Hebrews 10:11-25 (02/16/2024)
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(try to remind them to stay focused “just for today”)
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
v. xi-xiv
v. xi-xiv
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
v. xi-xiia is very straightforward, again repeating what has been said in chapters vii-x. So let’s take a look at the last part of verse 12, “sat down at the right hand of God”. This is another reference to the beginning declaration of Christ’s attributes. See Hebrews 1:3b and Hebrews 8:1:
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
But the more interesting pointer to the Scriptures is in verse 13, “from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” This is a reference to Psalms 110:1, which says:
1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
This Lord speaking to a Lord seems very confusing at first look, but it’s actually a clever way to speak about the Trinity. The Trinity holds that even though there is only one God, He is manifested in three persons (namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). However, these three persons can interact with one another; they’re not “modes” of God, so to speak. The same title is given to the Father (Lord) and the Son (also Lord). This clever word usage was also mentioned in the beginning of Hebrews, specifically Hebrews 1:8-9, which is itself a quotation of Psalms 45:6-7:
8 But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Notice how the Son is addressed as God in v. xiii, but God is also addressed as His God anointing the Son in v. ix. (This is why I want to host a series on the Trinity during lunch once we finish Hebrews, which will bring us to the end of the school year; it seems confusing at first, but is understandable in its biblical context).
Wherefore Christ also uses this passage from Psalms 110:1 to prove His identity, as we see in Luke 20:41-44:
41 And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ 44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”
This is a powerful Old Testament reference, which our author has clearly shown skill in through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.
Looking at v. xiv, it is another repetition of earlier points, which continues to reflect the ability of this letter to the Hebrews to act as a sermon to this church in need.
v. xv-xviii
v. xv-xviii
15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
The Holy Spirit is brought as a witness before Christ’s greatness; this witness carries the evidence in His hand and testifies according to His past declarations. This evidence is Holy Scripture, which the Holy Spirit Himself has inspired. We see a quotation of Jeremiah 31:33-34, which isn’t the first time this passage has been quoted in Hebrews. We saw this in chapter 8 as well. Part of the power of Hebrews is its repetition, and while it may seem boring when listening to it verse by verse, it has so much more meaning when it is dissected through teaching the whole letter.
v. xviii continues the theme of once-for-all sacrifice by reminding the suffering Hebrews that there is no more offering for sin; Christ has paid it all.
v. xix-xxv
v. xix-xxv
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Up until now, you’ve seen a lot of repetition as there’s been a lot of theology behind the things discussed regarding Jesus. But now, a new section of the letter begins: the application. Maybe you’ve wondered, “How can I use this knowledge from Hebrews?” and I hope you’ve wondered that. As we’ve traversed this theologically rich section of the letter, I’ve tried to implement as many applications as possible. But here, the applications are already embedded into the text. The purpose of the epistle to the Hebrews was never to be an information dump, but to be an instructive and encouraging message to a church that was struggling through persecution.
In fact, the application is rooted in the teaching: this instruction is based on the fact that we “hav[e] boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God” (v. xix-xxi). It’s interesting how Jesus’ flesh is now described as the veil that was opened; He became the separating factor between God’s people and God’s presence for the sole purpose of breaking down that veil. When Jesus died, the literal veil in the temple was torn, which speaks so much to us as those who have been gifted access therein.
So, what is it that we are to apply to our lives?
“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith”: We can draw near to God in many ways, one of which can be learning through a teaching, like we are right now. But that’s not all: “with a true heart in full assurance of faith”. Once we have drawn near to God, then we must also have a true heart in full assurance of faith. We will go more in depth in this in all of Hebrews 11.
“having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” While Christ has already paid the price for us, our sins, which cause “an evil conscience”, need to be washed away daily as we see the Day approaching. Our bodies must be washed with pure water, which can refer to baptism, or also to daily sanctification. This is an encouragement to leave behind sins every day and live a pure life in accordance with God’s will.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Here is another encouragement to trust in God’s promises, which is something else we will see more of in chapter 11. Notice “without wavering”: through any and all doubts, which is a part of being human, our faith must not waver. We can’t just have doubts every day; we need to overcome those frequent doubts. And when we have occasional doubts, we are to remember that “He who promised is faithful.” His faithfulness has yet to break a promise.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,” We often become so engrossed in our own spiritual (or material) lives that we forget that there are others around us. A Christian should never have Main Character Syndrome (lol), because we are part of the body of Christ, one part of many. When we consider one another, don’t let it only be about how they look that day or any temporary thing; stir up love. Stir up good works. This is how we build up the body of Christ. Just like it’s beneficial when you exercise your body, love and good works are beneficial exercise for the church of God.
“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” During the historical context of this letter, churches had to be secretive to an extent, considering there was persecution from the Romans. Yet they are called to not take the comfortable option: sitting on their couch and watching TV (this was the manner of some), but to go to church. If it was difficult for the early church to assemble, but they were still called to attend, how much more should we attend, considering we live in a country with almost-complete religious freedom and churches everywhere? And why do we go to church? To exhort one another, or, to instruct one another. The community in a church cannot be replaced by anything we do here at school: we need to put in the effort, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching.
On that Day, we will be called to God’s kingdom, which will never end, but while we wait, we are to represent God’s kingdom on earth.
(pray)