Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
1 14. The one Sacrifice and the many Sacrifices
1. of good things to come ] Of the good things which Christ had now brought into the world (Heb 9:11).
not the very image of the things ] “The Law,” says St Ambrose, “had the shadow; the Gospel the image; the Reality itself is in Heaven.” By the word image is meant the true historic form. The Gospel was as much closer a resemblance of the Reality as a statue is a closer resemblance than a pencilled outline.
can never ] This may be the right reading, though the plural “ they are never able,” is found in some mss. If this latter be the true reading the sentence begins with an unfinished construction ( anakoluthon).
with those sacrifices ] Rather, “with the same sacrifices, year by year, which they offer continuously, make perfect them that draw nigh,” i.e. the Priests can never with their sacrifices, which are the same year by year, perfect the worshippers. Some have given a fuller sense to the words “the same,” as though it meant that even the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement cannot make any one perfect, being as they are, after all, the same sacrifices in their inmost nature as those which are offered every morning and evening.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the law having a shadow – That is, the whole of the Mosaic economy was a shadow; for so the word Law is often used. The word shadow here refers to a rough outline of anything, a mere sketch, such as a carpenter draws with a piece of chalk, or such as an artist delineates when he is about to make a picture. He sketches an outline of the object which he designs to draw, which has some resemblance to it, but is not the very image; for it is not yet complete. The words rendered the very image refer to a painting or statue which is finished, where every part is an exact copy of the original. The good things to come here refer to the future blessings which would be conferred on man by the gospel. The idea is, that under the ancient sacrifices there was an imperfect representation; a dim outline of the blessings which the gospel would impart to people. They were a typical representation; they were not such that it could be pretended that they would answer the purpose of the things themselves which they were to represent, and would make those who offered them perfect. Such a rude outline; such a mere sketch, or imperfect delineation, could no more answer the purpose of saving the soul than the rough sketch which an architect makes would answer the purpose of a house, or than the first outline which a painter draws would answer the purpose of a perfect and finished portrait. All that could be done by either would be to convey some distant and obscure idea of what the house or the picture might be, and this was all that was done by the Law of Moses.
Can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually – The sacrifices here particularly referred to were those which were offered on the great day of atonement. These were regarded as the most sacred and efficacious of all, and yet the apostle says that the very fact that they were offered every year showed that there must be some deficiency about them, or they would have ceased to be offered.
Make the comers thereunto perfect – They could not free them from the stains of guilt; they could not give ease to a troubled conscience; there was in them no efficacy by which sin could be put away; compare the notes on Heb 7:11; Heb 9:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 10:1-2
The Law having a shadow of good things to come
The Law had only a shadow:
He is careful not to say that the Law was itself but a shadow.
On the contrary, the very promise includes that God will put His laws in the heart and write them upon the mind. This was one of the good things to come. The Law was holy, righteous, and good; but the manifestation of its nature in sacrifices was unreal, like the dark outline of an object that breaks the stream of light. Nothing more substantial, as a revelation of Gods moral character, was befitting or possible in that stage of human development, when the purposes of His grace also not seldom found expression in dreams of the night and apparitions of the day. To prove the unreal nature of these ever-recurring sacrifices, the writer argues that otherwise they would have ceased to he offered, inasmuch as the worshippers, if they had been once really cleansed from their guilt, would have had no more conscience of sins. The reasoning is very remarkable. It is not that God would have ceased to require sacrifices, but that the worshipper would have ceased to offer them. It implies that, when a sufficient atonement for sin has been offered to God, the sinner knows it is sufficient, and, as the result, has peace of conscience. The possibility of a pardoned sinner still fearing and doubting does not seem to have occurred to the apostle. To men who cannot leave off introspection and forget themselves in the joy of a new faith the apostles argument will have little force and perhaps less meaning. If the sacrifices were unreal, why, we naturally inquire, were they continually repeated? The answer is that there were two sides to the sacrificial rites of the Old Covenant. On the one hand, they were, like the heathen gods, nothings; on the other, their empty shadowiness itself fitted them to be a divinely appointed means to call sins to remembrance. They represented on the one side the invincible, though always baffled, effort of natural conscience; for conscience was endeavouring to purify itself from a sense of guilt. But God also had a purpose in awakening and disciplining conscience. The worshipper sought to appease conscience through sacrifice, and God, by the same sacrifice, proclaimed that reconciliation had not been effected. In allusion to this idea, that the sacrifices were instituted by God in order to renew the remembrance of sins every year, Christ said, Do this in remembrance of Me—of Him who hath put away sins by the sacrifice of Himself. Such, then, was the shadow, at once unreal and dark. In contrast to it, the apostle designates the substance as the very image of the objects. Instead of repeating the indefinite expression good things to come, he speaks of them as objects, individually distinct, substantial, true. The image of a thing is the full manifestation of its inmost essence, in the same sense in which St. Paul says that the Son of Gods love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, is the image of the invisible God. The gracious purpose of God is to forgive sin, and this was accomplished by the infinite humiliation of the infinite Son. Gods will was to sanctify us; that is, to remove our guilt. We have actually been thus sanctified through the one offering of the body of Jesus Christ. The sacrifices of the Law are taken out of the way in order to establish the sacrifice of the Son. It will be observed that the apostle is not contrasting sacrifice and obedience. The dominant thoughts of the passage are the greatness of the Person who obeyed and the greatness of the sacrifice from which His obedience did not shrink. The Son is here represented as existing and acting apart from His human nature. He comes into the world, and is not originated in the world. The purpose of the Sons doming is already formed. He comes to offer His body, and we have been taught in a previous chapter that He did this with an eternal spirit. For the will of God means our sanctification in the meaning attached to the word sanctification in this Epistle–the removal of guilt, the forgiveness of sins. But the fulfilment of this gracious will of God demands a sacrifice, even a sacrificial death, and that not the death of beasts, but the infinite self-sacrifice and obedience unto death of the Son of God. This is implied in the expression the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. The superstructure of argument has been raised. Christ as High Priest has been proved to be superior to the high priests of the former covenant. It remains only to lay the top-stone in its place. Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest, is for ever King; for the priests under the Law stand while they perform the duties of their ministry. They stand because they are only priests. But Christ has taken His seat, as King, on the right hand of God. They offer the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, and wait, and wait, but in vain. Christ also waits, but not to renew an ineffectual sacrifice. He waits eagerly to receive from God the reward of His effective sacrifice in the subjugation of His enemies. The priests under the Law had no enemies. Their persons were sacred. They incurred no hatred, inspired no love. Our High Priest goes out to war, the most hated, the most loved, of all captains of men. The foundation of this kingly power is in two things: first, He has perfected men for ever by His one offering; second, He has put the law of God into the hearts of His people. The final conclusion is that the sacrifices of the Law have passed away, because they are no longer needed. For where there is forgiveness, there is no more an offering for sin. (T. C. Edwards, D. D.)
The Old Testament and the New:
In the Old Testament the New Testament lies hid; in the New Testament the Old Testament lies open. (Augustine.)
Judaism and Christianity:
Christianity lay in Judaism as leaves and fruits do in the seed, though certainly it needed the Divine sun to bring them forth. (De Wette.)
The Old Testament and the New:
To pass from the doctrine of the Old Testament to that of the New is to enter a changed world. It is as if we had lived through an Arctic winter, our long night occasionally lit as by an aurora, or by stars the apparent revolutions of which made the mobility of our own minds the more conspicuous, and had suddenly chanced upon a warm and glorious summer with its unsetting sun and nightless day. The age of symbols is no more. Faint administrations of heavenly truths under material forms have given place to the loud proclamation of the same truths under those less material forms of speech and life. (Principal Cave, D. D.)
The two dispensations
The former constitution was not abolished, but exchanged, and by that change perfected; and in this manner did Jesus say that He came not to abolish, but to complete or accomplish: secondly, that the former was a type, and merged into its reality, not so much dying as passing into a second existence, where a true sacrifice covered a typical oblation, where redemption given passed before redemption expected, where uncertainty had ripened into knowledge, and hope yielded its kingdom to faith. To illustrate the noble by the base, the former state was as that living but creeping sheath wherein lie infolded for a time the corresponding parts of a more splendid and gorgeous insect, which in due time takes upon itself the vital functions till then by the other exercised, and rises towards heaven–the same, yet different–a transmigration rather than an offspring. (Cardinal Wiseman.)
No more conscience of sins
Conscience and forgiveness:
Conscience naturally knows nothing of forgiveness; yea, it is against its very trust, work, and office to hear anything of it. If a man of courage and honesty be entrusted to keep a garrison against an enemy, let one come and tell him that there is peace between those whom he serves and their enemies, so that he may leave his guard, and set open the gates, and cease his watchfulness; how worthy will he be, lest, under this pretence, he be betrayed! No, saith he, I will keep my hold until I have express orders from my superiors. Conscience is entrusted with the power of God in the soul of a sinner, with command to keep all in subjection, with reference to the judgment to come; it will not betray its trust in believing every report of peace. No; but this it says, and it speaks in the name of God, Guilt and punishment are inseparable twins. If the soul sin, God will judge. What tell you me of forgiveness.? I know not what my commission is, and that I will abide by. You shall not bring in a superior commander, a cross principle, into my trust; for if this be so, it seems I must let go my throne–another lord must come in–not knowing as yet how this whole business is compounded in the blood of Christ. Now, whom should a man believe if not his own conscience? which, as it will not flatter him, so it intends not to affright him, but to speak the truth as the matter requireth. Conscience hath two works in reference to sin–one to condemn the acts of sin, another to judge the person of the sinner; both with reference to the judgment of God. When forgiveness comes, it would sever and part these employments, and take one of them out of the hand of conscience; it would divide the spoil with this strong one. It shall condemn the fact, or every sin; but it shall no more condemn the sinner, the person of the sinner, that shall be freed from its sentence. Here conscience labours with all its might to keep its whole dominion, and to keep out the power of forgiveness from being enthroned in the soul. It will allow men to talk of forgiveness, to hear it preached, though they abuse it every day; but to receive it in its power, that stands up in direct opposition to its dominion. In the kingdom, saith conscience, I will be greater than thou; and in many–in the most–it keeps its possession, and will not be deposed. Nor, indeed, is it an easy work so to deal with it. The apostle tells us that all the sacrifices of the Law could not do it (Heb 10:2); they could not bring a man into that estate wherein he could have no more conscience of sin–thief is, conscience condemning the person; for conscience, in a sense of sin, and condemnation of it, is never to be taken away. And this can be no otherwise done but by the blood of Christ, as the apostle at large there declares. (J. Owen, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER X.
The insufficiency of the legal sacrifices to take away sin,
1-4.
The purpose and will of God, as declared by the Psalmist,
relative to the salvation of the world by the incarnation of
Christ; and our sanctification through that will, 5-10.
Comparison between the priesthood of Christ and that of the
Jews, 11-14.
The new covenant which God promised to make, and the blessings
of it, 15-17.
The access which genuine believers have to the holiest by the
blood of Jesus, 18-20.
Having a High Priest over the Church of God, we should have
faith, walk uprightly, hold fast our profession, exhort and help
each other, and maintain Christian communion, 21-25.
The danger and awful consequences of final apostasy, 26-31.
In order to our perseverance, we should often reflect on past
mercies, and the support afforded us in temptations and
afflictions; and not cast away our confidence, for we shall
receive the promise if we patiently fulfil the will of God,
32-37.
The just by faith shall live; but the soul that draws back shall
die, 38.
The apostle’s confidence in the believing Hebrews, 39.
NOTES ON CHAP. X.
Verse 1. The law, having a shadow of good things to come] A shadow, , signifies,
1. Literally, the shade cast from a body of any kind, interposed between the place on which the shadow is projected, and the sun or light; the rays of the light not shining on that place, because intercepted by the opacity of the body, through which they cannot pass.
2. It signifies, technically, a sketch, rude plan, or imperfect draught of a building, landscape, man, beast, c.
3. It signifies, metaphorically, any faint adumbration, symbolical expression, imperfect or obscure image of a thing and is opposed to , body, or the thing intended to be thereby defined.
4. It is used catachrestically among the Greek writers, as umbra is among the Latins, to signify any thing vain, empty, light, not solid; thus Philostratus, Vit. Soph., lib. i. cap. 20: All pleasures are but SHADOWS and dreams. And Cicero, in Pison., cap. 24: Omnes umbras falsae gloriae consectari. “All pursue the SHADOWS of FALSE GLORY.” And again, De Offic., lib. iii. cap. 17: Nos veri juris germanaeque justitiae solidam et expressam effigiem nullam tenemus; umbra et itnaginibus utimur. “We have no solid and express effigy of true law and genuine justice, but we employ shadows and images to represent them.”
And not the very image] , image, signifies,
1. A simple representation, from , I am like.
2. The form or particular fashion of a thing.
3. The model according to which any thing is formed.
4. The perfect image of a thing as opposed to a faint representation.
5. Metaphorically, a similitude, agreement, or conformity.
The law, with all its ceremonies and sacrifices, was only a shadow of spiritual and eternal good. The Gospel is the image or thing itself, as including every spiritual and eternal good.
We may note three things here:
1. The shadow or general outline, limiting the size and proportions of the thing to be represented.
2. The image or likeness completed from this shadow or general outline, whether represented on paper, canvass, or in statuary,
3. The person or thing thus represented in its actual, natural state of existence; or what is called here the very image of the things, .
Such is the Gospel, when compared with the law; such is Christ, when compared with Aaron; such is his sacrifice, when compared with the Levitical offerings; such is the Gospel remission of sins and purification, when compared with those afforded by the law; such is the Holy Ghost, ministered by the Gospel, when compared with its types and shadows in the Levitical service; such the heavenly rest, when compared with the earthly Canaan. Well, therefore, might the apostle say, The law was only the shadow of good things to come.
Can never – make the comers thereunto perfect.] Cannot remove guilt from the conscience, or impurity from the heart. I leave preachers to improve these points.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For: this for is connecting this to the foregoing discourse, and is a further improvement of the argument laid down, Heb 9, proving the necessity and excellency of the one sacrifice offered by Christ for sinners unto God, from the weakness of all the legal ones. For if all the multitude of them were not able to take away sins, and Christs one offering is mighty to abolish them, and to perfect all who use it, then not these legal ones, but his is necessary to be valued by the Hebrews, and preferred to that end; the demonstration of which takes up from Heb 10:1-18 of this chapter.
The law; the whole Mosaical economy given from God to Israel by him in the wilderness of Sinai; priesthood, covenant, sacrifices, and services, which that did contain.
Having a shadow of good things to come: see Heb 8:5. A shadow is lower than an image, and of another kind from the reality or substance; a dark, obscure representation sentation of what was to fulfil them, viz. of Christ, with all his ministry and privileges attending his covenant, both for time and eternity; this the Mosaical law-real comprehended, but all in shadow-work.
And not the very image of the things; they are not the very essence and substance themselves of these things, the pattern, or real sampler, but a shadowy representation; they lead their users to Christ and his matters, which they represented, but were not the substantial good things themselves. So image is read, 1Co 15:49, we have borne the image of the earthy Adam, that is, his nature.
Can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect: the legal sacrifices are not only impotent in respect of their constitution, but of their very nature, being only shadows, so as they cannot render a soul complete, either in respect of justification or sanctification; they could not free any either from the guilt or punishment of sin at present, much less eternally: with all the renovation of them either on the day of atonement yearly, or those daily offered by them, though they should continue to be offered for ever, yet could they not perfect either the priests ministering, or those for whom they ministered, who were externally humbling themselves on the expiation day; they being designed only to point the people to this better sacrifice of Christ, which was to perfect them, that work being so noble, and above, the power of shadows to perform.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Previously the onenessof Christ’s offering was shown; now is shown its perfection ascontrasted with the law sacrifices.
havinginasmuch as ithas but “the shadow, not the very image,” that is, not theexact likeness, reality, and full revelation, such as the Gospel has.The “image” here means the archetype (compare Heb9:24), the original, solid image [BENGEL]realizing to us those heavenly verities, of which the law furnishedbut a shadowy outline before. Compare 2Co 3:13;2Co 3:14; 2Co 3:18;the Gospel is the very setting forth by the Word and Spirit of theheavenly realities themselves, out of which it (the Gospel) isconstructed. So ALFORD. AsChrist is “the express image (Greek, ‘impress’) ofthe Father’s person” (Heb 1:3),so the Gospel is the heavenly verities themselves manifested byrevelationthe heavenly very archetype, of which thelaw was drawn as a sketch, or outline copy (Heb8:5). The law was a continual process of acted prophecy, provingthe divine design that its counterparts should come; and proving thetruth of those counterparts when they came. Thus the imperfect andcontinued expiatory sacrifices before Christ foretend, and now prove,the reality of, Christ’s one perfect antitypical expiation.
good things to come(Heb 9:11); belonging to “theworld (age) to come.” Good things in part made present byfaith to the believer, and to be fully realized hereafter in actualand perfect enjoyment. Lessing says, “As Christ’s Church onearth is a prediction of the economy of the future life, so the OldTestament economy is a prediction of the Christian Church.” Inrelation to the temporal good things of the law, the spiritual andeternal good things of the Gospel are “good things to come.”Col 2:17 calls legal ordinances”the shadow,” and Christ “the body.”
neverat any time (Heb10:11).
with those sacrificesrather,”with the same sacrifices.
year by yearThisclause in the Greek refers to the whole sentence, not merelyto the words “which they the priests offered” (Greek,“offer”). Thus the sense is, not as English Version,but, the law year by year, by the repetition of the samesacrifices, testifies its inability to perfect the worshippers;namely, on the YEARLY dayof atonement. The “daily” sacrifices arereferred to, Heb 10:11.
continuallyGreek,“continuously,” implying that they offer a toilsome andineffectual “continuous” round of the “same”atonement-sacrifices recurring “year by year.”
comers thereuntothoseso coming unto God, namely, the worshippers (the whole people)coming to God in the person of their representative, the high priest.
perfectfully meetman’s needs as to justification and sanctification (see on Heb9:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the law having a shadow of good things to come,…. By which is meant not the moral law, for that is not a shadow of future blessings, but a system of precepts; the things it commands are not figuratively, but really good and honest; and are not obscure, but plain and easy to be understood; nor are they fleeting and passing away, as a shadow, but lasting and durable: but the ceremonial law is intended; this was a “shadow”, a figure, a representation of something true, real, and substantial; was dark and obscure, yet had in it, and gave, some glimmering light; and was like a shadow, fleeting and transitory: and it was a shadow of good things; of Christ himself, who is the body, the sum and substance of it, and of the good things to come by him; as the expiation of sin, peace and reconciliation, a justifying righteousness, pardon of sin, and eternal life; these are said to be “to come”, as they were under the former dispensation, while the ceremonial law was in force, and that shadow was in being, and the substance not as yet.
And not the very image of the things; as it had not neither the things themselves, nor Christ, the substance of them, so it did not give a clear revelation of them, as is made in the Gospel, nor exhibit a distinct delineation of them, such as an image expresses; it only gave some short and dark hints of future good things, but did not exactly describe them: and therefore
can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually: namely, the sacrifices of bullocks and goats, which were offered on the day of atonement, year after year, in successive generations, from the first appointment of that day, to the writing of this epistle: sacrifices of such a kind, and so often repeated, could never
make the comers thereunto perfect; either the people that came to the temple, and brought them to the priests to offer them for them, or the priests that offered them; so the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it, “perfect them that offer”; and if not one, then not the other: legal sacrifices could not make perfect expiation of sin; there is no proportion between them and sin: nor did they extend to all sin, and at most only typically expiated; nor could they justify and cleanse from sin. Contrary to this, the Jews p say,
“when Israel was in the holy land, there was no iniquity found in them, for the sacrifices which they offered every day stoned for them;”
but spiritual sacrificers and worshippers were expiated, justified, and cleansed another way, even by the blood of Christ, slain from the foundation of the world in purpose, promise, and type, and to which their faith had respect in every sacrifice.
p Zohar in Gen. fol. 107. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Priesthood of Christ. | A. D. 62. |
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Here the apostle, by the direction of the Spirit of God, sets himself to lay low the Levitical dispensation; for though it was of divine appointment, and very excellent and useful in its time and place, yet, when it was set up in competition with Christ, to whom it was only designed to lead the people, it was very proper and necessary to show the weakness and imperfection of it, which the apostle does effectually, from several arguments. As,
I. That the law had a shadow, and but a shadow, of good things to come; and who would dote upon a shadow, though of good things, especially when the substance has come? Observe, 1. The things of Christ and the gospel are good things; they are the best things; they are best in themselves, and the best for us: they are realities of an excellent nature. 2. These good things were, under the Old Testament, good things to come, not clearly discovered, nor fully enjoyed. 3. That the Jews then had but the shadow of the good things of Christ, some adumbrations of them; we under the gospel have the substance.
II. That the law was not the very image of the good things to come. An image is an exact draught of the thing represented thereby. The law did not go so far, but was only a shadow, as the image of a person in a looking-glass is a much more perfect representation than his shadow upon the wall. The law was a very rough draught of the great design of divine grace, and therefore not to be so much doted on.
III. The legal sacrifices, being offered year by year, could never make the comers thereunto perfect; for then there would have been an end of offering them, Heb 10:1; Heb 10:2. Could they have satisfied the demands of justice, and made reconciliation for iniquity,–could they have purified and pacified conscience,–then they had ceased, as being no further necessary, since the offerers would have had no more sin lying upon their consciences. But this was not the case; after one day of atonement was over, the sinner would fall again into one fault or another, and so there would be need of another day of atonement, and of one every year, besides the daily ministrations. Whereas now, under the gospel, the atonement is perfect, and not to be repeated; and the sinner, once pardoned, is ever pardoned as to his state, and only needs to renew his repentance and faith, that he may have a comfortable sense of a continued pardon.
IV. As the legal sacrifices did not of themselves take away sin, so it was impossible they should, v. 4. There was an essential defect in them. 1. They were not of the same nature with us who sinned. 2. They were not of sufficient value to make satisfaction for the affronts offered to the justice and government of God. They were not of the same nature that offended, and so could not be suitable. Much less were they of the same nature that was offended; and nothing less than the nature that was offended could make the sacrifice a full satisfaction for the offence. 3. The beasts offered up under the law could not consent to put themselves in the sinner’s room and place. The atoning sacrifice must be one capable of consenting, and must voluntarily substitute himself in the sinner’s stead: Christ did so.
V. There was a time fixed and foretold by the great God, and that time had now come, when these legal sacrifices would be no longer accepted by him nor useful to men. God never did desire them for themselves, and now he abrogated them; and therefore to adhere to them now would be resisting God and rejecting him. This time of the repeal of the Levitical laws was foretold by David (Psa 40:6; Psa 40:7), and is recited here as now come. Thus industriously does the apostle lay low the Mosaical dispensation.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Shadow (). The contrast here between (shadow, shade caused by interruption of light as by trees, Mr 4:32) and (image or picture) is striking. Christ is the of God (2Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In Col 2:17 Paul draws a distinction between for the Jewish rites and ceremonies and for the reality in Christ. Children are fond of shadow pictures. The law gives only a dim outline of the good things to come (9:11).
Continually ( ). See this phrase also in Heb 7:3; Heb 9:12; Heb 9:14. Nowhere else in N.T. From (), to bear through.
They can (). This reading leaves a nominativus pendens (an anacoluthon). But many MSS. read (it–the law–can). For the idea and use of see 9:9.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The arrangement of the verse is much disputed. Rend. “The law, with the same sacrifices which they continually renew year by year, can never make the comers thereunto perfect.” 217
A shadow [] . The emphasis is on this thought. The legal system was a shadow. Skia is a rude outline, an adumbration, contrasted with eijkwn, the archetypal or ideal pattern. Skia does not accurately exhibit the figure itself. Comp. ch. Heb 8:5.
Of good things to come [ ] . From the point of view of the law.
The very image of the things [ ] For eijkwn image, see on Rev 13:14; Phi 2:7. Pragmatwn things expresses a little more distinctly than mellontwn the idea of facts and realities.
Can [] . Dunatai might be expected with oJ nomov the law as the subject. If dunatai, the plural, is retained, the clause the law – image of the things must be taken absolutely, the construction of the sentence breaking off suddenly, and the subject being changed from the law to the priests : “The priests can never,” etc. It is better to read dunatai in the singular, with Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, and Weiss.
Continually [ ] . See on ch. Heb 7:3, and comp. vers. 12, 14. Const. with offer.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For the law having a shadow,” (skian gar echon ho nomos) “Because the law, having, holding, or possessing (in it) a shadow,” an outline, as that of a sketch to be filled in later, Col 2:17; Heb 8:5; Heb 9:9.
2) “Of good things to come,” (ton mellonton agathon) “Of the coming good things,” good things of intrinsic value about to come, Heb 9:11.
3) “And not the very image of the things,” (ouk auten ten eikona ton pragmaton) “Not itself the practical image of the matters; The law was not an historical living form of the invisible good things to come thru the new covenant.
4) “Can never with those sacrifices,” (oudepote dunatai tais autais thusiais) “Can never by the same sacrifice,” though repeated day after day, month after month, and year after year, Heb 9:9; Heb 9:24.
5) “Which they offered year by year continually,” (has prospherousin kat’ eniauton to dienekes) “Which they offer every year continually, or repeatedly,” 1Pe 3:18-19; Gal 3:19-25. The law was at its best an hazy outline, a shadow of good things to be wrought in Christ, to which it pointed in its sacrifices.
6) “Make the comers thereunto perfect,” (tous proserchomencis teleiosai) “Make perfect (perfect) those approaching,” the sacrifices, Heb 9:14; Heb 9:24; Heb 10:4; Heb 10:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. For the Law having a shadow, etc. He has borrowed this similitude from the pictorial art; for a shadow here is in a sense different from what it has in Col 2:17; where he calls the ancient rites or ceremonies shadows, because they did not possess the real substance of what they represented. But he now says that they were like rude lineaments, which shadow forth the perfect picture; for painters, before they introduce the living colors by the pencil, are wont to mark out the outlines of what they intend to represent. This indistinct representation is called by the Greeks σκιαγραφία, which you might call in Latin, “ umbratilem “, shadowy. The Greeks had also the εἰκὼν, the full likeness. Hence also “eiconia” are called images ( imagines ) in Latin, which represent to the life the form of men or of animals or of places.
The difference then which the Apostle makes between the Law and the Gospel is this, — that under the Law was shadowed forth only in rude and imperfect lines what is under the Gospel set forth in living colors and graphically distinct. He thus confirms again what he had previously said, that the Law was not useless, nor its ceremonies unprofitable. For though there was not in them the image of heavenly things, finished, as they say, by the last touch of the artist; yet the representation, such as it was, was of no small benefit to the fathers; but still our condition is much more favorable. We must however observe, that the things which were shown to them at a distance are the same with those which are now set before our eyes. Hence to both the same Christ is exhibited, the same righteousness, sanctification, and salvation; and the difference only is in the manner of painting or setting them forth.
Of good things to come, etc. These, I think, are eternal things. I indeed allow that the kingdom of Christ, which is now present with us, was formerly announced as future; but the Apostle’s words mean that we have a lively image of future blessings. He then understands that spiritual pattern, the full fruition of which is deferred to the resurrection and the future world. At the same time I confess again that these good things began to be revealed at the beginning of the kingdom of Christ; but what he now treats of is this, that they are not only future blessings as to the Old Testament, but also with respect to us, who still hope for them.
Which they offered year by year, etc. He speaks especially of the yearly sacrifice, mentioned in Lev 16:1, though all the sacrifices are here included under one kind. Now he reasons thus: When there is no longer any consciousness of sin, there is then no need of sacrifice; but under the Law the offering of the same sacrifice was often repeated; then no satisfaction was given to God, nor was guilt removed nor were consciences appeased; were it otherwise there would have been made an end of sacrificing. We must further carefully observe, that he calls those the same sacrifices which were appointed for a similar purpose; for a better notion may be formed of them by the design for which God instituted them, than by the different beasts which were offered.
And this one thing is abundantly sufficient to confute and expose the subtlety of the Papists, by which they seem to themselves ingeniously to evade an absurdity in defending the sacrifice of the mass; for when it is objected to them that the repetition of the sacrifice is superfluous, since the virtue of that sacrifice which Christ offered is perpetual, they immediately reply that the sacrifice in the mass is not different but the same. This is their answer. But what, on the contrary, does the Apostle say? He expressly denies that the sacrifice which is repeatedly offered, though the same, is efficacious or capable of making an atonement. Now, though the Papists should cry out a thousand times that the sacrifice which Christ once offered is the same with, and not different from what they make daily, I shall still always contend, according to the express words of the Apostle, that since the offerings of Christ availed to pacify God, not only an end was put to former sacrifices, but that it is also impious to repeat the sacrifice. It is hence quite evident that the offering of Christ in the mass is sacrilegious. (164)
(164) No remark is made on the second verse. Doddridge and Beza read the first clause without negative οὐκ and not as a question, according to the Vulg. And the Syr. Versions, “Otherwise they would have ceased to be offered.” Most MSS. favor our present reading. There is no real difference in the meaning.
The words, “no more conscience of sins,” are rendered by Beza, “no more conscious of sins;” by Doddridge, “no more consciousness of sins;” and by Stuart, “no longer conscious of sins.” The true meaning is no doubt thus conveyed. We meet with two other instances of conscience, συνειδήσης, being followed by what may be called the genitive case of the object, “conscience of the idol,” i.e., as to the idol, 1Co 8:7, — “conscience of God,” i.e., as to God, or towards God, 1Pe 2:19. And here, “conscience of sins,” must mean conscience with reference to sins, i.e., conviction of sins, a conscience apprehensive of what sins deserve. It is a word, says Parkhurst, which “is rarely found in the ancient heathen writers;” but it occurs often in the New Testament, though not but once in the Sept., Ecc 10:20. Its common meaning is conscience, and not consciousness, though it may be so rendered here, consistently with the real meaning of the passage. Michaelis in his Introduction to the New Testament, is referred to by Parkhurst, as having produced two instances, one from Philo, and the other from Diod. Siculus, in which it means “consciousness.” — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CHRISTS ONE SACRIFICE IS ALTOGETHER SUFFICIENT
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
THE first eighteen verses of this chapter are in the nature of a summary of what has already been presented, with some further unfoldings of the argument. One point is made especially prominent; it is that the repetition of the olden sacrifices testified to their inadequacy, while Christs one offering is perpetually availing to complete the purification of those who are affected by it. The main thesis of the writer should be kept well before the mind. He argues that the Jewish sacrifices availed for nothing more than external or ceremonial purifications, but the one offering of the obedient will of Christ purifies the soul or mind () from the uncleanness of sin, and renders it capable of offering acceptable service to the living God.
Heb. 10:1. The law.Used here for the Mosaic system or dispensation. The term is used in the New Testament with other meanings, such as the Ten Commandments, the general law relations of God with man. See St. Pauls use of the word in Romans and Galatians. Shadow.Imperfect sketch. Very image.Full representation. The words and are related, as the Latin umbra and effigies are. See Heb. 1:3. Stuart gives the point of the sentence thus: The law did not go so far as to exhibit a full image of future blessings, but only a slight adumbration. Farrar quotes the following sentence from St. Ambrose: The Law had the Shadow; the Gospel the Image; the Reality itself is in Heaven. Good things to come.See Heb. 9:11. The spiritual things of the new dispensation. Christ is the very image of God. Christs work is the very image of heavenly realities. Only it is the image, not the reality. Can never.This vital imperfection lay in those older sacrifices. Perfect.Much importance attaches to the writers use of this word. Compare Heb. 9:9-10. It is used here in the sense of fully meeting the whole circle of our spiritual need. The ineffectiveness of the sacrifices is shown in the fact that the sense of sin which they are supposed to remove recurs again, so that fresh sacrifices are found necessary.
Heb. 10:2. Not have ceased.The Mosaic ritual might have been retained if it had proved efficient. The precise thought here is, however, rather thisIf the offerings could have perfected those who presented them, would not the offerings have ceased? It might be answered, They would have ceased so far as concerned the offerers once purged, but they would have had to be constantly renewed for the sake of other worshippers. Conscience.; apprehension of the consequences of sin; consciousness of guilt. Pardon does not remove the fact of our guilt, nor destroy the memory of it, but it does remove the fear of penalty, and bring a sense of freedom.
Heb. 10:3. Remembrance.By the repetition of the same sacrifice for the same person. The writer dwells on his point so fully, because this view of the essential imperfection of Judaism would be exceedingly distasteful to his Jewish readers. But the inefficiency would not be apparent to those who lived under the Mosaic dispensation. It came to view only when the higher and spiritual dispensation was introduced. In the light of Christianity the weakness of Judaism appears. Farrars note on this verse is specially suggestive: This view of sacrificesthat they are a calling to mind of sins yearlyis very remarkable. It seems to be derived from Num. 5:15, where the offering of jealousy is called an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. Philo also speaks of sacrifices as providing, not an oblivion of sins, but a reminder of them. But if the sacrifices thus called sins to remembrance, they also daily symbolised the means of their removal, so that when offered obediently with repentance and faith they became valid symbols.
Heb. 10:4.This verse explains those which precede. No inconsistency really belonged to these sacrifices and this ceremonial, though so often repeated; for it was impossible that any such sacrifice should really remove sin. The offering was necessary, and it answered its purpose; but it could not remove the necessity for another and a better offering (Moulton). Not possible.Compare 1Sa. 15:22; Isa. 1:11-17; Jer. 6:20; Jer. 7:21-23; Amo. 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8; Hos. 6:6; Psa. 40:6-8, etc. Sins and blood of animals have no necessary relation to each other; none save that which, for teaching purposes, God pleases to fix to them. Sins can only be taken away by spritual influences exerted on spiritual conditions. All physical, material sacrifices are symbols of spiritual things. So is Christs bodily sacrifice. (See Outline Homily on Heb. 9:22.) Sins.Properly and precisely speaking, sin is not a particular act which is done, but the wilful condition of the mind, for which the act only finds expression. In this verse not penalties are dealt with, but sins. All sacrifices had their value, not in themselves, but in the spiritual condition of the worshippers, as is clearly seen in the cases of Cain and Abel, the first sacrificers.
Heb. 10:5. When He cometh.As antitype; spiritual realisation. See Psa. 40:7. Sacrifice and offering.The two classes of sacrifice that Judaism demanded. Victims sacrificed; slaughtered beasts; and unbloody offerings expressing gratitude and dependence. Wouldest not.See Heb. 10:7. No desire for any more such; desire now is for the reality that was symbolised in them. A body hast Thou prepared Me.The Hebrew seems to mean, Mine ears hast Thou opened, or ears hast Thou dug, or hollowed out, for Me. The Hebrews speak of opening the ears, and of uncovering the ears, in order to designate the idea of prompt obedience, of attentive listening to the commands of any one. The idea, Mine ears hast Thou bored through in token of My servitude, does not appear at all suitable here. Better read, Thou hast given Me the power of hearing, so as to obey. A channel of communication has been opened, through which the knowledge of Gods true will can reach the heart, and excite the desire to obey. The obedience (sacrifice) of Christ was the full surrender of His will to the will of God: but to be a human obedience, bearing relation to us, it must have a body sphere. This explains the physical phase of the great sacrifice.
Heb. 10:6. Burnt-offerings.Should be whole burnt-offerings. These represented the full surrender of himself by the offerer, when they were made really spiritual sacrifices. Usually they were regarded but as ceremonials. The idea of corrupt Judaism is, that God is pleased with burnt-offerings as offerings, and for their own sake.
Heb. 10:7. In the volume of the book.Besides the reference to Psalms 40, the writer intimates that this is the general burden of the Messianic allusions in the Old Testament Scriptures. Come to do Thy will.Clearly stating wherein consists the true spiritual sacrifice, even in the full surrender of Christs whole self in obedience to God, through life and death. Perfect human obedience in human spheres God required. He who rendered it made the great sacrifice.
Heb. 10:10. By the which will.Or by the yielding to the will, in obedience unto death. Or by the voluntary self-sacrifice of Christ. We are sanctified.Set right and made right. Observe how entirely this is conceived by the writer in a spiritual sense. The antitypical sacrifice is the offering of the will of Jesus, in obedience to the Divine will. But our wills can only act, and gain expression, through our bodies and our bodily relations, and therefore our Lords sublime self-surrender took a bodily form.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Heb. 10:1-10
The Shadow and Image of Sacrifice.The law of all effective teaching is, Simplify and repeat. This writer does not hesitate to repeat, endeavouring to fix on attention the points which he regards as of supreme importance. In the first portion of this chapter there is a summary of previous teachings. He had previously spoken of the law, or ceremonial and sacrificial system of Judaism, as a copy, or shadow, of heavenly or spiritual things (Heb. 8:5). He does not deny the value of the shadow, but it is a value which strictly belongs to it as a shadow, and we must never get to value it for its own sake, only for the sake of the reality, whose existence, and whose presence, it indicates. Shadow is an imperfect sketch, a mere outline, a slight representation or resemblance. Image is a picture filled out or completed, and made, in all its minuter parts, to resemble the original. Illustration may be found by contrasting the black outline portraits, which were the fashion fifty years agomere shadows of our friendsand the modern photographs, which give us their very image. But we need not be so strictly limited to the exact meaning of the terms which this writer uses. And this explanation hardly seems to catch his point of distinction. A shadow is not an independent thing. It is thrown by something. Something real, substantial, exists, which casts the shadow, and which the shadow, in some imperfect way, represents. To this writer the spiritual relations of men with God, as secured by the spiritual sacrifice of the spiritual High Priest, form the reality, the thing itself, the image; and the material, outward, ceremonial system of Judaism was the shadow which it flung on earth beforehand, to give men some outline idea of it, and prepare them for realising it fully by-and-by. Taking this view, we inquire
I. What the shadow was.A system of rules, rites, sacrifices; involving a material tabernacle, articles of furniture, and an order of priesthood. All Divinely arranged, and bearing Divine authority. In no sense to be thought of as an independent system, or an independent revelation. It was the shadow that belonged to something, and told of what it belonged to. No man ever saw it aright without saying, What can that be which has caused this shadow?
II. What the shadow could do.Meet the needs of the hour, which were not purely spiritual needs. Religious education was then in no sense complete. It was in its pictorial stage. The nation of Israel was then in its formative period. It was getting all its civil, social, and governmental relations put into order. All its interest was in outward things, and its religion had to be in harmony, and to be concerned also with outward things. So the shadow religious system was occupied with arranging religious affairs, and rectifying them when they became disturbed.
III. What the shadow could not do.Satisfy spiritual needs. Deal with the personal, the soul, relations of men with God, who bore on them the conscience of sin. The shadow could take away ceremonial penalties: it could not take away sin. It could not make the comers thereunto perfect. It might help the spiritually-minded to enter into that spiritual reality, that eternal meaning of things, which its outline could only suggest.
IV. What the Image was.A spiritual High Priest, abiding ever in the presence of God mediating for man. The spiritual and infinitely acceptable sacrifice of the High Priest Himself. The offering of a spotless life of obedience, tested and proved by the strain of an awful death. That sacrifice ever in Gods view, because the Priest is always before Him. And a spiritual covenant which pledges, not the mere shaping of conduct, but the renewal of mens hearts and wills; the implanting of a love which will make obedience both easy and acceptable.
V. What the Image could not do.Fit to the age that was past; or to those who persisted in keeping the attitude, and limited capacity, that properly belonged to the past. The times were changed; mens spiritual instincts were awakened; and the system that was called for could do nothing for those who kept down on the materialistic, symbolical, and ceremonial levels. Farrar illustrates the awakened spiritual feeling of the times in which the epistle to the Hebrews was written when he says: Philo, in one of his finest passages, shows how deeply he had realised that sacrifices were valueless, apart from holiness, and that no mere external acts can cleanse the soul from moral guilt. He adds that God accepts the innocent even when they offer no sacrifices, and delights in unkindled altars if the virtues dance around them. The heathen had learnt the same high truths.
VI. What the Image could do.Remove sinsthe spiritual penalties that necessarily follow sins: the conscience of sins which always burdens when the spiritual nature of sin is apprehended. It effected the purging, or cleansing away, of sinfulness, which in its essence is child-wilfulness; and this goes when into the child-heart is put again, through the sacrifice, mediation, and grace of Christ, the spirit of child-obedience. The dispensation which is the very image and reality can make men and women once again, and once for ever, sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty.[1]
[1] An image is an exact draft of the thing represented thereby. The law did not go so far, but was only a shadow, as the image of a person in a looking-glass is a much more perfect representation than his shadow upon the wall. The law was a very rough draft of the great design of Divine grace, and therefore not to be so much doted on.Matthew Henry.
The relativity of a religion of shadows.The efficiency of a religion of shadows lies in its relativity to a particular age, and a particular people. The Syrian Version gives the first sentence of Heb. 10:1 thus: The lawnot having the reality of the things. The Greek word for image means, not a resemblance or likeness, but the essential form of a thing. It stands as the representative of , the body or substance.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Heb. 10:1. The Imperfect Efficiency of the Jewish Sacrifices.They can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh (R.V.). Dr. J. Harris says: What is the Jewish economy, if we desire to reach its interior truths, but a vast, profound, elaborated enigmato which the gospel, indeed, brings us the key, but the opening and exploration of which is yet incomplete? The legal sacrifices, being offered year by year, could never make the comers thereunto perfect, for then there would have been an end of offering them. Could they have satisfied the demands of justice, and made reconciliation for iniquitycould they have purified and pacified consciencethen they had ceased, as being no further necessary, since the offerers would have had no more sin lying upon their consciences. But this was not the case; after one day of atonement was over, the sinner would fall again into one fault or another, and so there would be need of another day of atonement, and of one every year, besides the daily ministrations. Whereas now, under the gospel, the atonement is perfect, and not to be repeated, and the sinner, once pardoned, is ever pardoned as to his state, and only needs to renew his repentance and faith, that he may have a comfortable sense of a continued pardon. As the legal sacrifices did not of themselves take away sin, so it was impossible they should (Heb. 10:4). There was an essential defect in them.
1. They were not of the same nature with those who sinned.
2. They were not of sufficient value to make satisfaction for the affronts offered to the justice and government of God. They were not of the same nature that offended, and so could not be suitable. Much less were they of the same nature that was offended, and nothing less than the nature that was offended could make the sacrifice a full satisfaction for the offence.
3. The beasts offered up under the law could not consent to put themselves in the sinners room and place. The atoning sacrifice must be one capable of consenting, and must voluntarily substitute himself in the sinners stead: Christ did so.Matthew Henry.
Heb. 10:2. The Bad Consciousness taken away.The reading is, not conscience of no more sins, as if the sins were stopped, but no more conscience of sins, as if the conscience of sins already past were somehow extirpated, or else the sins taken quite away from it, and for ever extirpated themselves, as facts, or factors of the life. How is it, or how is it to be imagined, that Christ, by His sacrifice, takes away the condemning conscience, or the felt dishonour of transgression?
I. The supposed answers that are not sufficient.When it is conceived that Christ has borne our punishment, that, if it were true, might take away our fear of punishment; but fear is one thing, and mortified honour, self-condemning guilt, self-chastising remorse, another and very different thing. Neither will it bring any relief to show that the justice of God is satisfied. Be it so; the transgressor is none the better satisfied with himself. Is it conceived that what has satisfied the justice of God has also atoned the guilty conscience? Will it then make the guilty conscience less guilty, or say sweeter things of itself, that it sees innocence, purity, goodness Divine, put to suffering for it? Is it then brought forward to quell the guilt of the conscience that Christ has evened our account legally by His sacrifice, and that we are even justified of God for Christs sake? But if God calls us just, do we any the less certainly disapprove ourselves? Forgiveness, taken as a mere release of claim, or a negative letting go of right against transgression, brings, if possible, even less help to the conscience. Christ had forgiven His crucifiers in His dying prayer, but it was the very crime of the cross, nevertheless, that pricked so many hundred hearts on the Day of Pentecost. But Christ renews the soul itself, it will be said, and makes it just within, when, of course, it will be justified. That does not follow. But the fatherhood of Godthe disciple of another school will take refuge under that, and say that here, at least, there is truly no more conscience of sin. Conscience, in man, is Gods throne of judgment in the man. If God, in His fatherhood, were a being dealing in laxities and fond accommodations, having no care for His rectoral honour, as the defender of right and order, we certainly are not such to ourselves.
II. The answer that is given by the Scriptures of God.Is it possible, and how far possible, to change the consciousness of a soul, without any breach of its identity? In this manner, we shall find, the gospel undertakes to remove, and assumes the fact of the removal of, the dishonour and self-condemnation of sin. See first certain analogies. A thoroughly venal, low-principled man, elected President of the United States, will undergo, not unlikely, an inward lifting of sentiment and impulse, corresponding with the immense lift of his position. He wants to deserve the place, and begins to act in character in it. How many thousand soldiers, who before were living in the low, mean vices, lost to character and self-respect, have been raised, in like manner, in our armies, to quite another grade of being! The same is true, in a different way, of all the gifted ones in art and speech and poetry when they are taken by the inspirations of genius. When such a soul, that was down upon the level of uses, torturing itself into production for applause, begins to behold Gods signature upon His works, then he becomes to himself quite another creature. In such examples we are made familiar with the possibility of remarkable liftings in the consciousness of men, such as make them really other to themselves, and set them in a higher range of being; and we are prepared for that more wonderful ascent above ourselves which is accomplished in Christ, when He takes us away from the conscience of sins. He does it by so communicating God, or Himself as the express Image of God, that He changes, in fact, the plane of our existence. The very thing that Christianity proposes is to bring us up into another level, where the consciousness shall take in other matter, and have a higher range. But you will not conceive how very essential this idea of a raising of the consciousness may be, if you do not bring up distinctly the immense fall of our moral consciousness in the precipitation of our sin. In their true normal condition, as originally created, human souls are inherently related to God, made permeable and inspirable by Him, intended to move in His Divine impulse for ever. A sponge in the sea is not more truly made to be filled and permeated by the water in which it grows, than a soul to be permeated and possessed by the infinite Life. It is so made that, over and above the little tiny consciousness it has of itself, it may have a grand, all-inclusive consciousness of God. In that consciousness it was to be, and be lifted and blessed evermore. But this higher consciousness, the consciousness of God, is exactly what was lost in transgression, and nothing was left of course but the little defiled consciousness of ourselves, in which we are all contriving how to get some particles of good, or pleasure, or pride, or passion, that will comfort us. The true normal footing or plane of our humanity was thus let down, and it is exactly this which Christ undertakes to restore. As soon as the soul is opened to God, by the faith of Jesus Christ, and is truly born of God, it begins to be the higher creature God meant it to bethe same yet another. The disciple, raised thus in his plane, has the same consciousness, and remembers the same sins, and is the very same person that he was before; but the consciousness of God, now restored, makes him so nearly another being to himself, that the old torment of his sin will scarcely so much as ripple the flow of his peace. If Christ is purging thus mens consciences, by lifting them above themselves, into a higher range of life, the conception will appear and reappear, in many distinct forms, and weave itself in so many varieties, into the whole texture of Christianity. Three of the forms may be noticed:
1. Justification by faith. Gospel justification turns on no such mere objective matter as the squaring of an account, nor on any such subjective matter as our being made inherently righteous; but it turns on the fact of our being so invested with God, and closeted in His righteous impulse, that He becomes a felt righteousness upon us. Inherently speaking, we are not righteous; our store is in God, not in ourselves; but we have the supply traductively from Him, just as we have the supply of light from the sun. But the new Divine consciousness in which we live is continually conforming us, more and more deeply, and will settle us at last, in its own pure habit. It is the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe. It is a higher consciousness which God generates and feeds, and as long as He does it there is no more conscience of sins.
2. The same truth of a raising of our plane appears in what is called the witness of the Spirit. Being spirit, we are permeable by the Divine Spirit, and He has a way of working in our working, so as to be consciously known as a better presence in our hearts.
3. It is also presented in what is said of the conscious inhabitation of Christ. Until Christ be formed in you. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. It is as if Pauls being itself were taken well-nigh out of its identity by Christ revealed in it. The old sin he does not think of. The conscience of sinsit may be that he has it in a sense; for, being an eternal fact, he must eternally know it; but the Christ-consciousness in him ranges so high above the self-consciousness, that he lives in a summit of exaltation, which the infinitesimal disturbances of his human wrong and shame cannot reach. When once you have conceived the possibility of raising a soul into a higher grade and order, where the consciousness shall take in more than the mere self, the body of Gods own righteousness and love and peace, the problem is solved, and that in a way so plain, yet so easily ennobling to our state of shame, that it proves itself by its own self-supporting evidence.Horace Bushnell, D.D.
Conscience of Sins after Ceremonies.Should have had no more conscience of sins. Ritual religions can never deal with any more than the legal penalties attending on sin, and the outward relations into which men are brought by sin. There may be a personal and spiritual religion within the ritual, and finding expression through it, or there may not. The spiritual religion within is by no means essential to the efficiency of the ritual religion, so far as it goes. But it is evident that no ritual religion can alone suffice to meet the necessities of man as a spiritual being, standing in spiritual relations; afflicted in conscience, as well as disturbed in relations, by sin. No ritual ever yet cleansed a conscience of its sense of sin, or lifted from a soul its burden of guilt. This may be effectively illustrated by the religion represented by the book of Psalms. Such psalms as the thirty-second and fifty-first bring before us men who have, or who have had, the conscience of sin. But they do not seek their soul-relief from Levitical sacrifices, from any routine ceremonies. They evidently feel instinctively that these cannot meet their case. They go direct to God Himself, past all ceremonies and symbols, seeking personal relations, and immediate forgiveness.
Heb. 10:4. Everything to its Sphere.Everything that exists by nature, and everything that takes shape by art and mans device, has its proper sphere, its adaptation to that sphere, and its efficiency within that sphere. Nothing can be its real, best self, nothing can be really efficient, outside of or transcending its proper sphere. It does not fit. It is too large, or too small, or otherwise. Blood of bulls and goats has a sphere, strictly limited to the removal of ceremonial uncleanness. It is efficient there. It is helpless in the sphere of soul-sin and burdened conscience.
Heb. 10:5. A Living Sacrifice.These words, as used of Christ, unfold the mystery of His redeeming work: as used by the psalmist, they show us what is the spirit of the redeemed life. Christ did not come to offer a sacrifice in Jewish mode, or to offer Himself in the mode in which a Jewish sacrifice was offered; but to do that which the sacrifices of Judaism typified, to offer the obedience of a life, and that obedience in a human body.
1. God does not ask of any man first what he has. He asks first for the man himselfwhat he is.
2. If any man is willing to give God what he is, then that man will find that God is willing to accept what he has.
3. But how far may the distinction between what a man has, and what a man is, be carried? In life we have to do with some persons who want what we have; but we have to do with othersaltogether dearer oneswho can be satisfied with nothing less than ourselveswhat we are; just our love is their wealth. It is somewhat thus with God. The design of God in giving us what we have, is that by means of it we may carry ourselves to Him. What a man is includes his body. Man is not a spirit only; he is a spirit in a certain particular body, which has certain particular relations. So we never can give ourselves to God until we give Him soul and body together. Show how much larger an idea of the living sacrifice this is than is generally conceived. To make any gift acceptable to any oneand certainly to Goda man must put himself into the gift. Our bodies must carry us to God, as the body of Jesus (and indeed of the psalmist) carried Him.
The Atonement.Why is the doctrine of the Atonement called an immoral doctrine? It is based, it is said, on injustice. The point on which the objector has fixed is the substitution of one man for another to suffer for sin. But he does not take the doctrine of substitution as represented and interpreted by Christian teachers, but barely and nakedly, simply as the principle of vicarious punishment. So stated, the notion is certainly a barbarous one. But God cannot regard punishment apart from the person to whom it is due. He cannot be appeased by pain as such, without reference to the bearer of it. He cannot be contented, so long as the punishment is suffered, that another than the criminal should be the sufferer. Such a bald notion of atonement does not require that the sacrifice should be voluntary. Punishment, vicarious or other, does not require a voluntary suffereronly a sufferer. A striking illustration of an atonement was found in the state religion of Mexico. The gospel is, that love is of the very essence of sacrifice, and that there cannot be sacrifice without will. In the case of Christ there was no earthly altar, no expiatory form, no visible priest. Nobody could have told, either from His life or from His death, that He was a victim. He died by the natural course of events, as the effect of a holy and courageous life operating upon the intense jealousy of a class; He died by civil punishment; and yet in heaven that death pleaded as the sacrifice that taketh away the sin of the world. But that sacrifice was a willing self-offered sacrifice; and this takes away all question of injustice to the victim. In common life no wrong is done to one who volunteers to take a painful office. The existence of pain and evil being supposed, there arises a special morality upon this fact, and in connection with it. It is the morality of sacrifice. Sacrifice then becomes, in the person who makes it, the most remarkable kind of manifestation of virtue, which ennobles the sufferer, and which it is no wrong-doing in the universe to accept. What is the effect of such an atonement on the sinner? The willingness of the sacrifice changes the mode of the operation of the sacrifice, so that it acts on a totally different principle and law from that upon which a sacrifice, if a mere substitution, acts. When a man substitutes himself for another, he really means to soften the heart of the judge, to stimulate the element of mercy in the judge. The gospel puts the doctrine of Atonement in this light. The mercy of God the Father is called out toward man by our Lords generous sacrifice of Himself in behalf of men. Neither in natural mediation nor in supernatural does the act of suffering love, in producing that change of regard to which it tends, dispense with the moral change of the criminal. We cannot, of course, because a good man suffers for a criminal, alter our regards to him, if he obstinately remains a criminal. And if the gospel taught any such thing in the doctrine of the Atonement, it would certainly expose itself to the charge of immorality. Undoubtedly there must be this change, but even with this past crime is not yet pardoned. There is room for a mediatorroom for some source of pardon which does not take its rise in a mans self, although it must act with conditions. But viewed as acting upon this mediatorial principle, the doctrine of the Atonement rises altogether to another level; it parts company with the gross and irrational conception of mere naked material substitution of one person for another in punishment, and it takes its stand upon the power of love, and points to the actual effect of the intervention of suffering love in nature, and to a parallel case of mediation as a pardoning power in nature. The doctrine of Scripture, so far from being the doctrine of mere substitution, is a protest against that doctrine; it makes accurate provision for moral claims; it enforces conditions on the subject of the sacrifice; it attributes a reasonable and rational ground of influence and mode of operation to the sacrifice. There is, however, undoubtedly, contained in the Scriptural doctrine of the Atonement, a kind, and a true kind, of fulfilment of justice. It is a fulfilment in the sense of appeasing and satisfying justice. And so, also, there is a kind of substitution involved in the Scriptural doctrine of the Atonement, and a true kind; it is not a literal, but a moral substitution. The doctrine of the Atonement is the doctrine which most of all comes into collision with, and declares most unextinguishable war with, materialistic ideas of the Deity. So rooted is the great principle of mediation in nature, that the mediatorship of Christ cannot be revealed to us without reminding us of a whole world of analogous action, and of representation of action. How natural thus does the idea of a mediator turn out to be! Yet this is exactly the point at which many stumble: pardon they approve of; reconciliation they approve of; but reconciliation by means of mediation is what they cannot understand. Why not dispense with a superfluity? they say; and why not let these relieve us from what they consider the incumbrance of a mediator? It has, however, appeared to the great mass of Christians infinitely more natural to be saved with a Mediator than without one.J. B. Mozley, D.D.
A Sacrifice in the Living of a Human Life.A body hast Thou prepared Me. A human body is the medium through which a soula spiritual beingis enabled to live a human life on the eartha life of various earthly relations. What is here affirmed appears to be thisthat God was pleased to find a material, human body, in which His Son, the spiritual being Jesus, could live out a human life, as a human son, perfecting an obedience to the will of God, which should be a representative obedience for humanity. And it seems to be distinctly declared that the real spiritual sacrifice which Jesus offered to God on behalf of humanity was that life of obedience and submission and service which He lived throughunder a strain and stress which reached its climax in the crossin that human body which God had prepared for Him, in which He could, fully and representatively, do and bear Gods will for humanity.
The Sacrifice of the Body.This sentence is a quotation from one of the Psalms, but it is not quoted with strict accuracy. In the psalm there is a figure; in the quotation the figure is not repeated, it is translated, and its meaning is suggested. In Psa. 40:6 the words are, Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou opened. But the Hebrew would be more precisely rendered, Ears hast Thou digged or pierced for Me. Two explanations of this figure have been offered. There was a curious ancient custom, which some think may be referred to here. When a Hebrew voluntarily resolved to be the life-long servant or slave of another person, that person accepted the surrender by boring through the ear of the would-be slave with an awl. The law regulating this matter is given in Exo. 21:5-6 : And if the servant [who could claim his freedom] shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. If this could be received as the basis of the figure in the psalm, the sentence would then mean, I am, through life, thy voluntary servant. But if that had been the reference, a certain technical word would have been used; and even the English reader can see that in the psalm both ears are mentioned, and the Hebrew boring was done only to one ear. The better explanation is that opening the ears, digging out the ears, hollowing the ears, uncovering the ears, suggested to the Hebrews the idea of prompt obedience, of attentive listening to the commands of any one. We may understand the figure to mean, Thou hast made me obedient, or I am entirely devoted to thy service. What God desires is not sacrifice, but hearing ears, and consequently the submission of the person himself in willing obedience. Where the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews gained his translation of the figure into a body hast Thou prepared Me does not clearly appear. Some of the manuscripts of the Septuagint Version have this rendering, and the writer may have met with one of these; but some think he purposely made the alteration so as to make the Messianic reference of the psalm more distinct. Ears are given so that we may hear and heed. A body is given so that we may obey and serve in the earthly spheres. And Messiah is represented as saying, Lo, I come [in the body which Thou hast given me] to do Thy will, O God. The text is part of an argument. The writer is urging that the animal sacrifices of Judaism availed only for external or ceremonial purification. They vitally and eternally saved nobody. They represented the true sacrifice, which God then accepted, and still acceptsthe sacrifice of an obedient will, and of a consecrated life. He has provided for us bodies; He has uncovered for us ears; we too can do His will. Our text then embodies a great principle which I want to state, to illustrate, and to enforce. It was true for the psalmist; it was true for our Lord Jesus Christ; and it is true also for us. The principle is thisGod never asks of any man first of all what he has. God asks of every man first of all, himself, what he is. If any man is willing to give himself to God, then God will lovingly accept also what he has.
I. God never asks of any man first of all what he has.Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein. Sacrifice and offering both represent mans gifts to God. They are things which a man has; they are things belonging to man. The distinction between them is a Jewish one. Sacrifice is a gift to God of that which has lifelife which can be surrendered. Offering is a gift to God of something which has no life, but which can be used in Gods service. The man who brought a bullock, or a lamb, or a dove made his gift to God; and the man who brought his shekel, or his flower, or his jewel, or his robe also made his gift to God. He brought of his propertyof the things that he had. And if that was all he brought, God never asked for it, and never wanted it. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me, saith the Lord; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. Bring no more vain oblations. The prophet Isaiah gives these searching words as the utterance of Gods Spirit through him; but the earlier psalmist had quite as clear a vision of the truth that God never has cared for mere things. I will take no bullock out of thine house, nor he-goats out of the folds, for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof. Sacrifice and offering! They are only things of which man claims possession, and which, as his own, he consents to give. Cattle from his folds, corn and fruit from his fields, gold and jewels from his treasuries. In what sense they are his does not readily appear, since man has nothing to possess, but everything lent him just for use during his brief spell of life. When good men give to God, they reverently say, Of Thine own have we given Thee. In the sight of God there is a most valid and practical distinction between what a man has, and what a man is. In our sight that distinction is most strangely confused. We are constantly valuing men according to the measure of what they call their wealth. God reckons a mans possessions at nothing, save as it deepens the mans responsibility for the faithful use of his trusts. The man himself is of priceless worth. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? We need to learn how to distinguish between the essentials and the accidents of the man; between the man and the clothes which, at a given time, he may happen to wear; between the man and the material circumstances with which he may be surrounded. Job expresses the distinction very vigorously when all his things that he had were gone from his grasp, seized by the invader, or whirled away in the storms. Naked came I out of my mothers womb, and naked shall I return thither. Things were gone; but he was what he was. A man carries his entire self into the next world. Death cannot rob him of that. Death cannot touch or injure that. But man cannot carry into the next world a single one of the things that he only has. Death has its power on them, and plucks them all awayplucks away the monarchs crown, and the noblemans estate, and the ladys gay apparel and costly jewels. Death stands before the dying man, and compels him to surrender absolutely everything that he has. Death will not let the man take even his grave-clothes with him. The wild Indian will have his bow and arrows put into the grave with him, that they may be ready for use in the happy hunting-grounds he is anticipating. But it is a vain delusion. They only rot in the dampness of the grave. When a late Queen of Madagascar died, they arrayed her in her most gorgeous dresses, ornamented her with her jewels, and so laid her in the tomb. But they only wasted what might have been of use to somebody, and put temptation in the way of thieves. No dresses nor jewels deck her majesty in the other life. She is just herself, and a poor miserable self she must be. Moses and Elijah reappeared from the glory, but they were the very men they were, just the men, even the earth-form and dress was but a seeming. Realise the distinction between the essentials of a man and the accidents of a man, and then you will understand what I mean when I say, that God never has, and never will, ask first of all for the accidents of a man.
1. Because whatsoever a man may seem to have, it is not really his. It is only a loan to him, only a trust to him. It all belongs to God; and to give it to God is only to give God His own. He needs nothing from us. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. What have we that we have not received?
2. And because nothing that man has could reach up to satisfy the claims of God. Know God as the infinite moral Being, the Source of all moral being, as the eternal Father of mankind, and at once it comes to mind that His claim must be for love, for trust, for obedience, for service. No mere material things can ever satisfy parent hearts. Fathers and mothers stand in soul-relations, and they can never be satisfied with other gifts from their children instead of soul-gifts. So thoroughly is God represented as despising mere things that have no soul in them, that when men failed to give themselves in and with their gifts, God actually dealt severely with their gifts. Cain brought an offering only of things. He was not himself in his gift. And unto Cain, and to his offering, the Lord had not respect. Pleading with a people who had become wholly formal in their religious gifts, God says, Incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. To what purpose cometh there to Me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto Me. I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer Me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols (Amo. 5:21-23). This truth is indeed set forth so plainly, and so impressively, that it is passing strange to find men still deluded by the notion that God can be pleased with gifts. Heathen people still say, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, and with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Christian people still give goods, or prayers, or emotions. And still the apostolic words may be used, and we may say, God seeks not yours, but you.
II. God asks of every man the gift of himself, of what he is.If we separate a man from his possessions, from the things that he only has, what is gathered up in the man? There is body, mind, affections, character, soul. For this earth-sphere a man is not a simple spirit, but a spirit with a certain particular environment. And it is this whole self which God asks. Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are His. I beseech you therefore, brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. We find our model gift in the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His whole bodily and spiritual manhood in one life-long devotion to God. There is a sense in which men may properly be regarded as not already Gods. Something which can only be called independence has been given to us. Though it is placed under strict limitations, our free-will does make us separate persons, and give us some sort of right in ourselves. And we well know how self-will exaggerates the independence, and throws off God, saying, Who is the Lord, that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him? In whatsoever sense man is himself, he can give that self to God. The truth is, that the only thing which any man has that he can give to God is himself. This every man, poor or rich, wise or ignorant, can give; and this is every mans grandest and noblest gift.
Lord, in the strength of grace, with a glad heart and free,
Myself, my residue of days, I consecrate to Thee.
Thy ransomed servant, I restore to Thee Thine own;
And from this moment live or die, to serve my God alone.
A man can give his will to God, voluntarily choosing Him, and acceptting His service, saying with the noble Joshua, Whatsover others do, we will serve the Lord. A man may give his love to God; and of such a man God will surely say, Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him. A man may give his penitence to God, going to Him and saying, Father, I have sinned, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son. And such a man ever finds the Father waiting and watching for his return, and hears the sweetest sounds of home-welcome, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. A man may give to God his obedience. It is this which comes fully into view in our text: Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God. This is what God asks of you and me, asks of every one: Be Mine. I am Father. Be thou My son indeed. All the revelations that God makes to men, read in the light of their deepest meanings, are just persuasions to making full surrender of themselves to Him. The type of them all is to be found in the vision given to Jacob at Bethel. He felt like a homeless wanderer. He was bearing the burden of his own wrong-doing. Yet God was mindful of him, caring for him, watching him, tending him all night through with loving angel ministries. That vision was God calling upon Jacob to give Him himself; and Jacob did it. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my fathers house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I set up for a pillar, shall be Gods house. And of all which Thou, O God, shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.
III. When a man gives to God what he is, God graciously accepts, with him, what he has.How very different is the value we put on the various gifts that we receive! Some are mere gifts. They say nothing; they mean nothing. We take them. But we wish we had not to take them. We put them aside, after a cold thanksgiving. And we do not much care if we never see the thing any more. We are like God in thisthat we are very indifferent to mere things as gifts. But the very same gifts, and even inferior gifts, may become priceless. They are if they carry to us a hearts loveif the gift is the person, expressed only in the thing that is offered. Then the gifts are treasured. Then they find conspicuous place. Then they are looked at again and again, and always seem to freshen the love-gift of which they remind. It is thus with God. At one time sacrifice and offering will seem to Him altogether worthless. It is only sacrifice and offering. At another time they will seem to Him of priceless value, because they express love, and trust, and obedience, full heart-surrender. When we can say, Lo, I come to do Thy will, when we can give to God ourselves, then everything we bring with us will be acceptable unto Him. Passing by the receipt of custom, our Lord found Matthew seated, busily engaged with his work. Our Lord called him. But Matthew did not respond by giving his money, Christ cared nothing for that. Matthew responded by giving to Christ himself, and that gift carried with it his money, his abilities, everything that Matthew had. Some time ago I took part in a scene of peculiar interest and suggestiveness. Well-nigh two thousand persons were assembled in the largest chapel in Liverpool, to bid God-speed to a band of missionaries who were about to leave home and friends, and devote themselves to Christs service in heathen lands. Twenty-three men and women faced that great audience as they sat together upon the platform. As I watched them I thought what a variety of powers and talents they representedwhat various riches they had. But they were not giving to Christ their abilities, their doctoring skill, their teaching efficiencies, their power to draw or to preach. Those men and women were giving to Christ themselvesthemselves as spiritual beings. The company on that platform was a company of consecrated men and women; their manhood and their womanhood lay on the altar of Christ. They gave their own selves to the Lord. But they gave themselves in their bodies, with their bodies. The gift of themselves carried with it all they had; and the God who so graciously accepted them, as graciously accepted theirs with them. And so they represented a whole devotementwhat they were, and what they had. There they sat, the realisation of the whole burnt-offering unto the Lord. That truth fills our thoughts and heartsGod wants us first, then ours. Have we been making the fatal mistake, and bringing, as offerings to God, our things? Have we imagined that Gods claim could be satisfied with gifts of our money, of anything that we only have? See this truth once again. God wants you. Yes, first you. He will receive nothing from you until you give Him yourself. And when you give yourself, you cannot help giving all you have. This is Gods order; you cannot alter itfirst you, then yours. This is the Lords sacrificeyourself in the body prepared for you.
Heb. 10:7. Submission and Obedience.The will of God is a present, living reality. It is not something shut up in a book. It is a living revelation to us, made by the indwelling, presiding Spirit. We may know the will of God now as truly as our fathers did when the will came to them in an audible voice, or by an angel-messenger. We may even conceive the time when the written word will cease to be the medium of the will, because spiritual relations will be perfected. This text presents one form in which we have to accept the Divine will, and it suggests the other; for there are two forms in which the will of God has to be met:
(1) By submissionbearing; and
(2) by obediencedoing. Prominence is here given to obedience. In Gethsemane prominence is given to submission. Too often it is urged that submission is the only attitude for us to take in relation to the will. This may, indeed, be fittingly commended to the sick, the suffering, and the dying, but it is not the attitude most wisely commended to the healthy, the active, and the enterprising. It is the glory of our nature that we are not mere things to be acted upon, but persons, agents, by and through whom ends are to be reached, and purposes accomplished. Therefore, while it is a great and blessed thing to submit to the will of God, it is, for active man, an even greater and more blessed thing to do the will.
I. Submission.God sometimes deals with us as if He would convince us that He is the Creator, and we but the creatures of His power. He sweeps over our life in a majesty of wild storm-wind, and there is nothing for us to do but to submit. But usually God deals with us in such ways of mingled severity and tenderness, that He seems to be asking us to yield, even making it easy for us to yield. And there is nothing essentially Christian about our submission until it becomes both voluntary and cheerful. Our submission is never possible by knowing what God is doing with us; it is only possible by knowing God Himself better, and so gaining an all-conquering faith (trust) in Him.
II. Obedience.Illustrate this phase by patriarchal times. Abraham obeyed God: also by the human life and devoted service of the Lord Jesus. Our common life can be looked at in two ways:
(1) As the scene in which we are doing and accomplishing something for ourselves; or
(2) as the scene in which, as servants, we are doing and accomplishing the will of God. It is freely granted that the former way of viewing life will seem the most attractive to us as men; but the latter may be commended as the altogether noble, and the more satisfying way. In what spheres can the will of God be discerned? We are to bring our thought, our speech, and our relationships into the obedience of Christ. Then in these spheres we can know the will. And besides the more general disclosures to us of the Divine mind, the open heart will be always able to discern special calls to particular forms of duty. The ideal Christian life is a full, free, constant, loving response to the Divine will, in a holy blending of submission and obedience.
The Sacrifice of an Obedient Will.This is a quotation from the fortieth Psalm, and it is helpful to understand precisely what thought and feeling the psalmist expressed by it. Dean Perowne says: The psalmist declares what had been the great lesson of his afflictionhow he had learnt that there was a better sacrifice than that of bulls and goats, even the sacrifice of an obedient will. It is as if he had said, Once I should have thought sacrifices and offerings a proper and sufficient acknowledgment. Now I feel how inadequate these are, for Thou hast taught me the truth; my deaf, unwilling ears hast Thou opened, that I might understand that a willing heart was the best offering I could render. Then, being thus taught by Thee, I said, Lo, I come! Presenting myself before Thee, not with a dead and formal service, but with myself as a living sacrifice.
The Religion of Divine Humility.To preach Christ is to preach the doctrine of surrender to the will of God. The religion of Christ has been well called The Religion of Divine Humility. This is Christianity: love to God, and love to man; that surrender of self-will through life and death which marks the whole existence of the Redeemer.F. W. Robertson.
Christs Own References to the Will He obeyed.It is some disadvantage to our apprehension of the will of God for humanity, and so the will of God for Jesus, the representative man, that in this chapter it is so closely associated with altar-forms. Our Lords own references to the will which He fulfilled are free from this association. As He regards it, it is a moral obedience, a heart obedience, finding expression in doing, bearing, and suffering whatever may be recognised as the will of God in a human life. In Gethsemane it was seen by the Lord Jesus that the will of God immediately before Him was a time of overwhelming shame and suffering, and the agony of a violent and dishonourable death; and He would wholly lift Himself up to an entire, unquestioning, and uncomplaining obedience.
Heb. 10:7; Heb. 10:9. The Will of God which Christ came to do.He was to do the will of God in several ways. Not only as a prophet to reveal the will of God; not only as a king to give forth Divine laws; but as a priest to satisfy the demands of justice, and to fulfil all righteousness. Christ came to do the will of God in two instances:
1. In taking away the first priesthood, which God had no pleasure in; not only taking away the curse of the covenant of works, and cancelling the sentence denounced against us as sinners, but taking away the insufficient typical priesthood, and blotting out the handwriting of ceremonial ordinances, and nailing it to His cross.
2. In establishing the second, that is, his own priesthood and the everlasting gospel, the most pure and perfect dispensation of the covenant of grace: this is the great design upon which the heart of God was set from all eternity. The will of God centres and terminates in it; and it is not more agreeable to the will of God than it is advantageous to the souls of men; for it is by this will that we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.Matthew Henry.
Heb. 10:10. Christs Antitypical Sacrifice.This epistle being directly addressed to Jewish Christians, it is of first importance that we should endeavour to understand their views. They were men who had been lifted from the material to the moral. That was the work that had been done for the Jewish nation by the later prophets. They were men that had been lifted from the ritual to the spiritual. That was the work which had been done for them by the Lord Jesus Christ. But these Jewish Christians found it very difficult to keep up to the higher level they had attained. There were certain forms in which temptations to revert to their old standpoint came to them.
1. Persecution by the bigoted and extreme Jewish sectionrepresented by Saul of Tarsus.
2. An exaggeration of the claims of Judaism as an unquestionable revelation from Godspecially honourable as having been ministered by angels.
3. The spiritualising of Philo and the Alexandrian School, which worked for a reform of Judaism, and shook confidence in Christ. The writer of this epistle has to counteract these three evil influences. But such temptations are better met by persuasions than by arguments: only the persuasions must be based upon arguments precisely adapted. One great point is made by the writer: First that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The material is pictorialit is the picture-teaching of truth, which is necessary for all child-stages of the individual, the nation, or the world. The moral is the reality which is pictured in the material, and it is the proper thing for the man-stage. We teach children arithmetic by showing them, and by working, balls on a frame; by-and-by they come to apprehend the principles and relations of numbers. But what has such comparison to do with us, who have no association with material bodily sacrifices as the Jewish Christians had? Is it possible that there may be a material, pictorial setting of the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus Christ, which may be limiting us somewhat as the ritual of Moses limited the Jews? These Christian Jews evidently had not spiritual views of Christs work, and Christians now may keep in the pictorial range for babes when they ought to be in the spiritual range for men. They do when they see Christs offering of Himself to be a ritual, not a spiritual sacrifice.
I. The surrendered will is the sanctifying sacrifice.Trace the argument. Those old Jewish sacrifices had no value in themselves. The prophetsespecially Isaiah and Hoseamade that quite plain. Their value lay solely in their being a means by which the will of a man was offered to God. When this is taught so as to be fully apprehended, formal sacrifice may cease. It has done its work. The final lesson is the Divine acceptance of the offering of Himself which came to Jesus. Christs whole life was His sacrifice. The sacrifice that God wants is the man, not something a man gives. The offering of a man himself is the offering of a lifethat alone is the man. This makes Christs death the final act, the seal, the perfecting of His sacrifice; because that death completes, rounds off, the life. No life is complete until death seals it. Christs death is the great act of surrendered will under the most severe testing-conditions. Deadhuman life endedthere is a whole man offered unto God.
II. That sacrificethe spiritual sacrifice of the surrendered willwas offered through the body.Things can have no influence on us that do not come within our range, do not lie in our plane. Moral forces are compelled to use material agencies because we are in material limitations. The surrender of the will of an angel is nothing to us. The surrender of the will of a human being like ourselves is everything to us. Christ became man that He might be able to offer a human sacrifice, because that is precisely what we ought to offer. An angel could not offer our sacrifice: the Son of God, as only Son of God, could not. Christ became representative man that He might offer His sacrifice of Himself in our name, as standing for and pledging us.
III. That offering satisfies once for all.Picture-teaching needs repetition, line upon line, precept upon precept. The teaching of principles is done once for all. Christs sacrifice need not be repeated, because it effected its end
1. With God. Did this representative offering of the surrendered will meet Gods requirement from us His creatures? The answer is the Resurrection.
2. With men. Was that devotion of Christ to our interests, which led Him to suffer so much in order to secure an acceptable sacrifice for us, such a devotion as could be really persuasive on us? The answer is our experience. The sacrifice of Christ must not be repeated, even in symbol. To repeat the sacrifice is to remove Christ from His present work of applying the gains of His sacrifice. What then have we to keep in mind? Is it only the medium, the bodily agency of the great sacrifice? Every incident of the Passion is intensely interesting to us. But there is a mystery within it. There is a real spiritual sacrifice. It is a mans surrendered will. We cannot offer a material sacrifice with Christ. We can offer a spiritual sacrifice with Him. That we will offer it He pledges in our name. But our sacrifice, like His, must be made through our bodies. Our lives, lived unto God, are our sacrifice (see Rom. 12:1).
The First and Second Sacrifices.That which is temporarily efficient may, and indeed must, in time become inefficient, because the conditions which it once met undergo change. Whatever concerns the accidents of things must be changed. Whatever concerns the essentials of things is of necessity unchangeable. The first sacrifices, those of Judaism, dealt with accidental conditions of men. The second sacrifice deals with the essential states and relations of men. The first sacrifices could not last; and it was significant of their fading away that the Shekinah-glory left the Temple, that even the ark was lost, and the tables of the covenant. In Pompeys time the Temple was but an empty shell with the kernel gone; for when he forced his way into the Holy of Holies, he found only an empty chamber. The very heart and life of the old sacrifices was already gone, wholly gone.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
G.
He is a Priest of a better sacrifice. Heb. 10:1-39.
1.
The impossibility of the Mosaic sacrifice to take away sins. Heb. 10:1-4.
Text
Heb. 10:1-4
Heb. 10:1 For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh. Heb. 10:2 Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
Heb. 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. Heb. 10:4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Paraphrase
Heb. 10:1 Wherefore, since the law, in the services of the high priests in the inward tabernacle, contains a shadow only of the blessings which were to come through the services of Christ in the heavenly tabernacle, and not the very substance of these blessings, it never can, with the same kind of sacrifices which the high priests offer yearly forever, make those who come to these sacrifices perfect in respect of pardon.
Heb. 10:2 Since, if these sacrifices could have made the worshippers perfect in respect of pardon, being once offered, would they not have ceased from being again offered? because the worshippers, being once pardoned, should have had no longer any uneasiness in their conscience on account of the sins for which the atonement was made.
Heb. 10:3 Nevertheless, in these sacrifices annually repeated, and in the confession of sins made over the scape goat, a remembrance of all the sins of the people is made yearly, as not pardoned. Lev. 16:21.
Heb. 10:4 Besides, it is impossible, in the nature of things, that the blood of bulls and of goats should procure the pardon of sins, either in the way of substitution or by example.
Comment
For the law having a shadow of the good things to come
Law shadowed the gospel. Aaron shadowed the Christ. Levitical sacrifices shadowed the Lamb of God.
Purification in the Old Testament pictured complete redemption in Christ.
Earthly Canaan pictured the heavenly rest.
The tabernacle pictured the church.
not the very image of the things
It was a simple representation. The gospel is the image or thing itself. An artist first draws a shadowy picture, then fills in with color. So, the law is a foreshadow of the gospel age.
can never with the same sacrifices year by year
There were yearly sacrifices, Leviticus 23, and these were performed in the same manner by priests who were subject to death and had to be succeeded.
The blood of Christ had been shed, which the old sacrifices pictured, but the Jews did not see that they were done away.
which they offer continually make perfect them that draw nigh
No perfection existed in the old, yet the Jews accept these sacrifices in place of the perfect sacrifice. The Jews must quit drawing nigh unto the old, and must approach the new.
a.
Heb. 10:22 tells how to draw nigh.
b.
Jas. 4:8 holds a promise to those who draw nigh.
c.
Heb. 10:38-39 shows danger in not drawing nigh.
else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed would have had no more consciousness of sins
Repetition would not have been necessary if results were obtained, A debt cancelled does not need a repeated payment, Sacrifices made them conscious of sin, not free from it.
A person needs cleansing in order to escape a consciousness of sin.
a.
It can be done. Act. 22:16.
b.
Rom. 6:1-6 pictures death to old sins and the sinner.
but in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year
Note the word is remembrancenot remission.
a.
There were special offerings: Num. 15:27-28; Lev. 4:3; Lev. 4:14; Lev. 4:23; Lev. 4:28.
b.
There were daily ones: Exo. 29:38-46.
c.
Weekly ones: Num. 28:9-10.
d.
Monthly: Num. 28:11-15.
e.
Yearly at three great festivals.
With the Christian there is forgiveness immediately upon repentance because of the one great sacrifice.
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Let this verse answer the question, Were the sacrifices able to cleanse from sin?
a.
They were to make atonement, yes, but only as performed by faith, at last to be made final in the blood offering of Jesus.
b.
See Rom. 4:25 : delivered up for our trespasses This shows that Christs sacrifice is the one great sacrifice. Let the Jew turn from the impossible sacrifices to the possible sacrifice.
Study Questions
1700.
What is the law likened to? Would your explanation please a Seventh Day Adventist?
1701.
Was shadow a general word or a specific one?
1702.
What is meant by shadow?
1703.
It was to foreshadow good things. What were the good things?
1704.
What did the law shadow?
1705.
What did Aaron foreshadow?
1706.
What did purification precede?
1707.
What did the earthly Canaan represent?
1708.
What did the tabernacle picture?
1709.
How can you best define or explain shadow?
1710.
Is it the same idea as image in the next phrase?
1711.
Do you think that a good illustration of shadow would be the artists first sketch before the actual oil painting?
1712.
What does verse one say about the futility of the old law?
1713.
Why did God have them do it, if year after year it could not remove sin?
1714.
What is meant by which they offer continually?
1715.
Who is referred to as drawing nigh?
1716.
What did they draw nigh to?
1717.
How can we draw nigh to the good things? Cf. Heb. 10:22; Jas. 4:8; Heb. 10:38.
1718.
Is this first phrase an affirmation or a question?
1719.
What is the implied answer?
1720.
Would repetition have been necessary if they could have achieved perfection?
1721.
Did their sacrifices free their conscience?
1722.
Does the Lords Supper also disturb our conscience?
1723.
How do the Lords Supper and the Jewish sacrifice compare in this respect?
1724.
How does baptism into Christ compare with Jewish sacrifices in regard to conscience? See Act. 22:16; Rom. 6:1-6.
1725.
This verse uses the expression once cleansed. If they were cleansed by one sacrifice, why did their conscience trouble them?
1726.
Is it answered in Heb. 10:3?
1727.
Is the word remembrance synonymous with remission?
1728.
Does year by year refer to the three great yearly sacrifices?
1729.
How often did they have sacrifices?
1730.
What were the daily sacrifices for? See Exo. 29:38-46.
1731.
Were there sacrifices of a less frequent nature? See Num. 28:9-10.
1732.
Were there sacrifices less frequent than weekly ones? See monthlyNum. 28:11-15.
1733.
What advantage does the Christian have?
1734.
If we have to observe communion each week for forgiveness, is our condition the same?
1735.
What sins do we remember at communion time?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) A Shadow of good things to come.These words have already come before us; the shadow in Heb. 8:5, and the good things to come in the ordinary reading of Heb. 9:11.
Not the very image.The antithesis is hardly what we should have expected. The word image is indeed consistent with the very closest and most perfect likeness; but why is the contrast to shadow expressed by a word which cannot denote more than likeness, and not by a reference to the things themselves? The answer would seem to be that, from the very nature of the good things to come, the law could not be conceived of as having the things themselves; but had it possessed the very image of them, a representation so perfect might have been found to bring with it equal efficacy.
Can never with those sacrifices.It is difficult to ascertain the exact Greek text in the latter half of this verse. With the ordinary reading the general construction of the sentence is that which the Authorised version represents, For the law . . . can never . . . make perfect. The better MSS., however, read they can, a change which introduces some irregularity of construction: the pronoun they must probably in this case be understood of the priests. The order of the Greek is also very peculiar. Two translations of the verse (with the changed reading) may be given: (1) They can never with the same sacrifices year by year which they offer continually make them that draw nigh perfect. (2) They can never year by year, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually, make them that draw nigh perfect. The difference between the two renderings will be easily seen. The former makes the whole sentence to relate to the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, and gives to continually almost the same meaning as year by year. The meaning of the latter is that by the annual sacrifices, which are the same as those which the priests are offering for the people day by day (for the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement did not in itself differ from the ordinary sin offering), they cannot make the worshippers perfect. The latter translation agrees best with the original, and conveys a very striking thought. It is open, however, to a very serious objectionthat it separates the verse into two incongruous parts. That annual sacrifices not different in kind from the sin offerings which were presented day by day (and which the very institution of the Day of Atonement declared to be imperfect) could not bring to the worshippers what they needed, is an important argument; but it has no connection with the first words of the verse. Hence, though the Greek does not very readily yield the former translation, it is probably to be preferred. With the expression them that draw nigh or approach (to God) comp. Heb. 7:26, where the same word is used. On make perfect see Heb. 7:11; Heb. 9:9.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 10
THE ONLY TRUE SACRIFICE ( Heb 10:1-10 ) 10:1-10 Because the law is only a pale shadow of the blessings which are to come and not a real image of these things, it can never really fit for the fellowship of God those who seek to draw near to his presence with the sacrifices which have to be brought year by year and which go on for ever. For if these sacrifices could achieve that, would they not have stopped being brought because the worshipper had been once and for all brought into a state of purity and no longer had any consciousness of sin? So far from that, in them there is a year by year reminder of sin. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. That is why he says as he enters the world: “You did not desire sacrifice and offering; it is a body you have prepared for me. You took no pleasure in whole burnt-offerings and in sin-offerings. So then I said: ‘So then I come–in the roll of the book it is written of me–to do, O God, your will.”‘ At the beginning of this passage he says: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt-offerings and sin-offerings and you took no pleasure in them,” and it is such offerings as these that the law prescribes. Then he went on to say: “Behold, I come to do your will.” He abolishes the kind of offerings referred to in the first quotation in order to establish the kind of offering referred to in the second. It is by this way of “the will” that we have been purified through the once and for all offering of the body of Christ.
To the writer to the Hebrews the whole business of sacrifice was only a pale copy of what real worship ought to be. The business of religion was to bring a man into a close relationship with God and that is what these sacrifices could never do. The best that they could do was to give him a distant and spasmodic contact with God. He uses two words to indicate what he means. He says that these things are a pale shadow. The word he uses is skia ( G4639) , the Greek for a shadow, and it means a nebulous reflection, a mere silhouette, a form without reality. He says that they do not give a real image. The word he uses is eikon ( G1504) , which means a complete representation, a detailed reproduction. It actually does mean a portrait, and would mean a photograph, if there had been such a thing in those days. In effect he is saying: “Without Christ you cannot get beyond the shadows of God.”
He brings proof. Year by year the sacrifices of the Tabernacle and especially of the Day of Atonement go on. An effective thing does not need to be done again; the very fact of the repetition of these sacrifices is the final proof that they are not purifying men’s souls and not giving full and uninterrupted access to God. Our writer goes further–he says that all they are is a reminder of sin. So far from purifying a man, they remind him that he is not purified and that his sins still stand between him and God.
Let us take an analogy. A man is ill. A bottle of medicine is prescribed for him. If that medicine effects a cure, every time he looks at the bottle thereafter, he will say: “That is what gave me back my health.” On the other hand, if the medicine is ineffective, every time he looks at the bottle he will be reminded that he is ill and that the recommended cure was useless.
So the writer to the Hebrews says with prophetic vehemence: “The sacrifice of animals is powerless to purify a man and give him access to God. All that such sacrifices can do is to remind a man that he is an uncured sinner and that the barrier of his sin is between himself and God.” So far from erasing his sin, they underline it.
The only effective sacrifice is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. To make his point and to explain what is in his mind, Hebrews takes a quotation from Psa 40:6-9. In the Revised Standard Version, which is close to the original Hebrew, the passage runs:
“Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire;
but thou hast given me an open ear.
Burnt-offering and sin-offering thou hast not required.
Then I said: Lo I come;
In the roll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do thy will, O my God.”
The writer to the Hebrews quotes it differently and in the second line he has:
“A body you have prepared for me.”
The explanation is that he was not quoting from the original Hebrew but from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. About 270 B.C. the task of translating the Old Testament into Greek was begun in Alexandria in Egypt. Obviously far more people in the ancient world read Greek than Hebrew. It is very likely that the writer to the Hebrews did not know any Hebrew at all and therefore it is the Septuagint that he uses. In any event the meaning of the two phrases is the same. “Thou hast given me an open ear,” means, “You have so touched me that everything I hear I obey.” It is the obedient car of which the psalmist is thinking. “A body you have prepared for me,” really means, “You created me that in my body and with my body I should do your will.” In essence the meaning is the same.
The writer to the Hebrews has taken the words of the psalm and put them into the mouth of Jesus. What they say is that God wants not animal sacrifices but obedience to his will. In its essence sacrifice was a noble thing. It meant that a man was taking something dear to him and giving it to God to show his love. But human nature being what it is it was easy for the idea to degenerate and for sacrifice to be thought of as a way of buying God’s forgiveness.
The writer to the Hebrews was not saying anything new when he said that obedience was the only true sacrifice. Long before him the prophets had seen how sacrifice had degenerated and had told the people that what God wanted was not the blood and the flesh of animals but the obedience of a man’s life. That is precisely one of the noblest thoughts of the Old Testament men of God.
“And Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams” ( 1Sa 15:22).
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving; and pay your vows to
the Most High” ( Psa 50:14).
“For thou bast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt
offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to
God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise.” ( Psa 51:16-17).
“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge
of God, rather than burnt offerings.” ( Hos 6:6).
“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed
beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of
he-goats…. Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an
abomination to me…. When you spread forth your hands. I
will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen; your hands are full of blood…. Cease to do
evil, learn to do good” ( Isa 1:11-20).
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands
of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my
first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin
of my soul?” He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what
does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love
kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” ( Mic 6:6-8).
Always there had been voices crying out for God that the only sacrifice was that of obedience. Nothing but obedience could open the way to God; disobedience set up a barrier that no animal sacrifice could ever take away. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because he perfectly did God’s will. He took himself and said to God: “Do with me as you will.” He brought to God for men what no man had been able to bring–the perfect obedience, that was the perfect sacrifice.
If we are ever to have fellowship with God, obedience is the only way. What man could not offer, Jesus offered. In his perfect manhood he offered the perfect sacrifice of the perfect obedience. Through that the way was once and for all opened up for us.
THE FINALITY OF CHRIST ( Heb 10:11-18 ) 10:11-18 Again, every priest stands every day engaged upon his service; he stands offering the same sacrifices over and over again, and they are sacrifices of such a kind that they can never take away sins. But he offered one single sacrifice for sin and then took his seat for ever at the right hand of God, and for the future he waits until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering and for all time he perfectly gave us that cleansing we need to enter into the presence of God. And to this the Holy Spirit is our witness, for after he has said: “This is the covenant I will make with them after these days, says the Lord. I will put my laws upon their hearts; and I will write them upon their minds,” he goes on to say: “And I will not remember any more their sins and their breaches of the law.” Now, where there is forgiveness of these things, a sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Once again the writer to the Hebrews is drawing a series of implicit contrasts between the sacrifice that Jesus offered and the animal sacrifices that the priests offer.
(i) He stresses the achievement of Jesus. The sacrifice of Jesus was made once and is effective for ever; the animal sacrifices of the priests must be made over and over again, and even then they are not effective in any real way. Every day, so long as the Temple stood, the following sacrifices had to be carried out ( Num 28:3-8). Every morning and every evening a male lamb of one year old, without spot and blemish, was offered as a burnt-offering. Along with it there was offered a meat-offering, which consisted of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of pure oil. There was also a drink-offering, which consisted of a quarter of a hin of wine. Added to that there was the daily meat-offering of the High Priest; it consisted of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, and baked in a flat pan; half was offered in the morning and half in the evening. In addition there was an offering of incense before these offerings in the morning and after them in the evening. There was a kind of priestly tread-mill of sacrifice. Moffatt speaks of “the levitical drudges” who, day in day out, kept offering these sacrifices. There was no end to this process and it left men still conscious of their sin and alienated from God.
In contrast, Jesus had made a sacrifice that neither could nor need be repeated.
(a) It could not be repeated. There is something unrepeatable about any great work. It is possible to repeat the popular tunes of the day ad infinitum; to a great extent one echoes another. But it is not possible to repeat the Fifth or the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven; no one else will ever write anything like them. It is possible to repeat the kind of poetry that is written in sentimental journals and on Christmas cards; but not to repeat the blank verse of Shakespeare’s plays or the hexametres of Homer’s Iliad. These things stand alone. Certain things can be repeated; but all works of genius have a certain unrepeatable quality. It is so with the sacrifice of Christ. It is sui generis; it is one of these masterpieces which can never be done again.
(b) It need not be repeated. For one thing, the sacrifice of Jesus perfectly shows the love of God In that life of service and in that death of love, there stands fully displayed the heart of God. Looking at Jesus, we can say: “That is what God is like.” For another thing, the life and death of Jesus was an act of perfect obedience and, therefore, the only perfect sacrifice. All scripture, at its deepest, declares that the only sacrifice God desires is obedience; and in the life and death of Jesus that is precisely the sacrifice that God received. Perfection cannot be improved upon. In Jesus there is at one and the same time the perfect revelation of God and the perfect offering of obedience. Therefore his sacrifice cannot and need not ever be made again. The priests must go on with their weary routine of animal sacrifice; but the sacrifice of Christ was made once and for all.
(ii) He stresses the exaltation of Jesus. It is with care that he picks his words. The priests stand offering sacrifice; Christ sits at the right hand of God. Theirs is the position of a servant; his is the position of a monarch. Jesus is the King come home, his task accomplished and his victory won. There is a wholeness about the life of Jesus that perhaps we ought to give more thought. His life is incomplete without his death; his death is incomplete without his resurrection; his resurrection is incomplete without his return to glory. It is the same Jesus who lived and died and rose again and is at the right hand of God. He is not simply a saint who lived a lovely life; not simply a martyr who died an heroic death; not simply a risen figure who returned to company with his friends. He is the Lord of glory. His life is like a panelled tapestry; to look at one panel is to see only a little bit of the story. The tapestry must be looked on as a whole before the full greatness is disclosed.
(iii) He stresses the final triumph of Jesus. He awaits the final subjugation of his enemies; in the end there must come a universe in which he is supreme. How that will come is not ours to know; but it may be that this final subjugation will consist not in the extinction of his enemies but in their submission to his love. It is not so much the power but the love of God which must conquer in the end.
Finally, as is his habit, the writer to the Hebrews clinches his argument with a quotation from scripture. Jeremiah, speaking of the new covenant which will not be imposed on a man from outside but which will be written on his heart, ends: “I will remember their sin no more” ( Jer 31:34). Because of Jesus the barrier of sin is for ever taken away.
THE MEANING OF CHRIST FOR US ( Heb 10:19-25 ) 10:19-25 Since then, brothers, in virtue of what the blood of Jesus has done for us, we can confidently enter into the Holy Place by the new and living way which Jesus inaugurated for us through the veil– that is, through his flesh–and since we have a great High Priest who is over the house of God, let us approach the presence of God with a heart wherein the truth dwells and with the full conviction of faith, with our hearts so sprinkled that they are cleansed from all consciousness of evil and with our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the undeviating hope of our creed, for we can rely absolutely on him who made the promises; and let us put our minds to the task of spurring each other on in love and fine deeds. Let us not abandon our meeting together–as some habitually do–but let us encourage one another, and all the more so as we see the Day approaching.
The writer to the Hebrews now comes to the practical implication of all that he has been saying. From theology he turns to practical exhortation. He is one of the deepest theologians in the New Testament but all his theology is governed by the pastoral instinct. He does not think merely for the thrill of intellectual satisfaction but only that he may the more forcibly appeal to men to enter into the presence of God.
He begins by saying three things about Jesus.
(i) Jesus is the living way to the presence of God. We enter into the presence of God by means of the veil, that is, by the flesh of Jesus. That is a difficult thought, but what he means is this. Before the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle hung the veil to screen off the presence of God. For men to enter into that presence the veil would have to be torn apart. Jesus’ flesh is what veiled his godhead. Charles Wesley in his great hymn appealed to men:
“Veiled in flesh the godhead see.”
It was when the flesh of Christ was rent upon the Cross that men really saw God. All his life showed God; but it was on the Cross that God’s love really was revealed. As the rending of the Tabernacle veil opened the way to the presence of God, so the rending of the flesh of Christ revealed the full greatness of his love and opened up the way to him.
(ii) Jesus is the High Priest over God’s house in the heavens. As we have seen so often, the function of the priest was to build a bridge between man and God. This means that Jesus not only shows us the way to God but also when we get there introduces us to his very presence. A man might be able to direct an enquirer to Buckingham Palace and yet be very far from having the right to take him into the presence of the Queen; but Jesus can take us the whole way.
(iii) Jesus is the one person who can really cleanse. In the priestly ritual, the holy things were cleansed by being sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices. Again and again the High Priest bathed himself in the laver of clear water. But these things were ineffective to remove the real pollution of sin. Only Jesus can really cleanse a man. His is no external purification; by his presence and his Spirit he cleanses the inmost thoughts and desires of a man until he is really clean.
From this the writer to the Hebrews goes on to urge three things.
(i) Let us approach the presence of God. That is to say, let us never forget the duty of worship. It is given to every man to live in two worlds, this world of space and time, and the world of eternal things. Our danger is that to become so involved in this world that we forget the other. As the day begins, as the day ends and ever and again in the midst of its activities, we should turn aside, if only for a moment, and enter God’s presence. Every man carries with him his own secret shrine, but so many forget to enter it. As Matthew Arnold wrote:
“But each day brings its pretty dust
Our soon-choked souls to fill;
And we forget because we must,
And not because we will.”
(ii) Let us hold fast to our creed That is to say, let us never lose our grip of what we believe. The cynical voices may try to take our faith away; the materialist and his arguments may try to make us forget God; the events of life may conspire to shake our faith. Stevenson said that he so believed in the ultimate decency of things that if he woke up in hell he would still believe in it; and we must have a grip on the faith that nothing can loosen.
(iii) Let us put our minds to the task of taking thought for others. That is to say, let us remember that we are Christians not only for our own sake but also for the sake of others. No man ever saved his soul who devoted his whole time and energy to saving it; but many a man has saved it by being so concerned for others that he forgot that he himself had a soul to save. It is easy to drift into a kind of selfish Christianity; but a selfish Christianity is a contradiction in terms.
But the writer to the Hebrews goes on to outline our duty to others in the most practical way. He sees that duty extend in three directions.
(i) We must spur each other to noble living. Best of all we can do that by setting the fine example. We can do it by reminding others of their traditions, their privileges, their responsibilities when they are likely to forget them. it has been said that a saint is someone in whom Christ stands revealed; we can seek ever to incite others to goodness by showing them Christ. We may remember how the dying soldier lad looked up at Florence Nightingale and murmured: “You’re Christ to me.”
(ii) We must worship together. There were some amongst those to whom the writer of the Hebrews was writing who had abandoned the habit of meeting together. It is still possible for a man to think that he is a Christian and yet abandon the habit of worshipping with God’s people in God’s house on God’s day. He may try to be what Moffatt called “a pious particle,” a Christian in isolation. Moffatt distinguishes three reasons which keep a man from worshipping with his fellow Christians.
(a) He may not go to church because of fear. He may be ashamed to be seen going to church. He may live or work among people who laugh at those who do so. He may have friends who have no use for that kind of thing and may fear their criticism and contempt. He may, therefore, try to be a secret disciple; but it has been well said that this is impossible because either “the discipleship kills the secrecy or the secrecy kills the discipleship.” It would be well if we remembered that, apart from anything else, to go to church is to demonstrate where our loyalty lies. Even if the sermon be poor and the worship tawdry, the church service still gives us the chance to show to men what side we are on.
(b) He may not go because of fastidiousness. He may shrink from contact with people who are “not like himself.” There are congregations which are as much clubs as they are churches. They may be in neighbourhoods where the social status has come down; and the members who have remained faithful to them would be as much embarrassed as delighted if the poor people in the area came flooding in. We must never forget that there is no such thing as a “common” man in the sight of God. It was for all men, not only for the respectable classes, that Christ died.
(c) He may not go because of conceit. He may believe that he does not need the Church or that he is intellectually beyond the standard of preaching there. Social snobbery is bad but spiritual and intellectual snobbery is worse. The wisest man is a fool in the sight of God; and the strongest man is weak in the moment of temptation. There is no man who can live the Christian life and neglect the fellowship of the Church. If any man feels that he can do so let him remember that he comes to Church not only to get but to give. If he thinks that the Church has faults, it is his duty to come in and help to mend them.
(iii) We must encourage one another. One of the highest of human duties is that of encouragement. There is a regulation of the Royal Navy which says: “No officer shall speak discouragingly to another officer in the discharge of his duties.” Eliphaz unwillingly paid Job a great tribute. As Moffatt translates it: “Your words have kept men on their feet” ( Job 4:4). Barrie somewhere wrote to Cynthia Asquith: “Your first instinct is always to telegraph to Jones the nice thing Brown said about him to Robinson. You have sown a lot of happiness that way.” It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals, to pour cold water on their enthusiasm, to discourage them. The world is full of discouragers; we have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.
Finally, the writer to the Hebrews says that our Christian duty to each other is all the more pressing because the time is short. The Day is approaching. He is thinking of the Second Coming of Christ when things as we know them will be ended. The early Church lived in that expectation. Whether or not we still do, we must realize that no man knows when the summons to rise and go will come to him also. In the time we have it is our duty to do all the good we can to all the people we can in all the ways we can.
THE THREAT AT THE HEART OF THINGS ( Heb 10:26-31 ) 10:26-31 For, if we deliberately sin after we have received full knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sin is left. All that we can expect is to wait in terror for judgment and for that flaming wrath which will consume the adversaries of God. Anyone who regards the law of Moses as a dead letter dies without pity on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you think, that man will be deemed worthy who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, who has failed to regard the blood of the new covenant, with which he was made fit for God’s presence, as a sacred thing, and who has insulted the Spirit through whom God’s grace comes to us? For we know who it was who said: “Vengeance belongs to me; it is I who will repay,” and again: “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Every now and again the writer to the Hebrews speaks with a sternness that is almost without parallel in the New Testament. Few writers have such a sense of the sheer horror of sin. In this passage his thoughts are going back to the grim instruction in Deu 17:2-7. it is there laid down that, if any person shall be proved to have gone after strange gods and to have worshipped them, “you shall bring forth to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses he that is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.”
The writer to the Hebrews has this horror of sin for two reasons.
First, he lived in a day when the Church had been under attack and would be under attack again. Its greatest peril was from the possible evil living and apostasy of its members. A Church in such circumstances could not afford to carry members who were a bad advertisement for the Christian faith. Its members must be loyal or nothing. That is still true. Dick Sheppard spent much of his life preaching in the open air to people who were either hostile or indifferent to the Church. From their questions and their arguments and their criticisms he said that he had learned that “the greatest handicap the Church has is the unsatisfactory lives of professing Christians.” The unsatisfactory Christian undermines the very foundations of the Church.
Second, he was sure that sin had become doubly serious because of the new knowledge of God and of God’s will which Jesus had brought. One of the old divines wrote a kind of catechism. He ends by asking what happens if men disregard the offer of Jesus Christ. His answer is that condemnation must necessarily follow, “and so much the more because thou hast read this book.” The greater the knowledge, the greater the sin. The conviction of the writer to the Hebrews was that, if under the old law, apostasy was a terrible thing, it had become doubly terrible now that Christ had come.
He gives us three definitions of sin.
(i) Sin is to trample Christ under foot. It is not mere rebelliousness against law; it is the wounding of love. A man can stand almost any attack on his body; the thing that beats him is a broken heart. It is told that in the days of the Hitler terror there was a man in Germany who was arrested, tried, tortured and put into a concentration camp. He faced it all with gallantry and emerged erect and unbroken. Then by accident he discovered who it was who had laid information against him–it was his own son. The discovery broke him and he died. Attack by an enemy he could bear; attack by one whom he loved killed him. When Caesar was murdered he faced his assassins with almost disdainful courage. But when he saw the hand of his friend Brutus raised to strike, he wrapped his head in his mantle and died. Once Christ had come, the awfulness of sin lay not in its breaking of the law but in its trampling of the love of Christ under foot.
(ii) Sin is the failure to see the sacredness of sacred things. Nothing produces a shudder like sacrilege. The writer to the Hebrews says in effect: “Look at what has been done for you; look at the shed blood and the broken body of Christ; look at what your new relationship to God cost; can you treat it as if it did not matter? Don’t you see what a sacred thing it is?” Sin is the failure to realize the sacredness of that sacrifice upon the Cross.
(iii) Sin is the insult to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks within us, telling us what is right and wrong, seeking to check us when we are on the way to sin and to spur us on when we are drifting into lethargy. To disregard these voices is to insult the Spirit and to grieve the heart of God.
All through this, one thing comes out. Sin is not disobedience to an impersonal law; it is the wrecking of a personal relationship and the wounding of the heart of the God whose name is Father.
The writer to the Hebrews finishes his appeal with a threat. He quotes Deu 32:35-36 where the sternness of God is clearly seen. At the heart of Christianity there remains for ever a threat. To remove that threat is to emasculate the faith. At the end of the day it is not all one for the good and the bad man alike. No man can evade the fact that in the end judgment comes.
THE DANGER OF DRIFT ( Heb 10:32-39 ) 10:32-39 Remember the former days. Remember how, after you had been enlightened, you had to go through a hard struggle of suffering, partly because you yourselves were held up to insult and involved in affliction and partly because you had become partners with people whose life was like that. For you gave your sympathy to those in prison; you accepted the pillaging of your goods with joy; for you knew that you yourselves hold a possession which is better and which lasts. Do not throw away your confidence, for it is a confidence that has a great reward. You need fortitude so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For in a short time, a very short time, “He who is to come will come and he will not delay. And my just man shall live by faith; but if he shrinks back, my soul will not find pleasure in him.” We are not men to shrink back from things and so to come to disaster, but we are men of a faith which will enable us to possess our souls.
There had been a time when those to whom this letter was written had been up against it. When first they had become Christians they had known persecution and plundering of their goods; and they had learned what it was to become involved with those under suspicion and unpopular. They had met that situation with gallantry and with honour; and now, when they were in danger of drifting away, the writer to the Hebrews reminds them of their former loyalty.
It is a truth of life that in many ways it is easier to stand adversity than to stand prosperity. Ease has ruined far more men than trouble ever did. The classic example is what happened to the armies of Hannibal.
Hannibal of Carthage was the one general who had routed the Roman legions. But winter came and the campaign had to be suspended. Hannibal wintered his troops in Capua which he had captured, a city of luxury. And one winter in Capua did what the Roman legions had not succeeded in doing. The luxury so sapped the morale of the Carthaginian troops that when the spring came and the campaign was resumed they were unable to stand before the Romans.
Ease had ruined them when struggle had only toughened them. That is often true of Christian life. Often a man can meet with honour the great hour of testing and of trial; and yet lets the time of plain sailing sap his strength and emasculate his faith.
The appeal of the writer to the Hebrews is one that could be made to every man. In effect, he says: “Be what you were at your best.” If only we were always at our best, life would be very different. Christianity does not demand the impossible; but if we were always as honest, as kind, as courageous, as courteous as we can be, life would be transformed.
To be such we need certain things.
(i) We need to keep our hope before us. The athlete will make his great effort because the goal beckons him on. He will submit to the discipline of training because of the end in view. If life is only a day to day doing of the routine things, we may well sink into a policy of drift; but if we are on the way to heaven’s crown, effort must always be at full pitch.
(ii) We need fortitude. Perseverance is one of the great unromantic virtues. Most people can start well and almost everyone can be fine in spasms. To everyone it is sometimes given to mount up with wings as eagles; in the moment of the great effort everyone can run and not be weary; but the greatest gift of all is to walk and not to faint.
(iii) We need the memory of the end. The writer to the Hebrews makes a quotation from Hab 2:3. The prophet tells his people that if they hold fast to their loyalty, God will see them through their present situation. The victory comes only to the man who holds on.
To the writer to the Hebrews life was a thing that was on its way to the presence of Christ. It was therefore never something that could be allowed to drift; it was its end which made the process of life all important, and only the man who endured to the end would be saved.
Here is a summons never to be less than our best; and always to remember that the end comes. If life is the road to Christ none can afford to miss it or to stop half-way.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
3. Our high priesthood is all-sufficient animal blood being intrinsically worthless for pardon of sin is antitypical, and is replaced by the all-sufficient self-offered blood, Heb 10:1-18.
a. As animal blood is intrinsically worthless for our justification, Heb 10:1-4 .
This worthlessness of the animal sacrifices does not imply that pardon was not granted by God, and peace of conscience produced by them for the offerer. It is simply meant that those blessings did not ensue from any real value in the things themselves; that their nature had no availing power; and that they could have been enjoined by God only as indexes to a sacrifice of such transcendent intrinsic value as to be true basis of such results.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1. For Referring to the repeated declarations reigning through Heb 9:24-28, that Christ has made a decisive, perfecting atonement, once for all.
Shadow A dim representation.
Good things to come That is, to come in this our Messianic dispensation. See notes on Heb 2:5; Heb 6:5; Heb 9:11.
Image of the things That is, image, consisting of the things; the form filled with the substance. For though the good things of the present dispensation look forward to a higher completion hereafter, yet in Christ and his atonement it possesses the shape and substance of that future glory.
Year by year The yearly offering on the great day of atonement.
Continually Without interruption of the annual rite.
Perfect Pure from the guilt and power of sin; right before God; fit for heaven.
‘For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually (or ‘in perpetuity’), make perfect those who draw near.’
For the fact is that the old ceremonial Law could not make men perfect so that they could come openly and without restraint before God, because it dealt in shadows, in what were only partial representations of the full reality. The outward purpose of the full Law was to make men perfect before God, but it could only partially achieve it because it was not in itself sufficient. It served its purpose until men were more in a position to receive the full truth, the reality, ‘the very image (full and accurate representation) of the thing’.
And one reason why it could only partially succeed was that it only contained within it a shadow of the good things to come, a partial, clouded representation (as of God at Sinai) but not the full reality. The ‘good things’ include such good things as full forgiveness of sins, fullness of spiritual life, understanding of truth in the heart, and the ability to approach God directly and walk with Him. And these were to be introduced through the Coming One, through Jesus, and His perfect life and teaching, and through Who He is as made known to men, and through His equally perfect sacrifice of Himself. The Law could not contain a true image of those things. It simply portrayed shadows, a visible but vague outline of the real thing, which was partial and had no lasting substance and was therefore eventually to pass away as all shadows do when the sun comes to its height.
It did this through an earthly sanctuary, with its sacred furniture, and its continuously active priesthood, with its message of ‘come, but do not come too close’, and its ever continuing sacrificial system which endlessly and unceasingly made offerings for sin. All this brought home the holiness and mercy of God. But they were shadows of the truth (although far better than the nations around enjoyed). They could not accomplish the reality. They were like a vague dark shape resulting from a partially revealed light, a promise of what might be, without giving a full, true illumination. Rather than bringing men right into God’s presence they kept them at a safe distance from Him, (although this in itself revealed something about Him), while still allowing limited approach on the right terms. They said, ‘thus far and no further’. For they could never achieve the end of perfecting God’s people sufficiently for them to come directly under the searching eye of a holy God. They could never perfect them so that they could enjoy a perfect relationship with the Holy One. And this was because they failed to fully remove men’s sin or transform men and did not reveal the full true image, the heavenly reality. Thus they could not bring men fully to God. And this was especially true of the sacrifices which were offered continually year by year on the Day of Atonement.
It may be asked, in that case why did God introduce them to these sacrifices and this ritual? While we cannot enter fully into the mystery of God’s ways, for not all is known to us, the answer undoubtedly partly lies in their inability to grasp anything more at that time, and in their unfitness to receive it. Truth had to be revealed on the basis of what they could appreciate. And God clearly saw it as best to reveal it under conditions that they could understand because it was in some way related to what they saw around them.
At that stage they had no conception of Heaven, no real conception of the holiness of God, no deep conception of sin. (Many of them, the mixed multitude (Exo 12:38) had no background at all in the things of Yahweh). It was through these very sacrifices and ritual, and the history that followed, that such conceptions were slowly built up. They were a preparation for what was to come. Indeed we must remember that when something of the greater reality was first revealed to them through the glory of God on the face of Moses, they pleaded for it to be hidden from them. They did not want to come too close to God.
Furthermore we must remember that they also had to be wooed from the worship of those round about them. Had they not had a ritual that was as good as, and even better than, that of others they would have been constantly tempted to stray as they saw what others seemed to have (as they in fact later did because they were unable to trust God). But at the same time as they seemingly shared the experience of those around them, they did so with the knowledge that their God was invisible, that He was not like any earthly parallel, that He was not a part of nature, and that He was God over all while having a personal interest in them. And they were made aware of the awfulness of sin, and that there was a God-provided way back to Him when they did sin. They were made aware of the moral dimension and that it was closely connected with Who and What their God was. It is doubtful whether at that stage and under those conditions they could have taken in any more.
We must consider how even today, when we have the greater truth, men still seek to depend on, and are led astray by, great buildings and a ritual that can blind men to the truth about God. They still seek after material rather than spiritual worship. How much more then in their day. If they had had nothing similar they would have seen the pagan temples, the pagan ceremonials, and in large numbers would have been drawn to them and away from God’s Law.
Furthermore the ritual that they were given did lead those whose hearts were right in the right way. Not for them idolatrous representations of gods that were no gods. Not for them gods who could be manipulated and controlled. Not for them gods which could be easily made, and as easily broken. Rather they knew God as One Who could not be too easily approached and manipulated. One Who was in control rather than being controlled by them. Thus it was for their good, and was certainly sufficient, for those whose hearts were right were enabled to find forgiveness (on the basis of what their offerings pointed forward to) and to come to a deeper knowledge of God than they had previously had. As with the Psalmists, there were those who knew God intimately in their hearts and who walked with Him daily. And that was why the prophets had to prophesy of heavenly things in earthly terms. Which is why those who even now cannot see this have invented a future Millennium. But the fuller perfection awaited a future day, the days of the Messiah, and now that age has come nothing further is required but the eternal kingdom in which our present experience comes to full fruition.
The Old Covenant (the Law) Could Not Do Make Men And Women Perfect. It Was a Failure As Far As Taking Away Sin Was Concerned ( Heb 10:1-4 ).
Indoctrination: The Superior Priesthood of Jesus Christ Heb 6:1 to Heb 10:18 places emphasis upon our indoctrination as a part of our need to persevere in the Christian faith. This passage of Scripture offers us a theological discourse unlike any other in the Holy Scriptures. In order to persevere Jesus Christ made access to God’s throne freely available to all believers, by which we are exhorted to grow and mature in our spiritual journey (Heb 6:1-8). The author supports this exhortation with a doctrinal discourse on the analogy of the priesthood of Melchizedek with that of Jesus Christ (Heb 6:9 to Heb 10:18).
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. 3 rd Exhortation: Grow in Maturity Heb 6:1-8
2. 3 rd Doctrinal Discourse Heb 6:9 to Heb 10:18
Third Doctrinal Discourse: The Superior Priesthood of Jesus Christ The author then leads the Hebrews into a revelation of the priestly office of the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 6:9 to Heb 10:18), which reveals the need for indoctrination in order to persevere in the faith. He begins his doctrinal discourse by reminding them of their sure hope and promise by God of receiving eternal life (Heb 6:9-20).
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. God’s Sure Promises in Christ Jesus Heb 6:9-20
2. Jesus Offers Better Covenant Thru Superior Order Heb 7:1 to Heb 10:18
Jesus Offers a New and Better Covenant through a Superior Priesthood and Sacrifice Jesus Christ offers a new and better covenant through a superior priesthood and a superior sacrifice. Heb 7:1-28 explains how the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ under the order of Melchizedek offers a new and better covenant for God’s people. Heb 8:1 to Heb 10:18 explains how Jesus Christ offers a new and better covenant through a superior sacrifice.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. A Superior Order of Melchizedek Heb 7:1-28
2. A Superior Sacrifice Heb 8:1 to Heb 10:18
Jesus Christ Offers a New and Better Covenant Through a Superior Sacrifice Having proven that Jesus Christ is the mediator of a better and more superior office of priesthood in Heb 7:1-28 under the order of Melchizedek, the author then proceeds to explain how this new covenant necessitated a better sacrifice as well by referring to Jer 31:31-34 in Heb 8:8-12. Therefore, Heb 8:1 to Heb 10:18 focuses upon the establishment of a new covenant through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ and a doing away of the old covenant, and it, and its serves largely as an exegesis of Jer 31:31-34.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. A Summary Statement Heb 8:1-2
2. The Promise of a New Covenant Heb 8:3-13
3. Sacrifices Under the Old Covenant Heb 9:1-10
4. Sacrifice Under New Covenant Heb 9:11 to Heb 10:18
Scripture References:
Heb 8:7 Heb 8:13, “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
Heb 9:15, “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
Heb 10:9, “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”
A Description of the Sacrifice of Christ Jesus in the Heavenly Tabernacle Under the New Covenant Heb 9:11 to Heb 10:18 gives a lengthy description of the ministry and once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Heavenly Tabernacle under the new covenant. A key word in this passage of Scripture is “blood.”
Note the proposed outline:
1. Christ Entered a Greater Tabernacle with a Greater Sacrifice Heb 9:11-14
2. Christ Became the Mediator of the New Covenant Heb 9:15-22
3. Christ’s Sacrifice was Once for All Heb 9:23 to Heb 10:18
Christ’s Sacrifice was Once for All Heb 9:23 to Heb 10:18 explains how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was once for all.
Heb 9:23 Comments The Tabernacle of Moses was built after the pattern of things in Heaven. It was necessary that they be sanctified by the sprinkling of blood, as described in Heb 9:18-22. The blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the “better sacrifice” that was necessary in Heaven itself.
Heb 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die” – Comments – It does not say that each individual man must die, but of mankind in general. It seems that some men did not die, such as Enoch, Elijah and those in the coming rapture. They did not experience mortal death. In the rapture, we will be changed in the twinkling of the eye.
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Heb 9:28 “without sin unto salvation” – Comments The phrase “without sin unto salvation” refers to Jesus Christ and means that He is our Great Priest who is without sin, unlike the Levites who must make atonement for themselves as well as the sins of the people. He is not coming a second time for the purpose of bearing the sins of mankind; but rather, He now comes to bring us into the completion of our salvation.
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:1 For example, in the ministry of the temple and the worship of God, the procedures of offering the burnt offerings were a way we offer ourselves to God. It represented a way that we have to deal with sin through the shedding of blood. The shewbread represent the words of our Lord Jesus. His Word is our bread of life. It is to be taken and eaten, or hid in our hearts. The mercy seat is a figure of how we enter into God’s presence. The Mosaic laws of daily conduct should be fulfilled through loving our neighbors.
For example, the prophet Zechariah predicts a time in the future when Israel and the Church will keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zec 14:16-19).
Zec 14:16-19, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
Heb 10:1 “and not the very image of the things” Comments – The law and its ministry were not the exact way things were to be done. The Law was a figure, or a foreshadowing of future events.
Heb 10:1 “can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect” – Comments Under the Mosaic Law, there were morning and evening sacrifices, constant trespass, sin, burnt, thanksgiving offerings, festival offering and numerous other ministries. These took place “year by year continually.” The repetition of these sacrifices testifies to their ineffectiveness to deal with man’s sinful nature.
Heb 10:1 implies that through Jesus’ perfection and sacrifice for sins (Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9; Heb 7:28) we are made perfect, which the author states in Heb 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” The word “perfect” describes the condition of man’s spirit when he is born again. Heb 12:23 says “and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Col 2:10 says, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”
Heb 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”
We are also becoming mature in the sense that we are developing in the ways of God. That is, our minds and bodies are becoming conformed to the image of Christ day by day. Eph 4:11-13 says that we are, “cominginto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” That is, we become Christ-like, more like Jesus. This is what God intended us to be in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, Heb 6:1 says, “let us go on to perfection.” However, Heb 10:1 is placing emphasis upon the completed work of Calvary, so that it states our spirits are now complete in Christ Jesus.
Heb 10:1 Comments – The Law could not make anyone perfect, because no one was able to fulfill it (Rom 8:3), until Jesus Christ came and fulfilled the Law (Gal 3:19). The Law simply revealed man’s depravity (Rom 3:20; Rom 5:20; Rom 7:5; Rom 7:7; Rom 7:9). The blood of sacrificial animals was insufficient to cleanse our sins and conscience (Heb 10:4)
1. Heb 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins .”
2. The passions of sin, which are revealed by the law, worked in our members bringing death (see Rom 7:5; Rom 7:7):
Rom 7:9, “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died .”
3. Rom 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin .”
4. Rom 5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound . But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”
5. Rom 7:7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
6. Rom 8:3, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh , God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
7. Gal 3:19, “ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions , till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:2 Heb 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God ?”
Heb 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience , and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Heb 13:18, “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience , in all things willing to live honestly.”
Heb 9:9, “Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience ;”
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:3 Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:4 Rom 3:25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
Heb 10:5-7 Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament The author of Hebrews quotes two passages from the Old Testament within this chapter which give scriptural support for the fact that the Mosaic Law under the old covenant has been done away with and a new covenant has been established through Christ Jesus This first quote is taken from Psa 40:6-8.
Psa 40:6-8, “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
The author will soon quote Jer 31:33-34 in Heb 10:16-17 as a second witness to this great revelation of a new covenant.
Jer 31:33-34, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 Heb 10:7 Heb 10:7 Comments The phrase “in the volume of the book” means, “in the roll of the book,” meaning the entire scroll. Note
Eze 2:9, “And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;”
Heb 10:7 Comments Jesus Christ became familiar with the biblical prophecies concerning His life, passion, resurrection and exaltation, as He testifies in Luk 24:44. Jesus made many references to the Old Testament concerning His life while teaching His disciples.
Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Heb 10:9 Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:10 Luk 22:42, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
“we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ” Comments – Because we are sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, we are now called “saints” in the Pauline epistles.
“once for all” Comments – A comment that Jesus made at the Last Supper refers to this great truth that His blood cleanses us once for all. He told the disciples that they did not need to wash all over except their feet only (Joh 13:10). This means that His blood would do away with all of their past sins and their newly committed sins could be dealt with by confessing them (1Jn 1:9). His blood purges our guilty consciences from dead works and frees us to serve the living God (Heb 9:13-14).
Joh 13:10, “Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet , but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”
1Jn 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Heb 9:13-14, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Heb 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Heb 10:12 Heb 10:13 Heb 10:12-13 Heb 1:13, “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Heb 10:14 Heb 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”
2Pe 1:3, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:”
There are other verses that discuss the perfection and sanctification of the believer. He is a new creation, which refers to the rebirth of the spirit of man (2Co 5:17). He is a new man, because the old man died, that is to say, the spirit of man was born again and the old spirit died (Eph 5:17). For this reason, we can stand on earth and be as Jesus is in regards to our inner man. [240]
[240] Andrew Wommack, “Momentary Redemption,” in “Hebrew Highlights,” [on-line]: accessed 4 June 2011; available from http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1061; Internet.
2Co 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Eph 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
1Jn 4:17, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”
Heb 10:15-17 Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament The author of Hebrews now provides a second witness from the Old Testament regarding the prediction of a new covenant and a doing away with the old in Heb 10:15-17. The author interprets this passage out of Jer 31:33-34 in order to bring out the main point of this passage of Scripture, which is that the one-time sacrifice of Jesus for our sins is to make us perfect. Thus, the verse following this passage (Heb 10:18) says, “no more offering for sin.”
Jer 31:33-34, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more .”
Heb 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
Heb 10:16 Heb 10:16 Joh 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:17 Heb 10:17 Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Psa 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Isa 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Jer 31:34, “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jer 50:20, “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”
Mic 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”
Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Heb 10:18 The Insufficiency of the Old Testament Sacrifices Compared with the One Perfect Offering of Christ.
The insufficiency of the Old Testament offerings:
v. 1. for the Law, having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
v. 2. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshipers, once purged, should have had no more conscience of sins.
v. 3. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every. year.
v. 4. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
The fact which has stood out in the entire discussion till now, namely, that all the acts of worship in the Old Testament cult were only figurative, symbolical, typical, is here restated in order to stress the finality of Christ’s one sacrifice: For the Law, having merely a shadow of the good things to come, not the actual figure of the things, can never make perfect, with the same sacrifices which they offer year by year perpetually, those that draw near. The Law with all its rites, ceremonies, sacrifices was but a shadow of the really good things to come in and with Christ; what it offered was inadequate, unsubstantial. With the appearing of Christ the better covenant was ushered in, for He brought the reality, in Him salvation was realized. In the Old Testament, indeed, the coming of the great spiritual blessings was intimated and prophesied, and the believers placed their hope of salvation in the Messiah that was to be manifested. But they were still obliged, year after year and generation after generation, to bring the same sacrifices, to renew their offerings, to expiate their sins by symbolical acts, to reconcile the God of the covenant through the blood of bullocks and goats, all of which, in itself, could not make the worshipers perfect, just as no repetition of the shadow can amount to the substance.
To emphasize this truth, the writer asks: Otherwise they would surely have ceased to be offered; because of the no longer having a consciousness of sins the worshipers that were once cleansed. If the worship, the sacrifices, the offerings of the Old Testament had succeeded in making the people that partook in them perfect, if they had actually been cleansed from their sins and of the consciousness of guilt, then they certainly would not have sought a renewal of the sacrifices year after year. It was because the entire cult of the Jews had power only in so far as it foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice of Christ that it was of any benefit at all. Being, however, only a type, the annual repetition of the sacrifices of atonement became necessary.
It remains true, then, as the author concludes: But in them there is a remembrance again of sins every year, for it is impossible that the blood of bullocks and of goats should take away sins. The sacrifices being unable in themselves to work perfection in the worshipers, their annual repetition became really an annual reminder of sins. The writer seems to have in mind especially the great Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month in the Jewish year. On that day, in the most solemn and impressive Temple service in the entire year, the trespasses of the entire people were confessed before the assembled multitude, their sins were ever again recalled to their mind. The sacrifices of the day mere able to symbolize, to point forward to, the one perfect Sacrifice which took away the sins of the world; but they themselves were not able to produce this glorious effect. They were insufficient, inadequate; they could not remove the guilt that burdened man’s conscience. The Old Testament believer that wanted to be sure of his salvation could reach this happy state only by trusting in the coming Messiah.
EXPOSITION
Heb 10:1-19
CONCLUDING SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT WITH RESPECT TO CHRIST‘S ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD.
Heb 10:1
For the Law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. The Law is said here to exhibit a shadow () of the good things to come ( ), viz. of the “good things” of which Christ is come as “High Priest” (Heb 9:11), belonging to the (Heb 6:5), (Heb 2:5), which is still, in its full realization, future to us, though already inaugurated by Christ, and though we have already tasted the powers of it (Heb 6:5). Similarly (Heb 8:5) the priests under the Law are said to have served a copy and shadow of the heavenly things; i.e. of the heavenly realities to be revealed in the “coming age.” To “shadow” is opposed “very image” (), which means, not a representation apart from the things, but (as emphasized by ) the actual presentment of the things themselves; which were, in fact, archetypal and prior to the shadows of the Law, though their manifestation was reserved to the future age. Such is the sense of in Col 3:10, : and Rom 8:29, . (Cf. Col 1:15, where Christ is called : cf. also Col 2:17, where is opposed to shadow to body) In the latter part of the verse, “they,” who “offer,” are the priests of the Law; “the comers thereunto” ( ) are the people who resort to the rites. “Make perfect” () means full accomplishment for them of what is aimed at; in this case, remission of sin, and acceptance after complete atonement. The verb , though variously applied, signifies always full completion of the purpose in view (cf. Heb 7:19, ). (For its application to Christ himself, see under Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9)
Heb 10:2, Heb 10:3
For then (i.e. had it been so able) would they (the sacrifices) not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshippers, having been once purged, should have had no more conscience of sins? But (on the contrary) in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. The very annual repetition of the same expiatory rites on the Day of Atonement expressed in itself the idea, not of the putting away (, Heb 9:26) or oblivion, (Heb 10:17) of sin, but a recalling to mind of its continual presence. In the following verse the reason of this is found in the nature of the sacrifices themselves; it being impossible for the blood of irrational animals to cleanse moral guilt: it could only avail for the “passing over” (, Rom 3:25) of sins, as symbolizing an effectual atonement to come in the spiritual sphere of things.
Heb 10:4
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats (specified as being the offerings of the Day of Atonement) should take away sins. The principle of the insufficiency of animal sacrifices having been thus expressed, confirmation of it is now further adduced from the Old Testament itself, together with a prophetic anticipation of the great self-oblation which was to take their place.
Heb 10:5-7
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare me: In whole burnt offering and offerings for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (in the volume (i.e. roll) of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. The quotation is from Psa 40:6, Psa 40:7, Psa 40:8. It is entitled “a psalm of David,” nor is there anything in the psalm itself incompatible with his authorship. The question of authorship is, however, unimportant; all that is required for the purpose of the quotation being that it should have been the utterance of an inspired psalmist. The primary import of the passage quoted is that the psalmist, after deliverance from great affliction, for which he gives thanks, expresses his desire to act on the lesson learnt in his trouble by giving himself entirely to God’s service. And the service in which God delights he declares to be, not sacrifices of slain beasts, but the doing of his will, the ears being opened to his Worst, and his Law being within the heart. Now, bearing in mind what was said under Heb 1:5, of the principle on which words used in the Old Testament with a primary human reference are applied in the New Testament directly to Christ, we shall have no difficulty in understanding such application here. The psalmist, it may be allowed, spoke in his own person, and as expressing his own feelings and desires; but, writing under inspiration, he aspired to an ideal beyond his own attainment, the true ideal for humanity, to be realized only in Christ. The ideal is such perfect self-oblation of the human will to God’s as to supersede and render needless the existing sacrifices, which are acknowledged to be, in their own nature, valueless. That the psalmist did not really contemplate the fulfillment of this ideal in himself is evident from the penitential confessions of the latter verses of the psalm. It is but the yearning of inspired humanity for what was really needed for reconciliation with God, such yearning being in itself a prophecy. Hence what was thus spoken in the Spirit is adduced as expressing the mind and work of him who fulfilled all those prophetic yearnings, and effected, as Man and for man, what the holy men of old longed to do but could not. The expression, “when he cometh into the world,” reminds us of Heb 1:6. The word , here used, is connected in thought with the (“I am come”) in the quotation. Idle are the inquiries of some commentators as to the precise time, either before or after the Incarnation, at which our Lord is to be conceived as so speaking. Enough to say that his purpose in coming into the world is in these significant words expressed. It is noteworthy, in regard to the attribution of this utterance to him, how frequently he is recorded to have spoken of having come into the world for the accomplishment of a purpose “Venio, vel potius, veni, symbolum quasi Domini Jesu fuit” (Bengel). The psalm is quoted from the LXX., with slight variation, not worth considering, as it does not affect the sense of the passage. But the variation of the LXX. from the Hebrew text requires notice.
(1) Instead of “a body didst thou prepare for me ( )” of the LXX. and the quotation from it, the Hebrew has “mine ears hast thou opened;” literally, “ears hast thou dug for me,” meaning probably, “formed the cavity of my ears through which thy Word may penetrate,” equivalent to “given me ears to hear,” with reference, of course, to spiritual auscultation. If to the Hebrew verb be assigned here the sense of piercing, rather than hollowing out, implying an entrance affected through the ears already formed, the general sense remains the same. In either case the word may be accounted for, as being a free rendering, intended to give the meaning of the figure. But the substitution of “body” for “ears” is not so easily accounted for. One conjecture is that some transcriber of the Alexandrian translation of the Hebrew had inadvertently joined the last letter of the preceding word, , to the following word, , and that the of was then changed into the of , so as to make sense of the word thus formed. But this is only conjecture. That some copies of the LXX. had appears from the fact that the Vulgate, translated from the LXX., reads aures perfecisti mihi, and that some manuscripts of the LXX. still have , or . Thus there can be little doubt that was a wrong rendering of the Hebrew, however originating, which the writer of the Epistle found in the copies of the LXX. which he used. For that he himself altered the word to suit his purpose, and that the alteration got into copies of the LXX. from the Epistle, is highly improbable, considering the general accuracy of his quotations, and his purpose of proving his positions from the sacred documents to which his readers could refer. As to the unimportance of any such variations from the original Hebrew in the quotations of the Epistle from the LXX., as long as the argument is not affected, see what is said under Heb 1:7 with respect to the quotation from Psa 104:1-35. In this case the variation certainly does not affect the argument. For though the word is certainly taken up again in Psa 104:10 as applicable to Christ, yet the argument of the passage by no means rests on this word, but on . This is indeed a passage (as was observed under Heb 9:14) notable for the very fact that the essence of the atonement is in it represented as consisting, not so much in its physical accompaniments as in its being a spiritual act of perfect self-oblation.
(2) The more probable meaning of the phrase translated in the LXX. and the quotation, “it is written of me )” is in the Hebrew,” it is prescribed unto me,” i.e. “laid on me as a duty;” this being also the sense in which the same words occur in 2Ki 22:13, “Great is the wrath of the Lord… because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is prescribed to us;” where the LXX. translates, . The most obvious reference of the Hebrew psalm is to the Book of the Law generally, in which the duty of fulfilling the Divine will is enjoined, rather than to any prophecy, applied by the writer to himself individually. If so, it is not necessary to inquire what prophecy about himself David might have had in view; whether e.g. Gen 49:10; Num 24:17; or Deu 17:14, et seq. But the phrase, , does certainly rather suggest a prophecy, and such suggestion is peculiarly appropriate in the application to Christ. Well, then, if here again there is some variation from the original Hebrew text, it is still such as to leave the general argument intact.
Heb 10:8-10
Saying above that Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (such as are offered according to the Law); then hath he said, Lo, I come to do thy will; i.e. he has made this second assertion while making the first also. The purpose of thus putting it is to show the connection between the two assertions; that fulfillment of God’s will is spoken of as a substitute for sacrifices, whose inutility in themselves had been declared. Yes; he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. In the which will (the Divine will, willing our redemption through Christ, and perfectly fulfilled by him) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For the sense to be attached to the verb see under Heb 2:11. It is not our progressive sanctification by the Holy Ghost that is intended, but the hallowing effected for us once for all, as denoted by the perfect participle . The remainder of this concluding summary (Heb 2:11 -19) serves to weave together the various threads of the foregoing argument and emphasize the result.
Heb 10:11-13
And every priest indeed standeth daffy ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. Thus with the one perfectly accomplished and for ever availing sacrifice is brought into connection, as its result, the fulfillment in Christ for man of the ideal of Psa 8:6 (which was set forth in Heb 2:5-10; see the remarks there made), and also of the Son’s exaltation to the right hand of God, declared in Psa 110:1-7. (referred to in Heb 1:13, and brought fully into view in Heb 8:1, after the chapter about Melchizedek). Be it observed that the priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek” in itself implied this exaltation, which was in fact inferred from it. For the priesthood after this order, having been shown to be eternal and unchangeable, was further seen, from Psa 110:1-7., to be conjoined to the eternal royalty at God’s right hand.
Heb 10:14
For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. The tense of the participle , instead of as verse , in 10, does not involve a different sense of the verb, viz. the ordinary one associated with the word “sanctify.” When it was necessary to express by the word itself the accomplishment of sanctification in the sense intended, the perfect participle was used; here the subjects of the same sanctification are denoted, the accomplishment being expressed by (cf. , Heb 2:11). The meaning of (“hath perfected”) may be taken as ruled by : hath perfected them as , done all that was required for their being such, without any need of any further offering (cf. supra, Heb 10:1).
Heb 10:15-18
And the Holy Ghost also testifieth to us: for after that he hath said, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (then saith he), And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. The apodosis to “after that he hath said,” not distinctly marked in the Greek or in the A.V., is denoted in the above rendering by “then saith he“ before Heb 10:17. Another view is that it begins earlier in the sentence, being introduced by “saith the Lord,” which occurs in the quotation from Jeremiah. But this is improbable, since
(1) words in the quotation itself could not well be intended to be understood as the quoter’s own;
(2) the quotation down to verse 17 is continuous, whereas the citation of verse 17 is in the original passage of Jeremiah separated from the preceding one;
(3) the logical conclusion intended to be drawn requires verse 17 to be the apodosis. For the writer’s purpose in referring once more to Jeremiah’s prediction of the” new covenant” is to show from it the completeness and finality of Christ’s atonement; and this, he argues, follows from this characteristic of the “new covenant” being added to the previous description of it”Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
Heb 10:19-39
Heb 10:19-39. HORTATORY PORTION OF THE EPISTLE.
The great doctrine of Christ’s eternal priesthood having been led up to, established by argument, and at length fully expounded, it remains only to press the practical result of a belief in it in alternate tones of encouragement and of warning. Heb 10:19-21
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter (literally, for the entrance) into the holiest (literally, the holies, i.e. the holy place, as is translated in Heb 9:25, but meaning, there as here, the holy of holies) by the blood of Jesus, which (entrance) he consecrated (or, dedicated, as the same verb is translated, Heb 9:18, with reference to the Mosaic tabernacle) for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great Priest ( , not , high priest; but a priest of higher order than any earthly priest; cf. Heb 5:14, ) over the house of God. The epithet (“new”) applied to the “way” dedicated for us by Christ, though meaning originally, according to its etymology, “newly slain,” is commonly used to express “recent” only. And so here. It is a new way in relation to the old one of the high priest through the veila way untrodden by man till opened and dedicated by “the great Priest.” The epithet (“living”) applied to the way distinguishes it, as a spiritual mode of approach, from the old one. “Opponitur exanimo. Per prosopopoeiam vita adscribitur viae, ex ipsa vita Christi, qui est Via“ (Bengel; see Joh 14:6). But what is the meaning of the veil (, the word always used of the veil in the tabernacle or temple) being said to be “his flesh “? The idea cannot be simply that he passed through the human nature assumed at his incarnation to the heavenly throne; for the intended counterpart to the high priest’s passing through the veil must have been after the completed sacrifice. It is rather that, at the moment of death, when, after saying, “It is finished,” he “gave up the ghost,” the human flesh (which had through all the ages been as a veil hiding “the unseen” from man, and behind which Christ himself had “tabernacled“ during his human life) was, as it were, rent asunder and the new way opened. And that this was so was signified by the rending in twain of the veil of the temple from the top to the bottom, mentioned by St. Matthew (Mat 26:51), at the very moment of the death upon the cross. This incident may have suggested to the writer the expression used. “Quum primum Christus per momentum mortis transierat, praesto fuit mera virtus et vita. , carnem suam, quae item scissa est, ut velum” (Bengel). “The house of God” in verse 21 is a resumption of the thought of Heb 3:1-7, where Christ was shown to be greater than Moses, as being the SON over the house of God, having (be it observed) been called in Heb 3:1. (For the comprehensive meaning of the expression, not limited either to the Mosaic dispensation or the visible Church, see what was said under Heb 3:4) On the now firmly grounded doctrinal bases of
(1) open access through Christ to the mercy-seat,
(2) his ever-availing intercession, are built the exhortations
(1) to confidence,
(2) to persistence in faith and corresponding conduct.
Heb 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water. “Let us draw near” () is a liturgical phrase, denoting the approach of the people, after ceremonial atonement, to the earthly sanctuary (cf. Heb 10:1, ). We may now draw near to the very heavenly mercy-seat, without any sense of a bar to our doing so on the ground of consciousness of sin. In Christ we are to see accomplished all that is needed for atonement. But there are conditions also required in ourselves, expressed first by the “true heart,” and the “fullness of faith,” and then by the clauses that fellow. These clauses, like have a liturgical basisthat of the blood-sprinkling (e.g. of the people with the blood of the covenant under Mount Sinai, Heb 9:19, and of the priests on their consecration, Le 8:23) and of the ablutions before sacrificial service (Le Heb 8:6; 16:4, 24; Exo 30:1-38 :39). Hence these two participial clauses are not to be separated from each other, and seem best to be both taken in connection with the preceding . “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience” means our having the inward consciousness of debarring sin removed through the blood of Christ; the “full assurance of faith” in the completed atonement, and the “true heart,” being presupposed. The conjoined clause, , etc., is capable also of being figuratively interpreted, in the sense that “our sinful bodies” have been “made clean,” so as to be offered through life acceptably as “a living sacrifice,” as well as “our souls washed through his most precious blood.” And this may be taken as implied. But the terms body and water after hearts and blood certainly suggest a direct reference to baptism. And such definite allusion is in keeping with references elsewhere to the beginning of the Christian life (see Act 2:38; Act 22:16; Rom 6:3, Rom 6:4; 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:27; Col 2:12; 1Pe 3:21). The passage last referred to is apposite to that before us in that with an undoubted mention of baptism is conjoined “the answer of a good conscience toward God.”
Heb 10:23-25
Let us hold fast the confession (, see Heb 3:1, and ref; also Heb 4:14) of our hope without wavering (, agreeing with “confession”); for he is faithful that promised: and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. The readers, having been exhorted to confidence towards God, are further warned against remissness in confession before men, or in their duties within the Church towards each other. They had once, at their baptism, “confessed the good confession” ( , 1Ti 6:12). Let not the recurrence of Jewish prejudices, or either influence or persecution from their Jewish compatriots, or any delay of the Parousia, induce them to waver in maintaining it. Some among them did, it could not be denied, show signs of such wavering, notably in their remiss attendance at Christian worship; let the faithful give heed to keeping faith alive in themselves and others, and especially through the means of the regular Church assemblies. That by is meant definitely the actual assembling together of Christians for reading, exhortation, and worship, we hold confidently with the majority of commentators and with Chrysostom. The word occurs in the New Testament only here and 2Th 2:1, where it denotes the gathering together at the Parousia. In 2 Macc. 2:7, where alone it occurs in the LXX., it expresses the actual assembling of people together, as does the verb , both in the LXX. and the New Testament. Hence, and in regard to the context as well as the etymology of the word, we may reject the less definite meaning, by some here assigned to it, of Christian communion (conjugatio fidelium), and the explanation of Bengel: “Sensus est, non modo debetis synagogam frequentare, ut Judaei, quod libentius facitis, sed etiam episynagogam, ut Christiani. Neque tamen innuitur praecise aggregatio ad unum locum, aut aggregatio ad unam fidem; sed, medio sensu, congregatio mutua per amorem et communicatio publica et privata officiorum Christianorum.” The seen approach of the second advent ( : cf. 1Co 3:13) is adduced as an additional argument against remissness. The word seems to imply more than the general belief in its imminence, founded on the language of Christ. It would seem as if the signs of the times were interpreted as denoting its approach (el. 1Jn 2:18). And it may be that they were rightly so interpreted in reference to the primary fulfillment of our Savior’s words, though to that only, as the event proved. The blending together in the discourses of Mat 24:1-51; Mar 13:1-37; Luk 17:1-37; Luk 21:1-38., of the times of the fall of Jerusalem and of the final day, would naturally lead Christians to regard the signs of the first event as denoting the other also. And indeed the imminence of the first, of which the signs were really apparent, was in itself a peculiar reason why the Hebrew Christians should stick resolutely to Christianity, for its own sake and apart from Judaism. Else might their whole hold on Christ be loosened in the temple’s fall Thus, though the writer might share in the mistaken view then prevalent of the imminence of the final day, his warning, founded on the supposed signs of it, hits well the peculiar needs of his readers.
Heb 10:26-32
Solemn warning as to the fearful consequences of apostasy.
Heb 10:26, Heb 10:27
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for (, used here only; but is frequent in the New Testament in sense of “expect;” e.g. supra, Heb 10:13. Hence there seems no good ground for disputing, with Afford, the usual rendering, “expectation”) of judgment, and fiery indignation ( ), which shall devour the adversaries. The warning passage thus begun closely resembles the former interposed one, Heb 6:4-9. Both have been similarly misapplied (see notes on Heb 6:4-9); but both have the same real meaning, which is further confirmed by comparing them together. The purport of both is the hopelessness of a state of apostasy from the faith after full knowledge and full enjoyment of privilege; both are led up to by cautions against remissness, of which the final issue might be such apostasy; both are followed by the expression of a confident hope, founded on past faithfulness, that no such apostasy will really follow. The state contemplated is here expressed by , a phrase which in itself might at first sight seem to support one of the erroneous views of the drift of the passage, viz. that all willful sin after baptism or grace received is unpardonable. But it is first to be observed that the participle is not aorist, but present, expressing a persistent habit; also that the whole context is sufficient to denote the kind of sin intended. For
(1) the preceding verses have pointed to laxity of allegiance to Christ, which might have further consequences;
(2) the illustration of what is meant, adduced in verse 28 from the Mosaic Law, is (as will appear under that verse) a case of entire apostasya sin not to be atoned for by any sacrifice, but visited by “cutting off;”
(3) the description in verse 29 of the sin intended implies total repudiation of Christ. Observe, on , the contrast to (Le Heb 4:2, 27; 5:15, al), expressive of sins of ignorance or infirmity. Not such sins, but deliberate sin with a high hand, is here intended; and further, for the reasons above given, one of this nature so heinous as to be beyond the reach of sacrifice. From all such considerations it appears that here expresses the same idea as (Heb 6:6) and (Heb 3:12), viz. final obdurate defection from the faith. Further, the previous conditions for the possibility of arriving at such a hopeless state, set forth more at length in Heb 6:4, Heb 6:5 of Heb 6:1-20., are here shortly expressed by , which is to be interpreted in the light of the other passage (see note thereon). The consequences of such falling away are differently stated in the two passages. In Heb 6:1-20, it was the impossibility of renewal unto repentance; here it is the absence of any further atoning sacrifice; and this in keeping with what has been now proved of the sacrifice of Christ having superseded all others and been “once for all.” The drift is that, if this is deliberately rejected after full knowledge of it, no ether is left to have recourse to. Then the immediate mention of “judgment” is in keeping also with the conclusion of Heb 9:1-28. (see note on Heb 9:27), and is immediately suggested here by of Heb 9:25. The fire in which that day is to be revealed is a prominent figure both in the Old Testament and the New; regarded as both an assaying and a consuming fire (cf. especially 1Co 3:13-16). The expression, (“zeal, or indignation, of fire”), not only expresses the vehemence of the flame, but also implies the idea of the fire itself being instinct with the Divine wrath or jealousy (as , equivalent to , is usually translated when attributed to God), of which it is the symbol (cf. Psa 79:5, : Eze 38:19, : Zep 1:18, : and infra, Heb 12:29, “Our God is a consuming fire”). (For , cf. Isa 26:11, ).
Heb 10:28
One that hath despised (rather, set at naught) Moses’ Law dieth without mercy under (i.e. at the word of) two or three witnesses. The reference is to Deu 17:2-7, as shown by the mention of the “two or three witnesses” (Deu 17:6). The sin there spoken of is that of one who “hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD, in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven.” The significance of this in its bearing on the meaning of in verse 26 has been already noted.
Heb 10:29, Heb 10:30
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? It has been already remarked how these very strong expressions (answering to those in Heb 6:6) further denote the kind of sin. intended by in Heb 10:26. Three characteristics of it are given:
(1) contumelious repudiation of Christ;
(2) vilification of his atonement;
(3) despite to the Holy Spirit that has been given and enjoyed.
Citations from the Old Testament follow, according to the general plan of the Epistle, to show that there is a terrible as well as a gracious side of the revelation of the God of Israel, and especially (as intimated by the second quotation) that his own people may be the objects of his vengeance. For we know him that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. Both citations are from Deu 32:35, Deu 32:36, the second being introduced also into Psa 135:14. The first is remarkable as a combination of the texts of the Hebrew and the LXX., neither being exactly followed. The Hebrew has (A.V), “To me belongeth vengeance and recompense;” the LXX., . And in the same form as in the text the passage is cited Rom 12:19. It may be, in this and some other cases of variation from the LXX., that a text different from ours was used by the New Testament writers. The difference here is quite immaterial with regard to the drift of the quotation.
Heb 10:31
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. David, when the option was given him, preferred falling into the hand of the LORD to falling into the hand of man (2Sa 24:14), trusting in the greatness of his mercies. But the case contemplated here is that of its being “too late to cry for mercy, when it is the time of justice.” Fearful (the writer would say) is the thought of being exposed, without possibility of escape or of atonement, to the wrath of the Eternal Righteousness. The inspired author of this Epistle had evidently an awful sense of the Divine wrath against sin, and of man’s liability to it without atonement. He felt deeply the contradiction between humanity as it is and its ideal of perfection; and hence the wrath attributed to God in Holy Writ would appear to him as inseparable from a just conception of Divine holiness. For the more ardent the love in the human heart of moral good, by so much the keener is the indignation against moral evil, and the sense of the righteousness of retribution. The existence of such evil at all in the good God’s universe is indeed a mystery; but, as long as it is there, we cannot but conceive the face of the holy God as set utterly against it; and so any revelation to us of the Divine nature would be imperfect did it not include the idea which is humanly expressed by such terms as “zeal,” “jealousy,” “wrath,” “vengeance.” Hence came the long-felt need of some atonement, to reconcile sinful man to the eternal holiness. This need was expressed of old by the institution of sacrifice, which, howeveras is so clearly perceived in this Epistlecould never itself be really efficacious in the spiritual sphere of things. In the atonement of Christ (if rightly apprehended) is found at last a true satisfaction of this spiritual need. But, man’s concurrence being still required, the idea of Divine wrath remains notwithstanding, as operative against such as, in deliberate perversity of free-will, after full knowledge, refuse to be thus reconciled. Hence the awful anticipations of future judgment on some, contained in this Epistle. The nature and duration of the doom to come, on such as remain subject to it, are in these passages left in obscurity. They speak only of , an undefined expectation of something terrible. It may be observed, however, that, whatever be the force of other Scriptures in which the fire of that day is described as eternal and unquenchable, here at least the figure of a zeal of fire to devour the adversaries seems in itself to suggest rather utter destruction than perpetual pain.
Heb 10:32-39
As at Heb 6:9, the tones of solemn warning, founded on a real sense of the possibility of apostasy in some, are now relieved by a better hope. In Heb 6:9, et seq., the writer expressed his own confidence in his readers on the ground of their conduct in the past; here he reminds them of their conduct by way of confirming their own steadfastness, and this with judgment as well as delicacy; for, as Theodoret remarks on this passage, “nothing so excites to zeal as the remembrance of one’s own right doings.”
Heb 10:32
But call to mind the former days, in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; rather, conflict of sufferings. On (“enlightened”), cf. Heb 6:4, and what was said there as to the meaning of the word. Here certainly the context seems naturally to suggest a definite reference to baptism, as marking the date of the commencement of exposure to persecution. But if so, not, of course, so as to exclude the idea of inward spiritual enlightenment. “Hie primus erat ingressus ad Christianismum; baptismus apud idoneos salutare medium. Existimo haec instituta divina etiam in theoria non tanti aestimari quanti decebat. Apud ipsum baptismum Christi sancta ejus humanitas magnifice illuminata fuit” (Bengel).
Heb 10:33
Partly, being made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, having become partakers with them that were so used. On (translated “made a gazing-stock”), cf. 1Co 4:9, . The figure is drawn from the Roman amphitheatres, where persons doomed to death were exposed to the gaze and the contumely of crowds; and the expression may not be wholly figurative, but denote the actual treatment of Christians, as expressed by the common cry, “Christianos ad leones!” The phrase, , (translated “them that were so used”), might be more correctly rendered (as is elsewhere), “them that so had their conversation,” i.e. manner of life. For the word is not used in a passive sense, but as equivalent to versari; cf. Mat 17:22; 2Co 1:12; Eph 2:3; Heb 13:18; also Gal 1:13; Eph 4:22, etc. (). The Vulgate has taliter conversantium; Wickliffe, “men living so;” Tyndale and Cranmer, “them who so passed their time.” But the A.V. may give the meaning with sufficient correctness, the main thought being probably the experience of the persons referred to rather than their demeanor under it.
Heb 10:34
For ye had compassion on those who were in bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better possession, and an abiding one. For , the Receptus has , which the A.V., so as to avoid the impropriety of expressing sympathy with the bonds themselves, renders “me in my bonds.” Even apart from manuscript authority, is evidently to be preferred, both as suiting the verb and as being more likely to have been altered to the common Pauline expression, , than vice versa, especially on the supposition of the writer being St. Paul himself. Thus no evidence as to the authorship of the Epistle is hence deducible. The allusion is to persecutions of Christians, under which the Hebrews addressed had been plundered, and had succored others who were prisoners for the faith, as is intimated also in Heb 6:10. More than one such persecution might be in the writer’s view, including, perhaps, that after the stoning of Stephen (Act 8:1; Act 11:19); that instituted by Herod Agrippa, under which James the elder suffered (Act 12:1-25); that which led to the martyrdom of James the Just (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ 20.9. 1) and others.
Heb 10:35, Heb 10:36
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (or, endurance), that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise; or, doing the will of God, ye may receive, etc. The aorist participle does not of necessity express priority to the receiving (cf. Heb 6:15, ). The meaning is that by endurance in doing the will they would receive. The full and final enjoyment of what is promised is still future and conditioned by perseverance. Observe the difference between the words , here used, and , used in Heb 6:15. The former (occ. Heb 11:19, Heb 11:39; also 2Co 5:10; Eph 6:8; Col 3:25; and 1Pe 1:9) means the actual reception of what is denoted, equivalent to sibi acquirere; the latter (etc. Heb 6:15; Heb 11:33; also Rom 11:7; Jas 4:2) means only “to attain to,” without involving full possession. It is not said of Abraham (Heb 6:15) that he , only that he . So also of all the faithful of old described in the following chapter (Heb 11:39). And even to believing Christians, as this verse shows, the is still future and contingent.
Heb 10:37, Heb 10:38
For yet a little (rather, very little) while, and he that cometh will come, and will not tarry. But the just shall live by faith: and if he draw back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. In these verses, after the manner of the Epistle, what is being urged is supported by an Old Testament quotation (Hab 2:3, Hab 2:4), its drift being
(1) the certainty, notwithstanding delay, of the fulfillment of the Divine promise; (1) , instead of “It (i.e. the vision) shall come;”
(2) , instead of “Behold, his soul,” etc;
(3)
(A), or
(B), instead of “The just shall live by his faith.” The variations in the Epistle from the LXX. are:
(1) (etc. Isa 26:20), interpolated at the beginning of the quotation;
(2) for , so as to denote more distinctly the Messiah who was to come (cf. Mat 10:3; Joh 6:14); here, of course, with a view to his second advent;
(3) the reversal of the order of the two concluding clauses, , and :
(4) in the Textus Receptus the omission of after either or (as the same text is cited by St. Paul, Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11). There is, however, good authority for reading it here after (equivalent to “my Righteous One”). None of these variations from the LXX. affect the meaning of the passage, being only such as to point more clearly the intended application. One of the variations of the LXX. from the Hebrew ( , etc) does alter the meaning of that particular clause, though not the general purport of the whole passage. The adoption here of the LXX. reading, and still more the fact that the following verse depends upon this reading, is among the strong evidences of the Epistle having been originally written, not in Hebrew, but in Greek.
Heb 10:39
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul; literally, not of the drawing back unto but of faith unto, etc. Thus, once more before proceeding to the subject now before him, the writer is careful to disclaim any real expectation of defection in his readers, and with delicacy he includes himself with them by his use of the nominative plural.
HOMILETICS
Heb 10:1-18
Close of the argument.
This concluding passage presents little more than a re-statement of some points which have been already marked in the discussion which occupies the three preceding chapters. The kernel-thought of the paragraph is expressed in Heb 10:9 : “He taketh away the first” (the Jewish sacrifices), “that he may establish the second” (redemption by the sacrifice of himself).
I. THE INHERENT WORTHLESSNESS OF THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES, (Heb 10:1-4) Although these availed to remove ceremonial uncleanness, and were the appointed types of the offering of Christ, they were literally useless in relation to the highest ends of sacrifice. The apostle notes three points.
1. The Levitical offerings were inadequate even as representations of the true Sacrifice. (Heb 10:1) The entire Jewish ceremonial-tabernacle, priest, victimwas “a shadow” of the coming blessings of the gospel dispensation. But it was “not the very image of the things;” it presented only a rude and incomplete sketch of the great facts and doctrines of Christianity. Take one point as an example. The victims under the Law were dragged unwillingly to the altar;how inaccurate this feature as compared with the loving obedience and the voluntary self-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus!
2. They were of no use whatever for the removal of guilt. The necessity constantly to repeat them showed this (Heb 10:1, Heb 10:2). And so did the nature of the sacrifices themselves. Our reason readily assents to the declaration (Heb 10:4) that the blood of beasts can never expiate the sins of men. Brute nature is incapable of spiritual suffering. Animal sacrifices could not adequately reflect God’s hatred of sin. They could not vindicate his justice, or recompense his Law. Such blood has no virtue to pacify the conscience, or to purify the soul.
3. Their influence went to perpetuate the remembrance of sins. (Heb 10:3) The divinely appointed repetition of the Levitical sacrifices showed that God could not accept them as a real atonement, and therefore could not forget the offences of the worshippers. It was intended also to press home upon the consciences of the people the thought of the accumulated arrears of unexpiated sin.
II. THE INHERENT VALUE OF THE SATISFACTION OF CHRIST. (Heb 10:5-18) Throughout these verses two passages are cited from the Old Testament, to illustrate the contrast between the legal offerings and the atonement of the Lord Jesus. The infinite merit of his sacrifice is conspicuous, whatever the aspect in which it is viewed.
1. Christ‘s satisfaction has shown that obedience is the true sacrifice. (Heb 10:5-9) To illustrate this point the writer quotes from a Messianic psalm (Psa 40:6-8). God “delights not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.” The legal sacrifices were useful only as types of the sacrifice of Christ, and his blood is the symbol of his own perfect obedience as our Substitute. His sacrifice of himself was the offering of an obedient will. He was “obedient unto death.” The” cars” which God had pierced for him (Psa 40:6) were ever swift to hear the Divine commands, and the “body” which he had prepared for him (Heb 10:5) readily submitted itself to the Divine will. In coming to the world, and in dying for man’s redemption, Jesus was “doing the will” of his Father. His voluntary “obedience unto death” has swept away for ever the Levitical sin offerings, and his people can now serve God acceptably only by sprinkling themselves with his blood, and then “presenting their bodies a living sacrifice.”
2. Christ‘s satisfaction has accomplished the removal of guilt. (Heb 10:10-14) His people are “sanctified,” i.e. cleansed from guilt, “through the offering of his body once for all.” The Aaronical priests always stood at their work; they never sat down in the tabernacle. Indeed, no seats were provided for them there. Their constant standing was suggestive of the fact that the ever-repeated sacrifices were of no avail for the pardon of transgression. But our high Priest, after his one offering of himself as a sacrificial Victim, sat down in the most honorable place of the heavenly holy of holies, and still continues to sit there. His very attitude shows that he has fully accomplished the end contemplated by his sacrifice. His completed atonement, besides being the purchase of his mediatorial royalty and the pledge of his final victory over his enemies, has also “perfected” his people “forever” as regards their justification.
3. Christ‘s satisfaction takes away the remembrance of sin. (Heb 10:15-18) The Prophet Jeremiah, in his oracle about the new covenant, had predicted this (Jer 31:34). After the sacrifice of Calvary, there would be no more need for the annual expiatory rite on the Day of Atonementa ceremony which, in fact, had only served to bring sins to remembrance. Now that the great redemption has been accomplished, the iniquities of the believer are really swept away and put an end to. God blots them out. He casts them behind his back. He makes them as though they had never been. And this obliteration evinces the absolute perfection of the atonement, and certifies the abolition of the Hebrew sacrifices.
Heb 10:19-25
The great admonition.
Having completed his elaborate argument, and concluded the doctrinal part of the treatise, the author warmly exhorts the Hebrews to maintain their Christian steadfastness. The appeal contained in these verses collects into a focus of intense light and heat the main teaching of this weighty book. The paragraph before us may be regarded as the center of gravity of the Epistle. It is also the key-note of the impressive representations and the loving counsels which occupy the remaining pages.
I. THE BELIEVER‘S PRIVILEGES. (Heb 10:19-21) The word “therefore” introduces a brief summary of what precedes in the long section devoted to the priesthood of Christ (Heb 4:14-10:18). The grand substantive blessing of the gospel is that of access to God; and this has been secured in connection with:
1. An accepted Sacrifice. (Heb 10:19) Heb 10:1-18 treats of this. Jesus has gone into heaven with his own blood, and- has been allowed to sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat. His blood has expiated the sins which debarred men from standing in the Divine presence. Washed in it, the penitent sinner may draw near to God with confidence.
2. An opened sanctuary. (Heb 10:19, Heb 10:20) Heb 9:1-28. discusses this branch of the subject. Christians are admitted into a far nobler holy of holies than that from which ancient Israel were excluded. “A new and living way” to the Father has been opened up by Jesus; and it shall always be “new,” because, in fact, the “living” Savior is himself the Way. The breaking of his body upon the cross was like the rending of “the veil,” for it opened up the mercy-seat to man.
3. A glorious Intercessor. (Heb 9:21) Heb 7:1-28. treats of the might and majesty of this “great Priest.” Through the merit of Christ’s blood the believer takes his place immediately in front of the throne; and then, through the mediation of the Savior, who stands by his side, he is graciously maintained in this position.
“Holiness on the bead, (George Herbert)
II. THE DUTIES WHICH REST UPON THOSE PRIVILEGES. (Heb 7:22-25) These are three in number, each being introduced with the words,” Let us.” They deal with our conduct towards God, towards the world, and towards the Church. Observance of them calls into exercise respectively the three great graces of the Pauline theology, the duties being those of faith toward God, hope exhibited before the world, and love to our fellow-believers.
1. The duty of Divine worship. (Heb 7:22) Worship is the movement of the soul towards God. To “draw near” includes every form which it is possible for acceptable religious service to assume. The apostle, taking for granted that his readers appreciate the inestimable value of communion with God, indicates briefly the qualifications and features of acceptable worship.
(1) Sincerity. “With a true heart.” Our devotion must not be feigned. We must not be hypocrites, or formalists, or sacramentarians. We “must worship in spirit and in truth.”
(2) Confidence. “In fullness of faith.” Our faith in the way of access must be entire and absolute. The apostle does not speak here of assurance of one’s own personal salvation. What he insists upon is, that true faith cannot admit of any doubt as to its objectthat object being the atonement of Christ, and his priestly work within the opened sanctuary of heaven.
(3) A pacified conscience. “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” When the Aaronical priests were installed their garments were sprinkled with blood, in token of their acceptance as ministers of the sanctuary; so the blood of Christ, while it satisfies Divine justice, satisfies also the conscience to which it is applied, delivers the soul from the sting of sin, and qualifies for the service of God.
(4) A purified heart. “And our body washed with pure water.” A brazen vessel, called the laver, which was used for the ablutions of the priests, stood in the outer court between the altar and the door of the tabernacle. So, hard by the entrance of life, stands the baptismal font; and the beginning of the Christian career is for the soul to be washed in the laver of regeneration. It is the “pure in heart” who “shall see God.”
2. The duty of public confession. (Heb 7:23) It is not enough that we cherish deep religious convictions, and that we maintain a constant commerce with God in acts of secret prayer. We must acknowledge our Christian hope before menwith our lips and by our lives, and in the observance of the public ordinances of grace. We must not he ashamed to manifest profound spiritual earnestness, even in the presence of a persecuting world. To confess our hope will strengthen it. To refuse to acknowledge Christ is to deny him. And our confession ought to be a consistent “Yea.” We are unfaithful if we allow it to sway to and fro, even although it should expose us to obloquy and danger. Seeing that our hope is grounded upon the sure promises of our Father God, why should not our acknowledgment of the truth he always explicit and consistent?
3. The duty of Christian fellowship. (Heb 7:24, Heb 7:25) Brotherly love should prevail among believers as brethren in Christ. Especially should those who are connected with the same congregation cherish a kindly and affectionate interest in one another Our Church-membership is not maintained merely for one’s own personal edification. We should “consider one another” in the spirit of brotherly love, and so that we may be mutually helpful to each other in the Divine life. We are to take kindly thought of each other’s excellences and defects, needs and dangers, trials and temptations, and to minister aid to one another accordingly. And in so far as we realize the bonds of love and sympathy which unite us to our Christian brethren, will we prize such opportunities of intercourse with them as the meetings of the Church afford. One great purpose of our “assembling of ourselves together” is to provide occasions for Christian conference and mutual exhortation. It was peculiarly necessary just now that the Hebrew believers should incite one another “unto love and good works,” for “the day” of the destruction of Jerusalem and the final collapse of the Levitical system was fast “drawing nigh.” That event is now past, but another and more tremendous “day of the Lord” is still to come. We ought as Christians to “consider” and “exhort” one another in view of “that great and notable day” on which Christ shall come to be our Judge, and to describe with his scepter the eternal boundaries of being and destiny.
Heb 10:26-31
The guilt and doom of apostasy.
This is a terrible passage even to read. It is fitted to fill with alarm the hearts of those who refuse to “draw near” to God, or confess his Name, or hold communion with his people. It is introduced here, like the similar warning in Heb 6:4-8, as a motive to Christian steadfastness.
I. THE GUILT OF APOSTASY. This tremendous sin is described:
1. Generally. (Verse 26) The context shows that to “sin willfully” refers neither to any isolated act of apostasy, nor to any other peculiarly heinous transgression, but to the specific sin of finally abandoning Christianity. The question here is not about the destiny of the millions of heathendom, who have never heard the gospel. The Bible does not encourage curiosity regarding them. The sin spoken of is that of the man who had “received the knowledge of the truth,” and who has rejected the gospel after having perceived its beauty, realized its suitableness, and in some degree experienced its power.
2. More particularly. (Verse 29) Saving knowledge centers in the revelation of the three Persons of the Godhead, who are seen in the gospel working together to accomplish our redemption. So the apostate is described by his conduct towards each.
(1) Towards the Father. He “hath trodden underfoot the Son of God.” We can know and approach the Father only through the Son; and, therefore, “whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father” (1Jn 2:23).
(2) Towards the Savior. The apostate tramples upon him, and “counts his blood an unholy thing.” The blood of Jesus must be either on the heart or under the heel. But the apostate persistently despises the new covenant. He treats its Divine Mediator as if he were a malefactor. He treads underfoot the precious cleansing blood, as if it were worthless and unclean.
(3) Towards the Spirit. He “hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” To act thus is to deny to the Holy Ghost the reverence and adoration which are his due. It is obstinately and maliciously to reject him. It is to treat him with contempt, and thereby “grieve” him away for ever from the soul. Persistently to despise the Spirit of God is to commit the unpardonable sin.
II. THE DOOM OF APOSTASY. An awful punishment shall descend upon those who sin away their souls, after rejoicing for a season in the light and love of Christ. The fearful penalty of their guilt is represented here in different aspects.
1. Negatively. (Verse 26) “There remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins.” Those Hebrews, in professing Christianity, had renounced the Levitical sacrifices. But, should they now reject the propitiation of Christthe only possible means by which God’s justice can be satisfied and man’s guilt cancelledwhat would such rejection entail? It would follow, first of all, that the guilt of their ordinary sins against the Divine Law would remain unpardoned, and that even on that ground they must certainly perish.
2. Positively. (Verse 27) It would also follow that the guilt of their special sin of apostasy would bring upon them a heavier penalty than that which shall overtake the other “adversaries” of God. This tremendous sin may fill the soul even here with a horror of great darkness. It may destroy happiness by causing scorpion stings of conscience. It may cover the horizon of life with vague anticipations of a terrible eternity. And, whether such anticipations be present or not, there remains the devouring “fierceness of fire” itself. Not elemental fire, indeed; but spiritual loss, final reprobation, eternal despair. The apostate shall be shut out forever from the presence of God, and such exclusion is itself the hell of hell.
3. Comparatively. (Verses 28, 29) Under the Mosaic Law any Jew who lapsed into idolatry was to be stoned to death, for “transgressing God’s covenant;” and this stern doom was admitted to be just (Deu 17:2-7). But, asks the apostle, are not apostates from Christianity guilty of a vastly greater sin? and shall they not receive a much more dreadful punishment. He rears the matter to the judgment and conscience of his readers. To reject the gospel is a more heinous crime than to set at naught the Law. To tread underfoot, the eternal Son of God involves more aggravated guilt than to turn away from Moses, who was a merely human messenger. So if the sentence of death for rejecting the old covenant was a righteous arrangement, it is evident that the Divine justice must demand a retribution still more awful for the more terrible sin of apostasy from the new covenant.
III. AN ASSERTION OF THE MAJESTY OF GOD‘S JUSTICE. (Verses 30, 31) “We know him.” The gospel itself has revealed to us his infinite power, his inflexible justice, his spotless holiness, his absolute faithfulness. We know that he has said, “Vengeance belongeth unto me,” and “The Lord shall judge his people” (Deu 32:35, Deu 32:36). We know his prerogative as the Governor of the universe. We know that the principle of retribution belongs to his moral nature. And we know that he defends and. saves his people by punishing their enemies. Our nineteenth century, no less than the first century, stands greatly in need of faithful teaching on the subject of retribution, both as a principle of moral law and as a doctrine of Christianity. For:
1. The spirit of the time tempts everywhere to a life of self-indulgence, rather than to the Christian life of self-denial. And habits of self-pleasing tend to bring a man to the edge of the inclined plane which slopes towards the abyss of apostasy. “He that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.”
2. The spirit of the time tempts even true believers to misconceive the nature of the Christian life. Many speak as if after their conversion they should have no experience whatever of spiritual unrest. They forget that it is not “the primrose way” that leads to glory; and that, while the new life begins with an Eden and ends with heaven, “the great tribulation” comes between. The passage before us, in warning of the apostate’s sin and doom, reminds us of the difficulties of the Christian life.
3. The spirit of the time labors to thrust into the background the doctrine of retributive justice. But this great principle is found everywhere: in nature, in providence, in history, in systems of civil government, in the human mind and conscience, in the spiritual experience of believers, and in the inspired Word of God. The justice of the Almighty is asserted here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, with peculiar emphasis. Those religious teachers, therefore, incur a terrible responsibility who try to persuade their fellow-sinners that it is by no means such “a fearful thing” after all “to fall into the hands of the living God.” The Lord Jesus Christ has not sent any such message. Rather, he has solemnly warned us to “fear him” (Luk 12:5). And, if men do not fear the living God, whom will they fear?
Heb 10:32-39
Persuasives to steadfastness.
The latter part of this chapter, beginning with Heb 10:26, is written in the same strain as Heb 6:4-20. In both passages a strong denunciatory warning is followed by a tender exhortation, expressive of the writer’s fond hope that the Hebrew Christians will “stand fast in the Lord.” The pathetic appeal contained in the verses before us is based upon three grounds, belonging respectively to the past, the future, and the present.
I. As APPEAL TO CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. (Verses 32-35) The apostle would have his readers remember their first love, in the (lays when they became “light in the Lord.” They had at that time endured persecution bravely. After the death of Stephen (Act 8:1), in the time of Herod Agrippa (Act 12:1-19), at Thessalonica (1Th 2:14), at Rome (Rom 12:12, Rom 12:14), and elsewhere, the Hebrew believers had encountered the fierce opposition of their unbelieving countrymen and of the Roman authorities. Their calamities had been such as to make them a public spectacle. They had suffered:
1. In their character, which was assailed with malignant scorn.
2. In their persons, for they were subjected to bodily torture.
3. In their property. They were unjustly deprived of their possessions. Yet they bore the loss cheerfully, being persuaded that their true and permanent treasure was in heaven.
4. By reason of their practical sympathy with one another. They had brought to their persecuted and imprisoned brethren both sympathetic condolence and practical help. Now, the apostle reminds the Hebrews of these courageous endurances, in order to stimulate them still to sustain their Christian valor. They had not allowed their early conflicts to dim their spiritual joy. They had run well hitherto; what should hinder them now from persevering to the end? Why allow all their past toils and trials to count for nothing?
II. AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIAN HOPE. (Verses 35-37) This hope is presented in a twofold aspect.
1. The hope of the promised reward. (Verses 35, 36) There is a Christian doctrine of recompense. All the apostles speak of it in their Epistles under one form or another. No Christian, of course, can claim any reward of legal right. It is the gracious gift of the God of grace. But every steadfast believer obtains it even here on earth; for holiness is its own immediate recompense. And he shall receive it in eternal reversion hereafter; for his shall be the inconceivable peace and purity, and the inexhaustible joy and glory, of heaven.
2. The hope of Christ‘s second coming. (Verse 37) The apostle here employs as the vehicle of his thoughts the words given to Habakkuk by which a former generation of Hebrews had been encouraged to wait for the humiliation of their Chaldean oppressors (Heb 2:3). But the scope of the passage requires that we refer the “coming” here spoken of to our Lord’s second advent. As compared with the endless ages of eternity, during which his people are to enjoy the “great recompense of reward,” the interval which must elapse before his personal return to the world may well be described as “a very little while.” The apostles always exhibit the second coming of Christ as an impending event, for which the believer is to yearn and to make ready. Death is only a parenthesis. Our duty is not so much to prepare to die, as to cherish “the blessed hope.” From the watch-tower of prayer let us look out for the signs of his appearing; and thus we shall forget our trials, and maintain our steadfastness.
“Beyond the smiling and the weeping, Love, rest, and home! III. AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE. (Verses 38, 39) The apostle, in concluding with an expression of confidence in his readers, continues to borrow the words of Habakkuk (Hab 2:4). He thus reminds them that under every dispensation faith has been the instrument of salvation. This great saying, “The just shall live by faith,” has become historical. In the time of Habakkuk it marked off the worship of Jehovah from heathenism; in the apostolic age (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11) it distinguished the pure gospel from legalism; at the Reformation it served to divide scriptural Christianity from Romanism. These six words were to Martin Luther the golden text of the Bible. They sounded within his soul, first, as he sat in his quiet cell at Wittenberg; a second time during his illness at Bologna; and again at Rome, when he was climbing up Pilate’s staircase upon his knees. It was in connection with Luther’s perception of the meaning of this text that the great idea of the Reformation began to possess his soul. What, then, is the force of this saying of Habakkuk? Clearly it is not to be restricted to the first act of faith; the statement refers to the entire life of the believer. Although justified by faith at the beginning, his justification is continued by means of his perseverance in living faith to the end of his earthly course. The whole list of godly achievements referred to in Heb 11:1-40. illustrates how faith is the foundation of a life of holy obedience and of spiritual triumph. The apostle, therefore, reminds his readers that they must persistently “do the will of God” if they would keep themselves from backsliding unto perdition. Only a life of continued faith will secure “the saving of the soul.” Union to Christ, justification, participation in Christ’s life, peace of conscience, sanctification, the certainty of final redemption from all evil,these, and every other Christian experience, are the effect of sustained and habitual faith. It is faith alone which brings us to the Fountain of life, and keeps us there.
HOMILIES BY W. JONES
Heb 10:5-10
The imperfect sacrifices and the perfect Sacrifice.
“Wherefore when he cometh into the world,” etc.
I. THE IMPERFECT SACRIFICES. The imperfection of the legal sacrifices has been exhibited already with considerable fullness. In the preceding verses of this chapter it is pointed out that they were mere shadows of the true Sacrifice; they could not cleanse the offerers, or take away their sins. Another aspect of this imperfection is brought into view in our text. These sacrifices are spoken of as unacceptable to God. “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not… sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; the which are offered according to the Law.” How are we to understand this? Were not these sacrifices and offerings instituted by him? When the Divine intention in them was realized, and they were offered in the true spirit, they were, undoubtedly, acceptable to him. When the sin offering was the manifestation of the offerer’s penitence for sin and desire for forgiveness; when the burnt offering symbolized the self-consecration of the offerer to God, and the meat offering was the spontaneous tribute of a thankful heart to the Giver of all good, then they were well pleasing to God. But when they were offered as though the offering of them were meritorious on the part of the offerers, or as substitutes for personal obedience and service, they were not acceptable unto God. This is the aspect in which they are introduced in our textthe offering of sacrifices as contrasted with the rendering of willing obedience to the will of God. He has explicitly and repeatedly declared in the Scriptures that such sacrifices he will not accept. The principle is applicable still. God will not accept our professions, praises, prayers, or gifts as substitutes for faith, love, obedience, and self-consecration.
II. THE PERFECT SACRIFICE. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith,” etc. The perfection of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is here seen in several particulars.
1. It originated with God the Father. “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare for me He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” Not only the sacrifice of the Christ, but his whole mission, was the outworking of the counsel and plan of God. The Savior himself was the great Gift of the heavenly Father to our lost world. All our blessings flow from the throne of God.
2. It expresses the most perfect obedience.
(1) Obedience in the highest spirit. With perfect voluntariness our Lord did the will of God the Father. Freely he entered upon and fulfilled his great redemptive mission. “Then said I, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God.” More forcibly is this aspect of Christ’s work expressed in the psalm from which our text is quoted: “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy Law is within my heart.” “Jesus saith, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” He found deepest and purest joy in doing the holy will of God. His own will, his entire being, was in beautiful and blessed accord with the will of his Father. His obedience was not in word and action only, but in thought, feeling, and volition. In the sight of God the obedience of a moral being is never true except it be voluntary.
(2) Obedience in the fullest extent. Our Lord “fulfilled all righteousness.” But did his obedience include suffering and sacrifice? Our text returns a decisive reply. “A body didst thou prepare for me. I am come to do thy will, O God. In which wilt we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The will of the Father included the suffering and death of the Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. On this point the testimony of the sacred Scriptures is clear and conclusive. “The Son of man came to give his life a Ransom for many” (Mat 20:28; see also Mat 26:39, Mat 26:42; Luk 24:26, Luk 24:27, Luk 24:44-47). He was “obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.” But even here it was not the intensity of the sufferings which made the sacrifice acceptable unto God, but the piety of the spirit in which they were endured. The sacrifice was perfect because it was offered in the fulfillment of the will of the Father.” “It is monstrous to suppose,” said Dr. Robert Vaughan, “that the Deity could be pleased with mere suffering. It is the spiritual essence in the atonement that makes it to be what it is to us. It may be accepted as certain, that in the gift of the Son of God we have the brightest manifestation of the love of the Father; and that in the willing humiliation and grief of the Redeemer we have the tenderest revelation of pity towards the evil and unthankful, and at the same time the noblest act of worship ever rendered to the good and the holy. In this sense it is truly by the sorrows, the death, the cross of Christ, that we have salvation. It has been his will to become thus acquainted with grief, and to dieto die the death of the crossthat we might be saved.” The perfection of the Savior’s sacrifice was in the voluntary and entire surrender of himself to God.
3. It accomplishes its Divine design. “In the which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Ebrard interprets sanctification here as involving “both justification and sanctification.” But the use of the perfect participle, “we have been sanctified,” “expresses not our subjective sanctification, but our objective reception into true relationship to God, and into the actual fellowship of the members of the people of God as ‘the saints’ (Heb 6:10)” (Lange). By his one great offering of himself our Lord has provided all that man needs for the forgiveness of his sins, for his acceptance with God, and for the purifying and perfecting of his being. Christ’s work is finished and perfect. To it nothing can be added; in it no improvement can be made. Man’s great business in relation to it is to accept of it, and become perfected (Heb 10:14) through it.W.J.
Heb 10:12, Heb 10:13
The sacrifice and sovereignty of Christ.
“But this Man, after he had offered one sacrifice,” etc.
I. THE SACRIFICE OFFERED BY CHRIST.
1. Self-sacrifice. The Jewish priests offered goats, lambs, etc. But Jesus Christ “gave himself.” The whole of his life upon earth was a sacrifice. The sufferings of the closing scenes were sacrificial. His death was sacrificial. In all he acted with entire spontaneity (Joh 10:17, Joh 10:18). All was the outcome of the infinite love wherewith he loved us. It is of the very nature of love to sacrifice self for the beloved. No sacrifice is so Divine as that of self. “Greater love hath no man than this,” etc. (Joh 15:13).
2. Self-sacrifice for sin. The death of Jesus was neither
(1) a mere martyrdom; nor
(2) an offering to pacify the wrath of God; but
(3) it was a “sacrifice for sins.” “He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” “Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous,” etc.
3. Self-sacrifice for sin of perpetual efficacy. “He offered one sacrifice for sins for ever.” Christ’s sacrifice was offered once for all It needs no repetition. It is completely efficacious for all sins of all men for ever (cf. Heb 9:25-28). It seems to us that to speak of “offering Christ upon the altar” in the Lord’s Supper is utterly unscriptural, and a reflection on the sufficiency of the “one sacrifice for sins forever” which our Lord offered.
II. THE POSITION OCCUPIED BY CHRIST. “Sat down on the right hand of God.” This position is suggestive of:
1. Rest. The sitting down is opposed to the standing of the preceding verse. Christ’s sacrificial work is completed. The sufferings of his earthly life are over forever. The toil and conflict are all past. He has finished the work that was given him to do (cf. Heb 1:3).
2. Honor. “The right hand” is the position of honor. He is “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb 2:9; cf. Php 2:6-11). The glory of redemption is his.
3. His exaltation is a guarantee that all who are one with hire in sacrifice shall be one with him in sovereignty. There is a cross for each of his disciples; there is also a crown for every one who faithfully bears that cross (cf. Mat 16:24; Joh 12:26; Rom 8:17; Rev 3:21).
III. THE EXPECTATION ENTERTAINED BY CHRIST. “From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet.” The foes of our Lord are rebellious angels and rebellious men. All persons and all things which are opposed to his character and sovereignty are his enemies. Ignorance, the darkness of the mind, is opposed to him as “the Light” and “the Truth.” Tyranny is opposed to him as the great Emancipator. He proclaimed the universal brotherhood of men. Sin is opposed to him as the Savior and the Sovereign of men. Death is opposed to him as the Life and the Lifegiver. All these he will completely and for ever vanquish. “He must reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.” Let us endeavor to realize the certainty of this.
1. History points to it. During nearly nineteen centuries the spirit and the principles of Christ have been advancing and gaining strength in the world. Tyrannical despotisms passing away; free governments spreading; slavery losing its place and power; liberty and the recognition of human brotherhood constantly growing; cruelties and oppressions ever decreasing; Christian charities and generosities ever increasing; the night of ignorance receding; the day of intelligence advancing and brightening. The past is prophetic of the complete triumph of Christ.
2. The spirit of the age points to it. There is much of evil in the age; but there are also many good and hope-inspiring things. The age is one of broadening freedom, earnest inquiry, growing intelligence, and many and ever-increasing charities. All these are in harmony with Christianity, results of Christianity; and as men advance in them they will be the more fitted and disposed to embrace Christianity.
3. God‘s Word assures it. (See Psa 2:8; Psa 72:8-17; Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14).
4. Christ is waiting for it. “From henceforth expecting”implying his undoubted assurance of it. He cannot be disappointed.W.J.
Heb 10:18
Complete forgiveness through the perfect Sacrifice.
“Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” Our text authorizes three observations.
I. THAT THE SAVIOR‘S SACRIFICE FOR SIN WAS PERFECT. This is implied in the text. It is stated more than once in the preceding argument. To prove it was one of the great objects of the doctrinal portion of this letter. It has already come under our notice in several of our homilies (see on Heb 7:26-28; Heb 9:11, Heb 9:12; Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14; Heb 10:5-10).
II. THAT THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN THROUGH THE SAVIOR‘S SACRIFICE IS COMPLETE. This completeness is exhibited by the writer:
1. By comparing it with the partial putting away of sins obtained through the legal sacrifices. “Sacrifices which can never take away sins” (Heb 10:11). The word employed here signifies “to take clean away (cf. Act 27:20), i.e. to put off like the garment which clings to the person, or the ring on the finger; as, for instance, the besetting sin of Heb 12:1, or the besetting infirmity of Heb 12:3. The sacred writer does not mean to say that sins were not forgiven to sacrificial worshippers under the Law; but that the legal sacrifices had no inward spiritual power to give peace to the conscience, or any assured sense of pardon, purity to the heart, or any really new beginning of spiritual life (Heb 9:9). With these in their subject-matter and their inadequacy, ever similar and oft-repeated sacrifices, he contrasts (Heb 12:12) the “one sacrifice for sins of Jesus Christ, which is no other than himself” (Delitzsch). And Alford, “The (legal) sacrifice might bring sense of partial forgiveness; but it could never denude the offerer of sinfulnessstrip off and take away his guilt.” But through the sacrifice of the Christ sin is really taken away. He who heartily believes in him is reconciled unto God, receives absolute and full forgiveness of sins, and is inspired by a new and holy affection, even supreme love to God. And this affection is the mightiest antagonist of sin. He who is inspired by it is not overcome of evil, but overcomes evil with good.
2. By the expressions which are used to set it forth. “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (see our remarks on Heb 8:12). Here is the greatest encouragement to sinners to seek forgiveness from God. “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. With the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.” “Let the wicked forsake his way,” etc. (Isa 55:7).
III. THAT THE SAVIOR‘S SACRIFICE WILL NEVER BE REPEATED. “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” Being perfect in itself and in its efficacy, his sacrifice needs no repetition (see remarks on this in our homilies on Heb 7:26-28; Heb 9:27, Heb 9:28; Heb 10:5-10). Learn the folly of looking for other and more effective means of salvation. The grandest and most convincing proof of the love that God hath to us has been given in the sacrifice of Christ. No greater sacrifice, no more constraining influence, is possible. Let us accept the perfect Sacrifice, and the all-sufficient Savior.W.J.
Heb 10:19-22
The Christian’s access to the Holy place.
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into,” etc. Here the sacred writer enters upon the last great division of the Epistle. Having closed the argumentative portion, he opens the hortatory and admonitory part of his work. Our text is an exhortation to avail ourselves of the great privilege of access to the presence of God through the blood of Jesus. We have
I. A DECLARATION or CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE.
1. What the privilege is in itself. It is twofold.
(1) The right of approach unto the presence of God. We may “enter into the holy place.” There is a reference here to the entrance of the high priest into the holy of holies under the Mosaic economy. The holy place in the text is the Divine sanctuary, “the place of God’s essential presence.” We have the privilege of access into his presence. We have this at present in prayer. Even now in prayer, and spiritually, we may “reach the inmost recesses of the Divine sanctuary, the very heart of God.” And we may do this without the intervention of’ any human priesthood, or the presentation of any material sacrifice. Hereafter we may enter into his presence in person. Already our Lord is there. And he prayed for his disciples, “Father, I will that where I am, they also may be with me.” Admission into the manifested presence of God is the exalted privilege awaiting every true Christian in the future. “We shall see him even as he is.” “I will behold thy face in righteousness,” etc. “In thy presence is fullness of joy,” etc.
(2) Confidence in approaching the presence of God. We have “boldness to enter into the holy place.” This boldness is not rashness, or irreverence, or unreverence. It is rather a holy freedom of access to God because of our assurance that we shall be graciously received by him. See this in the exercise of prayer. We may freely express our wants and wishes to our heavenly Father; for, being our Father, he will not resent our filial confidence, but will welcome us the more because of it.
2. How the privilege has been obtained for us. “By the blood of Jesus.” It is by the sacrifice of Christ that we have the right of access to the presence of God. And it is by the infinite love of God manifested in that sacrifice that we have confidence in availing ourselves of this right. In a word, this great privilege has been obtained for us through the mediation of our Lord and Savior. This is here represented as a way: “By the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way,” etc. The description is instructive.
(1) The characteristics of the way. It is a new way; i.e. newly made, recent, or newly opened. Truly and beautifully Stier says, “No believer under the Old Testament dared or could, though under a dispensation of preparatory grace, approach God so freely and openly, so fearlessly and joyfully, so closely and intimately, as we now, who come to the Father by the blood of Jesus, his Son.” It is a living way. “The way into the sanctuary of the Old Testament was simply a lifeless pavement trodden by the high priest, and by him alone; the way opened by Jesus Christ is one that really leads and carries all who enter it into the heavenly rest, being, in fact, the reconciliation of mankind with God, once and for ever effected by him through his ascension to the Father’a living way,’ because one with the living person and abiding work of Jesus Christ” (Delitzsch). “Jesus saith, I am the Way,” etc. (cf. Joh 14:1-6).
(2) The inauguration of this way. “Which he dedicated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” There is a comparison between the flesh of our Savior and the veil which separated the most holy from the holy place. “While he was with us here below,” says Delitzsch, “the weak, limit-bound, and mortal flesh, which he had assumed for our sakes, hung like a curtain between him and the Divine sanctuary into which he would enter; and in order to such entrance, this curtain had to be withdrawn by death, even as the high priest had to draw aside the temple veil in order to make his entry to the holy of holies.” In his death our Lord put off the weak, mortal flesh; and at his death “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom,” laying open the holy of holies. Dying, our Lord laid aside those conditions of body which could not be taken into heaven itself, and removed the barriers which kept us from God (cf. Corinthians 1:21, 22).
(3) The encouragement to tread this way. “And having a great Priest over the house of God.” The description is suggestive. “A great Priest.” One who is both Priest and King; “a royal Priest and priestly King.” He is “over the house of God,” i.e. the Church; the one great communion of saints both in heaven and upon earth; the Church triumphant above and the Church militant below. Here is encouragement to tread the new and living way. Our great Priest has trod the way before us. He has entered the heavenly sanctuary, and abides in the glorious and blessed Presence. He is there on our behalf; as our Representative, as our Forerunner, and as an attraction to draw his people thither also.
II. AN EXHORTATION TO AVAIL OURSELVES OF THIS PRIVILEGE, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,” etc. Consider how we are to avail ourselves of this privilege.
1. With perfect sincerity. “With a tree heart.” A heart free from hypocrisy and from self-deception. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
2. With assured confidence. “In full assurance of faith.” Not questioning our right of access, or the certainty of our gracious acceptance, through Christ. Not with divided confidence, but “in fullness of faith” in Christ. The full undivided faith is required, as Ebrard says, “not a faith such as the readers of the Epistle to the Hebrews had, who to the questions, ‘Is Jesus the Messiah? Is he the Son of God?’ replied in the affirmative indeed with head and mouth, but yet were not satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ, but thought it necessary still to lean on the crutches of the Levitical sacrifices, and on these crutches would limp into heaven.” We fear that there is much of this divided faith at present, or at least a great lack of “fullness of faith” in the Savior. The faith of some is divided between the Christ and the Church, or some human priesthood; others, between the Christ and the sanctions of reason or philosophy; and others, between the Christ and what they conceive to be their own personal merits. If we would draw near to God acceptably, we must do so “in full assurance of faith” in our great Priest as the only and all-sufficient Mediator.
3. With purity of heart and life. “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water.” There is a reference here to the Levitical purifications (cf. Exo 29:21; Le Exo 8:30; Exo 16:4, Exo 16:24; Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14, Heb 9:21, Heb 9:22; 1Pe 1:2). And in the last clause of the text there is probably a reference to Christian baptism, which is symbolic of spiritual cleansing (cf. Act 22:16). The idea seems to be that to approach God acceptably we must be morally pure in heart and in action. But “who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” And so we draw near to God at present trusting in the Christ for pardon and for purity. Through him we are justified before God by faith, and have daily cleansing for daily impurities. And hereafter we shall draw near to his blessed presence “having washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” and shall appear before him as members of “a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.”
CONCLUSION.
1. How great are our privileges of present access to God in prayer, and hope of future approach to him in person!
2. How solemn are our obligations to avail ourselves of our privileges, and to walk worthily of them!W.J.
Heb 10:23
Christian fidelity.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith,” etc.
I. THE EXHORTATION TO CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, that it waver not.”
1. The object of our hope. That in Christ we have at present forgiveness of our sins, the right of approach unto God, sanctifying influences, etc. That through Christ we shall attain unto the future and perfect restthe sabbath-keeping which remains for the people of God. Or in brief, that Jesus is the Christ of God, and that in him we have salvation in its beginnings here and now, and shall have it in perfection hereafter.
2. The compression of our hope.
(1) The confession made. The Christian baptism of these Hebrew Christians was a confession of their faith in Christ. When the hope is clear and assured, it “cannot remain dumb; it must speak, and give a reason of its own existence. It utters itself in a frank confession, which we are to hold fast.” This confession is obligatory upon believers in Christ Jesus (cf. Mat 10:32, Mat 10:33; Luk 12:8, Luk 12:9; Rom 10:9, Rom 10:10; 1Jn 4:15).
(2) The confession maintained. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, that it waver not.” It is implied that there was a danger of their relinquishing it. They were in danger by reason of persecution (cf. Joh 9:22); and by reason of the ritualistic and other attractions of Judaism, and the simplicity and spirituality of Christianity. And a clear, consistent, and steadfast confession of our Christian hope is imperiled today by not a few influences. There is danger from Satanic solicitation, from worldly suggestion and example, and from the inclinations and disinclinations of our lower nature. Visible and material interests would draw us away from the claims of the invisible and spiritual. Having so much to do with seen and temporal things, there is danger lest we relax the firmness of our grasp on the unseen and eternal verities. There is danger, too, of attempting to base our hope upon Christ and something else, rather than upon Christ and Christ alone. “Let us hold fast the confession,” etc. Let there be no uncertainty, no timidity, no wavering, in our acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
(a) Our own true interests enforce the exhortation of the text.
(b) The great company of the glorified call upon us to “hold fast the confession of our hope,” etc. (cf. Heb 6:11, Heb 6:12).
(c) God himself summons us to fidelity and perseverance. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” “Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.”
II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. “For he is faithful that promised.” Many are the promises which God has made to his people. Promises to the penitent, the tempted, the afflicted, the mourner, the weak, the perplexed, etc. Now, all these promises are perfectly reliable. Of this we have many guarantees; e.g.:
1. His infinite intelligence. “When he promises anything, he sees everything which may hinder, and everything which may promote the execution of it, so that he cannot discover anything afterwards that may move him to take up after-thoughts: he hath more wisdom than to promise anything which he knows he cannot accomplish.”
2. His almighty power. He is able to perform all and everything that he has promised. “Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
3. His perfect faithfulness. “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18; Tit 1:2). “God is not a man, that he should lie,” etc. (Num 23:19; 1Sa 15:29). “With him can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning” (Jas 1:17). “How many soever be the promises of God, in Jesus Christ is the yea,” etc. (2Co 1:20). The fidelity of God to his glorious promises should ensure our fidelity in the confession of our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.W.J.
Heb 10:24
The duty and design of mutual consideration.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love,” etc. An interesting connection of our text with the preceding verses of this paragraph is pointed out by Delitzsch. “How beautifully is the exhortation here disposed in conformity with the Pauline triad of Christian graces (1Co 13:13; 1Th 1:3; 1Th 5:8; Col 1:4, Col 1:5)! First, the injunction to approach in the full assurance of faith; then that to hold fast the confession of our hope; and now a third, to godly rivalry in the manifestation of Christian love.“
I. THE DUTY OF MUTUAL CONSIDERATION. “Let us consider one another.” This exhortation does not warrant any impertinent interference in the concerns of others, or sanction the conduct of busybodies and gossips. It calls upon us to cherish a mutual regard, and to exercise a kind consideration one for another. We should consider the wants, weaknesses, temptations, trials, successes, failures, and varying experiences of each other. With a brother in his shortcomings and sins we should be patient and forbearing, slow to condemn, but quick to raise and restore. “Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass,” etc. (Gal 6:1, Gal 6:2). With each other we should sympathize in our respective joys and sorrows. Our religious duties, motives, aims, trials, joys, and hopes are very similar in their character; therefore “let us consider one another,” sympathize with one another, and strengthen one another.
II. THE DESIGN OF MUTUAL CONSIDERATION. “To provoke unto love and good works.” “To provoke” is here used in a good senseto excite, or to call into activity for a worthy purpose. “Consider one another” in order to produce in each other a generous rivalry in love and good works. Mark the importance of these two things.
1. Love. It is the supreme grace of Christian character (1Co 13:13). It is the most Christ-like. It is the most God-like. “God is love.” It is that which most truly represents our Savior to the world. It is that which is most extolled in the sacred Scriptures. The Bible abounds in exhortations to love one another and to love God (Le 19:18, 34; Deu 6:5; Deu 10:19; Mat 22:36-40; Joh 15:12; 1Co 13:1-13; Col 3:14; 1Ti 1:5; 1Pe 4:8; 1Jn 3:11-24; 1Jn 4:7-21). On earth and in time love exalts and imparts an attractive luster and beauty to the character. And it qualifies for the glories of heaven and eternity.
2. Good works; beautiful actions. Love is the fountain of all beautiful deeds. Our works are beautiful in proportion as love is our motive and inspiration in them. That which is done selfishly, grudgingly, or in the spirit of a hireling, has no goodness or beauty. Love is the purest and mightest inspiration. No difficulties deter love; no dangers appall it; no toils are too arduous or prolonged to be accomplished by it. The venturing and enduring power of love is wonderful. And, thank God! illustrations of it are not scarce. See it in the unwearying vigil and the unfailing ministry of the mother, night and day, day and night, by the couch where her sick child lies; or the wife by the bed of her afflicted husband, etc. Love delights in self-sacrificing service for the beloved. “Provoke unto love and good works.” To teach a class well in the Sunday or the Ragged school; to visit the neglected, the sick, and the dying; to comfort some troubled heart or cheer some depressed spirit; to perform common duties with diligence and fidelity, or irksome duties with cheerfulness; to bear physical pain or social trial patiently; to suffer long by reason of the faults of others, and still be kind to them;these are “good works,” beautiful works. It is to love and good works that we are to provoke one another, and for this purpose we have to kindly consider each other. Put no obstacle in the path of any true worker, but cheer him, strengthen him. Perhaps the best way to stimulate others to love and good works is to set a good example in respect of these things. Learn here the most effective method of preventing strife and securing unity amongst Christian brethren. Kindly mutual consideration, love, and good works preclude disagreement, and unite hearts in sacred and blessed fellowship.W.J.
Heb 10:25
Warning against the neglect of social worship.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom of some is; but exhorting one another.” This exhortation is not a positive command, but arises out of the nature of things, and the need of man as a spiritual being. Social worship does not become obligatory because it is commanded in the Scriptures; but we are exhorted not to neglect it because it is needful for us. The obligation springs not from the exhortation, but from the necessities of our being. Let us consider
I. MAN‘S NEED OF SOCIAL WORSHIP.
1. Man needs worship. A god is a necessity of man’s being. He must have something to worship, even if it be only a fetish. This arises from the presence and influence of the religious and devotional elements and faculties in human nature. As these are refined and educated, so man is able to receive pure and exalted ideas of God. One of the bitterest of human wails is, “Ye have taken away my gods, and the priest; and what have I more?” The loss of even a false god is deemed ruinous by those who confided in it. The cry of the man whose religious nature has been enlightened by Divine revelation is, “My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” The body needs the exercise of manual labor, or of athletics, or gymnastics, or it becomes weak and incapable. The mind must be employed in the acquisition of truth, in reflection upon truth and life, or its powers must be called forth in some other way, or it will sink into a condition of feebleness and decay. And the principle is equally applicable to the religions soul. If its powers be not employed in the worship of the Divine Being and in the effort to live usefully and holily, those powers will perish; the eyes of the soul will become blind, its ears deaf, its aspirations extinct. Man needs worship for the life and growth of his own religious nature.
2. Man needs social worship. He is a social being. His heart craves friendship. In sorrow and joy, in labor and rest, we long for companionship and sympathy. We are formed for fellowship and for mutual help. Hence, social worship is a necessity of our being. This need was divinely recognized in Judaism, and provision was made for it in the temple, in the great religious festivals, etc. Our Lord recognized this need in various ways (Mat 18:17-20; Luk 4:16). So also did the apostles. Even in the darkest seasons in the history of the Church of God, devout souls have felt this need and have sought satisfaction for it. “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another,” etc. (cf. Mal 3:13-17).
3. Social worship is often very beneficial and blessed. Our Lord has promised that the unanimous prayers of such worshippers shall be answered, and that he himself will meet with them (Mat 18:19, Mat 18:20). In such assemblies of believers devotion and holy feeling pass from heart to heart until all hearts are aglow. Mutual prayer strengthens the weak disciple. One man is cast down and almost faithless, but his faith is invigorated and his soul encouraged by the influence of another who is believing and hopeful. Nor is worship the only engagement of these assemblies. Our text speaks of mutual exhortation. “Exhorting one another.” Brotherly counsel and encouragement and admonition are profitable to strengthen faith, incite to diligence, guard against declension, and promote the progress of the soul.
II. MAN‘S NEGLECT OF SOCIAL WORSHIP. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom of some is.” Notice:
1. The causes of this neglect. As our Epistle does not speak of the neglect of worship by the irreligious, but of the desertion of the Christian assemblies by those who themselves were avowedly Christians, we shall confine our attention to the causes of the neglect of social worship by those who manifest some respect for religion.
(1) The necessity of social worship is not recognized, or inadequately recognized. The neglecter says, “There is no need for my frequent attendance at church; I can read the Bible or a sermon by my own fireside; and as for worship, we have that in the family.” But reading a sermon is not attendance upon the divinely instituted preaching of the gospel. And family worship is not enough for man as a social being. Religion itself is social. As we need friends beyond our own domestic relations, so we need in religious exercises a wider circle than the home one.
(2) Absorption in temporal and worldly affairs is another cause of the neglect of the Christian assemblies. The interests and occupations of this world and time fill the whole being; spiritual and eternal interests are disregarded; the soul and its needs are neglected; thus men are unjust to their own higher nature.
(3) Decline in the spiritual life is another cause of this neglect.
2. The danger of this neglect. They whose custom it was to forsake the assemblies of Christians were not yet apostates from the Christian faith and confession. But the admonition and exhortation of the text suggest that they were in danger of apostasy. And the awful warnings which immediately follow more plainly indicate the dread peril. He who neglects the Christian assemblies is likely ere long to forsake the Christian Church and renounce the Christian faith, and ]:e may even go on to tread underfoot the Son of God, and do despite unto the Spirit of grace.W.J.
Heb 10:26-29
The darkest sin and the most dreadful doom.
“For if we sin willfully after that we have received,” etc. These solemn words set before us
I. A SIN OF THE GREATEST ENORMITY. TO obtain a correct view of the dark sin which is here depicted, let us notice:
1. The spiritual experience which preceded the sin. Two clauses of our text set forth a personal experience of genuine religion. “After that we have received the knowledge of the truth.” The word which is translated “knowledge”as Delitzsch points out, cannot mean an unreal or false knowledge, but a genuine and intelligent apprehension of the truth. “The sacred writer, therefore, clearly intimates by the very choice of the word that it is not a mere outward and historical knowledge of which he is here speaking, but an inward, quickening, believing apprehension of revealed truth (Heb 6:4-8).” “The blood wherewith he was sanctified.” In the case supposed the man “had advanced so far in the reality of the spiritual life, that this blood had been really applied to his heart by faith, and its hallowing and purifying, effects were visible in his life (Alford).
2. The character of the sin itself. The sin is apostasy from Christianity, after having personally experienced its power and preciousness. But see how it is here sketched.
(1) Contemptuous rejection of the Divine Redeemer. “Hath trodden underfoot the Son of God.” The expression does not simply mean to cast a thing away as useless, which is afterwards carelessly trampled on by men (Mat 5:13); but a deliberate, scornful, bitter treading down of a thing. So terribly wicked is the rejection of the Son of God which our text sets forth.
(2) Profanation of the sacrificial blood of the Savior. “Hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.” The blood of sacrifices offered under the Law was regarded as sacred, and as having cleansing power (Le 16:19). How much more really and more intensely holy must the blood of Christ be (Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14)! To regard this blood as common, or as the blood of an ordinary man, was not only a degradation of the most sacred thing, but also an admission that Jesus was deservedly put to death; for if his was the common blood of a mere man, he was a blasphemer, and according to the Jewish Law deserved death.
(3) Insultation of the Holy Spirit. “And hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace;” or, “insulted the Spirit of grace.” The expression designates the Holy Spirit as the Source of grace, and leads us to think of him as a living and loving Person. “To contemn or do despite to this Holy Spirit is to blaspheme the whole work of grace of which one has once been the subject, and to exhibit it as a deception and a lie. It is profanely to contradict the very truth of God, and draw down a vengeance which cannot fail” (Delitzsch).
3. The aggravations of the sire. The preceding experience of the blessings of Christianity sorely aggravates so bitter an apostasy from it. But the sin is further aggravated by the willfulness, deliberateness, and continuousness with which it is committed. “The sin here spoken of is not a momentary or short-lived aberration, from which the infirm but sincere believer is speedily recalled by the convictions of the Spirit, but one willfully persisted in.” “If we sin willfully.” Moreover, it is not an act or acts of willful sin committed once, or more than once, and then repented of, which is here set forth; but a continuous condition of sin. The use of the present participle”indicates perseverance and continuance in apostasy.” It is not a case of ordinary religious backsliding or declension from Christ; for then there would be some hope of repentance and encouragement to repent (Jer 3:14; Hos 14:4). It is a case of willful, deliberate, contemptuous, persistent rejection of Christ and of Christianity, after having known his truth and experienced his grace.
II. A PUNISHMENT OF THE MOST TERRIBLE SEVERITY.
1. The utter loss of the hope of spiritual reformation. “There remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins.” The sacrifices of Judaism to which, in the case supposed, the apostate returns have no power to take away sins. The efficacy of the sacrifice of the Savior has not been exhausted by him, but he has deliberately and scornfully rejected it, so that for him it has no longer any atoning or saving power. And no other exists for him, or will be provided for him. When a man willfully, contemptuously, and persistently rejects the only sacrifice through which salvation may be attained, what hope can there be for him of forgiveness and spiritual renewal?
2. The dreadful anticipation of an awful judgment. “There remaineth a certain fearful expectation of judgment.” The apostate looks forward with dismay, and even with terror at times, to the approaching judgment and the righteous retributions which will follow. His punishment is already begun in his alarming anticipations of the dread penalties awaiting him hereafter.
3. The infliction of a punishment worse than death. “A fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that hath set at naught Moses’ Law dieth without compassion,” etc. If an Israelite apostatized from Jehovah to idolatry, when “two witnesses or three witnesses” testified against him, he was to be stoned to death (Deu 17:2-7). If one sought to seduce another to idolatry, the person so tempted was to take the lead in stoning the tempter to death, even though the tempter was the nearest and dearest relative, or a friend beloved as his own soul (Deu 13:1-11). But for the apostate from Christ there is a “much sorer punishment” than the death of the body by stoning. The severity of the punishment will be in proportion to the clearness of the light and the richness of the grace and the preciousness of the privileges rejected by the apostate. “The wrath of God burns as hotly as his love, and strikes no less surely than justly.” Yet it seems to us that nothing in the punishment of the apostate can be darker or more terrible than this, that for him “there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins.” “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”W.J.
Heb 10:31
Falling into the fronds of Goda contrast.
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” “Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord” (1Ch 21:13). State briefly what led to this utterance of David. The taking of the census, etc. Wherein was the sin of numbering the people? Not in the mere act; for Israel had been numbered thrice before by the command of the Lord. But David took this census
(1) without Divine authority or sanction;
(2) from motives of pride and ostentation.
Perhaps he was contemplating schemes of foreign conquest. Certainly the motive was a sinful one, and therefore the act was sinful. God was displeased thereby, and he determined to punish the king and his people for this and previous sins, e.g. the rebellions in which the people had joined. He, however, sent Gad the seer unto David to give him the choice of one out of three punishments (1Ch 21:11-14). With becoming humility and piety, the king left the judgment in the hand of God. He prayed that he might “not fall into the hand of man,” and his people be destroyed three months before their foes; but whether the punishment should be “three years’ famine, or three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land,” he left to the decision of the merciful God. “David said unto Gad,” etc. (1Ch 21:13). After these words the text from our Epistle has a strange sound: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The sacred writer has been treating of a sin of extraordinary wickednessapostasy from Christ; and apostasy characterized, not by ignorance, but by despite of the clearest knowledge; not by weakness, but by willfulness; not by transitoriness, but by persistence. It is of the punishment of such an apostate that it is said, “It is a fearful thing,” etc. “The hands of God are his almighty operations, whether in love or wrath.” He is “the living God” because he is self-existent; his existence is independent, absolute, eternal. So “the hands of the living God” present the ideas of his almightiness and eternity. How fearful to fall into the punitive hands of such a Being! Man may be angry with me, but his power is limited, and he dies, and then he can injure me no longer; but it is a fearful thing to fall into the avenging hands of him whose power is unlimited and whose existence is endlessthe hands of the almighty and ever-living God, Contrast these two fallings into the hands of God.
I. THE ONE FALLS VOLUNTARILY INTO GOD‘S HANDS; THE OTHER, COMPULSORILY. David deliberately and freely elected to leave himself in the hands of the Lord; that was his choice. But the willfully and persistently wicked wilt fall into his hands as the guilty culprit falls into the hands of the officers of the law. The strong hand of Divine justice will seize the hardened rebel against God, and from that grip there will be no escape. Of our own free will let us now fall into his almighty and loving hands.
II. THE ONE FALLS INTO HIS HANDS IN HUMBLE PENITENCE; THE OTHER, IN HARDENED IMPENITENCE. David was sincerely and deeply repentant of his sin (1Ch 21:8, 1Ch 21:17). But in the case supposed in our Epistle the sinner willfully and defiantly persists in known and terrible sin, and is arrested by the Omnipotent hands as a daring rebel. And we have sinned and deserved God’s wrath. How shall we meet him? in penitence, or in presumption? “He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength,” etc. (Job 9:4). “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,” etc. (Psa 2:12).
III. THE ONE FALLS INTO HIS HANDS FIRMLY TRUSTING IN HIS MERCY; THE OTHER, DEEPLY DREADING HIS WRATH. “David said for very great are his mercies.” He could and did confide in the love of God even in his judgments. But when the desperately wicked fall into God’s hands it will be in abject terror (cf. Heb 10:27). Again let us imitate David, and trust God’s mercy, not man’s. “If you are accused, it is better to trust him for justice than to trust men; if you are guilty, it is better to trust him for mercy than to trust men; if you are miserable, it is better to trust him for deliverance than men.”
IV. THE ONE FALLS INTO HIS CHASTISING HAND; THE OTHER, INTO HIS AVENGING HAND. David and his people were to be punished, but the punishment was paternal chastisement for their profit. They were to suffer that they might be saved as a nation. But very different is the punishment of the willful and persistent sinner (see Heb 10:26, Heb 10:27, Heb 10:30, Heb 10:31). What is our relation to God? Penitence, or persistence in sin? Humble trust, or abject terror? We must fall into his hands somehow. How shall it be? “Hast thou an arm like God?” Let it be thus
“A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On thy kind arms I fall;
Be thou my Strength and Righteousness,
My Savior, and my All.” W.J.
Heb 10:32-34
The recollection of past sufferings an encouragement to present steadfastness.
“But call to remembrance the former days,” etc. Our subject divides itself into two main branches.
I. SUFFERINGS ENDURED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE FAITH IN THE PAST.
1. These sufferings were of various kinds.
(1) Sufferings in their own persons.
(a) Infliction of physical pain. “Being made a gazing-stock by afflictions.” The afflictions, or tribulations, arose from active and bitter persecutions. And these were inflicted (as the word translated “gazing-stock,” or spectacle, clearly indicates) in the theatre before the assembled multitude, that to the physical pain might be added the sense of shame.
(b) Subjection to undeserved reproaches. “Being made a gazing-stock by reproaches.” They were publicly assailed by the scornful jeers of their persecutors. The people of God have frequently borne the bitterest anguish by reason of the malignant and contemptuous utterances of their adversaries (cf. Psa 41:5-9; Psa 42:3, Psa 42:10).
(c) Spoliation of their worldly possessions. “Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods.” Ebrard suggests that by this “we are to understand what we find still at this day taking place in the sphere of the Jewish mission. When a Jew shows himself determined to become a Christian, he is disinherited by his relations, his share in the property is withheld from him, his credit and every source of gain withdrawn; he falls into a state of complete destitution.”
(2) Sufferings in sympathy with other sufferers. “Becoming partakers with them that were so used. For ye had compassion on them that were in bonds.” In a truly Christian spirit they sympathized with others who were in tribulation; they wept with those who wept; they made common cause with their persecuted brethren.
2. Their sufferings were of great severity. They “endured a great conflict of sufferings.” The severity of the sufferings of the early Christians is witnessed to by very many portions of the New Testament (Act 5:17-42; Act 6:9-15; Act 7:54-60; Act 8:1-4; Act 9:1, Act 9:2; Act 12:1-5; Act 14:19; Act 16:19-24; Act 21:27-32; Act 22:24, Act 22:9.5; 1Co 4:9-13; 2Co 4:8-11; 2Co 11:23-27; 1Pe 4:12-19; Rev 2:9, Rev 2:10).
3. Their sufferings were because of their Christianity. “After ye were illuminated, ye endured,” etc. This enlightenment is that which led them to embrace Christianity and trust in Christ (cf. Heb 6:4). They endured persecutions for his Name’s sake.
4. Their sufferings were patiently endured. “Ye endured”the word used by the sacred writer indicates endurance “without losing heart or hope.” They “took joyfully the spoiling of their possessions.” Like the apostles they “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name.” One thing which sustained them in this noble endurance of cruel persecutions was their assurance that they possessed precious and imperishable treasures. “Knowing that ye have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one.” They bad treasure in heaven beyond the reach of their mightiest and most malignant enemies. Three things concerning this possession are worthy of brief notice.
(1) Its certainty. They knew that it existed, and existed for them; for they had the earnest of it in their hearts.
(2) Its superiority. It is “better” than any earthly possessions.
(3) Its perpetuity. “An enduring substance.” Heavenly possessions are inalienable and imperishable. The knowledge that they had these sustained them under the loss of earthly possessions and sore tribulations. If any are called to suffer in the cause of Jesus Christ in these days, let them think of these noble endurers of far severer afflictions, and gather courage and patience from their example.
II. SUFFERING RECALLED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF FAITH IN THE PRESENT. “Call to remembrance the former days, in which,” etc. It is implied that they were suffering in the time then present because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and would probably have to suffer for some time (cf. Heb 12:3-13). They are exhorted to call to mind the tribulations which they had already borne victoriously to inspire them in the endurance of present and future afflictions, and to preserve them from apostasy. This was not to be an occasional exercise, but a constant habit. Hence the sacred writer uses the present tense, the force of which is thus given by Alford, “Call ever to remembrance the former days.” But how would this recollection of past trials and victories assist them in their present conflicts?
1. All the fruit of their former sufferings would be lost if they did not continue faithful. “To begin in faith, but not to endure, leads to useless sacrifices, vain hopes, and fruitless sufferings.” These Hebrew Christians had already borne far too much in the cause of Christ for them to abandon that cause now because they were called to bear more tribulation. They were like capitalists who had invested so much in this enterprise, that they had only to call to mind the amount of their investments to save them from giving up their interest in it because other calls were made upon them.
2. All the help afforded them in former sufferings was available unto them still. The God who had helped them in the past would not forsake them in future trials; for he is ever the samethe same in wisdom, in power, in faithfulness, in goodness. Thus, the recollection of former deliverances should be an inspiration in present trials and for future difficulties. “All the historic triumphs of the Divine arm stimulate us in the present battle.” “Because thou hast been my Help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.” Thus David frequently reasoned (cf. 1Sa 17:32-37). And thus should we encourage ourselves in God, especially in seasons of suffering or of sorrow, of temptation or tribulation.W.J.
Heb 10:35-37
Christian fidelity and its reward.
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath,” etc. We have in our text
I. A GREAT REWARD PROMISED. “Great recompense of reward…. Ye might receive the premise.” By “the promise” is meant here, not the promise itself, but the blessings promised; not the word of promise, for this they had already, but the good things which that word assured unto them. By the recompense of reward and the promised blessings we understand one and the same thing; i.e. “the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Heb 9:15), “the better and enduring substance” (Heb 10:34). It is the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ. The life is characterized by
(1) purity;
(2) progress;
(3) blessedness;
(4) perpetuity.
“A perpetuity of bliss is bliss.” This life is promised to every believer in our Lord and Savior. “Whosoever believeth on him shall have eternal life.” This life the Christian believer has now in its imperfect and early stages; he will have it hereafter in its fullness and perfection. “Your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our Life,” etc. (Col 3:3).
II. A GREAT DUTY MENTIONED. To do the will of God. This must precede the reception of the promised blessings. “Having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.” If we combine the interpretation of several expositors, we obtain what we regard as the true interpretation of “the will of God” here. Thus M. Stuart: “To do the will of God here, is to obey the requirement, to believe and trust in Christ” (cf. Joh 6:40). Ebrard: “By the will of God, in this context, is to be understood his will that we should confess Christ’s Name before men.” And Delitzsch: “The will of God is our steadfast perseverance in faith and hope.” It seems to us that the doing the will of God includes each and all of these thingsfaith in Christ, confession of Christ, and continuance in Christ. Moreover, the Christian accepts the will of God as the authoritative and supreme rule of his life. This will is sovereign, gracious, and universally binding. Let us endeavor to do it willingly, patiently, and cheerfully; for in so doing it our duty will become our freedom, dignity, and delight. We must do this will if we would receive the recompense of reward. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
III. A GREAT NEED EXPERIENCED. “Cast not away therefore your confidence…. For ye have need of patience,” or endurance. The confidence which is not to be cast away and the endurance which we need are, not identical, closely related. The confidence is perhaps (as Ebrard suggests) the root, and patience the fruit, the endurance growing out of the confidence. The confidence is the joyous assurance “of faith and hope, and boldness in confessing Christ.” We must not cast this away, as a dismayed soldier casts away his weapons; for we shall need it in the conflicts which yet await us. And the patience is “that unshaken, unyielding, patient endurance under the pressure of trial and persecution, that steadfastness of faith, apprehending present blessings, and of hope, with heaven-directed eye anticipating the glorious future, which obtains what it waits for.” Now we need both these things, the confidence and the patience, the boldness and the endurance; for:
1. Our spiritual battles are not all fought yet. We still have foes to encounter; therefore we shall need our confidence and courage, our faith and hope.
2. Our various trials are not all passed through yet. We shall have to meet with losses and sorrows, to suffer afflictions, to be beset with difficulties, to bear disappointments; hence we “have need of patience.”
3. Our possession of the promised inheritance is not attained yet. Perfect purity and peace, progress and blessedness, are not ours as yet. There are times when the recompense of reward seems long delayed, and our spiritual advancement towards it seems slow; and we have need of patience to wait and hope, and to work while we wait.
IV. A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT PRESENTED. “For yet a very little while, and he that cometh shall come, and will not tarry.” The end of our trials is very near. The inheritance of the promised blessing will speedily be ours. “The recompense of the reward comes as certainly as the Lord himself, who is already on the way.” “Be patient therefore, brethren, for the coming of the Lord is at hand?
“Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor’s song.” W.J.
Heb 10:38
Life by faith.
“Now the just shall live by faith.” In this place our text means that by persevering faith the righteous man would be saved fully and to the end. He who continued in the exercise of faith would be kept safely amidst all dangers and all temptations to apostasy, and inherit the recompense of reward, But we propose to
regard the text as the statement of a general truth of the Christian life, as St. Paul uses it in Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11. Thus viewed, it presents to our notice
I. THE CHARACTER SPECIFIED. This is marked by two leading features.
1. Righteousness. “The just,” or righteous. The righteousness of the Christian is
(1) in character. He possesses the forgiveness of sins, and is accepted by God through Jesus Christ. The apostle of the Gentiles sets forth this righteousness: “That I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own,” etc. (Php 3:9). The righteousness of the Christian is
(2) in conduct. “He that doeth righteousness, is righteous” (1Jn 3:7, 1Jn 3:10).
2. Religiousness. The Revised Version gives our text thus: “But my righteous one shall live by faith.” This we regard as the correct text. It sets before us one who is godly as well as just, whose righteousness is joined with reverence, and is exalted by the union. A man cannot be righteous towards God without being religious. Unless we worship and love and obey him, we do him injustice. In the Christian character piety and principle, righteousness and reverence, must go hand in band.
II. THE LIFE MENTIONED. We are not acquainted with a satisfactory definition of life. The things of deepest significance and greatest importance defy our powers of definition. So we cannot set forth adequately in a sentence the life spoken of in the text. It is far more than physical and intellectual existence and activity. “Knowledge, truth, love, beauty, goodness, faith, alone can give vitality to the mechanism of existence.” The life of true personal religion is that which our text speaks of. It is the life of supreme love to God, the life of Christ in man. “Christ,” says Canon Liddon, “is the quickening Spirit of Christian humanity; he lives in Christians; he thinks in Christians; he acts through Christians and with Christians; he is indissolubly associated with every movement of the Christian’s deepest life. ‘I live,’ exclaims the apostle; ‘yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’ This felt presence of Christ it is which gives both its form and its force to the sincere Christian life. That life is a loyal homage of the intellect, of the heart, and of the will, to a Divine King, with whom will, heart, and intellect are in close and constant communion, and from whom there flows forth, through the Spirit and the sacraments, that supply of light, of love, and of resolve which enriches and ennobles the Christian soul.”
III. THE MEANS OF THIS LIFE. “Shall live by faith.” Brief consideration of two points is essential.
1. The nature of this faith. It is far more than the assent of the reason, or apprehension by the reason. It is a moral rather than an intellectual act. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” “When the soul in very truth responds to the message of God, the complete responsive act of faith is threefold. This act proceeds simultaneously from the intelligence, from the heart, and from the will of the believer. His intelligence recognizes the unseen object as a fact. His heart embraces the object thus present to his understanding; his heart opens instinctively and unhesitatingly to receive a ray of heavenly light. And his will too resigns itself to the truth before it; it places the soul at the disposal of the object which thus rivets its eye and conquers its affections.”
2. The Object of this faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself is the grand Object of the faith of the Christian. We accept him in the three great relationships which he sustains to his true disciples. As our Prophet we exercise faith in him. He claimed to be “the Truth.” On all questions of morality and religion, of sin and salvation, of life and death, we bow to him as our infallible Teacher, and unhesitatingly accept his Word. We believe in him as our Priest. He has made full atonement for sins; he is our perfect Representative with the Father; he is our tender, compassionate Savior. To him the heart turns in its sins for forgiveness, in its sorrows for consolation. We loyally accept him also as our King. He is the Sovereign of our will and the Lord of our life. We believe in him as our moral Master, whose authority is supreme. Thus Christ is the Object of the Christian’s faith. “By faith the soul is to be moving ever towards Christ, resting ever upon Christ, living ever in Christ. Christ is to be the end, the support, the very atmosphere of its life.” He who thus believes in him shall have eternal life (Joh 3:10; Eph 2:8).W.J.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Heb 10:1
The Law, its service and its limits.
I. THE AIM OF GOD. To make men perfect. All God’s revelations and the powers belonging to them have this for their end, to take imperfect men (men in whom there are all sorts of imperfections, physical, intellectual, spiritual, men who have mixed with their nature a corrupt and debasing clement) and make them perfect. And this is to be done according to a Divine standard of perfection, not a human one. Indeed, that human excellence should attain a Divine standard is as necessary for the satisfaction of man as it is for the glory of God. All that is instrumental and ministerial about human life is to be measured as it serves towards the perfecting of the individual man in true godliness and Christian character. And we must ever remember this in the midst of all the infirmities and lapses of our present life. We are, indeed, strangely blind to the marvelous possibilities that lie hid in every human being. We often have to say of men that their purposes are broken off, but forget all the time that God’s purposes for men may all be fulfilled if only they are willing to be co-workers together with him.
II. THE SERVICE OF THE LAW. The Law, taken in its most comprehensive sense, including commandments as to conduct on the out hand, and ceremonies on the other, was of immediate service in two ways. It made men dissatisfied with their present selves, and intensely anxious to be better. If it did not give a standard of life positively, it was something that it gave one negatively. One of the great merits of Psa 119:1-176. is in showing what the Law could do by way of stirring up spiritual aspirations, and filling men with a sublime discontent. For what the writer of this psalm expresses, thousands must have felt. Like Paul, they wanted to do good, yet evil was present with them. And always, to many, the Law must have been indeed a shadow of good things to come, a proof that there was abiding substance which would one day be manifested.
III. THE LIMITS OF THE LAW. The Law was good as indicating where perfection lay; but there was in it nothing dynamic, nothing to advance men one stage nearer perfection. Indeed, the Law, apart from its proper sequel in Christ, would have done harm rather than good, inasmuch as it would have driven men to despair. Perfection would have been seen across an impassable abyss. It has always been a curse of fallen human nature that what God gives for one purpose man uses for another. In the course of ages the Jew had reduced a Law meant to rouse the heart, a Law that in the very essence of it was spiritual, to a mere collection of external ceremonies. The Law was reckoned as something that could be obeyed with the hands and lips. And because men had lost the main part of the Law, the Law itself must have fallen into disrepute with many. Outwardly they saw a profession of religion; inwardly they saw a sordid and uncharitable life. And even the gospel may be misused as much as the Law. There may be an outward semblance of connection with Christ, while he has no power over the heart. Men did come to the Law seeking perfection; all Pharisees were not bad men at heart; their consciences were misled by traditional teaching as to the importance of ceremonies. In their own strength they did their very best to obey. What is wanted is that we should really come to Christ, that our hearts should be brought fully under the regenerating power of his Spirit. Then shall we know something of steady and joyous approach ‘to perfection; for while perfection itself may only come by slow degrees, yet Christ surely means us to have the satisfaction of knowing constantly that we are in the right way.Y.
Heb 10:3
Reminding men of sins.
I. THE NEED OF SUCH A REMINDER. Men need to be impressed with the fact that sin is sin, something special, something done in defiance of God’s Law. If we do hurt to a fellow-man, even if he condone and excuse, that does not put things as they were before. God would have us to consider what a serious and terrible thing it is that we should do wrong at all. Then also we need to be reminded because of our liability to forget. Life is one long sin, made up of daily omissions and commissions in what are called little things. We see well enough as each day is passing over our heads what wrong words we have spoken, what evil thoughts we have had in our hearts; some days we feel deeply enough the sin of the day; but soon the impression is gone. The total of life’s sin, however, still remains, and it is above all things needful that we should not forget it. Then most important of all, perhaps, is it that we should be reminded how much of the trouble and misery of life comes from our ignorance. Sins of ignorance were specially provided for in the Mosaic economy. A man can hardly be blamed for what he does in ignorance, and certainly he is in a very different position from one who lets lust and pride lead him against truth and light. But the evil done in ignorance is evil none the less, and men need to be wakened up to consider how much truth and righteousness they are still ignorant of. The past is not done with because it is past. The future has its roots in the past, and this yearly reminder of sin among God’s people of old should teach us to desire reminders of the sin of life, not merely at particular seasons, but as often as possible.
II. WE HAVE OUR REMINDERS OF SIN. Bodily reminders in the shape of disease and weakness consequent on evil courses of life. Reminders in the feelings of the heart consequent on disappointment and failure from selfish courses of action. Especially the Christian, the devout Christian, has his reminders at the Lord’s Supper. Jesus himself spoke of this institution as an . It was to remind his people of himself, but this very reminding included many things beside. Jesus must be remembered with certain surroundings, and no sinner can remember him rightly without remembering his sins at the same time.Y.
Heb 10:19-22
Approaching God.
I. WHY THE APPROACH IS TO BE MADE. There needed the statement of no reason here; the necessity of approach is assumed. The great thing required was to substitute a new ground and a new mode of approach for a ground and a mode which had become useless, nay, even harmful. The Israelite had always acknowledged that he must approach Deity in some way or other. If God had not appointed a certain way of access in the Levitical ordinances, the Israelite would have taken his own way. Indeed, it is lamentably plain that too much he did take his own way. He had to be turned from the golden calf by the sharpest of chastisements, and many a century elapsed before image-worship and debasing rites lost their hold upon him. Moses and the prophets, say all the representatives of Jehovah under the first covenant, had quite as hard work to turn away their fellow-countrymen from image-worship as the writer of this Epistle afterwards had to turn them away from types to antitypes, from shadow to substance, and from a temporary discipline to its abiding result in the Christ. The approach to God may be looked at as either a need or a duty, and whichever aspect be considered, it is evident that a loving, foreseeing God will provide the way. He provides the right way to the right end. Let us try to imagine him leaving Israel to its own devices when it escaped from Egypt. The people would still have built altars, slain sacrifices, and appointed priests. What God does is to deliver the conscience from the tyranny of every idolatry and bring it under reasonable government and guidance. He frees human religious customs from cruelty, lust, superstition, and makes them typical and instructive. And now we come to the means of a full approach to God in Christ, is it not plain that all this is to supply a corresponding need and give scope for a corresponding duty? Jesus tells us there is a true Vine; so there is a true altar, a true sacrifice, a true Priest. The image-worshipper, whose darkened heart is filled with falsehoods about the nature and the service of God, is yet faithful to what he thinks to be right. Shall we be less faithful, who have opportunities for such service and such blessing.
II. THE GROUND OF APPROACH. The spirit of man has to find its entrance into the holy place, and has to give its reason for confidence in expecting admissiona reason which every man must apply to his own understanding, so as to make his approach as practical, as persevering, as possible. It is not expected of us, who have no experience of the details of Mosaic sacrificial institutions, to appreciate all the details here. We have not to he won away from sacrifices of beasts and dependence on an earthly priest. But, nevertheless, we must apprehend that the only ground of satisfactory approach to God is in Christ. There is no way to reach harmony with that great Being in whom is light and no darkness at all, and who cannot be tempted with evil, save through Christ. In Christ there is hope for the sinner, something to draw him, something to lift him above useless resolutions and vain struggles. Jesus Christ is the Way. “You have come to Mount Zion,” says the writer in Heb 12:1-29. To the real Zion, which is part of the city of the living God. But we are brought there that we may be safely and permanently introduced into the true holy of holies, and into that communion with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which gives purity and blessedness.
III. THE MODE OF APPROACH. The whole man must be united in a true approach to God. It is now that we have to approach, and there can be no separation between the inward and the outward man. The heart must be right and the body must be right. Mere bodily approach could never have profited at any time, save to the extent that it freed the worshipper from the penalties of complete disobedience. But still bodily approach has its place. With the body we have to serve God; and cleanliness is not only a wholesome and a comfortable thingit is also sacred. People have sometimes been exposed to ridicule by quoting the common saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” as being from the Scriptures. They are not so far wrong, for that is what this passage virtually says. Then with a true heart, and a vigorous, prosperous faith bearing us onwards, we shall make a real and secure progress towards possession of the mysteries of godliness.Y.
Heb 10:23
The Christian’s steadfast acknowledgment of his hope.
I. THE EXISTENCE OF ACTUAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS ASSUMED. The writer is addressing those who are avowedly Christians. Jesus has already been acknowledged as Apostle and High Priest (Heb 3:1), and already an exhortation has been given to hold fast the acknowledgment of him. In the first age of Christianity, the breaking away from Judaism or from Gentile idolatry could not, of course, be concealed. It never was meant to be paraded or obtruded; but, in the very nature of things, light rising in the midst of darkness must manifest itself. Saul’s conversion was soon known in Damascus. The Nicodemus-attitude, however excusable at first, cannot long be maintained. It must advance to acknowledgment or subside into spiritual indifference. Many there must have been who, like Timothy, had made a good confession before many witnesses; therein, as Paul hinted, following the example of Jesus before Pilate (1Ti 6:12, 1Ti 6:13).
II. THE SPECIAL FORM OF THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT HERE REFERRED TO. It is the acknowledgment of a hope. These Jewish Christians have made all their expectation of the future to depend on Christ. Hope is the natural and proper feeling of the human breast; men hope for that which it is within the limit of human ability to attain. And when Christ, by his death and resurrection, and by the gift of his Spirit, has enlarged that limit, then the hope is enlarged and elevated also. Christ meant that a spiritual and lofty hope should brighten the arduous lives of his servants; and evidently his first apostles had such a hope as they contemplated the possibilities of their own lives. In referring to the Christian hope here, the writer is but continuing the strain running through the previous part of the Epistle (Heb 3:6; Heb 6:11, Heb 6:18; Heb 7:19). If we do not get hope into our hearts from our connection with Christ, then that connection is a delusion.
III. THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT WILL BE OF NO USE UNLESS IT IS HELD FAST. We must avow, without the slightest hesitation or vacillation, the confidence and expectation we have from our connection with Christ. And we can only make the avowal if the feeling is real, deep, and based on a proper understanding of what it is that Christ promises. Christ is not bound to justify all our hopes, but only such as the obedient and spiritually minded ought to entertain, Note the strong words which the writer uses in insisting on the need of holding fast this acknowledgment. This shows what temptation there would be to fall away from it.
IV. THE GROUND GIVEN FOR HOLDING FAST. “He is faithful that promised.” The word of one who has done such things as Jesus, and manifested such a character, is the very best ground we can have. The faithfulness of Jesus is known in all those points whereby, in the present world, it can be tested. When he speaks of the treasures of a future which we cannot yet test, our wisdom is to hold fast to him, and not listen to the confused utterances of men, or the too often rebellious promptings of our own hearts.Y.
Heb 10:24, Heb 10:25
Mutuality in the Christian life.
The exhortation in Heb 10:23 is one for individual Christians, looking towards their Savior in direct connection with him and towards their own future. But so soon as ever we feel sure that we are keeping right with respect to Christ, we must make that rightness subservient to the strengthening, the comfort, and the usefulness of our fellow-Christians. We must both help them and look for help to them. Mutual help for common needs is eminently a Christian principle.
I. WE HAVE TO CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER, i.e. we must look well into the character, the habits, the position, the abilities, the needs of all whom we have sufficient opportunity to estimate. We must get an honest and adequate view. We must not expect too much from them, neither must we let them off with too little. This knowledge is to be gained by real consideration, not by hearsay, not hastily, not casually. We must get below the surface. Such a consideration as this may have many results.
II. THE SPECIAL AIM HERE TO BE KEPT IN VIEW. “To provoke unto love and to good works.” There is a large meaning in this expression. First of all it means that when we look at the needs of others, especially of fellow-Christians, when we look into those needs, seeing how deep, how abiding, how discomposing they are, we shall be stirred up to a very passion of love for the needy and a consequent doing of good works for their relief. And, moreover, when the consideration is what it ought to be, there will be wisdom, proportion, true economy, adjustment of means to ends, in the good works. But also those whom we consider must be stirred up to have love in their own hearts and good works in their hands.
III. A PECULIAR PERIL. That of living in isolation. Living the Christian life in isolation. People will not act so in the needs, duties, and pleasures of common life. They will gather together in twos or threes, or any number that may be necessary. But their religion they keep to themselves. They do not understand how much they can be helped by mutual edification. Not that the writer supposes this tendency can be universal. He expressly points out that it is the habit of some. Such do not understand their obligations and their needs; their latent ability to comfort others on the one hand, or their latent weakness, their certain need of comfort, on the other.
IV. THE MEANS OF THIS MUTUAL EDIFICATION. “Exhorting one another.” Real exhortation is to be made by virtue of the Holy Spirit working in him who exhorts. It must not have its sole origin in experiences and energies of the natural man. An exhortation which shall be truly a good work must come from a spiritual man. He only discerns the reality of spiritual truth; he only can communicate it with the requisite force.
V. A SPECIAL MOTIVE. The day of the Lord’s coming is approaching. This day, as we know from ample evidence, was believed to be very near by the primitive Christians. They did right in so believing, for their Lord wanted them to be ever ready. And in any case the practical equivalent of that day is not far off from each Christian in his earthly life. His opportunity to show love and do good works will soon be over.Y.
Heb 10:31
Falling into the hands of the living God.
I. As ILLUSTRATED IN HISTORY. The whole passage, Heb 10:26-31, is a very serious one to read, insisting as it does on the reality of Divine retribution upon those guilty of neglect and disobedience. It was evidently necessary, however, to deal with this point and thus make the comparison between the old and the new covenant complete. How will God deal with those who willfully neglect the ample and gracious provisions of the new covenant? The first element in the answer is given by inquiring how he dealt with despisers of the old covenantdespisers of Moses as Jehovah’s deputy and messenger. A great deal hangs on the word willfully. Jehovah has always been long-suffering with ignorance and thoughtlessness. But when men rise like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with the purposes of rebellion and self-assertion strong in their heart, knowing what they are doing, and doing it deliberately and defiantly, then God has to be equally assertive of his rightful authority and the rightful authority of whomsoever he makes his representative. The Jew did not question that it was a right thing that the despiser of Moses’ Law should die without fail under two or three witnesses. Of course we must guard against arguing back from great catastrophes to great sins. What we are bound to do is to recognize the plain asserted connection between some great sins and the consequences that followed. And in every case, to every individual, the consequences are real; only in some cases the consequences have been made terribly conspicuous by way of warning.
II. AS CONTRASTED WITH THE IMPOTENCE OF OTHER HANDS INTO WHICH WE MAY FALL. Jehovah, the living God, is here contrasted with lifeless idols. Jehovah, the God who makes unfailing, righteous, potent judgments, as contrasted with idolatrous priests who have no power except by working on the superstitious fears of men. Attachment to Mosaic institutions had hardened into something little better than idolatry. The living God had become a mere name, the center of a mechanical ritual. Men stood in terror of their own traditional delusions. Or they stood in terror of one another like those parents of the blind man, who feared they would be put out of the synagogue if they acknowledged Jesus as the Christ. It is right that men should be afraid, but how often are they afraid of the wrong things! To fall into the hands of men must have a dreadful look at first, but when the position is fully estimated it is a mere trifle. The really fearful thing is to fall into the hands of the living God. He is something very different from an empty superstition or a living man.
III. AS CONNECTED WITH THE IMMENSE SIN OF WILFULLY REJECTING JESUS. The writer allows us to be under no mistake as to what he means. Whosoever can truly say that he does not trample underfoot the Son of God, does not reckon the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, does not do despite to the Spirit of grace,such a one is free. In the first days of breaking away from Judaism, when all the malevolence and bitterness of the worst sort of Jews came into play, there would be more occasion of warning of this sort than now. And even with regard to such men there is another side to be considered. Paul was once bitter and malevolent enough, but he put in the plea that what he did he did ignorantly, in unbelief. God only can judge the heart of a man enough to say how far his rejection is really deliberate, in the face of light and knowledge.Y.
Heb 10:34
The right estimate of temporal possession.
I. THE RIGHT ESTIMATE ITSELF. This is a mean between extremes. To despise worldly possessions, to speak of them as if they were to be trampled underfoot as always worthless, is not a Christian state of mind. The worldly man overvalues and the ascetic undervalues. The Christian, taught by his Master, learns to use the world as not abusing. It is not well in ordinary circumstances to make comparisons; a wise and devout man will use everything for God according to its nature and its scope. But there may come a time when the man has to make his election between the temporal and the eternal, between what the world has to give and what Christ has to give. Then it will be seen where the affections are. A treasure is rot a treasure in itself; it is a treasure relatively to its possessor. Where the heart is, there the treasure is. One may see the pearl of great price where another sees a trifle, as it were a mere nothing. No one estimates temporal possessions rightly unless he is willing to sacrifice them for eternal interests. There is only one answer to the question, “What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” A man will surrender all his wealth to keep his life. How much more, then, should he be willing to surrender his wealth to keep his spiritual hope, his vital connection with the boundless spiritual wealth resident in Christ? This is not a question for the few rich men only; it is for every one who has possessions to lose. They may not have to be given up outright; they may not be in danger of loss through persecution; but they may have to be risked through adopting truly Christian principles of life.
II. THOSE WHO ARE TO GAIN THE RIGHT ESTIMATE. In making the estimate, everything depends on the life and character of him who has to make it. The estimate is made, if one may say so, in an unconscious kind of way. It is a personal, practical decision, not a mere speculative one with little or no influence on the life. The decision is made, and some of the consequences of it attained, before the critical character of those consequences is discerned. In great moments of life we may have to decide on the spur of the moment; and the only man who can decide rightly is the spiritual manhe whose inner eye is open to see things as they really are. The pearl of great price is to be seen intuitively or not at all. There must be a firm resolution fixed in the heart to gain and to keep this pearl at whatever cost. Once we have got into right relations with Christ, comparisons between his claims and the claims of other beings are not hard to make. In making comparisons between one temporal possession and another, the character of those who make the comparison may or may not be a matter of importance. But in distinguishing between the temporal and the eternal, character is everything. We must have the Spirit of Christ working in us most energetically if we would be lifted above all danger of sacrificing the eternal to the temporal.Y.
Heb 10:36
Something to do and something to wait for.
I. SOMETHING IN THE PAST. “Having done the will of God.” The writer did not hereby mean that his readers had done all the will of God; he simply recognized the fact that they had complied with the will of God in Christ Jesus as far as that will had been made known in distinct words and could be complied with in distinct acts. Jesus had been proclaimed to them as the Christ; they had accepted him as such fully and practically; they had welcomed him as the Fulfiller of the Law and the prophets. They had received his Holy Spirit. They had renounced all faith in Judaism as necessary to acceptable service of God. Their position might be expressed thus: “We have done the will of God as far as it has been made known to us; if there be anything more for us to do on earth let us know, and we will do it.” Now, the question for us isHave we got as far as these people? They were standing on the fact that what they knew of God’s will they had done. Have we done what we know of God’s will? Or, to go further back stillHave we knowledge of what it is that God wills us to do? We all have to wait, but what is our standing-place as we wait? That will make all the difference. Have we done the whole of what can be done any day? “Wow is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” The five wise virgins trimmed their lamps and filled their oil-vessels, and then they could wait with composure and confidence. Long as Christ’s coming seems to the truly faithful, it will come all too soon for some.
II. SOMETHING IS THE PRESENT. The spirit of patient waiting. It must have been very hard to wait among persecutors and unjust spoliators. The second coming of the Master seemed the only effectual way of deliverance. But this second coming was a thing to be waited for, until it came in the fullness of time. God has to think of all individuals and all generations. God has to make all things work together for good to every man. We have to wait for others, as others have had to wait for us. The principle is laid down at the end of Heb 11:1-40. Meanwhile waiting is not altogether waiting. Something is given by the way. Even as Jesus had ineffable joys and satisfactions in the days of his flesh, there are like experiences for us. Patience is only truly patience when it is combined with hope, and true hops built on faith must be a gladness to the heart.
III. SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE. Something perfectly definite and certain; We know not how long we may have to wait, but at the end of the waiting there is something worth waiting for. Long did Israel wait in Egyptian bondage, but liberty came at last. Long did Israel wander in a comparatively little tract of land, but the settled life of Canaan came at last. Many generations lived and died with nothing save gracious prophecies to solace them, but the Christ came at last. And so Christ will come again without sin unto salvation.Y.
Heb 10:39, Heb 10:39
The just man, his character and safety.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE JUST MAN. It was inevitable, in an Epistle to Jewish Christians, that there should be some reference to that Pharisaic righteousness which consisted in a conformity to certain ritual regulations. There was the man just after the Pharisee fashion, because of his scrupulosity in ceremonial observances; and there was the man just in the sight of God, because he believed in God and showed his faith by his works. These Jewish Christians were righteous men because they were believers. They had been brought fully to comprehend that while God cared nothing for a round of ceremonies, he valued in the highest a spirit of trust in hima spirit able to break away from the common reliance of men upon seen things, and to live as seeing him that is invisible. This is the only sort of righteousness that changes the whole of character; for if a man really trusts God, then men will be able to trust him and get real advantage out of him.
II. THE SAFETY OF THE JUST MAN. The just man shall live. By his faith he becomes just in the sight of God, and that faith, continuing and strengthening, preserves him. What can a round of ceremonies do for a man? The moment they lose their typical character, the moment they cease to be symbolic of spiritual realities, that same moment they bring the heart more than ever in bondage to the senses. The path of safety has always been the path entered on in response to the voice from on high. To the eye of sense it may have seemed a needless path, or a foolish path, or a perilous path. There may have been many to criticize and abuse. The only stay of the heart has been the deep conviction that the way was God’s way, and that in the end it would approve itself such. This truth, that the way of faith in God is the way of safety, is amply illustrated in the following chapter. Whatever the believer may lose, he keeps the chief treasure.
III. THE ENDURANCE OF THE JUST MAN. There must be perseverance in the way of faith. There must be a readiness to wait on God’s time. Therefore it is that we are warned on trying to enter the life of faith. Can we go on believing even though our present life be full of adversity? Our faith must continue against the persuasions of worldly success and through the pains of all suffering to the flesh. It is to the prophet Habakkuk the writer refers in reminding us how the just by faith lives; and that just man of the prophet keeps his faith even though the fig tree do net blossom, nor fruit be in the vines; though the labor of the olive fail, and the fields yield no meat; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls.Y.
Heb 10:1. For the law, having a shadow, &c. The for in this verse seems to connect the discourse here with the former part of the foregoing chapter; wherein the apostle speaks of the earthly or worldly sanctuary, or holy of holies under the law, as a figure, Heb 10:9. Nor need we confine the connection merely to what is there said; but refer it more generally to what he has spoken in any part of his epistle before concerning this matter; as particularly ch. Heb 8:5 Heb 9:23-24. The word , rendered image, seems from the tenor of the apostle’s argument to be used for the essential, or substantial form of a thing; that is, for the very thing itself; as opposed to its , shadow, or delineation. So it is paralleled to , the body, or substance, which the apostle elsewhere opposes in like manner to its or shadow, Col 2:17. Accordingly the Syriac version explains the word by the substance; and Chrysostom by the truth or reality, as opposed to types or emblems. Cicero has used almost the same expression with our author; Nos veri juris germanaeque justitiae solidam et expressam effigiem nullam tenemus; umbra et imaginibus utimur. See De Offic. lib. 3: 100: 17. “We have no perfect and express image of true and native justice; but are obliged to make use of the shadow and picture of it.” The apostle is going to shew the imperfection of the law, that it neither could by the frame of it, nor had it in its design, to bring men to perfection; that the good things it promised were but a shadow of the great realities promised by Christ; the veriest sketch or outlines, in comparison of the perfect and exact picture. Dr. Heylin observes here, upon the word image, that it does not signify what represents, but the original or model represented by the shadows. The apostle, says he, seems to refer to ch. Heb 8:5. The sacrifices offered on the day of atonement, being by far the most solemn of any of the expiatory kind among the Jews, are mentioned in this verse with the utmost propriety. Heylin renders the last words, Render those perfect who approach the altar. See Parkhurst on the word ‘ .
Heb 10:1 . Establishment of the , Heb 9:28 , as being the main thought lying in Heb 9:25-28 , by making good the opposite state of the case in the province of the O. T. theocracy: “For since the law contains only a shadow of the future good things, not the actual likeness of the things, it is not able by means of the same sacrifices every year, which are unceasingly offered, ever to make perfect them that draw nigh.” The emphasis of the proposition rests partly upon the characterization of the law as . . ., partly upon , . The author, however, cannot thereby mean, as the words at first hearing might seem to imply, that the law, in case its contents were no mere , would in reality effect the by means of its ever-repeated expiatory sacrifices. For, as is shown by Heb 10:2-3 , the author already bases upon the very fact of the yearly repetition of the Mosaic expiatory sacrifices the proof for their inadequacy. We must therefore suppose that two independent particulars of thought have been blended together into a single statement. One can resolve the matter either in such wise that is looked upon as the common predicate for both particulars: the law is incapable of leading to , because it contains a mere . . .; and certainly it is incapable, by means of its ever-repeated sacrifices, of leading to . Or in such wise that the second particular is thought of originally as an inference from the first, from which the . . . is then progressively derived: because the law contains a mere , there is found in its domain an unceasing repetition of the same expiatory sacrifices; by this unceasing repetition, however, it is never able to lead to perfection. The latter analysis is to be preferred, because by means of it the opposition, required by the course of the argument, between the once offered and the ofttimes repeated expiatory sacrifice, comes out clearly and definitely in all its severity; while the characterization of the , on the other hand, as . . ., is made only that which here, in harmony with the context, it alone can be, i.e. a mere subsidiary factor in the argument.
] a shadow , which is unsubstantiated, melts away into obscurity, and only enables us to recognise the external outlines. Opposite to this is the , the image or impress, which sets before us the figure itself, sharply and clearly stamped forth. See on Heb 8:5 . Freely, but not incorrectly, does Luther translate: “the very substance of the good things.”
] see at Heb 9:11 .
] different from only as respects the more general form of expression.
] belongs neither to (Ebrard, Delitzsch, Hofmann, Schrifibew . II. 1, 2 Aufl. p. 446; Alford) nor to (Calvin, Er. Schmid, Wolf, Heinrichs, Bleek, de Wette, Bloomfield, and others), in which latter case the words would have to be resolved by , , or something similar. But is rather to be taken in intimate combination with : with the same sacrifices every year . The author forebore writing , in order that he might accentuate each notion equally strongly. As, moreover, with in this place, so also elsewhere with adverbs which in point of meaning may be compared with it, such as , , etc., a transposing is nothing rare. Comp. Winer, Gramm. , 7 Aufl. p. 514 f.
] Those meant are, as is required by (comp. also Heb 10:4 ), only the sacrifices on the great day of atonement , not also the daily sacrifices of propitiation (Heb 10:11 ), as Bhme, Stein, and others suppose.
] sc . the Levitical high priests. Wrongly Hofmann ( Schriftbew . II. 1, 2 Aufl. p. 446), who in general has entirely failed in his interpretation of the statement: [96] the .
] Note of time to . If we should seek, with Paulus, Lachmann, and Hofmann, l.c. , to conjoin with that which follows, the relative clause would be deprived of all signification.
] those who approach God through the medium of the Levitical priests, thus identical with , Heb 10:2 ; Heb 9:9 .
[96] Namely, in that he brings out as the sense of the same, “the propitiatory sacrifice, which is, as it were, offered by the law itself, because offered at its direction and by the high priest for the congregation,” is here “convinced of its manifest incapacity for effecting real and abiding purity of conscience for the individuals. This conviction is wrought by the fact that, notwithstanding this sacrifice has been offered every year for the whole congregation, the individuals still continue throughout the year to offer sacrifices for themselves”!
Heb 10:1-4 . Presentation in a clearer light of the necessity for Christ’s offering Himself only once for the expiation of sins (Heb 9:25-28 ), by pointing to the ineffectiveness of the expiatory sacrifices continually repeated within the domain of Judaism. This constant repetition attests that sins are still ever present, as indeed a cancelling of sin by the blood of bullocks and of goats is impossible.
V Heb 10:1-4
1For the law having a shadow of [the] good things to come, and [om. and] not the very image of the things, Song of Solomon 1 never with those [the same] sacrifices, which2 they offered [offer, ] year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. 2For then would they not3 have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged4 [having once for all been cleansed] should [would] have had no more conscience [or consciousness] of sins. 3But in those sacrifices [in them] there is a remembrance 4again made [om. made] of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin.
[Heb 10:1 , for a shadow the law having, etc. The emphasis of the Greek order of words can hardly be reached in English. , annually, year by year, is difficult as to position. Ebr., Hofm., Del., Alf. connect with ; Calv., Bl. De W., etc., with . The former seems the easier, and, though harsh in construction, very forcible, year by year with the same sacrifices, etc., can never. But see below. , which they offer, not as Eng. ver. offered, the figure of the present time having been kept up from the preceding chapter, and especially as the old covenant sacrifices did undoubtedly still continue. Still, that the writers mind is mainly on the past, is shown by the Aor. , for which, if he had distinct reference to the present time, the Imperf. should be used.
Heb 10:2., since, viz: in that case, Rom 3:6; 1Co 15:29, consciousness=moral consciousness, conscience. ., having been once for all cleansed.
Heb 10:3. , in them; the addition of the Eng. ver. is unnecessary., a calling to mind, remembrance. , year by year.
Heb 10:4. , for it is impossible, Heb 6:4.K.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Heb 10:1.Image. is not the essence itself (Peshito, Luth., Grot., Justiniani, etc.); nor the primitive form of the original (Stengel) which is then explained as the substantial essence of the things; nor merely the finished picture in contrast with the slight and shadowy outline (Chrys., Theodoret, etc.); but the living historical form, in which the invisible essence finds its representation.
Can never, etc.The are the priests, the are the members of the congregation to whom the offering belongs. is connected by Ebr., Hofm., Del., Alf., with , by Calv., Bl., De W., etc., with . by most intpp. with =the same year by year, or annual offerings. Hofm. also connects, with Paulus and Lachm., with , and further makes the the subject of . We should thus have the statement that the individual members of the congregation, by the fact of their continuing throughout the year to bring offerings for themselves, and these of the same kind as those brought by the high-priests, viz.: animal offerings, furnished a practical proof of the insufficiency of the law, and of the expiatory offerings ordained by the law, and annually offered by the high-priest in behalf of the whole congregation, to produce any real and permanent perfection. In favor of this we may indeed be pointed to the like connection, Heb 10:14, and to the sharp contrast of this idea perfecting in perpetuum with the ; but, on the other hand, we may urge with Bleek, and others the tameness of the relative clause, when standing without ., and the forcible suggestion of Tholuck, that the very combination , in connection with the , presents, as in a vivid picture, an endlessly recurring round of painful and unavailing ceremonies (as at Heb 10:11). The individual expressions will not aid in solving the problem. (an Ionic form for the Attic , which found its way into familiar use) harmonizes well with the idea that the offering of sacrifices, under the dominion and in accordance with the purposes of the law, continues on indefinitely and endlessly into the futurea point unsuccessfully combated by Hofmann. Nor again does the word , Heb 10:2, necessitate our adoption of Hofmanns view; for though we grant, indeed, that the term here denotes no priestly function, (as Este., etc.), but refers to the service of the private members of the congregation; yet this service again does not here as at Heb 9:9, refer to the offering of gifts and sacrifices, but to the general religious worship of the congregation who, by means of priestly offerings, were drawing near to God. On the other hand, we must concede (comp. Heb 11:4; Heb 11:17, with Sept., at Num 31:50) that the statement of Del., that , in our Epistle, denotes exclusively an official and priestly offering, must be accepted with limitation. The decision then of the question turns upon this. The author is assigning the ground for the declaration, made but a little before, of Christs having entered, once for all, with His high-priestly offering of Himself into the heavenly holy of holies. He finds this ground in the utter inefficacy of the annually recurring expiatory sacrifices of the Levitical high-priest, which were ordained by the law, and which were of ever unvarying quality, and which had, therefore, but one significance in their bearing on the establishment of the New Covenant, which was at once promised and typified in the old. The law, in consequence of its peculiar naturea nature inseparable from its purpose and destinationhas not the power, by its annually recurring and prescribed expiatory offerings, to secure for the congregation perfection, i.e., that substantial and abiding purification which brings them into relationship with God. Could such have been the effect of these offerings on the congregation, the annual sin-offerings, and with these the Old Covenant itself would have ceased, and been done away; there would have been such a removal and doing away of the sense of guilt, as could take place only on the basis of completely satisfactory, and hence final and unrepeated sacrifice. This view of Hofm. thus becomes, in every way, improbable. It is discountenanced alike by the fact that even in the New Covenant the individual members of the church may not cease to seek, on the basis of the expiation once for all accomplished by Christ, individual reconciliation and continued forgiveness of their sins, and also that even in the Old Covenant the continued service and offerings of individuals were no less studiously and explicitly enjoined than the annual sin-offering of the high-priest.
Heb 10:2.For otherwise would they not have ceased, etc.If we omit the , the sentence must be taken as an affirmation; the better reading with makes it interrogative. The construction of , with the Particip., is entirely classical. Hofm. refers to the main negative statement of Heb 10:1, and translates, by sondern, making it simply the counterpart of that negative statement (viz: cannot make perfect, but, instead of that, there is a remembrance). But it is more natural to refer it to Heb 10:2 as=on the contrary. might mean (with Vulg., Calov, and others) commemoration, or (as Schlicht. Grot., Beng., etc.) commemoratio publica, in allusion to the three penitential acknowledgments of the high-priest on the day of atonement. But the common signification in memoriam revocatio is to be preferred as the more comprehensive. Del. has given in full the three penitential prayers in his history of Heb. poesy, p. 186 ff. . is not the consciousness of sin in general, but that which brings back upon the man the personal criminality, responsibility, and punishableness involved in his sins. Com. Gder. (Stud. und Krit., 1857 II. 279 ff. Inquiry into the Scriptural Doctrine of Conscience).
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The heavenly good things are even to Christians still in the future; but because, and from the time when, Christ appeared as high-priest of those good things (Heb 9:11), we are brought into actual fellowship with them, and we have, as already tasting (Heb 6:5) the powers of the world to come, the pledge and the assurance that we shall yet, as children of God entitled to their inheritance, enter into their full possession. The Gospel renders possible not merely a clear and sharp expression of them, but also the formation of heavenly relations upon earth; the introduction and setting forth, the use and enjoyment of the heavenly good things even in the world, of which the law was able to furnish only an unsubstantial and shadowy image. Christ stands, as it were, in the meridian light of the great day of time, and casts His shadow backwards over the whole Old Covenant. But as the shadow is seen only in the light, and comes out all the more clearly and sharply in proportion to the brightness of the light, so it is only in the light of the New Covenant that we recognize clearly the typical character of the old. (Bisping).
2. With the certainty of an atonement actually accomplished, and truly acknowledged of God, comes a completed transformation of the moral and religious conscience and consciousness of man. No longer is this consciousness filled with sin and with the fear of righteous punishment, under the sense of unremoved guilt; but it enjoys reconciliation in consequence of the forgiveness of sin wrought through grace, and by virtue of an atonement. The subjects of this reconciliation, inasmuch as they are not yet brought to a state of perfection, need, it is true, the continuous appropriation of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and of its influences; but inasmuch as they have been, once for all, brought into the new relation of salvation and peace with God, they have no need of the successive repetitions of that sacrifice. In fact, the repetition of the sin-offering shows, that it does not accomplish that which it signifies; that it is thus not the true sin-offering, as the animal sacrifices in pagan religions show indeed the need of an atonement, but are inadequate to the satisfaction of that need.
3. The idea of the sacrifice in the mass, as a bloodless repetition of the bloody sacrifice on the cross, is entirely irreconcilable with this passage of Scripture, which lays its emphasis upon the fact that the repetition of the atoning sacrifice points back to its objective insufficiency, which would thus only strengthen and deepen our longing after that perfect and effectual expiatory system which the old economy only prefigured and paved the way for.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The actual deliverance of the conscience from the stain and burden of sin, is accomplished neither through human services, nor through legal sacrifices, but only through the blood of Jesus Christ.The connection between the service of God, approach to God, and human perfection.The pain and the blessing of a remembrance of sin.The means for the purification of the conscience in our religious services.
Starke:All religious service must tend to this end, viz., the perfection of man.The forgiveness of sin takes away all guilt and punishment, but not the root and entire stain of sin.Conscience accuses and bears testimony that we are ever, repeatedly, sinning and needing forgiveness.Alike the days of feasting, of fasting and of prayer, ordained by Christianity, serve for a memorial of the Divine benefits and of our sins.
Rieger:Even the shadowy outline given by the law, is to be regarded as a great benefaction on the part of God.The purification of the conscience is an inestimable good.
Menken:So long as man does not possess the offering itself, but only a shadow of it, so long he must fail of true reconciliation. A shadow can never give that which lies only in the substance.
Heubner:How great was the veneration of the Jews for the shadow! Do Christians hold in equal veneration the truth and reality?What the blood of animals could not, the blood of Christ could effect.
Footnotes:
[1]Heb 10:1.The meaningless Plur. in Sin. A. C. D**. and many minusc. is to be regarded as a clerical error. In order to explain it Lachm. put a point after , and omitted in his small ed. the relative before . with A., 2, 7*, 17, 47, while A*. 31, Philox. introduce before . The Sing. is found in D*. D***. E. K. L. and many minusc., also Vulg. Itala. Copt.
[2]Heb 10:1.Instead of Bl., Tisch., Alf., read (after Sin. D*. L. (?) N. Lat. ver. before D. and E., also minusc. 73,173) , which, however, might have easily sprung from the endings of the three immediately preceding words.
[3]Heb 10:2.For all authorities require the reading .
[4]Heb 10:2.The reading deserves the preference, as is also indicated by the reading in A. and C., (whether this orthography be a mere blunder in copying, or more probably, a conformity of the spelling to a careless pronunciation.)
CONTENTS
In this Chapter the Inefficacy of the Law, and the Sufficiency of the Gospel are stated, The Lord Jesus, is most blessedly represented, under the Spirit of Prophecy, as coming for the Salvation of his People. The gracious Encouragement, of drawing nigh by his Blood.
(1) For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (2) For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. (3) But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. (4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
I detain the Reader, at his entry on this most precious Chapter, to beg of him to remark with me, the striking expression, which the Holy Ghost is pleased to make use of, when he calls the Law a shadow. For what is a shadow? It cannot be formed, but from some substance. And the substance must be before the shadow. My hand, or my body, placed between the light and the earth, forms a shadow. But on the supposition, that either be removed, no shadow remains. Now then, to apply this to the subject of these verses. The Law is said to have been a shadow of good things to come. But the very existence of the shadow implied the pre-existence of the substance. And accordingly we find Christ is said to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev 13:8 , hence, therefore, the Law acted as a shadow of this substance. And very evident it is, that Christ was set up from everlasting, and in all things he hath the pre-eminence. But Reader! think, if it be possible, how infinitely great most be his Person; and how infinitely momentous his redemption, introduced as both have been, in a way so wonderful, and with such vast preparation?
Heb 10:4
To a modern these words have an antiquated sound. The world of ideas which they suggest has passed so entirely away that we look back upon the stage they represent as a stage far below us, so far, indeed, that it is barely conceivable. But they were originally the apex of a long ascent The quiet decisiveness and even scorn with which the writer sets down this conviction breathe a feeling of relief, after the long centuries of persistent and unavailing sacrifices. Humanity is drawing breath after a prolonged nightmare. The primitive ritual of purification was based on the belief that the blood of animals could wipe away sin, ‘because the animal that has been consecrated by contact with the altar becomes charged with a Divine potency, and its sacred blood, poured over the impure man, absorbs and disperses his impurity’. Thus, as Dr. Farnell continues ( The Evolution of Religion, pp. 120 f.), the cognate idea of the pure heart was ‘not necessarily wholly ethical,’ as yet, but often ‘co-existent with the ideas of sin that do not clearly recognize moral responsibility or the essential difference between deliberate wrongdoing and the ritualistic or accidental or involuntary sin.’ ‘The final point is reached when it is realized that the blood of bulls and of goats cannot wash away sin, that nothing external can defile the heart or soul, but only evil thought and evil will. This purged and idealised concept will then in the progressive religions revolt against its own parentage, and will prompt the eternal antagonism of the prophet against the ritual priest, of the Christ against the Pharisee.’
James Moffatt.
References. X. 5. J. B. Mozley, University Sermons, p. 183. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 42; ibid. (5th Series), vol. x. p. 62; ibid. (6th Series), vol. v. p. 62. X. 5-7. R. M. Benson, Redemption, p. 1. G. Trevor, Types and the Antitype, p. 220. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxvii. No. 2202. X. 7. R. J. Campbell, New Theology Sermons, p. 133. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, pt. i. p. 66.
Heb 10:9
The Man, Christ Jesus, was of all created beings as far as we know their history the only one who chose his own destiny, who foreknew and accepted its full conditions; who saw a great need and responded to it: ‘Lo! I come? My leave,’ said the acute Frenchwoman, ‘was not asked before I came into the world’ a saying in which all that the human heart can urge against God and His appointments lies hid. Why should I be called upon to endure, to forego so much? Had the choice been permitted me, I might possibly have declined it. Our Saviour’s leave was asked. His fulfilment of His Father’s will was voluntary; He saw the end from the beginning.
Dora Greenwell, The Patience of Hope, pp. 12, 13.
References. X. 9. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlvi. No. 2698. X. 9, 10. H. Drummoud, The Ideal Life, p. 279.
Heb 10:10
When man finds that if he would do God’s will, however imperfectly, he must offer up this continual sacrifice, the sacrifice of his own will, his thoughts are irresistibly carried to rest upon that One offering up of a higher than any human will, by which Christ has perfected for ever them that are sanctified. The more deeply we feel the existing contradiction between God’s will and that of His creature, the deeper becomes our sense of the need of somewhat to take it away, so that the heart draws near to a truth unapproachable by the intellect the necessary death of Christ.
Dora Greenwell, The Patience of Hope, pp. 29, 30.
References. X. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi. No. 1527. H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i. p. 235. J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. ii. p. 32. X. 11, 12. C. Bosanquet, Tender Grass for the Lambs, p. 73. X. 11, 14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xviii. No. 1034. X. 12. C. Perren, Sermon Outlines, p. 245. W. P. Balfern, Lessons from Jesus, p. 263. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 76.
The One Offering
Heb 10:12-13
Look at these two verses, and see three things:
I. The Work which our Lord has Accomplished.
His death was the great purpose of His Incarnation. He came from heaven to die because there was no one else who could possibly have died a sacrifice for sin. There was only one Being Whom we know of Who could have possibly made that sacrifice for sin; it was the Incarnate Son of God, the Creator of the world Himself. If He was willing to become responsible for the sins of the world which He had created, then Justice, we conceive, might be satisfied with Him as the sacrifice for sin. That the Christ of God willed to do. He who was Very God of Very God He willed to become the sacrifice for sin. Then mark:
II. The Position which He is Occupying. Having accomplished that work, the text tells us He ‘sat down on the right hand of God’. Is it not strange to think that Jesus Christ ‘sat down’? We look about us today, and is it not too much to say that more than one-half of the human race has never heard of that sacrifice which Jesus Christ made upon the cross. Do you not wonder then, that, He has ‘sat down’? Jesus Christ made that atonement, that sacrifice for sin, because, as we have seen, there was none other who could make it But God never does what we can do. We could not make the sacrifice, therefore Christ came, and made it; but we can proclaim the message, and therefore He now rests.
Here, then, is the awful responsibility which rests upon us that God has ordained that the work of the Saviour Himself shall be left so far incomplete, because it is the will of your Heavenly Father that you and I shall complete it. No generation ever had such splendid opportunities of doing this work as have we ourselves. The Christian nations, so called, of the world today are not only the most civilised, but they are also the most powerful. We, to whom God has given all this, are to go and evangelise the uncivilised and the weak nations of the world. Mark you, we have nothing to do with the conversion of the world that is not our work, it is the work of God the Holy Ghost but the evangelisation of the world is our work. ‘This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come’ (St. Mat 24:14 ).
III. Mark, then, the Hope that He is Cherishing. He Who is now seated on the right hand of God and waiting, He is expecting, He is ‘expecting until His enemies be made His footstool’. And He is expecting that His Church will be so filled with gratitude because of the sacrifice He made, so filled with compassion because they have caught something of His Spirit He is expecting that His Church will be so longing for His Coming, that they will hasten to perform His wish, and tell every creature that He has died.
E. A. Stuart, Assurance of Life.
Christ’s Expectation
Heb 10:12-13
I would ask you to look at these two verses, and see these three things. First, the work which He has accomplished; secondly, the position which He is occupying; and thirdly, the hope which He is cherishing.
I. First of all, then, the work which He has accomplished. Eighteen hundred years ago our Lord died upon the cross for all mankind. He came down from heaven, He took upon Himself our nature, He lived a life of sorrow and of suffering, and at last He died upon the cross. That death was the great purpose of His Incarnation. He came from heaven to die, because there was no one else who could possibly have died as a sacrifice for sin. He willed to become the sacrifice for sin.
II. And having accomplished that work, the text tells us He ‘sat down’. That is the position which He is now occupying, He ‘sat down on the right hand of God’. What does the Apostle mean? He means that, having accomplished that work, He now rests! He had finished the work which it was given to Him to do. God never does what we can do. We could not make the sacrifice, therefore Christ came and did it; but we can proclaim the message, and therefore Christ sits down. Now think what this means. It means this; that there is no miracle that God was unwilling to do to procure the salvation of man, for what miracle can be compared to the Incarnation of Christ? there is no sacrifice which God is unwilling to make to procure the salvation of the world, for what sacrifice can be compared to the cross of Calvary? But when it comes to the proclamation of that Gospel, God is willing to sit down and wait; willing to sit down all these centuries, because God is not willing to do your work and my work. Here is the awful responsibility which rests upon us.
III. And, Jesus Christ is expecting! He is expecting that His Church will be so filled with gratitude because of the sacrifice He made, He is expecting that His Church will be so filled with compassion because they have caught something of His spirit, He is expecting that His Church will be so longing for His coming that they will hasten to perform His wish and tell every creature that He has died! E. A. Stuart, His Dear Son and other Sermons, vol. v. p. 25.
References. X. 12, 13. J. Fletcher, The Prophetic Vision of the Exalted Christ, No. vii. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ii. No. 91. X. 14. E. A. Stuart, The New Commandment and other Sermons, vol. vii. p. 89. T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 78. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v. No. 232. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 84. X. 15-18. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii. No. 714. X. 17. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii. No. 1685.
Heb 10:19
In the account of Wesley’s Last Hours, written by one who was present, it is recorded that, one day towards the end, ‘he slept most of the day, spoke but little, yet that little testified how much his whole heart was taken up in the case of the churches, the glory of God, and the things pertaining to that kingdom to which he was hastening. Ever in a low, but very distinct manner, he said, “There is no way into the holiest but by the blood of Jesus”. Had he had strength at the time, it seemed as if he would have said more.’
References. X. 19, 20. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiv. No. 2015. X. 19-22. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1606, p. 247. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 141. X. 19-25. J. G. Greenhough, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liv. p. 337. X. 19-31. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 131. X. 20. A. B. Wilberforce, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlix. p. 148.
Let Us Draw Near
Heb 10:22
Taken in its very simplest sense, the exhortation is very beautiful. It reminds us that we were once far off from God; that our sins had separated between us and God; and that the worst of it was that we were getting farther and farther away from God. We did not want to be brought near to God! But now the exhortation comes to us, ‘Let us draw near to God’. It is almost as if we heard our Father speaking, ‘Come near to Me, My children’. Now, I want you to notice the four things which the Apostle tells us we have, to enable us to draw near to God; and then the four things which we require so that we may draw nearer to Him.
I. The four things that we have. (1) The very Holiest is open to us. ‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest.’ The Apostle tells us that we have access into the very Holiest by faith in Christ. Here you may taste your Father’s love, here you may see something of your Father’s holiness, here in the holiest of all you detest sin, you despise the world. And further, here you have perfect peace you can worship, you can adore. (2) The Apostle tells us that not only is the way to the Holiest open, but he tells us that we have this boldness through the blood.’ Mark you, not the boldness of irreverence, but the boldness of perfect confidence. (3) He goes on to tell you the third thing that you have, Jesus Christ has shown you how ‘There is a new and a living way which He hath consecrated for you through the veil, that is to say, His flesh’. Christ has shown us by His death, by His daily death, He has shown us how we are to get into the very Holiest. It is by self-sacrifice, it is by rending the flesh, it is by crucifying the flesh. (4) You have, high above all, a great High Priest.
II. And what is required? Well, just these four things. (1) You must have a perfect heart. (2) You must draw near in the fulness of faith in the full assurance of faith. (3) You must have a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience. (4) And then, lastly, you must draw near with your body washed with pure water. Not only has the heart to be cleansed within, but the life has to be cleansed without. It is no use to say the heart is clean, if the life is impure. Look to your eating, to your drinking, your sleeping, labour, recreation; for these outward things have a very great deal to do with your spiritual life
E. A. Stuart, The New Creation and other Sermons, vol. III. p. 9.
Heb 10:22
In a note to ‘The Church Porch,’ in his edition of George Herbert’s Poems, Dr. A. B. Grosart points out that ‘in pie-Reformation times, a stoup or bowl of holy water (socalled) was placed at the entrance of churches to remind the worshipper to have his heart ” sprinkled from an evil conscience,” in order “to serve the living God.'”
Heare but a discourse of philosophy read, the invention, the eloquence and the pertinencie, doth presently tickle your spirit and moove you. There is nothing tickleth or pricketh your conscience; it is not to her men speake. Is it not true? Ariston said that Neither Bath nor Lecture are of any worth, except the one wash cleane and the other cleanse all filth away.
Montaigne ( Florio ) vol. III. p. 9.
Heb 10:22
‘We need a more forward moving Christianity,’ said Dr. John Duncan, ‘with more of the in it; which is not “in full assurance of faith,” but “in the full sail of faith” bearing right on with the wind; all canvas up.’
References. X. 22. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 24. X. 23. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxii. No. 1897.
Heb 10:24
Again, in the preface to A Priest to the Temple, Herbert remarks that ‘it is a good strife to go as far as we can in pleasing Him who hath done so much for us’.
‘Do you ask,’ says Schleiermacher, ‘how we can stir up one another to love? In no other way than this, that we ourselves show love towards him in whom we wish to excite it. If we consider one another with hearty, brotherly love, and try to understand one another without yielding to any unfavourable prejudice, so that we cast no look on our brother save that of a love which seeks to serve him, it cannot but be that he will become aware of that love, of its considerate efforts to do something suitable for him; and when he does so, our love will not return to us empty, but will produce some fruit in his heart. Perhaps hitherto we have rather tried to move men to stronger expressions of love by severe words and harsh judgments, by representing the advantage they would desire from so doing, or the harm they would avoid. If so, let this be past and gone, with other errors. For nothing creates love save love itself.’
References. X. 25. Bishop Creighton, University and other Sermons, p. 90. F. C. Spurr, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlviii. p. 92. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 194. X. 27. F. E. Clark, Christian World Pulpit, vol. 1. p. 230.
Heb 10:29
The neglect of public worship, at which the writer hints, is due not so much to worldly indifference or to a fear of the risks involved in a church connection, as to the fascination of some other cult. The danger was that these Christians should regard Christianity as a semi-philosophic or religious sect or phase which could be exhausted and then left behind for something higher. The writer insists that it is not one of the contemporary schools or cults. It is final. Beyond its revelation, nothing higher can be looked for, and the Christian must resist any specious attempt to detach him from a close and permanent relationship to the church. Compare Harnack’s remark ( History of Dogma, vol. i. p. 151, note 1): ‘If we remember how the Greeks and Romans were wont to get themselves initiated into a mystery cult, and took part for a long time in the religious exercises, and then, when they thought they had got the good of it, for the most part or wholly to give up attending it, we shall not wonder that the demand to become a permanent member of a Christian community was opposed by many’. This is elaborated in the same writer’s Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums (1st ed. pp. 312 f, Eng. tr. II. pp. 50 f.), and Hatch has some apposite remarks upon it in his Organisation of the Early Christian Churches (pp. 29, 30). The historical point of the saying is unmistakable. But modern civilisation offers instances of the same tendency to regard the worship and revelation of Jesus as a phase which requires to be supplemented. There are people today who, from the same motives of vainglory and untrained curiosity, imagine that they have exhausted Christianity, or that they can secure and appropriate for higher ends its spiritual content. The words of this verse reiterate, as the rest of the Epistle does, the finality of Jesus Christ for men, and the truth that no advance of humanity can afford to dispense with Him.
For God has other words for other worlds,
But for this world the Word of God is Christ…
Who is there that can say, My part is done
In this: now I am ready for a law
More wide, more perfect for the rest of life?’
Forsake not, do not abandon, your tie with other Christians, the writer pleads. It is a strain, in view of the centrifugal tendencies of the world, to maintain Christian fellowship, but it is a healthy strain, for this effort keeps you in touch with all that is central and satisfying in religion. A movement whose motto is ‘A greater than Christ’ may be imposing and seductive, but it has no future in this world of God and of his Christ.
James Moffatt
References. X. 29. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 174. X. 30. Ibid. vol. ix. p. 421; ibid. (6th Series), vol. vi. p. 388. X. 31. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii. No. 682. T. Arnold, The Interpretation of Scripture, p. 253. C. F. Aked, The Courage of the Coward, p. 171.
Heb 10:31
Here also are ejaculations caught up at intervals, undated, in those final days: ‘Lord, Thou knowest, if I do desire to live, it is to show forth Thy praise, and declare Thy works’. Once he was heard saying, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!’ This was spoken three times, says Harvey; ‘his repetitions usually being very weighty, and with great vehemency of spirit’. Thrice over he said this; looking into the Eternal Kingdoms: ‘a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!’
Carlyle’s Cromwell, vol. III. last chapter.
It is a fearful thing, said the Hebrew, to fall into the hands of the living God; and it is a fearful thing for a malefactor to fall into the hands of an ever-living poet. The injured Caesars of Rome Tiberius, for example, and Domitian have not even yet been delivered by the most conscientious efforts of German and Anglo-German Caesarists out of the prison whose keys are kept by Juvenal.
Swmburne, in A Study of V. Hugo, p. 141.
References. X. 32. Expositor (6th Series), vol. iv. p. 447; ibid. vol. xi. p. 433.
Heb 10:34
Writing on the great Ejection of 1662, Dr. Stoughton says: ‘It required much effort in the minds of Puritan clergymen to brace themselves up to meet what was at hand. One prepared for the crisis by preaching to his congregation four successive Sundays from words to the Hebrews: “Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance”. Another, who had a wife and ten children “eleven strong arguments,” as he said, for conformity remarked that his family must live on the sixth of Matthew: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on”. A third, when asked what he would do with his family, replied: “Should I have as many children as that hen has chickens,” pointing to one with a numerous brood, “I should not question but God would provide for them all”.’
References. X. 34. Newman Smyth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xliii. p. 97. Expositor (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 49. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 92. X. 35. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxi. No. 1263.
Heb 10:36
There is a proverb that it is the first step which is the most difficult in the achievement of any object, and the proverb has been altered by ascribing the main part of the difficulty to the last step. Neither the first nor the last has been the difficult step with me, but rather what lies between. The first is usually helped by the excitement and the promise of new beginnings, and the last by the prospect of triumph; but the intermediate path is unassisted by enthusiasm, and it is here we are so likely to faint
Mark Rutherford, The Deliverance (ch. v.).
What duty is made of a single difficult resolve? The difficulty lies in the daily unflinching support of consequences that mar the blessed return of morning with the prospect of irritation to be suppressed or shame to be endured.
George Eliot, in Daniel Deronda.
References. X. 36. C. Parsons Reichel, Sermons, p. 220. T. F. Crosse, Sermons, p. 168. X. 37. J. Keble, Miscellaneous Sermons, p. 394. X. 38. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv. No. 891, and vol. xlviii. No. 2809. H. Alford, Sermons on Christian Doctrine, p. 281. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 120. X. 39. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Hebrews, p. 98.
Christian Faith
Heb 10:1
I. What is Faith? Clearly the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews does not look upon faith as opposed to reason. Faith is with him the basis of all intelligent knowledge of things, the key to the rational system of the universe. The world which we see is temporary, changing, unreal; but behind the unreality of the phenomenal world is the reality of law. What enables us to learn this? Reason, intelligence. What enables us to believe it? Faith. What enables us to act on this belief? Faith. On the one side are the world of the senses and the life of the senses; on the other the world of the reason and the life of the reason; and faith is the ally of reason against sense. Faith is that quality in men which more than anything else lifts them above the attractions of what is sensuous, pleasant, easy, attractive, to what is lofty and noble, which makes them trust the highest discoveries of reason and intellect, and yield to the principles of an austere morality.
II. But what is it that Creates Faith? I would answer religion, especially for us Christianity. Faith is a strong moral and personal force, which is called into being above all by devotion to a person, and that is what Christianity gives.
A. C. Headlam, Church Family Newspaper, vol. XIII. p. 906.
XXII
THE BETTER PROMISES OF THE NEW COVENANT
Heb 8:6-10:39 The promises of the new covenant are as follows:
1. The promise of the Holy Spirit to renew and sanctify their souls and glorify their bodies, in order to enable them ultimately to keep God’s law individually, and to become collectively a holy nation for God’s own possession. The first promise, then, relates to the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. The promise of a Surety, who would stand for them until the work of the Spirit is completed. For instance, say you were converted, you were regenerated, and yet, even though regenerated, your soul is not yet sanctified, your body is not yet prepared so that the entire man, body, soul, and spirit, will perfectly keep the law of God. You need a surety to stand for you until the Spirit’s work is completed, and so that is the second promise as expressed in Heb 7:22 : “Jesus hath become the surety of a better covenant.”
3. The promise of one Expiatory Sacrifice, whose dignity and intrinsic merit and all-sufficiency would, when once offered, really and forever atone for sin.
4. The priesthood of every subject of the covenant, thus forever dispensing with the human go-betweens, or third parties, and enabling him (the sinner) to approach God directly for himself at all times, in all places, and in all emergencies, and the substitution of spiritual sacrifices for all the cumbersome nonexpiating sacrifices of the old covenant, so that each Christian, himself a priest, offers these spiritual sacrifices. You see, the promise has relation to two kinds of sacrifices, one expiatory sacrifice, and then spiritual sacrifices that take the place of the old covenant nonexpiating sacrifices for instance, all meat offerings, and all the unbloody offerings of the old covenant.
5. The final and glorious advent of our Lord, not as a sin offering but as judge of the world.
6. A glorious outcome into a heavenly country and a heavenly city, and eternal rest, peace, and joy, into everlasting companionship with God and with all the holy angels.
7. A better festival. We will have a good time when we get to that better festival. How proud was the Jew of his festivals, the great annual feasts. We find that immediately after the consummation of the covenant in Exodus, that a covenant feast was held, and that Aaron, Moses, and Joshua, and the elders went up on the side of the mountain and feasted and held communion with God. But the new covenant has a better festival.
I will briefly restate these:
1. The promise of the Holy Spirit.
2. The promise of a surety who will stand for them until the work of the Spirit shall be completed.
3. The promise of one expiatory sacrifice.
4. The priesthood of every subject of the new covenant, and the substitution of spiritual sacrifices that this priesthood would offer.
5. The promise of our Lord’s final advent, not as a sinoffering.
6. The glorious outcome in heaven.
7. The better festival.
These are the better promises of the new covenant, and it is our business now to show from the text in detail the very scriptures which embody these seven better promises, and therefore we commence at the prophecy of Jeremiah quoted in chapter 8: “Behold , the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah! not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; for they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, (now we come to the first promise), I will put my laws into their mind, and on their hearts also will I write them.” This is the internal writing contrasted with the law externally written on stone, and is by the Holy Spirit, and is equivalent to regeneration, as Paul expresses it in 2Co 3:3 : “Ye are an epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tables of stone, but on tables that are hearts of flesh.” The connection on that passage is as follows:
Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter [that is, of the letter traced on the tables of stones] but of the Spirit; for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which glory was passing away: how shall not rather the ministration of the Spirit be with glory? For if the ministration of condemnation hath glory, much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasseth. For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory. Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech [that is, simplicity of speech], and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away: but their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed to them that it is done away in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away [As he will be in the final deliverance of all Israel]. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, and transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. 2Co 3:3-18 .
This passage should very solemnly impress upon our hearts that the first great promise in the new covenant relates to the writing inside of us by the Spirit of God.
The regeneration in its quickening, or renewal, part (and it always consists of two parts; the second one we will bring out presently) makes alive and gives a holy disposition to I the mind, inclining to love God and desiring to obey. The did not keep that old covenant; they continued not in it. Why? They did not have the heart to do it. Thus regeneration is the antitype of circumcision.
Some people talk about baptism coming in place of circumcision. Let us consider what Paul says of circumcision: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that-of-the-heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.” So that spiritual circumcision qualifies one to be a true subject of God.
As an example of this writing on the heart under the new covenant, take Act 2 , where Peter preached that great sermon on the Messiah that day when the Holy Spirit came down. That is the Spirit of promise (we are on the first promise of the new covenant): “Tarry ye at Jerusalem, until I send you the promise of the Father.” On that day while Peter was preaching, the record shows they were “pricked in their heart” and cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” There is the handwriting on the heart. A much more marvelous example is yet in the future earth never saw anything like it. It is in the salvation of the whole Jewish nation in one day by the Spirit’s regenerating power. The Jewish nation stood at Sinai, and the law was written on tables of stone, outside of them, and affected’ them not.
There will come a time when the same Jewish nation, in their descendants, will be gathered together from all the nations of the earth where they have been dispersed, and the flash of an eye God will write the new covenant on their hearts.
Ezekiel discusses it in the famous thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh chapters of his prophecy, where he says, “Not for your sakes do I this, but for my own name sake I will gather you together out of all the nations where you have profaned my name, and I will take away your stony heart and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit within you and then you will keep my commandments.” In order to show the stupendous nature of that writing on the heart a picture of it is given in the imagery of “the valley of dry bones” very many and very dry. God asked the prophet the question: “Can these dry bones live?” “Not by any human power, Lord, thou knowest.” Then said God, “Stand over them and prophesy.” “What shall I prophesy?” “Say, Come, O Spirit, and breathe on these slain.” And the Spirit came and breathed on the slain, and the bones lived, and stood up a great army. I have selected these two examples because one, i.e., the 3,000 Jews saved at Pentecost, is the first fruits, and the final salvation of all Israel is the harvest.
There is a striking reference to this harvest in the closing part of Zec 12 and Zec 13:1 . After referring to their barrenness in their dispersion, he says, “In the last days it shall come to pass that I will pour out on my people, Israel, the spirit of grace and supplication, and as soon as that comes upon them they shall mourn as one mourning for his first-born; they shall look upon him whom they pierced, with an eye of faith, and in that day shall be a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness.” I cannot help wishing that I could live to see it. Isaiah, in talking about it, says, “Hath the earth ever heard of such a thing? Has anybody ever seen such a thing, that a nation is born in a day?”
Let’s see how Paul continues his discussion of this promise of the Spirit. What is the result? “And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” i.e., “When they are regenerated, I will be to them a God in reality, and they shall be to me a people in reality.” Let’s see how this is expressed elsewhere. In 1Pe 2:8 we have this statement; “A stone of stumbling, a rock of offence was Christ, for they stumbled at the word being disobedient, whereunto they were also appointed. But ye [that is, ye new covenant people] are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession,” as here in Hebrews he says, “I will be their God and they will be my people.” How does Paul elsewhere express the same thoughts? In Tit 2:14 he says, “He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.”
The result, then, of the work of the Holy Spirit is that God in reality becomes their God, and they become in reality his people. That leads us to consider the culmination of that very thing. The Spirit’s work is not completed at once. We are God’s people now because we are regenerated; but suppose we turn to the culmination of this covenant as presented in Rev 21:3 : “And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God; and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain, any more; the first things are passed away.” So that when he says, as the first result of that regenerating work, “I shall be their God, and they shall be my people,” it means his being our God as we now are, and his being our God when we are perfect in heaven. That is the first result of the Spirit’s work.
The second result. Let us consider the passage quoted from Jeremiah, Heb 8:11 : “And they shall not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them.” That is the second result. This personal spiritual knowledge of God is a characteristic of the subjects of the new covenant. Paul thus expresses the same thought in the letter to the Rom 8:14 it is very important “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but you received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and join theirs with Christ.”
To every subject of the new covenant there comes an experimental knowledge of God. In the light of this personal experience witnessed by the Holy Spirit, an ignorant Negro is more than a match for the most highly cultured and educated infidel. I heard of such a case. The infidel said, “That is all foolishness; there is no such thing inside of you.” The old Negro said, “You ought to say, ‘There is no such thing as you knows of.’ “
The humblest son of earth, with that internal, personal knowledge of God that comes through his regeneration, is stronger than the greatest infidel or the strongest demon in hell.
A reason then is assigned attesting the character of this knowledge. Let’s see what it is. He says, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more” (Heb 8:12 ). There he is referring to their subjective knowledge the effect on their conscience that he had been merciful to their iniquities, and that he will not remember these iniquities any more forever. This means that the sense of guilt and condemnation awakened by the Spirit’s conviction of sin is followed by a sense of peace and rest) through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, so that being justified by faith we have peace with God, and the sins being thus removed never more trouble the conscience. God has forever blotted them out; as far as the East is from the West he has removed them.
Knowing this, I have employed it as a test in the inquiry room. Three preachers once came to me, bothered over a certain case; they could not tell whether he was converter or not, and wanted me to talk to him. I sat down by hint and put these questions: “Have you a sensitive conscience?” “Yes, sir.” “Does that conscience trouble you on account of sins?” “Yes, sir.” “Do you remember when the sense of guilt and condemnation as a sinner first came on you.” “Well, yes, I do.” “Do you remember what became of it?” “Well,” he says, “when I believed on Jesus Christ it just fled away like a cloud.” Here comes my crucial question: “In your present trouble of conscience on account of sins, does your conscience go back to take up the burden of those old sins committed since I became a Christian.” “Sir, if you were not converted, it would go back and take up the burden of the sins committed since that time?” He said, “The sins committed since I became a Christian.” “Sir, if you were not converted, it would go back and take up that old burden and emphasize that as the chief burden.”
That is one of the best tests I ever saw. “I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more” “I never will bring those sins up against you.” A man’s justification is instantaneous and forever, and that peace that comes in justification will outlast all the stars in the heavens. That burden never can be assumed again. So far, I have referred to the promise of the Spirit as the first promise of the new covenant, and we have considered the work of the Spirit in one element of regeneration only the renewing, or quickening, or making alive but there is another element of the Spirit’s work that is brought out clearly in the next chapter, startgin with Heb 9:13 : “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinking them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
That element of regeneration is the application of the blood of Christ to the soul. Some believe I am cranky on the two elements in regeneration. Take Eze 36:25-27 , “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them.” David brings out the two elements: “Purify with hyssop” you see, that water of purification was sprinkled with hyssop “wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow, and renew a right spirit within me” that is the other part of it.
To the same effect is Tit 3:5-6 : “Not by works done in righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” So the first thing the washing, or cleansing and renewing s from the application of the blood of Christ; the Spirit does that in regeneration ‘s just where faith takes hold. The Spirit regenerates in the sense of renewing, or first cleanses and then renews that is the order. There can be no renewal brought about until the Spirit applies the blood of Christ, and then he renews the nature. That is exactly what is meant in John, “Except a man may be born of water and “Pint,” which means except that a man be cleansed by the blood of Christ and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. The two together make the new birth, or, as it is expressed in the letter to the Ephesians: “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that, having cleansed it by the washing of the water through the word,” and then goes on to tell that he makes it holy, without blemish in love.
Let the reader study that passage in Numbers concerning the red heifer, and how her ashes are mingled with water, making lye, thus making the water of cleansing which represents the application of Christ’s blood.
QUESTIONS
1. What are the promises of the new covenant?
2. What is the work of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant?
3. What scriptures show this first promise, and what other scriptures show its fulfilment?
4. What is the relation of the conversion of 3,000 at Pentecost and the conversion of the Jews as a nation?
5. What is the first result of this work of the Spirit, and how is this thought elsewhere expressed in the New Testament?
6. What is the second result, and how is this thought elsewhere ex- pressed by Paul?
7. Explain the difference in experimental knowledge between the subjects of the two covenants, Heb 8:11 .
8. What is the illustration by the author?
9. What reason is assigned attesting the character of this knowledge, and what its meaning?
10. How would you apply Heb 10:17 as a test in an inquiry room to determine a case of doubtful conversion?
11. What are the two distinct elements in regeneration?
12. Show these two elements in Eze 36:25-27 .
13. Show the same in Tit 3:5 .
14. Also in Joh 3:5 .
15.Eph 5:26 .
16. What Old Testament type of applying the blood of this one sacrifice, and where found? Explain fully.
XXIII
THE PROMISE OF THE SURETY AND OF THE SACRIFICE
Heb 8:6-10:39 We have seen in the preceding chapter that the coming of the Holy Spirit is the first great promise of the new covenant, that is, in the order of Paul’s argument, and that the objects of the Spirit’s work is to secure a perfect obedience to the law. That this is accomplished by (1) regeneration in its two elements, cleansing by the application of Christ’s blood to the sinner and by renewing the mind; (2) by certifying in the experience of its subject the remission of sins and sonship; and (3) by complete sanctification of the soul and the glorification of the body.
The second great promise of the new covenant is:
The surety of the new covenant. This doctrine is thus expressed: “By so much also hath Jesus become the surety of the better covenant.” That is in Heb 7:22 , but because this is the second idea, or High Priest idea, or the suretyship of Jesus, discussion was deferred when we were on Heb 7 until we came to the first, or legal, idea of the suretyship, so as to present the two together. Webster thus defines the legal idea: “In law, one that is bound with and for another,” and he cites the words of Judah to Joseph: “Thy servant became surety for the lad to my father” (Gen 44:22 ), and further says that the surety is compellable to pay the debt of the original debtor.
The legal idea is even stronger when the surety becomes an instant substitute for the original debtor by having the debt charged to the surety and the debtor released. In this case there is remission to the debtor before the surety actually pays the debt to the creditor. For instance, Paul writes Philemon concerning Onesimus: “But if he oweth thee aught, put that to mine account; I Paul writeth with mine own hand, I will pay it.” This is a legal bond assuming the debt, and Onesimus is legally released when the debt is transferred to Paul’s account, though it may be quite a while before Paul pays it. As the author of Hebrews expresses the thought elsewhere: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses” He is putting them to the account of the surety, not reckoning their trespasses to them. Or, as in the case of Abraham himself: “And he believed in Jehovah, and he reckoned it unto him for righteousness.”
In this way only could the sins of the Old Testament saints (see chapter II) be remitted and consciousness of remission given by the Holy Spirit before the expiation of sins was made to God on the cross. As our old “Philadelphia Confession of Faith” expresses it (Art. 8, Sec. 6): “Although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ till after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit thereof was communicated to the elect in all ages successively from the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices wherein he was revealed and signified to be the Seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent’s head; and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, being the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” That is what our Baptist Articles of Confession say. One cannot be a sound theologian if he fail to master this legal idea of the suretyship of our Lord. It is precisely at this point that many great heresies have arisen, two of which I now state:
1. That Old Testament saints, after death, were sidetracked into a half-way place until after Christ’s death, and then he announced to them their deliverance, and took them with him into heaven a conceit derived from uninspired apocryphal books, written in part, perhaps, before Christ came, and the rest after his death, yet this error prevails with many till this day.
2. The second heresy is very modern, and is most thoroughly set forth by Mr. Ezell, a Campbellite preacher, in a book which treats the new covenant as Christ’s last will and testament which could not become effective until after Christ’s death, his object being to shut off consideration of all cases of pardon as recorded in the gospels as not now applicable, and make Act 2:38 the one and only “law of pardon.” His argument is based on Heb 9:16-17 . Before a will or testament is effective there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. On which we remark (1) that the Greek word, diatheke , means “covenant,” and the only place in the Bible where it may be translated “testament” is in Heb 9:16-17 , which would show, not that the new covenant is a will, or testament, but that in one point only a will is analogous to the covenant, namely, there must be a death to ratify it. He takes a will to illustrate this one point of the covenant. The fallacy of Ezell’s whole argument lies in his failure to see that through the surety of the new covenant being accounted in God’s mind “a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” the benefits of the covenant may accrue to any believer before the debt is actually paid Godward, as our argument has just shown, and as the whole of chapter II will demonstrate.
The second idea of the suretyship is based on the passage showing the high priesthood of Christ, who, by ever living to intercede for his people, secures the remission of sins committed after justification, as the legal idea of suretyship secured the remission of sins committed before justification. Hence the conclusion of the author of Hebrews: “He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to intercede for them.” The first idea of surety covers all past sins up to justification, as we see clearly set forth in Rom 3:25 , and the second idea covers all sins to the uttermost that is after justification until we pass out of the world. This entire argument is in Rom 8:33-39 , where he says, “Who can lay any charge to God’s elect?” .First, Christ has died for us; second, he is risen; third, he is exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high; fourth, he ever liveth to intercede for us. And that passage in the first letter of John: “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous . . . If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We see the double idea of a surety the legal idea, covering sin up to justification, and the High Priest idea, covering sin after justification.
Let us compare some Old Testament verses that bring out the idea of the surety. First, the prayer of Job: “Give now a pledge, be surety for me with myself”; second, Psa 119:122 : “Be surety for thy servant for good; let not the proud oppress me;” third, the prayer of Hezekiah when he was so sick: “Like a swallow or a crane did I chatter; I did moan as a dove; mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed, be thou my surety.” We see that every one of these, in a dark hour, desired a surety that is above human power; they wanted a divine surety.
We now come to the third great promise of the new covenant, as set forth in Heb 10:1-18 , that is
The one expiating sacrifice. This scripture contrasts them by first showing that the law was merely a shadow of the substance that was to come. As the poet, Campbell, expresses it in the words of the wizard warning Lochiel before the battle of Culloden: “Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore, And coming events cast their shadows before.
If early in the morning on a bright day one starts toward the West, he casts his shadow before him, the sun is behind him and the shadow before him. And just so the real things in heaven cast before a model or rough outline like shadow. And that constituted the typical part of the old covenant it was the shadow of the reality in heaven. That is the first point.
The second point is that the constant repetition of these shadows year by year, say on the great day of atonement every year, could not make those who drew nigh to God perfect.
His third idea is that sacrifices without intrinsic merit cannot take away sin “it is impossible for the blood of bullocks and goats to take away sin.” The blood of a brute cannot take away a human sin, and the principle involved in that declaration is very far-reaching. We may apply that principle this way: It is impossible on account of the lack of intrinsic merit that the water of baptism, or the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, shall take away sin.
The next point is the testimony of the prophets, and the prophet he cites is David in Psa 40 , but he quotes this from the Septuagint, which in the second line gives a different idea from the Hebrew and gives the true idea, too. Let us consider Psa 40 , commencing with Psa 40:6 : “Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in.” The translation of the Hebrew reads: “Mine ears hast thou bored.” But Paul says, “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body didst thou prepare for me,” and Paul follows the Septuagint in quoting; there is not so very much difference in the two meanings. When a man voluntarily preferred slavery under the old law, his ear was nailed to a post as a badge of slavery; or the literal Hebrew, “Mine ears hast thou digged,” which might, mean “ears to hear.” That is the old Scripture idea; but the Septuagint idea is: “And a body hast thou prepared for me.” And that agrees with Luk 1:35 : “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee; wherefore also the holy one which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.” And it is in perfect harmony with Joh 1:14 : “And the Word that was God was manifest and became flesh” incarnate, took on body.
And it is in perfect accord with what we have already found in Heb 2:14 : “Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same, that through his death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” and it is still more clearly brought out in 1Pe 2:24 , where he says: “Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree.”
So that the quotation from the Septuagint gives the Spirit idea: “Sacrifices and offerings thou wouldst not, but a body didst thou prepare for me.” According to the prophecy of Isaiah: “What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? said Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with the iniquity and the solemn meeting. Your new moon and appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will” hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood” (Isa 1:11-15 ). That is the testimony of one of the prophets. David in Psa 40:6 : “Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I am come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do thy will, O my God.”
But I want to give you the testimony of other prophets, including David in another place, as to the relative merit of the Old Testament and the New Testament sacrifices. First, Psa 51:16 : “For thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it; thou hast no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Note here that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Second, a passage from Samuel, the prophet, (1Sa 15:22-23 ): “And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Samuel is talking to Saul. Third, that remarkable prophecy in Jer 7:22 : “For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.” Fourth, the prophecy from Hos 6:6 : “For I desire goodness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me.” Fifth, the passage from Mic 6:6-8 : “Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
My object is to follow out the thoughts of the author of Hebrews here in order to show that the prophets of the Old Testament, who were the true spiritual interpreters, understood that these Old Testament offerings were to cease; they never had any doubt in their minds about it, and indeed some higher critics contend that God never meant for Moses to institute sacrifices at all in which the higher critics are far astray. But it does make plain this point: That there was preparation of mind for a new covenant, in which the better sacrifice should take the place of the shadowy sacrifice of the old covenant.
For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows, yet we did not esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted be opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and as for his generation, who among them consider that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgressions of my people to whom the stroke was due? And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him: he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.” Isa 53:2-12 .
That is a picture of Christ, and it is as good a picture of him as one who lived in his time could have painted. I present one other idea of this sacrifice the leading sacrificial idea of the old covenant the festival lamb, or Passover lamb, whose blood was sprinkled on the doorposts to secure the passing of the angel of death. In 1Co 5:7 Paul says: “Christ, our Passover Lamb, is sacrificed for us,” and in Joh 1:29 , John the Baptist sees Jesus coming and points at him and says, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.”
A last thought on the sacrifice is this that Christ’s offering is repeatedly stated in this book to be once for all, in contrast with the year by year sacrifices of the Old Testament he would never die but the one time. He would make but one expiation of sin by his death, and then take a seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and ever live to intercede for us.
Just here I must call attention to a heresy of the gravest character the Romanist heresy of the doctrine of the Mass. They say that whenever their priest consecrates the wafer and the wine, that he actually creates God, and that in the offering of that wine and bread there is a real sacrifice of the Son of God. That is fixing upon him what he expressly declared should not be that there would be no repetition of this sacrifice that it was to be once for all. They tell their people that when they take the wafer on their lips (the priests do not give them any of the wine; they Just give them the wafer) that they masticate God, and they base it upon that word of our Lord when he held out the bread: “This is my body, broken for you,” whereas, there is no clearer meaning of the verb “to be” than the sense of represent. For instance, in Genesis, Joseph says, “The seven lean kine and the seven poor ears of corn which you dreamed about, are seven years of famine.” There is the verb “to be” “are,” that is, they represent seven years of famine. When I go into a picture gallery and say, “This is Washington, that is Webster, that is Henry Clay,” I do not mean to say that my word creates these men, but that the pictures represent them.
I do not know of any other heresy equal to this one.
And they expressly declare that whoever denies that that action of the priest does create God, and that whoever denies that there is a real sacrifice of Christ every time the priest consecrates these elements, will not be saved. And they expressly declare in the Council of Trent that no man can be saved who does not believe what they teach on this subject. That is what is called transubstantiation a change of substance. Transubstantiation that is the name of their doctrine that there is in the elements of bread and wine a real person and blood, hence they carry these elements in procession, and they teach that as they carry them, whoever does not kneel down and worship them sins against the Holy Ghost. That is what is called the “Procession of the Host,” which one must adore as God, and if he does not believe that, he will go to hell. That is the teaching of every Romanist in the world.
The Lutheran doctrine also contradicts the statement here of the sacrifice of Christ once for all. Luther denies that there is a change of substance. He calls his doctrine “Con- substantiation” not transubstantiation. He says that; every time the Lord’s Supper is observed there is in the elements the real presence of God, and his favorite illustration is this: “I take a piece of iron cold, dark iron and put it into the fire, I do not change the substance, but when I take it out there is something in it that was not in it before and that is heat and it looks different from what it did before; so it is practically the same thing.” And Luther bases his arguments upon exactly the same scripture, thus: “‘This is my body.’ When we consecrate the bread, there enters a real presence of a person that was not in it before, just like putting the iron into the fire puts heat into it that was not in it before.”
This doctrine of Luther split the Reformation into the German camp and the Genevan, or French camp. The Huguenots denied the doctrine of consubstantiation on the principle of Christ’s sacrifice once for all. The Prince of Hesse Cassel was very much disturbed over the divisions of the Protestants, so he invited Luther and Melancthon on one side, and Zwingli and Ecolampadius on the other side, to meet in his palace and discuss this until they could come together and they were about like some juries the longer they discussed it the wider apart they were. So in order to keep down a row, Philip of Hesse, knowing that Zwingli was fiery and that Luther was fiery) put Ecolampadius to debate with Luther, and put Melancthon to debate with Zwingli. But after they had debated for a while, the two fiery men left their mild opponents and rushed up to each other. Luther said, “I affirm, in the words of the Bible: ‘This is my body,’ ” to which Zwingli replied: “You quote a Latin translation, and I oppose it with the doctrine: Ascendit in Coelum; his body cannot be in two places at the same time.” They had a time of it. That is one of the most interesting incidents of the Reformation that fight between Zwingli and Luther.
QUESTIONS
1. Explain the surety of the new covenant.
2. What is Webster’s definition of “surety,” and what is his illustration of its use?
3. Under what conditions is the legal phase of this subject strongest, and how does Paul illustrate this thought?
4. What bearing has this on the remission of the sins of Old Testament saints?
5. What is the article of faith in the old Philadelphia Confession of Faith on this point?
6. State and elaborate two heresies arising at this point.
7. What is the second idea of suretyship, and what the New Testament scriptures proving it?
8. What Old Testament scriptures bear on the idea of the surety?
9. Explain “the shadow,” or “the pattern,” or “copy,” characteristic of the old covenant, and cite a poetic illustration (Heb 10:1 ).
10. Expound Heb 10:1-14 , bringing out clearly the dignity and intrinsic merit of the one great vicarious sacrifice of the new covenant, citing parallel passages in both Testaments.
11. Apply the logic of Heb 10:4 to the doctrine of baptismal remission or other sacramental means of salvation, and cite the Campbellite and Romanist views.
12. What distinct office of our Lord involved in Heb 10:5-7 ?
13. What is the striking testimony of the prophets on the inefficacy and transitory character of the sin offerings of the old covenant?
14. Where do we get the true idea of sacrifice in the Old Testament, and how is it expressed there?
15. What is the great type of the one sacrifice in the Pentateuch, and what is the New Testament identification of it?
16. What New Testament festival of the altar (Heb 13:10 ) commemorating this one sacrifice, and where, in another letter, does Paul enforce this close communion?
17. What is the difference in effect on gins between the one sacrifice, once for all, of the new covenant, and the many sacrifices, oft repeated, of the old covenant?
18. Apply the logic of Heb 10:12-14 to the Romanist transubstantiation and the Lutheran consubstantiation, and cite on the latter the debate between Luther and Zwingli.
XXIV
PROMISES OF THE NEW COVENANT
Heb 8:6-10:39 The fourth promise of the new covenant is that all Christians shall be priests unto God, and shall directly offer to him spiritual, nonexpiatory sacrifices, anywhere, at any time, and in all places. The negative value of this promise is itself incalculable. It forever set aside and dispenses with:
1. The old covenant’s one place of meeting God. Whether tabernacle, temple, earthly Jerusalem, or land of Canaan, their mission and sanctity are ended forever. Holiness no longer attaches to any of them. All are as empty as the sepulcher of our Lord. The efforts of the Crusades to recover a city and land no longer holy was a foolish quest. As says our Lord himself to the woman of Samaria: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain [i.e., Gerizirn, the site of the Samaritan temple] nor in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father . . . The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshipers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (Joh 4:21-24 ).
2. It dispenses with all the third party human go-betweens that officiated between the soul and its God. The Greek and Romanist priestly hierarchies of human gobetweens, and all their imitations in other denominations, are sinful degenerations into the obsolete and superseded old covenant.
3. It sets aside all the doctrines of consubstantiation and transubstantiation, which in any form affirm and repeat and adore a real expiatory sacrifice in the Memorial Supper of our Lord, or attach saving efficacy to the memorial rite of baptism. In other words, connecting two and three it sweeps away the whole system of sacredotalism which makes the office of a human third party necessary to the salvation of the sinner.
4. All the Old Testament sabbatic cycle, whether seventh day, lunar, annual, seventh year, or fiftieth year the limited fixed times in which to come before the Lord.
5. All the Old Testament nonexpiating sacrifices.
6. Israel according to the flesh as the people of God.
POSITIVELY
1. It affirms a spiritual Israel, every one of whom is a priest unto God. In the book of Hebrews this doctrine ‘if embodied in the phrase: “church of the first-born” (Heb 12:23 )., which means that the Old Testament type, which gave to the first-born of a family the right of primogeniture, including the authority of priesthood, and which was exchanged for the tribe of Levi, is fulfilled in each one born of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant. In other words, every one born of the Holy Spirit is a priest who may at all times, m( all places, and under all emergencies go for himself directly to God.
The doctrine of this new and spiritual Israel a people of God’s own possession is elsewhere presented by Paul (2Co 6:17-7:1 ; Tit 2:14 ). Here the language of Peter is the most explicit: “Ye, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ . . . Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” To these we may add: “And he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.” Rev 1:6 ). “And makest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests, and they reign upon the earth” (Rev 5:10 ). “Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection; over these the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev 20:6 ).
(1) Our own selves: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.” And concerning the Macedonians Paul says, “And this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves unto the Lord, and to us through the will of God” (2Co 8:5 ).
(2) Contribution to Christ in his cause and people. We recall the case of the Philippians: “And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only; for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need. Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account. But I have all things and abound: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that come from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God” (Phi 4:15-18 ).
(3) The testimony of this letter: “Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of lips which make confession to his name. But to do good, and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb 13:15-16 ).
(4) All the testimonies from the prophets introduced in the last chapter (See Job 17:3 ; Psa 119 ; Isa 38:14 ; 1Sa 15:22 ; Psa 51:16-17 ; Isa 1:11-17 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Mic 6:6-8 .)
But this idea of the priesthood of all Christians is so closely associated with another thought that we cannot separate them. One of the passages cited says, “A royal priesthood”; another says, “He has made us a kingdom and priests,” while this letter says, in commenting on the service of the Christian priesthood, “Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well pleasing to God with reverence and awe.” Everything relating to the old covenant was shaken, and soon, in the destruction of Jerusalem, would pass away forever. But this royal priesthood would continue this kingdom would never be moved. As Daniel prophesied, the kingdom set up by the God of heaven would be an everlasting kingdom and would never pass to another people. Or, as our Lord expresses it: “The gates of hell shall never prevail against the church he established. These priests are all kings, and their kingdom is eternal!”
The fifth great promise of the new covenant is the final advent of our Lord to raise the dead and judge the world. The passages in this letter are very striking: “So Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him unto salvation.”
1. On this passage particularly note the negative: “apart from sin,” i.e., not this last time as a sin offering. That was the object of his first advent. There is no gospel to be preached after this final advent no intercession for he vacates the mediatorial throne and the high priest advocacy
2. “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day drawing nigh. . . . For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise” (Heb 10:25-37 ).
Here the speediness of his coming is emphasized, as in very many other New Testament passages. But it is not “quickly” as man counts, but “quickly” as he counts, “with whom a thousand years is as a day.” As Peter declares:
Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word, have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is long-suffering to youward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with a fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? But according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2Pe 3:3-13 .
It was the apparent tardiness of his coming, as men Judged, that was tempting these Asia Minor Jews to apostatize. And it is in this very connection and on this precise point that Peter bears the direct testimony of Paul’s authorship to this letter: “And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you” (2Pe 3:15 ).
3. He comes in his last office, not as a prophet, sacrifice, priest, and not even as king to continue his mediatorial session at God’s right hand, for he will turn over the kingdom to the Father ( 1Co 15:24-25 ), but he comes as judge to wind up earth’s affairs.
(1) In the dissolution of the material universe: “And thou, Lord, in the beginning, didst lay the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of thy hands: they shall perish, but thou continuest; and they shall wax old as doth a garment; and a mantle shall thou roll them up, as a garment, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Heb 1:10-12 ). “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Mat 24:29 ). “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them” (Rev 20:11 ); and particularly: “But the heavens that now are and the earth, by the same word, have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. . . . But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2Pe 3:7-10 ).
(2) In the everlasting punishment of the wicked: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that hath set at naught Moses’ law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said: Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:26-31 ).
“For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessings from God; but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned” (Heb 6:7-8 ).’ “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard” (Heb 2:3 ). “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that warneth from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. . . . For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:25-26 ; Heb 12:29 ).
4. In the better resurrection of the righteous: “Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection” (Heb 11:35 ), and the consummation of their salvation: “For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof We speak. . . . And again I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children God hath given me. . . . For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise” (Heb 2:5 ; Heb 2:13 ; Heb 10:36 ).
On two and three as simultaneous: “The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Mat 12:41-42 ). “But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all the nations; and he shall separate them one fro goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand: Come ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . . Then shall he say also unto them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these shall go away into eternal punishment; and the righteous into eternal life” (Mat 25:31-46 ).
“And to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus; who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day” (2Th 1:7-10 ).
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne; and books were opened; and another book was opened, which was the book of life, and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hades gave up the dead that were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15 ).
QUESTIONS
1. What is the fourth promise of the new covenant?
2. What is the negative value of this promise?
3. What its positive value?
4. What passage in the book affirms the first element of positive value?
5. Cite passages from other New Testament books supporting this view?
6. What new and additional idea attaches to this priesthood, what the proof of it, and what the conclusion therefrom?
7. What are the spiritual sacrifices offered by this new priesthood?
8. What is the fifth great promise of the new covenant?
9. What, passage shows the negative object of his coming, and what the explanation of it?
10. Cite the passages which emphasize the speediness of his coming?
11. Is this a speediness in man’s sight or God’s sight, and what the proof from Peter?
12. Prove from Peter on this point that Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews.
13. In what offices does he not come, and the resultant doctrines?
14. In what office does he come?
15. What, without citing passages, the three objects of his final advent?
16. What passage in this book shows the effect of his coming on the material universe, and what correlative passages from other books?
17. What passage from this book show that he comes to judge and punish the wicked?
18. What the passages in this book which show that he comes for the consummation of the salvation of the righteous?
19. Cite passages from other New Testament books that the salvation in glory of the righteous is simultaneous with the everlasting punishment of the wicked.
20. In view of the fourth promise, will there ever be a restoration of the Jews, as Jews, and a restoration of the earthly Jerusalem and its temple worship?
21. What then, is the meaning of the restoration of the Jews as a nation?
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Ver. 1. A Shadow of good things, &c. ] That is, of Christ, saith one. When the sun is behind, the shadow is before; when the sun is before, the shadow is behind. So was it in Christ to them of old. This Sun was behind, and therefore the law or shadow was before; to us under grace the Sun is before, and so now the ceremonies of the law, these shadows, are behind, yea, vanished away.
1 18 .] SOLEMN CONCLUSION OF THE ARGUMENT: 1. Christ’s voluntary self-offering, as contrasted with the yearly offerings of victims under the law, is the carrying out of God’s real will ( Heb 10:1-10 ): 2. Christ’s priestly service, in contrast to the daily repeated service of the priests of the law, is for ever perfected by one High-priestly act, which has issued in His Kingly exaltation and waiting till His foes be subdued under Him ( Heb 10:11-14 ): 3. Christ’s finished work is the inauguration of that new covenant before referred to, in which, the law being written on the heart, and sin put away and forgotten, there is no more need for sin-offering ( Heb 10:15-18 ). And so, as Delitzsch observes, in this passage the leading thoughts of the whole argument are brought together in one grand finale, just as in the finale of a piece of music all the hitherto scattered elements are united in an effective whole.
1 10 .] See above.
1 .] For ( connects with the whole passage ch. Heb 9:24-28 ; hitherto has been shewn the impossibility of Christ’s offering being repeated as were those of the law: now is to be shewn its absolute perfection as compared with those of the law) the law, having (as it has; the participle has a ratiocinative force, which passes on upon what follows) a shadow (or, ‘the shadow,’ which in sense would be much the same. The putting forward of the word to the beginning of the sentence would render it anarthrous. I prefer, however, ‘a shadow,’ because of the meaning of , presently to be treated of: see below) of the good things to come (viz. the same good things of which, in ch. Heb 9:11 , Christ is said to be the High Priest, which belong to the of ch. Heb 6:5 , whose are working in the present dispensation, and to the completion of the of ch. Heb 2:5 ; the good things which are still future to us as they were to those under the law, but are now made sure to us in and by Christ), not the very image of the things (every representation of must be an , whether it be in words, or in types, or in any other method of representation. The full description and entire revelation of the things thus designated will be : which we possess in the gospel covenant: the very setting forth and form of the heavenly realities themselves. So that the gen. is the ‘genitivus substanti,’ as in Col 3:10 , , and Rom 8:29 , , in the one and in the other, being and furnishing the . But the law had no such constructed out of the heavenly realities themselves, “ipsas res, certa sua forma et effigie prditas,” as Stier: it had merely , merely a rough sketch or outline: so Chrys., not however to my mind entirely apprehending the identity of the with the which furnish it, . , , . See also Thdrt. and c.), year by year with the same sacrifices (most Commentators assume some inversion of arrangement in constructing the words : some (Calvin, Erasm. Schmid, Wolf, Heinrichs, Bleek, De Wette, Stuart, al.) joining them with , others (Lnem., al.) with , others (Carpzov, al.) with . But there is no need to disturb the plain order of the sentence, in which belongs to all that follows, viz. to the verb, , with its instrumental clause, . . . And so Ebrard, Hofmann, and Delitzsch. “This,” says Del., “is more accordant with the sense of the Writer: for he does not say, that the law by means of the offerings which were always the same year by year never was able to perfect, &c., but that the law, year by year, by the repetition of the same offerings, testified its inability to perfect, &c., viz. on the day of atonement, on which the same expiatory offerings were always repeated, being necessary, not withstanding the many offerings brought throughout the year, and after which the same round of offerings again began anew.” It will be evident that must refer, not to the daily offering, but to those of propitiation on the great day of atonement) which they (the ministering priests, not , as Hofmann ii. 1. 314, which would be against all the terminology of the Epistle, in which is without exception confined to priests. We have the same distinction as regards the in ch. Heb 7:25 ) offer continually (Hofmann would join this with what follows, alleging that does not mean continu ally but continu ously . And so Lachmann punctuates. But against such a construction I conceive it to be decisive, that thus would be in the last degree flat and unmeaning, and that the verb would have two qualifying adverbial predicates, and . I do not imagine that any one accustomed to the style of our Epistle would tolerate such a sentence. And with regard to , granting the meaning to be continuously , why may not that meaning be applicable here? Hofmann says that it is not applicable to a continually repeated act, but only to a continuously enduring agency. But why should not the offering of these sacrifices be looked upon as continuous, being unbroken from year to year? When I say, ‘The celebration of the day of atonement continued unbroken till the destruction of Jerusalem,’ I use the same method of expression, and might express my meaning in Greek by , ) never (not even at any time) is able to perfect (see on ref., where I have entered into the meanings of in our Epistle) those who draw near (to God, by means of them. Tholuck well remarks that this threefold , , , graphically sets forth the ever recurring cycle of the yearly sacrifices for sin).
CHAP. Heb 5:1 to Heb 10:18 .] THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST: and this in several points of view. That which has before been twice by anticipation hinted at, ch. Heb 2:17 ; Heb 3:1 ; Heb 4:14-15 , is now taken up and thoroughly discussed. First of all, Heb 5:1-10 , two necessary qualifications of a high priest are stated, and Christ is proved to have fulfilled both: . Heb 5:1-3 , he must be taken from among men, capable, in respect of infirmity, of feeling for men , and, . Heb 5:4-10 , he must not have taken the dignity upon himself, but have been appointed by God .
CHAP. Heb 7:1 to Heb 10:18 .] THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHISEDEK, SET FORTH IN ITS DISTINCTION FROM THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD: THE NEW COVENANT BROUGHT IN BY CHRIST, IN ITS DISTINCTION FROM THE OLD: AND THE FULL PROPITIATION WROUGHT BY HIM, IN DISTINCTION FROM THE PROPITIATORY SACRIFICES FORMERLY OFFERED. And herein,
13 10:18 .] Enlargement upon, and substantiation of , : on which then follows, Heb 10:19 ff., the third or directly hortatory part of the Epistle. “For the blood of His self-offering purifies inwardly unto the living service of the living God ( Heb 9:13-14 ): His redeeming death is the inaugurating act of a new covenant and of the heavenly sanctuary ( Heb 9:15-23 ): His entrance into the antitypical holiest place is the conclusion of his all-sufficing atonement for sin ( Heb 9:24-26 ), after which only remains His reappearance to complete the realization of Redemption ( Heb 9:27-28 ). In distinction from the legal offerings which were constantly repeated, He has, by his offering of Himself, performed the actual will of God which willed salvation (ch. Heb 10:1-10 ): our Sanctification is now for ever accomplished, and the exalted Saviour reigns in expectation of ultimate victory ( Heb 10:11-14 ): and the promised new covenant has come in, resting on an eternal forgiveness of sins which requires no further offering ( Heb 10:15-18 ).” Delitzsch.
Heb 10:1-18 . Finality of Christ’s one sacrifice . The law merely presents a shadow of the essential spiritual blessings and does not perfect those who seek God through it. Its sacrifices therefore must be continually repeated and the consciousness of sins is annually revived, for animal blood cannot take sins away. Accordingly, when Christ comes into the world He says, “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, I am come to do Thy will”. He proclaims the uselessness of O.T. sacrifices, that He may clear the ground for “the offering of the body of Christ”. This is the great distinction between Christ and all other priests. They stand daily ministering, He by one offering has perfected those who approach God through Him.
Heb 10:1-4 . The sacrifices of the law inadequate.
Heb 10:1 . The intimates that we have here a further explanation of the finality of Christ’s one sacrifice (Heb 9:28 ) and therefore of its superiority to the sacrifices of the law. The explanation consists in this that the law had only “a shadow of the good things that were to be, not the very image of the things”. is in the emphatic place, as that characteristic of the law which determines its inadequacy. “A shadow” suggests indefiniteness and unsubstantially; a mere indication that a reality exists. suggests what is in itself substantial and also gives a true representation of that which it images. “The brings before us under the conditions of space, as we can understand it, that which is spiritual” (Westcott). So Kbel, etc. The contrast is between a bare intimation that good things were to be given, and an actual presentation of these good things in an apprehensible form. It is implied that this latter is given in Christ; but what is asserted is, that the law did not present the coming realities in a form which brought them within the comprehension of the people. [Bleek cites from Cicero, De Off. , iii. 17, 69, “nos veri juris germanaeque justitiae solidam et expressam effigiem nullam tenemus, umbra et imaginibus utimur”.]
That the law possessed no more than a shadow of the coming good was exhibited in its constantly renewed sacrifices. belongs to , “with the same annually repeated sacrifices,” further explained and emphasised by the relative clause, , “which they perpetually offer”. the law can never with these perpetually renewed offerings perfect the worshippers”. “No repetition of the shadow can amount to the substance” (Davidson). The proof is given in the following words, Heb 10:2 : . The constant renewal of the yearly round of sacrifices proves that they were inefficacious, for had the worshippers once been cleansed they would have had no longer any consciousness of sins and would therefore have sought no renewal of sacrifice. , “since,” if the O.T. sacrifices had perfected those who used them. corresponding to , and to of previous verse. ., that is, once delivered from a sense of guilt, cf. Heb 9:14 , where is also used in same sense as here, the consciousness of sin as barring approach to God. The sinner once cleansed may, no doubt, be again defiled and experience a renewed consciousness of guilt. But in the writer’s view this consciousness is at once absorbed in the consciousness of his original cleansing. Cf. Joh 13:10 . . So far from these O.T. sacrifices once for all cleansing the conscience and thus perfecting the worshippers, “by and in them there is a yearly remembrance of sins,” that is, of sins not yet sufficiently atoned for by any past sacrifice. Cf. Num 5:15 . , and Philo, De Plantat. , 25, , . . . This remembrance of sins is , which is most naturally referred to the annual confession of the whole people on the day of Atonement. The remembrance was not of sins previously atoned for but of sins committed since the previous sacrifice; there was no perception that any previous atonement was sufficient for all sin. The underlying ground of this inadequacy being expressed in Heb 10:4 . . “For it is impossible that the blood of oxen and goats should take away sins”. This obvious truth needs no proof. There is no relation between the physical blood of animals and man’s moral offence. Cf. the Choephori of schylus, 70, “all waters, joining together to cleanse from blood the polluted hand, may strive in vain”. , “to take away sins,” in the sense of removing their guilt as in Num 14:18 , Lev 10:17 , Rom 11:27 .
Hebrews Chapter 10
The grand distinction between the legal economy and Christianity was set forth luminously in Heb 9 , with the facts which made the contrast clear, and above all His person, work, and place who closed the one and introduced the other. In the first half of Heb 10 we have the truth triumphantly applied to the conscience in order to our enjoying the presence of God where Christ is gone.
“For the law, having a shadow of the coming good things, not the image itself of the things, with the same sacrifices which year by year they offer in perpetuity, can never perfect those that approach: else would they not have ceased being offered, because that those who serve, having been once purified, would have no more conscience of sins? But in them [is] a recalling to mind of sins year by year; for [it is] impossible that blood of bulls and goats should take away sins (verses 1-4).
The law had a shadow, and but a shadow, of the coming good things, not the very image. There is even contrast in what is most characteristic. The law made nothing perfect. The work of Christ as now made known perfects the believer, not of course in his state or conduct, but in his standing before God. It was never so under the law. People or individuals, all they got was temporary relief. Finality they had none. They had to offer the same sacrifices: the greatest year by year, the lesser as need arose from day to day, they had to offer without a break. It was only provisional, at best a witness of good to come. But now in Christ and His work the best is come. The Second man is the Last Adam. None shall rival, still less supersede, Him; and the efficacy of His work is in keeping with the perfection of His person. The constant repetition of the old sacrifices tells the tale of their intrinsic shortcomings. Christ’s own sacrifice bespeaks its everlasting worth. Of old, sins if renewed as they were demanded a fresh offering. Where remission of sins is, there is no more offering for sin; and this is only and precisely true, now that Christ has been once offered. He obtained eternal redemption: for it the believer does not, like Israel, await the day of His appearing. While He is still on high, the Holy Spirit is sent down and he that believes the gospel, purified in his conscience before Him, beholds Him on the right hand of God. No need for Him to offer Himself again; else must He often suffer. But this were an insult alike to Christ and to God, to the Spirit intolerable. Where faith is, God sees not the believer’s sins but the blood which blots them out for ever. There is no renewal, because he has been once purified and has no more any conscience of sins.
But men in Christendom have so receded from the gospel of salvation to a mingled system of half-law and half-gospel, that we rarely hear this truth proclaimed, or this privilege enjoyed. Even saints on either hand wonder at the sound. Right well they know when awakened that the Spirit wrought by the word and laid their sins heavily on their conscience; and they cried to God in distress of soul, and called on the Lord – surely not in vain. Still their experience has been very like the saints of old, seeking fresh recourse to His blood on every fresh occasion of need. To use the truth before us, they have still a conscience of sins. They believe in Christ, but do not apprehend the efficacy of His work. Of old it could not be otherwise, for it was not yet accomplished. Even the most evangelical of prophets, as he is called, was not given to say more than “My salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.”
Now in the gospel, God’s salvation is come, His righteousness is revealed (Rom 1:17 ); and believers receive the end of their faith, salvation of souls; not yet of bodies, but of souls by a work divinely perfect, which perfects those that approach. How could it be less? God Himself could not add to the perfecting virtue of Christ’s blood. By Christ “all that believe are justified from all things” from which none could be in the law of Moses (Act 13:29 ). It will be known better, enjoyed fully, by the saints in heaven; but God will never estimate it more highly on our account than He declares already to is; and faith now rests on His word. Without Christ’s blood it were impenitent and obdurate presumption to pretend to “no more conscience of sins.” But it puts shame on His work for one who believes on Him to doubt that God beholds him washed in the blood that purifies from every sin. The only true title to believe that any sins are cancelled ought to assure one that all are gone.
How sad it is that those in Christendom who have least pity for the poor guilty Jews are themselves in their faith more Jewish than Christian! Let them test themselves by this capital truth of the gospel. Do they draw near as worshippers once purified having no more conscience of sins? Is this the ground they take in private and in public, in their prayers and in their praises? Do they believe that their guilt is quite gone and for ever by Christ’s sacrifice? Read how the inspiring Spirit lays bare the total failure of the Levitical sacrifices, “In them is a recalling to mind of sins year by year”; and the reason is no less evident, “for it is not possible that blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.” Christ’s work is God’s intervention to do away with the believer’s guilt. This He has done once and for ever. Every wrong deed, word, or feeling calls for humiliation on the Christian’s part, as other scriptures show; but no scripture enfeebles the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice for him that believes. To doubt it is a sin which exposes to other and all sins; as it may end in total ruin and prove that the doubter never was born of God.
Intrinsic and everlasting value there was not nor could be in those creature sacrifices, which, far from purging guilt effectually, testified by their necessary repetition that the sins were still there and ever coming into remembrance before God. But He had in His purpose a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they yea, in the midst of the Levitical system He had expressed His dissatisfaction with what fell so short of His own nature and of His people’s need. All really depended on One to come, not the first man but the Second. Both are plainly taught in the next citation.
“Wherefore, when he entereth into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare for me; in whole burnt-offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou tookest no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I am come, in heading (or chapter) of a book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God” (verses 5-7).
It was His not only to make known but to effectuate the will of God. That which had been set out previously was suited to man’s estate then, partial, earthly, and temporary. From the first God had held out the sure prospect of what was divine and enduring, yet in man and alone perfect for man. This unbelief never saw, because man’s will is always opposed to God, dreads His judgment, believes not His grace, and seeks self-satisfaction. But faith looked to Christ and, in the sense of sin and ruin, found rest nowhere else. And when He enters into the world, His eye is single, His whole body full of light, according to Psa 40 . He speaks truth, whatever the cost to Himself; and it cost Him everything. He recognises that His work, itself the most stupendous of sacrifices, must take the place of those that God had provisionally instituted; more than accomplishing each of them, but superseding them all, because perfection only now was found in it. Peace- (or thank-) offerings did not meet God’s will any more than oblations or meal offerings: instead of either He prepared a body for His Son, the Messiah. This exactly suits the revealed facts of the Incarnation. He was to come by the woman, more fully man thus than Adam, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, as was neither Adam nor any other: so truly did God fit a body for the Son, that even in human nature He alone should be the Holy One of God. Nor otherwise would it have suited the Son, either as the constant object of the Father’s delight all through the days of His flesh, as the adequate vessel of the Holy Spirit’s power in service, or as the sin-offering at last. How different from us, who even when born of God are anointed only as under the efficacy of His blood! His body was the temple of God without blood.
Dr. Randolph, unless memory fail me, in his elaborate examination of quotations from the O.T. in the N.T. gives up the attempt to account for the chance in the LXX. from the Hebrew form of the last clause in verse 5; and so does the late Dean Alford “leave the difficulty an unsolved one.” There is no sufficient reason to suppose a misreading gave rise to that Greek version, with Abp. Ussher (vii. 517) followed by Ernesti, Michaelis, Semler, etc., down to Bleek in our day. That the Epistle to the Hebrews adopts it, not as the literal rendering but as the substantial sense, is of deep instruction and interest; and this has commended itself to the most reverent and competent readers to the present time. The allusion is neither to Exo 21:6 , nor to Isa 1:5 : Psa 40:6 (7) is distinct from both, though all three centre in Messiah.
For (1) the Holy Spirit in the Psalm refers to the assumption of human nature in a condition wholly different from fallen man, even from His virgin mother. Of this the figure of “ears digged” not merely opened or bored, is the striking expression. Other ears were deaf through sin; His only God dug for Him, as He only ever heard and obeyed, living thus “not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” “A body didst thou prepare for me” well answered to that, and gives the meaning which all might not so easily draw from the Hebrew phrase. (2) Then comes the application of the prophet who speaks of the Messiah morning by morning wakened to hear. “The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear.” It is not alone holy humanity given Him at the outset, but His habit of daily dependence as “the Servant.” (3) The type in the law completes the case; for this conveys that at the end of faithful service, when He might have gone out free, He (in love to His master, His wife, and His children) submits to have His ear “bored” through with an awl, as the sign of serving for ever. It is His death for the glory of God, and the life and blessing of all that believe. Thus consistency marks all, while each is distinct; and our text refers to the divine preparation of a body for Messiah, suited for His worthy work.
“In whole burnt-offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou tookest no pleasure.” The last words are still the energetic rendering of the Septuagint, not an exact reflection of the Hebrew, Thou didst not ask. Men easily satisfied themselves and trusted that God was satisfied with offerings of free will when they prospered, and no flagrant evil required sacrifices for sin. But God ever looked on for His will to be done – what is quite impossible to the first man fallen as he is, and far above him even when unfallen. For this appeared the One who was alike Son of God and Son of man according to what was written in a roll familiar to the Father and the Son. It was a purpose indeed before man or the world existed, the fruit of which will abide in the new heaven and new earth, when time melts into eternity for weal and woe.
“Then said I, Lo, I am come (in heading of a book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God” (verse 7).
Such was the place Christ took here below. Adam surrounded by all that was very good, failed utterly even when tried by the slenderest test. The race had not even the wish nor yet the notion. Self-will characterised all nations, most strongly (perhaps it is that we know them best) Greeks and Latins. All sinned, these boldly: nothing more preposterous in the eyes of either than to give up one’s own will to do only God’s. And what can we say of English, French, Germans, etc., since Christ marked out that sole path of perfectness for man here below? Ah, the Second man is also the Last Adam. Not that many, many thousands have not followed His steps in faith and love by Him who strengthened and directed them but how feebly and afar off, even those nearest? For, as was the glory of His person, such was His devotedness,, whatever the trial. Though He was Son, yet learned He obedience (previously and absolutely new to Him as truly divine) by the things which He suffered. Being in the form of God He counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondman, made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, yea, death of the cross. Others had done miracles, to His own He promised works greater than even He had done, because He went to the Father; but what man ever obeyed as He? Who, even as a saint, could say like Him that he had never done his own will? He, and He only, was entitled to say, “Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God.”
As the person was most glorious, and the body fitted as only God could fit by a miracle of holy character and power, we shall find that the end was worthy of that wondrous path, whereon the Spirit of God descended as a dove and came upon Him, and the Father’s voice out of the heavens at length saw meet to break His hitherto ineffable silence with the words, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I found my good pleasure.” Freely He had come to glorify His Father; but when He is come, He keeps the position of man unswervingly to do the will of God.
Attention is drawn to the wondrous fact in the unseen realm, disclosed of old,, now set before us with emphasis, where the Son proffers Himself at all cost to effect, for God’s glory and for man’s blessing, what was wholly beyond the creature. Thus only could purpose and obedience meet in Him who deigned to take manhood, save the fallen by the sacrifice of Himself, and glorify God in all respects. “Saying above, sacrifice and offering and whole burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou wouldest not, neither tookest pleasure in (such as are offered according to law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second; by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth day by day ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, such as can never take away sins. But he, when he offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down continuously at God’s right hand, henceforth waiting till his enemies be set as a footstool of his feet. For by one offering hath he perfected continuously the sanctified” (verses 8-14).
Even in the O.T. enough was said to intimate the divine estimate of the sacrificial system. It kept up the wholesome acknowledgment of man’s need and guilt. The remembrance of sins never actually effaced the witness of God ready to accept it, but in creature offerings altogether inadequate. It pointed to One who, in the body prepared for Him alone, could and would do the will of God, not an angel but man though infinitely more. Law was wholly unavailing to glorify God on the one hand, and to deliver man on the other. Only the Son of God could do both; and He on this account becoming not only man, the woman’s Seed, but in grace obedient up to death (which had otherwise no claim whatever on Him), a sacrificial death for sin not His own in the least decree but ours solely; and this after a life of unswerving faithfulness and absolute devotion to His Father’s will and glory in a world of sin, sorrow, suffering, and death.
Verse 8 sums up the result in a few pregnant words: “He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” The sacrifice of Christ was alike the consummation and the close of the Levitical economy. It was no longer requirement of man, but God’s will done perfectly; so that He could in virtue of it bless weak, failing, guilty man, if he believed, according to all the love of His heart. For this He had waited – O how long! God’s will was now done. How different from the will of man in pride or vanity, in violence or corruption, as the race had done since Adam! This wrought curse and ruin; that, blessing without measure or end, and worthily. For, having done the will of God in a life of goodness, He suffered notably throughout life but above all in His death, as from man for God, so from God for man at last crowning all, when for us made sin that we who believe might become God’s righteousness in Him. Between the Father and the Son it was settled ere man or time began; in due time, when all was moral wreck and man had failed under all circumstances, after every trial on God’s part among the chosen people as outside them, He became man to do it, and He did it at all cost to perfection, glorifying God withal in that sacrifice of Himself which was to abolish sin for ever.
The highest angel is but a servant; the Son became one. This very fact implies His personal glory as true God. For the archangel could neither empty himself of the glory God gave without sinning against the God who gave him his position; nor did he need to humble himself in becoming a servant, for this he was and could be nothing else. But a divine person could and did. As written elsewhere, He emptied Himself, having taken a bondman’s form, being come in likeness of men; and, being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient up to death, yea death of the cross. To the Christian the religion of signs is for ever gone. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Thus did He establish God’s will, “by () which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all” (verse 10). Once God set apart Israel to Himself after a fleshly sort, which involved. in it nothing spiritual, though the figure of the mortification of the flesh. Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles previously, have been and are set apart through that body offered up once for all; and it is in virtue of God’s will by means of Jesus offered up that we are thus sanctified. Men as such have ‘been, and been proved, utterly sinful. Later in the Epistle (Heb 12:14 ) we are exhorted to practical holiness, the holiness apart from which none shall see the Lord. But here it is a divine operation already accomplished in the Christian, the effect of which abides; for it is once for all, like that offering which supersedes all others and can never be repeated. God rests in all its completeness and perfection, and sanctifies us accordingly as a settled permanent state. Theology does not accept or confess this great boon, any more than the Spirit’s sanctification of every saint in a new life given as in 1Pe 1:2 ; both distinct from, and the grand basis of, that holiness in practice which ought to be progressive, and on which the Lord insists as here in Heb 12:14 .
But there is yet more, which calls for a further contrast with Judaism. “And every priest standeth day by day ministering, and offering often the same sacrifices, such as can never take away sins: – but he, when he offered one sacrifice for sins, continuously sat down at God’s right hand, henceforth waiting till his enemies be set as a footstool of his feet. For by one offering hath he perfected continuously the sanctified” (verses 11-14). The immeasurable superiority of Christ’s sacrifice is here demonstrated in the clearest way. The Jewish priest “standeth,” being necessarily called to constant readiness of service day by day, and offering often the same sacrifices, because they were intrinsically ineffectual and needed habitual repetition. Not so the Saviour: His one sacrifice for sins is so efficacious that He took His seat in perpetuity at God’s right hand. “It is finished.” The will of God as to this is done. Christ offered up Himself, God has accepted it, the believer is perfectly blessed thereby. It is once for all, and attested by His unbroken sitting at God’s right hand, whence He will rise by-and-by to execute judgment when God gives the word to deal with His enemies. There meanwhile He sits, having done and suffered all for His friends, once His foes but now believing in Him. And the reason assigned for His continuous seat there is full of blessing for us: “For by one offering hath he perfected continuously the sanctified.”*
* It is singular that any believer should fail to see that here must be “the sanctified” as a class apart from time, because the same persons are in ver. 10 declared to be already . For this means that they were now sanctified, and therefore not a process going on. Both could not be true if were taken in its temporal usage. But they are both true without doubt all the same where the abstract force of the present is seen, as every scholar ought to know.
It is not enough then to assure the Christian that he has been sanctified or set apart by Christ’s effectual offering once for all, though this surely is immense in itself. By the same one offering has He perfected in perpetuity the sanctified. But is not the same as or , as M. Stuart says. “Once” or “once for all” might have been joined with , but not “in perpetuity” which demands to go with , “sat down.” There the sense fully applies; whereas by the loose rendering “for ever,” followed by a comma as in the Auth. and Rev. versions, the true force is lost, and help given to the falsehood of a mass going on for ever, though this would require to make it accurate. Perfected Himself as risen and glorified, He has perfected those set apart to God. Both the perfecting here and the sanctification in verse 10 are completed actions, the effect of which does not pass away. They err who teach that either is a process going on. Both are blessed effects of Christ’s offering, to which nothing can be added for their end. Nor is this at all weakened, as some argue, from the form of “the sanctified” in verse 14; because this expresses the class in an abstract way, not at all as to time: if it did, it would contradict the form of the statement in verse 10, which does express time, and declares that we enjoy the settled result of God’s having thus set us apart. Such a contradiction is not, and could not be, in the inspired word. Our bodies of course await the glorious change at Christ’s coming again. Meanwhile we ourselves, our souls, are perfected without a break through the work Christ has done for us. The Father and the Son could do no more for our sins than is already accomplished in the sacrifice of Jesus, and revealed to our faith in the written word. There is growth, there ought to be advance, and there may be declension, in holiness; but this is not the question here, which treats of the Christian standing through Christ’s offering. And this admits of no degrees. It is always perfect for every believer. But practical holiness is quite another thing, but imperfect even in the most pious, and ought to progress. This is not the question or sense in the context.
We have had the will of God as the source of our salvation, and the Saviour’s work as the efficacious means. There now follows the no less indispensable witness of the Holy Spirit as the unfailing power of bringing our souls into the possession and knowledge of the blessing. Thus each person of the Godhead has His appropriate place, and all contribute to this end as worthy of God as it is needed by man.
“And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said, This [is] the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, saith Jehovah. Giving my laws, on their hearts and on their mind I will write them: and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will remember no more. Now where remission of these is, [there is] no more an offering for sin” (verses 15-18).
The dignity of Him who testifies is an essential part of the boon conferred on the Christian. None less than a divine person was in accordance with the purpose of God or the accomplisher of His work, His own Son, for whom, with whatever imperfect light, all saints had waited from the first. Now that His will was done by Christ to the glory of the Father, a competent and suited witness was requisite; and this was no other than the Holy Spirit who ever cave energy, to what God took in hand. Nor was it less imperative if we were to receive and to enjoy that certainty of acceptance with God which is essential to Christian communion, worship, and walk. Faith had ever been the condition of all that pleased God in men now that Christ is in heaven it has a pre-eminent value. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” But faith is only another way of expressing divine certainty in us. It receives on His word what He reveals. And He who came to glorify God by His death on earth is now glorified by and in God in heaven to make heavenly those who behold Him there.
It is interesting also to observe how carefully Scripture avoids the error of assuming that the new covenant expresses our standing. The blood of it is shed; the spiritual blessedness of it is ours who believe. But its strict and full import awaits the house of Israel and the house of Judah at a future day, as we saw in Heb 8 . Then all its terms will be verified.; not only what the heart needs and the mind, with full pardon its principle, though the Jews have not yet bowed to the Messiah. But as His work is done and accepted, so the Spirit attests the full remission of sins in His name: God will remember them no more for those that believe. And where this remission is, there is no more an offering for sin. Such is Christianity in contrast with Judaism. It is founded on Christ’s sacrifice, which has so completely taken away the sins of believers that no offering for them remains.
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the holies by the blood of Jesus, a recent and living way which he dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh; and [having] a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience, and our body washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another for provoking unto love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, even as [is] customary for some, but encouraging, and so much the more as ye see the day drawing near” (verses 19-25).
But Christ’s work avails much more. It gives present entrance into the holies. What took away our sins rent the veil; and those who believe are invited and free of the innermost sanctuary even now. Boldness to enter there on any pretension of our love or holiness, of new nature or even divine ordinance, would be mere and shameless presumption. Here it is calmly claimed for Christians, who are exhorted in the strongest terms to approach by faith to God’s presence without a doubt or a cloud, now that their sins are gone. Boldness to enter there is due to the blood of Jesus. Only unbelief hinders. It is a new and living way which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh. We honour Him by using it in the fullest confidence that it pleases God.
Nor this only: we have a great Priest over the house of God. His is the title. He is Son over God’s house, which even Moses was not but only a servant in it: and His house are we if we hold fast our boldness instead of doubting or giving it up. In heaven itself Christ now appears before the face of God for us, who through His sacrifice have no more conscience of sins, as He there is the proof that we are perfected unbrokenly. He is above to maintain us, spite of our weakness and exposure here, according to the cleansing of His blood and the nearness it confers on those who believe.
Hence we are told to “approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Never could we deserve such a privilege. His glory and His work alone entitle us, but they do so completely; and we honour Him and appreciate the grace of God by approaching not with fear or hesitation but with a true heart in full assurance of faith. God Himself has wrought by His Son and in the Spirit, that we might be fully blessed even here and enjoy already this access to Himself in the sanctuary. What an indignity tradition puts on every person of the Godhead alike, on the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ, when it drags souls back to the dread and distance of Judaism! For there is no humility so genuine as that which is the fruit of faith, sees itself so unworthy as to deserve only condemnation, and bows in everlasting gratitude to God and the Lamb, whom the Holy Spirit teaches us to be worth all our thoughts and affections, our worship and service.
The figures employed are drawn from Levitical institutions, but express a settled condition which far transcends what could be then: “having our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience, and our body washed with pure water.” The sons of Aaron outwardly were washed and sprinkled for priestly service. Elsewhere we find provision for failure, as in Joh 13 and 1Jn 2:1 ; here we have only the fundamental ground which abides, as is indeed expressed by “washed” or bathed, in Joh 13:10 . This it was the more necessary to insist on, as in an epistle for those who had been Jews ever used to failure and provision for it, to whom the new and living way was unknown with its eternal and fullest blessings. And now souls in Christendom need to be weaned from those Jewish elements to which they have been so long in bondage. Even Christians generally need the truth of the gospel to deliver them from human thoughts and ways. When they are established in grace, other wants claim their place, where there is much to learn.
Again the word is, “Let us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering,” that is, firm and stedfast, not through our strength or courage, but “for faithful is he that promised.” Power of continuance is in looking to and for Christ. In the A.V. of verse 23 “faith” is a strange if not unaccountable mistake. “Hope” is here right as “faith” in verse 22. Promise connects with the future, and hence calls for hope.
Then comes the call to “consider one another to provoke unto love and good works.” When set right before God as to the present and the future, we are in a condition and are exhorted to seek the good one of another. And, in order to promote the affection and deeds worthy of Christians, it is important to hear the caution, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is customary for some, but encouraging.” For this is well, rather than an objurgatory tone which provokes neither to love nor to good works. Our gathering together is of great moment: none can neglect it without snare and loss. And we need mutual cheer in the midst of difficulties, sorrows, and dangers. Isolation may be a resource in special circumstances; but it is never to be desired like fellowship as the rule.
As responsibility is here in view, it is “the day” or appearing of the Lord that follows, when our fidelity or the lack of it will be manifested. Conscience should be the more in exercise, because of the grace wherein we stand; but flesh would take advantage of grace for carelessness. The assembly has its serious place and claim according to God’s word, as well as the soul. Difficulties increase, as the day approaches; but His word is authoritative for such as fear Him, and never misleads where the eye is single. The Holy Spirit effects this by directing us to Christ. Then Scripture tells on the heart as well as on the conscience; the new man answers to the word of the Lord, and lives in obedience.
There follows a most solemn warning, as much in keeping with the one perfect sacrifice of Christ, as that given in Heb 6 is with the displayed power of the Holy Spirit in honour of His person. To abandon Him or His work is fatal; and such is the question in both warnings, not personal failure or practical inconsistency within or without, however grievous and inexcusable, but apostasy from the power of the Spirit to forms, or from the only efficacious work of the Saviour to indulge in sin wilfully and habitually. Either is to prove oneself the enemy of God’s grace and truth, though the two paths may diverge ever so widely. But faith, and the faith, are alike abjured, whether for religious vanities or for reckless unholiness. It is man in both, fallen man preferred, God and His Son rejected, however seemingly far apart as the poles. Both paths of ruin, not without votaries in apostolic days, are at the present crowded and ever increasingly.
“For if we are sinning wilfully after we received the full knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but t certain fearful expectation of judgment and fierceness of fire about to devour the adversaries. If one set at nought Moses’ law, he dieth without compassion on [evidence of] two or three witnesses: of how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he be thought deserving that trod down the Son of God, and counted common the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said, To me [belongeth] vengeance, I will requite, saith Jehovah; and again, Jehovah will judge his people. A fearful thine, [it is] to fall into a living God’s hands” (verses 26-31).
It is a serious consideration to read “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the custom of some is in such proximity to apostasy. But so it is. The habit is not only unworthy of Christians but perilous. It is to neglect, if not to despise, one of the greatest means of edification and comfort. It is indifference to the fellowship of saints. It is independence and slight of His presence who not only loves us but is pleased to be in our midst for blessing ever fresh and growing. Are these privileges of little account in opened eyes and to ears that hear? Then weigh what follows in the light of “the day drawing near,” when motives as well as ways will be laid bare. Little as the beginning seems to some, it is the beginning of a great and possibly fatal evil. “For if we are sinning willingly after we received the full knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins.” Giving up any assemblage which has the Lord’s sanction for ease, or private reasons which are not imperative duty, may embolden many if not all to give up, and so end in callous contempt and fleshly self-indulgence.
It might seem incredible, did we not know as a fact, how many unestablished young get worried by the enemy when they find themselves so far below the standard of Christ, and particularly when through unwatchfulness they have found themselves guilty of sin, But their state is wholly in contrast with the apostate boldness described in this chapter as well as in Heb 6 . There is nothing really in common. The apostate is as self-complacent as haughty toward Christ, and hates the truth the more because he once professed it. The tried and shaken believer condemns himself unsparingly and desires above all things fidelity to Christ. Confidence in His grace through a fuller sense of His work in judgment of sinful flesh (Rom 8:1-4 ), not remission of sins only, is the great remedy so little appreciated generally, as well as His advocacy in case of special failure (1Jn 2:1 , 1Jn 2:2 ).
The reader should observe that “sinning” in verse 26 is the present participle and does not relate to an act or acts of evil (as in the last text referred to), but to the habitual or continuous habit of the person. And this is strongly pointed out in a Greek Scholiast which Matthaei quotes. It supposes souls not born of God; which is in no way inconsistent with “we” or with having received objective knowledge, however accurate, full, or certain. On the contrary, both here and in 2Pe 2:20 , this is expressly allowed to be Within the range of flesh’s capacity: the lesson which is lost for all that assume like Alford, that this can only be by those who are real possessors of life or spiritual grace.
In the face of such reasoning it is a plain and instructive fact that not a word in any of those scriptures implies that they ever were begotten of God. They were mere professors of Christ, never children of God. Thus they might have had the highest external privileges of the Spirit and powers of the age to come (cf. Mat 7:21-23 ), which only aggravated their defection from the Lord, but in no way intimated, as Delitzsch fancied, “a living believing knowledge of it [the truth] which laid hold of a man and fused him into union with itself.” It is a gross error that thus verse 29 becomes unintelligible. Those who speak so only prove how far they themselves were from a sound intelligence of Scripture as to God or man. Another form of misunderstanding appeared of old in the Novatian controversy from misuse of baptism, for which the curious reader may consult of the Greeks Chrysostom and of the Latins Augustine, as well as later writers, or the still lower because more human school of Theodore of Mopsuestia.
It is clear that, abandoning Christ, they must forfeit sacrifice for sins, His only, being effectual and writing death even on what had pointed to His. There remained therefore for such as renounced Him “a certain expectation of judgment and fierceness (or, heat) of fire about to devour the adversaries,” into which apostates necessarily pass. And this is confirmed from God’s dealings in the past, allowing for the vast superiority of gospel over law. If one set at nought Moses’ law and dies apart from compassionate feelings, in case of two or three witnesses, how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he deserve that trampled down the Son of God, and counted common the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? One cannot conceive thoughts or words more energetic, and a doom implied more awful. And so it must be: for a blessing spurned, after being received on the fullest proof and the surest attestation, becomes the measure of the guilt of abjuring it. As in verse 26 we saw the eagerness of some to infer the defectibility of grace and the denial of eternal life, so here we have to face the straits of pious men trembling for the truth sacred and dear to their hearts, and conceiving strange evasions, instead of trusting absolutely God’s word. Thus Dr. John Lightfoot, followed by Guyse, etc., argues that Christ was sanctified by blood! (verse 29) as others refer the sanctification in question to the covenant! Here again the contending parties overlook that the Epistle to the Hebrews contemplates, as does 1 Corinthians, Christian profession; which ought to be real by divine grace, but may be only external and thus admits of a “sanctification” not necessarily inward but positional only.
The citation of Deu 32:35 ought to strike those who question the apostle’s hand; because it differs from both the Hebrew original and the Sept. version, and is identical with Rom 12:19 .
There evidently had been ground for the extreme warning given us in Heb 6 also; and of course the danger of apostasy is always real among those who name the Lord’s name. Only those who become partakers of divine nature by grace surmount the difficulties and overcome the world through faith. Yet here as before the actually bright side is not forgotten, but enlarged on for the comfort of those who held fast.
“But call to remembrance the earlier days in which, when enlightened, ye endured much conflict of sufferings, partly being made a spectacle by both reproaches and afflictions, and partly also having become partakers with those thus conversant. For ye both sympathised with those in bonds, and accepted with joy the plundering, of your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better substance and abiding. Cast not away therefore your confidence, since it (or, the which) hath great recompense. For of endurance ye have need, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. For yet a very little while he that cometh will be come and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. But we have no shrinking back unto perdition, but faith unto soul-winning” (verses 32-39).
Relaxation is ever a danger for soldiers when on service, as Christians always are here below; and those who had been Jews were exposed to it as much at least as Gentile brethren, which we may see for these last in 1Co 4 and 15. The Hebrew believers had begun well; they are here urged to continue enduring the fierce conflict of the enemy. All the old English versions save that of Rheims (1552) narrow their sympathy according to the Text. Rec. to the bonds of him who, now wrote. but the better reading seems to be “the prisoners” i.e. those of the Lord in general. To some of feeble faith this is. no small trial; to others the plunder of their property. These saints had shone in both respects. “In heaven” appears to be a copyist’s addition, as is “in” () just before. Still the great guard is against casting away their confidence or boldness of soul, the root within of outward suffering as of service. Patient endurance is needed as ever, of which the love of Christ is the spring, glory with Him the hope alone, the road, where the will of God is for us to do as it was done by Him perfectly. The recompense assured is inseparable from His advent; which here as elsewhere is kept immediately before the Christian.
The application of Habakkuk’s words is modified in accordance with our hope by the same divine Spirit who inspired the prophet. “For the vision is for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should tarry, wait for him; for he will surely be come and will not delay.” So runs Hab 2:3 in the Sept. Christ’s first coming and work give occasion for the beautiful and true modification in our paraphrase, while the prophecy abides in all its undiminished force for those who received Him, and others like them up to the end. For the Christian the known person of Christ shines; He is all. Death is in no sense our hope, but the coming of the Bridegroom, not the mere fulfilment of the vision. If we depart to be with Him meanwhile, it is far better than remaining here absent from the Lord. Present, or absent, we are still waiting as He is, who will surely come and not tarry. Times and seasons have to do with “the day of the Lord,” when execution of divine judgment, comes on the world, not on the dead yet but the quick. “The coming or presence or the Lord,” as the hope of the heavenly saints, is altogether independent of the revelation of earthly events, as it is before their accomplishment; and therefore is that hope precisely the same for us now as for those in apostolic times, allowing time for its full revelation by the apostle Paul.
Christendom fell away, though never so much as in the last century and half, into the dream of the church triumphant, not suffering, and of a world-wide victory for the gospel during the Lord’s absence. All distinctive truth and heavenly hope are surrendered by an error as stupendous for principle as for practice. For it levels the N.T. to the footing of the O.T., and obscures, where it does not destroy, the characteristic force of both. The result for thoughtful minds, we say not for believers, is an enormous impulse given, both to superstition which in its blindness seeks to amalgamate Judaism and Christianity, and to rationalism which has no faith in the word of God, and no divinely given perception of Christ; who is little to both. Scripture, it is plain, speaks of the gospel of the reign, Christ’s reign, which goes out before the end of this age comes, never of the reign of the gospel, the delusion of the worldly-minded.
But the language of the prophet in the verse (4) that follows is also turned to suited and serious use: “If he should draw back, my soul hath no pleasure in him; but the just one shall live by faith in (of) me.” It is plain that in this Epistle the order is adapted to the object in hand, which is not to enforce justification by faith as in Rom 1:17 , nor to set aside the interpolation of the law in opposition to grace as in Gal 3:11 , but to insist on faith as the power of life, and this too practically, as in all else; of which the chapter that follows is the weighty, full and interesting illustration.
If the true reading here is, as it appears to be on adequate authority, “my just (or righteous) one,” it is excellent sense” as testifying God’s appreciation of the one who walked in faith and righteousness, the godly principle of power. In contrast is his soul which is lifted up,” instead of dependent on God and His word. Like Cain, there was no uprightness in him, but evil works and hatred, the end of which is drawing back to perdition nothing more offensive to God. The notion for which Delitzsch rather improperly contended, that “thy righteous one” is the necessary subject of the sorrowful supposition that here follows, is quite unfounded, as ought to have been plain from verse 39 which encourages every believer. Never does the Holy Spirit lead such a one to a doubt; but many a professor does draw back to his ruin.
Thus, if it was natural for Jewish saints when dispirited to look back at their old association of visible splendour, the danger of abandoning all God had now wrought in Christ and given to faith is solemnly applied; and they are called not to cast away their confidence and its great recompense. True, they needed endurance. But let them remember that the end of everlasting joy is at hand; for He that cometh (and it is yet a very little while) will come and will not delay. What blessed grounds to persevere in faith! They had long walked in Christ’s path: a few trials more might be theirs. All above is glorious, and He is coming quickly. Is the saying of the soul even a small thing? And what of joy and blessedness and glory does not follow?
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb 10:1-10
1For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But a body You have prepared for Me;
6in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
7″Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come
(in the scroll of the book it is written of Me)
To do Your will, O God.'”
8After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law),9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:1 “shadow” The Mosaic legislation (“The Law”) and rituals were a type and foreshadow of Jesus’ high priestly ministry in the heavenly tabernacle, not made with human hands (cf. Heb 8:5; Heb 9:23-28).
The Jerome Biblical Commentary has an interesting comment:
“Here the author is not using ‘shadow’ as he does in Heb 8:5, where the Platonic heavenly-earthly contrast is intended, but in the Pauline sense of a foreshadowing of that which is to come through Christ (cf. Col 2:17). . .The annually repeated Day of Atonement sacrifices were not able to remove sin; they simply foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus” (p. 399).
“of the good things to come” In Heb 9:11 this referred to the high priestly ministry of Christ.
NASB”not the very form of things”
NKJV”not the very image of the things”
NRSV”not the true form of these realities”
TEV”not a full and faithful model of the real things”
NJB”no true image of them”
This is the Greek term icon, which means a detailed reproduction that corresponds to reality (cf. 2Co 4:4; Col 1:15). Here it is negated and grammatically linked to “a shadow.”
“the same sacrifices they offer continually year by year” Jesus offers one effective sacrifice. Priests offer again and again.
“make perfect” This term means “to bring to completion,” “to fully accomplish.” This word (teleio and its other forms) has been a constant theme throughout the book. See Special Topic at Heb 7:11.
The term telos
1. means “a consummation,” “to reach a goal,” or “end” (cf. Heb 3:6; Heb 3:14; Heb 6:11)
2. in Heb 5:14 teleios is used of a mature person
3. in Heb 6:1 teleiotes is a call to maturity
4. the terms are used in connection with the ministry of Melchizedek and the heavenly tabernacle in Heb 7:11; Heb 9:11
“those who draw near” In the OT this referred to priests approaching YHWH for worship or ministry. But here, under the new covenant (cf. Jer 31:31-34), it refers to all believers (cf. Jas 4:8) who now have intimate access to God through Christ (cf. Heb 4:16; Heb 7:19; Heb 7:25; Heb 10:1; Heb 10:22)
Heb 10:2
NASB, NRSV,
NJB”otherwise”
NKJV”for then”
TEV”if”
This is a second class conditional sentence, often called “contrary to fact.” A false assertion is made to forcibly make a theological point (cf. Heb 4:8; Heb 7:11; Heb 8:4; Heb 8:7; Heb 10:2; Heb 11:15).
Heb 10:2 can be translated as
1. a question expecting a “yes” answer, as in NASB, NRSV, NAB
2. a partial question, as in NKJV, NIV
3. a statement, as in TEV, NJB, REB
“would they not have ceased to be offered” This may imply (cf. Heb 10:11; Heb 7:28) that the Temple was still functioning; therefore, Hebrews may have been written before A.D. 70, when the Temple (and Jerusalem) were totally destroyed by the Roman general (later Emperor) Titus.
“because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins” This was the problem with the Mosaic ritual: it could not cleanse the heart and mind of guilt (cf. Heb 9:9; Heb 9:14). The new covenant in Christ gives access to God with boldness (a clear conscience)!
Heb 10:3 “reminder of sins year by year” This seems to refer to the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16), since this was the focus of chapter 9, but it could refer to the entire sacrificial system. The fact that yearly sacrifices were needed to cleanse the tabernacle and the nation, continued to remind the Israelites of the seriousness and repetitiveness of human sin and guilt (cf. Galatians 3).
Heb 10:4 “for it is impossible” The word impossible is used several times in Hebrews (see full note at Heb 6:6).
1. Heb 6:4 (in Greek, but Heb 6:6 in NASB’s restructuring). It is impossible to renew them to repentance
2. Heb 6:18, it is impossible for God to lie
3. Heb 10:4, it is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sin
4. Heb 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God
For the author of Hebrews the Greek term “impossible” cannot mean “difficult”!
Heb 10:5
NASB”when He comes into the world, He says”
NKJV”when He came into the world, He said”
NRSV”when Christ came into the world, He said”
TEV”when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God”
NJB”and that is why he said, on coming into the world”
This introduces a quote (cf. Heb 10:5-7) from Psa 40:6-8, which shows YHWH’s displeasure with the OT sacrifices because they were not accompanied by lifestyle faith. Our author uses Psa 40:7 as an allusion to the coming Messiah who would perfectly please God.
This quote also implies the pre-existence of Christ (cf. Joh 1:1-2; Joh 8:57-58; 2Co 8:9; Php 2:6-7; 1Jn 1:1). There has never been a time when Christ did not exist! His one essence with the Father can be documented from Joh 5:18; Joh 10:30; Joh 14:9; Joh 10:28.
“a body you have prepared for me” This quote follows the Septuagint of Psa 40:6. The Masoretic Text has “an ear you have dug for me.” The specific mention of a physical body prepared for the Messiah would also function in the late first century to combat incipient Gnosticism. Jesus was truly human.
Heb 10:6 There are several passages like this in the OT (cf. 1Sa 15:22; Isa 1:11-17; Hos 6:6; Amo 5:21-27; Mic 6:6-8). They must not be interpreted as God rejecting the sacrificial system, which was an act of His grace to deal with mankind’s sin and fellowship problem for a limited time. But fallen humanity took advantage of the procedures and turned them into mechanical ritual and liturgy instead of heartfelt repentance and faith. God rejects the perfunctory performance of religious ritual and liturgy that does not reflect the heart and life of faith (cf. Isaiah 1).
Heb 10:7 “In the scroll of the book it is written” This is a perfect passive, which refers to the Old Testament. Originally the OT was written in sections on leather scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 had a copy of Isaiah written on one twenty-nine foot leather scroll.
“to do your will, o God” God’s will was a new covenant with all humanity established by Jesus’ death and resurrection (cf. Mar 10:45; 2Co 5:21; Heb 10:9). When animals died in sacrificial offerings they had no choice. Jesus willingly laid down His own life (cf. Joh 10:17-18).
Heb 10:8 “sacrifices” This list of four terms in Heb 10:8 seems to cover all types of sacrificial offerings (cf. Leviticus 1-7). The term “sacrifices” literally means a voluntary peace offering.
“offerings” This refers to a voluntary “meal offering.”
“burnt offerings” These were completely voluntary ,wholly consumed sacrifices.
“sacrifices for sin” This is another class of mandatory sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus chapters 4-5.
“(which are offered according to the Law)” The author’s purpose is to show the superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice over the Levitical sacrifices. Even when OT sacrifices were performed with the appropriate attitude and procedures, they were only a foreshadowing of the work of Christ.
Heb 10:9 “He” This PRONOUN’S antecedent is ambiguous. It could refer to the Father as the One who inaugurates the covenant. Also the phrase “the body of Jesus Christ” in Heb 10:10 implies He is not the subject. However, all the VERBS in the quote from Psa 40:6-8 (Heb 10:5-7) have Christ as their subject.
“the first” This refers to the Mosaic covenant (cf. Col 2:14).
NASB, NKJV”takes away”
NRSV”abolishes”
TEV”does away with”
NJB”abolishes”
This is a strong Greek term for “destroy” (anaire). The question is how to understand this term in relation to the OT? As a revelation from God it is eternal (cf. Mat 5:17-19). Paul often quotes the OT as an exhortation to believers. However, as a means of salvation or forgiveness of sin it was only a preliminary stage (cf. Galatians 3). It has been fulfilled and exceeded in the NT in Christ. Context must determine whether this term is to be translated “taken away” (fulfilled) or “abolished” (destroyed).
“the second” This refers to the New Covenant (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:22-36) in Jesus.
Heb 10:10
NASB, NKJV”By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”
NRSV”And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”
TEV”Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all”
NJB”And the will was for us to be made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ made once for all”
Does “the will” refer to Christ’s will (cf. Heb 10:7; Heb 10:9 and NASB, NJB) or to the Father’s will (NRSV, TEV)? Since Jesus is the one speaking in Heb 10:5 (cf. Heb 10:9), then the context suggests His will.
“we have been sanctified” This is a periphrastic perfect passive participle. The goal of Christianity is a righteous people. This was the goal of the OT also. Holiness or sanctification basically is the removal of the curse and consequences of the Fall (cf. Genesis 3), the marring of the image of God in mankind. The new covenant addresses this need in two ways: (1) by a legal declaration, a given position (indicative) and (2) by a call to holiness (imperative). Believers are justified and sanctified by a repentant faith response to God’s redemptive sacrifice of Jesus. Once saved, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are motivated by an internal law, an internal desire (new heart and new spirit) to be Christlike (cf. Rom 8:29; Gal 4:19; Eph 1:4). Sanctification affects both our standing before God and our new family characteristics lived out in daily life. See Special Topic at Heb 2:11.
“through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ” Fallen mankind did not pursue God (cf. Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-18); God pursued them! He provided a way for all humans to return to fellowship with Him (cf. Mar 10:45; 2Co 5:21; Isaiah 53).
“once for all” This is a recurrent theme (cf. Heb 7:27; Heb 9:12; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:10, see full note at Heb 7:27). It shows the superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice over the repeated sacrifices of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Heb 10:11-12). Everything that needs to be done for mankind’s salvation has been provided. All we must do is respond to God’s offer through faith in the finished work of Christ. “Whosoever will may come” (cf. Romans 10).
not, &c. = not itself (emph.)
image. Greek. eikon. See Rom 1:23.
never. Greek. oudepote. See Heb 10:11.
year, &c. Greek. kat’ eniauton, as Heb 9:25.
continually. Greek. eis to dienekes. App-151.
make . . . perfect. Greek. teleioo. App-125.
1-18.] SOLEMN CONCLUSION OF THE ARGUMENT: 1. Christs voluntary self-offering, as contrasted with the yearly offerings of victims under the law, is the carrying out of Gods real will (Heb 10:1-10): 2. Christs priestly service, in contrast to the daily repeated service of the priests of the law, is for ever perfected by one High-priestly act, which has issued in His Kingly exaltation and waiting till His foes be subdued under Him (Heb 10:11-14): 3. Christs finished work is the inauguration of that new covenant before referred to, in which, the law being written on the heart, and sin put away and forgotten, there is no more need for sin-offering (Heb 10:15-18). And so, as Delitzsch observes, in this passage the leading thoughts of the whole argument are brought together in one grand finale, just as in the finale of a piece of music all the hitherto scattered elements are united in an effective whole.
Chapter 10
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very substance of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect ( Heb 10:1 ).
Now notice the law was only a shadow of the good things to come. The value of the studying of Leviticus and the studying of the law, to the Christian, is that it foreshadows the work of Jesus Christ, the offering of Jesus Christ, and the high priestly nature of Jesus Christ. The shadow, it’s not the substance. Paul tells us this in Colossians, chapter 2, where Christ through His death blotted out the handwriting and the ordinances that were against us, nailing them to His cross and triumphing over them in it. Therefore, don’t let any man judge you in respect of meat, or drink, or new moons, or holy days or Sabbath days, for these were all a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.
So Christ standing here in this point in history. His shadow was cast over the past history. The shadow of Christ is there in the law and in the sacrifices. You can see that they foreshadow Him, but they were only the shadow. Jesus is the substance that casts the shadow. And so there is a real substance in Jesus. These things were only foreshadowing His coming. Once He came they were no longer necessary, no longer necessary to have the shadows, for we now have the substance in Jesus.
For if they could have been perfect sacrifices that had put away the sins then would they not have ceased to be offered? ( Heb 10:2 ).
In other words, they would have done it once in Moses’ day and that would have been it. They wouldn’t have to offer animals every day. They wouldn’t have to offer animals once a year in the Holy of Holies. It would have been sufficient had they been able to perfect man.
“Then would they not have ceased to be offered?”
Because the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins ( Heb 10:2 ).
Now this was under the old covenant, and had it been effective, once being cleansed, they should have no more conscience of sins. Showing that it did not bring that to them under the old covenant, however, the glorious thing is that in this new covenant through Jesus Christ, once being purged, we really should not have any more consciousness of sins. There is this purging. It’s complete, the cleansing in the blood of Jesus Christ is complete, and the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses. In the Greek, it is present perfect tense. It is continually cleansing us from all sins. What a glorious thing, that continual cleansing by Jesus Christ.
But in those sacrifices there was a reminder again made for sins every year ( Heb 10:3 ).
Every year when the priest would go in, you’d be reminded again of your guilt and of your sin.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins ( Heb 10:4 ).
It is impossible that they could actually take away your sins. They made what they called the kophar for sins. In the Hebrew, kophar, which is translated atonement. It is probably a bad translation. It should be translated covered. It made a covering for their sins, but it did not put their sins away. It only covered their sins.
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me ( Heb 10:5 ):
Now this is a quotation from Psa 46:1-11 . However, the latter part of the quotation, “a body thou hast prepared me,” is not as your King James reads, but this was translated from the Septuagint version.
The Septuagint version of the scriptures was a Hebrew to Greek translation of the Old Testament that was made by seventy scholars two hundred years before the birth of Christ. After the Babylonian captivity, the Hebrew language was almost dead. It was only known by the biblical scholars. They were the only ones that used the Hebrew language. The Jews, themselves, usually spoke the Koine or they spoke Greek, but Hebrew was only for biblical scholars. They felt that the people should have the Bible in a language they could understand, and so they translated the Old Testament scriptures into Greek. It is called the Septuagint. So whenever you read of the Septuagint version, that is what it is, a translation by seventy scholars of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek two hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
This quotation, as do others in the New Testament, come from the Septuagint version, and interestingly enough, “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,” or you don’t care for, “but you have prepared a body for me.”
That is, Jesus, when He came into the world, God prepared a body for Him. In order that in this body, He might become the perfect, complete sacrifice for man.
In burnt offerings [the Lord said in Psalms] and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God ( Heb 10:6-7 ).
So, this is declared of Jesus Christ. He declared, “I have come. In the volume of the book it is written of Me.” The Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ. He is all the way through, interwoven in all of the types, in all of the shadows, in all of the books. It is one continuous story in the preparing of the hearts of man for the coming of the Messiah. The prophecies, the hopes, all prefigured there in the Old Testament.
He speaks here of the burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. There were five offerings that were made in the Old Testament. They were necessary to bring man into fellowship with God. It is the purpose of God that man should fellowship with Him. God’s purpose is that man should know Him, that he should fellowship with Him and that he might cooperate with God in the accomplishing of God’s purposes here on the earth.
Now sin creates a breach between man and God. Sin separates man from God. Sinful man cannot be one with a holy God.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians, who lived in that city that was so debauched, that the word Corinthian became a synonym for a totally debauched person. Every night a thousand priestesses would come into the city of Corinth from the Acropolis above Corinth, the temple there of Aphrodite. These priestesses in the temple of Aphrodite were prostitutes. And a thousand of them, a thousand streetwalkers in the city every night. And so Paul warned the Corinthian believers concerning having a relations with a harlot. He said, “Don’t you realize that if you have relationships with a harlot you become one with her? And if you are one with Christ then you are making Christ a partaker and bringing Him as one with a harlot.” He said, “You can’t do that. What fellowship hath light with darkness? Christ with Belial and all.” He is warning against these things. You are to be one with God and if you then go out and sin you are making God a partner in your sin. That can’t be. Sinful man cannot have fellowship with a holy God. So before fellowship can be experienced, sin has to be put away.
In the first covenant there were two of the offerings that dealt with sin. The first was the sin offering, which is sins general. The second was the trespass offering where I had deliberately trespassed against the law of God. That took a different type of a sacrifice. But they had to be taken care of before I could have fellowship with God. But once I had made the sin and trespass offerings, then I could bring the burnt offerings.
You notice the burnt offering here, and then the sin offerings. The burnt offerings were offerings of consecration where I would consecrate my life to God. This was the burnt offering, and it was symbolic of just consecrating my life to God. Then there was the meal offering, which was the consecration of my service to God as I brought the grain that I had cultivated and grown. And they baked it into bread and offered it unto God.
Finally, I could offer the peace offering, which was communion. I could now be made one with God. My sins have been put away. My trespasses have been put away. I’ve consecrated my life and my service to God, and now I come into oneness with God and I offer the peace offering. And I sit down and eat with God the peace offering. I give Him His portion to eat, the best part of it, being a gracious host, and I then partake of the rest and we eat together. And as we are both nourished by the same lamb, then I become a part of God and God becomes a part of me, and I have this fellowship.
So God was tired. He would not accept anymore of these sacrifices.
Offering and burnt offerings and the offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither did you have pleasure therein; those things that were offered by the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he might establish the second ( Heb 10:8-9 ).
The first covenant that God established with man is over. You cannot come to God by the first covenant.
There are always those who want to come to God on their terms. Hey, you’re not calling the shots! You’re in no position to call the shots. “God, I’ll do this for You if You’ll do this, this and this.” You’re trying to bargain with God or come to God on your terms, and it can’t be done. The only way you can come to God is as a guilty sinner and cast yourself upon His mercy and grace and just ask for mercy and grace. You’ve got to come on His terms, and His terms are that you come through Jesus Christ.
The Old Covenant is disannulled; it’s passed away. It is no longer effective. In establishing of the new covenant, He has put away the first. So, taketh away the first that He might establish the second
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all ( Heb 10:10 ).
So, we have been sanctified through the body of Jesus Christ. I am made righteous through Jesus Christ. I am accepted in Jesus Christ. All that I have in my relationship with God today must and does come through Jesus Christ. He is my peace. He is my righteousness. He is my sin offering. He is my sin offerer. He is everything. He is my mediator. Jesus is everything to me. Without Him I have nothing. I have no access to God. I am alienated from God. I am hopelessly and helplessly lost apart from Jesus Christ.
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins ( Heb 10:11 ):
So they’re busy. They are kept busy all day long offering one sin offering after another; one meal offering after another as the various people came in. But it is . . . he’s pointing out these offerings cannot take away sins.
But this man [Jesus Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God ( Heb 10:12 );
It’s complete. He doesn’t have to do it every day. He doesn’t have to be crucified over and over. The death of Christ is sufficient once and for all.
From henceforth [or from now on] just waiting until his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified ( Heb 10:13-14 ).
Isn’t that glorious? By His one offering we have been perfected forever. Thank God!
Whereof the Holy Ghost also is witness to us: for after he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more ( Heb 10:15-17 ).
David cried out, “Oh how happy is the man whose transgressions are forgiven. Oh how happy is the man whose sins are covered. Oh how happy is the man to whom God does not impute iniquity.” All I can say to that is, “Amen!” How happy is the man whose sins and iniquities, God said, I will remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin ( Heb 10:18 ).
Where you’ve already had the remission once and for all, perfected in Christ, there is no need for any further offering for sin.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus ( Heb 10:19 ),
I can enter in where He entered in, right in to the presence of the Father. Coming to the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ, I can enter into the Holy of Holies. I can come into the presence of God through Him. The door is open. Jesus Christ has made the way whereby we can come into the presence of God and fellowship with Him.
And so, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,”
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart full of assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised ( Heb 10:20-23 );
Notice now this new covenant: hold fast, hang on, don’t worry, because God is faithful who made the promises. This new covenant is predicated upon the promises of God, and God is faithful who has made these promises to you. So hold fast this profession of faith. We have a great high priest.
The danger was these Jews who had received Jesus, returning back to Judaism, taking a lamb, dragging a lamb to the priest again to make a sin offering for them. That was their danger.
Don’t underestimate how deeply rooted traditions are, especially among the Jewish people, and even to the present day. Even non-believing Jews keep Sabbath; eat kosher. It is so deeply a part of their tradition that they guard it fiercely. And I know many, many Jews that would become Christians, but they are afraid they would no longer be a Jew. They don’t understand that to become a Christian is to become a completed Jew. For Jesus was the Messiah that God had promised in their scriptures. And they need not fear to cease being a Jew by becoming a Christian. In fact, they’d probably become a better Jew than they ever were. And yet, their rabbis have determined that to be a Jew and a Christian are mutually exclusive; you cannot be both. But they are trying to protect their national identity and they fight fiercely. For it is deeply, deeply ingrained.
So the time of the writing of the Hebrews, those who had made a profession of Christ, some of them sort going back. So the encouragement is to hold fast the profession; don’t waiver. And again, pointing not to our faithfulness, but the faithfulness of God. He who has promised is faithful.
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works ( Heb 10:24 ):
And so that’s as we’re together exhorting each other for a greater love and good works.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching ( Heb 10:25 ).
Consider each other to provoke each other to love, to good works, and then not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, in order that we might receive exhortation. Actually, he is saying we should gather together all the more as we see the day of the Lord approaching. So I don’t know how we can do any more than we are every night of the week around here and during the day, but anyhow . . . That’s the purpose of gathering and assembling ourselves together is for mutual encouragement, the strengthening of each other, the exhorting of each other.
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ( Heb 10:26 ),
This is talking to the Jew who is wavering in his faith in Jesus Christ and who is seeking to go back to the priest with a sin offering. There is no further sacrifice. The lamb will do nothing. For the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is complete. It is once and for all. And there is no further sacrifice that can be offered, of a goat or a lamb or a calf or anything else. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is complete. There remains no other sacrifice for your sins. You can’t go back to the old system.
[All that remains is] the certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries ( Heb 10:27 ).
Now, this judgment and fiery indignation is going to take place, much of it, during the Great Tribulation. Notice it is going to devour God’s adversaries.
He that despised Moses’ law [that is, the first covenant that has been set aside] died without mercy under two or three witnesses ( Heb 10:28 ):
Very severe punishment, capital punishment for those who despised the first covenant that God established through Moses.
Of how much worse punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant [this new covenant], wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite to the Spirit of grace? ( Heb 10:29 )
So the three things: he’s trodden under foot the Son of God, counted the blood of Christ as nothing, and has done despite to the Spirit of grace.
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will repay, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God ( Heb 10:30-31 ).
Now two things can be done concerning your sins. One, by your coming to Jesus Christ, they can be totally and completely washed away. Totally forgiven through Him, accepting this new covenant that God has established, your sins are completely put away. If that does not take place, then the second thing that will happen concerning your sins is that you will stand before God and be judged, and your sins will condemn you.
Years ago, I was told the story of a wonderful prince, the heir to the kingdom, who had married a wife who proved to be undeserving of him and of his love. During a time of rebellion, she went out and lived in open adultery with the leader of the rebellion. When the rebellion was subdued, the princess was brought to justice and the court decreed that she should die in the tiger’s pit. Outside of the city, in a clearing in the forest, a pit had been dug. In the pit was a post, and those victims, who were so executed, were tied to the post. And during the night the tigers, drawn by the scent of human flesh, would come and devour the victims. The day of execution came and she was led into the woods and tied securely to the post there in the bottom of the pit and was left to her fate.
As it grew darker, she heard the crunching of gravel above her head. Looking up, she saw silhouetted in the evening sky not the form of a tiger, but of a man, who vaulted down into the pit. She recognized him to be the prince, her husband that she had betrayed. She turned on him in anger saying, “What have you done? Have you come to mock me because of the fate that I have?” He said, “No, I have come to prove to you how much I’ve always loved you. You’ve never understood that.” With that, he waited silently in the pit until again there was crunching at the top of the pit. And now a tiger, drawn by the scent of human flesh, circling the pit, and then the fast footsteps as it approached and leaped into the pit. But instead of leaping upon the princess, it met the unsheathed sword of the prince. There in the darkness a fierce battle ensued, until finally the princess could hear the death throes as the last bit of life was leaving, and then just the dripping of blood.
As it became daylight, the men from the city came to take the remains of the princess and bury them. To their astonishment, they found that the princess was in good shape, still tied in the center of the pit. But over in the corner, and almost drowned in his own blood, was their beloved prince, and next to him a tiger that had been killed.
They lifted him out of the pit and carried him back to town and called the best physicians in the kingdom. For three days he hovered between life and death. Every hour a bulletin went out throughout the kingdom telling of the condition of the prince as he fought the battle for life. Finally, on the third day the news went out that the prince has passed the crisis and would live. All within the kingdom rejoiced.
In the meantime, the princess had again been incarcerated because the court’s judgment had not been executed. Again, she was brought to trial and now the verdict was to be given. All the people of the kingdom gathered in the great arena to hear the verdict against the princess. As the crier stepped forth, he said, “Hear ye, hear ye, the decision of the supreme council.” Then turning to the princess he said, “Over on your right there is a door, and behind that door there stands your husband, the prince, the one that you betrayed. Over on your left is another door, behind which are several tigers. If by five o’clock this evening you do not go to the door on your right and enter that door declaring to all within the kingdom that from now on you will be a faithful and devoted wife, then the door on your left will be opened and the death which he almost died to save you from will come upon you, and this time without any hope of escape. And the story ended, which door?
But as you see the story, you realize that we are the guilty princess, and that we rebelled against the Lord, who loved us so much that He came to prove His love by dying in our place. Now there are two doors, two things that can be done for your sins. Totally forgiven by your commitment of your life to Jesus Christ, or if you fail, then the death from which He died to save you will come and there will be no hope of any escape. “For how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” So really, you have to put the ending on the story yourself. Which door? You are the one that puts the ending on the story.
“It’s a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living God.”
But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions ( Heb 10:32 );
Remember what you went through in the beginning of your faith.
Partly, while you were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, while you became companions of them that were so used ( Heb 10:33 ).
“Your identification with Christianity really cost you a lot,” and it did. It cost many of them their families. They were completely ostracized. Actually, the families would hold funerals for them. They were dead. They would not even recognize them on the street as existing. “Remember the things that you endured because of your faith in Jesus Christ.”
For you had compassion of me and in my bonds, and you took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance ( Heb 10:34 ).
A lot of them had their possessions taken away, but they didn’t care. They knew they had possessions that no man could take away, the enduring substance in heaven.
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompence of reward. For you have need of patience, and after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry ( Heb 10:35-37 ).
So again, as so often in the New Testament, the exhortation of patience as we wait for the coming of Jesus Christ. James has said, “Have patience brethren; establish your souls for the Lord is waiting for the complete fruit of harvest” ( Jas 5:7 ). Have patience; He has a few more yet to save. Give them a chance too. Establish yourselves, for the Lord is waiting for the full fruit of harvest. Peter said, “God is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. He is faithful to us-ward, he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” ( 2Pe 3:9 ).
So the reason why God is waiting and delaying the coming of Jesus Christ is to give opportunity for others to come on into the kingdom. But He that shall come will come and will not tarry. The day of the Lord will come. The Lord has waited, but the days of waiting are almost over. But have patience brethren, that after you’ve done the will of God you might receive the promise. The Lord is going to come again.
Now the just shall live by faith: and if any man draw back, [God said] my soul shall have no pleasure in them. But we are not of those who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul ( Heb 10:38-39 ).
The writer here declares his confidence in them. We are not those that draw back. We are those that believe to the salvation of our souls.
Now the just shall live by faith, and as we go into chapter 11, we’re going to get the hallmark of faith, the hall of fame for those who believe. And that is the hall of fame that I want to appear in. You can have Cooper’s Town and everything else. I want to be listed in that hall of fame, those who believe in the promises God. And we’ll get an interesting listing of these men of faith as we move on into chapter 11, the glorious chapter on faith.
And now may the Lord be with you, watch over and keep you in His love as you walk in faith in Him. May you be blessed of the Lord and strengthened in every good work for the glory of Jesus Christ. God bless you. In Jesus’ name. “
Heb 10:1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
A man could go to the Levitical sacrifices twenty years running, and yet be no forwarder. He must go again and again as long as he lived. They were only figures and shadows and types; the real sacrifice is Christ.
Heb 10:2. For then-
If they had been effectual,
Heb 10:2. Would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Once forgiven, the sin would not have come back again. If the sacrifice had really cleansed the conscience of the offerer, he would not have had cause to present it again.
Heb 10:3-5. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh- he who is the essence of it all, When he cometh,
Heb 10:5-7. Into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Types were no longer needed when the great Antitype had come. Christ was no longer pre-figured, for he was there in person. He put away the old shadows of the blood of bulls and goats when he brought his own real sacrifice, the true atonement for sin.
Heb 10:8-9. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
The old law is gone, the first sacrifice is no longer presented, for the second is come, the real offering of Christ the Lamb of God.
Heb 10:10. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Once, and only once. How Paul loves to recall this fact!
Heb 10:11-12. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man,
Note these glorious words, This Man,-
Heb 10:12-13. After he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
He would not have sat down if his work had not been done. He would not have ceased from his priestly service of presenting sacrifice if his one offering had not been sufficient. This Mans offering once, once, once, has done all that God demanded, and all that man required.
Heb 10:14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
This glorious message is for you, beloved, if you believe in Christ. By his one sacrifice he has done all that you need; he has perfected you for ever.
Heb 10:15-17. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I wilt make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Treasure up these golden words: Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:18. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
The offering for sin is in order that sin may be put away; and if it be put away, so that God himself will remember it no more, what more is wanted? What more could be desired? Wherefore, let us rest in the one great finished work of Christ, and be perfectly happy. Sin is gone, wrath is over, for those for whom Christ died; they are perfected for ever through his one great sacrifice.
This exposition consisted of readings from Heb 9:24-28; and Heb 10:1-18.
Heb 10:1. , shadow) The antithesis is , image.- , the very image) the archetype, the original and solid image, ch. Heb 9:24, note. The shadow,[56] although it was the prelude of future events, did not however precede, as in a picture, but followed a little after. See by all means ch. Heb 8:5.- , yearly) This refers to the whole sentence to the end of the verse.- , with the same) the same, not in the number, but in the kind of sacrifices.- , which they offer continually) offer, viz. those who offer, who draw near and perform the service. They offer for ever; that is, they do not cease to offer, nor will they cease, unless they be compelled.- , never can) So. Heb 10:11.
[56] Used here of the first outline or sketch drawn, preparatory to a painting.-ED.
Heb 10:1-4
THE UTTER MORAL INEFFICACY OF
THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS
Heb 10:1-4
Heb 10:1 —For the law having a shadow, etc.-In this and the next following paragraph, we have, as Alford justly observes, the leading thoughts of the whole section brought together in one grand finale, just as in the finale of a piece of music, all the hitherto scattered elements are united in one effective whole. But it is not a mere summary of the thoughts and arguments of the section, that is here presented. New thoughts are introduced, and others are set forth in a fuller and more attractive light. In the last paragraph, for instance, it is fairly implied though not categorically expressed, that the blood of Christ and that alone cleanses from all sin. This thought the Apostle now proceeds to amplify and illustrate still further, by showing in the first place the utter insufficiency of the Levitical sacrifices. That they had no power to take away sin, he argues from the nature of the sacrifices themselves and the character of the services that were rendered under the Old Covenant. For the Law, he says, having a mere shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with the same sacrifices which they offer year by year continually, perfect those who draw near [to God, by means of them]. The word shadow (skia) is used here metaphorically to denote that the Law, as a religious institution, was but a faint outline, a mere symbolical adumbration of the good things of the Kingdom of Christ. And the word image (eikoi) means the true bodily shape which belongs to the things themselves; the essential form of the good things, in contrast with the shadowy representation of them as given in the Law. In the Gospel, we have both the image (eikon) and the essence (hupostasis) : but in the Law we have nothing more than a mere unsubstantial shadow of them. And hence the Law had no power to take away sin; nor could it make any one perfect, except in a mere civil and symbolical sense.
Heb 10:2 —For then would they not have ceased to be offered?-If these bloody sacrifices had been really efficacious in taking away the sins of the people, there would of course have been no need of repeating them with reference to the same sins; because, as our author says, the worshipers having been thoroughly cleansed once for all, would have no more consciousness of sins so forgiven. A debt that has been once fairly and fully cancelled, is not to be paid a second time. If a disease has been once thoroughly eradicated from the system, there is no further need of medicine. And just so, if a sin is once effectually blotted out, it is remembered no more.
Heb 10:3 —But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.-For special sins, the Law required special offerings. If any soul sin through ignorance, said God to Moses, then he shall bring a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. And the Priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. (Num 15:27-28.) See also Lev 4:3 Lev 4:14 Lev 4:23 Lev 4:28. Besides these special offerings, others were offered daily (Exo 29:38-46) ; weekly (Num 28:9-10) ; monthly (Num 28:11-15) ; and yearly at each of the three great festivals (Leviticus 23). But nevertheless on the tenth day of the seventh month, all the sins of the past year were again called into remembrance; and an atonement was made, first for the sins of the Priests (Lev 16:11-14), and then for the sins of the people (Lev 16:15). Nor did even these sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement, suffice to cover the sins of the worshipers, as any one may see from the following ordinance relating to the scape goat. And when he [Aaron] hath made an end of reconciling the Holy Place and the Tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited ; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. (Lev. 16: 2022.) Thus it appears that what all the sacrifices of the year could not accomplish, was symbolically effected by the goat, on whose innocent head were laid the sins of the nation for the whole of the preceding year, to be borne away by it into a land of separation: the Holy Spirit this signifying, that in due time Christ would, in like manner, bear away on his own person all our sins into a state of everlasting oblivion.
Heb 10:4 —For it is not possible, etc.-Why not? Who can fully and satisfactorily answer this question? The fact is clearly and categorically stated by the Spirit that searches all things, yea even the deep things of God. And some of the reasons are plain and obvious enough. It may be alleged, for instance, that every sinner is under condemnation; and that something is necessary in order to his redemption. And, furthermore, it may be shown that the sinner has really nothing to offer as a ransom for his soul: for, says God, every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. (Psa 50:10.) All this, and much more, may be truthfully urged in support of the Apostles declaration. But until we can estimate aright the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the just claims of the Divine Government on the sinner, I am inclined to think that all our speculations on this matter must fall short of a true and full solution of the question. It becomes us, therefore, to receive humbly and implicitly, as a matter of faith, what reaches far beyond the narrow limits of our speculative philosophy. That these sacrifices were of Divine appointment, is, of course, conceded by all who believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God; and that they served to secure for the Israelites symbolical forgiveness, and, as a consequence of this, continued membership in the symbolical Church of the Old Covenant, is also equally obvious. But beyond this, they only served to direct the minds and hearts of the people to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
Commentary on Heb 10:1-4 by Donald E. Boatman
Heb 10:1–For the law having a shadow of the good things to come
Law shadowed the gospel. Aaron shadowed the Christ. Levitical sacrifices shadowed the Lamb of God. Purification in the Old Testament pictured complete redemption in Christ. Earthly Canaan pictured the heavenly rest. The tabernacle pictured the church.
Heb 10:1–not the very image of the things
It was a simple representation. The gospel is the image or thing itself. An artist first draws a shadowy picture, then fills in with color. So, the law is a foreshadow of the gospel age.
Heb 10:1–can never with the same sacrifices year by year
There were yearly sacrifices, Leviticus 23, and these were performed in the same manner by priests who were subject to death and had to be succeeded. The blood of Christ had been shed, which the old sacrifices pictured, but the Jews did not see that they were done away.
Heb 10:1–which they offer continually make perfect them that draw nigh
No perfection existed in the old, yet the Jews accept these sacrifices in place of the perfect sacrifice. The Jews must quit drawing nigh unto the old, and must approach the new.
a. Heb 10:22 tells how to draw nigh.
b. Jas 4:8 holds a promise to those who draw nigh.
c. Heb 10:38-39 shows danger in not drawing nigh.
Heb 10:2–else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed would have had no more consciousness of sins
Repetition would not have been necessary if results were obtained, A debt cancelled does not need a repeated payment, Sacrifices made them conscious of sin, not free from it.
A person needs cleansing in order to escape a consciousness of sin.
a. It can be done. Act 22:16.
b. Rom 6:1-6 pictures death to old sins and the sinner.
Heb 10:3–but in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year
Note the word is remembrance-not remission.
a. There were special offerings: Num 15:27-28; Lev 4:3; Lev 4:14; Lev 4:23; Lev 4:28.
b. There were daily ones: Exo 29:38-46.
c. Weekly ones: Num 28:9-10.
d. Monthly: Num 28:11-15.
e. Yearly at three great festivals.
With the Christian there is forgiveness immediately upon repentance because of the one great sacrifice.
Heb 10:4–for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Let this verse answer the question, Were the sacrifices able to cleanse from sin?
a. They were to make atonement, yes, but only as performed by faith, at last to be made final in the blood offering of Jesus.
b. See Rom 4:25 : -delivered up for our trespasses- This shows that Christs sacrifice is the one great sacrifice. Let the Jew turn from the impossible sacrifices to the possible sacrifice.
Study Questions
1700. What is the law likened to? Would your explanation please a Seventh Day Adventist?
1701. Was shadow a general word or a specific one?
1702. What is meant by shadow?
1703. It was to foreshadow good things. What were the good things?
1704. What did the law shadow?
1705. What did Aaron foreshadow?
1706. What did purification precede?
1707. What did the earthly Canaan represent?
1708. What did the tabernacle picture?
1709. How can you best define or explain shadow?
1710. Is it the same idea as image in the next phrase?
1711. Do you think that a good illustration of shadow would be the artists first sketch before the actual oil painting?
1712. What does verse one say about the futility of the old law?
1713. Why did God have them do it, if year after year it could not remove sin?
1714. What is meant by which they offer continually?
1715. Who is referred to as drawing nigh?
1716. What did they draw nigh to?
1717. How can we draw nigh to the good things? Cf. Heb 10:22; Jas 4:8; Heb 10:38.
1718. Is this first phrase an affirmation or a question?
1719. What is the implied answer?
1720. Would repetition have been necessary if they could have achieved perfection?
1721. Did their sacrifices free their conscience?
1722. Does the Lords Supper also disturb our conscience?
1723. How do the Lords Supper and the Jewish sacrifice compare in this respect?
1724. How does baptism into Christ compare with Jewish sacrifices in regard to conscience? See Act 22:16; Rom 6:1-6.
1725. This verse uses the expression once cleansed. If they were cleansed by one sacrifice, why did their conscience trouble them?
1726. Is it answered in Heb 10:3?
1727. Is the word remembrance synonymous with remission?
1728. Does year by year refer to the three great yearly sacrifices?
1729. How often did they have sacrifices?
1730. What were the daily sacrifices for? See Exo 29:38-46.
1731. Were there sacrifices of a less frequent nature? See Num 28:9-10.
1732. Were there sacrifices less frequent than weekly ones? See monthly-Num 28:11-15.
1733. What advantage does the Christian have?
1734. If we have to observe communion each week for forgiveness, is our condition the same?
1735. What sins do we remember at communion time?
, , , .
There is no difficulty in the reading, nor much difference about the translation of the words. Syr., for the law, a shadow was in it; , not the substance itself.
, , that shall offer them. that translator omits, supposing it the same with . But it hath its own signification: Continenter, in assiduum, in perpetuum. , habens, obtinens, continens. , ipsam expressam formam, ipsam imaginem. , sanctificare, perfecte sanctificare, perfectos facere, Vulg. Lat.; make perfect; perficere, confirmare; to perfect, to confirm.
Heb 10:1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offer year by year continually, make the comers thereunto [the worshippers] perfect.
There are in these words,
1. A note of inference, giving a connection unto the preceding discourse; for.
2. The subject spoken of; the law.
3. An ascription made unto it; it had a shadow of good things to come.
4. A negation concerning it, derogatory unto its perfection; it had not the very image of the things themselves.
5. An inference or conclusion from both; can never with those sacrifices, etc.
First, The conjunctive particle , for, intimates that what follows or is introduced thereby is an inference from what he had before discoursed, or a conclusion made thereon. And this is the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ. For having declared that he had perfectly expiated sin thereby, and confirmed the new covenant, he concludes from thence and proves the necessity of it, because the legal sacrifices could not effect those ends which they seemed to be appointed for. Wherefore they must be taken away, to give place unto that whereby they were perfectly accomplished. This, therefore, he now proceeds to prove. God having designed the complete consummation or sanctification of the church, that which only made a representation of it, and of the way whereby it was to be done, but could not effect it, was to be removed. For there was an appointed time wherein he would perfectly fulfill the counsel of his infinite wisdom and grace towards the church herein. And at this time, which was now come, a full, clear understanding of the insufficiency of all legal sacrifices for that end was to be given unto it. For he requires not faith and obedience in any, beyond the means of light and understanding which he affords unto them. Therefore the full revelation and demonstration hereof were reserved for this season, wherein he required express faith in the way whereby these things were effected.
Secondly, The subject spoken of is , the law, . That which he immediately intends is the sacrifices of the law, especially those which were offered yearly by a perpetual statute, as the words immediately following do declare. But he refers what he speaks unto the law itself, as that whereby those sacrifices were instituted, and whereon all their virtue and efficacy did depend. They had no more of the one or other but what they had by and from the law. And the law here, is the covenant which God made with the people at Sinai, with all the institutions of worship thereunto belonging. It is not the moral law, which originally, and as absolutely considered, had no expiatory sacrifices belonging unto it; nor is it the ceremonial law alone, whereby all the sacrifices of old were either appointed or regulated: but it is the first testament, the first covenant, as it had all the ordinances of worship annexed unto it, as it was the spring and cause of all the privileges and advantages of the church of Israel; and whereunto the moral law as given on mount Sinai, and both the ceremonial law and the judicial also did belong. This he calls the law, Heb 7:19; and the covenant or testament completely, Hebrews 9.
Thirdly, Concerning this law or covenant the apostle declares two things:
1. Positively, and by way of concession, it had a shadow of good things to come; 2. Negatively, that it had not the very image of the things themselves: which we must consider together, because they contribute light unto one another.
These expressions are metaphorical, and have therefore given occasion unto various conjectures about the nature of the allusions in them, and their application unto the present subject-matter. I shall not trouble the reader with a repetition of them; they may be found in most commentators. I shall therefore only fix on that sense of the words which I conceive to be the mind of the Holy Ghost, giving the reasons why I conceive it so to be.
Both the expressions used and the things intended in them, a shadow, and the very image, have respect unto the good things to come. The relation of the law unto them is that which is declared. Wherefore the true notion of what these good things to come are, will determine what it is to have a shadow of them, and not the very image of the things themselves.
First, The good things intended may be said to be , either with respect unto the law or with respect unto the gospel; and were so either when the law was given or when this epistle was written. If they were yet to come with respect unto the gospel, and were so when he wrote this epistle, they can be nothing but the good things of heaven and eternal glory. These things were then, are still, and will always be, unto the church militant on the earth, good things to come; and are the subject of divine promises concerning future times: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began, Tit 1:2. But this cannot be the sense of the words. For,
1. The gospel itself hath not the very image of these things, and so should not herein differ from the law. For that the very image of these things is the things themselves shall be immediately declared.
2. The apostle in this whole discourse designs to prove that the law, with all the rites of worship annexed unto it, was a type of the good things that were really and actually exhibited in and by the gospel, or by the Lord Christ himself in the discharge of his office. Wherefore they are called good things to come with respect unto the time of the administration of the law. They were so whilst the law or first covenant was in force, and whilst the institutions of it were continued. They had, indeed, their original in the church, or were good things to come, from the first promise. They were more declared so to be, and the certainty of their coming more confirmed, by the promise made unto Abraham. After these promises, and their various confirmations, the law was given unto the people. Howbeit the law did not bring in, exhibit, or make present, the good things so promised, that they should no more yet be to come. They were still good things to come whilst the law was in force. Nor was this absolutely denied by the Jews; nor is yet so to this day. For though they place more in the law and covenant of Sinai than God ever placed in them, yet they acknowledge that there are good ,things to come promised and fore- signified in the law, which, as they suppose, are not yet enjoyed. Such is the coming of the Messiah; in which sense they must grant that the law had a shadow of good things to come.
Hence it is evident what are those good things to come; namely, Christ himself, with all the grace, and mercy, and privileges, which the church receiveth by his actual exhibition and coming in the flesh, upon the discharge of his office. For he himself firstly, principally, and evidently, was the subject of all promises; and whatever else is contained in them is but that whereof, in his person, office, and grace, he is the author and cause. Hence he was signally termed , he who was to come, he that should come: Art thou he who is to come? And after his actual exhibition, the denying of him to be so come is to overthrow the gospel, 1Jn 4:3.
And these things are called , these good things,
1. Because they are absolutely so, without any alloy or mixture. All other things in this world, however in some respect, and as unto some peculiar end, they may be said to be good, yet are they not so absolutely. Wherefore,
2. These things only are good things: nothing is good, either in itself or unto us, without them, nor but by virtue of what it receives from them. There is nothing so but what is made so by Christ and his grace.
3. They are eminently good things; those good things which were promised unto the church from the foundation of the world, which the prophets and wise men of old desired to see; the means of our deliverance from all the evil things which we had brought upon ourselves by our apostasy from God. These being evidently the good things intended, the relation of the law unto them, namely, that it had the shadow, but not the very image of them, will also be apparent, The allusion, in my judgment, unto the art of painting, wherein a shadow is first drawn, and afterwards a picture to the life, or the very image itself, hath here no place, nor doth our apostle anywhere make use of such curious similitudes taken from things artificial, and known to very few; nor would he use this among the Hebrews, who of all people were least acquainted with the art of painting. But he declares his intention in another place, where, speaking of the same things, and using some of the same words, their sense is plain and determined: Col 2:17, They are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. They are a shadow of things to come, is the same with this, The law hath a shadow of good things to come; for it is the law with its ordinances and institutions of worship concerning which the apostle there discourseth, as he doth in this place. Now the shadow there intended by the apostle, from whence the allusion is taken, is the shadow of a body in the light or sunshine, as the antithesis declares, But the body is of Christ. Now such a shadow is,
1. A representation of the body. Any one who beholds it, knows that it is a thing which hath no subsistence in itself, which hath no use of its own; only it represents the body, follows it in all its variations, and is inseparable from it.
2. It is a just representation of the body, as unto its proportion and dimensions. The shadow of any body represents that certain individual body, and nothing else: it will add nothing unto it, nor take anything from it, but, without an accidental hinderance, is a just representation of it; much less will it give an appearance of a body of another form and shape, different from that whereof it is the shadow.
3. It is but an obscure representation of the body; so as that the principal concernments of it, especially the vigor and spirit of a living body, are not figured nor represented by it.
Thus is it with the law, or the covenant of Sinai, and all the ordinances of worship wherewith it was attended, with respect unto these good things to come. For it must be observed, that the opposition which the apostle makes in this place is not between the law and the gospel, any otherwise but as the gospel is a full declaration of the person, offices, and grace of Christ; but it is between the sacrifices of the law and the sacrifice of Christ himself. Want of this observation hath given us mistaken interpretations of the place.
This shadow of good things the law had: , having it. It obtained it, it was in it, it was inlaid in it, it was of the substance and nature of it; it contained it in all that it prescribed or appointed, some of it in one part, some in another, the whole in the whole. It had the whole shadow, and the whole of it was this shadow. It was so,
1. Because, in the sanction, dedication, and confirmation of it, by the blood of sacrifices; in the tabernacle, with all its holy utensils; in its high priest, and all other sacred administrations; in its solemn sacrifices and services; it made a representation of good things to come. This hath been abundantly manifested and proved in the exposition of the foregoing chapter. And according unto the first property of such a shadow, without this use it had no bottom, no foundation, no excellency of its own. Take the significancy and representation of Christ, his offices and grace, out of the legal institutions, and you take from them all impressions of divine wisdom, and leave them useless things, which of themselves will vanish and disappear. And because they are no more now a shadow, they are absolutely dead and useless.
2. They were a just representation of Christ only, the second property of such a shadow. They did not signify any thing more or less but Christ himself, and what belongs unto him. He was the idea in the mind of God, when Moses was charged to make all things according to the pattern showed him in the mount. And it is a blessed view of divine wisdom, when we do see and understand aright how every thing in the law belonged unto that shadow which God gave in it of the substance of his counsel in and concerning Jesus Christ.
3. They were but an obscure representation of these things, which is the third property of a shadow. The glory and efficacy of these good things appeared not visible in them. God by these means designed no further revelation of them unto the church of the old testament but what was in types and figures; which gave a shadow of them, and no more.
Secondly, This being granted unto the law, there is added thereunto what is denied of it, wherein the argument of the apostle doth consist. It had not the very image of the things. The are the same with the before mentioned. The negation is of the same whereof the concession was made, the grant being in one sense, and the denial in another. It had not , the very image itself; that is, it had not the things themselves; for that is intended by this image of them. And the reasons why I so interpret the words are these:
1. Take the image only for a clear, express delineation and description of the things themselves, as is generally conceived, and we invalidate the argument of the apostle. For he proves that the law by all its sacrifices could not take away sin, nor perfect the church, because it had not this image. But suppose the law to have had this full and clear description and delineation of them, were it never so lively and complete, yet could it not by its sacrifices take away sin. Nothing could do it but the very substance of the things themselves, which the law had not, nor could have.
2. Where the same truth is declared, the same things are expressly called the body, and that of Christ; that is, the substance of the things themselves, and that in opposition unto the shadow which the law had of them, as it is here also: Col 2:17, Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. And we are not without cogent reasons to depart from the explication of the metaphor there given us; for these expressions are every way the same. They had not the body, which is Christ.
3. That is intended which doth completely expiate sin, which doth consummate and perfect the church; which is denied unto the law. Now this was not done by an express and clear declaration of these things, which we acknowledge to be contained in the gospel; but it was done by the things themselves, as the apostle hath proved in the foregoing chapter, and doth further confirm in this; that is, it was done by Christ alone, in the sacrifice of himself.
4. It is confessed by all that there is an , a substantial image; so called, not because it is a representation of what it is not, but because it is that whereof somewhat else is an image and representation, as the law in its institutions and sacrifices was of these good things. And this the apostle directs us unto by his emphatical expression, , ipsissimam rerum imaginem; the things themselves. So it is rendered by the Syriac translation, ipsam rem, or ipsam substantiam; the substance itself. And is frequently used in the New Testament in this sense: Rom 1:23, , Into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man; that is, into the likeness of a corruptible man. The image of the man is not something distinct from him, something to represent him, but the man himself. See Rom 8:29; 2Co 4:4; Col 1:15; Col 3:10.
This, therefore, is that which the apostle denies concerning the law: It had not the actual accomplishment of the promise of good things; it had not Christ exhibited in the flesh; it had not the true, real sacrifice of perfect expiation: it represented these things, it had a shadow of them, but enjoyed not, exhibited not the things themselves. Hence was its imperfection and weakness, so that by none of its sacrifices it could make the church perfect.
Obs. 1. Whatever there may be in any religious institutions, and the diligent observation of them, if they come short of exhibiting Christ himself unto believers, with the benefits of his mediation, they cannot make us perfect, nor give us acceptation with God. For,
1. It was he himself in his own person that was the principal subject of all the promises of old. Hence they who lived not to enjoy his exhibition in the flesh are said to die in faith, but not to receive the promise,
Heb 11:39. But it is through the promise that all good things are communicated unto us.
2. Nothing is good or useful unto the church but through its relation unto him. So was it with the duties of religious worship under the old testament. All their use and worth lay in this, that they were shadows of him and his mediation. And that of those in the new testament is, that they are more effcacious means of his exhibition and communication unto us.
3. He alone could perfectly expiate sin and consummate the state of the church by the sacrifice of himself.
Fourthly, This being the state of the law, or first covenant, the apostle makes an application of it unto the question under debate in the last words of the verse: Can never with those sacrifices, which they offer year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. We must first speak unto the reading of the words, and then unto the sense and meaning.
Expositors generally take notice that in the original there is a trajection in the words, or that they are placed out of their proper order; which translators do rectify: , Every year (or yearly) with the sacrifices which they offer; for , With those sacrifices which they offer year by year, as we have rendered the words. But the apostle seems to place in the entrance of the words to signalize the annual sacrifice, which he principally intended. But there is a great difficulty in the distinction and pointing of the words that follow: , in perpetuum, continually, or for ever; that is, say some, which they were so to do indispensably by the law whilst the tabernacle or temple was standing, or those ordinances of worship were in force.
But neither the signification of the word nor the use of it in this epistle will allow it in this place to belong unto the words and sentence going before; for it doth not anywhere signify a duration or continuance with a limitation. And the apostle is far from allowing an absolutely perpetual duration-unto the law and its sacrifices, were they of what use soever, especially in this place, where he is proving that they were not perpetual, nor had an efficacy to accomplish any thing perfectly; which is the other signification of the word. And it is used only in this epistle, Heb 7:3, in this place, and verses 12, 14, of this chapter. But in all these places it is applied only unto the office of Christ, and the efficacy of it in his personal ministry. It is of the same signification with , Heb 7:25, for ever, to the uttermost, perfectly. Wherefore that which is affirmed of Christ and his sacrifice, verses 12, 14, of the chapter, is here denied of the law. And the words should be joined with those that follow: The law by its sacrifices could not perfect for ever (or unto the utmost) the comers thereunto.
In the words thus read there are three things:
1. The impotency of the law; , It can never.
2. That with respect whereunto this impotency is charged on it; that is, the sacrifices which it offered.
3. The effect itself denied with respect unto that impotency; which is, to perfect for ever the comers thereunto.
1. The impotency of the law as unto the end mentioned is emphatically expressed, , It can never do it: it can do it by no means, no way; it is impossible it should.And it is thus expressed to obviate all thoughts in the minds of the Hebrews of all expectations of perfection by the law. For thus they were apt to think and hope, that, by one way and means or another, they might have acceptance with God by the law. Wherefore it was necessary thus to speak unto them who had an inveterate persuasion unto the contrary.
2. That with respect whereunto this impotency is ascribed unto the law is its sacrifices For from them was the perfect expiation of sin to be expected, or from nothing prescribed by the law. To deny this power unto them, is to deny it absolutely unto the whole law, and all its institutions. And these sacrifices are expressed with respect unto their nature, the time of their offering, and those by whom they were offered.
(1.) For their nature, he says, : Iisdem sacrificiis; iis ipsis hostiis or sacrificiis. Our translation rendereth not the emphasis of the expression. lis hostiis quas quotannis, with the same sacrifices, or those sacrifices which were of the same kind and nature. is omitted in our translation. , is with those sacrifices; the article being demonstrative. The same; not individually the same, for they were many, and offered often, or every year, when a sacrifice was offered again materially the same; but they were of the same kind. They could not by the law offer a sacrifice of one kind one year, and a sacrifice of another the next; but the same sacrifices in their substance and essence, in their matter and manner, were annually repeated, without variation or alteration. And this the apostle urgeth, to show that there was no more in any one of them than in another; and what one could not do, could not be done by its repetition, for it was still the same. Great things were effected by these sacrifices: by them was the first covenant consecrated and confirmed; by them was atonement and expiation of sin made, that is, typically and declaratively; by them were the priests themselves dedicated unto God; by them were the people made holy. Wherefore this impotency being ascribed unto them, it absolutely concludes unto the whole law, with all other privileges and duties of it.
(2.) He describes them from the time and season of their offering. It was , yearly, every year, year by year. It is hence manifest what sacrifices he principally intends, namely, the anniversary sacrifices of expiation, when the high priest entered into the most holy place with blood, Leviticus 16. And he instanceth therein, not to exclude other sacrifices from the same censure, but as giving an instance for them all in that which was most solemn, had the most eminent effects, at once respecting the whole church, and that which the Jews principally trusted unto. Had he mentioned sacrifices in general, it might have been replied, that although the sacrifices which were daily offered, or those on especial occasions, might not perfect the worshippers, at least not the whole congregation, yet the church itself might be perfected by that great sacrifice which was offered yearly, with the blood whereof the high priest entered into the presence of God. Accordingly, the Jews have such a saying among them, That on the day of expiation all Israel was made as righteous as in the day wherein man was first created. But the apostle, applying his argument unto those sacrifices, and proving their insufficiency unto the end mentioned, leaves no reserve unto any thoughts that it might be attained by other sacrifices which were of another nature and efficacy. And besides, to give the greater cogency unto his argument, he fixeth on those sacrifices which had the least of what he proves their imperfection by. For these sacrifices were repeated only once a-year. And if this repetition of them once a-year proves them weak and imperfect, how much more were those so which were repeated every day, or week, or month!
(3.) He refers unto the offerers of those sacrifices: Which they offer, that is, the high priests, of whom he had treated in the foregoing chapter.
And he speaks of things in the present tense. The law cannot, and which they offer: not The law could not, and which they offered. The reason hereof hath been before declared. For he sets before the Hebrews a scheme and representation of all their worship at its first institution, that they might discern the original intention of God therein. And therefore he insists only on the tabernacle, making no mention of the temple. So he states what was done at the first giving of the law, and the institution of all its ordinances of worship, as if it were now present before their eyes. And if it had not the power mentioned at their first institution, when the law was in all its vigor and glory, no accession could be made unto it by any continuance of time, any otherwise but in the false imagination of the people.
3. That which remains of the words is an account of what the law could not do or effect by its sacrifices: It could not make the comers thereunto perfect for ever.
There are in the words,
(1.) The effect denied.
(2.) The persons with respect unto whom it is denied.
(3.) The limitation of that denial.
(1.) The effect denied; what it cannot do, is , dedicate, consummate, consecrate, perfect, sanctify. Of the meaning of the word in this epistle I have spoken often before. As also, I have showed at large what that is which God designed unto the church in this world, wherein it did consist, and how the law could not effect it. See the exposition on Heb 7:11. Here it is the same with , Heb 9:9, perfect as pertaining unto the conscience; which is ascribed unto the sacrifice of Christ, verse 14. Wherefore the word principally in this place respects the expiation of sin, or the taking away the guilt of it by atonement; and so the apostle expounds it in the following verses, as shall be declared.
(2.) Those with respect unto whom this power is denied unto the law are ; say we, the comers thereunto; accedentes. The expression is every way the same with that of Heb 9:9, . and , the worshippers and the comers, are the same, as is declared Heb 9:2-3; those who make use of the sacrifices of the law in the worship of God, who approach unto him by sacrifices. And they are thus expressed by Lord comers, partly from the original direction given about the observation, and partly from the nature of the service itself. The first we have, Lev 1:2, .
The word signifies to draw nigh, to come near with an oblation:These are the comers, those who draw nigh with, and bring their oblations unto the altar. And such was the nature of the service itself.. It consisted in coming with their sacrifice unto the altar, with the priests approaching unto the sacrifice; in all which an access was made unto God. Howbeit the word here is of a larger signification, nor is it to be limited unto them who brought their own sacrifices, but extends unto all that came to attend unto the solemnity of them; whereby, according to Gods appointment, they had a participation in the benefit of them. For respect is had unto the anniversary sacrifice, which was not brought by any, but was provided for all. But as the priests were included in the foregoing words, which they offer; so by these comers, the people are intended, for whose benefit these sacrifices were offered. For, as was said, respect is had unto the great anniversary sacrifice, which was offered in the name and on the behalf of the whole congregation. And those, if any, might be made perfect by the sacrifices of the law, namely, those that came unto God by them, or through the use of them, according unto his institution.
(3.) That wherein the law failed, as unto the appearance it made of the expiation of sin, was that it could not effect it , absolutely, completely, and for ever. It made an expiation, but it was temporary only, not for ever. It did so both in respect unto the consciences of the worshippers and the outward effects of its sacrifices. Their effect on the consciences of the worshippers was temporary; for a sense of sin returned on them, which forced them unto a repetition of the same sacrifices again, as the apostle declares in the next verse. And as unto the outward effects of them, they consisted in the removal of temporal punishments and judgments, which God had threatened unto the transgressors of the old covenant. This they could reach unto, but no farther. To expiate sin fully, and that with respect unto eternal punishment, so as to take away the guilt of sin from the consciences, and all punishments from the persons of men, which is to perfect them for ever, which was done by the sacrifice of Christ, this they could not do, but only represent what was to be done afterwards.
If any shall think meet to retain the ordinary distinction of the words, and refer to what goes before, so taking the word adverbially, they offer them year by year continually, then the necessity of the annual repetition of those sacrifices is intended in it. This they did, and this they were to do always whilst the tabernacle was standing, or the worship of the law continued. And from the whole verse sundry things may be observed.
Obs. 2. Whatever hath the least representation of Christ, or relation unto him, the obscurest way of teaching the things concerning his person and grace, whilst it is in force, hath a glory in it. He alone in himself originally bears the whole glory of God in the worship and salvation of the church; and he gives glory unto all institutions of divine worship. The law had but a shadow of him and his office, yet was the ministration of it glorious. And much more is that of the gospel and its ordinances so, if we have faith to discern their relation unto him, and experience of his exhibition of himself and the benefits of his mediation unto us by them. Without this they have no glory, whatever order or pomp may be applied unto their outward administration.
Obs. 3. Christ and his grace were the only good things, that were absolutely so, from the foundation of the world, or the giving of the first promise. In and by them there is not only a deliverance from the curse, which made all things evil; and a restoration of all the good that was lost by sin, in a sanctified, blessed use of the creatures; but an increase and addition is made unto all that was good in the state of innocency, above what can be expressed. Those who put such a-valuation on the meaner, uncertain enjoyment of other things, as to judge them their good things, their goods, as they are commonly called, so as not to see that all which is absolutely good is to be found in him alone; much more they who seem to judge almost all things good besides, and Christ with his grace good for nothing; will be filled with the fruit of their own ways, when it is too late to change their minds.
Obs. 4. There is a great difference between the shadow of good things to come, and the good things themselves actually exhibited and granted unto the church. This is the fundamental difference between the two testaments, the law and the gospel, from whence all others do arise, and whereinto they are resolved. Some, when they hear that there was justification, sanctification, and eternal life, to be obtained under the old covenant and its administrations, by virtue of the promise which they all had respect unto, are ready to think that there was no material difference between the two covenants. I have spoken at large hereunto in the eighth chapter. I shall now only say, that he who sees not, who finds not a glory, excellency, and satisfaction, producing peace, rest, and joy in his soul, from the actual exhibition of these good things, as declared and tendered in the gospel, above what might be obtained from an obscure representation of them as future, is a stranger unto gospel light and grace.
Obs. 5. The principal interest and design of them that come to God, is to have assured evidence of the perfect expiation of sin. This of old they came unto God by the sacrifices of the law for; which could only represent the way whereby it was to be done. Until assurance be given hereof, no sinner can have the least encouragement to approach unto God. For no guilty person can stand before him. Where this foundation is not laid in the soul and conscience, all attempts of access unto God are presumptuous. This, therefore, is that which the gospel in the first place proposeth unto the faith of them that do receive it.
Obs. 6. What cannot be effected for the expiation of sin at once by any duty or sacrifice, cannot be effected by its reiteration or repetition. Those generally who seek for atonement and acceptation with God by their own duties, do quickly find that no one of them will effect their desire. Wherefore they place all their confidence in the repetition and multiplication of them; what is not done at one time, they hope may be done at another; what one will not do, many shall. But after all, they find themselves mistaken. For,
Obs. 7. The repetition of the same sacrifices doth of itself demonstrate their insufficiency unto the end sought after. Wherefore those of the Roman church who would give countenance unto the sacrifice of the mass, by affirming that it is not another sacrifice, but the very same that Christ himself offered, do prove, if the argument of the apostle here insisted on be good and cogent, an insufficiency in the sacrifice of Christ for the expiation of sin; for so he affirms it is with all sacrifices that are to be repeated, whereof he esteems the repetition itself a sufficient demonstration.
Obs. 8. God alone limiteth the ends and efficacy of his own institutions. It may be said, that if these sacrifices did not make perfect them that came unto God by them, then their so coming unto him was lost labor, and to no purpose. But there were other ends and other uses of this their coming unto God, as we have declared; and unto them all they were effectual. There never was, there never shall be, any loss in what is done according unto the command of God. Other things, however we may esteem them, are but hay and stubble, which have no power or efficacy unto any spiritual ends.
The writer now deals with the subject of the better worship. In this connection he again quotes from the prophecy of Jeremiah in order to emphasize the prediction of the new covenant concerning the forgiveness of sins. Through this offering and sacrifice of Christ, the worshipers are brought into a relationship with God in which there is no more consciousness of sin, but, instead, a delight to do God’s will, and so is fulfilled the second part of Jeremiah’s prediction.,
The provision made in Christ lays a new responsibility on those who understand it. The veil has been rent, and a way has been made into the Holiest of all. Those who enter through this rent veil may do so boldly. That responsibility is described as threefold, “Let us draw near,” “Let us hold fast,” “Let us consider one another.”
A solemn warning dealing with the sin of possible apostasy follows. Those guilty of such sin have “trodden under foot the Son of God . . . counted the blood . . . an unholy thing . . . done despite unto the spirit of grace.” If this great way of salvation, this mightiest sacrifice of all is refused, no other sacrifice remains. The work of Jesus is God’s uttermost possible for the salvation of man. If this be rejected, by such rejection man deliberately chooses for himself the only possible alternative, which is the vengeance of God. Concerning that the writer says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
The warning ends with words full of hope. They had endured, taking joyfully the spoiling of their possessions, and are urged not to cast away their boldness. Faith was the abiding condition of the old economy, and so it is also of the new.
1 For as the Law has a mere shadow of the bliss that is to be, instead of representing the reality of that bliss, it never can perfect those who draw near with the same annual sacrifices that are perpetually offered. 2 Otherwise, they would have surely ceased to be offered; for the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer be conscious of sins! 3 As it is, they are an annual reminder of sins 4 (for the blood of bulls and goats cannot possibly remove sins!). 5 Hence, on entering the world he says,
Thou hast no desire for sacrifice or offering;
it is a body thou hast prepared for me-
6 in holocausts and sin-offerings ( as 13:11) thou takest no delight.
7 So () I said, Here I come-in the roll of the book this is written of me-
I come to do thy will, O God.
8 He begins by saying, Thou hast no desire for, thou takest no delight in, sacrifices and offerings and holocausts and sin-offerings (and those are what are offered in terms of the Law); 9 he then () adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body.
This is the authors final verdict on the levitical cultus, rapid in utterance, lofty in tone, rising from the didactic style of the theological doctor to the oracular speech of the Hebrew prophet, as in that peremptory sentence: It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. The notable thing in it is, not any new line of argument, though that element is not wanting, but the series of spiritual intuitions it contains, stated or hinted, in brief, pithy phrases (A. B. Bruce, pp. 373, 374). In (v. 1) the writer uses a Platonic phrase (Cratylus, 306 E, ); ( = , Chrysostom) is contrasted with as the real expression or representation of substance is opposed to the faint shadow. The addition of ( = ) emphasizes this sense; what represents solid realities is itself real, as compared to a mere . The (9:11) are the boons and blessings still to be realized in their fulness for Christians, being thought of from the standpoint of the new , not of the Law. The Law is for the writer no more than the regulations which provided for the cultus; the centre of gravity in the Law lies in the priesthood (7:11) and its sacrifices, not in what were the real provisions of the Law historically. The writer rarely speaks of the Law by itself. When he does so, as here, it is in this special ritual aspect, and what really bulks in his view is the contrast between the old and the new , i.e. the inadequate and the adequate forms of relationship to God. Once the former was superseded, the Law collapsed, and under the new there is no new Law. Even while the Law lasted, it was shadowy and ineffective, i.e. as a means of securing due access to God. And this is the point here made against the Law, not as Paul conceived it, but as the system of atoning animal sacrifices.
The text of v. 1 has been tampered with at an early stage, though the variants affect the grammar rather than the general sense. Unless (D H K L 2, 5, 35, 88, 181, 206, 226, 241, 242, 255, 326, 383, 429, 431, 547, 623, 794, 915, 917, 927, 1311, 1518, 1739, 1827, 1836, 1845, 1867, 1873, 1898, 2143 lat boh Orig. Chrys. Thdt.. Oec.) is read for , is a hanging nominative, and an awkward anacolouthon results. Hort suggests that the original form of the text was: , . As in 9:9, (dropped out by a scribe accidentally, owing to the resemblance between and ) would connect with a previous noun (here ), similarly fell out before (), and was changed into in the three consecutive words after . This still leaves without a verb, however, and is no improvement upon the sense gained either (a) by treating as a nominative absolute, and as an irregular plural depending on understood1 from ; or (b) by simply reading (so Delitzsch, Weiss, Westcott, Peake, Riggenbach, Blass), which clears up everything. A desire to smooth out the grammar or to bring out some private interpretation may be underneath changes like the addition of after ( P), or the substitution of for (69. 1319), or the omission of altogether (2. 177. 206. 642. 920. 1518. 1872), as well as the omission of (A 33. 1611. 2005) or altogether, like the Syriac and Armenian versions, and the change of (, Blass) into (D vt).
is an idiomatic use of the plural (Mat 2:20 , Luk 12:20 ), where there is such a suppression of the subject in bringing emphasis upon the action, that we get the effect of a passive, or of French on, German man (Moulton, 1. 58). The allusion is to the yearly sacrifice on atonement-day, for goes with , the latter phrase being thrown forward for the sake of emphasis, and also in order to avoid bringing too near it. also goes with , not (as in v. 14) with . here as in v. 11 before () (never elsewhere in the epistle) is doubly emphatic from its position. The constant repetition of these sacrifices proves that their effect is only temporary; they cannot possibly bring about a lasting, adequate relationship to God. So our author denies the belief of Judaism that atonement-day availed for the pardon of the People, a belief explicitly put forward, e.g., in Jub 5:17, 18 (If they turn to Him in righteousness, He will forgive all their transgressions, and pardon all their sins. It is written and ordained that He will show mercy to all who turn from their guilt once a year). He reiterates this in v. 2, where (as in 9:26 = alioquin) is followed by , which implies a question. Would they not, otherwise, have ceased to be offered? When this was not seen, either was omitted (H* vg? syr 206, 1245, 1518 Primasius, etc.), leaving out of its proper place, or it was suggested-as would never have occurred to the author-that the OT sacrifices ceased to be valid when the Christian sacrifice took place. In (for construction see Gen 11:8 ) the is retained (see on 9:26). has been altered into (L), but , not the Attic , is the general NT form. If our author spelt like his LXX codex, however, would be original (cp. Thackeray, 74). is again used (9:9) in connexion with the worshipper(s), but the writer adds (i.e. sins still needing to be pardoned). For the genitive, compare Philos fine remark in quod det. pot. 40, , . In v. 3 means that public notice had to be taken of such sins (commemoratio, vg).
There is possibly an echo here of a passage like Num 5:15 ( ), quoted by Philo in de Plant. 25 to illustrate his statement that the sacrifices of the wicked simply serve to recall their misdeeds ( ). In vita Mosis, iii. 10, he repeats this; if the sacrificer was ignorant and wicked, the sacrifices were no sacrifices ( , ). What Philo declares is the result of sacrifices offered by the wicked, the author of Hebrews declares was the result of all sacrifices; they only served to bring sin to mind. So in de Victimis, 7, -what Philo declares absurd, our author pronounces inevitable.
The ringing assertion of v. 4 voices a sentiment which would appeal strongly to readers who had been familiar with the classical and contemporary protests (cp. ERE iii. 770a), against ritual and external sacrifice as a means of moral purification (see above on 9:13). , a LXX verb in this connexion (e.g. Num 14:18 ), becomes in L (so Blass), the aoristic and commoner form; the verb is never used elsewhere in the NT, though Paul once quotes Isa 27:9 (Rom 11:27). All this inherent defectiveness of animal sacrifices necessitated a new sacrifice altogether (v. 5; ), the self-sacrifice of Jesus. So the writer quotes Psa 40:7-9, which in A runs as follows:
,
.
,
( )
, , .
Our author reads for ,1 shifts (omitting ) to a position after , in order to emphasize , and by omitting (replaced by W in v. 7), connects closely with . A recollection of Psa 51:18 may have suggested , which takes the accusative as often in LXX. is the roll or scroll, literally the knob or tip of the stick round which the papyrus sheet was rolled (cp. Eze 2:9 ).
This is taken as an avowal of Christ on entering the world, and the LXX mistranslation in is the pivot of the argument. The more correct translation would be , for the psalmist declared that God had given him ears for the purpose of attending to the divine monition to do the will of God, instead of relying upon sacrifices. Whether was corrupted into , or whether the latter was an independent translation, is of no moment; the evidence of the LXX text is indecisive. Our author found in his LXX text and seized upon it; Jesus came with his body to do Gods will, i.e. to die for the sins of men. The parenthetical phrase , which originally referred to the Deuteronomic code prescribing obedience to Gods will, now becomes a general reference to the OT as a prediction of Christs higher sacrifice; that is, if the writer really meant anything by it (he does not transcribe it, when he comes to the interpretation, vv. 8f.). Though the LXX mistranslated the psalm, however, it did not alter its general sense. The Greek text meant practically what the original had meant, and it made this interpretation or application possible, namely, that there was a sacrifice which answered to the will of God as no animal sacrifice could. Only, our author takes the will of God as requiring some sacrifice. The point of his argument is not a contrast between animal sacrifices and moral obedience to the will of God; it is a contrast between the death of an animal which cannot enter into the meaning of what is being done, and the death of Jesus which means the free acceptance by him of all that God requires for the expiation of human sin. To do the will of God is, for our author, a sacrificial action, which involved for Jesus an atoning death, and this is the thought underlying his exposition and application of the psalm (vv. 8-10). In v. 8 is above or higher up in the quotation (v. 6). The interpretation of the oracle which follows is plain; there are no textual variants worth notice,1 and the language is clear. Thus in v. 9 is the perfect of a completed action, = the saying stands on record, and has its common juristic sense of abrogate, the opposite of . The general idea is: Jesus entered the world fully conscious that the various sacrifices of the Law were unavailing as means of atonement, and ready to sacrifice himself in order to carry out the redeeming will of God. Gods will was to bring his People into close fellowship with himself (2:10); this necessitated a sacrifice such as that which the of Christ could alone provide. The triumphant conclusion is that this divine will, which had no interest in ordinary sacrifices, has been fulfilled in the of Christ; what the Law could not do (v. 1) has been achieved by the single self-sacrifice of Christ; it is by what he suffered in his body, not by any animal sacrifices, that we are (v. 10). Jesus chose to obey Gods will; but, while the Psalmist simply ranked moral obedience higher than any animal sacrifice, our writer ranks the moral obedience of Jesus as redeemer above all such sacrifices. Christ did not come into the world to be a good man: it was not for this that a body was prepared for him. He came to be a great High Priest, and the body was prepared for him, that by the offering of it he might put sinful men for ever into the perfect religious relation to God (Denney, The Death of Christ, p. 234).
In conclusion (11-18) the writer interprets (11-14) a phrase which he has not yet noticed expressly, namely, that Christ sat down at the right hand of God (1:3, 13); this proves afresh that his sacrifice was final. Then, having quoted from the pentateuch and the psalter, he reverts to the prophets (15-18), citing again the oracle about the new with its prediction, now fulfilled, of a final pardon.
11Again, while every priest stands daily at his service, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, sacrifices which never can take sins away-12He offered a single sacrifice for sins and then seated himself for all time at the right hand of God, 13to wait until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has made the sanctified perfect for all time. 15Besides, we have the testimony of the holy Spirit; for after saying,
16This is the covenant I will make with them when that day comes, saith the Lord,
I will set my laws upon their hearts,
inscribing them upon their minds,
he adds,
17And their sins and breaches of the law I will remember no more. 18Now where these are remitted (, as 9:22), an offering for sin exists (sc. ) no longer.
One or two textual difficulties emerge in this passage. In v. 11 was altered (after 5:1, 8:3) into (A C P 5, 69, 88, 206, 241, 256, 263, 436, 462, 467. 489, 623, 642, 794, 917, 920, 927, 999, 1836, 1837, 1898 syrhki* sah arm eth Cyr. Cosm). In v. 12 (K L 104. 326 boh Theod. Oec. Theophyl.) is no improvement upon . A curious variant (boh Ephr.) in the following words is . In v. 14 boh (for one offering will complete them, who will be sanctified, for ever) appears to have read (so Bgl) . In v. 16 is read by K L d r syr sah boh arm.
The decisive consideration in favour of (v. 11) is not that the did not sacrifice daily (for the writer believed this, see on 7:27), but the adjective . is a literary synonym for (v. 4); there is no special emphasis in the verb here any more than, e.g., in 2Co 3:16, for the (Zep 3:15 ) metaphorical idea of stripping no longer attached to the term, and the had ceased to mean entirely or altogether. The contrast between this repeated and ineffective ritual of the priests and the solitary, valid sacrifice of Jesus is now drawn in v. 12, where goes more effectively with than with , since the idea in the latter collocation is at once expressed in v. 14 At the opening of the writers favourite psalm (110:1) lay a promise of God to his Son, which further proved that this sacrifice of Christ was final:
.
-a unique privilege; so Christs priestly sacrifice must be done and over, all that remains for him being to await the submission and homage of his foes. As for the obedient (5:9), they are perfected finally, i.e. brought into the closest relation to God, by what he has done for them; no need for him to stand at any priestly service on their behalf, like the levitical drudges! The contrast is between and (the attitude of a priest who has to be always ready for some sacrifice). Who the foes of Christ are, the writer never says.1 This militant metaphor was not quite congruous with the sacerdotal metaphor, although he found the two side by side in the 110th psalm. If he interpreted the prediction as Paul did in 1Co 15:25f., we might think of the devil (2:14) and such supernatural powers of evil; but this is not an idea which is worked out in . The conception belonged to the primitive messianic faith of the church, and the writer takes it up for a special purpose of his own, but he cannot interpret it, as Paul does, of an active reign of Christ during the brief interval before the end. Christ must reign actively, Paul argues. Christ must sit, says our writer.
The usual variation between the LXX and is reproduced in : the author prefers the latter, when he is not definitely quoting from the LXX as in 1:13. As this is a reminiscence rather than a citation, is the true reading, though is introduced by A 104 Athanasius. The theological significance of the idea is discussed in Dr. A. J. Taits monograph on The Heavenly Session of our Lord (1912), in which he points out the misleading influence of the Vulgates mistranslation of 10:12 (hic autem unam pro peccatis offerens hostiam in sempiternum sedit) upon the notion that Christ pleads his passion in heaven.
After reiterating the single sacrifice in v. 14 (where is the sanctified, precisely as in 2:11), he adds (v. 15) an additional proof from scripture. , a biblical proof as usual clinching the argument. is you and me, us Christians, not the literary plural, as if he meant what I say is attested or confirmed by the inspired book. is a common Philonic term in this connexion, e.g. Leg. Alleg. iii .2 , . (introducing Deu 4:39 and Exo 17:6); similarly in Xen. Mem. i. 2. 20, . The quotation, which is obviously from memory, is part of the oracle already quoted upon the new (8:8-12); the salient sentence is the closing promise of pardon in v. 17, but he leads up to it by citing some of the introductory lines. The opening, , implies that some verb follows or was meant to follow, but the only one in the extant text is (v. 16). Hence, before v. 17 we must understand something like or or (Oecumenius) or , although the evidence for any such phrase, e.g. for (31. 37, 55, 67, 71, 73, 80, 161) is highly precarious. In v. 17 has been corrected into by c Dc K L P, etc., since was the LXX reading and also better grammar, the future after being rare (cp. Diat. 2255, and above on 8:11). The oracle, even in the LXX version, contemplates no sacrifice whatever as a condition of pardon; but our author (see above, p.131) assumes that such an absolute forgiveness was conditioned by some sacrifice.
The writer now (10:19-12:29) proceeds to apply his arguments practically to the situation of his readers, urging their privileges and their responsibilities under the new order of religion which he has just outlined. In 10:19-31, which is the first paragraph, encouragement (vv. 19-25) passes into warning (26-31).
19Brothers (, not since 3:1, 12), since we have confidence to enter the holy Presence in virtue of the blood of Jesus, 20by the fresh, living way which he has inaugurated for us through the veil (that is, through his flesh), 21and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart, in absolute assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water; 23let us hold the hope we avow without wavering (for we can rely on him who gave us the Promise); 24and let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds-25not ceasing to meet together, as is the habit of some, but admonishing one another(sc. , as 3:13), all the more so, as you see the Day coming near.
The writer ( ) presses the weighty arguments of 6:20-10:18, but he returns with them to reinforce the appeal of 3:1-4:16; after 10:19-21 the conception of Jesus as the falls more into the background. The passage is one long sentence, (as in 4:14) since the way is now open (9:8) through the sacrifice of Jesus, whose atoning blood is for us the means of entering Gods presence; , a fre sure intraunce (Coverdale), echoing 4:16. But the writer fills out the appeal of 4:14-16 with the idea of the sanctuary and the sacrifice which he had broken off, in 5:1f., to develop. Though the appeal still is (23 = 4:16), the special motives are twofold: (a) for access in virtue of the sacrifice of Jesus (vv. 19, 20), and (b) the possession of Jesus as the supreme (v. 21). (a) The religious sense of emerges in the early gloss inserted after Sir 18:29:
.
Here means confident trust, the unhesitating adherence of a human soul to God as its only Master, but our author specially defines it as (cp. 2 P 1:11 ) (with gen. as in 9:8, but not a synonym for ), i.e. for access to ( ) the holy Presence, (qualifying ).1 This resumes the thought of 9:24-26, 10:10-12 ( as in 9:25). Compare for the phrase and general idea the words on the self-sacrifice of Decius Mus in Florus, i. 15. 3: quasi monitu deorum, capite uelato, primam ante aciem dis manibus se devoverit, ut in confertissima se hostium tela iaculatus nouum ad uictoriam iter sanguinis sui semita aperiret. This is further described in v. 20; we enter by (, with in apposition) a way which Jesus has inaugurated by his sacrifice (9:18, 24, 25). This way is called recent or fresh and also living. In , as in the case of other compounds (e.g. ), the literal sense of the second element had been long forgotten (cp. Holdens note on Plutarchs Themistocles, 24); simply means fresh, without any sacrificial allusion (freshly-killed). Galen (de Hipp. et Plat. plac. iv. 7) quotes the well-known saying that , and the word (i.e. , , , Hesychius), as is plain from other passages like Arist. Magna Moralia, 1203b ( .), and Ecc 1:9 ( ), had no longer any of the specific sacrificial sense suggested etymologically by its second part. It is the thought of in 13:8, though the writer means particularly (as in 1:1-2, 9:8-11) to suggest that a long period had elapsed before the perfect fellowship was inaugurated finally; it is , not . means, in the light of 7:25 (cp. Joh 14:6), that access to God is mediated by the living Christ in virtue of his sacrificial intercession; the contrast is not so much with what is transient, as though were equivalent to (Chrysostom, Cosm 415a), as with the dead victims of the OT cultus or the lifeless pavement trodden by the highpriest (Delitzsch). He entered Gods presence thus (6:19, 9:3), -a ritual expression for the idea of 6:19. is local, and, whether a verb like is supplied or not, . . goes with , the idea being that Jesus had to die, in order to bring us into a living fellowship with God; the shedding of his blood meant that he had a body (10:5-10) to offer in sacrifice (cp. 9:14). The writer, however, elaborates his argument with a fresh detail of symbolism, suggested by the ritual of the tabernacle which he has already described in 9:2f. There, the very existence of a veil hanging between the outer and the inner sanctuary was interpreted as a proof that access to Gods presence was as yet imperfectly realized. The highpriest carried once a year inside the veil the blood of victims slain outside it; that was all. Jesus, on the other hand, sheds his own blood as a perfect sacrifice, and thus wins entrance for us into the presence of God. Only, instead of saying that his sacrificial death meant the rending of the veil (like the author of Mar 15:38), i.e. the supersession of the OT barriers between God and man, he allegorizes the veil here as the flesh of Christ; this had to be rent before the blood could be shed, which enabled him to enter and open Gods presence for the people. It is a daring, poetical touch, and the parallelism is not to be prosaically pressed into any suggestion that the human nature in Jesus hid God from men , or that he ceased to be truly human when he sacrificed himself.
The idea already suggested in is now (b) developed (in v. 21) by () , another echo of the earlier passage (cp. 3:1-6, 4:14), being a sonorous LXX equivalent for . Then comes the triple appeal, The metaphor of . (v. 22), breaks down upon the fact that the Israelites never entered the innermost shrine, except as represented by their highpriest who entered once a year (9:7, 25), which he took with him in order to atone for the sins that interrupted the communion of God and the people. In the point is that, in virtue of the blood of Christ, Christians enjoy continuous fellowship with God; the sacrifice of Christ enables them to approach Gods presence, since their sins have been once and for all removed. The entrance of the OT highpriest therefore corresponds both to the sacrifice of Christ and to that access of Christians which the blood of Christ secures. On the one hand, Christ is our highpriest (v. 21); through his self-sacrifice in death the presence of God has been thrown open to us (vv. 19, 20). This is the primary thought. But in order to express our use of this privilege, the writer has also to fall back upon language which suggests the entrance of the OT highpriest (cp. v. 19 with 9:25). He does not mean that Christians are priests, with the right of entry in virtue of a sacrifice which they present, but, as to approach God was a priestly prerogative under the older order, he describes the Christian access to God in sacerdotal metaphors. is one of these. It is amplified first by a clause, and then by two participial clauses. The approach to God must be whole-hearted, ,1 without any hesitation or doubt, (6:11) .2 This thought of as mans genuine answer to the realities of divine revelation, is presently to be developed at length (10:38f.). Meantime the writer throws in the double participial clause, . The metaphors are sacerdotal; as priests were sprinkled with blood and bathed in water, to qualify them for their sacred service, so Christians may approach God with all confidence, on the basis of Christs sacrifice, since they have been (i.e. sprinkled and so purified from-a frequent use of the verb) (= , 10:2) in their hearts ( -no external cleansing). Then the writer adds, , suggesting that baptism corresponded to the bathing of priests (e.g. in Lev 16:4). Once and for all, at baptism (cp. 1 P 3:21), Christians have been thus purified from guilty stains by the efficacy of Christs sacrifice.3 What room then can there be in their minds for anything but faith, a confident faith that draws near to God, sure that there is no longer anything between Him and them?
The distinctive feature which marked off the Christian from all similar ablutions (6:2, 9:10) was that it meant something more than a cleansing of the body; it was part and parcel of an inward cleansing of the , effected by (v. 29).1 Hence this as the vital element is put first, though the body had also its place and part in the cleansing experience. The and the are a full, plastic expression for the entire personality, as an ancient conceived it. Ancient religious literature2 is full of orders for the penitent to approach the gods only after moral contrition and bodily cleansing, with a clean heart and a clean body, in clean clothes even. But, apart from other things, such ablutions had to be repeated, while the Christian was a single ceremony, lying at the source and start of the religious experience. And what our author is thinking of particularly is not this or that pagan rite, but the OT ritual for priests as described in Exo 29:20f., Lev 8:23f. Lev 8:14:5f. etc. (cp. Joma 3).
Three specimens of the anxious care for bodily purity in ancient religious ritual may be given. First (i) the ritual directions for worship in Syll. 567 (ii a.d.): , . Second (ii) the stress laid on it by a writer like Philo, who (quod deus sit immutabilis, 2), after pleading that we should honour God by purifying ourselves from evil deeds and washing off the stains of life, adds: , , . His argument is that if the body requires ablutions ( ) before touching an external shrine, how can anyone who is morally impure draw near ( ) the most pure God, unless he means to repent? [cp. Heb 10:19, Heb 10:22], [cp. Heb 4:13] . Or again in de Plant. 39: , , . In de Cherub. 28 he denounces the ostentatious religion of the worldly, who in addition to their other faults, , , , , are very particular about their outward religious practices3 but careless about a clean soul. Finally, (iii) there is the saying of Epictetus (iv. 10. 3): (i.e. the gods) , , .
For the exceptional (* A C D*), c Dc etc. have substituted (so Theodoret). The of B D P is the more common form of the Attic (A B Dc etc.).
The next appeal (v. 23), (to which * vg pesh eth add the gloss of ), echoes 4:14 ( ) and 3:6 ( ). This hope for the future was first confessed at baptism, and rests upon Gods promise1 (as already explained in 6:17, 18). It is to be held , a term applied by Philo to the word of a good man ( , , , , , , , de Spec. Leg. ii. 1); in Irenaeus it recurs in a similar connexion (i. 88, ed. Harvey: , ). The old Wycliffite version translates finely. hold we the confessioun of oure hope bowynge to no side. The close connexion between . and . makes it inadvisable to begin the second appeal with (Erasmus, Beza, Bengel, Lachmann, Lnemann, von Soden, B. Weiss, etc.). A more plausible suggestion, first offered by Theodoret and adopted recently by Hofmann and Seeberg, is to begin the second appeal after , making carry . This yields a good sense, for it brings together the allusions to the baptismal confession. But the ordinary view is more probable; the asyndeton in is impressive, and if it is objected that the clause is left with less content than the other two, the answer is that its eschatological outlook is reiterated in the third clause, and that by itself its brevity has a telling force. Besides, . (19-21) introduce as well as .
The third appeal (24, 25) turns on love (cp. 6:10), as the first on faith, and the second on hope. The members of the circle or community are to stir up one another to the practice of Christian love. Since this is only possible when common worship and fellowship are maintained, the writer warns them against following the bad example of abandoning such gatherings; , for, if we are to Christ (3:1), we are also bound to keep an eye on one another (i.e. an active, attractive moral life, inspired by Christian love). This good sense of as stimulus seems to be an original touch; in Greek elsewhere it bears the bad sense of provocation or exasperation (cp. Act 15:39), although the verb had already acquired a good sense (e.g. in Josephus, Ant. xvi. 125, : in Pro 6:3 , : and in Xen. Cyrop. vi. 2. 5, ). Plinys words at the close of his letter to Caninius Rufus (iii. 7) illustrate what is meant by in this sense: Scio te stimulis non egere; me tamen tui caritas evocat ut currentem quoque instigem, sicut tu soles me. , cum invicem se mutuis exhortationibus amici ad amorem immortalitatis exacuunt. How the is to be carried out, the writer does not say. By setting a good example? By definite exhortations (, v. 25, like 13:1)? -do not do to one another what God never does to you (13:5), do not leave your fellow-members in the lurch (the force of , especially in the )- (reflexive pronoun in the genitive = ). in the (cp. Deissmanns Light from the East, 102 f.) means a collection (of money), but had already in Jewish Greek (e.g. 2 Mal 2:7 ) begun to acquire the present sense of a popular gathering. (sc. ) . But who are these? What does this abandonment of common fellowship mean? (a) Perhaps that some were growing ashamed of their faith; it was so insignificant and unpopular, even dangerous to anyone who identified himself with it openly. They may have begun to grow tired of the sacrifices and hardships involved in membership of the local church. This is certainly the thought of 10:32f., and it is better than to suppose (b) the leaders were a small group of teachers or more intelligent Christians, who felt able, in a false superiority, to do without common worship; they did not require to mix with the ordinary members! The author in any case is warning people against the dangers of individualism, a warning on the lines of the best Greek and Jewish ethics, e.g. Isokrates, ad Demon. 13, , , and the rabbinic counsel in Taanith, 11, 1 (whenever the Israelites suffer distress, and one of them withdraws from the rest, two angels come to him and, laying their hands upon his head, say, this man who separates himself from the assembly shall not see the consolation which is to visit the congregation), or in Hillels saying (Pirke Aboth 2, 5): Separate not thyself from the congregation, and trust not in thyself until the day of thy death. The loyal Jews are described in Ps.-Sol 17:18 as , and a similar thought occurs also (if his and not my is the correct reading) in Od. Son 3:2: His members are with Him, and on them do I hang. Any early Christian who attempted to live like a pious particle without the support of the community ran serious risks in an age when there was no public opinion to support him. His isolation, whatever its motive-fear, fastidiousness, self-conceit, or anything else-exposed him to the danger of losing his faith altogether. These are possible explanations of the writers grave tone in the passage before us. Some critics, like Zahn ( 46), even think that (c) such unsatisfactory Christians left their own little congregation for another, in a spirit of lawless pique, or to gratify their own tastes selfishly; but is not emphatic, and in any congregation of Christians the duties of love would be pressed. Separatist tendencies were not absent from the early church; thus some members considered themselves too good to require common worship, as several warnings prove, e.g. in Barn 4:10 , ) and Ign. Eph 5:3 ( ). But in our epistle (d) the warning is directed specially against people who combined Christianity with a number of mystery-cults, patronizing them in turn, or who withdrew from Christian fellowship, feeling that they had exhausted the Christian faith and that it required to be supplemented by some other cult. At first and indeed always there were naturally some people who imagined that one could secure the sacred contents and blessings of Christianity as one did those of Isis or the Magna Mater, and then withdraw (Harnack, Expansion of Christianity, bk. iii. c. 4; cp. Reitzensteins Hellen. Mysterienreligionen, 94). This was serious, for, as the writer realized, it implied that they did not regard Christianity as the final and full revelation; their action proved that the Christian faith ranked no higher with them than one of the numerous Oriental cults which one by one might interest the mind, but which were not necessarily in any case the last word on life. The argument of the epistle has been directed against this misconception of Christianity, and the writer here notes a practical illustration of it in the conduct of adherents who were holding aloof, or who were in danger of holding aloof, from the common worship. Hence the austere warning which follows. Such a practice, or indeed any failure to draw near by the way of Jesus, is an insult to God, which spells hopeless ruin for the offender. And evidently this retribution is near. Christians are to be specially on their guard against conduct that means apostasy, for (how, he does not say) (as in Rom 13:12) (here, as in 1Co 3:13, without or ). This eschatological setting distinguishes the next warning (vv. 26-31) from the earlier in 6:4-6.
26For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, 27nothing but an awful outlook of doom, that burning Wrath which will consume the foes (see v. 13) of God. 28Anyone who has rejected the law of Moses dies without mercy, on the evidence of two or of three witnesses. 29How much heavier, do you suppose, will be the punishment assigned (i.e. by God) to him who has spurned the Son of God, who has profaned the covenant-blood (9:20) with which he was sanctified (10:10), who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30We know who said, Vengeance is mine, I will exact a requital: and again (, as in 2:13), The Lord will pass sentence on his people. 31 It is an awful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Apostasy like withdrawal from the church on the ground already mentioned, is treated as one of the deliberate () sins which (cp. on 5:2), under the OT order of religion, were beyond any atonement. Wilful offences, like rebellion and blasphemy against God, were reckoned unpardonable. In the case of one who, by his sin, intentionally disowns the covenant itself, there can be no question of sacrifice. He has himself cut away the ground on which it would have been possible for him to obtain reconciliation (Schultz, OT Theology, ii. 88). There is an equivalent to this, under the new , our author declares. To abandon Christianity is to avow that it is inadequate, and this denial of Gods perfect revelation in Jesus Christ is fatal to the apostate. In (26), is put first for the sake of emphasis, and means the sin of (3:12) or of (6:6), the present tense implying that such people persist in this attitude. is the keynote to the warning. Its force may be felt in a passage like Thuc. iv. 98, where the Athenians remind the Boeotians that God pardons what is done under the stress of war and peril, , and that it is wanton and presumptuous crimes alone which are heinous. Philo (vit. Mos. i. 49) describes Balaam praying for forgiveness from God on the ground that he had sinned . The adverb occurs in 2 Mac 14:3 ( ). The general idea of the entire warning is that the moral order punishes all who wantonly and wilfully flout it; as Menander once put it (Kocks Com. Attic. Fragm. 700):
.
Our author expresses this law of retribution in personal terms drawn from the OT, which prove how deeply moral and reverent his religious faith was, and how he dreaded anything like presuming upon Gods kindness and mercy. The easy-going man thinks God easy going; he is not very serious about his religious duties, and he cannot imagine how God can take them very seriously either. We know better, says the author of !
Christianity is described (in v. 26) as , a semi-technical phrase of the day, which recurs in the Pastoral Epistles (though with instead of ). It is not one of our authors favourite expressions,1 but the phrase is partly used by Epictetus in its most general sense ( ., ii. 20, 21), when upbraiding the wretched academic philosophers ( ) for discrediting the senses as organs of knowledge, instead of using and improving them. All that renegades can expect (v. 27) is (= quidam, deepening the idea with its touch of vagueness) (a sense coined by the writer for this term, after his use of in 10:13) , for they have thrown over the only sacrifice that saves men from (9:27). This is expanded in a loose1 reminiscence of Isa 26:11 ( , ), though the phrase recalls Zeph 1:19 (3:8) . The contemporary Jewish Apocalypse of Baruch (48:39, 40) contains a similar threat to wilful sinners:
Therefore shall a fire consume their thoughts,
and in flame shall the meditations of their reins be tried;
for the Judge shall come and will not tarry-
because each of earths inhabitant knew when he was transgressing.
The penalty for the wilful rejection () of the Mosaic law2 was severe (Deu 17:2-17), but not more severe than the penalty to be inflicted on renegades from Christianity (vv. 28-31). The former penalty was merciless, (to which, at an early period, was added by D, most old Latin texts, and syrhkl). It is described in a reminiscence of Deu 17:6 (i.e. the apostate who has yielded to idolatry). The witnesses executed the punishment for the sin of which they had given evidence (Deu 17:7, Act 7:57 f., Joh 8:7, Sanhedrim 6:4), but this is not before the writers mind; with the dative simply means on the ground of (the evidence given by). In . (v. 29), is intercalated as in Aristoph. Acharn. 12 ( ; ), and Herm. Sim. ix. 28, 8 ( , , ;). (cp. 9:14) introduces an argument from the less to the greater, which was the first of Hillels seven rules for exegesis, and which is similarly used by Philo in de Fuga, 16, where, after quoting Exo 21:15, he adds that Moses here practically denies that there is any pardon for those who blaspheme God ( , ;). There is also a passage in de Spec. Legibus (ii. 254, 255) where Philo asks, If a man is guilty, ;
originally meant vengeance. , , (Arist. Rhetoric, i. 10, 11; see Copes Introduction, p. 232). But it became broadened into the general sense of punishment, and this obtained in Hellenistic Greek.
The threefold description of what is involved in the sin of apostasy begins: , another expression for the thought of 6:6, which recalls Zec 12:3 ( ). was the phrase for breaking oaths (Iliad, 4:157); with a personal object, the verb denotes contempt of the most flagrant kind. Another aspect of the sin is that a man has thereby 1 the sacrifice of Jesus; his action means that it is no more to him than an ordinary death (communem, d), instead of a divine sacrifice which makes him a partaker of the divine fellowship (see p. 145). Where Christ is rejected, he is first despised; outward abandonment of him springs from some inward depreciation or disparagement. The third aspect, (not ) , suggests that the writer had in mind the language of Zec 12:10 ( ), but (contrasted here, as in Joh 1:17, with the ) is a periphrasis for (6:4), being chosen (4:16, 12:15) to bring out the personal, gracious nature of the power so wantonly insulted.2 is not a LXX term, and it generally takes the dative. ( after is omitted by A and some MSS of Chrysostom.)
The sombre close (vv. 30, 31) of the warning is a reminder that the living God punishes renegades. (v. 31) re-echoes the of v. 27, and the awful nature of the doom is brought out by two quotations adapted from the OT. , , is the same form of Deu 32:35 as is quoted in Rom 12:19; it reproduces the Hebrew original more closely than the LXX ( ), perhaps from some current Greek version, unless the author of Hebrews borrowed it from Paul.1 Some of the same authorities as in 8:12 indeed add, from Rom 12:19, (c A Dc K L arm Theodoret, Damasus, etc.). is from Deu 32:36. The thought of the original, in both passages, is God avenging his people on their foes and championing them, not punishing them; but here this fate is assigned to all who put themselves outside the range of Gods mercy in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; they fall under Gods retribution. is a phrase used in a very different sense in 2 S 24:14, Sir 2:18; here it means, to fall into the grasp of the God who punishes the disloyal2 or rebels against his authority. Thus the tyrant Antiochus is threatened, in 2 Mac 7:31, . As in 3:12, is added to to suggest that he is quick and alive to inflict retribution. The writer is impressively reticent on the nature of Gods , even more reticent than Plato, in one of the gravest warnings in Greek literature, the famous passage in the Leges (904, 905) about the divine : . , , . Plato altered the Homeric term to suit his purpose; what meant way or habit, he turned into a weighty word for justice. The alteration is justified from his preaching point of view, and the solemn note of the Greek sages warning is that of Heb 10:26 f.; you cannot play fast and loose with God.
Yet, as at 6:9, so here, the writer swiftly turns from warning to encouragement, appealing to his readers to do better than he feared, and appealing to all that was best in them. Why throw away the gains of your fine record in the past? You have not long to wait for your reward. Hold on for a little longer. This is the theme of vv. 32-39:
32 Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened (, as 6:4), you endured a hard struggle of suffering, 33 partly by being held up yourselves to obloquy and anguish, partly by making common cause with those who fared in this way; 34 for you did sympathize with the prisoners, and you took the confiscation of your own belongings cheerfully, conscious that elsewhere you had higher, you had lasting possessions. 35 Now do not drop that confidence of yours; it (, as in 2:3) carries with it a rich hope of reward. 36 Steady patience is what you need, so that after doing the will of God you may (like Abraham, 6:15) get what you have been promised. 37 For in a little, a very little now,
The Coming One (9:29) will arrive without delay.
38 Meantime my just man shall live on by his faith;
if he shrinks back, my soul takes no delight in him.
39 We are not the men to shrink back and be lost, but to have faith and so to win our souls.
The excellent record of these Christians in the past consisted in their common brotherliness (6:10), which is now viewed in the light of the hardships they had had to endure, soon after they became Christians. The storm burst on them early; they weathered it nobly; why give up the voyage, when it is nearly done? It is implied that any trouble at present is nothing to what they once passed through. (v. 32): memory plays a large part in the religious experience, and is often as here a stimulus. In these earlier days they had (vv. 32, 33) two equally creditable experiences ( , a good classical idiom); they bore obloquy and hardship manfully themselves, and they also made common cause with their fellow-sufferers. By saying , the writer means, that the made the which tested their powers (2:10). -the metaphor is athletic, as in 12:1-came to denote a martyrs death in the early church; but no such red significance attaches to it here. Apparently the persecution was not pushed to the last extreme (12:4); all survived it. Hence there can be no allusion to the ludibria of Neros outburst against the Roman Christians, in (v. 33) , which is used in a purely figurative sense (so in 1Co 4:9), like in Polybius (e.g. iii. 91, 10, ). The meaning is that they had been held up to public derision, scoffed and sneered at, accused of crime and vice, unjustly suspected and denounced. All this had been, the writer knew, a real ordeal, particularly because the stinging contempt and insults had had to be borne in the open. , , , (Chrysostom). They had been exposed to , taunts and scorn that tempted one to feel shame (an experience which our author evidently felt keenly), as well as to wider hardships, both insults and injuries. All this they had stood manfully. Better still, their personal troubles had not rendered them indisposed to care for their fellow-sufferers, (i.e. in the ) (13:18). They exhibited the virtue of practical sympathy, urged in 13:3, at any risk or cost to themselves ( with the genitive, as in LXX of Pro 28:14, Isa 1:23).
The ideas of v. 33; are now (v. 34) taken up in the reverse order (as in 5:1-7). , imprisonment being for some a form of their . Christians in prison had to be visited and fed by their fellow-members. For (cp. 4:15) as between man and man, see Test. Sym. 3:6 : Test. Benj. 4:4 : Ign. Rom 6:4 : and the saying which is quoted in Meinekes Frag. Comic. Graec. iv. 52, . They had also borne their own losses with more than equanimity,1 with actual gladness ( , the same thought as in Rom 5:3, though differently worked out), (with accus. and infinitive) (= , which is actually read here by Cosmas Indicopleustes, 348a; is not emphatic any more than in v. 25) (a favourite term of the author) (Act 2:35) (13:14, the thought of Mat 6:20). (cp. Polybius, iv. 17. 4, ) implies that their own property had been either confiscated by the authorities or plundered in some mob-riot. Note the paronomasia of and , and the place of this loss in the list of human evils as described in the Laches, 195 E ( ).
There is no question of retaliation; the primitive Christians whom the author has in view had no means of returning injuries for injuries, or even of claiming redress. Thus the problem raised and solved by contemporary moralists does not present itself to the writer; he does not argue, as, e.g., Maximus of Tyre did in the next century (Dissert. ii.), that the good man should treat the loss of property as a trifle, and despise the futile attempts of his enemies to injure him thus, the soul or real self being beyond the reach of such evil doers. The tone is rather that of Tob 4:21 ( , , , .), except that our author notes the glow ( ) of an enthusiastic unworldliness, which was more than any Stoic resignation or even any quiet acquiescence in providence; he suggests in that, while others might seize and hold their property, they themselves had a possession of which no one could rob them. Seneca (Ep. ix. 9:18-19) quotes the famous reply of the philosophic Stilpo to Demetrius Poliorketes, who asked him, after the siege and sack of Megara, if he had lost anything in the widespread ruin, Stilpo answered that he had suffered no loss; omnia bona mecum sunt. That is, Seneca explains, he did not consider anything as good which could be taken from him. This helps to illustrate what the author of means. As Epictetus put it, there are more losses than the loss of property (ii. 10. 14, , , ;). A similar view pervades the fine homiletic misinterpretation of Deu 6:5 in Berachoth 9:5 Man is bound to bless [God] for evil as for good, for it is said, Thou shall love Jahweh thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength. With all thy heart means, with both yetzers, the good and the bad alike: with all thy soul means, even if he deprive thee of thy soul: with all thy strength means, with all thy possessions. A similar view is cited in Sifre 32. Apollonius, in the last quarter of the second century, declares: We do not resent having our goods taken from us, because we know that, whether we live or die, we are the Lords (Conybeare, Monuments of Early Christianity, p. 44).
No persecution known to us in the primitive church answers to the data of this passage. But some sidelights are thrown upon it by Philos vivid account of the earlier anti-Semite riots in Alexandria. He notes that even those who sympathized with the persecuted were punished: , , , , , , , (in Flaccum, 7: n. b. neither here nor in 11:35f. does the author of mention the cross as a punishment for sufferers). Philo (ibid. 9) continues: , , , . He repeats this (10), telling how Flaccus maltreated Jews who had been already stripped of their property, , , , .
Three items of textual corruption occur in v. 34. (a) (p13 A D* H 33. 104. 241. 424 **. 635. 1245. 1288. 1739. 1908. 1912. 2005 r vg syrhkl boh arm Chrys.) was eventually corrupted into () in Dc 256. 1288* etc. vt eth Clem. Orig.), a misspelling (i.e. ) which, with added to make sense, contributed to the impression that Paul had written the epistle (Php 1:7, Php 1:15f., Col 4:18). Compare the text implied in the (Pelagian?) prologue to Pauls epp. in vg: nam et vinctis compassi estis, et rapinam bonorum vestrorum cum gaudio suscepistis.
(b) (p13 A H lat boh Clem. Orig. etc.) suffered in the course of transmission; it was either omitted (by C) or altered into (D K L , etc., Chrys.) or (1. 467. 489. 642. 920. 937. 1867. 1873), the dative being an attempt to bring out the idea that they had in their own religious personalities a possession beyond the reach of harm and loss, an idea pushed by some editors even into , but too subtle for the context.
(c) was eventually defined by the addition of () (from Php 3:20?) in c Dc H** 6. 203. 326. 506. 1288. 1739 syr arm Chrys. etc.
The reminder of vv. 32-34 is now (35-39) pressed home. , as evinced in . The phrase occurs in Dio Chrys. Orat. 34:39 ( ) and elsewhere in the sense of losing courage, but retains its special force (3:6) here, and is the opposite of (nolite itaque amittere, vg). The is to be maintained, (as 11:26), it is so sure of bringing its reward in the bliss promised by God to cheerful loyalty. Compare the saying of the contemporary rabbi Tarphon: faithful is the Master of thy work, who will pay thee the reward of thy work, and know thou that the recompense of the reward of the righteous is for the time to come (Pirke Aboth 2:19).
Epictetus makes a similar appeal, in iv. 3, 3 f., not to throw away all that one has gained in character by failing to maintain ones philosophical principles when one has suffered some loss of property. When you lose any outward possession, recollect what you gain instead of it ( ); otherwise, you imperil the results of all your past conscientiousness ( , ). And it takes so little to do this; a mere swerve from reasonable principle ( ), a slight drowsiness, and all is lost ( ). No outward possession is worth having, Epictetus continues, if it means that one ceases to be free, to be Gods friend, to serve God willingly. I must not set my heart on anything else; God does not allow that, for if He had chosen, He would have made such outward goods good for me ( ). Maximus of Tyre again argued that while, for example, men might be willing to endure pain and discomfort for the sake and hope of regaining health, if you take away the hope of good to come, you also take away the power of enduring present ills ( , , Diss. xxxiii).
To retain the Christian means still , no longer perhaps in the earlier sense (, v. 32), and yet sometimes what has to be borne is harder, for sensitive people, than any actual loss. Such obedience to the will of God assumes many phases, from endurance of suffering to sheer waiting, and the latter is now urged (v. 36). (5:12) (suggested by 10:7-9) (6:12, 10:23). Though the purpose of is contained in the clause , yet the function of this clause in the sentence is not telic. Its office is not to express the purpose of the principal clause, but to set forth a result (conceived, not actual) of which the possesion of is the necessary condition (Burton, NT Moods and Tenses, p. 93). and echo through this passage and 12:1-7, the idea of tenacity being expressed in 10:38-11:40 by . here as in the LXX (cp. Diat 3548a-c) implies the conviction of hope that the evil endured will be either remedied or proved to be no evil. does not mean to get back or recover, nor to gather in, but simply as in the to receive, to get what has been promised ( ) rather than to get it as our due (which is the idea of ), though what is promised is in one sense our due, since the promise can only be fulfilled for those who carry out its conditions (6:10). And it will soon be fulfilled. Have patience; it is not long now. Again he clinches his appeal with an OT word, this time from the prophets (vv. 37, 38). (om. p13) (sc. ) . In de mutat. nomin. 44, Philo comments upon the aptness and significance of the word in the promise of Gen 17:19 ( ;). Our author has a similar idea in mind, though he is eschatological, as Philo is not. is a variant in D (on Luk 5:3) for . The phrase occurs in Aristoph. Wasps, 213 ( ), and elsewhere, but here it is a reminiscence of the LXX; of Isa 26:20 ( ). Hence, although is also used, as by Philo, the omission of the second in the text of Hebrews by some cursives (e.g. 6. 181, 326, 1836) and Eusebius is unjustified. The words serve to introduce the real citation, apparently suggested by the term (v. 36), from Hab 2:3, Hab 2:4 , , , , especially as the LXX makes the object of patient hope not the fulfilment of the vision, i.e. the speedy downfall of the foreign power, but either messiah or God. (a) The author of Hebrews further adds to , applying the words to Christ; (b) changes into :1 (c) reverses the order of the last two clauses, and (d) shifts in front of , as in the A text of the LXX. In the MSS of Hebrews, is entirely omitted by p13 D H K L P W cop eth Chrys. etc., to conform the text to the Pauline quotation (Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11), while the original LXX text, with after , is preserved in D* d syrpesh hkl etc. This text, or at any rate its Hebrew original, meant that the just man (i.e. the Israelite) lived by God being faithful to his covenant with the nation. In the idea is that the just man of God is to live by his own or loyalty, as he holds on and holds out till the end, timidity meaning (v. 39), while the promised by God as the reward of human loyalty is the outcome of ( ). But our author is interested in rather than in . The latter is not one of his categories, in the sense of eternal life; this idea he prefers to express otherwise. What he quotes the verse for is its combination of Gods speedy recompense and of the stress on human , which he proceeds to develop at length. The note struck in also echoes on and on through the following passage (11:4 , 11:7 , 11:33 , 12:11 , 12:23 ). The aim of (c) was to make it clear, as it is not clear in the LXX, that the subject of was , and also to make the warning against apostasy the climax. -not simply in fear (as, e.g., Dem. adv. Pant. 630, ), but in the fear which makes men (cp. Gal 2:12) withdraw from their duty or abandon their convictions- . It is a fresh proof of the freedom which the writer uses, that he refers these last seven words to God as the speaker; in Habakkuk the words are uttered by the prophet himself. Then, with a ringing, rallying note, he expresses himself confident about the issue. (predicate genitive, as in 12:11, unless or is supplied) , (=, v.38). occurs three times in the LXX (2Ch 14:13, Hag 2:9, Mal 3:17) and several times in the NT, but never with , though the exact phrase was known to classical Greek as an equivalent for saving ones own life. , its antithesis, which in Jos. B.J. ii. 277 means dissimulation, has this new sense stamped on it, after .
The exhortation is renewed in 12:1f., but only after a long paean on , with historical illustrations, to prove that has always meant hope and patience for loyal members of the People (11:1-40). The historical rsum (11:3-40), by which the writer seeks to kindle the imagination and conscience of his readers, is prefaced by a brief introduction (11:1-3):
D [06: 1026] cont. 1:1-13:20. Codex Claromontanus is a Graeco-Latin MS, whose Greek text is poorly* reproduced in the later (saec. ix.-x.) E = codex Sangermanensis. The Greek text of the latter (1:1-12:8) is therefore of no independent value (cp. Hort in WH, 335-337); for its Latin text, as well as for that of F=codex Augiensis (saec. ix.), whose Greek text of has not been preserved, see below, p. lxix.
H [015: 1022] cont. 1:3-8 2:11-16 3:13-18 4:12-15 10:1-7, 32-38 12:10-15 13:24-25: mutilated fragments, at Moscow and Paris, of codex Coislinianus.
K [018:1:1].
L [020: 5] cont. 1:1-13:10.
[044: 6] cont. 1:1-8:11 9:19-13:25.
2 [ 253]
5 [ 453]
35 [ 309]
88 [ 200]
181 [ 101]
206 [ 365]
226 [ 156]
241 [ 507]
242 [ 206]
255 [ 174]
326 [ 257]
383 [ 353] cont. 1:1-13:7
429 [ 398]
431 [ 268]
547 [ 157]
623 [ 173]
794 [ 454]
915 [ 382]
917 [ 264]
927 [ 251]
1311 [ 170]
1518 [ 116]
1739 [ 78]
1827 [ 367]
1836 [ 65]
1845 [ 64]
1867 [ 154]
1873 [ 252]
1898 [ 70]
2143 [ 184]
boh The Coptic Version of the NT in the Northern Dialect (Oxford, 1905), vol. iii. pp. 472-555.
Thdt. Theodoret
1 It is inserted by A** 31, 366, 472, 1319 syrhkl arm. If the relative pronoun were assimilated, i.e. if (D* H L 5, 88, 257, 547, etc.) were read for , the accidental omission of would be more intelligible.
Weiss B. Weiss, Textkritik der paulinischen Briefe (in Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, vol. xiv. 3), also Der Hebrerbrief in Zeitgeschichtlicher Beleuchtung (1910).
Blass F. Blass, Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch: vierte, vllig neugearbeitete Auflage, besorgt von Albert Debrunner (1913); also, Brief an die Hebrer, Text mit Angabe der Rhythmen (1903).
[01: 2).
P [025: 3] cont. 1:1-12:8 12:11-13:25.
177 [ 106]
642 [ 552] cont. 1:1-7:18 9:13-13:25
920 [ 55]
1872 [ 209]
A [02: 4].
33 [ 48] Horts 17
1611 [ 208]
2005 [ 1436] cont. 1:1-7:2
vt vt Old Latin, saec. ii. (?)-iv.
Moulton J. H. Moultons Grammar of New Testament Greek, vol. i. (2nd edition, 1906).
vg vg Vulgate, saec. iv.
1245 [ 158]
LXX The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint Version (ed. H. B. Swete).
Thackeray H. St J. Thackeray, A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek (1909).
Philo Philonis Alexandriai Opera Quae Supersunt (recognoverunt L. Cohn et P. Wendland).
ERE Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (ed. J. Hastings).
1 Which is replaced in the text of Hebrews by () 623*, 1836. The augment spelling reappears here as occasionally at v. 8 in a small group (A C D* W, etc.), and the singular . is kept at v. 8 by c Dc K L W, etc.
W [I] cont. 1:1-3, 9-12. 2:4-7, 12-14. 3:4-6, 14-16 4:3-6, 12-14 5:5-7 6:1-3, 10-13, 20 7:1-2, 7-11, 18-20, 27-28 8:1, 7-9 9:1-4, 9-11, 16-19, 25-27 10:5-8, 16-18, 26-29, 35-38 11:6-7, 12-15, 22-24, 31-33, 38-40 12:1, 7-9, 16-18, 25-27 13:7-9, 16-18, 23-25: NT MSS in Freer Collection, The Washington MS of the Epp. of Paul (1918), pp. 294-306. Supports Alexandrian text, and is quite free from Western readings.
1 The vocative is sometimes repeated after by c L 104, 1288, 1739 vg syrhkl and pesh etc., or after (e.g. 1, 1311 harl, arm).
C [04: 3] cont. 2:4-7:26 9:15-10:24 12:16-13:25.
69 [ 505]
256 [ 216]
263 [ 372]
436 [ 172]
462 [ 502]
489 [ 459] Horts 102
999 [ 353]
1837 [ 192]
sah The Coptic Version of the NT in the Southern Dialect (Oxford, 1920), vol. v. pp. 1-131.
Cosm Cosmas Indicopleustes (ed. E. O. Winstedt, CAmbridge, 1909)
104 [ 103]
Theod. Theodore of Mospsuestia
Bgl J. A. Bengelii Gnomon Novi Testamenti (1742).
d (Latin version of D)
r (codex Frisingensis: saec. vi., cont. 6:6-7:5 7:8-8:1 9:27-11:7)
1 In Clem. Rom. 365, 6; they are .
31 [ 103]
1 Hence the idea is not put in quite the same way as in Eph 3:12 ( ). In Sir 25:25 () , A read for Bs , which proves how deeply the idea of liberty was rooted in .
1 The phrase occurs in Test. Dan 5:3 (v. l. ) and in Isa 38:8 (. . .).
2 There is a verbal parallel in the account of Isis-worship given by Apuleius (Metamorph. xi, 28: ergo igitur cunctis adfatim praeparatis principalis dei nocturnis orgiis inlustratus, plena iam fiducia germanae religionis obsequium diuinum frequentabam).
3 More specifically, by the of 12:24.
1 , as 1Co 6:11 , .
2 Cp. Eugen Fehrles Die Kultische Keuschheit in Altertum (1910), pp. 26 f., 131 f.; Sir J. G. Frazers Adonis, Attis, Osiris (1907), pp. 407 f.
Syll. Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum2 (ed. W. Dittenberger).
3 According to a recently discovered (first century) inscription on a Palestinian synagogue (cp. Revue Biblique, 1921, pp. 247 f.), the synagogue was furnished with (for hospitality, cp. below, 13:2) (baths for ritual ablutions).
B [03: 1] cont. 1:1-9:18: for remainder cp. cursive 293.
1 An instance of this is quoted in 11:11.
Erasmus Adnotationes (1516), In epist. Pauli apostoli ad Hebraeos paraphrasis (1521).
Josephus Flavii Josephi Opera Omnia post Immanuelem Bekkerum, recognovit S. A. Naber.
Zahn Theodor Zahns Einleitung in das NT, 45-47.
1 Here it is an equivalent for the phrases used in 6:4, 5; there is no distinction between and () any more than in the LXX, and had been already stamped by Philo (e.g. de Justitia, 6, where the proselyte is said ) as a term for the true religion, which moulds the life of those who become members of the People. Compare the study of the phrase by M. Dibelius in NT Studien fr G. Heinrici (1914), pp. 176-189.
1 Probably it was the awkwardness of , coming after , which led to its omission in W. Sah reads simply the flame of the fire.
2 According to the later rabbinic theory of inspiration, even to assert that Moses uttered one word of the Torah on his own authority was to despise the Torah (Sifre 112, on Num 15:31).
1 Once in the LXX (Pro 15:23) in this sense.
2 In Test. Jud 1:18:2 the poured out upon men is the Spirit as a gracious gift of God. But in Heb 10:29, as in Eph 4:30, it is the divine Spirit wounded or outraged, the active retribution, however, being ascribed not to the Spirit itself but to God.
1 Paul cites the saying to prove that private Christians need not and must not take revenge into their own hands, since God is sure to avenge his people on their adversaries. Which is close to the idea of the original. Our author uses the text to clinch a warning that God will punish (= punibit, not judicabit) his people for defying and deserting him.
2 So the martyr Eleazar protests in 2 Mac 6:26, as he refuses to save his life by unworthy compromise: , .
1 This is not conveyed in , which here, as in 11:35, simply means accepted, not welcomed.
p [ 1034] cont. 2:14-5:6 10:8-11:13 11:28-12:17: Oxyrhynchus Papyri, iv. (1904) 36-48. The tendency, in 2:14-5:5, to agree with B in the omission of unessential words and phrases gives the papyrus peculiar value in the later chapters, where B is deficient; thus p 13 partially makes up for the loss of B after 9:14. Otherwise the text of the papyrus is closest to that of D.
* Words marked * are peculiar in the NT to Hebrews.
424 [O 12] Horts 67
1288 [ 162]
1908 [O 103]
1912 [ 1066]
c (Codex Colbertinus: saec. xii.)
6 [ 356] cont. 1:1-9:3 10:22-13:25
203 [ 203]
506 [ 101]
1 This second future, or , p13 * D*, is read by some editors (e.g. Tregelles, W.H, B. Weiss).
Lo, I Come To Do Thy Will
Heb 10:1-10
When a heavenly body is in eclipse it can be examined with even greater precision than when the astronomers eye is directed toward its burning glory; so in Leviticus we can discover details of our Lords atonement otherwise overlooked. This is notably the case in Lev 1:1-17; Lev 2:1-16; Lev 3:1-17; Lev 4:1-35.
The keywords of this chapter are year by year and day by day as contrasted with continually and forever. Repetition means imperfection. The ancient offerers of sacrifice could never be sure that they were finally accepted. Each year they had to go over the odd ground. How different from us, who have heard Jesus say, It is finished!
The spirit of inspiration offers to us the secret of our Saviors work in His voluntary identification with the divine purposes. It was not so much His outward anguish and blood-shedding that made reconciliation possible, as His cry, Not my will, my Father, but thine. His attitude reminds us of the ancient custom of boring fast to the door the ear of the servant, who desired never again to leave His masters service. Mine ears hast thou bored. See Psa 40:6, margin.
In the first eighteen verses of chapter 10 (Heb 10:1-18)the contrast between the sacrifices under the law and His one offering is brought out more clearly than ever. It is important to follow the argument carefully and notice the close reasoning of the apostle as he contrasts the one with the other. The Levitical economy was but a shadow of the coming good things. It was not an exact delineation of these things. It was therefore impossible that the sacrifices offered upon Jewish altars yearly to perpetuity could perfect those who presented them so far as their consciences were concerned. For if the bringing of a lamb or a bullock could have settled the sin question, what necessity would there have been ever to repeat such a sacrifice? The worshippers, if actually once purged, would have been freed from all conscience of sins. Note carefully, he does not say consciousness of sins but conscience of sins. The distinction is most important. Today I may be conscious of sin in thought, word, and deed, but confessing my sins, I look up into the face of my Father with confidence, knowing that for these very sins the blood of Christ has answered, and thus my conscience is freed from condemnation. This could never be under the former order. Every sin called for a new offering, and then on the great Day of Atonement there was an annual sacrifice for all Israel. Notice Heb 10:3 : In those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. Other translations have been suggested, all of which help to throw light on the meaning. The word translated remembrance might be rendered recognition, calling to mind, or acknowledgment. But why such an acknowledgment of sins if the sacrifice could not actually purge them away? The figure of a promissory note might help here. Let us suppose one is in debt for a certain sum of money. He gives a note to run for a year. At the end of the year he finds himself unable to pay. He renews the note. The note has no real value in itself. Nor did the sacrifices have any moral or spiritual value in the sight of God. But in that note there is an acknowledgment of the debt from year to year. Now let us suppose some one who is well able to pay, endorses the note, what then? When it becomes due, it is referred to him for settlement and he discharges the obligation.
The application is simple and clear. It was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins; but every time a believing Israelite brought his sacrifice to the altar, he was, so to speak, giving his note to God. He acknowledged his indebtedness, his sin, and accepted responsibility for the same. This was all he could do, but the pre-incarnate Christ endorsed every one of the notes and in the fulness of time came prepared to settle in full for all. Wherefore when He cometh info the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me), to do Thy will, O God (Heb 10:5-7). Here indeed is the divine Endorser who undertakes in grace to meet every claim that the throne of God has against penitent sinners. In this passage, which is quoted from Psa 40:6-8, it is interesting to observe that all four of the offerings of Leviticus 1 to 7 are in view. The word sacrifice refers to the peace offering. The term offering is really the minchah, that is, the meal offering. The other two terms are too clearly designated to need any explanation. All of them were of no avail to put away sin, and consequently it could be said of them that God had no pleasure in them. But when His own blessed Son came into the world to fulfil all these types, and to pay in His own Person the redemption price, it is written: It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand (Isa 53:10).
By the fulfilment of the declaration of Psalm 40 He actually wound up the old dispensation and brought in the new. He taketh away the first that He may establish the second.
When He said, I come to do Thy will, He spoke of course of the will of God in His coming to make expiation for iniquity; and by His accomplishment of that will, we who believe in Him are now eternally set apart to God on the basis, not of our promises or feelings or of our personal righteousness, but of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. How slowly truths like these seem to seep into our souls and become part of our very beings. But one may safely say there is no lasting peace until this aspect of Christs work has been laid hold of in faith.
Continuing, the writer reminds his readers that in the sanctuary of old the high priests were constantly ministering and carrying on a work which was never completed, because of the fact that those offerings could not take away sins. The expression every priest standeth is in itself significant. We do not read of a chair or a settee in the tabernacle or temple, for the priests work was never done. But how different it is with our great High Priest above! He, after having offered His one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, where He now waits until His enemies be made the footstool of His feet. Whether one connects the term forever with the expression one sacrifice for sins or with the sitting down, makes little difference. That sacrifice has eternal efficacy. On the other hand, as Priest-Victim, His work done, He sat down never to offer sacrifice again. His one offering is perfect and complete, and all who are linked with Him by faith appear before God in all the value of that finished work, perfected forever, because sanctified in Him.
Of this the Holy Spirit is a witness to us. He has come forth from the Father and the Son to bear testimony to the perfection of that finished work. And it is He who now opens up the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, giving us to see in them what saints of old never realized was there. Witness the quotation from Jer 31:33-34. What was promised to Israel and Judah through the New Covenant is now true of all who turn to Christ. By new birth God puts His laws in their hearts and writes them in their minds, and declares without any qualification, Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. This is complete justification from all things. No charge can now be brought against the one for whom Christ has settled everything. Therefore the blessed conclusion, Where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin (Heb 10:18).
This then entitles the brethren of Christ, the new priestly house, to enter with boldness as purged worshippers into the Holiest, the immediate presence of God, in all the infinite value of the blood of Jesus through that new and living way which He Himself opened for us when, by His death upon the cross, the veil was rent in twain, and God no longer was hidden, nor man in Christ shut out. So intimately are the redeemed and the Redeemer linked together, so truly are the High Priest and priestly house one before God, that we are urged to enter in spirit where He has gone, and to draw near to God with true hearts in the full assurance of that faith that is based upon the knowledge of an accomplished redemption; our hearts having been sprinkled by the blood of Christ from an evil conscience, and like the once-defiled Israelite, our bodies having been washed with the water of purification. It is to be regretted that so few Christians seem to apprehend all this today. It is safe to say that for thousands who have hope in Christ, the veil might just as well never have been rent. They do not have any conception of liberty for access into the Holiest, but think of themselves as a people on probation still, who, if only faithful to their profession will eventually be fitted for admission into the presence of God. How much is thus lost through failure to understand the true Christian position which has been beautifully expressed in the words of an old hymn:
Now we see in Christs acceptance,
But the measure of our own;
He who lay beneath our sentence
Seated high upon the throne.
God sees every believer in Him, and the feeblest saint has title to immediate access into the Holiest through the atoning blood. The exhortation and warning that follow were never intended by the Holy Spirit to becloud this blessed truth in the slightest degree, but rather to accentuate the importance of holding fast what is here revealed.
Section D. Heb 10:23-39
Warning Against Apostasy; Evidences of Reality
After the gracious invitation to enter into the Holiest comes the counter exhortation of Heb 10:23-25 : Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful that promised); and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. In Heb 10:23 confession would be a better word than profession, as in A. V. We may profess what is not true. We confess that which is. The believer has declared his faith in a crucified, risen, and glorified Christ. He is exhorted to hold fast this great confession without turning either to the right or to the left, assured of the faithfulness of Him who gave the promises concerning His Son, and has in grace fulfilled them up to the present moment. One great promise remains to be confirmed at our Lords return, and we may be assured that He who has never failed in one respect in regard to the past and present work of Christ, will be equally faithful in regard to that which is to come.
Three times in this part of the chapter, we have the persuasive words, let us. First, Let us draw near, Heb 10:22; second, Let us hold fast; Heb 10:23; and now, Let us consider one another, Heb 10:24. The believer is not alone in his confession of Christ, nor is he to act in isolation. He is linked with others both by nature and grace, and he is called upon to seek to stir up his brethren unto love and to good works, assembling with fellow-saints for worship, prayer, and testimony, not coldly withdrawing himself as the manner of some, but remembering his responsibility toward his brethren is all the greater if some seem to have failed grievously and others are in danger of it. Nor is he to make special light on prophetic truth a reason for assuming a sectarian attitude toward his brethren. He needs them and they need him all the more as the day of Christs glorious return to this earth approaches.
In Heb 10:26-31 we have another side of things altogether. The warning, as in chap. 6, is against apostasy. We read: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The warning here is based upon the perfection of the one sacrifice of Christ, which has been opened up in such a marvelous way in the preceding part of the chapter; as that of chapter 6 was based upon the manifest power of the Holy Spirit working in the Christian company, which was designed of God to exalt the Person of Christ. To apostatize either from the truth as to His Person or His finished work, means eternal ruin. It is not mere failure in the life that is here contemplated. The wilful sin in this passage is the definite rejection of His atoning sacrifice. Nor is this simply the foolish and wicked determination of a moment, of which many have been guilty, but have afterwards been brought to sincere repentance. The apostle really says, If we are sinning wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no other sacrifice for sins. The verb is the present participle. It is what has become habitual. If, after fully examining what the Old Testament Scriptures teach concerning Christ and His work and comparing it with the New Testament presentation, thus having obtained the knowledge of the truth, one deliberately and persistently rejects it, God has nothing more to say to him. By so doing, he spurns the only means of salvation for Jew or Gentile. An apostate Hebrew might have reasoned within himself that the sacrifices still going on at the temple were all that he needed, and therefore, even though he had professed to be a follower of Christ, he would turn back to them; but this would be a fearful mistake. Those sacrifices no longer availed. Christs atonement alone met the claims of God in respect to sin. And so the apostate had nothing to look forward to but the certainty of divine judgment and flaming wrath. Of old, the despiser of the first covenant died without mercy upon the testimony of two or three witnesses. But what was his guilt compared to that of the man who had become acquainted with the gospel message, had at one time been intellectually convinced of the truth, but for selfish reasons had finally turned away from it and gone back to Judaism? To do this was to tread under foot the Son of God and count the blood of the new covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing. Manifestly this could never be true of one born of God, for the Holy Spirit abiding within would preserve from so terrible a step. Yet what is the meaning of the expression, The blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified? The answer surely is that sanctification is here positional. Just as all Israel was set apart by the blood of the old covenant at Sinai, and yet any Israelite lacking faith could turn from all the privileges that were his by virtue of that blood, so to-day the entire professing Church is set apart to God on earth in the value of the blood of the new covenant. But this does not preclude the possibility of abjuring this covenant sign and refusing the blessedness which it has purchased. The Holy Spirit delights to magnify Christ and to exalt His work. To refuse His testimony is to do despite unto the Spirit of grace. This expression, the Spirit of grace, occurs only here in the New Testament, and is found only once in the Old Testament, and that in Zec 12:10.
There is a very interesting suggestion in Heb 10:30 in corroboration of the position we have already taken as to the authorship of this Epistle. We read, We know Him who hath said, Vengeance belongeth to Me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. These quotations are from Deu 32:35-36. The second one is an exact quotation from the Hebrew, but the first one is quoted neither from the Hebrew nor the LXX. It is the writers own rendering of the passage, and is exactly the same in the Greek as the quotation in Rom 12:19. We know who the author of Romans was. We may be certain that the same hand penned the Epistle to the Hebrews.
This word of warning closes for the moment with the solemn declaration, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. All who reject the testimony He has given concerning His Son must meet Him in judgment; and we read elsewhere, In Thy sight shall no man living be justified (Psa 143:2). But he who has died is justified from sin, as a literal rendering of Rom 6:7 tells us.
Satan has used the passage we have been considering to trouble and perplex honest souls whose sensitive consciences accuse them of failure to walk with God as they should. Such have often been made to fear that they were guilty of the wilful sin here contemplated. But it is not the question of what is commonly called backsliding that is before us. Of this any real believer may often be guilty; but even when overwhelmed with failure, he clings more tenaciously than ever to the fact that Jesus is the only Saviour and His sacrifice the only means of deliverance from sins judgment. The apostate of this chapter has no such hope or consciousness. He has spurned utterly both the Christ and the cross. He holds the blood of Jesus in contempt, and hence for him there is nothing but doom ahead.
It is evident that from Heb 10:32 to the end of the chapter, the writer is seeking to assure the hearts of all who have really trusted Christ that his words do not apply to them, while on the other hand he would warn them of the danger of turning their back in the slightest degree upon any truth that God had revealed. He bids them remember the former days, the days when upon first being awakened by the Holy Spirit and enlightened by the truth, they turned from the world for His dear sake and were content to suffer for His name, enduring a great fight of afflictions, sometimes suffering personally both by reproach and persecution, and at other times bearing the contempt of their former co-religionists because of fellowship with those who were suffering for Christs sake. They had in this way manifested their love for him showing him every consideration possible after his imprisonment, even taking joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing on the authority of the Word of God that they had in Heaven a better and enduring treasure. Having begun so well, and up to the present time continued in the part of devoted separation to Christ, he exhorts them so to continue to the end. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise (Heb 10:35-36). Reward is distinguished from salvation. The latter is altogether by grace, and is ours from the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is at His coming that we shall receive our reward. He says, Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give unto every man according as his work shall be. In view of this, how needful it is that we endure patiently, assured that when we have fulfilled the will of God concerning us, we shall receive in full the promised blessing at His return. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry (Heb 10:37). This is a paraphrase of Hab 2:3, which in the LXX reads, For the vision is for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though He should tarry, wait for Him; for He will surely come and will not delay. It is Christ Himself who is before the eye of the prophet. He will fulfil every promise made to His suffering people when He returns in power and glory. Nor is His coming to be long delayed, though it may seem so sometimes to His waiting people. But we need to remember that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, so that not yet have two days gone by in Gods reckoning since Jesus went away. Who knows that ere this second day is past He may be back again.
In the meantime God has said, The just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him. This also is a quotation from Hab 2:4. It is remarkable the way a brief text from an obscure Old Testament writer is used by the Spirit of God in emphasizing the great truth that is characteristic of the present age, The just shall live by faith. We are justified by faith; we are maintained in a righteous life by faith; and by faith we live to God. If any, after making a profession such as this, turn back, they prove that there was no real faith in the soul, and God declares, He hath no pleasure in them. But how comforting the words with which the chapter closes. What assurance they are designed to impart to every trusting one. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. There is an intellectual believing that saves no one. One may accept Christianity as a system one day and give it up the next. But he who truly trusts in Christ is saved even now, and will never draw back unto eternal loss. Concerning all such our Lord has said, Those that Thou gavest Me, I have kept, and none of them is lost. And we are told that He who hath begun a good work in them will perform it unto the day of Christ. Therefore it should be plain that salvation is not in our keeping, but we ourselves are kept by the power of God. None can pluck us out of the hands of the Father and the Son. Eternal life would not be eternal if it were forfeitable and could ever be lost.
Heb 10:1-7
Lo, I come.
I. None but the Son of God could offer unto the Father a sacrifice to please Him, and to reconcile us unto Him in a perfect manner. The burnt-offerings and sin-offerings were ordained merely as shadows and temporary types of that one offering, the self-devotedness of the Son of God to accomplish all the will of God, the counsel of salvation. It is the Divine and eternal offering of Himself unto the Father in which the incarnation and death of the Lord Jesus are rooted; it is the voluntary character of His advent and passion, and it is the Divine dignity of the Mediator, which render His work unique, to which nothing can be compared, and a repetition of which is impossible.
II. Rise from the river to its source, from the rays of light and love to the eternal origin and fount. See in the life, the obedience, the agony of Jesus, the expression of that free surrender of Himself, and espousal of our cause, which was accomplished in eternity, in His own all-glorious and perfect divinity. Beware lest you see in Him only the faith and obedience, the sufferings and death of the Son of Man; see His eternal divinity shining through and sustaining all His humanity.
III. This truth is revealed to us, not merely to establish our hearts in peace, and to fill us with adoring gratitude and joy, but here, marvellous to say, is held out to us a model which we are to imitate, a principle of life which we are to adopt. So wondrously are high mysteries and deep doctrines intertwined with daily duties, and the transformation of our character, that the Apostle Paul, when exhorting the Philippians to avoid strife and vain-glory, and have brotherly love and helpfulness, ascends from our lowly earthly path into this highest region of the eternal covenant. As we owe all to Him, let us be not merely debtors, but followers of Him who came, not to do His own will, and to be ministered unto, who came to love and to serve, to give and to bless, to suffer and to die.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 167.
Reference: Heb 10:1-14.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 46.
Heb 10:5
The Body of Christ.
The mystical body of Christ is the whole fellowship of all who are united to Him by the Spirit, whether they be at rest in the world unseen, or here in warfare still on earth, differing only in this, that all His members who have been gathered out of this world are secure for ever; but in this world they who are still in trial may yet be taken away, and, as the fruitless and withered branch, cast forth for the burning. There are three manners, three miracles of Divine omnipotence, by which Christ’s one body has been, is, and present: the first, as mortal and natural; the second, supernatural, real, and substantial; the third, mystical, by our incorporation. Surely these great realities ought to teach us many high and practical truths.
I. As, for instance, with how much of loving reverence we ought to regard every baptised person. He is a member of Christ; what more can be spoken or conceived? He is united by the Spirit of Christ to the mystical body, of which the Lord made flesh is the supernatural Head. He has in Him a life and an element which is above this world; even “the powers of the world to come.” We partake of Him-of His very flesh, of His mind, of His will, and of His Spirit.
II. This is the great reality which has restored to the world two great laws of love, the unity and the equality of man. All the members of Christ are one in Him, and equal, because He is in all. The highest and most endowed is but as the poorest and the lowest. Christ’s kingdom is full of heavenly paradoxes. Even the poor working man, with his hard palms, sits at the marriage supper with the king and princes; it may be he sits higher than his earthly lord. There is a courtesy, and a mutual observance, which is the peculiar dignity and sweetness of a Christian; and the source of it is, that He sees the presence of His Lord in others, and reveres Him in himself. Only the true Christian can have real self-respect. From this springs purity of manners, language, conversation, and amusements in private and social life.
III. And one more thought we may take from this blessed mystery,-I mean, with what veneration and devotion we ought to behave ourselves towards the presence of Christ, in the Sacrament of His body and Blood.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. iv., p. 190.
The Atonement.
I. In Christ’s sacrifice there was no earthly altar, no expiatory form, no visible priest; nobody could have told, either from His life or from His death, that He was the victim; He died by the natural course of events, as the effect of a holy and courageous life operating upon the intense jealousy of a class; He died by civil punishment, and in heaven that death pleaded as the sacrifice that taketh away the sin of the world. But that sacrifice was a willing, a self-offered sacrifice. The circumstance, then, of the victim being self-offered, makes, in the first place, all the difference upon the question of injustice to the victim. He who is sent is one in being with Him who sends. His willing submission, therefore, is not the willing submission of a mere man to one who is in a human sense another; but it is the act of one who, by submitting to another, submits to himself. By virtue of His unity with the Father, the Son originates, carries on, and completes Himself the work of the Atonement. It is His own original will to do this, His own spontaneous undertaking.
II. Consider the effect of the act of the Atonement upon the sinner. It will be seen, then, that with respect to this effect, the willingness of a sacrifice changes the mode of the operation of a sacrifice, so that it acts on a totally different principle and law from that upon which a sacrifice of mere substitution rests. The Gospel puts before us the doctrine of the Atonement in this light, that the mercy of the Father is called out toward man by our Lord Jesus Christ’s generous sacrifice of Himself on behalf of man. The act of one produces this result in the mind of God towards another; the act of a suffering Mediator reconciles God to the guilty. But neither in natural mediation, nor in supernatural, does the act of suffering love, in producing that change of regard to which it tends, dispense with the moral change in the criminal. We cannot, of course, because a good man suffers for a criminal, alter our regards for him if he obstinately continues a criminal. And if the gospel taught any such thing in the doctrine of atonement, that would certainly expose itself to the charge of immorality. So rooted is the great principle of mediation in nature, that the mediator-ship of Christ cannot be revealed to us without reminding us of a whole world of analogous action, and a representation of action. It is this rooted idea of a mediator in the human heart which is so sublimely displayed in the sacred crowds of St. John’s Revelation. The multitude which no man can number are indeed there, all holy; all kings and priests are consecrated and elect. But the individual greatness of all is consummated in One who is in the centre of the whole, Him who is the need of the whole race, who heads it, who has saved it, its King and Representative, the First-born of the whole creation, and the Redeemer of it. Toward Him all faces are turned; and it is as when a vast army fixes its look upon a great commander in whom it glories, who on some festival day is placed conspicuously in the midst. The air of heaven is perfumed with the fragrance of an altar, and animated with the glory of a great conquest. The victory of the Mediator never ceases, and all triumph in Him.
J. B. Mozley, University Sermons, p. 162.
References: Heb 10:5.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., pp. 275, 413. Heb 10:5-7.-G. Huntingdon, Sermons for Holy Seasons, p. 161; J. Thain Davidson, Sure to Succeed, p. 61.
Heb 10:5-18
Our Perfection.
I. Perfection is now given to all who believe God Himself is our salvation. Jehovah Himself is our righteousness. Christ’s inheritance is our inheritance. The source is eternal love, self-moved, infinite, ocean without shore; the channel is free, abounding grace; the gift is eternal life, even life by the Holy Ghost in oneness with Jesus. The foundation is the obedience of Christ, eternal in its origin, infinite in its value, and unspeakably God-pleasing in its character.
II. The word “perfected” falls with a strange sound on those who are experiencing daily their sad imperfections.. But the Christian is a strange paradox. You may be caught up into the third heaven, and yet the abundance of this revelation will not burn up the dross that is in you, or kill the old man, the flesh which warreth against the spirit. On the contrary, there is the danger, imminent and great, lest you be exalted above measure, and dream of victory and enjoyment while you are still on the battlefield. We have died once with Christ, and with Christ are accepted and perfect; but our old nature is not dead, the flesh in us is not annihilated; there is still within us that which has no pleasure in the will and ways of God. We sin, we fall, we carry about with us a mind resisting God’s will, criticising it, and rebelling, and we shall experience to the very last breath we draw on earth that there is a conflict, and that we must strive and suffer in order to be faithful unto death. So we confess daily our errors and our sins, and condemn ourselves whenever we appear before God; yet are we perfect in Christ Jesus. Deeper than all our grief is the melody of the heart, and always can we rejoice in God.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 187.
Heb 10:7
I. The life of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most beautiful life that has ever been lived in the world. All sorts of beauty were bright in Him. The beauty of virtue, the beauty of godliness, the beauty of love, the beauty of sympathy, the beauty of obedience, and this without crack or flaw; beauty which shone in the house, beauty which flamed in the temple, beauty which lighted up the cornfield and the wayside, beauty which graced alike the table of the publican and the Pharisee, beauty with smiles and tears, gifts and helps for men, women, and children as He found them. Ever radiant, ever beneficent. In the old pictures they used to paint Him with a gloriole or nimbus round His head, and had we seen Him anywhere, from cradle to cross, from tomb to cloud, in a trice we should have picked Him out from ail others for His very beauty.
II. One great reason why that beautiful life has been lived amongst us men is that we may make our lives beautiful by it. There is nothing in Christ that is foreign to us. He was a man amongst men. All His beauty is capable of translation into our lives. Nothing in Him was superfluous in us. Nothing that was in Him can we lack without leaving void or chasm in our being.
III. The secret of this most beautiful life of our Lord Jesus Christ is told us. The will of God was to Him an irresistible spell. By it He accepted all tasks, and achieved them; by it He faced all sufferings, and endured them. No other explanation of His life is needed. Its strength, its unity, its manifold beauty are all intelligible now. The great secret is out. He came to do the will of God.
IV. What a beautiful will the will of God must be if the beautiful life of Christ is simply its outcome. If we would make our life beautiful like that of Christ, we must daily study the will of God, and just be and do what that will ordains. This is the one grand law of time and eternity, of earth and heaven.
G. B. Johnson, The Beautiful Life of Christ, p. 1.
Reference: Heb 10:7.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 96.
Heb 10:7-10
I. The election of God is that ocean of love which surrounds our earthly Christian life as an island, and which we can never lose out of sight for any length of time. Is it not our ultimate refuge in our weakness, our afflictions, our trials? Thus we ascend to the eternal counsel of God, whether we consider the character of the Gospel dispensation in its relation to the law, or the Divine righteousness and life through faith in the crucified Saviour, or the work of grace in conversion, or the spiritual experience of the believer. Infinite love from all eternity purposed to clothe us with Divine and perfect righteousness, to endow us with an incorruptible inheritance, and this through the gift and the self-devotedness of the Son.
II. Of the eternal counsel of God, Jesus crucified is the centre and the manifestation. He came to offer unto God that which sacrifice and burnt-offering could only shadow forth. In the sin-offering, death, due to the offerer, was transferred to the sacrifice; in the burnt-offering one already accepted professed his will to offer himself wholly unto the will of God. How perfectly and above all finite conception was this twofold sacrifice fulfilled in Christ!
III. From all eternity God, according to His good pleasure, which He had purposed in Himself, chose us in Christ that we should be to the praise of His glory. Notice the expression “good pleasure.” It is God’s eternal delight, this purpose of self-manifestation in grace; His counsel and election centre in the Son of His love, in the Only-begotten. It is according to this same good pleasure, to this same eternal, free, infinite delight, that God calls and converts souls through the foolishness of preaching; that He gives unto us the adoption of children, and the forgiveness of sins; it is the Father’s good pleasure to keep the little flock, and afterwards to give them the kingdom and the glory, together to Jesus.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 186.
Heb 10:8-9
Atonement.
If an innocent man should suffer, what is the common verdict of the world? It says, “There is a crime beneath the seeming innocence, or he would not suffer.” The book of Job gives the Old Testament answer to this blind opinion. The complete answer is in the death and suffering of Jesus. It has been written there for all the world to read, that this stupid maxim is wrong; suffering does not prove God’s anger, nor prove the sufferer’s sin. If increase of love were possible, never did the Father so deeply love the Son of man as at the hour of the cross; if increase of righteousness were possible, never was Jesus more sinless than in that hour of human agony and apparent defeat.
I, Christ did not come to tell us that God needed to be reconciled to us, but that we needed to reconcile ourselves to Him. Christ did not come to die for us, the innocent for the guilty, that God’s justice might be satisfied, and because of this satisfaction be enabled to show mercy to us. He came to die that He might make us feel, through the intensity of His human love, how much God loved us, and make us understand that God’s justice, though it punished, was final mercy. Christ did not come to enable God to forgive us, He came to tell us that God had forgiven us.
II. The things which belong to the law of atonement are not theological dreams, woven out of the intellect, not parts of a scheme; they are developments of human powers natural to man, things possible to his nature, growing out of the common life of man; ideas, but practical ideas; the flower, according to law, of plants in the garden of human nature. Christ manifested these powers, showed that they were practical and possible, made us understand that we could blossom also into this perfection. And that was another way in which He brought salvation to us, took away our sins, and justly earned the title of Redeemer. His revelation reconciles us to God; reconciles man to man; reconciles man to suffering.
S. A. Brooke, The Unity of God and Man, p. 82.
References: Heb 10:9.-G. Dawson, Sermons on Disputed Points, p. 73; Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 319; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iii., p. 18. Heb 10:10.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1527; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 145. Heb 10:11.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xviii., No. 1034.
Heb 10:12
The Lessons of the Cross.
Our Lord’s suffering is also
I. Our example. How powerful the force of that teaching has been; how deep it has sunk into human nature’s heart. Here is He who was man, and yet was God. As God He could not die, but He stooped to death in the inferior nature. There is no limit to the force of this example. He has burst the gap through the gloomy barrier that fenced in the human life; He has let in light where all was dark before. His footsteps shine before us on the way, and the more rugged and painful the ground, the more firmly are they printed, the more deeply traceable.
II. But, again, the death of Christ witnesses to truth. All prophecy and its fulfilment, all teaching and its verification in the life of man, is less convincing than the tale of the cross. It proves to us the truth in practice, that the will of God is the law and life to man. Life eternal is our object, and therefore suffering is our business.
III. The cross of Christ is our greatest lesson in moral teaching. It teaches us under this head, (1) the immense value of our souls, and (2) the heinousness of sin as the bane and scourge of those souls.
IV. And, lastly, it is our bond of union. He died to gather together in one the Church of God which is scattered abroad, to become the Good Shepherd of those far-off sheep, to bring them home to Him and to each other. The Church of God is the result, imperfect, scantily realised, and in idea so wide and so prominent, so historically grand, so socially vast, that its failure-so far as it has failed-is forced into prominence which meaner things could not reach. But the Church of God in its imperfections does but sum up and contain the total of the shortcomings of its members. They are Christ’s members still; He counts them as such, and we may count them as such.
H. Hayman, Rugby Sermons, p. 214.
Heb 10:12
I. There is an exceeding grandeur-approaching to awe-about everything which can be done only once. This is a great part of the grandeur of death, and of the judgment in their nature, they can be only once. And the atonement is the more grand because it is of the same character. The cross is magnificently fearful in its perfect isolation. Everything in religious truth, which went before it in ages past, looked on to it. Everything in religious truth which has ever followed, and in ages yet to come, looks back to it. It is the bud of all, the beginning of all, the sum of all.
I. We make sacrifices, and what are they? If we think, in any sense whatever, to offer up anything in the slightest degree propitiatory for sin, we plainly violate the whole Bible. We offer three things: our praises, our duties, and ourselves. These are our only sacrifices. And what makes these things sacrifices? The Christ that is in them. So that still, be we of the Jewish or the Christian dispensation, the same thing is true-there is “one sacrifice for sins for ever.”
II. Remember, that marvellous as is the region of the thought in which we are walking when we treat of the atonement, it is all in accordance with the most perfect sense of our understanding, and all lies within the strictest limit of perfect justice; nay, its foundation is justice, and it commends itself to every man’s judgment as soon as he sees it. But such a view as a prospective forgiveness of future sin would violate every principle of common sense. Holiness is the great end of the cross. Pardon, peace, salvation, happiness, are only means-means to holiness; holiness, which is the image of God, which is the glory of God. Beware of any approach to any view of Christ which does not directly tend to personal holiness. For He perfects-whom? Them that are sanctified.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 5th series, p. 138.
References: Heb 10:12.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 230. Heb 10:12, Heb 10:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ii., No. 91.
Heb 10:12-14
The Only Sacrifice.
There is, and there can be, only one atonement for the sin of the world-the sacrifice of the death of Christ. This alone is in itself meritorious, propitiatory, and of infinite price and power. And this is, in fact, the whole argument of the Epistle to the Hebrews. St. Paul is showing that the law of Moses was in itself without power; that it could make no propitiation, no true atonement in the eternal world; that the vileness of the sacrifices was enough to show their impotence, and much more their continual repetition.
I. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then, is one. There is no other like it, or second after it. It is not the highest of a kind, or the perfecting of any order of oblations; but, like His Person, a mystery sole and apart. In what does this unity consist? In the nature, the quality and the passion of Him who offered Himself. (1) It is one and unapproachable, because He was a Divine Person, both God and man. (2) In like manner the sacrifice is one and above all, in the quality of the person who, as God, was holy, as man was sinless. It was not the obedience only of man for man, but of man without sin; nor only a sinless man for sinners, but the obedience of God. (3) And, further, as the nature and the quality, so the passion of Christ gives to His sacrifice an unity of transcendent perfection. Righteous, holy, pure, perfect in love both to God and man, He offered Himself up as a sacrifice and atonement between God and man. This, then, is its unity.
II. But, further, the sacrifice is not only one, but continuous. As by its unity it abolished the multitude of oblations, so by its continuity it abolished the repetition of sacrifices. To add one more would be to deny its final atonement. The sacrifice of Christ is as everlasting as His Person. He was pierced on Calvary, but His passion is still before the mercy-seat. He was pierced eighteen hundred years ago, but His blood was shed four thousand years before, and His wounds are fresh and atoning until now. His sacrifice is eternal. Though every light in the firmament of heaven were a world, and every world dead in sin; and though time should multiply the generations of sinners for ever, yet that one sacrifice for sin would infinitely redeem all worlds.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. iv., p. 210.
Heb 10:14
Christ our Priest.
The Epistle to the Hebrews represents Christ as our High Priest, and His office as a priesthood; as a priesthood in the two great parts of the priestly character, sacrifice and intercession or mediation. And it declares, also, that this is the only priest, and the only priesthood which the gospel acknowledges.
I. Christ, then, by one offering, hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. By one offering, namely, the offering of Himself upon the cross, for the sins of the whole world. By this offering we are perfected, and without it we were lost. Undoubtedly these few words are the very sum and substance of the gospel. Every heart, however constituted, with all our manifold varieties of power and disposition, can yet find in Christ that which will better suit its peculiar nature than anything to be found elsewhere; all of us, if we could truly believe in Christ should assuredly find that our faith had saved us.
II. He has perfected us; that is, the work is complete, if we would but believe it; but till we do believe it, it is in us not completed. It is complete in us when our hearts are softened, and God and Christ and our own sin are fully before us; but as they pass away, so it becomes again undone. It becomes undone, because then we do not believe. Another belief is ruling in our hearts; the belief that we may follow our own ways, and live safely without God. But when we believe in God, the Father of Christ, we shall know and feel what is meant by infinite holiness and infinite love; and by the one offering of our High Priest once offered, we shall feel that we who were dead are made alive-that we are now for ever perfected.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 78.
References: Heb 10:14.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 232; Clergyman’s Magazine,-vol. iv.,p. 224; vol. vi.,p. 153. Heb 10:15-18.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii., No. 714; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 47. Heb 10:17.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii., No. 1685. Heb 10:19.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. viii., p. 361. Heb 10:19, Heb 10:20.-Bishop Thorold, Church of England Pulpit, vol. i., p. 81; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 144. Heb 10:19-22.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 266; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 463.
Heb 10:19-25
Faith, Hope, and Love.
I. The Apostle’s great argument is concluded, and the result is placed before us in a very short summary. We have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way; and we have in the heavenly sanctuary a great Priest over the house of God. On this foundation rests a threefold exhortation. (1) Let us draw near with a true heart, in the full assurance of faith. (2) Let us hold fast the profession of hope without wavering. (3) Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Faith, hope, and love-this is the threefold result of Christ’s entrance into heaven, spiritually discerned, and a believing, hoping, and loving attitude of heart corresponds to the new covenant relation of Divine grace.
II. In times of persecution or lukewarmness, Christian fellowship is specially important; it is likewise a test of our faithfulness. The Hebrews, it seems, needed this word of exhortation; and the Apostle confirms it by the solemn addition, “Forasmuch as ye see the day approaching.” The Apostle refers, doubtless, to the approaching judgment of Jerusalem, connecting it, according to the law of prophetic vista, with the final crisis. Because the Lord is at hand we are to be patient, loving, gentle,-exercising forbearance towards our brother, while examining with strict care our own work.
III. The second advent of our Lord is the most powerful, as well as the most constraining motive. Called to eternal fellowship and love in joy and glory, let us fulfil the ministry of love in suffering and service, and let every day see some help and consolation given to our fellow-pilgrims. Christians see the day approaching, for they love Christ’s appearing; and to them the day of light is not far off. Jesus said, “I come quickly,” and the long delay of centuries does not contradict this “quickly.” Christ is looking forward unto His return and to nothing else.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 219.
Heb 10:22
Sins of Ignorance and Weakness.
Among the reasons which may be assigned for the observance of prayer at stated times, there is one which is very obvious, and yet perhaps is not so carefully remembered and acted upon as it should be. I mean the necessity of sinners cleansing themselves from time to time of the ever-accumulating guilt which loads their consciences. We cannot, by one act of faith, establish ourselves for ever after in the favour of God. The text is addressed to Christians, to the regenerate; yet so far from their regeneration having cleansed them once for all, they are bid ever to sprinkle the blood of Christ upon their consciences, and renew, as it were, their baptism, and so continuously appear before the presence of Almighty God.
I. First consider our present condition, as shown us in Scripture. Christ has not changed this, though He has died; it is as it was from the beginning-I mean our natural state as men. We are changed one by one; the race of man is what it ever was, guilty-what it was before Christ came. The taint of death is upon us, and surely we shall be stifled by the encompassing plague, unless God from day to day vouchsafes to make us clean.
II. Again, reflect on the habits of sin which we superadded to our evil nature before we turned to God. Here is another source of continual defilement. Through the sins of our youth, the power of the flesh is exerted against us, as a second creative principle of evil, aiding the malice of the devil.
III. Further, consider how many sins are involved in our obedience, I may say from the mere necessity of the case: that is, from not having that more clear-sighted and vigorous faith which would enable us accurately to discern, and closely to follow the way of life. We attempt great things with the necessity of failing, and yet the necessity of attempting; and so while we attempt, need continual forgiveness for the failure of the attempt. How inexpressibly needful to relieve ourselves of the evil that weighs upon the heart, by drawing near to God in full assurance of faith, and washing away our guilt by the expiation which He has appointed.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. i., p. 83.
References: Heb 10:23.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxii., No. 1897. Heb 10:23, Heb 10:24.-J. B. Heard, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 344. Heb 10:23-25.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 464.
Heb 10:24
I. “Works.” Work is the condition of life in the world. The law of both kingdoms alike is, “If any man will not work, neither should he eat.” Work has been made a necessity in the constitution of nature, and declared a duty in the positive precepts of Scripture. Idleness is both sin and misery. Every thing is working. A non-productive class is an anomaly in creation. Christ was a worker. He went about doing. The world is a field. It must be subdued and made the garden of the Lord.
II. Good works. It is not any work that will please God or be profitable to man. A bustling life will not make heaven sure. The works must be good in design and character. The motive must be pure, and the effect beneficent. Good works rendered by Christians to Christ, put forth upon a needy world, are not dangerous things. Christians should not be jealous, but zealous of good works. The Lord requires them; disciples render them; the world needs them.
III. Love and good works. Verily good works constitute a refreshing stream in the world wherever they are found flowing. It is a pity that they are too often like Oriental torrents, waters that fail in the time of need.
IV. Provoke unto love and good works. All the really effective machinery for doing good in the world depends for propulsion on the love that glows in human breasts; with all the revival of our own favoured times, the wheels, clogged with the thick clay of a predominating selfishness, move but slowly. Up with the impelling love into greater warmth, that it may put forth greater power.
V. “Consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” It is the considerer, not the considered, who is provoked unto love. What attitude must we assume, and what preparation must we make, in order that love by the ministry of the Spirit may he kindled in our heart? Here is the prescription short and plain, “Consider one another.”
W. Arnot, Roots and Fruits, p. 51.
Mutual Consideration.
I. Mutual consideration is to be a cultivated influence. By that I mean, that consideration is not necessarily natural to children, although it is to some. There is an inborn selfishness in most children; yet some little folks seem to be dowered with thoughtful faculties which they have inherited. Even children can be like Christ, living in others. Consideration is to be cultivated; and the child’s nature, through Christ’s renewing grace, will grow into carefulness about his neighbours, and about everybody.
II. Mutual consideration is to be a provocative influence. “Consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” Why has the word “provoke” got to have an ugly meaning? Why, in the same way that the word “retaliation” has. Because men oftener retaliate injuries than benefits! If I were to announce a sermon on “Retaliation,” most people would think that I meant to preach against the retaliation of injuries, forgetting the fact that a man can retaliate a benefit just as well as an injury! How can you provoke unto love? It cannot be done by speech, unless that speech is translated into deed. So the Apostle says, “Provoking one another.” When you see the speech translated into the deed, then you have the provocative power. The attractive power of life is in character, not in word only; and be thankful, those of you who are engaged in mission work, that you do not know all the results, for the might of influence has provoked some people you have never seen. This is the grandest thought to take away with us; that something which occurred twenty years ago may be provoking another invitation today, for good deeds never die; they walk the earth when we are dead and gone.
III. Mutual consideration is to be a Church influence. Consideration is the element that is to change the world. The cross living in us, and transfiguring us, will take away all those elements in our life which make us Pharisaic towards sinners, proud of our virtues, selfish in our thoughts and aims, hard in our judgments, and vulgar in our manners.
W. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 92.
References: Heb 10:24.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 135; T. G. Bonney, Church of England Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 225. Heb 10:25.-C. P. Reichel, Ibid., vol. xiii., p. 133; Homilist, 2nd series, vol. i., p. 588; Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvi., p. 216; W. Scott, Ibid., vol. xxix., p. 56; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. x., p. 289. Heb 10:26.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 465.
Heb 10:26-39
Warning against Apostasy.
I. Note briefly some misconceptions which prevent some readers of Scripture from receiving in a meek and docile spirit solemn admonitions of the Holy Ghost, such as the present. (1) There is an undue and one-sided haste to be happy and in the enjoyment of comfort. (2) There is a one-sided and unscriptural forgetfulness of the true position of the believer, as a man who is still on the road, in the battle; who has still the responsibility of trading with the talent entrusted, and watching for the return of the Master. (3) We must remember that God, in the Gospel and in the outward Church, deals with mankind, and not merely with the elect known only unto Him. The warning is necessary, for the actual condition of the Church embraces false professors. It is necessary and salutary for all, for young and weak believers, as well as for the most experienced. It is, above all, true; for the gospel reveals to us the living and holy God, the earnestness and jealousy, as well as the tenderness of Divine love.
II. Mark the bearing of the passage on the mere professor of Christianity. If we follow our deceitful and sluggish hearts, we neither rejoice in God’s promises, nor tremble at His threatenings. The world knows not the sweetness of Divine love, nor does it stand in awe before God’s wrath. And professing Christians also may forget that our God is a consuming fire, and that we must either serve Him with all our heart, or depart from Him as evil-doers. God sends now the message of peace; but this message rests on the full manifestation, and not upon a change of his character. And hence the gospel brings to him who, in fear and trembling, and with faith, accepts it, salvation, blood-bought, and wrought into us by a total and central renewal of our hearts; whereas it brings to him who rejects it a fuller disclosure of God’s wrath, and a sterner announcement of everlasting perdition.
A. Saphir, Lectures on Hebrews, vol. ii., p. 237.
References: Heb 10:28, Heb 10:29.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 258. Heb 10:30.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 84.
Heb 10:31
The Judgments of God.
I. This is, of all the revelations of Scripture, the one which men can least bear. They would fain find something of hope, something of mitigation, even in the heaviest sentence of God’s anger. They would fain believe that all shall be well at the last. Most natural is it for flesh and blood so to wish; most natural that the strong wish should labour to become belief. But the declaration of God’s truth is in His own Scriptures clear and full; no man can mistake, no man can dispute its meaning. Can that be inconsistent with God’s mercy which is declared by Him who laid down His life for us?
II. The real Christian faith in Christ’s promises and Christ’s threatenings is what we all require daily. Where is the man of us, however earnestly he may love Christ’s words, who can pretend that he believes them with the same undoubting faith that he could do if he knew and loved Christ better? Conceive, if that were the case, how entire would be our confidence in all God’s words; how steadily should we look beyond the grave, and see the river’s further shore. For what makes death clear or dark to us is exactly our greater or less knowledge of God, a knowledge that if we are with Him we shall be safe and happy, whether it be in life or death. And it is a knowledge also of His terrors, that it is indeed a fearful thing to find ourselves in His hands for the first time when He comes with judgment. Here we knew Him not, and therefore carelessly offended Him; but there we must know Him, and shall find that the evil done or the good not done to one of the least of our brethren was a wrong or a neglect to Him.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 253.
References: Heb 10:31.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xii., No. 682; R. L. Browne, Sussex Sermons, p. 241. Heb 10:32.-E. White, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 72; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 200. Heb 10:34-37.-Homilist, 3rd series, vol. i., p. 222. Heb 10:35.-H. F. Walker, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 341; J. B. Brown, Ibid., vol. xxiii., p. 113. Heb 10:35, Heb 10:36.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 378; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iii., p. 210. Heb 10:36.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., pp. 27, 68; H. P. Liddon, Ibid., vol. xxv., p. 136.
Heb 10:38
Transgressions and Infirmities.
Warnings such as these would not be contained in Scripture were there no danger of our drawing back, and thereby losing that life in God’s presence which faith secures to us. Faith is the tenure upon which the Divine life is continued to us: by faith the Christian lives, but if he draws backs he dies; his faith profits him nothing, or, rather, his drawing back to sin is a reversing of his faith, after which God has no pleasure in him. Faith keeps us from transgressions, and they who transgress, for that very reason, have not true and lively faith, and therefore it avails them nothing that faith, as Scripture says, is imputed to Christians for righteousness, for they have not faith. Instead of faith blotting out transgressions, transgressions blot out faith. Faith, if it be true and lively, both precludes transgressions, and gradually triumphs over infirmities; and, while infirmities continue, it regards them with so perfect an hatred, as avails for their forgiveness, and is taken for that righteousness which it is gradually becoming.
I. There are sins which forfeit a state of grace. (1) All habits of vice are such. (2) It is fearful to think that covetousness is mentioned in connection with sins of the flesh, as incurring forfeiture of grace equally with them. (3) All violent breaches of the law of charity are inconsistent with a state of grace; and, in like manner, all profaneness, heresy, and false worship, and, further, hardness of heart or going against light.
II. That there are sins of infirmity, or such as do not throw the soul out of a state of salvation, is evident directly it is granted that there are sins which do; for no one will pretend to say that all sins exclude from grace, else no one can be saved, for there is no one who is sinless.
III. These sins of infirmity tend to those which are greater, and forfeit grace. Never suffer sin to remain upon you; let it not grow old in you; wipe it off while it is fresh, else it will stain; let it not get ingrained; let it not eat its way in and rust in you; come continually to the Fount of cleansing for cleansing. It is thus that the Church of God, it is thus that each individual member of it, becomes all glorious within and full of grace.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. v., p. 195.
References: Heb 10:38.-W. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 248; H. W. Beecher, Ibid., vol. xvii., p. 164; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 567. Heb 10:38, Heb 10:39.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 132.
CHAPTER 10
1. The all-sufficiency of the one offering (Heb 10:1-18)
2. Exhortations (Heb 10:19-25)
3. Warning (Heb 10:26-31)
4. Encouragements (Heb 10:32-39)
Heb 10:1-18
The precious truth the apostle has unfolded in the preceding chapters concerning Christ, His one offering He made, His own blood by which He entered once for all into the holy place the one all sufficient sacrifice, which has an eternal value and can never be repeated, is now still more practically applied. This one offering sanctifieth and it hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, so that the believer thus sanctified and perfected can enter into the holiest as worshipper. The sacrifices brought in the first covenant did not make the worshippers perfect. If such had been the case there would have been no need to repeat them year by year continually. The repetition of these sacrifices in the law dispensation was a memorial of sin. in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again of sins every year. The day of atonement was repeated every year and each time the high priest entered in the holiest with the blood of others. But the worshippers were not purged by it; the conscience as to sins remained, and those worshippers could not enter in themselves. For it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Yet the sins of Jewish believers before the cross were forgiven, not because the blood of an animal was sprinkled on the mercy-seat, but in anticipation of the one great offering, known to God in all its value and meaning.
(See Rom 3:25. The remission of sins that are past are the sins of Old Testament believers. The work of Christ on the cross declares Gods righteousness in having passed over the sins of those who believed the promise.)
All is now changed. The one offering has been brought; by His own blood He entered the heavenly sanctuary, and all who believe are purged, the conscience is cleansed, we draw nigh and enter the holiest, not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by the blood of Jesus.
Heb 10:5-9 are of deep interest. It reveals what passed between God the Father and God the Son. When about to enter the world these words were spoken by Him to the Father; Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me; in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then I said Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God. (What a testimony the Son of God bears as to the character of the Old Testament Scriptures! As He said on earth they testify of Me.) it is a startling revelation, the Spirit of God acquainting us with what transpired between the Father and the Son. He comes into the world to do Gods eternal will.
He is the Son of God from all eternity, and in that mysterious eternity before the creation of the world, in His pre-mundane glory, this mind was in the Son, that He would humble Himself, and take upon Himself the form of a servant, and obey the whole counsel of God concerning the redemption of fallen man. His whole life on earth, embracing His obedience and His death, His substitution for sinners, was His own voluntary resolve and act.
True, the Father sent Him; but such is the unity and harmony of the blessed Trinity, that it is equally true to say, the Son came. The love of the Lord Jesus, the sacrifice of Himself in our stead, the unspeakable humiliation of the Son of God, have their origin not in time but in eternity, in the infinite, self-subsistent, co-equal Son of the Father. He took on Him our nature. By His own will He was made flesh. From all eternity He offered Himself to accomplish the divine will concerning our salvation, He must needs be God, to have the power of freely offering Himself; He must needs take upon Him our nature to fulfil that sacrifice. Only the Son of God could undertake the work of our redemption; only as man could He accomplish it (A. Saphir).
He speaks of a body hast Thou prepared Me. This means His virgin-birth. The body the Son of God took on was a prepared body, called into existence by a creative act of the Holy Spirit (Luk 1:35).
The sentence, A body hast Thou prepared Me, is the Septuagint translation, or paraphrase, of the Hebrew, ears hast Thou digged for Me (Psa 40:6). This reading, or interpretation, is here fully sanctioned by the Holy Spirit. The ear is for learning, and the opened ear stands for obedience (Isa 50:5). In taking on the human body He took the form of a servant. See also Exo 21:1-36. And thus He offered Himself, as One who had the power to do so, out of love for the glory of God, to do His will. He undertook of His own free will the accomplishment of all the will of God and He took on the prepared body in incarnation in order to accomplish the eternal will of God. In this prepared body He lived that blessed life of obedience, suffering from man for God, and then He gave that body, according to the will of God, in His death, when He suffered from God for man, in being made sin for us.
Gods rights as the Lawgiver have been fully satisfied by the unsullied and complete obedience of the Lord Jesus. He magnified the law which man had taken and dishonored. Having fulfilled it in His life, He gave Himself to death, that He might silence forever its demand on the believing sinners life. By man and for man the will of God has been fulfilled. In the life and death of the Lord Jesus the active measure of both grace and truth has been attained. Gods will was the redemption of His people. But that His grace might triumph, His holiness must first be satisfied. The cross of Christ has effected this. Gods will, when finished, is thus found to be atonement. Blood has been shed, in obedience to His commandment, which is of virtue to remove all sin. It pleased Him to bruise His Son for sinners. He has laid upon Him the iniquity of all His people. By making Him an offering for sin, He has finished His intention of salvation. He has established grace in perfect righteousness (A. Pridham). And thus He taketh away the first (the ordinances of the law, the burnt-offerings and sacrifices) and established the second (the will of God perfectly done). By the which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
This is a great and most blessed truth. His people, those who believe in Christ, are according to the will of God, to be sanctified, that is set apart to God. And this sanctification of all who believe is accomplished by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The will of man has no part in this; the work by which believers are sanctified is absolutely and wholly of God. It was done once for all when Christ died on the Cross; before we were in existence it was all done. In this faith rests, knowing that He hath sanctified us, that His work, not ours, nor our experience, has accomplished our sanctification. Believers belong to God for ever according to the efficacy of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And this setting aside abides; it is as settled and permanent as the peace which was made, the peace with God, the abiding possession, of all who are justified by faith. There is also for those who are sanctified in Christ, a practical sanctification which is wrought by the Spirit of God in the believer (Heb 12:14).
Once more a contrast is made between Him and the levitical priests. The priests stood ministering, always bringing the same sacrifices over and over again. And they could never take away sins. But He having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever at the right hand of God. (it is not eternal, but continuously, without interruption; He is at rest, His work is finished.) The work is accepted and believers are accepted in Him. Those who are sanctified are perfected in perpetuity by what He has done. He is forever seated, we are forever perfected by virtue of His work. And there at the right hand of God He is also waiting in patience till it pleases God to make His enemies the footstool of His feet. That will be when He comes the second time. And the Holy Spirit bears witness to it. That witness is in the Word of God, there the Spirit of God speaks. If we could have heard the counsel of eternity, the word of the Father to the Son, ere time began, we could have no greater certainty than now, when we listen to Scripture, the echo in time of the counsel in eternity. We see here in this chapter up to Heb 10:15 the three persons of the Godhead in connection with redemption. The will of God is the source of the work of redemption; the Son of God accomplished it; the Holy Spirit bears witness of it. Here again is an allusion to the new covenant in Heb 10:16-17. (See 8:10-12.) Blessed assurance which all believers have their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. This is the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Heb 10:19-25
And now the great truth is reached which the Holy Spirit wanted these Hebrew Christians to lay hold of and for which He so wonderfully prepared the way. He has shown that by the sacrifice of Christ the believers sins are put away; a perfect and everlasting cleansing has been made, remission assured and an eternal redemption obtained. By the will of God believers are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all; they are perfected and therefore in the eyes of a holy God, believers are without sin. This gives liberty to come into Gods presence. The veil is rent and we can enter in. There is no more barrier, we have a free and unfettered access. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy places by the blood of Jesus, a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. And we do not go in alone but we find Him in the holiest who has done the work. He is there as a great high priest to welcome us and to minister in tenderness to our needs.
Upon this follow three exhortations. 1. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water (corresponding to the washing of the priests, Exo 29:4, and typical of regeneration). We are then a holy priesthood fit and fitted in Christ to offer up spiritual sacrifices. 2. Let us hold fast the confession of the hope without wavering for He is faithful who hath promised. And we shall hold fast if we draw near and constantly realize our nearness, our blessings and privileges in Christ. 3. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some, but encouraging one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. It is the public confession of Gods people that they are one and belong together. And they saw the day approaching which is here not the day when His people will be gathered together unto Him, caught up in clouds to meet Him in the air, but the day of His appearing.
Heb 10:26-31
A solemn warning is now once more added. It warns against deliberate apostasy of those who have known the truth (though not regenerated). They are enemies, adversaries and for such wilful going astray there remaineth no longer any sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. This was the great danger for these Hebrews who had professed faith in Christ, yet lingered around the levitical institutions as the temple with its worship was still standing. If they renounced the truth of Christianity by turning back to Judaism they trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing; for such horrible, deliberate contempt there was no repentance and no remedy. They cannot escape judgment. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God– He who hath said Vengeance is mine, I will recompense.
(Observe here the way in which sanctification is attributed to the blood; and, also, that professors are treated as belonging to the people. The blood received by faith, consecrates the soul to God; but it is here viewed also as an outward means for setting apart the people as a people. Every individual who had owned Jesus to be the Messiah, and the blood to be the seal and foundation of an everlasting covenant available for eternal cleansing and redemption on the part of God, acknowledging himself to be set apart for God, by this means, as one of the people–every such individual would, if he renounced it, renounce it as such; and there was no other way of sanctifying him. The former system had evidently lost its power for him, and the true one he had abandoned. This is the reason why it is said, having received the knowledge of the truth Synopsis of the Bible.)
Heb 10:32-39
Words of encouragement and comfort conclude this main section of the Epistle. They had suffered for Christs sake and he calls to their remembrance their former days. They had endured even with joy the spoiling of their goods, because they knew that they had in heaven a better and enduring substance. He exhorts them to be patient and not to cast away their confidence. The promise was sure. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come and will not tarry. Hab 2:3-4 is quoted. He was sure that they are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe (literally: of faith) to the saving of the soul. The chapter which follows describes the action of this faith through the example of their forefathers who walked and lived according to the same principle.
Why Did Christ Come?
The most amazing thing in all the world is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, should condescend to become a man that he might live and die in the place of sinful men as our Substitute upon the cursed tree. I hope I never get over the wonder of redeeming love.
Could we with ink the oceans fill, And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, —
To write the love of God above Would drain the oceans dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky!
Yet, when I meditate upon this great, stupendous fact, the fact that the Lord of glory came here to live and die for me, to be made sin for me, to bring in everlasting righteousness for me, to put away my sin by being made sin, to give me life by laying down his own life, that he came here to save me, I am compelled to ask, with reverent astonishment Why? Why did Christ come?
This question is answered in many ways and in many places in Holy Scripture. But it is not answered more fully or more clearly in any single passage than it is in Hebrews chapter ten. Here, the Holy Spirit tells us specifically why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world and died in our room and stead at Calvary.
No Other Way
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came here to put away sin because there was no other way for sin to be put away (Heb 10:1-4). — “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
Good Things To Come
The law of God given by Moses, with all its rituals, sacrifices, and ceremonies, was a shadow, type, or picture of the good things to come in Christ. Among those good things pictured and typified in the law are: — The Forgiveness of Sin, — Justification with God, — Peace with God, — Rest in Christ, — Fellowship with the Holy Lord God, — Preservation by Grace, — Salvation and Eternal Life in Christ, — and the blessed Assurance of Faith.
Pictures of Christ
The tabernacle, the priesthood and the law were not given to put away sin, but only to serve as a pattern, a blueprint, a picture of the true Tabernacle and true Sacrifice, which is Christ himself (Col 2:16-17; Heb 8:4-5). Those Old Testament sacrifices could never put away sin (Heb 10:2). Be sure you do not miss the argument given in verse two. If those sacrifices could put away sin, they would have ceased to be offered! If I bring a sacrifice of any kind that could make atonement for my sin, then there would be no need of offering another sacrifice (Heb 10:12-14).
Once sin has been put away the sinner is discharged. Guilt is gone. Condemnation is impossible (Rom 5:1; Rom 8:1-4; Rom 8:33-34). This is the reason we have assurance and confidence in Christ (Rom 8:33-34). Our Lord Jesus Christ has offered one sacrifice, and believing him we have complete, total confidence and assurance that our sins are gone (Heb 10:17; Isa 53:4-6).
Not all the blood of beasts On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain.
But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away:
A Sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they.
Believing, we rejoice To see the curse remove:
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice, And sing redeeming love!
Remembrance Made
In Heb 10:3 the Holy Spirit tells us that those carnal, legal sacrifices of the Old Testament only reminded the worshippers of God that someone must yet come to put sin away. Those sacrifices offered on a regular basis and by divine appointment gave a fresh remembrance of sin. The sin for which the sacrifices were made was not put away. They were still there. The sacrifices themselves only reminded the people of their sins. The sacrifices must and did continue until the Christ came, who put an end to them and to sin by his sacrifice.
Not Possible
In verse four we are told, it is not possible for such carnal sacrifices to put away sin. It is not possible for an animals blood to take away sin. Let me give you four reasons why sin could never be put away by such sacrifices.
Sin is the transgression of Gods moral law. These sacrifices belonged to the ceremonial law. Christ was born under and obeyed the moral and the ceremonial law (Gal 4:4-5).
The blood is not the same blood. It is not from the same kind of person who sinned. But Christ is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh (Heb 2:16-18).
Sin deals with the mind, the heart, the soul, and conscience, to which no animal can relate. Christ made his soul an offering for sin. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa 53:10-11).
If sin could be put away by some other means, then Christ died in vain (Gal 2:21).
perfect
(See Scofield “Mat 5:48”).
having: Heb 8:5, Heb 9:9, Heb 9:11, Heb 9:23, Col 2:17
with: Heb 10:3, Heb 10:4, Heb 10:11-18, Heb 7:18, Heb 7:19, Heb 9:8, Heb 9:9, Heb 9:25
perfect: Heb 10:14
Reciprocal: Exo 40:26 – General Lev 9:16 – manner Lev 16:30 – General Psa 119:18 – wondrous Son 2:9 – he standeth Son 2:17 – the shadows Isa 29:1 – add Eze 46:15 – a continual Luk 22:16 – until Luk 24:44 – in the law Joh 19:30 – It is Act 6:14 – change Rom 3:21 – being Rom 8:3 – For what 1Co 10:4 – that Rock 2Co 3:13 – to the Gal 3:24 – the law Eph 2:15 – the law 1Ti 6:21 – have Heb 7:11 – perfection Heb 7:16 – the law
IN THE PASSAGE now before us both these contrasts reappear, but coupled with them is a third-the supreme glory of Him who became the sacrifice, as contrasted with both priests and offerings of old. We see Him stepping out of eternity that He might accomplish the will of God in the work that He did. The passage starts with the reminder that the law with its shadow sacrifices could NEVER make the worshippers perfect. It ends with the glorious statement that the offering of Christ has perfected them FOR EVER.
It is not that the law sacrifices did not perfect anyone as to the conscience, but that they could not. Their very repetition showed this. Could they have availed to cleanse the conscience, so that the offerer got complete relief as to the whole question of sin, they would have ceased to be offered; inasmuch as we never go on doing what is done. In point of fact their effect was in just the opposite direction. Instead of removing sins from the conscience as no longer to be remembered, they were formally brought to remembrance at least once every year. The blood of sacrificial animals had no efficacy to take away sins. The thing was impossible, as verse Heb 10:4 says.
The statement of that verse is clear enough. Some of us, however, remembering what is said as to the forgiveness of various sins, or as to cleansing from sin, in Lev 4:5; Lev 4:16 may feel that there is apparently a contradiction, and that a further word of explanation is needed. The solution of the difficulty is not far to seek, and we may reply by way of an illustration.
Here is a trader hard pressed by a creditor. He is short of cash in these hard times, though he knows well that in three months time he will have ample funds. What does he do? He offers his creditor a three months promissory note for 500, and his creditor well satisfied with his integrity, gladly accepts it. Now our question is this-What really has the creditor got?
That question may with equal truth be answered in two ways, apparently contradictory. Thinking of it as regards its intrinsic value, we should reply:-He has got a small piece of paper, whereon certain words are traced in ink, and in the corner of which is embossed a red government stamp, and the total value of the whole thing would be less than a penny. Thinking of it in its relative value-that is, of what it will be worth at its due date in view of the character of the man who drew it, we should be quite right in replying, Five hundred pounds.
The sacrifices of old were like that promissory note. They had value, but it lay in that to which they pointed. They were but paper; the sacrifice of Christ alone is like fine gold. In Leviticus their relative value is pointed out. In Hebrews we find that their value is only relative and not intrinsic. They can never take away sins. Hence in them God had no pleasure, and the coming of Christ was a necessity.
Hence in verses Heb 10:5-9 we have the quotation from Psa 40:1-17 and its application. It is quoted as the very voice of the Son of God, as He enters into the world. The Psalm mentions, Sacrifice and offering… burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin; that is, offerings of four kinds, just as there are four kinds of offerings mentioned in the early chapters of Leviticus. There was no pleasure for God in any of them, and when the Son of God came forth to do the will of God they were supplanted and taken away. In the body He took, the whole will of God was done, and by the offering of it up in sacrifice we have been set apart for God once for all.
The thing being accomplished what further need is there of the ineffectual shadows? The fine gold having appeared what use have we for the scrap of paper? That great word, He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second, might almost be taken as the whole drift of the epistle to the Hebrews, stated in few words-put into a nutshell, as we speak.
Once more are we brought face to face with the contrast in verses Heb 10:11-14. On the one hand, there are all the priests of Aarons race. On the other, this Man in His solitary dignity as the Son of God. There, the daily ministering, and the constant offering of the ineffectual sacrifices that can never take away sins. Here, the one perfect offering, which is perfectly efficacious, and the Offerer seated at the right hand of God. There, the priests were always standing. No chair or seat of any kind was provided amongst the furniture of the tabernacle. It was not needed for their work was never done. Here, the Offerer has by His one offering perfected for ever the sanctified ones, and consequently He has taken His seat for ever at Gods right hand.
The words, for ever, occur in verses Heb 10:12; Heb 10:14. In both cases they have the significance of, as a perpetual thing, or, more briefly, in perpetuity. Those set apart for God having been perfected as to their consciences in perpetuity, He has taken His seat at Gods right hand in perpetuity. For one thing only is He waiting, and that is for His enemies to be made His footstool.
We would like to think that all our readers have entered into the tremendous significance of all this. Oh, the blessing and establishment of soul that comes when we really lay hold of it! Its surpassing importance may be seen in the way that the Spirit of God dwells upon the subject, and elaborates it in its details. Note too, how again and again it is stated that the sacrifice of Christ is one, and offered once and for ever. Six times over is this fact brought before us, in the passage beginning with Heb 9:12, and ending with Heb 10:14. Search that passage and see for yourselves.
And then may the truth contained in that passage enter all our hearts in its soul-subduing, conscience-cleansing power!
It has often been pointed out that in the early part of Heb 10:1-39 we have mention of, firstly, the will of God; secondly the work of Christ; thirdly, the witness of the Holy Ghost. The work of Christ for us has laid the basis for the accomplishment of the will of God about us, and in order that we may have the assurance of both there is the witness of the Spirit to us. In verse Heb 10:15 of our chapter this last is brought before us.
How may we know that, as believers who have been set apart for God, we have been perfected in perpetuity? Only by relying upon an unimpeachable witness. And where is such a witness to be found? Suppose we put our feelings in the witness box, and subject them to a little cross-examination on the point. Can we arrive at anything like assurance? By no means, for they hardly tell the same story twice running. If on certain occasions they would seem to testify to our being right with God, on other occasions their witness would be in exactly the opposite direction. We must dismiss them from the witness box as utterly unreliable.
But the Holy Spirit condescends to take the place of Witness, and He is utterly reliable. It is not here His witness in us as in Rom 8:16. In our passage He is viewed as testifying from without to us, and we are immediately referred to that which is written in Jer 31:1-40. The words of Jeremiah were the words of the Spirit; his writings the writings of the Spirit. The witness of the Spirit to us is found in the written Word of God. The burden of His witness in favour of the believer is, Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Is there some reader of these lines who lacks assurance? Are you a prey to doubts and fears as to your salvation? What you need is to receive the witness of the Spirit in full assurance of faith, as verse Heb 10:22 puts it. Could more reliable witness be presented to you than that of God, the Holy Ghost? No! Could His witness be presented to you in a more stable or more satisfactory form than in the Scriptures of truth, which He has inspired? We venture to say, it could not.
Supposing God dispatched an angel to you with tidings of your forgiveness. Would that settle everything? For a short time perhaps. Angels however appear for a moment and then they are gone, and you see them no more. The memory of his visit would soon grow faint, and doubt enter your mind as to what exactly he did say. If you were granted a wonderful inrush of joyful feeling; would that do? It would soon pass and be succeeded by a corresponding depression, for when waves run high you cannot always ride upon their crests. Bring forward any alternative you please, and our reply will be, that though more spectacular than the Scriptures they cannot be compared with them for reliability. If you cannot or will not receive the witness of the Holy Ghost in that form, you would not receive it in any form whatsoever.
The witness of the Spirit to us is, then, that our sins are completely remitted, and being forgiven there is no more offering for sin. In verse Heb 10:2 the question was asked, Would they not have ceased to be offered?-that is, had the Jewish sacrifices been able to make the worshippers perfect. In verse Heb 10:18 we learn that Christs one sacrifice having perfected us, and the Holy Spirit bearing witness to it, there is no further offering for sin. When these words were penned Jewish sacrifices were still proceeding at Jerusalem but they were valueless as offerings for sin, and very shortly they were all swept away. The Roman armies under Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem and utterly scattered the Jews, were really Gods armies (see, Mat 22:7) used by Him in judgment to make their sacrifices impossible any longer. And yet a very large part of Christendom is continually bowing down before what they call, the sacrifice of the mass. How great the sin of this! Worse really than the sin of perpetuating the Jewish sacrifices, had that been possible.
Verse Heb 10:19 brings before us the great result that follows from the one perfect sacrifice of Christ. We have boldness to enter into the holiest. No Jew, not even the high priest, had boldness to enter the holiest made with hands: we have boldness to enter the holiest not made with hands; in spirit now, and in actual presence when the Lord comes. The converted Hebrew reading this would at once say to himself-This must mean that we are constituted priests in a far higher sense than ever Aarons family were priests of old. He would be right! Though in this epistle we are not told that we are priests in so many words, the truth enunciated plainly infers it. In 1Pe 2:1-25, the truth of Christian priesthood is plainly stated, and that epistle is also addressed to converted Hebrews.
Our boldness is based upon the blood of Jesus, since through His flesh, by means of death, He has opened up for us a new and living way into Gods presence; but then we also have Himself as High Priest living in the presence of God. Verse Heb 10:21 mentions this, but He is there really called, not an High Priest, but a Great Priest over the house of God. Earlier in the epistle we read of Him as both Priest and Son, and then it added, Whose house are we (Heb 3:6). We are Gods house, Gods priestly family, and over us is this Great Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have full access to God. Verse Heb 10:22 exhorts us to avail ourselves of our great privilege and draw near.
We are to draw near, with a true heart in full assurance of faith. These two things are what we may call the necessary moral qualifications which we ought to have. Converted we may be, but if there be not that simplicity of faith in the work of Christ, and in the witness of the Holy Ghost as to the complete settlement of the question of our sins, which produces full assurance in our minds, we cannot enjoy the presence of God. Nor can we, except our hearts be true; that is, marked by sincerity under the influence of the truth, and without guile.
The latter part of verse Heb 10:22 reverts again to that which we have as the fruit of the grace of God-and not to that which we ought to have. We have boldness by the blood of Jesus: we have a Great Priest over the house of God: we have hearts sprinkled and bodies washed, as verse Heb 10:22 says.
These two things may present a little difficulty to our minds, but doubtless to the original Hebrew readers the allusions would have been quite clear. Aaron and his sons had their bodies completely washed with pure water, and they were also sprinkled with blood before they took up their priestly office and duties. Now we have the realities which were typified in this way. The truth of the death of Christ has been applied to our hearts, giving us a purged conscience, which is the opposite of an evil conscience. Also we have come under the cleansing action of the Word of God, which has renewed us in the deepest springs of our being. It was to this that the Lord Jesus alluded just before He instituted His supper in the upper chamber, when He said, He that is washed (bathed) needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. The word He used signifies to bathe all over, as the priests were bathed at their consecration. But even so they needed to wash hands and feet every time they entered the sanctuary.
We, thank God, have received that new birth which corresponds to the bathing with pure water. The true heart spoken of earlier in the verse would correspond pretty closely with the washing of hands and feet which wag needed every time the priest entered the holy place.
But, having all, let us draw near. Let us take up and use and enjoy our great privilege of access to God. It is the great feature that should characterize us. We are people put into this nearness, having unrestricted liberty in approach to God, and that at all times; though doubtless there are occasions when we may specially enjoy the privilege, as for instance when we gather in assembly for the Lords supper or for worship. Still it is by no means restricted to such occasions, as is plain when we remember that this epistle is silent as to the assembly and its functions; to find instruction as to that we must turn to the first epistle to the Corinthians.
The presence of God should really be the home of our hearts, the place to which in spirit we continually resort. The point here is not that we resort there with our needs and present our prayers; that came before us at the end of chapter 4. It is rather that we draw near in the enjoyment of all that God is, as revealed to us in Jesus, in communion with Him, and in the spirit of worship. We draw near not to get any benefit out of Him, but because we find attraction in Himself.
The three exhortations of verses Heb 10:22-25, are very closely connected. We are to hold fast the profession of our faith, (or, our hope, as it really is), without wavering, since it hangs upon One who is wholly faithful. We shall most certainly do this if we enter into our privilege and draw near. We shall also find there is much practical help in the companionship of our fellow-Christians, and in the exhortation and encouragement they give. When believers begin to waver and draw back, their failure is so frequently connected with these two things. They neglect the twofold privilege of drawing near to God on the one hand, and of drawing near to their fellow-believers on the other.
It is a sad fact that today there are thousands of dear Christian folk attached to denominations in which the great truths we have been considering are very little mentioned. How could they be when things are so organized as to altogether obscure the truth in question? Services are so conducted that the individual saint is put at a distance, and he can only think of drawing near by proxy, as though he were a Jewish worshipper. Or perhaps the case is that he finds all the service conducted for him by a minister, and this of necessity tends to divert his thoughts from the supreme importance of his drawing near for himself, in the secret of his own soul.
Others of us have the inestimable privilege of gathering together according to the Scriptural form prescribed in 1Co 11:1-34 – This is indeed calculated to impress us with the necessity of drawing near to God in our hearts. But let us watch lest we lose our spiritual exercises and lapse into a frame of mind which would take us listlessly to the meetings, expecting to have everything done for us by ministering brothers. And perhaps we get quite annoyed with them because they do not perform their part as well as we think they ought to do! Then it is that, instead of holding fast, we begin to let go; the first symptom of it being very probably, that we begin to forsake the meetings and the society of our fellow-believers generally. We become very critical of both meetings and people, and consider we have very good grounds for our criticism!
If instead of holding fast we begin to let go, who can tell whereunto our drawing back will take us? Who indeed, but God Himself! He alone knows the heart. All too often this drawing back, which commenced, as far as human eye can see, with forsaking Christian company, never stops until utter apostasy is reached. This terrible sin was much before the mind of the writer of this epistle, as we saw when considering Heb 3:1-19 and Heb 6:1-20. He greatly feared that some of the Hebrews to whom he wrote might fall into it. Hence he again refers to it here. The rest of our chapter is taken up with it. In verse Heb 10:26 he speaks of sinning wilfully. In the last verse he speaks of drawing back unto perdition.
To sin wilfully is evidently to forsake the faith of Christ, with ones eyes open. No true believer does this, but a professed believer may do so, and it is just this fact, that we have reached perfection and finality in Christ, which makes it so serious. There is no more sacrifice for sins. This fact which seemed so unspeakably blessed in verse Heb 10:18, is seen in the light of verse Heb 10:26, to have a side to it which is unspeakably serious. There is beyond nothing but judgment. And that judgment will be of a very fearful character, hot with indignation.
Some of us might feel inclined to remark, that such judgment seems to be rather inconsistent with the fact that we live in a day when the glad tidings of the grace of God is being preached. So we do, but it is just that fact that increases the severity of the judgment. Verses Heb 10:28-31 emphasize this. Grace makes known to us things of such infinite magnitude that to despise them is a sin of infinite magnitude, a sin far graver than that of despising the law of Moses with its holy demands.
In the gospel there is presented to us, first, the Son of God; second, His precious blood, as the blood of the new covenant; third, the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of grace. Now what is it that the apostate does-especially the Jew, who having professed Christianity, abandons it, and reverts to Judaism. He treads under foot the first. The second he counts an unholy thing. The third he utterly despises. He treats with the utmost scorn and contempt the very things that bring salvation. There is nothing beyond them, nothing but judgment. He will deserve every bit of judgment he gets. All this, be it noted, is a vastly different thing from a true believer growing cold and unwatchful and consequently falling into sin.
In verse Heb 10:32, we again see that, though for the sake of some these warnings were uttered, yet the writer had every confidence that the mass of those to whom he wrote were true believers. He remembered, and he called on them to remember, the earlier days when they suffered much persecution for their faith, and he appealed to them not to cast away their confidence at this late hour in their history. An abundant recompense was coming for any loss they had suffered here.
One thing only was necessary, that they should continue with endurance doing the will of God. Then without fail all that had been promised would be fulfilled to them. Their very position was that they had fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, (vi. 18). That hope was abundantly sure, but its fulfilment can only be at the coming of the Lord, as is indicated in verse 37.
For the third time in the New Testament that striking word from Hab 2:1-20 is quoted. That the just shall live by faith, is quoted both in Rom 1:1-32 and in Gal 3:1-29. But only here is the preceding verse quoted. Take note of the alteration in the words made by the Spirit of God. In Habbakuk we read, IT will surely come IT will not tarry; the it referring to the vision. But in our days things have become far clearer, and we have the definite knowledge of the Person to whom the indefinite vision pointed. Hence here it is, HE that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
It is a striking fact that the word faith only occurs twice in the Old Testament. Once in Deuteronomy Moses uses the word negatively, complaining of the people that they were children in whom is no faith. In Habakkuk alone does the word occur, used in a positive way. It is equally striking that the New Testament seizes upon that one positive use of the word, and quotes it no less than three times. How this emphasizes the fact that we have now left behind the system of sight for the system of faith. Judaism is supplanted by Christianity.
The point of the quotation here is, however, not that we are justified by faith, but that by faith we LIVE. Faith is, as we may say, the motive force for Christian living. We either go on to the glorious recompense or we draw back to perdition. No middle ground is contemplated.
Do not miss the contrast presented in the last verse of our chapter. It lies between drawing back to perdition and believing to soul-salvation. This furnishes additional proof, were it needed, that the contrast in Hebrews is not between believers who do well and believers who do ill, and who consequently (as is supposed) may perish; but between those who really do believe unto salvation, and those, who being mere professors, draw back to their eternal ruin.
Thanks be to God for that living faith which carries the soul forward with patience to the glorious recompense which awaits us!
Heb 10:1. The difference between shadow and very image is the same as between type and antitype, or between form and substance. The sacrificial system under the law was a figure of the one under Christ. Can never make . . . perfect which means complete. (See the comments at verse 4.)
Heb 10:1. Fora particle that connects the argument with the last verses of chap. 9. The sacrifice of Christ will not be repeated, we are told in Heb 9:28. Nor need it, is the statement here
the law having, as we know it has, a shadow onlya mere outline of the good things which belong to the world to come (chap. Heb 6:5), of which Christ is High Priest (Heb 9:11), not the very imagethe very formof the things, i.e the heavenly realities themselves (comp. Rom 8:29), they can neverat any time or anyhowwith the same sacrifices year by year which they offer continuallywords that describe the ever-recurring cycle of the same sacrifices for sinmake perfect those who are ever drawing nigh to God.
In the former part of this chapter, the apostle proves the impotency and imperfection of the Levitical sacrifices by sundry arguments; namely, first from the nature of them, they were but shadows; from the plurality of them, they were many; from the repetition of them, they were often; and from the efficaciousness of them, they could not take away sin.
The former of these is taken notice of, in this first verse, The law having a shadow of good things to come. An allusion probably to the art of painting, wherein a shadow is first drawn; and afterwards the very image itself: or a metaphor taken from the shadow of a body in the light of the sun. As a shadow is the representation of a body; a just and true representation of a body; the life, vigour, and spirit of a body, cannot be represented by it:
Thus was it between the sacrifices of the law, and the sacrifice of Christ; the blood of those sacrifices were representations of Christ: They were a just representation of Christ: He was the idea in the mind of God, whan Moses was charged to make all things according to the pattern showed him in the mount; and they were but an obscure and dark representation of him; the glory and efficacy of these good things appeared not visible in them.
Learn hence, That whatever there may be in religious institutions, and the diligent observation of them, if they only shadow forth Jesus Christ, and do not actually exhibit him to the faith of believers, with the benefits of his mediation, they cannot make us perfect, nor give us acceptance with God.
Here we have a second argument to prove the impotency and weakness of the legal sacrifices; and it is drawn from the repetition and non-cessation of them.
Thus, “Those sacrifices which were often repeated, year by year, could not of themselves make satisfaction for sin, or purge the conscience of the sinner from guilt. Had justice been satisfied, and conscience quited, there had been no reason why those sacrifices should have been so often repeated. But the case was otherwise, for in their most solemn sacrifices there was a commemoration and confession made of their former sins by the High Priest every year; which was an intimation to them, that they needed a new and better sacrifice for the expiation of sin, namely, that of the Messiah, in and by which alone remission of sin was to be expected and obtained.”
Learn hence, 1. That the repetition and reiteration of the same sacrifices, is an evident demonstration of their weakness and insufficiency. Accordingly the church of Rome, by affirming the sacrifice in the mass to be the very same with that which Christ offered on the cross, do prove an insufficiency in the sacrifice of Christ for the expiation of sin, if the apostle’s argument here be good: For he affirms, that all sacrifices that must be repeated are weak and insufficient.
Learn, 2. That although repeated sins have need of repeated confession, and renewed pardon, yet they have no need of a sacrifice; For he who is once purged has no more conscience of sin, that is, though he knows he has many sins, yet he has not a trembling, tormenting, accusing conscience, because he is purged, and his sins pardoned, through that one sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Learn, 3. That the discharge of conscience from the guilt of sin, by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ, is a full demonstration of the sufficiency of the virtue of that sacrifice: And that there needs no reiteration of it, but only fresh applications made unto it by repeated acts and exercises of faith.
Sacrifices Under Moses’ Law Were Insufficient
Beyond that, there was an annual day of atonement on which sacrifices were offered for the sins of the priests and the people. Even after the cleansing of that day, a scapegoat had to be sent into the wilderness bearing the iniquities of the land ( Lev 16:11-15 ; Lev 16:20-22 ). Moses’ law did not have a provision allowing for the complete cleansing of man from sin. In fact, its repeated sacrifices served only to remind man of his sinfulness. The benefits of any sacrifice seem to have lasted only till the next annual Day of Atonement. Hence, remembrance was made of sin, the same sin, every year and a new atonement made. Such is the case because the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin ( Heb 10:1-4 ).
Heb 10:1. The apostle, in order to display Christs dignity as a High-Priest, having illustrated what he affirmed, (Heb 8:7,) namely, that the Levitical priests worshipped God in the tabernacle with the representations of the services to be performed by Christ in heaven; also having contrasted the ineffectual services performed by these priests in the tabernacle on earth, with the effectual services performed by Christ in heaven; and the covenant of which they were the mediators, with the covenant of which Christ is the Mediator; and the blessings procured by the services of the Levitical priests in the earthly tabernacle, with the blessings procured by the services performed by Christ in heaven; he, in the beginning of this chapter, as the necessary consequence of these things, infers, that since the law contained nothing but a shadow, or emblematical representation, of the blessings to come, through the services of the greater and more perfect heavenly tabernacle, and not these blessings themselves, it never could, with the same emblematical sacrifices which were offered annually by the high-priest on the day of atonement, make those who came to these sacrifices perfect in respect of pardon. Thus, For, &c. As if he had said, From all that has been advanced, it appears that the law The Mosaic dispensation; being a bare unsubstantial shadow of good things to come Of gospel blessings and gospel worship; and not the very image The substantial, solid representation, or complete delineation; of the things, can never, with the same kind of sacrifices Though continually repeated; make the comers thereunto perfect. In the terms shadow and image, there seems to be an allusion, as Doddridge observes, to the different state of a painting, when the first sketch only is drawn, and when the picture is finished; or to the first sketch of a painting, when compared with what is yet more expressive than even the completest picture, and exact image: or between the shadow of a man, made by his bodys intercepting the suns rays, and a good portrait or statue of him, or the reflection of his person in a mirror. The good things of which the law contained only a shadow, were, 1st, The cleansing of the mind of believers from evil dispositions, by the doctrines of the gospel, and by the influences of the Spirit of God. Of this the washings and purifications of the bodies of the Israelites, enjoined in the law, were a shadow. 2d, That real atonement for sin, which was made by the offering of the body of Christ once for all, Heb 10:10. Of this the Levitical atonements, made by the offering of beasts, were a shadow. 3d, The eternal pardon of sin, procured for believers by the atonements which Christ made. Of this the political pardon, obtained for the Israelites by the sacrifice of beasts which the priests offered, was a shadow. 4th, Access to worship God on earth through the blood of Christ with the hope of acceptance. Of this the drawing nigh of the Israelites to worship in the court of the tabernacle, through the blood of the Levitical sacrifices, was a shadow. 5th, The eternal possession of heaven, through believing and obeying the gospel. Of this the continued possession of Canaan, secured to the Israelites by their obedience to the law, was a shadow. Now since the good things which Christ hath obtained for believers through his ministrations in the heavenly tabernacle, were not procured, but only typified, by the ministrations of the high-priests in the tabernacle on earth, it was fit that those shadows should be done away after the things of which they were shadows were accomplished.
Hebrews Chapter 10
In chapter 10 this principle is applied to the sacrifice. Its repetition proved that sin was there. That the sacrifice of Christ was only offered once, was the demonstration of its eternal efficacy. Had the Jewish sacrifices rendered the worshipers really perfect before God, they would have ceased to be offered. The apostle is speaking (although the principle is general) of the yearly sacrifice on the day of atonement. For if, through the efficacy of the sacrifice, they had been permanently made perfect, they would have had no more conscience of sins, and could not have had the thought of renewing the sacrifice.
Observe, here, that which is very important, that the conscience is cleansed, our sins being expiated, the worshiper drawing nigh by virtue of the sacrifice. The meaning of theJewish service was that guilt was still there; that of the Christian, that it is gone. As to the former, precious as the type is, the reason is evident: the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sin. Therefore those sacrifices have been abolished, and a work of another character (although still a sacrifice) has been accomplished-a work which excludes all other, and all the repetition of the same, because it consists of nothing less than the self devotedness of the Son of God to accomplish the will of God, and the completion of that to which He was devoted: an act impossible to be repeated, for all His will cannot be accomplished twice, and, were it possible, it would be a testimony of the inadequacy of the first, and so of both.
This is what the Son of God says in this most solemn passage (vers. 5-9), in which we are admitted to know, according to the grace of God, that which passed between God the Father and Himself when He undertook the fulfillment of the will of God-that which He said, and the eternal counsels of God which He carried into execution. He takes the place of submission and of obedience, of performing the will of another. God would no longer accept the sacrifices that were ordered under the law (the four classes of which are here pointed out), He had no pleasure in them. In their stead He had prepared a body for His Son; vast and important truth! for the place of man is obedience. Thus, in taking this place, the Son of God put Himself into the position to obey perfectly. In fact He undertakes the duty of fulfilling all the will of God, be it what it may-a will which is, ever good, acceptable, and perfect.
The psalm says in the Hebrew, Thou hast digged [26] ears for me, translated by the Septuagint,Thou hast prepared me a body; words which, as they give the true meaning, are used by the Holy Ghost. For the ear is always employed as a sign of the reception of commandments, and the principle of obligation to obey or the disposition to do so. He hath opened mine ear morning by morning (Isa 1:1-31), that is, has made me listen to His will, be obedient to His commands. The ear was bored or fastened with an awl to the door, in order to express that the Israelite was attached to the house as a slave, to obey, for ever. Now in taking a body, the Lord took the form of a servant. (Php 2:6-8.) Ears were digged for Him. That is to say, He placed Himself [27] in a position in which He had to obey all His Masters will, whatever it might be. But it is the Lord Himself who speaks in the passage before us: Thou, He says, hast prepared me a body.
Entering more into detail, He specifies burnt offerings and offerings for sin, sacrifices which had less of the character of communion, and thus had a deeper meaning; but God had no pleasure in them. In a word the Jewish service was already declared by the Spirit to be unacceptable to God. It was all to cease, it was fruitless; no offering that formed part of it was acceptable. No; the counsels of God unfold themselves, but first of all in the heart of the Word, the Son of God, who offers Himself to accomplish the will of God. Then said he, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Nothing can be more solemn than thus to lift the veil from that which takes place in heaven between God and the Word who undertook to do His will. Observe that, before He was in the position of obedience, He offers Himself in order to accomplish the will of God, that is to say, of free love for the glory of God, of free will; as One who had the power, He offers Himself, He undertakes obedience, He undertakes to do whatsoever God wills. This is indeed to sacrifice all His own will, but freely and as the effect of His own purpose, although on the occasion of the will of His Father. He must needs be God in order to do this, and to undertake the fulfillment of all that God could will.
We have here the great mystery of this divine intercourse, which remains ever surrounded with its solemn majesty, although it is communicated to us that we may know it. And we ought to know it; for it is thus that we understand the infinite grace and the glory of this work. Before He became man, in the place where only divinity is known, and its, eternal counsels and thoughts are communicated between the divine Persons, the Word-as He has declared it to us, in time, by the prophetic Spirit- such being the will of God contained in the book of the eternal counsels, He who was able to do it, offered Himself freely to accomplish that will. Submissive to this counsel already arranged for Him, He yet offers Himself in perfect freedom to fulfill it. But in offering He submits, yet at the same time undertakes to do all that God, as God, willed. But also in undertaking to do the will of God, it was in the way of obedience, of submission, and of devotedness. For I might undertake to do the will of another, as free and competent, because I willed the thing; but if I say to do thy will, this in itself is absolute and complete submission. And this it is which the Lord, the Word, did. He did it also, declaring that He came in order to do it. He took a position of obedience by accepting the body prepared for Him. He came to do the will of God.
That of which we have been speaking is continually manifested in the life of Jesus on earth. God shines through His position in the human body; for He was necessarily God in the act itself of His humiliation; and none but God could have undertaken and been found in it; yet He was always, and entirely and perfectly, obedient and dependent on God. That which revealed itself in His existence on earth was the expression of that which was accomplished in the eternal abode, in His own nature. That is to say (and of this Psa 40:1-17 speaks), that which He declares, and that which He was here below, are the same thing; the one in reality in heaven, the other bodily on earth. That which He was here below was but the expression, the living, real, bodily manifestation of what is contained in those divine communications which have been revealed to us, and which were the reality of the position that He assumed.
And it is very important to see these things in the free offer made by divine competency, and not only in their fulfillment in death. It gives quite a different character to the bodily work here below.
In reality, from chapter 1 of this epistle, the Holy Ghost always presents Christ in this way. But this revelation in the psalm was requisite to explain how He became a servant, what the Messiah really was; and to us it opens an immense view of the ways of God, a view, the depths of which-clearly as it is revealed, and through the very clearness of the revelation-display to us things so divine and glorious that we bow the head and veil our faces, as having had part as it were in such communications, on account of the majesty of the Persons whose acts and whose intimate relationships are revealed. It is not here the glory that dazzles us. But even in this poor world there is nothingto which we are greater strangers than the intimacy of those who are, in their modes of life, much above ourselves. What then, when it is that of God! Blessed be His name! there is grace that brings us into it, and that has drawn nigh to us in our weakness. We are then admitted to know this precious truth, that the Lord Jesus undertook of His own free will the accomplishment of all the will of God, and that He was pleased to take the body prepared for Him in order to accomplish it. The love, the devotedness to the glory of God, and the way in which He undertook to obey, are fully set forth. And this-the fruit of Gods eternal counsels -displaces (by its very nature) every provisional sign: and contains, in itself alone, the condition of all relationship with God, and the means by which He glorifies Himself.[28]
The Word then assumes a body, in order to offer Himself as a sacrifice. Besides the revelation of this devotedness of the Word to accomplish the will of God, the effect of His sacrifice according to the will of God is also set before us.
He came to do the will of Jehovah. Now faith understands that it is by this will of God (that is, by His will who, according to His eternal wisdom, prepared a body for His Son) that those whom He has called unto Himself for salvation are set apart to God, in other words, are sanctified. It is by the will of God that we are set apart for Him (not by our own will), and that by means of the sacrifice offered to God.
We shall observe that the epistle does not here speak of the communication of life, or of a practical sanctification wrought by the Holy Ghost:[29] the subject is the Person of Christ ascended on high, and the efficacy of His work. And this is important with regard to sanctification, because it shews that sanctification is a complete setting apart to God, as belonging to Him at the price of the offering of Jesus, a consecration to Him by means of that offering. God took the unclean Jews from among men and set them apart -consecrated them to Himself; so now the called ones, from that nation, and, thank God, ourselves also, by means of the offering of Jesus.
But there is another element, already pointed out in this offering, the force of which the epistle here applies to believers, namely, that the offering is once for all. It admits of no repetition. If we enjoy the effect of this offering, our sanctification is eternal in its nature. It does not fail. It is never repeated. We belong to God for ever according to the efficacy of this offering. Thus our sanctification, our being set apart to God has-with regard to the work that accomplished it-all the stability of the will of God and all the grace from which it sprang; it has, too, in its nature, the perfection of the work itself, by which it was accomplished, and the duration and the constant force of the efficacy of that work. But the effect of this offering is not limited to this setting apart for God. The point already treated contains our consecration by God Himself through the perfectly efficacious offering of Christ fulfilling His will. And now the position which Christ has taken, in consequence of His offering up of Himself, is employed in order clearly to demonstrate the state it has brought us into before God.
The priests among the Jews-for this contrast is still carried on-stood before the altar continually to repeat the same sacrifices which could never take away sins. But this Man, when He had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down for ever [30] at the right hand of God.
There-having finished for His own all that regards their presentation without spot to God-He awaits the moment when His enemies shall be made His footstool, according to Psa 110:1-7 : Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And the Spirit gives us the important reason so infinitely precious to us: For he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Here (ver. 14) as in verse 12, on which the latter depends, the word for ever has the force of permanence-uninterrupted continuity. He is ever seated, we are ever perfected, by virtue of His work and according to the perfect righteousness in which, and conformably to which, He sits at the right hand of God upon His throne, according to that which He is personally there, His acceptance on Gods part being proved by His session at His right hand. And He is there for us.
It is a righteousness suited to the throne of God, yea, the righteousness of the throne. It neither varies nor fails. He is seated there for ever. If then we are sanctified-set apart to God-by this offering according to the will of God Himself, we are also made perfect for God by the same offering, as presented to Him in the Person of Jesus.
We have seen that this position has its origin in the will, the good-will of God (a will which combines the grace and the purpose of God), and that it has its foundation and present certainty in the accomplishment of the work of Christ, the perfection of which is demonstrated by the session at the right hand of God of Him who accomplished it. But the testimony-for to enjoy this grace we must know it with divine certainty, and the greater it is, the more would our hearts be led to doubt it-the testimony upon which we believe it must be divine. And this it is. The Holy Ghost bears witness to us of it. The will of God is the source of the work; Christ, the Son of God accomplished it; the Holy Ghost bears witness to us of it. And here the application to the people, called by grace and spared, is in consequence fully set forth, not merely the fulfillment of the work. The Holy Ghost bears us witness, Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Blessed position! The certainty that God will never remember our sins and iniquities is founded all the steadfast will of God, on the perfect offering of Christ, now consequently seated at the right hand of God, and on the sure testimony of the Holy Ghost. It is a matter of faith that God will never remember our sins.
We may remark here the way in which the covenant is introduced; for although, as writing to the holy brethren, partakers of the heaven]y calling, he says, a witness to us, the form of his address is always that of an epistle to the Hebrews (believers, of course, but Hebrews, still bearing the character of Gods people). He does not speak of the covenant in a direct way, as a privilege in which Christians had a direct part. The Holy Ghost, he says, declares, I will remember no more, & etc. It is this which he quotes. He only alludes to the new covenant, leaving it aside consequently as to all present application. For after having said, This is the covenant, & etc., the testimony is cited as that of the Holy Ghost, to prove the capital point which he was treating, that is, that God remembers our sins no more. But he alludes to the covenant (already known to the Jews as declared before of God) which gave the authority of the scriptures to this testimony, that God remembered no more the sins of His people who are sanctified and admitted into His favour, and which, at the same time, presented these two thoughts: first, that this complete pardon did not exist under the first covenant: and, second, that the door is left open for the blessing of the nation when the new covenant shall be formally established.
Another practical consequence is drawn: sins being remitted, there is no more oblation for sin. The one sacrifice having obtained remission, no others can be offered in order to obtain it. Remembrance of this one sacrifice there may indeed be, whatever its character; but a sacrifice to take away the sins which are already taken away, there cannot be. We are therefore in reality on entirely new ground-on that of the fact, that by the sacrifice of Christ our sins are altogether put away, and that for us, who are sanctified and partakers of the heavenly calling, a perfect and everlasting permanent cleansing has been made, remission granted, eternal redemption obtained. So that we are, in the eyes of God, without sin, on the ground of the perfection of the work of Christ, who is seated at His right hand, who has entered into the true holiest, into heaven itself, to sit there because His work is accomplished. Thus all liberty is ours to enter into the holy place (all boldness) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, that is His flesh, to admit us without spot into the presence of God Himself, who is there revealed. For us the veil is rent, and that which rent the veil in order to admit us has likewise put away the sin which shut us out.
We have also a great High Priest over the house of God, as we have seen, who represents us in the holy place.
On these truths are founded the exhortations that follow. One word before we enter on them, as to the relation that exists between perfect righteousness and the priesthood. There are many souls who use the priesthood as the means of obtaining pardon when they have failed. They go to Christ as a priest, that He may intercede for them and obtain the pardon which they desire, but for which they dare not ask God in a direct way. These souls-sincere as they are-have not liberty to enter into the holy place.They take refuge with Christ that they may afresh be brought into the presence of God. Their condition practically is that in which a pious Jew stood. They have lost, or rather they have never had by faith, the real consciousness of their position before God in virtue of the sacrifice of Christ. I do not speak here of all the privileges of the assembly: we have seen that the epistle does not speak of them. The position it makes for believers is this: those whom it addresses are not viewed as placed in heaven, although partakers of the heavenly calling; but a perfect redemption is accomplished, all guilt entirely put away for the people of God, who remembers their sins no more. The conscience is made perfect-they have no more conscience of sins-by virtue of the work accomplished once for all. There is no more question of sin, that is, of its imputation, of its being upon them before and, between them and God. There cannot be, because of the work accomplished upon the cross. The conscience therefore is perfect; their Representative and High Priest is in heaven, a witness there to the work already accomplished for them. Thus, although the epistle does not present them as in the holiest, as sitting there-like in the Epistle to the Ephesians-they have full liberty, entire boldness, to enter into it. The question of imputation no longer exists. Their sins have been imputed to Christ. But He is now in heaven-a proof that the sins are blotted out for ever. Believers therefore enter with entire liberty into the presence of God Himself, and that always-having no more for ever any conscience of sins.
For what purpose then is priesthood? What is to be done with respect to the sins we commit? They interrupt our communion; but they make no change in our position before God, nor in the testimony rendered by the presence of Christ at the right hand of God. Nor do they raise any question as to imputation. They are sins against that position, or against God, measured by the relationship we are in to God, as in it. For sin is measured by the conscience according to our position. The perpetual presence of Christ at Gods right hand has this twofold effect for us: 1st, perfected for ever we have no more conscience of sins before God, we are accepted; 2nd, as priest He obtains grace to help in time of need, that we may not sin. But the present exercise of priesthood by Christ does not refer to sins: we have through His work no more conscience of sins, are perfected for ever. There is another truth connected with this, found 1Jn 2:1-29 : we have an Advocate [31] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. On this our communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ is founded and secured. Our sins are not imputed, for the propitiation is in all its value before God. But by sin communion is interrupted; our righteousness is not altered-for that is Christ Himself at Gods right hand in virtue of His work; nor is grace changed, and he is the propitiation for our sins; but the heart has got away from God, communion is interrupted. But grace acts in virtue of perfect righteousness, and by the advocacy of Christ on behalf of him who has failed: and his soul is restored to communion. Nor is it that we go to Jesus for this; He goes, even if we sin, to God for us. His presence there is the witness of an unchangeable righteousness which is ours; His intercession maintains us in the path we have to walk in, or as our Advocate He restores the communion which is founded on that righteousness. Our access to God is always open. Sin interrupts our enjoyment of it, the heart is not in communion; the advocacy of Jesus is the means of rousing the conscience by the action of the Spirit and the word, and we return (humbling ourselves) into the presence of God Himself. The priesthood and advocacy of Christ refer to the condition of an imperfect and feeble, or failing, creature upon earth, reconciling it with the perfectness of the place and glory in which divine righteousness sets us. The soul is maintained steadfast or restored.
Exhortations follow. Having the right thus to approach God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. This is the only thing that honours the efficacy of Christs work, and the love which has thus brought us to enjoy God. In the words that follow, allusion is made to the consecration of the priests-a natural allusion, as drawing near to God in the holiest is the subject. They were sprinkled with blood and washed with water, and then they drew nigh to serve God. Still, although I doubt not of the allusion to the priests, it is quite natural that baptism should have given rise to it. The anointing is not spoken of here-it is the power or privilege of the moral right to draw nigh.
Again, we may notice that, as to the foundation of the truth, this is the ground on which Israel will stay in the last days. In Christ in heaven will not be their place, nor the possession of the Holy Ghost as uniting the believer to Christ in heaven; but the blessing will be founded on water and on blood. God will remember their sins no more; and they will be washed in the clean water of the word.
The second exhortation is to persevere in the profession of the hope without wavering. He who made the promises is faithful.
Not only should we have this confidence in God for ourselves, but we are also to consider one another for mutual encouragement; and, at the same time, not to fail in the public and common profession of faith, pretending to maintain it, while avoiding the open identification of oneself with the Lords people in the difficulties connected with the profession of this faith before the world. Besides, this public confession had a fresh motive in that the day drew nigh. We see that it is the judgment which is here presented as the thing looked for-in order that it may act on the conscience, and guard Christians from turning back to the world, and from the influence of the fear of man -rather than the Lords coming to take up His own people. Heb 10:26 is connected with the preceding paragraph (Heb 10:23-25) the last words of which suggest the warning of Heb 10:26; which is founded, moreover, on the doctrine of these two chapters (9 and 10), with regard to the sacrifice. He insists on perseverance in a full confession of Christ, for His one sacrifice once offered was the only one. If any who had professed to know its value abandoned it, there was no other sacrifice to which he could have recourse, neither could it be ever repeated. There remained no more sacrifice for sin. All sins were pardoned by the efficacy of this sacrifice: but if, after having known the truth, they were to choose sin instead, there was no other sacrifice by virtue even of the perfection of that of Christ. Nothing but judgment remained. Such a professor, having had the knowledge of the truth and having abandoned it, would assume the character of an adversary.
The case, then, here supposed is the renunciation of the confession of Christ, deliberately preferring-after having known the truth-to walk according to ones own will in sin. This is evident, both from that which precedes and from verse 29.
Thus we have (chaps. 6, 10.) the two great privileges of Christianity, what distinguishes it from Judaism, presented in order to warn those who made profession of the former, that the renunciation of the truth, after enjoying these advantages, was fatal; for if these means of salvation were renounced, there was no other. These privileges were the manifested presence and power of the Holy Ghost, and the offering which, by its intrinsic and absolute value, left no place for any other. Both of these possessed a mighty efficacy, which, while it gave divine spring and force, and the manifestation of the presence of God on the one hand, made known on the other hand the eternal redemption and the perfection of the worshiper; leaving no means for repentance, if any one abandoned the manifested and known power of that presence; no place for another sacrifice (which, more over, would have denied the efficacy of the first), after the perfect work of God in salvation, perfect whether with regard to redemption or to the presence of God by the Spirit in the midst of His own. Nothing remained but judgment.
They who despised the law of Moses died without mercy. What then would not those deserve at the hand of God, who trod under foot the Son of God, counted the blood of the covenant, by which they had been sanctified, as a common thing, and did despite to the Spirit of grace? It was not simple disobedience, however evil that might be; it was contempt of the grace of God, and of that which He had done, in the Person of Jesus, in order to deliver us from the consequences of disobedience. On the one hand, what was there left, if with the knowledge of what it was, they renounced this? On the other hand, how could they escape judgment? for they know a God who had said that vengeance belonged unto Him, and that He would recompense; and, again, the Lord would judge His people.
Observe here the way in which sanctification is attributed to the blood; and, also, that professors are treated as belonging to the people. The blood, received by faith, consecrates the soul to God; but it is here viewed also as an outward means for setting apart the people as a people. Every individual who had owned Jesus to be the Messiah, and the blood to be the seal and foundation of an everlasting covenant available for eternal cleansing and redemption on the part of God, acknowledging himself to be set apart for God, by this means, as one of the people-every such individual would, if he renounced it, renounce it as such; and there was no other way of sanctifying him. The former system had evidently lost its power for him, and the true one he had abandoned. This is the reason why it is said, having received the knowledge of the truth.
Nevertheless he hopes better things, for fruit, the sign of life, was there. He reminds them how much they had suffered for the truth, and that they had even received joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had a better and an abiding portion in heaven. They were not to cast away this confidence, the reward of which would be great. For in truth they needed patience, in order that, after having done the will of God, they might receive the effect of the promise. And He who is to come will come soon.
It is to this life of patience and perseverance that the chapter applies. But there is a principle which is the strength of this life, and which characterises it. In the midst of the difficulties of the Christian walk the just shall live by faith; and if anyone draws back, God will have no pleasure in him. But, says the author, placing himself as ever in the midst of the believers, we are not of them who draw back, but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul. Thereupon he describes the action of this faith, encouraging believers by the example of the elders who had acquired their renown by walking according to the same principle as that by which the faithful were now called to walk.
Footnotes for Hebrews Chapter 10
26: It is not the same word as to bore, or thrust through , in Exo 21:1-36 nor as open in Isa 1:1-31. The one (digged) is, to prepare for obedience, the other would be to bind to it for ever, and to subject to the obedience when due. Exo 21:1-36 intimates, the blessed truth that, when He had fulfilled His personal service on earth, He would not abandon either His assembly or His people. He is ever God, but ever man, the humbled man, the glorified and reigning man, the subject man, in the joy of eternal perfection.
27: As throughout the epistle, the Messiah is the subject. In the psalm it is the Messiah who speaks, that is, the Anointed here below. He expresses His patience and faithfulness in the position which He had taken, addressing Jehovah as his God and He tells us that He took this place willingly, according to the eternal counsels respecting His own Person. For the Person is not changed. But He speaks in the psalm according to the position of obedience which He had taken, saying always, I and me, in speaking of what took place before His incarnation.
28: Remark, also, here not only the substitution of the reality for the ceremonial figures of the law, but the difference of principle. The law required for righteousness, that man should do the will of God, and rightly. That was human righteousness. Here Christ undertakes to do it, and has accomplished it in the offering up of Himself. His so doing the will of God is the basis of our relationship with God, and it is done, and we are accepted. As born of God our delight is to do Gods will, but it is in love and newness of nature, not in order to be accepted.
29: It speaks of this last in the exhortations, Heb 12:14. But in the doctrine of the epistle, sanctification is not used in the practical sense of what is wrought in us.
30: The word translated here for ever is not the same word that is used for eternally. It has the sense of continuously without interruption, eis ____ dienekes. He does not rise up or stand. He is ever seated, His work being finished. He will indeed rise up at the end to come and fetch us, and to judge the world, even as this same passage tells us.
31: There is a difference in detail here; but it does not affect my present subject. The High Priest has to do with our access to God; the Advocate with our communion with the Father and His government of us as children. The Epistle to the Hebrews treats of the ground of access and shews us to be perfected for ever; and the priestly intercession does not apply to sins in that respect. It brings mercy and grace to help in time of need here, but we are perfected for ever before God. But communion is necessarily interrupted by the least sin or idle thought-yea, really had been, practically if not judicially, before the idle thought was there. Here the advocacy of John comes in: If any man sin, and the soul is restored. But there is never imputation to the believer.
ARGUMENT 11
LAW AND GOSPEL.
1. Law here means the bloody ritual of Sinai, instituted to serve as a schoolmaster (Gal 3:24) to bring us to Christ. The innumerable bloody rites, which under the Gospel have been reduced to the simple eucharist, emblematized the work of Christ, while the vast and copious ablutions, typifying the work of the Spirit, have been simplified into the initiatory rite of water baptism. For the Law having the shadow of good things to come and not the precise form of the things. From this statement we see the folly of all sticklerism on Church ordinances. It is simple nonsense, since as we here see the precise form has not been revealed. The ordinance is the shadow of the great spiritual reality. A shadow is a very indefinite thing. It may be infinitely less or greater than the substance, owing to the position of the luminary, or it may have a very different shape, as there is nothing definite nor arbitrary about it. Hence we see the unscriptural folly of the vast dogmatism on water baptism, which has so long constituted the battlefield among the sects. In the first place, it is nothing but a shadow and utterly unsubstantial. In the second place, it is not definitely revealed as to form or quantity. This is divine wisdom, as specification would only augment the ecclesiastical tendency to idolatry, which has already wrecked millions of souls. Again, the shadow is no part of the substance and not at all essential to its existence. Hence the ordinances are no part of Christianity, nor at all essential to salvation.
They are only shadows representing spiritual realities. Multiplied millions of superficial professors have taken the shadow for the substance, starved to death, and made their bed in hell. No wonder, when they have so many preachers unconverted and utterly ignorant of spiritual, and at the same time egotistical and bombastic in collegiate learning, standing in the pulpit and doing their utmost to persuade the people that these empty shadows constitute the alpha and omega of the Christian religion. The Gospel is no ritualism, morality, philanthropy nor churchism. It is all spirituality. Paul, in Rom 1:16, gives a positive, lexical definition of Gospel, i.e., The power [Greek, dynamite] of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. When the sinner believes convicting truth, then the dynamite of the Holy Ghost convicts him. When the penitent believes converting truth, then the dynamite of conversion strikes him. And when the Christian believes the great Bible truth of original sin surviving in the regenerate, then the dynamite of conviction for sanctification strikes in. When the consecrated Christian believes sanctifying truth then the dynamite of sanctification blows all the inbred sin out of his heart. It is sad to contemplate thousands in the pulpits and the pews utterly ignorant of the very definition of the Gospel they vainly think they preach and the religion they hypocritically profess. No wonder Jesus says the saved are few. The great popular churches, both papal and Protestant, have gone back into the fogs of Mosaic legalism. Are not able to make the comers thereunto perfect. Heaven is a perfect world. Hence all hope of heaven, founded on Gods word, utterly and eternally breaks down without perfection. The great trouble with all of this legalistic religion is that it is only a shadow, destitute of the substance, which is spiritual salvation.
2. Since they would have ceased being offered because the worshipers, having been once purified, would have had no more conscience of sins. It is a significant fact this day that no worshipers in all the world ever g rid of the conscience of sins except the holiness people. The simple truth of the matter is, they are groping along amid the shadows and burdens of the Law dispensation, seeking salvation not by the free, glorious, omnipotent grace of God in Christ, witnessed by the Holy Ghost, but by the works of the Law. It is wonderful with what rapidity the great Protestant churches are annually adding to their ecclesiastical codes more and more laws, thus burdening their necks with still more yokes, though they are unable to bear what they have. The effect of all this is to crowd God out, increase the reign of that legal bondage which is already intolerable, thus drifting farther from God and spirituality. The extent to which the intolerable legalism in the churches is multiplying infidels and alienating the multitudes from Christianity is simply fearful. They come and try the so-called Christian religion, find nothing in it but a yoke of bondage, give it up in disgust, turn infidels, make the most of this world and plunge into hell.
3, 4. If the Mosaic ritual, one hundred times so operose as the Gospel ritual, had no power to take away sins, away with the silly sophistry that simple church joining and water baptism will take away sin. It is nonsense in the extreme.
5-7. We learn from these verses that the body of Christ is the only ransom for the sins of the world. When Solomon dedicated the temple he sacrificed twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. All this immense sacrifice had no power to take away sins. It is only adumbratory of the great Antitype bleeding on the Cross of Calvary.
Water baptism and the eucharist are surviving symbolisms on the same line, the latter representing Christ and the former the Holy Ghost. How utterly silly, preposterous and nonsensical to impute salvation to these minified shadows! The imputation of saving efficacy to church ordinances is downright idolatry. Their utility is simply to teach us the work of Christ and the Holy Ghost, without which the soul is irretrievably lost.
9. He taketh away the first that He may establish the second. God has taken away the Law dispensation that He may establish that of the Gospel, i.e., the pure spirituality of salvation by grace. It is deplorable with this statement before our eyes to see the Church of the present day crowded full of legalisms, if possible eclipsing the Mosaic dispensation, competing with each other in the multiplication of institutions and laws, the fearful trend of which is to idolatry and infidelity. No wonder they fight the holiness movement, which is really the only advocate of pure, Bible, spiritual religion on the globe. While the Law has nothing but conviction, and is utterly destitute of salvation, the justified Christian is in a mixed experience. The new creation created in his heart by the Holy Ghost by regeneration is under grace, but the man of sin conquered and hound in regeneration is still under the law. Hence the crucifixion of Adam the first is the only full and final deliverance from legal bondage. When a child learns its alphabet it passes on to spelling and reading; forever leaving the alphabet as a study, though carrying it on, he still uses it as an instrument in spelling and reading. Likewise in sanctification, we pass on from the plain of justification up to the beautiful highlands of entire sanctification, above the line of fog, malaria and mosquitoes, where the Sun of Righteousness shines night and day, the flowers never fade and the fruits never fail, though we still hold the justification plain in our spiritual conquest. If defeated and forced to retreat, we could drop back, recuperate our shattered forces and give the devil another fight on the justification plain.
10. By whose will we have been sanctified once by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, and have it yet better than ever. In this verse Apollos and his comrades certainly give us a grand testimony to their sanctification. In my translation the latter clause is given by way of circumlocution in order to translate fully the Greek perfect tense. Like the English perfect it conveys an action complete in past time, developing a state which continues down to the present. But unlike the English which gives the emphasis to the past the Greek lays it on the present. Hence the necessity of adding the latter clause by circumlocution, i.e., have it yet better than ever. So when you want a clear and unequivocal inspired testimony to entire sanctification received instantaneously and retained with augmented brilliancy, unction and glory, read Apollos (Heb 10:10).
11. Here the Holy Ghost again affirms the frequently repeated declaration of the utter incompetency of the Mosaic ritual to take away sins. Since it was a thousand times so magnitudinous as the simple Gospel ritual, which is homogeneous with it and a simple survival of it, how ridiculously foolish to impute salvation to the latter, which is the damnable heresy of the present age. Millions of people in the churches are humbugged with the senseless sophistry that water baptism and other church rites take away their sins. Momentous will be the responsibility of the blind preachers who thus deceive them, when they all stand before the great white throne.
12, 13. But Himself having offered up one sacrifice for sin, forever sat down on the right hand of God, waiting till His enemies may finally be made His footstool. Here the Holy Ghost, by His clear and unequivocal affirmation, forever settles the sin problem. The sacrifice of our Saviors body is the only possible vicarious offering, to which all the world are invited to come and be saved. Not only did Jesus once for all settle the sin problem when He died on the cross, but He completely triumphed over the devil, who the last six thousand years has been doing his utmost to establish his diabolical claim to this world. Jesus not only bought and paid for all the human souls and bodies, from fallen Adam down to the remotest generation, but he bought and paid for this world itself, with its meteorological environments, all of which had been so polluted by sin as to absolutely necessitate their complete sanctification and renovation. Having bought and paid for this whole world, with its population and environments, the Father crowned Him Mediatorial King at His right hand, significant of His perfect satisfaction of the redemption which Jesus wrought on the cross. Pursuant to His acceptance of the Sons perfect mediatorial work, the Father said to Him,
Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Daniel 8.
and John in Rev 16:19, vividly describe the awful premilennial judgments, when the Father shall come down and verify this promise to His Son, shaking from His throne every usurper, political or ecclesiastical, and thus preparing the way for the Son to ride down on the millennial throne of His glory, to take possession of the world which He purchased by His blood, Satan being finally ejected and incarcerated in the dungeons of hell.
14. For by one offering He forever perfected the sanctified. The connection of this wonderful verse by the causative conjugation with the preceding promise ratifies the glowing anticipations of the crowns and kingdoms awaiting the sanctified members of the bridehood in the millennial triumphs. Oh, the unutterable gracious possibilities emanating from the one offering which Jesus made on the cross, i.e., full and complete justification, glorious and thorough sanctification and eternal promotion to thrones, crowns and scepters in the coming kingdom.
15. And the Holy Spirit doth witness this to us. Well does Richard Watson, the great Methodist theologian, testify that the Holy Spirit doth witness to the work of entire sanctification separate and distinct from justification, quite as clearly as He doth witness to our regeneration. At the present day we have great preachers proclaiming through the church papers that no one can have the witness of sanctification distinct from regeneration. I still prefer to keep company with the Bible and the old Methodists. The only conclusion deducible from such a statement is that the man who makes that statement has never been sanctified and, consequently, has no witness to the experience. This verse settles forever the testimony of the Holy Ghost witnessing to our sanctification.
16, 17. Here we have again the beautiful statement of the Holy Ghost, how God peculiarizes the sanctified by putting his laws in their hearts and writing them on their minds, so they have nothing to do but read Gods will in their minds and hearts each fleeting moment. Thus God not only reveals to them their whole duty every minute, but gives them all the grace they need to perform it. Roman Catholic priests and carnal preachers want the people to be dependent on them for leadership. Hence they fight sanctification with desperation, because it takes the people out of their hands and turns them over to God. The sanctified preacher does not want any popular following. He only wants the people to follow Jesus, himself happily disencumbered of burden and responsibility. This human following of the unsanctified has developed the sectarian ecclesiasticisms now belting the globe, and enthroned Satan the god of the world.
18. Where there is removal of these there is no more offering for sin.
The unsanctified are forever repeating their offering for sins like the priests and people of the old dispensation, because sin is always there; like Banquos ghost, it will not down. Hence they never get rid of the painful consciousness of its presence. Not so in the glorious experience of entire sanctification, when sin is utterly eradicated and forever exterminated. Therefore the worshiper, consciously and gloriously delivered from the sin principle, his conscience, though intensely acute and completely quickened by the Holy Spirit, is no longer contaminated by the slightest taint of sin, and he goes on singing, They are all taken away!
19-25. The unsanctified preachers and church members, staggering under the galling yoke of legal bondage, groping along in the dispensation of Moses three thousand years behind the age, are shocked and almost hysterical at the boldness of the sanctified. Here we are exhorted to exercise this boldness; meanwhile the most plausible reasons are given, i.e. (Heb 10:20), when Christ expired on the cross, God with His own hand rent the veil from top to bottom, forever opening the Holy of Holies to every Christian on the globe. The temple veil emblematized the body of Christ, which hid the Omnipotent Savior dwelling in that body from the eyes of the world. The divine presence abode in the sanctum sanctorum, hidden by the intervening veil from the worshipers in the temple. When the great Antitype was lacerated by the Roman spear God did rend the type from top to bottom; so there is nothing to do but push it aside with the hand of faith and walk into the Holy of Holies.
21. Truly, having a great High Priest over the family of God. House throughout the Bible generally means family. Every Christian belongs to the family of God. The poorest and the meanest of Gods children enjoy the intercessions of this great High Priest, who has actually swept every difficulty out of the way, leaving no possible defalcation nor conceivable reason why all of Gods children should not walk unhesitatingly into the sanctum sanctorum and there abide forever.
22. Let us draw nigh with a true heart with full assurance, having been sprinkled as to our hearts from an evil conscience. Here the Holy Spirit exhorts us to draw nigh. A true heart is a heart sincere and entirely consecrated to God. In full assurance of faith, i.e., faith in Gods promises, without the shadow of doubt. You can not be sanctified and have anything to do with the devil. Sin and doubt are Siamese twins, and belong to the devil. You must not only eternally abnegate all sin, but turn over to the devil every shadow of doubt, along with every vestige of sin. This done, the Holy Spirit instantly sprinkles the blood on your conscience, utterly expurgating all evil, and sanctifying you wholly.
22. Having been washed as to our body with purifying water. This is simple allusion to the Jewish custom of sprinkling the water purification on the subject of ceremonial defilement. Hence it means the sanctification of your body simultaneously with your soul. Of course, your body is completely turned over to God fully consecrated and sanctified to His service and occupancy forever. The efforts of certain sticklers on water theology to make an argument for immersion out of this are nonsensical in the extreme. The very fact here stated that the heart is sanctified by the sprinkling of the Saviors blood, involves the conclusion that the body is purified by the affusion of water, in symbolic reference to the Jewish catharisms which were always performed by sprinkling.
24. Let us know one another into a paroxysm of divine love and good works. This is certainly exceedingly wholesome exhortation. The Holy Ghost importunes all Christians in this paragraph to get sanctified wholly soul and body, unhesitatingly, and then to compete with each other in actual earthquake shocks of pure Holy Ghost religion and good works, i.e., go ahead and do your best to excel all your comrades in the love of God coming in cataracts into your own heart and flowing out in good works in behalf of others.
25. Here the Spirit exhorts us never to give up going to meeting, since the Lord is coming soon. We should be on the constant outlook for our glorious King to ride down on a cloud. Blessed for me and for you if we are standing before the people preaching the glorious gospel when our King cometh!
Heb 10:1. The law having a shadow of good things to come. St. Paul, ere his epistles were engrossed, weighed his words, adjusted his thoughts, collated them with the prophets, and knew the support he had from rabbinical theology. The law was a shadow indeed, but a very imperfect shadow of the Messiah, and the glory of his kingdom. Some call it a rough draught of better things. By the law we understand the whole of the ancient economy, which was a shadow of future realities; and therefore believers are called heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus.
Heb 10:4-5. It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins but a body hast thou prepared me. So David in the Spirit utters the words of Christ to the Father: Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Coccejus remarks here, that Jerome in his Latin version, made from the LXX, reads, aures autem perfecisti mihi, thou hast perfected my ears. Hence we gather, that the Greek was ears, and not , body. Such also is the reading of Cyril, and of Arnobius. Many of the comments on the fortieth psalm are to the same effect, corresponding with what the mystical sense seems to indicate. The ears of Christ were not opened, but his body was crucified, as a testimony of his obedience unto death. But as sacrifices were not accepted as perfect, the word body has obtained, that he might offer it up once for all on the cross.
Heb 10:7. In the volume of the book it is written of me. The Hebrew signifies the roll of a book, the engrossed parchments being often rolled on a staff. The Greek reads, in the head of the book; for the Messiah was the end of the law, and the theme of the prophets.
Heb 10:9-10. Lo, I come to do thy will, oh God by the which will we are sanctified. Moses sanctified the altar, the vessels of the tabernacle, and all the people, by the sprinkling of the blood of atonement. Erasmus asks here, But what is the will of God, who thus lothed the legal sacrifices of the old testament, and greatly desired the new kind of sacrifice? In truth it was, because of his unmerited goodness towards us, that his blessed Son, the Lord Jesus, should assume our body; and dying for the sins of the whole world, should purify all men by one sacrifice truly offered up for their sins; and in such conformity to the Fathers pleasure, as to need in future no other atoning sacrifice.
Heb 10:14. By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Thus the Mediator has finished his work on earth; he has removed the curse, and procured the favour of God in all its characters of goodwill to men. There is a recurrence of these ideas in a dozen places of Pauls epistles; for the glory of the atonement by a crucified Redeemer is the grand theme of all our preaching. Where there is remission of sins, there is no more offering required by the law.
Heb 10:19-20. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; confident that we shall not die, like Uzzah, who touched the ark. 2Sa 6:6-7. Num 4:15. Because also we are sprinkled with the blood of Christ, by which we are brought nigh to God. Our great Highpriest has given us the glory of adoption, and has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. We therefore are safe in following him in the new and living way which he has opened to the throne of grace, and to eternal glory; the way never trod before, the way through the valley of the shadow of death to life everlasting.
Heb 10:22. Let us draw near with a true heart, to our illustrious Highpriest, sincere in faith, and fervent in piety, for he searcheth all hearts. Let us come in the full assurance of faith, as children come to their fathers door, and as knowing that he will in nowise cast us out. Let us come with hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and pray without any misgiving of mind, or any impurity in our hands, having our bodies washed with pure water. Though the waters of baptism and legal ablutions may cleanse the body with exterior purity; yet as Theophylact observes, Paul joins baptism with interior purity: the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience.
Heb 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. The promulgation of the gospel was attended with many difficulties; it found the heathen attached to the grossest superstition, and the jews prepossessed in favour of Mosaic rites and ceremonies. Some of the latter however appeared to embrace the gospel, but their prejudices so strongly inclined them to judaism, that Paul had many fears about their stedfastness in the faith. Though introduced to a more glorious dispensation, which gave a reality to their typical institutions, yet many of them, like their forefathers in the wilderness, were for going back again into Egypt. He therefore implores them to hold fast their profession without wavering. Including ourselves in the exhortation, it is clearly implied that what we profess must be the faith of the gospel, not any human creed, we may happen to have embraced, from education or from habit, but the truth as it is in Jesus, the doctrine of salvation by the cross, exclusive of every other ground of hope. This we are to hold fast as the only hope set before us in the gospel, the only name given under heaven whereby we can be saved; and so to hold it fast as never to let go our hold, though called to part with every thing besides.
Having embraced the truth, it is also incumbent to make a profession of our faith. These went together in the apostles time, nor do we read of any who understood and loved the gospel who did not openly avow it, though exposed to persecution and reproach. The promises of Christ may well encourage us to do it, and to join ourselves to his disciples, saying I also am the Lords. To induce Israel to follow him out of Egypt and into the wilderness, he promised them the land of Canaan. To those who follow him in the regeneration he has promised thrones, and a kingdom that fadeth not away. Him that honoureth me, I will honour; but he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed. Him that confesseth me will I confess before my Father and the holy angels.
Heb 10:24-25. Let us consider one another, or study to excite each other, to love, and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, through the incessant persecutions of the jews. In time of trouble men have the more need of means to support their faith; and especially in Jerusalem, where they saw the nation filling up their measure, and where they saw the dark cloud enveloping Zion in one eternal night. Let us stand fast, let no man fall away, lest we should drink the bitter cup of perdition.
Heb 10:26. If we sin wilfully there remaineth no more, or as in Whitby, no other sacrifice for sin. If we sin wilfully by a total abjuration of Christ, and such as the jews required, after having received the five seals of regeneration enumerated in the sixth chapter. Moses in the law distinguishes sins of oversight and inadvertency, from presumptuous sins. Lev 15:27-30. , who acts with a high hand, and walks contrary to God. And who can carry himself with a higher hand than he who denies the faith? Who can be more ungrateful to Christ; or who can fall lower than those apostates? The Novatians in Rome would not hold communion with the rich, who in time of persecution had fallen away, till they had undergone a course of penance, which induced some to scruple whether this epistle was really Pauls, for this passage, as well as that in chap. 6., was quoted against them. But the fall to judaism, connected with the execration of Christ, was much worse than the fall of the richer christians at Rome.
Heb 10:27. Fiery indignation, the devouring fire mentioned in several other places. Isa 30:33; Isa 66:6. Mar 9:44; Mar 9:48. Rev 14:11. Mat 25:46.
Heb 10:34. Ye had compassion on me in my bonds. The church in Jerusalem took a great interest in Pauls case when seized in the temple, to see him valiantly maintain the faith, and during the time, probably little less than two years, that he lay in chains at Csarea. It is then in vain for the unitarians to seek for any other author of this most luminous letter than Paul.
Heb 10:36. Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, in the first stages of repentance, faith and holiness, ye might receive the promise of life and glory on the Lords return. The seaman must persevere in his long voyage, and the husbandman must wait for the harvest.
Heb 10:37. He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. The believing Hebrews were too much like their fathers when Moses ascended the mount; they thought he tarried long, and wot not what was become of him, and so they made themselves gods to go back again to Egypt. Those in Pauls day were for returning to judaism, for they saw not the promises fulfilled which they eagerly expected, forgetting that Jehovahs plan is wide and large, embracing an infinitude of objects, and requiring a long time for its execution. The promise of Christs first coming was delayed four thousand years, during the whole of which period the church had to live by faith. The redemption of Israel out of Egypt required the lapse of four hundred years before it was accomplished, and after that they must wait seventy years for their return from Babylon. The Lord has promised great things respecting the spread of the gospel over all the earth, but we have to wait century after century, and to witness many disappointments and discouragements, before he brings his purposes to pass. Eternal life is promised to every believer, but we must live to see many painful afflictions and bereaving providences, before we ascend the mountain top, and behold the king in his beauty and the land that is very far off. Yet there is a certainty that all these promises will be fulfilled. The vision may seem to tarry, and the time appear long, but all will soon be over. Heaven will be the sweeter for having been waited for, faith and patience will have had their perfect work, and will at last be swallowed up in fruition and full enjoyment. The same may be said of all the promises. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life. Pro 13:12.
Heb 10:38. The just shall live by faith. The words are quoted from Habakkuk. Dr. Campbell of Aberdeen passes a censure on Beza for corrupting this text, by adding [quis] At si quis se subduxerit. The Greek is, . And if he [the just and righteous, as in Habakkuk] draw back, my soul hath no pleasure in him. Jerome reads, justus autem meus ex fide vivet, but my just or righteous man shall live by faith; but if he shall draw back he shall not please my soul. So also the Mons version, copying most of the latin versions, Que sil se retire, &c. Beza therefore stands alone in his attempt to confuse the sense, and enfeeble the force of the text; whereas a translator should, if possible, give his version in the full and happiest sense of the original.
REFLECTIONS.
All those distinguishing facts being established, viz. that the ceremonial law was only a shadow of better things, that it could not in any view perfect the worshipper, and that Christ was made the Highpriest and mediator of a better covenant, it follows that we should gratefully turn to the Lord Christ who willingly came to offer up his holy body, and to do the Fathers will. So we have explained this passage in the fortieth psalm.
By this will, or good pleasure of the Father, we are sanctified. Whatever ways there might be of showing mercy to fallen man, and we know not of any but by Christ, it pleased God to appoint and to accept of this alone. Because the Son came expressly to do the will of God, he was so delighted with this free and perfect obedience, as to loathe and supersede the rituals. Yea, and as Erasmus paraphrases Heb 10:14, he need not offer up himself again, for by this one offering he sufficiently perfected all those for ever who desire to be sanctified, so that not one of their old sins can be laid to their charge.
In consequence of a better covenant, we have greater confidence in our approach to God. Such is the apostles inference. Let us draw nigh to God with a true heart, a heart honestly hating sin, and sprinkled with atoning blood: let us draw near in full assurance of faith. Can God do all this for sinful man, and then spurn him from his door? Can the Redeemer weep, and bleed, and die, and after all deny a pardon to the penitent? Can he spread a table of bounty to the hungry, and deny the bread of life to the suppliant? Oh no. Let us come with boldness as children who are not inconscious of their parents love; for the reception of sinners shall be life from the dead, and joy to the angelic world. How glorious are our privileges, how transporting is the grace, how elevated the glory of our christian calling. The grand point is, to be holy, as he that hath called us is holy.
The means are connected with the end. Let us not forsake the public worship of Christ for that of the synagogue; or recreations, or company, for God is there. There his people pray, there we shall be assisted in knowledge, and there we shall be blessed. Let us do this the more, as the end of all things is at hand, even as the end of the jewish temple was near. Let us take the weary by the hand, for the crown is just before us.
Our grand caution is against all wilful and presumptuous sins; and though the words refer especially to apostasy, all wilful sin must be dreaded as the most dangerous of calamities. We must in that case be judged by the same Supreme that punished the despiser of Mosess law. And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of this God, who is a consuming fire to presumptuous sinners, as he was to Korah and his company.
The just shall live by faith, in every acceptation of the word. They shall live by justification, in defiance of the law which denounces death against the guilty. So St. Paul has used the word in Gal 3:11. Habakkuk also intimated that the jews could not be justified by works. They shall live temporally by faith, as God marked his own sighing people before the destroying angel by sword and famine went through Jerusalem. Eze 9:4. Mar 8:34-38. They shall also live spiritually by faith. The old man of sin and death shall be crucified, and the inner man of the heart shall live through righteousness, and be revived day by day. Thus the life that St. Paul lived in the flesh was by the faith of the Son of God. This is that life eternal which flows from the knowledge and love of God.
We must consequently dread apostasy; and from the cautions given in Heb 6:6-20, we must beware of drawing back from the faith. The wretch who does this, tramples on Christ as an impostor, and accounts his blood wherewith he was redeemed, or sanctified, a common thing, and despitefully slanders the Spirit of grace. These three passages certainly speak in a most moving and pathetic strain to all believers, to shun the slightest approach to those unhappy characters who draw back unto perdition.
Heb 10:1-18. In this closing part of the theological discussion the writer dwells further on the finality of Christs one sacrifice, and shows how it has brought to an end the annually repeated offerings under the old covenant.
Heb 10:1-4. The OT sacrifices cannot effect their purpose of removing sins. By its nature the Law could only reflect the higher realities, and did not present them in their actual substance; thus the priests who carry out the behests of the Law do not, by means of the annual sacrifices, bring the worshipping people into a real and enduring fellowship with God. Continually (Heb 10:1) is better taken with make perfect. The writer wishes to show that the annual offering of the sacrifice implies its merely temporary value. A lasting relation to God cannot be effected by a sacrifice that needs to be constantly repeated. If the worshippers were conscious that their sins had been removed by the Levitical sacrifice, what need would there be for its repetition (Heb 10:2)? But, instead of giving this sense of deliverance from sin, it only serves to remind the people that they have sinned during the year past as they did before (Heb 10:3). Indeed the point does not require to be argued: any man can feel for himself that the blood of mere animals cannot take away sin (Heb 10:4).
Heb 10:5-10. Proof is adduced from Scripture that Christs sacrifice alone is adequate to fulfil Gods will, and has put an end to the old ineffectual sacrifices of the Law. A psalm (Psa 40:6-8*) is quoted which was regarded by the Church as Messianic, and in which Christ Himself was supposed to be speaking. As usual the writer quotes from the LXX, which reads a body thou didst prepare for me, instead of mine ears thou hast opened, as in the Hebrew. In this passage, therefore, Christ appears as declaring, before His entrance into the world, that the surrender of His body, not ritual sacrifice, was required by God as the condition of forgiveness. He was to come in accordance with prophecy (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to give fulfilment to that will of God. Thus the passage may be held to teach (a) what God does not desire, viz. the sacrifices demanded by the Law; (b) what He does desire. Christ has taken away the firsti.e. He has abolished the sacrifices to which God attaches no valuein order to give effect to the genuine will of God (Heb 10:8 f.). This will He accomplished by the offering of His body; and we have been sanctifiedi.e. have been brought into the true condition for making our approach to Godby that offering which He made once for all.
Heb 10:11-14. With these words the thought returns to the subject of the finality of Christs sacrifice; and this is illustrated by a striking contrast. The priests of the Law perform their ministry standing, for they remain in the sanctuary only for the moment; and in this posture they offer the same stated sacrifices year by year, with no enduring result (Heb 10:11). Christ, when He had offered His one supreme sacrifice, sat down at Gods right hand. His work was all completed, and henceforth He is able to rest until in due time comes the great consummation (Heb 10:12 ff.).
Heb 10:15-18. After his manner the writer concludes his argument for the finality of the sacrifice by an appeal to Gods words in Scripture. In the passage concerning the new covenant (quoted in Heb 8:8-12) the chief promise was that when God had brought men into the new relation to Himself all sins would be forgiven. But the very object of sacrifice was to make possible the forgiveness of sins. If, then, all sins are now forgiven by the establishment of the new covenant, there is no place left for a second sacrifice.
The theological discussion of the high priesthood of Christ has now come to an end. In order to understand the argument we must bear in mind that in the ritual of the Day of Atonement the sacrifice and the entrance into the sanctuary were two inseparable parts of one act. After offering sacrifice in expiation of the sins of the people, the High Priest bore the blood into the holy of holies to present it before God. The sacrifice itself was, in a sense, only the necessary preliminary to this priestly intercession. So in Hebrews the death of Christ is inseparably connected with His entrance into the heavenly sanctuary. He made the sacrifice of Himself on behalf of His people that He might enter into Gods presence with His offering, and so bring them into the true relation to God. Inasmuch as He abides in the heavenly sanctuary this relation is one that can never henceforth be broken. It is difficult to say how far the writer conceives of the sanctuary as an actual place. The probability is that, in accordance with Jewish ideas, he believed in the existence of a temple or tabernacle in heaven, the eternal counterpart of Gods house on earth. But in any case his thought can easily be detached from the framework of ancient ritual conceptions in which it is set. He seeks to impress upon us that Christ has entered into an everlasting fellowship with God, and that we also may enjoy that fellowship through Him.
Having completed his theological argument the writer proceeds to enforce the practical consequences which flow from it, and which have been in his mind throughout. In the ensuing section (Heb 10:19 to Heb 12:29) he exhorts his readers to avail themselves of that access to God which Christ has wrought for them, and to resist all temptations to fall away.
The attentive reader cannot but notice the thoroughness with which this subject is treated in these chapters. It is a matter of profound importance, basic as regards any true knowledge of God, and as to approaching the presence of God. Law could not give any such revelation. “For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.” A shadow is simply an evidence of something substantial. Verse 34 of our chapter speaks of the “better and enduring substance.” This of course is what the law foreshadowed: the two were certainly not one and the same, nor is the shadow of any strength whatever to the substance. The sacrifices provided under law were but part of the shadow: they could never accomplish the redemption of which they were typical; and those who approached on that basis could find no real purging of conscience, no standing in perfection before God. For it should be evident that the sacrifice must be perfection itself if it is to bring perfection of blessing. And if it has done so, then the recipients of it “have no more conscience of sins:” a perfect sacrifice is complete in reference to accomplishing the purging of guilt, and it makes perfect those who approach God on this basis.
“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The repetition of the offering only proved that the question of sins was not yet settled. Like a great debt owed, it was never reduced by the paying of the interest year by year. Each year thus only brought to remembrance the fact that sins had not yet actually been taken away. The blood of animals could not possibly accomplish such a result.
“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I am come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do Thy will, O God.” This quotation is from Psa 40:1-17, rightly called “the burnt offering Psalm.” The Old Testament itself bore clearest witness to the fact that animal sacrifices were of no real value in the eves of God, and this Psalm is as the light breaking through the mist to declare that at least Someone would take the place of all such offerings. “A body hast Thou prepared Me” is the way in which the Spirit of God interprets His own expression in the Psalm, “ears hast Thou digged for Me.” Does this not rightly imply that He would take the lowly place of the Servant, utterly obedient to the Father’s will, ears opened to hear His Word? The same is implied in His body prepared for Him. Rather than in the form of God commanding and ordering all things according to His own will, He takes the form of a Servant, assuming the limitation of a human body, in complete subjection to the will of God. On earth, where not one had actually done the will of God, here was One Who came for that purpose, to accomplish that will in perfection. Blessed, wondrous sight! No doubt the “body prepared” is also an advance upon the thought of “ears digged,” showing that the Psalmist’s expression could be fulfilled only by means of incarnation.
But the apostle in verses 8 and 9 repeats this quotation with the object of showing that “the first” must be taken away. in order that “the second” be established. The law itself bore witness to the fact that its own terms were unsatisfactory, and therefore that it must be set aside in favor of One who would do the will of God.
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Sacrifices under law sanctified momentarily, that is outwardly; but of permanent value it gave none. The will of God accomplished by the offering of the Lord Jesus, brings with it a permanent sanctification, a setting apart to God of every redeemed soul, for eternity. This sanctification is positional, that is it sets the believer in a separated position, as having recognized that great public sacrifice which separates between believers and unbelievers publicly. “The sanctification of the Spirit” applies of course to all believers also. but this involves the Spirit’s inward work in souls as separating them from those who have not the Spirit. This is internal, the former external.
“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” The fact that the priests in Israel stood continually in performing an unending round of service, indicated that their work was never done. The tabernacle had no seat, except the mercyseat in the holiest of all, which could never be approached except by the high priest once each year, to sprinkle blood upon it. Is all this ritual not a designed lesson to mankind that the most unwearying labor could never accomplish the least iota of eternal blessing.
But the entire question is answered in marvelous fulness and perfection by the one sacrifice of our holy Lord, God’s great High Priest. Having accomplished expiation for sins in this one great work, He sits down in perpetuity on the right hand of God, in the holiest of all, upon the very throne which He had propitiated, having perfectly done the will of God.
The perfection in verse 14 is explained for us clearly. It is certainly not perfection in a man’s moral character of which the apostle speaks, but perfection of blessing accomplished on behalf of those who are sanctified, that is, every believer. The sacrifice being perfect, has perfect results, giving a position of perfection to the believer. The same work that sanctifies or sets apart, is the work that provides perfection for all who are sanctified.
“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us, for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their mindswill I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” We have first seen the will of God, followed by the work of the Son, and now in close connection is the witness of the Spirit. Let us observe however that it is not the witness within the believer that is here spoken of. 1Jn 5:10 does speak of the Spirit of God within the believer witnessing to his possession of eternal life. But here in Heb 10:1-39 the witness of the Spirit is rather the Old Testament Scripture (Jer 31:1-40) which had been long before dictated by the Spirit of God and therefore of course a conclusive witness to the Jew. Under the terms of this covenant, the Spirit of God had pledged all inward work in men’s hearts and minds (that of the new birth), but also a complete remission of sins. This being so, then the Old Testament itself indicated that offerings for sin would cease. This is inescapable. Had the Jews even considered so evident a fact laid down in their own Scriptures?
It may be remarked also that God in Divine government put an end to Israel’s offerings perforce, following the sacrifice of Christ; for the Jews lost their city in A.D. 70, and have never had possession of the temple area of Jerusalem until very recently (June, 1967). They well know that this is the only place in which their sacrifices are allowed to be offered; and we may well wonder how soon the intensity of their desire to restore their worship of old will overcome their fear of Arab and world pressures, to such an extent as to replace the present “Dome of the Rock” with a Jewish temple. But such an attempt will be of short-lived duration: for idolatry will supplant the worship of Jehovah, and the Great tribulation fall in dreadful ferocity upon the unhappy nation. Later on, when they are restored to blessing in the millennium, through the gracious intervention of their own Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, God will order again the sacrificing of animals, as Ezekiel shows us, but not “for sins.” They will be rather a remembrance of the perfect sacrifice of Christ, and of sins fully put away (Eze 40:39; Eze 40:43; Eze 43:18-27).
The question of sin now settled, verse 19 proceeds to encourage the believer in those privileges proper to him. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” How infinitely marvelous a contrast to Judaism! For law sternly forbad entry into the holiest. God dwelt in thick darkness, and none dare approach. But the saint of God today is called to do so with calm, holy boldness, having fullest confidence in the blood of Jesus, which gives perfect title there, in the immediate presence of God.
The way into the holiest is both “new,” accomplished by the death of Christ, and “living,” that is not in any sense formal, but vital and eternal. Moreover, He has consecrated it: no service of consecration is left to man at all. The veil, separating between the two holy places is here interpreted for us, “that is to say, His flesh.” His perfect Manhood was actually an absolute barrier to man’s entrance into God’s presence, for in that blessed Manhood of Christ God had demonstrated that only perfection was satisfactory to Him. But the death of Christ – the rending of the veil from the top to bottom – is the wondrous work that opens the way into God’s presence for sinners.
But He is also a High Priest over the house of God, One Whose mediation is perfection itself, and because of Whom the believer is gladly welcomed. Thus we observe a threefold cord of assured blessing to the believer, all centered in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus, – the blood, the rent veil, and the High Priest. We have before seen too that not only does He have authority over God’s house: He is Son over His house.
Such being the case, it is but right that we should draw near, but certainly with a true heart. How could we dare stoop to deceit in connection with those things in which God’s perfect truth and love have been so clearly manifested for our sake? “Full assurance of faith” too is to be our attitude in drawing near, – no unholy familiarity or unseemly forwardness, yet no terror or shrinking; rather a calm, holy decision of faith. The “heart sprinkled from an evil conscience” would speak of the Word of God having application to the heart and conscience by the new birth. It is the sprinkling spoken of in Eze 36:25. “Our bodies washed with pure water” on the other hand would speak of the effects of that new birth in the outward character of the believer. The one therefore is the internal change, the other external, but by the power of the same water, the Word of God. This latter is the “bath” that every believer receives at new birth. Compare Joh 13:10. “He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” This washing must he distinguished from cleansing by blood, which is cleansing from the guilt of sins; for the washing of water is cleansing morally from the power of sin, that is, the effect upon the soul, both internal and external.
The first (and most important) exhortation therefore is to draw near to God. But there is more to follow: “Let us hold fast the confession of our faith (or hope) without wavering: (for He is faithful that promised).” If we have been given a solid basis for drawing near to God, to give up such a position would be impossible. Hebrew professors of Christianity were however exposed to particularly serious tests of their reality, and if the false turned back, this could but be expected; but such exhortations as this verse would strengthen those who were true in heart yet possibly shaken on account of the apostasy of some. “For He is faithful that promised.” Blessed rock of certainty for the believer!
But verse 24 proceeds to more posititve, active goodness. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” Passive submission is one thing, and needful too, but we must not content ourselves with this. True, proper activity should stem from this, a genuine concern for the blessing of others with whom God has put us in contact. Such consideration for one another is the normal fruit of Christianity. Provoking unto love and good works is done by showing such character cheerfully in our own lives, and encouraging others in such things. But let us notice that good works are not considered until after the great work of the Lord Jesus is seen to be the only resting place of the soul, the only real foundation of blessing. Thereafter, good works have their true, real value, as a proper result of the knowledge of eternal salvation.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more as ye see the Day approaching.” If there is decline in the fresh, honest energy of drawing near to God, a corresponding laxity will soon appear in the desire for the gathering together of the saints. How sad that this is such a tendency in a world that supplies every inducement to forget God. One may feel himself strong enough spiritually without the need of constant gathering in fellowship with the people of God: but this very feeling is a sad sign of spiritual weakness, for which he deeply needs such assembling to the Name of the Lord. Indeed, if he is strong, he should use his strength for the encouragement of others. Or if one should give in to his own feelings of discouragement because of lack of outward public blessing, he is only encouraging the discontent and selfishness of his own heart and of others. The Lord preserve us in His mercy, to hold fast that which He has given us, and not to give up because of the trial of faith. Indeed, let us go further, and diligently exhort one another in this regard, and more urgently as we see the Day approaching. How should we feel if the Lord should come immediately after we had decided to give up a wholehearted walk with Him in fellowship with saints?
The apostle here puts diligent faithfulness in contrast to apostasy. For verse 26 is the willful rejection of the Christ who was once acknowledged. “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite into the Spirit of grace?”
This is no case of a weak believer giving way to sinful conduct, for in such a case there is a restoring remedy. Compare Jam 5:19-20; Gal 6:1; 1Jn 2:1. But here there is no remedy. The greatness of the Person of Christ and the perfection of His sacrifices have been here discussed in wonderful fulness. The willful sin of verse 26 is therefore the cold, deliberate rejection of this marvelous revelation of God, in the very face of having been intellectually enlightened. Notice, it is after receiving the knowledge of the truth, – not receiving the truth itself, or “the love of the truth.” as is expressed in 2Th 2:1-17. Some Jews who had professed Christianity were already revolting against it. In acknowledging it, they were admitting the necessity for a sacrifice to take away sins. Now in refusing it, they were choosing a position where there was no sacrifice for sins whatever. How dreadfully hopeless! Positive, certain judgment was the only alternative, fiery indignation, which should devour the adversaries. For in such a stand they became the callous adversaries of the God of Israel.
Moses’ law, with which the Jews were familiar, sternly demanded death in the case of any who rebelled against it, when the case was established by competent witness. But the revelation of God’s glory in the Person of His Son infinitely transcends God’s speaking by the law of Moses. If the judgment under law is so severe, then the far greater enormity of the crime against the Son of God demands a far greater judgment. Three solemn charges are brought against the apostate; first, his treading underfoot the Son of God. This is similar to Ch. 6:6. It is cold contempt for the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in flesh. How dreadful an insult to the Eternal God! Secondly, the blood of Christ he treats as unholy, despite the fact that God’s covenants with Israel demanded shedding of blood. Thus if the Son of God Personally is cast aside, so is His great work of redemption. Such a man plainly has never been born again, yet is said to have been “sanctified” by the blood of the covenant. Taking a public stand with Christians, he had been publicly set apart by the acknowledgment of the virtue of the blood of Christ. But his heart had not actually been reached: all was merely on the surface.
Thirdly, “the Spirit of grace” is despised. The Spirit of God revealing the marvelous grace of God in the present dispensation, attending this with clearest demonstration for Israel, with miracles and signs, has been deliberately insulted with haughty contempt. This compares with the sin against the Holy Ghost, which shall never he forgiven (Mar 3:28-30).
In every nation under heaven, brazen contempt for a dignity is counted a grossly criminal offence, and the higher the dignity, the more grave the crime. Certainly then such daring insolence against the eternal God will reap a terrible punishment. “For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
But because God is patient, and no dire consequences of such evil are immediately seen, men are emboldened in rebellion. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecc 8:11). Thus the test is complete. The patience of God allows time to prove fully the utter absence of faith in such painful cases; and when the judgment does at last come, it will be clearly seen to he absolutely and unquestionably just. Moreover, these things are so intensely serious that the judgment is not to be entrusted to human hands, nor even to angels: it is vengeance directly from the hand of the allwise and righteous God. Fearful indeed His vengeance at last manifested after years of patient grace so despised by man’s proud unbelief!
“But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions: partly whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.” This exhortation would have true effect upon those souls who were real: they could not lightly overthrow the reality of what they had suffered for the Lord’s sake in their first stand for Him, and for identifying themselves with the saints who were suffering. Only a callous, untrue heart could renounce all this.
For verse 33 we quote a more exact translation: “For ye sympathized with those in bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better and an enduring substance” (Numerical Bible ). Such an attitude was fully true of those who had truly received Christ. It was no small matter to have linked themselves with prisoners who suffered for Christ, exposed to the ungodly persecutor who considered himself justified in plundering their possessions because they were commonly held in contempt. But faith could rise above grieving as to temporal loss: they had what was their own, a better and enduring substance. This had given them stedfast firmness, and certainly it was no less real now.
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” If confidence in the living Cod is cast away, then its character is proven to be extremely deficient, for God Himself has not changed. Persecution tests it, no doubt, and the apostle would strengthen souls to stand by true, living faith. Patient endurance would gain its recompense, for the will of God in reference to any believer is that he should prove through hard experience that his trust is actually in the living God.
“For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Time may drag heavily and seem long when affliction and adversity try the soul, yet it is a mere moment in comparison to eternity; and the coming of the Lord is put before the soul as a constant source of encouragement, comfort, and confidence. Let the saints of God more wholeheartedly expect this and encourage one another in such blessed expectation.
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw hack unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” The quotation “the just shall live by faith” is from Hab 2:4, quoted also in Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11. It is most interesting to observe the differences of emphasis in each case, however, as illustrating the blessed fact that Scripture indulges in no mere repetition. Romans dwells upon the truth of justification, and hence emphasizes “the just.” Galatians deals with the subject of living a Christian life, not by works of law, but by faith, and therefore emphasizes “shall live.” Now Hebrews emphasizes the means, – “by faith” and in ch. 11 illustrates this beautifully.
But if one should “draw back,” that is, if he abandons faith. God can have no pleasure in him. How could God be pleased with one who refuses to trust Him, – a God of perfect truth and goodness.’ But there is no possibility of this on the part of any true believer. Some drew back unto perdition, “but we are not of them,” says the apostle. Believing to the saving of the soul is in fullest contrast to that type of belief that is merely an outward assent to the truth of Christianity.
Verse 1
However a shadow; containing only a shadow or representation of the things.–The very image; the substance.
9 The New Worshippers
(Hebrews 10)
The tenth chapter of the Epistle sets forth the way in which the believer has been fitted for heaven. His conscience is purged (verses 1-18), so that he can now enter into the holiest in spirit (verses 19-22), hold fast on his way through this world without wavering or turning back (verses 23-31), face persecution (verses 32-34), and tread the path of faith (verses 35-39).
The Purged Conscience
(Vv. 1-18)
(Vv. 1-4). In Hebrews 9 we have learnt that a place in heaven is secured for every believer, not by anything the believer has done, but wholly through the work of Christ and the position He occupies before the face of God. In Hebrews 10 we learn how the same work is applied to the believer’s conscience, in order that even now he may enjoy and, in spirit, enter this new place. To find our home with Christ in heaven itself, it is necessary to have a purged conscience. The first eighteen verses of Hebrews 10 plainly set forth how this purged conscience is secured.
In three passages, in Hebrews 9 and 10, the apostle speaks of a perfect or purged conscience. In Heb 9:9 he definitely states that the Jewish sacrifices could not make the offerer perfect as to the conscience. Again, in Heb 9:14 we read of the perfect offering of Christ purging the conscience from dead works so that the believer is set free to worship the living God. Lastly, in Heb 10:2 we are told that the worshipper who has a purged conscience is one that has no more conscience of sins. He who has a conscience of sins lives in the dread that God will one day bring him into judgment on account of his sins, and therefore cannot enjoy peace with God. To have no more conscience of sins implies that this dread of judgment is removed by seeing that God has dealt with all the sins of the believer.
Nevertheless, though God will never bring the believer into judgment for his sins, as a Father He may have to deal in chastening if, as children, we sin (Heb 12:5-11). A purged conscience does not therefore imply that we never sin, or that we never have the consciousness of failure, either past or present, but it does imply that all dread of a future judgment on account of our sins is entirely removed. Thus a purged conscience is not to be confounded with what we speak of as a good conscience. If, by reason of careless walk, a true believer fails, his conscience will be surely troubled, and only by confession to God will he regain a good conscience. This, however, does not touch the question of the eternal forgiveness of his sins which gives him a purged conscience.
Under the law it was impossible to obtain a perfect or purged conscience. At most the sacrifices could only give temporary relief. Each fresh sin called for a fresh sacrifice. Had the sacrifices given a purged conscience they would not have been repeated, The law showed, indeed, that a sacrifice was needed to take away sins, but it was only a shadow of good things to come; it was not the substance. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.
How, then, is a purged conscience obtained? The following verses answer this question by bringing before us three great truths:
First, the will of God (verses 5-10);
Secondly, the work of Christ (verses 11-14);
Thirdly, the witness of the Spirit (verses 15-18).
(Vv. 5-7). The will of God was written in the volume of the book. This clearly is not the volume of Scripture, for this reference to the volume of the book forms part of the quotation from Psalm 40. It would seem to be a figurative reference to the eternal counsels of God. Coming into the world, the Lord says, He has come to do the will of God. Sacrifice and offerings under the law could not carry out God’s will. A body had to be prepared for the Lord, that in accord with the counsels of God He might accomplish the will of God.
(Vv. 8, 9). What the Lord said when He came into the world had already been said above in heaven. To carry out the will of God necessitated taking away the first covenant to establish the second.
(V. 10). In the tenth verse we are definitely told what the will of God is. There we read, By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It is in vain and needless to look within in the endeavour to find in our faith, our repentance, our experiences or our feelings that which will bring relief or peace to the burdened conscience. This Scripture so blessedly takes our thoughts entirely away from ourselves and occupies us with the will of God and the work of Christ. God discovers to us the blessed secret of His counsels that it is His will to have us divested of every spot of sin, not through anything we have done or can do, but entirely through the work of another, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Vv. 11-14). These verses now bring before us in greater detail the work of Christ whereby the will of God is carried out. These verses are wholly concerned with Christ and His work. We have no part in this work except the sins which necessitated it. We must keep out our feelings and our experiences, and in simple faith stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Verse 11 brings before us the utter hopelessness of Jewish sacrifices. This verse covers a period of fifteen hundred years and with one comprehensive sweep takes in every Jewish priest, all the days of their never-ending works, with the innumerable sacrifices that they offered. Then we are told that this vast parade of human energy, with the rivers of blood that flowed from Jewish altars, can never take away sins.
Having thus in one brief verse dismissed the whole Jewish system, the apostle in verse 12 presents in contrast the mighty work of Christ. This Man, Christ, in contrast with all the Jewish priests, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins – in contrast with all the Jewish sacrifices – for ever sat down on the right hand of God, in contrast with the priests who were ever standing, never having finished their work.
The blessedness of the truth of this verse is somewhat obscured by the faulty rendering of the Authorised Version. The comma, coming after the words for ever, links these words with the one sacrifice. Properly, the comma should come after the word sin, leaving the words for ever rightly connected with Christ having sat down at the right hand of God. Christ might have done one work for ever, meaning He would never undertake the work again, and yet that work would not be finished. If, however, He has sat down for ever, or in perpetuity (N.Tn.), it is the everlasting proof that His work is finished. So far as the work of atonement is concerned, He will never have to rise up. Moreover, as He has sat down at the right hand of God, we know that His work is an accepted work.
The two verses that follow set forth the result of Christ having sat down in perpetuity, both for His enemies and for believers. For His enemies it involves judgment; His work having been rejected, there is nothing more to be done to put away sins. Henceforth Christ is waiting till His enemies be made His footstool.
As to the sanctified, Christ, as risen and glorified, is perfected; and by His work He has perfected the believer. We wait to receive our glorified bodies, but our souls have been perfectly cleansed from sins in the sight of God by the work of Christ. As one has said, The Father and the Son could do no more for our sins than is already accomplished in the sacrifice of Jesus, and revealed to our faith in the written Word. Not only has Christ sat down for ever, but believers are sanctified for ever. If Christ has sat down in perpetuity, then believers are perfected in perpetuity.
(Vv. 15-18). The passage has presented the will of God as the source of our blessing, and the work of Christ as the efficacious means by which the blessing is secured. Now the apostle presents the witness of the Spirit as the One who brings to us the knowledge of the truth with divine authority, so that it may be possessed with divine certainty. In other Scriptures we read of the witness of the Spirit in us (Rom 8:16); here it is the witness of the Spirit to us. The witness to us is what the Spirit has said in Scripture, as we read, after that He had said before. Then follows the quotation from Jer 31:34, already quoted in Hebrews 8, to present the terms of the new covenant. Here the quotation is repeated to prove that the efficacy of the work of Christ is such that God can say of believers, Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. God does not say, Their sins and iniquities I will not remember, but Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. The simple statement that God would not remember our sins might imply that He passed them over. But when God says they will be remembered no more, it implies that they have all been remembered, confessed, borne and dealt with in judgment. As they have been dealt with, God can righteously say they will be remembered no more.
The New Worshippers
(Vv. 19-22)
(Vv. 19-22). The truth of the purged conscience prepares the way for worship. Already the apostle has spoken of the new sacrifice and the new sanctuary; now he presents the new worshipper. In contrast with Judaism, in which the offerer had no access to the holiest, in Christianity the believer has boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Provision has been made to remove all that would hinder our drawing nigh to God as worshippers. Sins have been met by the blood of Jesus. Christ, having taken flesh and become Man, has opened a living way for men to enter the holiest. Our infirmities are met by our High Priest. Neither the sins we have committed, the bodies we are in, nor the infirmities with which we are encompassed, can hinder the believer from entering in spirit within the veil, into heaven itself.
Let us then, says the apostle, draw near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having the affections set free from a condemning conscience and our bodies set apart from every defiling practice.
Here we may well pause and ask ourselves, How much do we know of this drawing near, of entering within the veil? We may, indeed, know something of that other exhortation of which the apostle speaks in Hebrews 4, when he says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. That is fleeing to a refuge to escape the storms of life: this is turning to our home to bask in the sunshine of love. There is a vast difference between a refuge and a home. A refuge is a place to which we flee for a shelter in the time of storm. A home is a place where our affections find their rest. We all know Christ as a refuge to whom we flee in our troubles, but how little we know Him as the home of our affections. Christ is indeed an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest . . . a great rock in a weary land (Isa 32:2). And blessed indeed, as we pass through this world with its withering blasts, its barrenness and weariness, to have One to whom we can turn for shelter and relief. Let us, however, remember that if we only flee to Christ as a shelter in the time of storm, when the storm is passed we shall be in danger of leaving Him. Alas! this is what happens too often with each one of us. We turn to Him in the storm; we neglect Him in the calm. But if our affections are drawn to Him where He is, if we see that His place is our place in heaven itself, then the place where He is will become the home of our affections, where we can have fellowship with Jesus in a scene on which no shadow of death will ever fall, and where all tears are wiped away.
The Path and its Dangers
(Vv. 23-39)
(Vv. 23-25). The more we realise and use our privilege of drawing near to God within the veil, the better we shall be able to face the path through the wilderness with its dangers. Thus the exhortation, Let us draw near, is followed by the exhortation, Let us hold fast the confession of the hope (N.Tn.). There is a bright hope set before us, and He that has given the promise of the hope will be faithful to His word. But there is the danger of giving up the confession of the hope by settling down in this world. It is only as we look to Him who is faithful that we shall be able to hold fast without wavering.
Moreover, in the midst of sorrows, difficulties and dangers we shall need the mutual support of one another. We may at times be tested by isolation, but practical fellowship is God’s way for His people. Let us then consider one another and not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. The vanity and self-sufficiency of the flesh may esteem the help of others of little value; but a true sense of our own nothingness will lead us, not only to look first, and above all, to the One who is faithful, but also to value the support of our brethren. And those we value we shall consider, seeking to draw out the love we need and the practical help of their good works. Alas! how easily the flesh, carried away by a little bit of spite, can indulge its spleen to provoke a brother by deliberately and needlessly saying what is known to be offensive. Let us rather seek to provoke to love by showing love.
None can neglect the gathering together of God’s people without loss. To forsake the gatherings of the saints is a sure sign of waning affection. Oftentimes a course of habitual neglect of the meetings precedes leaving an assembly to turn back to the world or worldly religion. As the day – the day of glory – approaches, the difficulties will increase, making it all the more needful that we should seek the support of one another and not neglect the assembling together of the saints.
(Vv. 26-31). The apostle has considered the danger of letting go our hope, slighting one another and forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Now he warns us of the more serious danger of apostasy that assails the Christian profession. The wilful sin is apostatising from the Christian faith. The apostle is not speaking of a backslider who may go back into the world, like Demas, of whom we read in another epistle. Such an one can be recovered. The apostate not only gives up Christianity, but he takes up some human religion, after having professed Christianity. He practically says, I have tried Christianity, but I find Judaism, or Buddhism, or some other religion, better. For such there is no more sacrifice for sin, only a fearful looking for of judgment. Such an one treats with contempt the Son of God, despises the sacrifice of Christ and insults the Spirit of grace.
The apostate must be left to God. It is not for us to take vengeance. God cannot trust us with vengeance. We are definitely told that vengeance belongs to the Lord. The apostate will find that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Vv. 32-34). Further, the apostle warns us not to be discouraged by sufferings, reproaches and afflictions. There is the ever present danger of shrinking from the path of faith because of the reproach and suffering entailed. These believers had begun well. Having been enlightened by the truth, they at once found themselves in conflict for the truth. But in that conflict they endured, and whole-heartedly associated with those who were suffering for Christ’s Name. They even took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing they had in heaven a better and enduring substance.
(Vv. 35-39). Such confidence will have its bright reward, but in the meantime we need patience to submit to the will of God while waiting to receive the promise. The waiting time is but a little while, then He that shall come will come and will not tarry. Until He comes, the path of the believer is a path of faith. It ever has been, for in days of old it was as true as it is today that, according to the words of the prophet Habakkuk, The just shall live by faith.
God will have no pleasure in the one who draws back. The apostate draws back to perdition; but of those to whom the apostle is writing, he can with confidence say, We are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
10:1 For {1} the law having a shadow of good things to {a} come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
(1) He prevents a private objection. Why then were those sacrifices offered? The apostle answers, first concerning the yearly sacrifice which was the solemnest of all, in which (he says) there was made every year a remembrance again of all former sins. Therefore that sacrifice had no power to sanctify: for to what purpose should those sins which are purged be repeated again, and why should new sins come to be repeated every year, if those sacrifices abolished sin?
(a) Of things which are everlasting, which were promised to the fathers, and exhibited in Christ.
3. The accomplishment of our high priest 10:1-18
This section on the high priestly ministry of Christ (Heb 7:1 to Heb 10:18) concludes with this pericope in which the writer emphasized the perfecting effect of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on New Covenant believers. He wrote this to impress his readers further with the superiority of their condition compared with that of Old Covenant believers.
As pointed out previously, Heb 7:1 to Heb 10:18 constitutes an exposition of distinctive features of the high priestly office of the Son. These are its similarity to the priesthood of Melchizedek (ch. 7), the fact that it involved a single, personal sacrifice for sins (chs. 8-9), and its achievement of eternal salvation (Heb 10:1-18).
". . . in Heb 10:1-18 the writer elaborates the ’subjective’ effects of Christ’s offering for the community that enjoys the blessings of the new covenant. Christ’s death is considered from the perspective of its efficacy for Christians." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 258.]
The argument is again chiastic.
A The inadequacy of the Old Covenant: repeated sacrifices were necessary (Heb 10:1-4)
B The one sacrifice of Christ: supersedes the repeated sacrifices (Heb 10:5-10)
B’ The priesthood of Christ: supersedes the Levitical priesthood (Heb 10:11-14)
A’ The adequacy of the New Covenant: no more sacrifice for sins is necessary (Heb 10:15-18)
The very nature of the Mosaic Law made it impossible to bring believers into intimate relationship with God since it dealt with externals.
"Both Paul and our author speak of the law as ’a shadow’; but whereas Paul in Col 2:17 has in mind the legal restrictions of Old Testament times (food-laws and regulations about special days), our author is thinking more especially of the law prescribing matters of priesthood and sacrifice in relation to the wilderness tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple." [Note: Bruce, The Epistle . . ., p. 226.]
"The ’shadow’ [Gr. skia] then is the preliminary outline that an artist may make before he gets to his colors, and the eikon [lit. image, "form"] is the finished portrait. The author is saying that the law is no more than a preliminary sketch. It shows the shape of things to come, but the solid reality is not there." [Note: Morris, p. 95]
"Make perfect" does not mean to make sinless but to make acceptable to God. Jesus Christ provided perfect cleansing for us by His death, as the following verses show.
"This verse (and in fact the whole chapter) continues our writer’s argument regarding the superiority of the sacrifice of Christ over the Mosaic rites." [Note: Jeffrey R. Sharp, "Typology and the Message of Hebrews," East Asia Journal of Theology 4:2 (1986):100.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
We have seen that, even in the earlier chapters, hortatory passages were frequently interposed, showing the purpose all along in the writer’s mind. In the central and deepest part of the argument (Heb 7:1-10:19) there were none, close and uninterrupted attention to the course of thought being then demanded. But now, the argument being completed, the previous exhortations are taken up again, and enforced in consequently fuller and deeper tones. The connection of thought between these final admonitions and those previously interposed is evident when we compare the very expressions in Heb 10:19-23 with those in Heb 4:14-16, and the warnings of Heb 10:26, etc., with those of Heb 6:4, etc. Thus appears, as in other ways also, the carefully arranged plan of the Epistle, different in this respect from the undoubted Epistles of St. Paul, in which the thoughts generally follow each other without great regard to artistic arrangement. This, however, is in itself by no means conclusive against St. Paul’s authorship, since there would be likely to be just this difference between a set treatise composed for a purpose, and a letter written currente calamo by the same author. It does, however, mark a different class of composition, and is suggestive, as far as it goes, of a different writer.
(2) the necessity meanwhile of continuance in faith and perseverance. The quotation serves also as a step of transition (this, too, after the Epistle’s manner) to the disquisition on faith, which forms the subject of the following chapter. For the prophet speaks of faith as what the righteous one is to live by until the Lord come. It was faitha fuller faiththat the Hebrew Christians wanted to preserve them from the faltering of which they showed some signs; and the requirement of faith was no new thingit had been the essential principle of all true religious life from the beginning, and thus is led up to the review which follows of the Old Testament history, showing that this had always been so. The quotation, as usual, is from the LXX., which, in this case as in some others, differs from the Hebrew. But here, as in Heb 10:29, supra, the LXX. is not exactly followed. The writer cites freely, so as to apply the essential meaning of the passage to his purpose. The Prophet Habakkuk (writing probably during the long evil days of Manasseh) had in his immediate view the trials of faith peculiar to his own timeviolence and iniquity in Israel, and imminence of judgment at the hands of Chaldean conquerors, under which he had cried, “O Lord, how long?” But he stands upon his watch and sits upon his tower, to look out what the LORD will say to him in answer to his difficulties. And the LORD answered him, and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie [rather, ‘but it hasteth to the end, and doth not lie’]: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, and not tarry [or, ‘be behindhand’]. Behold, his soul that is lifted up is not upright in him [or, ‘behold, his soul is lifted up, it is not upright in him’]; but the just shall live by his faith.” The drift of this Divine answer, which inspired the song of joyful confidence with which the Book of Habakkuk so beautifully concludes, is, as aforesaid, that, in spite of all appearances, the prophetic vision will ere long be realized; God’s promises to the righteous will certainly be fulfilled; and that faith meanwhile must be their sustaining principle. The variations of the LXX. from the Hebrew are:
Light and perfections on the breast,
Harmonious bells below, raising the dead
To lead them unto life and rest:
Thus are true Aarons drest.
“Christ is my only Head,
My alone only Heart and Breast,
My only Music, striking me ev’n dead;
That to the old man I may rest.
And lie in him new drest.”
Beyond the waking and the sleeping,
Beyond the sowing and the reaping,
Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come I”
(Watts)
(Duffield)
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
The perpetually repeated expiations of the old covenant attest their impotence for any real taking away of sin
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)