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Hebrews 13:20-21
In Hebrews 13:20-21 the author is giving his closing to the letter with a summary of what he has been teaching throughout the letter. He refers to God as the God of peace in Hebrews 13:20 as he has taught in Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV), “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”, and makes clear that it is He (being God) who has raised Jesus from the dead. He then refers to Jesus as the “great Shepherd of the sheep” which has support throughout the Bible with the “Shepherd” being the leader of the Church, and the “sheep” being the congregation. Jesus speaks of being the good shepherd in John 10. In John 10:14 (NIV) Jesus states, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Psalm 23:1 (NKJV) begins by proclaiming, “The LORD is my shepherd;” and in 1 Peter 5:4 (ESV) the Apostle Peter states, “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
The author of Hebrews has given us the “who” in Hebrews 13:20, and now moves to the “what” in verse 21 as he states, “through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.” The author of Hebrews makes clear that the teachings he has been leading us through are only possible “through the blood of the everlasting covenant” to “make you complete in every good work to do His will” which is “working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.” It is only through Jesus living within us through our salvation in Him that makes us complete. The “blood of the everlasting covenant” is the blood that Jesus shed on the cross in paying the price for our sins, which is death (Romans 6:23a), but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23b). We must open our hearts to Jesus to receive the gift. If you have not done so, you too can open your heart to Jesus today and receive the gift of eternal life through salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:9 (HCSB), “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And he goes on in Romans 10:13 to proclaim, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” If you would like to proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, you can do so by confessing your sins to Him and asking Him in prayer, with a sincere heart, to forgive you and come into your heart and cleanse you in the purity that He offers through His death in paying the price for your sins and the victory that He offers to you through His resurrection from the dead that through Him, you may have eternal life – in Christ. If you have done so today, please send an email to inchristministries.info@gmail.com and let us know that you have opened your heart to Jesus today. I’ll respond with some information that will help you begin your new life – in Christ – as we celebrate with you and with all of heaven.
Dear LORD,
As we are near the end of our study on the letter to the Hebrews we are in awe of Your great love for us in sending Your one and only Son, who is above all the angels, more magnificent than Moses, and High Priest forever, to be the Savior of the world and give His life as a ransom for ours. Thank You LORD for being so merciful and gracious to a sinful people that we may be set free from sin by believing in Jesus as we proclaim Him our Savior and seek Your will for our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.