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Hebrews 13:20-25

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The Hebrews writer finishes his letter to his Jewish fellow believers with this blessing and a few brief notes.

My translation and notes on Hebrews 13:20-25

Blessing and Prayer

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

[This is the first half of his benediction for the readers of his letter—those who believe in Jesus Christ. God of peace needs to be contrasted with the god of unrest and turmoil. See the God of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33, Romans 16:20, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, and Zechariah 9:10). Compare the god of turmoil (1 Peter 5:8, John 8:44, John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 4:4). Compare the character traits and actions of the children of the devil and the children of God (deeds of the flesh vs fruit of the Spirit) in Galatians 5:19-24. Note the importance of Jesus’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-22), His identity as the Great Shepherd of the sheep (John 10:11 and 1 Peter 2:25), and His ministry as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) and redemption (Psalm 49:7-8, Romans 3:24, and Hebrews 9:12-15). The greatest peace is peace with God instead of God’s wrath. As God reveals Himself in the Scriptures, we understand the greatness of those fruits of the Spirit that the world craves (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control). These words of this verse should cause every person to praise God].

21 Bring youp to perfection in every good work to do his will, doing in youp that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

[The God of Peace brings us to perfection. The perfection is the total transformation of any human who is trusting in Jesus Christ. This transformation affects the human body, soul, and spirit. The goal is removing the taint of sin and instilling the purity of holiness (Colossians 3:10-14). The fruit of the Spirit should be the character traits we display as we live and minister as Christians in the world. His assisting grace, teaching of His truth, and chastening will truly find us doing good works (as God defines it) and doing God’s will for the glory of God. The greatest of our works for God is the preaching of the Gospel].

22 Brothers, I urge youp to be patient with this message of encouragement, for I have written to youp a brief letter.

[The Greek word for ‘be patient with’ is ἀνέχομαι anéchomai (G430). It means bear with, be patient, allow in the sense of reading and thinking about it from beginning to end. This letter is meant to encourage. It has been noted that this letter can be read aloud in less than 30 minutes].

23 Know that [our] brother Timothy is set free; with whom, if he comes soon, I will see youp.

[A hint that the Apostle Paul is the author. The Jews were always a little suspicious of Paul and less so of Peter (the Apostle to the Jews—Galatians 2:8)].

24 Greet yourp leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet youp.

25 Grace [be] with all of youp. Amen.

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