One of the purposes of Hebrews is to show the importance of living by faith and not by sight. This is a divine thread woven throughout the Epistle. The other great object was to show the heavenly glory of our object of faith: Jesus at the right hand of God. This too, is woven throughout the Epistle.

Hebrews concludes with the reminder that though we are a heavenly people, “partakers of the heavenly calling” (3:1), we are still very much in the world. There is scorn and rejection for the followers of Jesus, especially by the religious world. In fact, Jesus Himself had suffered “outside the gate,” outside the city of Jerusalem. He was rejected by the religious world and by His very own people (Jn. 1:11). And so it will always be: the walk of faith in obedience to God’s Word is not understood by religions that are designed to be compatible with man in the flesh and the world. William Kelly has correctly written that the camp is “the scene of religious respectability.”

For an illustration of this, we see in the Gospel of John that Christ was already on the outside of that system, waiting for His rejected follower (Jn. 9:34–35). In fact, in Hebrews, the Jewish believers were being prepared by the Spirit of God to leave the city of Jerusalem and its religious system. Soon the temple system would entirely disappear (Heb. 8:13). The Holy Spirit encouraged them: “For here we have no continuing city, but seek the one to come” (13:14; cf. 11:10, 16). This remains true for us as we look for the heavenly city (12:22–24). Therefore, let us go forth unto Him.