A Benediction for the New Year

Hebrews 13:20-25

January 13, 2002

 

How do you end an epistle like Hebrews? The pastoral writer likely contemplated this for some time, praying and mulling over the contents of his letter to this struggling congregation. He had taken them to the rarified air of God's revelation of Himself, His Son, and His eternal work. He had also brought them face to face with their own doubt, unbelief, and fear. His pastoral sermon ran the gamut of the sublime to the most penetrating applications of God's Word. Now he had to appropriately close it.

 

The last four verses provide a picture of his tenderness toward this church. He urges them to "bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly." We might question his idea of brevity, but if we consider the subject matter of Hebrews, we realize that he could have added much more-indeed, there are many more details that we wish he had added! He knew that his words were still stinging, so he wants them to endure the pain to receive the benefit of what he had spoken. He plans to visit them too, since their common "brother Timothy has been released." Evidently Timothy had been imprisoned, or at minimum detained, and with his release the writer anticipates, "with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you." He adds his greetings to all of their "leaders and all the saints," and offers greetings from Italian believers as well. Then, with brevity, he adds one more benediction, "Grace be with you all." He knew they would need much grace for what lay shortly ahead in terms of persecution and opposition. So he states his "prayer-wish" that the grace of God might accompany them on the journey. This grace, as one older writer put it, "is a stream of living water flowing through the desert, a power which enables us to withstand every adversity and to reach the promised land, the place of our rest, the heavenly Jerusalem" [Spicq, quoted by Philip Hughes, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 594].

 

What was this writer aiming for throughout the epistle? That might help us in grasping why he chose the words of the majestic benediction of verses 20-21. Remember that he was not addressing Christians living on easy street, enjoying all of the material benefits that society had to offer. By this time they may very well have been haggard and worn by the vexing trials of Jewish intimidations and looming persecution. And they were just getting started! More was on the way of the severest form, as the Roman Emperor Nero prepared to unleash the horrors of his depraved mind upon his scapegoat, the Christians. So this pastor writes to help them endure. That was the word that seemed to keep showing up throughout the epistle-endure. And now through his benediction, he would help them see that endurance was not a dream but a reality through the provisions of God in the new covenant by Jesus Christ.

 

Benedictions commonly formed the closing of worship among ancient Israelites and early Christians. The family of Aaron pronounced the blessing, usually Numbers 6:24-26: "The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace." Such benediction invoked the name of Yahweh upon the people of God, and supplicated Him for blessing. Christians continued this tradition as evident by the benedictions in various epistles. Typically, benedictions declare realities concerning the Lord, offer supplication for particular blessings-usually related to the message of the epistle, and offers praise to the Lord. Benedictions were not to be considered just a meaningless tradition, but a significant closure to the worship.

 

It is appropriate, having worked our way through the Epistle to the Hebrews with its depth and richness, that we offer the closing benediction for the church. It seems to tie together the vast message of Hebrews with the need of its audience, and appeals to the Lord for blessing. The God revealed in this epistle is the One who by His blessing enables you to faithfully persevere. What does this benediction say to the church today?

 

I. Declaration of divine benedictions

 

How can any of us believe the promises of God? Without trying to oversimplify, I would point to the character of God as the ground and rationale for our faith. If we truly see Him as He is, then it affects everything we believe. That is why any explanation of the gospel of Christ must begin with God. The gospel promises really have no weight or value unless the One who makes them is fully capable of bringing them to pass. So our writer opens his benediction with several declarations concerning the God who gives His benedictions to His people.

 

1. A God of peace

 

"Now the God of peace," opens the benediction. He begins with God, which is, as it ought to be. For God is at the center and the focus of all of life. This revealing name for God is not unusual. Paul uses it in II Corinthians 13:11, exhorting the brethren to live in peace, "and the God of love and peace will be with you." He reminds the Galatians that peace comes from God and the Lord Jesus Christ through His redemptive work (1:3-4). And to the Philippians he points to the excellency of the peace of God that comes through faithful praying, and additionally tells them that the faithful practice of the Christian life assures them that "the God of peace will be with you" (4:7, 9). To the Colossians he exhorts, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (3:15). The benediction to the Thessalonians refers to "the Lord of peace" granting peace (II Thes 3:16). So why do these epistles make so much of God as the author of peace?

 

The term, "peace," has its roots in the Hebrew word shalom, referring to a sense of wholeness, soundness, and well-being. It is the acknowledgement that the normal state of man is the absence of peace-enmity with God. There is conflict and chaos at the roots of his life because of sin. We even use this term today in that sense, such as what we hear on the news, "Negotiators hope for peace to be brokered in the Middle Eastern conflict." This refers to a cessation of hostilities. But the peace of God goes much deeper, for it penetrates to the innermost heart of a man, setting him free from his enmity with God, and liberating him to walk in freedom with God. Kent Hughes rightly calls this present use of peace, "a consciously appropriate benediction to fearful, restless hearts" [Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, 244]. In spite of all outward circumstances, "all is well" because of Christ, and the positive blessings that accompany the new birth.

 

It is God who is the author of such peace. Peace cannot come without a right relationship to God through Christ. That is why Paul's greeting to the Galatians served as a reminder that only through the redemptive death of Christ is there peace for sinful man. Even if a man is in the middle of a war torn country or if he is being hunted down like an animal because of his faith in Christ, there is still peace for him through the work of Christ in the heart.

 

We would be foolish to think that every person is concerned about peace or understands it. William Bates, a 17th century Puritan pastor that was ejected with 2500 other ministers due to their non-conformity to church law, preached his final sermon to his church on this text. Difficult days lay ahead for him and his church, and he knew they all needed to rest in "the God of peace." With the Day of Ejection there was not only loss of position but also loss of income and stability. Some 3000 nonconformists were put to death and 60,000 families faced ruin with the ironclad rule of Charles II and his demand for all England to conform to the rituals of the Book of Common Prayer. Many of the ministers were destitute because of this, but not without peace. Bates remarked, "There is a false peace which doth not arise from the knowledge of a man's happiness, but from the ignorance of this misery" [i.e., presumption toward God and the misery of not knowing the peace of God]. And then he explains, "They are only capable of true peace, by the knowledge of that which is false" [Farewell Sermons, SDG, 165].

 

This is clearer when we consider the next phrase.

 

2. A God of power

 

If we are to know the peace of God through the God of peace, then the substance of what has created chaos, enmity, and unrest in our souls must be dealt with. For instance, from the standpoint of civil peace in the Middle East or Central Asia, we will not see such peace until that which causes the unrest and turmoil is removed. The same is true in our souls. Unless our sin and enmity with God is removed, we will not know the Creator as "the God of peace" but as "a consuming fire" (12:29). But our God has made provision for peace through his mercy and power: "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord." The power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone brings peace and wholeness to our lives.

 

Usually the New Testament writers refer to God raising Christ from the dead (e.g., Rom 4:24). But here the term is unusual. God is the one "who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep." The mention of the resurrection is always in light of the death of Christ. Hebrews is an epistle that deals in great detail with the death of Christ, but only here mentions the resurrection. He does speak of Christ being exalted as our Great High Priest, of Christ entering into heaven for us, and of his constant intercession for us, but he does not specifically refer to resurrection until the end of the epistle. So he deals with the resurrection without using the term-until now. Two clear truths must stand out in our minds as we consider the power of God to raise the dead.

 

First, the fact of the resurrection declares that God has accepted the death of Christ as sufficient for our eternal salvation. The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. But how do we know that God accepted the blood of Christ as atonement for our sins? It is by the fact that He "brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep"! No other sacrificial victim was raised from the dead! All of the bulls and goats were temporary, but what Christ has done is final, complete, and eternal (10:10-14).

 

Second, because the "great Shepherd of the sheep" has been brought up from the dead, the sheep will follow! That is why we can wait for "a kingdom which cannot be shaken" (12:28), and can seek "the city which is to come" (13:14). Christ's resurrection gives us hope, vision, and assurance of God's power to save us eternally, and to bring us finally into His presence forever.

 

3. A God of promise

 

There is a reason for such confidence in the face of not only persecution but also eternity: "through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord." Hebrews, more than any epistle, explains the eternal covenant through Christ. After clarifying the excellence of Christ above the angels, Moses, and the Aaronic Priesthood, the writer takes aim at the whole of the old covenant. That which the Jews had depended upon-the old covenant-was temporary, preparatory to the eternal covenant promised in the prophets. And so he quotes Jeremiah's new covenant promise:

BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD. FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE (8:8-12).

But where is the blood of the covenant? Where is the sacrifice that would satisfy God's righteousness and justice? Where is the high priest who will mediate the way between God and us? "Even Jesus our Lord," he declares! Christ is the sacrifice eternally accepted by God in his bloody death at the cross-never to be repeated or replaced like all the former sacrifices. Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, the great high priest in things pertaining to God. The result is not an annual repetition of sacrifices by an ongoing Aerobic priesthood in obedience to an inadequate covenant, but "through the blood of the eternal covenant," offered by "Jesus our Lord," affirmed by "the God of peace" bringing up "the great Shepherd of the sheep" from the dead, we have sure promises that will take us through eternity!

 

God declares that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He enters into covenant with us forever and gives us these promises:

God writes His laws on our minds and hearts.

God declares that we are his people.

God affirms that we know Him personally, without the Levitical priesthood.

God assures His mercy toward our iniquities and forgiveness of our sins.

These are the New Covenant promises! And it is "the God of peace" who has taken every step necessary to bring these about through His Son's death and resurrection. And this is our basis for divine benediction. See God's peace, power, and promise toward us.

 

II. Supplication for divine benedictions

 

Now the benediction shifts from declaring the divine benefactor to the contents of His benefits to the elect. They offer us good application of the message of Hebrews for Christians throughout every age.

 

1. By God's purpose

 

It is most important in this era of shallow Christianity that views God as a tool for man's pleasure and happiness, that we see the purpose He has for us as members of the new covenant. This is where our continuance in the Christian life and perseverance are assured. Another of the Nonconformist pastors commented in his Ejection Day sermon on this text, "If God hath glorified himself so far among the Hebrews, as to reconcile them to himself, by the blood of Christ, then there is no question, God will proceed further; and having provided for those things which appertain to their justification, no question but he will for those things that are necessary to their sanctification" [Lazarus Seaman in Farewell Sermons, 399]. That is precisely where the benediction continues: "equip you in every good thing to do His will."

 

God created man in his own image; therefore man was to live his life completely attuned to doing the will of God. Anything outside the divine will would have been an affront to His image. The Fall left man doing his own will and not the will of God. But the new creation in Christ though the new covenant promises provides for believers those things necessary to do the will of God. Justification "through the blood of the eternal covenant," will surely lead to the sanctification of the redeemed.

 

So our writer prays for a divine equipping to take place in the lives of this first century church, and us as well. "Equip" is a common word in the New Testament, variously translated as "prepared" (Heb 10:5, 11:3), "complete" (I These 3:10), and "restore" (Gal 6:1). It implies that something is lacking, defective, or faulty and must be repaired or restored to usefulness. The word was used for setting a broken bone and repairing a torn fishing net. "Equip" appeals to the God who has justified us through Christ to provide everything necessary, in every area of life, to follow faithfully in doing God's will. The "prayer-wish" (portative mood) supplicates God, based on new covenant promises, to work in such a way that the believer will be adequately prepared "in every good thing to do His will."

 

Think of what this meant to these weak, struggling believers. While they felt themselves inadequate for what lay ahead, they were now assured that God through Christ has come to their aid. Like a broken fishing net that cannot hold its catch without someone outside of it mending it, we stand torn, broken, and demoralized by the world and our own weakness. But our God carefully takes the needle and netting, and weaves it wisely into the torn places of our lives, bringing us to wholeness and usefulness.

 

Are you weakened by the wear and tear of the world? Do you feel yourself incapable of living unto the Lord and doing His will? Then see that He meets you in your weakness, and equips you through the Word of God, the sufficiency of the gospel, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, fellowship of the Church, and the blessings of the ordinances to do His will.

 

2. Through God's providence

 

But still we struggle, thinking of our weaknesses, and the multiplied times that we have failed to faithfully do the will of God. So the writer adds to his supplication, that the God of the eternal covenant might be "working in us that which is pleasing in His sight." First, let's look at the last part of the clause, "that which is pleasing in His sight." What is God doing in your life? Where is He taking you? This is where we need to be reminded that the new covenant makes us "a people for His own possession zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14; I Pet 2:9). We belong to the Lord. He rules over us, for that is clearly implied in the title, "great Shepherd of the sheep." As Leon Morris has so aptly expressed, "But an aspect we in modern times sometimes miss is that the shepherd has absolute sovereignty over his flock" [EBB, 155]. So what does He want of us, and what will He sovereignly lead us to do? The answer is clear, "that which is pleasing in His sight." The writer uses the Greek term, enopion for "sight," literally meaning, 'before His face'. Here is the implication. God is so working in our lives through his providential dealings in the details of life that we might do the things that He finds well-pleasing before His face. It is as though you were staring in the face of God, and He finds great pleasure in what you are doing because He has worked it in you.

 

Now the key to this is found in the covenant keeping God "working in us." I never cease to be amazed at the wonder that the transcendent God saves us and continues working in us! In that same vein, Paul exhorted the Philippians to work out their salvation, to give zealous attention to it, but to remember, "it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (2:12-13). Both the desire-to will-and the ability-to work-is found in what God is doing in the believer. So every detail of your life has some bearing on the way God is working in you as a Christian so that you might do the things that are pleasing before His face. He works providentially in ways we see and cannot see, to enable us, strengthen us, refine us, teach us, shape us, reform us, renew us, and refresh us all for the purpose of doing "that which is pleasing in His sight." How does the Lord do this? The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question, "What are God's works of providence?" "God's works of providence are, His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions" [Q. 11]. Because He has worked redemptively in your life, He continues to work to sanctify your desires, ambitions, motives, delights, actions, and conversations so that all might be to His pleasure and glory.

 

But how can I be certain that the Lord is working in my life toward His pleasure?

 

3. In God's provision

 

"Through Jesus Christ" explains the answer. It is by our union with Christ through the bonds of the new covenant, according to what Christ has accomplished for us in His ratifying the new covenant by His death, that we can be certain of divine benedictions. "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6). What God has started through Christ He completes. And what God has provided through Jesus Christ is fully adequate for our completion. That is why our writer had no hesitation to exhort these believers to move away from all the "add-ons" proposed by their Jewish neighbors to depend upon Christ alone. It is the same reason that Paul could denounce the Judaizers in Galatia and the mystics in Colossae for trying to add to what Christ has done. "In Him you have been made complete," Paul told the Colossians (2:10). He is "the author and perfecter of faith," our writer concurred (12:2).

 

So the assurance that God's benedictions or blessings belong to you so that you might be pleasing to Him-is found in Him who is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His nature, the creator and upholder of all things, who partook of flesh and blood, who became a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God in order to propitiate God with reference to our sins, who was faithful as a Son over the house of God, who entered within the heavenly veil as a forerunner for us, who became a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, who obtained a more excellent ministry as the mediator of a better covenant, who through His own blood entered the holy place once for all to obtain eternal redemption, who offered one sacrifice for all time, who ever lives to make intercession for us, who opens a new and living way into the presence of God for us, who endured the cross and despised its shame as He finished the redemptive work of God, and who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. That is God's provision for you to be pleasing to Him!

 

III. Praise in divine benedictions 

 

This leaves us with only one thing to do: to praise our gracious God! For it is He "to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Scholars debate whether the "to whom" refers to God the Father who initiates all the redemptive and sanctifying work, or God the Son who brings it to pass. Perhaps it is unclear grammatically so that it might be clear theologically. All glory belongs to our Triune God! All the glory for life, salvation, sanctification, and glorification belong to Him.

 

Conclusion

 

Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ who rose from the dead after sealing the new covenant gospel with His blood? Are you a believer who is limping along, maybe complaining or feeling self-pity or moaning over your troubles? Then see this great God who brought up Jesus from the dead, who also equips you and works in you so that you might please Him! Look to Him, and press on faithfully!

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