Jesus – God’s Oath and Promise (Heb. 6:13-20)

This sermon was preached on 26/5/2013

The author in this section wants to encourage God’s people. We can see why. He has just warned them about the dangers of departing from Jesus and then reminded them that they had given some evidence by their lives that they were genuine disciples of Jesus. Yet no doubt his words of warning would have made his readers apprehensive for the future, especially as they were facing pressures to give up the faith. What guarantees could the author give to them in order to strengthen their faith in Jesus? The way that the author encourages them is to remind them of what God the Father and Jesus have done for them, a reminder of the faithfulness of God and of the Saviour towards their people.

God made an oath about them

Perhaps their biggest fear would be connected to whether or not God would remain committed to them if they became colder in the commitment to him. So in order to illustrate what God the Father had done for them, the author referred to an event in the life of Abraham when God made an oath to his servant in order to give him certainty about the divine promises he had received concerning the number of his descendants (Gen. 22:16-17). Of course, we know that God, being totally holy and honest, does not need to make an oath in order to confirm one of his promises – his word is sufficient by itself. Yet he made an oath because he wanted to strengthen the faith of Abraham, which is a marvelous insight into the pastoral heart of God.

It is also a reminder that often God comes down to our level in order to help us understand what he is doing. For example, he describes himself by roles that we can understand – he calls himself a shepherd or a metalworker, a farmer and a builder. So here he uses the practice of oath-taking – when a person swore an oath he was emphasizing the truth of what he said and others would accept his word. God wants his people to accept his Word.

The particular aspect that the Lord wanted Abraham to know was the unchanging nature of the divine purpose for him. In his case, he would receive heirs from God through Isaac. And the author informs his readers that God has the same mind towards them. As John Owen observed, the Lord made an oath for two reasons: he wanted to show ‘(1) The sincerity of his intentions, without reserve. (2) The stability of his purposes, without alteration and change.’ Both regarding what he had promised to Abraham and what he had promised to the readers of Hebrews, it is impossible for God to have lied about what he had said he would do. Even if things were dark and difficult for the readers at that time, they should recall that God has made an oath in connection with them as well.

The author points out how Abraham responded – he waited patiently, and we know that he waited for a long time before Isaac had his own children and extended the family tree. Surely the author was challenging his readers to have a similar response as they waited for God to keep his promises – what they needed was perseverance and patience. Yet perhaps his readers would say to him, ‘We can see how God made a promise to Abraham. But where is the promise that should encourage us to persevere in the faith?’ The answer to the question is that God’s promises to them are connected to Jesus – he was made the great High Priest by an oath which stated that he would be one for ever.

This means that our security and our comfort are connected to Jesus. What does the author say about him in order to encourage us as we make our way through the world.

Christians have a place of refuge

Here the author alludes to the cities of refuge that were found in ancient Israel. They were places to which an individual who had accidentally killed another person could go to avoid experiencing revenge attacks by relatives of the victim. We can imagine the haste with which the person would speed to the safety of one of those cities. The author reminds his readers that in a spiritual sense they too had fled, except they had fled into Jesus. They had not been pursued by a relative, but by the justice of God demanding their punishment. When they had realised their situation, they sped into the welcoming embrace of the Saviour.

Those ancient cities of refuge had long ago lost their significance. They had been captured by enemy countries in the past and even at the time when Hebrews was written the law of the Roman empire governed the land of Israel. It would not help any person facing danger to go to those cities for security. Even if the Jews wanted to talk about how the cities were used in the past they no longer had any relevance. How different it is with Jesus! He is the permanent location of security not merely for an innocent manslayer but for all penitent sinners who trust in him. In the ancient cities of refuge, a guilty person could be handed over to the avenger, but those who are safe in Jesus will never be handed over by him.

Christians have a Fixed Anchor of the Soul

The author changes the imagery to that of a boat that has an anchor in place. We can imagine a boat tossing about on a stormy sea. If the captain keeps the anchor on the boat he has it in the wrong place. It will be of no use there. Instead it will only work if it is cast into the sea and sinks to the bottom where it is attached to a rock. Similarly our hope cannot be in ourselves. Instead we have to send it upwards into God’s presence and see it attached to Jesus.

Looking at Jesus, at what he has done and what he will do, gives confidence in the most severe of storms. One clear biblical example of this is Job: ‘Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!’ (Job. 19:23-27). While Job had lost a great deal, he had not lost his hope.

What happens if we take our hope of Jesus? We will not cope with the storms of life. Things will seem ok if there are no troubles and we might not have any concerns. Yet trouble can come suddenly and if we are not looking at Jesus we will wobble. That is what was happening to the readers of this letter. They were beginning to face opposition and they had stopped looking to Jesus as often as they should have done.

Sometimes we can use legitimate things to take our eyes off Jesus. For example, usually the first thing we do when trouble comes is pray and obviously that is the correct response. Yet it is so easy to begin trusting in the fact that we have prayed instead of looking to Jesus. How often we say about a problem, ‘I have prayed about it and nothing has happened.’ How do we know nothing has happened? It may be God’s will for us to go through a prolonged time of trouble and so he will not deliver us because of our prayers for relief. But in times of trouble, we place our anchor in the presence of Jesus and that will help us as we recall his promises to lead us through troubles as well as at other times to deliver us from troubles. Our anchor is our hope and it must be secured consciously to Jesus.

The hope is said to be sure and steadfast. Other types of anchors are damaged by the rocks they cling on to and can begin to erode from all the banging and pressure they endure from the sea water. The opposite happens to our hope. Because it is attached to Jesus, it remains sure and steadfast. The rock at the bottom of the sea does nothing for the anchor fastened to it. In contrast Jesus strengthens the hope that is fixed on him.

Christians have a Forerunner

The forerunner was a person who went ahead of a group in order to arrange a place for the group and prepare it for them. For example, an employee can be asked to arrange for a hotel room in which a conference will be held. So he pays for the room, makes sure that the place is suitably furnished, and sends details to those attending how to get there. In this illustration, the employee is not as great a person as those who will be attending the conference. Another example would be a family member who, because of poverty in the family circumstances, moves elsewhere in order to find a suitable location. He sends information to the family members to come and join him, sends what they need for the journey and meanwhile ensures that the new location is ready for them.

The place where Jesus has gone is into heaven, depicted by the way the Jewish high priest went into the holy of holies. Yet there is an obvious difference – the Jewish high priest could not stay there but had to come out because he was personally unfit for the presence of God. In contrast, Jesus could remain and he has been there since his ascension. Moreover, he is not on the fringes of heaven as it were, but right at its heart. And he is there for us, as our forerunner.

John Owen mentions three functions of a forerunner. First, he was one by way of declaration. Jesus went to heaven and announced that he had purchased it for his people and his people for it. Second, he is preparing heaven for the arrival of his people whether when they come by faith into it daily or when they reach there at the end of life. Third, he has taken possession of heaven for them as their everlasting inheritance.

The author urges his readers to think of Jesus in suitable ways as they face their difficulties. They are to think of him as the place of refuge, as the rock to which the anchor of hope is attached, and as the representative who functions as their forerunner. These images are very practical. When I am burdened by my sins and failures, think of Jesus as city of refuge where I am safe. When I am frightened of the future and what may happen on earth, think of Jesus in heaven as the rock to which I can attach my anchor – he is the rock that does not move. And think of him there as our Forerunner in heaven, who has announced it as ours, who is preparing it for us, and who possesses it on our behalf.