Heb 13:9-21
SS Lesson for 08/24/2025
Devotional Scripture: Ps 107:21-32
Christians find repeated encouragements in Scripture to offer praise to the Lord. Likewise, church services are full of singing, praying, and preaching that give praise to God. Why do we do this? What is the background and basis for Christian praise? The author of Hebrews teaches us that certain observances in the Old Testament demonstrate how our practices are both contrasting and parallel to the prescribed customs of the ancient people of Israel. By tracing these antecedents back to their Old Testament sources, we may better understand how praise is an essential element in our relationship with God today. Then, perhaps, we can “give it up” to the Lord, a full-throated expression of our praise and adoration.
For the best understanding of an author’s writing, it is beneficial to know (1) who was writing, (2) who the intended recipients were, and (3) the reason for the correspondence. We don’t always have all three in all 27 books of the New Testament. Concerning the book or letter we call Hebrews, we do not have any of the three! Many authors have been suggested for Hebrews. Hebrews 13:23 mentions the release of Timothy, a well-known companion of Paul. This fact may point to Paul as the author, but we cannot know this for certain—the letter is not in his usual style. It is likely we will never know the identity of the individual who wrote this book. Regarding the identity of the recipients, the closing statement “Those from Italy send you their greetings” (Hebrews 13:24) is not detailed enough to help. Even so, the letter shows a level of intimacy with the recipients that indicates the author knew the people of this congregation rather well. There is no purpose statement in this letter as there are in Luke 1:1-4; John 20:31; 1 John 5:13; etc. We must be satisfied with knowing that the early church valued Hebrews as authoritative, apostolic teaching that should guide the church and have its place in the New Testament. Reading the book of Hebrews gives a strong impression that it was written to Christians of Jewish background who were wavering in their faith under persecution (Hebrews 10:32-34). They seem to have been thinking of returning to Judaism. The author confronted this error by explaining the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament system. In so doing, the author shows how Christ surpasses every element of the Jewish system. The author does that in a very Jewish way, respecting Jewish traditions and arguing from Scripture. But as we move to the last chapter of Hebrews, the writer switches from doctrinally heavy topics to practical application.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
22 But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Verse 9
We should reject teaching that deviates from apostolic doctrine. This, too, is a strong safeguard against apostasy. The terms "varied and strange" describe a variety of heretical positions. Rather than accepting these ideas we should receive strength by taking in God’s grace that comes through His Word (Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 Peter 2:2). This strength comes from spiritual rather than material food. Evidently one of the strange teachings prevalent when this letter originated was that certain foods or abstinence from certain foods resulted in greater godliness (cf. Colossians 2:16; 1 Timothy 4:1-5). This was, of course, what Judaism taught too. Judaism taught that eating food strengthened the heart in the sense that when the Jews ate they gave thanks to God and thus brought Him into their experience (cf. Psalms 104:14-15). [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, pp. 533-36.] However, Jesus’ death on the cross is the source of both the saving and sustaining grace of God by which we experience strengthening.
"This, I think, is the key message of Hebrews: ’You can be secure while everything around you is falling apart!’" [Note: Wiersbe, 2:278.]
Verse 10
Believers under the Old Covenant ate part of what they offered to God as a peace offering (Leviticus 7:15-18). However believers under the New Covenant feed spiritually on Jesus Christ who is our peace offering. Those still under the Old Covenant had no right to partake of Him for spiritual sustenance and fellowship with God since their confidence was still in the Old Covenant.
"Christians had none of the visible apparatus which in those days was habitually associated with religion and worship-no sacred buildings, no altars, no sacrificing priests. Their pagan neighbors thought they had no God, and called them atheists; their Jewish neighbors too might criticize them for having no visible means of spiritual support." [Note: Bruce, The Epistle . . ., p. 400.]
Roman Catholics have tended to see in this "altar" a reference to the mass, whereas Protestants have viewed it as a reference either to Christ Himself or His cross or a heavenly altar. I prefer Christ Himself since it is through Him that we are to offer a sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15; cf. 1 Peter 2:5).
Verse 11
Far from defiling those who associated with Jesus Christ, our sin (purification) offering, associating with Him leads to holiness. Here the writer compared Jesus to the sin offering that the Jewish high priest offered on the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16:27).
". . . in Hebrews the expression ’high priest’ customarily signals that the field of reference is the annual atonement ritual (cf. Hebrews 5:3; Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 8:1-3; Hebrews 9:7; Hebrews 9:11-12; Hebrews 9:24-26)." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 540.]
Verse 12
Jesus’ death outside Jerusalem fulfilled the Day of Atonement ritual in that the high priest burned the remains of the two sacrificial animals outside the precincts of the wilderness camp. It also fulfilled the ritual of that day in that Jesus’ execution outside the city involved the shame of exclusion from the sacred precincts. It symbolized His rejection by the Jewish authorities. [Note: Morris, p. 151.]
Verse 13
"This verse may be regarded as the crux of the conclusion, a final direct appeal to the readers to identify themselves wholly with Christ." [Note: Guthrie, p. 274.]
Christians bear Jesus’ reproach when we identify with Him. He suffered reproach, and so do we, when we identify with Him. This was especially true of the original Jewish recipients of this epistle. They needed to cut their emotional and religious ties to Judaism. [Note: Bruce, The Epistle . . ., p. 403; Philip E. Hughes, A Commentary . . ., pp. 580-82.] Jerusalem was no longer their special city (cf. Hebrews 13:14). There is nothing wrong with Jewish Christians maintaining Jewish customs provided they do not rely on them for favor with God.
"The exhortation to leave the camp [i.e., official Judaism] and to identify fully with Jesus introduces a distinctive understanding of discipleship. Jesus’ action in going ’outside the camp’ (Hebrews 13:12) set a precedent for others to follow. The task of the community is to emulate Jesus, leaving behind the security, congeniality, and respectability of the sacred enclosure [cf. the Israelites’ camp in the wilderness wanderings], risking the reproach that fell upon him. Christian identity is a matter of ’going out’ now to him. It entails the costly commitment to follow him resolutely, despite suffering.
"In the context of the allusion to Golgotha in Hebrews 13:12, this summons to discipleship implies following Jesus on the way to the cross . . ." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 543. Cf. Guthrie, pp. 274-75.]
Verse 14
The city we seek is the heavenly Jerusalem. Our present habitation on earth is only temporary (cf. Hebrews 11:26).
Verses 15-16
Even though God does not require periodic animal and vegetable sacrifices from us, we should offer other sacrifices to Him. These sacrifices include praise (cf. Hosea 14:2), good works, and (even, especially) sharing what we have with others (as well as giving Him ourselves, Romans 12:1). We should offer these sacrifices of the New Covenant continually.
"In systems like Judaism sacrifices were offered at set times, but for Christians praise goes up all the time." [Note: Morris, p. 151. Cf. Moffatt, pp. 236-37.]
Verse 17
The leaders in view are church elders (pastors; cf. Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:24). These shepherds will have to give account to God one day for their stewardship over us. We should make their work now easier for them by being obedient and submissive to them. Will the leaders of your church be able to tell God that leading you was a pleasure when they stand before Him?
Verses 18-19
The writer confessed to needing the prayers of his brothers and sisters in the faith. He faced the same pressure to depart from the Lord that they faced. He longed to return to them again wherever they may have been living. He believed their prayers could affect God’s timing of his return to them. Hebrews was not originally anonymous since the writer and the readers knew each other.
Verse 20
Elsewhere John and Peter called Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd (John 10:14) and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Here He is the Great Shepherd, greater than any in Judaism. This is another expression of Jesus’ superiority over the Mosaic system.
"As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ died for the sheep (John 10:11). As the Great Shepherd, He lives for the sheep in heaven today, working on their behalf. As the Chief Shepherd, He will come for the sheep at His return (1 Peter 5:4). Our Shepherd cares for His own in the past, present, and future. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!" [Note: Wiersbe, 2:330.]
Likewise the "eternal covenant" is the New Covenant in contrast to the temporary Old Covenant. Jesus’ blood (death) was superior to animal blood (death) offered under the Old Covenant. This pastoral prayer brings the sermon to its conclusion. Many of the emphases expounded in the epistle come together in this benediction: peace, resurrection and ascension, shepherding, blood, covenant, Jesus, and glory.
These verses express the writer’s prayerful wish for his readers.
Verse 21
"Equip" means to prepare for use (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The same Greek word, katartidzo, describes elsewhere a doctor setting a broken bone, a general preparing his army for battle, and a fisherman mending his net (cf. Matthew 4:21). It was the writer’s concern that his readers be ready to reign with Jesus Christ. This is the purpose for remaining faithful to God throughout the epistle. Part of our full inheritance (full rest, full salvation) is the privilege of reigning with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). To attain this privilege we must continue to press on toward maturity by following Jesus Christ faithfully rather than turning from Him.
Verse 22
The writer urged his readers again to accept the word of exhortation contained in this epistle rather than rejecting it. It is, after all, a brief word.
"The definite expression ’the exhortation’ is a synonymous designation for the sermon. It referred specifically to the exposition and application of the Scripture that had been read aloud to the assembled congregation. In a fourth-century description of the liturgy for the consecration of a bishop the homily is designated logous parakleseos, ’words of exhortation’ (Apost. Const. 8.5). This appears to be a fixed expression for the sermon in early Christian circles . . ." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 568. See also L. Wills, "The Form of the Sermon in Hellenistic Judaism and Early Christianity," Harvard Theological Review 77 (1984):280 and footnote 10.]
The closing verses of Hebrews are an addendum to the body of this homiletical epistle. The writer added them because he felt concern for his addressees and wanted to add a few personal remarks.
Verse 23
The writer obviously composed this epistle during the lifetime of Timothy and after some confinement that Timothy had experienced. Evidently the writer and Timothy were close associates in the Lord’s work. This is almost certainly a reference to the Timothy referred to elsewhere in the New Testament. This is the only Christian that the writer mentioned by name in the entire epistle.
Verse 24
The term "leaders" refers to local church leaders (cf. Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:17). The letter probably went to one house-church. The evidence indicates that most first-century churches had more than one leader (cf. Titus 1:5; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17; Philippians 1:1). It would be strange if the writer sent this letter to someone in a church who was not a leader.
"The multiplicity of house churches suggests why diversity, disunity, and a tendency toward independence were persistent problems in the early Church. Unity and organization became matters of urgent concern. The members of the several house churches in a particular center needed to keep in touch with one another. It was of vital importance that the greetings of the writer be conveyed to ’all the saints’ . . ." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 570. Cf. F. V. Filson, "Yesterday": A Study of Hebrews in the Light of Chapter 13, p. 76.]
"Those from Italy" probably refers to Christians who had left Italy rather than to believers currently living there (cf. Acts 18:2). [Note: Westcott, pp. 451-52. Cf. Tenney, pp. 234-35.] If this is true, the writer probably wrote from somewhere other than Italy.
Verse 25
The writer closed with a final benediction and prayer that God’s grace would be with his readers in the sense that they would receive strength from it (cf. Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19; Hebrews 12:15; Hebrews 13:9). This would happen as they persevered faithfully in the truth.
This entire last chapter is an admonition to worship God acceptably, according to the New Covenant.
(Adapted from URL:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/hebrews-13.html)
Christian tradition has produced many different styles of the cross. Each has its own symbolism and meaning. One of these is the Celtic Cross, which tradition says was introduced to the Irish people by Patrick, the fifth-century missionary to Ireland. In its simplest form, the Celtic Cross looks like a standard cross with a circle around its center. The cross represents the sacrifice of Christ. The circle represents eternity. Together, they speak of the perfect, eternal sacrifice of Jesus. The book of Hebrews speaks of things in terms of eternity. As the Celtic Cross symbolizes, Jesus has provided an eternal sacrifice for us. He is our once-for-all-time high priest, without beginning or end. We wait for an eternal city. We have continual, eternal praise to offer to God, glory forever and ever. We have an everlasting covenant, the new covenant promised by the prophet Jeremiah. Why would we relinquish any of these blessings for old, inferior ways of relating to God? Why would trivial issues and distractions sidetrack us? May we continue to offer our praise to the Lord as a pleasing offering to him. This is sacrifice combined with eternity