Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 13:1-8

"Let love of the brethren continue. Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are illtreated, as being yourselves also in the body. [Let] marriage [be] had in honor among all, and [let] the bed [be] undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me? Remember them that had the rule over you, men that spake unto you the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and to-day, [yea] and for ever." — Hebrews 13:1-8 (ASV)

Having instructed them on how to bear with evil, the Apostle now tells them how to act in doing good. Therefore, according to a Gloss, he is beginning his moral instruction after commending them and urging them to imitate him. In this regard, he does two things:

1. First, he urges them to do good.
2. Second, he prays for them (verse 20).

Concerning the first point, he does three things:

1. First, he shows them how to do good to their neighbor.
2. Second, how to do good to themselves (verse 4).
3. Third, how to do good to their leaders (verse 7).

He says, therefore: We have said that an immovable kingdom has been promised to us. If we would enter it, we must have charity: Let brotherly love continue. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? (1 John 4:20). We are also told to honor one another; love the brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17).

But because charity is not idle, as Gregory says, the Apostle urges them to perform acts of charity: Let us love not in tongue but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18). Therefore, he says that we should show charity to travelers through hospitality, to those in bonds through compassion, and to the poor by coming to their aid. Regarding the first, he says, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.

He says, do not neglect, because formerly, when they were prosperous, they were very hospitable. But now that they were poor and could not do as much, he exhorts them to continue to do as much as possible: Pursue hospitality (Romans 12:13). He makes special mention of hospitality because a person who receives travelers performs three acts of charity at once: he receives, feeds, and gives them drink. As the Scripture says, Show hospitality to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9).

He gives the reason for this when he says, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, as in the case of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 18 and 19). Another version reads, By this, as unawares, they entertained angels, because they did not realize they were angels. This was also true at first for Abraham; he adored them, thinking they were holy men sent from God. But he adored them with the adoration called dulia, which is shown to saints, and he offered them food as if they were men.

However, after he understood that they were angels in whom God was speaking, he spoke to them as to God, saying, This is not befitting you who judge all the earth (Genesis 18:25). Lot acted in a similar way.

Regarding the second point, he says, Remember those who are in prison, that is, those who were imprisoned for the love of God. Remember them by visiting and redeeming them, as though you were in prison with them: I was in prison and you visited me (Matthew 25:36). In contrast to this, Isaiah says of the wicked, I opened not the prison to his prisoners (Isaiah 14:17). But they did this at times, as is clear from Hebrews 10:34. Indeed, it is a particular work of mercy to regard another’s suffering as one’s own.

Regarding the third point, he says to remember and those that are ill-treated, which can refer to several kinds of labor. It can mean bodily labor: You shall eat the labors of your hands (Psalms 128:2). It can also mean spiritual care: The farmer that labors must first partake of the fruits (2 Timothy 2:6). Or, it can refer to the labor of enduring evils: I have perceived that in these also there was labor, and vexation of spirit (Ecclesiastes 1:17). In short, our whole life is a labor: Man is born to labor as a bird to fly (Job 5:7).

Remember them, since you also are in the body and have experienced what those who labor need. As the Scripture says, Judge of the disposition of your neighbor by yourself , and, All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them (Matthew 7:12).

Then (verse 4) he urges them to do good to themselves. In this regard, he does two things:

1. First, he gives an admonition against the concupiscence of carnal pleasure.
2. Second, he warns against coveting external things (verse 5).

It should be noted that sin in regard to sex occurs in two ways. One way is through the illicit union of an unmarried person with another. In regard to this, he says, Let marriage be held in honor among all, for those who would not be continent, and not fornication. It is called "honorable" when it takes place with all the circumstances proper to marriage. This shows that the marriage act can exist without sin, which is contrary to certain heretics: If a virgin marry, she does not sin (1 Corinthians 7:28). To show that the marriage act is good, the Lord performed His first miracle at a wedding, ennobled marriage with His physical presence, and willed to be born of a married woman.

Another way sin occurs is by violating the marriage bed, as when a husband approaches another man’s wife, or a wife another’s husband. In regard to this, he says, and the marriage bed undefiled. As the Book of Wisdom says, So that now they neither keep life, nor marriage undefiled, but one kills another through envy, or grieves him by adultery ; and again, Happy is the barren, and the undefiled that has not known bed in sin; she shall have fruit in the visitation of holy souls .

Then the Apostle adds the reason: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. With this, he refutes the error of those who say that God neither punishes nor is concerned about carnal sins: Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things the anger of God comes upon the children of unbelief (Ephesians 5:6). Therefore, he says fornicators—which is why he said marriage is honorable—and adulterers—which is why he said the bed must be undefiled—God will judge, meaning, He will condemn them. For no fornicator or unclean or covetous person (which is a serving of idols) has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5).

Next (verse 5), he forbids them to covet external goods. One might sin in this regard in two ways: by being stingy or by being covetous, for liberality is the virtue that inclines one to the proper mean between giving and retaining money.

Regarding the first (stinginess), he says, Keep your life free from love of money. A covetous person is tenacious, and as Sirach says, Nothing is more wicked than a covetous man . Regarding the second (covetousness), he says, and be content with what you have. Those who desire more than they have wish to accumulate things, not being content with their current possessions: Having food and clothing, with these we are content (1 Timothy 6:8).

Alternatively, in saying, let your life be free of covetousness, he is forbidding avarice in both its forms of covetousness and stinginess. But in saying, be content with what you have, he is excluding the root of avarice, which is anxiety: Be not anxious (Matthew 6:31). For people are not forbidden to be concerned about future needs, but care and anxiety should not preoccupy their minds. One who is so preoccupied with anxiety about the future is being "anxious for the morrow."

Then (verse 5b) he gives the reason for this advice, which is why we should not be excessively anxious but should do what is in our power while trusting in God’s help. For God has said, I will not leave you, without giving you what you need, nor will I forsake you, lest you perish from hunger (Joshua 1:5). As the Psalmist says, I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread (Psalms 37:25). Or, "I will not forsake you" can mean "without freeing you from evil."

This promise causes confidence in the heart, so that we can confidently say, I will deal confidently and will not fear (Isaiah 12:2). And what shall we say? The words of Psalm 118:6: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

He is a helper in that He delivers from evil: A helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly (Psalms 46:1). Therefore, I will not fear what man shall do to me, meaning any flesh-and-blood adversary: Who are you to be afraid of a mortal man? (Isaiah 51:12). This can also refer to the devil, who is called a "man" because he was overcome by a man (Christ), just as Scipio was called "Africanus" because he was defeated in Africa. As the parable says, A hostile man has done this (Matthew 13:28).

Then (verse 7) he shows how they should do good to their leaders. In this regard, he does two things:

1. First, he shows how they should act in regard to their deceased leaders, namely, by following their example.
2. Second, how they should act in regard to their living leaders, namely, by obeying them (verse 17).

Concerning the first point, he again does two things:

1. First, he shows how they should follow the teachings of the good.
2. Second, how they should avoid the doctrine of evil (verse 9).

He says, therefore: Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. This refers to the apostles who preached to you: Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you (Isaiah 51:2). But they not only preached with words but also showed what to do by their actions: The Lord confirming the word with signs that followed (Mark 16:20).

Remember not only their words, but consider the outcome of their way of life. As it is written, Remember the works of the fathers which they have done in their generations: and you shall receive great glory and an everlasting name . And again, Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labor and patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord (James 5:10). But imitate not only the outcome of their life, so as to suffer patiently for Christ, but also their manner of life, for a good life leads to a good death. Therefore, imitate their faith and do not depart from it.

He continues: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. According to a Gloss, this section is introduced in the following way. The Apostle had said before, I will not leave you or forsake you. But the readers could object, saying, "The one to whom this was said can well trust in God’s help, but we cannot, as it was not spoken to us." The Apostle rejects this by saying that Christ remains forever; therefore, he says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Alternatively, this verse can be referred to what he had just said about imitating the apostles. The readers could say that their case is not the same, because the apostles were instructed by Christ and served Him, but "we were not." Therefore, the Apostle says that Christ remains, and for that reason, we should also serve Him. And so he says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday (in the time of the first apostles), and today (in our time), and forever. As Christ Himself said, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world (Matthew 28:20). He is the one of whom it is written, says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8), and, But you are always the selfsame, and your years shall not fail (Psalms 102:27). In these words, the Apostle shows the eternity of Christ.