Charles Ellicott Commentary Hebrews 13:20

"Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, [even] our Lord Jesus," — Hebrews 13:20 (ASV)

Now the God of peace.—See Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:16. In almost all these places, there is something in the context suggestive of strife or turmoil to be brought to rest by “the God of peace.” Therefore, we may well believe that the writer here has in mind those divisions of thought and feeling which have been hinted at in Hebrews 13:17-19, and which were, in truth, the expression of the deep-seated mental unrest that it is the object of the Epistle to remove.

Our Lord Jesus.—As in Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 3:1; and Hebrews 12:2, the name is introduced after the description, according to the order of the Greek: “Now the God of peace that brought up from the dead (Romans 10:7) the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus . . .”

Two passages of the prophets have contributed to the language of this remarkable verse:

1. Isaiah 63:11, “Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?” Here the shepherds are no doubt Moses and Aaron (Psalms 77:20); the Greek translation, however, has, “Where is he that raised up out of the sea the shepherd of the sheep?” Moses, who led Israel through the sea, was brought up from there in safety to be the “shepherd” of his people Israel. By the same Almighty hand, the great Shepherd of the sheep has been brought up from among the dead.

2. Zechariah 9:11, “As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.” In other words, “because of the blood which ratified your covenant (Exodus 24:8) I have released your prisoners.” As in the former case, the resemblance between the words in the LXX and those used here is sufficient to convince us that the passage was in the writer’s mind. In (i.e., in virtue of) the blood of an eternal covenant (Hebrews 9:15–18) God has raised up the Lord Jesus. The covenant was ratified by His blood; the first of the blessings of the covenant, and that in which all blessing was included, was this: that God raised Him up from the dead to be “the great Shepherd of the sheep.”

If these prophetic words concerning Him who brings peace to the world (Zechariah 9:10, and others), were in the writer’s mind, how natural is his appeal to the God of peace. It has often been observed that this is the only passage in the Epistle in which we read of the resurrection of our Lord apart from His ascension; elsewhere His exaltation is contemplated as one act (Hebrews 2:9, and others). It is not certain that we have an exception even here, for though the meaning of Romans 10:7 is beyond doubt, the words may in this place be used with a wider meaning.