13 1Let brotherly love abide. 2Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. [Hebrews 13:1-3]
We have now reached the final chapter in the book of Hebrews…the author begins this section with a series of practical exhortations for the church to embrace.
To the modern reader itHebrews 13 seems to be more like a string of commands the author has just randomly pulled out of a bag…but:
A summary of Christian living found throughout the New Testament is summed up in the 13th chapter of Hebrews.
—Keep on Loving Each Other (13:1)
—Show Hospitality to Stranger (13:2)
—Remember Those Mistreated as If You Were Suffering (13:3)
—Marriage Should Be Honored (13:4)
—Keep Free from the Love of Money and Be Content (13:5-6)
—Obey Your Leaders and Submit to Them (13:17)
BUT…as we have seen in our study…this is the 23rd week…the author has been revealing how Jesus is better than all of His rivals and forerunners… better than Judaism…the angels…the Torah…Moses…the priests…animal sacrifices…and the covenant.
He starts off by making three imperative statements that are really timeless Christian truths that are relevant for us today with respect to living a Christian lifestyle.
Starting in chapter 13 he gives three practical ways to show love for one another.
Let brotherly love abide
Show hospitality to strangers
Remember those in prison
Revealing what is expected of those living a Christian lifestyle…But really …what does that look like…living a Christian lifestyle…how does the world know you’re a Christian…think about that…what would you tell someone who wanted to know how to live a Christian life?
We could make a list on a white board that would contain some of the most basic requirements.
Repentance from sin…acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior…reading your Bible…praying…being charitable…the list goes on…essentially following Jesus’ example is how to live a Christian life.
Remember back in chapter 12 the author encouraged us to run the race set before us with endurance [12:1-4] …well…here in chapter 13 he spells out just what that endurance should look like and what form it should take.
In the Greek as well as the English an imperative statement is a command…in [v 1] he says… ‘let brotherly love abide…in the ancient Greek there were four words translated as love:
…Eros…is romantic or sexual love…an erotic love not appearing in the Bible.
…Agape…love which is shown by what it does…God displayed agape love when He allowed Jesus to die on the cross…He continues to display it every day in how He blesses us.
…Storge (stor-JAY) although not specifically mentioned there are examples of Storge love…it refers to family love such as the love Noah had for his wife… sons and daughters-in-law…in Genesis it’s the love Jacob had for his sons…and the strong love sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus.
In [v.1] the author introduces the fourth type of love:
BROTHERLY LOVE
In Hebrews 13:1 the author says…Let brotherly love abide…which we transliterate as let love of the brethren continue…the word in the Greek ‘brotherly love’ is one word…Philadelphia.
Brotherly love is the command to love those within the church who are brothers and sisters in Christ…the church is a family.
I don’t need to preach that to you at The Branches church…it’s something that humbles me as a Pastor…the love that is demonstrated toward one another in our church is the example of brotherly love…people volunteering their…time…energy… effort…and money to help other members of our church.
But because we’re human…and because at times we all overrate ourselves in the area of love, brotherly Christian love is weakened when we allow our personal feelings to override our Christian character.
One thing we know from our earthly siblings is that sometimes feelings get hurt and disagreements occur …it’s no different in the family of God…we’re human.
We’re going to take things the wrong way…we’re going to say things that are taken the wrong way…and sometimes we say things that we know will be taken the wrong way…but we say them anyway…being hurtful when we say them.
We’re going to be tempted to fall into jealousy…greed……pride… impatience …intolerance …and all kinds of sins that cause division against one another.
When these unfortunate events occur, it’s our job as Christians to remedy them through the of grace Jesus affords us…along with…honest conversation… repentance…prayer…and love which are the ingredients needed to overcome our human reactions that result in hurt feelings.
How easy it is to love in theory…I can say I love everybody…BUT…what we actually believe…regardless of what we profess to believe…is validated by what we do…what we say…how we act …proving that our love for God is fake by our hatred of our brother.
anyone who says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, is a liar. [1 John 4:20]
This is where God’s laws come into effect…Biblical laws are found mainly in the Pentateuch…the first five books of the Hebrew Bible…there are 613 laws in the Old Testament…try remembering all of those…I have trouble with the Ten Commandments.
These 613 laws dealt with three primary areas of life…moral, civil, and ceremonial…all speaking of man’s duty toward God, and man’s duty toward his fellow man.
Jesus comes realizing how cumbersome that whole thing was and summarized the entire 613 laws of the O. T. into two…loving God and loving each other!
As Christians we need to stop offending…and being offended…and start loving our brothers and sisters in Christ! “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Here’s the message… Love… even when you don’t want to!
HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS
The second imperative is in regards to showing hospitality…there is a parallel between loving the brethren and showing hospitality…they are related.
A closer look at the context and in the Greek reveals two instructions that share similar language…in the Greek we see the similarity of these two directives:
Something not noticed in the English is both these Greek words begin with the prefix ‘phil’ (φιλο)
The prefix phílos refers to someone dearly loved…a person held dear in a close bond of personal affection…both words begin with philos.
Brotherly love (philadelphia) having affection especially to fellow believers.
Hospitality (philoxenias) (fil-on-ex-ee’-ah) refers to the love of a stranger.
He first identifies their responsibility to help those in the church…Let brotherly love abide …he then expands their desire to be the kind of people God wants them to be by focusing on those outside the church.
He relates what our attitude towards strangers should be…we are reminded to show hospitality to strangers.
Here’s the parallel principle…if we can’t love our Christian brothers and sisters, how can we love our neighbors…expand that…how can we love strangers?
He then throws in this little tidbit…some have entertained angels without knowing it [2] …so where’s this coming from?
Brings up the question…have I ever talked to an angel without knowing it? People get way too hung up on this…and the TV show “Touched by an Angel’ just adds to the misunderstanding regarding how angels work.
One of the most common beliefs is that each one of us has a guardian angel even though this is not stated in the Bible…two verses, Matt. 18:10 and Acts 12:13-15 hint of the possibility…however…we do know that at times God sends angels to intervene in our lives.
Why would God allow us to meet an angel and not let us know it? …The answer is that meeting an angel is not that important otherwise God would make sure that we knew they were an angel.
The one we should want to talk to is God…is your desire to speak with an angel as strong as your desire to speak with God? …Prayer is more powerful and important than speaking with any angel because angels can only do what they are given permission to do from God.
God is the One who answers my prayers…angels are His servants, and they want us to give glory to their Creator – not to themselves.
While the passage does refer to angels the author is not really interested in believers having an encounter with heavenly messengers.
In the ancient world hospitality was a universal virtue and not just a Christian command…a level of care that was expected of all decent people…with regards to Christianity…it was an important expression of Christian love (James 4:13; 1 Pet. 4:9; 1 Tim. 3:2) and especially when it came to those traveling for the sake of ministry (Matt. 10:11; Acts 16:15; Titus 3:13).
In the first century inns were dangerous places…more akin to brothels than hotels that we are accustomed to today…to travel was to put yourself at great risk…roads were long and uninhabited making them prime areas for bandits to ambush a single traveler or small group.
When people traveled, they tended to depend on the kindness of normal folks when they found themselves in need in a strange place…it was not uncommon for people to welcome strangers or travelers into their home while providing them with provisions and protection.
Andrew Arterbury, Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in its Mediterranean Setting, New Testament Monographs, 8 (Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005),
Thus hospitality…friendliness shown to strangers, was one way of expressing brotherly love…but in Rome where this church was located people were reluctant to receive travelers.
In these two verses the author is exhorting his hearers that we are to love not only those within the church (Rom. 12:13; 1 Pet. 4:9) …but also to love those outside the church as well.
That concept sometimes goes unnoticed…that is why the author uses the word
Philoxenias (fil-on-ex-ee’-ah) philos referring to a friend…xenos referring to a stranger.
Scripture declares we have a responsibility to exhibit brotherly love toward those outside our church family…and as a church we have…we’ll continue to do so because Jesus expects us to and tells of the obligations to do so.
Jesus Himself plainly describes our responsibilities as Christians:
I was hungry…I was thirsty…I was a stranger…I needed clothes …I was sick and in prison… [Matt. 25:42:43]
Implying having the means to meet any of those necessities…we should do so.
But let me just reflect on that for a moment…we will not be taken advantage of …I will not be used…nor will I allow people to use us because of our Christian obligation to help our fellow man…when our fellow man’s intention is to take advantage of us…BUT… at the same time we need to be sensitive to people’s needs.
BECAUSE…if you know the rest of that verse…it says…and you did nothing… emphasizing the consequences of failing to give food…drink…clothing…or whatever…revealing a lack of evidence that marks the character of a true believer.
THOSE IN PRISON
The third imperative that shows we have love for one another is to remember those in prison…need to clarify that…what the text is referring to is we should give special attention to those brothers and sisters incarcerated for their faith.
The fastest growing peoples in the world receiving Jesus as Savior right now is the church in Iran…Afghanistan isn’t far behind with communistic China right behind…as a result, Christian missionaries are suffering because of that.
Here’s the simple truth…those who hate God will hate those who are called by His name…the reason the main emphasis is on Christians who are in prisons.
We should also add the application to not forget about those in prison because they committed a crime punishable by the government…I would suspect that probably everyone here knows of someone who has been or is currently in lockup…if you don’t, you’re fortunate.
While prisons are certainly no picnic…BUT…in America prisoners are given 3 meals a day … laundry service…can have a TV…get workout time…libraries …and phone privileges…Elaine knows this because we have a mutual acquaintance housed at El Dorado correctional facility…we’ve even been to see him on occasion…who calls Elaine at least once…but more like twice a week.
Not so in the ancient world…in the ancient world a person in prison was completely dependent upon friends and family for clean clothes and food.
Without outside assistance you went hungry…it was for these reasons the church was commanded to visit and assist those in prison.
That goes back to the wording to show hospitality to strangers…as important as it is to visit and assist those in prison…it’s extremely difficult…the directive here for us…is focusing on our need to visit Christians who are imprisoned because of their faith.
In America we don’t see that…as of yet…Christians suffering imprisonment for the testimony of Jesus…but it is prevalent in places around the world…last year 4,761 Christians were killed for their faith. https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/
This verse is a reminder that the church should FIRST…not forget those suffering because of their faith.
Earlier I asked…what would you tell someone who wanted to know how to live a Christian life…made mention of some of the most basic requirements…BUT the first principle of the spirit-filled life is brotherly love.
As Christians we should be continually aware to let brotherly love be the distinguishing mark of our own Christian walk.
We are to love as Christ loved us…to live as Christ lived…and to show the love of Christ to ALL our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those outside the Gospel.
We should minister to them all in love without compromising the truth of the gospel…holding fast the confession of our faith without wavering…all the while encouraging one another to love and do good deeds as we seek to maintain a life that exemplifies a Christian lifestyle.
These three imperatives,
Let brotherly love abide
Show hospitality to strangers
Remember those in prison,
define ways for us to show love for one another and is an opportunity for gospel witness.
Remembering it was Jesus who took us in as strangers…really as enemies and made us part of His family…the invitation to be a part of that family is still open today…the question is…how will we respond?