Hebrews 11:32-40
All Saints’ Day Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, November 2, 2025
“The Sights and Sounds of All Saints’ Day” Hebrews 11 is a beloved chapter of the Bible for good reason. Sometimes it’s called the “By faith” chapter. Some have called Hebrews 11 the “Hall of Faith” chapter or the “Faith Hall of Fame.” Others mean pretty much the same thing as they refer to this chapter as the “Heroes of Faith” chapter of the Bible. What an amazing chapter to turn to as we celebrate All Saints’ Day today.
All Saints’ Day has been celebrated in various ways since about 600 AD. Unfortunately, many false teachings about what it means to be a saint have caused issues with this observation. Perhaps that explains why in general our Wisconsin Synod Lutheran churches have not regularly celebrated or observed this holy day until recently. In fact, it was the introduction of the new, blue hymnal and the lectionary—the list of readings for the Church Year—that came with it that really introduced this holy day to our churches. It started a trend or a policy to celebrate All Saints on the first Sunday of November, though technically the day falls on November 1 (so this year, we’re one day off). In our society today, Halloween is a much more prominent day. But even the name Halloween comes from “All Hallows’ Eve,” that is, the day before All Saints’ Day.
So, today we observe that festival. As we do, I would like you to consider Hebrews 11 a museum to the Saints. I would like you to imagine that for All Saints’ Day, we are going to take a tour through that museum. As we do that, we’ll be reminded of some important truths about what it means to be a saint.
Our second reading from earlier is a part of our tour, but I’d like to start with the beginning of Hebrews 11 as well. As I mentioned, this is the “By Faith” chapter of the Bible. As we stop at the ticket counter, we can read the fine print and learn a little bit about what faith means. “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see. For by this faith the ancients were commended in Scripture” (1-2). Faith tells us that God created the world by his powerful word. We don’t even have to enter the museum to marvel at this. We can see God’s power and wisdom all around us.
But into the museum we go. We enter into a large hall. It is filled with pictures and sculptures. It feels lifesize and even larger for so many of these displays. Printed signs at each display mention names and verses in Scripture where we learn about these people. Abel offered a sacrifice that pleased God. Enoch walked with God and was taken out of this world without facing death. Noah comes next, and we can almost feel the raindrops as we consider the flood that destroyed every person and animal outside of the ark he had built.
And then we get to Abraham. Picture after picture of his life. He obeyed God when he didn’t fully know the plan. He moved away from his family. He lived as a stranger and wanderer. He became an old man who still trusted that God would give him a son even though no one else believed it was possible. Not only was it possible, but the display tells us to look up into the night sky tonight and try to count the stars that shine in the darkness. That’s how Abraham’s descendants are today. Countless.
There are more pictures and sculptures to see for Abraham, his son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s son Joseph. Moses gets another large display. There’s even a display for Rahab, the prostitute in Jericho who assisted the Israelite spies.
In this great hall we have seen many people whom every Christian might call a saint. These are heroes of faith. These are believers who have entered heavenly rest. These are examples for us to emulate and figures to celebrate. And let’s not miss the note that says that all of these individuals who had longed for a better land are in the city that God has prepared for them. They didn’t earn it as some falsely teach about saints. They were saints, holy people, because God made them holy. He prepared the place for them, and he prepared them for the place.
Now our tour guide speaks up. He wants to show us so much more, so many more examples of saints to consider and to emulate and to honor and to rejoice in. But pages are few in the book of Hebrews. One couldn’t build a museum big enough for every story and every person. Not every example worthy of such treatment can have his own display in the gallery.
So we quickly walk past another hallway. None of the displays are quite as large or ornate. In Hebrews 11, it’s just a list of names and titles. Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. And what did they do? All sorts of things! Not even on the list is a man like Daniel who shut lions’ mouths, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who walked through fire without being burned. Just taking the brief moment to consider these rapid-fire examples of saints gets our hearts beating a little faster. Look at all these amazing things that happened in their lives! Look what they accomplished or, once again, what God accomplished through them. They couldn’t tell the lions not to eat or the fire not to burn, but God did that for them. God’s goodness was on full display in their lives. Unexpected good. Even dead people being returned to their families alive!
This is another exciting wing of the museum. It makes us wonder about what amazing and miraculous things God could accomplish in our lives. In the face of cancer, he could heal us completely. In an intense accident, he might prolong our lives and protect our health. When things look bleak and helpless, he is always our help and nothing is beyond his reach or power or love. These are the stories we so long to not only hear but to be a part of.
And then we round a corner. The museum lights are dim in this hallway. The sound that echoes is not cheering but weeping. And right after our tour guide reminds us of the women who rejoiced to receive their sons and husbands back from the dead, he says, “And there were others.” And the words stick in his throat, and his eyes are glossy with tears. Others faced torture. And when they could have recanted, given up, and brought the ordeal to an end, they didn’t. People were stoned. People were sawed apart. They were whipped and chained and imprisoned.
This wing of the museum is very different for us who visit, too. As much as we might like to imagine what miraculously good things could come into our lives, we also have to consider other possibilities. These were also saints. They were believers. They knew their Savior and trusted their Lord. But that did not mean peace, prosperity, happiness, and joy. It meant hardship, suffering, and pain. Not only did being a believer not make their lives appreciably better, for many, being a believer brought the challenges that made their lives worse. Mocking, mistreatment, wandering. This is not what attracts people to Christianity. No, what attracts people to Christianity is a promise that no matter how bad these things get on this earth, it will get better. Says our tour guide, “The world was not worthy of them.” Their sights were set higher than the world.
And so we round one more corner and come to the last display in our museum. This one is as simple as can be. It is a mirror. You look, and you see yourself. And our tour guide announces, “All of these were commended in Scripture by faith, yet they did not receive what was promised, because God had planned something better for us, namely, that they would not reach the goal apart from us.”
Look in the mirror as you celebrate All Saints’ Day. All Saints. This day is not about only those who were in the line of the Promise, whose stories God used to carry out his plan of salvation. This day is not only about those who are in heaven now. It is certainly not only about those who lived miraculous lives. It is also about those who suffer. It is about you and me. It is about all who have been called to faith in Jesus as their Savior, who have come to understand that heaven is their home even though they don’t deserve it. We have come to know that everything we see and taste and touch now is only temporary, no matter how good or bad it may seem. There is one goal for all who are in Christ: eternal life with him. And all the saints who have been made perfect by him will reach that goal together.
With good reason Hebrews 11 is a favorite chapter of Scripture. Take in all the sights and sounds of it. Here are the heroes of faith who accomplished incredible things. Here are the saints whom God miraculously preserved and saved and rescued. And here are the saints whom God caused to persevere. And here you are. God has something better planned for you. This great hall of faith, this great testimony to God’s grace, is not complete without you. This is for all the saints. All Saints’ Day is a day to celebrate.
The Text: Hebrews 11:32–40 (EHV)
32And what more should I say? There would not be enough time for me to continue to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33By faith they conquered kingdoms, carried out justice, obtained things that were promised, shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were made powerful after being weak, became mighty in battle, and caused foreign armies to flee. 35Women received back their dead by resurrection. And others who were tortured did not accept their release, so that they may take part in a better resurrection. 36Still others experienced mocking and lashes, in addition to chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were tempted; they were killed with the sword; they went around in sheepskins and goatskins, needy, afflicted, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them as they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
39All of these were commended in Scripture by faith, yet they did not receive what was promised, 40because God had planned something better for us, namely, that they would not reach the goal apart from us.