Unnamed but Not Forgotten: Hebrews 11:32-40

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people” (Jn. 6:9, NASB)?

Everyone wants to be loved; feel important, and recognized, and remembered. People want to feel that others consider their contributions to society as something to be important and remembered. There is a tendency for us to believe that only the mention of our name is evidence that we are considered important by other people. Why am I saying these things? It is because we are nearing the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Churches and community organizations put a lot of effort and expense to help people enjoy these holidays. They want everyone to enjoy the holidays with their family and friends. These efforts say to people “You are important.” You are loved by God and by us.” It seems that it is just as important that we do something to make people feel good as it is for people to feel good.

This article is motivated by something that I have seen posted several times on Facebook. Someone will post the achievements of a person that are not well known. Often someone will express their thanks for the information. Then, there are those who have stated that this should have been in the history books; these things were deliberately omitted from the history books so that the contributions of these people would not be known. Let me just be plain. Black Americans and other minority groups feel that their contributions have not been recognized and appreciated in this country. While I will agree that this may be true in many cases, I do not believe that these persons and events were deliberately omitted to hide the truth. If we as Christians believe this to be true, we need to examine the things omitted in the bible. I believe that history is not written to hide anything. Rather, history is written to highlight persons and events that had a significant contribution to the audience that the writer is writing to. The writer wants to convey to a particular audience persons and events that have contributed to their lives in their own time. With this in mind, let us look at some history that is in our bible.

Before we begin with the historical facts recorded in the bible, let us take note of a few scripture passages. First, let us take notice of something that the apostle Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy. He wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NASB). What was written in the Scripture was determined, not by men, but by God. What was written in the Scriptures satisfies the purpose of God. Second, we have the words of the apostle Peter. He wrote, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:21, NASB). Again, we can see that the words that we read in the Scriptures and the events that we read about in the Scriptures were determined by God. No one was hiding anything. What was written was what God determined to be written for God’s purpose. With these things in mind let us look at some history recorded in the Scriptures in which the names of people are not mentioned, but they have not been forgotten.

In John 6 we are told the story of the occasion when Jesus fed five thousand men along with an unspecified number of women and children. In the story, Jesus took His twelve disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed Jesus. Jesus sat down and taught His disciples. We are not told specifically what things Jesus taught them. After teaching His disciples, He turned His attention to the needs of the people. He asked the twelve about available food to feed the multitude. John 6:6 is significant. “This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do” (Jn 6:6, NASB). Andrew somehow not explained knew about a lad. He said to Jesus, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people” (v. 9). Did you notice that the lad’s name is not mentioned, but what he contributed is not forgotten? Jesus fed the multitude. His purpose was that He intended to distinguish physical bread from spiritual bread. Spiritual bread is essential for eternal life. Jesus is that bread. “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (6:35, NASB). Thus, the most important thing in this story is not the feeding of the five thousand. It is not the lad with physical food. Rather, John tells this story because Jesus is identified as the “bread of life.” He alone gives eternal life.

In his gospel, Matthew records that Jesus healed a man with leprosy (Matt. 8:3), and He heals the servant of a Roman centurion (See vv. 5-13). Also, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law (v. 14-15). He cast out the spirits in the demon-possessed with a word. “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases’” (v. 17). Again the writer is not forgetting the people that Jesus healed. They, however, do not validate the words of the prophet Isaiah. They do not determine if Jesus is the Messiah. Rather, the emphasis here is that Jesus fulfills the words of the prophet. The Jews believed that the words of the prophets were true. They were given evidence that Jesus is the One that the prophets had spoken about.

The book of Hebrews was written to encourage Hebrews that had practiced Judaism and were now Christians. They had followed the law and lived according to the customs of Judaism. These people had received the gospel. They begin to follow the teachings of Jesus. Some of the local people did not believe the gospel. They begin to persecute them. The writer explains that Jesus is the Christ come from God. It is His sacrifice on the cross that satisfies God’s requirement for forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with the Father, and eternal life. In chapter 11 the writer tells the audience that they are not alone in their faith. He gives examples of people in their history that had accomplished God’s will by their faith. At the end of chapter 11, the writer stops trying to tell about all the people of faith and their accomplishment. He begins to tell of some of their significant contributions. It was not the writer’s intention to ignore the contributions of anyone. He writes, “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samuel, and the prophets” (Heb. 11:32). He begins to write some general statements that tell of accomplishment of people of faith. He does not include their names (Vv. 35-40).

The writer of the gospel of John makes two statements that are similar to that of the writer of Hebrews. First, John writes, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (Jn. 20:30-31, NASB). The second statement says these words. “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

In the bible stories a lot of people are not mentioned by name. The stories do not tell the details of the events that took place. The writers of the Scriptures were not minimizing the accomplishments of people. In the stories there are many people unnamed, but they are not forgotten. In this world people are not named, but as President Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address in recognition of the thousands of soldiers that died on the battlefield: “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.”

If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that He died on the cross for your sins; you have made Him your lord and savior the world will not name you. You, however, have not been forgotten. Your name is in heaven. Your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life (See Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). As Christians, let us not place a greater emphasis on our names and our deeds in the world than our faith, our deeds for the kingdom of God, and our names that are written in the Lamb’s book of life.