By Jamin Roller
Several years ago, we moved cities. We found a house we loved and put an offer in. The seller accepted; we were thrilled. A few weeks later, we got a call from our realtor telling us we needed to back out of the deal. The inspection had just come back, and the house had significant foundation problems. Over time, houses shift, soil moves, and foundations crack. Because the rest of the house is built on the foundation, when something changes in the foundation the entire house is affected. We cut our losses and kept looking.
The ending of Hebrews feels a bit like a movie that cuts to multiple different scenes before the credits roll. The author has spent twelve chapters exalting Jesus and laying a rich theological foundation for how the promises of the Old Testament are realized in the person and work of Jesus. Then chapter 13 unfolds like rapid-fire implications in response to everything that has come before it. We are told to be hospitable, content, prayerful, and submissive to leaders, to name a few verses.
In the middle of all the instruction, the author cuts back to Jesus for a final, beautiful truth: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
It is a truth packed with assurance. Much of the message of Hebrews is establishing Jesus, His priesthood, sacrifice, and covenant, as the very cornerstone of our faith. All of life as Christians depends on Jesus and the truths we have spent 12 chapters hearing about Him. What we have read is the very foundation of our faith.
Verse 8 assures us that the foundation is steady, unchanging, and sure. Jesus stays the same.
We never have to worry if there will be a need for another sacrifice.
We never have to worry if there will be a need for another mediator on our behalf.
We never have to look for another covenant. We will never need another gospel than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, we can be confident in all the beautiful truths we have learned in this book. The foundation will never move and we are free to live faithfully and follow where God’s word leads us.
In a world that is always changing and grounds that seem to always be moving, I am grateful for a God that was, is, and always will be.
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