Hebrews 11:32-40
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Better than Heroes
Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” There we read a litany of legends the likes of which seemingly haven’t been seen on earth since the time of Christ himself. Prior to our text for today, the writer to the Hebrews writes at least a paragraph on Abel and Enoch and Noah, on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Rahab – all pillars of faith, people who beyond all hope believed, people whose stories continue to be inspirational to Christians to this day.
And you can tell that the writer to the Hebrews wants to go on. He just doesn’t have the time. So, he contents himself just with mentioning their names: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel.
Gideon was the one who defeated the Midianite army with a measly 300 men.
Barak willingly went to war against the Canaanites knowing that he wouldn’t get any credit or honor from his victory, that all the glory would rightfully go to God alone.
Samson understood his role as an instrument in God’s hands against the Philistines and used the supernatural strength that could have only come from God to defeat them time after time.
Jephthah answered the call to command the Israelite army against the Ammonites and devastated them.
David – goodness – where do we even begin? With Goliath? With his military victories? Or musical prowess? Or his devotion to build a temple to the Lord? There are so many to choose from…
And Samuel, he’s the one who rallied the shattered morale of the people of Israel, won back the ark of the covenant after it had been captured, and restored the people to faithful worship of the one and only God.
And these are just the people that the writer to the Hebrews mentions by name. There are all these other anonymous references in here that make us think about Joshua and Solomon and Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, of Elijah and Esther, the widow of Zarephath, Jeremiah and Isaiah, James the brother of John, Ezekiel. The list could go on and on.
Surely these people deserve to be in the “Hall of Faith.” Surely these people deserve our recognition and praise. If anyone has earned rest from their labours, if anyone deserves recovery in the halls of heaven for what they endured on earth in the name of Jesus, it is these people.
Then again, if you’re a Lutheran like me, maybe that little red flag pops up in your brain when you hear words like “earn” or “deserve.” I would never discount the idea that all these people are more than deserving of our recognition and a place in God’s “Hall of Faith,” but the truth is that no one is deserving of heaven – not even “heroes” like them.
I could go through that whole list again and share an entire series of their shortfalls and sins:
Gideon was convinced that God had abandoned his people.
Barak neglected his responsibilities as leader of the people.
Samson was a womanizer and a serial adulterer.
Jephthah made a foolish vow that put his daughter’s life in jeopardy.
David committed adultery and murder in the same family.
Samuel was a bad dad whose sons nearly ruined all of God’s credibility among the people.
Each of the bronze busts in the “Hall of Faith” certainly earned their spot there, but none of them were spotless in life and none of them earned their place in heaven after death by anything that they did on earth. And I think that’s really important for us to understand when we think about every believer who has died and gone to heaven – whether that’s a “Hero of Faith” from the pages of Scripture, or your own personal hero who preceded you in death. They are certainly worthy of our recognition and remembrance. They certainly earned a place in our hearts forever, but none of them earned their place in heaven or in God’s good graces, even with all the good things that they did do in life.
As hard as it is to imagine living up to their standard – to hold onto your faith in the face of certain death, to act according to God’s will when the chances of success seem impossible, to earn a spot in the timeless “Hall of Faith” – as hard as it is to imagine living up to their standard, none of these people are superhuman. They were sinful humans – just like.
Gideon wasn’t a great man until God called him. Samson would have been a thug had God not chosen him. Barak, a scaredy-cat. Jephthah, the fool. David, a disgrace.
Where would your name fit in? How does your faith falter? Is it pride? Or doubt? Pettiness? Or self-indulgence? Apathy? Or anger? A strong will with a weak heart? Or a strong heart with a weak will?
We can look at a list like this and feel unworthy to have our names listed next to theirs. But do you know what is amazing? Verse 40:
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.[1]
None of the people who have bronze busts in the “Hall of Faith” are superhuman; they’re sinful humans, just like us. What makes their stories so inspirational is where they got their faith from and who they put their faith in. In other words – like everything – it’s all about Jesus.
If we thought that it was hard to live up to the likes of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, imagine how hard it is for them to imagine living up to the likes of Jesus. We could pick out any of these “heroes of faith” and point out all kinds of sin that they struggled with. But not Jesus. He was able to do something that none of these heroes ever could.
Jesus was perfect from the beginning. He was the only one who ever lived a life, not only worthy of recognition and remembrance, but a life that was actually, truly worthy of heaven itself. Jesus was the only one who possessed power in himself that was strong enough to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons all the time without fail. Jesus was the only one who had no business sniffing, let alone suffering, death. But what did Jesus do?
He set aside his power and put his life in the hands of his enemies. He gave up his rights to recognition and praise, not to mention a fair trial and life itself. He made himself weak and vulnerable, a man of suffering and familiar with pain;[2] he sacrificed his perfect life on a cross so that a sinner like you could live in forgiveness and peace.
And all of this because God loves you. All of this purely out of his grace. David and Daniel didn’t deserve God’s love. Elijah and Ezekiel didn’t earn their place in heaven. God gives those things to all of us sinners as a gift, freely, without strings attached or standards to reach because he loves you. And you don’t have to be a Samson or Samuel to be loved by God. You just have to be you.
As great as these heroes of faith are, God planned something even better for you. None of them received what had been promised. They all died still waiting for something that you and I get to enjoy every day – the knowledge of the fulfillment of God’s grand plan of salvation through the life, death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to wonder. You don’t even have to hope. You know what God has done for you. That’s a gift that not even Solomon in all his wisdom was ever able to grasp or imagine.
God planned something for you that was even better than anything that all those bronze busts ever knew. He gave you the fulfillment of the promise he made to them. He gave you Jesus to call by name and to know by heart. He gave you Jesus to give you confidence for the present and hope for the future. He gave you Jesus to remember every day of your life stretching into eternity.
But that’s not all God gave you. God also gave you all those saints who have gone before you – both these heroes of faith from Bible history, but also all those heroes of faith from your personal life, whether that was your grandma or grandpa, a parent or spouse, a sibling or child who preceded you in death, but who because of their faith in Jesus are now living with him in heaven. He gave them to you as an inspiration to imitate, but, much more, as an example of his grace.
God loves and forgives sinners, just like you. He empowers and emboldens believers who struggle, just like you. He rewards you with relief and release in heaven, not because of who you are or what you do, but because of he is and what he has done for you.
Now, we may never – and may we never – be stretched on a rack, sawed in two, or stoned to death. But we may always – and may we always – put our faith in our true hero, our Saviour Jesus, who alone gives us confidence in the resurrection and who alone is our hope for heaven and there a reunion with all the saints who have gone before us – inspirations for us to imitate, examples of his grace. Amen.
[1] Hebrews 11:40
[2] Isaiah 53:3