Fighting Back from the Ropes – Hebrews 12:25 to 13:14

Ex-pro boxer George Foreman said something profound in an interview years ago. He was asked about what makes a “great fighter”? He replied: “There are a lot of guys that can take a punch. There are dozens who have great foot work. What reveals a truly great fighter is shown when a guy is on the ropes and attempting to cover during a furious pounding by his opponent, and he keeps his head and battles his way back to capture the momentum of a fight a second time. That’s when you know he really has greatness!”

One of the letters of the New Testament was written to a group that was on the ropes taking a powerful pasting from their enemy. The letter to the Hebrews addressed ten questions that early Messianic believers were asking. They were in the fight of their lives, rejected by Gentile neighbors as Jews, and rejected by other Jews as Jews because they were Messianics, they were living in a crisis of identity. Add to that the fact that some of their leaders had left the fledgling Messianic movement to rejoin mainstream Judaism, and this was one demoralized group on the ropes.

The ninth question the writer is addressing is “How do I get the courage to fight on in the midst of the suffering?” Where is God in this kind of pain? It is a question that believers have asked for centuries. The writer offered instruction in a series of imperatives (commands). Each one is helpful for someone going through a struggle, and help us keep a godly perspective amidst suffering:

1. Listen to the counsel of God, and learn to hear His voice over all others (12:25). God whispers in our successes, but screams in our pain. He can be heard by the voice that will listen. The writer reminds his Messianic reader that it has not fared well for the Israelites that failed to listen to His voice in the past.
2. Learn to be greatful to God for what He has done for you (12:28). They were a part of an unshakeable Kingdom of a great King! Yes, they were suffering. Yes, they were on the ropes. At the same time God had been at work cleaning out some of the material things of their lives that were distracting them (cp. 12:27) to get them to the place where they could see more clearly His work for them. We cannot be filled with God when already filled with other things. He cannot fill our hands with His blessing when we have our hands filled with the goods this world has supplied to keep us distracted.
3. Turn outward and love other believers in the midst of our pain (13:1). When we hurt, we invariably turn inward, but we are told here that we should look to others that have needs. We should be hospitable when we will likely feel like being alone (13:2).
4. Walk in purity and uphold covenant love, as in marriage (13:4). We are most like our Father when we walk in purity, distinct from the world’s tug on our hearts to stray from our covenanted commitments to our mate. God’s greatest works in the Bible are pictured in marriage: The Father’s eternal love for Israel, and Son’s love for His Bride. The two marriages are the main theme of the Bible, and the enemy would love to trash marriage and covenant love for that very reason. We must no help him.
5. Remember those that are out of sight (13:3). It is easy to get caught up in my own pain when on the ropes, and forget that others are suffering that I cannot see. In the text the writer turns attention to the prisoner, but any suffering person out of sight qualifies as one I should remember. When hurt, it is important to take the time to write the card or make the call to someone who needs to be cheered and encouraged. What? Don’t I need encouragement? Sure, but one way to get it is give it away.
6. Learn to draw contentment from what I have (13:5). When I am in problems that I cannot solve, feeling pain I cannot stop, it is easy for me to run out and buy something. When I can’t solve this, I will attack some felt need that I can affect for good. The problem is, this is a dead end. The original pain is still there, and I can’t run from it.
7. Remember that I don’t really belong here, for it is not my real home (13:13-14). In the Hebrew sacrificial texts, Priests were told to burn a portion of the animals of sacrifice, and take the remaining parts outside the camp to be destroyed. The acceptable sacrifice ended up outside the circle of the camp. Much later, Messiah came and was crucified outside the camp of the city. The writer calls these first century Hebrews to leave the city, and go out to the city edge, and stand with their Savior. He walked out to die for them. They could walk out and join Him. They weren’t supposed to be home in there anyway!

God knew that people on the ropes needed more than platitudes – they needed instruction. He told them to do things that seemed unnatural to them. When they wanted to be self-centered, to turn and be other person centered. When they felt licensed to take a victim status and sulk, they were called to be content with what God had done, and was doing for them. The lessons that worked for them were recorded for our benefit!