Slices
Prepare
‘But the greatest of these is love’ (1 Corinthians 13:13b). Ask the Lord of love to teach you more about whom and what and how he wants you to love.
Bible passage
Concluding exhortations
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
‘Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.’
6 So we say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?’
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honourably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
Benediction and final greetings
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
25 Grace be with you all.
Explore
Last Thursday’s reading challenged us to ‘consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds’ (Hebrews 10:24). We have also reflected that we don’t run this ‘race’ alone, but in the company of running buddies – fellow-pilgrims who also believe that ‘here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come’ (v 14).
Right relationships are crucial for a community to thrive. In concluding his epistle, the writer picks up a thread that runs all through the Bible as a governing principle for all relationships – love: love God; love others (v 1).
Our love for God must be given expression vertically (v 15), but also horizontally (v 16). To love the Lord is to love those whom he loves (v 1) – not just the lovable and the like-minded, but also those who are different (v 2) or difficult (v 3a), those enduring difficulties (v 3b), those exercising direction over us (v 17). To love God is also to affirm and uphold what is important to him – like marriage (v 4) – and to avoid what displeases (v 4b), displaces (v 5), or dishonours him in any way (v 9a).
Respond
‘I seek not to please myself but him who sent me’ (John 5:30b). This was a guiding principle in Jesus’ life. Will you adopt it as your own?
Deeper Bible study
‘The best homage we can give our Lord is to live gladly and merrily for his love.’1
Hebrews ends with a flurry of exhortations, covering 10–12 domains of everyday life. This can be a minefield, as every preacher knows! The words ‘bear with’ (ie ‘be patient about’) in verse 22 suggest that the writer may feel tentative about the guidance he has given on very practical matters! This is why I read the Bible daily – to order my thinking and believing and praying, yes, but also to guide and strengthen me for daily, down-to-earth, practical discipleship.
Which of these exhortations strikes me the hardest, encourages me the most? There are only four negative commands (eg ‘do not’: vs 2,5,9,16). Jesus Christ is still central, as everywhere in Hebrews. There were evidently a number of leaders in this Jewish-Christian church (v 24: ‘all your leaders’); some have died, it seems (v 7) – but Jesus remains, and always will be, who and what he always has been (v 8). We glimpse again the symbols of the old system – the foods, tabernacle, altar, sacrifices, covenant – but it is Jesus’ sacrifice, his offering of himself as a sin-offering, outside the gate, which is the once-for-all offering which matters. The only sacrifices we are called to offer are the sacrifice of ourselves as we follow him and the sacrifice of our praise (the ‘fruit of lips’; v 15), which we offer in worship, work and testimony. Finally, Jesus is the great Shepherd – I will memorise the wonderful benediction in verses 20 and 21, which encourages me to trust that God will equip me with everything that I need if I am to do his will and be the person whose life brings praise to his name. Hebrews does not say much about the Holy Spirit, but this coming Sunday, Pentecost, reminds me that Jesus is not a distant historical figure, but promises to live within me for ever.
Jesus, the radiance of the Father’s glory, the visibility of God to me; my priest, my Saviour and my friend. I will fix my eyes on you for ever.
1 Julian of Norwich, 1342–after 1416, Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, 16.80
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Kings 1–3; Habakkuk 1–3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for all the churches who are seeking to reach out to the 95 in the south east, and for more opportunities for the team to join with churches in long-term initiatives to reach the 95. Pray for courage as they step out in faith to try new ways to share faith.
