Text: Hebrews 13:18-25<\/p>\n
This last section of Hebrews hold items that are common to Paul\u2019s letters, which leads to the conclusion that Paul is the unnamed author.<\/p>\n
Paul often asked for the prayers of the brethren (Romans 15:30; Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3; I Thessalonians 5:25; II Thessalonians 3:1). The use of \u201cus\u201d indicates there are others with the writer.<\/p>\n
The writer mentions having a good conscience, which Paul frequently mentioned having (Acts 23:1; 24:16; Romans 9:1; II Corinthians 1:12; I Timothy 1:5). The writer is not asking for prayers because he sinned but because he has been striving to live righteously and honorably. This was probably mentioned to counter charges against him for leaving the Jewish faith.<\/p>\n
He especially asked for prayers that he might be restored to them soon. This implies the writer is in prison. Paul made a similar request of Philemon (Philemon 22). It is likely this letter was written in the same time frame as the prison letters (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon).<\/p>\n
God is referred to as the God of peace. He is the source of our comfort. Again, it is a phrase commonly used by Paul (Romans 15:33; 16:20; I Corinthians 14:33; II Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; I Thessalonians 5:23; II Thessalonians 3:16).<\/p>\n
God has the power to accomplish His will, as shown by His ability to resurrect our Lord Jesus (Romans 1:4; I Corinthians 6:14; II Corinthians 4:14). Our peace with God was gained by God\u2019s efforts on our behalf.<\/p>\n
Jesus, in turn, is our Shepherd (John 10:11,14; I Peter 2:25; 5:4). Our shepherd cares for us (Psalms 23). He personally shed his blood to establish the everlasting covenant (Matthew 26:28). The use of \u201ceverlasting\u201d indicates that this is the final covenant and will not be replaced by any other (Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 37:26).<\/p>\n
With God, the Father, and Jesus working on our behalf, the writer\u2019s prayer is that the readers will mature in doing every good work according to God\u2019s will (II Corinthians 13:9; Ephesians 2:10; 5:10; Philippians 2:13; II Thessalonians 2:17; II Timothy 3:16-17). This is accomplished through Christ (Philippians 1:11).<\/p>\n
All glory belongs to God (Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 4:20; II Peter 3:18).<\/p>\n
The writer wishes the readers to seriously consider the letter that they just read. They were given to encourage them to remain faithful. \u201cBrief\u201d does not refer to the length of the letter but what was written on the subject is much shorter than what could have been written (I Peter 5:21).<\/p>\n
Timothy has been released, either from prison because he also was arrested or released from his obligations where he was with the writer. Because Timothy is closely associated with Paul, this is another piece of evidence that the writer is Paul. We know Timothy was with Paul when he was in prison (Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1).<\/p>\n
The writer expects that if Timothy returns to him shortly, he will then go with him to see the readers (Philippians 1:25-26; 2:19-23)<\/p>\n
The writer sends his regards to the leaders and all Christians. Those in Italy, where the writer is currently located, also send their greetings as well. Again, Paul often closes out his epistles with various greetings.<\/p>\n
The salutation is a characteristic of Paul\u2019s writings to indicate they were from him (I Corinthians 16:21,23; Colossians 4:18; II Thessalonians 3:17-18).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLetter to the Hebrews\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Final Words of Encouragement Text: Hebrews 13:18-25 This last section of Hebrews hold items that are common to Paul\u2019s letters, which leads to the conclusion that Paul is the unnamed author. Pray for Us (Hebrews 13:18-19) Paul often asked for the prayers of the brethren (Romans 15:30; Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3; I Thessalonians 5:25; II…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":671,"menu_order":16,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9407","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/benediction-to-the-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":9407,"position":0},"title":"Benediction to the Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Benediction Paul's Wishes\u00a0(II Corinthians 13:11) All that remains for Paul is to express: His wish for their joy. It is the echoing of a point from the beginning of this letter (II Corinthians 1:24) and similar to what Paul told others (Philippians 4:4; I Thessalonians 5:16). His desire that they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22780,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-hebrews\/","url_meta":{"origin":9407,"position":1},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Hebrews","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Hebrews Text: Hebrews 1 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While Christianity started among the Jews, as time went on, many Jewish Christians were abandoning the faith to return to Judaism. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The letter, originally titled \u201cTo Hebrews\u201d lists the reasons why Christianity is superior to Judaism \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was written in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/christ-in-you-a-study-of-colossians\/conversations\/","url_meta":{"origin":9407,"position":2},"title":"Conversations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Conversations Text: Colossians 4:2-6 With God - Colossians 4:2-4 Christians should be devoted to talking with God through prayer and always watchful for opportunities to pray (Ephesians 6:18; Romans 12:12; I Thessalonians 5:17). Paul's statement also carries the connotation that we are not to be careless in our prayers but\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4900,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/letter-to-the-hebrews\/the-full-assurance-of-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":9407,"position":3},"title":"The Full Assurance of Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Full Assurance of Faith Text: Hebrews 10:19-11:3 A new and living way (Hebrews 10:19-25) Jesus\u2019 sacrifice gives us confidence to enter the holy of holies (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12). Under the Old Law, only the High Priest could enter the holy of holies once a year, but Jesus\u2019 shed blood\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":674,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/letter-to-the-hebrews\/background\/","url_meta":{"origin":9407,"position":4},"title":"Background","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Background Christianity started among the Jews, but as time passed many Jewish Christians were abandoning the faith to return to Judaism. We can see the difficulty in Paul's travels and his letters as he confronted false teachers bent on making Christianity more a sect of Judaism. 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