I know that I have an hour or two of silence, so I started reading the Bible. When I reached my bookmark in the book of Hebrews, I read the chapter. Oddly, I noticed that the author of Hebrews is telling people that we should be faithful to Jesus because he SUFFERED.
A little background will help here. The book of Hebrews is written to people who were undergoing some pretty severe persecution for the cause of Christ. They were being ostracized from the community, were having their houses confiscated and were not able to participate in such activities as buying food.
So, when thinking about what I would tell these people, I thought to myself that my message would be "Jesus is alive, so you too will Overcome." That caused me to start at the beginning of the book and read the entire book of Hebrews looking to locate the message of the resurrection.
Imagine my angst as I work through the first THIRTEEN CHAPTERS.... without even one reference to Christ's resurrection. By now, my mind is working overtime. Why isn't the author mentioning the resurrection? Doesn't he really believe that Jesus is alive? Why is his message only that Jesus accomplished great things through SUFFERING?
Then, I find it.... just five verses from the end of the book.
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 with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)It wasn't that the author of Hebrews didn't know Jesus was alive. It wasn't that he was rejecting the resurrection as the reason for his faith. He was intentionally highlighting the suffering of Jesus as an EXAMPLE to us that suffering accomplishes a great work before God.
Why not take a few minutes and read Hebrews this week!
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