Hebrews 13:11-14 (NIVUK)
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Can you feel the tension in these verses? There’s trouble brewing behind them. Reading between the lines, it would seem that the Jewish converts this is written to are seen as disgraced and in danger of being cast out of ‘the city’, the institutions and structures of their day, because of their faith. The writer is seeking to encourage them. Being outside of the city and the Temple may seem like a disaster, but isn’t this where the sacrifices are burned and Jesus died? If Jesus is there, then not being in the Temple is not the disaster it may have first seemed. In fact, it may be far better than remaining within the walls. Those walls will fall, but the one we are destined for will stand forever.
Father, give us courage when faith makes our life more complicated, courage that comes from knowing Christ is with us.
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