The Hebrews to whom this book was written believed in the Lord, but they still wanted to hold on to their Jewish religion. Are you like this? Can you strongly say that you are not? I am concerned that you may still hold on to something. Perhaps you are clinging to your good experiences in the past, to something that is not the good land. Considering the whole universe, Canaan is just a small spot. You may be in millions of places and not be in that spot. Likewise, you may be in millions of things, but not in the proper spot, which is Christ. As long as you are not definitely, absolutely, and all-inclusively for Christ, you are still holding on to something. I am concerned for many of you. You still hold on to something other than Christ. It may be good, even very good, but it is not Christ. You need to cross the river again. Cross the river and be buried.
In A.D. 63 Ananias, one of the high priests in the Jewish religion in Jerusalem, rose up with the Sadducees and Pharisees to persecute the Hebrews. At that time those dear Hebrews appreciated the Lord Jesus, but they were unwilling to forsake their old religion. Eventually, the Lord sovereignly raised up a circumstance which forced them out of it. If they were unwilling to go out, they would be forced out. Perhaps the high priest said, “If you want to remain here with us, you must be like us. Don’t be such a Christian—be a Jew. Be a typical Jew. If you want to be a Christian, get out!”
At times our experience is the same. On the one hand, we may appreciate the church life; on the other hand, we may be unwilling to forsake the old things. We may stay where we are. In the fall and winter of 1925 my eyes were opened and I saw the church. However, I did not obey that light so willingly and quickly. I wandered. After two years, some saints with whom I met in the past rose up and said, “If you want to stay with us, be like us. Don’t be something else. If you don’t want to be like us, then get out!” That was a great help, and I was thankful for it. I got out.
Some saints may see the reality of Christ and realize that the church life is right. However, they have a small “but.” That “but” is the tail of the fox. They want to go on, but someone holds their tail. They want to have the church life, but something subtlely holds their tail. Nevertheless, even Satan himself has a limit, a deadline. He can hold your tail only for a certain period. Eventually, the religious people will say, “You must have a real turn, or we will kick you out. If you are going to be with us, you must be like us. If not, get out!”
Those Hebrew Christians truly suffered under that persecution. The Jewish religionists robbed them of their property and even threatened their lives (10:34). The Hebrew believers were troubled. Perhaps those Hebrews said to themselves, “If it is right to follow Christ, God would certainly grant us His blessing. But this persecution does not come from the Romans or from the heathen; it comes from the Sanhedrin, the holy council of God’s people. Could they be wrong? Maybe we are wrong.” The Hebrew brothers were bothered and began to wander. They could not say that what Peter and Paul preached and talked was wrong; neither could they say that the temple, the sanctuary, was wrong. They were in a dilemma, finding it difficult to decide whether to go on or to retreat. It was at this juncture that the book of Hebrews was written to them.
While they were under this persecution and in this situation, the Epistle to the Hebrews was written to them to confirm to them the Christian faith and to warn them not to deviate from it, but rather to forsake their Jewish religion. This Epistle was written to them to tell them to go ahead and not to wander or retreat. They should neither stagger nor hesitate. They must go ahead and cross the river. It seems that the writer of the book was saying, “You are Hebrews, yet you are not willing to cross the separating water. That water is in front of you, and you need to cross it. Christ is not here; He is there. He is the Forerunner. He has already entered into the veil. You shouldn’t stay here. You must go there. He is our Captain and He has entered into glory. Let us follow Him. Let us fight on and on until we enter into glory. Let us go out of the gate and outside the camp and follow Him within the veil.” The two vital slogans of the book of Hebrews are “outside the camp” and “within the veil.” The writer of Hebrews was apparently telling them, “You shouldn’t stagger between the camp and the veil. Go on and enter within the veil immediately. Jesus is neither in the camp nor on the way. He is within the veil. We must go to Him there. That is our goal. Let us all go!” Christ is within the veil. When we get into our spirit, we cross the river out of our wandering minds, pass through the veil, and come into the holiest of all. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written for the purpose of confirming to the staggering Hebrew believers the genuine Christian faith and to warn them not to deviate from it. They had to forsake their Jewish religion.