Hebrewschapter 12
29 verses · unknown · AD 60 to 69 · The general letters
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Introduction
unknown, The general letters, Hebrews Overview.
The writer of this sermon now turns the long roll of believers into a direct appeal. His hearers had lost much for their faith, and some were weary enough to stop. He answers them with a runner, a father and a mountain, and with words from their own Scriptures. He counts himself among them, yet he never lessens the danger of turning back. Listen for the word discipline and for the word sons that stands beside it. Listen also for the voices that speak near the end, and from where each one speaks. The chapter calls a tired believer to keep going and to listen.
Context
- Who
- Tired believers wondering why God was letting this happen to them
- What
- A call to run the race of faith with the eyes on Jesus, to accept God's discipline as His sons, and to heed the One who now speaks from heaven.
- Where
- Written to a community of Jewish believers, most likely in or near Rome, who knew the story of Sinai and the promise of Zion from their Scriptures.
- When
- Most likely in the 60s AD, while the temple in Jerusalem still stood and the hearers had suffered loss but had not yet been put to death for their faith.
- Why
- To keep tired and suffering believers from giving up, by showing them the endurance of Jesus, the purpose of their hardship and the greater danger of refusing God's voice.
Historical context
The opening is a footrace in a Greek stadium. Runners stripped off everything, including the weights used in training, and ran to a fixed finish line while the tiers of spectators looked on. The witnesses in this picture are people who have already run, not people watching from the stands for entertainment.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The discipline passage assumes an ancient household. A father trained his own sons, and the training included correction; children with no father to correct them were, in that world, illegitimate and unprovided for. The chapter uses that hard social fact, painful correction was proof of belonging.
Esau selling his birthright for one meal was a live cautionary tale. The birthright was the double share and the family headship, and trading it for stew was proverbial for surrendering something permanent for something immediate.
Then the two mountains. Sinai is described as it stood in Exodus, fire, darkness, a trumpet, a voice, and a boundary line that killed anything crossing it, even an animal. Zion is described as a city with a festival crowd, a gathering, and a mediator, and the hearers are told they have already come to it.
Significance
For hearers reading their suffering as abandonment, the household picture reversed the meaning: the correction was evidence of sonship, not of rejection.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The warning at the end draws on the shaking of Sinai and points ahead to a final shaking of heaven and earth, when only what cannot be shaken is left standing. To people whose visible world, including the temple, was about to come down, that promise was about to become very concrete.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Lay Aside the Weight and Run Looking to Jesus
Hebrews 12:1-2
such a great cloud of witnesses: The roll of chapter 11 becomes such a great cloud of witnesses, and the Greek word names those who have borne witness to faith. The runner is to throw off every encumbrance and look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Hebrews 12:1
“Let us lay aside every weight - As all who run a race take care to do. Let us throw off whatever weighs us down, or damps the vigour of our Soul. And the sin which easily besetteth us - As doth the sin of our constitution, the sin of our education, the sin of our profession.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Hebrews 12:1
“Thus the humility and godly submission of so great and illustrious men have rendered not only us, but also all the generations before us, better; even as many as have received His oracles in fear and truth. Wherefore, having so many great and glorious examples set before us, let us turn again to the practice of that peace which from the beginning was the mark set before us; and let us look steadfastly to the Father and Creator of the universe, and cleave to His mighty and surpassingly great gifts and benefactions of peace.”
Clement of Rome · written before 99 · Letter to the Corinthians (Clement)patristic
Hebrews 12:1
“THE Apostle says, "Let us run." He has in his mind's eye the Olympic games, where all the different tribes of Greece were gathered together in general assembly to display the prowess of the race. Among the athletic exercises were footraces. The Apostle makes this footrace an illustration of the Christian life. We must run with patience along the appointed course if we would win the prize of our high calling. He stands with us at the starting block and earnestly says to us, not "Run," but, "Let us run." The Apostle himself is at our side as a runner.”
Hebrews 12:1
“It is not primarily "the sin," &c., but sin in general, with, however, special reference to "apostasy," against which he had already warned them, as one to which they might gradually be seduced; the besetting sin of the Hebrews, UNBELIEF. with patience--Greek, "in persevering endurance" (Heb 10:36).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the author and perfecter of our faith: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render author as prince leader, the same Greek word used at Hebrews 2:10 and Acts 3:15. Jesus himself fulfilled the ideal of faith, they add. John Wesley compares the look to the wounded Israelites gazing at the bronze serpent.
Hebrews 12:2
“This was the joy that was set before him. (4.) The reward of his suffering: he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Christ, as Mediator, is exalted to a station of the highest honour, of the greatest power and influence; he is at the right hand of the Father.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:2
“Looking unto Jesus - Αφορωντες· Looking off and on, or from and to; looking off or from the world and all secular concerns to Jesus and all the spiritual and heavenly things connected with him. This is still an allusion to the Grecian games: those who ran were to keep their eyes fixed on the mark of the prize; they must keep the goal in view. The exhortation implies, 1. That they should place all their hope and confidence in Christ, as their sole helper in this race of faith.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 12:2
“The author and finisher of our faith - Who begins it in us, carries it on, and perfects it. Who for the joy that was set before him - Patiently and willingly endured the cross, with all the pains annexed thereto. And is set down - Where there is fulness of joy.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:2
“On His "faith" compare Heb 2:13; Believers have ever looked to Him (Heb 11:26; 13:8). finisher--Greek, "Perfecter," referring to Heb 11:40. of our faith--rather as Greek, "of the faith," including both His faith (as exhibited in what follows) and our faith.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
endured such hostility from sinners: The weary runner is pointed to Him who endured such hostility from sinners. The Greek word, antilogia, means speaking against, so it covers argument as well as violence. The purpose follows, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:3
“Consider - Draw the comparison and think. The Lord bore all this; and shall his servants bear nothing? Him that endured such contradiction from sinners - Such enmity and opposition of every kind Lest ye be weary - Dull and languid, and so actually faint in your course.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:3
“For consider him - Attentively reflect on his example that you may be able to bear your trials in a proper manner. That endured such contradiction of sinners - Such opposition. The reference is to the Jews of the time of the Saviour, who opposed his plans, perverted his sayings, and ridiculed his claims. Yet, regardless of their opposition, he persevered in the course which he had marked out, and went patiently forward in the execution of his plans.”
Hebrews 12:3
“For--justifying his exhortation, "Looking unto Jesus." consider--by way of comparison with yourselves, so the Greek. contradiction--unbelief, and every kind of opposition (Ac 28:19). sinners--Sin assails us.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The Father's Discipline Proves You Are Sons
In your struggle against sin: The race becomes your struggle against sin, and the writer tells the readers you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Some of the witnesses of Hebrews 11:37 died by the sword, and the comparison keeps the readers' suffering in proportion.
Hebrews 12:4
“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood - Many of those already mentioned were martyrs for the truth; they persevered unto death, and lost their lives in bearing testimony to the truth. Though you have had opposition and persecution, yet you have not been called, in bearing your testimony against sin and sinners, to seal the truth with your blood. Striving against sin - Προς την ἁμαρτιαν ανταγωνι ζομενοι· An allusion to boxing at the Grecian games. In the former passages the apostle principally refers to the foot races.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:4
“He owns that they had suffered much, they had been striving to an agony against sin. Here, (1.) The cause of the conflict was sin, and to be engaged against sin is to fight in a good cause, for sin is the worst enemy both to God and man.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hebrews 12:5-6
exhortation that addresses you as sons: The readers had forgotten Proverbs 3:11 to 12, which says do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord. Its second half grounds the argument, the Lord disciplines the one He loves. Discipline is read as a mark of love and sonship.
Hebrews 12:5
In truth, tribulations are, for those well prepared, like certain foods and exercises for athletes which lead the contestant on to the hereditary glory, if, when reviled, we bless; if when maligned, we entreat; if ill-treated, we give thanks; if afflicted, we glory in our afflictions. It is indeed shameful for us to bless on propitious occasions but be silent on dark and difficult ones. On the contrary, we must bless even more at that time, knowing that "the Lord disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives."
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · Homilies on the Psalms 16.1 (Psalm 33)patristic
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:5
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation - This exhortation is found in Pro 3:11-12. The object of the apostle in introducing it here is, to show that afflictions were designed on the part of God to produce some happy effects in the lives of his people, and that they ought, therefore, to bear them patiently. In the previous verses, he directs them to the example of the Saviour.”
Hebrews 12:5
“Those who make light of affliction make light of God and make light of sin. (2.) They must not faint when they are rebuked; they must not despond and sink under their trial, nor fret and repine, but bear up with faith and patience.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hebrews 12:5
“GOD’S PEOPLE CAN never by any possibility be punished for their sins. God has punished them already in the person of Christ, Christ, their substitute, has endured the full penalty for all their guilt, and neither the justice nor the love of God can ever exact again that which Christ has paid.”
Cross references
Hebrews 12:5
- QuotingProverbs 3:11“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke;”
'My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord' (the exhortation that speaks to sons)
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the verb means to scourge, a punishment that draws blood, and link it to the blood of verse 4. Receives means accepts, taking a son as one in whom the Father delights. John Wesley traces every stroke to love.
Hebrews 12:6
"I will punish with the rod" your saints; "I will visit with a whip their sins." Why? So that "I may not take my mercy from them." For when he leaves someone, he no longer punishes or whips them, since he does not whip everyone, but "every son the Lord receives."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Selections from Exodus 127patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:6
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth - Here is the reason why we should neither neglect correction, nor faint under it: it is a proof of the fatherly love of God Almighty, and shows his most gracious designs towards us; from which we may be fully convinced that the affliction will prove the means of good to our souls, if we make a proper use of it. And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth - Μαστιγοι δε παντα υἱον, ὁν παραδεχεται.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 12:7-8
God is treating you as sons: The suffering becomes the proof of sonship, Endure suffering as discipline, for God is treating you as sons. Verse 8 states the reverse with a hard word, illegitimate children and not true sons. The absence of discipline is the sign to fear.
Hebrews 12:7
“If ye endure chastening - That is, if you undergo, or are called to experience correction. It does not mean here, “if you endure it patiently; or if you bear up under it;” but “if you are chastised or corrected by God.” The affirmation does not relate to the manner of bearing it, but to the fact that we are disciplined. God dealeth with you as with sons - He does not cast you off and regard you as if you were in no way related to him.”
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:7
“In Heb 12:7, 8 the need of "chastening" or "discipline" is inculcated; in Heb 12:9, the duty of those to whom it is administered. If--The oldest manuscripts read, "With a view to chastening (that is, since God's chastisement is with a view to your chastening, that is, disciplinary amelioration) endure patiently"; so Vulgate.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
illegitimate children: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read everyone as the worthies of chapter 11, the same witnesses who surround the runner in verse 1. A father takes no trouble over the training of a child he does not own, they note. John Wesley adds that all sons share it, more or less.
Hebrews 12:8
“Then are ye bastards - This proceeds on the general fact, that bastards are neglected in their manners and education; the fathers of such, feeling little affection for, or obligation to regard, their spurious issue. But all that are legitimate children are partakers of chastisement or discipline; for the original word παιδεια does not imply stripes and punishments, but the whole discipline of a child, both at home and at school.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:8
“But if ye be without chastisement,.... Or have no affliction: whereof all are partakers; that is, all the children of God; they are all alike children; they are all in a state of imperfection, and prone to sin; God has an impartial respect unto them: and though they are not all alike chastened, nor chastened at all times, yet none are exempted from chastisement, but have it in some way or another, and at some time or another.”
Hebrews 12:8
"Since then not to be chastised is a mark of bastardy, we ought [not to refuse, but] rejoice in chastisement, as a mark of our genuine sonship" [CHRYSOSTOM].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 12:9-10
we have all had earthly fathers: The argument runs from lesser to greater, from earthly fathers to the Father of our spirits, a title used only here in the New Testament. Earthly fathers disciplined for a short time, and God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
Hebrews 12:9
“Furthermore - As an additional consideration to induce us to receive chastisement with submission. The argument in this verse is derived from the difference in the spirit and design with which we are corrected by God and by an earthly parent. In God everything is without any intermingling of passion or any improper feeling. In an earthly parent there is often much that is the result of hasty emotion, of an irascible temper, perhaps of the mere love of power.”
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:9
“Perhaps these expressions, fathers of our flesh, and Father of spirits, intimate that our earthly fathers are only the parents of our bodies, our souls not being originally derived from them, but all created by the immediate power of God; perhaps, at the beginning of the world.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:9
“Father of spirits--contrasted with "the fathers of our flesh." "Generation by men is carnal, by God is spiritual" [BENGEL]. As "Father of spirits," He is both the Originator, and the Providential and Gracious Sustainer, at once of animal and spiritual life. Compare "and LIVE," namely, spiritually; also Heb 12:10, "that we might be partakers of His holiness" (2Pe 1:4).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
share in His holiness: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the short time as the aim of earthly training, which looks only to the few days of this life. Parents err, they add, now in severity and now in indulgence, citing 1 Samuel 3:13. John Wesley calls the holiness God himself and his glorious image.
Hebrews 12:10
“For - a few days - The chastisement of our earthly parents lasted only a short time; that of our heavenly Father will also be but a short time, if we submit: and as our parents ceased to correct when we learned obedience; so will our heavenly Father when the end for which he sent the chastisement is accomplished. God delights not in the rod; judgment is his strange work.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:10
“For they verily for a few days - How few are even all our day on earth! Chastened us as they thought good - Though frequently they erred therein, by too much either of indulgence or severity. But he always, unquestionably, for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness - That is, of himself and his glorious image.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:10
“This almost takes my breath away. It says that you and I, little mortals that come over this earth just for a little span, may be made partakers of his holiness.”
Leonard Ravenhill · Holiness of GodBritish Wesleyan-Holiness
Hebrews 12:10
“Showing wherein the chastisement of our heavenly Father is preferable to that of earthly fathers. for a few days--that is, with a view to our well-being in the few days of our earthly life: so the Greek. after their own pleasure--Greek, "according to what seemed fit to themselves." Their rule of chastening is what may seem fit to their own often erring judgment, temper, or caprice.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
No discipline seems enjoyable: The verse grants that discipline is painful at the time. It then names a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it. Trained is gumnazo, the word of the gymnasium behind the chapter's athletic language.
Hebrews 12:11
“Gratified wishes, our Father knows, would often be our real curses. fruit of righteousness--righteousness (in practice, springing from faith) is the fruit which chastening, the tree yields (Php 1:11). "Peaceable" (compare Isa 32:17): in contrast to the ordeal of conflict by which it has been won. "Fruit of righteousness to be enjoyed in peace after the conflict" [THOLUCK].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:11
“Now all chastening - Whether from our earthly or heavenly Father, Is for the present grievous, yet it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness - Holiness and happiness. To them that are exercised thereby - That receive this exercise as from God, and improve it according to his will.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:11
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,.... These words anticipate an objection, taken from the grief and sorrow that comes by afflictions; and therefore how should they be for profit and advantage?”
Hebrews 12:11
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous - It does not impart pleasure, nor is this its design. All chastisement is intended to produce pain, and the Christian is as sensitive to pain as others. His religion does not blunt his sensibilities and make him a stoic, but it rather increases his susceptibility to suffering. The Lord Jesus, probably, felt pain, reproach, and contempt more keenly than any other human being ever did; and the Christian feels the loss of a child, or physical suffering, as keenly as anyone.”
Straight Paths, and the Warning of Esau
Hebrews 12:12-13
strengthen your limp hands: The call to strengthen your limp hands and weak knees draws on Isaiah 35:3. Make straight paths for your feet draws on Proverbs 4:26, so that the lame may be healed. The church is to walk in a way that helps its weakest members recover.
Hebrews 12:12
Nevertheless, since Jesus recites the law to you and reveals to your hearts its spiritual meaning, do not remain "proselytes," that is, catechumens, any longer, but hurry to receive fully the grace of God.… And you "children," "do not be children in your thinking; be babes in evil, but in thinking be mature." As the apostle says to the Hebrews, "Let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity." But you, too, who under the title women are weak, cast down and tired, you are exhorted to "lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on Joshua 9.9patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:12
“Wherefore lift up the hands - The apostle refers to Isa 35:3. The words are an address to persons almost worn out with sickness and fatigue, whose hands hang down, whose knees shake, and who are totally discouraged. These are exhorted to exert themselves, and take courage, with the assurance that they shall infallibly conquer if they persevere.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 12:12
“There are many that are in the way to heaven who yet walk but weakly and lamely in it. Such are apt to discourage one another, and hinder one another; but it is their duty to take courage, and act by faith, and so help one another forward in the way to heaven. [2.] That their affliction may be improved to a greater degree of holiness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Make straight paths for your feet: The Greek word for paths means wheel tracks, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture a firm walk that leaves a plain road for those behind. They read the lame as believers still weak in faith and drawn back toward Judaism, as at Romans 14:1. Steady walking itself heals.
Hebrews 12:13
“And make straight paths both for your own and for their feet - Remove every hindrance, every offense. That the lame - They who are weak, scarce able to walk. Be not turned out of the way - Of faith and holiness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:13
“And make straight paths for your feet - Margin, “even.” The word used here means properly straight, in the sense of upright, erect; Act 14:10; but it is used here in the sense of straight horizontally, that is, level, plain, smooth. The meaning is, that they were to remove all obstacles out of the way, so that they need not stumble and fail. There is probably an allusion here to Pro 4:25-27. “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.”
Hebrews 12:13
“Quoted from Pr 4:26, Septuagint, "Make straight paths for thy feet." straight--that is, leading by a straight road to joy and grace (Heb 12:1, 2, 15).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Pursue peace with everyone: Two pursuits are joined, peace with everyone, as well as holiness. The second is stated as a necessity, without which no one will see the Lord. Holiness is required of the whole church.
Hebrews 12:14
“Secondly, Peace and holiness are connected together; there can be no true peace without holiness. There may be prudence and discreet forbearance, and a show of friendship and good-will to all; but this true Christian peaceableness is never found separate from holiness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:14
“Follow peace with all men - Cultivate, as far as you possibly can, a good understanding, both with Jews and Gentiles. Ειρηνην διωκετε, pursue peace with the same care, attention, and diligence, as beasts do their game; follow it through all places; trace it through all winding circumstances; and have it with all men, if you can with a safe conscience.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 12:14
“Follow peace with all men - This second branch of the exhortation concerns our neighbours; the third, God. And holiness - The not following after all holiness, is the direct way to fall into sin of every kind.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:15-17
falls short of the grace: The whole congregation is to see that no one falls short of the grace of God, and the root of bitterness comes from Deuteronomy 29:18. Esau is the example, who for a single meal sold his birthright and later could find no ground for repentance despite his tears.
Hebrews 12:15
“Fall from the grace of God: lest any root of bitterness - Of envy, anger, suspicion. Springing up - Destroy the sweet peace; lest any, not following after holiness, fall into fornication or profaneness. In general, any corruption, either in doctrine or practice, is a root of bitterness, and may pollute many.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:15
“The only safety is in rooting out such a root of bitterness. many--rather, "the many," that is, the whole congregation. So long as it is hidden under the earth it cannot be remedied, but when it "springs up," it must be dealt with boldly.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 12:15
“Looking diligently - This phrase implies close attention. It is implied that there are reasons why we should take special care. Those reasons are found in the propensities of our hearts to evil; in the temptations of the world; in the allurements to apostasy presented by the great adversary of our souls. Lest any man fail - As every man is in danger, it is his personal duty to see to it that his salvation be secure. Fail of the grace of God - Margin, “fail from.” The Greek is, “lest any one be wanting or lacking” - ὑστερῶν husterōn.”
godless like Esau: The birthright carried the honour of being ancestor of the promised seed, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note the small price only deepens the guilt. The readers held a birthright of their own among the firstborn of verse 23. One act can forfeit much, as Reuben and Saul found.
Hebrews 12:16
“Now was I as one bound, I felt myself shut up unto the judgment to come; nothing now, for two years together, would abide with me, but damnation, and an expectation of damnation.”
John Bunyan · Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666)English Puritan
he sought the blessing with tears: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set this afterward beside the afterward of verse 11, where discipline yields its fruit. They note that Esau planned to murder Jacob as soon as the blessing was lost. John Wesley says he sought too late.
Hebrews 12:17
“The time is coming when they will think no pains too great, no cares no tears too much, to obtain the lost blessing. [3.] When the day of grace is over (as sometimes it may be in this life), they will find no place for repentance: they cannot repent aright of their sin; and God will not repent of the sentence he has passed upon them for their sin.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:17
“For ye know how that afterward ... - When he came to his father, and earnestly besought him to reverse the sentence which he had pronounced; see Gen 27:34-40. The “blessing” here referred to was not that of the birth-right, which he knew he could not regain, but that pronounced by the father Isaac on him whom he regarded as his first-born son. This Jacob obtained by fraud, when Isaac really “meant” to bestow it on Esau.”
Hebrews 12:17
“I agree with him that the translation, instead of "repentance," "no place for changing HIS FATHER'S mind," is forced; though doubtless this is what was the true aim of the "repentance" which he sought. The language is framed to apply to profane despisers who wilfully cast away grace and seek repentance (that is, not real; but escape from the penalty of their sin), but in vain.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 12:17
“He was rejected - He could not obtain it. For he found no place for repentance - There was no room for any such repentance as would regain what he had lost.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Not the Burning Mountain but Mount Zion
Hebrews 12:18-21
a mountain that can be touched: The comparison opens with Sinai, a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. The rule about an animal that touches the mountain comes from Exodus 19:12 to 13. Moses' words I am trembling with fear come from outside the Exodus account of Sinai.
Hebrews 12:18
“For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched - I believe the words ψηλαφωμενῳ ορει should be translated to a palpable or material mountain; for that it was not a mountain that on this occasion might be touched, the history, Exo 19:12, Exo 19:13, shows; and the apostle himself, in Heb 12:20, confirms. It is called here a palpable or material mount, to distinguish it from that spiritual mount Sion, of which the apostle is speaking.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:18
“For - A strong reason this why they ought the more to regard the whole exhortation drawn from the priesthood of Christ: because both salvation and vengeance are now nearer at hand. Ye are not come to the mountain that could be touched - That was of an earthy, material nature.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:18
“The state of the gospel church on mount Zion is more spiritual, rational, and easy. It was a dark dispensation. Upon that mount there were blackness and darkness, and that church-state was covered with dark shadows and types: the gospel state is much more clear and bright.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
a trumpet blast: John Wesley holds that angels sounded the trumpet to prepare for the Ten Commandments, which God spoke aloud at Deuteronomy 5:22. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the people asked for Moses to speak in God's place. God added no more after the ten words.
Hebrews 12:19
“The sound of a trumpet - Formed, without doubt, by the ministry of angels, and preparatory to the words, that is, the Ten Commandments, which were uttered with a loud voice, Deut. v, 22.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:19
“The gospel state is mild, and kind, and condescending, suited to our weak frame. It was a limited dispensation; all might not approach to that mount, but only Moses and Aaron. Under the gospel we have all access with boldness to God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the rule as even a beast, and much more a man. The letter shortens the full order of Exodus 19:12 and names only the stoning, which applied to the human offender. John Wesley places the terror in the hearing itself.
Hebrews 12:20
“For they could not endure that which was commanded - They could not sustain the awe produced by the fact that God uttered his commands himself. The meaning is not that the commands themselves were intolerable, but that the manner in which they were communicated inspired a terror which they could not bear. They feared that they should die; Exo 20:19. And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned - Exo 19:13. The prohibition was, that neither beast nor man should touch it on pain of death.”
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:20
“That is, they could not bear to hear with their ears what God was saying, as something terrifying. And so they became the reason for God's appearing in the flesh, so as to become accessible to them.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Hebrewspatristic
The words I am trembling with fear recall Deuteronomy 9:19, where Moses speaks of his fear after the golden calf. The two Greek words divide it, fear touching the mind and trembling the body.
Hebrews 12:21
“And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said ... - This is not recorded in the account of the giving of the Law in Exodus, and it has been made a question on what authority the apostle made this declaration respecting Moses.”
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:21
“Even Moses - Though admitted to so near an intercourse with God, who "spake to him as a man speaketh to his friend." At other times he acted as a mediator between God and the people.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:22-24
you have come to Mount Zion: Against Sinai the letter sets Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. There stand Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. This answers Genesis 4:10, where Abel's blood cried out.
Hebrews 12:22
“But ye are come unto mount Sion - In order to enter fully into the apostle’s meaning, we must observe, 1. That the Church, which is called here the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and mount Sion, is represented under the notion of a City. 2. That the great assembly of believers in Christ is here opposed to the congregation of the Israelites assembled at Mount Sinai. 3. That the innumerable company of angels is here opposed to, those angels by whom the law was ushered in, Act 7:53; Gal 3:19.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:22
“He shows how much the gospel church represents the church triumphant in heaven, what communication there is between the one and the other. The gospel church is called mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, which is free, in opposition to mount Sinai, which tendeth to bondage, Gal. iv. This was the hill on which God set his king the Messiah.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hebrews 12:22
“But ye - Who believe in Christ. Are come - The apostle does not here speak of their coming to the church militant, but of that glorious privilege of New Testament believers, their communion with the church triumphant. But this is far more apparent to the eyes of celestial spirits than to ours which are yet veiled.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:22
“This great glory did not continue upon me until morning, yet the twelfth of the Author to the Hebrews, Heb. xii. 22, 23, was a blessed scripture to me for many days together after this.”
John Bunyan · Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666)English Puritan
enrolled in heaven: The firstborn of Israel were written in a roll at Numbers 3:40, and the church is enrolled in heaven as citizens. The same verse names God the Judge of all and the spirits of the righteous made perfect.
Hebrews 12:23
“And church - The whole body of true believers, whether on earth or in paradise. Of the first-born-The first-born of Israel were enrolled by Moses; but these are enrolled in heaven, as citizens there. It is observable, that in this beautiful gradation, these first-born are placed nearer to God than the angels.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:23
“To the general assembly - see the notes on Heb 12:22. And church of the first-born - That is, you are united with the church of the first-born. They who were first-born among the Hebrews enjoyed special privileges, and especially pre-eminence of rank; see the notes on Col 1:15. The reference here is, evidently, to those saints who had been distinguished for their piety, and who may be supposed to be exalted to special honors in heaven - such as the patriarchs, prophets, martyrs.”
Hebrews 12:23
“Though still fighting the good fight on earth, still, in respect to your destiny, and present life of faith which substantiates things hoped for, ye are already members of the heavenly citizenship. "We are one citizenship with angels; to which it is said in the psalm, Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God" [AUGUSTINE].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the mediator of a new covenant: The Greek word for new here means recent and fresh, and Hebrews 9:15 uses a different Greek word for new. Jesus stands as the mediator of a new covenant, and His sprinkled blood is set beside Abel's offering at Genesis 4:4.
Hebrews 12:24
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven."—Hebrews 12:24, 25. WE ARE JOYFULLY REMINDED by the apostle that we are not come to Mount Sinai and its overwhelming manifestations.”
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:24
“And to the blood of sprinkling - To all the virtue of his precious blood shed for you, whereby ye are sprinkled from an evil conscience. This blood of sprinkling was the foundation of our Lord's mediatorial office. Here the gradation is at the highest point.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:24
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant - The old covenant and its mediator, Moses, are passed away. See Heb 8:13. The new covenant, i.e. the Gospel, is now in force, and will be to the end of the world; and Jesus, the Son of God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, the Maker and Preserver of all things, the Savior and the Judge of all men, is its mediator.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
ConnectionsGenesis 4:10
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
Hebrews 12:25-27
do not refuse Him who speaks: The warning runs from lesser to greater, since the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth. Haggai 2:6 is quoted for the shaking to come. The shaking means the removal of what can be shaken, so that the unshakable may remain.
Hebrews 12:25
“See that ye refuse not - That you do not reject or disregard. Him that speaketh - That is, in the gospel. Do not turn away from him who has addressed you in the new dispensation, and called you to obey and serve him. The meaning is, that God had addressed “them” in the gospel as really as he had done the Hebrews on Mount Sinai, and that there was as much to be dreaded in disregarding his voice now as there was then.”
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:25
“Refuse not - By unbelief. Him that speaketh - And whose speaking even now is a prelude to the final scene. The same voice which spake both by the law and in the gospel, when heard from heaven, will shake heaven and earth.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 12:25
“Now it is in the gospel that God speaks to men in the most excellent manner. For, (1.) He now speaks from a higher and more glorious seat and throne, not from mount Sinai, which was on this earth, but from heaven. (2.) He speaks now more immediately by his inspired word and by his Spirit, which are his witnesses.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hebrews 12:25
“Hence, in Christ's preaching frequent mention is made of "the kingdom of the heavens" (Greek, Mt 3:2). In the giving of the law God spake on earth (namely, Mount Sinai) by angels (Heb 2:2; compare Heb 1:2).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
His voice shook the earth: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find Haggai 2:6 and 2:21 condensed into one line here. John Wesley sees a lower fulfilment in the end of the Jewish state and the full sense at the end of all things. He dates its start to the first coming of Christ.
Hebrews 12:26
“Whose voice then shook the earth - When he spoke from Mount Sinai. But now - With regard to his next speaking. He hath promised - It is a joyful promise to the saints, though dreadful to the wicked.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 12:26
“Whose voice then shook the earth - Namely, at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; and from this it seems that it was the voice of Jesus that then shook the earth, and that it was he who came down on the mount. But others refer this simply to God the Father giving the law.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 12:26
“There have been two remarkable transformations of the human way of life in the course of the world's history. These two are called two "covenants" and, so famous was the business involved, two "shakings of the earth." The first was the transition from idols to the law; the second, from law to gospel. The gospel also tells of the third "shaking," the change from this present state of things to what lies unmoved, unshaken, beyond. An identical feature occurs in both covenants. The feature? There was nothing sudden involved in the first movement to take their transformations in hand.”
Gregory of Nazianzus · written before 390 · On the Holy Spirit, Theological Oration 5(31).25patristic
Hebrews 12:26
“The shaking began at the first coming of Messiah; it will be completed at His second coming, prodigies in the world of nature accompanying the overthrow of all kingdoms that oppose Messiah. The Hebrew is literally, "it is yet one little," that is, a single brief space till the series of movements begins ending in the advent of Messiah.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Hebrews 12:26
- QuotingHaggai 2:6“For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.”
'Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven'
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown put the stress on once, a single final act that is never repeated. The wording follows the Greek of Haggai 2:6. John Wesley names what remains as the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21:1.
Hebrews 12:27
“And this word, Yet once more - That is, this reference to a great agitation or commotion in some future time. This is designed as an explanation of the prophecy in Haggai, and the idea is, that there would be such agitations that everything which was not fixed on a permanent and immovable basis would be thrown down as in an earthquake. Everything which was temporary in human institutions; everything which was wrong in customs and morals; and everything in the ancient system of religion, which was merely of a preparatory and typical character, would be removed.”
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:27
“IT is a most popular error that the world stands still and is fixed and immovable. This has been touted as an astronomical theory, but as a matter of practical principle it still reigns in men's minds. Galileo said, "No, the world is not a fixed body, it moves." Peter had long before declared that all these things should be dissolved. At last men believed the astronomer—but they still doubt the Apostle, or at least forget his doctrine.”
Hebrews 12:28-29
we are receiving an unshakable kingdom: The chapter closes on an unshakable kingdom already being received, and the response asked is to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. The last line, For our God is a consuming fire, quotes Deuteronomy 4:24 and recalls the fire of Sinai.
Hebrews 12:28
“Therefore let us, receiving - By willing and joyful faith. A kingdom - More glorious than the present heaven and earth. Hold fast the grace, whereby we may serve God - In every thought, word, and work.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:28
“We receiving a kingdom - The Gospel dispensation, frequently termed the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, because in it God reigns among men, and he reigns in the hearts of them that believe, and his kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Which cannot be moved - Which never can fail, because it is the last dispensation. Let us have grace - Εχωμεν χαριν· Let us have, keep, or hold fast, the benefit or gift, that is, the heavenly kingdom which God has given us.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
John Wesley locates the fire in the strictness of God's justice and the purity of his holiness. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the love of God at 1 John 4:8 beside the wrath against sin at Hebrews 10:27. The God in whom believers hope is also to be feared.
Hebrews 12:29
“In sacred language God is called a fire, as when Scripture says, "Our God is a consuming fire." Concerning the substance of the angels, it also speaks as follows: "Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire." And in another place, "The angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire in the bush." In addition, we have received a command to be "fervent in spirit" by which expression undoubtedly the word of God is shown to be hot and fiery.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On First Principles 2.8.3patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire - This is a further reason why we should serve God with profound reverence and unwavering fidelity. The quotation is made from Deu 4:24. “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” The object of the apostle here seems to be, to show that there was the same reason for fearing the displeasure of God under the new dispensation which there was under the old. It was the same God who was served. There had been no change in his attributes, or in the principles of his government.”
How this psalm is built
The form: An application of the chapter before it as a motive to patience and perseverance, pressed from the greater example of Christ, from the gentle and gracious nature of the afflictions believers endure, and from the communion between the church on earth and the church in heaven, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The proverb quoted and then explained | Verses 5 and 6 quote Proverbs 3:11 and 12, which address the hearer as My son. Verses 7 to 11 then explain the saying, taking up the words discipline, son and father one after another. In the Berean text a form of the word discipline stands 9 times in verses 5 to 11. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown name Proverbs 3:12 behind the words about every son He receives.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 12:6. | Hebrews 12:5, Hebrews 12:6, Hebrews 12:7, Hebrews 12:11 |
| Two mountains | Verses 18 to 21 describe the mountain of fire, darkness and storm, and verses 22 to 24 the mountain the hearers have already reached. The first passage opens with you have not come, and the second answers with you have come three times, twice in verse 22 and once in verse 23. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace the first picture to Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4:11, and they note that the words of Moses at verse 21 match the Greek of Deuteronomy 9:19.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 12:18 to 21. | Hebrews 12:18, Hebrews 12:21, Hebrews 12:22, Hebrews 12:23 |
| From the lesser to the greater | Verse 9 argues that if earthly fathers were respected for their discipline, the Father of spirits deserves still more submission, and verse 10 adds that His discipline aims at a share in His holiness. Verse 25 argues the same way from the voice that warned on earth to the voice that warns from heaven. John Chrysostom notes that the writer reasons here from the hearers' own experience of their fathers.John Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews 29, on Hebrews 12:9. | Hebrews 12:9, Hebrews 12:10, Hebrews 12:25 |
| Old Testament words woven into the appeal | The appeal of verses 12 to 29 is built from Old Testament words. Verse 12 takes up Isaiah 35:3, verse 13 the Greek of Proverbs 4:26, and verse 15 Deuteronomy 29:18. Verse 26 joins Haggai 2:6 with Haggai 2:21 and 22, and verse 29 quotes Deuteronomy 4:24. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown name each source and note that verse 27 builds on the Greek wording of Haggai, once more.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 12:12 to 29. | Hebrews 12:12, Hebrews 12:13, Hebrews 12:15, Hebrews 12:26, Hebrews 12:29 |
Where the chapter stands in the letter
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter opens with therefore and applies the roll of chapter 11 to the hearers. John Calvin calls its opening an epilogue to the former chapter (Commentaries, on Hebrews 12:1). Matthew Henry reads it in three parts, the example of Christ at verses 1 to 3, the nature of their afflictions at verses 4 to 17, and the church on earth joined to the church in heaven from verse 18 to the end (Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 12). Thomas Aquinas reads verses 18 to 24 as a comparison between the Old and New Testaments (Commentary on Hebrews, section 696). The warning at verse 25 argues from the lesser to the greater, as 2:2 to 3 and 10:28 to 29 did before it.
Who speaks
The writer speaks throughout, often with let us, and he turns to you when he applies the discipline and the two mountains. Proverbs is heard at verses 5 and 6 as an exhortation that addresses the hearers as sons. Moses speaks at verse 21, and God speaks at verse 26 in a promise from Haggai. At verse 24 the sprinkled blood of Jesus speaks, and verse 25 names Him who speaks from heaven.
The debated reading: the cloud of witnesses
Verse 1 calls the believers of chapter 11 a great cloud of witnesses. Albert Barnes reads them as spectators looking on at the efforts of Christians, as crowds watched the ancient games (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on Hebrews 12:1). John Calvin reads the word as testimony, people whose lives prove faith so plainly that no doubt remains (Commentaries, on Hebrews 12:1). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown allow both senses but judge that only the first, witnesses who attest the faithfulness of God, is directly sustained by Scripture (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 12:1).
What the chapter hands forward
Verse 28 calls the hearers to worship God acceptably, and chapter 13 names that worship as the sacrifice of praise and as doing good and sharing at 13:15 to 16. The city of the living God at verse 22 returns at 13:14 as the city that is to come.
Keep studying
Studies43
- The Fruit of the Spirit
- The God Who Sings: Zephaniah 3:17
- The General Epistles
- Cain and Abel
- Edom, the nation of Esau
- Esau
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- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- Faith
- The Hall of Faith
- Fire
- You Are Good, and You Do What Is Good
- Entertaining Angels Unaware
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- Jerusalem
- The Joy Set Before Him
- Nadab and Abihu: the unauthorized fire
- Once for All: the Finished Sacrifice
- Patience
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers
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Show the next 6 titles
Places1
Words12
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.
The form and classifications
John Calvin, Commentaries, on Hebrews 12:1; Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 12, the chapter summary and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews, on Hebrews 12:1, 12:12 and 12:18, sections 656, 683 and 696.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown; John Calvin, Commentary on Hebrews; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Owen, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews; John Wesley; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.