Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Hebrews 10:1 - 10:10
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb_10:1-10
1For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
"Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But a body You have prepared for Me;
6in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
7"Then I said, 'Behold, I have come
(in the scroll of the book it is written of Me)
To do Your will, O God.'"
8After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb_10:1 "shadow" The Mosaic legislation ("The Law") and rituals were a type and foreshadow of Jesus' high priestly ministry in the heavenly tabernacle, not made with human hands (cf. Heb_8:5; Heb_9:23-28).
The Jerome Biblical Commentary has an interesting comment:
"Here the author is not using 'shadow' as he does in Heb_8:5, where the Platonic heavenly-earthly contrast is intended, but in the Pauline sense of a foreshadowing of that which is to come through Christ (cf. Col_2:17). . .The annually repeated Day of Atonement sacrifices were not able to remove sin; they simply foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus" (p. 399).
▣ "of the good things to come" In Heb_9:11 this referred to the high priestly ministry of Christ.
NASB "not the very form of things"
NKJV "not the very image of the things"
NRSV "not the true form of these realities"
TEV "not a full and faithful model of the real things"
NJB "no true image of them"
This is the Greek term icon, which means a detailed reproduction that corresponds to reality (cf. 2Co_4:4; Col_1:15). Here it is negated and grammatically linked to "a shadow."
▣ "the same sacrifices they offer continually year by year" Jesus offers one effective sacrifice. Priests offer again and again.
▣ "make perfect" This term means "to bring to completion," "to fully accomplish." This word (teleioô and its other forms) has been a constant theme throughout the book. See Special Topic at Heb_7:11.
The term telos
1. means "a consummation," "to reach a goal," or "end" (cf. Heb_3:6; Heb_3:14; Heb_6:11)
2. in Heb_5:14 teleios is used of a mature person
3. in Heb_6:1 teleiotes is a call to maturity
4. the terms are used in connection with the ministry of Melchizedek and the heavenly tabernacle in Heb_7:11; Heb_9:11
▣ "those who draw near" In the OT this referred to priests approaching YHWH for worship or ministry. But here, under the new covenant (cf. Jer_31:31-34), it refers to all believers (cf. Jas_4:8) who now have intimate access to God through Christ (cf. Heb_4:16; Heb_7:19; Heb_7:25; Heb_10:1; Heb_10:22)
Heb_10:2
NASB, NRSV,
NJB "otherwise"
NKJV "for then"
TEV "if"
This is a second class conditional sentence, often called "contrary to fact." A false assertion is made to forcibly make a theological point (cf. Heb_4:8; Heb_7:11; Heb_8:4; Heb_8:7; Heb_10:2; Heb_11:15).
Heb_10:2 can be translated as
1. a question expecting a "yes" answer, as in NASB, NRSV, NAB
2. a partial question, as in NKJV, NIV
3. a statement, as in TEV, NJB, REB
▣ "would they not have ceased to be offered" This may imply (cf. Heb_10:11; Heb_7:28) that the Temple was still functioning; therefore, Hebrews may have been written before a.d. 70, when the Temple (and Jerusalem) were totally destroyed by the Roman general (later Emperor) Titus.
▣ "because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins" This was the problem with the Mosaic ritual: it could not cleanse the heart and mind of guilt (cf. Heb_9:9; Heb_9:14). The new covenant in Christ gives access to God with boldness (a clear conscience)!
Heb_10:3 "reminder of sins year by year" This seems to refer to the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16), since this was the focus of chapter 9, but it could refer to the entire sacrificial system. The fact that yearly sacrifices were needed to cleanse the tabernacle and the nation, continued to remind the Israelites of the seriousness and repetitiveness of human sin and guilt (cf. Galatians 3).
Heb_10:4 "for it is impossible" The word impossible is used several times in Hebrews (see full note at Heb_6:6).
1. Heb_6:4 (in Greek, but Heb_6:6 in NASB's restructuring). It is impossible to renew them to repentance
2. Heb_6:18, it is impossible for God to lie
3. Heb_10:4, it is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sin
4. Heb_11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God
For the author of Hebrews the Greek term "impossible" cannot mean "difficult"!
Heb_10:5
NASB "when He comes into the world, He says"
NKJV "when He came into the world, He said"
NRSV "when Christ came into the world, He said"
TEV "when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God"
NJB "and that is why he said, on coming into the world"
This introduces a quote (cf. Heb_10:5-7) from Psa_40:6-8, which shows YHWH's displeasure with the OT sacrifices because they were not accompanied by lifestyle faith. Our author uses Psa_40:7 as an allusion to the coming Messiah who would perfectly please God.
This quote also implies the pre-existence of Christ (cf. Joh_1:1-2; Joh_8:57-58; 2Co_8:9; Php_2:6-7; 1Jn_1:1). There has never been a time when Christ did not exist! His one essence with the Father can be documented from Joh_5:18; Joh_10:30; Joh_14:9; Joh_10:28.
▣ "a body you have prepared for me" This quote follows the Septuagint of Psa_40:6. The Masoretic Text has "an ear you have dug for me." The specific mention of a physical body prepared for the Messiah would also function in the late first century to combat incipient Gnosticism. Jesus was truly human.
Heb_10:6 There are several passages like this in the OT (cf. 1Sa_15:22; Isa_1:11-17; Hos_6:6; Amo_5:21-27; Mic_6:6-8). They must not be interpreted as God rejecting the sacrificial system, which was an act of His grace to deal with mankind's sin and fellowship problem for a limited time. But fallen humanity took advantage of the procedures and turned them into mechanical ritual and liturgy instead of heartfelt repentance and faith. God rejects the perfunctory performance of religious ritual and liturgy that does not reflect the heart and life of faith (cf. Isaiah 1).
Heb_10:7 "In the scroll of the book it is written" This is a perfect passive, which refers to the Old Testament. Originally the OT was written in sections on leather scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 had a copy of Isaiah written on one twenty-nine foot leather scroll.
▣ "to do your will, o God" God's will was a new covenant with all humanity established by Jesus' death and resurrection (cf. Mar_10:45; 2Co_5:21; Heb_10:9). When animals died in sacrificial offerings they had no choice. Jesus willingly laid down His own life (cf. Joh_10:17-18).
Heb_10:8 "sacrifices" This list of four terms in Heb_10:8 seems to cover all types of sacrificial offerings (cf. Leviticus 1-7). The term "sacrifices" literally means a voluntary peace offering.
▣ "offerings" This refers to a voluntary "meal offering."
▣ "burnt offerings" These were completely voluntary ,wholly consumed sacrifices.
▣ "sacrifices for sin" This is another class of mandatory sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus chapters 4-5.
▣ "(which are offered according to the Law)" The author's purpose is to show the superiority of Jesus' sacrifice over the Levitical sacrifices. Even when OT sacrifices were performed with the appropriate attitude and procedures, they were only a foreshadowing of the work of Christ.
Heb_10:9 "He" This PRONOUN'S antecedent is ambiguous. It could refer to the Father as the One who inaugurates the covenant. Also the phrase "the body of Jesus Christ" in Heb_10:10 implies He is not the subject. However, all the VERBS in the quote from Psa_40:6-8 (Heb_10:5-7) have Christ as their subject.
▣ "the first" This refers to the Mosaic covenant (cf. Col_2:14).
NASB, NKJV "takes away"
NRSV "abolishes"
TEV "does away with"
NJB "abolishes"
This is a strong Greek term for "destroy" (anaireô). The question is how to understand this term in relation to the OT? As a revelation from God it is eternal (cf. Mat_5:17-19). Paul often quotes the OT as an exhortation to believers. However, as a means of salvation or forgiveness of sin it was only a preliminary stage (cf. Galatians 3). It has been fulfilled and exceeded in the NT in Christ. Context must determine whether this term is to be translated "taken away" (fulfilled) or "abolished" (destroyed).
▣ "the second" This refers to the New Covenant (cf. Jer_31:31-34; Eze_36:22-36) in Jesus.
Heb_10:10
NASB, NKJV "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all"
NRSV "And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all"
TEV "Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all"
NJB "And the will was for us to be made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ made once for all"
Does "the will" refer to Christ's will (cf. Heb_10:7; Heb_10:9 and NASB, NJB) or to the Father's will (NRSV, TEV)? Since Jesus is the one speaking in Heb_10:5 (cf. Heb_10:9), then the context suggests His will.
▣ "we have been sanctified" This is a periphrastic perfect passive participle. The goal of Christianity is a righteous people. This was the goal of the OT also. Holiness or sanctification basically is the removal of the curse and consequences of the Fall (cf. Genesis 3), the marring of the image of God in mankind. The new covenant addresses this need in two ways: (1) by a legal declaration, a given position (indicative) and (2) by a call to holiness (imperative). Believers are justified and sanctified by a repentant faith response to God's redemptive sacrifice of Jesus. Once saved, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are motivated by an internal law, an internal desire (new heart and new spirit) to be Christlike (cf. Rom_8:29; Gal_4:19; Eph_1:4). Sanctification affects both our standing before God and our new family characteristics lived out in daily life. See Special Topic at Heb_2:11.
▣ "through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ" Fallen mankind did not pursue God (cf. Isa_53:6; Rom_3:10-18); God pursued them! He provided a way for all humans to return to fellowship with Him (cf. Mar_10:45; 2Co_5:21; Isaiah 53).
▣ "once for all" This is a recurrent theme (cf. Heb_7:27; Heb_9:12; Heb_9:28; Heb_10:10, see full note at Heb_7:27). It shows the superiority of Jesus' sacrifice over the repeated sacrifices of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Heb_10:11-12). Everything that needs to be done for mankind's salvation has been provided. All we must do is respond to God's offer through faith in the finished work of Christ. "Whosoever will may come" (cf. Romans 10).