A Confession of Hope - Hebrews 10:19-39

 

In Hebrews 10:19-39 the writer makes a deliberate shift from staunch theological argument to a compelling exhortation to keep the faith. The next few chapters in Hebrews are all about believing who they first said they believed in—God Almighty through Jesus Christ. The kind and tender words of “brothers/sisters, us, we, near, assurance and hope” guide his audience in a most impassioned way. The high and lofty language of theology turns to the urgent and practical exhortation which is profoundly parental.

 

Remembering that the folks the writer addressed were predominantly of Jewish descent, we need to visualize the desert Tabernacle and the Temple as a distinct and relatively small structure that, in the Old Testament books of the Law, God had commanded to be built and used. The Tabernacle was around 150 feet by 30 feet with one entrance of around 20 feet. Halfway inside of this area there was a bronze altar and basin where sacrifices were prepared and offered. Just beyond that was the Holy Place that was around 30 feet by 15 feet. And inside of that was the Most Holy Place, around 15 square feet. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place and that but once a year to offer sacrifices for all of his sins and the sins of the people. While God was represented as having a presence in the Tabernacle and Temple, only a select few could ever enter into those spaces. It was a separate and sacred space never available to most Hebrews and Jews. The New Testament writer also described the new reality that the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ provided. There were already many references to this in previous chapters, but for the present study let’s focus on the first part of Chapter 10.

 

Read Hebrews 10:1-18.

 

Here the writer lays out the final and profoundly effective role of the High Priest in Jesus Christ. After establishing Christ above all of the others previously mentioned in this letter, Jesus serves finally and completely and forever as the High Priest. The Tabernacle, Temple and sacrifices are no longer necessary because he has fulfilled all of those purposes! The Wycliffe Bible Commentary cites: “Neither the veil or human flesh blocks our access to God.”[1] This then is the reason that those who believe can confess hope.

 

Read Hebrews 10:19-25.

 

Keep in mind the internal (Judaizing) and external (Roman persecutions) pressures these dear folks were under and the reasons that they had to abandon hope. The pressures must have been very great. They had begun believing in Jesus Christ some time ago and now there were questions that seem to be pressing them all the harder. Is it worth this trouble we’re in?  Have we been fooled?  Isn’t life supposed to get better for us when we follow Jesus? How long do we have to endure this? Will we see hope fulfilled? Why do we have to keep risking ourselves and our families to meet together? And at the very core of all of these questions:  Is Jesus Christ trustworthy?

 

Many of these folks had come out of the Jewish tradition with a deep and abiding faith in God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. There is no apparent lack of faith in God. But this Jesus? The writer declares without apology that this Jesus, and what he has already accomplished, is precisely why they can have hope. He is the primary key. He is their motivation for continuing in this new and living way. The writer exhorts them to “take every advantage of the privilege”[2] in being able to approach and stay near God.

 

Because Jesus Christ made the way for them to have their sins forgiven, they could and did stand in the presence of the Holy God. Their consciences, as well as their whole persons (bodies), have been cleansed by his work. These folks did believe that God had helped their ancestors through incredible times. God is trustworthy!  He keeps his promises! He is faithful, always faithful! And this Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah, is proof of God’s unbroken promise of bringing people near to him, enabling them to live with him and not just near him. H. Orton Wiley wrote: “The

Holiest of All’ in Christian experience is that place which is out beyond the sin question.”[3] Therefore, the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ and hope for the future is also trustworthy. We can almost see the writer grabbing hold of their shoulders and looking them straight in the eye—“It’s true! Take hold of the hope! Don’t let go!”

 

Then a second key to perseverance is offered to them. This key is the truth of Christian community. This demonstrates that by the final and effective sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that “with assurance comes concern for others.”[4] When hope is born in us, we can move out of selfishness and fear into the care and concern for others. When the faithful gather together something wonderful takes place. Mutual encouragement happens. Testimonies of God’s faithfulness and the cleansing work of Jesus Christ are shared. In the middle of praise, worship, the reading and interpretation of Scripture, and sharing testimonies, the faithful gain strength to be more faithful. They could look each other in the eye and say, “Yes, it is still true! Yes, I still believe!”

 

The writer’s enthusiasm is punctuated by a brief and powerful reference to “the Day” and its approach.  The Day of the Lord in the Old Testament was an indicator of judgment, often the final Day of Judgment for God’s enemies, but also a present Day of Judgment. This encouragement is now cloaked in eschatology—the subject of God’s final and complete victory by the second coming of Jesus Christ. While the writer does not dwell on this matter, he uses it as an exclamation point. Certainly, some of the Jews had brought questions to these Christians.  “If this Jesus is the Messiah, why hasn’t he brought peace? Aren’t you being persecuted? Why is he not delivering you now?” The Roman persecutors could have asked these very same questions. The writer’s answer to both is that that final Day is not yet here, but it is indeed coming. Jesus is trustworthy as God is trustworthy. It will happen. Hang on. Take hold of the hope. Don’t let go!

 

There was still room for warning as well. Once again, the writer takes the readers back to the God of the Law that they knew and trusted. Several instances of the Law are cited as well as the stark consequences of breaking it.

 

Read Numbers 15:27-31, Habakkuk 2:3-4 and Hebrews 10:26-31.

 

Most likely, these Jewish Christians had a reverent fear of the wrath of God—what many modern Christians lack. They understood the power of God’s judgment. It had been retold throughout their history. So, why would the writer level a most pointed warning? They were in great danger of the consequences for abandoning the faith. Here the concept of sin represents continual, deliberate sinning. It is more than just the occasional fall and quick repentance. It is trampling the truth like dust under foot and being contemptuous for the love and guidance of the Holy Spirit. God will defend his honor and his sacrifice with a righteous vengeance. We can wonder if they understood that they needed to be more afraid of God’s wrath than they were of the Roman persecutions.

 

As a fiery brand of a speaker can suddenly change volume and pitch to make a point that strikes closer to the heart, so the writer to the Hebrews does the same. It is as if the writer leans forward with great earnestness and helps them remember how it used to be.

 

Read Hebrews 10:32-39.

 

While we cannot know precisely what kind of suffering and persecution they had already experienced, we can get a sense of how deep the suffering must have been. The writer recalls this for them, drawing them back to the time when their faith was new and alive. They endured much because they had understood then as new Christians that their wealth and comfort were not found here! They had better and lasting possessions in Jesus Christ and a future with God. Like a rider spurring on a horse to its best potential, we are to prompt, encourage, proclaim the reality that hope is still alive!

 

God is calling out to us today and through this wonderful New Testament book to make a confession of hope as we follow Christ. We can be courageous and gather more courage from others who follow him as well. We believe and we are saved.

 

Amen                                                                                  

 

© M.R.Hyde 2022

 

Challenge: Read Hebrews 11-12:3 every day this week. Think about the people in your life who have been great examples of faithfulness. Then thank God for them and their testimony of hope. Write out three goals for how you wish to be an example of faithfulness in your circle of influence.

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[1] Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Moody Press, 1990, p. 1420.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Epistle to the Hebrews, H. Orton Wiley, Beacon Hill Press, 1959, p. 333.

[4] Ibid.

 

Alien Weirdness - Hebrews 11

 

Why are people strange?  What makes them different?  When we think of these folks other words might come to mind:  weird, one-off, odd, alien.  If you look in the dictionary there are a variety of definitions of aliens—“foreigners; people coming to or inhabiting a land that does not belong to them or from which they originated.”

There are six different Hebrew words for alien and they mean a whole variety of things from pilgrims to lodgers, from strangers to wayward people, from foreigner to guests.  In the New Testament there are two distinct uses of the word for alien.  One means settled as foreigners and another means stranger. 

We do find in the Bible that there are other-worldly figures in angels and demons . . . and then there is Jesus.  Was he real?  Is he human or divine? Is he both and, if so, how does he do it?  If being both human and divine makes him alien to us—unknown to us, then who are we in relation to him?

Looking into Hebrews 11 and 12 can help us to get properly grounded in reality—the reality of who we are as believers and what happens to us when we believe. And this defines us as strangers in a fallen world.  We have seen how the writer was trying desperately to convince persecuted Christians to hang on to the truth of Jesus Christ, the truth of who God is and that he has a plan for the future.  We understand that they were living in desperate times of death and destruction for Christians.  The government was against them and they doubted their faith in Jesus Christ.  They needed a reason to hope for the future.  After extensive theological argument, the writer makes a distinctive shift in the approach to his readers.  Hebrews 11:1-3 reads, “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.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  A definition of faith is set out before us.  We cannot see Jesus now, but we know he is real.  We have confidence in the invisible.  And yes, many, many more that came before us also had this same confidence.

The reality of God is that although we cannot see him, we can know him in Spirit and in Truth.  And although we cannot see the face of Jesus Christ, we can know the he did in fact exist in human history and that he does live today.  This is substantial spiritual fact. And we believe this by faith.  What is faith?  Two common dictionary definitions might help us here:  "Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence."  Would any who believe in Jesus Christ refute the reality that he exists and is believable?  We know by our experience with God that he is real.

 

Read Hebrews 11:4-6.

 

The writer begins with two examples of people of faith—Abel and Enoch.  Their stories are found in the Old Testament, along with the many other listed in this chapter.  All of these people believed in God by faith.  Then in verse 6 the writer makes this absolute statement: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

If people find out that you believe in Jesus Christ they may look at you funny.  They might scowl at you and mock you and tell you that you are very strange or stupid to believe that stuff.  You, who believe in Jesus, are an unusual person, a stranger to this old, fallen world. 

All around us people will tell us that it is normal to live selfish lives.  It is normal to explore and experiment with drugs and sex.  They will tell us it is normal to stomp on the little guy, that correcting injustice is impossible, that humans are born bad and can never be reformed.   Some others will tell you that humans are the pinnacle of the universe and that it is our will and our way that keep the world afloat, that the human spirit is the most important thing of all.  There are all kinds of alternate lifestyles and alternate belief systems out there, but when you believe in God through Jesus Christ—you will step into a whole different dimension—a dimension filled with hope and a future.

 

Read Hebrews 11:7-16.

 

The writer to the Hebrews describes the lives of other people—Noah, Abraham and Sarah and all their descendants—as people of faith.  For the first readers of this letter, these stories were a profound part of the spiritual vocabulary and belief system.  For centuries they had depended on these stories to bind them all together in their faith-based community.  The writer artfully draws connecting points from their past to the very present future.  These fathers and mothers of our faith opened their arms to a bright future by faith.  And so can we.  This world isn’t all there is, folks!  If this sad life and sinful world is all there is then we might as well just walk away from our faith in God.  It is so good that he promises to help us now, but think about the glorious future!

 

Read Hebrews 11:17-31.

 

The writer keeps tracing the strong line of faith through human history.  What the ancients—all our forefathers and foremothers of faith—believed was that there was far more beyond the horizon of this short human life.  The writer to the Hebrews points out a very powerful example from the life of Moses.  Look at verses 24-26 again . . . chose to be mistreated . . . regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt . . . looking ahead to his reward. By describing Moses’ faith in the Messiah Jesus Christ, whom he had never seen or known, the writer affirms the revelation of God to the world through Jesus Christ.  This Jesus is the very same God Moses worshipped, followed and had extraordinary faith in.  And it was his faith in God that gave him the hope of a world beyond his present suffering and failures. 

When you cross that line of faith, you step into a future world that is beyond description and compare.  It is a world that holds the promise of a brighter tomorrow and freedom from fear.  It is a world that is enveloped with light and joy and peace.  This is not a peace that comes when the United Nations gets its act together and hurricane victims get resettled.  This is not the temporary peace of when we finally get out of debt and the kids are all grown and we get to retire.  This is a real other-world peace that is coming when God makes all things new, when sin is no more and sorrow and sighing are just gone.  It is a world when we will be living with God in the eternal sunshine of his promised heaven, surrounded by his love and approval because we have believed in him until the end of this old life.  Do you want that? 

How do we receive this kind of a future?  We remain faithful to the God of all the worlds.  We keep our eyes on him in the middle of the turmoil.  We lock our radar onto him and hang on with all the faith we can muster because we know that there is something better ahead—no matter what happens in this life. 

 

Read Hebrews 11:32-40.

 

The writer reminded his readers of all the people of faith they had grown up learning about, the great legends of the Israelite tribes, the people who would not give up, who would not give in, who held on for dear life—for a better and more noble future despite the fact that things did not work out so well in their lifetime.  And then if the examples of the ancients were not enough, the writer takes them to the mountain top. 

 

Read Hebrews 12:1-3.

 

The normal thing would be to give in to despair. The regular thing would be to think that nothing ever changes. The normal thing would be to forget it all and do what we want because there is really nothing more than this life.  The usual thing would be to run the other way because things get so rough—hiding in addictions, violence, abusive relationships, or amassing material goods because that’s all that we can know.  But that’s the normal thing.

Believers everywhere are not of this world, nor do they respond in normal ways.  Because of Jesus Christ, who is greater than even the great cloud of witnesses, we can step into another reality, a better world, a world different by far than another other ever imagined by a human being.  This is a world created by Jesus’ suffering for all mankind.  This is a world formed for the future, full of the joy of resurrection and future restoration.  This is a world, so alien to this life, that we can hardly even imagine Jesus sitting in all of his glory and goodness praying for us, pulling for us, encouraging us to keep making those steps of faith into a life that is totally alien to those who do not believe.

God calls forth an influx of the faithful.  This alien dispersion has been happening for centuries as people of all walks of life, from all nations of the earth, from all economic and social worlds, take the steps of faith toward Jesus Christ, the One who initiated and sustains our journeys toward a bright future because of what he did on the cross and now does at the right hand of God in heaven.

Will you receive the promise of a bright future with God?  Will you keep the faith—so alien to the watching world?  Will you share the story of your faith with people who have no hope?  

 

© M.R.Hyde 2022

 

This is a chapter from A Courageous Life and the Book of Hebrews by M.R. Hyde.