Verse 8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” The Christ, who is the word which the ministers of the word of God in verse 7 preached and taught, who is the life which they lived, and who is the Author and Perfecter of their faith, is perpetual, unchangeable, and unchanging. He remains the same forever (1:11-12). The writer seemed to be telling the Hebrew believers, “Brothers, God sent His messengers to preach to you the word of Christ. Christ was not only the word they preached, but the very life by which they lived. This Christ is always the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you accepted Him as the Christ in the past, you should not change your concept now due to the strange teachings about eating. Do not sell your birthright in Christ for one meal of this ceremonial eating. If you had not received Christ, I would not speak to you this way. But you have received the unchangeable Christ. Since He does not change, you should not change either. Do not be distracted by the strange teachings about ceremonial eating. That eating means nothing.” Hebrews is a deep book. We cannot understand it according to the black and white letters. If we would understand chapter thirteen, we must plunge into the depths of this book.
Verse 9 mentions “various and strange teachings.” For a true and steadfast church life, we must hold on to the unchangeable Christ and not be carried away with various and strange teachings used by Satan to cause dissension and even division in the church. Because of the dissension and division caused by strange teachings, the apostle charged people “not to teach differently” (1 Tim. 1:3, Gk.). These various and strange teachings must have been taught by the Judaizers at that time. The writer warned the Hebrew believers not to let the teachings carry them away from the church life under the new covenant. There must not be “another Jesus,” “another gospel,” preached in the church (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:8-9). For a true and steadfast church life, we must hold on to the Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and not be carried away with various and strange teachings.
As the Judaizers used the foods of their ceremonial observances of the old covenant to distract the Hebrew believers, so the writer of this book charges the believers to be confirmed by grace. At that time, to be confirmed by grace was to remain in the new covenant to enjoy Christ as grace (Gal. 5:4) and not to be carried away to Judaism to participate in the eating of foods in the Jewish religious ceremonies.
Many dear ones have seen the Lord’s recovery, but due to the matter of Christmas, they sold their birthright. Their Christmas celebration was like the religious meals in Judaism. Many American and European Christians find it difficult to give up Santa Claus and Christmas trees. The teachings about Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and stockings are some of today’s various and strange teachings. A number of saints in the western world have been distracted from the Lord’s recovery by these very things. If we would take away these things, many of the children would forsake the church, and many grandparents would be unhappy, saying, “Who is this preacher who comes to our country to take away Christmas, Santa Claus, and the Christmas stockings?” Others have said, “We know that the Lord’s recovery is the way, but because our children cannot give up Christmas, we cannot take this way.” In principle, they have been drawn away by today’s religious attractions as the Hebrew believers were by the festival foods in the first century.