a better foundation; a foundation that is unchangeable (6:17-20, cf. 7:21).  His ways are perfect forever, sealed with an oath, steadfast and true.  He provides a better salvation (6:9), and we have a better hope (7:19), secured for us in heaven (Col.1:5).  He offers a better covenant (7:22), guaranteed to save us to the uttermost (7:25).  He holds out a better promise (8:6); a promise that we will know Him (8:10-12), and that we will receive mercy and forgiveness (8:12).

A Superior Originator (1:5-5:10)

Jesus is the superior originator; all things originate from Him (1:2) - "one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1Cor.8:6).  In particular, He is the originator of glory.  He is the originator of faith - He is its author and perfecter (12:2).  He is superior to angels, superior to Moses, superior to Joshua and superior to Aaron.  As powerful as each of these were in their time, and even though they played a significant part in the history of God's people, originating different things in their dealings among them, they could not originate or bring the people into glory, only Jesus could.

Angels (1:5-2:18) Angels have power - they brought a message that was binding (2:2) - and every disobedience to their message would be punished.  But it was not as great and binding as the message that Jesus brought: the great and glorious message of salvation.  It is such a superior message that the angels longed to look into it but were unable to (1Pet.1:12).

A brief comparison of the superiority of Jesus to angels puts things into perspective.  Angels don’t have the glory; it was given to Jesus (2:9).  They didn’t become like us, but Jesus did - to restore and re-affirm glory (2:10).  They could never understand us, but Jesus became like us and knows how we are tempted (2:18).  They serve the recipients of God’s glory - those destined for salvation (1:14) - they are not here to be served (Col.2:18).  They do not rule; the enemy is not subject to their judgement.  God’s glory does not help them, but helps those who receive His glory.   Man was created to be the image of God - the “carriers of glory” - not angels!

Jesus' superiority is a source of great comfort and security for us.  If the content of the message of salvation is superior to the message of angels, then the "binding" of that message upon us is more superior to the binding of the message of the angels.  It confirms the permanence - the binding - of our salvation.

Moses (3:1-19)  Since we are considering the superiority of Jesus to other key figures, a continued comparison is in order:  Moses.  Perhaps more than any other he had the greatest impact on the life of Israel.  Yet we see that where Moses performed miracles, Jesus is the miracle!  Whilst Moses was faithful in the house as a servant, Jesus is the Son of the house.  Moses was faithful in the house, but God built the house.  Moses spoke of things to come; Jesus was that which came. 

Moses' greatest task was bringing deliverance to Israel; he led them to freedom from the oppression of Egypt.  Jesus, however, brought the greater deliverance; He brought a freedom that is spiritual and eternal, not merely physical, geographical or sociological. 

It is worth noting that circumstantial deliverance doesn't bring freedom, but only relief.  In fact, it does not even necessarily release faith!  Scripture is full of example, and so are our churches, of people who have been helped by God through various trials and difficulties, but, once the disaster is past, they soon forget about God who saved them.  Now, because of the superiority of Jesus, we have the security of knowing that we have deliverance and a freedom that is entirely independent of circumstance!

Joshua (4:1-13)  The inclusion of Joshua is interesting.  He brought God's people into their inheritance in the Promised Land, but that was only ever going to be a temporal rest.  He gave people rest from their enemies, but not rest for their hearts (hence their constant disobedience).  Jesus has come to give us a superior rest, an eternal rest, the rest of God.  He gives us a heart-rest even in the presence of our enemies.

  

Aaron (4:14-5:10)  Aaron, the high priest - what a role he played in Israel; what a role the high priest, as an office, continued to play throughout Israel's history.  We will go on to compare more of how Jesus is superior to the priesthood later, but perhaps, for our benefit, the most significant thing is that the high priest could only bring salvation to the people for one year: every year he would have to go before the altar and seek forgiveness for Israel's sin.  But Jesus, our eternal and permanent High Priest, saves us forever, once-and-for-all (10:14).

All of these beings, heavenly or earthly, played a significant role in the story of redemption.  Each in their own way was an originator, be it a message, or a Law, deliverance, a rest or a religious tradition.  To attach some key word to each we could say that angels represent the supernatural, Moses the prophetic, Aaron the religion and Joshua the warfare.  Yet none of them could originate anything eternal.  That privilege belongs to the one who is superior to them all, Jesus Christ.

What does this mean for us?  How does it help us to be fit for service?  It has to be that, even if we consider all that others have done, and are tempted to ascribe to them our allegiance, we serve someone who is far above anything that anyone else can do.  It should fill us with awe and wonder!  And so, to be well-placed in bearing fruit for God, we need to be a priesthood who bring a message of freedom, rest and eternal life to others: the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Superiority of Christ

In order to be fit for the Kingdom, to be well-placed for service, intent on ploughing, planting and bearing fruit for the Father’s glory (Jn.15:8), we have to have the right goal in sight, the perfect goal.  That goal is Jesus; the one who is superior to all others - a superior originator, a superior high priest, and a superior mediator. 

The problem we find in the letter to the Hebrews is one which we find all too often today and is one of putting other people or things alongside Jesus or even above Him!  The writer begins to remind the readers that there is nothing and no-one who can match Jesus; He is as far above all things in superiority as can be imagined; nothing created can even begin to be compared to Him.  He is incomparable.

In a modern culture littered with rampant idolatry and self-obsession we have to constantly be reminded of the superiority of Jesus.  He is the centre of all things.  All things come from Him and exist for Him.  Until we are fully convinced of Jesus’ superiority we are always going to struggle with the temptation to let our lives drift away from what is true.  The writer to the Hebrews knows this, and spends time expounding the superiority of Christ.  We must get to grips with who He is.

Prologue

Prologue (1:1-4)

The letter starts with a glorious seven-fold proclamation of Jesus.  It is like the heralding of the Champion at a tournament - an announcement to all of who it is that takes to the stage.  Here the writer boldly proclaims Jesus as Prophet, Creator, Heir, Image, Upholder, Priest and King!  What a way to describe Him who is our marker; Him who we must keep our eyes fixed upon!

What does this prologue tell us about being fit for the Kingdom?  Firstly, it is an introduction to the superiority of the ruler of that Kingdom, and secondly, it reveals that being fit for the Kingdom is realising that our service is worthwhile; that the One whom we serve is worthy.  In essence it is a statement of intent.

God speaks.  “God spoke” - a statement asserted, not argued.  We must take it or leave it.  I would be so bold as to declare that this is the platform on which the whole letter is founded!  To be fit for the Kingdom of God is to live in the certainty of God speaking (through His various ways and means).  The problem we have is that we still want to live in the “former ways” - it is always a case of, “Speak to me Lord”; always desiring additional, or new, or the latest revelation for our life and circumstance.

Now through the Son an end has come to the imperfect.  It is a recurring theme in the letter, of the past things having given way to something better.  No doubt, there is value in a lot of things on their own merit, but only with Christ are things made perfect.  Christ has come to restore the full Gospel communication - creation, fall, redemption, completion - restoring the capacity for us to hear God speak.

When it comes to God revealing Himself to people, He is best seen in His Son and heard through His Son - if we cannot learn about God through His Son, then nothing else will convince us!  We need to let that establish our vision and underpin our personal and church theology.  It is useless to continue if God makes no revelation to us!

God manifests.  Jesus is the exact representation of God.  Here we have a statement of the Trinity - not explained, just stated.  Again, it is a statement of intent - we either accept it or we do not; either way, it stands as a revelation from God.  We have to learn to be comfortable with His majesty and authority, and to act accordingly in order to be fit for service.

God initiates.  God sustains and upholds.  He carries toward and forward.  We are carried forward by His Word, and He moves us inexorably toward His conclusion, by His Word of power.  We need to know, and be comfortable with knowing, that our ends are not ultimate ends: His end is far superior to all other ends.  God's end is to make us like His Son.  He will make us like Christ.  The problem is that many people (sadly including many Christians!) do not actually want that in this life.

One of the greatest modern needs is the need for nothing to go wrong in our lives.  What we actually need is a gospel confidence in the knowledge that God is carrying us toward a beneficial end.  Jesus is the “starter and finisher of our faith”; “He who began a good work…”; “I know Him to whom I have entrusted…”; “Faith and perseverance inherit the promises”; and, “The race is not to the swift but to those who endure”.

God saves.  What a wonderful statement of intent: God provides purification for sin!  How we need that to be proclaimed as a fact of our lives.  In the past we tried our own ways - as Donald Guthrie writes: "Wherever there is any sense of sin there is generally present a strong desire to be cleansed from it” - but we were never successful, nor could we ever be.  But now, this has been achieved in Christ: “He sat down” - the work is complete.  He is not standing up again and having to come and do it all over.  He is not leaving heaven and the Father's side (until the Father's time is fulfilled) to come again and re-die for our sins: once was enough, and His sitting down is a statement that "it is finished"!

God reigns.  Once again the writer states a profound truth very simply - Christ the Son has all the honour.  He has the superiority over all things (cf. Rom.11:36).  In a world (and in the Church) where God is taken lightly, it is worth making this statement of intent continuously and boldly, that our God reigns (cf. Act.4:24-31).  John Frame writes, "He is the almighty, majestic Lord of heaven and earth, and He demands our most passionate love and obedience".  [Frame, J. M., "The Doctrine of God", p.3]

To be fit for the Kingdom we need to keep the marker, Jesus, in view.  We need to have a confident certainty of the revelation of God, the Holy Trinity, through the Son; if we keep Him in view then we will receive revelation.  We need to be certain of our salvation and purification through Him, and to know His purpose.  Lastly, we must be confident in the King's majesty - He is worthy! 

Fit for the Kingdom

When I was much younger (and some would say before the brain cells grew back!) I decided to take up marathon running.  In particular I wanted to run the Comrades Marathon, an ultra-marathon in South Africa of around 90 kilometers.  Before attempting it I started running shorter distances and races, and my boast was that I was fit and could easily run the Comrades.  I would get knowing looks from some of the veterans that I trained with!  How little I knew of what it would take.  How little I knew of the fitness and stamina that was required.  In fact, I began to wonder just how fit one needed to be; how would I know if I was fit enough?  The answer was simple: I would just have to get in the race!

When embarking on any journey in life the only way of knowing how fit we are, of knowing if we have the stamina to be able to endure, is to start on the journey.  As an ancient Japanese proverb states, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step". 

So it is with our Christian walk; our journey along the marathon of life.  Jesus said that if we don't endure, we are not "fit for the Kingdom" (Lk.9:62).  To be "fit" is to be well-placed; to be appropriate for service.  In order for us to pursue and persevere with Jesus, we need to be fit for the Kingdom.  And what is the best way for determining if we are fit enough?  Get in the race!  For example, how would we know if we are able to love like Christ?  Enter love!  We love others who may not love us back.  Whist running the risk of mixing metaphors…there has to be a time when we need to stop contemplating the field and actually put our hand to the plough.

Now ploughing can be a difficult skill.  I have never farmed, but I have watched programs where farmers plough the old-fashioned way.  Actually manning the equipment is difficult enough, but the most important skill required is keeping an eye on the mark.  They would use markers - during the Second World War they would plough at night and use people holding lamps to mark the way - so that the furrows would always be straight and parallel.  Without a marker the lines would go awry and the ploughing would be ruined.  If the ploughing was ruined then effectively the harvest would be too.  That is why Jesus said not to look back as we would lose sight of the marker and end up destroying the harvest that we each are meant to produce in our lives (Jn.15:8).

Just like a marathon, our journey requires endurance - to plough, plant and produce requires that we enter in and stay the course.  It can be difficult; it can demand some extraordinary effort; and sometimes we are in danger of giving it all up. 

This is the position that we find in the letter to the Hebrews.  The recipients were in danger of giving up; they had started the course and had lost sight of the marker.  The writer wanted them to get back on track; there was still a rich harvest to be gained.  He wanted them to be "fit for the Kingdom"!  His desire was to help keep their eyes fixed on Jesus (12:2), to help run the race marked out with endurance (12:1), and to receive the reward of the Kingdom that cannot be shaken (12:28). 

The letter to the Hebrews is no less important for us today.  This letter is written as a reminder of the marker, Jesus Christ.  Everything that we have ever learned or heard about is for those moments when we lose sight of Jesus; when we are tempted to give up, to look back and miss out on all that God has for us.

If I might offer a précis of the letter, in my own words, it would read like this:

“You heard from the prophets in the past; now hear from Jesus, the supreme one - Prophet, Priest and King. He is greater than angels; greater than Moses; greater than Joshua and Aaron. He is the great High Priest. So do not fall away but hold onto the promises you heard about from God.

None of the former things enabled you to enter God’s glory and rest; none of them could. You need something better - you need Jesus!

He is greater than the priesthood; He is greater than religious rituals; He is a better covenant - His sacrifice is above all others.

Don’t give up; don’t fall back; stay true. Remember all those heroes who have gone before: they made it, so have faith.  Endure with hope.  Live in love

Now that you are reminded of the superiority of Christ, live decently in accordance with all of who He is.

God will enable you...you can do it!”

  

In a world that desires to replace Jesus with whatever it can we need to be encouraged to stay the course, to make it to the end, to be fit for the Kingdom!