Whose got it better than us? - Hebrews 13:1-6
Jack Harbaugh is a former college football player and coach. Jack had a successful coaching career at several schools and universities, but it is the coaching of his own children that has brought Jack the most recognition. In a Detroit Free Press article Jack’s son Jim tells a story that sheds a little light on their upbringing. Jim told the interviewer, "When I was growing up, there was a local car dealer in Ann Arbor that had a program where the coaches at Michigan got to drive the extra dealer cars," Harbaugh wrote. "We didn’t have much money, and we didn’t have a car of our own, so my parents shared the dealer car. Sometimes my dad, brother and I would walk outside, and the car would be in the driveway. Other times, if my mom was out, it wasn’t. "'Hey Dad, where’s the car?' the boys would ask. “'No car today, guys.” Jack would reply, “We’re walking … Grab a basketball: 100 with the right, 100 with the left. Let’s go!'” "So we’d dribble down the sidewalk, dad leading the way, yelling: 'Who’s got it better than us?!' "'Me and my brother trailing behind, chanting: 'No-body!'"[1]
Jack’s sons have used his family slogan to instill gratitude in their players, encourage them to have a positive mindset and to frame the challenges they face as opportunities to growth and build resilience and strength. As I was studying the verses from the letter to the Hebrews that are before us this morning, the Harbough family slogan came to mind. The Harbaughs claim nobody’s got it better than them. But after reading our text I am not so sure that is true. I think we got it pretty good; in fact, I think the answer to the Harbough’s question “whose got it better than us?” is “we do”.
In the letter to the Hebrews the author begins by proclaiming Jesus to be superior to the prophets and all other messengers sent from God. In chapter 1 the author writes, Jesus “became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”?”[2] A few chapters latter the author also proclaims Jesus to be greater than the one who lead the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the border of the Promised Land. In chapter 3 the Author writes, “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses”[3] A few more chapters and the author proclaims Jesus to be greater than any priest who has ever interceded before the throne of God on behalf of man. The author introduces chapter 5 by writing, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”[4] A few more chapters still and the author proclaims Jesus to be superior to any sacrifice ever made for sin. In chapter 9 the author writes, “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God![5]
In the letter to the Hebrews the author does a masterful job explaining to his readers how Jesus is superior in every way to anyone and everything. The first 2/3 of the letter proclaim, “Jesus is awesome!” But in chapter 10 the author recognizes that being a follower of Jesus doesn’t always feel awesome. The readers of this letter had first-hand experience just how unawesome it could feel to be a follower of Jesus. They suffered for their faith. They were publicly insulted; they and their friends had been persecuted and incarcerated. Some of them even had their homes raided and property confiscated because they were known followers of Jesus. The first readers of this letter were convinced Jesus was awesome, but they also knew firsthand that being a follower of Jesus doesn’t always feel awesome.
Not much has changed in the 2,000 years since this letter was first written. I think all of us here would agree Jesus is awesome, but I also think all of us here would agree being a follower of Jesus doesn’t always feel awesome. As a group we are still mocked and marginalized and we are occasional cast as intolerant, judgmental, and suppressive, and though it is thankfully a rare occasion in our country, some of our more outspoken fellow believers are still being killed for their beliefs. As a group it is relatively easy to endure such persecutions. However, when the persecution gets personal it is less easy to endure. When the coach on the travel ball team suggests that your kid might lose their starting position if they don’t go to the tournament on Sunday, when your boyfriend or girlfriend pressures you to do something you know God tells you not to do, when your roommates stop inviting you to parties because your sobriety makes them uncomfortable, when your fellow diners whisper and stare because you prayed before you ate, when your family acts like you’re in a cult because you go to church even when you are on vacation… What I am saying is today’s Christians might not be persecuted in the town square, thrown into prisons and have their possessions confiscated because they follow Jesus but on any given day we face 1 of a 1,000 different little persecutions.
We are not being persecuted in the same way Christians were 2,000 years ago but still today being a follower of Jesus doesn’t always feel awesome… but it is. Being a follower of Jesus is awesome, and I am not just talking about the awesome that awaits you in eternity. Being a follower of Jesus is awesome today. Take another look at what the author of the letter of Hebrews writes in 13:1-6 and you will see at least a half a dozen reasons why being a follower of Jesus is awesome.
In verse 1 the author writes, “1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.” This thing that we have, this gathering together that we do, is not simply a mingling of like-minded people who share a common interest in the divine. This is a family, not one of genetic making but a family made at a font where lost and condemned creature were adopted into the family of God. This is a family where sibling from time-to-time squabble and get on each other’s nerves. If one of our brothers or sisters is getting a little full of themselves the siblings aren’t afraid to poke at them and tease them to bring them down a peg or two, because that’s what families do. This is a family where we can be blunt and brutally honest with each other but at the same time defend and support each other. In a world where we are all so isolated and removed from our biologically families it is awesome that because we are all followers of Jesus, we are family.
In verse 2 the author writes, “ 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” There is a temptation to see the people who live around you as the competition. If you live where we live trying to keep up with the Joneses is an exhausting endeavor. Thankfully, as followers of Jesus we don’t see our neighbors as the competition. We see them as opportunities to showcase our hospitality. We see people who are struggling with spiritual poverty and are being crushed by a sinful debt they can never pay. We see people who need what we have to give and because of Jesus we have more than enough grace and mercy to share. Because we are followers of Jesus, we see the people living around us differently than the world sees them; we don’t see people with whom we are in competition, we see people who are in desperate need of a little Christian hospitality. It is awesome that we get to see people that way.
In verse 3 the author writes, “3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Being abused and mistreated is not a uniquely Christian experience. Because we live in a fallen world full of fallen people in one way or the other every person on the planet is abused and mistreated. I have yet to meet the pagan whose life is free of suffering. Pagans suffer as much as Christians do, but unlike the pagans, we don’t suffer alone. We are there for each other. When one of us feels a loss, faces a hardship, endures a trial we feel it. Our hearts ache for each other, our hands are eager to help each other, and we storm the throne of God on behalf of one another. It is not at all uncommon that a tear is shed by us or on account of us by a fellow believer who feels our pain. It is awesome that because we are followers of Jesus none of us suffers alone.
In verse 4 the author writes, “4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” In America, the institution of marriage has been taking a beating for half a century, if not longer. The truth is the institution of marriage has always taken a beating. In the middle ages, the Europeans weren’t exactly beacons of purity. And the ancients before them be they Romans Greek Babylonian or other were no better. Throughout history marriage has either been treated as a temporary arrangement meant to provide personal pleasure or a sentence of service and subjugation in which one party manipulates and controls the other. But as followers of Jesus, we recognize marriage as a relationship of mutual love and respect and, in it’s purest form, marriage helps us understand our relationship with our God. Jesus refers to Himself as the groom and He thinks of us, the Church, the body of believers as His bride. It is awesome that the institution of marriage helps both the married and unmarried follower of Jesus to grow in their understanding of our loving relationship with our God.
In the first half of verse 5 the author writes, “5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.” It is true that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and (according to the Old King James translation) people who covet after riches often end up piercing themselves through with many sorrows. However, money is neither good nor bad. It is an inanimate object, or I guess today a theoretical concept. Money has no soul, in and of itself it can do neither good nor bad, in fact in and of itself it can’t do anything. Money is just money. But in the hands of a believer who sees money not as the master but as a tool The Master gives us, money can be used to do all sorts of good things. Money can be used to feed the family, help the needy, support the government, and spread the gospel. To the believer money is not the master it is a tool that we use to the glory of our God and the good of our neighbor. It is awesome that because we are followers of Jesus to us money is just money.
Finally, in the second half of verse 5 the author writes, “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Your God is the original Rickroller. Your God is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Even when you deserve to be given up on, let down, and deserted. Even when you act like a prodigal son or fail to be your brother’s or sister’s keeper, even when you fail to love your neighbor as yourself, even when you act like a not so good Samaritan, even when you take a swing or two at the institution of marriage, even when you allow money to master your life, even when you wander from the way and stumble on the path Your God is there waiting with open arms ready willing and eager to forgive you for your sins. Your God knows you are not perfect followers of Jesus and still He has promised He will never leave you, never forsake you. Even if you can’t see the other things I mentioned as awesome, surely you can see how following Jesus into the forgiving arms of the Father is awesome.
Everyone here agrees, Jesus is awesome. But sometimes following Jesus doesn’t feel awesome. For thousands of years Christians have been publicly humiliated and personally persecuted. I won’t deny following Jesus sometimes doesn’t feel awesome, but I worry we Christians are developing a bit of a persecution complex and spend too much time walking around with a woe is me attitude. Being a follower of Jesus may not always feel awesome, but it is, absolutely in eternity but also in time. As followers of Jesus we are a family, surrounded by neighbors who need us and fellow believers who support us. We see the things of this world like marriage and money as tools to help us understand our God and do good to our neighbor. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews was hopeful that his reader would see how awesome it is to be a follower of Jesus. He wrote, “6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
And so, the next time you see a member of the Harbough family on T.V. asking “whose got it better than us?” I want you to yell back “we do!” We are followers of Jesus. Nobody’s got it better than us. Amen.
[1] https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2024/01/08/jim-harbaugh-whos-got-it-better-than-us-michigan-vs-washington-cfp-2024/72133093007/
[2] Hebrews 1:4
[3] Hebrews 3:3
[4] Hebrews 4:14
[5] Hebrews 9:13-14