Hebrews 13:22 Commentary and Bible Study

The writer speaks pleadingly to them. He has had to say some hard things to them in order to be faithful to the Lord, and he knows it is necessary that they hear these things, for only the truth can restore them from the dangers that he has warned them against, but at the same time he knows the tendency of the human heart to reject what it finds distressing and that goes against its will. What is going to be so important is how they receive these words, the spirit in which they read this letter. Will they have the wisdom to see that all that has been said to them is truth and however uncomfortable they find it, they must comply with God’s word to them for their soul’s sake, or will pride and stubbornness rise up within them? ‘Suffer the word of exhortation’, he says, and the word ‘suffer’ means endure it, bear with it. Allow this serious but faithful correction to alter your thinking and cause you to turn back to God. He has not held back from criticising them for their failings, but there is no hint of hostility or intent to harm in any of this. Suffer it by seeing the good it will do you, and subduing any carnal reaction of the flesh. Like a patient who has to put up with some unpleasant treatment because he looks beyond the current discomfort, receive this exhortation with wisdom.The thirteen chapters of this letter are seen as only a few words relative to the enormous scope of the subject matter covered in it. The writer has moved quickly without wasting words and has dealt with many doctrinal and pastoral issues and all are deeply relevant to the condition of his hearers. He had held back in saying more to them in the hope that what he had said would be taken to heart and would be enough to heal the malady.