We conclude the book of Hebrews today with some final instructions and a prayer for the Lord to equip us to do His will. The conclusion of this book sounds very much as if it was written by the Apostle Paul, and as we said at the beginning, Paul has long been considered one of the primary candidates for authorship of the book of Hebrews. We can't be one hundred percent certain it was written by him, but what we do know is that the author is a Jewish Christian who is writing to other Jewish Christians. We know he is writing from Italy. We know he is a friend of Timothy. We know he is writing in a time prior to the destruction of the the temple, for he speaks of the priests and the services they perform at the temple in the present tense, so this book was written no later than the mid to late 60s AD.
The author is clearly one of the leaders of the church. We can tell because he speaks with the confidence, experience, and authority of one who has been ministering to fellow Christians for a long time. He urges his readers to respect and obey the teachings of the leaders of the church. There is much they can learn from these old soldiers of the cross. "Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you." (Hebrews 13:17) He says, "Don't make it difficult for these shepherds to lead the flock. They are working hard to show you how to live godly lives."
The author next asks his readers to pray for him and for the other leaders of the church. Sometimes we think we're being selfish if we ask prayer for ourselves, but the apostles often asked other Christians to pray for them. The Lord Jesus prayed for Himself on the night before the crucifixion and I feel certain He prayed for Himself also on the many other occasions when He went out alone to pray. There's nothing wrong with praying for ourselves or with asking others to pray for us. "Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon." (Hebrews 13:18-19) We don't know what is preventing the author from visiting his readers at this time. It could be that he's currently under arrest for the sake of the gospel. Or it could be that church matters in Italy are so pressing at this time that he is not free to travel. Either way, though he cannot visit the Jewish Christians at this time, his heart is with them. He longs to see them and he wants them to know it.
The following benediction is one of the most beautiful prayers of the New Testament. It is a prayer we can freely pray for any believer, and it's a prayer we ought to pray for fellow believers---and for ourselves. "Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you for everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21) There is no true peace unless we are at peace with God, and He made a way for us to be at peace with Him through Jesus Christ. From eternity past, God always intended to carry out the plan of salvation, so it was as good as done even during the ages when Christ had not yet been made manifest. This covenant, secured by the blood of Christ, is good for all eternity future. And now that we are in Him, we are to follow His example and be about our Father's business. We are to help others find the peace with God that we have found in Christ. Our greatest desire should be that everyone would come to know Him as their Savior.
"Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly." (Hebrews 13:22) This is one of the verses that makes me lean heavily toward the authorship of Paul. We know he was very wordy, so I can't help wondering who else but Paul would think that thirteen chapters is quite brief.
"I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you." (Hebrews 13:23) Timothy has evidently been held in custody for the sake of the gospel, but he is now free and intends to visit the author of this letter. If he arrives in a timely manner, it appears that the author thinks he will be able to go with him to visit the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews. Again, this lends credence to the theory that the author is Paul, but it doesn't settle the case conclusively.
"Greet all your leaders and all the Lord's people. Those from Italy send you their greetings." (Hebrews 13:24) The author is currently residing in Italy, most likely in the city of Rome. We know the Apostle Paul was in Rome during the mid to late 60s AD, but Luke and several other early leaders of the church were also there with Paul at that time. If the author is not Paul, it is someone who is going through the same struggles and who is performing the same hard work as Paul, and he clearly has the authority and the experience to address the Jewish Christians as someone who has been in the faith for a long time.
"Grace be with you all." (Hebrews 13:25)
***Since we didn't study the books of the New Testament in order, we have already looked at 1st and 2nd Peter and at the epistles of James and Jude. The only books that remain to study are the epistles written by the Apostle John and the book of Revelation. We will begin with the epistles of John tomorrow. Some years back we did an in-depth study of Revelation and we will be taking a fresh look at it after we conclude the letters of John. I'm excited to go through Revelation again, and we are going to do it in such an easy, step-by-step fashion that we are going to dispel any myths that this book is too difficult to understand. We are going to come away from our study of Revelation with a clear understanding of what is going to take place in the future, and we are going to be able to look forward to that future with a great deal of anticipation and hope.***
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