Hebrews Chapter 10

Hebrews 10:1-39 (NIV)
1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 

1. How is the Mosaic Law only a shadow?

The law. Together with the Levitical priesthood to which it was closely linked under the Mosaic system only a shadow. The sacrifices prescribed by the law prefigured Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. Thus they were repeated year after year, the very repetition bearing testimony that the perfect, sin-removing sacrifice had not yet been offered. NIVSN

The Mosaic law, with its priesthood, covenant, sacrifices, and tabernacle, can never make a person perfect since it is but a shadow of the true form, which is found in Christ and his final sacrifice. If the law could have made anyone perfect, then the sacrifices would have been discontinued, because those who had been coming to offer them would no longer have any consciousness of sins. ESVN

The very nature of the Mosaic Law made it impossible to bring believers into intimate relationship with God since it dealt with externals.

“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.” CN

2  Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed
once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.3  But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
4  It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

2. Why could the law not take away sin?

The Levitical system was not designed by God to remove or forgive sins. It was preparatory for the coming of the Messiah (Gal 3:24) in that it made the people expectant (1Pe 1:10). It revealed the seriousness of their sinful condition, in that even

temporary covering required the death of an animal. It revealed the reality of God’s holiness and righteousness by indicating that sin had to be covered. Finally, it revealed the necessity of full and complete forgiveness so that God could have desired fellowship with His people. MSBN

Galatians 3:23-24 (NASB) But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

1 Peter 1:10 (NASB) As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,


The blood of bulls and goats simply did not have the power to take away sins. As mentioned previously, these sacrifices dealt with ritual errors. They gave a certain ceremonial cleansing but they were utter failures as far as providing satisfaction for man’s corrupt nature or for his evil deeds. BBC


The Israelites never enjoyed the extent of freedom from sin”s guilt that we do. The Day of Atonement reminded them yearly that their sins needed removing so they could continue to have fellowship with God. We do not have a yearly reminder since Jesus Christ”s sacrifice made us perfectly acceptable to God.  CN


The blood of the animal sacrifices only covered over the sins until the Lamb of God would come to take away the sin of the world (see John 1:29). JVM


John 1:29 (NASB) The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

5  Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6  with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’ ” 8  First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 

3. Why is the writer quoting David? 

Psalm 40:6-8 (NIV) Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened— burnt offerings and sin
offerings you did not require. 7  Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. 8  I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” 

The passage he quoted first ( Psalm 40:6-8) expresses Messiah”s commitment to offer His body as a sacrifice to God (at His first advent) because animal sacrifices of all types were inadequate. God’s will was the perfection (i.e, thorough cleansing) of believers. Jesus was not some dumb animal that offered its life unthinkingly. He consciously and deliberately offered His life in obedience to God’s will.

The “scroll” is the written instruction (torah) of God. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets presented Messiah as committed to doing God’s will completely. CN

The quotation is from Ps. 40:6–8, a Davidic psalm applied here to the Davidic Messiah. This shows David’s awareness, as seen elsewhere in the OT, that God desired faithful hearts and lives more than mere performance of sacrificial rituals. It also prophesies the coming of one who will do God’s will, and God’s preparation of a body for that person.ESVN

4. Wait a minute, if we are bringing our offering according to the law, why is God not pleased?  

God was not pleased with sacrifices given by a person who did not give them out of a sincere heart. To sacrifice only as a ritual, without obedience, was a mockery and worse than no sacrifice at all. MSBN

The OT prophets had warned the Israelites that sacrifices alone would not please God. He desired obedience as well (Ps. 51:16, 17; Is. 1:13–17). This messianic psalm indicates that Jesus’ obedience to God the Father was one of the reasons His sacrifice was better than the OT sacrifices. NSB

 The OT sacrifices were not desired by God because of any intrinsic value they possessed. ESVN

Psalm 51:16-17 (NIV) You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 

Isaiah 1:13-17 (NIV)   Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15  When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many
prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! 16  Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17  Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. 

9  Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
10  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

5. How are were “sanctified” by  Christ?

The old, repetitious sacrificial system was removed to make way for the new, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, who had obediently done God’s will. sanctified. “Sanctify” means to “make holy,” to be set apart from sin for God (cf. 1Th 4:3). When Christ fulfilled the will of God, He provided for the believer a continuing, permanent condition of holiness. This is the believer’s positional sanctification as opposed to the progressive sanctification that results from daily walking by the will of God. “body”, Refers to His atoning death, as the term “blood” has been used to do. Mention of the body of Christ in such a statement is unusual in the NT, but it is logically derived from the quotation from Ps 40:6. MSBN

11  Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  12  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,  13  and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 

6. Contrast the Levitical priest and the priesthood of Christ.

Standing and sitting. The Levitical priest always stood, because his work was never finished.
A reference to the endless repetition of sacrifices throughout the year, evidence that these sacrifices never effectively and finally atoned for sin. first for his own sins. Christ’s priesthood is superior because he has no personal sins for which sacrifice had to be made. once for all. A key phrase in Hebrews. offered himself. Levitical priests offered up only animals; our high priest offered himself, the perfect substitute for us. NIVSN

The ultimate triumph of the Messiah is seen in that he does not come repeatedly, nor does he stand to symbolize an incomplete redemption; but upon offering himself, Christ sat down on the right hand of God. Again reference is made to the position occupied by Christ, the place of authority and of priestly service. For believers, he both rules and intercedes, two aspects of the ministry of Christ continually held

before those tempted to apostatize back into Judaism and mere legalism and ritual. The rule of Christ will become actual. Meanwhile he patiently waits for the time when his enemies will be vanquished. There will then be no more opposition to Christ or to his rule. WBC

Jesus Christ now awaits the final destruction of His enemies. Those who “are sanctified” are those whom Jesus Christ has perfected and are consequently fully acceptable to God. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice has accomplished three things for us. It has cleansed our consciences from guilt, it has fitted us to approach God as worshippers, and it has fulfilled what the Old Testament promised. CN

14  For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.  15  The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:  16  “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”  17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18  And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. 

7. How does the sacrifice of Christ make us perfect forever?

Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic Law, lived a perfect sinless life, and because of His eternality (always was, is and forever will be), His sacrifice is permanent and will never have to be repeated. Therefore also as a result of the value of His life, His sacrifice is sufficient to pay the sin debt of all those chosen to believe. 

8. When was this “new covenant” first mentioned in scripture?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)  31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32  It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,”declares the

LORD. 33  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their mindsand write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34  No longer will theyteach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the
least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 

9. Remember their sins no more?

I will remember their sins … no more indicates that Christ’s single new covenant offering was eternal, and such forgiveness means there is no longer any (other) offering for sin. The new covenant’s superiority to the old is shown most clearly in the full and final forgiveness of sins. ESVN

The statement that God will remember sins no more means that He will no longer call them back to memory with a view to condemning the sinner. Since God is omniscient He remembers everything, but He does not hold the forgiven sinner’s sins against him or her. This verse has been a great help to many sinners who have found it hard to believe that God really has forgiven them. CN


19  Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  21  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 

10. What is this reference to “the curtain”?

veil (curtain) … flesh (body). When Jesus’ flesh was torn at His crucifixion, so was the temple veil that symbolically separated men from God’s presence (Mt 27:51). When the High-Priest on the Day of Atonement entered the Holy of Holies, the people waited outside for him to return. When Christ entered the heavenly temple He did not return. Instead, He opened the curtain and exposed the Holy of Holies so that we could follow Him. Here “flesh” is used as was “body” and “blood” to refer to the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus. MSBN

We can enter God’s presence through Jesus’ crucified flesh as though we entered the holy of holies through the torn temple veil ( Matthew 27:51). This is an example of a thing (i.e, the veil in the temple) being a type of another thing (i.e, Christ”s flesh). His sacrifice provided a new and living way compared with the old now dead way of the Old Covenant. The way is not Jesus Himself, in the sense of John 14:6, but the way He opened for us through His death. 
“The way to God is both “new” and “living.” It is “new” because what Jesus has done has created a completely new situation, “living” because that way is indissolubly bound up with the Lord Jesus himself. CN

As the high priest lifted up or drew aside the veil that separated the holy from the most holy place, in order that he might have access to the Divine Majesty; and as the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom at the crucifixion of Christ, to show that the way to the holiest was then laid open; so we must approach the throne through the mediation of Christ, and through his sacrificial death. His pierced side is the way to the holiest. Here the veil—his humanity, is rent, and the kingdom of heaven opened to all believers. ACC


22  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  23  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

11. What are the 3 exhortation the writer gives the Hebrew believers?

let us draw near.  Christians are called to act faithfully upon their confidence to enter by the blood of Christ into God’s presence with a true heart. In context this is a cleansed (“sprinkled”) and believing (in full assurance of faith) heart that is

submissive to God, hearts sprinkled clean. Jesus’ atoning work purifies the inner person . bodies washed. Likely a reference to baptism, which employs ritually pure water.

Let us hold fast. The second exhortation calls forth a faithful, unwavering embrace of the confession of our hope, i.e., the church’s assent to the teachings concerning Christ and his work, teachings that produce hope. for he who promised is faithful. Confident hope in God’s promises stems from God’s trustworthy character.

let us consider. The third and final exhortation calls for serious thinking about other Christians with a purpose to stir up (or “provoke”) them in their love and service (good works). Christian perseverance is thus also a community endeavor. meet together. Community encouragement toward perseverance requires being together. That some were neglecting this duty may have been among the motives for the author’s warnings throughout this book. encouraging. Voicing exhortation with the goal of strengthening another’s faith. the Day drawing near. The coming day of Christ’s return and judgment.  ESVN

26  If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27  but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.  28  Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29  How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?  30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

12. A warning?

This warning passage deals with the sin of apostasy, an intentional falling away, or defection. Apostates are those who move toward Christ, hear and understand His gospel, and are on the verge of saving belief, but then rebel and turn away. This warning against apostasy is one of the most serious warnings in all of Scripture. Not all of the Hebrews would respond to the gentle invitation of. Some were already beyond response.

we. The author is speaking rhetorically. In v. 39, he excludes himself and genuine believers from this category. sinning willfully. The Gr. term carries the idea of deliberate intention that is habitual. The sin is rejecting Christ deliberately. These are not isolated acts. According to the Mosaic legislation, such acts of deliberate, premeditated sin required exclusion from the congregation of Israel and from its worship. Such sins also excluded the individual from sanctuary in the cities of refuge. knowledge. The Gr. term denotes specific knowledge, not general spiritual knowledge. Though the knowledge was not defective or incomplete, the application of the knowledge was certainly flawed. Judas Iscariot is a good example of a disciple who had no lack of knowledge, but lacked faith and became the arch-apostate. no longer. The apostate is beyond salvation because he has rejected the only sacrifice that can cleanse him from sin and bring him into God’s presence. To turn away from that sacrifice leaves him with no saving alternative.

terrifying expectation. The judgment is certain to happen, so it engenders fear. judgment and the fury of a fire. The description is similar to that in Is 26:11 and Zep 1:18. Ultimately, such judgment is that of eternity in the lake of fire. adversaries. Actual opposition against God and toward the program of God in salvation.

How much severer punishment. There will be degrees of punishment in hell. This is also clearly indicated in Mt 11:22–24 .

trampled. In the ancient Near East one of the gestures used to show contempt for someone was to “lift up the foot” against or toward them. To walk on top of someone or something was a more extreme gesture showing utter contempt and scorn. Such contempt demonstrates a complete rejection of Christ as Savior and Lord.

regarded as unclean. To reckon Christ’s blood as something “unclean” is the same thing as saying that it is defiled and implies that Christ was a sinner and a blemished sacrifice. Such thinking is truly blasphemous. blood of the covenant. Christ’s death inaugurated or ratified the New Covenant. sanctified. This refers to Christ, in that He was set apart unto God. It cannot refer to the apostate, because only true believers are sanctified. MSBN

The apostate will be counted worthy of much worse punishment because his privilege has been much greater. The enormity of his sin is seen in the three charges that are leveled against him:

1. He has trampled the Son of God underfoot. After professing to be a follower of Jesus, he now brazenly asserts that he wants nothing more to do with Him. He denies any need for Christ as Savior and positively rejects Him as Lord.

2. He has counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing. He counts as useless and unholy the blood of Christ which ratified the New Covenant. He had been set apart by this blood in a place of external privilege. Through his association with Christian people, he had been sanctified, just as an unbelieving husband is sanctified by his believing wife (1 Cor. 7:14). But that does not mean that he was saved.

3. He has insulted the Spirit of grace. The Spirit of God had illuminated him concerning the good news, convicted him of sin, and pointed him to Christ as the only Refuge of the soul. But he had insulted the gracious Spirit by utterly despising Him and the salvation He offered.

Willful repudiation of God’s beloved Son is a sin of immense magnitude. God will sit in judgment on all who are guilty of it. He has said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (see Deut. 32:35). Vengeance in this sense means full justice. When used of God it has no thought of vindictiveness or of “getting even.” It is simply the meting out of what a person actually deserves. Knowing the character of God, we can be sure that He will do as He has said by repaying the apostate in just measure.

And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” God will avenge and vindicate those who truly belong to Him, but here in verse 30, the obvious reference is to judgment of evil people.

If it causes difficulty to think of apostates being spoken of as His people, we should remember that they are His by creation and also for a while by profession. He is their Creator though not their Redeemer, and they once professed to be His people, even though they never knew Him personally.

The abiding lesson for all is this: do not be among those who fall into God’s hands for judgment because it is a fearful thing.

Nothing in this passage of Scripture was ever intended to disturb and unsettle the minds of those who truly belong to Christ. The passage was purposely written in its sharp, searching, challenging style so that all who profess the name of Christ might be warned about the terrible consequences of turning away from Him. BBC

32  Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34  You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  35  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”  38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”  39  But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.  

13. A reminder of past and future suffering and persecution.

Having severely warned his audience, the author reminds them of the previous evidence of their faith in persevering amid suffering. 

enlightened. The sufferings he lists include public reproach, imprisonments, associating with those in prison, and the plundering of their possessions. Officially sanctioned persecution seems likely here, especially regarding imprisonments. The author lauds their endurance, their compassion, and their confidence in their future, eternal better possession.

 Given his readers’ previous perseverance through persecution, the author encourages continuing confidence. They are to exercise endurance, by practicing God’s will, with the goal of inheriting the promised salvation .

14. “The righteous one will live by faith”, where have we heard this?

This verse is a quotation from Habakkuk 2:3–4, quoted also in Romans and in Galatians. It is an important verse. Each epistle that quotes this verse puts a different emphasis on it. In the Epistle to the Romans the emphasis is upon “the just shall live by faith”—how God justifies the sinner. Here in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the emphasis is upon “the just shall live by faith.” There have been several references to the living God, and this epistle tells of a living intercessor. He is the same one who

died on the cross for us and came back from the dead. The emphasis is upon His resurrection and His being the living Christ at God’s right hand. Therefore since we who are His own have a living God and a living Savior at God’s right hand, we shall live by faith. As I have said before, our faith is not a leap in the dark. It rests upon the Word of God. The just shall live by faith. Now in the Epistle to the Galatians Paul emphasizes faith; the just shall live by faith.

JVM


ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB………Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB…………….Life Essentials Study Bible. 
BBC…………………Believers Bible Commentary

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