Hebrews 13:20-21

Sermon exegesis for May 15, 2011.

This benediction is used at the final graveside service concluding Lutheran funerals. It is packed with reminders of God's grace and blessings.

20 ῾Ο δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης, ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἐκ νεκρῶν τὸν ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν ἐν αἵματι διαθήκης αἰωνίου, τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ᾽Ιησοῦν, 21 καταρτίσαι ὑμᾶς ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ εἰς τὸ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, ποιῶν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ εὐάρεστον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ διὰ ᾽Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας [τῶν αἰώνων]· ἀμήν.

20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD IS OUR GREAT SHEPHERD
1. The servant who worked out our salvation (verse 20)
2. The one who equips us to work in his service (verse 21)

Exegesis

῾Ο δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης, ''Of peace'' is a descriptive genitive (the most common type); more than ''peaceful God,'' he is the God who is characterized by true peace. Paul uses this same title for God a few times (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11), and it's not surprising to find it elsewhere in the NT. The Christian Jews (''Hebrews'') of this letter needed to hear about peace since there was often strife between them and the people around them. The Judaizers in particular made life and matters of faith very difficult for them.

ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἐκ νεκρῶν, aorist participle (m nom sg) ἀνάγω ''lead, bring up.'' ἐκ νεκρῶν adj gen pl. ''from the dead.'' This is is the resurrection of Christ, the promise we all have of our own resurrection.

τὸν ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν, n acc sg; n gen pl; adj acc sg modifies ποιμένα. The ''great shepherd of the sheep'' is a reference to Christ's own title, ''The Good Shepherd'' (John 10:11; 10:14) and to the shepherd references throughout the Old Testament (Mic. 5:4, etc.). The ''Great'' part of the reference may recall Ezekiel 34:23 where ''my servant David'' is a Messianic prophecy, or even to 1 Peter 5:4 and the ''Chief Shepherd'' (ἀρχιποίμενος). A shepherd cares for the flock, and the Great Shepherd or Chief Shepherd is certainly Christ.

ἐν αἵματι διαθήκης αἰωνίου, dative with ἐν draws a sphere: Our Great Shepherd has been raised through the blood of the eternal covenant, and only those raised through that blood are saved. The eternal covenant reminds us of the requirements of blood sacrifices in the Old Testament Law, not ignored or bypassed by Jesus, but kept perfectly and fulfilled literally ''to the last drop'' on our behalf.

τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν, ᾽Ιησοῦν, n acc sg; the accusative case marks the object of ἀναγαγὼν ''who raised'' above. The ''our'' (ἡμῶν) here is a wonderful gospel pronoun, for Christ is not just anyone's lord, but OURS, and each one of us lays claim to him by faith.

καταρτίσαι ὑμᾶς, aorist optative 3 sg καταρτίζω ''mend, supply.'' καταρτίζω is not quite ''to make perfect'' (KJV), but ''to fill up one's needs.'' Here ''equip'' is a good translation. The optative (the only example in Hebrews) is an optative proper, in other words, an attainable wish (BDF §384). We needn't take it as being any farther from ''reality'' or ''attainableness'' than a subjunctive; doubtless the apostle simple used the optative idiomatically. The apostle reflects some more of Peter's language here (1 Peter 5:10).

ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ, ''in everything good.'' That is, in the sphere of anything and everything that fits under God's holy and timeless judgment of ''good'' (Genesis 1:10. etc.). The difference between the kalon (tob) of Genesis 1:10 and the agatho here is that this word means ''useful,'' and the prayer here is that God would make each one of us useful for his kingdom. This is a prayer for the tools of sanctification. That is to say, God does not give us the tools to save ourselves or be justified (Jesus did that for us), but God gives us what is necessary for serving him and responding to what Christ has done.

εἰς τὸ ποιῆσαι, aorist infinitive with εἰς, to express purpose. ''To do...''

τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, ''his will.'' The will of God includes his commands and prohibitions such as the Ten Commandments, but also his will that all mankind would be saved through Christ. Here, the θέλημα of God is certainly an application of the Third Use of the Law, the will of God guiding our lives of faith.

ποιῶν ''working,'' present participle. God's will is right now working in us (present participle) .

ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ εὐάρεστον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ''in you what is pleasing in his sight.'' God supplies what he demands of us. It comes from him and is acceptable to him. Where does God do this? Do we need to go and look for it? No--it is ''in us'' already. We ourselves are the sphere of God's workmanship.

διὰ ᾽Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, We are the object of his work, and Jesus Christ is the carpenter, hammering, shaving, planing and fitting us into place. He glues up our joints and fastens together our parts so that we are tools fit for service in the kingdom of God. In our sanctified, forgiven lives, we work for our Great Shepherd.

ᾧ ἡ δόξα , ''to whom be glory.'' δόξα or 'glory' is a word that begins with one's private opinion (God is glorified in our hearts first), to public opinion (among many), and finally to his great reputation. We don't glorify God by making his face cleaner or his teeth brighter although we sometimes think of ''glory'' as being external, like the shining glory of the Lord. But we glorify him with how we make him known and beloved by many other people.

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ''forever (and ever).'' The glory and high esteem we give to God outlives us.

[τῶν αἰώνων]· The textual question here is the lack of the genitive duplication ''and ever'' in certain manuscripts. It would hardly be a question except that Papyrus 46 (c. 200 AD, Africa) omits the phrase (I have a copy of this important manuscript in my office -- this passage is on the final leaf of the existing manuscript). Whether or not the reduplicated phrase should be here doesn't change the theology or meaning of the text, but simply the emphasis (NIV doesn't even include this as a footnote). I will not treat the matter in the pulpit.

ἀμήν. ''Amen'' is the assertion of the truth of an oath or a prayer, or an acceptance of a task allotted to mankind by God. It is the doxology of the first four books of the Psalms (41:13; 72:19; 89:52 and 106:48). It is (1) a liturgical statement in worship, a response to God's commands and promises. It is also (2) a conclusion to a prayer, hymn or doxology to assert truth. It is finally (3) a word used BEFORE sayings by Jesus calling attention to the importance of a statement, ''Amen, amen, I say to you...'' Here the Amen is both (1) and (2).