William Burkitt Notes and Observations - Hebrews 10:1 - 10:1

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William Burkitt Notes and Observations - Hebrews 10:1 - 10:1


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In the former part of this chapter, the apostle proves the impotency and imperfection of the Levitical sacrifices by sundry arguments; namely, first from the nature of them, they were but shadows; from the plurality of them, they were many; from the repetition of them, they were often; and from the efficaciousness of them, they could not take away sin.

The former of these is taken notice of, in this first verse, The law having a shadow of good things to come. An allusion probably to the art of painting, wherein a shadow is first drawn; and afterwards the very image itself: or a metaphor taken from the shadow of a body in the light of the sun. As a shadow is the representation of a body; a just and true representation of a body; the life, vigour, and spirit of a body, cannot be represented by it:

Thus was it between the sacrifices of the law, and the sacrifice of Christ; the blood of those sacrifices were representations of Christ: They were a just representation of Christ: He was the idea in the mind of God, whan Moses was charged to make all things according to the pattern showed him in the mount; and they were but an obscure and dark representation of him; the glory and efficacy of these good things appeared not visible in them.

Learn hence, That whatever there may be in religious institutions, and the diligent observation of them, if they only shadow forth Jesus Christ, and do not actually exhibit him to the faith of believers, with the benefits of his mediation, they cannot make us perfect, nor give us acceptance with God.

Here we have a second argument to prove the impotency and weakness of the legal sacrifices; and it is drawn from the repetition and non-cessation of them.

Thus, "Those sacrifices which were often repeated, year by year, could not of themselves make satisfaction for sin, or purge the conscience of the sinner from guilt. Had justice been satisfied, and conscience quited, there had been no reason why those sacrifices should have been so often repeated. But the case was otherwise, for in their most solemn sacrifices there was a commemoration and confession made of their former sins by the High Priest every year; which was an intimation to them, that they needed a new and better sacrifice for the expiation of sin, namely, that of the Messiah, in and by which alone remission of sin was to be expected and obtained."

Learn hence, 1. That the repetition and reiteration of the same sacrifices, is an evident demonstration of their weakness and insufficiency. Accordingly the church of Rome, by affirming the sacrifice in the mass to be the very same with that which Christ offered on the cross, do prove an insufficiency in the sacrifice of Christ for the expiation of sin, if the apostle's argument here be good: For he affirms, that all sacrifices that must be repeated are weak and insufficient.

Learn, 2. That although repeated sins have need of repeated confession, and renewed pardon, yet they have no need of a sacrifice; For he who is once purged has no more conscience of sin, that is, though he knows he has many sins, yet he has not a trembling, tormenting, accusing conscience, because he is purged, and his sins pardoned, through that one sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Learn, 3. That the discharge of conscience from the guilt of sin, by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ, is a full demonstration of the sufficiency of the virtue of that sacrifice: And that there needs no reiteration of it, but only fresh applications made unto it by repeated acts and exercises of faith.