Hebrews 10:1-39

How can I get to heaven?

Hebrews

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 10

A new *sacrifice and way to life 10:1-39

The law was a shadow of things to come 10:1-4

v1 The law of Moses provides only a poor copy of the good things that are coming, not the real things themselves. Year after year the priests had to offer the same sacrifices for *sin. These sacrifices could never make people fit to approach God. v2 If they could have done so, the priests would have stopped offering them. Such sacrifices would have made the people clean once for all from their *sins. Then people would no longer have felt guilty about their *sins. v3 As it is, those sacrifices reminded people year after year that they still had their *sins. v4 But it is not possible for the blood of goats or young cows to take away *sins.

Verse 1 The ‘law’ here means the whole of the old religion of the *Jews. That was no more than a shadow of the real religion that was to come. This is not to say that the old religion was of no value. In all its parts it pointed to what was to come. By it the people could understand that God was holy. It told them that people could not come to a holy God with their *sins. There were sacrifices offered for *sins, but these could not take them away. They could not make people clean in the sight of God. People still could not come directly to God by means of the *sacrifice of animals.

Verse 2 If a sacrificing of animals could have removed *sins, no other *sacrifice would have been necessary. The fact also that there were so many sacrifices shows that they were not sufficient. They could not remove *sins or free the conscience from guilty feelings.

Verses 3-4 Sacrifices during the year were a constant reminder to people of their *sins. The Bible often tell us to ‘remember’. The word means more than ‘call to mind’. It also means to take some action as a result. Sacrifices were to remind people not only to ask God to forgive their *sins. They also reminded people to *repent, that is, to turn away from *sins and to turn back to God. But the blood of goats or young cows could never do these things. Animals are different from *humans. Only the blood of a person would be sufficient. That person must have no *sin of his own. That is why Jesus came to die for us. He is the only person who has ever lived without *sin.

The only *sacrifice for *sins 10:5-18

v5 So when Jesus Christ came into the world, he said to God his Father, “You did not want sacrifices and gifts. Instead you prepared a body for me. v6 The burnt animals and the offerings for *sins did not please you’. v7 Then I said, ‘See, I have come to do what you, God, want me to do. This is what the book of the law says about me’ ” (Psalms 40:6-8). v8 First Jesus Christ said, ‘You did not want sacrifices and offerings for *sins. The law of Moses required them, but they did not please you’. v9 Then he said, ‘Here I am, and I have come to do what you want’. He takes away the first, so that he may bring in the second. v10 God wants to make us holy. Jesus Christ has done this for us. He did it by giving his body, once for all time, as the perfect *sacrifice on our behalf.

v11 Day after day the priests stand and do their duty. Again and again they offer the same gifts that can never take away *sins. v12 But this priest, Jesus Christ, offered one *sacrifice, and it is good for all time. When Jesus had made it, he sat down at God’s right hand. v13 Since that time he waits for God to put all his enemies under him. v14 By his one *sacrifice Jesus has made perfect for always those whom God is making holy. v15 The Holy Spirit tells us about this as well. First he says: v16 ‘This is the agreement that I will make with them after that time, says the *Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds’ (Jeremiah 31:33). v17 Then he says: ‘I will never again remember their *sins and the times when they did not obey my law’ (Jeremiah 31:34). v18 Where God has forgiven *sins, there is no more need for a *sacrifice for *sins.

Verses 5-7 The old law of Moses was not able to deal with the problem of *sin. So Jesus came to be the answer to that problem. The writer shows Jesus speaking to God, in the words of Psalms 40:6-8.

The Psalm says that God did not want sacrifices and gifts. Burnt animals and gifts for *sin did not please him. We need to understand what this means. It was God who gave the law of Moses to his people. Sacrifices and gifts were a part of that law. What God wanted was hearts that obeyed him. The first command is that we should love God (Deuteronomy 6:5). He was looking for those who would obey the law, because they loved him. He did not want acts of religion, without a change of heart and mind.

God made a body for Jesus to live in on earth. To take away our *sins there had to be the *sacrifice of the body of a person. No animal was suitable for this purpose. The body, which means the whole person, had to be perfect. Jesus was that perfect person and he died for our *sins.

The old law with its gifts and sacrifices had failed to please God. It could not do what he wanted. Jesus came to do the work of God. That work was to pay the price for *sin, so that God could forgive us.

Verses 8-9 God did not want the offering of gifts and sacrifices of the law. It is true that they were part of the old agreement. But they did not please him. God made a new agreement. By it, Jesus came to be the one perfect *sacrifice that would please God. When Jesus died, God put an end to the old law of sacrifices. He replaced the old agreement (the law of Moses) with the new agreement (trust in Jesus).

Verse 10 Jesus came to carry out God’s new plan to make us holy. When Jesus died, he had done all that God required. That one death is enough for all people and for all time. Jesus will never have to die again.

Verses 11-12 The writer compares the work of Jesus with that of the priests. They had to stand doing their duty day after day. Each day they offered more sacrifices for *sins. None of these could meet the real need of the people. They could never take away their *sins. Jesus made the one perfect and complete *sacrifice that did take away all *sin. There is no need for him to repeat it. It is good for all time and for all *sins. The priests could never satisfy God with the sacrifices that they offered. But Jesus has done all that God asked him to do. His work done, Jesus sat down in the place of the highest honour, at the right hand of God.

Verse 13 In Psalms 110:1 God says to Christ, ‘Sit at my right hand. Sit there until I make your enemies a place to rest your feet’. From the time that he rose from the dead, Jesus has been waiting for God to do this. He has overcome all his enemies, but we do not yet see them put under him. The *apostle Paul says the same (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Verse 14 Again, the writer makes it clear that Jesus died once for all time and for all *sin. It is most important that we know and believe that this is true. All who trust in Jesus, God will make holy. Jesus makes them perfect, that is, all that God intended them to be in his plan. Jesus has done all that God said was necessary.

Verses 15-17 The Holy Spirit is a *witness to the truth of this as well. In the words of Jeremiah 31, from verse 33, he talks of the new agreement. God will put his laws in the hearts and minds of his people. That is, God will give his people the power to obey him. He will remember their *sins no more. It is as if they do not have any *sins. This is because Jesus has taken from them all that was not right. This is the new agreement which Jesus has made for us.

Verse 18 Where God has forgiven *sins, there is no need for any more sacrifices for them. What Christ has done is complete and final. Now Jesus has made this new agreement, the old one has no value.

The way to meet God 10:19-25

v19 So, my Christian brothers and sisters, we can be bold and go into the most holy place. This is because of the blood of Jesus. v20 His blood has opened a new and living way, through the curtain, that is, through his own body. v21 This is because we have a great chief priest who is over the house of God. v22 So, let us come near to God with a sincere heart. Let us come because we have a sure trust in Jesus. He has made our hearts clean and taken away our shame. With pure water he has washed our bodies. v23 Let us hold on to the hope in God that we say that we have, and never let it go. God who gave us that promise is true, so we can trust him. v24 Let us think how we can help each other to love and to do good actions. v25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some people have done. Encourage each other, and do it all the more as you see the day coming near.

Verse 19 The most holy place here means the place where God will meet with us. In the old agreement the people could not approach God themselves. They had to come to the priests. The priests could then go into the special tent on their behalf. Now those who trust in Jesus can meet with God in a direct manner. They can do this with confidence and without fear. They can do so only because of the work of Jesus. He has made the way open for men and women to come to God themselves. He achieved this when he died for our *sins.

Verse 20 In the old special tent the way into the most holy place was through a curtain. Jesus has opened a new way to God. His body, like the curtain, is the way to God. It is for us a living way, for Jesus is alive. When Jesus died, the curtain in the *temple split from the top to the bottom. This was to show that the direct way to God was now open. We can only come to God when we come by the *Lord Jesus. As he said, ‘Nobody comes to the Father but by me’ (John 14:6). There is no other way to God. All who would come to God must put their trust in Jesus and let him take away their *sins. Then and only then can they approach God.

Verse 21 It was the responsibility of the chief priest to go to God on behalf of the people. In Jesus we have the great chief priest. He is over the house of God. That means he owns and rules the people of God. He does not just go in for us. He himself will take us to God.

Verse 22 We can now come to God. The way in is by Jesus, for he is like the curtain in the special tent. We have to come with sincere hearts. The heart here means the real person as we are on the inside. We have to be right with God and be pure as we come to him. This can only be true of us as we put our trust in Jesus and in what he has done for us. We must know that Jesus has washed us clean from all our *sins. The washing of the body with pure water on the outside is to be the sign that we are clean on the inside.

Verse 23 God has made promises to us and he will not fail to do all that he has said. We can trust in God as we look to the future. He has promised in Jesus to give us the life that never dies. We have this hope and we must hold on to it and not let it slip. We often use the word ‘hope’ of something that may or may not happen. We say, ‘I hope so’. But in the Bible the word ‘hope’ is a strong word. Our Christian hope is for something that has not yet happened. But it will happen and we are sure that it will.

Verse 24 While we take care for ourselves, we should think of other Christians. We should do all that we can to help them to grow strong in their *belief (Romans 15:7). We should encourage them to love and to do good works.

Verse 25 Some Christians had stopped coming together with the rest. This was not good for them. It is hard for us to be strong on our own without the help and support of other Christians. When we come to Jesus, we should join the church and meet with other Christians. We need to help each other in our Christian *belief and in how we live as Christians. We should encourage each other all the more as the day approaches when Jesus comes back again (see verse 37).

A warning to those who will not believe 10:26-31

v26 After we have received and known the truth, we could still choose to continue to *sin. If we do so, there is no longer any *sacrifice for our *sins. v27 God will then be our judge and that is something to make us afraid. The anger of God will be like a fierce fire that will burn away all his enemies. v28 Any who did not respect and obey the law of Moses died. There was no pity for them, if two or three *witnesses proved that they were guilty. v29 How much worse punishment does a *human being deserve, if that person turns back from the Son of God? It is as if that person walked upon and hated the Son of God. It is as if that person refused to accept the blood of the new agreement that had made that person clean. That person has insulted the Holy Spirit who has been so kind to him or her. v30 For we know him who said, ‘I am the one who will punish people; I will pay them for all their *sin’ (Deuteronomy 31:35). Again he said, ‘The *Lord will be the judge of his people’ (Deuteronomy 31:36). v31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the God who is alive.

Verses 26-27 There are people who once accepted what God had done for them in Jesus. They knew that it was true. But now they have decided to turn away from Jesus. They no longer accept what he did for them by his death. For them, there is no more a *sacrifice for *sin. They have refused the one way that God has given to us. They still have their *sins. God will judge all *sin. Those who have put their trust in Jesus know that he has taken away their *sins. *Sin makes God angry. His terrible anger should make us afraid, for it is awful. It is like a fierce fire that will destroy all his enemies. Those who have known the truth, but now refuse it, are his enemies.

Verses 28-29 To fail to do what the law of Moses said was serious. Not to obey that law was the same as denying God. The one who did this had to pay the price for it. He or she had to die. It was so serious a matter that there had to be proof that they were guilty. One *witness was not enough. There had to be two or three (Deuteronomy 17:6). It is much more serious to deny Jesus and what he has done. The punishment for that must be much worse. It must be more severe for Jesus is so much greater than Moses. It must be more severe because the new agreement is so much better than the old one.

If someone turns away from Jesus on purpose, they are guilty of three things:

• It is as if they walk upon the Son of God. It is to deny Jesus who is the same as God.

• It is to count as nothing the blood of Jesus. The death of Jesus is the foundation of the new agreement. This then is to show no respect for the love of God.

• It is to insult the Holy Spirit of God.

Verses 30-31 We know who God is and what he will do. He is the living God who knows all about us. It is he who said, ‘I am the one who will punish people, I will pay them back for what they have done’. Again he said, ‘The *Lord will judge his people’ (Deuteronomy 32:35-36). It will be terrible for a person who is guilty, when he or she has to face God. There can be no escape for us, if we do not obey him. We know what he has told us to do. He has told us to put our trust the *Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).

Choose the right way 10:32-39

v32 Remember the early days when you first received the light of God’s truth. Then you were strong, even when you had a hard struggle and suffered much. v33 People laughed at you, put you to shame and beat you. At other times you stood side by side with those who suffered like this. v34 You had pity for them who were in prison. You were full of joy, even when people took your things away from you. You knew that you had better things in heaven that will last and always be yours. v35 So do not stop having your confidence in the truth for this will bring you a great reward. Your trust in it will bring you a great reward. v36 You need to continue, so that when you have done what God wants, you will receive what he has promised. v37 For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. v38 The person who does what is right because he trusts in God, will live. If he holds back from doing right, he will not please me’ (Habakkuk 2:3-4). v39 We are not people who turn back. God will destroy them. We trust God, and so will gain true life.

Verse 32 The writer is sure that his readers would not go back from their *belief in Jesus. He asks them to remember the early days, when they had first come to Christ. The truth of God was to them like a light. It shone into their hearts and minds and changed them. Then they had to suffer a lot because they were Christians. It was a struggle between them and those who fought against them. They were strong in their *faith and did not fail.

Verses 33-34 At times they had to suffer insults, shame and evil things done to them. They helped other Christians when they suffered the same things. Some people were in prison for their *faith. There they needed the help and the pity that other Christians were able to give them. They had their possessions taken from them. But nobody could take away their inner joy. That joy was in the fact that they knew Jesus and that he was always with them. In Jesus they had the promise of things to come that were so much better than any possessions. The things of Jesus and of heaven are real possessions that will last forever. Nobody can ever take those away from Christians.

Verse 35 The readers must not throw away their trust in Jesus. God will give them a great reward, if they continue to live and work for him. They could lose so much, if they do not continue with Jesus.

Verse 36 The new life we can have in Jesus is not something that we can ever earn. It is the free gift of God to all who trust in Jesus. Our part is to maintain our *faith, even when life is hard. We must always try to do what God wants. Then we shall receive what God has promised.

Verses 37-38 These two verses use words from Isaiah 26:20 and Habakkuk 2:3-4. They tell us that Jesus is coming back soon and he will not delay his coming. We must be strong in our trust because we are sure that he will return. When he comes back, that will end our struggles in this life and bring in his promised blessing of life with God.

The men and women whom God accepts as right with him, will live by trusting in Jesus. We can never earn life with God by anything that we do. God gives us that life because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. It is by trust in him that we can receive that life. When we trust in Jesus, God makes us right with himself. As we came to Jesus in the first place by trust, so we must continue to live by trusting in him. Those who turn back from their *belief cannot please God (see verses 29-30). All Christians must want to please God, when they remember how much he has done for them.

Verse 39 The writer now makes clear that those who really trust Jesus, do not turn back. People who turn back from Jesus will have to face the judgement of God. All who maintain a bold trust in Jesus will be safe from that judgement. They will gain God’s promised life.

sacrifice ~ an offering to God, often an animal or bird, by the Jews to ask God to forgive their sins. Jesus gave himself to die as a sacrifice for our sins.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the people of Israel.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the people of Israel.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.'repent, repentance ~ a change of mind and heart, to turn away from sin and turn to God.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all.
apostle ~ one whom God sends; especially one of the 12 that Jesus chose to be his helpers.
witness ~ a witness is someone who sees an event and will tell of it. To witness is to tell what you have seen.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the true God.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise, thanks and respect.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the people of Israel.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city of Israel; the temple of God was there.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.
belief ~ what we accept as true... see faith.
faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.'human being ~ a human person.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.
belief ~ what we accept as true... see faith.