Homily 33 — Hebrews 12, verse 28, to 13, verse 16

“So, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.” [a]

In another place he says the same thing: “For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal” (Second Corinthians 4, verse 18). From this he builds an exhortation about the evils we endure in this present life. He does the same here. He says, let us hold steady; “let us have thankfulness,” that is, let us give thanks to God. For we ought not only to refuse to lose heart over present things, but even to show him the greatest gratitude for the things to come.

“By which we may serve God acceptably.” That is to say, this is how it is possible to serve God acceptably: by giving him thanks in all things. “Do all things,” he says, “without grumbling and arguing” (Philippians 2, verse 14). For whatever work a person does with grumbling, he cuts away and loses its reward. Think of the Israelites, and how great a penalty they paid for their grumbling! That is why he says, “Do not grumble” (First Corinthians 10, verse 10). So it is not possible to serve him “acceptably” without being grateful to him for everything, both for our trials and for the relief from them. That is: let us say nothing rash, nothing disrespectful, but let us humble ourselves so that we may be reverent. For this is what “with reverence and awe” means.

Chapter 13, verses 1 and 2: “Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to show hospitality, for by it some have entertained angels unawares.” See how he urges them to keep what they already had; he does not add other things. He did not say, “Love one another as brothers,” but, “Let brotherly love continue.” And again, he did not say, “Be hospitable,” as if they were not, but, “Do not forget to show hospitality,” for that was likely to happen because of their hardships.

That is why, he says, “some have entertained angels unawares.” Do you see how great the honor was, how great the gain? What does “unawares” mean? They entertained them without knowing it. That is why the reward was great too: because he entertained them not knowing that they were angels. If he had known it, there would have been nothing remarkable in it. Some say that he is also hinting at Lot here.

Verses 3 to 5: “Remember those who are in chains, as though in chains with them, and those who suffer hardship, since you yourselves also are in the body. Marriage is honorable in all, and the marriage bed undefiled; but the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge. Let your way of life be free from greed; be content with what you have.” [d]

See how much he says about chastity. “Pursue peace,” he said, “and holiness… so that there is no sexually immoral or godless person” (Hebrews 12, verse 14); and again, “The sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 12, verse 16). In every case the prohibition comes with a penalty. “Pursue peace with all people,” he says, “and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord; but the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge.”

And having first laid down, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the marriage bed undefiled,” he shows that he was right to add what follows. For if marriage has been allowed, the sexually immoral person is justly punished, and the adulterer justly suffers vengeance.

Here he strips for the heretics. He did not say again, “Let no one be sexually immoral.” Having said it once for all, he went on as though giving a general exhortation, and not as though he were aiming it at them.

“Let your way of life be free from greed,” he says. He did not say, “Own nothing,” but, “Let your way of life be free from greed”; that is, let it display the philosophical character of your mind. And it will display it if we do not seek what goes beyond our needs, if we keep only to what is necessary. For he says above also, “And you joyfully accepted the seizure of your property” (Hebrews 10, verse 34). He gives these exhortations so that they would not be greedy.

“Be content,” he says, “with what you have.” Then here too comes the comfort (verse 5): “For he,” he says, “has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’”; (verse 6) “so that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man will do to me.’” Again, comfort in their trials.

Verse 7: “Remember those who lead you.” This is what he was working toward saying above, and that is why he wrote, “Pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12, verse 14). He gave this exhortation to the Thessalonians as well, to “hold them in the very highest honor” (First Thessalonians 5, verse 13). [h]

“Remember,” he says, “those who lead you, who spoke the word of God to you; imitate their faith, considering the outcome of their way of life.” What kind of imitation is this? Truly the best. For he says: look at their life, and “imitate their faith.” For faith comes from a pure life.

Or else by “faith” he means steadfastness. How so? Because they believe in the things to come. For they would not have shown a pure life if they had questioned the things to come, if they had doubted. So here too he is applying a remedy to the same trouble.

Verses 8 and 9: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried about by various and strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those who have been occupied with them.”

In these words, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” “yesterday” means all the time that is past, “today” the present, and “forever” the endless time that is to come. That is to say: you have heard of a High Priest, but not a High Priest who comes to an end. He is always the same. As though there were some who said, “He is no more; another will come,” he says this: that he who was “yesterday and today” is “the same also forever.” For even now the Jews say that another will come, and having deprived themselves of him who is, they will fall into the hands of the Antichrist.

“Do not be carried about by various and strange teachings.” Not only by “strange” teachings, but not by “various” ones either.

“For it is good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those who have been occupied with them.” Here he gently hints at those who bring in the observance of foods. For by faith all things are clean. What is needed, then, is faith, not foods.

For (verse 10) “we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” What we have is not like the Jewish ordinances; it is not lawful even for the high priest to share in ours. Since he had said, “Do not keep these observances,” and this seemed to be the language of a man tearing down his own building, he turns it around again. “What,” he says, “do we not have observances too? Yes, we do, and we keep them very earnestly, not sharing them even with the priests themselves.”

Verses 11 and 12: “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also, in order to make the people holy by his own blood, suffered,” he says, “outside the gate.” Do you see the type shining out? “For sin,” he says, and “suffered outside the gate.” (Verse 13) “Let us, then, go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach”; that is, suffering the same things, sharing with him in his sufferings. He was crucified outside as a condemned man; so let us not be ashamed to “go out” of the world either. [i]

Verses 14 and 15: “For here we have no lasting city,” he says, “but we seek the one that is to come. Through him, then, let us continually offer to God the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

“Through him”: as through a High Priest, according to the flesh. “Giving thanks,” he says, “to his name.” Let us say nothing blasphemous, nothing rash, nothing brazen, nothing presumptuous, nothing despairing. This is “with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12, verse 28). For a soul in distress becomes dejected and reckless. But let us not be so. See, here again he says the same thing he said before, “not abandoning our own assembling together”; for in this way we will be able to do everything with reverence. For often, even out of respect for other people, we hold back from doing many evil things.

Verse 16: “But do not forget to do good and to share.”

I am speaking not only of the brothers and sisters who are present, but of those who are absent as well. Even if others have plundered your property, show your hospitality from what you have. What excuse, then, will we have from now on, when they were urged like this even after their property had been seized?

And he did not say, “Do not forget to entertain strangers,” but, “Do not forget to show hospitality”; that is, do not merely entertain strangers, but do it with love for the strangers. Moreover, he did not speak of the reward that is future and stored up for us, so as not to make them more careless, but of the one already given. “For by it,” he says, “some have entertained angels unawares.” [k]

But let us see in what sense “marriage is honorable in all, and the marriage bed undefiled.” Because, he means, it keeps the believer in chastity. Here he is also hinting at the Jews, because they counted a woman defiled after childbirth; and “whoever gets up from the bed,” it is said, “is not clean.” It is not the things that arise from nature that are defiled, you ungrateful and senseless Jew, but the things that arise from choice. For if “marriage is honorable” and pure, why on earth do you think that a person is actually defiled by it?

“Let your way of life,” he says, “be free from greed.” Many people, after using up their property, later want to get it back again under the pretext of alms. That is why he says, “Let your way of life be free from greed”; that is, we should desire only what is necessary and indispensable. What then, if we do not have a supply even of these? That cannot happen; truly it cannot. “For he has said,” and he does not lie, “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man will do to me.’” You have the promise from him himself; do not doubt from now on. He has promised; raise no question about it. But this “I will never leave you” he says not about money only, but about everything else as well. “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man will do to me”: and with good reason.

So let us say this too in all our trials. Let us laugh at human affairs, as long as we have God on our side. For just as, when he is our enemy, there is no gain even if all people are our friends, so when he is our friend, there is no harm even if all people together make war on us. “I will not fear what man will do to me.”

“Remember those who lead you, who spoke the word of God to you.” In this place I think he is also speaking about assistance. For that is what is implied in the words “who spoke the word of God to you.” [m]

“Imitate their faith, considering the outcome of their way of life.” What does “considering” mean? Turning it over continually, examining it for yourselves, reasoning it out, investigating it carefully, testing it as you choose. “The outcome of their way of life”: that is, their way of life right to the end. For their way of life had a good end.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Do not think that back then he worked wonders but now works none. He is the same. This is what “Remember those who lead you” means.

“Do not be carried about by various and strange teachings.” “Strange”: that is, different from the ones you heard from us. “Various”: that is, of every sort. For they have no stability, but differ from one another. And the teaching about foods is especially many-sided.

“For it is good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods.” These are the “various,” these the “strange” teachings, especially since Christ has said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out” (Matthew 15, verse 11). And notice that he does not dare to say this openly, but only by a hint: “For it is good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods.” Faith is everything. If faith makes the heart firm, the heart stands secure. It follows that faith makes firm, and so reasonings shake. For faith is the opposite of reasoning.

“Which,” he says, “have not benefited those who have been occupied with them.” For tell me, what is the gain from keeping them? Does it not rather destroy? Does it not put such a person under sin? If observing is necessary, we must keep watch over ourselves. “Which,” he says, “have not benefited those who have been occupied with them”; that is, those who have always kept them diligently.

There is one observance: keeping away from sin. For what good is it, when some are so defiled that they cannot share in the sacrifices? So it did not save them at all, although they were zealous for the observances. Because they did not have faith, they gained nothing even so.

Next he takes the sacrifice away from the type and turns his discussion to the original, saying, “The bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest are burned outside the camp.” Those things, then, were a type of these, and so Christ, by suffering “outside,” fulfilled everything. [n]

Here he also makes it plain that he suffered willingly, showing that these things were not accidental, but that God’s arrangement itself called for a suffering “outside.” He suffered outside, but his blood was carried up into heaven. You see, then, that we share in blood that has been carried into the Holy Place, the true Holy Place, in a sacrifice that was once the privilege of the priest alone. We therefore share in the reality itself. If, then, we share not only in “reproach” but in being made holy, the “reproach” is the cause of our being made holy. For as he was reproached, so are we. If, therefore, we go out “outside,” we have fellowship with him.

But what does “Let us go out to him” mean? Let us share with him in his sufferings; let us bear his reproach. For he did not simply tell us to live “outside the gate,” but, as he was reproached as a condemned man, so must we be.

And “through him let us offer a sacrifice to God.” What kind of sacrifice does he mean? “The fruit of lips giving thanks to his name.” They, the Jews, brought sheep and calves and gave them to the priest. Let us bring none of these things, but thanksgiving. Let our lips put forth this fruit.

“For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Let us give him a sacrifice like this, so that he may offer it to the Father. For it is offered in no other way except through the Son, or rather, through a crushed heart as well. All these things are said for the sake of the weak. For it is evident that the thanks belong to the Son; otherwise, how is the honor equal? “So that all,” he says, “may honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5, verse 23). In what is the honor equal? “The fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

Let us bear everything with thanks, whether poverty, or disease, or anything else at all; for he alone knows what is good for us. [o]

“For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8, verse 26). We do not even know how to ask for what is fitting unless we have received it from the Spirit. So let us take care to offer thanks for everything, and let us bear everything nobly. Are we poor? Let us give thanks. Are we sick? Let us give thanks. Are we falsely accused? Let us give thanks. When we suffer hardship, let us give thanks. This brings us near to God; then we even have God as our debtor. But when we are prospering, we are the ones in debt, and liable to be called to account. For when we prosper, we are in debt to God, and often these things bring judgment on us, while hardships serve as payment for our sins. Hardships draw down mercy, they draw down kindness; while prosperity, on the other hand, lifts people up even to an insane pride, leads them into laziness, and makes a person imagine great things about himself. It puffs people up.

That is why the prophet also said, “It is good for me, Lord, that you have afflicted me, so that I may learn your statutes” (Psalm 119, verse 71). When Hezekiah had received blessings and been freed from disasters, his heart was lifted up high; when he fell sick, then he was humbled, then he came near to God. “When he slew them,” it says, “then they sought him diligently, and turned, and came early to God” (Psalm 78, verse 34). And again, “When the beloved grew thick and fat, then he kicked” (Deuteronomy 32, verse 15). For “the Lord is known when he carries out judgments” (Psalm 9, verse 16).

Affliction is a great good. “Narrow is the way” (Matthew 7, verse 14), so affliction thrusts us into the narrow way. Whoever is not pressed by affliction cannot get in. For the one who squeezes himself into the narrow way is the one who also enjoys ease; but the one who spreads himself out does not get in, and suffers, so to speak, from being wedged fast. See how Paul enters this narrow way. He “disciplines his body” (First Corinthians 9, verse 27), so as to be able to get in. That is why, in all his afflictions, he kept on giving thanks to God. Have you lost your property? That has lightened you of most of your width. Have you fallen from glory? That is another kind of width. Have you been falsely accused? Have the things said against you, things your own conscience knows nothing of, been believed? [p]

“Rejoice and leap for joy.” For “blessed are you,” he says, “when people insult you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be very glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5, verses 11 and 12).

Why are you surprised if you are grieved and want to be freed from trials? Paul wanted to be freed, and often begged God, and did not get it. For “Three times I begged the Lord about this” means often. “And he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness’” (Second Corinthians 12, verses 8 and 9). By “weakness” he here means afflictions. What then? When he heard this, he accepted it with thanks, and says, “That is why I take pleasure in weaknesses” (Second Corinthians 12, verse 10); that is, I am content, I rest in my afflictions. So let us give thanks for everything, both for comfort and for affliction. Let us not grumble; let us not be ungrateful. “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart” (Job 1, verse 21). You did not come into the world in glory; do not seek glory. You were brought into life naked, not only of money, but also of glory and of an honored name.

Consider how many evils have often come from wealth. For “it is easier,” it says, “for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19, verse 24). Do you see how many good things wealth stands in the way of, and do you still seek to be rich? Are you not glad that the obstacle has been thrown down? So narrow is the way that leads into the kingdom; so wide is wealth, so bulky and swollen. That is why he says, “Sell what you have” (Matthew 19, verse 21), so that the way may let you in. Why do you long for wealth? He took it away from you for this very reason, to set you free from slavery. For true fathers too, when a son has been corrupted by some mistress and all their urging cannot persuade him to leave her, send the mistress into exile. Abundance of wealth is like that. Because the Lord cares for us and rescues us from the harm that comes from it, he takes wealth away from us.

So let us not think poverty an evil: sin is the only evil. Nor is wealth a good thing in itself: to please God is the only good. Let us seek poverty, then; let us pursue it. In this way we will lay hold of heaven; in this way we will gain the other good things too. May we all gain them, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.