THEMES
Overarching Theme: Standing firm in the realities of a better covenant
Chapter Twelve Theme: Accepting discipline while motivated by realties we can hold onto.
BACKGROUND
This is a practical chapter about Christian discipline but it contains one of the most startling comparisons between the old and new covenants that the writer to the Hebrews shares with his audience (and consequently with us).
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Make sure you watch the video covering Hebrews 12 and have a Bible ready in front of you.
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Verses 1-3
These verses describe the Christian life as a race in which we need to run unencumbered. Verse 1 speaks of the faith heroes of Chapter 11 as a cloud of witnesses (cheering us on from the stands). Verse 2 reminds us to fix our eyes on Jesus, not on the cloud of witnesses but on the cross and on his eternal throne.
Question
Do you have a story that you can share about losing encumbrances so you can better run the race? If the context is appropriate, do share it.
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Verses 4-13
Verses 4-11 present Christian discipline positively by comparing earthly and heavenly discipline, drawing on encouragement from Proverbs 3:11-12 (Septuagint). The writer reminds us that the intended outcome of God’s discipline is righteousness and peace. Verses 12-13 urge us to strengthen ourselves and to make the paths that we walk (? run) on level.
Question
What differences do you see between earthly and heavenly discipline?
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Verses 14-17
Verse 4 speaks of holiness without which ‘no one will see the Lord.’ Verses 15-16 list bitterness, immorality and godlessness as things to guard against. Esau is used as an example of godlessness, and verse 17 can be seen as an example of being sorry about the consequences of an action without being truly repentant over performing it.
Question
How might it be possible to describe Esau as an old covenant example of the situation highlighted in Hebrews 6:8, seeing that he grew up alongside his brother and had different priorities?
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Verses 18-21
These verses describe the dramatic way that the old covenant was instituted at Mount Sinai.
Question
All these events were very outward and visible. They marked an exciting and dramatic moment which the Jewish nation remembered every year at Passover. The writer is about to describe something better, but are there ways in which a fixation with the dramatic and spectacular might be a hindrance in our spiritual journeys?
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Verses 22-24
These verses describe what we, by contrast, have come to as Christian believers. They provide yet another amazing Hebrews’ list: Mount ZIon, God’s city, the heavenly Jerusalem, innumerable angels, the church of the firstborn, God the judge of all, spirits of righteous people made perfect, Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Question
These are invisible realities that last for eternity compared with visible things that existed in just one moment. How can we increase our appreciation for these eternal realities that are our new covenant benefits?
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Verses 25-29
In these final verses of the chapter we are exhorted to keep listening to God who now speaks from heaven. One day he will once again shake the earth and the heavens in a way that will remove all that is shakeable, and show himself as consuming fire. The good news for us is that we are ‘receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.'
Question
If God is working in us so we can live unshakeable lives in an unshakeable kingdom, how does he (and Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13) encourage us to build so that we can live with him as a consuming fire?
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
In this chapter the writer has encouraged us in our Christian race and taught us the value of discipline. He has also continued to contrast the old and new covenants. It is great that we can benefit from all that he is presenting to his audience of first-century Jewish believers. Our inheritance may have come to us by a different route, but knowing the way God unfolded his salvation plan within a nation can only inspire us with more confidence and commitment.
PRAYER & REFLECTION
There is a lot in this chapter that we can reflect on. Maybe we can gather some of it together in prayer.
Eternal God,
You shook the earth and burned with fire when you gave the law,
but shakeable things remained unmoved,
and lives remained unignited.
As you speak into our lives today we are prepared to be shaken.
We look for that holiness without which no one shall see the Lord.
We value your fire that has ignited us.
Let it burn up everything that is unworthy of you.
We take hold of the realities you have opened up for us
and commit to keeping our eyes fixed on you.
Amen