Commentary - Hebrews 11:39-40

Bird's-eye view

These two verses form the capstone to the magnificent eleventh chapter of Hebrews. After parading a long line of Old Testament heroes who lived and died by faith, the author brings his argument to a stunning conclusion. He reveals a profound redemptive-historical truth: despite their heroic faith and God's explicit approval of them, the Old Testament saints did not receive the ultimate fulfillment of the promise in their lifetimes. God, in His sovereign plan, had reserved "something better" for us, the believers of the New Covenant. This "something better" is the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. The central point is the organic unity of God's people throughout all ages. Their story is incomplete without ours, and our story is built upon theirs. They were not made perfect, or brought to their ultimate goal, until the Messiah came, and we, together with them, form one complete body, perfected by the one sacrifice of Christ.

This is not to say their faith was deficient or their salvation was insecure. Rather, it is to say that the object of their faith, the promised Messiah, had not yet appeared in history. They looked forward to the cross; we look back upon it. But it is the same cross, the same Savior, and the same salvation. These verses are the great hinge connecting the faith of the old covenant with the fulfillment in the new, setting the stage for the exhortation in chapter twelve to run our race with endurance, spurred on by this great cloud of witnesses.

Outline

Context In Hebrews

The entire book of Hebrews is an argument for the superiority of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant over the Old. The author has demonstrated that Christ is superior to angels, to Moses, and to the Aaronic priesthood. His sacrifice is superior to the animal sacrifices, and the New Covenant He mediates is a better covenant based on better promises. Chapter 11 serves as a grand illustration of the nature of true faith, the kind of faith necessary to persevere under the New Covenant. But it is not a disconnected chapter of hero stories. It is an integral part of the argument. By showing that the greatest heroes of the Old Testament lived by faith in a promise they never saw fulfilled, he sets up his final point in these verses: that fulfillment has now arrived in Christ. Therefore, we who live after the cross have even more reason to persevere in faith. These verses bridge the historical examples of faith in chapter 11 with the direct exhortation to our own faith in chapter 12.

Key Issues

The Relay Race of Faith

We can think of redemptive history as a great relay race. The Old Testament saints, this great cloud of witnesses, ran their leg of the race with valor and faithfulness. They ran, looking forward to the promised Messiah, and they handed the baton off to the next generation. They ran their leg well, but the finish line was not in their leg of the race. The finish line was the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are the generation that runs with the knowledge that the central, decisive victory has already been won. The writer of Hebrews is telling us that these heroes of old are in the stands, as it were, cheering us on. Their race is not fully vindicated, their story is not complete, until we run our leg of the race faithfully. We are all part of the same team, running in the same race, and the perfection of the team depends on every member running his leg as he ought.

Verse by Verse Commentary

39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

The verse begins by summarizing the entire chapter. "All these," from Abel to the unnamed martyrs, shared one common characteristic: they were approved by God. The Greek word here, martureo, is the same word used throughout the chapter, often translated as "obtained a good testimony" or "were commended." It means that God Himself bore witness to the reality of their faith. They were justified by faith, just as we are. Their faith was counted to them as righteousness. And yet, for all that, there was a crucial deficiency. They "did not receive what was promised." This can be confusing if we don't distinguish between the promises and the Promise. Abraham received the promise of a son, and he got Isaac. David received the promise of an eternal throne, and his dynasty was established. They received many particular promises. But the ultimate Promise, the capital 'P' Promise to which all other promises pointed, was the coming of the Messiah and the inauguration of the new creation. They saw it from a distance, they greeted it, they ordered their lives by it, but they died before the historical fulfillment. They died before the incarnation, before the cross, before the empty tomb.

40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

This is the divine reason for the delay. It wasn't an accident; it was part of God's magnificent design. God had "provided something better for us." The "us" here refers to New Covenant believers. The "something better" is not a better character on our part, or a better quality of faith. We are often far more faithless than they were. The "something better" is our historical position. We live on this side of the cross. We have the reality, whereas they had the shadows. We have the substance, they had the types. We have the Son, they had the promise of the Son. This is the central argument of the whole book of Hebrews. Christ is better, His sacrifice is better, His covenant is better. And this better thing has been provided for us.

The final clause is the theological climax: "so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." The word for "perfect" here is teleioo, which means to be brought to completion, to be carried to the intended goal. It does not mean they were in some kind of spiritual limbo or that their salvation was incomplete. It means that the entire redemptive plan, of which they were a part, had not yet reached its goal. The goal was the finished work of Christ. When Christ said "It is finished" on the cross, He accomplished the perfection for them just as much as for us. But God ordained that this perfection would be realized in a unified body. Their story finds its meaning and completion in our story, and ours is built upon theirs. They were the foundation, we are the building, and Christ is the cornerstone holding it all together. They could not be a completed building without us, and we could not exist without the foundation they laid. We are one people, one body, one perfected bride, brought to our shared goal together in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Application

The immediate application is found in the very next verse: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb 12:1). The truth of our corporate perfection with the saints of old is not meant to be a piece of theological trivia. It is fuel for our perseverance.

First, it should produce profound humility. We have been given this "something better" not because we are better, but because of the sheer grace of God in arranging the timeline of redemption. We stand on the shoulders of giants who were, in many cases, far more faithful than we are with far less light. We have no room for chronological snobbery.

Second, it should produce unshakable confidence. Our faith is not in a myth or a future possibility, but in a historical reality. Christ has come. The sacrifice has been made. The victory is won. The saints of old longed to see what we see, and we see it plainly. This gives us a greater responsibility to live faithfully, but also a greater resource for doing so.

Finally, it reminds us that we are not alone. We are part of a vast, ancient, and glorious family. The faith we profess is the same faith that sustained Abel, Abraham, Moses, and David. They have finished their course, and they are witnesses to ours. Their story is now complete in Christ, and our task is to live out the reality of that completion until Christ returns to bring all things to their final consummation. We are part of one body, and we press on toward one goal, together.