Religion Scripture Readings

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:3 and 1:4

Contend for the Faith

Jude 1:3Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
It would be nice if we could just talk about all the positive things concerning the Christian life. But at times criticism is called for. Such is the case throughout the New Testament letters. Though generally today people get upset when criticism is offered or discernment exercised, as much of Western culture in particular emphasizes tolerance and multiculturalism. But at times - in fact in many cases - the Bible goes against the grain of the world's culture. Thus Jesus said to those who offered worldly advice, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." John 7:7

Thus within the Christian community we are called to contend earnestly for the faith - the faith which is clearly layed out in the Bible. For there are those among the Christian community who deviate significantly from what it says. And if they are not dealt with, their false ideas may gain a foothold in the Christian's thought.

Anti-Lordship Heretics

Jude 1:4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
And why have such men crept in unnoticed? Because Christians were not watchful, either not bothering to evaluate, or being discouraged from evaluating whether alleged sheep are really wolves in sheep clothing.

One such example of this are false brothers who had even infiltrated the church at Jerusalem of which Peter, James and John were overseeing. Peter, James and John hadn't noticed them, but Paul did. When he visited the church in Jerusalem it is written, "they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, 'it is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.'"Acts 15:4,5 Paul writes of this incident, "This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." Gal 2:4

There are primarily two kinds of wolves - just as there are two ways to deviate from the straight and narrow path. On the one hand are the legalists of which we Paul encountered above. But on the other are the licentious, the lawless.

The licentious Christians are those who refuse to submit to the Lordship of Christ, but view the grace of God - the forgiveness of sins - as a license to sin. For example Jesus rebuked the church at Thyatira saying,"you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality" Rev 2:20

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:5

Jude 1:5
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once know
this
The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "knew all things"; but rather it is to be restrained by the following instance of, God's vengeance on unbelievers; which with others is produced, to vindicate the divine conduct in the condemnation of the above persons, and to show that that is certain, and may be expected, since God has always dealt thus with such persons; and this they knew by reading of the Scriptures; at least they had known it once, though it might now be forgotten by them; and they had known it once for all; they had been perfectly acquainted with it; which is said, lest the apostle should be thought to write to persons ignorant, and rude in knowledge, and to show that he wrote nothing new and unheard of, and so should have the more weight and influence upon them; and he thought fit to remind them of it, though they had known it: it is one part of the work of the ministers of the word to put people in mind of what they have known; which is necessary, because of the inattentiveness of hearers, their forgetfulness, and loss of knowledge, and the weakness of some capacities to take in, and retain things; and if the judgment is not more informed hereby, yet the affections may be afresh raised, and grace be drawn out into exercise, and the mind be established and confirmed. The instance follows,

how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt;
that is, the people of Israel, who were the chosen people of God, a special people, above all others, and had peculiar privileges; these the Lord brought out of the land of Egypt, with an high hand, and a mighty arm, and saved them out of their bondage, and delivered out of their oppressions and afflictions: the Alexandrian copy, and some others, the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions, instead of "the Lord", read "Jesus": and yet, though they were a special people, and notwithstanding this wonderful deliverance, and great salvation, he

afterward destroyed them that believed not;
their carcasses fell in the wilderness by one judgment or another upon them; so that of all that came out of Egypt, but two entered into the land of Canaan: this shows the evil nature of unbelief; and that God will not suffer sin to go unobserved in any; no outward privileges and profession will screen any from divine vengeance; God sometimes makes severe examples of mere nominal professors; nor must false teachers, deniers of Christ, and perverters of his Gospel, expect to go free: moreover, it may be observed, that God may do great things for persons, and yet after all destroy them; great riches and honours may be conferred on some, great natural gifts on others; some may seem as if they had the grace of God, and were brought out of spiritual Egypt, and enjoy great mercies and favours, and have many deliverances wrought for them, and yet at last perish.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

I find Jude 1:6 interesting and have included several takes on the subject

Matthew Poole's Commentary
Kept not their first estate; in which they were created, their original excellency, truth, holiness, purity, John 8:44, as well as dignity. But left their own habitation; viz. a heavenly one, from whence, though they were righteously thrust out by God, 2 Peter 2:4, yet they may be truly said to have left it themselves, in that they voluntarily rebelled against the law of their creation, and committed that sin which they knew would certainly be punished with such a dejection. He hath reserved in everlasting chains; into which, Peter says, they weredelivered.Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd the angels which kept not their first estate,.... Or "principality"; that holy, honourable, and happy condition, in which they were created; for they were created in perfect holiness and righteousness, stood in the relation of sons to God, and were, for the lustre of their nature, comparable to the morning stars; they were among the thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; were a superior rank of creatures to men, and who beheld the face, and enjoyed the presence of God; but this estate they kept not, for being mutable creatures, one of them first sinning, the rest were drawn into it by him, and so were not what they were before, nor in the same estate, or place:
but left their own habitation; by attempting to rise higher; or by quitting their station and posts of honour, being unwilling to be subject to God, and especially to the Son of God, who was to assume human nature, and in it be above them, which they could not bear; and by gathering together in a body, in another place, with Satan at the head of them; though this may be considered as a part of their punishment, and they may be said to do what they were forced to; for they were drove out of their native habitation, heaven; they were turned out of it, and cast down to hell; see 2 Peter 2:4. And this their habitation, which they left, or fell from, or they were cast out of, is by the Jews frequently called the place of their holiness, or their holy place (g),

He hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness; by these "everlasting chains" may be meant the power and providence of God over them, which always abide upon them; or their sins, and the guilt of them upon their consciences, under which they are continually held; or the decrees and purposes of God concerning their final punishment and destruction, which are immutable and irreversible, and from which there is no freeing themselves:, the phrase, under darkness, may refer to the chains, as in 2 Peter 2:4; where they are called "chains of darkness"; either because the power, providence, and purposes of God are invisible; so the Syriac version reads, "in unknown chains"; or because horror and black despair are the effects of sin, and its guilt, with which their consciences are continually filled: or it may denote the place and state where they are, either in the darkness of the air, or in the dark parts of the earth, or in hell, where is utter darkness, even blackness of darkness; or that they are under the power of sin, which is darkness, and without the light of God's countenance, or any spiritual knowledge, or comfort: and they are "reserved" in these chains, and under this darkness; or "in prison", as the Arabic version renders it; which denotes the custody of them, and their continuance in it, in which they are kept by Jesus Christ, who can bind and loose Satan at his pleasure; and it shows that they are not as yet in full torment, but are like malefactors that are kept in prison, until the assize comes: so these are laid in chains, and kept in custody

unto the judgment of the great day; that is, the future and last "judgment" of men and devils, which is certain, and will be universal, and executed with the strictest justice: this is called "a day", which is fixed by God, though unknown to men and angels; and because of the evidence and quick dispatch of things, the matters judged will be as clear as the day, and finished at once; and a great one, for the Judge will appear in great glory; great things will be done, the dead will be raised, and all nations will be gathered together, and the process will be with great solemnity; the thrones will be set, the books opened, the several sentences pronounced, and, all punctually executed; the judgment of the great day is the same the Jews call , "the day of the great judgment" (h). This account shows the imprisoned state of the devils, that they are not their own lords, and cannot do as they would; they are under restraints, and in chains, and not to be feared; which must be a great mortification to their proud and malicious spirits: and since this is the case of fallen angels, what severity may be expected from God against the opposers of the truths of the Gospel?

(g) Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 73. 1. Pirke Eliezer, c. 14, 22, 27. Zohar in Gen. fol. 28. 1. & Sepher Bahir in ib. fol. 27. 3.((h) Targum in Psal. l. 3.Geneva Study Bible
{5} And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
(5) The fall of the angels was most severely punished, how much more then will the Lord punish wicked and faithless men?

 

[DaLincolnJones]

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Jude 1:6. A second example taken from the angelic world. As God spared not the people rescued from bondage, so neither did He spare the angels who left their habitation. This also was an admonitory representation for Christians, who, in the face of the high dignity which they possessed by redemption, yielded themselves to a life of vice.ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας κ.τ.λ.] is, according to the construction, as the τε indicates, closely connected with the preceding.ἀγγέλους without the article considered generally; the participle connected with the article indicates the definite class of angels who are here meant.For the understanding of this verse the following points are to be observed:—(1) By the twofold participial clause τοὺς μὴ … ἀρχήν andἀπολιπόντας … οἰκητήριον, something sinful is attributed to the angels (2 Peter 2:4 : ἁμαρτησάντων), on account of which the punishment expressed by εἰς κρίσεν … τετήρηκε was inflicted upon them; (2) The two clauses μὴ … ἀλλὰ … so correspond, that the second positive clause explains the first negative clause; and (3) what Jude says of the angels corresponds with the doctrine of the angels contained in the Book of Enoch.τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν κ.τ.λ.] ἀρχήmust here denote something which the angels by forsaking τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον did not preserve, but gave up or slighted. But by ἀπολ. τὸ ἴδ. οἰκητ., according to the Book of Enoch 12:4,[18] is meant their forsaking of heaven, and their descent to earth in order to go after the daughters of men (so also Hofmann); but not, as Hornejus and others think, the loss of the heavenly dwelling, which they drew upon themselves by conspiring against God; which would militate against the first observation.By ἈΡΧΉ expositors understand either the original condition (origo: Calvin, Grotius, Hornejus,[19] and others), or the dominion which originally belonged to them (Bengel, de Wette, Wiesinger, Schott, Hofmann; Brückner thinks that the meaning dominion passes over into that of origin). According to the first explanation, the term is too indefinite, both in itself and in reference to the second parallel clause. It is in favour of the second explanation, that in the N. T. angels are often designated by the name ἀρχή, ἀρχαί; as also the prevailing idea among the Jews was, that to the angels a lordship belongs over the earthly creation. By this explanation, also, the two clauses correspond; instead of administering their office as rulers, they forsook their heavenly habitation, and thus became culpable. The explanation, according to which ἀρχὴ ἑαυτῶν denotes not the dominion of the angels, but the dominion of God, to which they were subjected, is both against linguistic usage and against the context.εἰς κρίσιν … τετήρηκεν] Statement of the punishment. This also corresponds with the expression in the Book of Enoch, where in chap. 10:12 it is said: “Bind them fast under the mountains of the earth … even to the day of judgment … until the last judgment will be held for all eternity.[20]τετήρηκεν is in sharp contrast to μὴ τηρήσαντας: the perfect expresses an action begun in the past and continued in the present. Themode of retention is more precisely stated by δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον] By ἀϊδίοις the chains by which they are bound are designated as eternal, and incapable of being rent.ὑπὸ ζόφον] ζόφος only here and Jude 1:13, and in the parallel passages 2 Peter 2:4; 2 Peter 2:17; comp. also Wis 17:2;[21] usuallyΣΚΌΤΟς, the darkness of hell; ὙΠΌ is explained by conceiving the angels in the lowest depths of hell, covered with darkness.[22] Inτετήρηκεν is not contained the final doom which will only take place at the general judgment; therefore: εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας] μεγ.ἡμέρα, without any further designation, used of the last judgment only here; the same adjective, as an attribute of that day, in Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:17; Revelation 16:14.[18] “Announce to the watchers of heaven, who forsook the high heaven and their holy eternal abodes, and have corrupted themselves with women;” xv.Jude 1:3 : “Wherefore have ye forsaken the high and holy and eternal heaven, and have slept with women?” … lxiv.: “These are the angels who have gone down from heaven to earth;” and other passages. Genesis 6:2lies at the foundation of this tradition, the explanation of which is to this day contested. Whilst Hofmann explains the expression בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים as a designation of the angels, Ferd. Philippi decidedly rejects this explanation.[19] Hornejus, after John 8:44, designates as the original condition here meant, veritas i. e. innocentia et sanctitas. Stier thinks “that the original condition was at the same time the ground of their nature and condition inGod, or, as it is now perhaps called, the principle of their true life. They preserved not themselves in God, whilst they surrendered and lost the proper pure ground of their glorious being.”[20] Comp. also x. Jude 1:4 : “Bind Azâzêl, and put him in darkness,” xiv. 5, xxi. 10, etc. In the Midrasch Ruth in the Book of Zohar it is said: Postquam filii Dei filios genuerunt, sumsit eos Deus et ad montem tenebrarum perduxit, ligavitque in catenis ferreis, quae usque ad medium abyssi magnae pertingunt.[21] Comp. also Hesiod. Theog. v. 729, where it is said:[22] There is an apparent difference between what is here said and the representations of the N. T. elsewhere, according to which Satan and hisἄγγελοι have even now their residence in the air (Ephesians 2:2, or in the upper regions, ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις, Ephesians 6:12), and although already judged by Christ (John 16:11), yet as κοσμοκράτορες exercise power over unbelievers, and also lay snares for believers, in order to bring them again into subjection. Expositors, in general, have attempted to reconcile this by referring this continued activity of the devil to the special permission of God; Calvin otherwise: porro nobis fingendus non est locus, quo inclusi sint diaboli; simpliciter enim docere voluit Ap., quam misera sit eorum conditio … nam quocunque pergant, secum trahunt sua vincula et suis tenebris obvoluti manent. Dietlein remarks on 2 Peter 2:4 : “Not only Tartarus, but also the chains of darkness, are to be understood in a local and corporeal sense, but not of such a locality, or of such an imprisonment in that locality, as would require an exclusion from our locality, or an incapability of movement through our locality.” But all these artificial explanations are to be rejected, inasmuch as Jude does not speak of Satan and his angels, but of a definite class of angels, to whom, in agreement with the Book of Enoch, he refers Genesis 6:2. This is correctly observed by Hofmann, Wiesinger, and Schott, with whom Brückner appears to agree; on the other hand, F. Philippi (p. 140) observes: “Jude speaks here of the original fall of the angels from pride, not of their union with earthly women.”Ἔνθα θεοὶ Τιτῆνες ὑπὸ ζόφῳ ἠρόενταΚεκρύφαται, βουλῆσι Διὸς νεφεληγερέταοΧώρῳ ἐν εὐρώεντι.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Jude 1:6. ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἐαυτῶν ἀρχὴν … εἰς κρίσιν … τετήρηκεν.] Cf. Clem. Al. Adumbr. “Angelos qui non servaverunt proprium principatum, scilicet quem acceperunt secundum profectum.” This of course supplies an even more striking instance of the possibility of falling away from grace, cf. Bede, “Qui angelis peccantibus non pepercit, nee hominibus parcet super-bientibus, sed et hos quoque cum suum principatum non servaverint, quo per gratiam adoptionis filii Dei effecti sunt, sed reliquerint suum domicilium, id est, Ecclesiae unitatem … damnabit”. On the Fall of the Angels see Introduction and the parallel passages in 2 Peter 2:4, and in Enoch, chapters 6–10.ἀρχήν.] Used of office and dignity, as in Genesis 40:21 of the chief butler: here perhaps of the office of Watcher, though Spitta takes it more generally of the sovereignty belonging to their abode in heaven = τὸν ἄνω κλῆρον in Clem. Al. 650 P. The term ἀρχή is used of the evil angels themselves in Ephesians 6:12. Cf. Enoch xii. 4, of the Watchers (angels) who have abandoned the high heaven and the holy eternal place and defiled themselves with women, ib. xv. 3. Philo says of the fallen angels (M. i. p. 268), καλὸν μὴ λιποτακτῆσαι μὲν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ τάξεως,ἐν ᾗ τοὺς τεταγμένους πάντας ἀριστεύειν ἀνάγκη,αὐτομολῆσαι δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἄνανδρον ἡδονήν. So Just. M[788] Apol. ii. 5, οἱ δʼ ἄγγελοι παραβάντες τήνδε τὴν τάξιν γυναικῶν μίξεσιν ἡττήθησαν with Otto’s n.[788]. Codex Ruber (sæc. ix.), at the British Museum; it derives its name from the colour of the ink.ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον. Cf.2 Corinthians 5:2, τὸ οἰκ. τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, and the quotation from Enoch in the last n. [Forοἰκητήριον, cf. Enoch xv. 7 (the message of Enoch to the Watchers) “the spiritual have their dwelling in heaven” … ἡ κατοίκησις αὐτῶν ἔσται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Chase.]εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφου τετήρηκεν. Cf.2 Peter 2:4σειροῖς ζόφου ταρταρώσας, 2 Peter 2:9, ἀδίκους εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως κολαζομένους τηρεῖν, 2 Peter 3:7, τηρούμενοι εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως … τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων, Joel 2:31, ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος … πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆRevelation 6:17, ἦλθεν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ, Revelation 16:14, συναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον τῆς μεγάλης ἡμέρας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος. Enoch 10:5, ἐπικάλυψον αὐτῷ (Azazel)σκότος, καὶ οἰκησάτω ἐκεῖ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, Enoch 10:12,δῆσον αὐτοὺς … μέχρι ἡμέρας κρίσεως αὐτῶν, Enoch 12:11 (Gr. in Charles’ App. [789]) μέχρι τῆς μεγάλης ἡμέρας τῆς κρίσεως, ib. liv. 6, note on xlv. 1. So ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου1 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Peter 3:10al., ἐκείνη ἡ ἡμέρα2 Thessalonians 1:10. On δεσμοῖς see En. liv. 3–5, “I saw how they made iron chains of immeasurable weight, and I asked for whom they were prepared, and he said unto me ‘These are prepared far the hosts of Azazel’.” cf.δέσμιοι σκότους (Wis 17:2) of the plague of darkness.[789] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.ἀϊδίοις. The chains are called “everlasting,” but they are only used for a temporary purpose, to keep them for the final judgment. It seems to be here synonymous with αἰώνιος in Jude 1:7. So too in the only other passages in which it occurs in the Bible, Wis 7:26, ἀπαύγασμά ἐστι φωτὸς ἀϊδίου, and Romans 1:20, ἡ ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6. And the angels which kept not their first estate] The two last words answer to a Greek term which may either mean “beginning,” i.e. their original constitution, the meaning adopted in the English version, or “sovereignty.” The latter sense may mean either that they rejected the sovereignty of God, or that they abandoned the position of power and dignity which He had assigned them. Looking to the fact that the term is used in the New Testament, as by Jewish writers, as describing a class of angels (the “principalities” of Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12;Colossians 1:16; Colossians 2:15), the latter explanation is probably the true one. On the nature of the sin referred to, see notes on 2 Peter 2:4.but left their own habitation] As this is named as the sin, not as the punishment, it seems to imply a descent from the region of heaven to that of earth, like that implied in the language of Genesis 6:2.he hath reserved in everlasting chains …] The words, like those of 2 Peter 2:4, seem to indicate a distinction between the angels who were thus punished, and the “demons” or “unclean spirits” with Satan at their head, who exercise a permitted power as the tempters, accusers, and destroyers of mankind, the “world-rulers of this darkness” of Ephesians 6:12, who even “in heavenly places” carry on their warfare against the souls of men. It is possible that St Jude recognised such a distinction. His language, like that of St Peter, follows the traditions of the Book of Enoch, which speaks of fallen angels as kept in their prison-house till the day of judgment (xxii. 4), and those which are represented by the Midrasch Ruth in the Book of Zohar, “After that the sons of God had begotten sons, God took them and brought them to the mount of darkness and bound them in chains of darkness which reach to the middle of the great abyss.” A fuller form of the Rabbinic legend relates that the angels Asa and Asael charged God with folly in having created man who so soon provoked Him, and that He answered that if they had been on earth they would have sinned as man had done. “And thereupon He allowed them to descend to earth, and they sinned with the daughters of men. And when they would have returned to Heaven they could not, for they were banished from their former habitation and brought into the dark mountains of the earth” (Nischmath Chaim in Nork’s Rabbinische Quellen und Parallelen). The resemblance between this tradition and that of the Zoroastrian legend of the fall of Ahriman and his angels, and again of the punishment of the Titans by Zeus in the mythology of Hesiod (Theogon. 729), shews the wide-spread currency of the belief referred to. How far this allusive reference to a tradition which the writers accepted stamps it with a Divine authority as an article of faith is a question the answer to which depends on external considerations as to the nature of the inspiration by which the writers who so referred were guided. The office of the interpreter is limited to stating what, as far as can be gathered, was actually in the thoughts of the writer.
Bengel's Gnomen
Jude 1:6. Ἀγγέλους, the angels) 2 Peter 2:4, note.—μὴ τηρήσαντας, that kept not) They ought therefore to have kept it.—ἀρχὴν) their dignity; the state once for all assigned to them, under the Son of God: Colossians 1—ἀπολιπόντας, who left) of their own accord.—ἴδιον, their own) befitting them.—οἰκητηρίον, habitation) bright and shining, opposed to ζόφον, darkness.—ἀϊδίοις, everlasting) A dreadful epithet, as here used. So Jude 1:7, αἰωνίου, everlasting.—τετήρηκεν,He hath reserved) determined to reserve.Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - The second instance of Divine judgment is taken from the angelic world. The copula connects it closely with the former, and gives it some emphasis: "angels, too," i.e., angels not less than the people selected by God to be a people for himself, have been examples of the terrible law of Divine retribution. The particular class of angels are defined as those who kept not their first estate; or better, their own principality. The idea conveyed by the term here is that of lordship rather than beginning. It is the term which is held by most commentators to be used as a title of angels in such passages as Colossians 1:16; Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10;Ephesians 6:12, etc., where mention is made of "principalities." In the present passage Tyndale, Cranmer, the Genevan and our Authorized Version agree in rendering it "first estate." But the Rhemish gives "principality," and Wickliffe has "princehood." Those seem right, therefore, who take the reference to be to the Jewish idea of a peculiar dignity or lordship held by the angels in creation. The sin alleged as the reason for the penalty which the writer recalls to the minds of his readers is that they failed to keep this lordship, andleft their proper habitation; by which latter clause a descent to a different sphere of being is intended. The penalty itself is this - that God hath kept them in everlasting chains (or, bonds, with the Revised Version) under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. It is well to retain the rendering "kept" in this clause, instead of the "reserved" of the Authorized Version. For the verb used in describing the sin and that used in describing the penalty are the same. As they "kept not their lordship," God has "kept them in everlasting bonds." The word by which the idea of the everlasting is expressed is a peculiarly strong one, occurring only once again in the New Testament, viz. in Romans 1:20, where it is applied to God's "eternalpower." It designates these bonds as bonds from which there never can be escape. The place of this present penal detention is declared to be "under darkness." The term selected for the darkness, again, is an unusual one, occurring only here, in verse 13, and in 2 Peter 2:4, 17, and possiblyHebrews 12:18. It means the densest, blackest darkness, and is used both in Homer and in the apocryphal literature (Wisd. 17:2) of the darkness of the nether world. This darkness, as Dean Alford observes, is "considered as brooding over them, and they under it." But this present penal detention is itself the prelude to a still more awful doom - "the judgment of the great day" (cf. Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:17). There is a similar, but less definite, statement on the subject of angelic sin and penalty in 2 Peter 2:4. But these representations differ greatly from others (e.g., Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12), where the air or the heavenly places appear as the scenes occupied by evil spirits, and these spirits possess freedom. In the New Testament, indeed, there are no passages, except those in Peter and Jude, which speak of fallen angels as at present in bonds. Even in Matthew 25:41, the statement is of a fate prepared, and nothing more. The difference in the two representations is due probably to a difference in the subjects. Other passages refer to the devil and his angels. But in the present passage there is nothing to indicate that the fall of Satan is in view. The sin suggested by the context is not the sin of pride, but a sin against nature. The reference, therefore, is taken to be to the Jewish idea that amatory passion is not limited to the creatures of earth, and that some angels, yielding to the spell of the beauty of the daughters of men, forsook their own kingdom, and entered unto unnatural relations with them. The Jewish belief is seen in the story of Asmodeus in the Book of Tobit; it is found by Josephus (who has been followed by not a few modern interpreters) in Genesis 6:1-4; and it is given with special distinctness in the Book of Enoch.Vincent's Word StudiesFirst estate (ἀρχὴν)
The word originally signifies beginning, and so frequently in New Testament, mostly in the Gospels, Acts, Hebrews, Catholic Epistles, and Apocalypse. From this comes a secondary meaning of sovereignty, dominion, magistracy, as being the beginning or first place of power. So mostly by Paul, as principalities (Romans 8:38); rule (1 Corinthians 15:24). Compare Luke 12:11, magistrates; Rev., rulers; and Luke 20:20, power. Rev., rule. A peculiar use of the word occurs at Acts 10:11, "the sheet knit at the four corners (ἀρχαῖς);" the corners being the beginnings of the sheet. In this passage the A. V. has adopted the first meaning, beginning, in its rendering first estate. Rev. adopts the second, rendering principality. The Jews regarded the angels as having dominion over earthly creatures; and the angels are often spoken of in the New Testament as ἀρχαί, principalities; as Romans 8:38;Ephesians 1:21; so that this term would be appropriate to designate their dignity, which they forsook.

Habitation (οἰκητήριον)

Only here and 2 Corinthians 5:2.

Everlasting (ἀΐδίοις)

Only here and Romans 1:20. For a longer form ἀείδιος, from ἀεί, always.

Under darkness (ὕπο ζόφον)

Under carries the sense of the darkness brooding over the fallen spirits. On darkness, see on 2 Peter 2:4. Compare Hesiod:

"There the Titanian gods, to murky gloom

Condemned by will of cloud-collecting Jove,

Lie hid in region foul."

Theogony, v., 729.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:7

Jude 1:7
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them
Admah and Zeboiim, for Zoar was spared. This is a third instance of God's vengeance on sinners; and which, like that of the Israelites, and of the angels, was after great favours had been enjoyed: these places were delightfully situated, and very fruitful, as the garden of God; they were under a form of government, had kings over them, and had lately had a very great deliverance from the kings that carried them captive, being rescued by Abraham; they had a righteous Lot among them, who was a reprover in the gate, and Abraham made intercession for them with God. But they

in like manner giving themselves over to fornication;
not as the angels, who are not capable of sinning in such a manner; though the Jews make this to be a sin of theirs, and so interpret ( Genesis 6:2 Genesis 6:4 ) {i}, but rather the Israelites, among whom this sin prevailed, ( 1 Corinthians 10:8 ) ; though it seems best of all to refer it to the false teachers that turned the grace of God into lasciviousness, and were very criminal this way; and then the sense is, that in like manner as they, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, gave themselves over to the sin of fornication; wherefore these men might expect the same judgments that fell upon them, since their sin was alike; which sin is a work of the flesh, contrary to the law of God, is against the body, and attended with many evils; exposes to judgment here and hereafter, and unfits for the communion of the saints, and for the kingdom of heaven:

and going after strange flesh;
or "other flesh"; meaning not other women besides their own wives, but men; and designs that detestable and unnatural sin, which, from these people, is called sodomy to this day; and which is an exceeding great sin, contrary to the light of nature and law of God, dishonourable to human nature, and scandalous to a nation and people, and commonly prevails where idolatry and infidelity do, as among the Papists and Mahometans; and arose from idleness and fulness of bread in Sodom, and was committed in the sight of God, with great impudence: their punishment follows,

are set forth for an example;
being destroyed by fire from heaven, and their cities turned into a sulphurous lake, which continues to this day, as a monument of God's vengeance, and an example to all such who commit the same sins, and who may expect the same equitable punishment; and to all who live ungodly lives, though they may not be guilty of the same crimes; and to all that slight and reject the Gospel revelation, with whom it will be more intolerable than for Sodom and Gomorrah; and to antichrist, who bears the same name, and spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt; and particularly to all false teachers, who besides their strange doctrines, go after strange flesh:

suffering the vengeance of eternal fire;
which may be understood of that fire, with which those cities, and the inhabitants of it, were consumed; which, Philo the F11 Jew says, burnt till his time, and must be burning when Jude wrote this epistle. The effects of which still continues, the land being now brimstone, salt, and burning; and is an emblem and representation of hell fire, between which there is a great likeness; as in the matter of them, both being fire; in the efficient cause of them, both from the Lord; and in the instruments thereof, the angels, who, as then, will hereafter be employed in the delivery of the righteous, and in the burning of the wicked; and in the circumstance attending both, suddenly, at an unawares, when not thought of, and expected; and in the nature of them, being a destruction total, irreparable, and everlasting: and this agrees with the sentiments of the Jews, who say F12, that



``the men of Sodom have no part or portion in the world to come, and shall not see the world to come.''


And says R. Isaac,


``Sodom is judged (Mnhygd anydb) , "with the judgment of hell"

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:8

Jude 1:8
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh
Which may be literally understood, either of the Jewish doctors, who pretended to be interpreters of dreams, as R. Akiba, R. Lazar, and others F14; or of the false teachers in the apostle's time, and of their filthy dreams, and nocturnal pollutions in them; which sense the Arabic and Ethiopic versions confirm; the former rendering the words thus, "so these retiring in the time of sleep, defile their own flesh"; and the latter thus, "and likewise these, who in their own sleep, pollute their own flesh"; as also of their pretensions to divine assistance and intelligence by dreams; and likewise may be figuratively understood of them; for false doctrines are dreams, and the teachers of them dreamers, ( Jeremiah 23:25 Jeremiah 23:27 Jeremiah 23:28 Jeremiah 23:32 ) , as are all those doctrines of men that oppose the trinity of persons in the Godhead; that contradict the deity and sonship of Christ; that depreciate any of his offices; that lessen the glory of the person and grace of the Spirit; that cry up the purity, power, and righteousness of human nature, and are contrary to the free grace of God. These arise from the darkness of the understanding, and a spirit of slumber upon them; are the fictions of their own brain, and of their roving imagination; are illusory and deceitful, and are in themselves vanities, and like dreams pass away. And the dreamers of these dreams may be said to "defile the flesh"; since they appear to follow and walk after the dictates of corrupt nature; and because by their unclean practices, mentioned in the preceding verse, they defile the flesh, that is, the body: all sin is of a defiling nature, and all men are defiled with it; but these were notoriously so; and often so it is, that unclean practices follow upon erroneous principles.

Despise dominion;
either the government of the world by God, denying or speaking evil of his providence; the Ethiopic version renders it, "they deny their own God", either his being, or rather his providence; or the dominion and kingly power of Christ, to which they cared not to be subject; or rather civil magistracy, which they despised, as supposing it to be inconsistent with their Christian liberty, and rejected it as being a restraint on their lusts; choosing rather anarchy and confusion, that they might do as they pleased, though magistracy is God's ordinance, and magistrates are God's representatives:

and speak evil of dignities;
or "glories"; the Arabic version reads, "the God of glory": this is to be understood either of angels, those glorious creatures, called thrones, dominions or ecclesiastical governors, who are set in the first and highest place in the church, and are the glory of the churches; or else civil magistrates, as before, who are the higher powers, and sit in high places of honour and grandeur. False teachers are injurious to themselves, disturbers of churches, and pernicious to civil government.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:9

Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel
By whom is meant, not a created angel, but an eternal one, the Lord Jesus Christ; as appears from his name Michael, which signifies, "who is as God": and who is as God, or like unto him, but the Son of God, who is equal with God? and from his character as the archangel, or Prince of angels, for Christ is the head of all principality and power; and from what is elsewhere said of Michael, as that he is the great Prince, and on the side of the people of God, and to have angels under him, and at his command, ( Daniel 10:21 ) ( 12:1 ) ( Revelation 12:7 ) . So Philo the Jew F15calls the most ancient Word, firstborn of God, the archangel; Uriel is called the archangel in this passage from the Apocrypha:

``And unto these things Uriel the archangel gave them answer, and said, Even when the number of seeds is filled in you: for he hath weighed the world in the balance.'' (2 Esdras 4:36)

when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses;
which some understand literally of the fleshly and natural body of Moses, buried by the Lord himself, partly out of respect to him; and partly, as some think, lest the Israelites should be tempted to an idolatrous worship of him; but rather it was to show that the law of Moses was to be abolished and buried by Christ, never to rise more: and they think that this dispute was either about the burying of his body, or the taking of it up again; Satan on the one hand insisting upon the taking of it up, in order to induce the Israelites to worship him, and Michael, on the other hand, opposing it, to prevent this idolatry; but then the difficulty is, where Jude should have this account, since the Scriptures are silent about it. Some have thought that he took it out of an apocryphal book, called "the Ascension of Moses", as Origen F16, which is not likely; others, that he had it by tradition, by which means the Apostle Paul came by the names of the Egyptian magicians Jannes and Jambres; and some passages are referred to in some of their writings F17, as having some traces of this dispute; but in them the discourse is not concerning the body, but the soul of Moses; not concerning burying or taking up of his body, when buried, but concerning the taking away of his soul, when he was alive; which none of the angels caring to undertake, at length Samael, the chief of devils, did, but without success, wherefore God took it away with a kiss himself: besides, the apostle produces this history as a thing well known; nor is it reasonable to suppose that such an altercation should be between Michael, and the devil, on such an account; or that it was in order to draw Israel into idolatry on the one hand, and on the other hand to prevent it; since never was the custom of the Israelites to worship their progenitors or heroes; nor did they seem so well disposed to Moses in his lifetime; nor was there any necessity of taking up his body, were they inclined to give him honour and worship; yea, the sight of his dead body would rather have prevented than have encouraged it: but this is to be understood figuratively; and reference is had to the history in ( Zechariah 3:1 Zechariah 3:2 ) ; as appears from the latter part of this verse: some think the priesthood of Christ is intended, which was the end, the sum and substance, of the law of Moses; and seeing that Joshua, the high priest, was a type of Christ, and the angel of the Lord contended with Satan about him, he might be said to dispute with him about the body of Moses; but this sense makes a type of a type, and Christ to contend about himself; besides, this should rather be called the body of Christ than of Moses, others think that the temple of the Jews is meant about the rebuilding of which the contention is thought to be; and which may be called the body of Moses, as the church is called the body of Christ; though it should be observed, that the temple is never so called, and that not the place where the church meets, but the church itself, is called the body of Christ: but it is best of all to understand it of the law of Moses, which is sometimes called Moses himself, ( John 5:45 ) ( Acts 15:21 ) ( 21:21 ) ( 2 Corinthians 3:15 ) ; and so the body of Moses, or the body of his laws, the system of them; just as we call a system of laws, and of divinity, such an one's body of laws, and such an one's body of divinity: and this agrees with the language of the Jews, who say F18, of statutes, service, purification that they are (hrwth ypwg) , "the bodies of the law"; and so of Misnic treatises, as those which concern the offerings of turtle doves, and the purification of menstruous women, that they are (ypwg) , "the bodies" of the traditions F19, that is, the sum and substance of them: so the decalogue is said F20to be "the body of the Shema", or "Hear, O Israel", ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ) , so Clemens of Alexandria F21 says, that there are some who consider the body of the Scriptures, the words and names, as if they were, (to swma tou mwsewv) , "the body of Moses" F23. Now the law of Moses was restored in the time of Joshua the high priest, by Ezra and Nehemiah. Joshua breaks some of these laws, and is charged by Satan as guilty, who contended and insisted upon it that he should suffer for it; so that this dispute or contention might be said to be about the body of Moses, that is, the body of Moses's law, which Joshua had broken; in which dispute Michael, or the angel of the Lord, even the Lord Jesus Christ himself,

durst not bring against him a railing accusation;
that is, not that he was afraid of the devil, but though he could have given harder words, or severer language, and which the other deserved, yet he chose not to do it, he would not do it; in which sense the word "durst", or "dare", is used in ( Romans 5:7 ) ;

but said, the Lord rebuke thee;
for thy malice and insolence; see ( Zechariah 3:2 ) ; and this mild and gentle way of using even the devil himself agrees with Christ's conduct towards him, when tempted by him in the wilderness, and when in his agony with him in the garden, and amidst all his reproaches and sufferings on the cross. And now the argument is from the greater to the lesser, that if Christ, the Prince of angels, did not choose to give a railing word to the devil, who is so much inferior to him, and when there was so much reason and occasion for it; then how great is the insolence of these men, that speak evil of civil and ecclesiastical rulers, without any just cause at all?

 

[DaLincolnJones]

I enjoyed this guys take

Jude 1:10-;12


Jude 1:10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.
Again notice the similarity with 2Peter. "But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption" 2Pet 2:12

In particular Peter has been referring to false prophets in the Christian community. For he writes, "there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed." 2Peter 1:1-2

Don't be surprise to find such people in the Christian community, and even among leadership there are those who “want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” 1Tim 1:7

Heroes of Evil

Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Cain killed his brother out of envy concerning the performance of a religious ritual. It is written, "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." 1John 3:15

Peter writes of Balaam, who was reckoned a prophet in his own right, "he loved the wages of unrighteousness" 2Peter 2:15, and to the church of Pergamos Jesus said, "I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality." Rev 2:14

The rebellion or Korah, which occurred in Numbers 16, concerned a rebellion against Moses - a usurping of spiritual authority, saying to Moses, "You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" But in the end "the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods."

Beware of envy, covetousness, and the usurping of authority.

The Self-Serving

Jude 1:12These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
And again likewise Peter writes, "They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ... These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." 2Peter 2:13,14,17

Of the reference of the leaves without fruit Jesus said, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away." John 15:2 The reference to clouds or wells without water is the idea spoken of in Proverbs 25:14 "Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give." Peter elaborates on this saying, "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption." 2Peter 2:18,19

In order words these preach a "freedom in Christ" which to them means a freedom to sin. But what it leads to is an enslavement to sinful and corrupt passions of the flesh. For "freedom in Christ" is not freedom to sin, but rather freedom from sin.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:13

Jude 1:13
Raging waves of the sea
False teachers are so called, for their, swelling pride and vanity; which, as it is what prevails in human nature, is a governing vice in such persons, for knowledge without grace puffs up; and this shows that they had not received the doctrine of grace in truth, for that humbles; as also for their arrogance, boasting, and ostentation; and for their noisiness, their restless, uneasy, and turbulent spirits, for their furious and wrathful dispositions; as well as for their levity and inconstancy, and for their turpitude and filthiness:

foaming out their own shame:
wrathful words, frothy and obscene language, and filthy doctrines; and which expresses the issue of their noisy and blustering ministry, which ends in uncleanness, shame, emptiness, and ruin.

Wandering stars;
they are called "stars", because they have the appearance of such, and blaze for a while, in seeming light, zeal, and warmth, and in fame and reputation; and "wandering" ones, not comparable to the planets, which go their regular course, but to fiery exhalations, gliding and running stars; because they wander about from house to house, as well as from one nation to another, and being never settled in their principles, nor at a point in religion; and wander also after their own carnal lusts, and cause others to wander likewise, and at last become falling stars; not from real grace and sanctified knowledge, which they never had; but from truth to error, and from a seemingly holy life and conversation, to a vicious one; and from a profession of religion, to open profaneness; and whose fall is irrecoverable, as that of stars:

to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever;
or the blackest darkness, even utter darkness; which phrase not only expresses the dreadful nature of their punishment, their most miserable and uncomfortable condition; but also the certainty of it, it is "reserved" for them among the treasures of divine wrath and vengeance, by the righteous appointment of God, according to the just demerit of their sins; and likewise the duration of it, it will be for ever; there will never be any light or comfort, but a continual everlasting black despair, a worm that dieth not, a fire that will not be quenched, the smoke and blackness of which will ascend for ever and ever; hell is meant by it, which the Jews represent as a place of darkness: the Egyptian darkness, they say, came from the darkness of hell, and in hell the wicked will be covered with darkness; the darkness which was upon the face of the deep, at the creation, they interpret of hell F5.

 

[WarriorFan]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this but I'm hoping someone can help me out with the book of job. I've been dealing with some bad stuff and have found myself questioning god. In job, god says yet is blameless yet allows all kinds of bad stuff to happen to him. What is your interpretation of this? I recently read someone say that he was not truly a good person and god knew this; he knew that job would become a whiny bitch (like I have been) even before the adversity hit, so he preemptively punished him. I've also read the generic answer that these struggles are simply meant to make us stronger. But to me, he seems to be fucking with job just to test his loyalty which seems really cruel. Do any of you have any insight to this book.

If there is a better place to ask this and get some responses can a mod please move it? Thanks.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hey Warrior Fan

First off, I am n no way an expert. All I do is share some of the things that I am reading. I have a few links that may be helpful in explaining the Book of Job. Some including myself have a hard time understanding the context of Old Testament scripture and law with today's existence, in combination with New Testament beliefs.

http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/lcg/studytopics/lcg-st.cgi?category=Christianity1&item=1122911276

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jun/28/philosophy-judaism

Analysis
The Book of Job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, but also because it is extremely well written. The work combines two literary forms, framing forty chapters of verse between two and a half chapters of prose at the beginning and the end. The poetic discourse of Job and his friends is unique in its own right. The lengthy conversation has the unified voice and consistent style of poetry, but it is a dialogue between characters who alter their moods, question their motives, change their minds, and undercut each other with sarcasm and innuendo. Although Job comes closest to doing so, no single character articulates one true or authoritative opinion. Each speaker has his own flaws as well as his own lofty moments of observation or astute theological insight.

The interaction between Job and his friends illustrates the painful irony of his situation. Our knowledge that Job’s punishment is the result of a contest between God and Satan contrasts with Job’s confusion and his friends’ lecturing, as they try to understand why Job is being punished. The premise of the friends’ argument is that misfortune only follows from evil deeds. Bildad instructs Job, “if you are pure and upright, / surely then [God] will rouse himself / for you” and he later goads Job to be a “blameless person” (8:6, 8:20). The language in these passages is ironic, since, unbeknownst to Job or Job’s friends, God and Satan do in fact view Job as “blameless and upright.” This contrast shows the folly of the three friends who ignore Job’s pain while purporting to encourage him. The interaction also shows the folly of trying to understand God’s ways. The three friends and Job have a serious theological conversation about a situation that actually is simply a game between God and Satan. The fault of Job and his friends lies in trying to explain the nature of God with only the limited information available to human knowledge, as God himself notes when he roars from the whirlwind, “Who is this that darkness counsel / by words without / knowledge?” (38:2).

The dominant theme of Job is the difficulty of understanding why an all-powerful God allows good people to suffer. Job wants to find a way to justify God’s actions, but he cannot understand why there are evil people who “harm the childless woman, / and do no good to the widow,” only to be rewarded with long, successful lives (24:21). Job’s friends, including Elihu, say that God distributes outcomes to each person as his or her actions deserve. As a result of this belief, they insist that Job has committed some wrongdoing to merit his punishment. God himself declines to present a rational explanation for the unfair distribution of blessings among men. He boasts to Job, “Have you comprehended the / expanse of the earth? / Declare, if you know all this” (38:18). God suggests that people should not discuss divine justice since God’s power is so great that humans cannot possibly justify his ways.

One of the chief virtues of the poetry in Job is its rhetoric. The book’s rhetorical language seeks to produce an effect in the listener rather than communicate a literal idea. God’s onslaught of rhetorical questions to Job, asking if Job can perform the same things he can do, overwhelms both Job and the reader with the sense of God’s extensive power as well as his pride. Sarcasm is also a frequent rhetorical tool for Job and his friends in their conversation. After Bildad lectures Job about human wisdom, Job sneers, “How you have helped one / who has no power! / How you have assisted the arm / that has no strength!” (26:2). Job is saying that he already knows what Bildad has just explained about wisdom. The self-deprecating tone and sarcastic response are rare elements in ancient verse. Such irony not only heightens the playfulness of the text but suggests the characters are actively responding to each other, thus connecting their seemingly disparate speeches together. The poetry in Job is a true dialogue, for the characters develop ideas and unique personalities throughout the course of their responses.

 

[WarriorFan]

Thanks. That is a good analysis but is still the problem that I have with the book. As best I can tell, the asnwer to "why is this happening?" is that because God just feels like it.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Thanks. That is a good analysis but is still the problem that I have with the book. As best I can tell, the asnwer to "why is this happening?" is that because God just feels like it.

Well, at least you are not alone in feeling this way. Pretty much the same these guys were debating thousands of years ago. Once again, the divide between religion and law is hard to distinguish, and to blame God for fortunes or misfortunes really is more of an old testament concept. Just be glad that there is no longer any reason for blood sacrifice after Jesus, and that most of the laws no longer apply.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:14

Jude 1:14
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam
This was Enoch the son of Jared; his name signifies one "instructed", or "trained up"; as he doubtless was by his father, in the true religion, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and was one that had much communion with God; he walked with him, and was translated by him, body and soul, to heaven, and did not see death; ( Genesis 5:18 Genesis 5:22 Genesis 5:24 ) ; he is said to be "the seventh from Adam"; not the seventh man from him that was born into the world, for there were no doubt thousands born before him; but he was, as the Jews express it , (yeybv rwd) , "the seventh generation" from him; and they have an observation , that all sevenths are always beloved by God; the seventh in lands, and the seventh in generations; Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, as it is written, ( Genesis 5:24 ) ; and this is said partly to distinguish him from others of the same name, and particularly from Enoch the son of Cain, the third: from Adam in his line, as this was the seventh from Adam in the line of Seth; and partly to observe the antiquity of the following prophecy of his: for it is said, he

prophesied of these;
of these false teachers, and such as they; what would be their sad state and condition at the second coming of Christ to judgment: that he had a spirit of prophecy is evident from the name he gave to his son Methuselah, which signifies, "when he dies is the emission", or the sending out of the waters of the flood, which came to pass the very year he did die. The Arabic writers call him Edris the prophet; and the Jews say , that he was in a higher degree than Moses or Elias; they also call him Metatron, the great scribe, a name which they sometimes give to the angel that went before the children of Israel in the wilderness, and which seems to belong to the Messiah: that Enoch wrote a prophecy, and left it behind him in writing, does not appear from hence, or elsewhere; the Jews, in some of their writings, do cite and make mention of the book of Enoch; and there is a fragment now which bears his name, but is a spurious piece, and has nothing like this prophecy in it; wherefore Jude took this not from a book called the "Apocalypse of Enoch", but from tradition; this prophecy being handed down from age to age; and was in full credit with the Jews, and therefore the apostle very appropriately produces it; or rather he had it by divine inspiration, and is as follows:

saying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints;
by the "Lord" is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ordained the Judge of quick and dead, and for which he is richly qualified, being omniscient and omnipotent, and faithful and righteous, and who will certainly come again to judge the world in righteousness; for not of his first coming, which was not to judge and condemn, but to seek and save, but of his second coming at the last day is this to be understood; and this is expressed in the present tense, "cometh", in the manner of the prophets, who speak of things future as if they already were, as Isaiah does of the incarnation, sufferings, and death of Christ, and to awaken the attention of persons to it, as if it was near at hand, as also to signify the certainty of it: and when he comes, he will be attended "with ten thousand of his saints": meaning either the souls of glorified saints, even all of them, ( 1 Thessalonians 3:13 ) , which will come with Christ, and meet the living ones, and be reunited to their own bodies, which will then be raised; or else the holy angels, as in ( Deuteronomy 33:2 ) ; and so some copies and the Arabic version read; which will be both for the showing forth of his glory and majesty, and for service in gathering his elect together, as well as for terror to the wicked; and a "behold" is prefixed to all this, to denote the certainty of Christ's coming, and the importance and wonderfulness of it: the ends of his coming follow.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:18 -20

(16-18) The methods of the certain men.

These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

a. Grumblers, complainers … they mouth great swelling words, flattering people: Jude noticed that their methods all revolved around words. On top of their questionable lives, they were essentially a people of deception, departing from the foundation of Jesus Christ, and the apostles and prophets.

b. These are grumblers, complainers: These people were complainers. It has rightly been observed that whenever a man gets out of touch with God he is likely to begin complaining about something.

i. Grumbling "is to insult the God who gives us all things; it is to forget that whatever befalls us, nothing can separate us from His love, nor deprive us of that most priceless of all treasures, the Lord's presence in our lives." (Green)

ii. "You know the sort of people alluded to here, nothing ever satisfies them. They are discontented even with the gospel. The bread of heaven must be cut into three pieces, and served on dainty napkins, or else they cannot eat it; and very soon their soul hates even this light bread. There is no way by which a Christian man can serve God so as to please them. They will pick holes in every preacher's coat; and if the great High Priest himself were here, they would find fault with the color of the stones of his breastplate." (Spurgeon)

c. Flattering people: These certain men knew how to use smooth, flattering words to get an advantage over other people. They would say anything - good or bad - to get an advantage.

d. But you, beloved, remember: We are to be different. We are to remember what Jesus and the apostles said, which were spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God is always the answer to dangers in or out of the church.

i. The apostles had warned that just these things would happen; and even more so as the day approaches: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.(2 Timothy 4:3-4)

e. There would be mockers in the last time: Perhaps Jude had in mind those who mock the idea of Jesus' return. Or he may mean the kind of men who mock those who don't go along the same path of destruction they travel on.

i. Mockers … who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts: Those who live according to their own ungodly lusts love to mock those who want to please God. Jude wants Christians to expect this kind of mocking, so they won't be surprised by it.

4. (19) The spiritual status of these certain men.

These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

a. These are sensual persons: Essentially, these men were not spiritual; they were carnal and insensitive to the Holy Spirit.

i. Sensual in this context has nothing to do with sexual attractiveness. It describes the person who lives only by and for what they can get through their physical senses, and they live this way selfishly. Their motto is, "If it feels good, do it" or, "How can it be wrong if it feels so right?"

b. Who cause divisions: These certain men had an instinct to separate themselves and make divisions. "The word, found only once in the Bible, denotes those superior people who keep themselves to themselves - Christian Pharisees." (Green)

c. Not having the Spirit: This same description could be written over many churches, or church projects, or evangelism campaigns, or home groups, or even individual Christian lives. The church and the world truly need genuinelyspiritual men and women today.

F. What to do about the danger of the certain men.

Significantly, Jude does not tell us to attack the certain men who are a danger to the church. Instead, he tells us to focus on our walk with the Lord, help others affected by the certain men, and to focus on God. We simply are to pay the certain men no attention,except for what is necessary for our warning. God will take care of them

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Jude 1:19 -1:25

(19) The spiritual status of these certain men.

These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

a. These are sensual persons: Essentially, these men were not spiritual; they were carnal and insensitive to the Holy Spirit.

i. Sensual in this context has nothing to do with sexual attractiveness. It describes the person who lives only by and for what they can get through their physical senses, and they live this way selfishly. Their motto is, "If it feels good, do it" or, "How can it be wrong if it feels so right?"

b. Who cause divisions: These certain men had an instinct to separate themselves and make divisions. "The word, found only once in the Bible, denotes those superior people who keep themselves to themselves - Christian Pharisees." (Green)

c. Not having the Spirit: This same description could be written over many churches, or church projects, or evangelism campaigns, or home groups, or even individual Christian lives. The church and the world truly need genuinelyspiritual men and women today.

F. What to do about the danger of the certain men.

Significantly, Jude does not tell us to attack the certain men who are a danger to the church. Instead, he tells us to focus on our walk with the Lord, help others affected by the certain men, and to focus on God. We simply are to pay the certain men no attention,except for what is necessary for our warning. God will take care of them.

1. (20-21) Take a look inward.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

a. Keep yourselves in the love of God: We know that God loves even the ungodly (Romans 5:6). Therefore Jude doesn't mean, "Live in such a way to make yourself lovable to God." Instead, to keep yourselves in the love of Godmeans to keep yourself in harmony with God's ever-present love.

i. But we should understand what it means when the Bible says that God loves the ungodly. The significance of the idea that God loves us all has been twisted considerably. Consider the sinner who defends his sinful practice by saying "God loves me just the way I am." His implication is that "God loves me; I must be pretty good." Actually, the fact that God loves him is a reflection on God's goodness, not his own. The perspective isn't, "I'm so great that even God loves me," but "God is so great that He loves even me."

ii. God's love extends everywhere, and nothing can separate us from it. But we can deny ourselves the benefits of God's love. People who don't keepthemselves in the love of God end up living as if they are on the dark side of the moon. The sun is always out there, always shining, but they are never in a position to receive its light or warmth. An example of this is the Prodigal Son of Luke 15, who was always loved by the father, but for a time he did not benefit from it.

b. Building yourselves up on your most holy faith: This is one way that we can keep ourselves in the love of God. It means to keep growing spiritually, and to keep building up. Jude tells us, "build yourselves up on your most holy faith." This means that we are responsible for our own spiritual growth. It means that we cannot wait for spiritual growth to just happen, or expect others to make us grow.

i. Jude has shown us the frailty of men and how deceivers even infiltrated the church. If you entrust your spiritual growth to someone else, it will not only hurt your spiritual growth, but it may also lead you astray.

ii. Others can help provide an environment conducive for spiritual growth. But no one can make another person grow in their relationship with the Lord.

iii. On your most holy faith: The most holy faith is the same as the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Jude wasn't talking about growing in the most holy faith (though that is a valid idea). Jude is talking about growing on your most holy faith. We grow on the foundation of the truth.

d. Praying in the Holy Spirit: This is another way to keep ourselves in the love of God. The battle against wrong living and wrong teaching is a spiritual battle, requiring prayer in the Holy Spirit.

i. Many of our prayers are directed by our own needs, by our own intellects, or by our own wishes and desires. But there is a higher level of prayer:Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:26)

ii. The Holy Spirit may help us pray by giving us the right words to say when we pray. He may speak through groanings which cannot be uttered.(Romans 8:26) Or the Holy Spirit may do it through the gift of tongues, a gift God gives to seeking hearts, which want to communicate with Him on a deeper level than normal conversation.

iii. "Such is our sloth, and that such is the coldness of our flesh, that no one can pray aright except he be roused by the Spirit of God … no one can pray as he ought without having the Spirit as his guide." (Calvin)

e. Looking for the mercy of Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life: This is a third way that we can keep ourselves in the love of God. As we keep the blessed hope of Jesus' soon return alive in our hearts, this effectively keeps us in the love of God, and helps us to not give away our faith.

2. (22-23) Take a look outward, to those around you.

And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

a. On some have compassion: Jude begins here to tell us what we must do with those who have been influenced by these certain men. We need to make a distinction, based on where they are coming from. Certainly, on some have compassion.

i. Using wisdom we approach different people in different manners. By being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we can know when we should comfort, and when we should rebuke. Christians should not abandon a friend flirting with false teaching. They should help him through it in love.

ii. The means we continue to love them. No matter how bad a person is, or how misleading and terrible their doctrine, we are not allowed to hate them - or to be unconcerned for their salvation.

iii. Compassion often means watching over someone, helping them with accountability. "Meantime watch over others as well as yourselves; and give them such help as their various needs require." (Wesley)

b. Others save with fear: This second group must be confronted more strongly - but in fear, not in a sanctimonious superiority. You may need to pull them out of the fire, but never do it in pride.

i. This outward look is important. It demonstrates that we are not only concerned for our own spiritual welfare. It proves that we genuinely care about other Christians who are edging towards significant error.

3. (24-25) Take a look upward to the God of all glory

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

a. Now to Him: Jude closes the letter with a famous doxology (a brief declaration of praise to God). Jude's doxology reminds us of God's care and of our destiny.

b. Who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present faultless: Jude's message of warning and doom might have depressed and discouraged his readers. Perhaps they thought that with so much false teaching and immorality around, very few Christians would ever reach heaven. Here he reminds them that the answer lies only in the power of God. He is able to keep you, and you aren't able to keep yourself.

i. In mountain climbing, the beginning hiker attaches himself to the expert so that if he loses his footing he won't stumble and fall to his death. In the same manner, if we keep connected with God, we cannot fall. He keeps us safe.

ii. By comparing passages of Scripture, we also find out who is really responsible for our safe keeping. Jude began the letter by addressing those who are preserved in Jesus (Jude 1). Then he exhorted Christians to avoid dangerous men and to keep themselves in the love of God (Jude 21) Here at the end he concluded with the recognition that it is ultimately God who keeps us from stumbling and falling. Paul put the same idea inPhilippians 2:12-13: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

iii. Keeping us spiritually safe is God's work. But you can always tell the people He is working in, because they are working also. God doesn't call us to simply let the Christian life happen to us and He doesn't command us to save ourselves. He calls us to a partnership with Him.

c. Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy: As God is faithful, we won't have to slink shamefacedly into the presence of God. We can be presented before Him with exceeding joy.

d. Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever: This all reminds us of God's wisdom, glory, and power. Jude isn't trying to say that we can or should give these things to God. When we acknowledge and declare the truth about God, it glorifies Him. We aren't giving God more majesty or power than He had before; we are just recognizing and declaring it.

i. Both now and forever: This could also be translated "unto all the ages." This is "as complete a statement of eternity as can be made in human language." (Robertson) Our victory, our triumph in God, is forever.

ii. There is serious deception in the world and often among those called Christians. There are enemies of the gospel who have infiltrated the church. Yet despite the greatness of the threat, God is greater still. He wins, and if we will only stay with Him, we are guaranteed victory also.

iii. Jude is a book full of warning, but it closes with supreme confidence in God. Dangerous times should make us trust in a mighty G

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Philemon 1

PAUL'S PLEA TO A FRIEND, ON BEHALF OF A SLAVE
"This is a notable Epistle, and full of worth; each word having its weight, each syllable its substance. From an abject subject, the receiving of a runaway servant, St. Paul soars like a heavenly eagle, and flies a high pitch of heavenly discourse." (John Trapp)

A. Greeting and introduction.

1. (1) The writer and the recipient.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our belovedfriend and fellow laborer,

a. Paul, a prisoner: This brief letter was written by Paul during his Roman imprisonment described in Acts 28:30-31. There are some that believe he wrote it from time of imprisonment in Ephesus, but this is an unlikely possibility.

b. A prisoner of Christ Jesus: As always, Paul did not consider himself a prisoner of Rome, of circumstances, or of the religious leaders who started his legal troubles (Acts 23-24). Paul was a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

i. "They were not shackles which self had riveted, but a chain with which Christ had invested him; thus they were a badge of office." (Lightfoot, cited by Oesterley)

c. To Philemon our beloved friend: Paul wrote to Philemon, a Christian brother living in Colosse. This is the only place in the New Testament wherePhilemon is mentioned by name, but we do know that he was a beloved friendto Paul.

i. Paul's friendship with Philemon is shown by something significantlymissing in his greeting. Of the 13 letters Paul wrote to churches or individuals, in 9 of them he called himself an apostle in the opening verse. In this letter (along with Philippians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians), Paul appeals to his reader more as a friend and less an apostle.

2. (2-3) Greetings to the household of Philemon.

To the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. To the beloved Apphia: Apphia was probably the wife of Philemon, andArchippus was probably his son. This address to family members is unique among the letters of Paul, but it makes sense considering the content of the letter to Philemon. In this letter Paul will appeal to Philemon regarding a runaway slave who has met Jesus and found refuge with Paul. In the customs of that day, Philemon's wife Apphia was the supervisor of the slaves in the household, so the letter concerned her also.

i. Regarding the escaped slave, "She is as much a party to the decision as her husband, because according to the custom of the time, she had day-to-day responsibility for the slaves." (Rupprecht)

b. To the church in your house: This means that the church - or a portion of the church - in Colosse met in the house of Philemon. The earliest Christians had no property of their own for church buildings. The Jews had their synagogues, but Christians met in the homes of their members. The Christians of a city would be gathered into different "house churches" with a city "bishop" overseeing the different house churches. House churches are also mentioned inRomans 16:5 and Colossians 4:15.

i. "Up to the third century we have no certain evidence of the existence of church buildings for the purpose of worship; all references point to private houses for this. In Rome several of the oldest churches appear to have been built on the sites of houses used for Christian worship." (Oesterley)

ii. Spurgeon points out that apparently, Philemon had a church that met in his house. This suggests to believers that their homes should also be a church, and that each home can have the characteristics of a healthy church:

- Consisting of converted, saved people
- Worshipping together
- Together having a bond of unity
- Supplied with oversight
- Teaching always present
- With a heart to minister to those on the outside
c. Grace to you and peace: Paul gave his customary greeting of grace andpeace, found in each one of his letters. However, this greeting was not directed towards an entire congregation, but to Philemon as an individual. This makes the letter unique among Paul's writings.

i. The other Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) are also written first to individuals, but the character of their content suggests that they were intended to be shared with the entire congregation. Philemon really is a personal note written by Paul to one man.

ii. "It is only one sample of numberless letters which must have been written to his many friends and disciples by one of St Paul's eager temperament and warm affections, in the course of a long and chequered life." (Lightfoot)

3. (4-7) Paul's thanks God for Philemon.

I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

a. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers: Paul prayed often for Philemon, and he prayed with thanksgiving to God. Philemon had been such a blessing to Paul that prayed often and gratefully for him.

i. In Paul's letters, four times he says he makes mention for people: To the Romans (Romans 1:9), to the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:16), to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:2), and here at Philemon 4.

ii. Making mention means that Paul did not always pray long, intricate prayers for Philemon, but he did often make mention of Philemon in his prayers.

b. Hearing of your love and faith: Paul thanked God for Philemon because of his love and faith - first towards Jesus and then towards all the saints. The word "saints" in the New Testament describes every true Christian, not just a few exceptional Christians.

c. That the sharing of your faith: Paul prayed for Philemon, desiring that the sharing of his faith would become effective as Philemon understood the work God did in him (every good thing which is in you).

i. This is the foundation for all effective evangelism: the overflow of a life touched and changed by God. God had done every good thing in the life of Philemon. Now, it was a matter of it being acknowledged by both Philemon and those he shared the faith with. When these good things were understood, others would come to Jesus. The reason why some sharing of the faith in not effective is because we don't know or can't communicateevery good thing God has done for us.

ii. The sharing of your faith: It is possible that Paul means the sharing of material things, prompted by faith. The ancient Greek word for sharing iskoinonia, and sometimes Paul used koinonia, which means "fellowship, sharing," to describe giving (2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13; Romans 15:6).

iii. "The apostle speaks here of the works of charity in which Philemon abounded toward poor Christians." (Clarke)

d. Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother: Paul remembered how wonderfully Philemon had met the needs of other Christians. He effectively refreshed the hearts of others.

B. Paul's plea on behalf of Onesimus.

1. (8-11) Paul speaks to Philemon regarding Onesimus

Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you; being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ; I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

a. Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal: It is clear that Paul will ask a favor of Philemon. Before he asked, he appealed for love's sake instead of making a command. Of course, under the surface Paul made it clear that he had the right to command you what is fitting - yet he appealed in love.

i. A loving appeal is often better than an authoritative command. Paul wasn't hesitant to command when the situation demanded it (1 Corinthians 5:4-5), but in wisdom he knew when to use the loving appeal.

b. Being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ: It was clear Paul would ask a favor of Philemon. Before he asked, he appealed to Philemon's sympathies by the way he described himself (Paul, the aged) and his circumstances (a prisoner).

i. Since Paul will make his appeal based on love, he does what he can to stir up the loving sympathy of Philemon. "Philemon, before I tell you what I need from you, remember that I'm an old man, and a prisoner at that."

ii. Some translations have ambassador instead of aged. There is a difference of one letter between the two ancient Greek words.

c. I appeal to you for my son Onesimus: Onesimus was an escaped slave who escaped from his master Philemon. It seems that when Onesimusescaped, he fled to Rome and - intentionally or not - met with Paul. Paul, though under house arrest by the Romans, led Onesimus to faith in Jesus Christ (whom I have begotten while in my chains).

i. It was logical that Onesimus escaped to Rome, the biggest city of the Roman Empire. Lightfoot says, "Rome was the natural cesspool for these offscourings of humanity." But at his providential meeting of Paul in Rome,Onesimus met the man who had led his master Philemon to Jesus (Philemon 19).

ii. When Paul made this appeal on behalf of Onesimus, he followed deep traditions in Roman culture. There was an ancient Greek law (inherited by the Romans) allowing any escaped slave sanctuary at an altar. The altar could even be the hearth of a private family home; then the head of the family was obligated to give the slave protection while he tried to persuade him to return to his master. If the slave refused, the head of the family would put the slave up for auction and give the price for the slave to the former master. Paul gave Onesimus protection, and now was working the issue out with Philemon.

d. My son Onesimus: Paul often spoke of his converts as his "children." Timothy (1 Corinthians 4:17), Titus (Titus 1:4), the Corinthian Christians (1 Corinthians 4:14) and the Galatian Christians (Galatians 4:19) were each called Paul's "children."

e. Who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me: In some way, Onesimus became profitable to Paul. Perhaps he served as an assistant to Paul during his house arrest. So Philemon's runaway slave Onesimus was now unprofitable to Philemon, since he had escaped. But he had become profitable to Paul - and by extension, also to Philemon (profitable to you and me). Since Philemon loved Paul, if Onesimus helped Paul he was helping Philemon also.

i. When Paul spoke of Onesimus being unprofitable and profitable, he made a play on a word. The name Onesimus means profitable. Now that he was a Christian, Onesimus could live up to his name

ii. "It is significant to note that Paul claims that in Christ the useless person has been made useful." (Barclay)

iii. By making this clear to Philemon, Paul gently hinted that he would like to retain the services of this escaped slave - though he would not commandPhilemon to do this.

2. (12-14) Paul sends Onesimus back with the hope that Philemon will allow him to return again to Paul.

I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

a. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart: Onesimus had done something wrong in that he escaped from his master. It was time to set that right, so Paul was willing to send him back. Yet Paul obviously wanted Philemon to deal gently with Onesimus. Under Roman law the slave owner had complete and total control over his slave. It wasn't unusual for slaves to be crucified for lesser offenses than escaping.

i. One ancient writer described how a slave was carrying a tray of crystal goblets, and he dropped and broke one. The master instantly demanded the slave be thrown into a fishpond full of lampreys that tore the slave to pieces. "Roman law … practically imposed no limits to the power of the master over his slave. The alternative of life or death rested solely with Philemon, and slaves were constantly crucified for far lighter offenses than this." (Lightfoot)

ii. Considering the huge number of slaves in the Roman Empire, they thought the harsh punishment against escaped or rebellious slaves was necessary. In an Empire with as many as 60 million slaves, there were constant fears of a slave revolt. Therefore, laws against runaways were strict. When captured, a runaway slave might be crucified, or branded with a red-hot iron on the forehead with the letter "F" for fugitive.

iii. Considering this, we understand Paul's phrase that is, my own heart. "Philemon, I know this man has done you wrong and deserves to be punished. But consider him as my own heart and be merciful to him."

b. Whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel: Clearly, Paul wanted Onesimus to stay, because he had become a big help. Paul sweetened his appeal in three ways.

i. First, if Onesimus stayed he could serve Paul on your behalf. "Philemon, if you leave Onesimus with me, it's like you serving me, because Onesimus is your rightful servant."

ii. Secondly, if Onesimus stayed he helped a man in chains. "Philemon, I know Onesimus might be of some use to you. Yet I am in chains, and need all the help I can get."

iii. Thirdly, if Onesimus stayed he helped man in chains for the gospel. "Philemon, please don't forget why I am here in chains. Remember that it is for the sake of the gospel."

c. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing: Paul made his appeal and made it strong and skillfully. At the same time, he really did leave the decision to Philemon. He would appeal in love, but he would not trample over the rights of Philemon.

d. That your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary: This explained why Paul would not force a decision on Philemon. If Paul demanded it, then Philemon's good deed would come by compulsion, and not be voluntary. This would make the whole affair unpleasant and rob Philemon of any reward he otherwise might have had.

i. Essentially, Paul gave Philemon the freedom to do what was right in love before the Lord, and he gave the freedom to do it on his own choice and not out of Paul's compulsion.

3. (15-16) Paul explains the providential hand of God at work in Onesimus' escape.

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave; a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

a. Departed for a while: It was true that Philemon departed, but Paul would send him back. Somehow departed for a while doesn't sound nearly as bad asescaped slave.

i. In writing departed for a while, Paul spoke softly of a slave's escape. Clarke said of this phrase, "This is another most delicate stroke."

b. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose: In some ways the escape of Onesimus was nothing but trouble. It deprived Philemon of a worker and an asset. It made Onesimus a criminal, possibly subject to the death penalty. Yet in it all, Paul could see a purpose of God and he wanted Philemon to see the purpose also.

i. The phrase, "for perhaps" is important. It showed that Paul did not come to Philemon in this manner: "Philemon, God has shown me His hidden hand at work, and you must accept what I see also." Instead, for perhaps means Paul's heart is like this: "Philemon, it seems to me that God is working in unusual ways here. Let me tell you what I see, and perhaps it will make sense to you."

c. That you may receive him forever: This was one aspect of the purposePaul saw God working in the escape of Onesimus. Philemon the master lost a slave; but Philemon the Christian gained a brother, and he gained that brotherforever.

i. "Here the apostle makes the best of an ill-matter. Converts are to be gently handled, and their former evil practices not to be aggravated." (Trapp)

d. That you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave; a beloved brother: Paul "re-introduced" Onesimus to Philemon; not as a slave, but as a brother. In this relationship as brothers and not slaves, Paul effectively abolished the sting of the "master-slave" relationship and laid the foundation for the eventual legal abolition of slavery. If a man is a stranger, I might make him my slave. But how can my brother be my slave?

i. This breaking of the distinction between master and slave was an absolutely revolutionary development. It did far more to change society than the passing of a law prohibiting slavery.

ii. "What the letter to Philemon does is to bring the institution into an atmosphere where it could only wilt and die. Where master and slave were united in affection as brothers in Christ, formal emancipation would be but a matter of expediency, the legal confirmation of their new relationship." (Bruce)

iii. The transformation of the individual is the key to the transformation of society and the moral environment. "But mark this word, - the true reforming of the drunkard lies in giving him a new heart; the true reclaiming of the harlot is to be found in a renewed nature. . . . I see certain of my brethren fiddling away at the branches of the tree of vice with their wooden saws, but, as for the gospel, it lays the axe at the roots of the whole forest of evil, and if it be fairly received into the heart it fells all the bad trees at once, and instead of them there spring up the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, to beautify the house of our Master's glory." (Spurgeon)

4. (17-19) Paul's personal promise of restitution towards Philemon.

If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay; not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

a. If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me: Again, Paul stood beside Onesimus, requesting mercy. "If I am your partner in the gospel, then treat Onesimus like you would treat me."

i. Paul's appeal is powerful because he stood beside a guilty man and said to the owner of the slave, "I know this man is a criminal and deserves punishment. Yet this slave is my friend, so if you punish him punish me also. I stand beside him to take his punishment." This is what Jesus does for us before our master, God the Father.

b. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account: Apparently when Onesimus escaped he also stole from Philemon. This in itself was a capital crime. Paul asked that the value of what had been stolen be "charged" to Paul's account. "Put it on my tab, Philemon."

c. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay: Paul was so serious about that he gave Philemon a personal IOU, written by his own hand. When Paul said to Philemon, "charge the wrong of Onesimus to my account," he essentially did for Onesimus what Jesus did for us in taking our sins to Hisaccount.

i. "Here we see how Paul lays himself out for poor Onesimus, and with all his means pleads his cause with his master, and so sets himself as if he were Onesimus, and had himself done wrong to Philemon. Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus also does Paul for Onesimus with Philemon. We are all his Onesimi, to my thinking." (Luther)

d. Not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides: While "accounts" were being studied, Paul mentioned one more thing. "Philemon, remember that I have a lot of credit on your account, because youowe me even your own self besides." Paul could afford to pay Onesimus' expenses because there was a sense in which Philemon owed Paul his salvation!

5. (20-22) Paul's confidence in Philemon's response.

Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

a. Let me have joy from you in the Lord: Joy is more literally profit. It translates the ancient Greek word oninemi, the root word for the name "Onesimus." Paul used another play on words and the name Onesimus to communicate a not so subtle request: "Let me have Onesimus back from you in the Lord."

b. Refresh my heart in the Lord: Earlier in the letter, Paul said that Philemon was a man who refreshed the heart of the saints (Philemon 7). Now, he specifically told Philemon how he could refresh Paul's heart: by allowing Onesimus to stay with Paul.

c. Knowing that you will do even more than I say: Paul's letter, full of appeal, was also full of hope. Philemon was not a bad or a harsh man. Paul had every reason to expect that he would fulfill his Christian duty and do even more thatPaul asked.

d. But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me: This showed the close relationship between Paul and Philemon. Paul knew that hospitality always waited for him at Philemon's home.

e. I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you: Paul wanted Philemon to pray, and he didn't think the prayers were a mere formality. Paul believed that it would be through the prayers of Philemon that they would once again be together.

C. Conclusion.

1. (23-24) Paul sends greetings to Philemon from common friends in Rome.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

a. Ephaphras … Mark … Aristachus … my fellow laborers: Each of these names is also mentioned in the conclusion of the letter to the Colossians (Colossians 4:10-17). This confirms that the two letters went to the same place. Philemon lived in Colosse.

i. Fellow prisoner: "Literally 'a prisoner of war,' used metaphorically." (Oesterley)

b. Demas: "Demas is supposed to be the same who continued in his attachment to Paul till his last imprisonment at Rome: after which he left him for what is supposed to have been the love of the world, 2 Timothy 4:10." (Clarke)

2. (25) Conclusion to the letter.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

a. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit: We see some enduring principles from Paul's letter to Philemon.

i. Paul never called for an overthrow of the system of slavery, yet the principles in the letter to Philemon destroy slavery. The greatest social changes come when people are changed, one heart at a time. In our society, racism and our low regard for the unborn cannot be eliminated by laws; a change of heart must occur.

ii. Onesimus was obligated to return to his master. When we do something wrong, we must do our best to set it right. Being made a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) does not end our responsibility to make restitution; it increases our obligation, even when restitution is difficult.

iii. Onesimus was morally responsible for his wrongs. The letter to Philemon demonstrates that we are not primarily directed by economics, despite the ideas of Marxists and modern liberals. Whether rich or poor, we are to be directed by the Spirit of God, not our economic status.

iv. "No part of the New Testament more clearly demonstrates integrated Christian thinking and living. It offers a blend, utterly characteristic of Paul, of love, wisdom, humour, gentleness, tact, and above all Christian and human maturity." (Wright)

b. Amen: The conclusion of the letter can lead us to ask, "Why is the letter to Philemon in our Bibles?" In A.D. 110, the bishop of Ephesus was named Onesimus, and it could have been this same man. If Onesimus was in his late teens or early twenties when Paul wrote this letter, he would then be about 70 years old in A.D. 110 and that was not an unreasonable age for a bishop in those days.

i. "Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, maketh mention of Onesimus, as pastor of Ephesus, next after Timothy. The Roman Martyrologue saith, that he was stoned to death at Rome, under Trajan the emperor." (Trapp)

ii. There is also some historical evidence that the letters of Paul were first gathered as a group in the city of Ephesus. Perhaps Onesimus first compiled the letters, and wanted to make sure his letter - his charter of freedom - was included.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 1

A. Introduction to the book of Hebrews.

1. This is an essay or a sermon or a letter to the Hebrews - and everyone.

a. The structure of Hebrews is a different from other New Testament books; it begins like an essay, continues as a sermon and ends like a letter.

b. Obviously, the writer was trying to reach Jewish Christians; but it is also written to a Greek frame of mind with its analysis of Jesus as the ultimate reality. That approach to the nature of Jesus spoke to the thinking found in Greek philosophy.

2. Who wrote Hebrews? The human author is unknown, but the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is evident.

a. The earliest statement on the authorship of Hebrews comes from Clement of Alexandria, who said that Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke translated into Greek (Eusebius, History 6.14.2). But many commentators agree that it is unlikely that Paul wrote this book.

i. Dods quotes Farrar: "The writer cites differently from St. Paul; he writes differently; he argues differently; he declaims differently; he constructs and connects his sentences differently; he builds up his paragraphs on a wholly different model … His style is the style of a man who thinks as well as writes in Greek; whereas St. Paul wrote in Greek but thought in Syriac."

ii. Bruce quotes Calvin: "The manner of teaching and the style sufficiently show that Paul was not the author, and the writer himself confesses in the second chapter (Hebrews 2:3) that he was one of the disciples of the apostles, which is wholly different from the way in which Paul spoke of himself."

b. The early commentator Tertullian (who wrote in the early 200s) said Barnabas wrote Hebrews, but no support is offered other than that Barnabas was a Levite (Acts 4:36) and an man of encouragement (Acts 4:36).

c. Martin Luther believed that Apollos wrote the book of Hebrews, because Acts said that Apollos was eloquent and had a strong command of the Old Testament (Acts 18:24).

d. Adolf Harnack thought Priscilla (with her husband Aquilla) wrote Hebrews, and it remained anonymous so it would hide its controversial female authorship. But when the writer to the Hebrews speaks of himself in Hebrews 11:32, the masculine grammar of the passage argues against the idea that a woman wrote the letter.

3. When was Hebrews written? Probably somewhere around 67 to 69 A.D.

a. The reference to Timothy (Hebrews 13:23) places it fairly early.

b. The present lack of physical persecution (Hebrews 12:4) puts it fairly early.

c. The lack of any reference to the destruction of the temple probably puts it before 70 A.D., when Jerusalem and the second temple were destroyed. Since the writer to the Hebrews is so concerned with the passing of the Old Covenant, it seems unlikely that he would have ignored the destruction of the temple if it had happened before he wrote.

4. Hebrews is a book deeply rooted in the Old Testament.

a. Hebrews has 29 quotations and 53 allusions to the Old Testament, for a total of 82 references. Significantly, Hebrews does not refer even once to the books of the Apocrypha.

5. Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He has done for us.

B. The superior Savior.

1. (1-2a) Jesus brings a revelation superior to that of the prophets of old.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,

a. God: This is how the book begins. There is no attempt to prove God's existence; it is simply a self-evident given. Hebrews begins with an idea basic to the Bible: God exists, and He speaks to man; or as the title of a Francis Schaeffer book put it: He Is There And He Is Not Silent.

b. Who at various times and in different ways spoke: The revelation given through the prophets was brought in various ways - sometimes through parables, historical narrative, prophetic confrontation, dramatic presentation, psalms, proverbs, and the like.

i. The idea is that the prophets spoke to the fathers in various ways; not that God spoke to the prophets in various ways (though that is true also).

ii. God spoke to Moses by a burning bush (Exodus 2), to Elijah by a still, small voice (1 Kings 19), to Isaiah by a heavenly vision (Isaiah 6), to Hosea by his family crisis (Hosea 1:2) and to Amos by a basket of fruit (Amos 8:1).

iii. God spoke in a spectrum in the Old Testament; Jesus is a prism that which collects all those bands of light and focuses them into one pure beam.

c. These last days refers to the age of Messiah. It may be a long period, but it is the last period.

d. Spoken to us by His Son: It isn't so much that Jesus brought a message from the Father; He is a message from the Father.

i. The revelation from Jesus Himself was unique, because not only was it purely God's message (as was the case with every other inspired writer) but it was also God's personality through which the message came.

ii. "If men cannot learn about God from the Son, no amount of prophetic voices or actions would convince them." (Guthrie)

e. The Son does not speak in Hebrews; the Father speaks concerning the Son. The book of Hebrews is the Father telling us what the Son is all about.

2. (2b-3) A sevenfold description of the glorious Son.

Whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

a. He is heir of all things - befitting His status as firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).

b. He made the worlds (the very ages).

c. He is the brightness of His (the Father's) glory. Brightness is apaugasma, which "denotes the radiance shining forth from the source of light"; Philo also used the term of the Logos.

i. Jesus is the "beam" of God's glory; we have never seen the sun, only the rays of its light as they come to us. Even so, we have never seen the Father, but we have seen Him through the "rays" of the Son.

d. He is the express image of His person: The idea is of an exact likeness as made by a stamp.

e. He is the One upholding all things by the word of His power, butupholding is better thought of as "maintaining." The word does not have the idea of passively holding something up (like the mythical Atlas held the earth), but of actively sustaining.

i. In His earthly ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature's fury all at the expression of one word.

f. He Himself purged our sins: Here, the important idea of an external purification for sins is introduced. This is far apart from the idea that we can purify ourselves (as the Pharisees thought).

g. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high: His position alone is enough to set Him above all angels.

3. (4) Therefore, Jesus is so much better than the angels.

Having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

a. Having become so much better than the angels: In what sense did Jesusbecome better than the angels? Isn't He eternally better than the angels?

i. Jesus certainly is eternally better than the angels. But He became better in the sense that He was made perfect (complete as our redeemer) through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10) - something no angel has ever done.

b. A more excellent name than they: Jesus' superior status is demonstrated by a superior name (which isn't merely a title, but a description of nature and character).

4. The rest of Hebrews 1 will prove from the Scriptures that Jesus is better than the angels, but why is it important to understand that Jesus is better?

a. Because we often best understand things when they are set in contrast to other things.

b. Because the Old Covenant came by the hands of angels to Moses, but a better covenant came by a better being, Jesus. It might have been easy for first century Jews to dismiss the gospel thinking it came at the hands of mere men - the apostles. But here we see the Divine (superior to angelic) coming of the gospel.

c. Because there was a dangerous tendency to worship angels developing in the early Church (Colossians 2:18, Galatians 1:8), and Hebrews shows that Jesus is high above any angel.

d. Because there was the heretical idea that Jesus Himself was an angel, a concept which degrades His glory and majesty.

e. Because understanding how Jesus is better than the angels helps us to understand how He is better than any of the "competitors" to Him in our lives.

i. In this sense, the purpose of Hebrews is like the purpose of the Transfiguration. Each of them cry out and say, This is My beloved Son. Hear Him! (Mark 9:7)

C. The Scriptures prove Jesus is superior to the angels.

1. (5) Jesus is superior to the angels because He is the Son of God, as shown inPsalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14.

For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"?

a. The more excellent name of Hebrews 1:4 is the name Son; though the angels may collectively be called "sons of God" (Job 1:6), but no angel is ever given that title individually.

b. Today I have begotten You: Begotten speaks of the equality of substanceand essential nature between the Father and Son; it means that the Father and the Son share the same being.

c. We must avoid the tendency to promote Jesus' deity at the expense of His humanity. The incarnation means that He is fully God and fully man; no single book stresses both themes more than the book of Hebrews.

2. (6-7) Jesus is superior to the angels because angels worship and serve Jesus, who is their God, as shown in Deuteronomy 32:43 (in the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls) and Psalm 104:4.

But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire."

a. Firstborn was as much a concept as it was a designation for the one born first; since the firstborn son was "first in line" and received the position of favor and honor, the title "firstborn" could be given to indicate that someone was of the highest position and honor.

i. Many of those not born first in the Bible are given the title "firstborn." David is an example of this (Psalm 89:27) and so is Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:9).

ii. According to Rabbi Bechai, quoted in Lightfoot, the ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself "Firstborn of the World." It was a title, not a description of origin.

iii. Rabbis used firstborn as specifically a Messianic title. One ancient Rabbi wrote, "God said, As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born (Psalm 89:28)."

b. Let all the angels of God worship Him: Jesus is superior because He is theobject of angelic worship, not an angelic worshipper. They worship Him; He does not worship among them.

i. Revelation 5 gives a glimpse of the angelic worship of Jesus.

c. Furthermore, Jesus is Lord of the angels. They are His angels and Hisministers. The angels belong to Jesus, and He is not among them.

3. (8-12) Jesus is superior to the angels because the Father Himself calls Him (and not any angel) God and Lord (Yahweh), as shown in Psalm 45:6-7 and 102:25-27from the Septuagint.

But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail."

a. Your throne, O God: The mere address is enough; the Father calls the SonGod.

i. Some argue that there are many beings called "gods" in the Bible, like Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4), and earthly judges (Psalm 82:1 and 6). So they say, "So what if Jesus is called a 'god'?"

ii. But these others are supposed gods, pretenders to their throne. If Jesus is not the true God, He is a false god, like Satan and the wicked judges ofPsalm 82.

iii. But Jesus is the True and Living God, called so here by God the Father; and also by John in John 1:1, by Thomas in John 20:28, and by Paul inTitus 2:13 and 3:4.

b. Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You: This passage shows striking interaction between the Persons of the Trinity. God, Your God speaks of the Father, and His position of authority over the Second Person of the Trinity; Youspeaks of the Son; anointed has in mind the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.

c. The Son is not only called God, but Lord (Yahweh) as well (Hebrews 1:10), and the Son is described with attributes that God alone has.

i. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the Creator (You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth).

ii. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity is self-existent (They will perish, but You will remain).

iii. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity is sovereign (Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed).

iv. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity is immutable, unchanging (You are the same), and eternal (Your years will not fail).

4. (13-14) Jesus is superior to the angels because He has sat down, having completed His work, while the angels work on continually, as shown in Psalm 110:1.

But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

a. Sit at My right hand: Anyone who sits in the divine presence shows that they have the perfect right to be there; there are no seats for the angels around the throne of God, because they are constantly busy praising God and serving Him.

b. It isn't good to be too comfortable in the presence of majesty. There is a story about a man named Lear who was hired to give Queen Victoria art lessons. Things were going well, and Lear started to feel quite at home in the palace. He enjoyed standing in front of the fire, leaning on the hearth and warming himself in a relaxed manner, but every time he did, one of the Queen's attendants would invite him to look at something on the other side of the room, making him move. No one explained it to him, but after a while, he got the idea: good manners said it was wrong for a subject to have such a relaxed attitude in the presence of their Queen.

c. But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand." In the same way, the angels don't "relax" before God. They "stand" before the Father, but the Son sits down - because He isn't a subject, He is the Sovereign.

i. The angels are ministering spirits, not governing spirits; service, notdominion is their calling.

ii. Angels, in that respect, are like a toy that won't quit; they have to keep working, while the Son can take a posture of rest, because He is the Son.

iii. Jesus is also called a servant and a minister, but this is part of His voluntary humiliation, not his essential nature-as is the case with the angels.

d. An interesting concept: angels work for us (those who will inherit salvation).

 

[DaLincolnJones]

JESUS, OUR ELDER BROTHER
A. Therefore: Because of the superiority of Jesus to the angels, we must give heed to Jesus.

1. (1) The lesson of Hebrews 1 is applied: listen and don't drift away.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

a. The use of therefore in Hebrews is instructive; it makes us pay attention to a point of application after the writer has developed a principle. The Scriptural factof Jesus' superiority over the angels has life-changing application - and now we must consider the application.

b. What we must do: give more earnest heed to the words of Jesus. It's easy to think this exhortation to give the more earnest heed is directed to unbelievers; but it is something "mature" Christians must be challenged with also. We can become desensitized to the glory of Jesus' message, thinking we know it all.

i. Give the more earnest heed has not only the idea of hearing carefully, but also in doing what we have heard - and we must give the more earnest heed.

c. If we do not give the more earnest heed, we will drift away. Drifting is something that happens quite automatically when we are not anchored to anything solid; if we are not "anchored" in the superiority of Jesus, we will drift with the currents of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

i. One doesn't have to do anything to simply drift away; most Christian regress comes from a slow drifting, not from a sudden departure.

ii. An ungodly farmer died, and they discovered in his will that he had left his farm to the Devil. In the court, they didn't quite know what to do with it-how do you give a farm to the Devil? Finally, the judge decided: "The best way to carry out the wishes of the deceased is to allow the farm to grow weeds, the soil to erode, and the house and barn to rot. In our opinion, the best way to leave something to the Devil is to do nothing." We can leave our lives to the Devil the same way- doing nothing, drifting with whatever currents will drive us.

2. (2-4) The lesson emphasized: how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

a. The word spoken through angels is a way of describing the Mosaic Law, which was received … by the direction of angels (Acts 7:53). The idea is that the law was "delivered" to Moses by the hands of angels.

i. The concept that angels mediated the Law is found in Deuteronomy 33:2,Acts 7:53, Galatians 3:19 and Josephus, Antiquities, 15.53.

b. The Mosaic Law was steadfast and strict (every transgression and disobedience received a just reward). It demanded to be taken seriously.

c. How shall we escape: If we must take the word which came by angels seriously, how much more seriously must we take the word which came by the Son of God - who has been proven to be greater than the angels?

i. A greater word, brought by a greater Person, having greater promises, will bring a greater condemnation if neglected.

d. Therefore, we must not neglect so great a salvation. The word neglect isamelesantes, which is used in Matthew 22:5 (they made light of it) of those who disregarded the invitation to the marriage supper. It means to have the opportunity, but to ignore or disregard it.

i. This is a word to believers, not to the unsaved. The danger described isn'trejecting salvation (though the principle certainly applies), but neglectingsalvation.

ii. Remember that Hebrews was written not primarily as an evangelistic tract, but as an encouragement and warning to discouraged Christians, those who neglected an abiding walk with Jesus.

e. Spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders: This word was spoken by Jesus, then confirmed by eyewitnesses (those who heard Him). Then it was confirmed with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit given by God.

i. In saying and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, the writer confirms he is not a "first generation" Christian. He has heard the message second-hand through the apostles and eye-witnesses of Jesus' ministry.

ii. Hebrews 2:3 is one reason many believe Paul did not write Hebrews. In other passages, Paul seems to put himself on an equal level with the apostles and other eyewitnesses of Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:3-11).

f. God does confirm His word with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit -but doing it all according to His own will.

i. Jesus said miraculous signs would follow those who believe (Mark 16:17); if there is no element of the miraculous, one may question whether there is true belief in Jesus or if the word of God is truly being preached. After all, is the preacher giving anything for God to confirm?

ii. On the other hand, the Spirit brings such miracles and gifts according toHis will. Miracles can't be "worked up" and hyped; much damage has been done by those who don't think enough miracles are happening, and want to "prime the pump" through the enthusiasm of the flesh.

iii. It's hard to say which is worse - the denial of miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or the fleshly counterfeit of them. But the devil doesn't care which side of the boat he throws you over, just as long as you get soaking wet!

B. The glorious humanity of Jesus Christ

1. (5-8a) We know Jesus is human, because God has put the world in subjection to man, not angels (evidence: Psalm 8:4-6).

For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him.

a. You have made him a little lower than the angels: In chapter one, the writer to the Hebrews demonstrated the deity of Jesus and His superiority over all angels brilliantly from the Scriptures. Now he will demonstrate the humanity of Jesus from the Scriptures, and apply the implications of Jesus' humanity.

i. It is Scripturally wrong to think of Jesus as merely God or merely man. It is wrong to think of Him as 50% God, 50% man (or any other percentage split). It is wrong to think of Him as "man on the outside" and "God on the inside." The Bible teaches Jesus is fully God and fully man, that a human nature was added to His divine nature, and both natures existed in one Person, Jesus Christ.

ii. Significantly, the first false teaching about Jesus arising in the church was not that He wasn't God, but that He wasn't really human and He onlyseemed to be human. The heresy was called Docetism, coming from the Greek word to seem, and was taught by Cerinthus, who opposed the apostle John in the city of Ephesus, and whose teaching is probably the focus of 1 John 4:2 and 5:6.

b. He has not put the world to come … in subjection to angels: God never gave angels the kind of dominion man originally had over the earth (Genesis 1:26-30); angels do not have dominion over this world, or the world to come.

c. What is man: The quotation from Psalm 8:4-6 shows both the smallness of man in relation to the God of creation, and the dominion that God has given man, even though he is a little lower than the angels.

d. He left nothing that is not put under him: The writer emphasizes the point: God has put all things (not some things) under subjection to human beings.

i. So, how can Jesus rule and reign over the world to come if He is not human? Then God's promise to put the world under subjection to man would be untrue.

2. (8b-9) A problem and its solution.

But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

a. But now we do not yet see all things put under him: How can we say that all things are subject to man? It seems to be an unfulfilled promise.

b. But we see Jesus: The promise is fulfilled in Jesus, who is Lord over all, and through whom man can regain the dominion originally intended for Adam (Revelation 1:6, 5:10; Matthew 25:21).

i. How many things we do not understand are put into proper focus if we will only see Jesus! The answers to life's most perplexing questions are not questions of "Why?" though we often torture ourselves asking "Why?" The greatest answer is a Who - Jesus Christ!

c. This promise of dominion could only be fulfilled through the humility (a little lower than the angels) and suffering (the suffering of death) of Jesus, who defeated the evil Adam had introduced into the world - which was death (Romans 5:12).

i. God gave man dominion over the earth, but man forfeited his power (not his right or authority) to take that dominion through sin, and the principle of death took away the power to rule. But Jesus came, and through His humility and suffering, defeated the power of death, and makes possible the fulfillment of God's promise that humans will have dominion over the earth - fulfilled both through Jesus' own dominion, and the rule of believers with Him. (Revelation 20:4)

3. (10-13) We know Jesus is human, because He calls is brethren.

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You." And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."

a. Not only was it necessary - it was fitting for the sovereign God - for whom are all things and by whom are all things to be made perfect through sufferings in the task of bringing many sons to glory.

i. Conceivably, God could have engineered a way to save us that did not require the suffering of the Son of God; but it was fitting for Jesus to save us at the cost of His own agony.

ii. This is the ultimate illustration of the fact that real love, real giving, involves sacrifice. As David said, nor will I offer … offerings to the LORD my God which costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). God's love for us had to show itself in sacrifice, and what could God sacrifice unless He added humanity to His deity and suffered on our behalf?

b. Jesus was made perfect through sufferings. It isn't that there was anythinglacking in His Deity, but only in His experience: how does God in heaven knowsuffering by experience?

i. "To make perfect does not imply moral imperfection in Jesus, but only the consummation of that human experience of sorrow and pain through which he must pass in order to become the leader of his people's salvation." (Vincent)

ii. The point is that it was fitting for the Father to do this, in the sense that it pleased the LORD to bruise Him (Isaiah 53:10) for the sake of bringing many sons to glory.

c. Therefore, we are sanctified by One who has been sanctified. We are all of the same human family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them (that is, us)brethren. He could not be our brother unless He was also human like us.

i. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. But are we ashamed to openly say that we belong to Jesus? Who should be more embarrassed?

d. The writer cites three evidences to the fact that Jesus the Messiah calls His people His brethren from the Old Testament: Psalm 22:22, Isaiah 8:17 and 18.

i. In each one of these examples, we see Messiah willing to associate Himself with His brethren, whether it be in a congregation of worship, a community of trust in the Father, or declaring a common family association.

4. (14-16) What Jesus did as our Brother.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

a. He Himself likewise shared in the same: For Jesus to truly fulfill the role of "Elder Brother" for the family of the redeemed, He had to take on flesh and blood. He had to enter into the prison to free the captives.

b. Through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil: Some take this as meaning that Jesus destroyed Satan's "right" to rule over man, which was presumably given to him in the garden of Eden through Adam's rebellion. The idea is that Jesus took away Satan's "right" to rule by allowing Satan to "unlawfully" take Jesus' life on the cross, and Satan's "unlawful" action against Jesus forfeited his right to rule over man. In this thinking, the end result is that the devil has no right over those who come to God through Jesus' work on the cross.

i. Since death only has dominion over those who are born sinners or who have sinned (Romans 5:12), Satan had no "right" to take the life of Jesus, who had never sinned nor was born a sinner- and the devil then committed an "unlawful" murder, according to his nature (John 8:44). Jesus allowed the devil to bruise His heel so that He could bruise his head (Genesis 3:15).

ii. The problem with this approach is that we know the devil did not takeJesus' life; He laid it down of His own accord, and no one took it from Him (John 10:17-18).

iii. However, one might say the devil is guilty of "attempted unlawful murder" over someone he had no rights over, because there was no stain of sin on Jesus. Satan certainly wanted to murder Jesus, and tried to, and is guilty of that.

c. Release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage: The fear of death rules as a tyrant over humanity. Some try to make peace with death by calling it their friend. But Christians have no fear of death (though perhaps a fear of dying), not because death is their friend, but because it is a defeated enemy who now serves God's purpose in the believer's life.

d. He does give aid to the seed of Abraham: The Father's work in Jesus was not primarily for the sake of angels (though it is for the angels in a secondary sense according to Ephesians 3:10), it is for the people of faith (the seed of Abraham).

i. Seed of Abraham here is used in the sense of those who are Abraham's children inwardly, not ethnically (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:7).

4. (17-18) Therefore: Jesus is our faithful High Priest.

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

a. Made like His brethren: If Jesus were not like us, He could not be our High Priest, representing us before the Father and making atonement (propitiation) for our sins.

i. Neither the Deity nor the Humanity of Jesus are negotiable. If we diminish either and He is unable to save us.

b. That He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest: The High Priest wore a breastplate that had stones, engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, on both his chest and his shoulders. The High Priest would therefore be in constant sympathy with the people of God, carrying them on his heart and in his work (on the shoulders).

i. Jesus did not wear the High Priest's breastplate; but the wound in His chest and the cross on His shoulders are even more eloquent testimony to His heart for us and work on our behalf - to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

c. Because Jesus added humanity to His deity, and has experienced human suffering, Jesus is able to aid those who are being tempted, and when we are suffering. He really does know what you are going through!

d. It is astonishing: there is a God in Heaven who by experience knows what I am going through, and can aid me, not just feel bad for me!

i. "This is the most powerful preservative against despair, and the firmest ground of hope and comfort, that ever believing, penitent sinners could desire or have." (Poole) "Were the rest of the Scripture silent on this subject, this verse might be an ample support for every tempted soul." (Clarke)

 

[DaLincolnJones]

JESUS, SUPERIOR TO MOSES
Hebrews 3
A. Considering Jesus.

1. (1a) Therefore: who we are in light of the previous paragraphs.

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,

a. Therefore: We have been left with the picture of Jesus, our heavenly High Priest. Since this is true, it teaches something about who we are. Understanding who we are in light of who Jesus is and what He has done is essential for a healthy Christian life. It keeps us from the depths of discouragement the Hebrew Christians faced.

b. We are holy brethren: Because our heavenly, holy High Priest is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Hebrews 2:11) It should bless and encourage us that Jesus calls us His holy brethren.

c. We are partakers of the heavenly calling: Because Jesus is committed tobringing many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10), we are partners in His heavenly calling. This should bless and encourage us to press on, even through difficult times and trials.

2. (1b) Therefore: what we are to do in light of the previous paragraphs.

Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

a. Consider the Apostle: We don't often apply this word to Jesus, but He is ourApostle. The Greek word for apostle really means something like ambassador. In this sense, Jesus is the Father's ultimate ambassador (Hebrews 1:1-2). God had to send a message of love so important, He sent it through Christ Jesus.

i. The message is plain: consider this. Consider that God loves you so much He sent the ultimate Messenger, Christ Jesus. Consider also how important it is for you to pay attention to God's ultimate Apostle, Christ Jesus.

ii. God also chose His original, authoritative "ambassadors" for the church; these are what we think of as the original twelve apostles. God still chooses ambassadors in a less authoritative sense, and there is a sense in which we are all ambassadors for God.

b. Consider the … High Priest: Jesus is the One who supremely represents us before the Father, and who represents the Father to us. God cares for us so much that He put the ultimate mediator, the ultimate High Priest, between Himself and sinful man.

i. The message is plain: consider this. Consider that God loves you this much, and that if such a great High Priest has been given to us, we must honor and submit to this High Priest, who is Christ Jesus.

c. Consider the Jesus as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus is the ambassador and the mediator of our confession. Christianity is aconfession made with both the mouth (Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9) and with the life.

3. (2) Consider Jesus as faithful in His duties before the Father, even as Moses was a faithful servant of God.

Who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

a. Who was faithful: When we consider the past faithfulness of Jesus, it makes us understand that He will continue to be faithful. And as He was faithful to God the Father (Him who appointed Him), so He will be faithful to us. This should bless and encourage us!

b. As Moses also was faithful in all His house: Moses showed an amazing faithfulness in his ministry; but Jesus showed a perfect faithfulness- surpassing even that of Moses!

B. Jesus, superior to Moses.

1. (3a) Jesus has received more glory than Moses did.

For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,

a. Moses: Moses received much glory from God. This is seen in his shining face after spending time with God (Exodus 34:29-35), in his justification before Miriam and Aaron (Numbers 12:6-8), and before the sons of Korah (Numbers 16).

b. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses did: But Jesus received far more glory from the Father, at His baptism (Matthew 3:16-17), at His transfiguration (Mark 9:7), and at His resurrection (Acts 2:26-27 and Acts 2:31-33).

2. (3b-6) Why did Jesus receive more glory than Moses? Because Moses was aservant in God's house, but Jesus is both the builder of the house and a Son in it.

Inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed wasfaithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

a. Inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house: Moses was a member of the household of God, but Jesus is the creator of thathouse, worthy of greater glory.

i. The ancient Rabbis considered Moses to be the greatest man ever, greater than the angels. The writer to the Hebrews does nothing to criticize Moses; he only looks to properly exalt Jesus.

b. Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant … but Christ as a Son over His own house: Moses was a faithful servant, but he was never called a Son in the way Jesus is.

c. Whose house we are if we hold fast: We are a part of Jesus' household if we hold fast. The writer to the Hebrews is encouraging those who felt like turning back, helping them to hold fast by explaining the benefits of hanging in there.

i. True commitment to Jesus is demonstrated over the long term, not just in an initial burst. We trust that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

ii. Whose house we are: 1 Peter 2:4-5 says we are being built up a spiritual house. God has a work to build through His people, even as one might build a house.

C. The application of the fact of Jesus' superiority to Moses.

1. (7-11) A quotation from Psalm 95:7-11 and its relevance.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

a. Do not harden your hearts: If those who followed Moses were responsible to surrender, trust and persevere in following God's leader, how much more are we responsible to do the same with a greater leader, Jesus?

b. As in the rebellion, in the day of trial: The day of trial refers first to the trial at Meribah (Numbers 20:1-13). But more generally, it speaks of Israel's refusal to trust and enter the Promised Land during the Exodus (Numbers 13:30-14:10). God did not accept their unbelief and condemned that generation of unbelief to die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:22-23; 28-32).

c. And saw My works forty years: Because of their unbelief, the people of Israel faced judgment which culminated after forty years. This warning in Hebrews was written about forty years after the Jews' initial rejection of Jesus. God's wrath was quickly coming upon the Jews who rejected Jesus, and would culminate with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

d. Therefore I was angry with that generation: God's anger was kindled against that generation on account of their unbelief. They refused to trust God for the great things He had promised, and were unwilling to persist in trust.

2. (12-15) Beware: Don't be like the generation that perished in the wilderness!

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

a. Lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief: This is strong language, but we often underestimate the terrible nature of our unbelief. Refusing to believe God is such a serious sin because it shows an evil heart and a departing from the living God.

i. "Unbelief is not inability to understand, but unwillingness to trust … it is the will, not the intelligence, that is involved." (Newell)

ii. One can truly believe God, yet be occasionally troubled by doubts. There is a doubt that wants God's promises but is weak in faith at the moment.Unbelief isn't weakness of faith; it sets itself in opposition to faith.

iii. "The great sin of not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is often spoken of very lightly and in a very trifling spirit, as though it were scarcely any sin at all; yet, according to my text, and, indeed, according to the whole tenor of the Scriptures, unbelief is the giving of God the lie, and what can be worse?" (Spurgeon)

iv. "Hearken, O unbeliever, you have said, 'I cannot believe,' but it would be more honest if you had said, 'I will not believe.' The mischief lies there. Your unbelief is your fault, not your misfortune. It is a disease, but it is also a crime: it is a terrible source of misery to you, but it is justly so, for it is an atrocious offense against the God of truth." (Spurgeon)

v. "Did I not hear some one say, 'Ah, sir, I have been trying to believe for years.' Terrible words! They make the case still worse. Imagine that after I had made a statement, a man should declare that he did not believe me, in fact, he could not believe me though he would like to do so. I should feel aggrieved certainly; but it would make matters worse if he added, 'In fact I have been for years trying to believe you, and I cannot do it.' What does he mean by that? What can he mean but that I am so incorrigibly false, and such a confirmed liar, that though he would like to give me some credit, he really cannot do it? With all the effort he can make in my favour, he finds it quite beyond his power to believe me? Now, a man who says, 'I have been trying to believe in God,' in reality says just that with regard to the Most High." (Spurgeon)

b. Exhort one another daily: If we will strengthen our faith and avoid the ruin of unbelief, we must be around other Christians who will exhort - that is, "seriously encourage" us.

i. How seriously do we take our responsibility to exhort one another daily, and to be exhorted? We judge and criticize rather well, but how well do we really exhort?

ii. If you are out of fellowship altogether, how can you exhort or be exhorted? What will keep you from becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin?

iii. This emphasis flies in the face of our society's thinking. A survey found that more than 78% of the general public and 70% of churchgoing people believe "you can be a good Christian without attending church." (Roof and McKinney)

c. The deceitfulness of sin: The sin of unbelief has its roots in deceit; and unbelief hardens us (lest any of you be hardened). Unbelief and sin isdeceitful because when we are unbelieving towards God, we don't stop believing - we simply start believing in a deception.

d. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end: If we have really become partakers of Christ, if we have really heard His voice, we will hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Paul communicated the same idea inPhilippians 1:6.

i. But it isn't enough to leave the matter with a fatalistic "if you are really saved, you will endure." We have to realize that God uses these warnings and appeals to our will as His appointed means to build endurance in us. There is no fatalism here!

e. Do not harden your hearts: We often say our hearts have been hardened by others or by circumstances. But the fact is that we harden our own hearts inresponse to what may be done to us.

3. (16-19) It isn't enough to make a good beginning.

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

a. For who, having heard, rebelled? As a nation, Israel made a good beginning. After all, it took a lot of faith to cross the Red Sea! Yet all of that first generation perished in the wilderness, except for the two men of faith - Joshua and Caleb.

b. They would not enter His rest: 11 times in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, Hebrews speaks of entering rest. That rest will be deeply detailed in the next chapter. But here, the key to entering rest is revealed: belief.

c. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief: One might be tempted to think the key to entering rest is obedience, especially fromHebrews 3:18: to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? But the disobedience mentioned in Hebrews 3:18 is an outgrowth of the unbelief mentioned in Hebrews 3:19. The unbelief came first, then the obedience.

i. In a New Testament context, our belief centers on the superiority of Jesus Christ, the truth of who He is (fully God and fully man) and His atoning work for us as a faithful High Priest (as in Hebrews 2:17).

ii. When we trust in these things, making them the "food" of our souls, we enter into God's rest.

d. Israel's great failure was to persevere in faith. After crossing much of the wilderness trusting in God, and after seeing so many reasons to trust in Him, they end up falling short- because they did not persevere in faith in God and His promise.

i. Jesus reminded us in the parable of the soils with the seeds cast on stony ground and among thorns: it isn't enough to make a good beginning, real belief perseveres to the end. If we have made a good start, praise God; but how we finish is even more important than how we start.

ii. C.S. Lewis speaks to the difficulty of persistence (from a tempting demon's fictional perspective): "The Enemy has guarded him from you through the first great wave of temptations. But, if only he can be kept alive, you have time itself for you ally. The long, dull monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather. You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives and inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it-all this provides admirable opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition. If, on the other hand, the middle years from prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He fells that he is 'finding his place in it' while really it is finding its place in him. . . . That is why we must often wish long life to our patients; seventy years is not a day too much for the difficult task of unraveling their souls from Heaven and building up a firm attachment to the earth." (The Screwtape Letters)

iii. Will the passing years wean us away from an on-fire, trusting relationship with the Lord? Or will they only serve to increase our life of trust and reliance on Jesus?

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 4

ENTERING INTO HIS REST
A. How to enter God's rest.

1. (1-2) The warning is repeated: don't miss God's rest.

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

a. Therefore: The idea is carried on without pause from Hebrews 3: unbeliefkept the generation that escaped Egypt from entering Canaan. The promise remains of entering His rest, and we can enter into that rest by faith. Unbeliefwill make us fall short of the rest God has for us.

b. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them: We have heard the promise of God's rest, just like the children of Israel did. They heardthe word, but it did not profit them, because they did not receive it with faith.

i. They heard the promise. They had the opportunity to receive the promise. But they had actually enter by faith.

2. (3-9) Proof that a "rest" remains for the people of God, beyond it's original fulfillment under Joshua.

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; and again in this place:"They shall not enter My rest." Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

a. So swore in My wrath: This quote from Psalm 95:11 demonstrates that God has a rest available to us. This rest is after the pattern of God's own rest on the seventh day from all His works, as described in the quote from Genesis 2:2.

b. Therefore it remains that some must enter it: God did not create this place of rest in vain. If Israel (those to whom it was first preached) did not enter because of disobedience, then someone else will enter into that rest.

c. Today, if you will hear His voice: The appeal in Psalm 95:7-8 proves that there is a rest that remains for God's people to enter, beyond the fulfillment under Joshua. If Joshua had completely fulfilled the promise of rest, God's appeal through David, saying "Today" would make no sense.

d. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God: All this together proves the point that there is a rest for the people of God. This is a rest that is spiritual, yet patterned after the rest provided through Joshua.

3. (10) What this rest is: a cessation from works.

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God didfrom His.

a. He who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works: Entering this rest means no longer needing to work. The idea isn't that there is no longer any place for doing good works. The idea is that there is no longer any place for works as a basis for our own righteousness.

b. Ceased from his works as God did from His: This cessation from works as a basis for righteousness fulfills our "Sabbath rest." God rested from His works on the original Sabbath of Genesis 2:2 because the work was finished. We cease from self-justifying works because the work is finished by Jesus on the cross.

4. (11) Application of the invitation to enter God's rest through faith.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

a. Let us therefore: This phrase, or this idea, appears repeatedly in Hebrews. A doctrinal truth is presented - in this case, the truth of a remaining rest available by faith - then the truth is applied.

b. Be diligent to enter that rest: The rest is there, but God does not force it upon us. We must enter that rest. Clearly, the rest is entered by faith; but it takes diligent faith. This shows us that faith is not passive; it takes diligence to trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus and His work for us.

c. Lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience: If we are not diligent to enter that rest, the result can be a disaster. We may fall according to the same example of disobedience. We may fall, even as the children of Israel did in the wilderness.

5. (12-13) Found out by God's Word.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

a. For the word of God: God's Word has diagnosed our illness with a surgeon's precision. It has seen our hearts, and discerned that we are too ready to follow in the failure of the children of Israel, to give up belief.

b. When the word of God exposes our weakness and unbelief like this, it demonstrates the inherent power, sharpness, and accuracy of the word of God. It bears constant reminding that as we submit ourselves to the word of God, we do it for far, far more than intellectual knowledge of the learning of facts. We do it for the ministry of the Word, because God meets us in His Word, and the Holy Spirit works powerfully through the word of God. We should consider just what the Word of God says it will do in our lives:

i. God's word brings true health, fruitfulness, prosperity and success to the things we do. (Psalm 1:3)

ii. The word of God has healing power; it has the power to deliver us from oppression. (Psalm 107:20, Matthew 8:8, Matthew 8:16)

iii. God's word is cleansing - if we take heed according to God's word, our way will be cleansed. (Psalm 119:9, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26)

iv. The word of God, hidden in our hearts, keeps us from sin. (Psalm 119:11)

v. God's word is our counselor; as we delight in God's word, it becomes a rich source of counsel and guidance for us. (Psalm 119:24)

vi. God's word is a source of strength. (Psalm 119:28)

vii. God's word imparts life to us. It is a continual source of life for us. (Psalm 119:93, Matthew 4:4)

viii. God's word is a source of illumination and guidance to us. When God's word comes in, so does light; it makes the simple wise and understanding. (Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130)

ix. God's word gives peace to those who love it; they are secure, standing in a safe place. (Psalm 119:165)

x. When the word of God is heard and understood, it bears fruit. (Matthew 13:23)

xi. The word of God has inherent power and authority against demonic powers. (Luke 4:36)

xii. Jesus Himself - His eternal person - is described as the Word. When we are into the Word of God, we are into Jesus. (John 1:1)

xiii. Hearing God's Word is essential to eternal life - you cannot pass from death into life unless you have heard the Word of God. (John 5:24,James 1:21, 1 Peter 1:23)

xiv. Abiding - living in - God's Word is evidence of true discipleship. (John 8:31)

xv. God's Word is the means to sanctification. (John 17:17)

xvi. God can do dramatic works with the Holy Spirit as His Word is being preached. (Acts 10:44)

xvii. Hearing God's Word builds faith in us. (Romans 10:17)

xviii. Holding fast to the Word of God can give us present assurance of salvation. (1 Corinthians 15:2)

xix. The faithful handling of the Word of God gives the ministers of the Word a clear conscience - they know that they have done all they can before God. (2 Corinthians 4:2, Philippians 2:16)

xx. The Word of God is our sword of the Spirit - it is our equipment for spiritual battle, especially in the idea of an offensive weapon. (Ephesians 6:17)

xxi. The Word of God comes with the power of the Holy Spirit - with "much assurance" - and critical aspect of the ministry of the Word. (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

xxii. The Word of God works effectively in those who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

xxiii. The word of God sanctifies the very food we eat! (1 Timothy 4:5)

xxiv. The word of God is not dead; it is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword. The word of God can probe us like a surgeon's expert scalpel, cutting away what needs to be cut and keeping what needs to be kept. (Hebrews 4:12)

xxv. The word of God is our source of growth. (1 Peter 2:2,1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

c. Is living and powerful: No wonder the writer to the Hebrews can say this. The Bible isn't a collection of musty stories and myths. It has an inherent life and power. The preacher doesn't make the Bible "come alive." The Bible is alive, and gives life to the preacher and anyone else who will really receive it.

i. Powerful (translated active in the KJV) reminds us that something might be alive, yet dormant. But God's Word is both living and powerful, in the sense of being active.

d. Sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow: God's Word can hit us with surprising precision, and the Holy Spirit empowers the ministry of the Word to do deep work in our hearts.

i. Often people wonder how a preacher's message can be so relevant to their life. They sometimes honestly wonder if the preacher doesn't know some "inside information" about their life. But it isn't necessarily the preacher at all. It is the sharpness of the Word of God, delivering the message in just the right place.

e. Even to the division of soul and spirit: Is there a deliberate and significant difference between soul and spirit here?

i. Certainly, there is some distinction between soul and spirit. "The New Testament use of pneuma for the human spirit focuses on the spiritual aspect of man, i.e. his life in relation to God, whereas psyche refers to man's life irrespective of his spiritual experience, i.e. his life in relation to himself, his emotions and thought. There is a strong antithesis between the two in the theology of Paul." (Guthrie)

ii. But the stress of this passage isn't to spell out a theology of the difference between soul and spirit. "Attempts to explain [these terms] on any psychological basis are futile. The form of expression is poetical, and signifies that the word penetrates to the inmost recesses of our spiritual being as a sword cuts through the joints and marrow of the body." (Vincent)

iii. However, it is important to understand what the Bible means when it speaks of and makes a distinction with soul and spirit. The Bible tells us that people have an "inner" and an "outer" nature (Genesis 2:7,2 Corinthians 4:16). The inner man is described by both the terms spirit(Acts 7:59, Matthew 26:41, John 4:23-24) and soul (1 Peter 2:11,Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 10:39). These two terms are often used synonymously, but not always. We can say that soul seems to focus more on individuality and life (often being defined as the mind, the will, and the emotions). The spirit seems to focus more on supernatural power and life in an individual.

iv. That there is some distinction between the spirit and the soul is made obvious by passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12. The fact that the terms are sometimes used interchangeable is shown by passages like Job 7:11 and Isaiah 26:9.

v. Because the soul and spirit both have reference to the "inner man," they are easily confused. Often an experience which only "blesses" the soul is supposed to be something which builds up the spirit. There is nothing wrong with "soulish" excitement and blessing, but there is nothing in it that builds us up spiritually. That is why many Christians go from one exciting experience to another but never really grow spiritually - the ministry they receive is "soulish." This is why the Word of God is so powerful and precise; it can pierce even to the division of soul and spirit, which isn't easy to do.

vi. The outer man is described by the terms flesh (Colossians 2:5,Matthew 26:41, Galatians 5:16-17) and body (Romans 6:6, Romans 8:13,1 Corinthians 6:13 and 6:19-20). The terms flesh and body also seem to include aspects of our person such as the senses and habits. When we allow our flesh to direct our thoughts and actions, it ends in spiritual ruin. God wants us to be directed not by the spirit, not by the flesh, or even thesoul.

f. All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account: There is no one hidden before God. He sees our hearts and knows how to touch them, and we must give account for how we respond to His touch.

i. Naked reminds us of the way God saw through Adam's feeble hiding. God sees through our hiding the same way.

ii. Open is the ancient Greek word trachelizo, used only here in the New Testament. It was used of wrestlers who had a hold that involved gripping the neck and was such a powerful hold that it brought victory. So the term can mean "to prostrate" or "to overthrow;" but many scholars do adopt the simply meaning of "open."

g. Remember the context. The writer to the Hebrews trusts that he has pierced the hearts of his audience, who were contemplating "giving up" on Jesus. In this passage, he has made it plain that they can't give up on Jesus can keep it "hidden" from God. The word of God has discovered and exposed their condition.

B. Jesus our High Priest.

1. (14) Seeing Jesus, our great High Priest.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

a. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest: The idea that Jesus is ourHigh Priest has been mentioned before (Hebrews 2:17 and Hebrews 3:1). But now the writer to the Hebrews will develop the idea more extensively.

b. Seeing then: The writer to the Hebrews wants to call attention to the specific, unique character of Jesus as our High Priest. No other High Priest was calledgreat. No other High Priest … passed through the heavens. No other High Priest is the Son of God.

c. Let us hold fast our confession: Knowing that we have a High Priest, and know how unique and glorious He is, is wonderful. It is even greater to know that He has passed through the heavens, that He has ascended into heaven, and now ministers there on our behalf is even greater. Both of these things should encourage us to hold fast our confession.

2. (15) Our High Priest can sympathize with us.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

a. We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize: Though His deity has been documented (Hebrews 1:4-14), His compassionate humanity has also been demonstrated (Hebrews 2:5-18). It means that there is a Jesus, God the Son, enthroned in heaven, our High Priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses.

i. To the Greeks, the primary attribute of God was apatheia, the essential inability to feel anything at all. Jesus isn't like that. He knows, He feels what we go through. The ancient Greek word for sympathize literally means "to suffer along with."

ii. What makes the difference is that Jesus added humanity to His deity, and came and lived among us as a man. When you have been there, it makes all the difference. We might hear of some tragedy at a high school, and feel a measure of sorrow. But it is nothing like the pain we would feel if it were the high school we attended.

b. But was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin: Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted and to battle against sin, though He was never stained by sin. "His sinlessness was, at least in part, an earned sinlessness as he gained victory after victory in the constant battle with temptation that life in this world entails." (Morris)

i. Sometimes we think that because Jesus is God, He could never know temptation the way we do. In part, this is true: Jesus faced temptation much more severely than we ever have or ever will. The Sinless One knows temptation in a way we don't, because only the one who never gives into temptation knows the full strength of temptation. It is true that Jesus never faced temptation in an inner sense the way we do, because there was never a sinful nature pulling Him to sin from the inside. But He knew the strength and fury of external temptation in a way, and to a degree, that we can never know. He knows what we go through; He has faced worse.

3. (16) An invitation: come to the throne of grace.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

a. Let us therefore come boldly: Because we have a High Priest who is both omnipotent and compassionate, we can come boldly to His throne. Discouraging us from this access is a central strategy of Satan. The devil sometimes wants us to consider Jesus as unapproachable- perhaps encouraging us to come by Mary or the saints instead of Jesus. Sometimes the devil wants us to think of Jesus as being powerless to help, not as one who sits on a throne in heaven.

b. The throne of grace: The throne of God is a throne of grace. When we come, we may obtain mercy (this is not getting what we deserve) and find grace (this is getting what we don't deserve) in our time of need.

i. Rabbis taught that God had two thrones, one of mercy, and one of judgment. They said this because they knew that God was both merciful and just, but how could these two attributes of God be reconciled? Perhaps God had two thrones, displaying the two aspects of His character. On one throne He would show His judgment, and on the other His mercy. But here, in light of the finished work of Jesus, we see mercy and judgment reconciled into one throne of grace.

ii. Remember that grace does not ignore God's justice; it operates in fulfillment of God's justice, in light of the cross.

c. Find grace to help in time of need: Thankfully, God provides help in our time of need. No request is too small, because He wants us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer … let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 5

JESUS, A PRIEST FOREVER
A. Our Compassionate High Priest.

1. (1-4) Principles of priesthood under the Law of Moses.

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertainingto God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

a. For every high priest taken from among men: God established both the priesthood and the office of high priest in the days of Moses, as described inExodus 28:1 and following. The writer to the Hebrews neatly summarizes the work of the high priest, in saying that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. The primary job of the high priest was the officiate, either directly or indirectly through lower-ranking priests, sacrifices unto the Lord.

i. The phrase gifts and sacrifices for sins reminds us that not every sacrifice was a blood atonement for sins. Many of the ritual sacrifices were intended to be simple gifts to God, expressing thanks and desiring fellowship.

b. He can have compassion: Ideally, the high priest was more than a "butcher" offering sacrifice. He also had compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, and ministered the atoning sacrifices with a loving heart for the people. In this ideal, the high priest has this compassion because he understands that he himself is also subject to weakness.

i. God made specific commands to help insure the high priest would minister with compassion. In the breastplate of the high priest were set twelve stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, and on the shoulder straps were stones engraved with the names of the tribes. In this, the people of Israel were always on the heart and on the shoulders of thehigh priest (Exodus 28:4-30).

c. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins: God also made specific commands to help insure thehigh priest would minister with awareness that he was also subject to weakness. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest had to sacrifice for himself first, to remind himself and the nation that he had sin to atone for, just like the rest of the people of Israel (Leviticus 16:1-6).

d. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was: Of course, the High Priest was taken from the community of God's people; but was not chosen by God's people, but appointed by God for His people. But it was important to state that no man takes this honor to himself. The office of high priest was nothing to aspire to or campaign for. It was given by right of birth, it was chosen by God. It was an honor no man could take to himself.

i. The true priesthood, and the high priest, came from a specific line of descent. Every priest came from Jacob, Abraham's grandson, whose name was changed to Israel. Every priest came from Levi, one of Israel's thirteen sons. God set the tribe of Levi apart as a tribe committed to His service and as representatives of the whole nation (Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:40-41). Gershon, Kohath and Merari were Levi's three sons; each of these family lines had their own duties. The family of Gershon had care of the tabernacle's screen (veil), fence, and curtains (Numbers 3:25-26). The family of Kohath will this family had care of the tabernacle's furnishings, such as the lampstand, altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant (Numbers 3:31-32). The family of Merari had care of the boards and pillars of the tabernacle and the fence (Numbers 3:36-37). These families were not properly priests, though they were Levites. The priesthood itself came through Aaron, the brother of Moses, of the family of Kohath. Aaron's family and their descendants made up the priests and the high priest, those able to serve in the tabernacle itself and to offer sacrifice to God. The high priest was generally the eldest son of Aaron, except if they disqualified themselves like Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3) or according to the regulations ofLeviticus 21. In this sense, the priesthood was not popularly elected, but chosen by God, not appointed by man.

ii. There are some dreadful instances where men presumed to act as priests who were not priests, such as Korah (Numbers 16), Saul (1 Samuel 13) and Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16).

iii. We can also not take the honor of being our own priest. It is great arrogance to think we can approach God on our own, without a priest; but it is great superstition to think we need any other priest other than Jesus Christ Himself. God has provided a mediator, a priest, and we must avail ourselves of the priest God has provided.

iv. "A sinner can undertake to manage nothing towards God immediately, or by himself, but with a mediating priest, who must know God's mind and perform it … The common sense of mankind about it since the fall doth evidence it; no nation being without a religion, a temple, a place of worship, or a priest." (Poole)

2. (5-6) Jesus is qualified to be our High Priest.

So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." As He also says in another place:"You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek";

a. Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest: Jesus did not make Himself High Priest. Instead, just as much as Jesus was declared to be the Son(Psalm 2:7), He was also declared to be a priest forever (in Psalm 110:4).

i. It was easy to see why the priesthood of Jesus would be difficult for early Jewish Christians to grasp. He was not from the lineage of Aaron. Jesus claimed nor practiced no special ministry in the temple. He confronted the religious structure instead of joining it. In Jesus' day, the priesthood also become a corrupt institution. The custom had become High Priest in those days through intrigue and politicking among the corrupt priesthood.

ii. A priest forever is an important contrast. Jesus' priesthood (like Melchizedek's) is unending, but no High Priest descended from Aaron ever had a forever priesthood.

b. Today I have begotten You refers to Jesus' resurrection from the dead. At that time He fully assumed His role as our great High Priest, having been perfected (Hebrews 5:9).

i. Jesus' resurrection demonstrated that He was not a priest like Aaron, who had to atone for his own sin first. The resurrection vindicated Jesus as the Father's Holy One (Acts 2:2, 2:27), who bore the wrath sinners deserve, without becoming a sinner Himself.

c. Hebrews 7 will more fully develop the theme of Jesus as a High Priestaccording to the order of Melchizedek.

3. (7-11a) The compassion of Jesus, our High Priest.

Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek," of whom we have much to say,

a. When He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears: The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane (Matthew 26:36-39, Luke 22:44) proves He knows what it is like to struggle with the difficulty of obedience, yet He obeyed perfectly.

i. This answers the question, "How can this glorious, enthroned Jesus know what I am going through down here?" He knows; obedience did not always come easy for Jesus.

b. The word for supplications is hiketeria. This ancient Greek word essentially means "an olive branch wrapped in wool," because that is was someone in Greek culture would hold and wave to express their desperate prayer and desire. Significantly, this supplication of Jesus took place in a garden of olives - and he supplied the "wool," being the Lamb of God!

c. And was heard because of His godly fear: If Jesus asked that the cup be taken away from Him (Luke 22:42), and the cup was not taken away, how can it be said that He was heard? Because His prayer was not to escape His Father's will, but to accept it - and that prayer was definitely heard.

d. He learned obedience by the things which He suffered: How could Jesus (who never stopped being God) learn anything? Then again, how does God, enthroned in heaven experience obedience, except by casting off the glory of the throne and humbling Himself as Jesus did?

i. Jesus did not pass from disobedience to obedience. He learnedobedience by actually obeying. Jesus did not learn how to obey; He learned what is involved in obedience.

e. He learned obedience by things which He suffered: Suffering was used to teach Jesus. If suffering was fit to teach the Son of God, we must never despise it as a tool of instruction in our lives.

i. Some say that we might learn through suffering; but such lessons are only God's second best. God really intends for us just to learn by His Word, and it is never His real plan for us to learn through trials and suffering. But was Jesus ever in the Father's second best?

ii. The Bible never teaches that strong faith will keep a Christian from all suffering. Christians are appointed to affliction (1 Thessalonians 3:3). It is through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22), and our current suffering is the prelude to glorification (Romans 8:17).

f. Having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation: Jesus' experience of suffering makes Him perfectly suited to be the author (the source, the cause) of our salvation.

i. Some don't want Jesus to be the author of their salvation. They want to write their own book of salvation. God won't read it! Only Jesus can authoryour eternal salvation.

g. Notice that this salvation is extended to all who obey Him. In this sense, all who obey Him is used synonymously for believing on Him - which simply assumes that believers will obey!

h. Called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek": The emphasis is repeated. Jesus is a High Priest, who was called by God (not personal ambition), according to the order of Melchizedek. The much to saycomes in Hebrews 7.

B. An exhortation to maturity.

1. (11b) Their dullness of hearing is exposed.

And hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

a. Since you have become dull of hearing: This explains why the writer doesn't go into the topic of Melchizedek right away. He wants to address some critical basics before going on to more intricate topics, but their spiritual condition makes it hard to explain.

i. He fears the discussion of Aaron and Melchizedek and Jesus will sound too academic and theoretical to his readers. At the same time, he recognizes this says more about his dull hearers than the message.

ii. Being dull of hearing is not a problem with the ears, but a problem with the heart - you just aren't really interested in what God has to say to you. Not wanting to hear the Word of God points to a genuine spiritual problem!

b. These Christians who felt like giving up with Jesus were also dull of hearing. The dullness usually comes first, then the desire to give up. Watch out when the Word of God starts seeming dull to you!

c. They have become dull of hearing. Become is an important word. It indicates that they didn't start out that dull of hearing, but became that way.

2. (12a) Their failure to mature is exposed.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God;

a. By this time: According to the time they had been followers of Jesus, they should have been much more mature than they were.

b. You ought to be teachers: It wasn't that these were unique people who would hold a unique role of teaching. Instead, they ought to be teachers in the sense that all Christians should be teachers.

i. There is an important sense in which every Christian must be a teacher, because we can all help disciple others. We really only master something after we have effectively taught it to someone else. Teaching is the final step of learning.

c. You need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God: This isn't to their credit. It isn't that the first principles are "beneath" the mature Christian. Rather, the sense is that one should be able to teach one's self, and remind one's self of these first principles of the oracles of God.

3. (12b-14) A contrast between milk and solid food.

And you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes onlyof milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

a. And you have come to need milk: Milk corresponds to the first principles ofHebrews 6:12. Solid food is the "meatier" material such as understanding the connection between Jesus and Melchizedek. It isn't that milk is bad; but these Christians should have added solid food to their diet. Peter reminds us all as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby(1 Peter 2:2).

b. In the original language, the sense of for he is a babe is for he has become a babe. There is nothing more delightful than a true babe in Jesus. But there is nothing more irritating and depressing than someone who should be mature but who has become a babe!

i. Have you become a babe? Perhaps your Christian life is unstable. Babies are handed from one person to another; babes are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14-16).

ii. Have you become a babe? Perhaps you are divisive in your Christian life. Babies each have their own crib that they stick to; babes have their particular denomination or church that they think of as "my church."

iii. Have you become a babe? Perhaps you are star-struck by Christian celebrities of one kind or another. Babies are focused on one particular person (mommy); babes glory in men (I am of Paul, I am of Apollos).

iv. Have you become a babe? Perhaps you are spiritually asleep. Babies need a lot of sleep; babes spend much time spiritually asleep.

v. Have you become a babe? Perhaps you are fussy and cranky with others. Babies can be cranky; babes will fuss over any little thing.

c. Is unskilled in the word of righteousness: Those who have become babes reveal themselves because they are unskilled in the word of righteousness. We don't expect brand new Christians to be skilled in the word of righteousness, but those who have been Christians for a time should be.

d. Who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil: Our senses are exercised (trained by practice and habit) to discern both good and evil (doctrinally, not morally). How are our senses exercised? Plainly, by reason of use. When we decide to use discernment, we mature.

i. These Christians demonstrated immaturity by both their lack of discernment between good and evil and in their contemplation of giving up with Jesus. The mature Christian is marked by their discernment and by their unshakable commitment to Jesus Christ.

ii. The ability to discern is a critical measure of spiritual maturity. Babies will put anything in their mouths! Babes are weak in discernment, and will accept any kind of spiritual food.

e. Have their senses exercised: It can be said that all five human senses have their spiritual counterparts.

i. We have a spiritual sense of taste: If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1 Peter 2:3). Taste and see that the LORD is good!(Psalm 34:8)

ii. We have a spiritual sense of hearing: Hear and your soul shall live(Isaiah 55:3). He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:7).

iii. We have a spiritual sense of sight: Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law (Psalm 119:18). The eyes of your understanding (heart) being enlightened (Ephesians 1:18).

iv. We have a spiritual sense of smell: He shall be of quick scent in the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:3, RV margin). I am full, having received from … you, a sweet-smelling aroma (Philippians 4:18).

v. We have a spiritual sense of touch or feeling: Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD (2 Kings 22:19). The hardening of their heart; who being past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness (Ephesians 4:18-19)

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 6

A WARNING TO DISCOURAGED BELIEVERS
A. The essential nature of maturity.

1. (1a) Going beyond the basics.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection,

a. Therefore: The writer has just rebuked his readers for their spiritual immaturity; but he knows that nothing is gained by treating them as immature. So he moves on to other ideas.

b. Elementary principles: This has the idea of "rudiments" or "ABCs." They are basic building blocks that are necessary, but must be built upon - otherwise you just have a foundation and no structure.

c. Perfection: This is the ancient Greek word teleiotes, which is much better understood as "maturity." The writer to the Hebrews is not trying to tell us that we can reach perfection on this side of eternity, but we can and should reach a place of maturity in Jesus. So the call is plain: let us go on to perfection.

2. (1b-2) Some of the "basics" to go beyond.

Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

a. These "basics" are given in three pairs: repentance and faith go together.Baptisms and laying on of hands go together. Resurrection of the dead andeternal judgment go together.

b. Not laying again the foundation: Many people regard this as a Biblical list of important "foundations" for the Christian life. Bible study series have been taught developing each one of these topics, out of the thought that this is good list of basic doctrines. But that isn't the writer's point here at all. To understand this list, you must ask a basic question: What is distinctively Christian about this list? Where is the specific mention of Jesus or salvation by grace alone? Can you believe or practice these things and not be a follower of Jesus Christ, believing Him to be the Messiah?

i. "When we consider the 'rudiments' one by one, it is remarkable how little in the list is distinctive of Christianity, for practically every item could have its place in a fairly orthodox Jewish community. . . . Each of them, indeed, acquires a new significance in a Christian context; but the impression we get is that existing Jewish beliefs and practices were used as a foundation on which to build Christian truth." (Bruce)

c. Not even baptisms, as it is used in this passage, is necessarily Christian. The specific ancient Greek word translated baptisms is not the word regularly used in the New Testament to describe Christian baptism. It is the word used on two other specific occasions (Hebrews 9:10 and Mark 7:4) to refer to Jewish ceremonial washings.

i. The New English Bible translation reflects this, translating doctrine of baptisms as "instruction about cleansing rites."

d. In this case, the elementary principles to move beyond are all items in the "common ground" between Christianity and Judaism. This was a "safe" common ground these Jewish Christians retreated to.

i. Because Christianity did grow out of Judaism, it was a more subtle temptation for a Jewish Christian to slip back into Judaism than it was for a formerly pagan Christian to go back to his pagan ways.

ii. Of course, these Jewish Christians did not want to abandon religion, but they did want to make it less distinctively Christian. Therefore, they went back to this "common ground" to avoid persecution. Living in this comfortable common ground, you would not stick out so much. A Jew and a Christian together could say, "Let's repent, let's have faith, let's perform ceremonial washings," and so forth. But this was a subtle denial of Jesus.

iii. This is entirely characteristic of those who feel discouraged, and wish to give up. There is always the temptation to still be religious, but not so "fanatical" about Jesus.

3. (3) A statement of hope and dependence on God.

And this we will do if God permits.

a. If God permits: This should not be taken as implying that God may not want them to go on to maturity, past those basics common to Christianity and Judaism.

b. Instead, if God permits expresses the believers' complete dependence on God. If we do press on to maturity, we realize that it only happens at God's pleasure.

B. The danger of falling away.

1. Understanding an approach to controversial passages like this.

a. We must first be concerned with understanding what the text says (exposition), before we are concerned with fitting what it says into a system of theology.

b. Systems of theology are important, because the Bible does not contradict itself; but the way to right systems begins with a right understanding of the text, not one that bends the text to fit into a system.

i. "We come to this passage ourselves with the intention to read it with the simplicity of a child, and whatever we find therein to state it; and if it may not seem to agree with something we have hitherto held, we are prepared to cast away every doctrine of our own, rather than one passage of Scripture." (Spurgeon)

ii. "We had better far be inconsistent with ourselves than with the inspired Word. I have been called an Arminian Calvinist or a Calvinistic Arminian, and I am quite content so long as I can keep close to my Bible." (Spurgeon)

c. Satan knows Scripture, and this passage has rightly been called "one of the Devil's favorite passages" for its ability to be taken out of context for condemning the struggling believer. Many have felt like giving up after hearing Satan "preach a sermon" on this text!

2. (4-6) The impossibility of repentance for those who have fallen away after receiving blessing from God.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and putHim to an open shame.

a. For it is impossible: The word impossible is put in a position of emphasis. The writer to the Hebrews is not saying it is just difficult, but truly without possibility.

i. Note the other uses of impossible in Hebrews: It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

ii. "This word *impossible stands immovable." (Alford)

b. Who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come: Their experience is impressive. The big debate is whether this is the experience of salvation, or the experience of something short of salvation.

i. Enlightened: This ancient Greek word has the same meaning as the English word. These people have experienced the light of God shining upon them.

ii. Tasted: This word speaks of a full, real experience (as in how Jesustasted death in Hebrews 2:9). The heavenly gift is probably salvation (Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8).

iii. Partakers of the Holy Spirit is an unique term, having to do with receiving the Holy Spirit and having fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

iv. Tasted the good word of God means they have experienced the goodness of God's word, and have seen its work in their lives.

v. The powers of the age of come is a way to describe God's supernatural power. The ones written of here have indeed tasted of these powers.

c. One of the most heated debates over any New Testament passage is focused on this text. The question is simple: Are these people who have had these impressive spiritual experiences in fact Christians? Are they God's elect, chosen before the foundation of the world?

i. Commentators divide on this issue, each deciding the issue with great certainty but with no agreement.

ii. Remember that one can have great spiritual experiences and still not be saved (Matthew 7:21-23). One can even do many religious things and still not be saved. The perfect example of this are the Pharisees, who evangelized (Matthew 23:15), prayed impressively (Matthew 23:14), made religious commitments (Matthew 23:16), tithed rigorously (Matthew 23:23), honored religious traditions (Matthew 23:29-31) and who fasted (Luke 18:12).

iii. Yet, from a human perspective, who would call anyone who seemed to have the credentials mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-5 a non-Christian? We might make that person an elder! From all human observation, we must say these are Christians spoken of in Hebrews 6:4-5.

iv. It is possible to display some fruit or spiritual growth, then to die spiritually, showing that the "soil of the heart" was never right (Mark 4:16-19).

v. So are they Christians? From a human perspective we would say they are. Yet, from God's perspective, it is impossible to say on this side of eternity.

d. For it is impossible … if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance: If these people are Christians or not, once they have come to this place, it is impossible for them to repent.

i. If these are just Christians who "lost their salvation," the terrible fact is that they can never regain it. This passage was used by some in the early church (like Montanists and Novatianists) to say that there was no possibility of restoration if one sinned significantly after their baptism.

ii. Others have explained it by saying that this is all merely a hypothetical warning, in light of Hebrews 6:9. So, they say, no one can really lose their salvation. But what good is it to warn someone against something that can't happen?

iii. Still others think that this penalty deals only with reward, not with salvation itself. They stress the idea that repentance is called impossible, notsalvation.

iv. This difficult passage is best understood in the context of Hebrews 6:1-2. The writer to the Hebrews means that if they do retreat back to Judaism, all the religious "repentance" in the world will do them no good. Their forsaking of Jesus is tantamount to crucifying Him all over again, especially if they were to express their repentance in traditional Jewish forms: especially animal sacrifice, which denies the total work of Jesus for them on the cross.

e. If they fall away: Remember there is a great difference between falling andfalling away. Falling away isn't just falling into some sin, it is actually departing from Jesus Himself. For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16) The difference is between a Peter and a Judas. If you depart from Jesus, there is no hope!

i. The message to these Christians who felt like giving up was clear: if you don't continue on with Jesus, don't suppose you will find salvation by just going on with the old basics that are common to Judaism; if you aren't saved in Jesus, you aren't saved!

ii. If one falls like this, does it mean they can't repent? That God prohibitstheir repentance? Remember first that repentance itself is a gift from God; no one genuinely repents without God's enabling. Second, if one does repent, that in itself is evidence that they have not truly fallen away.

iii. The idea is not that "if you fall away, you can't come back to Jesus ever," but that "if you turn your back on Jesus, don't expect to find salvation anywhere else, especially in the foundations of Judaism apart from the fullness of Jesus."

iv. "This passage has nothing to do with those who fear lest it condemns them. The presence of that anxiety, like the cry which betrayed the real mother in the days of Solomon, establishes beyond a doubt that you are not one that has fallen away beyond the possibility of renewal to repentance." (Meyer)

3. (7-8) An illustration of the serious consequences of falling away.

For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

a. For the earth which drinks in the rain … and bears herbs useful … receives blessing from God: When the earth receives rain, and then bearsuseful plants, it then fulfills its purpose and justifies the blessing of rain sent upon it. The writer to the Hebrews applies the point: "You've been blessed. But where's the fruit?" God is looking for what grows in us after He blesses us, especially what grows in terms of maturity.

b. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected: If ground that is blessed by rain refuses to bear fruit, then who can blame the farmer for burning it?

c. The picture presented reminds us that growth and bearing fruit is important to keep from falling away. When we really bear fruit, we abide in Jesus (John 15:5) and in no danger of falling away.

C. Don't be discouraged!

1. (9) The writer admits he is being a little more harsh than he needs to be.

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

a. We are confident of better things concerning you: Though he spoke so severely, the writer to the Hebrews is confident that they really will continue on in Jesus, that their perseverance is one of the things that accompany salvation.

b. Though we speak in this manner: However, it would be wrong to takeHebrews 6:9 to mean the warnings in the previous verses were not serious, or warned of impossible things. If anything, verse nine is a verse of encouragement; these Christians are in danger of falling away not so much out of a calculated rebellion, as because of a depressing discouragement. They need to be warned, but they also need to be encouraged!

2. (10-12) Don't be discouraged into giving up on Jesus! God hasn't forgotten about you!

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

a. God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love: When we are discouraged, we often think God has forgotten all we have done for Him and His people. But God would cease to be God (He would be unjust) if He forgot such things. God sees and remembers.

i. How many lose sight of the fact that God sees their service? How many serve for the applause and attention of man, and are discouraged because it doesn't come?

b. We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end: Keep up your good work; press on with that hope until the end; imitate those who inherit (not earn) God's promises. When we are discouraged as the Hebrew Christians were discouraged we can easilybecome sluggish. The writer to Hebrews encourages us like a coach, pressing us to press on.

c. But imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises: Imitate those who found the key to gaining God's promises - faith and patience, as demonstrated by Abraham.

i. But, praise God, Abraham did not have a perfect faith or a perfectpatience! If Abraham had some of our weaknesses, then we can have some of his faith and patience.

d. Do not become sluggish: Don't let discouragement make you sluggish. It's that sluggish attitude that really makes us feel like giving up. First we lose the desire to press on then we lose the desire to go on.

i. You really don't have to give into discouragement. David encouraged himself in the Lord his God (1 Samuel 30:6, KJV). So can you! Encourage yourself in the Lord!

3. (13-18) Don't be discouraged: God's promises are reliable.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

a. After he had patiently endured: During this time of patient endurance, many Christians get attacked. They wonder if they too will obtain the promise. They often wonder "Will God really come through?"

b. After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise: God came through for Abraham, even sealing His promise with an oath. In fact, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself. This oath showed that God's promises (like His character) are unchanging.

i. "This passage teaches us … that an oath may be lawfully used by Christians; and this ought to be particularly observed, on account of fanatical men who are disposed to abrogate the practices of solemn swearing which God has prescribed in his Law." (Calvin)

c. That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation: The two immutable (unchanging) thingsare God's promise and His oath. It is impossible for God to lie in either of these two things.

d. We might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: Don't be discouraged! God has a refuge of hopeready for you. We can think of this refuge of hope are like the cities of refuge commanded by the Law of Moses, as described in Numbers 35.

i. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are within easy reach of the needy person; they were of no use unless someone could get to the place of refuge.

ii. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are open to all, not just the Israelite; no one needs to fear that they would be turned away from their place of refuge in their time of need.

iii. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge became a place where the one in need would live; you didn't come to a city of refuge in time of need just to look around.

iv. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge are the only alternative for the one in need; without this specific protection, they will be destroyed.

v. Both Jesus and the cities of refuge provide protection only within their boundaries; to go outside meant death.

vi. With both Jesus and the cities of refuge, full freedom comes with thedeath of the High Priest.

vii. However, there is a crucial distinction between Jesus and the cities of refuge. The cities of refuge only helped the innocent; the guilty can come to Jesus and find refuge.

4. (19-20) Don't be discouraged! Jesus will lead us into God's glory.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, evenJesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

a. This hope we have as an anchor: The anchor was a common figure forhope in the ancient world. Here it especially reminds us that we are anchored to something firm, but unseen (which enters the Presence behind the veil).

i. You don't need an anchor for calm seas. The rougher the weather, the more important your anchor!

ii. But the anchor analogy doesn't apply perfectly. We are anchored upward in heaven, not down in the ground; and we are anchored to move on, not to stand still!

b. Which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us: This hope will see us into the very presence of God. Hope is the opposite of the discouragement these Jewish Christians have been battling against.

c. The forerunner … even Jesus: We are assured of this access into the presence of God because Jesus has entered as a forerunner. The Levitical high priest did not enter the veil as a forerunner, only as a representative. But Jesus has entered into the Father's intimate presence so that His people can follow Him there.

i. A forerunner (the ancient Greek word prodromos) was a reconnaissance man in the military. A forerunner goes forward, knowing that others are going to follow!

d. Behind the veil … having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek: The temple analogy (behind the veil) reminds the writer to the Hebrews that he was speaking of Jesus as our High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The thought continues into the next chapter.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

May God bless all of you this Easter, and show his grace.

THE RESURRECTED JESUS
A. The resurrection of Jesus is discovered.

1. (1-3) Women followers of Jesus discover the empty tomb of Jesus.

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

a. Came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared: The actual event of Jesus' resurrection is nowhere described, but the discovery of it is recorded in some detail. Here, the women who intended to give Jesus' body a more proper preparation for burial discover that the stone is rolled away from the tomb, and that the body of Jesus is not inside the tomb.

i. A rich man like Joseph of Arimethea would probably have a tomb that was carved into solid rock; this tomb was in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41). The tomb would have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members.

ii. The door to the tomb would be made of a heavy, circular shaped stone, running in a groove and settled down into a channel, so it could not be moved except by several strong men. This was done to ensure that no one would disturb the remains.

iii. John 19:42 specifically tells us that the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea that Jesus was laid in was close to the place of Jesus' crucifixion (and the each of the two suggested places for Jesus' death and resurrection bear this out). Joseph probably didn't like it that the value of his family tomb decreased because the Romans decided to crucify people nearby-yet it reminds us that the in God's plan, the cross and the power of the resurrection are always permanently and closely connected.

b. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus: Once the women saw the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, their immediate reaction is that they weregreatly perplexed (Luke 24:4). They did not expect to find an empty tomb. This shows that the resurrection accounts cannot be the product of wishful thinking; they were not even expecting that it could happen.

i. Matthew 27:65-66 reminds us that there was a guard set round the tomb. The stone could not have been rolled away by the women (they were not strong enough) or by the disciples (even if they were brave enough, they could not overcome the armed guards). No one else would have wanted to roll away the stone, and Matthew 28:2 tells us that it was an angel who rolled it away.

ii. The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. John 20:19 tells us that Jesus, in His resurrection body, could pass through material barriers. It was rolled away so that others could see in and be persuaded that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

2. (4-8) The angelic announcement of the resurrection.

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" And they remembered His words.

a. Two men stood by them in shining garments: Even as angels announced the birth of Jesus, (Luke 2:8-15) so they also announced the resurrection of Jesus. The announcement of His birth was made to a few humble people, considered unimportant by the culture; His resurrection announced by angels to a few women.

b. Why do you seek the living among the dead? This was a wonderfully logical question. The angels seemed almost surprised that the women were surprised; after all, the angels had heard what Jesus said regarding His resurrection, and they knew the women had heard it also. They naturally wondered why the women were surprised.

i. At the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem-the place Emperor Constantine's mother Helena decided was the place of the true cross and the true empty tomb-there is the powerful sense of dead religion and traditionalism. Yet for hundreds and hundreds of years people have flocked to this place reeking of this kind of spiritual deadness in a desperate attempt to find God's kind of life.

ii. We too often look for Jesus in the dead things-religious traditionalism, formalism, man's rules, human effort, substitutes of the flesh. We will never ultimately find Jesus in those things-we find Him only where there is resurrection life, when we worship Him in spirit and in truth.

c. He is not here: These are some of the most beautiful and important words ever spoken by an angel to men. One may look all over Jerusalem and see countless thousands of tombs, but one will never find the tomb of Jesus - because He is not here.

i. One may see many graves and tombs in Israel today. There is an ocean of tombs on the Mount of Olives, and vast sea of graves outside the eastern wall of the temple mount. You can see the tomb of Rebekka, the tomb of David, the tomb of Absalom-but you won't find the tomb of Jesus anywhere. As the angel said, He is not here.

ii. Every so often someone claims to have found evidence of the tomb of Jesus or the bones of Jesus. Each claim is found to be untrue, while the testimony of the angels is proven true over and over again: He is not here.

d. The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again: To the women, it must have seemed like a long time ago that Jesus said these words. Nevertheless, they needed to remember them and the angels remind them of what Jesus said.

i. Must is the critical word here; just as much as the crucifixion of Jesus was necessary and ordained, so was His resurrection. Jesus would have never come to the place of Calvary unless there was also an empty tomb of resurrection there also.

e. And they remembered His words: The first notes of hope are sounded in the hearts of the women when they are reminded of Jesus' words. The empty tomb, the presence of angels, the words of the angels in and of themselves could not change their hearts-but His words could change and cheer their hearts.

3. (9-11) The women tell the apostles and are not believed.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the otherwomen with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

a. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest: The women who had seen the evidence of the resurrected Jesus and remembered His words, are excited about what seemed to them to be the most wonderful news possible-that Jesus was alive and had triumphed over death.

i. They would not be excited like this if Jesus had only somehow miraculously survived the ordeal of the cross. These women knew that He had not survived; their own hands provided the hasty preparation of Jesus' body on the day He was crucified. They knew beyond all doubt that He had been dead; so the news that He was alive meant so much more to them then perhaps saying Jesus was a survivor; it meant He was the conqueror over death and that He was everything they had hoped for and more.

b. Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them: Despite their excitement, their testimony was not believed. In fact, to the apostles, it seemed as if the women told idle tales, a medical word used to describe the babbling of a fevered and insane man.

4. (12) The apostles come to believe.

But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

a. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb: We know from John 20:3-8 that both Peter and John ran to the tomb together. They saw grave clothes, but not as if they had been ripped off after a struggle. They saw the grave clothes of Jesus lying in perfect order, as if a body had just passed out of them (John 20:6-7). When John saw that, he believed, and Peter marveled. They had not seen the risen Jesus, but they knew that something powerful had happened to cause a body to leave behind those grave clothes in such a manner.

b. Marveling to himself at what had happened: When Peter and John observed what was in the tomb, they believed. This tells us that Peter analyzed the situation; he knew something spectacular had happened because of the condition of the grave clothes, but he because he had forgotten the words of Jesus (John 20:9), he did not yet understand.

i. You can know that Jesus rose from the dead, but unless you know His words, it won't make sense. Unless you know the life and teachings of Jesus, you don't know that the resurrection means that the payment that Jesus offered on the cross was perfect and complete. You don't know that the cross was the payment and the empty tomb is the receipt. You don't know that death has no hold on redeemed man. You don't know that when God's love and man's hate battled at the cross, God's love won. You don't know that because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can be resurrected in Him.

c. What had happened: Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that God no longer lives in a temple made with hands. In Jerusalem, one may see what remains of the magnificently spectacular temple that stood in Jesus' day. These stones were 40 feet long, 18 feet high (too heavy to be lifted with modern cranes), finished with finely carved frames and fitted so perfectly they required no mortar; and these are the retaining wall! But from the time Jesus died and rose again, that temple became just another building, because it was no longer the dwelling place of God.

B. On the road to Emmaus.

1. (13-16) Jesus joins two disciples on a road.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

a. Two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus: On this Sunday, these two disciples traveled to Emmaus from Jerusalem. As they walked together it gave them a great opportunity to talk.

b. They conversed and reasoned: As they talked, they spoke of the things that were biggest on their hearts-all of these things which had happened, the things regarding the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.

c. Jesus Himself drew near and went with them: Jesus came along side these disciples, and went with them for a while. Yet for a time they were miraculously prevented from seeing who Jesus was.

2. (17-24) The disciples explain what they talked about.

And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and foundit just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."

a. What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Jesus opened the conversation by asking them what they had been talking about. From this, we can know that Jesus had walked silently with them for a while, just listening as they carried on the conversation.

i. It was evident in their countenance-and perhaps even in their manner of walking-that they were sad. Jesus knew both what they already knew (that they were sad) and what they did not yet know (that they had no reason to be sad).

b. Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened here in these days? Jesus probably smiled when they said this. He knew pretty well what had happened here in these days.

c. What things? In saying this, Jesus skillfully played along with the conversation, encouraging the men to reveal their hearts. Jesus longs for us to tell Him our hearts, even though He already knows. There is great value for us insaying it to Him.

d. The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth: The men explained what they did know about Jesus.

- They knew His name and where He was from.
- They knew He was a Prophet.
- They knew He was mighty in deed and word.
- They knew He was crucified.
- They knew He promised to redeem Israel.
- They knew others had said He rose from the dead.
e. We were hoping: These disciples had a hope they felt was disappointed. Their hope was really not disappointed; but in some ways their hope was misguided (that it was He who was going to redeem Israel). But really, their hope was fulfilled in a greater way than they could have ever dreamed.

f. Just as the women had said: The only thing these disciples had to go on was the testimony of others, but they were slow to believe. The report of the women meant little to them, and the report of Peter and John who had seen the grave clothes meant little-because Him they did not see.

i. Jesus wanted to know from them what He wants to know from us today: can we believe without seeing with our own eyes? Can we believe based on the reliable eyewitness testimony of other people?

3. (25-27) Jesus teaches them why the Messiah had to suffer.

Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

a. Slow of heart to believe: Jesus told them that the problem with their belief was more in their heart than their head. We often think the main obstacles to belief are in the head, but they are actually in the heart.

b. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? They should have believed what all the prophets have spoken, that the Messiah would suffer first and then be received in glory.

i. The prophets spoke in Isaiah 53:3-5: He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

ii. Isaiah 50:5-7 is another example of what the prophets taught concerning this. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.

iii. Daniel 9:26 shows another prophet regarding these things: The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.

iv. Zechariah 12:10 is yet another example: They will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

c. And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself: Jesus began to teach them what was surely one of the most spectacular Bible studies ever taught.Beginning in Moses and all the Prophets, He told them all about the Messiah.

i. He told them that the Messiah was:

- The Seed of the Woman, whose heel was bruised.
- The blessing of Abraham to all nations.
- The High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
- The Man who wrestled with Jacob.
- The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
- The voice from the burning bush.
- The Passover Lamb.
- The Prophet greater than Moses.
- The captain of the Lord's army to Joshua.
- The ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer mentioned in Ruth.
- The son of David who was a King greater than David.
- The suffering Savior of Psalm 22.
- The Good Shepherd of Psalm 23.
- The wisdom of Proverbs and the Lover of the Song of Solomon.
- The Savior described in the prophets and the suffering Servant ofIsaiah 53.
- The Princely Messiah of Daniel who would establish a kingdom that would never end.
ii. These men must have been amazed at Jesus' ability to teach and understand the Scriptures-even though they did not know who He was yet!

d. Expounded to them in all the Scriptures: This describes how Jesus taught them. The idea of expounding is to simply let the text speak for itself; exactly what a Bible teacher should do his or her best to do.

i. The ancient Greek word for expounded (diermeneuo) has the idea of sticking close to the text. In another passage when Luke uses this word, it is expressed with the word translated (Acts 9:36). Jesus didn't go off on speculative ideas. He expounded, which means He stuck close to the text.

4. (28-32) Jesus is revealed to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and brokeit, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

a. He indicated that He would have gone farther: Jesus acted as if He might continue on farther, but did not want to force His company on these disciples.But they constrained Him shows that even though they didn't know this was Jesus in their midst, they knew they wanted to spend as much time as they could with this man.

b. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him: What was it that showed them it was Jesus? It could have been the familiar way that He broke the bread and blessed God for it. Perhaps it was only then that they noticed His nail-scarred wrists. Whatever the outward reason, it was only because their eyes were no longer restrained as they were before (Luke 24:16).

i. Jesus can be right in front of you, walking with you and sitting down with you at every meal-and your eyes can be restrained from seeing Him. We therefore should pray that God would open our eyes to see Jesus as He is, as being with us all the time.

c. He vanished from their sight: As soon as their eyes were opened to who Jesus was, He left miraculously and they both said what was on their hearts. Their hearts burned as they heard Him speak and teach.

i. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked: God's word can have this same effect on our heart, even when we don't know that it is Jesus doing that work.

ii. Even when they didn't know it was Jesus, even when they didn't believe He was risen from the dead, their heart still burned because of the ministry of God's Word and of Jesus, the Living Word of God. God's Word has that power, but man's word and wisdom does not.

iii. Neither of them knew the other's heart burned until Jesus left. After that, they could have a fellowship of flaming hearts together. One reason Jesus left was so that they would love one another, and minister to one another.

5. (33-35) They tell the good news.

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

a. So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem: After a seven mile walk one way, they were so excited that they went seven miles back-and probably much faster on the return. They had the passion to tell the great news of Jesus' resurrection.

b. The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon: They had mutual confirmation of the resurrection of Jesus. Though the risen Jesus was not physically in their midst, His resurrection had been confirmed by more than two witnesses.

C. Jesus teaches His disciples and ascends into heaven.

1. (36-43) Jesus appears to the eleven.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.

a. Peace to you: These were words with new meaning, now that Jesus had risen from the dead. Now, true peace could come between God and man and among men.

b. Handle Me and see: Jesus wanted to assure them that His resurrection body was a real, physical body, though of a different order than our own bodies. He wasn't some ghost or phantom.

i. As a demonstration of this, He ate in their presence. In most of Jesus' resurrection appearances, He eats with the disciples.

c. They still did not believe for joy, and marveled: The disciples were completely convinced that Jesus rose from the dead, but they had a hard time accepting it because it seemed too good to be true. But it was their confirmed belief in the resurrected Jesus that give them power enough to change the world and courage enough to die for their convictions.

2. (44-48) Jesus teaches His disciples.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and theProphets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things."

a. These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you: Jesus almost says "I told you so" by reminding them that all this has happened just as He said it would. To help His disciples take it all in, He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

i. It must have been before this that the disciples were actually born again by God's Spirit, when Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

b. It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day: Jesus wanted them to understand that the cross was not some unfortunate obstacle that had to be hurdled. It was a necessary part of God's redemptive plan for man, and that it would be in the name of a crucified and risen Savior that repentance and remission of sins will be brought to the world.

c. You are witnesses of these things: Jesus solemnly told them that they werewitnesses of these things. Not only witnesses of the events surrounding the work of Jesus, but also of the commission itself to spread the gospel. This was a work they were all mutually responsible for.

3. (49-53) The Ascension of Jesus.

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

a. I send the Promise of My Father upon you: They could not do the work Jesus had called them to do unless they were endued with power from on high, and that power would come as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.

b. He lifted up His hands and blessed them … while He blessed them: Jesus left the earth blessing His Church, and He continues to bless them, as much as His people will receive.

i. Nothing but blessing had ever come from those hands; but now, Jesus stands as the High Priest over His people to bless them.

ii. When Jesus blesses His people, it isn't just a pious wish like "I hope things work out for you" or "I hope you will be feeling better." Instead, the blessing of Jesus has inherent power within it.

iii. "If he has blessed you, you shall be blessed, for there is no power in heaven, or earth, or hell, that can reverse the blessing which He gives." (Spurgeon)

iv. When we think about those hands raised up in blessing, we can see the scars from the nails that were pounded through Jesus' flesh and that kept Him bound to the cross. We can see that these hands of pain should are also hands of blessing.

v. Those nail-scarred hands show the price of your blessing; it is a price you cannot pay, but Jesus already has. What then keeps you from being blessed? All you must do is come to this Jesus and receive that blessing in trusting faith.

d. He was parted from them and carried up into heaven: Jesus had to ascend so that confidence would be put in the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit, not in the geographical presence of Jesus.

i. Acts 1:3 tells us that this ascension into heaven happened 40 days after Jesus' resurrection. He spent those 40 days proving the truth of His resurrection and preparing His disciples for His departure.

ii. "Those forty days were soon over. Very remarkable days they were, if you study them; so different from his former life. Nobody molested the Lord; no scribes or Pharisees contradicted him, no malicious Jews took up stones to stone him. . . . I might almost say that those days were the prelude of his glory, a sort of anticipation of his reign of peace, when he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth, and wars shall cease unto the end of the earth. When those forty days were over, the Master went his way. All was done that he had covenanted to perform, and he ascended to his reward." (Spurgeon, Our Ascended Lord)

e. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God: This shows the wonderful result of the ministry of Jesus in the disciples' lives.

- They worshipped Him: This means they knew that Jesus was God, and they gave Him the honor He deserves.
- They returned to Jerusalem: This means they did just what Jesus told them to do. They were obedient.
- With great joy: This means they really believed Jesus rose from the dead, and let the joy of that fact touch everything in their life.
- Continually in the temple praising and blessing God: This means that they lived as public followers of Jesus, and could not hide their love and worship towards Him.
i. When God does this kind of work in His people, we say "Amen.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

A BETTER PRIESTHOOD, A BETTER HIGH PRIEST
A. The theme of Hebrews 7.

1. The writer to the Hebrews will explain a theme that he has introduced way back inHebrews 2:17: Jesus as our High Priest.

a. He had begun to discuss the issue in Hebrews 5:10, but had to spend some time warning these discouraged Christians about the danger of not continuing and progressing in their Christian life.

2. These Jewish Christians would be very interested in Jesus as their High Priest, but would have a significant intellectual objection to the idea. This is because Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe (the tribe of Levi) or the priestly family (the family of Aaron).

a. The writer to the Hebrews wants to remove these intellectual problems the Jewish Christians had with the gospel. These intellectual hang-ups were keeping them from continuing on to maturity in Jesus.

b. In the same way, too many Christians are hung up on intellectual things that could be resolved so they could move on with Jesus. If a Christian is hung up on issues like creation and evolution, the validity of miracles, or other such things, they should get the issues resolved so they can move on with Jesus.

3. This chapter is also important because it shows us how we should think of the Old Testament institutions of the priesthood and the Law.

B. Melchizedek and his relation to the Aaronic priesthood.

1. (1-3) What we know of Melchizedek from Genesis 14:18-20.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace," without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

a. Who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings: After Abraham defeated the confederation of kings who took his nephew Lot captive, he met with a mysterious priest named Melchizedek, who was also king over the city of Salem (an ancient name for the city of Jerusalem).

i. History shows the danger of combining religious and civic authority. Therefore God forbade the kings of Israel to be priests and the priests to be kings. Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God is an unique exception.

b. Priest of the Most High God: Melchizedek was not merely a worshipper of the true God. He had the honored title priest of the Most High God. The greatness of God magnifies the greatness of Melchizedek's priesthood.

i. "Any priesthood is evaluated according to the status of the deity who is served, which means that Melchizedek's must have been of a highly exalted kind." (Guthrie)

c. And blessed him: Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe, which is a tenth part of all. In this case, all refers either toall the spoils of battle, or all of Abraham's possessions in total.

d. First being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace,": The name Melchizedek means "king of righteousness," and he was also king of peace (because the name Salemmeans "peace").

i. The order is subtle, but important. First, Melchizedek in his very name is called "king of righteousness". Then he is called "king of peace". As always, righteousness comes before peace. Righteousness is the only true path to peace. People look for that peace in escape, in evasion, or incompromise; but they will only find it in righteousness.

e. Without father, without mother: There is nothing said about the genealogy of Melchizedek in the Genesis 14 passage or anywhere else. As far as the Biblical record is concerned, he has no father or mother, no beginning of days nor end of life.

i. Though virtually all the commentators disagree with each other on this point, some think that without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God means that Melchizedek was a heavenly being, if not a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Himself.

f. Made like the Son of God: Melchizedek was made like the Son of God. It really isn't that Jesus has Melchizedek's kind of priesthood. Instead, Melchizedek has Jesus' kind of priesthood.

i. Made like in Hebrews 7:3 is aphomoiomenos, a Greek word used nowhere else in the New Testament. "It is a suggestive word, used in the active of 'a facsimile copy or model' and in the passive of 'being made similar to.'" (Guthrie)

ii. "It was as if the Father could not await the day of His Son's priestly entrance within the veil; but must needs anticipate the marvels of His ministry, by embodying its leading features in miniature." (Meyer)

g. Remains a priest continually: Either this refers to the continuation of the priesthood of Melchizedek, or it is evidence that Melchizedek was actually Jesus appearing in the Old Testament. Jesus' priesthood does remain to this day, and into eternity.

2. (4-10) Melchizedek is greater than Abraham because Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, and because Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

a. Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils … the sons of Levi … have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law: The priesthood of Levi received tithes from Israel as a commandment. Abrahamvoluntarily gave tithes to Melchizedek. This makes Abraham's giving to Melchizedek greater than Israel payment of tithes to the priesthood instituted by Moses.

b. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him: Because the whole tribe of Levi was genetically in the loins of Abraham when he did this, we see the Levitical priesthood paying tithes to the priesthood of Melchizedek. This shows Melchizedek is in a position of authority over Abraham and his descendant Levi.

i. So to speak in Hebrews 7:9 is important. The writer to the Hebrews knows he is making an allegorical point, so he doesn't want to be taken too literally.

c. As well, the lesser is blessed by the greater. Therefore Melchizedek showed he was greater than Abraham when he blessed Abraham. On his part, Abraham accepted that Melchizedek was greater when he received the blessing.

i. "The blessing here spoken of … is not the simple wishing of good to others, which may be done by inferiors to superiors; but it is the action of a person authorized to declare God's intention to bestow good things on another." (Macknight, cited by Clarke)

C. The need for a new priesthood.

1. (11) The Levitical priesthood never made anything perfect.

Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

a. If perfection were through the Levitical priesthood: Why would God even make a different order of priesthood (displayed by Melchizedek) if the Levitical priesthood were entirely sufficient? If perfection could come through the Levitical priesthood, what need was there for another priesthood?

i. The simple fact that God describes a priest … according to the order of Melchizedek shows there is something lacking in the priesthood according to the order of Aaron.

b. Under it the people received the law: The Levitical priesthood is the priesthood associated with the Law of Moses. The priesthood of Melchizedek is associated with Abraham, not with Moses.

2. (12) The changing priesthood and the change of the place of Moses' Law.

For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

a. Of necessity: The priesthood of Aaron was connected to the Law of Moses. So if the priesthood is changed, we should anticipate some change of the Law's status or place.

3. (13-14) Jesus could not be a priest according to the Mosaic Law; He is from the wrong tribe.

For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

a. Another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar: Under the Law of Moses, God strictly commanded that only those from the family of Aaron could serve at the altar in sacrifice.

b. He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe: Jesus is obviously not from the family of Aaron or even the tribe of Levi. The tribe ofJudah (the tribe of Jesus' lineage) had nothing to do with Aaron's priesthood, the priesthood associated with the Law of Moses. Therefore according to the priesthood of Aaron and the Law of Moses, Jesus could never be a priest. If He is our High Priest, it must be under another principle.

4. (15-17) God's declaration that the Messiah belongs to another order of priesthood in Psalm 110:4.

And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

a. Not according to the law of a fleshly commandment: Jesus' priesthood is not based upon law or heredity (a fleshly commandment), but upon the power of God's endless life.

b. You are a priest forever: This could be said of the Messiah, who was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. It could never be said of a priest according to the order of Aaron, none of whom had the power of an endless life and each of whom served a limited term as priests - limited to their own life-span.

c. Matthew 27:1 says: When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. Among those who conspired to put Jesus to death, there were priests of the order of Aaron. But Jesus by thepower of an endless life, Jesus showed that His priesthood was superior, when He triumphed over death!

5. (18-19) Why the law (the former commandment) is annulled as a means of establishing our relationship and access to God.

For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand,there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

a. In its weakness and unprofitableness, the law made nothing perfect, for while the law sets God's perfect standard, it gives no one the power to keep that standard.

i. *"Let all legalists mark this: The Law made nothing perfect. Let the Seventh Day Adventists mark: The Law made nothing perfect. Let all those who dream of the Law as a rule of life remember: The Law made nothing perfect." (Newell)

b. The law made nothing perfect: Therefore, the law is valuable as it shows us God's perfect standard, but it was not ultimately intended to be the basis of a man's walk with God. This is because the law is weak and unprofitable when it comes to saving my soul or giving me power over sin.

i. The law provides expert diagnosis of our sin problem, which is absolutely essential. But the law does not provide the cure to our sin problem. Only Jesus can save us from our sin problem.

c. On the other hand: Since now, in Jesus, we have a better hope, through which we draw near to God, we are wrong to go back to building our Christian walk on the law. Therefore the law is "annulled" in the sense that it no longer is the dominating principle of our life.

i. "The Greek word translated disannuling [annulling], athetesis, is the same as appears in Hebrews 9:26 for the putting away of sin 'by the sacrifice of Himself.' The disappearance of the Law is as absolute, therefore, as the putting away of sin!" (Newell)

ii. The law does not give you a better hope. The law does not draw younear to God the way God's grace given in Jesus does. Yet many Christians live a legal relationship with God, instead of a grace relationship with Him!

iii. "Although the law performed a valuable function, its essential weaknesswas that it could not give life and vitality even to those who kept it, let alone to those who did not. In fact its function was not to provide strength, but to provide a standard by which man could measure his own moral status. Itsuselessness must not be regarded in the sense of being totally worthless, but in the sense of being ineffective in providing a constant means of approach to God based on a totally adequate sacrifice." (Guthrie)

d. The writer comes to the same conclusion about the law as Paul did inGalatians 3:19-25, but he gets there in a totally different way. In Galatians, Paul shows the law as being a tutor that brings us to Jesus; in Hebrews, the law is associated with a priesthood which has been made obsolete by a superior priesthood.

i. "Cease to think of cleansing, and consider the Cleanser; forbear to speculate on deliverance, and deal with the Deliverer." (Meyer)

e. But we have a better hope, and draw near to God through a better priesthood and High Priest. Our hope is in Jesus, not in the Law of Moses!

i. This should temper our excitement about the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The small cadre of dedicated Jews absolutely committed to rebuilding the temple have an exciting place in God's prophetic plan. But anyone who restores the Aaronic priesthood and resumes Levitical sacrifice refuses to recognize the superior priesthood and ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.

D. The superiority of our High Priest.

1. (20-21) Jesus was made High Priest by the direct oath of God.

And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'"),

a. They have become priests without an oath: The high priest of the order of Aaron was appointed by heredity, not by personal character. Not so with Jesus and the priestly order of Melchizedek! God even sealed His choice by an oath.

2. (22) Jesus: our guarantee of a better covenant.

By so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

a. Jesus has become a surety: Surety (the ancient Greek word egguos) describes someone who gives security. It is a person who would cosign a loan to guarantee payment, or someone who puts up bail for a prisoner. Jesus Himselfis the guaranteed of a better covenant.

b. A better covenant: The Old Covenant had a mediator (Moses), but no one to guarantee the people's side of the covenant; so they continually failed under it. But the New Covenant - a better covenant - has a cosigner on our behalf! Therefore, the New Covenant depends on what Jesus has done, not on what we have done. He is the surety, we are not.

c. Covenant: The word used for covenant (the ancient Greek word diatheke) is not the usual term for "covenant" (syntheke). The literal meaning of diatheke is closer to the idea of a "testament" in the sense of a "last will and testament." Perhaps the writer is trying to stress that while a covenant might be thought of as an agreement that two equal parties arrive at, a testament is dictated by the testator. The "agreement" under which we meet with God through Jesus is not something we have negotiated with Him. He has dictated the terms to us, and we will accept or reject the terms.

d. By so much more: This much more -the overwhelming superiority of Jesus Christ - proves He is worthy and able to be our guarantee, our cosigner of a better covenant.

3. (23-25) An unchanging priesthood means a lasting salvation.

Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

a. Also there were many priests: The priesthood under the Law of Moses constantly changed, and so could be better or worse through the years. But He … has an unchangeable priesthood. Jesus will never die, and has apermanent priesthood. We don't need to worry about a "bad priest" replacing Him!

b. Continues forever: This has the idea of "remaining as a servant." Jesuscontinues forever, and He continues as a servant, even after He ascended into heaven.

c. He is also able to save to the uttermost: The unchanging nature of Jesus' priesthood means that the salvation He gives is also unchanging, permanent, and secure. Most people read this verse as if it said Jesus is able to savefromthe uttermost. But it really says Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Because He is our High Priest forever, He can save forever.

i. The evangelist Billy Sunday had a great sermon, where he talked about how God saved him "from the gutter-most," because he was a gutter-drunk when God saved him. A great line, but not true to what the Bible says - we are saved not from, but to the uttermost!

ii. "The verb 'to save' is used absolutely, which means that Christ will save in the most comprehensive sense; he saves from all that humanity needs saving from." (Morris)

d. Those who come to God through Him: This tells us who Jesus is able to save. It means those who abide in the Son and have fellowship with the Father.

i. Once saved always saved? Can a Christian lose his salvation? Abide in Jesus and you never need to worry about it.

e. He ever lives to make intercession for them: Certainly, this strengthens us - the knowledge that Jesus is praying for us, and that He ever lives to pray for us! How this would have encouraged these Jewish Christians who felt like giving up on the Christian life!

i. Romans 8:33-34 reflects how important Paul thought the intercessory work of Jesus was on our behalf. There, he pictures Jesus defending us against every charge or condemnation through His intercession for us.

ii. "Our blessed Lord is interceding for us, but He is in no sense appeasing God. All that God's holy Being and righteous government could demand was once for all, completely and forever, satisfied at the Cross." (Newell)

iii. Jesus' intercession on our behalf is not a matter of placating an angry Father who wants to destroy us. It is not a matter of continually chanting prayers on behalf of His people. It means He continually represents us before the Father, so that we can draw near through Him, and that He defends us against Satanic accusation and attack.

iv. Luke 22:31-32 gives an example of Jesus' intercession for His people:Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren. Jesus prays to strengthen us in trial and attack, and against Satan's accusations.

4. (26-28) Jesus is better qualified to be a High Priest than any priest from the order of the Law of Moses.

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

a. For such a High Priest was fitting for us: The priests under the Law of Moses did not have the personal character of the Son of God. Jesus is holy, harmless (without guile or deception), undefiled, separate from sinners (in the sense of sharing in their sin). Jesus is far superior in His personal character than any earthly priest.

b. Has become higher than the heavens: The perfect character of Jesus is proven by two facts. First, by His exaltation in heaven. Second, by the fact that He did not need to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins - which the other priests needed to do daily!

c. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses: Under the Law of Moses, the priests were always men with weaknesses. But Jesus aSon who has been perfected forever. Because He is a perfect High Priest, He was able to offer up Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus is perfectlyqualified to be our perfect High Priest - perfected forever

 

[DaLincolnJones]

A NEW, BETTER COVENANT
A. Jesus, our heavenly priest.

1. (1-2) A summary of points previously made regarding Jesus as our High Priest.

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

a. This is the main point of the things we are saying: We have a High Priest - Jesus Christ - who ministers for us from a position of all authority in heaven (seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty).

b. Who is seated at the right hand of the throne: Additionally, Jesus isseated in heaven, in contrast to the continual service of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.

i. The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Covenant had beautiful furnishings, but no place for the priests to sit down, because their work was never finished. The work of Jesus is finished -He is seated in heaven!

c. Jesus serves in the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, the originalmade by God, of which the earthly tabernacle was a copy, made by man (Exodus 25:8-9).

i. Some have supposed the true tabernacle to be the Church, or Jesus' earthly body. But it is best to understand it as the heavenly reality that the earthly tabernacle imitated.

2. (3) Jesus' priesthood had a sacrifice - and a better sacrifice.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it isnecessary that this One also have something to offer.

a. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: Sacrifice for sin is essential to the concept of priesthood. Jesus, representing a superior priesthood, offered a superior sacrifice. He laid down His own life to atone for sin.

b. It is necessary that this One also have something to offer: Though Jesus never offered a sacrifice according to the Law of Moses, He offered a better sacrifice instead - Himself.

3. (4-5) Jesus' priesthood had a temple - and a better temple.

For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

a. If He were on earth, He would not be a priest: Jesus is not qualified to serve in the inferior earthly priesthood. There are priests - plenty of them - who were qualified to serve in the priesthood according to the Law of Moses.

b. Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things: There were plenty of priests who could serve in the copy and shadow on earth. But Jesus is the only One qualified to serve in the superior heavenly priesthood. The earthly service, though it was glorious in the eyes of man, was really only a copy and shadow of the superior heavenly service.

c. Copy and shadow of the heavenly things: Exodus 25:40 makes it clear that what was built on the earth (Moses' tabernacle) was made according to a patternwhich existed in heaven - the pattern which was shown to you [Moses] on the mountain. Therefore, there is a heavenly temple that served as a pattern for the earthly tabernacle and temple. Jesus' ministry as our High Priest takes place in this heavenly temple, not in the copy and shadow.

i. First century Jews took tremendous pride in the temple, and for good reason: it was a spectacular architectural achievement. However glorious the Jerusalem temple was, it was of man (and mostly built by a corrupt, ungodly man, Herod the Great), and it was nothing compared to the glory of the heavenly temple that Jesus served in.

4. (6) The result: Jesus presides over a superior priesthood, with a better covenant, and better promises.

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

a. Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry: No earthly priest could take away sin the way Jesus did, so Jesus' ministry is far better than the ministry of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.

b. Mediator of a better covenant: Jesus has mediated for us a better covenant, a covenant of grace, not works, which is guaranteed for us by a cosigner (Hebrews 7:22). It is a covenant marked by believing and receiving instead of by earning and deserving.

c. Which was established on better promises: Jesus has for us better promises. Promises to see us through the most desperate and dark times.Promises that become alive to us through the Spirit of God. Promises of blessing and undeserved favor instead of promises of cursing.

d. Jesus is our Mediator for this greater covenant. Mediator is the ancient Greek word mesites, which means "one who stands in the middle between two people and brings them together." (Barclay)

i. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, because he "brought the two parties together." Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, a better covenant, bringing us to God the Father.

5. An overview of covenants through God's redemptive history.

a. There is an eternal covenant between the members of the Godhead that made possible the salvation of man (Hebrews 13:20).

b. God's redemptive plan was continued through the covenant He made withAbraham (Genesis 12:1-3).

c. The Mosaic covenant was another step in God's redemptive plan (Exodus 24:3-8).

d. The Davidic covenant was yet another step in God's redemptive plan (2 Samuel 7:1-16).

e. But the redemptive plan of God was fulfilled in the New Covenant(Luke 22:14-20).

B. The superiority of the New Covenant.

1. (7) The mere fact that God mentions another covenant is proves that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

a. It's in the nature of man to come up with things that are "new" but not needed. God isn't like that. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been not need for a second covenant. If God established a New Covenant, it means that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.

2. (8-12) The New Covenant as it is presented in the Old Testament (quoting fromJeremiah 31:31-34).

Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

a. Finding fault: In this passage from Jeremiah 31, God shows that there must have been something lacking in the Old Covenant - because a New Covenant is promises. In the days of Jeremiah, that New Covenant was still in the future, because he says "Behold the days are coming."

i. In its context, Jeremiah's prophecy probably comes from the days of Josiah's renewal of the covenant after finding the law (2 Kings 23:3). This renewal was good, but it wasn't enough, because Jeremiah looks forward toa new covenant.

b. I will make: The Lord makes it plain that this covenant originates with God, not with man. At Sinai, under the Old Covenant, the words were if you(Exodus 19:5), but in the New Covenant, the words are I will.

c. A new covenant: This covenant is truly new, not merely "new and improved" in the way things are marketed to us today. Today, products are said to be "new and improved" when there is no substantial difference in the product. But when God says "new," He means new.

i. There are two Greek words that can describe the concept of "new." Neosdescribes newness as regards to time. Something can be a copy of something else, but if it recently made, it can be called neos. The ancient Greek word kainos (the word used here) describes something that is not only new in reference to time, but is truly new in its quality. It simply isn't a new reproduction of something old.

d. With the house of Israel and the house of Judah: The New Covenant definitely began with Israel, but did not end with Israel (Matthew 15:24 andActs 1:8).

e. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers: This covenant is not like the covenant God made with their fathers. Again, this emphasizes that there is something substantially different about the New Covenant.

f. Because they did not continue in My covenant: The weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Covenant itself. It was in the weakness and inability of man. The reason the Old Covenant didn't "work" was because they did not continue in My covenant.

g. I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts: The New Covenant features transformation from within, not regulation through external law.

h. I will be their God, and they shall be My people: The New Covenant also features a greater intimacy with God than what was available under the Old Covenant.

i. Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more: The New Covenant offers a true, complete cleansing from sin, different and better than the mere "covering over" of sin in the Old Covenant.

3. (13) The significance of a New Covenant.

In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

a. He has made the first obsolete: Now that the New Covenant has been inaugurated, the Old Covenant is thereby obsolete.

b. What is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away: The message to these discouraged Jewish Christians, who thought of going back to a more Jewish faith, is clear. They simply can't go back to an inferior covenant, which is ready to completely vanish away.

i. The system of sacrifice under the Law of Moses soon did vanish awaywith the coming destruction of the Temple and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

Differences Between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant

1. They were instituted at different times. The Old Covenant around 1446 B.C., the New Covenant around 33 A.D..

2. They were instituted at different places. The Old Covenant at Mount Sinai, the New Covenant at Mount Zion.

3. They were spoken in different ways. The Old Covenant was thundered with fear and dread at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:17-24). Jesus Christ, God the Son, declared the New Covenant with love and grace.

4. They are different in their mediators. Moses mediated the Old Covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant.

5. They are different in their subject matter. The Old Covenant demanded a covenant of works. The New Covenant fulfills the covenant of works through the completed work of Jesus.

6. They are different in how they were dedicated. The Old Covenant was dedicated with the blood of animals sprinkled on the people (Exodus 24:5-8). The New Covenant was dedicated with Jesus' blood spiritually applied to His people.

7. They are different in their priests. The Old Covenant is represented by the priesthood of the Law of Moses and high priests descended from Aaron. The New Covenant has a priesthood of all believers and a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

8. They are different in their sacrifices. The Old Covenant demanded endless repetition of imperfect sacrifices. The New Covenant provides a once and for all, perfect sacrifice of the Son of God Himself.

9. They are different in how and where they were written. The Old Covenant was written by God on tablets of stone. The New Covenant is written by God on the hearts of His people.

10. They are different in their goals. The goal of the Old Covenant was to discover sin, to condemn it, and to set a "fence" around it. The goal of the New Covenant is to declare the love, grace, and mercy of God, and to give repentance, remission of sin, and eternal life.

11. They are different in their practical effect on living. The Old Covenant ends in bondage (through no fault of its own). The New Covenant provides true liberty.

12. They are different in their giving of the Holy Spirit. Under the Old Covenant, God did grant the Holy Spirit, but not in the same way and extent that He is given to believer under the New Covenant.

13. They are different in their idea of the Kingdom of God. Under the Old Covenant, it is mainly seen as the supreme rule of Israel over the nations. Under the New Covenant, it is both a present spiritual reality and a coming literal fact.

14. They are different in their substance. The Old Covenant has vivid shadows. The New Covenant has the reality.

15. They are different in the extent of their administration. The Old Covenant was confined to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. The New Covenant is extended to all nations and races under heaven.

16. They are different in what they actually accomplish. The Old Covenant made nothing perfect. The New Covenant can and will bring in the perfection of God's people.

17. They are different in their duration. The Old Covenant was designed to be removed. The New Covenant was designed to last forever.

"Let us observe from these things, that the state of the gospel, or of the Church under the New Testament, being accompanied by the highest privileges and advantages that it is capable of in this world, there is a great obligation on all believers unto holiness and fruitfulness in obedience, unto the glory of God; and the heinousness of their sin, by whom this covenant is neglected or despised, is abundantly manifested." (John Owen)

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 9

THE OLD COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT COMPARED
A. Features of the Old Covenant described.

1. (1-5) The Old Covenant's tabernacle and its furnishings.

Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

a. The earthly sanctuary: The tabernacle ordained by the Old Covenant was planned by God, but planned for an earthly service.

b. For a tabernacle was prepared: The tabernacle was a tent 45 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 15 feet high, divided into two rooms. The larger room (the first part) was a 15 foot by 30 foot "holy place." Behind the second veil was the smaller room was a 15 foot by 15 foot, called the Holiest of All.

c. The lampstand with a middle stem and six branches stood in the first partand was of an unspecified size, made of pure gold; it provided the only light for the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-40).

d. The table sat in the first part and was made of acacia wood covered with gold, 3 feet long, 1½ feet wide, and 2 feet 3 inches high. It held twelve loaves ofshowbread, each representing God's fellowship with the twelve tribes of Israel (Exodus 25:23-30).

e. The sanctuary refers to the first part, known as the "holy place." A veil (a thick curtain) separated the first part from the Holiest of All, also known as the "holy of holies" (Exodus 26:31-33).

f. The golden altar of incense was made of acacia wood covered with gold, 1½ feet square, and 3 feet high. It stood at the veil before the "holy of holies," and was used to burn incense (Exodus 30:1-8).

g. The ark of the covenant stood inside the Holiest of All, and was a chest made of acacia wood covered with gold, 3¾ feet long, 2¼ feet wide, and 2¼ feet high, with rings for polls along it's side by which it would be carried (Exodus 25:10-22).

i. Inside the ark was the golden pot that had the manna (Exodus 16:33),Aaron's rod that budded (Numbers 17:6-11), and the tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25:16).

ii. The manna reminded Israel of God's provision and their ungratefulness. Aaron's rod reminded them of their rebellion against God's authority. The tablets of the covenant reminded them of their failure to keep the Ten Commandments and rest of the law.

h. The mercy seat was the ornate "lid" for the ark of the covenant, made with the designs of cherubim upon it; the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled upon it for the forgiveness of Israel's sin on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 25:17-22).

i. As God looked down into the ark, He saw the symbols of Israel's sin, rebellion and failure. But when the blood of sacrifice was applied to the mercy seat, His sight of the sin of Israel was covered by the blood of sacrifice.

2. (6-7) Priestly service in the tabernacle under the Old Covenant.

Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and forthe people's sins committed in ignorance;

a. The priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services: The priests, as appointed, went daily into the "holy place" to perform priestly functions such as tending the lampstand and replacing the showbread.

b. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year: The "holy of holies" was entered only once a year by the high priest alone, on the Day of Atonement.

c. The high priest went alone once a year, not without blood: His entrance into the second part was not for fellowship, but only for atonement, first for his own sin, then for the sins of his people.

i. Access into the Holiest of All was thus severely restricted, and even when someone could enter, it wasn't for real fellowship with God.

ii. The ancient Jewish Rabbis wrote of how the high priest would not prolong his prayer in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, because it might make the people think he had been killed. When he came out, he threw a party for all his friends, because he had emerged safely from the presence of God.

d. The people's sins committed in ignorance: Sins of ignorance were the specific aim of the Day of Atonement. It was assumed that known sin would be taken care of through the regular sin offerings and the daily sacrifices.

i. In this respect, Jesus' work is far greater than the work done on the Day of Atonement. Jesus' work on the cross is sufficient to atone for both the sins we do in ignorance and sins that we know.

3. (8-10) The Holy Spirit gives understanding regarding the priestly service under the Old Covenant.

The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience; concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

a. The way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing: The old had to pass away before God's new way could be revealed.

b. It was symbolic for the present time: Symbolic is the ancient Greek wordparabole. The tabernacle itself and all that the Old Covenant represented were suggestive of deeper truths, parables of the New Covenant.

c. Cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience: The priestly service performed now (current at the writer's time) does not make even the priests offering those sacrifices perfect and clean inregard to the conscience.

i. If the cleansing is incomplete for the priest, how much more for the person the priest worked on behalf of!

d. Fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation: The weakness of the priestly service under the Old Covenant was its inability to address the need for inner transformation in man; therefore it was only imposed until the time of reformation.

B. Features of the New Covenant described.

1. (11) The superior sanctuary of the New Covenant.

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

a. The greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands: Jesus, as our High Priest, ministers in a superior sanctuary - the very throne room of God, a place greater than anything human hands could make.

2. (12-15) The superior sacrifice of the New Covenant.

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

a. The blood of goats and calves was sufficient for a temporary covering of sin; but only a perfect sacrifice could obtain eternal redemption.

i. Jesus' sacrifice was superior in that it was perfect, voluntary, rational, andmotivated by love.

b. For if the blood of bulls and goats … sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ: If these imperfect sacrifices were received as sufficient by Israel, how much more should they regard the ultimate sufficiency of the perfect sacrifice?

i. The ashes of a heifer refer to the remains of a burnt offering that was preserved, and sprinkled in the laver of washing to provide water suitable for ceremonial cleansing (Numbers 19:1-10).

ii. This was a shadow, fulfilled and done away with when Jesus offered a perfect cleansing; there is no value in "holy water" used by the Roman Catholic Church.

iii. Reportedly, there is a search for a "red heifer" that can be sacrificed, and its ashes used as part or a restoration of priestly functions for a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

c. How much more shall the blood of Christ … cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? The sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient to even restore our damaged conscience.

i. Our conscience is a wonderful tool from God. But it isn't perfect. Our conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2). Our conscience can be defiled(Titus 1:15). Our conscience can be evil (Hebrews 10:22).

d. Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God:Dead works probably has the thought of sin in general, in the sense of "works that bring death." But it must also speak to the vain continuation of Old Covenant sacrifice, which is certainly a dead work - and the very type of thing these discouraged Jewish Christians were tempted to go back to.

e. He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death: Jesus' work as a Mediator is fundamentally accomplished at His death. His heavenly work of mediation looks back to that perfect sacrifice.

f. For the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant: Jesus' payment on the cross accomplished redemption for those under the first covenant. Every sacrifice for sin made in faith under the Mosaic command was an IOU cashed in at the cross.

3. (16-22) The necessity of Jesus' death.

For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you." Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

a. For a testament is in force after men are dead: A testament (in the sense of a "last will and testament") only takes effect when the person making the testament dies. Therefore Jesus had to die for the testament - the covenant - to take effect.

b. Remember that the word that has been used for covenant is actually the wordtestament. The idea is essentially the same as a covenant, except that it is dictated by one party, not negotiated upon by two parties.

c. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood: Clearly, death was necessary to the Old Covenant. Virtually every part of the sacrificial system under the Law of Moses was touched by blood in some way or another.

d. An important principle is stated: Without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sin].

i. Modern people think that sin is remitted (forgiven) by time, by our good works, by our decent lives, or by simply death.

ii. But there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, and there is noperfect forgiveness without a perfect sacrifice.

4. (23-28) The perfect sanctuary receives a perfect sacrifice.

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another; He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

a. It was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these: It was acceptable for the copies of the things in the heavens in the earthly sanctuary to be "purified" with imperfect sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves could only be purified with a perfect offering.

b. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands … but into heaven itself: Jesus' sacrifice was made on earth, but it is the basis for His continuing work as our mediator and High Priest in heaven. The writer to the Hebrews proclaims it: now to appear in the presence of God for us. It's not hard to believe that Jesus does appear in the presence of God. But to believe that He appears there for us is glorious!

c. Not that He should offer Himself often: Jesus' ministry for us continues in heaven, but not in the sense of continuing to atone for our sin. His ministry continues for us in intercession and defending us against the accuser of God's people (Revelation 12:10). But it does not continue in the sense that He should offer Himself often. His sacrifice was once-for-all, and perfectly satisfied God's holy justice.

i. This passage and principle is a direct rebuke to the Roman Catholicpractice and theology of the mass. In the mass, the Roman Catholic Church desires to repeat - not remember, but repeat - the atoning sacrifice of Jesus innumerable times. This is absolutely indefensible Scripturally, and deniesthe finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Scriptures make it plain:not that He should offer Himself often.

d. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world: If the sacrifice of Jesus were not perfect, then it would have to becontinual and constant - even since the foundation of the world. Imperfect sacrifices must be repeated continually but a perfect sacrifice can be made once for all time, and genuinely put away sin (not just cover sin, as with sacrifice under the Old Covenant). The message is clear: He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

i. This principle of sacrifice explains why the suffering of hell must be eternal for those who reject the atoning work of Jesus. They are in hell to pay the penalty of their sin, but as imperfect beings they are unable to make a perfect payment. If the payment is not perfect, then it has to be continualand constant -indeed, for all eternity. A soul could be released from hell the moment its debt of sin was completely paid - which is another way of sayingnever.

e. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many: Just as certainly as wedie once and then face judgment, so Jesus only had to die once (not repeatedly, not continually) to bear our sins.

i. It is not the intention of the writer to the Hebrews to discuss the issue of reincarnation. That is a side issue; he simply brings up the obvious point, it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Just as that is obvious, so it is plain that Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. For the writer to the Hebrews, the truth that it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment is an indisputable principle.

ii. Though it was not really the point of the writer to the Hebrews to discuss reincarnation, he certainly and completely denies it here. We do not die and live and die and live and some number of lives down the road face an eternal reckoning. This life is it, and then we face judgment. This means thatthere are no second chances beyond the grave. Now is the time to choose for Jesus Christ, because when we die, it is simply after this the judgment.

iii. It is important to note that the principle of it is appointed for men to die once is not an absolute principle. There are some unique, remarkable exceptions. Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) never died once. Several people in the Bible were raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:22,2 Kings 13:20-21, Matthew 9:25, John 11:43-44, Acts 20:9-11), and therefore died twice. Those taken in the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) will never die once. Yet these remarkable, unique exceptions do not deny the principle of it is appointed for men to die once; they are exceptions that prove the rule.

f. He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation: The focus of Jesus' first coming was to deal with the sin problem through His atoning sacrifice. But now, having dealt with the sin problem perfectly, He comes again apart from sin - for the salvation (in the sense of rescue) of His people.

i. To those who eagerly wait for Him: It is assumed that all believers willeagerly wait for Him. It's a sad case that this assumption doesn't always play out as true!

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 10

HOLDING FAST WITH A PERFECT SACRIFICE
A. The once for all sacrifice of Jesus.

1. (1-4) Sacrifice under the Old Covenant could not truly take away sin.

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

a. Having a shadow of the good things to come: The idea that the Old Covenant (the law) is a mere shadow of the substance that is the New Covenant is also communicated in Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 8:5. Shadowmeans that the law communicated the outline and the figure of the fulfillment in Jesus, but was not the very image of the things.

i. Shadow isn't a bad thing. Sometimes a shadow can tell you a lot. But theshadow is not the substance. The Old Covenant and its law were not themselves bad or evil, they are only incomplete and insufficient to bring total cleansing from sin, and to save. The shadow … can never … make those who approach perfect.

b. Would they not have ceased to be offered? The writer to the Hebrews repeats a familiar argument: the repetition of sacrifice shows its inherentweakness. If animal sacrifice had "fixed" the sin problem, then they could have ceased to be offered.

i. For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year: Every repeated sacrifice was a reminder of sins. It brought the consciousness of sins to the people again and again. But the work of Jesus on the cross takes away sin!

c. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins: Animal sacrifice under the Old Covenant could cover sin. The Hebrew word for atonement is kophar, which literally means "to cover." But animal sacrifice could never take away sins. Only Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice of the New Covenant, takes sins away.

2. (5-10) A prophetic foundation for Jesus' perfect sacrifice under the New Covenant.

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me; to do Your will, O God.'" Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them"(which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

a. He said: This quotation is taken from the Septuagint version of Psalm 40:6-8(the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was the most commonly used Bible in the first century). It shows that prophetically Jesus declared the insufficient character of Old Covenant sacrifice and declared His willingness to offer a perfect sacrifice under the New Covenant.

i. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire: More animal sacrifices, made under the law, would not please God.

ii. But a body You have prepared for Me: Instead, what pleased God could only come through Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.

iii. Behold, I have come … to do Your will, O God: Jesus' submission to God's the Father's will had its ultimate fulfillment in His obedience to the cross. This desire to do God's will was shown in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44).

b. Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God: The sacrifice of Jesus was determined before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8). But it was still an act of His will to submit to the cross at the appointed time andby that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.

i. Our sanctification - our being set apart to God - is founded on the will of Jesus, not our own will. It is founded on the offering of Jesus, not on our own offering or sacrifices for God.

c. Once for all: These are the important words of this passage, and the writer to the Hebrews repeats the theme over and over again: once for all.

3. (11-18) The finished work of Jesus Christ.

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

a. Every priest stands ministering daily: The priests had to stand continually in their work. Their work continued daily and sacrifices had to be repeatedlyoffered. The priests could never sit down! But Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, having finished His work of sacrificing for sin.

i. The seated posture of Jesus is important. It shows that His work is finished. He doesn't need to stand ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices as priests under the Old Covenant had to. Jesus still ministers in heaven - He has a ministry of intercession for His people. But that ministry flows from His completed work, so He can adopt a posture of rest - He sat down at the right hand of God.

b. He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified: This makes it plain that the work of Jesus is effective only for those who are being sanctified. The work of Jesus is capable of saving every human being, but it is only effective in saving those who are being sanctified (set apart to God).

c. The Holy Spirit also witnesses to us … says the LORD: In this passage, the writer to the Hebrews clearly identifies the Holy Spirit is equated as the LORD, Yahweh of the Old Testament. When the Holy Spirit speaks, the LORDspeaks.

d. This is the covenant: In the passage quoted from Jeremiah, the writer to the Hebrews makes note of the promises of the new covenant, instituted by the Messiah.

i. I will make with them after those days: The new covenant is new. It comes after those days.

ii. I will put My laws into their hearts: The new covenant has to do with aninner transformation. God changes the heart of man, and writes His law into their hearts.

iii. Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more: The new covenant offers complete forgiveness. The forgiveness is so complete that God can say that doesn't even remember our sins in light of the new covenant!

iv. The Christian must endeavor to do with their sin exactly what God has done: forget about it. As well, this reminds us that the believer is in no wayon probation. Before God, his past sin has no bearing on God's present dealing.

e. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin: Where sins are really forgiven and forgotten (remission of these), there no longer must be an offering for sin.

B. Encouraging the discouraged in light of Jesus' perfect sacrifice.

1. (19-22) Knowing Jesus has opened the way, let us draw near to God.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

a. Having boldness: Access has been given to us for a bold approach to God. The point is simple: we must take advantage of this access, and take it withboldness. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the holiest place of all with fear and trembling, but we can enter the Holiest with boldness.

i. We can have boldness because we enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. If we entered as the Old Testament high priest did, with the blood of animals, we wouldn't have boldness. But with the blood of Jesusproviding a new and living way which He consecrated with us, we really can come into the presence of God with boldness.

b. Through the veil: The veil separated the Holiest from the holy place. To enter into the Holiest, you had to pass through the veil. But this veil separating man from God's intimate presence is forever opened wide, being torn into two from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51)

i. That is, His flesh: The writer to the Hebrews makes an analogy between the veil that stood between God and man and the body of Jesus. Jesus' body was "torn," and so was the veil, each indicating that now, we can come to God boldly.

c. Having a High Priest over the house of God: We have a High Priest who presides over the heavenly courts to make certain the believer has total access.

d. Let us draw near: With the perfect cleansing available to us, cleansing both the inner man (hearts sprinkled) and the outer man (bodies washed) we candraw near to God in a way never available to someone under the Old Covenant. The work of Jesus makes us able to draw near in a full assurance of faith.

e. So, several issues have been settled. The problem of access to God has been settled. The problem of a perfect High Priest has been settled. The problem of moral and spiritual pollution has been settled. So now, let us draw near!

i. The encouragement to draw near wouldn't be given unless it was necessary. These discouraged Christians had a problem in drawing near. This was their real problem: they lost their intimate relationship with Jesus, and nothing else is going right.

ii. They may have thought that they had many, many problems - persecution, difficult relationships, hard times with culture or economy. But the real problem was their relationship with God wasn't on track. They didn't draw near to God on the basis of what Jesus had done.

iii. Are you in a tough time? Many people have gone through worse times and have had a better attitude, and more joy, than you do now. What is the difference? They knew how to draw near!

iv. Just as importantly, they are reminded that they will never regain that intimacy coming through the institutions of the Old Covenant.

2. (23) Let us hold fast to the truth.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised isfaithful.

a. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering: Discouragement made them waver from the truth. A renewed confidence in the greatness of Jesus and in the New Covenant will make them stand strong in the faith.

b. For He who promised is faithful: The reason we can stand strong is because He who promised is faithful. It is far better to trust in His faithfulness instead of ours!

3. (24-25) Let us pursue the community of God's people.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

a. Let us consider one another: Discouragement has made them avoid community at the very time they needed it most. Jesus meets us in one another to stir up love and good works.

b. Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together: Forsaking fellowship is a sure way to give place to discouragement. This discouragement festers where God's people are not exhorting one another.

i. Many people go to church if they feel they "need it" at the time. But our motivation for fellowship must be to obey God and to give to others. We can go to church looking to encourage someone who needs to hang in there against a tide of discouragement.

c. So much the more as you see the Day approaching: As the Day of Jesus' return draws nearer, we should be more committed to the fellowship of God's people, the assembling of ourselves together.

C. Another warning to endure.

1. (26-31) The danger of a willful rejection of Jesus' perfect sacrifice for us.

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

a. For if we sin willfully: To sin willfully is defined in Hebrews 10:29. It speaks of someone who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace. It is a knowing, deliberate rejection of Jesus' great work for us on the cross.

i. Sin willfully: In a sense, every sin is a "willful sin." But here, the writer to the Hebrews speaks of something much more severe and relevant to these discouraged Jewish Christians who contemplated a retreat from a distinctive Christianity and a return to Judaism with its sacrificial system. This is turning your back on Jesus.

b. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins: If Jesus' sacrifice for sin is rejected, there remains no other sacrifice that can cleanse.

c. How much worse punishment: If someone does reject Jesus' sacrifice, fearful judgment is certain, even more certain than it was under the Old Covenant.

d. When we sin willfully by rejecting Jesus' work on the cross as sufficient, we have:

i. Trampled the Son of God underfoot: We have disgraced Him by rejecting His greatest work. We devalue Him by devaluing what He did.

ii. Counted the blood of the covenant … a common thing: We have considered that Jesus' blood was of no greater importance than the countless animals that had been sacrificed under the Old Covenant.

iii. Insulted the Spirit of grace: We offend the Holy Spirit, whose purpose it is to present Jesus and His work to us (John 16:8-15) when we reject Jesus and His finished work on our behalf. When we reject God's free gift ofgrace and seek to be justified by law.

e. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: It is fearfulindeed to one-day face the God you have rejected and offended so greatly!

2. (32-34) Take heart in your discouragement, and remember how you have stood for God in tough times before.

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

a. But recall the former days: These Christians had suffered for Jesus, being rejected from their Jewish community, and perhaps being counted as dead. This came after they trusted in Jesus (after you were illuminated).

b. The persecution came in many different ways, but it was a great struggle with sufferings. They were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations. They were companions of those who were so treated- including the writer to the Hebrews himself (you had compassion on me in chains). They also had faced economic persecution (the plundering of your goods). But the point is that they had faced these things, and had enduredthem. They could take a look at their past endurance, and be encouraged to keep standing strong in the future.

c. Knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven: They made it through the time of persecution by keeping a heavenly perspective. The writer to the Hebrews' point is clear: you can make it through this present time of discouragement as well.

3. (35-39) Draw on your past experience to gain strength to endure for the future.

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

a. Therefore do not cast away your confidence: These discouraged Christians were in danger of casting away their confidence in Jesus, and relapsing into an Old Covenant relationship with God.

b. You have need of endurance: They, and we, have need of endurance to receive the promise of God after we have done the will of God. The toughest and most discouraging trials are when we are called to obey God's will when the fulfillment of His promise seems so far away. This is why we need endurance. Faithfulness during the time when the promise seems unfulfilled is the measure of your obedience and spiritual maturity.

i. This endurance is built through trials, the testing of our faith (James 1:2-4).

c. Now the just shall live by faith: We need to follow in the footsteps of thejust who will live by faith, and endure to see the promise fulfilled.

i. Every word in Habakkuk 2:4 is important, and the Lord quotes it three times in the New Testament just to bring out the fullness of the meaning!

ii. In Romans 1:17, when Paul quotes this same passage fromHabakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on faith: "The just shall live by faith."

iii. In Galatians 3:11, when Paul quotes this passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on just: "The just shall live by faith."

iv. Here in Hebrews 10:38, when the writer to the Hebrews quotes this same passage from Habakkuk 2:4, the emphasis is on live: "The just shall live by faith."

d. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul: This is a confident conclusion. We will be those who endure on and gain the promise of God. We will not draw back into old traditions or into an Old Covenant relationship with God - or any other replacement for Jesus!

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 11

EXAMPLES OF FAITH TO HELP THE DISCOURAGED
A. Faith defined.

1. (1) A definition of faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

a. Now faith is the substance: Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the "sense" that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.

i. Faith has its reasons. We aren't talking about a "blind leap" of faith. But the reasons can't be measured in a laboratory, they have to be understood spiritually.

ii. "Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying that it has its reasons. Its tests are not those of the senses, which yield uncertainty." (Morris)

iii. "Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order." (Bruce)

b. Of things hoped for … of things not seen: If you have the substance before you, if you can see it, what use is there for faith? Faith is needed for what we can't see and can't touch.

i. Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason. I may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published, and has impacted society more than any other book. But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, this is a belief beyond reason, but not in contradiction to reason.

c. Faith is the substance … the evidence: Faith is not a bare belief or intellectual understanding. It is a willingness to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to.

2. (2) Faith enabled people in the past to overcome.

For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

a. For by it the elders: The great examples of godliness all had different circumstances and personalities, but they all had one thing in common - faith.

b. Obtained a good testimony: These Jewish Christians had been discouraged, and were thinking of giving up on Jesus and a distinctive Christianity. They needed a good testimony, and so they needed these examples of faith to break them out of discouragement.

3. (3) Faith gives understanding to the invisible world.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

a. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word: How were the worlds … framed by the word of God? It happened when God simply commanded Let there be light (Genesis 1:3). As the Psalmist explains: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth … For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:6,9)

b. By faith we understand: We did not see this act of creation; we only know of it by faith. We also know this by reason, because we know the world was created, and created by an intelligent Designer. Again, this is faith going beyond, but not in contradiction to reason.

i. Even in times when it seems when God expects a faith that contradicts reason, closer examination reveals He does not. For example, it might seem contrary to reason for God to expect Abraham to believe that Sarah's dead womb could bring forth a child. But it is not unreasonable to believe that the God who created life and the womb could do this, and would do it according to His promise.

c. By faith we understand: This text does not say that God created the world with faith. Since God sees and knows all things, "faith" in a human sense is superfluous to Him. If faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, what does God not see? What possibly could a sovereign Being "hope" for?

d. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible: Most scientists at the time Hebrews was written believed the universe was created out of existing matter, not out of nothing, not out of things which are visible. But the Bible corrects this misunderstanding.

B. Faith at the beginning of man's history.

1. (4) Abel's faith.

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

a. By faith Able offered to God a more excellent sacrifice: The difference between the sacrifice of Cain and the sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:3-5) was not because one was animal, the other was vegetable. The difference was that Abel's sacrifice was made by faith.

i. "Abel's sacrifice was preferred to his brother's for no other reason than that it was sanctified by faith; for surely the fat of brute animals did not smell so sweetly, that it could, by its odour, pacify God." (Calvin)

b. God testifying of his gifts: How did God testify of Abel's gifts? It is likely that God showed His pleasure with Abel's sacrifice by consuming it with fire from heaven, as happened at the dedication of tabernacle (Leviticus 9:24), the temple (2 Chronicles 7:1) and upon offerings made by David (1 Chronicles 21:26) and Elijah (1 Kings 18:38).

c. Through it he being dead still speaks: Right off with his example of Abel, the writer reminds us that faith is not necessarily rewarded on earth. But God Himself testifies to the righteousness of the faithful. Abel's blood still speaks to us, reminding us of the value of eternity!

2. (5-6) Enoch's faith.

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

a. By faith Enoch: Enoch is one of the mystery men of the Old Testament being mentioned only in Genesis 5:21-24 as the man who walked with God and he was not, for God took him.

i. Many Jewish and Christian traditions make Enoch the recipient of some spectacular and esoteric revelations. Jude recognizes him as a prophet (Jude 14-15). But the value of other prophecies attributed to him is uncertain at the very best.

b. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death: The writer to the Hebrews assumes that only a man of faith could enjoy close communion with God. Obviously, anyone who had this kind of fellowship with God must have pleased God, and in pleasing God, Enoch fulfilled the purpose for which man was created (Revelation 4:11).

c. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: This is the basic faith required of any who will seek God. One must believe that He is, and one must believe He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must believe that God is there, and that He will reveal Himself to the seeking heart.

i. The writer to the Hebrews doesn't say that it is difficult to please God without faith. He says that it is impossible.

ii. "These two elements seem most simple, but, alas, how many professing Christians act as if God were not living; and how many others, though seeking after Him, are not expecting from Him as Rewarder!" (Newell)

3. (7) Noah's faith.

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

a. Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen: Noah was warned of something that had never happened before. His faith was shown in not merely agreeing that the flood would come, but in doing what God told him to do regarding the flood - he was moved with godly fear.

b. Prepared an ark: Real faith will always do something. The book of James repeats this theme over and over again.

c. He condemned the world: We shouldn't think that Noah was a man who preached sermons of condemnation to the world. Instead, the mere conduct of the godly, without any preaching at all, can feel like condemnation to the world.

C. Faith in the life of Abraham and the Patriarchs.

1. (8) Abraham's obedience by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

a. By faith, Abraham obeyed: Abraham did step out in faith, going to a new place God had promised him; but his faith was less than perfect. This is seen by comparing Genesis 12:1-5 with Acts 7:2-4, where it is evident that Abraham first went half way to the place God called him to go, and only eventually obeyed completely. Yet now, thousands of years later, God does not "remember" the delayed obedience, only the faith.

2. (9-10) Abraham's sojourning life of faith.

By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

a. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise: Abraham lived as a "sojourner" in the land God had promised, never owning any of it except the plots that he and Sarah were buried on. Dwelt is the ancient Greek word paroikos, describing a "resident alien" - one who lives somewhere, but doesn't have permanent status there.

i. A resident alien or a sojourner is evident. The way they talk, the way they dress, their mannerisms, their entertainment, their citizenship, and their friends, all speak of their native home. If someone is the same in all these areas as the "natives," they are no longer sojourners - they are permanent residents. Christians shouldn't get "green cards" for planet earth!

b. Dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob: Because they had no permanent home, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in tents instead of houses. They looked forward to a better city - the city which has foundations, who builder and maker is God.

3. (11-12) Sarah's faith and its results.

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude; innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

a. By faith Sarah: Sarah's faith was not perfect. She first laughed in unbelief (Genesis 18:9-15) and then she learned to laugh in faith (Genesis 21:6).

b. Because she judged Him faithful who had promised: Faith boils down to judging that God is faithful to and able to keep His promises. It was this faith that enabled Sarah to receive strength to conceive seed. God gave the strength, but Sarah had to receive it by faith.

c. Were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude: Because of the faith of Sarah and Abraham, thousands - millions -of descendants were born. Their faith had an impact on more lives than they ever dreamed of.

4. (13-16) What the faith of Abraham and Sarah teaches us.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

a. These all died in faith, not having received the promises: The promise of the Messiah was made to Abraham and Sarah, and they believed the promise. Yet they died having never received it, only seeing it in faith.

i. They saw the promises afar off, willing to look at and consider the promise of God, even though it seemed so far away.

ii. They were assured of them: They carefully considered the promise, and assured themselves that the promise had to be valid because it was God making the promise.

iii. They embraced them: They took the promise and embrace it in faith. How many times in a day do you think Abraham and Sarah thought of the son God promised had them? Many, many times - they embraced the promise.

iv. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims: Abraham and Sarah always took the promise with the understanding that this world was not their home; that God had a better and more enduring home for them in heaven.

v. If these examples of faith endured through difficulty and discouragement without having received the promises, how much more should we who have received those promises?

b. They seek a homeland … they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Walking in faith is easier when we remember that this world is not our home. It is easier when we remember that on this side of eternity, not everything is settled and every wrong is not righted. That is why they seek a homeland and a better … heavenly country.

i. Faith is very difficult when we live as "practical atheists." This describes someone who may have a theoretical belief in God, but the belief doesn't matter in what they do from day to day. When we remember there is a spiritual reality - a heavenly home that is our real home - faith is much easier.

ii. The great theme of our time is naturalism, the belief that only what can be found and measured in nature is "real." Scientists and educators who believe in naturalism may be content to let us believe in God, just as long as we agree that God is a fairy tale - someone not real. But when we believe in the reality of God and of heaven and of His word, it is completely unacceptable to those who live by naturalism.

iii. H.L. Mencken said faith is the "Illogical belief in the occurrence of the impossible." This would only be true if there is no God, or if He does not matter.

c. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: But for those courageous enough to believe in God, and to believe in Him as real, and heaven and eternal life as real, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

i. We may speak of the fact that we cannot be ashamed of God; but do we often consider that God may be ashamed of us? When we do not regard God and heaven and eternity as real, there can be a sense in which God isashamed to be called our God!

ii. As the hymn says:

This world is not my home; I'm just a passin' through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Oh, Lord, you know, I have no friend like You
If heaven's not my home, then, Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

5. (17-19) Abraham's faith was great enough to know God was able to raise the dead, and that God was able to keep His promises no matter what.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

a. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac: The verb tense for offered up indicates that as far as Abraham was concerned, the sacrifice was complete. In his will and in his purpose, he really did sacrifice his son.

b. Offered up his only begotten son: Though Abraham had another son (Ishmael, the son of his fleshly attempt to fulfill God's promise), God did not recognize the other son (Genesis 22:1-14) - so Isaac could be called his only begotten son.

c. Accounting that God was able: Accounting means in the ancient Greek just what it sounds like in English. It is a term from arithmetic expressing "a decisive and carefully reasoned act." (Guthrie) This means that Abraham calculated God's promise worthy of confidence.

d. From the dead, from which he also received him: As far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was as good as dead, and it was from the dead that he received him back, in a manner that prefigured the resurrection of Jesus.

i. Bruce wonders if this is not the incident that Jesus referred to inJohn 8:56: Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.

e. When Abraham was confronted with a promise and a command from God which seemed to contradict each other, he did what we all should do: he obeyed the command and let God take care of the promise - which God was more than able to do!

6. (20) Isaac's faith.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

a. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob: Isaac was really in the flesh, not in faith, when he first intended to bless Jacob and Esau. He wanted to bless Esau with the birthright for carnal reasons (he liked him as a more "manly" man, and he liked the wild game he brought home), instead of blessing Jacob, whom God had chosen.

b. Yet Isaac came to the place of faith when he discovered that he had actually blessed Jacob instead of Esau, Genesis 27:33 says Isaac trembled exceedingly. When Isaac trembled exceedingly, what was he troubled about? He was troubled because he knew that he had tried to box God in, to defeat God's plan, and that God had beaten him. He realized that he would always be defeated when he tried to resist God's will, even when he didn't like it. And he came to learn that despite his arrogance against God's will, God's will was glorious.

c. So, where is the faith in Isaac's blessing? After Isaac's attempt to thwart the will of God had been destroyed, when he said of Jacob, and indeed he shall be blessed (Genesis 27:33). He knew that God had defeated his puny attempt to box God in, and he responded in the faith that says, "O.K. God, You win. Let Isaac be blessed with the birthright, and let Esau be blessed after him in his own way."

7. (21) Jacob's faith.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

a. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph: Jacob led a pretty carnal life. Yet, his faith could also look beyond death- and he blessed each of his sons.

8. (22) Joseph's faith.

By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

a. By faith Joseph: Joseph made mention of the departure of the children of Israel in Genesis 50:24, when he said: God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. He knew God's promise was true!

b. Gave instructions concerning his bones: When Joseph died, he was never buried. His coffin laid above ground for the 400 or so years until it was taken back to Canaan. It was a silent witness all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land, just as God had said.

c. All during that time, when a child of Israel saw Joseph's coffin and asked what it was there for, and why it was not buried, they could be answered, "Because the great man Joseph did not want to be buried in Egypt, but in the Promised Land God will one day lead us to."

D. Faith in the nation of Israel.

1. (23) The faith of Moses' parents.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command.

a. By faith Moses … was hidden three months by his parents: Moses' parents showed faith when they perceived that he was specially favored by God, they took measures of faith to save his life despite danger.

2. (24-26) The faith of Moses in Pharaoh's court.

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

a. Refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter: Moses showed faith when he let God chart his destiny instead of letting Pharaoh do it.

b. Choosing rather to suffer affliction: This choice had consequences. Moses knew that to go God's way meant to suffer affliction rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Sin does have its pleasures; but Moses properly saw them as passing, even if they should last our entire earthly lives!

c. The reproach of Christ: Moses probably didn't know it, at the time but the persecution he suffered for his choice of servanthood to God and His people put him in the company of Jesus - who suffered to set men free.

3. (27) The faith of Moses when he left Egypt.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

a. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: Moses' natural eyes could see the danger from Pharaoh, and understood the danger in remaining anywhere near Egypt. Yet his eye of faith could see Him who is invisible, and he understood that God was a greater fact in his situation than an angry Pharaoh was.

4. (28) Moses showed faith when he led Israel in the Passover, in obedience to God's command.

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

a. By faith he kept the Passover: It took faith to believe that the blood of a lamb on the door post would save a household from the terror of the angel of death. But Moses had that faith, and led the nation in observance of the Passover.

5. (29) The faith of the nation of Israel when crossing the Red Sea.

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

a. By faith they passed through the Red Sea: The difference between the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Egyptians who followed them was not courage, but faith. The Egyptians had as much (or more) courage than the Israelites, but not the same faith- and they each had different fates. The Israelites passed through, and the Egyptians were drowned.

6. (30) The faith of the nation of Israel when circling around Jericho as God had commanded.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

a. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down: At Jericho, the people of Israel had a daring faith. There was no turning back, having already crossed the river Jordan at flood stage, which cut off any line of retreat.

b. At Jericho, the people of Israel had an obedient faith. They did not really understand what God was doing, yet they obeyed none the less.

c. After they were encircled for seven days: At Jericho, the people of Israel had a patient faith. The walls did not fall down for the first six days, yet they kept marching as God commanded.

d. At Jericho, the people of Israel had an anticipating faith. They knew God would act on the seventh day when they shouted.

7. (31) The faith of Rahab.

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

a. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish: Rahab (Joshua 2) might seem an unusual example of faith, but her trust in God and willingness to identify with His people, no matter what the cost, is worthy of praise.

b. When she had received the spies with peace: When the Hebrew spies came to Rahab, she declared He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath(Joshua 2:11). This was proof of her faith. It was not strong faith, it was not perfect faith, but her faith was commendable nonetheless.

i. Clement of Rome, the earliest Christian writer outside of the Bible, was the first the see a symbol of the blood of Jesus in the scarlet cord which Rahab hung outside her window.

8. (32) Other heroes of faith.

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

a. Gideon was a man who boldly destroyed idols, and was mightily used of God to defeat a much larger army of Midianites (Judges 6-7). Yet he was also a man who doubted God's word to him at first, and repeatedly asked for confirmation.

b. Barak led the people of Israel in a dramatic victory over the Canaanites (Judges 4). Yet he hesitated and went forward only when Deborah encouraged him.

c. Samson was used mightily of the Lord to defeat the Philistines. Yet he never lived up to his potential, and had a tragic ending to his life after being enticed by Delilah (Judges 13-16).

d. Jephthah was used of God to defeat the Ammonites. Yet Jephthah made a foolish vow and stubbornly kept it (Judges 11).

e. David was a remarkable man of faith. Yet he also failed with Bathsheba and with his own children.

f. Each one of these were men of faith, yet had notable areas of failure in their life. Still, Hebrews 11 commends their faith, and lists them in the "Hall of Faith." This shows that weak faith is better than unbelief, and you don't have to be perfect to make it into God's "Hall of Faith."

9. (33-35a) By faith, some were victorious over circumstances.

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.

a. Some of those who subdued kingdoms: David, Joshua, King Asa, Jehoshaphat, King Hezekiah, King Josiah.

b. Some of those who worked righteousness: Elijah, Elisha, and all the prophets of God, and King Josiah also.

c. Some of those who obtained promises: Caleb, Gideon, Barak.

d. Some of those who stopped the mouths of lions: Daniel, David, and Benaiah (one of David's mighty men).

e. Some of those who quenched the violence of fire: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

f. Some of those who escaped the edge of the sword: David escaped both the swords of Goliath and Saul, Moses escaped the sword of Pharaoh, and Elijah escaped the sword of Jezebel.

g. Some of those who out of weakness were made strong: Sarah, Gideon, Abraham, Esther, and King Hezekiah.

h. Some of those who became valiant in battle: David, King Asa, and Jehoshaphat.

i. Some of those women who received their dead raised to life again: The widow of Zarepheth, and the Shunamite.

10. (35b-38) By faith, some were victorious under their circumstances.

And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

a. Tortured in the ancient Greek language has the idea "to beat with a stick or a baton."

b. A better resurrection: As Jesus said in John 5:29, there is a resurrection unto life, and a resurrection unto condemnation. These worthies received thebetter resurrection.

c. Trial of mockings: Isaac endured the cruel mocking of Ishmael, and Samson was mocked at the feast of the Philistines.

d. Chains and imprisonments: Joseph was cast into prison for his faith, and the evil King Ahab imprisoned the prophet Micaiah.

e. They were stoned: Zechariah was stoned to death between the altar and the temple, and Naboth was stoned to death by Jezebel's henchmen.

f. Sawn in two: According to reliable tradition, Isaiah was sawn in two and killed.

g. Were tempted: How does being tempted compare with these other persecutions? Some have thought the text was corrupted here, and the writer to the Hebrews originally wrote "branded" or "burnt alive" or "mutilated" or "strangled." But for those who have known the pains of temptation, it is not unreasonable to think that the writer to the Hebrews regards overcoming temptation as a true triumph of faith.

h. Were slain with the sword: Such as the eighty-five priests murdered by Doeg, or the prophets murdered in Elijah's day.

i. Wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins: Such as Elijah, who wore this kind humble clothing and did not mind the humility or the discomfort.

j. Of whom the world was not worthy: The world is not necessarily friendly to people of faith, and the world isn't necessarily worthy of them either!

i. "The despised and ill-treated group of servants of God was of greater real worth than all the rest of humanity put together." (Morris)

k. In dens and caves of the earth: David, Elijah, and prophets under the leadership of Obadiah were all forced to flee and hide in caves.

11. (39-40) Conclusion: We have even more reasons for faith, more reasons to hold on to faith, than these heroes of the faith did.

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

a. Even though they obtained a good testimony through faith, they never saw the promise in the same way that we do on this side of the cross. They did not receive the promise, the testimony of the completed work of the Messiah on their behalf.

b. God having provided something better for us: We have been provided something better (seeing and enjoying the completed work of Jesus on our behalf) have much more reason to hold on to faith, and to not let discouragement and tough times defeat us.

c. They should not be made perfect apart from us: The idea of perfect is "complete." They could not be made complete until the work of Jesus; they looked forward to Jesus and His work, we look at it from behind - and enjoy the fruits of His work!

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Hebrews 12

REASONS TO ENDURE DISCOURAGING TIMES
A. Look unto Jesus.

1. (1) Application of the demonstrations of enduring faith in Hebrews 11.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

a. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses: The author envisions these previous champions of faith as spectators from the heavens, cheering us on as we endeavor to overcome present discouragement as in an athletic competition.

i. The idea of the heroes of faith in the past being spectators as we live lives of faith has made some think that in heaven, people can and do observe what goes on earth. This single passage may suggest this, but it is inconclusive to prove this.

ii. We rightly think of heaven as a place where people are always happy and untroubled; it would be hard to think that those in heaven could be happy and untroubled if they saw what was happening on the earth. So, it is difficult to saw that people in heaven are actually observing us!

iii. Others consider that these witnesses are not witnessing us as we conduct our lives. Instead, they are witnesses to us of faith and endurance.

iv. "Both the Greeks and the Latins frequently use the term cloud, to express a great number of persons or things." (Clarke)

b. Lay aside every weight, and the sin: Sin can hold us back. But there are also things that may not be sin (every weight) but are merely hindrances that can keep us from running effectively the race God has for us.

i. Our choices are not always between right and wrong, but between something that may hinder us and something else that may not. Is there aweight in your life you must lay aside?

c. So easily ensnares us: Easily ensnares translates a difficult ancient Greek word (euperistaton), which can be translated four ways: "easily avoided," "admired," "ensnaring," or "dangerous."

i. Some sins can be easily avoided, but are not. Some sins are admired, yet must be laid aside. Some sins are ensnaring and thus especially harmful. And some sins are more dangerous than others are. Let us lay them allaside!

ii. If such ensnaring sins were really the work of demonic possession or demonic influence in the Christian, wouldn't this not be an ideal place for the Holy Spirit to address this? Yet we are never given reason to blame our sin on demons; the appeal is simply for us to, in the power of the Holy Spirit, lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.

d. Let us run with endurance: What is needed is endurance, to finish what we have begun in Jesus Christ - a race that is set before us.

i. God has set before you a race. You must run it; and it will involve effort and commitment. Just being passive never runs a race. God wants us to run the race, and finish it right!

ii. In Acts 20:24, Paul pictures himself as a runner who had a race to finish, and nothing would keep Paul from finishing the race with joy. In that passage, Paul speaks of my race- he had his race to run, we have our own - but God calls us to finish it with joy, and that only happens with endurance.

e. Race is the ancient Greek word agona, a word used for conflict or struggle of many kinds, and a favorite word of Paul (Philippians 1:30, Colossians 2:1,1 Thessalonians 2:2, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7).

i. Endurance is needed to run that race. Endurance translates the ancient Greek word hupomone, "which does not mean the patience which sits down and accepts things but the patience which masters them … It is a determination, unhurrying and yet undelaying, which goes steadily on and refuses to be deflected." (Barclay)

2. (2) The ultimate example: Jesus Christ.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

a. Looking unto Jesus: The New American Standard Version translates this beautifully: fixing our eyes on Jesus. We can only run the race as we look to Jesus, and have our eyes locked on to Him. He is our focus, our inspiration, and our example.

i. In the ancient Greek, looking unto Jesus uses a verb that implies a definite looking away from other things and a present looking unto Jesus.

ii. We must guard against seeing Jesus as only an example; He was and is so much more. But He also remains the ultimate example of Christian endurance.

b. The author and finisher of our faith: Jesus is not only the author of our faith; He is the finisher of it also. The idea of He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6) is comforting indeed to these discouraged Christians.

c. Who for the joy that was set before Him: Jesus did not regard the cross itself as a joy. But He could look past the horror of the cross to enjoy the joy beyond it. The same mentality will enable these Jewish Christians (and we ourselves) to endure.

d. Despising the shame: One of the most prominent elements of the torture of the cross was its extreme shame. Jesus did not welcome this shame - Hedespised it! - yet He endured through the shame.

i. This is a stumbling block to many; they will do just about anything for Jesus except endure shame or embarrassment. Spurgeon spoke boldly to Christians who could not bear the shame that comes from the world for following Jesus: "Yet you are a coward. Yes, put it down in English: you are a coward. If anybody called you so you would turn red in the face; and perhaps you are not a coward in reference to any other subject. What a shameful thing it is that while you are bold about everything else you are cowardly about Jesus Christ. Brave for the world and cowardly towards Christ!"

e. And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God: This speaks of Jesus' glorification. The same promise of being glorified after our shame (though in a different sense) is true for the Christian.

3. (3-4) Consider Jesus.

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

a. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin: These Jewish Christians were so discouraged because they were starting to experience significant social and economic persecution (though not yet to the shedding of blood).

b. But they should consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, and be encouraged, not discouraged, knowing that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus. As Paul wrote, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:17)

c. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls: Knowing that Jesus doesn't ask more of us than what He has Himself experienced, and that He knows exactly what we are going through keeps us from becoming weary and discouraged in your souls.

B. Why God allows difficult times: the chastening of God.

1. Introductory thoughts on the subject of chastening.

a. Hebrews 12:5-11 deals with the question "why does God allow such difficult times as we are going through." This is a question commonly asked in seasons of discouragement.

b. We must admit that God does allow every thing that happens; so He must at least passively approve of it, because He certainly has the power to stop bad things that happen.

i. Of course, God can never be the author of evil. But He does allow others to choose evil, and He can use the evil choice another makes to work out His ultimately good purpose, even if only to demonstrate His justice and righteousness in contrast to evil.

c. The discussion of chastening that follows should not be regarded as the onlyreason God allows difficult times, but it is an important one. For example, we know that God allows difficult times so that we can, at a later time, comfort someone else with the same comfort God shows towards us in our crisis (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

2. (5-6) Remember the exhortation regarding the discipline of the Lord.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."

a. You have forgotten: One great reason for the discouragement among these Jewish Christians was because they saw no reason why God would allow difficult times to arise. But they have forgotten principles regarding the chastening of the Lord.

i. How much of the difficulty in our Christian life can be traced back to those three words: you have forgotten! Perhaps it is some principle we remember in our minds, but we have forgotten it with our hearts - and we must remember it again!

b. Which speaks to you as sons: The quotation from Proverbs 3:11-12reminds us that God's chastening should never be taken as a sign of His rejection. It is rather a sign of His treating us as His children.

i. Only the most proud Christian would claim they are never in need of correction from God. No one is above this kind of training.

c. God's chastening can come in many forms; and what may be God's chastening to endure in the life of one believer may be a Satanic attack to resist in the life of another.

i. This is why James recommends a prayer for wisdom in the context of enduring trials (James 1:2-5). We need to know how to react differently when God does different things.

3. (7-8) Chastening a sign of sonship.

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

a. God deals with you as sons: Many people claim an inability to relate to God as a loving Father, because they have never known a loving human father in their own experience. Yet, even these can still receive the love of God the Father.

i. We have not all known by experience what a model father is, but we do all know by intuition what a good father is. God is that perfect Father, and He has given us that intuition.

b. God deals with you as sons: God's correction is never to punish us, never to make us pay for our sins. That was done once and for all at the cross. His correction is motivated only by His love, not by His justice; He chastens us without anger.

c. If you are without chastening … you are illegitimate and not sons: Those who fancy themselves "beyond" God's chastening mark themselves asillegitimate children of God.

d. God demonstrates His wrath when He ignores our sin, allowing it to pass without correction. His inactivity is never due to ignorance or a lack of initiative, as may be the case with a human father.

4. (9-10) God's chastening is superior to that of human fathers.

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid themrespect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He forour profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

a. We paid them respect: We should be even more submissive and respectful to our Heavenly Father's correction than to an earthly Father's correction.

b. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live? Therefore, we must never despise God for His chastening, though it is unpleasant. When we resent it, we consider ourselves virtual equals with God, instead of His children.

i. It is humiliating and bitter to be chastened by an equal, but not by one who is legitimately our superior. Resentment at chastening shows how we see God and how we see ourselves.

c. But He for our profit: Human fathers, even with the best of intention, can only chasten imperfectly, because they lack perfect knowledge. The all-knowing God can chasten us perfectly, with better and more lasting results than even the best earthly father.

5. (11) Look to the result of chastening more than the process of chastening.

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

a. Afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness: Our author isn't trying to deny the unpleasant nature of a "heavenly spanking" (no chastening seems to be joyful for the present). But he does want us to look beyond theprocess to the result.

b. The peaceable fruit of righteousness: Is this fruit evident in your life? The reason why many live a "one-crisis-after-another" life is because they are either blind to God's chastening, or are resisting it. They have not been trained by it, and so the peaceable fruit of righteousness is not evident.

i. They never experience the peaceable fruit of righteousness because they have never been trained by God's chastening.

ii. Trained in the ancient Greek language is a word from the world of athletics; as an athlete is trained by some agony, so are we - as God's "spiritual athletes."

c. God has a purpose for training you. Think of David after being attacked by a lion while just he was just a boy tending the sheep. "Why did God allow such a terrible think to happen to me?" He might of thought. "I barely escaped!" But if only David could see ahead, he would see God had a giant named Goliath he was destined to face, and the battle with the lion prepared him ahead of time. God always has a purpose. We can trust Him.

C. Application: Get strong, get right, get bold, and watch out.

1. (12-13) Get strong.

Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

a. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down: Almost like a coach or a military officer, the author tells the "troops" to get with it. He has given exhaustive reasons to be strong in the Lord and put off discouragement, so now is the time to do it.

b. The pictures here (strengthened hands and knees, "straight-ahead" feet) speak of readiness to work and move for the Lord. This readiness is first to go when one surrenders to discouragement.

2. (14-17) Get right.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

a. Get right with both men (pursue peace with all men) and with God (and holiness). Discouragement makes us sloppy and unconcerned with our personal relationships.

i. Regarding holiness, we are told without which no one will see the Lord. A lack of holiness is a critical obstacle to a close relationship with God.

b. Lest anyone fall short of the grace of God: We must get right with God's grace. So look diligently to keep both yourself and others from a return to legalism in either outward form or inward attitude that falls short of God's grace,lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble.

i. "A bitter root is a root that bears bitter fruit … So it is possible for the seed of bitterness to be sown in a community and, though nothing is immediately apparent, in due time the inevitable fruit appears." (Morris)

ii. Many are corrupted because of bitterness towards someone they feel has wronged them, and they hold on to the bitterness with amazing stubbornness! What they must do is remember the grace of God extended to them, and start extending that grace towards others - loving the undeserving.

iii. A legalistic attitude will always produce a bitterness that defiles many; its emphasis on what we should do for God before what He has done for us in Jesus puts us (and those around us) in a terrible performance trap.

c. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person: Get right with your moral conduct; remember that there are blessings reserved only for the pure in heart:they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

i. Like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright: Many Christians today sell a birthright of intimacy with God as cheaply as Esau sold his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34 and 27:30-40).

ii. Though he sought it diligently with tears: Esau's birthright wasn't restored simply because he wished it back. It could never be regained because he despised it.

3. (18-24) Get bold.

For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: "And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow." And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.") But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

a. For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire: Exodus 19:10-25 explains what it was like when Israel came to Mount Sinai. The mountain was fenced off; there was no trespassing, on pain of death. They were commanded to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations. There was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud. There was the sound of a trumpet, calling forth the nation to meet with God. There was more smoke, like a furnace, and earthquakes; then the trumpet sounded long - until Moses spoke, and God Himself answered. God spoke to Israel from Sinai, but warned them in every way possible to stay away.

b. So that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore: The reaction of Israel was understandable: they were terrified (Exodus 20:18-21). They wanted the experience to stop, not to continue.

i. Did this fear work in promoting holiness among the people of Israel? Did it change the heart of Israel? 40 days later, they worshipped a gold calf, saying it was the god that brought them out of Egypt!

c. But we are in a different place. For you have not come to the mountain: Our relationship with God is not modeled after Israel's experience on Mount Sinai. We come to God's other mountain: Zion, the name of the hill upon which Jerusalem sits.

d. Contrasts between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.

i. Mount Sinai was marked by fear and terror. Mount Zion is a place of love and forgiveness.

ii. Mount Sinai is in the desert. Mount Zion is the city of the Living God.

iii. Mount Sinai spoke of earthly things. Mount Zion speaks of heavenly things.

iv. At Mount Sinai, only Moses was allowed to draw near to God. At Mount Zion, an innumerable company, a general assembly is invited to draw near.

v. Mount Sinai was characterized by guilty men in fear. Mount Zion featuresjust men made perfect.

vi. At Mount Sinai, Moses was the mediator. At Mount Zion, Jesus is the mediator.

vii. Mount Sinai brings an Old Covenant, which was ratified by the blood of animals. Mount Zion brings a New Covenant, which is ratified by the blood of God's precious Son.

viii. Mount Sinai was all about exclusion, keeping people away from the mountain. Mount Zion is all about invitation.

ix. Mount Sinai is all about Law. Mount Zion is all about grace.

e. But you have come to Mount Zion: The lesson is plain. We shouldn't come to Mount Zion as if we were coming to Mount Sinai. So put away your hesitation and get bold in coming to God!

i. Of course, the idea of the superiority of the New Covenant is also repeated. How could these Jewish Christians even consider going back and preferring the religion of Mount Sinai over the relationship of Mount Zion?

f. The blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel: Theblood of Abel does not mean the blood he shed in his martyrdom. Rather, it was the blood of the sacrifice he made - the first recorded sacrifice from man to God in the Bible. The blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of animal sacrifice, the blood of Abel.

4. (25-29) Watch out.

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

a. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks: If we refuse to get strong, get right, and get bold, we should not remain ignorant of the consequences.

b. They did not escape: There were consequences for rebelling at Mount Sinai. How much more should there be consequences for resisting God's greater work at Zion?

c. Whose voice then shook the earth … Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven … things which cannot be shaken: God is shaking the present order, and these beleaguered Jewish Christians felt it. But the things of God and the people of God will remain.

d. Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace: The kingdom itself will never be shaken. So it behooves us to seize God's unmerited approval in Jesus, helping us to serve God acceptably.

i. Many wrongly argue that "too much" grace gives license and breeds disrespect towards God. Actually, grace gives us reverence and godly fear. Perhaps those who think grace gives them license to sin aren't walking in grace at all!

e. Our God is a consuming fire: Since God is in fact a consuming fire, we do best to come to Him on His terms. These are the terms of unmerited approval in Jesus. He will consume all that is outside of that sphere