Hebrews 10:11

Having proved, that not the yearly repeated legal sacrifices could perfect a sinner, but only the sacrifice of Christ, the Spirit proceeds to prove, that the daily legal sacrifices can do as little for this work as the annual; and therefore these Hebrews ought to desert all these, and depend only upon Christ’s, Heb 10:11-18.

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices: every priest in Aaron’s family in his course daily ministering, stood at the altar, and performed the service appointed him by God, offering often the same bloody sacrifices to God, of bulls, goats, sheep, fowl, many times in one day, and for many days together, Heb 7:27.

Which can never take away sins; these were not available either to the priests offering, or those who brought them to be offered, for the spiritual and eternal expiation of their sins, as to their guilt, stain, power, or punishment, not any, nor all of these, none could do it at any time: see Heb 10:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Heb_10:11-13

This Man, after He had offered

The eras of redemption

I.

THE PAST ERA OF CHRISTS REDEMPTIVE HISTORY. He has offered one sacrifice for sins.

1. Christs death was a self-immolation.

(1) His self-proprietorship.

(2) His unexampled philanthropy.

2. His death was a self-immolation for sin. He died to put away sin: to put it away in its guilt-form--in its idea-form--and in its habit-form. His death was a self-immolation for sin unrepeatable. One … for ever. Sufficient for all lands and ages.

II. THE PRESENT ERA OF CHRISTS REDEMPTIVE HISTORY. Sat down at the right hand of God.

1. Rest.

2. Heaven.

III. THE FUTURE ERA OF CHRISTS REDEMPTIVE HISTORY. From henceforth expecting, &c.

1. Christ has enemies. Fallen angels and sinful men.

2. These enemies He will subjugate. Some will be subdued by the moral influences of His truth and love; and some by the resistless might of His retributive justice. Lessons:

1. The repugnance with which humanity should regard sin.

2. The true test by which we may determine the worth of our Christianity. The absence of sin.

3. The certainty of Christianitys ultimate triumph.

4. The absurdity of waiting for any further helps to conversion. (Homilist.)

The perfection of Christs atonement

I. We see Him ON THE EARTH; and this is what He is said to have done here--He offered one sacrifice for sins. The apostle, we must remember, is both comparing and contrasting Him with the Jewish priests. His object is to show us that He is all to the Church these priests ever were, and all in a much higher degree. He compares Him with them. Now one part of their office was to make reconciliation or atonement for the sins of the people. Thus far then our Lord resembles the Jewish priests--He really offered a sacrifice. But the apostle also contrasts Him with them. He made, he says, one sacrifice only. There was in His case no perpetual standing by the altar, no daily ministering, no multiplying of victims. His precious blood once shed, all is over; the fire on the altar goes out, and the altar itself is soon thrown down and destroyed. And here become evident; two blessed truths.

1. One sacrifice serves for all Gods Church--not only one priest, but one offering.

2. This one offering of Christ serves effectually for all Gods Church. Not only are all His people cleansed, they are all fully and eternally cleansed, by it.

II. We must now follow our Lord INTO HEAVEN. The text carries Him there in His human nature; and more than that--in the character He bore here in His human nature, the great Expiator of our sins. The apostles language intimates to us

1. The repose of Christ in heaven, a repose indicating the completeness and perfection of the work He had performed on earth.

2. The high exaltation of Christ in heaven. (C. Bradley, M. A.)

The sacrifice and triumph of Christ

I. THIS GOD-MAN OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. That was the sacrifice of Himself, which we may consider as implying surrender.

1. He offered His body (Isa_1:6; Psa_69:21; Isa_52:14). These were sufferings of no common kind.

2. But, in suffering, He offered His mind. The sufferings of our Redeemers soul must be considered as the soul of His sufferings.

3. He offered in sacrifice His glory--by which we understand how glory will follow up the shame. Now, our Redeemers feelings were not blunted or stoical--nay, they were delicately fine; and when they called Him a deceiver of the people, a glutton, and a wine-bibber; when they said He had a devil--that He was not fit to live: He must have felt the indignity with great acuteness.

4. He offered in sacrifice the consolations of heavens protection Mat_27:46).

5. He offered in sacrifice His life (Joh_15:13; Rom_5:8).

6. He offered in sacrifice His will. He prayed that the cup of suffering might pass from Him (Mat_26:42); yet He gave His person into the hands of those who put it to torture: He voluntarily resigned Himself to that train of overwhelming and distressing ideas, that threw His mind into an agony and bathed Him in a bloody sweat.

II. FOR WHAT PURPOSE DID HE OFFER THIS SACRIFICE? Whenever we think, or read, about the sufferings of Christ, we are immediately directed to sin 1Co_15:3; 1Pe_3:18; 1Pe_2:24; Isa_53:5). This Man offered Himself a sacrifice for sin

1. To avert the consequences of it. Jesus Christ paid the penalty, that He might deliver the sinner from the consequences of his sins.

2. He died that He might remove the presence of sin, by doing away the love of it; by cleansing the guilty in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness,--rendering the person without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

3. He offered Himself a sacrifice to overcome the forfeiture of sin.

III. THE EXALTATION OF OUR REDEEMER.

1. This was through the medium of His resurrection.

2. And He has now sat down at the right hand of God. God is a great and invisible Spirit, with whom literally there can be neither standing nor recumbency. We must, therefore, understand this phrase figuratively; and it is

(1) Expressive of rest.

(2) Honoured.

(3) Power, authority, dominion.

IV. THE PURPOSES OF HIS WILL SHALL BE FULFILLED. Of the adversaries of Jesus Christ we observe

1. That Satan is the most subtle, ancient, and formidable.

2. Error. Error may be said to be a hydra with many heads. These systems degrade Gods creatures, rob the Redeemer, murder the souls of men; and as such they must come down: by the general diffusion of knowledge, by the spread of the Scriptures, by the piety of Gods people.

3. Another enemy is to be found in wicked, unconverted men. But these enemies shall be the footstool of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Upon unconverted men, Jesus Christ will employ His gospel on their understandings, and His Spirit on their consciences, and His providence on their circumstances and their bodies; and these weapons shall be mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

4. Another enemy of Christ is death. He is said to be the last enemy that shall be destroyed (1Co_15:26).

5. All these enemies have been made by one worse than the devil himself, and that enemy is sin. To destroy sin the Son of God was manifested--for this purpose He offered Himself a sacrifice--for this purpose He has commanded His gospel to be preached to every creature--for this purpose He is, at this moment, seated at the right hand of God, invested with all power, to employ whatever instrument He thinks proper, and to give a blessing to those means that they may be effectual.

Application:

1. Here we discover the character of sinners. They are said to be enemies to Christ.

2. We learn, again, that these unconverted persons must be His footstool, whether at home or abroad. Will you be conquered by the sceptre of His grace; or will you be broken in pieces by the iron rod of His wrath?

3. We see the duty of the people to extend by conquest the triumphs of the Redeemer: to bring home His rebel outcasts, that they may be saved from sin and Satans snare. (W. Atherton.)

The matchless Mediator:

I. Is His RELATION TO CALVARY.

1. He accomplished what all others failed to do.

2. He accomplished what none others need attempt after Him.

II. Is His RELATION TO HEAVEN.

1. Enjoyment of tranquil repose.

2. Elevation to highest honour.

3. Execution of universal power.

III. IN HIS RELATION TO THE MILLENNIUM.

1. He has opponents.

2. His enemies are in process of subjugation.

3. His ultimate supremacy will be complete. (B. D. Johns.)

One offering

I. THE PERMANENCE OF THE REPETITION OF CHRISTS SUFFERINGS IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE ATONEMENT. If we look at the influence of it on other beings, good and bad, we can see that the transient acts of Christs life, and the permanent assumption of our nature for our redemption, are an eternal guarantee of His love of the law. If we look at its effects on the pardoned, it is sufficient that Christ lived here thirty-three years, and died once. The mother that bore you, and cherished you in infancys helpless years, needs not repeat all that, in order to convince you of her love, or to strengthen her claims upon your love. A stranger rushed into the flames, and saved you from a horrid death, when you were a child. Will you ever forget it? God needed only to express once, in this form, His unvarying grief at our sins--His uncompromising opposition to them. Nay, more:

II. THE PERMANENT SUFFERING OF THE INNOCENT AND BENEVOLENT REDEEMER WOULD DEFEAT THE VERY END OF ATONEMENT. That end is, to diminish suffering in the universe. If we are to be saved at the eternal expense of such a Being; if He is to be for ever buffeted and spit upon, while we are crowned with glory; if He is to sink under the Fathers frown, while we rejoice in the light of His countenance--then the cost is too great. To awaken the most generous sentiments in the hearts of the redeemed, and to sustain them, Christ must be rewarded with everlasting honour and joy. To enjoy heaven by the continued sufferings of our Friend and Redeemer, would make us selfish; to see His sufferings, and not be selfish, would make our own happiness impossible. (E. N. Kirk, D. D.)

Philosophy and sin:

When Renan was once asked what he did with sin in his philosophy, he shrugged his shoulders, and laughed and said, I suppress it. (W. J. Dawson.)

Sat down on the right hand of God

Christ exalted

I. THE COMPLETENESS OF THE SAVIOURS WORK.

1. He has done all that was necessary to make an atonement and an end of sin. He has done so much, that it never will be needful for Him again to be crucified. Oh! if the last thread had not been woven in the great garment of our righteousness, He would be spinning it now; if the last particle of our debt had not been paid, He would be counting it down now; and if all were not complete, He would never rest, until, like a wise builder, He had laid the top-stone of the temple of our salvation. No; the very fact that He sits still, and rests, proves that His work is finished.

2. And then note again, that His sitting at the right hand of God implies that He enjoys pleasure; for at Gods right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Now I think the fact that Christ enjoys infinite pleasure has in it some degree of proof that He must have finished His work. He has joys as God; but as the man-God, His joys spring from the salvation of the souls of men. That is His joy, which is full, in the thought that He has finished His work and has cut it short in righteousness. I think there is some degree of proof, although not, perhaps, positive proof there, that Jesus must have finished His work.

3. The fact that it is said He has sat down for ever proves that He must have done it. Christ has undertaken it to save all the souls of the elect. If He has not already saved them, He is bound to do something that will save them, for He has given solemn promise to His Father, that He will bring many souls unto glory.

4. Yet, the best proof is, that Christ sits at His Fathers right hand at all. For the very fact that Christ is in heaven, accepted by His Father, proves that His work must be alone. Why, as long as an ambassador from our country is at a foreign court, there must be peace; and as long as Jesus Christ our Saviour is at His Fathers court, it shows that there is real peace between His people and His Father. Well, as He will be there for ever, that shows that our peace must be continual. But that peace could not have been continual, unless the atonement had been wholly made, unless justice had been entirely satisfied; and, therefore, from that very fact it becomes certain that the work of Christ must be done.

II. THE GLORY WHICH HE HAS ASSUMED. After He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right-hand of God. Now, by this you are to understand the complex person of Christ; for Christ, as God, always was on His Fathers throne; He always was God; and even when He was on earth He was still in heaven. But Jesus Christ, as the man-God, has assumed honours which once He had not; for as man, He did not at one time sit on His Fathers throne; He was a suffering man; but as God-man He has assumed a dignity next to God; He sits at the right hand of the glorious Trinity.

1. From this we gather, that the dignity which Christ now enjoys is surpassing dignity. There is no dignity to be compared to that of Christ.

2. In the next place, Christ has real dignity. Some persons have mere empty titles, which confer but little authority. But the man-Christ Jesus, while He has many crowns and many titles, has not one tinsel crown or one empty title. He overruleth all mortal things, making the evil work a good, and the good produce a better, and a better still, in infinite progression.

3. And once more: this honour that Christ hath received (I mean the Man-God Christ) was deserved honour; that dignity which His Father gave Him He well deserved.

4. We must consider the exaltation of Christ in heaven as being in some degree a representative exaltation. Christ Jesus exalted at the Fathers right hand, though He has eminent glories, in which the saints must not expect to share, essentially He is the express image of the person of God, and the brightness of His Fathers glory, yet, to a very great degree, the honours which Christ has in heaven He has as our representative there.

III. WHAT ARE CHRISTS EXPECTATIONS?

1. We are told, He expects that His enemies shall be made His footstool. In some sense that is already done; the foes of Christ are, in some sense, His footstool now. What is the devil but the very slave of Christ, for he doth no more than he is permitted against Gods children? What are wicked men but the servants of Gods providence, unwittingly to themselves? In that sense all things are now Christs.

2. But we expect greater things than these at His coming, when all enemies shall be beneath Christs feet upon earth. We are, therefore, many of us, looking for that blessed hope; that glorious appearing of the kingdom of our Saviour Jesus Christ; many of us are expecting that Christ will come; we cannot tell you when; we believe it to be folly to pretend to guess the time, but we are expecting that even in our life the Son of God will appear, and we know that when He shall appear He will tread His foes beneath His feet, and reign from pole to pole, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

3. Christ will have all His enemies put beneath His feet, in that great day of judgment. Oh I that will be a terrible putting of His foes beneath His feet, when at the second resurrection the wicked dead shall rise; when the ungodly shall stand before His throne, and His voice shall say, Depart, ye cursed. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The priests standing, Christ sitting:

That the ministry of the priests under the law is ineffectual is seen from their continual standing and offering (comp. Verse 2). That the Sons is effectual appears from the fact which we know from prophecy fulfilled (Psa_110:1; chaps, 2:9, 8:1) in Him, that having made His one offering He sat down. He ceased, and no more offers, but awaits the final issue of His one offering, which shall be when He appears a second time unto salvation (Heb_9:28). (A. B.Davidson, LL. D.)

From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool

The destined supremacy of Christianity:

The Being presented by this inspired declaration is Jesus Christ; and Christianity is the system of truth of which He is the centre--its Alpha and Omega. Its supremacy is inferred

1. From the fact that God has established and introduced it to human knowledge.

2. From its interior structure, its fitness to man, the reply which it gives to His deepest demands.

3. From the fact that the supremacy of Christianity will nobly complete the circle of history; will give unity, wholeness to the annals of the race, and will show through their courses a sublime method.

4. The specific declarations of God in the Scriptures assure us of that result.

5. The historic progress of Christianity among men, with the nature of the arena on which it now acts, gives assurance of its supremacy. How then ought its friends to labour for Christianity, to spread its truth, its promise, and life I How vividly also does this last thought come to us: the personal obligation of each of us to submit from the heart to Christs dominion. The ancient legend of the Church, that Julian died exclaiming as he expired, Galilean, Thou hast conquered, is certain to be realised in the substance of its history in every soul not submitted to Christ. His rule at last shall be complete, and the period of that sway shall compass eternity. In that last and glorious age there will be found no place on earth, no place in heaven for him who hath not bowed to Christ! The dominion of Messiah hath no promises for him. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.)

Christs confident expectation of ultimate victory

I know nothing more sublime in the inspired writings than that representation of the Lord given us in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which He is depicted as seated upon His throne at His Fathers right hand, expecting till His enemies become His footstool. Reflect for a moment upon the sight that must meet that omniscient gaze! A world black with appalling crime and hideous depravity. A world reeking with drunkenness, and lust, and violence, and bloodshed. A world wrapped in the night of spiritual ignorance and heathen darkness. Angels beholding it, in ignorance of the Divine purpose, might well have despaired of it as a world too sunken to raise, too hopeless to deliver. Yet it is upon this sad world that the Saviours eye is fixed with such confident anticipation. No fear agitates His mind, no doubt breaks His rest. In His view nothing hangs in uncertainty or remains in jeopardy. To Him the fulfilment is as sure as though it were already realised. Fixing our eyes upon intervening and secondary things, our heart often fails us; but He looks right on through present conflict to the victory beyond; He knows there can be but one result--His enemies shall lick the dust. All kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. (A. Bax.)

The signs of advancing victory:

Just as a man in early spring will fall down on some mossy bank over a pale primrose, with a keen joy in his heart, not so much for what it is in itself, but as the harbinger of the great glowing summer so surely advancing. As he looks at it, the leaden skies grow into sapphire clearness, the naked woodlands are once more dressed in living green, and the long winter silence is broken by the wild gushes of sweetest bird-music. He knows that behind that tender plant lies Gods immutable covenant, that, While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter shall not cease--lie those omnific forces that will soon fulfil all the promise of this prophetic flower. So Christ welcomed each little sign of His advancing victory. A few Samaritans, returning with the woman with whom He had previously conversed at the well of Sychar, drew from Him the exultant utterance, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. The faith of one centurion is regarded at once as the earnest of the whole Gentile world And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. On another occasion two or three Greeks express a desire to see Him, and that desire fills Him with a holy transport. The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified … Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the Prince of this world be cast out. Aa eloquent expositor has said that they were to Him as the first-fruits of the great flock of humanity; and their presence as the first stroke of the bell which sounded the fatal but glorious hour. And His attitude to-day upon His throne is still that of calm, quiet, confident expectation. (A. Bax.)

Christ will have the whole world:

It is on record that, during the late civil war in America, and when victory was swaying from side to side, that commissioners from the Confederate States sought and obtained an interview with President Lincoln, with the view of trying to effect an arrangement for the independence of the territory they represented. They knew the tender-heartedness of Mr. Lincoln, and appealed to him to stay the effusion of blood which, at the moment, was flowing in torrents. They were willing to forego several of the States for which they had hitherto fought, if he would consent to the remainder being independent. They pleaded with him for hours, and made use of the strongest arguments and considerations they could adduce to gain their object. When they had finished, the President, who had patiently and attentively listened to all that had been said, raised his hand, and then bringing it down with emphasis on the map which lay before him, replied, Gentlemen, this Government must have the whole. (J. Fleming, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 10:11-18. And every priest standeth, &c. — In token of humble service and subjection; daily — Morning and evening; ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which shows that these sacrifices can never take away sins — Can never fully expiate them, so as to make it consistent with the justice of God to forgive them to the penitent and believing. But this man — Αυτος δε, but He, the virtue of whose one sacrifice remains for ever, so that it need not be any more repeated; sat down on the right hand of God — As a Son in majesty and honour, and in token of the continuance of his priesthood, and of his dignity there as Lord; from henceforth, (το λοιπον, what remains,) expecting — Waiting; till his enemies be made his footstool — Till his ministry as High-Priest, and government as King, shall issue according to God’s promise, (Psa 110:1,) in the utter destruction of his enemies. For by one offering — Of himself; (and it appears that he did not need to offer himself more than once;) he hath perfected for ever — Hath fully reconciled to God; them that are sanctified — Those who in true repentance, living faith, and new obedience, give themselves up to the love and service of God. Whereof — Of the perfection of whose sacrifice; the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us — Namely, in the form of the new covenant recorded by him Jer 31:31. This is the covenant, &c. — See on chap. Heb 8:10. In these three verses, the apostle winds up his argument concerning the excellence and perfection of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ. He had proved this before by a quotation from Jeremiah, which he here repeats, describing the new covenant as now completely ratified, and all the blessings of it secured to us by the one offering of Christ, which renders all other expiatory sacrifices, and any repetition of his own, utterly needless.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

Heb_10:12. This man.—The expression is intended to remind us of His relation to us as federal Head. For ever.—Or as we use the word, “finally.” Never again to be repeated. Sat down.—Implying two things:

(1) the acknowledgment of the acceptance of His sacrifice; and

(2) the delegation to Him of the right and the power to apply to men the benefits gained by the sacrifice.

Heb_10:14. Perfected for ever.—As above, “finally.” Not “at once,” “entirely,” “as soon as they believe.” The word stands in relation to the “repetition” spoken of above.

Heb_10:15-18. Holy Ghost.—As the seal and witness. The redemption wrought by Christ alters, once for all, our standing with God. But this writer is evidently supremely anxious to impress the moral value and sphere of the redemptive work. Our vital and saving relations of faith and love, with Christ, bring to us a new principle of obedience, and inspiration to righteousness. With these established in us, all the past of our sin can be freely and fully forgiven. This concludes the doctrinal portion of the epistle, and the writer proceeds to give further exhortations, and fresh appeals and encouragements, all clearly intimating that his main purpose was not speculative or theological, but practical and moral. Indeed, the writer is rather a rhetorician than a theologian, with a keener eye to the setting of truth that tells than to the abstract value or argumentative soundness of the setting. Under the influence of the Alexandrian School, he is under constant temptation to overpress the significance of single words. And, altogether, his argument must be regarded as much better suited to the mystical mind of the East than to the logical mind of the West.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Heb_10:11-18

The Power of the Spiritual Sacrifice.—Over and over again the nature of our Lord’s sacrifice, as the sacrifice of an obedient will, is presented. He came to “do the will of God” perfectly, in man’s name, and to sacrifice Himself in the doing. We know the power of an old formal Jewish sacrifice of bull or of goat. It could cleanse the offerer from ceremonial defilement, and restore him again to tabernacle relations. In this paragraph we are helped to realise what is the power of the spiritual sacrifice of an obedient will. “By the which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” The word “sanctified” here is not used of progressive sanctification, but of “consecration in a pure state to God’s service.”

I. Power on man the spirit.—George Macdonald makes one of his characters speak in this way: “We should not say, We are bodies, and have souls; we should say, We are souls, and have bodies.” The spiritual sacrifice has its range first in man’s spirit. The sacrifice of the obedient will has its power and persuasion on the human will. The essence of redemption is regeneration. Formal sacrifices have their power to change men’s relations. Christ’s sacrifice has power to change men themselves. They become “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” by the renewal of their wills in the holy constraint of His sacrificing love. Christ wins us to Himself, and that is winning us to His obedient Sonship.

II. Power on man the human.—For man is not pure spirit; he is put into, and limited by, a human body; and that has made a special set of conditions, which angels have no power to adapt themselves to. He only has power on man the human who, Himself, though spirit, became human: “took on Him the nature of Abraham, was made in likeness of man.” He is actually in our range and sphere—actually in our human limitations. His sacrifice has power on us because it is ours, it is human. We are “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

III. Power on man’s enemies.—The statement of Heb_10:13, “From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made the footstool of His feet,” may be simply rhetorical, the writer’s mind being full of the psalms from which he had been quoting, and so carried on to complete his reference. But there may be a suggestion intended which does not immediately appear. He who offered the sacrifice of the obedient will, and so gained power to save, will surely have enemies, who will resist His work, and try and keep men from rising out of their material systems, to accept a spiritual salvation. But those enemies will not conquer Him. He will eventually constrain even them, and they shall submit, and become as the footstool of His everlasting throne. And those who accept Him as their Saviour will have the same enemies to fight. But they who “suffer with Him shall also reign with Him.” Their enemies—the enemies of the spiritual—are His, and their subjection is guaranteed in the holy triumph which He is sure to win.

IV. Power on men’s motives.—This is the idea of the covenant which pledges that God, in and through Christ, will get right into men’s hearts, and so constrain them with His love—that they shall want to obey, resolve to obey, strive to obey, and enjoy obeying. Fear of God is man’s usual motive, and it never yet inspired a noble life. Love is Christ’s new motive, and it inspired His noble life, and it can inspire ours.

V. Power on men’s sins.—The prophet Ezekiel forshadowed the gospel dispensation in a way which has not been sufficiently noticed. He says that if God can only get a man himself right, He can at once, fully and freely, forgive all His sins. “If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die” (Eze_18:21). It is a part of the new covenant, that whenever we, in Christ, become sons again, with God’s laws in our love, and God’s will our delight, our “sins and iniquities shall be remembered no more.”

SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES

Heb_10:14. The Sanctifying Power of a Spiritual Sacrifice.—“For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” “Are sanctified” should be rendered “are being sanctified.” To understand this verse it is necessary to remember that the cleansing effected by means of the old Levitical sacrifices was, from the Jewish point of view, a sanctifying. The man cleansed and restored was a man sanctified. But such sanctifying, such ritual cleansing, was only the shadow and suggestion of the true sanctifying, the spiritual cleansing. A man heart-cleansed, conscience-cleansed, and so restored to his right relations with God, is the man truly sanctified. And what has to be shown is, that the one spiritual offering which Christ made of His whole human life, in one sublime and perfect obedience to the will of God, has an effective power unto such spiritual sacrifice. By “perfected for ever” is clearly meant, proved wholly effective, so that no other supplementary agency can ever be necessary. How then does that one sacrifice which Christ offered act in a way of sanctifying upon our hearts and lives.

1. It presents to us the model of what a sanctified life for humanity is?

2. It acts persuasively upon us, urging us to make the same surrender to God.

3. It puts into a state of separation unto God all who by faith are linked with it. Christ and His people are together sanctified.

4. As a spiritual sacrifice it is influential in our spiritual relations; but those are our permanent and eternal relations, and whatever sanctifying work is done in them can never need to be re-done. Sanctify a man’s will, and you have sanctified the man’s life, and sanctified the man for ever. We may gain some illustration of the sanctifying power of a surrendered will by considering the moral influence upon us of severe, and life-long, and hopeless sufferers from disease, who have entered into the perfect peace of yielding their wills wholly to God.

Heb_10:17. Self-sacrifice the Way to Happiness.—The way of happiness is the path of principle, and the governing principles of life, which lead to nobility of character, are bound up in Christ’s salvation. Human life, even under civilisation, is placed face to face with the elements of danger.

I. The highest, happiest, noblest life is a life of self-sacrifice in common conditions.—In our quiet circle we may defeat the selfishness that is around us; and if we cannot undo the selfishness of civilisation, we can undo it in ourselves, and in some that are round our life-path.

1. Let no one say that God has placed us in such a position that to be selfish, avaricious, lustful, worldly, cannot be helped. The theory of “can’t help it” is hateful, because it is utterly cowardly and entirely false. “Can’t help it” is the answer of materialism; it is a base philosophy.

2. Utilitarianism will not help us. There is no morality without God.

II. To do God’s will is a motive to self-sacrifice.—God is the sanction of moral life. In our calm moments, and in our moments of terror, the great motive to stay us constantly in life’s great struggle is God. We can do right, not because there is a law, but because the law expresses the law of the Lawgiver—the great, the beautiful, the holy God.

III. God in Christ is the expression of supereminent love.—To feel the love of wife, of mother, of sister, of child, of friend, makes us feel the dignity of life; to feel the love of Jesus, God in humanity, makes us feel that self-sacrifice is possible, that we had better perish than be selfish, that our love of God has increased the great motive of our love of men.

IV. Power to do what there is motive to enforce is submitted to us all.—Grace is offered in answer to prayer, to help us to do His will, to speak His will, to speak His word, to be content to do it, with His law in us. His love is over us; He will not forsake us.—Canon Knox-Little.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 10

Heb_10:18. Remission of Sins.—A French girl of fourteen once appeared before Napoleon, and casting herself at his feet cried, “Pardon sire! pardon for my father!” “And who is your father?” asked Napoleon; “and who are you?” “My name is Lajolia,” she said; and with flowing tears added, “but sire, my father is doomed to die.” “Ah! young lady,” replied Napoleon,” I can do nothing for you. It is the second time your father has been found guilty of treason against the State.” “Alas!” exclaimed the poor girl, “I know it, sire; but I do not ask for justice; I implore pardon. I beseech you, forgive, oh, forgive my father!” After a momentary struggle of feeling, Napoleon gently took the hand of the young maiden, and said, “Well, my child, for your sake, I will pardon your father. That is enough; now leave me.”

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:11-14 Christ’s superior offering was decisive, in contrast with the sacrifices made by the priests of the old covenant.

10:11 the priest stands: See Deut 18:5. • day after day: E.g., 2 Chr 13:11.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heb_10:11. Καὶ πᾶς] καί is the explanatory: and indeed. It develops the ἐφάπαξ, Heb_10:10, and belongs equally to Heb_10:12 as to Heb_10:11.

ἀρχιερεύς] comp. the critical remark.

καθʼ ἡμέραν] see at Heb_7:27.

περιελεῖν] stronger than ἀφαιρεῖν, Heb_10:4. Literally: take away round about.

Heb_10:11-14. Renewed emphasizing of the main distinction between the Jewish high priest and Christ. The former repeats day by day the same sacrifices without being able to effect thereby the cancelling of sin; Christ has by His single sacrifice procured everlasting sanctification. This the main thought of Heb_10:11-14. Into the same, however, there is at the same time introduced a subordinate feature, by virtue of the opposition of the ἕστηκεν and ἐκάθισεν, by which likewise is manifest the pre-eminence of Christ over the Levitical high priests. The Jewish high priests were required to accomplish their ministration standing (comp. Deu_10:8; Deu_18:7; Jdg_20:28, al.), were thus characterized as servants or inferiors (comp. also Jam_2:3); whereas in Christs sitting down at the right hand of God, His participation in the divine majesty and glory is proclaimed.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 10:11-14 . That Christ’s one sacrifice has accomplished its end of bringing men to God is illustrated by His sitting down at God’s right hand.

Heb 10:11 . καὶ introduces a new aspect of the finality of Christ’s sacrifice, to wit, that “whereas every priest stands daily ministering and often offering the same sacrifices, inasmuch as they are such as never can take sins away this man having offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sat down on God’s right hand, henceforth waiting till his enemies be set as a footstool for his feet. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever the sanctified.” The argument is in this statement advanced a step. For although the three points urged in Heb 10:1-4 are here still in view, viz. , that “the Levitical service consists of repeated acts ( καθʼ ἡμέραν , κατʼ ἐνιαυτόν ) and these the same ( αἱ αὐταὶ θυσίαι ) and essentially ineffective ( οὐδέποτε δύνανται , κ . τ . λ ), yet it is now the action of the priest rather than the nature of the sacrifice that comes to the front, and the finality of Christ’s offering is argued from the historical fact that He was not any longer standing ministering but had sat down as one who had quite finished His work. Therefore in Heb 10:14 τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους takes the place of ἡγιασμένοι ἐσμὲν of Heb 10:10 . Nothing further requires to be done to secure in perpetuity the fellowship of man with God. In the one sacrifice of Christ there is cleansing which fits men to draw near to God, to enter into covenant with Him, and there is also ground laid for their continuance in that fellowship. The future ( εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ) is provided for as well as the past. Limborch quoted by Bleek says “perficit, i.e. , perfecte et plene a peccatorum reatu liberavit, ita ut in perpetuum sanctificati sint et ulteriore aut nova oblatione non indigeant”. “His one offering gathers up into itself both the sacrifice that inaugurates the covenant, and all the many sacrifices offered year by year to maintain it and to realise it; it reaches the idea which they strove towards in vain, and by reaching it for ever sets them aside” (Davidson).

In Heb 10:11 the more expressive περιελεῖν replaces ἀφαιρεῖν of Heb 10:4 . It means “to take away something that is all round” as δέρματα σωμάτων , a garment, the covering of a letter. In Gen 41:42 it is used of Pharaoh taking off his ring. The phrase therefore suggests that man is enwrapped in sin; or if this is to press too hard the etymological meaning, it at least suggests complete deliverance. οὗτος cf. Heb 3:3 and Heb 8:3 . εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς cannot be construed with προσενέγκας but must be taken with ἐκάθισεν . “To say of the Levitical priests that they προσφέρουσιν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς (Heb 10:1 ) is appropriate; to say of Christ that He προσήνεγκεν εἰς τὸ διην . is almost a self-contradiction” (Vaughan). εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἐκάθισεν balances ἕστηκεν καθʼ ἡμέραν , and cf. especially Heb 1:3 . No doubt the usual position of εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς is after the word it qualifies, Heb 10:1-14 and Heb 7:3 . τοὺς ἁγιαζ . has no time reference, cf. Heb 2:11 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A conclusion, with the other part of the comparison. The Levitical high Priest repeateth the same sacrifices daily in his sanctuary: whereupon which it followeth that neither those sacrifices, neither those offerings, neither those high Priests could take away sins. But Christ, having offered one sacrifice once for the sins of all men, and having sanctified his own forever, sitteth at the right hand of the Father, having all power in his hands.

At the altar.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And--a new point of contrast; the frequent repetition of the sacrifices.

priest--The oldest manuscripts read, "high priest." Though he did not in person stand "daily" offering sacrifices, he did so by the subordinate priests of whom, as well as of all Israel, he was the representative head. So "daily" is applied to the high priests (Heb 7:27).

standeth--the attitude of one ministering; in contrast to "sat down on the right hand of God," Heb 10:12, said of Christ; the posture of one being ministered to as a king.

which--Greek, "the which," that is, of such a kind as.

take away--utterly; literally, "strip off all round." Legal sacrifices might, in part, produce the sense of forgiveness, yet scarcely even that (see on Heb 10:4); but entirely to strip off one's guilt they never could.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. Every priest standeth] The office of the Jewish priest is here compared with the office of our High Priest. The Jewish priest stands daily at the altar, like a servant ministering, repeating the same sacrifices; our High Priest offered himself once for all, and sat down at the right hand of God, as the only-begotten Son and Heir of all things, Heb 10:12. This continual offering argued the imperfection of the sacrifices. Our Lord's once offering, proves his was complete.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. And every priest, etc. Here is the conclusion of the whole argument, — that the practice of daily sacrificing is inconsistent with and wholly foreign to the priesthood of Christ; and that hence after his coming the Levitical priests whose custom and settled practice was daily to offer, were deposed from their office; for the character of things which are contrary is, that when one thing is set up, the other falls to the ground. He has hitherto labored enough, and more than enough, in defending the priesthood of Christ; the conclusion then is, that the ancient priesthood, which is inconsistent with this, has ceased; for all the saints find a full consecration in the one offering of Christ. At the same time the word τετελείωκεν, which I render “has consecrated,” may yet be rendered “has perfected;” but I prefer the former meaning, because he treats here of sacred things.

By saying, them who are sanctified, he includes all the children of God; and he reminds us that the grace of sanctification is sought elsewhere in vain.

But lest men should imagine that Christ is now idle in heaven, he repeats again that he sat down at God’s right hand; by which phrase is denoted, as we have seen elsewhere, his dominion and power. There is therefore no reason for us to fear, that he will suffer the efficacy of his death to be destroyed or to lie buried; for he lives for this end, that by his power he may fill heaven and earth. He then reminds us in the words of the Psalm how long this state of things is to be, even until Christ shall lay prostrate all his enemies. If then our faith seeks Christ sitting on God’s right hand, and recumbs quietly on him as there sitting, we shall at length enjoy the fruit of his victory; yea, when our foes, Satan, sin, death, and the whole world are vanquished, and when corruption of our flesh is cast off, we shall triumph for ever together with our head.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(11) The last was a verse of transition. Naturally following from and completing the previous argument, it leads in the words “once for all” to a new thought, or rather prepares the way for the resumption of a subject to which in an earlier chapter marked prominence was given. If the sanctifying work of the true High Priest has been accomplished “once for all,” such ministry remains for Him no longer (Heb_10:12-14). Here, then, the writer brings us back to Heb_8:1-2—to that which he there declared to be the crowning point of all his words.

And every priest.—Some ancient MSS. and versions read “high priest,” but the ordinary text is in all probability correct. (With the other reading the work of the priests in their daily ministrations is ascribed to the high priest, whose representatives they were.) Hitherto the thought has rested almost entirely on the ceremonial of the Day of Atonement; there is therefore new significance in the contrast between Jesus and “every priest” in all His ministrations. On “standeth” see the Note on Heb_8:1. The accumulation of words which point to the ceaseless repetition of the offerings of the law (Heb_10:1) is very noteworthy. The last words point to Heb_10:4.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. And every priest] The better reading seems to be “High Priest.”

standeth] None were permitted to sit in the Holy Place. Christ sat in the Holiest, far above all Heavens.

oftentimes] “Day by day for a continual burnt-offering” (Num_28:3; comp. Heb_7:27).

take away sins] The word is not the same verb (aphairein) as in Heb_10:4, but a much stronger one (perielein) which means “at once to strip away,” as though sin were some close-fitting robe (see Heb_12:1).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And every priest standeth daily ministering,.... The Alexandrian copy, one of Stephens's, the Complutensian edition, the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, read, "every high priest"; who might minister daily, if he would; but since the daily sacrifice was generally offered by the common priests, these are rather designed. The apostle passes from the anniversary sacrifices offered by the high priest on the day of atonement, having shown the insufficiency and imperfection of them, to the lambs of the daily sacrifice, which were offered morning and evening, and whatsoever else might be daily offered on other accounts; and which he also shows are equally ineffectual to take away sin; almost every word he uses shows the imperfection of the priesthood of Aaron, and serves to illustrate the priesthood of Christ. When he says "every priest", it supposes there were more than one, as indeed there were many, not only in succession to one another, but together, having different parts of service to perform; and everyone of them "standeth" at the altar, showing that his work was not done; and the present tense is used, because sacrifice in fact had not ceased at the writing of this epistle, though of right it ought to have done; and he stood "daily ministering"; every day, and sometimes often in a day, and always morning and night, Exo 29:38 The priest always stood to minister, Deu 18:5. Hence the Jews say (t), there is no ministration or service, , "but standing"; and perhaps some reference may be had to the "stations" (u), or stationary men, who were always upon the spot at Jerusalem, to offer for such as were at a distance.

And offering oftentimes the same sacrifices; as a lamb in the morning, and another at evening; and if it was a burnt offering, or a sin offering, or an offering for the purification of a woman, or for the cleansing of the leper, they were always the same: and this frequent offering, and the offering of the same things, show that they were such

which can never take away sins; for notwithstanding these many and repeated offerings, even the sins of Old Testament saints remained to be atoned for by Christ; see Rom 3:25.

(t) Jarchi in Deut. xviii. 5. Maimon. Biath Hamikdash, c. 5. sect. 16. (u) Misn. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

Ver. 11. Take away sin] Separando auferre, sunder it from the soul, strike a parting blow betwixt them, περιελειν, Undique tollere.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And every priest standeth daily ministering - That is, this is done every day. It does not mean literally that every priest was daily concerned in offering sacrifices, for they took turns according to their courses, (notes on Luk 1:5), but that this was done each day, and that every priest was to take his regular place in doing it; Num 28:3. The object of the apostle is to prove that under the Jewish economy sacrifices were repeated constantly, showing their imperfection, but that under the Christian economy the great sacrifice had been offered once, which was sufficient for all.

And offering oftentimes the same sacrifices - The same sacrifices were offered morning and evening every day.

Which can never take away sins - notes, Heb 9:9; Heb 10:1.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Every priest—A balance of authorities reads here, Every high priest. Alford prefers this reading on the ground that it involves a difficulty, and so would not be introduced by a copyist. The difficulty is, that the high priest did not sacrifice daily, but only annually, on the day of atonement. This difficulty Alford evades by maintaining that the priests were really all agents, through whom the high priest performed all the sacrifices. Delitzsch rejects Alford’s evasion, and decides that the reading, high priest, is a mere copyist’s correction of this text drawn from Heb_5:1; Heb_8:3 and Heb_9:25.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 11-13. And every priest indeed standeth daffy ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. Thus with the one perfectly accomplished and for ever availing sacrifice is brought into connection, as its result, the fulfillment in Christ for man of the ideal of Psa_8:6, (which was set forth in Heb_2:5-10; see the remarks there made) and also of the Son"s exaltation to the right hand of God, declared in Ps 110. (referred to in Heb_1:13, and brought fully into view in Heb_8:1, after the chapter about Melchizedek) Be it observed that the priesthood "after the order of Melchizedek" in itself implied this exaltation, which was in fact inferred from it. For the priesthood after this order, having been shown to be eternal and unchangeable, was further seen, from Psalm 110, to be conjoined to the eternal royalty at God"s right hand.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Every priest standeth - As a servant in an humble posture.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

sins

Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

v. 11. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

v. 12. but this Man, after he had offered one sacrifice for Sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,

v. 13. from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.

v. 14. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

v. 15. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us; for after that He had said before,

v. 16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them,

v. 17. and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

v. 18. Now, where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

That the one sacrifice of Christ has been acknowledged and accepted as such by the heavenly Father is illustrated and demonstrated by His being exalted to the right hand of God: And every priest, indeed, stands day after day ministering and often offering the same sacrifices, inasmuch as they are unable ever to remove sins entirely: but this Man, having brought one sacrifice for sins, has seated Himself for all time at the right hand of God, waiting, so far as the rest is concerned, till His enemies be made His footstool. The point here made in addition to the nature of the sacrifices of old is that pertaining to the action of the priests themselves. There was the never-ceasing, yet ever ineffectual and unavailing service of the Jewish priests. Daily they stood in their ministrations, again and again they offered the same sacrifices; it became a matter of almost deadly mechanical routine, Deu 10:8; Deu 18:7; Jdg 20:28. In spite of all this they could never take away, entirely remove, the sins of the people by all their offerings; the best they could do was to comfort the worshipers with the antitype of the perfect sacrifice of the Messiah. But Jesus is no longer standing in the performance of the works of His office, as the priests of old were obliged to. One single offering He made, one single sacrifice He brought; but so great, so perfect was the value of this one offering that its perfection is indicated by the fact of Christ’s sitting down at the right hand of God as one who has quite finished His work and knows that its power and worth will last throughout eternity. As the Victor over all His enemies, He is quietly and confidently waiting to see them all laid at His feet, to be made His footstool, Psa 110:1; 1Co 15:25-27. There is, then, no need of any further sacrifice: For by a single offering He has perfected for all time them that are sanctified. The fact that He gave Himself into death as the Substitute of mankind once, the fact that He paid the price of all men’s ransom with the price of His holy blood once, that is sufficient. No more needs to be done, no more can be done. Salvation, the reconciliation of man with God, is secured forever. In the one sacrifice of Christ there is a cleansing sufficient for all men, both to bring them into fellowship with God by imputing to them the perfect righteousness and holiness of God through faith, and to keep them in this fellowship by renewing their hearts by daily contrition and repentance and causing them to dedicate themselves, their lives, to God anew with every further day of their lives. The sacred writer now offers proof from Scripture to show that the one sacrifice of our Mediator is final: But there testifies to us also the Holy Spirit; for after saying, This is the covenant which I will covenant toward them after those days, says the Lord, Setting My laws upon their hearts, and upon their minds I shall inscribe them, (He adds,) And their sins and their iniquities I shall remember no more. Note that the words here quoted, taken from Jer 31:33-34, are directly and explicitly ascribed to the Holy Ghost, the real Author of the Holy Scriptures. Through Jeremiah the Lord expressly stated that after those days, when the period of the Old Testament should come to an end and that of the New Testament be ushered in with the incarnation of Christ, He would make a new covenant with His people, with those whom He had chosen for His own. The terms of this covenant are plainly stated and consist only of such things as God intended to do in the interest of mankind. He wanted to set His laws, the Gospel proclamation of the New Testament, upon their hearts; this wonderful message of redemption He wanted to inscribe in their minds, make it known to them by faith. And by that token, by their acceptance of the assurance of their salvation, all their sins, all their unrighteousnesses, all their iniquities, all their trespasses, all their guilt should be forgotten and never again be remembered. That is Gospel, glorious, saving Gospel-truth, not the opinion of some fallible man, but the assurance of the Holy Ghost, of the eternal God Himself.

And so the author fittingly concludes, from the entire discussion which began with chapter 5: But where there is forgiveness of these, there no longer exists an offering for sins. Where there is forgiveness of sins, where this glorious state of the complete and eternal remission of sins obtains, as it truly does in our case since the perfect sacrifice of Christ has been made and accepted, there a further offering of sins is useless and senseless, and the contention of the Romish Church, with its doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass, becomes actually blasphemous. We no longer have need of a Levitical priesthood, we no longer have need of any further sacrifices for sins, since the fact of the adequate, perfect offering of Christ is so soundly established. No matter how long the earth may still stand, the assurance of the forgiveness of sins is ours, and throughout eternity this fact will be the theme of our endless praises before the throne of the Lamb: We have remission of sins, we have the grace of God, we have eternal salvation

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our apostle still proceeds upon his former argument, namely, to assign a farther difference between Christ and the Levitical priests.

1. The Levitical priesthood consisted of a plurality of persons; the priests were many; by reason of death they had many successors; but the evangelical priesthood consisted by of one single person, the Lord Jesus, called here, this man.

2. The Levitical priesthood consisted of a plurality of sacrifices; there were also many, many in number, and many in kind, bulls, lambs, goats, &c. but the sacrifice which Christ offered was but one, as to the kind namely, That body which was prepared, ver. .

3. The Levitical sacrifices were oft-times offered, ver. . But the sacrifice of Christ was but once offered.

4. The Levitical sacrifices could never take away sin; but Christ by the sacrifice of his death took away sin for ever, fully and everlastingly.

5. The Levitical priests stood and ministered, ver. . "Every priest standeth daily." This is the posture of servants; but Christ sits, which is the posture of a Lord; This man after he had offered, sat down.

6. They stood daily ministering and offering, because their sacrifices could not take away sin; but Christ did his work fully by one offering, and after that sits or rests forever in heaven.

Learn hence, 1. That Christ crucified is the only divine and proper sacrifice under the gospel.

Divine, because its institution and appointment was of God:

proper, because all the essential properties of an expiatory sacrifice were found in this.

It was a living creature offered by a priest; it was offered to God, and it was a sweet savour unto him; and it is the only proper sacrifice of the gospel: Doing good is called a sacrifice, Heb 13:16. Righteousness is called a sacrifice, Psa 4:5 but not properly, but allusively and metaphorically only.

Learn, 2. That the sacrifice of Christ is but of one kind, and was but once offered; yet it is of such unspeakable value, and everlasting efficacy, as to take away sin fully and finally, and to perfect all them that are or shall be sanctified to the end of the world. The virtue of this sacrifice reacheth backward as far as Adam, and reacheth forward to the last believer springing from Adam:

And as it reacheth backward and forward to all believers, in former, present, and future ages, so to all the sins of all believers, which are fully purged and expiated by it; the design and end of this oblation being to atone, pacify, and reconcile God, by giving a full and adequate compensation and satisfaction to the justice of God, for the wrong done to the holiness of his law. Thus our Jesus, by one offering, has perfected forever them that are sanctified.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11–14. Every priest standeth daily ministering. Christ offered his sacrifice “once for all,” but Levitical priests offer daily their sacrifices which can never take way sins.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Day after day

"day by day" or "every day"

can never take away sins

This speaks of "sins" as if they are an object that a person can take away. AT: "can never cause God to forgive sins" (See: Metaphor)

he sat down at the right hand of God

To sit at the "right hand of God" is a symbolic action of receiving great honor and authority from God. See how you translated a similar phrase in Hebrews 1:3. AT: "he sat down at the place of honor and authority beside God" (See: Symbolic Action)

until his enemies are made a stool for his feet

The humiliation of Christ's enemies is spoken of as if they were made a place for him to rest his feet. This can be stated in active form. AT: "until God humiliates Christ's enemies and they become like a stool for his feet" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

those who are being sanctified

This can be stated in active form. AT: "those whom God is sanctifying" or "those whom God has dedicated to himself" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

priest

servant

God

sacrifice

sin

Christ

eternity

right hand

adversary

footstool

perfect

sanctify

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

11. πᾶς μὲν ἱερεύς DEKL. The reading πᾶς μὲν ἀρχιερεύς is supported by AC and is possibly right, as ἱερεὺς may have been a correction to avoid the apparent error involved in the καθʼ ἡμέραν, and perhaps οἱ ἱερεῖς would have been a more natural and accurate expression (as Bleek says) than πᾶς ἱερεύς, which in its literal sense was not true.

11. πᾶς μὲν ἱερεύς. The better reading seems to be ἀρχιερεύς, “High Priest.”

ἕστηκεν. None were permitted to sit in the Holy Place. Christ sat in the Holiest, far above all Heavens.

πολλάκις. “Day by day for a continual burnt-offering” (Num 28:3; comp. Heb 7:27).

περιελεῖν. This is a much stronger word than ἀφαιρεῖν in Heb 10:4. It means “at once to strip away,” as though sin were some close-fitting robe (see Heb 12:1) (“ringsum wegnehmen”).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11-14.] See summary at ver. 1.

11.] And (καί introduces a new particular of contrast: ‘and besides’) every high priest (much has of late been said by Delitzsch against the reading ἀρχιερεύς, as bringing in an inaccuracy which our Writer could not be guilty of, seeing that the high priests did not officiate in the daily sacrifice. But all such arguments are worthless against preponderating evidence, and rather tend the other way, viz. to shew how natural it was to alter ἀρχιερεύς to ἱερεύς, on account of this very difficulty. So that on the “procliviori præstat ardua” principle as well, we are bound I conceive to retain ἀρχιερεύς. And with regard to the alleged inaccuracy, I really think that if closely viewed, it will prove rather to be a fine and deep touch of truth. The High-priesthood of our Lord is to be compared with that of the Jewish legal high priests. On the one side is Jesus, alone in the glory of his office and virtue of his sacrifice; on the other is the Jewish high-priesthood, not one man but many, by reason of death; represented in all its acts, personal or delegated, by its holder for the time, by πᾶς ἀρχιερεύς, offering not one, but many sacrifices. This ἀρχιερεύς is the representative of the whole priesthood. Whether he ministered in the daily service of the temple himself or not, it is he who embodies the acts and sufferings of Israel in his own person. How Delitzsch can say that such an idea is foreign alike to the Bible and the Jewish mind, I am at a loss to understand, considering the liberation at the death of the high priest, not to insist on the ceremonies themselves at the day of atonement, when he was clearly the centre and representative of the priesthood, and indeed of all Israel. In treating of the Head of so compact a system as the Jewish priesthood it is clearly allowable, if any where, to bring in the principle, “qui facit per alterum, facit per se.” See ch. 7:27, where the very same καθʼ ἡμέραν is predicated of the ἀρχιερεύς) standeth (see reff. No priest nor other person might sit in the inner court of the temple, except the king. There is perhaps more than a fortuitous contrast to ἐκάθισεν below. So Œc. and Thl., aft. Chrys.: ἄρα τὸ ἑστάναι σημεῖόν ἐστι τοῦ λειτουργεῖν, τὸ δὲ καθῆσθαι, ὥσπερ ὁ χριστὸς ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ πατρός, σημεῖόν ἐστι τοῦ λειτουργεῖσθαι οἷα θεὸν ὄντα. The vulgate rendering, “præsto est,” is clearly wrong) day by day ministering (see note, ch. 8:2), and (καί brings out that in the λειτουργία, which the Writer wishes most to emphasize) often offering the same sacrifices, the which (i. e. of a sort which, such as) can never take away (lit. ‘strip off all round:’ so of a ring, Gen 41:42: Est 3:10: Jos. Antt. xix. 2. 3: Ælian V. H. i. 21: Herod. iii. 41: of clothes from the body, Gen 38:14: Deu 21:13: Jon 3:6: 2 Macc. 4:38. See reff.: and many more examples in Bleek. And such a word is peculiarly fitting to express the removal of that of which it is said, ch. 5:2, αὐτὸς περίκειται ἀσθένειαν, and which is called, ch. 12:1, ἡ εὐπερίστατος ἁμαρτία. The sacrifice might bring sense of partial forgiveness: but it could never denude the offerer of sinfulness—strip off and take away his guilt) sins:

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Every priest [πας] . Suggesting many priests. Comp. ch. Heb 7:23. Standeth [εστηκεν] . Servile attitude, contrasted with that of the exalted Savior, ch. 1 3.

Daily - often - the same. The wearisome round of daily offerings, always the same, contrasted with the one offering, once for all. Take away [περιελειν] . Only here in connection with sin. See on 2Co 3:16. The verb literally means to strip off all round. See Gen 41:42 (of a ring) : Gen 38:14; Deu 21:13 (of clothes). Comp. eujperistatov, Heb 12:1, see note, and perikeitai ajsqeneian is compassed about with weakness, Heb 5:2. See also clothed with shame, and with cursing, Psa 35:26; Psa 109:18.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.