The writer of Hebrews reminds us is this: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (13:8). There’s always a temptation in the Christian life to take our eyes off of Him and fix them back on familiar, tangible things. This is not to say that “material” is bad and “immaterial” is good. That’s gnosticism, Patrick!

But there is a point the writer of Hebrews is trying to make. And I want to get to that in this post.

Let me start by telling you a story…

A Legend

In 1519, Hernán Cortés landed on the shores of Mexico with around 600 men. Outnumbered by the massive Aztec empire, his soldiers were naturally tempted to think about retreat. Imagine them looking back over their shoulders at the ships—those floating symbols of safety, security, and home.

So Cortés gave the order: Burn the ships. Can’t go home with no more boats! Retreat was no longer an option.

In a similar way, the message of Hebrews 13 is this:  Stop longing for the comfort and security of material things. Building earthly empires is foolish. Burn the ships. There’s no going back.

You’re not going back to the ceremonies.
Not to the rituals.
Not to the approval of man.
Not to the city of Jerusalem.
You are all in on King Jesus.

Christ Is Better 

Verse 9 reminds us: it’s not food or ceremony that strengthens the heart—but grace.

“It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”

Jesus Himself taught that it’s not what enters the stomach that makes someone clean—but what flows from the heart.

And the gospel promises a new heart:

  • A heart of flesh
  • A heart sprinkled clean
  • A heart with God’s law written upon it

Yet the temptation remains: to look to ritual for strength.

  • The Jews had ceremonial foods
  • Rome has the sacramental system
  • Even in Reformed circles, some cling to man-made traditions as though those give life

But our strength comes from Christ alone. Not from head coverings, homeschooling, or ceremonies. These may have value, but they are not the means of justification or heart-renewal.

“What do I need?” I need more Christ.
I need to remember His atonement.
His righteousness.
His resurrection.
My union with Him.
My justification.
My adoption.

Grace strengthens the heart—not rituals.

You Can’t Eat from Both Altars

Verse 10 says, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.”

We don’t return to the temple. We don’t return to physical sacrifices. We have something better: Christ Himself.

John Owen put it this way:“The Lord Christ…is himself both our altar and our sacrifice.”

Imagine how tempting it was for Jewish Christians to return to the old system: “Look what we have!” their friends said. “Look what you can see and touch and smell.”

But the writer of Hebrews says: No. Our altar is Christ. You can’t eat from both tables. You either cling to the material or to the Messiah.

Rome today replaces Jewish sacrifice with man-made ceremony. The total opposite of what Hebrews is teaching. You cannot eat from both altars. You must choose: Christ or ceremony.

Christ Bore Our Uncleanness

On the Day of Atonement, the bodies of the sacrifices were taken outside the camp. They were considered unclean.

And where was Jesus crucified? Outside the gate (vv.11-12).

Why? Because He became unclean for us. He bore our filth. Our shame. Our sin.

The only perfectly righteous One was treated as unrighteous—so that we, the unclean, could be declared holy. He who never sinned became sin for us.

And He did it all—not in part, but in full. His sacrifice finished the work. Atonement is complete.

Go to Him Outside the Camp

v.13 is a call to us: “Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”

To go to Christ is to leave behind the old systems, the old approval, the old comforts.

It means:

  • Leaving rituals that can’t save
  • Leaving the safety of worldly applause
  • Leaving nominal Christianity

And it means bearing His reproach. The world will mock you. Sometimes professing believers will despise you. Friends and family may misunderstand you.

But Christ bore your reproach before God. Will you not bear the world’s reproach for Him?

We Seek a Better City

“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (v.14).

If you’re tempted to stay “in the camp”—in the safety of this world—Hebrews offers a sobering reminder:

This city will not last. The city that Christ is building is His church and we seek its coming in its fullness only in the new heavens and new earth. The kingdom of Christ, His church, will never merge with the kingdoms of this present world for they are all fading.

Just a few years after this letter was written, Jerusalem was destroyed. So too, every earthly city, government, empire, and structure will fall.

Rich men go bankrupt.
Famous people fade.
Nations rise and fall.
But Christ’s kingdom, and only Christ’s kingdom, is forever.

Avoid the Pitfall

We’re seeing this obsession with the material today across many theological camps: (And note that I’m just pointing at the dangers here, not trying to riff on those I consider brothers)

  • Postmillennials can confuse Christ’s kingdom with worldly power
  • Dispensationalists look back toward the very shadows Hebrews says to leave
  • Pedobaptists sometimes trust in physical offspring over the promise of new birth

And beyond that (Non Christians):

  • Rome replaces Christ with the sacraments
  • Legalists replace Christ with rules
  • Carnal Christians replace Christ with the world
  • Prosperity preachers replace Christ with wealth

But our hope is not in programs or nations or movements. Our hope is in Jesus Christ—the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The Sacrifice of Praise

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

We no longer offer animals. Christ was the final sacrifice.
But as His people—His priests—we offer a continual sacrifice of praise.

Not just in song on Sundays, but with our very words and witness. This is about confessing Christ—openly, boldly, joyfully.

Do your coworkers know you’re a Christian?
Do your family members see Christ as your highest allegiance?
Does your mechanic or your barista ever hear His name from your lips?

We are not meant to blend in. We are meant to be bold. We are not meant to conform. We are meant to confess.

Burn the Ships

Following Christ means there’s no going back.

No going back to legalism.
No going back to man-made religion.
No going back to the world’s approval.

Go to Him outside the camp.

Cortés burned the ships for an earthly empire.
We burn the ships because we seek a heavenly city.

So let’s go to Jesus. Let’s bear His reproach. Let’s confess His name.
Let’s live as citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Christ is worthy. Christ is better. Christ is enough. Christ is ours.

Burn the ships.