Jesus Christ in the Epistle to the Judean Christians (Hebrews): Part 5—The Seated Lord Brings Hope in Life

Jesus Christ fulfilled every aspect of Old Testament Law to be a complete savior. In the early church, some Christians from a Judean background did not fully understand this. So, the Epistle to Judean Christians was written to show from many Old Testament truths how Christ is God’s better and more fully completed solution than the Law of Moses.

This is the final in a five-part series that will reveal truths from this Epistle to the Hebrews. Scriptures are from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips unless otherwise noted. The series includes:

(Part 1) Background and Structure
(Part 2) Chapters 1-4: The Son Brings Rest
(Part 3) Chapters 5-8: The High Priest Brings a New Testament
(Part 4) Chapters 9-11: The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith
(Part 5) Chapters 12,13: The Seated Lord Brings Hope in Life

Part 5 is given the Title: “The Seated Lord Brings Hope in Life” because it shows Christ seated at God’s right hand and ready to return for us in the future.

Structure of Hebrews Chapters 12,13

Chapters 12 and 13 conclude this great epistle by encouraging us to keep our eyes on Christ by knowing our status in him as we allow the “Great Shepherd” to guide us in our lives today.

C.) 12:1-3 – We should keep our eyes on Jesus Christ—the Starter and Finisher of Faith

B.) 12:4—13:19 – Our status in Christ: We are sons of God with Jesus Christ as mediator of a greater agreement; yet we are chastened and endure in this life (12:24 – Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant that is kreittōn than Abel’s)

A.) 13:20-25 – God’s communication to us today by an encouraging letter from Paul; God raised our Lord Jesus from the dead to become the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

We Should Keep Our Eyes on Jesus Christ—the Starter and Finisher of Faith

Hebrews 12:1-3:
Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus the source and the goal of our faith. For he himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering; and he is now seated at the right hand of God’s throne. Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.

Having such remarkable Old Testament examples who witnessed of God’s power, we should “strip off” any and everything that holds us back from loving our heavenly Father and serving our Lord Jesus Christ. This is similar to James 1:21 where we are to “lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness” in order to “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

In verse 11 of this same chapter of Hebrews, the Greek word gumnazō is used of how we are “exercised” in God’s loving correction. This word means to be naked, as in the English words gymnosperm (plants with naked seeds) and gymnasium (where ancient Greek athletes competed naked). The point is that we are to get rid of any excess weight that would hinder us from spiritual victory through Christ’s atoning work. Sin does dog our feet, but we can strip it off and patiently run our race, looking unto Jesus Christ’s perfect example.

Paul encouraged Timothy to do this: “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise [gumnazō] thyself rather unto godliness [a true, vital relationship with God through His Son]” [I Timothy 4:7]. We saw earlier in Hebrews 5:14 that “strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised [gumnazō] to discern both good and evil.” We strip off what holds us back from knowing “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” [Romans 12:2].

Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in Oxford, England on May 6, 1954. Despite twenty-five-mile-per-hour winds just before the event, Bannister became the author and finisher of what many thought could not be done.  Jesus Christ, despite the adversary’s attacks, finished his race for us.

A few years ago, I reached the 20-mile mark of the Columbus, Ohio Marathon. As I continued on the course, I saw a man sitting beside the road who seemed to be “out of it.” When I stopped to help him, I noticed a scripture reference on his headband: Hebrews 12:1,2.

We have the greatest example of all time to follow—Jesus Christ. He was the “author and finisher” of our faith. The Greek word translated “author” means “the starter.” It was Jesus Christ who initiated and completed our faith.

How was he able to do this? How could he put up with forty hours of torture and the most horrendous and shameful death possible? How could he say, “It is finished” and give up his life for us? It was the JOY that was set before him. Jesus Christ had the future hope of sitting down at the right hand of the throne of his Father. And that brought great joy.

One thing about joy is that it is inspiring and encouraging, even when conditions around us aren’t the best. The runner at the side of the road needed my loving comfort and encouragement. After I shared with him about the significance of the two verses he was wearing, his mind became clearer and he was able to continue the marathon. His conditions were still challenging, but he had the hope of finishing an earthly race—and that joy kept him going. It also inspired me to finish stronger.

[See the blog “Our Joy in Christ” for further detail.]

Our Status in Christ: We Are Sons of God with Jesus Christ as Mediator of a Greater Agreement, Yet We Are Chastened and Endure in This Life

Hebrews 12:4-6:
After all, your fight against sin has not yet meant the shedding of blood, and you have perhaps lost sight of that piece of advice which reminds you of our sonship in God: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked [the Hebrew text reads “given sound reasoning”] by him; for whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives’ [Proverbs 3:11,12].

The Hebrew version of Proverbs 3:11,12 gives clearer understanding than the Septuagint version, and it reads: “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

The word translated “chastening” is used 30 times in Proverbs and means reproof, warning, instruction. The word for “correcteth” is used 10 times in Proverbs and means to set things right. Why does God give us warning and instruction? So that we can set things right in our lives. And our Father’s motive is pure love, so that we can be a delight to Him. This same Hebrew word translated “delighteth” is used in Psalms 147:1: “The LORD taketh pleasure [delights] in them that fear [love and respect] him, in those that hope in his mercy.” We have God’s mercy in Christ and hope in his return.

Hebrews 12:7-9:
Bear what you have to bear as “chastening” – as God’s dealing with you as sons. No true son ever grows up uncorrected by his father. For if you had no experience of the correction which all sons have to bear you might well doubt the legitimacy of your sonship. After all, when we were children we had fathers who corrected us, and we respected them for it. Can we not much more readily submit to a heavenly Father’s discipline, and learn how to live?

How true! Some of my fondest memories of my Dad are when he helped me be a better baseball player or taught me how to use a lawn mower or even dried my tears when I thought I had a horrible disease. He was always there for me. And our heavenly Father (Who has foreknowledge of everything) will be there to give us what we need to be a blessing to Him.

Hebrews 12:10-13:
For our fathers used to correct us according to their own ideas during the brief days of childhood. But God corrects us all our days for our own benefit, to teach us his holiness. Now obviously no “chastening” seems pleasant at the time: it is in fact most unpleasant. Yet when it is all over we can see that is has quietly produced the fruit of real goodness in the characters of those who have accepted it in the right spirit [attitude]. So take a fresh grip on life and brace your trembling limbs [Isaiah 35:3]. Don’t wander away from the path but forge steadily onward [Proverbs 4:26]. On the right path the limping foot recovers strength and does not collapse.

Maybe those “brief days of childhood” didn’t seem so brief. I remember thinking that I knew a lot more than my Dad did when I was in my teen years. A fellow Missourian, Mark Twain, put it this way: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Being corrected usually doesn’t seem pleasant if we are protecting our ego. But when we realize that God is our sufficiency and that His ways are blessed and good for us, we can change our perspective. That doesn’t mean that God sends evil our way–Jesus made it clear that the Devil comes to steal and kill and destroy. When we listen to God’s correction, we avoid the adversary’s evil plans for our lives.

Having the right attitude, we can get a fresh grip on life’s challenges and move ahead on God’s path. Isaiah 35:3 is in the context of what the Messiah would do to set people free. That’s where healing and deliverance thrive! We are strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Hebrews 12:14-17:
Let it be your ambition to live at peace with all men and to achieve holiness “without which no man shall see the Lord”. Be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace which God gives, for if he does there can very easily spring up in him a bitter spirit [Deuteronomy 29:18] which is not only bad in itself but can also poison the lives of many others. Be careful too, that none of you falls into impurity or loses his reverence for the things of God and then, like Esau, is ready to sell his birthright to satisfy the momentary hunger of his body. Remember how afterwards, when he wanted to have the blessing which was his birthright, he was refused. He never afterwards found the way of repentance though he sought it desperately and with tears.

Look at these two great attacks on the believer: unthankfulness for God’s grace and the resulting bitterness it brings; and impurity [fornication] where something else replaces God as first in our hearts. The quote from Deuteronomy 29:18 says that this bitterness occurs in those “whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations.”

We all get hurt at times, but we refuse to poison our lives by being bitter. We overcome evil with good. Why waste our time dwelling on the adversary’s successes and evil influences in the lives of those who hurt us? Let’s move on and bring new victories that will glorify our Father and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.

Esau had so much going for him. He could have had the blessings of his birthright, but sold it for physical gratification. God in His foreknowledge saw what Esau’s heart would be like. He warned Rebekah that the elder of her twins (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). Esau could have humbled himself and seen God’s help, but he continued to walk by the flesh so that his parents were saddened at his poor choices in marriage and life [Genesis 27:46].

For more information, see the blog “Love and Marriage: Isaac and Rebekah–A Walk with God.”

Hebrews 12:18-21:
You have not had to approach things which your senses could experience as they did in the old days – flaming fire, black darkness, rushing wind [Deuteronomy 4:11] and out of it a trumpet-blast [Exodus 19:6], a voice speaking human words [Deuteronomy 4:12]. So terrible was that voice that those who heard it begged and prayed that it might stop speaking, for what it had already commanded was more than they could bear – ‘And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with an arrow’ [Exodus 19:12]. So fearful was the spectacle that Moses cried out, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling’ [Moses remembered these events in Deuteronomy 9:19].

God made His first testament or agreement with Moses and Israel and displayed His mighty power. This was for their benefit so they could enter and enjoy the promised land awaiting them. Later Moses recalled this mighty display of God’s power with great awe.

Hebrews 12:22-24:
No, you have been allowed to approach the true Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have drawn near to the countless angelic army, the great assembly of Heaven and the Church of the first-born whose names are written above. You have drawn near to God, the judge of all, to the souls of good men made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new agreement, to the cleansing of blood which tells a better [kreittōn] story than the age-old sacrifice of Abel.

Many people, including my wife and I, have visited Jerusalem atop Mount Zion. But Zion was only a figure of God’s heavenly home. Today, in the new birth, we have direct access to the Father. Jesus mentioned 12 legions of angels among this “countless” host. Our names are written above and we anticipate God’s future rewards as we rest upon the foundation of salvation through Christ. Jesus is our mediator of this new agreement by his blood. We have a much better story in Christ than anything Abel sacrificed.

Hebrews 12:25-26:
So be sure you do not refuse to hear the voice of God! For if they who refused to hear those who spoke to them on earth did not escape, how little chance of escape is there for us if we refuse to hear the one who speaks from Heaven. Then his voice shook the earth, but now he promises:’Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven’ [Haggai 2:6].

This quote from Haggai speaks of the Messiah and what he would do. The next verse says “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.” This future glory will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ someday. God has filled His house with fire and glory before.

Fire has Biblical significance regarding cleansing and purifying. At times God sent fire to show that He accepted an offering or sacrifice (Genesis 15:17; I Kings 18:38). When Moses completed the tabernacle and Solomon dedicated the Temple, the glory of the Lord filled those structures and God showed Himself by fire. Jesus Christ came to baptize with the holy spirit and fire. Shortly after Jesus Christ’s ascension, on the day of Pentecost in 28 A.D., God showed the twelve apostles “cloven tongues like as of fire” that sat upon each of them. Then they spoke in tongues. Those who heard them said that they spoke “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11).

[See the blog “Pentecost: Worship, God’s Dwelling and Fire” for more details.]

Hebrews 12:27-29:
This means that in this final “shaking” all that is impermanent will be removed, that is, everything that is merely “made”, and only the unshakeable things will remain. Since then we have been given a kingdom that is “unshakeable”, let us serve God with thankfulness in the ways which please him, but always with reverence and holy fear [respect]. For it is perfectly true that our ‘God is a burning fire’ [Deuteronomy 4:24].

We know the Creator as a loving Father, the living God. We should be so humbled to realize that the Almighty and all-powerful God loves us and cares for us as His children.

Hebrews 13:1-3:
Never let your brotherly love fail, nor refuse to extend your hospitality to strangers – sometimes men have entertained angels unawares. Think constantly of those in prison as if you were prisoners at their side. Think too of all who suffer as if you shared their pain.

Love is seen in the actions we take. Paul was imprisoned and suffered for Christ. Many are in the same situation in our time. What an age to pray for other Christians who suffer for their faith. And many who have political freedom in their nation are spiritually imprisoned by the adversary. We can do the works of Christ and set them free with God’s Word and power.

Hebrews 13:4-5:
Both honourable marriage and chastity should be respected by all of you. God himself will judge those who traffic in the bodies of others or defile the relationship of marriage. Keep your lives free from the lust for money: be content with what you have. God has said: ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ [Deuteronomy 31:6,8; Joshua 1:5].

This goes back to verse 1: never letting our brotherly love fail. Husbands care for their wives as a sister in Christ; wives care for their husbands as brothers in Christ. We all keep our thoughts chaste by knowing that God meets our needs and by trusting in Him. We can be content with God’s supply and never think we must gain wealth so we are cared for. Earthly wealth is fleeting, but God’s sufficiency is eternal.

Paul encouraged Timothy to remember this: I Timothy 6:8,17: “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain [the uncertainty of] riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

Hebrews 13:6:
We, therefore, can confidently say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ [Psalms 118:6].

Think of the many times when you have confidently claimed God’s help through Christ. The stories of physical needs being met, healings, answers to prayers go on and on.

Hebrews 13:7:
Never forget your leaders, who first spoke to you the Word of God. Remember how they lived, and imitate their faith.

Some say that example speaks louder than words. Our example as leaders can give us entree and allows us to really speak God’s Word that people need. I am so thankful for the times I’ve seen God come through for others who believed. It inspires me to do the same.

Hebrews 13:8-16:
Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever. Do not be swept off your feet by various peculiar teachings. Spiritual stability depends on the grace of God, and not on rules of diet – which after all have not spiritually benefited those who have made a speciality of that kind of thing. We have an altar from which those who still serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. When the blood of animals was presented as a sin-offering by the High Priest in the sanctuary, their bodies were burned outside the precincts of the camp [Leviticus 16:27]. That is why Jesus, when he sanctified men by the shedding of his own blood, suffered and died outside the city gates. Let us go out to him, then, beyond the boundaries of the camp, proudly bearing his “disgrace”. For we have no permanent city here on earth, we are looking for one in the world to come. Our constant sacrifice to God should be the praise of lips that give thanks to his name. Yet we should not forget to do good and to share our good things with others, for these too are the sort of sacrifices God will accept.

We are living sacrifices as we walk by the spirit and do the Father’s will each day. What “good things” can we share with others? God will show you what to say and do. So much of that is telling others about Jesus Christ and his accomplishments.

Hebrews 13:17-19:
Obey your rulers and recognise their authority. They are like men standing guard over your spiritual good, and they have great responsibility. Try to make their work a pleasure and not a burden – by so doing you will help not only them but yourselves. Pray for us. Our conscience is clear before God, and our great desire is to lead a life that is completely honest. Please pray earnestly that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Who is a spiritual leader? Our relationships in the body of Christ adapt and change each day. With Christ as our “chief Shepherd,” we are all to be clothed with humility [I Peter 5:4,5]. I may follow you today and lead you tomorrow. The key is that we obey and serve in love. If Paul wrote this epistle, it makes sense that he asked for prayer to be reunited with these believers.

God’s Communication to Us Today by an Encouraging Letter from Paul; God Raised our Lord Jesus from the Dead to Become the Great Shepherd of the Sheep

Hebrews 13:20-25:
Now the God of peace, who brought back from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting agreement, equip you thoroughly for the doing of his will! May he effect in you everything that pleases him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. All I have said, my brothers, I ask you to accept as though it were an appeal in person, although I have compressed it into a short letter. You will be glad to know that brother Timothy. If he comes here soon, he and I will perhaps visit you together. Greetings to all your leaders and all your church members. The Christians of Italy send their greetings. Grace be with you all.

Here is another reason for Paul to be the writer. He hoped to visit these Judean Christians along with Timothy. If he wrote from Rome, his sending greetings from believers in Italy would also fit with the text.

Look at the great depth of this epistle! Jesus Christ offers better and more complete benefits than anything the first testament and Law of Moses could offer. As God’s Son he brings true rest. As
the High Priest like Melchizedek, he brings a new testament. As the Perfect Sacrifice he brings faith unto eternal life. And as our Seated Lord he brings hope in life. In Christ, we are completely complete!

PREVIOUS: Jesus Christ in the Epistle to the Judean Christians (Hebrews): Part 4 – The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith