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by Katie Erickson

“The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” -Hebrews 13:11-14

This final chapter of the book of Hebrews contains many pieces of advice and encouragement for Christian living. But, the verses we’re looking at today are a bit less practically-minded and focus on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – which is why we are followers of Jesus Christ in the first place.

Verse 10, right before today’s passage, states, “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.” That verse referred to the fact that believers in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ have an advantage over those who do not consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah – specifically those who still followed the Jewish faith. Considering many ancient manuscripts title this letter “To the Hebrews,” this is the audience who would be reading this letter – the Jewish/Hebrew people by nationality, many of whom likely had not yet heard the gospel message and may still be following the Jewish traditions.

This letter contains many references to Jewish customs, and each time the author shows the connection to Jesus Christ and how He fulfilled those previous traditions. The verses we’re looking at today give a specific example of that: the Day of Atonement. The author has already referenced this holy day and its relation to the high priests earlier in the letter in much greater detail (see Hebrews 4:14-5:10 and Hebrews 7:1-10:18), but he needs to reference it again here to set up his next point.

In verse 11, he gives the highlights of the Day of Atonement, and then explains how the bodies of the sacrificial animals are “burned outside the camp.” This general practice for sacrifices was commanded in Leviticus 4:11-21. Using the word “camp” refers to the practice of the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The author of Hebrews often refers back to that time frame because it’s one that all of the Israelites of his day would have had in common. After entering the Promised Land, the nation split up into more separate settlements, so their history was not as common, although it was still similar.

In verse 12, we see the author’s next comparison between the Day of Atonement and Jesus. Just as the bodies of the animal sacrifices were burned outside the camp, so Jesus “suffered outside the city gate.” This is not a perfect analogy, however, as the sacrificial animals were actually killed inside the city. But the point is that the animals that were sacrificed on the Day of Atonement were to provide for the forgiveness of the sins of the people, just as Jesus’ suffering and death did. The animal sacrifices were imperfect and temporary, however; Jesus’ sacrificial death provides permanent forgiveness of sins. Animals needed to die each year to cover the sins of the people of Israel, but Jesus only needed to die once for all people in all times and in all places.

The call to “go to him outside the camp” in verse 13 is an interesting one. Considering that the bodies of animals were burned outside the camp, that would not be a place that the Israelites would naturally want to wander to. Faith in Jesus Christ is “outside the camp” of the Jewish beliefs, so the people needed to go to Him to have faith in Him. To remain within the Jewish faith would be to remain outside of faith in Jesus and be separated from Him and His sacrifice. The readers of this letter must be prepared to go outside of their comfort zone of the Jewish traditions to embrace faith in Jesus Christ.

But going to Jesus outside the camp comes at a price. We don’t like to be faced with suffering (whether our own or someone else’s), but we need to see Jesus suffer to even begin to understand what His sacrifice means for us. We need to see Jesus’ disgrace to understand how much He truly loves humanity, that He would experience all that suffering and pain when He deserved none of it.

While we often desire to remain in the traditions that are comfortable to us, in verse 14 the author reminds his readers why it’s worthwhile to step outside of their Jewish faith and embrace faith in Christ. They do not have an “enduring city” in Judaism, but in Jesus Christ, they can look for what is to come. The author has referenced this eternal city before in Hebrews 11:10; its architect is God, and it will endure forever, unlike anything we experience here on earth.

We generally prefer to look to the security of things that we can see and feel here on earth, but those things do not endure. Only things that are of God will endure forever, which is why we need to pursue the things of God rather than the things of this world. We need to look forward to the eternal things rather than getting caught up in the temporary things of this world.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can keep in our hearts and minds. We need to see His suffering so we can truly appreciate it, and we need to remember that His sacrifice is outside of our comfort zone. Do you desire the eternal security we have through faith in Christ, or is your heart set on the temporary things of this world? The choice is yours – if you do not yet have faith in Jesus, go to him outside the camp today!

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