Great Shepherd of the Sheep

Hebrews 13:20-21

About the Sermon

The book of Hebrews is a letter crafted from start to finish with the utmost care. Now, we arrive at the finish, this week and next. Our author has leveraged poetry, Old Testament quotations and figures and stories, itricate argumentation, repeated and searing warnings, and stunning encouragement. Now, at the end, we come to the benediction. But what is a benediction exactly? What more is there to say after all that we have read? What more is there to do for our sake? Quite a lot actually and in just two verses. In this sermon on Hebrews 13:20–21, we explore these questions in order to hear and receive all that God means to grant us for the journey home.

About the Series

“I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly” (13:22). That’s how the author of the book of Hebrews ends his letter. While the book of Hebrews is famous for its exposition of the Old Testament in light of Christ, showing Christ to be our great high priest, all of that teaching is for an urgent exhortation: do not fall away. Or, as he put it in 2:1 , “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Jesus is an anchor for our souls. He is anchored in heaven and his work is perfectly fitted to keep us in the midst of every trial and temptation.
“I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly” (13:22). That’s how the author of the book of Hebrews ends his letter. While the book of Hebrews is famous for its exposition of the Old Testament in light of Christ, showing Christ to be our great high priest, all of that teaching is for an urgent exhortation: do not fall away. Or, as he put it in 2:1 , “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Jesus is an anchor for our souls. He is anchored in heaven and his work is perfectly fitted to keep us in the midst of every trial and temptation.

Sermons in the Series