Read Hebrews 11 here.
Read Hebrews 12 here.
Our passage today is one of the most well-loved passages in the Bible, if not one of the most well-known. It is usually referred to as the faith chapter, or something like that. And it certainly deserves its reputation. But as is often the case, we often don’t understand it as well as we think we do. Not that I’m going to claim or attempt to illuminate some secret aspect of it. I just want to try to think about it as well as we are able, in the time that we have. So, let us consider Hebrews chapter 11 (and we’ll read to 12:3).
Now the first thing to note about this passage is that we cannot pull it out of its context, the larger letter to the Hebrews. And we note again that, throughout Hebrews, the author is concerned with establishing the superiority and sufficiency of Jesus. And as we’ve seen in the past few chapters, he is particularly concerned with establishing Jesus as the true High Priest and the true sacrifice for our sins, by which we can be assured that we can have true life. But the author isn’t just concerned about imparting or correcting theology. He also intends to encourage his readers to remain faithful – that is, to remain faithful to Christ, to remain faithful in Christ, and what Christ has done.
So, in the previous passage, he says:
10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”38 And,
“But my righteousone will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
So what we are getting in our passage today is clearly an enumeration of those in the story of God who do not shrink back nor are destroyed; of those “those who have faith and are saved.”
The list that we are given is a sizable list and includes many we would expect to see on any list of “heroes of faith.” However, there are also many who are left off the list, or merely glossed over. In fact, the list substantially only brings us to the entrance to Canaan. We get mention of Jericho and Rahab, but beyond that, the conquering of Canaan is relegated to “we don’t have time” status. David and his kingdom are only mentioned in passing. There’s no mention of Elijah, no mention of Daniel (at least by name) or his compatriots; no mention of the exile.
Of course we can’t really be sure why we get the list that we do and why people are left off of that list. However, I would suggest that there are some things (or some thing) that we can notice.
Upon observation, it seems that the list is essentially given to us in two sections. The first is from vv. 4 (or 3) to 12. And then we get a bit of reflection from vv. 13-16. The listing of heroes of faith then picks up again at v. 17 onward. The list proper ends at v. 31, though one could easily argue that the author continues giving us examples of faithfulness through to v. 38. Verses 39-40 give us a final reflection. And chapter 12 vv. 1-3 gives us an exhortation, which flows logically from what has just been said.
As is often the case, I cannot be sure that this is what the author intended – or if, to put it another way, I’m reading more into the text than what is intended. But it appears to me that we can make sense of the passage in the following way.
Firstly, if we look at the first list – or the first section of the list – it is evident that vv. 4-12 focus on Abraham. Of course, these verses begin with Abel, and bring us through Enoch and Noah. But it seems to me that the emphasis – the climax of these verses? – lays in Abraham (and his family) and the promise that he is given from God. So we read in vv. 8-12:
11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Similarly, I would argue that the second list, vv. 17-31 finds its climax in Moses. It picks up where the previous list paused, with Abraham, and carries us through to Joshua (at least) in Canaan. But the most verses are spent with Moses, as the greatest number of verses are spent with Abraham in the earlier list. And though of course we cannot judge simply on number of verses, the author does seem (to me) most concerned with how Moses’ faith was worked out in his specific context. So we read:
11:24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Of course, it makes a lot of sense that the author would spend the most time (or verses) with Abraham and Moses, respectively. Because in the story of Israel, Abraham and Moses are the largest figures (arguably). Abraham, because it is he who was first called and to whom the covenant with God is first made. Moses because he leads the people out of Egypt and into the promised land. It is Moses to whom the law is given, the constitution of what would become the nation, the people, of Israel.
This should give us a clue that what the author is concerned about here is the whole people of God – that is because Abraham and Moses play such crucial roles in the establishment of the people. So perhaps faithfulness – and thus the list of heroes of faith – has something to do with how God relates to the whole people, not just disparate individuals. We should be paying attention to the fact that God’s promises have to do with creating and saving a people. But we’ll come back to that.
Let’s turn our attention now to the two reflection passages. Again, these are verses 13-16 and verses 39-40. These read:
11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
and…
11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
As we can see, both of these passages say the same thing. That is, though all of the people listed are lauded for being faithful, none of them received what they had promised. And while one might say, “Then what was the point? What good is faithfulness, if one doesn’t receive the reward they are promised?” the answer to that objection is already noted: That is, the reward is an eschatological one. Further the reward is a corporate one – not just a reward for the (faithful) individual. Thus, we read:
- “11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one…”
- And…
- “11:40…God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
In other words, the reward for their faithfulness is a final reward, an ultimate reward. It is not a reward to be found in this time and place, on this side of eternity. It is one that will be revealed when all is said and done. And the reward is a corporate one – the people receive God’s blessings. This may be why God prepares a city – an individual does not need a city. Cities are for communities.
This idea is not something unique to Hebrews. Indeed, it is woven throughout scripture. But it makes me think of one particular passage. Jeremiah 29:11 says,
Jer. 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Often, we remove this particular verse from its immediate context, which reads:
Jer. 29:10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Now again, many people are familiar with that paragraph as well. And we are familiar with the fact that these words are spoken to Israel in exile. But what we easily lose sight of is the fact that the people to whom these words are spoken (and again, it is the people to whom these words are spoken) never saw the end of the exile. The “seventy years” referred to here are a symbolic seventy years, essentially saying, “when the time is completed.”
But we like to use these verses, Jeremiah 29:11 in particular, to say to people that if you hang in there, God will reward you. If you hang in there, you will see God do good things. But again, the people to whom these words are spoken did not see the good things that were being spoken of. It wasn’t until generations later that the exile was ended (arguably, when Jesus’ work was completed).
They are very much like the people in Hebrews who the author said never received the good things that were promised by God.
So what do we do with that? How is this a word of exhortation? How is this good news if the call to faithfulness does not lead to reward?
What is helpful for me is to think about the relationship between having faith in and having faith for. In our passage today, the author repeatedly uses the phrase, “By faith…” By faith, Abraham left his home and went to a new place. By faith, he brought his son Isaac to be sacrificed. By faith, Moses gave up his privilege as adopted son of Egypt. By faith, he led the people out of Egypt. And so on and so on…
Now by that phrase, we understand something along the lines of, by faith the person mentioned did a thing. He or she stepped out in faith.
What is understood is that the person had faith in God. But we can also understand that the person had faith in God for something.
And if we understand the story of Israel; if we understand the story of God’s redemptive work, we understand that thing for which the person had faith was not merely personal reward or individual advantage. We know that the person had faith for the fulfillment of God’s work of redemption. Each person (to varying extents) had faith in God for something greater than themselves.
And this is the thing to which I said earlier that we would come back to later. God’s promises have to do with creating and saving a people. And this means that faithfulness in God means knowing that He is working for all of creation.
What this means is that the faithfulness of God is about more than just what we can see with our own eyes or can hold in our own hands. It is about more than what I receive. We can have faith in God because of what He is doing for everyone who believes.
We can continue to have faith in God not because of what I am receiving, but because of what God is doing. We can continue to seek to be faithful, not because of what we think it will get us, but because God is a good God. And I pray and have confidence that God will continue to do a good work in you and through you. So we say, with full assurance:
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.