They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
Hebrews 11:37,38
I don’t know about you, but the idea about being worthy is hard for me to understand. I just can’t wrap my head around what is means. And if I can’t even work this out in my brain, then I have absolutely no chance to figure out who is worthy. Why should this person be more worthy than someone else? And why is someone else not worthy at all?
So, how can we think about someone or something being worthy or not? What’s the picture that can make it practical? Where is there an illustration from everyday life that we can sink our teeth into so worth is understandable. Well, how about the grocery store.
When I go and buy fruits and vegetables, a lot of it is sold by weight. I put some in one of those thin plastic bags and weight it. The more it weighs, the more it’s going to cost. When I order a pound of cooked ham at the deli counter, they weight it and slap on a sticker that says how much it weighs and costs.
You don’t buy tires or clothes by how much they weigh. You don’t ask for a half a pound of shoes either. You don’t put an appliance on the scale to figure out how much it’s going to cost. These things are sold by what they are.
But figuring out worth is sort of like buying things because of their weight. The other thing in figuring out worth is the thing itself. For example, gold and silver are always sold by weight. So are gems like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. Instead of pounds and ounces, they’re sold by carats, which is also a weight.
And this is where it gets even harder to figure out. When we think of people that are worthy, we look at their lives and see that they are heavier and more valuable than others. Have they done more things? Achieved greater things? Have they’ve created companies that have changed the world? How have their opinions and money shaped the way we live and the world around us?
This is where the writer of this letter takes the Hebrews in the completely reverse direction. Instead of looking at the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the writer points to people who are at the total opposite side of life. The people he points to don’t have any earthly success, fame, power, or wealth at all. These faithful people who are in God’s Hall of Faith experienced incredible pain, loss, persecution, and death.
Look at the three S’s that describe the ways these people died. Stoning. Sawed in two. Sword. There’s nothing humane about these forms of murder. They were brutally executed. There was no court appearance. No trial. No one defending them other than God himself.
Look at how they dressed. They were living in a burning desert and the only clothes they could afford were hot, stinky, and scratchy animal skins. Their daily lives were full or poverty. Everyone was chasing them so they could beat them up at best or kill them at worst.
And when it came to their address, they didn’t have one. They ran from place to place, up and down mountains and through deserts. Trying to cover their tracks and hide where they were staying. The only place they could live with a roof over their head was in a cave. And when there wasn’t a cave, they crawled into holes in the dirt to get out of the weather.
We just can’t imagine what it was like. Would we even call it living? How awful it must have been. How lonely they felt. The insecurity of not knowing where their next meal was coming from. When they met someone, how did they know if they could trust them or not?
If you were looking for someone to work for you, one look at their resume and you’d immediately hit the deleted button. There was nothing attractive about them. Their background was horrible. Their accomplishments were none. Their references were people that you wouldn’t trust with a 10-foot-poll.
And yet, God has a much different opinion of them. He loves them. He cares for them. He has a special place for them with him in heaven. And even though their lives are now filled with pain, they will be comforted throughout eternity.
God had sent his word to them, and they listened. They received God’s kindness and forgiveness, and it changed their lives. It changed what they thought was important. He gave them a new set of eyes to see what’s worthy in this world. And what’s not worth their time. Not worth the bother.
It’s the rest of the world that must be worried. God has shown and revealed himself to everyone[1]. What makes this so exciting and encouraging is that God can use anyone in a significant way. It may be painful for a while. There might be danger that leads to persecution for a while. But in the end and for all eternity, God will be faithful for one and all who hold on till the end. These are the truly worthy ones.
Noodling Questions
How do you figure out who’s worthy and not?
How did Jesus live just like this?
Explain how being worthy isn’t about doing but about being.
[1] Romans 1:19,20
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