The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:11-16
“Rather than animal sacrifices, they now need to offer to God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Such praise is the natural fruit of lips that honour Him. The only other sacrifice that is called for is to do good and to share with others. God now rejects all the ritual sacrifices, as this letter has shown, but sacrifices of praise and service still please Him.”
Tesfaye Kassa in “Hebrews” in Africa Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1533.
As I reflect on the sacrifices that God desires of us, I find they bring to mind the Greatest Commandment, that is, to love God and to love our neighbor. We show love of God through praise and thanksgiving and love of neighbor through doing good and sharing.
But what does it mean to offer a sacrifice of praise? Thankfully the author of Hebrews explains that by saying “the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.” It means that we repeatedly testify to the greatness of our God to a watching world.
And why are they watching? When we share generously, our witness is otherworldly to onlookers. And the exhortation here is to continually testify to God’s goodness and not to forget to do good. That makes sense when you think about it.
If times are good, we could be tempted to take pride in our place and stop praising God. Additionally, we might become selfish thinking we deserve to keep the material blessings we receive and forget to do good and share with others.
I had lunch with a friend yesterday, Micah. The food was good but the fellowship even better. We talked about God’s goodness to us, about family, work, and even exercises to help our aging bodies. And we reminded each other to do good and share as God blesses us.
Father in heaven, be glorified as we offer continual sacrifices of praise for your goodness to us. Remind us by your Spirit to do good and to share with others so we reflect your love to the world. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.