The Eternal Covenant·Sunday study
In-depth study: Going to Him Outside the Camp
Hebrews 13:16 · Galatians 6:9–10
Setting the table
Study of Scripture: Hebrews 13:10–16. Week 8 of The Better Word: The Eternal Covenant.
This is the last week of the journey through Hebrews. Jesus was pushed outside the city gate. He died as an outcast so we could be made clean. The call is to leave the camp of comfort and go out to Him.
Read Hebrews 13:10–16 aloud before working the sections. Then pray.
Prayer to begin. God of heaven, we bow before You. We confess fear and compromise. We seek safety in structures of men. We thank You for the Spirit of God. The Spirit cuts through darkness and reveals truth. Speak to us today. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Walking the text
Section one: The altar and the camp
The text speaks of an altar. The Greek word is thusiasterion. It means a place of slaughter. It points to the cross of Jesus. In history, priests offered the blood of animals for sins. The bodies of those animals were burned outside the camp.
The Hebrew phrase is michutz lamachaneh — outside the camp. The camp was safety and acceptance. Outside the camp was rejection and judgment. Jesus suffered outside the gates of the city. The word pascho means He suffered in agony. He died in a place of rejection to sanctify the people with His blood. The word hagiazo means to set apart for God.
Questions for reflection • People seek safety in structures of the world. Do you hide your faith to gain acceptance from peers? • Jesus suffered rejection for you. How does this truth change your response to rejection?
Section two: The choice and the city
The author gives a command. The word toinun means therefore. Believers must go to Jesus outside the camp. Believers must bear the reproach of Jesus. The phrase ton oneidismon autou means bearing His disgrace and insults.
Believers leave structures of comfort. The reason is plain. We do not have a lasting city on earth. The word menousan describes what abides. The institutions of earth will fall. Believers seek the city that is to come. The word mellousan describes that coming eternal city.
Questions for reflection • The structures of the world will fall. Do you build your identity on career or on Jesus? • Following Jesus requires loss of status. Do you accept loss of status for Jesus?
Section three: Sacrifices of praise and action
Believers offer sacrifices to God. One is a sacrifice of praise. The phrase is thysian aineseos. Believers acknowledge the name of Jesus. The word homologounton means speaking allegiance with words. Praise is offered without ceasing. Dia pantos means continually.
Believers also offer sacrifices of action. They do deeds of benefit. The word eupoiias means doing good. They share what they have. The word koinonias means sharing in fellowship. God smiles at sacrifices of love.
Questions for reflection • Praise requires words of allegiance. Do you speak the name of Jesus in places of rejection? • God smiles when believers share possessions. How can you share possessions with brothers today?
Section four: Application for life
People crave acceptance from society. People build camps of compromise. People hide convictions to keep jobs and wealth. The cross of Jesus shatters those illusions of safety. Jesus became an outcast to rescue enemies. He absorbed wrath so believers receive grace.
Believers must step out of camps of safety. Believers must stand with Jesus in places of shame. People without faith trust in wealth and status. Wealth and status will vanish. Turn away from sin and run to Jesus. He gives grace and welcomes outcasts into the eternal kingdom.
Questions for reflection • Do you compromise convictions to keep peace in society? • How can you step outside the camp of comfort today?
Prayer to close
God of truth, we bow before You. We thank You for Jesus. Jesus died outside the gates. Jesus paid the debts of sin. Deliver us from illusions of safety. Deliver us from the fear of men. Grant us courage to bear shame for Jesus. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Language notes
θυσιαστήριον·thusiasterion
altar, place of slaughter
Our altar is not a stone in a temple. It is the cross, where Jesus was slain.
מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה·michutz lamachaneh
outside the camp
The camp was safety and acceptance. Outside was trash, sickness, and judgment.
πάσχω·pascho
to suffer
Jesus suffered in agony outside the city gate, not in a place of honour.
ἁγιάζω·hagiazo
to set apart, to make holy
His blood sets a people apart for God. The outcast makes us clean.
τοίνυν·toinun
therefore
The command to go outside rests on where Jesus already went.
τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν αὐτοῦ·ton oneidismon autou
His reproach
Disgrace and insults that belonged to Him. We carry them because we go to Him.
μένουσαν·menousan
lasting, abiding
We have no city here that stays. Earthly walls and jobs fall.
μέλλουσαν·mellousan
coming, about to be
The city we seek is still ahead. God is building it. It will not fall.
θυσίαν αἰνέσεως·thysian aineseos
a sacrifice of praise
Not a dead animal. The fruit of lips that name Jesus, in bright days and dark ones.
διὰ παντός·dia pantos
continually
Praise does not stop when people speak evil of us.
εὐποιΐας·eupoiias
doing good
Worship moves from the lips into the hands.
κοινωνίας·koinonias
sharing, fellowship
Sharing food, clothes, and money. God is pleased with this sacrifice.
Cross-references
Leviticus 16:27
The bodies of the sin offerings were carried outside the camp and burned. The picture points to Jesus.
John 19:17–18
Jesus went out bearing His cross to Golgotha, outside the city, and they crucified Him there.
Luke 9:23
Whoever would follow Him must deny himself, take up his cross, and come after Him.
Philippians 3:20
Our citizenship is in heaven. This world is not the lasting city.
Galatians 6:9–10
Do not grow weary in doing good. Share with all, and especially with the household of faith.
Theology
The Hope
Because Jesus gave His life for you, you are free to share what you have with joy.
Daily life
The Heart
We often hold our money and time tightly, wanting to protect our own comfort.
Around the table
- 1.People seek safety in structures of the world. Do you hide your faith to gain acceptance from peers?
- 2.Jesus suffered rejection for you. How does this truth change your response to rejection?
- 3.The structures of the world will fall. Do you build your identity on career or on Jesus?
- 4.Following Jesus requires loss of status. Do you accept loss of status for Jesus?
- 5.Praise requires words of allegiance. Do you speak the name of Jesus in places of rejection?
- 6.God smiles when believers share possessions. How can you share possessions with brothers today?
- 7.Do you compromise convictions to keep peace in society?
- 8.How can you step outside the camp of comfort today?
Prayer
Living God, thank You for Your great love to me in Jesus. Open my hands today to do good, to share with those in need, and to live a life that pleases You. Amen.