Hebrews 13:7-8: Jesus Christ the Same Yesterday, and To Day, and For Ever
2024-03-02
These two verses deal with authority. Let us consider them.
Hebrews 13:7
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (Hebrews 13:7)
Consider a discussion on those “which have the rule over you” here.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Hebrews 13:7 is about human authority in the church. Hebrews 13:8 is about Jesus’ stable, constant authority overall. His eternal power has practical advice for us, in that He will also always remain with us.
Jesus remains the same always; He does not change.
Jesus Christ was from everlasting: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Jesus was born a human being in Bethlehem, but He existed long before His humanity, even since eternity past. Herein is the only change in Jesus ever in the history of the world: He was and is always God, but He became a human being for humanity’s redemption.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In the beginning of time Jesus already was. He was never created. He was always with the Father since before time and space: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5).
In fact, while He died for the sins of the world in the past, His grace continues through today. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). He is our advocate; He is the propitiation for us and the world. “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). As He was with His people on earth, He is still with them (us) while He is in heaven, imparting His enthroned power through His Holy Spirit.
Consider John 14:16-19. The Father sent the Spirit, the Comforter. He dwells in us, so we cannot ever escape His presence. Jesus will truly come physically in the future, however, because He lives, we still see Him and know Him and His faithfulness by the presence of the Spirit.
If the Lord Jesus Christ was faithful in the past and is in the present, He always will be. He is the stability in a universe where everything is unstable. He will come again and set up His kingdom. As we just saw, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). “...but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Hebrews 1:12).
Part of our faith is knowing that He will never change though we may change. Even our faith may fail, but His promises continue. This is His loyal love that endures. This gives us stability in our salvation and life.
Jesus is the king, and His reign is stable forever.