Stoned-Campbell Disciple

Have you ever wondered about that great catalogue of heroes in Hebrews 11? The Sermonator is not the first Jewish teacher to assemble such a list (see Sirach 44-50; 1 Maccabees 2.51-61; 4 Maccabees 16; Wisdom of Solomon 10.1-11.16; etc). Ben Sira’s is extensive. First Maccabees is considerably smaller and because many American disciples are unfamiliar with this important text in the early church I cite it to illustrate this feature of Jewish writing.

“Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations, and you will receive great honor and an everlasting name.  Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom forever. Elijah, because of great zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven. Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael [cf. Daniel 3.66, LXX] believed and were saved from the flame. Daniel, because of his innocence, was delivered from the mouth of the lions. And so observe, from generation to generation, that none of those who put their trust in him will lack strength. Do not fear the words of sinners, for their splendor will turn into dung and worms.” (1 Macc 2.51-62, NRSV).

Maccabees presents the heroes of faith for the same reason as Hebrews does, to encourage its generation to faithfulness in the face of severe opposition. The heroes of Israel are sort of a “Cloud of Witnesses” in 1 Maccabees (as well as Sirach, 4 Maccabees and Wisdom). Our Sermonator is doing something very Jewish in chapter 11.

But, in Hebrews, isn’t it is fascinating who is present and who isn’t? For example there is is no Elijah, no Esther, no Josiah. And yet we find Samson and Jephthah!

The question is why?

Clearly, the Sermonator has selected his cast and tied them together with a theme that is pervasive throughout the entire sermon: facing and overcoming death. It is astonishing how frequently references to death dominate Hebrews 11. Abel speaks even though dead (11.4); Noah saves his house from death (11.7); Sarah gave birth while Abraham was good as dead (11.11-12); Abraham sacrificed believing he would receive Isaac back from the dead (11.17-19); Jacob when dying (11.21) Joseph when near death (11.22) Moses saved the firstborn from death (11.23,28) Rahab was not killed (11.31) a whole litany of “unnamed” (i.e. Maccabees) in verses 33-37.

But with all this focus on death and at the climax of a “better resurrection,” the Sermonator does something strange, to us. He prefaces the entire list with this statement,

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (11.2).

What does that have to do with anything? How is that connected to faith in the face of death in Hebrews and chapter 11 in particular? A lot actually.

To put it succinctly, God the Creator is the ground for hope in God the Resurrector! The entire structure of Hebrews 11 has been shaped by a book the Sermonator and his congregation knows, Second Maccabees. In fact, there are a number of connections between what Second Maccabees does and what Hebrews is attempting to do. The Sermonator tells us that many in the congregation had indeed suffered loss of property (10.32-34) and status but “you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (12.4).

In 2 Maccabees, God’s people face unmitigated cruel persecution to the point of shedding blood. But they refuse to cave. They live in hope. If they die for Yahweh, they will live again. The tyrant cannot win. The hope of resurrection is tied directly to the Hebraic faith that the God of Israel is the Creator God. We see this in several places but 2 Maccabees 7 is of special importance. Here we find the legendary faithful mother exhorting her words to her sons to faithfully endure for God.

“I do not know how you appeared in my womb. I did not give you breath and life, nor did I arrange the elements in each of you. Therefore, the creator of the world, the one who formed the beginning of humanity and crafted the beginning of all things, will give you breath and life back again with mercy, since now you are disregarding yourselves for his laws” (2 Macc 7.22-23).

“I beg you, child … to recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race was created. Do not fear this executioner, but proving worthy of your brothers, welcome death in order that in God’s mercy, I might receive you back with your brothers” (2 Macc 7.28-29).

Before this remarkable exhortation from the mother of the seven brothers tortured and gruesomely killed, we find the brothers offering their hands, tongue and bodies because they will receive them all back in the resurrection (7.9, 11, 14).

There are numerous verbal connections throughout Hebrews 11 and 2 Maccabees 7. Two will suffice. It has never been doubted that Hebrews 11 talks about the Maccabean martyrs were were so famous in in the early church. The author writes,

“But Judas Maccabeus, with about nine others, got away to the wilderness and kept himself and his companions alive in the mountains as wild animals do; they continued to live on what grew wild, so that they might not share in the defilement.” (2 Macc 5.27)

“during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals” (2 Macc 10.6)

The Sermonator is drawing on this material because the Maccabees were in similar situation (and they know the book). But two should be noted. The mother expected her sons to be raised and the Sermonator says “women received back their dead” (11.35). Eleazar, the elderly priest “refused to be released” even though he could have escaped death (2 Macc 6.23-30) and the brothers refused to save their lives by being released (7.2,7-8, 24-30). And the Sermonator says “refusing to be released” (11.35).

But the mother directly and explicitly roots her faith in God raising her sons from the dead from the fact that God created their bodies in the first place. The heroes of Hebrews 11 are commended even though they had not received what had been promised (11.39). This clearly does not mean the ancients did not in fact receive the Promises God made, Abraham clearly did (this is made clear in the course of the Sermon itself). Rather the ancients have not attained the resurrection, yet! They have not been made “perfect” (11.40).

The Sermonator calls on the classic Hebraic faith in the God of Creation as the sustaining hope for resurrection. If, as the mother pointed out, that God can form you out of nothing then raising us bodily from the dead is not big deal for the Creator God.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11.1). The confidence, the vibrant hope, we have to face our trials is the same as all the Heroes of Israel also looked, like the Maccabees themselves, is that the creating God is the Resurrecting God. Those heroes have not received that promise but they live in unconquerable HOPE.

God’s people cannot be defeated by death. Resurrection of our body defeats death through, as the mother said, ‘the mercy of God.” Death was the tyrant’s ultimate weapon, but resurrection from the dead in both 2 Maccabees and Hebrews de-fangs death. Our God is the God of Resurrection. The God of victory over death!

We all will attain “perfection” together (11.40). Jesus himself has been “perfected,” (5.9) that is he has been raised from the dead. And Jesus will “perfect” us too (12.2). We, the Sermonator, Abraham, Sarah, Huldah, the Maccabees, Eleazar, David, all of us look forward to that glorious day when the Creator God raises the dead.

Throughout the Bible we find Creation and Redemption linked together. We find the same in Hebrews. The odd (to us moderns) mention of believing in creation at the beginning of the Hall of Fame of Faith is because faith in resurrecting God is based on the God who Creates and Loves what he Creates.

Of Related Interest

Jewish Traditions & Hebrews 11: A Lesson in Authorial Givens

Jesus’s Sacrifice of Prayer in Hebrews

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Apocrypha, Christian hope, Exegesis, Hebrews, Jewish Backgrounds, resurrection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.