Hebrews 13:1-3 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
Chapter 13 begins a series of short exhortations as the epistle comes to a close. In the literary context, these come after the strong warnings of ch. 12. In the theological context, how we live as holy people should be a result of our faith in Jesus and the changes God makes in us as a result. The chapter begins with a sweeping and inclusive statement about loving one another. The type of love the author is talking about here is “brotherly love,” the type of close affection and commitment found among friends and family. This is the type of love that cares for the needs and well being of those close to us. This love should characterize God’s people in the church. Those who believe in Jesus are adopted into God’s family and become brothers and sisters in this family. This should change our relationships significantly. Even though we may not know someone well, if he or she is a believer, they are our brother and sister.
Another type of love is caring for strangers. The word “love” does not show up in v. 2 but it is in the background. Hospitality was an important virtue in the first century, as it still is in many cultures. It was part of the social obligation to care for visitors. Christians should take this a step further can be caring to strangers. The statement about entertaining angels is interesting and recalls Abraham in Genesis 18 and similar stories. Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 25 that caring for the “least of these” is also caring for him. How literal we should take v. 2 could be debated, but it at least shows the level of commitment and sincerity we should have in caring for those around us.
The two groups in v. 3 represent suffering. Jesus also taught in disciples in Matthew 25 to care for those imprisoned. This verse does not specifically refer to believers. Surely, we should visit our fellow believers in prison, especially if they are there for their faith. This does not happen often in most modern situations, at least in free countries. In the first century, those in prison relied on the compassion and care of outsiders. Prisons were often bad places to stay, with no comforts, little or no food, disease, and many other things. People often died while in prison. We should not think of the nice jails of today but the overcrowded ones like in some developing countries. The other group is broadly mentioned as those who are mistreated. Two words stand behind this idea: compassion and justice. Christians must fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, whether that be the unborn, the injured, the disabled, the elderly, and so forth. And where we can help, we offer compassion in whatever form we can. These verses are all about caring for those around us.
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