The Message - Hebrews

Hebrews

Hebrews 1 (The Message)

1 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. 2 Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. 3 This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says - powerful words! The Son Is Higher than Angels 4 far higher than any angel in rank and rule. 5 Did God ever say to an angel, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you"? Or, "I'm his Father, he's my Son"? 6 When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, "All angels must worship him." 7 Regarding angels he says, The messengers are winds, the servants are tongues of fire. 8 But he says to the Son, You're God, and on the throne for good; your rule makes everything right. 9 You love it when things are right; you hate it when things are wrong. That is why God, your God, poured fragrant oil on your head, Marking you out as king, far above your dear companions. 10 And again to the Son, You, Master, started it all, laid earth's foundations, then crafted the stars in the sky. 11 Earth and sky will wear out, but not you; they become threadbare like an old coat; 12 You'll fold them up like a worn-out cloak, and lay them away on the shelf. But you'll stay the same, year after year; you'll never fade, you'll never wear out. 13 And did he ever say anything like this to an angel? Sit alongside me here on my throne Until I make your enemies a stool for your feet. 14 Isn't it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation?

Hebrews 2 (The Message)

1 It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off. 2 If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, 3 do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. 4 All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit. 5 God didn't put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we're dealing with here. 6 It says in Scripture, What is man and woman that you bother with them; why take a second look their way? 7 You made them not quite as high as angels, bright with Eden's dawn light; 8 Then you put them in charge of your entire handcrafted world. 9 What we do see is Jesus, made "not quite as high as angels," and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory "bright with Eden's dawn light." In that death, by God's grace, he fully experienced death in every person's place. 10 It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. 11 Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family, 12 aying, I'll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you; I'll join them in worship and praise to you. 13 Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me. 14 Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death 15 and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death. 16 It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. 17 That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, 18 he would have already experienced it all himself - all the pain, all the testing - and would be able to help where help was needed.

Hebrews 3 (The Message)

1 So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, 2 faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, 3 but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. 4 Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. 5 Moses did a good job in God's house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. 6 Christ as Son is in charge of the house. 7 That's why the Holy Spirit says, Today, please listen; 8 don't turn a deaf ear as in "the bitter uprising," that time of wilderness testing! 9 Even though they watched me at work for forty years, your ancestors refused to let me do it my way; over and over they tried my patience. 10 And I was provoked, oh, so provoked! I said, "They'll never keep their minds on God; they refuse to walk down my road." 11 Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." 12 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. 13 For as long as it's still God's Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes. 14 If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we're in this with Christ for the long haul. 15 These words keep ringing in our ears: Today, please listen; don't turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising. 16 For who were the people who turned a deaf ear? Weren't they the very ones Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who was God provoked with for forty years? Wasn't it those who turned a deaf ear and ended up corpses in the wilderness? 18 And when he swore that they'd never get where they were going, wasn't he talking to the ones who turned a deaf ear? 19 They never got there because they never listened, never believed.

Hebrews 4 (The Message)

1 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. 2 We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. 3 If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." 4 Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work," 5 but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest." 6 So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. 7 God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear . . . 8 And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." 9 The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. 10 God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. 11 So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. 12 God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. 13 Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it - no matter what. The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain 14 Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. 15 We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. 16 So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Hebrews 5 (The Message)

1 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins 2 should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it's like from his own experience. 3 But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the people's. 4 No one elects himself to this honored position. He's called to it by God, as Aaron was. 5 Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you!" 6 In another place God declares, "You're a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek." 7 While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. 8 Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. 9 Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, 10 he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him. 11 I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. 12 By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one - baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! 13 Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; 14 solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

Hebrews 6 (The Message)

1 So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on "salvation by self-help" and turning in trust toward God; 2 baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. 3 God helping us, we'll stay true to all that. But there's so much more. Let's get on with it! 4 Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, 5 once they've personally experienced the sheer goodness of God's Word and the powers breaking in on us - 6 if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can't start over as if nothing happened. That's impossible. Why, they've re-crucified Jesus! They've repudiated him in public! 7 Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God's "Well done!" 8 But if it produces weeds and thistles, it's more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested. 9 I'm sure that won't happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you - salvation things! 10 God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. 11 And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. 12 Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. 13 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. 14 He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have - bless and bless and bless!" 15 Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. 16 When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. 17 When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee - 18 God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. 19 It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God 20 where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7 (The Message)

1 Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Highest God. He met Abraham, who was returning from "the royal massacre," and gave him his blessing. 2 Abraham in turn gave him a tenth of the spoils. "Melchizedek" means "King of Righteousness." "Salem" means "Peace." So, he is also "King of Peace." 3 Melchizedek towers out of the past - without record of family ties, no account of beginning or end. In this way he is like the Son of God, one huge priestly presence dominating the landscape always. 4 You realize just how great Melchizedek is when you see that Father Abraham gave him a tenth of the captured treasure. 5 Priests descended from Levi are commanded by law to collect tithes from the people, even though they are all more or less equals, priests and people, having a common father in Abraham. 6 But this man, a complete outsider, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him, the one to whom the promises had been given. 7 In acts of blessing, the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 Or look at it this way: We pay our tithes to priests who die, but Abraham paid tithes to a priest who, the Scripture says, "lives." 9 Ultimately you could even say that since Levi descended from Abraham, who paid tithes to Melchizedek, 10 when we pay tithes to the priestly tribe of Levi they end up with Melchizedek. 11 If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn't have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. 12 But since it didn't get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. 13 There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, 14 which is why there is nothing in Jesus' family tree connecting him with that priestly line. 15 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, 16 not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life - he lives! - 17 "priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek." 18 The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; 19 the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way - Jesus! - a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place. 20 The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. 21 But then God intervened and called this new, permanent priesthood into being with an added promise: God gave his word; he won't take it back: "You're the permanent priest." 22 This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God - one that really works! A new covenant. 23 Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. 24 But Jesus' priesthood is permanent. He's there from now to eternity 25 to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them. 26 So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God's presence in heaven itself. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he doesn't have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He's done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. 28 The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect.

Hebrews 8 (The Message)

1 In essence, we have just such a high priest: authoritative right alongside God, 2 conducting worship in the one true sanctuary built by God. 3 The assigned task of a high priest is to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and it's no different with the priesthood of Jesus. 4 If he were limited to earth, he wouldn't even be a priest. We wouldn't need him since there are plenty of priests who offer the gifts designated in the law. 5 These priests provide only a hint of what goes on in the true sanctuary of heaven, which Moses caught a glimpse of as he was about to set up the tent-shrine. It was then that God said, "Be careful to do it exactly as you saw it on the Mountain." 6 But Jesus' priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he's working from a far better plan. 7 If the first plan - the old covenant - had worked out, a second wouldn't have been needed. 8 But we know the first was found wanting, because God said, Heads up! The days are coming when I'll set up a new plan for dealing with Israel and Judah. 9 I'll throw out the old plan I set up with their ancestors when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. They didn't keep their part of the bargain, so I looked away and let it go. 10 This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; This time I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I'll be their God, they'll be my people. 11 They won't go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They'll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. 12 They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean. 13 By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust.

Hebrews 9 (The Message)

1 That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. 2 A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and "the bread of presence" were placed in it. This was called "the Holy Place." 3 Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called "the Holy of Holies." 4 In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, the covenant tablets, 5 and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don't have time to comment on these now. 6 After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. 7 Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people's accumulated sins. 8 This was the Holy Spirit's way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can't just walk in on God. 9 Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can't really get to the heart of the matter, can't assuage the conscience of the people, 10 but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It's essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made. 11 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent" - the true Holy Place - once and for all. 12 He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. 13 If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, 14 think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. 15 Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. 16 Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus' death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way. 17 18 Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. 19 After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law - God's "will" - he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. 20 And then he attested its validity with the words, "This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God." 21 He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. 22 Moses said to the people, "This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you." Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That's why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins. 23 That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. It also accounts for why, when the real thing takes place, these animal sacrifices aren't needed anymore, having served their purpose. 24 For Christ didn't enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. 25 He doesn't do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own; 26 if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin. 27 Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. 28 Christ's death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.

Hebrews 10 (The Message)

1 The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old "law plan" wasn't complete in itself, it couldn't complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution. 2 If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. 3 But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. 4 The plain fact is that bull and goat blood can't get rid of sin. 5 That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ: You don't want sacrifices and offerings year after year; you've prepared a body for me for a sacrifice. 6 It's not fragrance and smoke from the altar that whet your appetite. 7 So I said, "I'm here to do it your way, O God, the way it's described in your Book." 8 When he said, "You don't want sacrifices and offerings," he was referring to practices according to the old plan. 9 When he added, "I'm here to do it your way," he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan - 10 God's way - by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. 11 Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. 12 As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God 13 and waited for his enemies to cave in. 14 It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. 15 The Holy Spirit confirms this: 16 This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; This time "I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts." 17 He concludes, I'll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins. 18 Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them. 19 So, friends, we can now - without hesitation - walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." 20 Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. 21 The "curtain" into God's presence is his body. 22 So let's do it - full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. 23 Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. 24 Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25 not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. 26 If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all we've been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice 27 and are left on our own to face the Judgment - and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! 28 If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, 29 what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? 30 This is no light matter. God has warned us that he'll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: "Vengeance is mine, and I won't overlook a thing," and, "God will judge his people." 31 Nobody's getting by with anything, believe me. 32 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! 33 Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse - some days it was you, other days your friends. 34 If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn't touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. 35 So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It's still a sure thing! 36 But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion. 37 It won't be long now, he's on the way; he'll show up most any minute. 38 But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy. 39 But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

Hebrews 11 (The Message)

1 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. 2 The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. 3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. 4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. 5 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. "They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him." We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken "he pleased God." 6 It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. 7 By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. 8 By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. 9 By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. 10 Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations - the City designed and built by God. 11 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. 12 That's how it happened that from one man's dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions. 14 People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. 15 If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. 16 But they were after a far better country than that - heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them. 17 By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him - 18 and this after he had already been told, "Your descendants shall come from Isaac." 19 Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that's what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar. 20 By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau. 21 By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph's sons in turn, blessing them with God's blessing, not his own - as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff. 22 By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial. 23 By an act of faith, Moses' parents hid him away for three months after his birth. They saw the child's beauty, and they braved the king's decree. 24 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. 25 He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. 26 He valued suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. 27 By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king's blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. 28 By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn't touch them. 29 By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned. 30 By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat. 31 By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God. 32 I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more - Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . 33 Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, 34 fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. 35 Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. 36 Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. 37 We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless - 38 the world didn't deserve them! - making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world. 39 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. 40 God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. 113 Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world.

Hebrews 12 (The Message)

1 Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 4 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through - all that bloodshed! 5 So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. 6 It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. 7 God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, 8 the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? 9 We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? 10 While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. 11 At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. 12 So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! 13 Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! 14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. 15 Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16 Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. 17 You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing - but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. 18 Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai - all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble - 19 to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. 20 When they heard the words - "If an animal touches the Mountain, it's as good as dead" - they were afraid to move. 21 Even Moses was terrified. 22 No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels 23 and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. 24 You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's - a homicide that cried out for vengeance - became a proclamation of grace. 25 So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? 26 His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time - he's told us this quite plainly - he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern." 27 The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. 28 Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. 29 He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

Hebrews 13 (The Message)

1 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. 2 Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! 3 Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. 4 Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. 5 Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," 6 we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me? 7 Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. 8 For Jesus doesn't change - yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself. 9 Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them. 10 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. 11 In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. 12 It's the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates - that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God's altar to cleanse his people. 13 So let's go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is - not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. 14 This "insider world" is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. 15 Let's take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name. 16 Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship - a different kind of "sacrifice" - that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. 17 Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? 18 Pray for us. We have no doubts about what we're doing or why, but it's hard going and we need your prayers. All we care about is living well before God. 19 Pray that we may be together soon. 20 May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, 21 Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always! Oh, yes, yes, yes. 22 Friends, please take what I've written most seriously. I've kept this as brief as possible; I haven't piled on a lot of extras. 23 You'll be glad to know that Timothy has been let out of prison. If he leaves soon, I'll come with him and get to see you myself. 24 Say hello to your pastoral leaders and all the congregations. Everyone here in Italy wants to be remembered to you. 25 Grace be with you, every one.