The Epistle to the Hebrews.
Hamilton Smith.
1 Introduction
The Epistle to the Hebrews is addressed to believers in the Lord Jesus from amongst the Jews. The contents of the Epistle clearly show that it was written to establish these believers in the truth of Christianity with all its privileges and blessings, and thus to deliver them from the Jewish system with which they had been connected by natural birth.
To understand the significance of the teaching in the Epistle, we must remember the character of this religious system with which the Jewish remnant had been connected. It was a national religion given to those who, by natural birth, were descended from Abraham. It raised no question of new birth. It was entirely for earth; it was silent as to heaven. It regulated man's conduct in relation to God and his neighbour, and promised earthly life, with earthly blessings, to those who walked according to its precepts.
This religion had for its rallying centre a visible temple — the most sumptuous building ever erected by man — with material altars, on which material sacrifices were offered by a special class of officiating priests who conducted an outward worship of God, accompanied by elaborate ceremonies, according to a prescribed ritual.
It was purposely designed to appeal to the natural man to prove whether there is anything in man in the flesh that can answer to the goodness of God when a religion is given which regulates every detail of man's life, from birth to old age, in order to secure his earthly prosperity, ease and happiness.
In result, this appeal to the natural man only served to show that there is nothing in unregenerate man to answer to God. Thus it came to pass that this Jewish system, which in its inception was established by God, in its history became corrupted by man. The culmination of wickedness, under this system, was the rejection and murder of the Messiah.
The Jews having thus filled up the cup of their iniquity became ripe for judgment. For the holy God to bear longer with a system that, in the hands of men, had been degraded to murder the Son of God would be to tarnish His righteousness and condone man's sin. Hence judgment is allowed to take its course and in due time the city is destroyed and the nation scattered.
There was, however, another purpose in the law. It not only regulated man's life by showing him his duty to God and his neighbour, but the whole system was the shadow of good things to come. Its tabernacle was a pattern of things in the heavens; its priesthood spoke of the priestly work of Christ; its sacrifices looked on to the great Sacrifice of Christ.
Christ being come — the glorious substance of all the shadows — the Jewish system has fulfilled its purpose as the pattern of things to come. It is therefore set aside, firstly, because man has corrupted it and, secondly, because Christ is its fulfilment.
We have further to remember that, while this system appealed to man in the flesh and left the great mass only in an outward and formal relationship with God, yet there were those in this system who clearly were in true relationship with God by faith, and when Christ came they acknowledged Him as the Messiah. They form but a remnant of the nation, and in this Epistle are recognised and addressed as already in relationship with God before Christianity was established.
To this godly remnant the Epistle is addressed in order to bring them into the new and heavenly relationships of Christianity by detaching them from the earthly religion of Judaism.
If, then, through the wickedness of men, and the coming of Christ the Jewish system is set aside, the way is opened for the introduction of Christianity. As ever, if God sets aside the old it is in order to bring in something better. While setting aside the old system God secures a believing remnant from the Jews, bringing them into the Christian circle. This Jewish remnant would naturally have strong links with the religion of their fathers. The ties of nature, the love of country, the prospects of earth, and the prejudices of training, would all tend to bind them to the system that God has set aside. It would therefore be especially difficult for them to enter into the heavenly character of Christianity. Moreover, while the temple was yet standing, and the Aaronic priests were still offering up visible sacrifices, there was the constant danger of those who had made the profession of Christianity turning back to Judaism.
To counteract this tendency, and in order to establish our souls in Christianity, the Spirit of God in this Epistle passes before us:
Firstly, the glories of the Person of Christ and His place in heaven (Hebrews 1, 2);
Secondly, the priesthood of Christ maintaining His people on earth, on their way to heaven (Hebrews 3-8);
Thirdly, the sacrifice of Christ, opening heaven to the believer, and fitting the believer for heaven (Hebrews 9, 10);
Fourthly, the present access to heaven where Christ is (Hebrews 10);
Fifthly, the path of faith that leads to Christ in heaven (Hebrews 11);
Sixthly, the different ways God takes to keep our feet in the path that leads to Christ in heaven (Hebrews 12);
Seventhly, The blessedness, on earth, of the outside place of reproach with Christ (Hebrews 13).
It thus becomes clear how constantly and blessedly heaven is kept before us in this Epistle. It is indeed the Epistle of the opened heavens. This presentation of the heavenly character of Christianity makes the Epistle of special value in a day when Christendom has lost the true character of it by reducing it to a worldly system for the improvement of man.
Moreover, as the Spirit of God passes these great and heavenly truths before our souls, we are given to see how they exceed, and set aside, all that went before. The glories of Christ eclipse every created being, whether prophets or angels; the priesthood of Christ sets aside the Aaronic priesthood; the sacrifice of Christ sets aside the many sacrifices under the law; the immediate access to God sets aside the temple and its veil; the path of faith sets aside the whole system of seen things; the outside place sets aside “the camp” with its earthly religion.
It will be further noticed that in this Epistle the Church, as such, is not presented. It is only once mentioned, and then as one amongst other things to which we have come. (The mention in Hebrews 2: 12 is a quotation from Psalm 22.) It is the greatness of Christ and Christianity, in contrast with Judaism, that is passed before our souls. We are made to see how everything in Christianity lies in the region of faith, outside things of sight and sense. Christ in the glory, His priesthood, His sacrifice, approach to God, the path of faith, the heavenly race, and the things to which we have come, can only be seen and known by faith. The effects of Christianity may indeed be manifest in life and character, and may even produce results in the lives of unconverted men; but all that properly pertains to Christianity, that produces the effect in lives, is unseen, in contrast with Judaism with its appeal to sight and sense. Moreover, in coming to heavenly things and the things of faith, we have come to things which are before God, and things which are stable. We are surrounded by things which are passing, things which are changing, things which are shaking. In Christianity we are brought to that which never passes, never changes, and never will be shaken. Christ remains, Christ is the Same, and all that is founded upon Christ, and His eternal redemption, is stable and will never be moved.
The practical effect of the teaching of the Epistle must be to detach us from every form of earthly religion, whether it be Judaism, or corrupt Christendom formed after the pattern of Judaism. Moreover, if the truth puts us in the outside place on earth, it gives us a place inside the veil in heaven itself, and makes us strangers and pilgrims in the world through which we are passing.
2 The Glories of the Person of Christ
(Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 2)
The writer's name not being mentioned, we may conclude it is not of importance for us to know who wrote the Epistle. The reference by the apostle Peter to an epistle written by Paul to the Jews, which he classes among “other Scriptures”, would seem to indicate that the apostle Paul is the writer (2 Peter 3: 15, 16).
The special character of the Epistle may well account for the omission of the writer's name, for, amongst other purposes, the Epistle was written to show that God is no longer speaking through men, but, in wonderful grace, has put Himself into direct contact with men in the Person of the Son. Moreover, in the Epistle, Christ Himself is presented as the Apostle by whom God has spoken to man, and therefore eclipsing all others who may, in a subordinate sense, be apostles.
The great end of the Epistle is to establish believers in the heavenly character of Christianity and deliver them from an earthly religion of external forms. Everything in Christianity — the glory it brings to God and the blessing it secures for believers — depends upon the Person and work of Christ. Very fittingly, then, the Epistle opens by presenting the glories of His Person. The divine glory of Christ as the Son is unfolded in Hebrews 1; the authority of His word in Hebrews 2: 1-4; and the glory of His humanity in Hebrews 2: 5-18.
The Glory of The Son
(Hebrews 1)
(Vv. 1-3). In times past God spoke to the fathers of Israel at sundry times and in divers manners. God had spoken by Moses, asserting in the law His claims upon man. At other times God had spoken by angels in His providential ways with His people. Later, God had spoken by the prophets to recall a rebellious people to Himself. The prophets are specially mentioned as preceding the coming of the Son.
The Son came “at the end of these days” — the close of the days of the prophets. The testimony of God to man rendered in the past days was continued in the Person of the Son. The prophets spoke as instruments used by the Spirit of God. When the Son came it was God Himself speaking. In the Person of the Son God drew near to men, and man could draw near to God without the intervention of prophet or priest.
The importance of anything that is said largely depends upon the greatness and glory of the person who speaks. God has spoken to us in the most glorious Person — the Eternal Son. That we may learn the greatness of the Speaker, and therefore the importance of that which is spoken, the Spirit of God passes before us a sevenfold view of the glory of the Son.
Firstly, the Son is the appointed Heir of all things. Sonship and heirship are ever connected in Scripture. Men are trying to possess the earth, to rule the sea, and conquer the air. They strive to inherit power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing. Christ, as Son, will inherit all, for He is the appointed Heir of all, and He alone is worthy of all. The long history of the world only proves that man is utterly unworthy to inherit these things. In any measure that they come within the grasp of man, he abuses them to exalt himself and shut out God. Power he uses for the assertion of his own will; riches in the effort to make himself happy without God; wisdom to shut God out of His own creation; strength to act independently of God; honour to exalt himself; glory to display himself; and blessing to minister to himself. The One who is the appointed Heir of all things man had entirely rejected and nailed to a cross. Nevertheless, heaven delights to say, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” When Christ enters upon the inheritance of all things, He will use all for the glory of God and the blessing of man. In Christianity we are identified with the Heir of all things. What a consolation for those, who, like these Hebrew believers, suffer the spoiling of their goods.
Secondly, the Son is the One by whom the whole universe has been created: “He made the worlds.” Not simply this world, but also all those vast systems that pursue their way through the unmeasured depths of space. We look on and see that He is the appointed Heir of all things: we look back and see that He is the maker of all things, great and small. The impress of the Son is upon the whole creation.
Thirdly, the Son is “the effulgence of His glory” — the shining forth of the glory of God. The Son become flesh fully presents the glory of God. This glory of God is the combination of all the attributes of God brought into display. The Son has drawn near to us in a way that makes it possible for us to see God displayed in all His attributes.
Fourthly, the Son is “the expression of His substance.” This is more than the shining forth of attributes; it is the setting forth of God Himself — the expression of His Being. The Son become Man was the visible representative of One who is invisible. It is possible to bear the attributes of a person without being the representative of the person. Not only did the attributes of God shine forth in the Son, but He was the representative of God in creation. All His acts showed that God was present with us.
Fifthly, the Son is the Upholder of all things by the word of His power. Even if men allow that there must be a first cause, they would seek to shut out God from all present activity in creation. They conceive of a creation, as one has said “sufficient for itself, a perfect machine made to run eternally without the hand that made it.” The truth is that, not only was the universe brought into being by the Son, but, it is also maintained by the Son. Not a star can hold on its way, nor a sparrow fall to the ground, without Him.
Sixthly, the Son has made purification for sins. Not only is He the Creator of the world, He is also the Redeemer of a fallen world. He has “by Himself” accomplished a work whereby the sins of the believer can be forgiven and removed from before God.
Seventhly, the glory of the Person of the Son is further witnessed by the exalted place He now occupies at the right hand of the majesty on high. In the course of the Epistle it is stated four times that He has sat down at the right hand of God. Here it is by reason of the glory of His Person; in Hebrews 8 it is in connection with His present work as our great High Priest; in Hebrews 10 His position at the right hand of God is the result of His finished work at the cross; in Hebrews 12 it is as having reached the end of the path of faith.
Having asserted the glories of the Son in His passage through time, and in His present position at the right hand of God, the Spirit of God proceeds to pass before us the surpassing excellencies of the Name that Christ inherits when manifest in flesh. Name, in Scripture, sets forth the renown or fame that distinguishes a person from others. Seven passages are quoted from the Old Testament to show that Christ has a more excellent Name than any created being or thing.
(Vv. 4, 5). Firstly, Christ has a place and Name far above angels. Psalm 2 is quoted to prove that, coming into the world, Christ takes a place much better than that of the most exalted created beings. However blessed their position, angels are but servants: Christ is the Son. Never was it said to an angelic being, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” Christ is indeed presented in Scripture as the Son from all eternity; here He is hailed as the Son when born in time. One has truly said, “He always was the Son and will always be the Son. He was the Son here as Man, and He will be no less the Son throughout eternity … There could be no difference between the Eternal Son and the Son born in time, except as to condition.”
To show further that the fame of Christ exceeds that of angels, a second Scripture is quoted, 2 Samuel 7: 14, telling us that Christ not only stood in the relationship of Son of God, but that, in His path through this world, He ever enjoyed the characteristic privileges of the relationship, as it is written, “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son.”
(V. 6). Yet another Scripture is quoted to show that the place the Son takes is far above that of angels, for, coming into the world it is said of Him, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Psalm 97: 7). Not only was He the Object of adoring worship in heavenly scenes, but, coming into the world, whether in past humiliation or future millennial glory, He is the Object of worship by angelic hosts. This homage bespeaks His glory for, if not a divine Person, such worship would be wholly out of place.
(Vv. 7, 8). Secondly, the throne He takes, as come into the world, is above every throne. The angels are made spirits; the Son is not made anything, but He is addressed as God, and, in contrast with the thrones of earthly kings, His throne is for ever and ever. The quotation is from Psalm 45, which, we know, is “touching the King”. From the Epistle we learn that this King, who is going to reign over Israel, is none less than the Son — a divine Person. The thrones of men come to an end for they have no righteous foundation; but the throne of the Son is a lasting throne, for His rule will be in righteousness.
(V. 9). Thirdly, in grace He has associated others with Himself as His companions; even so, the quotation from Psalm 45 reminds us that He has a place above His companions. While, as a divine Person, He is addressed as God, He is nevertheless viewed as the perfect Man on earth, of whom it can be said, “Thy God hath anointed Thee.” By reason of His moral perfection — His love of righteousness, and hatred of iniquity — He is exalted above all those who, in grace, He associates with Himself.
(Vv. 10, 11). Fourthly, all creation gives way before this glorious Person who is addressed as Creator. Psalm 102 is quoted to prove that the One who humbled Himself to become a Man of sorrows and tears is none other than the Lord of creation, by whom earth and the heavens were made, and that, while the creation will wax old and perish, He will remain.
(V. 12). Fifthly, time brings its changes and will come to its end; yet, from Psalm 102 we learn that with this glorious Person there is no change, and His years will never fail.
(V. 13). Sixthly, no enemy can stand before Him. Psalm 110 is quoted to remind us that every enemy will be put under His feet. In the days of His flesh His enemies nailed Him to a cross: in the day of His glory they will be made His footstool.
(V. 14). Seventhly, Christ, though taking His place as Man, is greater than all angels, in that, according to Psalm 110, He is set upon a throne to govern, while they are sent forth to serve, as ministering spirits, to the heirs of salvation.
Thus, if the Son becomes flesh, His glory is carefully maintained. The excellency of His Name is seen in this galaxy of glories. His fame exceeds the angels; His throne is above every throne. Creation may perish; but He remains. Time may cease; but His years will not fail. His enemies are made His footstool; and He sits at God's right hand to direct while others serve. If He comes into the world, all creatures in the universe give place to Him.
The Authority of the Word of The Son
(Hebrews 2: 1-4)
(V. 1). The first chapter has asserted the fame of the Son when come into the world. Recognising the exceeding glory of the Speaker, it becomes the hearers to take earnest heed to what is said. To make a profession of hearing, and afterwards to neglect the great salvation announced by the Lord, by going back to Judaism, was fatal. The snare was not merely letting slip the things they had heard, but the far greater danger of the professors themselves slipping away from Christian ground by returning to Judaism. This would be apostasy. (See New Translation.)
Throughout the Epistle the writer is addressing Jews who had made a profession of Christianity, and among them he includes himself. In the first chapter he says, God has “spoken unto us”; here he says, “We ought to give the more earnest heed.” Others have pointed out that in this Epistle the church is not addressed as such, but rather believers individually. They are viewed as having made a profession which is presumed to be real unless, by turning back from Christ, it is proved to be merely outward.
(V. 2). God maintained the authority of the word communicated by angels by attaching a just punishment to every transgression of and disobedience to that word. How much more will God maintain the authority of the word of the Son. If there was not escape from the consequences of disobeying the law given by the disposition of angels, still less will there be any escape for the one who, having nominally made a profession of Christianity, treats the word of Christ with indifference and gives it up to return to Judaism.
(Vv. 3, 4). In its strict interpretation the salvation of which the writer speaks is not the Gospel of the grace of God as presented today; nor does it exactly contemplate the indifference of a sinner to the Gospel. Yet an application in this sense may surely be made, for it must ever be true that there can be no escape for the one who finally neglects the gospel. Here it is the salvation which was preached by the Lord to the Jews, by which a way of escape was opened to the believing remnant from the judgment about to fall on the nation. This salvation was afterwards preached by Peter and the other apostles in the early chapters of the Acts, when they said, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” This testimony was borne witness to by God with “signs and wonders” and “divers miracles”. This Gospel of the kingdom will again be preached after the church has been completed.
To have broken the law was solemn; to turn from the preaching of grace is worse; but most solemn of all is to profess to believe the word, and afterwards to treat it with contempt by giving it up and turning back to Judaism or some other religion. This is apostasy; and for the apostate Scripture holds out no hope.
The Glory of The Son of Man
(Hebrews 2: 5-18)
Having asserted the authority of the word of the Son, and warned us against neglecting His word, the writer continues to unfold to us the glories of Christ. Already he has passed before us His glories as the Son of God in eternity, and as manifest in flesh: now we are to learn His glories as the Son of Man.
(V. 5). His glory as the Son of Man will be brought into display in the world to come, though, even now, faith can see Jesus crowned with glory and honour.
It would seem that “the world to come” can hardly be heaven. We cannot speak of heaven as “to come”. We have yet to come to heaven, but it exists and always has existed. Scripture speaks of three worlds: the world before the flood, of which Peter writes, “the world that then was”; the present world, “the heavens and earth which are now” (2 Peter 3: 6, 7); and, in this passage, “the world to come”.
“The world to come” refers to the millennial earth, introducing an order of blessing which does not yet exist. This new world of blessing will be in subjection to the Son of Man and thus the scene for the display of His glory. In one sense the present world is placed in subjection to angels, who are used as instruments in God's hand for carrying out His providential government for the protection of the heirs of salvation as they pass on their way to glory. In the world to come the angels will give place to the rule of the Son of Man.
(Vv. 6-9). To bring out this great glory of Christ, the writer quotes from Psalm 8, where the question is raised by David, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” The question brings out the littleness of man: the answer the greatness of Christ, the Son of Man. David, when contemplating the moon and the stars, feels his own insignificance in comparison with their immensity, and exclaims, “What is man?” Looking at man fallen, he is indeed very small; looking at man according to the counsels of God as set forth in Christ, the Son of Man, he is very great. Led by the Spirit of God, the writer of Hebrews sees Christ in the Son of Man of Psalm 8, and can say, “We see Jesus.”
David says, “Thou hast put all things under His feet.” The Spirit of God tells us that this is Jesus reigning in the world to come, and that the “all things” include, not only things on earth, but the whole created universe, and every created being, for “He left nothing that is not put under Him.”
David says, “Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels.” The Spirit of God says that Jesus was “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.” In a world where God has been dishonoured, the Son of Man perfectly glorified God and vindicated His holy character by suffering death. Man tastes death as the result of sin: the Son of Man tastes death by the grace of God. He tastes death for all, that grace might flow out to all.
David says, “Thou ... hast crowned him with glory and honour.” The Spirit of God leads faith to say, That is Jesus and “We see (Him) crowned with glory and honour.” God has thus counselled that, in the Person of Christ, Man is to be Lord of all. The Maker and Upholder of all, having become Man, will be the Centre and Head of the vast universe. This is a glory that eclipses the glory of angels. No angel has, or ever will have, the place of universal dominion.
There thus passes before us the past, present and future glories of the Son of Man. In the past He tasted death for every thing; in the present He is crowned with glory and honour; in the future the whole universe will be brought into subjection to Him.
(V. 10). Verses 5-9 have unfolded the glories of Christ in connection with the world to come. From verse 10 to the end of the chapter we learn the further glory and blessedness of Christ in connection with the many sons that are being brought to glory.
The quotation from Psalm 45 in the first chapter has already told us that it is the purpose of God that Christ should have companions to share His coming glory. In the remaining portion of this chapter these companions are referred to as the “sons” of God, and the “brethren” of Christ. Further, we learn all that Christ has passed through to deliver His brethren from death, the devil and sins, as well as His present service to succour and sustain them as He leads them on to glory.
If, however, many sons are to be brought to glory, it must be in a way that becomes the holy character of God. So we read, “It became Him” — God — “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things” that Christ should not only taste death but, in order to be the Leader of His people, enter into their circumstances and sufferings, and through these sufferings be perfected. Ever perfect in His Person, He was perfectly fitted to fill the position of Leader of His people through the wilderness with all its sufferings. He thus becomes the “Leader of their salvation”. He is able to save them from every danger on their way to glory.
(V. 11). From verse 11 onwards we learn the blessed results that flow to believers through Christ having entered into their position, borne the consequences of that position, and in it maintained the glory of God.
Firstly, the Sanctifier, Christ, and the sanctified, believers, are viewed as all of one. This wonderful expression would seem to indicate that Christ, having come into our position and borne the consequences, has so truly brought us into His position before God, as Man, that He and His own — the Sanctifier and the sanctified — are viewed as forming one company before God. It is well to remark, however, that the Word of God never says of Jesus and of men that they are all one, but that “He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.” For this cause, because of the position into which He has brought them through His sanctifying work, He is not ashamed to call them “brethren”.
Believers are sanctified; being sanctified they are brought into the same position before God as Christ — all of one; and, being all of one, He is not ashamed to call them brethren. We know from the Gospels that it was not until Christ was risen that He called His disciples “brethren”. The Lord Himself ever walked in relationship with God as His Father. Never once in His path do we hear Him address God as “My God”; it is always “My Father”. Only on the cross, when made sin, does He say “My God”. We, however, are brought into this relationship, not by incarnation but through redemption. Therefore, it is not until He is risen that the Lord can say, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” and immediately speaks of His disciples as “My brethren”.
(Vv. 12, 13). Three quotations from the Old Testament are given to prove how blessedly the Sanctifier is identified as one with the Sanctified — His brethren. Firstly, in Psalm 22: 22, the Lord declares in resurrection, “I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” Here the Lord identifies Himself with His brethren: on God's side to declare the Father's Name, on our side to lead the praise of His people to the Father. That which was foretold in Psalm 22 is expressed in John 20 and expounded in Hebrews 2.
Secondly, in Isaiah 8: 17 (Septuagint version) we read, “I will put My trust in Him.” Taking a position as Man, the Lord identified Himself with His own in the only proper life for a man to live — the life of dependence upon God.
Thirdly, in Isaiah 8: 18 we read, “Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given Me.” Here again we see the identification of Christ with the excellent of the earth — not with the children of men — but with the children that God had given Him.
(Vv. 14, 15). Verses 12 and 13 have shown how blessedly Christ has identified us with Himself in His position before God. Now we are to learn the further truth that He has identified Himself with us in our position of weakness and death before God. If the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He likewise partakes of the same. If they are under the dominion of death and the devil, He, having taken flesh and blood, is able to enter into death to annul the devil who had the power of death, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. The devil knows that the wages of sin is death, and is not slow to use this solemn truth to keep the sinner in the fear of death and its consequences all his life. The Lord, on whom death has no claim, goes into death and bears the death penalty that was upon us, and thus robs the devil of his power to terrify the believer with death. We may indeed pass through death, not as the penalty of sin leading to judgment, but only as the gateway out of all suffering into the fulness of blessing.
(Vv. 16-18). It was not to the help of angels that the Lord came, but to take up the cause of the seed of Abraham. To do this it behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren. Thus He fully enters into their position, though not their state. Here, for the first time in the Epistle, we learn of His gracious work for us as a merciful and faithful High Priest. In order to exercise this needed service He must, through His life of humiliation and trial, enter into all our difficulties and temptations. Then, when that perfect life is finished, He goes into death to make propitiation for our sins, in order that they might be forgiven. That great work being accomplished, He is able from His place in glory to exercise His priestly grace, and in mercy and in faithfulness succour them that are tempted, because He Himself hath suffered being tempted.
The suffering is through not yielding to the temptation. If we yield, the flesh does not suffer; on the contrary, it indulges itself by the temptation, finding its pleasure in the thing by which it is tempted. It enjoys the pleasure of sin at the moment, though for the sin it will finally have to suffer. The Lord was tempted, only to bring out His perfection that never for a moment yielded to the temptation. This entailed suffering. He endured hunger rather than yield to the devil's temptation. Having thus suffered in the presence of temptation, He is able to succour His people and enable them to stand firm in the presence of temptation. With a perfectly tender heart He enters into our temptations and succours us with mercy and faithfulness. Too often we can show mercy at the expense of faithfulness, or act in faithfulness at the expense of mercy. He, in the perfection of His way, can show mercy without compromising faithfulness.
3 The High Priest of our Profession
(Hebrews 3: 1 — Hebrews 4: 16)
The first two chapters unfold to us the glories of the Person of Christ, and thus prepare us for entering into the blessedness of His service as our great High Priest. In this fresh division of the Epistle we learn, firstly, the sphere in which the priestly service of Christ is exercised — the House of God (Hebrews 3: 1-6); secondly, the wilderness circumstances which call for this priestly service (Hebrews 3: 7-19); thirdly, we are told of the rest to which the wilderness leads (Hebrews 4: 1-11); finally, we learn the gracious means God has provided to preserve us in the wilderness (Hebrews 4: 12-16).
The Sphere of Christ's Priestly Service
(Hebrews 3: 1-6)
The latter part of Hebrews 2 has shown the gracious way the Lord has taken in order that He may exercise His priestly sympathy with His suffering people. In the opening verses of this chapter the House of God is introduced to show the sphere in which His priesthood is exercised.
(V. 1). In the introductory verse the Jewish believers are addressed as “holy brethren” and “partakers of the heavenly calling”. As Jews they had been accustomed to being called “brethren” and were partakers of the earthly calling. As Christians they are “holy brethren” and, in common with all other Christians, are the subjects of the “calling on high of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 14).
The glories of Christ having been set before us in Hebrews 1 and 2, we are now exhorted to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus.” The title Apostle is especially connected with the truth of the Son of God presented in the first chapter, in which the Son is seen coming to earth and speaking to men on behalf of God. The title High Priest is connected with the second chapter, in which the Son of Man is presented as going from earth to heaven to serve before God on behalf of men. The true end of all ministry is not simply to occupy hearers with the truth ministered, but to bring them into touch with the end of all ministry — to leave them “considering” Jesus.
It should be noticed that here it is Jesus, not “Christ Jesus” as in the Authorised Version. Every Jew would own the Messiah, but only the Christian would recognise that the Christ had come in the Person of Jesus.
(Vv. 2-6). The Spirit of God alludes to Moses and the tabernacle in the wilderness to show that Moses is surpassed by Christ, and that the tabernacle was only a testimony of things to be afterwards revealed. Moses was never a priest; his service was rather apostolic in character. He came to the people on behalf of God: Aaron, the priest, went to God on behalf of the people. Moses, under the direction of God, built the tabernacle in the wilderness. Jesus, the true Apostle, is the Builder of the whole universe, of which the tabernacle was a testimony. Moreover, if God dwells in the heaven of heavens, it is also true that He dwells in the midst of His people who today form His House. The House in its present spiritual form is one of the things of which the material tabernacle was a figure.
Moses was faithful in God's house in the wilderness as a servant. Christ is over God's House — composed of God's people — as Son. Thus the introduction of the people of God as forming the House of God shows the sphere in which Christ exercises His priesthood; and therefore a little later we read that we have a great High Priest over the House of God (10: 21).
The Wilderness that calls for the Priestly Service of Christ
(Hebrews 3: 7-19)
The allusion to Moses and the tabernacle very naturally leads to the wilderness journey of God's people. If the tabernacle is a type of the people of God, the wilderness journey of Israel is typical of the journey of God's people through this present world with all its dangers. This wilderness journey becomes the occasion that calls for this priestly grace.
Moreover, in the wilderness the reality of our profession is put to the test by the dangers we have to meet. These Hebrews had made a public profession of Christianity. With profession there is always the possibility of unreality, and hence the “ifs” come in. So the writer says that we are the House of God “if indeed we hold fast the boldness and the boast of hope firm to the end.” This is not a warning against being too confident in Christ and the eternal security that obtains for the believer for, it has been truly said, “There is no 'if' either as to Christ's work or as to glad tidings of God's grace. All there is, is unconditional grace to faith.” The warning supposes that those addressed have this assurance, and they are warned against giving it up. That the true believer will hold fast, or rather that God will hold him fast through the priestly grace of Christ to the end, in spite of many a failure, is certain. The believer's reality is proved by his enduring to the end. The wilderness that tests the true believer exposes the unreality of the mere professor.
(Vv. 7-11). To encourage us to hold fast we are reminded, by a quotation from Psalm 95: 7-11, of the warnings given by the Spirit of God to Israel in view of the coming of Christ into the world in glory and power to bring the nation into rest. Today is a day of grace and salvation in view of sharing the glory of Christ in the world to come. In such a day of blessing they are warned against acting as their fathers in the wilderness. Israel made the profession of leaving Egypt and following Jehovah through a wilderness scene which abounded with dangers, and in which confidence in God could alone support them to the end. For forty years they saw God's works of power and mercy providing for their needs and preserving them from every danger. Yet, in spite of every token of His presence, they tempted and put God to the test by saying, “Is Jehovah among us, or not?” They thus proved the hardness of hearts untouched by God's goodness. Seeking only their own lusts and ignorant of God's ways, they clearly showed that whatever profession they had made, they had no real confidence in God. Of such God said, “They shall not enter into My rest”.
(Vv. 12, 13). In these verses the warnings of Psalm 95 are applied to professing Christians. We are to “take heed” lest, through an evil heart of unbelief, we turn away from the living God to put once again our confidence in dead forms, thus showing that, whatever profession may have been made, the soul has no confidence in Christ and the grace that, through His finished work, secures to the believer salvation and forgiveness. However, what is contemplated is hardly the adding of Jewish forms to the Christian life, bad as this is, but the giving up of Christ altogether and turning back to Judaism, which is apostasy.
Further, we are not only exhorted to take heed to ourselves but to “exhort one another” each day, while it is still a day of grace and salvation, lest any be hardened by the deceitfulness of doing one's own will. Here it is not the deceitfulness of committing sins, solemn as this is, for one sin leads to another: it is the principle of sin of which the writer speaks, which is lawlessness. We little think how we harden our hearts by doing our own will. We are thus to take heed to ourselves and care for one another. Love should not be indifferent to a brother slipping away by doing his own will.
(Vv. 14-19). Believers are not only the House of God; they are also the companions of Christ. Here again it is not the body of Christ, and the members of His body as united to the Head by the Holy Spirit, in which nothing unreal can come. Profession is still in view, assumed to be real, but leaving room for unreality. Therefore it is again said, “ ... if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end”. This is not assurance founded on anything in ourselves, which would only be self-righteousness. The assurance insisted upon is grounded upon the Lord Jesus, His propitiatory sacrifice and the accepted efficacy of His work. Such assurance we are not blamed for having: on the contrary, we are exhorted to hold it fast.
Then referring again to Israel in the wilderness, the writer asks three searching questions to bring out the hardness, sin and unbelief of Israel. Firstly, who was it that, when they heard the Word of God speaking of a rest to come, did provoke? Was it only a few of the people? Alas! it was the great mass, “all that came out of Egypt”. Secondly, with whom was God grieved forty years? It was with those who, by reason of the hardness of their hearts, chose their own sins. Thirdly, to whom did God sware that they should not enter into His rest? It was to those who believed not. Thus we learn the root sin was unbelief . The unbelief left them exposed to their sins, and sins hardened their hearts.
The Rest to Which the Wilderness Leads
(Hebrews 4: 1-11)
The wilderness journey of the children of Israel, of which the writer has been speaking in Hebrews 3: 7-19, was in view of the rest of Canaan. Into this rest those who came out of Egypt could not enter because of the hardness of their hearts, their sin and their unbelief (Hebrews 3: 15, 17, 19).
Like Israel of old, believers today are passing on their way through a wilderness world to the rest of the coming glory. This rest is the great theme of the first eleven verses of Hebrews 4: Let us note that it is God's rest of which the writer speaks. It is called “His rest”, and, in the quotations from the Old Testament, “My rest” (Hebrews 3: 18; Hebrews 4: 1, 3, 5).
This rest — the rest of God — is wholly future. It is not the present rest of conscience that faith in the Person and work of Christ gives the believer, according to the Lord's words, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Nor is it the rest of heart that is the daily portion of the one who walks in obedience to Christ, submitting to His will, again according to His Word, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11: 28, 29). Nor is it the temporary rest of a tired labourer, of which we read in the Gospels, when the Lord said, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a while ”, words which imply that we must be working again (Mark 6: 31).
God can only rest in that which satisfies His love and holiness. God's rest will be reached when God's love has fulfilled all His mind for those He loves. When righteousness is established, and sorrow and sighing flee away, God will “rest in His love” (Zephaniah 3: 17). “Holiness cannot rest where sin is; love cannot rest where sorrow is” (J.N.D.).
The Christian is called out of this world of unrest to have part in the rest of heaven. For the moment he is in the wilderness — neither of the world he has left, nor in heaven to which he is going. Faith keeps in view the heavenly rest to which we are going, which Christ has secured for us, and where Christ is, as we read a little later, He has entered “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9: 24).
(Vv. 1, 2). Having this blessed promise, we are warned of seeming to come short of God's rest. The mere professor, who gives up His Christian profession and returns to Judaism, would not only seem to come short; he would actually do so, and perish in the wilderness. But the true believer may appear to come short by turning back to the world and settling down on earth. Of old, Israel heard the good tidings of a land flowing with milk and honey, but alas, they hearkened not to the word. (Compare Hebrews 3: 18, N.Tn. with Deuteronomy 1: 22-26.)
The Christian has still more glorious tidings of yet greater blessedness in heaven's eternal rest. To faith, these coming glories are real. If the Word is not mixed with faith, it can no more profit the hearer now than of old.
(Vv. 3, 4). Nevertheless, though some in old days did not believe the glad tidings of the Canaan rest, and though the vast profession today may not believe in the glad tidings of the heavenly rest, the blessed fact remains that God has a future rest, and believers are to enter into that rest. Every step they take is bringing them nearer to God's rest. The mere professor, without personal faith in Christ, will irretrievably fall in the wilderness. God's oath, “If they shall enter into My rest”, (a quotation from the Septuagint version of Psalm 95: 11) actually means, “They shall not enter into My rest.”
The writer refers to creation to show that from the beginning God has had before Him “rest”, and to manifest the character of God's rest. After the world was formed and man was created in the image and likeness of God, the creation works of God were finished. This led to creation rest with its two distinctive marks: firstly, God's satisfaction in all that He had made, as we read, “God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good”; secondly, the entire cessation from all His creation work, as it is written, “He rested on the seventh day from all his work which He had made.” (Gen. 1: 31; Gen. 2: 2). Thus we learn the two great truths that mark God's rest: the absolute complacency in the result of the labour; and satisfaction being reached, the absolute end of all toil.
(V. 5). The creation rest is a foreshadowing of the eternal rest. The creation rest was broken into by sin. Nevertheless, God does not give up the settled purpose of His heart to have a rest — an eternal rest — which no sin will ever mar. Thus again, in the days of Joshua, God's rest is kept before us, for once more there is the good news of rest, even though the unbelief of Israel hindered the enjoyment of the Canaan rest, so that God has to say, “They [shall] not enter into My rest” (Psalm 95:11).
(V. 6). In spite of the fact that sin had broken the creation rest and unbelief marred the Canaan rest, God assures us that He still has a rest before Him, which He calls “My rest”, and that there are some who will enter into God's rest, even though those to whom it was first preached missed the rest through their unbelief. God's purpose to secure a rest according to His own heart is not to be thwarted by the sin and unbelief of man.
(Vv. 7, 8). If the creation rest is marred and the Canaan rest is lost, what is the rest of God which those who believe are to enter? Joshua had failed to bring the people into the Canaan rest, therefore David, long years after, speaks of another rest in “another day”. To set forth this rest, the writer quotes Psalm 95: 7, 8. This Psalm is a call to Israel to turn to Jehovah with thanksgiving in view of the future coming of Christ to earth to bring the nation into rest. In view of the glad tidings of this fresh day of grace, Israel is warned not to harden their hearts as in Joshua's day. To refuse this fresh appeal would be to miss the earthly rest under the reign of Christ.
(Vv. 9, 10). The writer concludes his argument by saying, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God”, and the great characteristic of this rest will be cessation from toil, for “he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works.” Thus the great truth is established that whether it be God's heavenly rest for a heavenly people, or God's earthly rest for an earthly people, the rest is still future. It is a rest to which faith is pressing on. Moreover, it is not rest from sin, but rest from labour, and not rest from labour because the labourer is tired, but rest because his work is finished. As one has said, “No present rest is the rest of God; and the futurity of that rest is a grand safeguard against the snare for any Christian, most of all for a Jewish one, to seek it now here below. As God cannot rest in sin or misery, neither ought we to allow it even in our desires, still less to make it our life. Now is the time for the labour of love if we know His love, now to seek true worshippers of the Father as He is seeking Himself” (W.K.).
(V. 11). As the rest is future, and the blessedness of the rest, we are exhorted to labour, or to use diligence to enter into the rest that lies before us. Later in the Epistle we are again exhorted to “work and labour”, to “diligence”, to “be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6: 10-12).
There is the danger that we may despise the rest of God that lies at the end of the journey, or grow weary of the labour of love on the way. Israel did both. Let us then beware lest any of us fall after the same example of unbelief. The two great exhortations are, “Let us fear” lest we despise the promise of the rest (verse 1) and “Let us labour” on the way to the rest (verse 11).
God's Provision to Maintain Us in Our Wilderness Journey
(Hebrews 4: 12-16)
The concluding verses of the chapter bring before us the two great means by which believers are preserved as they journey through the wilderness to the rest of God: firstly, the Word of God (verses 12, 13); secondly, the priestly service of Christ (verses 14-16).
(Vv. 12, 13). We are reminded that the Word of God is not a dead letter; it lives and acts by penetrating the heart of man. The result for the one whose conscience and heart come under its influence is twofold: firstly, it reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart; secondly, it brings the soul into the presence of God with whom we have to do.
The Word exposes to us the hidden lusts of the “soul” and the reasonings and unbelief of the “spirit”, so revealing to us the true character of the flesh by searching the secret thoughts and intents of the heart. Here it is not a question of outward sins, but rather the hidden motives and spring of evil. The Word discovers to us the hidden depths of the heart, making manifest how much of “self” is the secret motive of the life. Moreover, being the Word of God, it brings us into the presence of God. It is God speaking to me, laying bare my heart in His presence, there to confess all that the Word detects. How was it that Israel fell in the wilderness? Was it not because “the word preached did not profit them”? Had they by faith let that Word have its place in their hearts, it would have led them to discover and judge the secret roots of unbelief that hindered them from entering into rest.
Thus everything that would hinder us pressing on to the rest of God, everything that would tempt us to settle down in this world, is detected and judged by the Word, in the presence of God, so that the soul may be set free to pursue the pilgrim path, and labour of love, having the rest of God in view.
(V. 14). Moreover, the Word of God, by leading us to judge the secret working of our wills, prepares us to profit by the priestly help and sympathy of Christ. We have not only to contend with the hidden roots of evil in our hearts, but we are encompassed with infirmities and faced with temptations. To deal with the secret evil of our hearts we need the Word; to support us in the presence of infirmities and temptations we need a living Person, One who represents us, One who at every moment knows and interests Himself in all our difficulties and weakness, and One who can sympathise with us, inasmuch as He has experienced the temptations and difficulties that we have to meet.
Such an High Priest we have, “Jesus the Son of God”, who has been before us in the path that leads to the rest of God. He has travelled every step of the way; He has passed through the heavens; He has reached the rest of God. In all our weakness He can support us as we tread the wilderness path until we rest where He rests, above and beyond every trial and temptation, where toil has for ever ceased.
Having such an High Priest, we are exhorted to hold fast our confession. This is not simply holding fast to the confession that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, blessed and important as this is, but rather the confession that we are partakers of the heavenly calling. Our confession is that, as partakers of the heavenly calling, we are to enter God's rest. The danger is that in the presence of temptation we may, by reason of our infirmities, give up our confession of the heavenly calling and settle down in a round of busy service, if not in the world itself.
(V. 15). We need the succour and sympathy of our great High Priest, firstly because of our infirmities, and secondly because of temptations we have to meet. Infirmities are the weaknesses that belong to us as being in the body with its varied needs and liability to sickness and accident. Infirmity is not sin, though it may lead to sin. Hunger is an infirmity; to grumble because of hunger would be sin. Paul., learning the sufficiency of the grace of Christ in the presence of his infirmities, can even say, “I rather glory in my infirmities”, and again, “I take pleasure in infirmities” (2 Corinthians 12: 9, 10). He would not have gloried in sins, or taken pleasure in sinning.
As to temptations, we have to remember that the believer has to meet two forms of temptation, the temptations from the trials without and the temptations from sin within. Both forms of temptation are brought before us by the apostle James. Firstly, he says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations”. There are various external trials by which the enemy seeks to turn us aside from the heavenly calling and hinder us from pressing on to the rest of God. Then the apostle speaks of a very different character of temptation when he says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed”. This is temptation from sin within (James 1: 2, 14).
It is the first form of temptation that comes before us in this passage in Hebrews — the temptation to turn from the path of obedience to the Word of God that leads to the rest of God. Further, the devil would seek to use the infirmities of the body to turn us aside by his temptations, even as he sought to use hunger to tempt the Lord from the path of obedience to God. In this form of temptation we have the sympathy of the Lord, as He Himself has been “in all points tempted like as we are.” Of the second form of temptation He knew nothing, for, while it is said that He was “in all points tempted like as we”, it is added, “sin apart”.
(V. 16). In the presence of these infirmities and temptations we have a resource. Whatever the difficulties we may have to meet, however much we may be tried and tested, whatever emergency may arise, there is grace available to enable us to meet the trial. — the throne of grace is open to us. We are exhorted therefore to draw near to the throne of grace, that is to God Himself. We are not told to draw near to the High Priest, but to God, and we can do so boldly because the High Priest represents us at the throne of grace. Drawing near we obtain mercy, not because we have failed, but in order that in the trial we may not fail. The time of need is not here the time of failure, but the time when we are faced with trials and temptations which may lead to failure.
4 Christ's Sufferings and Call to Priesthood
(Hebrews 5: 1-10)
The apostle has shown us the sphere in which the priesthood of Christ is exercised — the House of God — and the circumstances of His people which require His priestly service — the wilderness journey. Now he unfolds to us the sufferings that Christ passed through in view of His priestly service and the call to the priestly office.
(Vv. 1-4). To develop the blessedness of the priesthood of Christ, the apostle refers in these verses to the Aaronic priesthood as setting forth general principles as to priestly service. At the same time he shows by contrast the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over that of Aaron.
We must definitely recognise that these four verses refer, not to Christ and His heavenly priesthood, but to Aaron and the earthly priesthood. The apostle calls attention to the person of the earthly priest, the work of the priest, the experiences of the priest, and the appointment of the priest.
As to his person, the high priest is taken “from among men”. This is in striking contrast with the priesthood of Christ. Truly Christ is Man, but He is much more. The writer has borne witness, and will yet do so, that the Christ who is our High Priest is none less than the Eternal Son.
As to His work, the earthly priest is established for man in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, and exercise forbearance toward the ignorant and the erring. Here there is the shadowing forth of the priestly service of Christ. As the High Priest He acts on behalf of men — the many sons that He is bringing to glory — to keep them from failing and maintain them in a practical walk with God. Christ has offered gifts and sacrifices for sins to bring His people into relationship with God, and having accomplished the great work that removed their sins, He now exercises His priestly work in intercession, sympathy and succour on behalf of His ignorant and erring people.
As to the personal experiences of the earthly priest, we read, “He himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.” Here there is partial analogy, and definite contrast, to the priesthood of Christ. It is true that, in the days of His flesh, Christ was found in circumstances of weakness and infirmity; but, in contrast with Aaron, His was sinless infirmity, therefore it could not be said that for Himself He offered for sins.
As to the appointment of the earthly priest, “No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” Here again there is an analogy, as we are at once reminded, to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, that is not called of God. The intense solemnity of neglecting this great truth is seen in the judgment that overtook Korah and those associated with him, who sought to establish themselves in the priesthood without being called of God. Jude warns us that in Christendom there will be many who in like manner will appoint themselves priests without the call of God, and will perish in the gainsaying of Core (Numbers 16: 3, 7, 10; Jude 11).
Here, then, we have the character of the earthly priesthood according to the mind of God, and not as illustrated in the history of failing Israel, which ends with two wicked men filling the place of high priest at the same time, and conspiring together to crucify their Messiah.
(Vv. 5, 6). With verse 5 the writer passes to speak of Christ as High Priest. He brings before us the greatness of His Person as called to be a Priest, the experiences He passed through in order to take the position of Priest, and the appointment of God to this place of service.
The glory of His Person. Christ, who is called to be our great High Priest, is truly taken from among men to exercise His priesthood on behalf of men. Nevertheless, in Manhood He is recognised as the Son: “Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.” It is this glorious Person — the One who is truly God and truly Man, and in whom Godhead and Manhood are perfectly expressed — who is appointed Priest according to the word, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” As to the character of this order of priesthood, the apostle will have more to say. Here Psalm 110: 4 is quoted to show not only the greatness of the Priest but the dignity of the priesthood.
(Vv. 7, 8). In the verses that follow, we learn the experiences that Christ passed through in order that He might exercise His priestly service. How necessary that He should be the glorious Person that He is — the Son — to exercise the High Priesthood in heaven. But more was needed. If He is to succour His people through their wilderness journey, He Himself must enter into the sorrows and difficulties of the way. At once, then, the apostle recalls “the days of His flesh” when He took part in our infirmities, trod the path that we are treading, faced the same temptations that we have to meet, and was encompassed with like infirmities. The writer especially refers to the closing sufferings of the Lord, when the enemy, who, as one has said, “at the outset had sought to seduce Jesus by offering Him the things that are agreeable to man (Luke 4), was presenting himself against Him with terrible things” (J.N.D.). In Gethsemane the enemy sought to turn the Lord from the path of obedience by pressing upon Him the terror of death. In the presence of this assault the Lord acts as the perfect Man. He did not exercise His divine power and drive the devil away or save Himself from death; but as the perfectly dependent Man He found His resource in prayer, and thus met the trial and overcame the devil. Nevertheless, His very perfection as Man led Him to feel the terror of all that was before Him and to express His feelings in strong crying and tears. He met the trial in perfect dependence upon God who was able to save Him out of death.
In all this sore trial He was heard because of His piety, which brought God into every circumstance by dependence and confidence in Him. He was heard inasmuch as He was strengthened in physical weakness, and enabled in spirit to submit to taking the cup from the Father's hand. Thus He overcame the power of Satan, and though He were Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. We have to learn obedience because we have a wicked will: He because He was God over all, who from eternity had ever commanded. We oftentimes learn obedience by the suffering we bring upon ourselves through disobedience: He learned obedience by the suffering entailed through His obedience to the will of God. He learned by experience what it cost to obey. No suffering, however intense, could move Him from the path of perfect obedience. Another has said, “He submitted to everything, obeyed in everything, and depended upon God for everything” (J.N.D.).
The sufferings to which the apostle refers were in “the days of His flesh”, not the day of His death. At the cross He suffered under the wrath of God, and there He must be alone. None can share or enter into His atoning sufferings. In the Garden He suffered from the power of the enemy, and there others are associated with Him. We can in our little measure share these sufferings when tempted by the devil, and so doing we have all the sympathy and support of the One who has suffered before us.
(Vv. 9, 10). Moreover, not only was He heard in the Garden, but, having suffered, He is also heard in resurrection and is made perfect in glory. He takes His place as the glorified Man, according to His own words, “Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today, and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke 13: 32). Nothing could add to the perfection of His Person, but having passed through the sufferings of the days of His flesh, having accomplished the work of the cross, and having been raised and glorified, He is perfectly fitted to exercise His service on behalf of the many sons on their way to glory. Being perfected, He is addressed by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec. In incarnation He is called to take up the Melchisedec priesthood (verse 5); when risen and perfected in glory, He is addressed as having taken up the calling (verse 10, N.Tn.).
5 The Spiritual Condition of the Hebrew Believers
(Hebrews 5: 11-Hebrews 6: 20)
The great object of the apostle in this portion of the Epistle is to develop the blessed character of the priesthood of Christ. Having referred to the Melchisedec priesthood to show by analogy the dignity of the priesthood of Christ, the apostle breaks off the thread of his discourse to resume it again at the beginning of Hebrews 7.
In these parenthetical verses the apostle refers to the spiritual state of those to whom he is writing. Their dull condition of soul exposed them to a serious difficulty and a grave danger. The difficulty was that they were unable to interpret the Old Testament figures. This is referred to in Hebrews 5: 11 to Hebrews 6: 1-3. The danger was that in their low condition some might give up the profession of Christianity and turn back to Judaism. This danger is developed in Hebrews 6: 4-8. The remaining verses of the parenthesis express the apostle's confidence and hope concerning those to whom he is writing (Hebrews 6: 9-20).
The Hindrance to Spiritual Intelligence
(Hebrews 5: 11-6: 3)
(Vv. 11-13). Those to whom the apostle was writing were not simply ignorant of the truth, nor young in the faith — things that would not necessarily make it difficult to understand the teaching of Scripture. The real difficulty was they had “become dull of hearing.” Their spiritual growth had been arrested. The time had come when they should have been teachers. Alas! they needed to be again taught the elementary truths of the beginning of the oracles of God.
They had become such as had need of milk instead of solid food. The apostle does not at all slight the use of milk; but he says, If milk is the proper diet, it is a clear proof that the soul is spiritually a babe, needing to be established in the righteousness of God.
(V. 14). The stronger food — the full truth of Christianity into which the apostle desires to lead us — belongs to the full-grown Christian, the one who is established in the position in which the righteousness of God has placed him as a son before God. Such, instead of being dull of hearing, have their senses exercised to distinguish both good and evil.
(Hebrews 6: 1-3). The apostle proceeds to show the hindrances to spiritual growth. The saints at Corinth were hindered by the wisdom and philosophy of man (1 Corinthians 1-3). These Hebrew believers were hindered by clinging to their traditional religion. One has truly said, “There is no greater hindrance to progress in spiritual life and intelligence than attachment to an ancient form of religion which, being traditional and not simply personal faith in the truth, consists always in ordinances, and is consequently carnal and earthly” (J.N.D.).
As with these Hebrew believers, so in Christendom nowhere is the darkness and ignorance of God's Word greater than among those who cling to tradition and religious ritual. Occupied with mere forms and dazzled by a sensuous religion that stirs the emotions and ministers to the natural mind, people are blinded to the Gospel of the grace of God unfolded in the Word of God.
To meet this snare the apostle's exhortation is, “Wherefore, leaving the word of the beginning of the Christ, let us go on to what belongs to full growth.” He then refers to certain fundamental truths known in Judaism before the cross, and suited to a state of spiritual infancy. In contrast with these truths the apostle presents the full truth of the Person and work of Christ now revealed in Christianity, which he speaks of as perfection. By clinging to truths which were for the time before Christ's coming, these believers hindered their growth in the full revelation of Christ in Christianity.
The apostle speaks of repentance from dead works, faith in God, of the doctrine of washings, of imposition of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. These things were all known before the incarnation of Christ. The faith he speaks of is faith in God, not personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The washings refer to Jewish purifications, not Christian baptism. The laying on of hands refers to the way by which the Israelite identified himself as the offerer with the victim he offered. Resurrection is of the dead, not “from among the dead”, as in Christianity. Martha, in the Gospel story, believed in the resurrection of the dead; she found it difficult to believe in the Christian truth that one could be raised from among the dead while others were left in death.
The apostle does not ask us to deny any of these Old Testament truths, but to leave the partial light and go on to the full light of Christianity — perfection. This, he says, we will do, if God permit. To go back to these things would be laying again “a foundation”; not, indeed, “the foundation”, as if it were the foundation of Christianity, but rather “a foundation” of Jewish things.
The Danger of Apostasy
(Hebrews 6: 4-8)
(Vv. 4-6). Having sought to meet the difficulties occasioned by their dull spiritual condition, the apostle passes on to warn these believers of the serious danger to which they were exposed. The fact that they were clinging to the forms and ceremonies of Judaism might indicate that some who were enlightened by the truths of Christianity, and had tasted its privileges, had given up their profession and had returned to Judaism. For such there would be no recovery. This “falling away”, of which the apostle speaks, is not the backsliding of a true believer, but the apostasy of a mere professor.
The passage speaks of enlightenment, not of new birth, nor of eternal life. It speaks of the outward privileges of Christianity, the presence of the Spirit, the preciousness of the Word of God, and the outward display of power in the Christian circle. All this could be felt and known by those brought in among Christians, even where there was no spiritual life. Such partook in an outward way of the privileges of the Christian circle, and yet could give up their profession and return to Judaism. So doing, they returned to a system that had ended in the crucifixion of the Messiah. They virtually, for themselves, crucified the Son of God and put Him to an open shame, for, by their action, they practically avowed that they had tried Christ and Christianity, and found Judaism better.
It removes all difficulty from the passage when we clearly see that the apostle is not supposing the possession of divine life, or a divine work in the soul, but merely tasting the outward privileges of the Christian circle.
(Vv. 7, 8). The illustration used by the apostle makes his meaning clear. The herbs and the briars equally partake of the blessing of the rain which comes from heaven, but the herbs bring forth fruit, while the briars end by being burned.
Comfort and Encouragement
(Vv. 9-20)
(Vv. 9-12). Having met the difficulty of their low condition, and warned them of the danger of apostasy, the apostle now encourages these believers by expressing his confidence and hope concerning them. Though he has warned them, he does not apply to them what he has been saying as to falling away. On the contrary, he is persuaded better things of them, and things that accompany salvation. He thus clearly shows that the outward privileges of the Christian circle, of which he has been speaking in verses 4-8, can be known in measure by those who are not saved.
The things that accompany salvation are things which give evidence of divine life in the soul. They are “love”, and “hope”, and “faith”. That they possessed love was proved by their continual service to the Lord's people. God will not forget service of which love to Christ is the motive. The full reward for such service is in the day to come. This leads the apostle to speak of the “hope” that lies before us. He desired that these believers should diligently pursue their service of love in the full assurance of hope that looks on to the rest and reward of all labour.
The apostle does not suggest that the prospect of reward is a motive for service. This, he clearly states, is love “to His Name”. But, as ever, reward is brought in to encourage in the face of difficulties. To continue to the end, however, calls for faith and patience. We are exhorted to be imitators of men of God “who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Their faith looked on to the future blessing and enabled them to endure with patience their wilderness trials.
(Vv. 13-15). Faith, however, requires some absolute authority upon which to rest. The apostle turns to the history of the patriarch Abraham to show that the Word of God is the solid ground on which faith acts. In the case of Abraham, this word was confirmed by an oath. In the fullest way God pledged His Word to bring Abraham into blessing, the result being that he was enabled to endure patiently all the privations of a wilderness journey.
(Vv. 16-18). Moreover, it was not for Abraham's sake only that God gave this twofold guarantee, His Word and His oath. Thus the principles on which God acted towards the fathers of old are applied to the children of faith now that “we might have a strong encouragement.” God, in His condescending grace, to convince the heirs of promise of the unchangeable character of His Word, confirmed His promise with an oath, even as men do in their dealings with one another. As He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself. Thus, by two immutable things, His Word and His oath, in which it was impossible for God to lie, He gives strong encouragement to all those who have fled to Christ for refuge from judgment, to lay hold on the hope set before them, instead of turning back by reason of the difficulties on the way. The allusion is to the city of refuge for the manslayer. The Jews had murdered their own Messiah and brought themselves under judgment. The believing remnant, separating themselves from the guilty nation, fled for refuge to the living Christ in glory.
(Vv. 19, 20). The believer that flees to Christ has a hope that is sure and stedfast, as Jesus, our great High Priest, has entered within the veil of heaven. Christ appears before the face of God for us as the Forerunner and as our High Priest. The Forerunner implies that there are others coming after. We have therefore not only the Word of God, but Jesus, a living Person in the glory, as the everlasting witness of the glory to which we are going, and the guarantee that we shall be there. Until we reach the rest of heaven, Christ is our great High Priest to sustain us by the way. Thus again, as in the end of Hebrews 4, the apostle keeps the Word of God and the living Christ before our souls. Here it is the Word of God as the firm foundation of our faith, and the living Christ as the anchor of our soul, the One who links us with heaven and holds the soul in calmness amidst all the storms of life.
6 The New Order of Priesthood
(Hebrews 7)
Having given the word of warning and encouragement contained in the parenthetical portion from Hebrews 5: 11 to the end of Hebrews 6, the apostle resumes the great theme of Hebrews 5. In that chapter he had brought before us the dignity of the priesthood of Christ by reminding us that, as risen, Christ is addressed as an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. In Hebrews 7 the apostle proceeds to set forth the exalted character of this order of priesthood by showing its superiority over the Aaronic priesthood.
It is important to distinguish between the order of the priesthood and the exercise of the priestly functions. When it is a question of the order or rank of priesthood, Melchisedec is the fitting type of the priesthood of Christ. When it is a question of the exercise of His work as Priest on behalf of Christians, Aaron is the type that very largely prefigures the work of Christ. The Aaronic priesthood introduces sacrifice, intercession and the sanctuary furniture, of which we have no mention in connection with Melchisedec. Thus we are reminded that no single person can, even typically, set forth the glories of Christ.
(Vv. 1, 2). The apostle refers to the striking episode in the history of Abraham when, for a brief moment, the patriarch is met by Melchisedec, a greater person than himself. This man is purposely surrounded with an air of mystery in order that, being in certain respects “made like unto the Son of God”, he may fittingly prefigure our great High Priest, the Son Of God. The passage in Genesis 14: 17-24, in which this scene is described, is typical of the Millennium. After the slaughter of the kings, by whom the people of God had been taken captive, Melchisedec comes forth to meet Abraham. His name and that of his country signify that he was King of righteousness and King of peace. Further, he was the “priest of the Most High God”, the God who, by the slaughter of the kings, had shown that He can deliver His people from their enemies and overthrow every rival power.
In position, Melchisedec was a king. His reign was marked by righteousness and peace, and in the exercise of his priesthood he stood between Abraham and God. As the representative of God before man, he blessed Abraham on behalf of God; as the representative of man before God, he blessed the Most High God on behalf of Abraham. He brings blessing from God to man, and leads the praise from man to God.
Thus, in coming millennial days, God will be known as the Most High God, who will deliver His earthly people and deal in judgment with every hostile power. Then indeed Christ will shine forth as King and Priest. As we are told by direct prophecy, “He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zechariah 6: 13). He will be the true King of Righteousness, King of Peace and the Priest of the Most High God.
(V. 3). Moreover, Melchisedec is purposely invested with mystery, inasmuch as no record is given of his descent, his birth or his death. As far as the story is concerned, he is “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” He comes upon the scene without any details of his origin, and passes off without any sequel to his story. As far as the record is concerned, he “abideth a priest continually”, in striking contrast with Aaron.
In all these ways he is made like unto the Son of God and therefore fittingly sets forth the dignity of the priesthood of the Son of God, who abides a Priest continually.
(Vv. 4-7). We are further asked to consider other incidents in this story which show the superiority of the Melchisedec priesthood over that of Aaron. Firstly, this king-priest is so great in dignity that even the patriarch Abraham gave him the tenth of the spoils. From Abraham, however, the sons of Levi are descended, who, in the exercise of their priesthood, “take tithes of the people.” But, though taking tithes, they themselves paid tithes to Melchisedec in the person of Abraham their father.
Further, not only did Melchisedec receive tithes from Abraham, but he blesses the one who is the recipient of the promises. The one of whom it was said he should be a blessing, and through his seed all the nations of the earth are to be blessed, is himself blessed, and without contradiction “the less is blessed of the greater.”
(Vv. 8-10). Moreover, in the case of Aaron and his sons, dying men receive tithes. But of Melchisedec we have no hint of his death. As far as the story goes, “it is witnessed that he liveth.”
Thus, in the person of their father Abraham, the priests after the Aaronic order paid tithes and received the blessing, instead of receiving tithes and dispensing blessing. Moreover, as dying men they paid tithes to one of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Clearly, then, the rank of the Melchisedec priesthood is far above that of Aaron.
(V. 11). If, however, the Melchisedec priesthood is superior to the Aaronic, it is clear proof of the imperfection of the Aaronic priesthood. It was transitory in its character and imperfect in its work. Later in the Epistle we learn that it gave no permanent relief to the conscience and did not enable the offerer to draw nigh to God. This very imperfection proved the need of another Priest to rise after the order of Melchisedec. This Priest is found in Christ in whom alone is perfection.
(Vv. 12-14). This change of the order of the priesthood necessitates a change of the law, for it is evident that Christ belonged to the tribe of Judah from which no man is called to priestly service under the law of Moses.
(Vv. 15-17). It is equally plain that though the Lord came from the tribe of Judah, He is called to be a priest. Being a priest after the similitude of Melchisedec, He is such, but not after any fleshly commandment, which recognises the priest as being in the flesh and therefore subject to death, for which provision has been made by a succession of priests. In contrast, the priesthood of Christ stands alone in all its solitary dignity, for it is after the power of an endless life. It is as risen in the power of a life beyond death that the Lord is called to be a Priest, and therefore not for a lifetime, but “for ever”.
(Vv. 18, 19). The commandment of Moses as to priesthood is therefore set aside because of its weakness and unprofitableness. It was weak because the priest, being subject to death, could not continue. It was unprofitable because it could not set the offerer in the presence of God with a conscience free from the fear of judgment. The law points to better things, but in itself made nothing perfect. With the priesthood of Christ there is the bringing in of a better hope. It has in view the believer being brought to glory, though before we reach the glory we can draw nigh to God through our High Priest. (Compare Hebrews 10: 21, 22.)
(Vv. 20-22). We are further assured of the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over that of Aaron by the fact that, in contrast with Aaron, the call of Christ to the priesthood is confirmed with an oath. To prove this the apostle again quotes Psalm 110: 4. The oath involves that there can be no revoking or setting aside of the priesthood of Christ, as in the case of the Levitical priesthood. The oath makes all the more sure the blessings of the New Covenant, which rest upon Jesus and His work.
(Vv. 23, 24). Under law men were appointed priests who were unable to continue their office by reason of death. A priest could in his measure sympathise with and succour those for whom he exercised his priestly function, but death cut him off and another priest arose who would be a stranger to the sorrows of those who had drawn near to his predecessors. With Christ how different! Having triumphed over death He continues ever in the exercise of unchangeable priesthood: “Thou remainest” and “Thou art the Same” (Hebrews 1: 11, 12).
(V. 25). Having shown the superiority of the priesthood of Christ, the apostle sums up the blessings that flow to the believer through this priesthood. As we have such an High Priest who ever lives and never changes, we are assured that He is able to save to the uttermost point of our wilderness journey, while through Him we can approach to God while on the journey. He can save us from every enemy, bring us to God and intercede for us in all our infirmities.
(Vv. 26, 27). The apostle closes this portion of the Epistle by showing us that “such an High Priest” becomes us. In Hebrews 2: 10 we learn that such an High Priest becomes God; here we learn that He “becomes us”. Because of who God is in all His holiness, none less than Christ as great High Priest would be suitable for God. Because of what we are in all our weakness, none less than Christ would avail for us. He becomes us because of His intrinsic holiness; because of the purity of His motives — He is harmless, without a single evil thought; because in passing through this scene He was undefiled — untainted by the corruptions of the world; because of His exaltation on high; above all, because of His finished work for sins, when He offered Himself up on the cross.
(V. 28). Thus the Son, consecrated to be a Priest for evermore by the word of the oath, is declared to be in striking contrast with the men, encompassed with infirmity, who were called to be priests by the law.
To sum up the teaching of the chapter, there passes before us:
Firstly, the dignity of the order of Christ's priesthood as typified by Melchisedec (verses 1-3);
Secondly, the greatness of Christ's priesthood, as evidenced by the superiority of the Melchisedec priesthood over the Levitical priesthood (verses 4-10);
Thirdly, the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood, necessitating a change of priesthood (verse 11);
Fourthly, the change of priesthood makes necessary a change of the law in relation to the earthly priesthood (verses 12-19);
Fifthly, the priesthood of Christ confirmed with an oath (verses 20-22);