Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to the Book of Hebrews. We are continuing our series today, “Christ Supreme in All Things.” And as you are turning to Hebrews, I want to share with you one of my favorite passages of the OT to set the table for what we’re going to discuss today. I want to recount for you an episode in the OT that is very familiar. But sometimes the context of what was said in that episode is less familiar. 

In Daniel 3, Daniel’s three friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. And because of their defiance, they were summoned before one of the most ruthless and bloodthirsty kings in all of ancient history. And Nebuchadnezzar offered them a rare opportunity to repent and amend their ways. But if they don’t, their bodies will be thrown into a fiery furnace to be cooked alive. 

Now what follows with these boys is legendary. They reject Nebuchadnezzar’s offer. They defy him. And amazingly God intervenes to help them. And by the end of Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar gets a glimpse of the real King of the Universe. It’s a phenomenal story of God’s intervention and power.

But what I want to key in on is what this group of probable teenagers tell Nebuchadnezzar before they are thrown into the fiery furnace. Because their statement is so courageous and so theologically astute, that it frames everything that I’m going to say from Hebrews 11 today. They say to the King, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

As a NT corollary, let me just remind you that Peter preached the gospel in Acts 2 and got 3,000 converts. Stephen preached the gospel in Acts 7 and got 3,000 rocks. Which one of those men did right before the Lord? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have understood the answer to that question. Because faith in God is not limited to God helping me out of a jam, or protecting me from some harm, or delivering me from something difficult. Faith in God is a “faith come what may” faith. Faith in God is a faith that sees past the transience of this present world and looks forward to something better on the horizon.  

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The title of the message today is “Faith Come What May.” And I want to look at three things that faith accomplishes for OT saints in this passage, but also NT saints like you and me. The first thing that faith accomplishes is the following.  

1) Faith empowers us to do great things for God (11:32-35a)

Let’s look at some examples of this. Look at verse 32.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

This verse is kind of sad, because I want the author of Hebrews to say more here. “Please do tell us more about these guys.” Because some of these guys were especially complex. Gideon started out great, but he didn’t end well. Samson didn’t start out great, but he ended well. Barak was a craven scaredy cat until he was supported by the judge Deborah. David and Samuel are two of the most important characters in the Bible. And David is the most important type of Christ in the OT. It’s amazing that the author of Hebrews doesn’t say more about him. 

But of course time is limited, and ink and pen are finite resources. He can’t say everything about everybody. And his audience was assuredly well-versed in the details of these OT figures—probably way more versed than a room full of mostly Gentiles in our day. So let’s review these characters briefly and remember their great feats accomplished by faith. 

Gideon, the first in this group of six, was a know-nothing kid from the tribe of Manasseh that God turned into a judge. He was a descendant of the great leader Joseph. But Gideon was not a great leader when God called him. God appointed him as a judge/deliverer, and then commanded him to attack a group of Midianites. That was a terrifying prospect on its own. But after Gideon agreed, God whittled down his military militia from 32,000 men to 300 men! And yet Gideon didn’t resign. By faith, Gideon attacked a massive army of Midianites with only 300 men (Judg 6:11-7:25). Why? Because God told him to. And God routed the Midianites. And Gideon became a hero of the faith. 

The second person on this list, Barak, was similarly a know-nothing from the tribe of Ephraim. He’s famous for initially not having faith in what God said and not obeying. And because of his hesitancy, God gave the credit for the victory over the Canaanite King Sisera to two women: Deborah and Jael. But Barak eventually was obedient to God (Judg 4:1-5:31). He was like the person that Jesus describes in his parable of the two sons. The Father asks two sons to do something. The first says “no” but then does it. The second says “yes” but doesn’t do it (see Matt. 21:28-32). Barak is like that first son. He wasn’t the most assertive or expeditious OT saint. But his faith in God was enough for him to conquer and lead as an OT judge, and it got him into the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.”

And then there’s Samson. O brother, what can we say about Samson? We can say this. He was a “piece of work.” He was a lousy son to his parents. He was a lousy judge. He was a lousy Israelite. He was a lousy Nazirite. He was lustful and lewd and lascivious. To put it bluntly, he was an oaf. He squandered these amazing gifts that God had given him on petty rivalries with people. And he spent all of his days chasing and bedding the wrong kinds of women. 

But at the end of his life when he was finally subdued and humbled by the Philistines… after he had his eyes gouged out and after his two-timing mistress Delilah had sold him out… he humbled himself before God and he finally submitted to God’s will for his life. It’s the closest thing to a death-bed conversion in the OT. Judges 16:28 says, “Then Samson called to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.’” Samson’s final act of faith makes him a hall of famer in Hebrews 11.

Then there’s Jephthah, another judge from the book of Judges. Jephthah is another gray character who accomplished great things for God, but also did something really stupid too. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute and an outcast in his own family. Yet he courageously conquered the Ammonites by the power of the Spirit of the LORD (see Judg 11:1-40). And at the same time he foolishly promised God that he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house after he returned home from victory. That unnecessary promise led to the sacrifice of his own daughter. Jephthah, along with Samson, is one of the great examples that God saves and uses foolish and sinful people to accomplish his purposes. 

Then there’s David, the greatest king in Israel’s history—the precursor to the Messiah. It’s not for nothing that the blind men in Matthew called Jesus the “Son of David” (see Matt 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43). They saw Jesus better, through their blindness, than those who had eyes to see.

The author of Hebrews also mentions Samuel, the great kingmaker. Samuel anointed the first two kings of Israel: Saul and David. Samuel was a pivotal transitional figure who took the Israelites away from “the Judges period” and into the era of the kings. Samuel, if you remember, as a small boy heard God’s voice condemning Eli the priest and he relayed it to Eli (1 Sam 3:1-21). He was a man of faith par excellence in the OT. He was a judge, a priest, a prophet, and a kingmaker. 

And then, look at the end of verse 32, there were the prophets. There were non-writing prophets like Elijah and Elisha. And there were also writing prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Finally there were the Twelve, the minor prophets. 

And the author of Hebrews has just taken us on a fastmoving conveyor belt through the entirety of the OT—from pre-flood saints to post-flood saints to the exodus and Moses and then to the judges, kings, and prophets. 

And speaking of this last batch of saints in verse 32, he says, 

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, 

Think Gideon, Jephthah, and even David.

[who through faith] enforced justice,

Think judges in the book of Judges. Those judges weren’t like modern judges. They weren’t men sitting on benches with wigs hammering their gavels. They were warriors who fought for God and enforced justice in the land. 

[who through faith] obtained promises, 

Think David. Think Samuel. Think Moses and Joshua. Think about the Israelites receiving the “Promised Land.” Some promises were fulfilled in the past. Others were fulfilled later.

[who through faith] stopped the mouths of lions, 

Think Samson who tore a lion to pieces with his bare hands (Judg 14:5-6). Think David and Benaiah who also were famous for lion-slaying (1 Sam 17:34-36; 2 Sam 23:20). But probably we should think first and foremost of the prophet Daniel and what took place with him in the lions’ den.

Look at verse 34.

34 [who through faith] quenched the power of fire, 

Who does that sound like? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right?

[who through faith] escaped the edge of the sword, 

That could be lots of people. David is the first person that comes to mind here. 

[who through faith] were made strong out of weakness, 

Think Samson and that building full of Philistines that came tumbling down when God restored Samson’s strength (Judg 16:28-31). Think David too who was the youngest of his family from the tiny town of Bethlehem.

[who through faith] became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 

Think David. Think Gideon. Think Jephthah and even Samuel. Think also about the great leaders of Israel who led them through the intertestamental period—the likes of Judas Maccabee and others.  

Look at verse 35.

35 Women [through faith] received back their dead by resurrection.

What? Where did that come from? We’ve seen already that Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac back from the dead. But this isn’t a reference to Abraham. And there’s no mention of a woman in verse 32, unless you include prophetesses in that statement about prophets. 

What this refers to is two unnamed women who were beneficiaries of the ministry of the prophets Elijah and Elisha: 1) the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-24) and 2) a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37). “Received back” is not a passive verb in Greek. It’s an active verb. And so, the faith accomplishing great things here is a reference to the women who believed and received back their dead. They believed God, as did the prophets, and by faith the prophets raised the dead on behalf of the women. 

Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath. And Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman (see also 2 Kings 13:20-21). And this kind of amazing miracle really isn’t replicated until Jesus does similar stuff in the NT (e.g. Jairus’s daughter in Mark 5:22-43; the widow of Nain in Luke 7; Lazarus in John 11).

Now I’m going to stop here and take a moment to let us catch our breath. Because all of these amazing things are given to us rapid-fire. And it’s overwhelming when you see these things coming at you at this speed. This happened and this happened, and this happened! 

And the central thing that the author of Hebrews wants you to grasp is that these things didn’t happen in isolation from God. These weren’t Greek gods and goddesses doing amazing things in their own power. This isn’t a hero-list for us to “ooh” and “ahh” over. 

No, this list is a list of men and women who did amazing things by faith in the God of the Universe. And if we read Hebrews 11 and applauded these sixteen men and women apart from God, the author of Hebrews would turn over in his grave right now. If he was alive, he would come into this church and rebuke us! This list is not a list about how awesome and courageous human beings are. No, these are men and women with feet of clay. This list is a list about two things: 1) The power of faith, and 2) the power of the God who we put our faith in! If you don’t get that, you don’t get Hebrews 11.    

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And as part of that show of power, write this down as #2. It’s not just about doing amazing things. It’s also about enduring an amazing amount of suffering. Because faith empowers us to do great things for God. But it also enables us to endure great suffering for God. 

2) Faith enables us to endure great suffering for God (11:35b-38)

And notice how everything turns on a dime in the middle of verse 35. 

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, 

What? Where’d that come from? That’s unexpected. Amazing, awesome acts done by faith in God! and then “some were tortured, refusing to accept release.” Wow, that’s different. If I were separating the book of Hebrews into verses, I would have started a new verse in the middle of verse 35. 

By the way, just a reminder that the chapter divisions and the versification of the Bible are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. They were not a part of the original writing. Chapter divisions date back to the ninth century AD, and they were standardized in the twelfth century by a man named Stephen Langton. The versification of the Bible was added even later in the sixteenth century by a man named Robert Stephanus. Stephanus supposedly divided the Bible into verses while riding horseback. If that story is true, then Hebrews 11:35 is a place that he probably should have divided it differently. 

But let’s see how the author of Hebrews connects these ideas. 

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 

Let’s stop there. Here’s the connection. The women who received back their dead, received them for only a seasonal period of time. In other words, those kids, just like Lazarus, had to die twice. It’s the difference between temporary resurrection and permanent resurrection. It’s the difference between what you might call “resuscitation” and permanent, eternal resurrection. 

Some OT saints were tortured, refusing to accept release. Some died a gruesome death, and they didn’t get resurrected or saved from demise like Daniel in the lions’ den. They had faith, but their faith didn’t get them rescued, not in the here and now. And that’s okay. That’s okay, because who wants to live in this world forever anyways! It’s okay, because they were looking forward to a future resurrection.  

Now who are we talking about here? Who was tortured refusing to accept release? Maybe we could say Samson? But there’s other people that this author has in mind here. He is specifically referencing those believers in the intertestamental period who suffered greatly for their faith. He is referencing those who in the Maccabean period of Jewish history suffered and were tortured for their commitment to the Lord.

36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

From our vantage point, we read verse 36 and think Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Or maybe we think about the prophets in the OT who were mistreated by misbehaving kings—prophets like Jeremiah, Micaiah, and Hanani who King Asa wrongfully put in stocks (see Jer 38:6-13; 1 Kgs 22:26-27; 2 Chr 16:10). And maybe there is some indirect reference to them here. But when first century Jewish Christians read verse 36, they think Jewish martyrs during second temple Judaism. They would have recollected people like Eleazar Maccabee and the entire Maccabean family. 

This is fascinating to me, because this is the only section of the Bible where believers in the intertestamental period are really addressed. Their stories are recorded in the books of Maccabees in the Apocrypha. And let me be clear, I don’t believe that the Apocrypha is inspired Scripture. But I do think that there were legit believers in that period of time who are recorded in the Apocrypha. And the author of Hebrews gives us a glimpse of their faith and faithfulness here.

36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, 

According to tradition, Isaiah the prophet was sawn in two. But he wasn’t the only one. The Greeks were especially good at torturing and killing people. And they were especially good at killing Jews.

they were killed with the sword. 

Notice if you will the statement in verse 34 and the statement in verse 37. Some, by faith in God, escaped the edge of the sword (11:34). And some, by faith in that very same God, were killed by the sword (11:37)! Same faith, but two different results. That sounds like what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego talked about, right? 

By the way, both of those statements use the Greek μάχαιρα for sword. This is the same word that the author of Hebrews used earlier when he said, “The word of God is a dual-edged μάχαιρα” (4:12). A μάχαιρα is a short sword or dagger. And it’s different from the broad sword (ῥομφαία) that proceeds from Jesus’s mouth in Revelation 19:15. Nevertheless the irony of Hebrews 11 is that some live by the faith and some die by the faith. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord (Job 1:21). 

37b They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 

Think Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, and John the Baptist (see 1 Kings 17:3-7; 2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:1-4; see also Zech 13:4). But they weren’t the only ones. Destitution, affliction, and mistreatment were the order of the day for Jews in the Greek and Roman Empire. For more on that, you can read the prophecies in the book of Daniel in chapters 10-12. It was during the time of the Greek rule of Israel, that a leader named Antiochus Epiphanes slaughtered a pig on the altar in Jerusalem and set up the temple as a house of worship for Zeus. Daniel called this an abomination that causes desolation (see Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Coincidently the same kind of thing will happen in the days of the antichrist when he comes to power. 

But in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, Judaism was literally made illegal. And there was a great slaughter of the Jewish people. And many people were killed, mistreated, afflicted, and left destitute for their commitment to the God of the Universe. Some of the torture of the Jews described in the books of the Maccabees is utterly macabre. In fact, the word “macabre” is derived from Maccabees because of the disturbing ways that Jews were tortured and murdered at this time. And that’s recorded in those books.

The author of Hebrews says in verse 38, 

38 of whom the world was not worthy— wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and cavesof the earth. 

This world wasn’t worthy of these faithful believers. And this world, and the evil powers that control it, persecuted them and destroyed them. 

Now here’s the reason that this author is talking about this. Here’s what he’s trying to do with his audience. Remember, some of these Jewish Christians that he’s writing to are being persecuted. They’ve had their property confiscated. Their friends have been imprisoned. They’ve been alienated from some of their own family members who resent them for their faith in Christ. The Jews don’t like them. The Gentiles don’t like them. And they may be tempted in that moment to say, “What gives, LORD? Why aren’t you coming to my rescue? Where are all those miracles we read about in the OT? Why don’t we get supernatural gifts like Samson to tear our enemies to pieces?” Some people in our day who are suffering for Jesus might be wondering the same thing. 

And the author of Hebrews is telling them, “By faith, Peter preached the gospel and got 3,000 converts. And by faith, Stephen preached the gospel and got 3,000 rocks.” The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Let me say it this way. Sometimes it’s Daniel 3:17: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” But sometimes it’s Daniel 3:18: “But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Again, the Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. 

You know you get to a place in your prayer life—and this is a good place to be—you get to a place where you pray fervently and earnestly for God to heal someone of cancer or deliver you from a difficult marriage or give you relief from anxiety or open your wife’s womb or save that family member’s soul or turn around the wickedness in this country... and you pray and you pray and pray with such passion and confidence that God can do it… but then you say, like Jesus said, “not my will, but yours be done” (Matt 26:39). Because sometimes faith empowers you to do great things for God. And sometimes faith enables you to endure great suffering for God. 

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Finally, write this down as #3. Faith empowers us to do great things for God. Faith enables us to endure great suffering for God. And thirdly, 

3) Faith ensures us a greater hope for the future (11:39-40)

Look at verse 39 with me. Let’s finish up this great chapter in the Bible, Hebrews 11.

39 And all these, 

Who are the “these”? It’s Enoch, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, etc. all the way down to verse 38—all sixteen plus “hall of famers” mentioned in this chapter.  

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, 

Commended in the OT. Commended also in the NT here. 

did not receive what was promised, 

They had partial fulfillments of their promises. But they died without full realization. Abraham died looking for a better country. Abraham died in the Promised Land without the full manifestation of the land, the seed, or the blessing he was promised. He saw a piece of that fulfillment. He had Isaac. He had the cave of Machpelah that he buried his wife in. He had a piece of that promise. But not the whole thing. 

David died without seeing the son of his who would save his people and rule the world. Noah died without seeing the world fully restored. Enoch didn’t die, he just went home to glory. But he didn’t see the Messiah in his day. He didn’t see the serpent-crusher that was promised to Adam and Eve. Abel didn’t get a chance to see that either. He was killed before he even got a chance to live out his life on earth. 

Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Barak died as imperfect judges trying to rule an unruly land. They were waiting for the greater judge to come. Samuel died as a failure. His sons were a mess. The first king he anointed, King Saul, was a loser. When Samuel died, the second king he anointed, David, was running for his life in the Judean wilderness! The great hope of the Israelites, a Messiah who would usher them into eternal bliss and sinlessness, was never fulfilled in David. In fact, David fell prey to his own sinful inclinations. And all of his sons were even more sinful and deficient than David was. So much so, that the prophets kept saying again and again, “There’s a better David coming. There’s a real Messiah who’s imminent. There’s a better kingdom coming. There’s a better serpent-crusher coming.” They kept looking forward. The OT saints didn’t receive what was promised.

So back to verse 39. Let’s think this out together. 

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 

In other words, they died still waiting...

40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 

What in the world? What does that mean? The author of Hebrews uses the word “us”! He breaks the fourth wall in his telling of the OT saints and he talks about us! Who’s the “us?” Well the “us,” if I can put it as simply as possible is a reference to the NT saints. So let me read it that way with OT saints and NT saints inserted. 

39 And all these [OT saints], though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for [NT saints], that apart from [NT saints] [OT saints] should not be made perfect. 

The idea here is that God, in his infinite wisdom and in his perfect plan, made a way that OT saints and NT saints would finally and forever receive the promise of eternal life. Abraham would finally receive land, seed, and blessing for his people. And he would be a blessing to all peoples. And how did that happen? 

You remember when I said a few weeks ago that Christ Jesus is explicitly mentioned only once in the entirety of Hebrews 11 (see 11:26)? That’s quite remarkable because Christ is ubiquitous in the first ten chapters of Hebrews. And yet even though Christ is only mentioned once in this chapter explicitly, he is implicitly behind the scenes in everything stated here. He’s not overtly mentioned, but he’s covertly present everywhere. 

And that’s true at the end of the chapter. Because how are OT saints made perfect? And how are OT saints and NT saints made perfect together? And how are the great promises of God fulfilled? The answer, like the answer to most questions in this world, is “Jesus.” In Jesus, through the New Covenant, all the promises of God are fulfilled.

Paul says it this way. This is a great cross-reference for the end of Hebrews 11. This is 2 Corinthians 1:20. By the way, I don’t think Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. But I believe that the author of the book of Hebrews knew Paul and they were well-acquainted with each other. And there are some amazing connections to Paul’s letters and the book of Hebrews. Here’s one of them. 2 Corinthians 1:20: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”  

So let me just read verses 39-40 again. And allow me to make explicit what I think the author of Hebrews is implicitly referencing in this statement.

39 And all these [OT saints], though commended through their faith [before Christ], did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for [NT saints] [in Christ], that apart from [NT saints] [OT saints] should not be made perfect [until they were made perfect in Christ].

And wouldn’t you know it, all that implicit talk about Christ gets really, really, explicit in the next few verses. I don’t know whoever first put the chapter divisions in the Bible, but chapter 12 is an awesome pivot point. Because the author of Hebrews draws this amazing line from all these faithful OT saints in Hebrews 11 to “the author and finisher of our faith” in Hebrews 12. 

And let me tell you, saints, it’s epic! “How could anything be more epic than Hebrews 11, Pastor Tony?” Just you wait, church. Just you wait till Hebrews 12. Lord-willing, we’ll talk Hebrews 12. Next week! 

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But let me close with this. You know someday we’ll gather together in the New Jerusalem. And based upon this passage and other passages of Scripture, it’s clear to me that OT saints and NT saints will mingle together. And we’ll hobnob with the greats. We’ll have conversations with Abraham. We’ll have conversations with Sarah. We’ll eat together from the tree of life with Enoch and Abel and Samson. O boy, I can’t wait to meet Samson. 

And we’ll have dinner parties with other OT saints. Yes, I believe that we will eat in eternity! And we’ll casually converse with Rahab and Joshua. And we’ll fraternize with Jephthah and Barak and Deborah and Gideon. And we’ll rub shoulders with Moses. And we’ll finally get to see if he really looks like Charlton Heston or not. 

And we’ll walk the streets of gold with David and with Samuel. And we’ll pal around with Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. And we’ll chat up Ezekiel, Daniel, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi. And I’ll finally get to ask all the questions that I’ve longed to ask of my heroes. 

But here’s the thing. When Jesus shows up, or when we go into his throne room, we all stand as equals before the God of the Universe. The ground is level at the footstool of Jesus’s throne. We will all bow down and worship King Jesus. 

Moses, Abraham, David, Peter, James, John, Paul, and the author of Hebrews (whoever he is!)… they will bow down before King Jesus right beside us. Their faith is our faith, church. Their future is our future. And faith [in Christ] ensures us a greater hope for the future.