Hebrews 13:22-25 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly. 23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings. 25 Grace be with you all.
It is funny that the author talks about writing “briefly” in what is one of the longest and theologically most complex epistles in the New Testament. We can now see that the author wrote with the purpose of exhortation, of seeking to have the readers change their ways in response to what he has written. The author has tried to get across several key messages:
- Jesus is the divine Son of God who came to earth to suffer and die. His resurrection and exaltation demonstrate the power of his death to redeem humanity from sin.
- Jesus came to fulfill the old sacrificial and covenant system which were only temporary.
- Jesus opens the way to the Father through his perfect sacrifice.
- We now have access to God through Jesus because we have been made holy.
- We must not forsake this faith and walk away, or we are in danger of eternal condemnation.
- God has given us this promise and we must move forward into it by obedient faith.
We also get a glimpse of Timothy’s life. We assume this is the same Timothy as mentioned throughout the New Testament. Verse 23 implies that this may have been later in Timothy’s life after his ministry time with Paul the Apostle since it is not mentioned that Timothy was ever imprisoned. But, since Timothy was with Paul on many of his trips, and Paul was imprisoned at least three times, it is possible that Timothy may have been imprisoned with Paul. We just cannot tell enough about from this brief mention of Timothy’s release from prison. It is significant, however, that Timothy face such a difficult situation. The readers would have known Timothy who was widely traveled and known to many early churches. The author had some type of relationship with Timothy. There is not enough in the letter to claim to be written by Paul, but there are many overlaps in ideas. The author is in Italy when this was written. Paul was in prison in Rome, so the dots would not be difficult to connect. But it is better to be cautious about claims of authorship because many other people could fit this situation. The author was apparently free to come and go and not in prison. There is not enough evidence that Paul was ever released from prison.
The final words of this epistle are a blessing of grace. This simple blessing contains much power. God’s grace is how all of life functions and is the basis for all that believers do. This is a form of wish prayer, a blessing upon those who read this epistle and heed its words. God’s grace is a floodgate of power, purpose, and peace for those who step out in faith and follow the way of Jesus.
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