Gary Gleans

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.     But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.     For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.     And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. This is a sort of summary of why the work of Christ is superior to the work that was accomplished through the sacrifices made by priests.  T...

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.     Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?     But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.     For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.     Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;     in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.     Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”     When he said above, “You have neither desired ...

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.     For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.     Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.     And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for...

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.     For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.       For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.     Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.     For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.”     And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship....

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.     For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Unlike the limitations of the old covenant that was mediated by sinful priests.  The new covenant is limitless and is mediated by the sinless Son of God.  This passage demonstrates the utter superiority of the new covenant.  The ...

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.     For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence.     It is called the Holy Place.     Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.     Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.     These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood,...

For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.     For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.     For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:     I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.     And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.       For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”     In ...

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.     For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.     Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.     They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”     But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.     F...

Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?     For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.     For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.     For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.     This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.     For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”   ...

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.     He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.     See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!     And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.     But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.     It is beyon...

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”     And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.     For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.     So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.     We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of ...

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.     For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.     And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. In light of the previous passage about the potential for counterfeit Christians, the author wants to assure the true believers that they are secure in Christ.  Satan not only wants to produce a false faith but he wants to instill in true believers a false fear.  Assurance that we are in the faith is important for every believer.  The author of Hebrews shares two reasons that demonstrate their faith is genuine.  This is clearly not ...

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.     And this we will do if God permits.     For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.     For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.     But if ...

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.     For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.     But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. There are believers who are immature in the spiritual walk and there are those who are mature in Christ. Unfortunately, time alone is not the determining factor between maturity and immaturity.  Certainly, it is understandable that a new believer will demonstrate signs of immaturity.  However, too often, those who have been believers for a long time continue to demonstrate immaturity.  This passage contrasts t...

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”     In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.     Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.     And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. The previous passage described the work of the high priests that represented the nation of Israel before God.  This passage describes the work of Jesus as he represents all people before God.  Jesus is superior to the high priests in every...

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.     He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.     Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.     And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. Jesus is our High Priest.  There are ways in which He is similar to the priests that served the nation of Israel and there are ways in which the differences between the two of them are stark.  The author of Hebrews describes what Israel’s priests were like in this passage so we can see some of these similarities and differences. PRIESTS REPRESENT MEN BEFORE GOD: The basic job description of a priest is to represent God to the people and the people before God. ...

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.     For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.     Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This passage contains two exhortations based on three declarations.  The exhortations are to hold fast our confession and draw near to the throne of grace with confidence.  These instructions are particularly helpful in light of the revelation the author has made about Jesus being our Judge who knows all our deeds, words, thoughts, and motives.  We would naturally tend to flee or hide from such a judge.  Instead, we should hold fast and draw near to him.  The reason we shou...

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.     For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.     And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since the goal is to enter the eternal rest that God has promised, we must pay close attention to the teaching of this passage.  We are warned again that it is possible to fall short of entering that rest.  God has provided His Word to show us how to make proper preparations by studying His Word.  Because, one day we will stand before Christ and give an account. WORK TO ENTER REST BY OBEDIENCE: Salvation is by grace through faith alone and not by any works that we can d...