This coming Sunday, I hope (Lord willing) to finish Hebrews 11 by preaching Hebrews 11:39-40. After listing hero after hero who triumphed in faith one way or another, our writer wants to turn the corner to help us see what this means for us. And, he’s been sitting on a royal flush.
He assures us that God provided something better for us, namely the Lord Jesus Christ and His new covenant work.
All these Old Testament saints had trusted and didn’t have the great and precious promises that we have in Christ. Here’s how Lig Duncan highlights this charge:
“Look you Hebrew Christians, who heard the Gospel from those who had heard it from the apostles themselves. You have seen how the story ends. You have seen the coming of the Messiah. These people before had not seen it and yet they trusted. So why don’t you trust?”
Or Calvin:
“A tiny spark led them to Heaven. But now that the Son of Righteousness shines on us, what excuse shall we offer if we still hold to this earth?”
We’ve been given much more than the heroes of faith had in chapter 11 of Hebrews. The only question that remains is, “Will we live by faith?” Come this Sunday as we explore this.