Hebrews 13:17-19 “Relating to Church Leaders”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 15 Mar. 2019

Intro

v.17 Keep letting yourselves be persuaded by – and yielding to – your leaders, for they are the ones who keep vigil over your souls as those who will render an accounting, in order that they might do this1 with joy and not groaning, for this would be without benefit to y’all.

    1. These decision-makers invest time and emotional energy in looking out for your well-being5.

    1. The second reason given for being persuaded by and yielding to church leaders is that these leaders are going to be called to account before Jesus, and Jesus is going to ask them about how they shepherded you.

    1. The third reason given in Hebrews 13:17 for obeying and submitting to your leaders is that they may keep vigil over your souls joyfully, rather than with groaning. This groaning could be interpreted in a couple of ways:

    1. The fourth and final reason given at the end of v.17 for why you should be persuaded by and yield to your church elders is related to the previous: your leaders rendering an account with groaning would be without benefit/advantage to you/that is, unprofitable.

v.18-19 Keep praying for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to be treated well, 19 so I encourage y’all all-the-more to do this in order that I may be restored to y’all soon.

CONCLUSION: So there we have four guidelines on relating to church leaders:

  1. Let yourselves be persuaded by them

  2. Yield to them

  3. Keep praying for them

  4. Seek for their restoration

APPENDIX: Greek Text & English Versions of Hebrews 13:15-19A

Greek NT

NAW

KJV

15 δι᾿ αὐτοῦ οὖν ἀναφέρω­μεν θυσίαν αἰνέσεως διὰ παντὸς τῷ Θεῷ, τοῦτ᾿ ἔστι καρπὸν χειλέων ὁμολογούντων τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.

15 Let it be through Him, therefore, that we offer up a thanks-offering always to God, which is fruit of lips confessing His name,

15 By him there­fore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

16 τῆς δὲ εὐποιΐας καὶ κοινωνίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε· τοιαύταις γὰρ θυσίαις εὐαρεσ­τεῖταιB ὁ Θεός.

16 and never forget good works and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased.

16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετεC· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ὡς λόγον ἀποδώ­σοντες. ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσι καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες· ἀλυσιτελὲςD γὰρ ὑμῖν τοῦτο.

17 Keep letting yourselves be persuaded by – and yielding to – your leaders, for they are the ones who keep vigil over your souls as those who will render an ac­count­ing, in or­der that they might do this with joy and not groan­ing, for this would be with­out benefit to y’all.

17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit [yourselves]: for they watch for your souls, as they that [must] give account, that they may do it with joy, and not [with] grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

18 Προσ­εύχ-εσθε περὶ ἡμῶν· πεποί­θαμενE γὰρ ὅτι καλὴν συνείδησιν ἔχομεν, ἐν πᾶσι καλῶς θέλοντες ἀναστρέφεσθαι.

18 Keep praying for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to be treated well,

18 Pray for us: for we X trust X we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

19 περισσοτέρως δὲ παρακαλῶ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ἵνα τάχιονF ἀποκατασταθῶ ὑμῖν.

19 so I encourage y’all all-the-more to do this in order that I may be restored to y’all soon.

19 But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you [the] soon[er].


1Chrysostom, Calvin, Theophylact, Grotius, Doddridge, and Owen refer “this,” to "watching;" Henry, Macknight, Scott, Stuart, Brown, Hughes, and I apply “it” to the "account" that is to be given by ministers. Gill has it both ways.

2"Anarchy is an evil, and a cause of ruin. But no less an evil also is the disobedience to rulers. For it comes again to the same.” ~Chrysostom

3"They have no authority to lord it over the people, but to lead them in the ways of God, by informing and instructing them, explaining the word of God to them, and applying it to their several cases. They are not to make laws of their own, but to interpret the laws of God; nor is their interpretation to be immediately received without examination, but the people must search the scriptures, and so far as the instructions of their minister are according to that rule they ought to receive them.." ~M. Henry

4“What then (you say), when he is wicked should we obey?... If indeed in regard to Faith, flee and avoid him... but if in regard to lifestyle, be not over-curious... For hear Christ... having previously spoken many fearful things concerning... the Scribes and the Pharisees... yet He says, '...whatsoever they tell you to observe, do; but do not ye after their works.'” [Matt 23:2-3] ~Chrysostom
"[W]hen we are bidden to obey our pastors, we ought carefully and wisely to find out those who are true and faithful rulers; for if we render this honor to all indiscriminately, first, a wrong will be done to the good; and secondly, the reason here added, to honor them because they watch for souls, will be rendered nugatory..." ~J. Calvin
“Has he said anything that Christ has not said? If he has, disregard him; if he has not, blame him not, - he has but discharged his duty to his Master and to you...” ~J. Brown

5The Greek word is literally “souls,” but P.E. Hughes noted accurately that the purview of the episcopos is not restricted to the spiritual: “The Christian pastor’s concern is not merely for the ‘souls’ of those entrusted to his care, but for their human existence in its entirety.” Prayers for physical healing are a case in point (Jas. 5).

6“And pray” is omitted from contemporary English versions on the questionable supposition that its omission from two early Greek manuscripts (B & D + plus a distinct minority of old Latin and Coptic translations) is proof positif that the thousands of other Greek manuscripts (including three manuscripts just as old as B & D, namely א, A, and C), the lectionaries, and the vast majority of ancient versions and church fathers were all in error. To put it another way, there was no language group of Christians whose Bibles omitted “and pray” for over 1,500 years. It was just removed from contemporary Bibles about 50 years ago. (No documents exist to prove the reading of Mark 13:33 before the 4th Century.)

7John Brown wrote that he thought that the “constant intercourse” of prayer between a pastor and his Lord was what this “accounting” referred to.

8Matt. 6:6 indicates that there will be accountability for prayers offered as well.

9"When do we it with joy? When we see man making progress in the words of God. When does the labourer in the field work with joy? When he looks at the tree, and sees the fruit... that he has not laboured in vain, has not bowed his back, and bruised his hands, and endured the cold and heat in vain... He said, 'unprofitable for you.' For when those who are set over you are saddened at your evil deeds… their very sadness is profitable for them; but it is unprofitable for you... Let us then, Brethren, do good together in the Lord’s field; that at the reward we may rejoice together." ~Augustine, Conclusion of Sermon 32 on Matthew 18:15.
"[I]f they have their minds restrained by grief or weariness, though they may be sincere and faithful, they will yet become disheartened and careless, for vigor in acting will fail at the same time with their cheerfulness. Hence the Apostle declares, that it would be unprofitable to the people to cause sorrow and mourning to their pastors by their ingratitude; and he did this, that he might intimate to us that we cannot be troublesome or disobedient to our pastors without hazarding our own salvation." ~J. Calvin
"If they give up their account with grief, it will be the people's loss as well as theirs. It is the interest of hearers that the account their ministers give of them may be with joy, and not with grief. If faithful ministers be not successful, the grief will be theirs, but the loss will be the people's. Faithful ministers have delivered their own souls, but a fruitless and faithless people's blood and ruin will be upon their own heads." ~M. Henry

10“Apparently the writer is conscious that unworthy motives have been attributed to him.” ~A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures
Many of the Jews had a bad opinion of Paul, because he, being a Hebrew of the Hebrews, had cast off the Levitical law and preached up Christ..." ~M. Henry
[I]t seems likely that unfavourable reports had been circulated among the Hebrew Christians respecting him.” ~J. Brown

112 Cor. 1:12; Eph. 2:3; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2 Pet. 2:18

121 Timothy 1:5 "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience [συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς], and from sincere faith" (NKJV, cf. v.19)

13"[I]t is yet right and meet that we should be peculiarly solicitous for godly and holy men, whose probity and other marks of excellency have become known to us." ~J. Calvin

14"A probable conjecture may hence perhaps be gathered, that the author of this Epistle was either beset with troubles or detained by the fear of persecution, so as not to be able to appear among those to whom he was writing. It might however be, that he thus spoke, though he was free and at liberty, for he regarded man’s steps as being in God’s hand; and this appears probable from the end of the Epistle." ~J. Calvin
Vincent: “Not implying imprisonment, but enforced absence through sickness [cf. ATR] or other cause.”
P.E. Hughes surprisingly was not willing to offer even that much conjecture.

15“It Could’ve Been Me” from the 1994 album Way Back Home.

AThe Greek is the Majority text, edited by myself to follow the majority of the earliest-known manuscripts only when the early manuscript evidence is practically unanimous. My original document includes notes on the NKJV, NASB, NIV, & ESV English translations, but since they are all copyrighted, I cannot include them in my online document. Underlined words in English versions indicate a standalone difference from all other English translations of a certain word. Strikeout usually indicates that the English translation is, in my opinion, too far outside the range of meaning of the original Greek word. The addition of an X indicates a Greek word left untranslated – or a plural Greek word translated as an English singular. [Brackets] indicate words added in English not in the Greek. {Pointed Braces} indicate words added in Greek to the original. Key words are colored consistently across the chart to show correlations.

BThe only other occurrences of this verb in the N.T. are in Heb. 11:5 & 6.

CHapex legomenon. Occurs in 4 Mac. 6:35.

DHapex legomenon. Without the alpha privative, the root occurs in Luke 17:2 (as well as in the apocryphal Tob. 3:6 and Sir. 20:10, 14; and 29:11) meaning “profit/advantage/better/benefit.”

EFour of the eight Greek manuscripts dated to the first millennium (plus about 9 second millennium manuscripts) support the reading πειθομεθα (present passive “we are being persuaded”), so this is the reading of contemporary critical Greek New Testaments. πεποιθαμεν (Perfect active “we have been persuaded”), however is the reading of the vast majority of Greek manuscripts (none older than the 9th century, however) and the traditional Greek New Testament Editions (Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox Patriarchal). Both spellings speak of a current state of confidence, the only difference being whether the convincing took place in the past or whether it is ongoing, although it is hard to even bring that out in English translation, as witnessed by the fact that the KJV & NKJV translations from the TR (“we trust/are confident”) are hardly distinguishable from the NASB & NIV translations from the UBS (“we are sure”).

FThe four oldest-known Greek manuscripts plus 10 others spell this word ταχειον, which doesn’t change the meaning, but it is strange that the modern critical editors decided to support the Byzantine majority reading over their usual preference for the convergence of the Chester-Beatty Papyrus, and the Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Ephraemi Rescriptus Uncials!

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