Know that our brother Timotheus is set at liberty; with whom, if he should come soon, I will see you.
A letter full of priesthood, sacrifice and warning ends with personal news. A friend is out of prison, and a visit may follow. Two questions hang over these closing lines: what happened to Timothy, and who is the writer who never signs his name?
One writer ties the news to readers who had stood by imprisoned believers:
He would not close his letter without telling them what he knew they would be glad to hear, just as it gladdened his own heart to tell it. One of the prisoners, whose chains they had shared in spirit, was now free. What is more, he fully expected to soon see and share the joy of their reunion in person. He trusted that the Lord, who had won His servant's freedom, might add this further blessing to them both.
The writer calls Timothy "our brother." One commentator explains why that word carried weight for readers of Jewish background:
The apostle next mentions the release of "our brother Timothy," also a meaningful word for Hebrew Christians. Timothy's father was a Gentile, but he himself was circumcised so as not to offend the Jews in the areas where he was known. He is their brother, by birth and by grace, and he has been released from an imprisonment we read of nowhere else. It is an interesting reference to a man whose faithfulness was clear. Yet it went with a timidity that belonged to his natural character, and that needed the apostle's encouragement.
One writer sums up what is known: this verse "tells us of Timothy's imprisonment but also of his liberation. We do not know any other details about it." (Arend Remmers)
Some see the news of Timothy's freedom echoing the aim of the whole letter:
The apostle counts on their affection for Timothy, and their thankfulness for his freedom. Is there not a deliberate parallel here? For the aim of the whole letter is surely to set these Hebrew believers completely free from Judaism. And Timothy's name (it means "honouring God") is a bright witness to the fruits of true Christian liberty.
Ridout reads the word "released" in a spiritual way too. He asks whether the apostle was writing to people he wanted to see "released from a greater bondage than that of prison — even from the chains of Judaism, which was now nothing more than a delusion for those who knew the better things Christ has brought in." (Samuel Ridout)
Hebrews carries no author's name. Many commentators read this mention of Timothy as a pointer to Paul. They explain the missing name by the readers he was writing to:
The reference to Timothy fits the apostle Paul well. Leaving out his own name is easy to understand, since his own field of service lay among the uncircumcised, and this letter falls outside it. Yet it is just what his heart always felt toward his kinsmen. And it carries the mark of the knowledge of Christ dead, risen and ascended, as suited him beyond other men.
Commentators differ. Others hold that the silence was deliberate: "the author of the epistle remains unknown. The Holy Spirit who inspired this epistle deliberately wanted to introduce the Lord Jesus only as apostle and high priest of our profession." (Arend Remmers)
The travel news does fix one thing about when the letter was written:
One thing, however, is clear: the letter came before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The temple was still standing, and the temple worship was going on undisturbed.
Beyond that, the trail runs out, and one writer thinks little is lost by admitting it:
As far as we know, no evidence exists that would settle the rest of the apostle's personal history after his two years in Rome. It is a point that may interest critics, but solving it would add nothing to the solid blessing of the believer.
- Freed — one of the prisoners the readers had stood by in spirit is now out. The writer sends the news because he knows it will gladden them, as it gladdened him.
- Brother — Timothy is "our brother," tied to these readers by birth and by grace. His timidity had always needed the apostle's encouragement.
- Liberty — his release mirrors the purpose of the whole letter: to set these Hebrew believers free from Judaism. His name means "honouring God," and it witnesses to that same freedom.
- Hoped — "if he comes soon" holds a reunion in view. The writer trusts the Lord who won the release to add that blessing too.
- Unnamed — the mention of Timothy points many to Paul, writing outside his usual field. Others hold the author is unknown, so that only Christ is named as apostle in this letter. Either way, his identity adds nothing to the believer's solid blessing.
Salute all your leaders, and all the saints. They from Italy salute you.
Hebrews closes with greetings, not argument. It names leaders, takes in every saint, and carries love from a group in Italy to Jewish believers far away. Three questions follow. Who are these leaders? Why does the verse include everyone? And why Italy, when the readers' religious centre had always been Jerusalem?
The chapter has already told its readers to remember their leaders and to obey them. Now it tells them to greet them. One writer notes what that repetition protects.
This is the third time the chapter speaks of leaders, and again as men worthy of respect. The letter sets aside mere officialism and ritualism. Even so, it takes care to guard against any ignoring of proper godly authority. That authority rests with the men God has given to care for the sheep. But show kindly respect to all the saints as well.
So what made a man a leader? Not an appointment. The chapter itself gives the answer.
"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." … "Greet all your leaders and all the saints" (Heb. 13:7, 17, 24). What were these? They were guides. Does putting a man into an official place make him this? No! Verse 7 speaks for itself. A guide is a man who brings you the Word of God in a moment of difficulty, so that you know it is God's Word and it guides your soul. You will own him as such, remember him in your prayers, and welcome him when he comes again.
Another writer draws out the attitude behind such a greeting.
Then comes the final greeting to their leaders, of whom he had already spoken. Greet them as people you love and not as people you suspect, and greet all the saints along with them.
The word "all" comes twice in the verse, and it is not filler.
The greeting asked for here takes in "all your leaders and all the saints." That call was urgent then, and it fits every time since. How many are apt to be narrow, if not estranged! Not so was the heart of the one who wrote, "Grace be with you all, Amen."
A greeting from Italy is an unexpected way to end a letter to Hebrew Christians. One writer finds the point of it in where the senders were standing.
"Those who come from Italy send you greetings." Italy was a strange place for a greeting to come from. It was outside the camp, as it were. If there were Hebrews in Italy, they had left the land of promise. That in itself was a witness that Jerusalem and Palestine were no longer the centre on earth. As pilgrims, they send a greeting to encourage the Hebrew saints to take their place outside the camp too.
The wording is "those from Italy," not "the church at Rome," and one writer sees purpose in that silence.
The letter very likely came from Rome. If so, we may admire the wisdom that held back any such mention. Naming the city would only have swelled the pride of a later day… Yet the end of verse 24 suggests that saints from Italy, and not from Rome only, were with the writer when and where he wrote. They would be sure to gather round him before he left. And he would gladly pass on their greeting of love to Jews, no longer despised but loved in the Lord. It came from such a centre of the world's pride and selfishness.
Commentators differ on where the letter was sent from. One reads the wording of the greeting as ruling Rome out.
The way this greeting is worded leaves room to infer that the letter was not sent to them from Rome. What the previous verse says about Timothy supports this view… The point may interest scholars, but the answer would add nothing to the solid blessing of the believer.
The letter never names its writer. One commentator finds Paul in the closing lines.
The name of Paul does not appear at the close, any more than at the beginning. In a letter to believers from among the Jews, the reasons for that are obvious. But who else would have spoken of Timothy in this way? The writer was in Italy, and he sends the greeting of those who were there.
- Greet the guides. This is the chapter's third mention of leaders. Greet them as people you love, not people you inspect.
- Guides, not officials. A leader here is someone who brought you God's Word when you needed it; a title alone never makes one.
- Greet everyone. The double "all" leaves no room for narrow or estranged hearts. It takes in leaders and saints alike.
- Greeted from outside. Believers who had already left the land send love from outside the camp. Jerusalem is no longer the centre.
- Grace over pride. The letter names no city to boast of. It ends with love sent from the world's proudest centre to Jews once despised, now loved in the Lord.