Patient For a Bit || Hebrews 10:35-36 || Manna for the Mind #112

Welcome to Day 112 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Our passage for today is Hebrews 10:35-36. We’ll talk about how our confidence is found through our patience.

Hebrew 10:35-36

AMP	NLT	MSG
35 Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward.	35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!	35-36 So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.
36 For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.	36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

The key word in verse 35 is “so // therefore.” We must understand the story and the context that brought us to this verse.

Hebrews 10 is divided into two sections from the NLT translation: Christ’s Sacrifice for All (vs. 1-18) and A Call to Persevere (vs. 19-39). The author opens the chapter by describing how the Mosaic sacrificial system, which involved offering animal sacrifices to atone for sins, was just a preview of what the sacrifice of Jesus represents. Jesus knew they were dissatisfied with the old offering system and that he came to do God’s will. Therefore, the will of God “was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once for all time.” (vs. 10) After a continuous back-and-forth, the author shows that the Holy Spirit affirms this, referencing Jeremiah 31:33a and 31:34b. When the people’s sins are forgiven, there is no longer a need to offer a sacrifice.

The author’s call to perseverance is a powerful encouragement. Understanding the differences in the sacrificial meanings and systems, the author urges the readers to approach God with sincere hearts and complete trust. This trust is something we must cling to. We need to encourage others to be loving and do good things. We need to gather in the community. If we don’t and continue living in sin after receiving the truth, then the sacrifice is meaningless. We’ll have to face God’s judgment then for our actions. Those who didn’t follow the law of Moses were put to a merciless death, and believed those who didn’t follow God’s commands would face a worse fate (the author references Deuteronomy 32:35-36). The author wants us to remember when we first learned about Jesus and recognize that following him may include suffering, whether it be public ridicule or bullying for someone you were walking with. They risked being jailed, for they knew they had eternal life. All this leads to our focus passage today.

For the time being, this audience needed that patient endurance. In the context of the Christian faith, patient endurance refers to the ability to remain steadfast in one’s belief and trust in God, even in the face of adversity. They needed to cling to their faith and trust in God. They risked a lot to follow Christ, and while we don’t face the same risks, we must have that kind of endurance. It doesn’t save us from life’s hurts and chaos but shows our commitment to Christ. When you face turmoil, where do you turn? Is it alcohol or weed? Porn or video games? Socializing or isolation? Do you turn to Christ at all?

Jesus predicted that his followers would be severely persecuted by those who hated him. They could still have hope in these times, knowing that salvation was theirs. Times of trial solidify how committed Christians we are. When we want to give up, we must stand firm and continue living the life that Christ called us to live. This belief was one I held on to for a while when I faced a crisis. Knowing that being a Christian meant life would be both difficult and worth it. It’s taken many years to find my firm footing in my walk. I thank that to my many years of studying scripture and life experience and seeing how the two are connected. It’s led me to see how I can reinforce what I know in the crisis situation I’m in at the moment and how it can all be of a positive or beneficial outlook in the long term.

Hebrews 9:15

AMP	NLT	MSG
15 For this reason He is the Mediator and Negotiator of a new covenant [that is, an entirely new agreement uniting God and man], so that those who have been called [by God] may receive [the fulfillment of] the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has taken place [as the payment] which redeems them from the sins committed under the obsolete first covenant.	15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.	15 Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

People in the Old Testament were saved through Jesus’ sacrifice even though that sacrifice hadn’t happened yet. In offering an unblemished animal as a sacrifice, they were anticipating Christ’s coming and his death for their sin. Return to the old system would’ve been pointless now that Christ became the ultimate sacrifice. This is analogous to how we view our life before and after accepting Christ. How we did things before may have made sense and worked for the time and place we needed them to work, but they don’t need to now. Jesus provides a path of life that allows us to do these things but in a way that leads us to a life with him forever in heaven and a life that teaches us how to love God with all of who we are and to love our neighbors as he did. The path of Jesus is the one that gets us through anything and provides us a new and healthy way to be confident, stay patient, and live a godly life.

Father God, thank you for reminding us to be patient. Sometimes, we get overwhelmed by chaos and crises and crumble under them, straying away from you. Yet, your way is the path of strength. This is a reminder that our past ways of handling things may differ from how we need to do it now. Help us stay on your path and be strong enough to resist any temptations that take us away from it. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.