Reading:
Hebrews 13:1-3
Have
you (or I) adopted strange teaching concerning the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ? (See Hebrews 13:9.)
Early in the second century, Ignatius spoke of those who “contrary
to the mind of God” come with
“strange
teaching concerning the grace of Jesus Christ”
saying
they “have
no concern for love, none for the widow, none for the orphan, none
for the mistreated, none for the prisoner, nor for the one who has
been released from prison, none for the hungry or thirsty”.1
His appeal is rooted in this text.
Let
brotherly love continue. 2Don't
neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed
angels as guests without knowing it. 3Remember
the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the
mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.
(Hebrews 13:1-3 HCSB)
Verses
2-3 enlarge on what it means to let
brotherly love continue.
Love shows hospitality, which is literally love
or kindness to strangers.
If someone was a brother or sister in Christ, then there was a sense
of being united. This
seems to be an application of the words of Christ,
For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after
me... (Matthew
25:35-36)
In
light of Jesus' words in Matthew 25, we could paraphrase Hebrews 13:2
as, “for
by doing this some have welcomed Jesus Himself as a guest without
knowing it.”
It is certainly true both ways. However, the rest of Matthew 25:36
(“...I
was in prison and you came to visit me”)
is addressed in Hebrews 13:3:
Remember
the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the
mistreated, as
though you yourselves were suffering bodily.
How
are we to identify with those who suffer? How are we to identify
with those who are wronged?
In context (see Hebrews 10:32-34) these are most likely those who are
in prison either for their faith, or fellow believers falsely accused
and awaiting trial. What are we to do when our brothers and sisters
in Christ are mistreated and wronged? Do
we stand idly by grateful that it didn't happen to us?
The
literal translation of the second half of this verse is interesting.
The translation I have quoted does justice to the expression in terms
of meaning, but isn't quite as literal. Young's Literal Translation
reads, “of
those maltreated, as also yourselves being in the body.”
That
is a bit convoluted, but it reaches back into the Gospel itself.
Earlier
in Hebrews we are told that since we are flesh and blood, Christ
shared in the same. As a result we have a high priest who is able “to
sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews
2:14; 4:15). Christ
took on a body in order to identify with us. Having experienced
human life he has the ability to sympathize, or to suffer with us
(which is the root meaning of sympathize).
Now,
as Christ has done for us, so because we too are in the body we are
to bear each other's burdens; we are to act and think as if we are
experiencing the mistreatment ourselves. Christ suffered with us; we
are called to suffer with others. In
doing so we join a long line of believers who have chosen to be
mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a season (Hebrews
11:25-26, 36-37). Those who engage in this kind of brotherly love
show that the world is not worthy of them and that they are looking
for a better country, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:14-16, 36).
How
do we suffer with others? Visiting those in prison is one way. If
they have suffered loss, absorbing some of that ourselves. If they
experience injustice, speaking up on their behalf (Proverbs
24:11-12). Living
this way will cost us. It will seem much like going to a cross and
following Jesus. It will seem much like loving our neighbor as
ourselves. And when we live this way, if we live this way, people
will get a glimpse of the Kingdom of Christ come.
Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel,
Advance the Gospel,
Jerry
1Lane,
William; pg. 511, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47b, Hebrews 9-13.
