Hebrews 9:12

neither "Nor yet."

by the blood of goats and calves "by means of the blood of goats and calves," (this is the order of the words in the best mss.). It is not meant that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were useless, but only that when they were regarded as meritorious in themselvesapart from the faith, and the grace of God, by which they could be blessed to sincere and humble worshippers they could neither purge the conscience, nor give access to God. When the Prophets speak of sacrifices with such stern disparagement they are only denouncing the superstition which regarded the mere opus operatumas sufficient apart from repentance and holiness (Hosea 6:6; Isaiah 1:10-17, &c.).

by his own blood His own blood was the offering by which He was admitted as our High Priestand Eternal Redeemerinto the Holy of Holies of God's immediate presence (Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 5:6).

once "once for all."

into the holy place i.e. into the Holiest, as in Leviticus 16:3; Leviticus 16:9.

eternal redemption i.e. "the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7), and ransom from sinful lives (1 Peter 1:18-19) to the service of God (Revelation 5:9). It should always be borne in mind that the Scriptural metaphors of Ransom and Propitiation describe the Atonement by its blessed effects as regards man. All speculation as to its bearing on the counsels of God, all attempts to frame a scholastic scheme out of metaphors only intended to indicate a transcendent mystery, by its results for ushave led to heresy and error. To whomwas the ransom paid? The question is idle, because "ransom" is only a metaphor of our deliverancefrom slavery. For nearly a thousand years the Church was content with the most erroneous, and almost blasphemous notion that the ransom was paid by God to the devil, which led to still more grievous aberrations. Anselm who exploded this error substituted for it anotherthe hard forensic notion of indispensable satisfaction. Such terms, like those of "substitution," "vicarious punishment," "reconciliation of God to us" (for "of usto God"), have no sanction in Scripture, which only reveals what is necessary for man, and what man can understand, viz. that the love of God in Christ has provided for him a way of escape from ruin, and the forgiveness of sins.

having obtained … for us The "for us" is rightly supplied; but the middle voiceof the verb shews that Christ in His love to us also regarded the redemption as dear to Himself.