Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
The Letter to the Hebrews
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
October 25, 2026 :: Hebrews 11:20-40
“Way to go! Good job! I’m so proud of you. I’m so pleased with you. Attaboy! Attagirl! Yes! You have done the right thing! You’re going the right way! Keep it up! Well done, you.”
We all love to hear encouraging words like that, don’t we? We all love to receive commendation. Approval. Approbation. Someone giving us a good report on ourselves.
I know I do! I love to hear someone I care about cheering me on. And even commending me to someone else.
What’s amazing about our passage for today is that the writer to the Hebrews says that God Himself has strongly commended a group of people. These people have truly pleased God, and He is making it known. In fact, God is putting this group of people before this church as examples of how to live and calling them to live the same kind of life. What kind of life is it?
It’s a life of faith. Our sermon title for this morning is pulled from verse 39 where it says “These were all commended for their faith.”
“Commended For Their Faith”
Hebrews chapter 11 is often called “The Hall of Faith” because it’s all about what faith is and what faith does. And who has shown us what faith is like when it is lived out.
Hebrews 11 recounts the faith of many many many believers from the Old Testament.
We’ve seen the pattern. Something like 24 times the author says, “By faith” and then names an Old Testament believer who trusted God and tells us how that faith came out in their life.
By faith.
By faith.
By faith.
So far, we’ve read about Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham and Sarah. They believed God. They had faith. And they were commended for it!
The very first verse of the chapter says (Hebrews 11:1), “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
Over and over again God issues His commendation for these ancient believers. He says that He was pleased with them. Because faith is essential to pleasing God. Verse 6 said, “[W]ithout faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
You can’t please God unless you have faith. But if you have faith you do please God!
So much so that verse 16 taught us, and I have not gotten over this, that God is pleased to be associated with them! He said, “God is not ashamed to be called their God...” and that’s putting it mildly and negatively. It’s true the other way around, strongly and positively, “God is glad to be called their God!”
“God is glad to be their God!
That’s how much they are commended! I want that for you and for me. And all it takes (all it takes!) is true faith. And the author to the Hebrews wants it for his readers as well. Because he’s putting forward these many examples of faith to ignite and fan to flame and keep the flame of faith burning bright in the hearts of this church. The whole goal of this whole letter is to keep this whole church going in their faith.
Especially because it was getting hard to keep going. These primarily Jewish Christians were beginning to experience persecution for following Jesus. Opposition from their neighbors and even from the authorities. And it was becoming more and more tempting to “shrink back,” which would not be pleasing to God (10:38).
But this pastor writes this letter to encourage the Hebrews that they are not of those who shrink back and “are destroyed, but of those who [have faith] and are saved” (10:39). And he says, you and I are to be like these believers that stand out from the pages of our beloved Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, and show us how it’s done.
Now, he started kind of slow. So far (vv.1-19), he’s focused on the first half of the Book of Genesis, and he really drilled down on Father Abraham, the father of faith. But now he starts to pick up a little steam. Look with me at verse 20.
It’s about Isaac. Now, Isaac was mentioned already especially as the potential sacrifice when God tested Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22. A test that Abraham amazingly passed! But in verse 20, it’s Isaac’s own faith that is being commended. Look at Hebrew chapter 11, verse 20.
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.”
Now, that’s a very short summation of Genesis chapter 27. You might want to go and read this afternoon. In fact, you might want to look up all of these stories either this afternoon or a little bit more each day. Hebrews kind of assumes that we know these stories. He just wants to point out some things to not miss. Like that Isaac blessed his sons Jacob and Esau by faith.
Remember, Isaac called them into his tent and passed on the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant down from him to them. It’s actually a very complicated story when it comes to Jacob, and a very sad story when it comes to Esau because even though he was the oldest, he despised his birthright. We’re going to come back to Esau in chapter 12. He’s a cautionary tale.
But Isaac, at this point, was exercising faith. And do you see what his faith was about? Verse 20, “...in regard to their future.”
I’ve got four points this morning of commendation that were true for these ancient believers, and I hope are true for you and for me. Here’s number one. They were commended for:
#1. TRUSTING GOD WITH THEIR FUTURE.
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.”
Imagine being Isaac. What do you think he must have felt about the promises that God gave to his father Abraham?
Remember the three promises of the Abrahmic covenant? What were they?
1. Offspring.
2. Land.
3. Blessing.
Offspring. There’s Isaac. And now Isaac’s got two boys. And neither of them are really great.
How about land? How much land did Abraham pass down to Isaac? None. Zero. Zip. They have a burial plot. That’s all.
How about blessing? Well, they have seen some of that. Isaac got to live and not be sacrificed! Isaac got a wife that he adored. Rebekah. They have survived and seen a few miracles along the way. But it’s mostly all just still promises.
But Isaac believes the promises! And he passes them down to his sons. Like we sang this morning. He believes that God will do what He said He will do.
And Jacob believes it, too. It took him a while to get there, but he did. Verse 21 is about the last few days of his life. And he passed the promises to his sons (Genesis 48 and 49). And Hebrews focuses on Grandpa Jacob passing the promises to Joseph’s sons. Verse 21.
“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
He’s got more offspring but no more land. In fact, where was Jacob when he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh? Anybody know? He was in Egypt. Israel had gone down to Egypt to escape the famine. They weren’t even living in the land! But Jacob believed the promise.
And so did his son Joseph. V.22
“By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.”
I just love that! I’ve said it many times, if I were forming a rock band, I would name it, “Joseph’s Bones.”
Joseph was in Egypt, too. But his heart was in the Promised Land. At the end of his life, Joseph made his children promise that when the Exodus happened (just as God had promised it would in Genesis 15) that they would take his bones with them when they exited Egypt and bury his bones in the Promised Land. That’s faith! Joseph’s bones were faith.
Could Joseph see the future? No! But he could “see” the future. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
Do you have faith? Are you trusting God for your future? You may not be laying hands on your kids’ heads and passing on the Abrahamic covenant to them. (Maybe you are!) But are you telling God that you are trusting Him with what is going to happen to you tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that? Or are you worrying about it? Or, worse, telling God that you don’t trust His plans for you and you don’t trust His promises for you.
Are you trusting God with your eternal future? Where is your hope? “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], that whoever [put their trust in Him] shall not perish but have eternal life” (see John 3:16). Are you trusting God with your eternal future?
Joseph’s instructions about his bones showed where his faith was. He believed that God a good future for him and his people some day down the line. And he was commended for it.
And just like that, we’re at the end of Genesis and we’re into Exodus. And, as you might expect, he spends a little more time on the great Moses just like he had on Abraham. But he doesn’t start with Moses’ faith, but the faith of his parents. Look at verse 23.
“By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.”
Now, of course, they were afraid of the king’s edict (on one level). Remember the Pharoah had said to kill all of the boys born to Hebrew women. They were afraid that was going to happen to their beautiful little Moses. But they were not afraid to try to save him. They were willing to give up their own lives to save their beautiful little boy. He seemed so special. And so they hatched the plan to put him in the little basket on the Nile (read about it in Exodus chapter 2).
And it worked! In fact, because of big sister Miriam’s quick thinking, they got to nurse and raise Moses in their home in those critical growing years. And then he moved into the palace and learned to rule as a grandson of Pharoah. And then, later, Moses repudiated that. Verse 24.
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (vv.24-25).
This is all in Exodus chapter 2, as well. When Moses grew up, he had two families. His Egyptian one and his Hebrew family. And he knew that he had to choose one. Which one would you choose?
As the grandson of Pharaoh, he had power and prestige and access to pleasure. He could have had anything he wanted.
And what did the Hebrews have? Slavery? Toil? Groaning? Murder? And great big promises from God.
And one day, he chose. He saw a Egyptian master beating a Hebrew slave, and Moses intervened and killed the Egyptian! And when he realized that people knew what he did, he was scared and fled the country. But he didn’t come back to Pharaoh and apologize. And try to get off the hook. He chose to identity with the people of God. Look at verse 25 again.
“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”
Moses was commended for:
#2. CHOOSING GOD OVER POWER, PRESTIGE, AND PLEASURE.
Faith chooses God over the passing pleasures of sin. Even if you have to pay for it! I think it’s amazing that Moses gave all of that up when giving it up didn’t just mean that he lost the power, prestige, and pleasure but that he was going to pay for it maybe with his own life.
“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.” This was a conscious decision. His faith caused Moses to think. Look at verse 26.
“He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Wow. What a calculation! You see that word “greater” in verse 26? That’s the key word that Hebrews repeats over and over again in this letter. Moses said, “I could really enjoy myself here in Egypt. But it won’t last. And God has given my real family a greater promise.” [Hebrews names it “Christ” though Moses might not have been able to articulate it so succinctly as the Messiah. But he was looking down the corridor of time and thinking about his reward.]
Moses was fixing his eyes on the future. On the greater treasure. Two weeks ago, Donnie Rosie talked about the treasure of Jesus’ kingdom. Moses could see it coming. And he valued it over the fleeting pleasures of sin.
There’s nothing wrong with power, prestige, and pleasure as gifts from God, but as gifts from the world, the flesh, and the devil, there’s everything wrong with them. Moses chose God. Verse 27.
“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
Now, was he afraid of the king or wasn’t he? Well, Moses didn’t come back and grovel. He persevered. He stuck with his choice. He decided there was Someone more important than Pharaoh to worry about.
“He saw him who is invisible.”
Wow! Remember, faith is a kind of sight. It’s seeing with the eyes of the heart what is really true and Who God really is.
Does that describe you and me? Are we seeing “him who is invisible” and choosing him over the world? Are we choosing God over power, over prestige, over pleasure? Or are we worldly? Are we acting like Egyptians? Do we act just like the rest of the world? in how we talk? How we work? How we entertain ourselves? How we relate to others? Which family do we choose? The world or the church?
It takes courage to practice self-denial. And Moses did it by faith! And so he was commended by God. Look at verse 28.
“By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”
You know the story, I hope. Exodus 11 and 12. God told Moses to instruct Israel paint the doorposts of their homes with the blood of the Passover lambs. And if they did that, if they trusted God in this way, the angel of death would pass-over their homes in the tenth and final plague. If they did not, and the Egyptians (of course) did not, then their firstborn sons would all die. Even Pharaoh’s firstborn son. And a great wailing went up in the land. But Israel was passed over. What a picture that was of the Cross! Jesus is the greater Passover Lamb for all who put their faith in Him.
Now, that’s kind of crazy, right? I mean, put some blood on your doorpost, and then your sons won’t die? Are you going to do that?
I think we’ve seen in this chapter that God’s people often are called to do something that seem a little crazy at the time.
Noah was told build the ark when noone had ever seen a flood. Abraham was told to go to the Promised Land at age 75, sight unseen. Now Moses has led his people to put blood on their doorposts and head towards Canaan by way of the Red Sea–being chased by Pharoah! It’s a dead end. Read about it in Exodus 14.
What is God thinking?! what is Moses thinking? He’s thinking, “I trust God.” And he leads them right up to the raging water. Verse 29.
“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.”
They were commended for:
#3. OBEYING GOD EVEN WHEN IT SEEMED CRAZY.
What are you doing with your life that seems crazy to the world, but you are doing it because God tells us to?
I think about forgiving others. The world says, “They hurt you. You hurt them back.” And if you are patient or forgiving with someone who hurt you, the world says, “You’re crazy.”
Or I think about generosity without expectation of payback. Our team went down to Florida. They spent their own money and time. And we sent them with some travel money. But nobody was paying them.
By faith, Pennie, Bobbi, Kelly, Amy Jo, and Darla drove to Florida, and it was not a vacation! The world says, “That’s really nice you did that. Also crazy.” And some would say, “stupid” when you could be living it up.
What are you doing with your life that seems crazy to the world, but you are doing it because God tells us to?
How about going to church? “The world says you can sleep in on Sundays! What are you doing?!”
Martin Luther was seen as crazy for disagreeing with the religious leaders of his day when he said that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone according to the word of God alone to the glory of God alone.
I think about all of the commands we’re going to see in Hebrews chapter 13.
“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers...Remember those in prison...Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure...Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have...Remember your [church] leaders...and imitate their faith” (see 13:1-7).
The world says, “That’s crazy.” Believers say, “That’s faith.”
And the Lord says, “That’s my boy. That’s my girl.” They were commended for obeying God even when it seemed crazy.
Like at Jericho. That’s the next one. Verse 30. All of a sudden, we’re out of Exodus and into Joshua. Verse 30.
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”
Who would have come up with that one? Verse 31.
“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”
I’m sure that her neighbors, if they knew, would have considered her actions insane!
“Rahab, what are you doing?” What Rahab did took courage, and it showed that she had faith. Read about it in Joshua chapter 2 and chapter 6.
By the way, isn’t it wonderful that Rahab’s past did not determine her future? And her past didn’t nullify her faith.
The prostitute Rahab was commended! Rahab was commended! Rahab was commended! Because she welcomed the spies by faith. God is not ashamed to be Rahab’s God! God is glad to be Rahab’s God!
God is glad to be known as Rahab’s God. He’s just as glad to be Rahab’s God as He is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses’! That’s what this is saying.
Don’t let your past define your future. Let God define your future.
Don’t go BACK to your past. Burn your bridges. Moses did. Rahab did. Rahab left that life. She married a guy named Salmon. And they had a kid named Boaz who had a son named Obed who had a son named Jesse, who had son named David.
Don’t let your sinful past define your glorious future. Put your faith in God and do what He says even when it seems absolutely crazy.
And in verse 32, Hebrews picks up steam and just starts flying along. He’s made his point, and he’s driving it home. Verse 32.
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (vv.32-34).
It’s like we got to the Book of Judges, and he’s like, “You know the rest of the story!” It all tumbles out of him. He even stops saying it all in order.
It’s just a jumble. “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.”
Again, I’m encouraged because these guys are not perfect. Far from it! In fact, these guys who are judges, I know more bad facts about them than I know good ones! We’re studying Judges right now on Wednesday nights at Prayer Meeting. They were deeply flawed. But when you get down to it, they were also men of faith. And they were commended for it. That gives great hope to me as a deeply flawed man myself.
God will perfect us. He knows we will not come to Him perfect. He knows that He will have to perfect us. But we need to trust Him. And as we do, we will see some amazing things happen! Because God rewards those who earnestly seek Him through faith (11:6). Look at all the things they saw happen because of their faith! V.33 again.
“...through faith [they] conquered kingdoms [like King David], administered justice [like the judges or wise King Solomon, and gained what was promised [at least in part]; who shut the mouths of lions [who was that? Probably Daniel praying in the lion’s den that we studied last year], quenched the fury of the flames [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], and escaped the edge of the sword [so many rescued from death in the Old Testament]; whose weakness was turned to strength [like Samson at the very end?]; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies [so many of the kings...]” [Verse 35.]
“Women received back their dead, raised to life again. [Like Elijah in 1 Kings and Elisha in 2 Kings] Others were tortured [UGH] and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. [Wait a second. What’s happening? Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. [Yes, this happened in the Old Testament, too.] They were stoned [tradition says Jeremiah was]; they were sawed in two [tradition says that Isaiah was sawed in two]; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated–the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (vv.35-38).
This is so important to understand. Just because we have faith does not mean that we will always win. Not in the short run.
Remember righteous Abel! Murdered by his brother.
Faith does not always mean prosperity.
Faith does not always translate into success.
Faith does not always lead to health and wealth and riches.
That’s a lie. That’s a false gospel.
Faith may lead to shame. V.36 again. “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.”
That’s normal in this age. Jesus told us to expect trouble (see John 16:33). Are we ready for that?
Hebrews is preparing these Christians to go through jeers and flogging themselves. And even death. He says that these people in the Old Testament were “destitute, persecuted, and mistreated.”
Did that mean that they were doing it wrong? Was Jeremiah doing it wrong if he was stoned? Was Isaiah doing it wrong if he was sawn in two? What does verse 39 say?
“These were all commended for their faith...”
The happy people of verses 33 and 34 were commended. And the people of verses 35 through 38 were commended, too!
Verse 38 says, “The world was not worthy of them.” I know that I’d rather live in verses 33 and 34, but I should probably want to I’ve in verses 35-38. Don’t you want that to be said of you, “The world was not worthy of them.”?
“These were all commended for their faith...” God was pleased with them. God was not ashamed to be called their God. Even though they were suffering. Because they were holding onto to Him.
That’s point number four and last. They were commended for:
#4. HOLDING ONTO GOD UNTIL ALL HIS PROMISES ARE FULFILLED.
Look back at verse 35 when that “vibe shift” happens.
The women of 1-2 Kings got their dead back, a little taste of resurrection. But others were tortured for their faith, and if they had just given in and given up their faith, they could have gone home.
“Just repudiate the Lord! Just recant your belief. Just sign these documents, Martin Luther.
Just stop saying that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Say Caesar is Lord.
Say Allah is Lord.
Say Money is Lord.
Say America is Lord.
Say Family is Lord.
Just shut up about Jesus.”
But they refused to repent of their repentance. They did not shrink back. They fixed their eyes on Jesus. And it says they, “refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection.” [There’s that word, “better” again!]
This resurrection won’t be temporary. Those who came back to life in 1-2 Kings died again. But those who die in faith in this God will be resurrected like Jesus with indestructible life!
They just have to wait. They just have to hold on. It’s coming. The final victory is still on the way. Look at verse 39.
“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. [Not fully! Only a little taste.] God had planned something better [there it is again!] for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Did you catch that? Hebrews threw “us” in there. The Old Testament saints had true faith, but they didn’t get what was promised in the Old Testament. They all died waiting and holding on for it.
And then it came!
Jesus came.
The Messiah came.
And His kingdom came.
And He and His kingdom are coming again.
So that the Old Testament believers together with us New Testament believers get everything together.
Jesus and His Kingdom and all of the promises–offspring, land, and blessing forever and ever in resurrected bodies in a resurrected world.
Where everything is perfect.
It’s coming!
He’s coming!
And all we have to do is hold on and we’ll see it together with Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses’ parents, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and everyone else who had faith.
“Something better” is on the way. And all we have to do is fix our eyes on Jesus and run towards Him.
Together with brothers and sisters from the Old Testament, we will be commended.
***
Messages in this Series:
01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10
11. "On To Maturity" - Hebrews 5:11-6:3
12. "We Speak Like This" - Hebrews 6:4-12
13. "An Anchor for the Soul" - Hebrews 6:13-20
Bonus Message: "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus" - 2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
14. "In the Order of Melchizedek" - Hebrews 7:1-19
15. "A Priest Forever" - Hebrews 7:20-28
16. "Better Promises" - Hebrews 8:1-13
17. "By His Own Blood" - Hebrews 9:1-14
18. "Cleansed with Blood" - Hebrews 9:15-26
19. "Once" - Hebrews 9:27-28
20. "He Sat Down" - Hebrews 10:1-18
21. "Since We Have a Great Priest" - Hebrews 10:19-25
22. "Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence" - Hebrews 10:26-39
23. "Faith Is..." - Hebrews 11:1-7
24. "Living By Faith" - Hebrews 11:8-19
