Chapter 10
A Unique Sacrifice[a]
The Law Was a Shadow. 1 The Law contains little more than a shadow of the good things to come and not the true image of them. These sacrifices that are offered year after year can never bring the worshipers to perfection. 2 If they could, those sacrifices would no longer be offered, for the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all and would no longer feel guilty for sins.
3 However, in these sacrifices sins are brought to mind year after year, 4 because sins cannot be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats.
One Sacrifice for Sins. 5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you have prepared for me.
6 You took no delight
in holocausts and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, ‘As it is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I have come to do your will, O God.’ ”
8 First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in,” even though they are offered according to the Law. 9 Then he adds, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He thus abolishes the first to establish the second. 10 And it was by this “will” that we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 [b]Day after day every priest stands to perform his ministry, offering over and over again the same sacrifices that can never remove sins. 12 But Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, and then took his seat at the right hand of God, 13 where he now waits until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 Therefore, by a single offering he has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For he first says,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord.
I will place my laws in their hearts
and inscribe them on their minds.”
17 Then he also asserts,
“Their sins and their lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
18 When these have been forgiven, there are no longer any offerings for sins.
Perseverance in Faith[c]
The Need To Stand Firm
19 Let Us Approach with Sincerity of Heart.[d] Therefore, brethren, the blood of Jesus has given us confidence to enter the sanctuary 20 by the new and living way that he has opened for us through the veil, that is, through his flesh. 21 Since we have a great priest over the household of God, 22 let us approach with sincerity of heart and the full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and bodies washed in pure water.
23 Let us remain firm in the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. 25 Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another, especially since you can see the Day[e] approaching.
26 Apostasy Remains Unforgiven.[f] If we deliberately persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, then there no longer remains any sacrifice for sins. 27 There is only a terrifying expectation of judgment and of a fierce fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who violates the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more punishment do you think is deserved by the one who has contempt for the Son of God, profanes the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who said,
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”
and
“The Lord will judge his people.”
31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Do Not Abandon Your Assurance.[g] Remember the days gone by when, after you had been enlightened,[h] you endured a difficult struggle filled with suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes you were companions of those who were treated in the same way. 34 You not only had compassion upon those who were in prison but also cheerfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you realized that you possessed something better and more lasting.
35 Therefore, do not lose your confidence now, since your reward will be so great. 36 You need to be steadfast if you want to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.
37 “For, after a little while,
he who is to come will do so,
and he will not delay.
38 My righteous one shall live by faith,
but if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him.”
39 But we are not among those who draw back and are lost. Rather, we are among those who have faith and are saved.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 10:1 The great, endless act of self-giving that extends through the entire existence of Christ is the authentic priestly act, the authentic sacrifice of Christ. He takes away sin and restores the bond with God in his own person, in his own living experience. He founds the New Covenant, the new people who have access to God.
- Hebrews 10:11 Every priest stands to perform his ministry . . . Jesus . . . took his seat: members of the Levitical priesthood always “stood” because their work was never finished; Jesus “took his seat” because his work was completed.
- Hebrews 10:19 A definitive event has been realized for the world: the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The Letter to the Hebrews makes us aware of this by presenting it as the act of the authentic priesthood, the authentic sacrifice, while at the same time downgrading the status of the preceding religious regime, although that too had been established by God. So, too, faith in Christ is a decisive step forward in the life of a human being. The believer is henceforth engaged in a march toward the full encounter with the Lord. In the midst of temptations, fears, and risks, the Christian life is not a simple fidelity to a past but a thrust forward toward the future, toward God. These chapters are a pressing invitation not to let such perspectives be obscured.
- Hebrews 10:19 The path that leads to God is a person, Christ recognized under the characteristics of a high priest. Once baptized, Christians are associated with the Son of God. They must strengthen their conviction and the links of mutual love. May the signs of crises be a call for them to prepare for the return of the Lord.
- Hebrews 10:25 The Day: this refers to the Day of the Lord at the end of time.
- Hebrews 10:26 Once again the author repeats this somber warning (see Heb 6:1-8; Mt 12:31). Those who rebel against Christ exclude themselves from Christ’s forgiveness, from his life, and from his grace. Let them, therefore, meditate on the threats of God’s vengeance about which the Bible speaks, and especially the texts cited here (see Ex 24:8; Deut 17:6; 32:35f; Isa 26:11).
- Hebrews 10:32 As soon as they were baptized and enlightened, believers sacrificed everything for Christ and confronted all difficulties. Now is not the time for them to be discouraged. The Lord will come and he is the recompense for all who do not weaken. Faith is the courageous commitment to Christ.
- Hebrews 10:32 Been enlightened: an ancient phrase for “been baptized”; “enlightenment” or “illumination” was an ancient term for Baptism (see Heb 6:4; Eph 5:14).