As I was preaching the beginning verses of Hebrews 13, I was struck by the similarities between the apostle’s words and that of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 25. This is especially clear when one sees the connection between the end of Hebrews 12 on the kingdom and the beginning of Hebrews 13 on loving the brethren. As is often the case, chapter divisions can obscure things in our English Bibles.
I will show four connections between Hebrews 12:28–13:3 and Jesus’ earlier teaching in Matthew 25:31-46. The likely explanation is that the apostle was reflecting on Jesus’ teaching on judgment and loving the brethren and restating this for his hearers. Yet in the unlikely case that the apostle was unfamiliar with our Lord’s teaching here, the similarity and consistency of these passages is testimony to the Holy Spirit’s work in breathing out the Word of God.
Let’s quote both passages for reference (NASB 1995), though focusing on Matthew 25:31-36:
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire. 13:1 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. (Hebrews 12:28–13:3)
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” (Matthew 25:31-36)
(1) Kingdom Context
The setting in Matthew 25:31-46 is the Son of Man’s judgment of the nations as He separates the sheep from the goats, sending the righteous into eternal life and the wicked into eternal judgment (Matthew 25:31, 32, 46). This is the King’s judgment for His kingdom, as King Jesus will announce to His sheep that they will “inherit the kingdom” (Matthew 25:34). Similarly, in Hebrews 12:28, Christians are told that they are receiving the “kingdom which cannot be shaken.” Thus, both passages speak of inheriting or receiving God’s kingdom.
(2) Love the Brethren
After calling Christians to serve God, the apostle in Hebrews 13:1 speaks of love for the “brethren,” that is, fellow Christians—“Let love of the brethren continue.” Likewise, Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 is based on one’s love for the brethren. For the King will say to the righteous, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). The “it” is referring to feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36). To love the brethren in this way is to love and serve Christ, and to not love the brethren in this way is to not serve Christ. The King will thus say to the wicked, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Matthew 25:45). Notice that the emphasis in Christ’s judgment is not whether a man shows love to all men (though that is elsewhere commanded) but whether a man shows love to his fellow Christians.
(3) Showing Hospitality and Visiting Prisoners
Hebrews 13:2-3 speaks of showing “love to the brethren” in a particular way, with the command to not neglect showing “hospitality to strangers” and to “remember the prisoners.” Similarly, Matthew 25:35-36 describes visiting fellow Christians in “prison,” as well as doing good works that would certainly qualify as “hospitality” to fellow believers (as commanded in Hebrews 13:2)—feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick. So we have two connections between the passages: (1) visiting those in “prison” (Matthew 25:36) and remembering “prisoners” (Hebrews 13:3), and (2) welcoming in the “stranger” (Matthew 25:35) and showing “hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2).
However, this last connection regarding strangers is more explicit in the Greek. Jesus said, “I was a stranger (ξένος), and you invited Me in” (Matthew 25:35). Hebrews 13:2 literally says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality (φιλοξενίας), for by this some have entertained (ξενίσαντες) angels without knowing it.” So although the word “stranger” is not actually in the Greek of Hebrews 13:2 (and is added in English in the NASB 1995), the Greek root for “stranger” is in the verse twice—it is part of the word translated “hospitality” and part of the word for “entertained.” (The Greek ξενίσαντες is from the verb ξενίζω, which means “to show hospitality, receive as a guest, entertain,” BDAG.) While “stranger” could mean an unbelieving stranger, the context of both passages focuses on believing strangers, that is, fellow Christians who you might not be close with. Even in Hebrews 13:2, the commands “to show hospitality” and “remember the prisoners” immediately follow the command to love the “brethren” (13:1).
(4) God’s Consuming Fire
But there is another connection, as Hebrews 12:29 said, “for our God is a consuming fire.” This is judgment language, as the prior context shows that God is “the Judge of all” (Hebrews 12:23) and we will not escape His judgment if we turn away from His warnings (Hebrews 12:25). Likewise, such fire is mentioned in Matthew 25. Jesus closed the pericope by saying, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). But to make the connection with Hebrews 12 even clearer, Jesus said, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). So the God who is a consuming fire judges the wicked with eternal fire.
Conclusion
Both Hebrews 13 and Matthew 25 exhort Christians to love their fellow Christians, as such good works are the fruit of genuine faith in Christ. Matthew 25 emphasizes that Christ will judge us according to whether we loved the brethren—not as grounds for our salvation, but as evidence of our faith in Christ. Those who show love to fellow Christians show love to Christ and will thus “inherit the kingdom” (Matthew 25:34), while those who do not show love to Christians do not show love to Christ and will be thrown “into the eternal fire” (25:41).
Yet Hebrews emphasizes that we are receiving a “kingdom” (Hebrews 12:28) from “the Judge of all” (12:23) who is a “consuming fire” (12:29), and therefore we should “show gratitude” to God by offering “acceptable service” (12:28). Therefore, in response to God’s grace shown to us in Christ, we should show “love” to the “brethren” (13:1). We do this by showing “hospitality” (13:2) and remembering “prisoners” and those “ill-treated” (13:3).
Thus, while Matthew 25 focuses on loving the brethren in order to inherit the kingdom, Hebrews 13 focuses on loving the brethren as a response to being recipients of God’s kingdom even now. Of course, both are true. Christians should love the brethren for various reasons—because they are united to Christ along with us, because God commands us to love them, because that is what kingdom-recipients do, and because we want our faith to produce evidential fruit at the judgment.
Matthew 25 and Hebrews 13 are not identical, but there are strong similarities between them. It is hard to think that the apostle who authored Hebrews was unfamiliar with Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels, including His teaching on judgment in Matthew 25. It is therefore likely that Hebrews 12:28–13:3 reflects on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31-46 and restates the need for Christians to love the brethren as service to the Lord in response to His gracious gift of the kingdom (Hebrews 12:28).
