Hebrews 11:35: A Better Faith, Even Without Deliverance

Introduction

"The message the Lord has put on my heart tonight is not necessarily an easy one." Jean-Luc Menchon preached at the service of October 27, 2026 at La Porte Ouverte Chrétienne. He has carried this message for a long time and has already shared pieces of it in the life groups. He senses that tensions are rising in society, and he believes that the Lord is seeking right now "to strengthen our faith."

The title of the message is "a better faith." The text it rests on is a single verse, Hebrews 11:35: "Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection."

The preacher calls this verse a "tipping-point verse." It forces us to distinguish between deliverance and faith, and it turns our eyes toward a hope that reaches beyond this life.

Message Outline

1. God Is in Control of Everything That Happens

Looking at everything going on, you could lose your footing and become discouraged. But God is "thrown off by nothing and surprised by nothing," whether on the geopolitical stage or in our personal lives.
First example: God moved an emperor, Caesar Augustus. His census led Joseph and his family to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born exactly where the prophecies said he would be.
Second example: standing before the temple, Jesus announced that not one stone would be left on another. That happened in the year 70, under Titus. God announces things, and the things come to pass.
So we need two things at once: the faith of a child who believes everything his father tells him, and the perseverance of an adult made mature in Christ, able to stand firm against opposing circumstances.

2. The Context of the Letter to the Hebrews

The letter was probably written before the year 70: it spends a long time on the link between the old worship and the sacrifice of Christ, yet never mentions the destruction of the temple.
The author is unknown. The letter has no opening greeting, unlike Paul's letters, and the author says he was taught by direct witnesses, whereas Paul claimed to have received his teaching by revelation from Jesus Christ.
The purpose of the letter: to rally believers of Jewish background who had begun well in faith in Jesus Christ but were gradually drifting back to the law.
Hence the appeal of Hebrews 10:36-39: "you need endurance," and "we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul."
Then comes chapter 11: faith is "assurance of things hoped for," followed by the gallery of the heroes of faith: Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon. "Every time you read it, it does you good."

3. A Tipping-Point Verse: Two Situations, One Faith

First situation: women get their dead children back through a miraculous intervention of God.
The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17) shares with Elijah the little flour and oil she has left, then sees the flour and oil never run out during the famine. Later her son dies; she cries out, Elijah prays, and God gives the child back his life.
The Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4) used to welcome Elisha in a room upstairs. She was barren, and she received a son from God. One day the child suddenly died; Elisha came, prayed, and the child was raised.
Second situation: "others were tortured." The contrast is immediate. In the first case death is defeated; in the second the believer is handed over to suffering, perhaps to death.
The text gives no names, but it sets out a principle: "Some believers experienced the power of God to the point of being delivered from death, but others experienced faithfulness to God even in death." Both are presented as expressions of faith. Those who were not answered "did not have less faith than the others."
The deliverance they refused was the one they could have obtained by denying their faithfulness to God. Example: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego before Nebuchadnezzar's statue (Daniel 3:17-18): "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ... But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods."
God can deliver, heal, and bring us out of difficult situations: he is the same yesterday, today and forever. But these three men say: even if he does not deliver us, we will not deny him.
The preacher cites a testimony relayed by the organization Open Doors (Portes Ouvertes): in 2013, in Eritrea, a sick Christian woman in detention was denied medical care because she refused to renounce her faith. She was offered release and treatment if she would renounce it. She refused, and she died of pneumonia. "We are in the spirit of Hebrews 11:35."

4. Distinguishing Deliverance From Faith

The false reasoning would be to say: "If I have enough faith, God will always deliver me." We can even lean on a verse we love to proclaim: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).
Hebrews 11 teaches something else. The chapter moves from the victories of verses 33 and 34 (escaping the edge of the sword, putting armies to flight) to the women who get their dead back, and then to those who are tortured and die remaining faithful.
Conclusion: faith does not always guarantee deliverance in this life, "right here and now on earth."
In the congregation, beloved brothers and sisters who were ill had faith, sometimes had received promises, believed to the end, and still passed away. They went with their heads held high, encouraging those around them: "when you looked at them, you saw Jesus Christ in them."
"Not being answered does not mean you lacked faith." Hebrews 11:39-40 confirms it: all of these did not receive what had been promised, God having something better in view for us.

5. A Better Resurrection

To speak of a better resurrection assumes there are two. The first, that of the children of Zarephath and Shunem, is a temporary restoration of earthly life.
The second is final: it will not be followed by another death. "We will stay risen forever with the Lord." Jesus says it: whoever believes in him will live, even if he dies (John 11:25). Paul explains it: the body is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body, and death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15).
Jean-Luc Menchon tells of a testimony he heard when he was very young in the faith, in a small prayer group near Colmar. A mother had prayed for years for her son, an alcoholic between 40 and 45 years old: "Lord, I dream of being able to serve alongside my son." One day he was set free and gave his life to Jesus. A few weeks or months later, he died suddenly.
For several years this mother wrestled with God: "But why, Lord, did you allow that?" Then God spoke to her heart: he had taken her son while he was still saved, because he was going to fall again.
"Sometimes we do not understand how he acts. [...] But he knows, and he is a kind father. He does not make mistakes." Perhaps we will not be healed here below, but if we stay attached to Jesus, "it is certain that in heaven we will be healed."

6. "Better," a Key Word in the Letter to the Hebrews

The Greek word translated "better" (kreittôn) also means "superior." The author uses it often, to the point of making it one of the themes of the letter.
In Jesus we have a better covenant, because we are no longer under the law; a better sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice of Christ; a better hope, which leads to eternal life; a better homeland, the kingdom of heaven.
And a better resurrection, with a glorified body: "It is not our old carcass that we are going to drag up there and have patched up. [...] The Lord is not going to do recycling."
The heroes of the Old Testament greeted these things from afar. We see them fulfilled in Jesus. "That should give us a better faith."

7. Three Applications, and Food to Keep Going

First application: faith does not mean forcing God to perform a miracle. We can pray with faith and see wonderful answers, but we need to learn to say: "Lord, even if you do not deliver me the way I ask, I will remain faithful." That is the faith of Daniel's three friends. The preacher says this "with great respect for those who are suffering."
Second application: our faith must look beyond the present life. What matters is not that God makes our earthly life comfortable, but that he raises us and gives us eternal life with him.
Third application, drawn from Hebrews 12: fighting against sin. If heroes of the faith refused to be released from torment, how much more should we resist sin. "let's lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us" (Hebrews 12:1); "You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4).
Jean-Luc Menchon applies this to himself first: the Lord is reviewing some of his behaviors, and he asks the Lord for help. Every time we sin, it is as if we sent Jesus back to the cross. Jesus could have been rescued by a legion of angels; at Gethsemane he chose to die for us. Out of respect for him, "let us not fight in the flesh, but ask him for grace."
How do you get a better faith? "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Peter, who had denied Jesus, was restored by his word, and then asked the elders to shepherd the flock of God.
The shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures, but "you never see the shepherd get on his knees" to put the grass in their mouths. It is up to each person to dig into the Word and find "the substance that will help us stand firm when things get hard."
The message ends on the promise of Revelation 21:1-7: God will wipe away every tear, and death will be no more. "The one who overcomes, the one who holds firm, the one who feeds on the word [...] will inherit these things."

Key Takeaways

God is surprised by nothing: he remains in control of circumstances, on the scale of the world as well as of your life.
Hebrews 11:35 places in the same gallery those who were delivered and those who were not. Not being answered does not mean lacking faith.
Faith says: "God can deliver me, and even if he does not, I will remain faithful."
The better resurrection is final, with a glorified body. All the promises will be fulfilled there.
A better faith is fed by the Word, which each person must dig into for themselves in order to stand firm in the storm.

Personal Application

In your prayer, are you trying to force God to perform a miracle, or can you say to him: "even if you do not deliver me the way I ask, I will remain faithful"?
Have you ever thought, for yourself or for someone else, that an unanswered prayer was a lack of faith? How does Hebrews 11:35 change that way of seeing it?
Does your hope stop at a comfortable earthly life, or does it look toward the resurrection and eternal life?
Which behaviors is the Lord reviewing in your life right now, and have you started asking him for grace to leave them behind?
Are you waiting for others to put the grass in your mouth, or will you take time this week to dig into the Word yourself?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "a better resurrection" mean in Hebrews 11:35?

Jean-Luc Menchon distinguishes two resurrections. The one received by the children given back to their mothers in the days of Elijah and Elisha is a temporary restoration of earthly life: they died later. The better resurrection is final, with a glorified body, forever with the Lord. This is the one the believers who refused deliverance were reaching for.

If God does not deliver me, does that mean I lacked faith?

No. Hebrews 11:35 places in the same gallery of heroes of faith those who were delivered and those who were not. For the preacher, we must distinguish deliverance from faith: faith does not always guarantee deliverance here below, and not being answered does not mean you lacked faith.

How can I have a better faith?

By feeding yourself on the Word of God. The preacher cites Romans 10:17 and the image of the shepherd: he leads the flock to green pastures, but it is the sheep who do the eating. Each person must dig into the Word to find the substance that helps them stand firm in the storm.