Luke 10:24

10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see ¹  what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

John 8:56

8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed ²  to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” ³ 

Ephesians 3:5-6

3:5 Now this secret ⁴  was not disclosed to people ⁵  in former ⁶  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ⁷  the Spirit, 3:6 namely, that through the gospel ⁸  the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members ⁹  of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 11:13

11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, ¹⁰  but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners ¹¹  on the earth.

Hebrews 11:39-40

11:39 And these all were commended ¹²  for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ¹³  11:40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. ¹⁴ 

Hebrews 11:1

People Commended for Their Faith

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

Hebrews 1:10-12

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ¹⁵ 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

1:11 They will perish, but you continue.

And they will all grow old like a garment,

1:12 and like a robe you will fold them up

and like a garment ¹⁶  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ¹⁷ 

¹ sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.

² tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

³ tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.

⁴ tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.

⁵ tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).

⁶ tn Grk “other.”

⁷ tn Or “in.”

⁸ sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.

⁹ tn Grk “and fellow members.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.

¹¹ tn Or “sojourners.”

¹² sn The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.

¹³ tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.

¹⁴ tn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that they would not be made perfect without us.”

¹⁵ sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.

¹⁶ tc The words “like a garment” (ὡς ἱμάτιον, Jw" Jimation) are found in excellent and early mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A B D* 1739) though absent in a majority of witnesses (D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy bo). Although it is possible that longer reading was produced by overzealous scribes who wanted to underscore the frailty of creation, it is much more likely that the shorter reading was produced by scribes who wanted to conform the wording to that of Ps 102:26 (101:27 LXX), which here lacks the second “like a garment.” Both external and internal considerations decidedly favor the longer reading, and point to the author of Hebrews as the one underscoring the difference between the Son and creation.

¹⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.