@Heb 9:1-28. INFERIORITY OF THE OLD TO THE NEW COVENANT IN THE MEANS OF ACCESS TO GOD: THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS OF NO REAL AVAIL: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST ALL-SUFFICIENT TO PURGE AWAY SIN, WHENCE FLOWS OUR HOPE OF HIS APPEARING AGAIN FOR OUR PERFECT SALVATION.
1. Then verily--Greek, "Accordingly then." Resuming the subject
from @Heb 8:5. In accordance with the command given to Moses, "the
first covenant had," &c.
had--not "has," for as a covenant it no longer existed, though
its rites were observed till the destruction of Jerusalem.
ordinances--of divine right and institution.
service--worship.
a worldly sanctuary--Greek, "its (literally, 'the') sanctuary
worldly," mundane; consisting of the elements of the visible world.
Contrasted with the heavenly sanctuary. Compare @Heb 9:11,12,
"not of this building," @Heb 9:24. Material, outward, perishing
(however precious its materials were), and also defective religiously.
In @Heb 9:2-5, "the worldly sanctuary" is discussed; in
@Heb 9:6, &c., the "ordinances of worship." The outer tabernacle
the Jews believed, signified this world; the Holy of Holies,
heaven. JOSEPHUS calls the outer, divided into two parts, "a secular
and common place," answering to "the earth and sea"; and the inner
holiest place, the third part, appropriated to God and not accessible to
men.
2. Defining "the worldly tabernacle."
a tabernacle--"the tabernacle."
made--built and furnished.
the first--the anterior tabernacle.
candlestick . . . table--typifying light and life
(@Ex 25:31-39). The candlestick consisted
of a shaft and six branches
of gold, seven in all, the bowls made like almonds, with a knop and a
flower in one branch. It was carried in Vespasian's triumph, and the
figure is to be seen on Titus' arch at Rome. The table of shittim
wood, covered with gold, was for the showbread (@Ex 25:23-30).
showbread--literally, "the setting forth of the loaves," that is,
the loaves set forth: "the show of the bread" [ALFORD]. In the outer
holy place: so the Eucharist continues until our entrance into the
heavenly Holy of Holies (@1Co 11:26).
which, &c.--"which (tabernacle) is called the holy place," as
distinguished from "the Holy of Holies."
3. And--Greek, "But."
after--behind; within.
second veil--There were two veils or curtains, one before the Holy
of Holies (catapetasma), here alluded to, the other before the
tabernacle door (calumma).
called--as opposed to "the true."
4. golden censer--The Greek, must not be translated "altar of
incense," for it was not in "the holiest" place "after the second
veil," but in "the holy place"; but as in @2Ch 26:19, and
@Eze 8:11, "censer": so Vulgate and Syriac.
This GOLDEN
censer was only used on the day of atonement (other kinds of censers on
other days), and is therefore associated with the holiest place, as
being taken into it on that anniversary by the high priest. The
expression "which had," does not mean that the golden censer was
deposited there, for in that case the high priest would have had to go
in and bring it out before burning incense in it; but that the golden
censer was one of the articles belonging to, and used for, the
yearly service in the holiest place. He virtually supposes (without
specifying) the existence of the "altar of incense" in the anterior holy
place, by mentioning the golden censer filled with incense from it:
the incense answers to the prayers of the saints; and the altar
though outside the holiest place, is connected with it
(standing close by the second veil, directly before the ark of the covenant),
even as we find an antitypical altar in heaven. The rending of the veil
by Christ has brought the antitypes to the altar, candlestick, and
showbread of the anterior holy place into the holiest place, heaven. In
@1Ki 6:22, Hebrew, "the altar" is said to
belong to the oracle, or holiest place (compare @Ex 30:6).
ark--of shittim wood, that is, acacia. Not in the second temple, but
in its stead was a stone basement (called "the stone of foundation"),
three fingers high.
pot--"golden," added in the Septuagint, and sanctioned by Paul.
manna--an omer, each man's daily portion. In @1Ki 8:9 2Ch 5:10,
it is said there was nothing in the ark of Solomon's temple save the two
stone tables of the law put in by Moses. But the expression that there
was nothing THEN therein save the two tables, leaves the inference to be
drawn that formerly there were the other things mentioned by the Rabbis
and by Paul here, the pot of manna (the memorial of God's providential
care of Israel) and the rod of Aaron, the memorial of the lawful
priesthood (@Nu 17:3,5,7,10). The expressions "before the Lord"
(@Ex 16:32), and "before the testimony" (@Nu 17:10) thus mean,
"IN the ark."
"In," however, may be used here (as the corresponding
Hebrew word) as to things attached to the ark as appendages, as
the book of the law was put "in the side of the ark," and so the
golden jewels offered by the Philistines (@1Sa 6:8).
tables of the covenant--(@De 9:9 10:2).
5. over it--over "the ark of the covenant."
cherubim--representing the ruling powers by which God acts in the
moral and natural world.
(See on Eze 1:6;
Eze 10:1). Hence sometimes they answer to the
ministering angels; but mostly to the elect redeemed, by whom God shall
hereafter rule the world and set forth His manifold wisdom: redeemed
humanity, combining in, and with itself, the highest forms of
subordinate creaturely life; not angels. They stand on the mercy seat,
and on that ground become the habitation of God, from which His
glory is to shine upon the world. They expressly say, @Re 5:8-10,
"Thou hast redeemed us." They are there
distinguished from the angels, and associated with the elders. They
were of one piece with the mercy seat, even as the Church is one with
Christ: their sole standing is on the blood-sprinkled mercy seat; they
gaze down at it as the redeemed shall for ever; they are "the habitation
of God through the Spirit."
of glory--The cherubim were bearers of the divine glory,
whence, perhaps, they derive their name. The Shekinah, or cloud of
glory, in which Jehovah appeared between the cherubim over the mercy
seat, the lid of the ark, is doubtless the reference.
THOLUCK thinks the
twelve loaves of the showbread represent the twelve tribes of the
nation, presented as a community before God consecrated to Him (just
as in the Lord's Supper believers, the spiritual Israel, all partaking
of the one bread, and becoming one bread and one body, present
themselves before the Lord as consecrated to Him, @1Co 10:16,17);
the oil and light, the pure knowledge of the Lord, in which the covenant
people are to shine (the seven (lights), implying perfection); the
ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's kingdom in the old covenant,
and representing God dwelling among His own; the ten commandments in the
ark, the law as the basis of union between God and man; the mercy seat
covering the law and sprinkled with the blood of atonement for the
collective sin of the people, God's mercy [in Christ] stronger than the
law; the cherubim, the personified [redeemed] creation, looking down on
the mercy seat, where God's mercy, and God's law, are set forth as the
basis of creation.
mercy seat--Greek, "the propitiatory": the golden cover of the
ark, on which was sprinkled the blood of the propitiatory sacrifice on
the day of atonement; the footstool of Jehovah, the meeting place of Him
and His people.
we cannot--conveniently: besides what met the eye in the sanctuary,
there were spiritual realities symbolized which it would take too long
to discuss in detail, our chief subject at present being the
priesthood and the sacrifices. "Which" refers not merely to the
cherubim, but to all the contents of the sanctuary enumerated in
@Heb 9:2-5.
6. The use made of the sanctuary so furnished by the high priest on
the anniversary of atonement.
ordained--arranged.
always--twice at the least every day, for the morning and evening
care of the lamps, and offering of incense (@Ex 30:7,8).
went--Greek, "enter": present tense.
7. once every year--the tenth day of the seventh month. He entered
within the veil on that day twice at least. Thus "once" means here
on the one occasion only. The two, or possibly more, entrances on
that one day were regarded as parts of the one whole.
not without blood--(@Heb 8:3).
offered--Greek, "offers."
errors--Greek, "ignorances": "inadvertent errors." They might
have known, as the law was clearly promulged, and they were bound to
study it; so that their ignorance was culpable (compare
@Ac 3:17 Eph 4:18 1Pe 1:14). Though one's ignorance may mitigate
one's punishment (@Lu 12:48), it does not wholly exempt from
punishment.
8. The Holy Ghost--Moses himself did not comprehend the typical
meaning (@1Pe 1:11,12).
signifying--by the typical exclusion of all from the holiest, save
the high priest once a year.
the holiest of all--heaven, the antitype.
the first tabernacle--the anterior tabernacle, representative of the
whole Levitical system. While it (the first tabernacle, and that
which represents the Levitical system) as yet "has a standing"
(so the Greek, that is, "has continuance": "lasts"),
the way to heaven (the antitypical "holiest place")
is not yet made manifest (compare @Heb 10:19,20). The Old
Testament economy is represented by the holy place, the New Testament
economy by the Holy of Holies. Redemption, by Christ, has opened the
Holy of Holies (access to heaven by faith now,
@Heb 4:16 7:19,25 10:19,22; by sight hereafter,
@Isa 33:24 Re 11:19 21:2,3) to all mankind. The Greek for "not
yet" (me po) refers to the mind of the Spirit: the Spirit intimating
that men should not think the way was yet opened
[TITTMANN]. The
Greek negative, "ou po," would deny the fact objectively;
"me po" denies the thing subjectively.
9. Which--"The which," namely, anterior tabernacle:
"as being that which was" [ALFORD].
figure--Greek, "parable":
a parabolic setting forth of the character of the Old Testament.
for--"in reference to the existing time."
The time of the temple-worship really belonged to the Old Testament,
but continued still in Paul's time and that of his Hebrew readers. "The
time of reformation" (@Heb 9:10) stands in contrast to this,
"the existing time"; though, in reality, "the time of reformation," the
New Testament time, was now present and existing. So "the age
to come," is the phrase applied to the Gospel, because it was
present only to believers, and its fulness even to them is still
to come. Compare @Heb 9:11, "good things to come."
in which--tabernacle, not time, according to the reading of
the oldest manuscripts. Or translate, "according to which"
parabolic representation, or figure.
were--Greek, "are."
gifts--unbloody oblations.
could not--Greek, "cannot": are not able.
him that did the service--any worshipper. The Greek is
"latreuein," serve God, which is all men's duty; not
"leitourgein," to serve in a ministerial office.
make . . . perfect--perfectly remove the sense of guilt, and
sanctify inwardly through love.
as pertaining to the conscience--"in respect to the
(moral-religious) consciousness." They can only reach as far as the
outward flesh (compare "carnal ordinances,"
@Heb 9:10,13,14).
10. Which--sacrifices.
stood--consisted in
[ALFORD]; or, "have attached to them" only
things which appertain to the use of foods, &c. The rites of meats,
&c., go side by side with the sacrifices
[THOLUCK and
WAHL]; compare @Col 2:16.
drinks--(@Le 10:9 11:4). Usage subsequently to the law added many
observances as to meats and drinks.
washings--(@Ex 29:4).
and carnal ordinances--One oldest manuscript, Syriac and
Coptic, omit "and." "Carnal ordinances" stand in apposition to
"sacrifices" (@Heb 9:9). Carnal
(outward, affecting only the flesh) is opposed to spiritual.
Contrast "flesh" with "conscience" (@Heb 9:13,14).
imposed--as a burden (@Ac 15:10,28) continually pressing heavy.
until the time of reformation--Greek, "the season of
rectification," when the reality should supersede the type
(@Heb 8:8-12). Compare "better," @Heb 9:23.
11. But--in contrast to "could not make . . . perfect"
(@Heb 9:9).
Christ--The Messiah, of whom all the prophets foretold; not "Jesus"
here. From whom the "reformation" (@Heb 9:10), or rectification,
emanates, which frees from the yoke of carnal ordinances, and which is
being realized gradually now, and shall be perfectly in the consummation
of "the age (world) to come." "Christ . . . High Priest," exactly
answers to @Le 4:5, "the priest that is anointed."
being come an, &c.--rather, "having come forward (compare
@Heb 10:7, a different Greek word, picturesquely presenting Him
before us) as High Priest." The Levitical priests must therefore
retire. Just as on the day of atonement, no work was done, no sacrifice
was offered, or priest was allowed to be in the tabernacle while the
high priest went into the holiest place to make atonement
(@Le 16:17,29). So not our righteousness, nor any other priest's
sacrifice, but Christ alone atones; and as the high priest before
offering incense had on common garments of a priest, but after it wore
his holy garments of "glory and beauty" (@Ex 28:2,40) in entering
the holiest, so Christ entered the heavenly holiest in His glorified
body.
good things to come--Greek, "the good things to come,"
@Heb 10:1; "better promises," (@Heb 8:6; the "eternal inheritance,"
@Heb 9:15 1Pe 1:4; the "things hoped for," @Heb 11:1).
by a . . . tabernacle--joined with "He entered." Translate,
"Through the . . . tabernacle" (of which we know)
[ALFORD]. As the
Jewish high priest passed through the anterior tabernacle into the
holiest place, so Christ passed through heaven into the inner abode
of the unseen and unapproachable God. Thus, "the tabernacle" here is the
heavens through which He passed
(see on Heb 4:14). But
"the tabernacle" is also the glorified body of Christ
(see on Heb 8:2), "not
of this building" (not of the mere
natural "creation, but of the spiritual and heavenly,
the new creation"), the Head of the mystical body, the Church.
Through this glorified body He passes into the heavenly holiest
place (@Heb 9:24), the immaterial, unapproachable presence of God,
where He intercedes for us. His glorified body, as the meeting place
of God and all Christ's redeemed, and the angels, answers to
the heavens through which He passed, and passes. His body is
opposed to the tabernacle, as His blood to the blood of goats, &c.
greater--as contrasted with the small dimensions of the earthly
anterior tabernacle.
more perfect--effective in giving pardon, peace, sanctification, and
access to closest communion with God (compare @Heb 9:9 Heb 10:1).
not made with hands--but by the Lord Himself (@Heb 8:2).
12. Neither--"Nor yet."
by--"through"; as the means of His approach.
goats . . . calves--not a bullock, such as the Levitical high priest
offered for himself, and a goat for the people, on the day of atonement
(@Le 16:6,15), year by year, whence the plural is used,
goats . . . calves. Besides the goat offered for the people the blood
of which was sprinkled before the mercy seat, the high priest led forth
a second goat, namely, the scapegoat; over it he confessed the people's
sins, putting them on the head of the goat, which was sent as the
sin-bearer into the wilderness out of sight, implying that the atonement
effected by the goat sin offering (of which the ceremony of the
scapegoat is a part, and not distinct from the sin offering) consisted
in the transfer of the people's sins on the goat, and their consequent
removal out of sight. The translation of sins on the victim usual in
other expiatory sacrifices being omitted in the case of the slain goat,
but employed in the case of the goat sent away, proved the two goats
were regarded as one offering [ARCHBISHOP
MAGEE]. Christ's death is
symbolized by the slain goat; His resurrection to life by the living
goat sent away. Modern Jews substitute in some places a cock for the
goat as an expiation, the sins of the offerers being transferred to the
entrails, and exposed on the housetop for the birds to carry out of
sight, as the scapegoat did; the Hebrew for "man" and "cock" being
similar, gebher [BUXTORF].
by--"through," as the means of His entrance; the key unlocking the
heavenly Holy of Holies to Him. The Greek is forcible, "through THE
blood of His own" (compare @Heb 9:23).
once--"once for all."
having obtained--having thereby obtained; literally, "found for
Himself," as a thing of insuperable difficulty to all save Divine
Omnipotence, self-devoting zeal, and love, to find. The access of Christ
to the Father was arduous (@Heb 5:7). None before had trodden the path.
eternal--The entrance of our Redeemer, once for all, into the
heavenly holiest place, secures eternal redemption to us; whereas
the Jewish high priest's entrance was repeated year by year, and the
effect temporary and partial, "On redemption," compare
@Mt 20:28 Eph 1:7 Col 1:14 1Ti 2:5 Tit 2:14 1Pe 1:19.
@Heb 9:13-28. PROOF OF AND ENLARGEMENT ON, THE "ETERNAL REDEMPTION" MENTIONED IN @Heb 9:12.
For His blood, offered by Himself, purifies not only outwardly, as the Levitical sacrifices on the day of atonement, but inwardly unto the service of the living God (@Heb 9:13,14). His death is the inaugurating act of the new covenant, and of the heavenly sanctuary (@Heb 9:15-23). His entrance into the true Holy of Holies is the consummation of His once-for-all-offered sacrifice of atonement (@Heb 9:24,26); henceforth, His reappearance alone remains to complete our redemption (@Heb 9:27,28).
13. if--as we know is the case; so the Greek indicative means.
Argument from the less to the greater. If the blood of mere brutes could
purify in any, however small a degree, how much more shall inward
purification, and complete and eternal salvation, be wrought by the
blood of Christ, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead?
ashes of an heifer--(@Nu 19:16-18). The type is full of comfort for
us. The water of separation, made of the ashes of the red heifer, was
the provision for removing ceremonial defilement whenever incurred
by contact with the dead. As she was slain without the camp, so
Christ (compare @Heb 13:11 Nu 19:3,4). The ashes were laid by for
constant use; so the continually cleansing effects of Christ's blood,
once for all shed. In our wilderness journey we are continually
contracting defilement by contact with the spiritually dead, and with
dead works, and need therefore continual application to the antitypical
life-giving cleansing blood of Christ, whereby we are afresh restored to
peace and living communion with God in the heavenly holy place.
the unclean--Greek, "those defiled" on any particular occasion.
purifying--Greek, "purity."
the flesh--Their effect in themselves extended no further. The law
had a carnal and a spiritual aspect; carnal, as an instrument of the
Hebrew polity, God, their King, accepting, in minor offenses, expiatory
victims instead of the sinner, otherwise doomed to death; spiritual, as
the shadow of good things to come (@Heb 10:1). The spiritual
Israelite derived, in partaking of these legal rights, spiritual
blessings not flowing from them, but from the great antitype.
Ceremonial sacrifices released from temporal penalties and
ceremonial disqualifications; Christ's sacrifice releases from
everlasting penalties (@Heb 9:12), and
moral impurities on the conscience disqualifying from access to God
(@Heb 9:14). The purification of the flesh (the mere outward man)
was by "sprinkling"; the washing followed by inseparable connection
(@Nu 19:19). So justification is followed by
renewing.
14. offered himself--The voluntary nature of the offering gives it
especial efficacy. He "through the eternal Spirit," that is, His divine
Spirit (@Ro 1:4, in contrast to His "flesh," @Heb 9:3;
His Godhead, @1Ti 3:16 1Pe 3:18), "His inner personality"
[ALFORD],
which gave a free consent to the act, offered Himself. The animals
offered had no spirit or will to consent in the act of sacrifice; they
were offered according to the law; they had a life neither enduring,
nor of any intrinsic efficacy. But He from eternity, with
His divine and everlasting Spirit, concurred with the Father's will
of redemption by Him. His offering began on the altar of the cross, and
was completed in His entering the holiest place with His blood. The
eternity and infinitude of His divine Spirit (compare @Heb 7:16)
gives eternal ("eternal redemption," @Heb 9:12, also compare
@Heb 9:15) and infinite merit to His offering, so that not even the
infinite justice of God has any exception to take against it. It was
"through His most burning love, flowing from His eternal Spirit," that
He offered Himself [OECOLAMPADIUS].
without spot--The animal victims had to be without outward blemish;
Christ on the cross was a victim inwardly and
essentially stainless (@1Pe 1:19).
purge--purify from fear, guilt, alienation from Him, and selfishness,
the source of dead works (@Heb 9:22,23).
your--The oldest manuscripts read "our." The Vulgate, however,
supports English Version reading.
conscience--moral religious consciousness.
dead works--All works done in the natural state, which is a state of
sin, are dead; for they come not from living faith in, and love to,
"the living God" (@Heb 11:6). As contact with a dead body
defiled ceremonially (compare the allusion, "ashes of an heifer,"
@Heb 9:13), so dead works defile the inner consciousness spiritually.
to serve--so as to serve. The ceremonially unclean could not
serve God in the outward communion of His people; so the unrenewed
cannot serve God in spiritual communion. Man's works before
justification, however lifelike they look, are dead, and cannot
therefore be accepted before the living God. To have offered a dead
animal to God would have been an insult (compare @Mal 1:8); much
more for a man not justified by Christ's blood to offer dead works. But
those purified by Christ's blood in living faith do serve
(@Ro 12:1), and shall more fully serve God (@Re 22:3).
living God--therefore requiring living spiritual service
(@Joh 4:24).
15. for this cause--Because of the all-cleansing power of His blood,
this fits Him to be Mediator (@Heb 8:6, ensuring to both parties,
God and us, the ratification) of the new covenant, which secures both
forgiveness for the sins not covered by the former imperfect covenant or
testament, and also an eternal inheritance to the called.
by means of death--rather, as Greek, "death having taken place."
At the moment that His death took place, the necessary effect is, "the
called receive the (fulfilment of the) promise"
(so @Lu 24:49 uses "promise"; @Heb 6:15 Ac 1:4);
that moment divides the Old from the
New Testament. The "called" are the elect "heirs," "partakers of the
heavenly calling" (@Heb 3:1).
redemption of . . . transgressions . . . under . . . first
testament--the transgressions of all men from Adam to Christ,
first against the primitive revelation, then against the revelations to
the patriarchs, then against the law given to Israel, the representative
people of the world. The "first testament" thus includes the whole
period from Adam to Christ, and not merely that of the covenant with
Israel, which was a concentrated representation of
the covenant made with (or the first testament given to)
mankind by sacrifice, down from the fall to redemption. Before the
inheritance by the New Testament (for here the idea of the
"INHERITANCE,"
following as the result of Christ's "death," being
introduced, requires the Greek to be translated "testament," as it
was before covenant) could come in, there must be redemption of
(that is, deliverance from the penalties incurred by) the
transgressions committed under the first testament, for the
propitiatory sacrifices under the first testament reached only as far as
removing outward ceremonial defilement. But in order to obtain the
inheritance which is a reality, there must be a real propitiation, since
God could not enter into covenant relation with us so long as past sins
were unexpiated; @Ro 3:24,25, "a propitiation . . . His
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."
might--Greek, "may receive," which previously they could not
(@Heb 11:39,40).
the promise--to Abraham.
16. A general axiomatic truth; it is "a testament"; not
the testament. The testator must die before his testament takes
effect (@Heb 9:17). This is a common meaning of the Greek noun
diathece. So in @Lu 22:29, "I appoint (by testamentary
disposition; the cognate Greek verb diatithemai) unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." The need of death before
the testamentary appointment takes effect, holds good in Christ's
relation as MAN to us; Of course not in God's relation to Christ.
be--literally, be borne": "be involved in the case"; be inferred;
or else, "be brought forward in court," so as to give effect to the
will. This sense (testament) of the Greek "diathece" here
does not exclude its other secondary senses in the other passages of the
New Testament: (1) a covenant between two parties; (2) an
arrangement, or disposition, made by God alone in relation to us.
Thus, @Mt 26:28 may be translated, "Blood of the covenant"; for
a testament does not require blood shedding. Compare @Ex 24:8
(covenant), which Christ quotes, though it is probable He included
in a sense "testament" also under the Greek word diathece
(comprehending both meanings, "covenant" and "testament"), as this
designation strictly and properly applies to the new dispensation, and
is rightly applicable to the old also, not in itself, but when viewed as
typifying the new, which is properly a testament. Moses (@Ex 24:8)
speaks of the same thing as [Christ and] Paul. Moses, by the term
"covenant," does not mean aught save one concerning giving the heavenly
inheritance typified by Canaan after the death of the Testator,
which he represented by the sprinkling of blood. And Paul, by the term
"testament," does not mean aught save one having conditions attached
to it, one which is at the same time a covenant
[POLI, Synopsis];
the conditions are fulfilled by Christ, not by us, except that we must
believe, but even this God works in His people.
THOLUCK explains,
as elsewhere, "covenant . . . covenant . . . mediating victim"; the
masculine is used of the victim personified, and regarded as
mediator of the covenant; especially as in the new covenant a
MAN
(Christ) took the place of the victim. The covenanting parties used to
pass between the divided parts of the sacrificed animals; but, without
reference to this rite, the need of a sacrifice for establishing a
covenant sufficiently explains this verse. Others, also, explaining the
Greek as "covenant," consider that the death of the sacrificial
victim represented in all covenants the death of both parties as
unalterably bound to the covenant. So in the redemption-covenant,
the death of Jesus symbolized the death of God (?) in the person of the
mediating victim, and the death of man in the same. But the expression
is not "there must be the death of both parties making the
covenant," but singular, "of Him who made (aorist, past
time; not 'of Him making') the testament." Also, it is "death," not
"sacrifice" or "slaying." Plainly, the death is supposed to be past
(aorist, "made"); and the fact of the death is brought (Greek)
before court to give effect to the will. These requisites of a will, or
testament. concur here: (1) a testator; (2) heirs; (3) goods; (4) the
death of the testator; (5) the fact of the death brought forward in
court. In @Mt 26:28 two other requisites appear: witnesses, the
disciples; and a seal, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the sign
of His blood wherewith the testament is primarily sealed. It is true
the heir is ordinarily the successor of him who dies and so
ceases to have the possession. But in this case Christ comes to life
again, and is Himself (including all that He hath), in the power of His
now endless life, His people's inheritance; in His being Heir
(@Heb 1:2), they are heirs.
17. after--literally, "over," as we say "upon the death of the
testators"; not as THOLUCK, "on the condition that slain sacrifices be
there," which the Greek hardly sanctions.
otherwise--"seeing that it is never availing" [ALFORD].
BENGEL and
LACHMANN read with an interrogation, "Since, is it ever in force (surely
not) while the testator liveth?"
18. Whereupon--rather, "Whence."
dedicated--"inaugurated." The Old Testament strictly and formally
began on that day of inauguration. "Where the disposition, or
arrangement, is ratified by the blood of another, namely, of animals,
which cannot make a covenant, much less make a testament, it is
not strictly a testament, where it is ratified by the death of him
that makes the arrangement, it is strictly, Greek 'diathece,'
Hebrew 'berith,' taken in a wider sense, a testament"
[BENGEL]; thus, in @Heb 9:18, referring to the old dispensation, we
may translate, "the first (covenant)": or better, retain "the first
(testament)," not that the old dispensation, regarded by itself,
is a testament, but it is so when regarded as the
typical representative of the new, which is strictly a Testament.
19. For--confirming the general truth, @Heb 9:16.
spoken . . . according to the law--strictly adhering to every direction
of "the law of commandments contained in ordinances" (@Eph 2:15).
Compare @Ex 24:3, "Moses told the people
all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments; and
all the people answered with one voice," &c.
the blood of calves--Greek, "the calves," namely, those sacrificed
by the "young men" whom he sent to do so (@Ex 24:5). The "peace
offerings" there mentioned were "of oxen" (Septuagint, "little
calves"), and the "burnt offerings" were probably
(though this is not specified), as on the day of atonement,
goats. The law in Exodus
sanctioned formally many sacrificial practices in use by tradition, from
the primitive revelation long before.
with water--prescribed, though not in the twenty-fourth chapter of
Exodus, yet in other purifications; for example, of the leper, and the
water of separation which contained the ashes of the red heifer.
scarlet wool, and hyssop--ordinarily used for purification.
Scarlet or crimson, resembling blood:
it was thought to be a peculiarly
deep, fast dye, whence it typified sin
(see on Isa 1:18). So
Jesus wore a scarlet robe, the emblem of the deep-dyed sins He bore
on Him, though He had none in Him. Wool was used as imbibing and
retaining water; the hyssop, as a bushy, tufty plant (wrapt round with
the scarlet wool), was used for sprinkling it. The wool was also a
symbol of purity (@Isa 1:18). The Hyssopus officinalis grows on
walls, with small lancet-formed woolly leaves, an inch long, with blue
and white flowers, and a knotty stalk about a foot high.
sprinkled . . . the book--namely, out of which he had read "every
precept": the book of the testament or covenant. This sprinkling of the
book is not mentioned in the twenty-fourth chapter of Exodus. Hence
BENGEL translates, "And (having taken) the book itself (so @Ex 24:7),
he both sprinkled all the people, and (@Heb 9:21) moreover sprinkled
the tabernacle." But the Greek supports English Version. Paul,
by inspiration, supplies the particular specified here, not in
@Ex 24:7. The sprinkling of the roll (so the Greek for
"book") of the covenant, or testament, as well as of the people, implies
that neither can the law be fulfilled, nor the people be purged from
their sins, save by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ (@1Pe 1:2).
Compare @Heb 9:23, which shows that there is something antitypical
to the Bible in heaven itself (compare @Re 20:12). The Greek, "itself," distinguishes the book itself
from the "precepts" in it
which he "spake."
20. @Ex 24:8, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which
the Lord has made with you concerning all these words." The change
is here made to accord with Christ's inauguration of the new testament,
or covenant, as recorded in @Lu 22:20, "This cup (is) the new
Testament in My blood, which is shed for you": the only Gospel in which
the "is" has to be supplied. Luke was Paul's companion, which
accounts for the correspondence, as here too "is" has to be supplied.
testament--(See on Heb 9:16,17).
The Greek "diathece" means both
"testament" and "covenant": the term "covenant" better suits the old
dispensation, though the idea testament is included, for the old was
one in its typical relation to the new dispensation, to which the term
"testament" is better suited. Christ has sealed the testament with His
blood, of which the Lord's Supper is the sacramental sign. The
testator was represented by the animals slain in the old dispensation.
In both dispensations the inheritance was bequeathed: in the new by One
who has come in person and died; in the old by the same one, only
typically and ceremonially present. See ALFORD'S excellent Note.
enjoined unto you--commissioned me to ratify
in relation to you. In the old dispensation the condition to be
fulfilled on the people's part is implied in the words, @Ex 24:8,
"(Lord made with you) concerning all these words." But here Paul
omits this clause, as he includes the fulfilment of this condition of
obedience to "all these words" in the new covenant, as part of God's
promise, in @Heb 8:8,10,12, whereby Christ fulfils all for our
justification, and will enable us by putting His Spirit in us to fulfil
all in our now progressive, and finally complete, sanctification.
21. Greek, "And, moreover, in like manner." The sprinkling of the tabernacle with blood is added by inspiration here to the account in @Ex 30:25-30 40:9,10, which mentions only Moses' anointing the tabernacle and its vessels. In @Le 8:10,15,30, the sprinkling of blood upon Aaron and his garments. and upon his sons, and upon the altar, is mentioned as well as the anointing, so that we might naturally infer, as JOSEPHUS has distinctly stated, that the tabernacle and its vessels were sprinkled with blood as well as being anointed: @Le 16:16,20,33, virtually sanctions this inference. The tabernacle and its contents needed purification (@2Ch 29:21).
22. almost--to be joined with "all things," namely
almost all things under the old dispensation. The exceptions to
all things being purified by blood are, @Ex 19:10 Le 15:5, &c.,
@Le 16:26,28 22:6 Nu 31:22-24.
without--Greek, "apart from."
shedding of blood--shed in the slaughter of the victim, and
poured out at the altar subsequently. The
pouring out of the blood on the altar is the main part of the
sacrifice (@Le 17:11), and it could not have place apart from the
previous shedding of the blood in the slaying. Paul has, perhaps, in
mind here, @Lu 22:20, "This cup is the new testament in my blood,
which is shed for you."
is--Greek, "takes place": comes to pass.
remission--of sins: a favorite expression of Luke, Paul's companion.
Properly used of remitting a debt (@Mt 6:12 18:27,32); our sins are
debts. On the truth here, compare @Le 5:11-13, an exception because
of poverty, confirming the general rule.
23. patterns--"the suggestive representations"; the typical copies
(see on Heb 8:5).
things in the heavens--the heavenly tabernacle and the things therein.
purified with these--with the blood of bulls and goats.
heavenly things themselves--the archetypes. Man's sin had introduced
an element of disorder into the relations of God and His holy angels in
respect to man. The purification removes this element of disorder
and changes God's wrath against man in heaven (designed to be the place
of God's revealing His grace to men and angels) into a smile of
reconciliation. Compare "peace in heaven" (@Lu 19:38). "The uncreated
heaven of God, though in itself Untroubled light, yet needed a
purification in so far as the light of love was obscured by the fire of
wrath against sinful man" [DELITZSCH in
ALFORD]. Contrast @Re 12:7-10.
Christ's atonement had the effect also of casting Satan out of heaven
(@Lu 10:18 Joh 12:31, compare @Heb 2:14). Christ's body, the
true tabernacle
(see on Heb 8:2;
Heb 9:11), as bearing our imputed sin
(@2Co 5:21). was consecrated (@Joh 17:17,19) and purified by the
shedding of His blood to be the meeting place of God and man.
sacrifices--The plural is used in expressing the general proposition,
though strictly referring to the one sacrifice of Christ once for
all. Paul implies that His one sacrifice, by its matchless excellency,
is equivalent to the Levitical many sacrifices. It, though but one, is
manifold in its effects and applicability to many.
24. Resumption more fully of the thought, "He entered in once into
the holy place," @Heb 9:12. He has in @Heb 9:13,14, expanded
the words "by his own blood," @Heb 9:12; and in @Heb 9:15-23, he
has enlarged on "an High Priest of good things to come."
not . . . into . . . holy places made with hands--as was the Holy of
Holies in the earthly tabernacle
(see on Heb 9:11).
figures--copies "of the true" holiest place, heaven, the original
archetype (@Heb 8:5).
into heaven itself--the immediate presence of the invisible God
beyond all the created heavens, through which latter Jesus passed
(see on Heb 4:14;
1Ti 6:16).
now--ever since His ascension in the present economy (compare
@Heb 9:26).
to appear--To PRESENT
HIMSELF; Greek, "to be made to appear."
Mere man may have a vision through a medium, or veil, as Moses had
(@Ex 33:18,20-23). Christ alone beholds the Father without a veil,
and is His perfect image. Through seeing HIM
only can we see the Father.
in the presence of God--Greek, "to the face of God." The
saints shall hereafter see God's face in Christ (@Re 22:4): the
earnest of which is now given (@2Co 3:18). Aaron, the Levitical high
priest for the people, stood before the ark and only saw the
cloud, the symbol of God's glory (@Ex 28:30).
for us--in our behalf as our Advocate and Intercessor
(@Heb 7:25 Ro 8:34 1Jo 2:1). "It is enough that Jesus should
show Himself for us to the Father: the sight of Jesus satisfied God
in our behalf. He brings before the face of God no offering which has
exhausted itself, and, as only sufficing for a time, needs renewal; but
He himself is in person, by virtue of the eternal Spirit, that is, the
imperishable life of His person, now and for ever freed from death, our
eternally present offering before God" [DELITZSCH in
ALFORD].
25. As in @Heb 9:24, Paul said, it was not into the typical, but
the true sanctuary, that Christ is entered; so now he says, that His
sacrifice needs not, as the Levitical sacrifices did, to be repeated.
Construe, "Nor yet did He enter for this purpose
that He may offer Himself often," that is,
"present Himself in the presence of God, as the high priest does
(Paul uses the present tense, as the legal service was then
existing), year by year, on the day of atonement, entering the Holy of
Holies.
with--literally, "in."
blood of others--not his own, as Christ did.
26. then--in that case.
must . . . have suffered--rather as Greek, "It would have been
necessary for Him often to suffer." In order to "offer" (@Heb 9:25),
or present Himself often before God in the heavenly holiest place, like
the legal high priests making fresh renewals of this high priestly
function. He would have had, and would have often to suffer. His
oblation of Himself before God was once for all (that is, the bringing
in of His blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies), and therefore the
preliminary suffering was once for all.
since the foundation of the world--The continued sins of men, from
their first creation, would entail a continual suffering on earth, and
consequent oblation of His blood in the heavenly holiest place,
since the foundation of the world, if the one oblation "in the
fulness of time" were not sufficient. PHILO
[The Creation of the World, p. 637], shows that the high priest of
the Hebrews offered sacrifices
for the whole human race. "If there had been greater efficacy in the
repetition of the oblation, Christ necessarily would not have been so
long promised, but would have been sent immediately after the foundation
of the world to suffer, and offer Himself at successive periods"
[GROTIUS].
now--as the case is,
once--for all; without need of renewal. Rome's fiction of an
UNBLOODY
sacrifice in the mass, contradicts her assertion that the blood of
Christ is present in the wine; and also confutes her assertion that the
mass is propitiatory; for, if unbloody, it cannot be propitiatory;
for without shedding of blood there is no remission
(@Heb 9:22).
Moreover, the expression "once" for all here, and in @Heb 9:28, and
@Heb 10:10,12, proves the falsity of her view that there is a
continually repeated offering of Christ in the Eucharist or mass. The
offering of Christ was a thing once done that it might be thought of for
ever (compare Note,
see on Heb 10:12).
in the end of the world--Greek, "at the consummation of the ages";
the winding up of all the previous ages from the foundation of the
world; to be followed by a new age (@Heb 1:1,2). The last age,
beyond which no further age is to be expected before Christ's speedy
second coming, which is the complement of the first coming; literally,
"the ends of the ages"; @Mt 28:20 is literally, "the consummation of
the age," or world (singular; not as here, plural, ages).
Compare "the fulness of times," @Eph 1:10.
appeared--Greek, "been manifested" on earth
(@1Ti 3:16 1Pe 1:20). English Version has confounded three distinct
Greek verbs, by translating all alike, @Heb 9:24,26,28, "appear."
But, in @Heb 9:24, it is "to present Himself," namely,
before God in the heavenly sanctuary; in @Heb 9:26, "been
manifested" on earth. in @Heb 9:28, "shall be seen" by all, and
especially believers.
put away--abolish; doing away sin's power as well by delivering men
from its guilt and penalty, so that it should be powerless to condemn
men, as also from its yoke, so that they shall at last sin no more.
sin--singular number; all the sins of men of every age are regarded
as one mass laid on Christ. He hath not only droned for all
actual sins, but destroyed sin itself. @Joh 1:29, "Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin (not merely the sins: singular, not plural) of the world."
by the sacrifice of himself--Greek, "by (through) His own
sacrifice"; not by "blood of others" (@Heb 9:25).
ALFORD loses this contrast in translating, "by His sacrifice."
27. as--inasmuch as.
it is appointed--Greek, "it is laid up (as our appointed
lot)," @Col 1:5. The word "appointed"
(so Hebrew "seth" means)
in the case of man, answers to "anointed" in the case of Jesus;
therefore "the Christ," that is, the anointed, is the title here
given designedly. He is the representative man; and there is a strict
correspondence between the history of man and that of
the Son of man. The two most solemn facts of our being are here
connected with the two most gracious truths of our dispensation, our
death and judgment answering in parallelism to Christ's first coming to
die for us, and His second coming to consummate our salvation.
once--and no more.
after this the judgment--namely, at Christ's appearing, to which, in
@Heb 9:28, "judgment" in this verse is parallel. Not, "after this
comes the heavenly glory." The intermediate state is a state of joyous,
or else agonizing and fearful, expectation of "judgment"; after the
judgment comes the full and final state of joy, or else woe.
28. Christ--Greek, "THE Christ"; the representative
MAN; representing all men, as the first Adam did.
once offered--not "often," @Heb 9:25; just as "men," of whom He
is the representative Head, are appointed by God once to die. He did
not need to die again and again for each individual, or each successive
generation of men, for He represents all men of every age, and
therefore needed to die but once for all, so as to exhaust the penalty
of death incurred by all. He was offered by the Father, His own "eternal
Spirit" (@Heb 9:14) concurring; as Abraham spared not Isaac, but
offered him, the son himself unresistingly submitting to the father's
will (@Ge 22:1-24).
to bear the sins--referring to @Isa 53:12, "He bare the sins of
many," namely, on Himself; so "bear" means,
@Le 24:15 Nu 5:31 14:34. The Greek is literally "to bear up"
(@1Pe 2:24). "Our sins were laid on Him. When, therefore, He was
lifted up on the cross, He bare up our sins along with Him"
[BENGEL].
many--not opposed to all, but to few. He, the One, was
offered for many; and that once for all (compare @Mt 20:28).
look for him--with waiting expectation even unto the end (so the
Greek). It is translated "wait for" in @Ro 8:19,23 1Co 1:7,
which see.
appear--rather, as Greek, "be seen." No longer in the alien "form
of a servant," but in His own proper glory.
without sin--apart from, separate from, sin. Not bearing the sin of
many on Him as at His first coming (even then there was no sin
in Him). That sin has been at His first coming once for all taken away, so
as to need no repetition of His sin offering of Himself (@Heb 9:26).
At His second coming He shall have no more to do with sin.
unto salvation--to bring in completed salvation; redeeming then the
body which is as yet subject to the bondage of corruption. Hence, in
@Php 3:20 he says, "we look for THE
SAVIOUR." Note, Christ's
prophetical office, as the divine Teacher, was especially
exercised during His earthly ministry; His priestly is now from His
first to His second coming; His kingly office shall be fully
manifested at, and after, His second coming.