John Mark Hicks

This is a communion meditation based on Matthew 26:26-29 that emphasizes the reality of Jesus eating with us at the table in the Father’s kingdom.

Abby Kaplan joins Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks to talk about Psalm 45. This royal wedding song has both an original significance in Israel and a messianic meaning. The Psalm, sung by Israel, desires a king of justice, humility, and truth, and celebrates the inclusion of a woman from outside of Israel. Ultimately, the nations will praise this king forever and ever. What does this Psalm have to say to us today?

Hebrews 12:1-17

Lesson 21: Run the Race with Perseverance

Hebrews 12:1-17

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—

            “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

                        or lose heart when you are punished by him;

            for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,

                        and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

In chapter twelve, the preacher brings home the driving agenda of his sermon: a call to perseverance.  While the witnesses to the power of faith are encouraging, the preacher reminds the readers that Jesus is the primary and foundational example of faith.  Just as the witnesses suffering through the hostility of the cultures in which they lived, so Jesus suffered through faith. Yet, Jesus is the true pioneer and perfector of our faith as he endured the cross and its shame but was then exalted to the right hand of God.

Faith is disturbed by suffering. It seems incompatible with God’s compassionate fatherhood (even though Jesus was also a son who suffered). The preacher, therefore, comments on the reality of suffering and its meaning in the journey of faith. Perhaps surprising, God is active, involved, and present in their suffering. Indeed, God uses suffering; it can have positive meaning. Faith is trained by suffering as God refines us, matures us, and prepares us for holiness and the fuller experience of God’s own reality—our perfection.

The heroic faithful of Hebrews 11 are “witnesses.” I think this has a kind of double meaning: they bear witness to the reality of faith and they are witnesses to the race that continues in the present. They are victors in that they endured and finished their race. They testify to faith. They are also sitting in the arena cheering on those who are still running. Faith is a marathon race. Some have finished; others are still running. Those who have persevered and completed their journey are now witnesses to the power of faith and the congregation gathered at Mt. Zion in the heavenly Jerusalem applauding us for our perseverance.

These witnesses invite us to follow them.  Consequently, the preacher appeals to his hearers to cast off “the sin” (notice how definite that is; it is not “sins,” but “the sin”) that hinders them from running.  The “sin” is probably the sin of apostasy, which is the danger for the preacher’s audience.  Rather than quitting and hanging back or shrinking back, the preacher encourages them to continue the race and finish it.

However, the primary witness to faith is Jesus himself.  He joined us in the race.  He himself suffered and participated in our suffering.  He ran the race, and he persevered through faith.  He is our champion, our pioneer.  Consequently, fix your eyes on him.  Keep his example ever before you. He endured the shame for the sake of the promise, that is, to sit at the right hand of God as high priest for the people of God. This was the “joy” set before him.

Jesus is also the perfector of faith itself. We are seeking perfection and moving towards perfection (Hebrews 6:1), but it is Jesus who perfects faith. Our faith is weak, and it often struggles. But the perfector is Jesus who finished the journey without sin, that is, he did not give up, and he did not succumb to the dangers of apostacy. Moreover, as our perfected high priest exalted to the right hand of God, he pioneered a path for us to follow and join him in the heavenly sanctuary.

The situation of the preacher’s audience is clarified a bit in Hebrews 12:3-4 when Jesus’ suffering is placed in the context of opposition from sinful men and the preacher notes that they had not yet resisted evil unto blood.  In other words, they can expect martyrdom.  They will experience hostility and death from evil people, just as Jesus did.  The open question is whether they will run the race to the end just as Jesus did.

But how are we to understand the coming persecution?  Why does God permit this persecution?  Why did he permit the crucifixion and death of his own Son?  What purpose does God have in this permission of suffering?  What purpose moght God see in suffering at all?

The classic text for God’s pedagogical purposes in discipline (think: discipling) is Hebrews 12 (the Greek verbs and nouns for discipline are used eight times in verses 5-11).  The preacher draws upon the Hebrew Bible’s understanding of discipline as he applies those principles to the situation in which his readers find themselves.  Those ancient principles of discipline are applicable to present saints.  The writer anticipates that his readers will face another period of persecution as in the earlier days of their faith.  He calls them to remember those early days when they “stood [their] ground in a great contest in the face of suffering” (Hebrews 10:32).  They were publicly insulted and persecuted.  Some were thrown in prison and others had their property confiscated (Hebrews 10:33-34).  The believers persevered then, and now they must expect another contest of suffering.  The writer anticipates that there will be a renewal of this persecution or some kind of struggle that may involve the death of some in their community.  They have not yet had any martyrs, but there may be some in the future (Hebrews 12:4). Some may have to endure the cross and its shame, just as Jesus did.

Whatever the nature of this coming struggle, the writer offers an interpretation.  It does not come as punishment for sin, nor does it come because God is angry with the people.  Rather, this discipline arises out God’s love.  It is the kind of discipline that a father offers his child (Hebrews 12: 7-10).  The preacher quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 as a “word of encouragement that address [them] as sons” (Hebrews 12:5b-6).

The term translated “chastise” is a verb that means to “flog,” just as Jesus was flogged and his disciples were told that they would be flogged (Matthew 10:17; 20:19; 23:34; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:33; John 19:1).  Indeed, some of the previous witnesses mentioned in chapter eleven had suffered flogging (Hebrews 11:36).  The original readers of Hebrews could, perhaps, expect some of that themselves.  The context here does not mean “punishment” or vengeance as when God expresses his righteous judgment against evil but refers to the infliction of pain which discipline involves.  God chastises people; God afflicts them with pain for the sake of a higher goal.  The notion of “rebuke” (translated punished above) is a similar idea.  This rebuke does not arise out of anger but out of a desire for God’s people to reach a higher level of maturity.  God has a goal in mind and disciplines children in view of that goal.  God disciplines them according to the dictates of love in the light of the goal—the future they cannot yet see.

The readers, therefore, should not misinterpret this new wave of persecution as a sign of God’s anger.  They must understand it as a sign of love. It is God’s fatherly attention just as earthly fathers give attention to their children.  They should be encouraged rather than discouraged by this new struggle. God seeks to train his people through this pain. God seeks to educate his people so that they are equipped to share God’s holiness and communion. To persevere through the struggle, believers need to keep their eye on the goal to which God has called them.  This is the example of Jesus.  He is the model of endurance, just as the heroes of faith are models in Hebrews 11.  Jesus endured the cross with all its shame to experience the joy that was set before him, and even now he sits at the right hand of God (Hebrews 11:2).  Likewise, all the faithful who have gone before witness to the power of faith.  Though their faith did not receive what it hoped for in this life, nevertheless it persevered because they sought a city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:13-16; 39-40; 12:1).  God used struggle in their life to strengthen their faith so that it might persevere.

It is important to see God’s intent here.  God disciplines and chastises (causes pain, even flogs) for a reason.  It is a reason that is more significant than the pain of discipline.  The pain has a purpose.  The author writes (Hebrews 12:10b-11): What does God intend in discipline?  God intends something that is for our own good.  The good God intends is that we might share in his holiness.  The discipline trains us in such a way that it produces righteousness and peace, and the effect of this discipline is that we share God’s holiness.  God uses suffering and pain to produce a fruit whose purpose is that we might share his holiness. 

What does it mean to share God’s holiness?  It certainly includes the cultivation of fruit in our lives so that when the harvest of righteousness and peace is produced, we reflect God’s holiness.  But there is more since “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).  There is an eschatological meaning here as well as the promise of God’s current presence as we approach his throne (Hebrews 12:22ff).  To enter into the eschatological presence of God, we must be holy.  To be holy we must be sanctified by the work of Christ (Hebrews 10:14).  To be sanctified by the blood of Christ we must persevere in faith.  If perseverance means to endure suffering for the sake of the joy set before us, that is, the joy of God’s presence, then suffering is worth the goal.  God uses suffering and pain—God disciplines us–in order to bring us closer to that goal.  If Jesus suffered for the sake of the joy set before him, and the faithful of chapter eleven struggled for the sake of the promise, then the present people of God must expect to suffer as well.  It is the goal of faith that makes suffering worthwhile.  If discipline is a means to the joy, then discipline should be endured for the sake of the joy.  The joy is communion with God in the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem where we sit as royal priests with Jesus our elder brother.

In this context, James makes sense.  Just as the writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers to endure trials for the sake of discipline, so James encouraged his readers to “consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2).  And the one who “perseveres under the trial, because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).  We do not rejoice because of the discipline, but we rejoice in the intent of the discipline.  We rejoice in the light of its goal. The crown of life is worth the trials, and God disciplines us with that goal in mind.  God acts, sometimes by inflicting pain, even floggings, so that we might be trained and prepared to share his holiness.  God intends good even when it seems painful and senseless to us.

Though the community will experience persecution, the preacher encourages them to live in peace with everyone as much as they can.  This is not simply peace within the community of believers, but also to seek peace with the hostile environment in which they live.  Peace is the way of holiness, and the church must seek holiness, as it is the way it shares God’s life that is holy.

But more specifically, the preacher is concerned that some will turn away and apostatize.  They will trade their inheritance for the comfort of “peace” with their neighbors.  We are always in danger of trading our future with God for the comfort of the present (whether it is the comfort of materialism, or the comfort of “getting along” with those who oppose our values).  The people of God often tend to compromise their values for the sake of comfort.  We don’t want to seek peace with those around us in the wrong way—in a way the compromises our values or that creates bitterness within the community of God.  Seek peace, but don’t compromise holiness.  Seek peace, but don’t give up your eternal inheritance for temporary comforts here.

Esau is the preacher’s example of this thing.  He compromised his birthright for the comfort of some food.  He traded something of great value for something that was essentially nothing.  He traded the eternal for the temporary.   In the aftermath—with the recognition that there was no changing what he had done—he sought the blessing with tears.  I don’t think this is a reference to someone who wants to repent but cannot.  Rather, it is an eternal perspective, an eschatological perspective.  That is, the preacher appeals to his hearers not to reject their inheritance because when the blessing is bestowed and the inheritance is received, we will repent of our rejection and seek it with tears.  But it will be too late, just as it was too late for Esau.

This is a communion meditation based on Psalm 116. The Psalmist was once entangled in the cords of death, but God delivered the supplicant. How will the Psalmist repay God? The Psalmist lifts up a voice of praise, a cup of thanksgiving, and promises to keep covenantal vows.

This is the newest installment of “Derek: Meditating on the Way” with Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks. In this episode we discuss the meaning and significance of Psalm 110 in both its context in the Psalter and its relevance to messianic hopes, particularly as revealed in Jesus the Messiah.

Hebrews 11:23-40

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.

Hebrews 11 begins with the confident assertion that faith is the assurance of the reality for which we hope. Faith embraces the unseen hope because faith trusts in the faithfulness of the God who promised. The preacher uses multiple examples of faith found within Scripture and some outside of Scripture. He begins the story with Abel and ends it with, at least, the Maccabean martyrs. Each hoped in a future they could not see, endured hostility and oppression, and trusted in God’s faithfulness. They persevered in faith so that they might receive what was promised with us who will also persevere in faith. Together–past, present, and future heirs–we will inherit the promise and be made perfect as one humanity before God through the high priesthood of Jesus the Messiah.

In the previous section (11:4-22), seven people were named: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. In this next section (Hebrews 11:23-31), there are seven “by faith” statements concerning Moses’s parents, Moses, the people who crossed the Red Sea, the people who felled the walls of Jericho, and Rahab.

The first four “by faith” statements are about Moses (Hebrews 11:23-28). The first is the faith of his parents, the second notes his faith after he learns he is a Hebrew, the third is his flight from Egypt, and the fourth names the fact that he kept the Passover in Egypt.

• By faith Moses (11:23-28)
  • By faith Moses was hidden by his parents (11:23)
  • By faith Moses refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter (11:24-26)
  • By faith Moses left Egypt unafraid of the king’s anger (11:27)
  • By faith Moses kept the Passover (11:28)

Each act of faith trusts in a future based upon the promises of God. The parents hid Moses from Egyptian genocide. They acted out of faith rather than fear. Moses chose to share the suffering of his people rather than enjoy the privileges of Pharaoh’s house. He suffered abuse for the sake of the anointed one, who is the Messiah. He suffered in the hope of a better future. He left Egypt in faith rather than out of fear because he saw the one who is invisible. He kept the Passover in of deliverance from death and Egyptian enslavement.

In the example of Moses, faith and hope dispelled fear and despair. He trusted in the voice of God, served in the house of God, and led Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Faith shaped his life as one of God’s greatest servants in the history of Israel. Yet, this faith demanded perseverance as it struggled through the hostility of Egyptians, his own wilderness wandering, and the prospect of failure in his mission. The preacher knows his audience. They also struggle with their identity, the hostility that surrounds them, and internal discouragement. Moses knew this as well, and Moses persevered.

Three more “by faith” statements follow on the heels of Moses’ example (Hebrews 11:29-31). Each situation faces conflict and hostility, and faith triumphed in each situation.

• By faith Israel (11:29-31)
  • By faith the people passed through the Red Sea (11:29)
  • By faith the walls of Jericho fell (11:30)
  • By faith Rahab received the spies in peace (11:31)

The preacher maps out the journey of Israel from the sea to the promised land. They crossed the sea and entered the land at Gilgal across from Jericho. Crossing the sea was a hazardous prospect—to drown in the sea, slaughtered by the Egyptians or enslaved them again. The walls of Jericho seemed impenetrable and the armies of the Canaanites too numerous for Israel. Hiding the spies was a dangerous move on the part of Rahab, yet by faith she received the spies despite the peril.

Once again, the presence of hostile forces and threats to life surrounded Israel, but they responded in faith. Indeed, faith is so powerful and so welcome (pleasing) in God’s sight, that “Rahab the prostitute” was accepted and delivered from destruction through faith. Instead of fear, Israel chose faith, which trusted in God’s promise of salvation through the sea and destruction of Jericho. Rahab, the Canaanite, also recognized God’s reality (“he is”) and the promise of a future with Israel (who rewards those who seek him), which is what faith does (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is open to all, not only Israel. The Gentiles, too, may believe and inherit that promise.

The next hero section of this chapter answers the question, “What more can I say?” (Hebrews 11:32-38). “Through faith,” these heroes accomplished much and suffered much. I think this list falls into those two categories: the feats of faith (actions) and the endurance of faith (suffering).

The feats of faith are found in Hebrews 11:32-34. Several are named, but the names are not exactly the best examples of faithful people in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was flawed as he fleeced God. Barak was flawed as he would not trust the word of God from Deborah unless she went with him. Samson was flawed by his promiscuity. Jephthah apparently offered his daughter as a sacrifice in compliance to a rash vow. Even David was far from perfect as he raped Bathsheba and murdered her husband. Samuel did not lead a model family. So, this is not a perfect crew, and not every aspect of their lives are exemplary or good models of faith.

Yet, they are not named here because they were perfect or had no struggles. They are named here because they acted in faith in specific ways. They established political order, were delivered from death, and were mighty in war. They were empowered by God to act in faithful ways, and they obeyed. Even Jephthah, whose apparent abuse of his daughter outrages us, was nevertheless a man who spoke the words of the Lord to Israel and trusted in God’s work for victory over the Ammonites (Judges 11:5-33), and “the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah” (Judges 11:29).

Whatever else these named persons may have done that was out of sync with God’s will, they are named for their acts of faith and not because of everything they have done.

• Named Feats: Gideon (Judges 6-8), Barak (Judges 4-5), Samson (Judges 12-16), Jephthah (Judges 11-12; cf. 1 Samuel 12:11), David (1 Samuel 16–2 Samuel 24) and Samuel (1 Samuel 1-15), and the prophets (six names and a seventh as a category). Essentially, the first four are from the period of the Judges; David and Samuel function as a grouping that transitions from Judges to monarchy, and “the prophets” represents the rest of the history of Israel.
  • Establishment of Political Order
    • Conquered kingdoms
    • Administered Justice
    • Obtained promises
  • Deliverance from Death
    • Shut the mouths of Lions (Daniel 6:1-28)
    • Quenched raging fire (Daniel 3:1-30)
    • Escaped the edge of the sword (1 Samuel 17:45-47; 1 Kings 19:1-3; 2 Kings 6:26-32; Jeremiah 26:7-24).
  • Empowerment
    • Won strength out of weakness
    • Became mighty in war,
    • Put foreign armies to flight
    • Women received their dead by resurrection (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37).
  • Unnamed Suffering
    • Persecuted (2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42; see the citation at the end of his blog):
      • Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, to obtain a better resurrection.
      • Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
    • Killed:
      • They were stoned to death (2 Chronicles 24:31; Jeremiah in Egypt).
      • They were sawn in two (e.g., according to tradition, Isaiah).
      • They were killed by the sword.
    • Social Exclusion:
      • They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented (1 Kings 7:2-16; 19:1-19; 2 Kings 1:3-15; 2:23; 4:1-2, 8-12, 38-43; 8:1-2; 2 Maccabees 5:27).

Of whom the world was not worthy!

• They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground (Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 23:14; 1 Maccabees 2:28-31; 2 Maccabees 5:27; 10:6).

One gets the idea that suffering is the path faith must take. There are moments of triumph, and there are moments of despair, suffering, and ultimately death. Faith does not ensure prosperity. Sometimes faith means alienation from one’s culture, hatred from the world, and impoverishment. Faith is not an easy path.

Summary/Transition (11:39-40)

All of these faithful examples, the preacher says, were “commended for their faith” (Hebrews 11:39). They did not receive the promise, but they trusted in God who is faithful to keep covenant and do what is promised. They bore witness to the reality of faith—they were approved, or commended, or served as witnesses (martyrs from the Greek verb martureo).

More specifically, some did receive the promise in some sense. The Red Sea parted, Jericho fell, Rahab did not perish, etc. However, the “better” promise Hebrews consistently names as perfection. This is eschatological language; it is the language of the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem inhabited by the resurrected faithful.

The better promise is the community of the faithful people of God that will surround the throne of God in the eschaton. This will happen as a people—together the people of God will be perfected through resurrection following Jesus through death into resurrection. Together, the people of God will share the inheritance of their Messianic high priest.

A Mother Encourages Her Sons in their Martyrdom (2 Maccabees 7:20-29, NRSV):

20   The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Although she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. 21 She encouraged each of them in the language of their ancestors. Filled with a noble spirit, she reinforced her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, 22 “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. 23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”

24   Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his ancestors, and that he would take him for his Friend and entrust him with public affairs. 25 Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. 26 After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. 27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native language as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you.  28 I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being. 29 Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers.”

This book, accessible here, was published in September, 2023. In May, 2024, I was asked to summarize it for a combined adult Bible class at the Homewood Church of Christ. That lesson is available below.

Psalm 73: “I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked . . . But when I thought to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God.”

Dr. Michael Brown joins Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks for a discussion of the meaning and significance of Psalm 73. When struggling with why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people, how do we question God while also seeking God? What do we find?

For more on Psalm 73, see this blog and this blog by Bobby Valentine.

Hebrews 11:1-22

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.

Faith is a certain assurance for what we hope though we cannot see that for which we hope. Faith is no mere subjective feeling, but a conviction based on the objective nature of heavenly realities. It is the objective reality that gives rise to faith and empowers faith to persevere.

Lived faith, seen through examples, bears witness to the power of faith itself. The preacher encourages persevering in faith by remembering the stories of faith within the Torah and beyond. These heroes of faith were attested by God as they pursued faith even though they could not see what God had promised. Faith affirms the capacity of God to create new realities from what is now unseen. Faith, in this context, is future-oriented as it yearns for the realization of the promised future on the basis of God’s identity, mighty acts, and covenant love.

Appealing to the history of heroes is not unusual among writers of the Second Temple period. One of the most famous is the speech by Mattathias who encourages Israel to remain faithful despite the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes (167-163 BCE) in 4 Maccabees. For example, in 4 Maccabees 16:16-23, he recalls Abraham, Daniel, and the three young men sent into the fiery furnace among others throughout the book.

The intent of naming these heroes is encouragement as the sermon moves to its climactic conclusion. Hearers are encouraged to participate in the journey of faith like these heroes did and follow their example. The circumstances of these heroes were often more dire than what the current believers experienced. These heroes faced their own hostility and social pressure. Yet, they acted out of faith rather than fear. Seven heroes are named.

• By faith Abel (11:4) – Abel was attested by God as righteous through faith because his sacrifice was received by God, and that faith still speaks. Abel suffered martyrdom despite his approval.
• By faith Enoch (11:5-6) – Enoch pleased God through his faith. Thus, he triumphed over death through God’s gracious deliverance.
  • Faith is necessary—we cannot draw near to God if we don’t believe God exists and seek God who rewards the faithful with what is promised.
• By faith Noah (11:7) – Noah trusted God’s warning of what he could not see and thus obeyed God despite the hostile nature of the world in which he lived. In this way, Noah became an heir of righteousness through faith.
• By faith Abraham (11:8-12)
  • By faith, Abraham obeyed the call to leave his home in search of a new inheritance (11:8).
• • By faith, Abraham sojourned as an alien in a land he did not possess in search of a new home (city) whose builder is God (11:9-10)
• • By faith, Abraham became a progenitor though his body and the womb of Sarah were both dead. And Abraham received this promise, and its reality is now evident: the children of Abraham are now innumerable (11:11-12).

Hebrews 11:13-16 functions like an editorial comment. The preacher interrupts his list, dissecting it into two equal parts of four, to note the status of these faithful. They persevered in faith even though they did not receive the promises. A major characteristic is that neither group of four had a permanent home. Abel had a short life, Enoch was received into heaven, Noah had his home wiped out, and Abraham left his home in search of another. The list continues with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—none of whom had an inheritance in the land. They all lived as “strangers and foreigners on the earth” (Hebrews 13:13).

Faith claims there is a better country, a heavenly one. It sees the future where heavenly realities will be seen though they are presently unseen. God is preparing an inheritance for the faithful, and God will be their God and they will be God’s people. This is the point of the new covenant which is a renewal of relationship.

• By faith Abraham (11:17-19) – Abraham offered Isaac, the son of promise, because he believed in what he could not see, that is, the resurrection of the dead.
• By faith Isaac (11:20) – Isaac blessed his sons as he was assured by faith of an unseen future for his progeny.
• By faith Jacob (11:21) – Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph because he was assured by faith of their unseen future.
• By faith Joseph (11:22) – Joseph instructed them to bury him in the land of inheritance because he expected an unseen future (that is, an exodus from Egypt).

The persistent theme is faith in what is unseen, and what is unseen was so certain to these witnesses to faith that they acted in ways that seemed out of sync with what was expected of normal human beings. They stepped out in faith, and they acted because they trusted the promise of God.