Bible Commentaries
Hebrews 13

Verses 1-17

The Communal Life of God’s People Outside the Gate (13:1-17)

There is quite clearly a change in tempo between the immediately preceding sections and the one which here lies before us. From 10:19 through 12:29 the author conceives of the Christian life in terms of movement. The community is on the march, and the stress is upon the "faith" that undergirds progress and the "hope" which fastens upon the goal at the end of the road. In the present section, on the other hand, our author views the Christian brotherhood in its settled communal life. The keynote of such communal existence is "love," and it is now "love" which is the dominant factor in the community and which determines its character and life.

Rapidly the author deals with six social relationships in which "love" should be the dominant motif. These include one’s relations to (1) one’s brother in the Christian community (vs. 1), (2) the stranger without (vs. 2), (3) those who are persecuted (vs. 3), (4) one’s married partner (vs. 4), (5) possessions (vss. 5-6), and (6) Christian leaders (vss. 7, 17). Between verses 7 and 17 there is an interlude (vss. 8-16), dealing with the Christian’s suffering with Jesus Christ "outside the gate."

In verses 1 and 2 two comprehensive words for "love" cover one’s proper relationships with those both within and outside the Christian community — "brotherly love" and "hospitality to strangers." In the Greek there is quite clearly a play on these words, both of which are rarely used in the New Testament. The former, indeed, occurs elsewhere only in Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; and 2 Peter 1:7; while the latter is found only in Romans 12:13. Indeed, it is noteworthy that in Romans 12:10-14, the two ideas of love toward those within and without the Christian community and endurance in the hour of persecution are present together in the mind of Paul as in that of the author of Hebrews. This fact may be coincidental, or it possibly suggests a knowledge of Romans on his part. In either case, the passages are one in testifying to a consciousness on the part of the Christian community of being a little island in the midst of a sea of paganism.

It is clear, however, that the situation of the readers of Hebrews is quite different from that of the readers of Romans 12. There the "strangers" are Christians, as verse 13 makes clear; here it is at least likely that the "strangers" are those outside the Christian community. The fact that "some have entertained angels unawares" refers to Abraham’s experience as recorded in Genesis 18:1-8. Moreover, in Romans 12:14 it is Christians who are persecuted, whereas in the present passage there is no suggestion that "those who are in prison" and "those who are ill-treated" are Christians (vs. 3). It is a compassionate humanitarianism, springing from the Christian’s sense of weakness which he shares with all those who are "in the body," that Hebrews has in mind. The author’s attitude toward the subjects of "marriage" and "money" in verses 4 and 5 is to be contrasted with the attitude of the Qumran sect as expressed in its scriptures. The asceticism practiced at Khirbet Qumran is in marked contrast with the author’s injunction that "marriage be held in honor among all" (vs. 4). It is true that there was no compulsion on members of the sect to live a celibate life, and according both to Josephus and to the scrolls, there were those who lived a married life in the various cities and villages throughout Israel. Nonetheless, within the sect asceticism was the ideal. On the contrary, the Christian ideal, as expressed in verse 4, is that of a married state which is maintained on a high moral and spiritual level. It is the sexual aberrations of immorality and adultery which God will judge; married life itself is clearly recognized as normative and proper.

Similarly, unlike the Qumran sect, there is here no thought of adopting a communal view of one’s possessions. Any who joined the monastic life of the community at Khirbet Qumran were compelled to surrender all of their wealth. For the writer of Hebrews, the Christian ideal is to keep one’s life "free from love of money, and be content with what you have" (vs. 5). The Christian’s attitude toward all things is to be motivated by the sense of God’s providential care of his people (vss. 5-6; see Psalms 118:6).

The word translated "leaders" in verses 7, 17, and 24 is derived from the same stem that provides the Greek word elsewhere translated "governor" (for example, Matthew 10:18; Luke 20:20; Acts 23:24). In verse 7 such "leaders" are defined as those through whom "the word of God" had come to the readers. The word is used in exactly the same way in Acts 14:12 with reference to the Apostle Paul, and in Acts 15:22 it is applied to Judas and Silas, the two messengers sent by the church at Jerusalem to the church at Syrian Antioch at the close of the Jerusalem Council. Its use here, therefore, would suggest an early stage in the history of the community addressed, when the organization was still loose and discipline was not rigidly enforced. Possibly two sets of such "leaders" are in view, the first consisting of the early group who had evangelized the community at the beginning (vs. 7), and the second of more permanent "leaders" to whom submission was to be granted in view of the fact that they were "keeping watch over your souls" (vs. 17).

Reference to the "leaders" through whom his readers have been evangelized with "the word of God" leads the author again to ponder upon the central message of the letter, and he repeats that message now with a pertinent exhortation (vss. 8-16). Jesus Christ, who is the center of the gospel message, is the eternal sacrifice for sin offered up, as we have seen, "to sanctify the people through his own blood" (vs. 12; see 9:13-14; 10:10, 14, 29). The "altar" on which he was sacrificed provides food for "grace" which is not available to contemporary Judaism ("those who serve the tent," vs. 10). Such food and such grace are sufficient for Christians, who are, therefore, to put aside all "diverse and strange teachings" with reference to foods which were supposed to benefit their adherents (vs. 9). What these teachings were we have no certain way of knowing. Contemporary Judaism had many stipulations derived from the Law and Pharisaic traditions with regard to "clean and unclean" meats or food. The Qumran sect also had such teachings of its own. There is reference to something of the sort also in the peculiarly gnostic teachings to which Paul makes reference in Colossians 2:16-23.

The remark about Jesus’ suffering "outside the gate" and the consequent necessity that Christians should "go forth to him outside the camp, bearing abuse for him" (vss. 12-13) appears to reflect a time when the Christian community was faced with the necessity of breaking away from the older Judaism with its center in the holy city of Jerusalem. Christians "have no lasting city" but, like their spiritual father Abraham, "seek the city which is to come" (vs. 14; see 11:10, 16). Following the death of the martyred Stephen, the Hellenistic-Jewish Christians were scattered as a direct result of persecution arising in the mother city, Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). Also at the beginning of the First Jewish War (a.d. 66), according to the early church historian Eusebius, the members of the Jewish-Christian community escaped from the city of Jerusalem and fled across the Jordan to Pella. In the light of the teaching of Hebrews as a whole, however, it is probable that neither of these two events is specifically referred to in the present passage. Rather, the author likely has in mind the necessary cleavage being drawn between the Christian Church and contemporary Judaism, which was the natural result of the exclusive high priesthood of the Son of God. Jewish Christians are not to cling to or live in the Jewish side of their faith. Rather, as Jesus himself was excluded from his people so they are to bear "abuse for him" (vs. 13). The Christian’s highest duty is to "offer up a sacrifice of praise to God," praise which consists in witnessing to "his name" in the world (vs. 15).

Verses 18-25

EPISTOLARY CONCLUSION

Hebrews 13:18-25

The epistolary conclusion contains a benediction, perhaps the most beautiful to be found in the New Testament (vss. 20-21). The term "God of peace," which is a Pauline phrase (Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23), means "the God who brings peace or salvation"; "peace" in Hebrew is one of the words which are the equivalent of "salvation" (Isaiah 52:7). The idea that God raised up "our Lord Jesus" is also a Pauline idea (1 Corinthians 15:15), though not exclusively so (see Acts 2:24; Acts 2:32). That Jesus is the "shepherd of the sheep" is an idea explicitly stated in John 10:2 and implied in Mark 6:34. It has numerous Old Testament associations, where God (Psalms 23:1), or alternatively his Messiah (Micah 5:4), is declared to be the shepherd of his people. The benediction is essentially a prayer that God will properly equip his "sons" so that they may do his will in the manner set forth in the letter. This can come only "through Jesus Christ."

In verse 22 the author defines his work as both "my word of exhortation" and a letter written to his readers. This would seem to suggest that the document is first of all a theological discussion, and that in order to present it to his readers the author sent it to them, with perhaps an accompanying letter.

In closing he makes two references of a personal nature, one to Timothy, whom we know to have been close to Paul toward the end of his career while in prison (Philippians 1:1; Philippians 2:19; Colossians 1:1), although there is no other account of Timothy’s having suffered imprisonment. The author of Hebrews seems to be speaking out of personal knowledge of Timothy’s movements. Hebrews also speaks of "those who come from Italy," possibly a reference to Hellenistic-Jewish Christians.

The letter closes with the brief prayer, "Grace be with all of you." In common with many of the New Testament letters the writer thus reminds his readers of the grace which binds them to one another and to God.