“Jesus Christ Is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever”
(Hebrews 13:1-8 – Pentecost 15 – September 21, 2025)
Hebrews 13:1-8 – 1Let brotherly love continue. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3Remember the prisoners as if chained with them – those who are mistreated – since you yourselves are in the body also. 4Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” 7Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Dear Redeemed in Jesus Christ, our eternal Savior:
Do you ever feel like the world is changing fast, in ways you would rather not see? Denial of God’s truth, moral decline, violence, persecution against Christians… At times, it seems Satan is having his little season as we see signs of the end times.
But our text reminds us: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” It was an important reminder for the recipients of this letter to the Hebrews; for they experienced distressing changes in the world around them. These were Jews who had converted to Christianity. But now with a rising tide of persecution, they were tempted to abandon faith in Christ. This Epistle was written at a time when the political and cultural climate in the Roman Empire had grown very hostile towards followers of Jesus. Many had been imprisoned and put to horrible deaths. So there was a great temptation for these Hebrew Christians to abandon faith in Jesus and return to Judaism, to be accepted again by their own countrymen, to go with the flow of a changing world.
For this reason, our text gives this important reminder: “Jesus Christ Is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever.” It is a reminder for us today too that, no matter what distressing changes and hostility we may face in this world, 1) We can trust His unchanging Word, and 2) We can live confidently in His unchanging love.
1) We can trust His unchanging Word
We can trust the unchanging Word of Christ. He who is eternal and unchanging by nature, will keep His Word and promises to us. His Word is the basis for our faith and hope, not only for temporal life but for eternal life.
The writer to the Hebrews encourages believers always to keep God’s unchanging Word before them, for strength of faith. He says: “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (vs. 7-8). He refers to spiritual leaders, through whom they heard the Word of God. This could include apostles like Peter and Paul, through whom Christ gave His Gospel; as well as evangelists, pastors, and teachers who brought His Word to them. Hebrews 11 gives many examples of prophets and believers in Old Testament times to the present, who had stood firm in faith even as they faced many difficult changes, hardships, persecutions, and even death for their faith. “Follow them” it says, “considering the outcome of their conduct.” Through God’s Word spoken by such faithful preachers, the Holy Spirit had brought these Hebrew Christians out of their former unbelief to repentance and faith in Christ as their Savior from sin and death. Like their leaders, as they continued in the Word of Christ, it would strengthen their faith through any change or trial. Until at last, He would keep His unchanging Word and bring them the blessed outcome of heavenly joy.
We have been given the same unchanging Word and promises of our eternal Savior. Through God’s Law, we were brought to see our sins and repent. We were given saving faith through the Gospel where we hear God’s gracious promise that He forgives all our sins and gives us eternal life through faith in Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior.
Like believers through time, we face many challenges to our faith. One of Satan’s fiercest attacks on the church today is to cast doubt on the unchanging truth of Scripture and shake the foundation of our faith. Many false teachers claim that only some parts of the Bible are God’s Word, while other parts are just human ideas shaped by times and cultures, and not a reliable guide for our day. Many pick and choose which parts of the Bible they want to believe to suit their sinful desires. They reject its teachings of creation, miracles, and whatever else may sound foolish to their reason. But if one part of Scripture is not true and reliable, how can we trust any parts that are vital for our salvation, such as the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to eternal life?
Our text does not leave us in doubt. It reminds us of the eternal nature of our Lord Jesus, and encourages us to trust His unchanging Word. Jesus Himself attested to the truth of all the Scriptures written by the Prophets before His coming, saying that not a word can be broken (Luke 24:44; John 10:35). He affirmed the truth of all the Scriptures that would be written by His apostles after His ascension, promising that the Holy Spirit would reveal His all truth through them (John 14:26; 16:12-15). Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33).
We have true comfort in knowing that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” In Him we have forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life. As we follow the example of believers through time who stood firm in faith on His unchanging Word, we will share the same outcome. Our eternal Savior, who died and rose again for us will keep all of His promises. He will bring us through this world to Himself in heaven.
2) We can live confidently in His unchanging love
This means that we can live confidently in His unchanging love. From God’s Word we know that He loves us and cares for us, from the time He gives us life at conception, until He takes us to live with Himself heaven. His love for us is perfect and unchanging. Our love is imperfect. How often, we show love to others and serve their needs when it is convenient; but when feelings change, we put ourselves and our needs before theirs. It is not so with Jesus. While we were still sinners, at enmity with Him, rebelling against His Word, He came to die on the cross and take away our sins. He rose again to share His eternal life and love with us. Jesus’ love is proven. He always puts our needs first.
His unchanging love gives us confidence, no matter what changes we face in this life. His unfailing love for us fills our hearts and overflows as we share it with others. Our text encourages this as it says: “Let brotherly love continue” (vs. 1). Brotherly love finds expression in action. Since we know that God will always put our needs first, we can share His love with others in need. Brotherly love reaches out among fellow believers, as we share God’s generosity with each other and care for one another.
It also goes beyond that, as it says: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (vs. 2). We can share Jesus’ boundless love with those in need, even outside the church. We want unbelievers to know His eternal salvation. We can share this world’s goods as a demonstration of His love. We do not know if we will unknowingly entertain angels, as men of faith like Abraham and Lot did (Genesis 18-19). But even more importantly, Jesus says that whatever we do to the least of these, we do it to Him (Matthew 25:40).
We have His unchanging love to share with those who are persecuted for their faith. “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them – those who are mistreated – since you yourselves are in the body also.” (vs. 3). It was very real for the Hebrew believers, and it is very real today. Believers may suffer mockery, rejection, loss of work, imprisonment, and even death. As fellow members of the Body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 says: “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.” When our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer for faithfulness to His Word, whether they are in our congregation are halfway around the world, we can have compassion as if we were in their shoes. We may be able to provide personal encouragement and relief. We can always pray for them.
Living confidently in Jesus’ unchanging love also means we can trust Him to provide our own needs, especially when we are tempted to find relief in sin. This is the point in the following verses: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (vs. 4). In the world around us, many seek fulfillment in sexual relationships outside the marriage God ordained for one man and one woman. In our changing culture, many ideas are promoted about gender identity and sexual orientation. “Love is love,” the world insists. Like the early believers, we are pressured to go with the flow of a changing culture and accept its ideas.
As believers, we all have been tempted to impure lust and behavior. But we do not seek our identity in sin. We crucify the flesh. We confess our sins and God forgives us. He cleanses us by the blood of His Son and covers us in His pure and undefiled life. Through baptism and faith, God gives us our true identity as His children in Christ. As those whom He bought at the price of His Son’s life, we want to glorify Him in how we use our body (1 Corinthians 6:20). By God’s unchanging Word, we know what love is in His good plan. We can trust Him to fulfill our desires in a way that is pleasing to Him.
This is true also when it comes to the needs of life, as it says: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (vs. 5-6). In the world around us, many seek meaning and identity in the things that money can buy, in greedy grabbing for this world’s power and possessions. Again we are tempted to get caught up in the flow, to be discontented with what God gives and think we need more to be happy and have a meaningful life. Sometimes this leads to selfishness in how we use the gifts God gives us.
But as God’s Word exposes such covetous attitudes, it leads us to confess our sins; and God forgives us in Christ. He counts to us the perfect contentment and generosity of Jesus, who gave His all to win for us eternal riches in His heavenly Kingdom. This puts true contentment and gratitude int our hearts for all His temporal and eternal blessings; and it leads us to use all that we have to His glory and for the good of others.
This was the effect of God’s unchanging love on the Hebrew Christians. Earlier in Hebrews 10:34, they were reminded how, when they supported brothers and sisters in the faith who suffered persecution, they themselves had their earthly possessions taken away. Yet it says there: “you… joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.”
Amidst all that may distress us in an ever-changing world, it is good to know that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Like believers through the ages, our identity, our happiness, is not rooted in how the world regards us or what it can give. Our identity is in Christ, who is our Life and eternal Wealth. He will never leave us nor forsake us, until He brings us home to His everlasting heavenly Kingdom. We can trust His unchanging Word and promises. We can live confidently in His unchanging love.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.