Hebrews 13:13

"This verse may be regarded as the crux of the conclusion, a final direct appeal to the readers to identify themselves wholly with Christ." [Note: Guthrie, p. 274.]

Christians bear Jesus’ reproach when we identify with Him. He suffered reproach, and so do we, when we identify with Him. This was especially true of the original Jewish recipients of this epistle. They needed to cut their emotional and religious ties to Judaism. [Note: Bruce, The Epistle . . ., p. 403; Philip E. Hughes, A Commentary . . ., pp. 580-82.] Jerusalem was no longer their special city (cf. Hebrews 13:14). There is nothing wrong with Jewish Christians maintaining Jewish customs provided they do not rely on them for favor with God.

"The exhortation to leave the camp [i.e., official Judaism] and to identify fully with Jesus introduces a distinctive understanding of discipleship. Jesus’ action in going ’outside the camp’ (Hebrews 13:12) set a precedent for others to follow. The task of the community is to emulate Jesus, leaving behind the security, congeniality, and respectability of the sacred enclosure [cf. the Israelites’ camp in the wilderness wanderings], risking the reproach that fell upon him. Christian identity is a matter of ’going out’ now to him. It entails the costly commitment to follow him resolutely, despite suffering.

"In the context of the allusion to Golgotha in Hebrews 13:12, this summons to discipleship implies following Jesus on the way to the cross . . ." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 543. Cf. Guthrie, pp. 274-75.]