Hebrews Benediction

June 26th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 13:22-25 But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. 24 Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all.

Concluding his epistle, the author was clearly not writing for the sake of his own health; he was writing a “word of exhortation” to people he loved—the act of earnestly encouraging a response to God’s inspired word. This “word of exhortation” was thus a sermon preached with pen and paper, admittedly “written to you briefly.” In under 10,000 words, the author was calling his audience “to bear with” the brief words he had written—specifically to put their Christian faith into practice, to turn their single-minded attention to Jesus Christ who is superior to everything and everyone their Jewish minds once held important (i.e., angels, Moses, Joshua, the priesthood, the temple). If the author had developed the themes he wrote about more fully, his epistle would have been much longer. But with the brief sermon he preached with his pen and paper, he impacted the entire world for centuries, even us in the twenty-first century.

In his final comments, the author speaks of “our brother Timothy” in v. 23, a familiar name in the NT, especially in Paul’s epistles. That “Timothy has been released” points to Timothy, like his mentor Paul, spending time in prison for preaching the gospel. This reflects back on Hebrews 13:3 where the author urges Christians to pray for those in prison, for at least a few of their brothers in Christ were suffering in chains, Timothy being one of them. Apparently the author intended to visit his audience in the company of Timothy, for he says, “with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.” So wherever his audience was located, if Timothy came to see them after his release, the author himself would be with him, for they were evidently traveling companions.

For students of the NT, this news about Timothy both being in prison and being released from prison is encouraging. After all, at one point in his young life, Timothy became weak in his faith, for in 2 Timothy 1:6–2:12 and 3:12-14, the Apostle Paul encouraged him to endure persecution without fear. After Paul was executed, Timothy obviously remained faithful, to the point of suffering in prison. Most likely, Hebrews was penned just after Paul wrote 2 Timothy, just before his death. It thus seems that Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was just what he needed.

In v. 24, the author sends his greetings to those reading his epistle—both their “leaders” (cf. 13:7, 17) and the “saints,” namely all Christians. The mention of “all of your leaders” means that the audience did not have just one senior pastor but a plurality of elders (cf. Acts 20:17-38) leading and serving them. The author in turn sends not only his own greetings but greetings from his own cohorts who were “from Italy.” This indicates either that the author was in Italy when he wrote his letter or that there were some Italian Christians present with him sending the audience their greetings. Either way, greetings (Gr. aspazomai) were clearly important to the early Church.

In v. 25, the final words of Hebrews are “grace be with you all.” The author does not say, “Works be with you all,” but “grace,” the antithesis of works. Not mercy but grace. Not love but grace. Perhaps grace includes both love and mercy, God’s unmerited favor upon His people conferred back on them by those to whom His grace was given. God’s grace is upon His people through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Now may His grace be multiplied to all His children over and over, even modern readers of this Spirit-inspired epistle. Likewise, may we as His people give others grace when they may deserve our wrath. Grace upon grace is honoring and glorifying to God, and it is certainly beneficial to us.

Grace be with you!