Hebrews

9:23-28

The Arguments, 2:10-12:29

2. Christ's high priestly sacrifice enables us to approach God, 7:1-10:25

ix] The perfect sacrifice

The second point in the sermon, 7:1-10:25, advances with particular reference to the text, namely Jeremiah 31:31-34 - the promise of a better covenant that rests on better promises. In this ninth sub point, the subject matter is similar to 9:11-14, except that here the emphasis is not on the worth of Christ's sacrifice, but on the uniqueness of his priestly offering - Christ needed to offer the sacrifice once only.

anagkh (h) "it was necessary" - necessary, a binding obligation. Normally dei would be used to express "it is necessary", but this noun is used for emphasis. Its position in the Gk. is also emphatic.

kaqarizesqai (kaqarizw) pres. pas. inf. "to be purified" - The infinitive forms an infinitival phrase that serves as the subject of the verbal noun "necessary", "the paterns of the things in heavens to be purified with these things is necessary."

toutoiV dat. pro. "with these sacrifices" - with these things. The dative is obviously instrumental. The "these things" refers back to the sacrificial elements listed in v19 and here referred to by the NIV. "These things / the sacrifices" served to purify "the sketches of the heavenly things", NRSV, ie. the tabernacle, the law, the holy vessels, the people, "almost everything".

ta epourania adj. "the heavenly things" - [but] the heavenly things [with better sacrifices than these]. We may well ask, what are these "heavenly things" which require cleansing? The tabernacle ("man-made sanctuary", v24, cf.8:5), God's earthly dwelling place, is an earthly copy of the "heavenly things" - this spiritual reality. God's spiritual dwelling place is best understood as the body of Christ, the people of God. This people assembles both here on earth as the church, and in heaven as the great crowd beyond numbering, gathered with Christ before the throne of God. The people of God is the dwelling place of God, and we are the ones who must be cleansed. Our cleansing for eternal habitation requires, not an outward washing away of cultic impurity, but an inward spiritual cleansing of the soul. Such a cleansing will require a superior sacrifice to achieve our purification. As the tabernacle needed to be cleansed so that God could manifest himself and dwell among his people, so too must the people of God today (the spiritual tabernacle) be cleansed in order to become "a habitation of God in the Spirit", Eph.2:22. So, for the body of Christ to know and serve the living God, 1Pet,2:5, it must be cleansed by the perfect sacrifice of Christ, 1Pet.1:2, 19, 22. Our writer here is not speaking of some ongoing cleansing for our day to day sins; this is a once and for all cleansing of all those who come to Christ.

gar "for" - Introducing a causal clause. "For Christ did not go into a man-made place, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself", TEV.

aJgia adj. "sanctuary" - holies. Here the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle is intended, the holy of holies. The imagery in this is somewhat confusing. Our writer is using the imagery of the tent of meeting, or tabernacle, which was constructed by the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai. It was where God was pleased to dwell with his people. It was believed that God actually sat upon the Ark in the Holy of Holies (a small closed-off section in the tent). Once a year, on the day of Atonement, the high priest got to enter the Holy of Holies, having first offered sacrifices to cleanse all the fabric of the tabernacle, himself and the people. The imagery in this passage is of the high priest cleansing the tabernacle and then entering the Holy of Holies to seek the forgiveness of the people on the basis of the Day of Atonement offering. There are two elements in the imagery: i] We are the "sanctuary", which Christ, our high priest, cleanses. ii] The "sanctuary" is in "heaven itself", before the throne of God. Christ, as the high priest, enters the Holy of Holies (God's throne room), having offered the perfect and complete sacrifice of himself.

emfanisqhnai (emfanizw) aor. pas. inf. "appear" - to appear before. The infinitive is verbal, forming a purpose clause, "in order to appear." The aorist, being perfective, expresses the idea that "Christ appearance is once for all and has lasting significance", Kistemaker. Of an appearance before God, in the sense of accessing his presence. Meanings such as "make clear" or "indicate" are not appropriate, although such meanings could indicate why Jesus comes into God's presence "for us". The writer does not explain here why Christ appears for us, although he makes it clear that it is not to perform further sacrifices.

oun "nor did he enter heaven" - not. Ref. v24, added to make sense of the sentence. "The Jewish High Priest goes into the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of an animal. But Christ did not go in to offer himself many times", TEV.

iJna + subj. "to [offer]" - that [he may offer]. Forming a purpose clause, "in order to offer ....".

en "with" - in/on [blood to another (not his own = of an animal)]. The sense is "with" as of a thing possessed.

epei "then" - since, because. Consequential, serving to introduce the apodosis of a conditional clause, the protasis being the substance of the argument in v25. The conditional clause is 2nd class, which is why edei "it was necessary" is imperf. ind.

paqein (pascw) aor. inf. "to suffer" - The infinitive functions as the subject of edei "it was necessary", "since then, to suffer would be necessary for him." Variant "to die".

peqanerwtai (fanerow) perf. pas. "he has appeared" - The perfect passive serves to express the thought that Christ was "previously hidden from view in heaven but after his incarnation [was] made visible on earth as a man among men", Thayer.

sunteleia/ twn aiwnwn "the end of the ages" - The phrase is similar to terms such as the "consummation of the age", "end of the times", "last days". We are presently in the end time. Christ has acted to deal with our state of rebellion and now stands with God the Father bringing all things into subjection to himself. The times have come to an end; the kingdom age has begun.

apokeitai (apokeimai) pres. "is destined" - it is stored away. "It is ordained"

apoqanein (apoqnhskw) aor. inf. "to die" - The infinitive functions as the subject of "it is destined", "to die once is destined."

meta de touto krisiV "after that to face judgment" - after and/but this judgment. What is this judgment that follows death? The judgment following the resurrection of the dead is most likely intended, although Attridge suggests the writer is alluding to the Greek notion of the soul's judgment immediately following death.

ouJtwV adv. "so" - thus, so. Drawing a conclusion.

oJ CristoV (oV) "Christ" - the Christ, messiah. The article emphasizes the designation of Jesus, "the Messiah".

prosenecqeiV (prosferw) aor. pas. part. "was sacrificed" - having been offered up. The participle is possibly adjectival, "thus Christ, who was offered up ....", but also possibly adverbial, temporal, "so Christ, after being once sacrificed", Moffatt. The passive may be treated as a theological passive, ie. God is the agent.

eiV to ... anenegkein (anaferw) aor. inf. "to take away" - to bear, carry. This construction serves to form a purpose clause, "in order to bear the sins of many."

cwriV aJmartiaV "not to bear sin" - without sin. Not referring to Christ's sinlessness, but rather that his return will not have an atoning purpose.

eiV "but to bring [salvation]" - to [salvation]. Here expressing purpose.

toiV ... apekdecomenoiV (apekdecomai) pres. part. "to those who are waiting" - to the ones awaiting. The participle functions as a substantive.

Hebrews Introduction

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