How should we read Hebrews 11?: A Challenge to the Exemplary Approach (Part 1)
May 6, 2008 by mattgalyon
Growing up my chief exposure to the book of Hebrews came from Hebrews chapter 11. There were two reasons why this chapter was referenced or taught:
1. Verse one gives us a nice little definition of faith
2. The rest of the chapter gives us examples of men and women (shout out to Rahab and Sarah) who lived out this faith
My understanding of how Hebrews 11 should be read and taught has been heavily influenced by this approach to the chapter. I had no problem with seeing Hebrews 11 as a simple exemplary listing of great men of the faith, but I did however get bored in Sunday School when the teacher would take a look at one example per week. We were shown the example of the person’s faith and then encouraged to follow in their footsteps.
There were however, a few questions that came up while looking at Hebrews 11. For one thing, why so many examples? Why did the author have to give so many examples in chronological order rather than just giving a couple really good examples? I was told that this was just part of the author’s argumentation, he had to be thorough in his giving of examples to emphasize his point. Then there were the passages that spoke of future promises that they trusted in and looked forward to; these verses the teacher often skipped over: v. 10, vv. 13-16, v. 26, and vv. 39-40. I witnessed some impressive evasive maneuvers from various teachers when asked about the meanings of these verses. Perhaps the best answer they could conjure up was that we should follow their example in looking forward to heaven. Another question that just recently appeared relevant to me was why stop at the end of chapter 11? Could chapter 12 shed any light on the meaning of chapter 11? For the most part I was, if for no other reason than mere practicality, taught to respect the God-ordained chapter divisions.
To say the least, the exemplary reading of Hebrews 11 does not seem to fall in line with the flow of Hebrews. I see Hebrews 11 as the integral corner piece to the redemptive historical puzzle laid out in Hebrews 11-13. This chapter begins the last great “lesser to greater” argument from the writer. While Hebrews 11 does contain examples of faith, their examples are part of the lesser to greater argument. If they showed such great faith when they did not yet receive what was promised, how much greater faith should we have now looking to Jesus, the fulfiller of what what was promised?
I’ll hash this out a little bit more in my next post.
sounds great brother. I look forward for the following posts on this subject.
tolle lege!
bring it!
shoot!
I agree brother, i think what you are getting at makes a lot of sense within the argument of the author of Hebrews…i think this begins the last lesser to greater argument does begin here in chapter 11 and ends at the end of chapter 12 with a final lesser to greater appeal…i look forward to reading what is to come. Grace and peace.