Hebrews 11:38-40

A Better Thing Is Provided for Those Following Christ

The way the men and women of faith lived set them above the people around them, much like Noah who was also a man of faith (Genesis 6:1-22; Genesis 7:1-24; Genesis 8:1-22; Genesis 9:1-29). The writer went on to conclude this brief commentary on their lives by noting all of these people lived by faith, yet none of them saw the promised coming of the Messiah. Despite that fact, they lived lives of good report and were known for their acts of faith.

So, the Hebrew Christians who read this book had a better thing provided for them. They had seen, or knew of, the coming of the Messiah and they had a better covenant (Luke 10:24). Their sins could not be completely removed without Christ, but neither could the men of faith fully reach perfection until Christ had died. So, the men of faith were faithful to the end, yet we have something better than they. For this reason, the writer called on his readers to be, at least, as faithful as the men previously listed (Hebrews 11:38-40).