Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy Text: Hebrews 11:32-38
Introduction: The Two Sides of Faith's Coin
We come now to a section of Hebrews 11 that functions like a highlight reel, a rapid fire montage. The author, having carefully detailed the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, realizes he is running out of parchment. He says, "time will fail me," and so he begins to list names and deeds, summarizing vast swaths of Old Testament history. And in this summary, he presents us with what appears to be a staggering contradiction. He shows us two kinds of outcomes for the faithful, two very different report cards, at least as the world would grade them.
On the one hand, he describes glorious, public, undeniable victories. Kingdoms conquered, lions' mouths shut, fires quenched. This is the kind of faith we love to celebrate. It's the faith that makes for great movie scenes. It is tangible, measurable success. It is the faith that gets the promotion, heals the sickness, and wins the war.
But then, without taking a breath, the author pivots. He shows us the other side of the coin. He describes the faithful being tortured, mocked, flogged, imprisoned, stoned, and sawn in two. This is the faith that ends in apparent earthly defeat. This is the faith that gets you fired, the faith that lands you in a hospital bed, the faith that ends with your head on a block. The world looks at this second group and sees only failure, tragedy, and waste.
And the central lesson for us, a lesson that is desperately needed in our soft and sentimental age, is that both of these lists, the list of triumphs and the list of tragedies, are presented here as equal demonstrations of robust, God-honoring faith. Faith is not a cosmic vending machine where you insert a prayer and get a miracle. Faith is the unwavering conviction that God's promises are true, whether you see the fulfillment from a throne or from a prison cell. This passage is a direct assault on any gospel that promises health, wealth, and comfort as the necessary fruit of true belief. The biblical gospel promises something far better: it promises God Himself, and the strength to be faithful to Him, come what may.
The Text
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I recount Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, as well as David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, performed righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and floggings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, mistreated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
(Hebrews 11:32-38 LSB)
A Rogues' Gallery of Grace (v. 32)
We begin with the abbreviated roll call.
"And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I recount Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, as well as David and Samuel and the prophets," (Hebrews 11:32 LSB)
The author's point is that the history of God's people is so saturated with examples of faith that he could go on indefinitely. But notice the kind of men he selects for this quick list. This is not a lineup of squeaky clean saints. This is a rogues' gallery, a testament to God's grace in using deeply flawed individuals.
Gideon was a coward, hiding in a winepress, who needed a fleece, and then another one, just to be sure. Barak was a hesitant general who refused to go to battle unless the prophetess Deborah came along to hold his hand. Samson was a carnal, vengeful man, a Nazarite who couldn't keep his vows or his hands to himself. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute, an outcast who made a rash and tragic vow. And David, the man after God's own heart, was also an adulterer and a murderer.
This should be a profound encouragement to all of us. The hall of faith is not populated by spiritual giants who never stumbled. It is populated by weak, sinful, and sometimes spectacularly foolish people who, in their moment of decision, chose to trust God rather than themselves. Their faith was not in their own righteousness, but in God's promises. God delights in using crooked sticks to draw straight lines, so that no one can boast in the stick, but only in the hand that holds it.
The Victories of Faith (v. 33-35a)
Next, the author rattles off the public triumphs that resulted from such faith.
"who through faith conquered kingdoms, performed righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection..." (Hebrews 11:33-35a LSB)
This is a highlight reel of Old Testament history. "Conquered kingdoms" makes us think of Joshua at Jericho or David establishing his kingdom. "Performed righteousness" points to Samuel judging Israel justly. "Obtained promises" recalls Abraham being promised a son or David being promised an eternal throne. "Shut the mouths of lions" is Daniel, and "quenched the power of fire" is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. "Escaped the edge of the sword" could be David fleeing Saul or Elijah fleeing Jezebel. "Were made strong from weakness" is the story of Gideon's little army, or Hezekiah being healed from his illness. And "women received back their dead by resurrection" points to the miracles of Elijah and Elisha with the widow of Zarephath and the Shunammite woman.
The point is clear: faith is not an abstract, internal feeling. It is a robust, active force that has real-world consequences. Faith takes God at His word and acts accordingly, and God is often pleased to grant stunning, public vindication. We should not be shy about praying for such things. We should pray for our businesses to prosper, for our enemies to be routed, for our sick to be healed. God is the God who does these things. But this is only half the story.
The Sufferings of Faith (v. 35b-38)
The mood shifts dramatically in the middle of verse 35. The music changes from a triumphant march to a somber dirge.
"...and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and floggings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, mistreated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes in the ground." (Hebrews 11:35b-38 LSB)
This is the other side of the ledger. For every Daniel who walks out of the lion's den, there is a John the Baptist who loses his head in prison. For every Peter miraculously freed from jail, there is a James executed by the sword. The author presents this second list not as examples of failed faith, but as examples of triumphant faith.
The key is in that phrase, "not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection." Their faith was not fixed on temporal deliverance. They had a longer view. They knew that this brief life is not the whole story. They were willing to trade a few more years of miserable existence in a fallen world for a glorious eternity with their Lord. This is the logic of the martyr. They see with the eyes of faith that to be sawn in two for Christ is a far greater victory than to deny Him and live another twenty years.
We see Jeremiah being mocked and thrown into a cistern. Tradition tells us Isaiah was "sawn in two" by the wicked king Manasseh. Zechariah was "stoned" in the temple court. Elijah wandered about "in sheepskins," a fugitive from the state. These men were destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world looked at them and saw losers, radicals, and fools.
But God delivers His verdict in parenthesis, a divine aside that reframes everything: "(of whom the world was not worthy)." This is a staggering reversal of judgment. The world thought these prophets were not worthy to live in it. God says the world was not worthy to have them. Their faithful suffering was a testimony against the world's corruption and rebellion. The world, in its arrogance, cast them out, but in doing so, it was casting out the only salt and light it had. The presence of a righteous man tormented Lot's righteous soul, but it also held back the judgment on Sodom. The world that persecutes the church is sawing off the branch it is sitting on.
Conclusion: A Faith for All Seasons
So what unites these two groups, the triumphant and the tortured? The same thing: faith. Both groups believed the promises of God. One group was given a foretaste of the final victory in this life. The other group was called to wait for that victory in the life to come. But both were looking to the same reward, the same "better resurrection."
This passage is designed to prepare the church for all seasons. There will be times of great victory, of cultural influence, of miraculous deliverance. In those times, we are to be faithful. And there will be times of great persecution, of suffering, of apparent defeat. In those times, we are also to be faithful. Our circumstances do not define our faith; our faith defines how we respond to our circumstances.
The question for us is not, "How can I guarantee I get on the first list and avoid the second?" That is the question of a hireling, not a son. The question is, "Is my faith robust enough to praise God from the palace, like David, and also from the stocks, like Jeremiah?" Is my hope fixed on the "better resurrection" with such clarity that I would not accept release from a temporary trial if it meant compromising my witness?
These saints, both the celebrated and the sawn-in-two, form that great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. They are not watching us to see if we win by the world's standards. They are watching to see if we will keep the faith, as they did. They testify that God is faithful, His promises are true, and the reward He has prepared for those who love Him is worth any earthly price. The world was not worthy of them. By God's grace, may it be said of us as well.