1 John 4:19 is the answer: “We love because he first loved us.” God’s love initiates; our love imitates. That is why these commands come in chapter 13 rather than chapter 1. Without the understanding of the love that Christ has demonstrated for us by not being ashamed to call us His brothers even as He took the judgment of our sins upon Himself, we have no hope of even beginning to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Indeed, it is only our being the recipients of Christ’s love that enables us truly to have eyes to see the value and worth of loving one another, for the very fact that we call each other brother and sister ought to be a constant reminder that we are constantly interacting with fellow sons and daughters of God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV

Back in Hebrews 10:19-25, the author gave us a series of three commands that were directly rooted in the sufficiency of Christ’s priestly work as described in chapters 7-10. Those three commands effectively serve as a table of contents for the final three chapters of Hebrews. The conclusion of 10 and all of 11 gave us numerous examples of those who drew near to God by faith rather than shrinking back in fear. Chapter 12 through its marathon imagery and spiritual vision of our present blessings and future hope, expounded upon the command: “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Now we come to chapter 13, which is largely a great series of practical exhortation for the Christian life. Indeed, here the author is modeling what he has commanded us to do through the Holy Spirit: “stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Love & Hospitality// Verses 1-3

Let brotherly love continue.

So begins our final chapter of Hebrews. It is difficult to know where to begin when discussing such a simple yet profound command, but I think it best to first note how this command differs from the rest of the many commands in this chapter. As we will see with the four other commands that we will consider today, author has a pattern of following each command with an explanation that is meant to drive the exhortation further. Most often that explanation begins with the word “for.” Notice it in verse 2: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Or verse 4: Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Verse 3 follows the same pattern but uses the words “as though” and “since:” Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. And again, that pattern can be noted throughout this chapter.

Why then does this first and, I would argue, most fundamental command not follow that pattern? I believe we should see this command as the thesis and archetype for all that follow. Or perhaps we could say that all the other commands in this chapter are particular aspects of this overarching command. Indeed, we find that love for one another must be foundational to Christ’s church. John Owen wonderfully says:

And in vain shall men wrangle and contend about their differences in opinions, faith, and worship, pretending to advance religion by an imposition of their persuasion on others: unless this holy love be again re-introduced among all those who profess the name of Christ, all the concerns of religion will more and more run to ruin. The very continuance of the Church depends secondarily on the continuance of this love. It depends primarily on faith in Christ, whereby we are built on the Rock and hold the Head. But it depends secondarily on this mutual love. Where this faith and love are not, there is no Church. Where they are, there is a Church materially, always capable of evangelical form and order.[1]

Or as our Lord also says in John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

This love is not an abstract ideal but a concrete necessity. Indeed, verses 2-3 display the first two tangible examples of such love. First, a Christian’s brotherly love must be hospitable: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

In the ancient world, hospitality was upheld as a chief virtue. Indeed, three times in the Odyssey, Odysseus inquires whether a country is civilized and godly by how they receive foreigners. Of course, it would be an entirely different question to ask how they lived up to that ideal. Yet if even pagans valued hospitality, how much more ought Christians?

And while we should certainly show hospitality to all men, I believe that the author is speaking particularly about being hospitable to fellow Christians. Remember the context of this letter. As 10:32-34 showed, the original readers had already endured one persecution in which many lost their property, and another persecution was rapidly approaching. Such trials likely left many Christians jobless or homeless and fleeing to other cities.

What better opportunity was there for displaying the love of Christ through their love for one another than by showing hospitality to their afflicted brothers and sisters? About this verse, John Brown writes, “The circumstances of Christians are greatly changed in the course of ages, but the spirit of Christian duty remains unchanged.”[2] While that is certainly still true today, I would also note that with the rise of neopaganism the circumstances of the original audience may not be foreign to us for long. As Christianity continues to lose influence and even provokes outright hostility in our culture, we should make ourselves ready to support those who are strangers for Christ’s sake.

Before moving on to verse 3, we must pause for a moment to consider this explanation: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. I agree with most commentators that Abraham’s lunch with the angels in Genesis 18 is most likely in the author’s mind, and we should take the author as meaning exactly what he says. Since we are not materialists, we should not marvel at the possibility of encountering heavenly beings without realizing it. However, I believe the overall point of mentioning angels here is to set our minds upon the greater spiritual depth that our simple acts of hospitality display. After all, we should remember that Jesus said that the love we show to the least of His brothers is the love that we are showing to Him (Matthew 25:34-40).

Verse 3 is intimately bound to verse 2: Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Here the author summons his readers not to forget those who were imprisoned for Christ’s sake. Ancient prisons were not nearly so humane as today’s prisons. If a person was to survive for any extended period of time, they would only do so through the provision of family. Thus, taking care of those in prison was a perfect way to show a Christian’s brotherly love. Of course, doing so was risky, since the visitor could easily be marked as a fellow Christian. But in answer to this risk, the author says that we should act as though in prison with them. We should count ourselves as already imprisoned whenever one of our brothers or sisters in Christ is imprisoned.

The second half of the verse then expands this loving identification to all those who are mistreated for Christ’s sake. Again, the original audience had already done this once before: “sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated” (10:33). They must do so again, for you also are in the body.

As at many points in this sermon-letter, I think the author uses that phrase in two ways. First, we all belong to the body of Christ; therefore, when one is mistreated, all are mistreated. But I believe he also means that we are still in our earthly bodies and that our race of faith is not yet complete. Therefore, we should show the same kind of love to our persecuted brethren that we would desire to be shown if we found ourselves similarly persecuted.

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