Closing And Summary Thoughts (In Search Of Truth, Hebrews 13:18-25)

(Hebrews 13:18-25, ESV)
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.


v.18

The letter becomes more personal as the author prepares to conclude. He asks for prayer on his behalf from his readers, appealing to his clear conscience and desire to act honorably.

Because we lack some of the specific context of this letter, the fact that the author makes an appeal for prayer based on his own character is unusual and a mystery. It's been suggested that the readers had been accusing the author of some wrongdoing or fault in his character, possibly related to his absence from them. But we can't really know for sure.

v.19

The author's request for prayer is to bring about his "restoration" to the readers. It's unclear what was wrong that needed fixing. The author's health? His imprisonment? His inability to travel? In any case, the end result was that he was not able to be with his readers. He greatly wanted that situation to be changed and recognized prayer from God's people as a catalyst for that change.

As we observed last time, our leaders are not super-people. They will make mistakes or communicate poorly, resulting in misunderstanding and sometimes conflict with us. But even in the midst of that, our prayer for them is important.

Prayer is also a practical treatment for problems. (That's hard for me to type, because I struggle with viewing prayer this way.) It's not the ONLY practical treatment, and many times should be accompanied by other action on our part. In fact one of prayer's greatest day-to-day values is to get us on the same page with God so we can take action in line with his will. But even prayer by itself leads to God's action in a situation, and therefore shouldn't be neglected or seen as an empty gesture.

v.20-21

As we observed through earlier chapters, a major theme of this book has been "holding on to hope and confidence in Yahweh so that we can be engaged in his plans and experience his blessing and rest". The author both closes and summarizes his writing of the entire letter with a formal declaration that puts a spotlight on God's character, acts and purpose for believers, which remains consistent with the themes of the book.

Yahweh is identified as "the God of peace", which echoes the author's early call for readers to enter into the "rest" that Jesus has made possible for us. (Chapters 3 & 4)

An affirmation of Christ's victory over death is a confirming reminder that what Jesus accomplished for us is real, and not a purely spiritual or intangible affair.

Jesus is our great shepherd. He is the ultimate leader, surpassing Abraham and Moses in his capacity to lead us to Yahweh. (Chapter 2, 7 & 8)

His resurrection was made possible because he was a perfect sacrifice for sin. Death is the default payment for sin(Romans 6:23), but Jesus was perfect, and so did not deserve death. In the end, this is why he was raised from the dead, and how he proved that he truly has the authority to pay for our sins and serve as the ultimate "go-between" for us and God in this New Covenant we now live under. (Chapters 5, 7-10)

Because of all this, God can now equip us with everything we need to be a part of his work, engaging in the "race of faith" throughout our lives and actually bringing him pleasure in the process. (Chapters 12 & 13)

This is an immense gift that Yahweh has given us through Jesus. It has infinite  worth, and because of that Jesus will be rightly honored with glory and worship forever.

v.22

The author refers to this book as a "word of exhortation". In other words, he has been calling his readers to "come near" and rise to something better at the same time. An invitation to join the author in pursuing what he has seen to be good. He wants to call people alongside him rather than talk down to them with a wagging finger. A mode of instruction we'd be wise to imitate. Especially since, as comparatively gentle as this mode of instruction is, it can still be difficult to hear, which the author implies by asking his readers to bear with him, given the relatively short length of his letter. (Hebrews is shorter than Romans and 1st Corinthians, and could have been much longer given the subject matter.)

v.23-24

The value of relationships is indirectly confirmed with the mention of Timothy's release, the author's plans to see his readers, and the instruction to greet the leaders and fellow believers who are associated with those reading this letter.

v.25

The letter ends as many New Testament letters do, with a prayer for grace for all who read this letter or hear it read. It's a reminder that grace (favor that is undeserved by any personal worth, merit or achievement) is given to us so tirelessly by God, which has been described throughout this letter. It's also a reminder that grace should be a defining characteristic among communities of believers. We should increasingly give undeserved special treatment to the other believers we interact with.


SO WHAT'S IN THIS FOR GEEKS?

I've seen in myself and other geeks that we are a striving bunch. We strive to define ourselves favorably in the eyes of other people or in our own eyes. We need to be reminded that Jesus offers rest from all that, through the forgiveness, value and significance he has given us under the New Covenant.

We will repeatedly run into dysfunction and sin as we interact with unbelievers, believers and even spiritual leaders. But we're called to something other than a self-righteous knee-jerk reaction that creates division in relationships. Yes, that's what many of us have received from others. But what we're called to do, what we're equipped by Christ to do as we trust the life perspective he teaches, is to give each other undeserved special treatment, even in the midst of the mess.


OUR NEXT BOOK:

Both chronologically and by a unique orchestration of the Holy Spirit, I think the book of Ephesians is a great place to go next in our journey through the New Testament. It's a book I found myself in recently because of a church retreat in the summertime. It's a letter that reveals our identity and worth under the New Covenant, and describes what a New Covenant community should be known for.

The timing was uncanny, because surrounding the days of the retreat I was praying through and processing some thoughts about the Christian Geek Central community, feeling a desire to cast vision again for what kind of a community we could be because of the identity we have been given. (I also believe identity and self-worth are vital issues among Christian Geeks.) The plan to start Ephesians next was finally confirmed when I discovered that, based on a particular chronological timeline for the New Testament books that I chose for us long ago, Ephesians is the next book in line!

I may do something topical instead next week as I do some advance reading and prep, but after that stay tuned for Ephesians! It looks like God may be orchestrating something we don't want to miss!