Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
What does Hebrews 13:8 mean?
The instructions and examples of ministers, who honourably and comfortably closed their testimony, should be particularly remembered by survivors.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Hebrews 13:7-9 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Hebrews 13:8
- As this stands in our common translation, it conveys an idea which is not in the original. It would seem to mean that Jesus Christ, the unchangeable Saviour, was the end or aim of the conduct of those referred to, or that they lived to imitate and glorify him. But this is by no means the meaning in the original. There it stands as an absolute proposition, that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever;" that is, that he is unchangeable.
Context in Hebrews 13
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Hebrews 13 belongs to the closing movement of the book, especially the section often described as faith, endurance, and final exhortation. Hebrews presents Jesus as the final revelation of God, the great high priest, the once-for-all sacrifice, and the mediator of the better covenant. Read this chapter with the wider themes of Christology, priesthood, and sacrifice in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.