A Commentary in Simple English on the letter to Jewish Christians

CHAPTER 10

Verses 1-4: Only shadows before Jesus

In verse 1 the writer says something which is a little different from what he has said before. The Law of Moses was only a rough drawing of the truth. In the Good News we have the true picture of the 'good things that are coming‘. These are the forgiveness of sins, the gift of God's Holy Spirit to us, eternal life and glory. The difference between the Old and New Testaments is the difference between a rough drawing and the real picture.

If the offering of animals really did take away people's sins, then there would be no need to go on killing animals in worship. (verse 2). What was needed was one better offering to God to deal with sin. Verse 1 speaks of worshippers being made perfect. This does not mean that they will never sin again. We can see from verse 2 what it does mean. This is that they will know that God has forgiven their sins. They will no longer feel guilty. The animal offerings which the Jews made year after year made them remember their past sins (verse 3). Both the worshipper and God also remembered them. (See verse 17.) The blood of animals cannot take away sin. The blood of Jesus can. The blood of Jesus still does.

People who believed in Jesus did not kill any animals in worship any more. But the Jews also knew that it was true that animal blood could not take away sin. The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D.70 probably a year or two after this Letter was written. There were no more animals killed in worship then. Jewish religion changed. The Study of the Old Testament became more important than ever to them. So we can see from what happened that these verses are true.

Verses 5-10: The Will of God: No more shadows

In these verses, the writer brings forward another argument. This one is based on some verses from Psalm 40. (verses 6-8) [10.1]. Christ, he says, spoke these words, when He came from the glory of heaven into this world. Jesus knew what it was that He had to do. He came into the world to obey the will of God. Part of this, and the most important part, was when He suffered and offered Himself to God to die for our sins. In the Law, God had said that animals were to be killed in worship. But none of those animals did God's will. They did not obey God. Men killed them. What is most important to God is that we obey Him. Jesus did this. The Psalm does not mean that God does not have the right to take offerings from us. It means that what we give to God does not please Him unless we obey Him in our lives. [10.2].

So in verse 5, Jesus says that although He is the Son of God, His Father has prepared for Him a human body. In verse 6, He says that it gave God no pleasure when the Jews killed animals in worship. Verse 7 tells us that the purpose of Jesus in His whole life was to obey God. God's will, worked out in the life of Jesus, means that we are saved. [10.3]. The writer speaks of the offering of the body of Jesus because His one holy body was of far more value than all the bodies of animals. But remember that Jesus did not only suffer in His body. (See Isaiah 53: 10-12: His soul also suffered.)

Verses 11-18: No other offering for sin than Christ

These verses are the last verses of the first part of the Letter. The writer has been showing us how much better the Good News is than the old Jewish Law was.

So in verse 11 he tells us that the Jewish priests had to stand up in the presence of God. They made their offerings to God day after day. The writer does not speak here about the High Priest. The Jewish priests never sat down because their work was never finished. Their offerings could not take away the guilt of sin. The people never really knew whether or not God had forgiven their sins. But in verse 12, the writer speaks of Jesus. He uses the words of Psalm 110:1 again. (See 1:13.) Jesus 'sat down' because His work was finished. He is 'at the right hand of God'. God is pleased with what Jesus has done. Jesus obeyed God's will. God has accepted His offering for sin. He died once, but His offering rescues men and women 'for all time'.

In verse 13, we have the next words from Psalm 110: 1. Our enemies are death, the devil and hell. It was our sin that gave to them the power, which they have over us. They are Christ's enemies too. He has dealt with sin now. So the other enemies have lost their power. When God is ready, Jesus will walk all over them. (See Romans 16:20; Micah 7:19; 1 Corinthians 15: 24-26.) Verse 14 tells us again that because of what Jesus has done, we are 'made perfect'. We are not yet free from sin. But God has forgiven our sins, so we can come to Him in prayer and worship. And this is 'forever': we have God's promise of eternal life. All that happens to us in this life works to make us really holy.

So in verses 15-18, the writer finishes what he has said with the words of Jeremiah 31:31-34, which he explained before. Notice that he calls these the words of the Holy Spirit rather than Jeremiah. (8:8-13). It is not only that the readers could see the difference between the Jewish worship and what Jesus had done. God's Spirit had spoken through Jeremiah. God had promised 'after that time' that He would not only teach our brains, our minds, to know His Law. He will teach our hearts too, so that we will also want to do His will. By 'that time' these verses mean the time of Jesus. God refuses to 'remember' our sins. It is not just that He does not think about them. He will never punish us for what we have done. All this is because of what Jesus has done. There are no more offerings for sin, because there is nothing now that another offering for sin could do to help us. [10.4].

The Third Part: What we should do for Him

Verses 19-25: So what ought we to do?

These verses are rather like 4:14-16.The writer has now completed the first part of his letter. He is ready to move on from his teaching about Jesus. The rest of the letter is about how we should live the Christian life. He has shown his Jewish readers how much better the Good News is than the old Jewish worship was. Now he wants us to see how good the Christian life is.

In verses 19-25 he tells us three things that a Christian must do. He tells us one thing that a Christian must not do. And he gives us two reasons. Then he also brings in three great Christian words, which give shape to the rest of the letter.

The three things, which a Christian must do, are: -

1. Draw near to God. (verse 22). We must pray. We must be open about our sins to God. We are to do this with a true, honest heart. In the Tent or Temple a man had to have the right clothes on. He had to carry the right offering. But no one asked him whether his heart was right. Remember, in verse 16 God promises to write His laws in our hearts. We are to come with complete trust in God. Our hearts are to be pure. They are full of sin, and we have no way of our own to make them pure. That can only be done when they are 'splashed' with the blood of Jesus. Remember 9:13 and 14.

But the Hebrew Christians had to have more than a heart religion. It is true that they also had to be baptised in water, so that everyone would know that they had put their trust in Jesus. And since they must come to God like this, they must no longer come to God in the old Jewish way. But here, the writer remembers that the old Jewish priests had to wash with water before they could serve God. (See Exodus 30:19-21; Leviticus 8: 6.) This was a picture. Our lives must be right. If we have done wrong to other people, we must put right before we can serve God. See the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:23-24.

2. Then we must hold on to our hope (verse 23). We read before about hope in 6:18 and 19. The Christian life is the way through this life (John 14: 6). It is also the only way to God, to glory and to eternal life. We are to keep on along this Way. If you walk along the right path, you will get to the place you want to go to. If you turn off a little on one side or the other, you will miss your way. This is 'swerving'. We are all to speak of this hope and to say the same thing about it. We can do this because God has promised to give us what we hope for, and He is faithful: we can trust Him.

3. Then in verse 24, we are to think about one another. We must listen to what other Christians say to us, of course. If we do not, we cannot expect them to listen to us. The writer does not say anything here about our sins. It can help us to be holy and to keep away from sin if we talk to one another about them. But we must be wise and careful. (See James 5:16.) We need to feel shame about our sins as we speak about them. Those who hear what we say must be free from pride: they must not feel that they are better than we are. What the writer does say is that we must help one another to feel love and to do what is useful. (Remember 6:10.) [10.5] We shall not ask other Christians to do good to us. But we may suggest to other Christians things that they could do to help other people. We shall look for things which people could do without too much trouble. Remember that love means that we know what it is right for us to do. Then we look for something even better. Love seeks the good of other people. If we feel love, we must turn it into helpful works.

The Christian religion does not tell us to make long journeys to holy places. There are many other things, which some religions tell us to do, and which cost time and money. The Christian has to be kind; to watch other people; to see what they need; and to suggest to other Christians good works they could do. They may never have thought about them; they may think they are too small to be worth doing (Matt 25: 40; 10:42). Or they may wrongly think that someone else could do it just as well.

4. Then there is the one thing we must not do. We must not stop meeting together with other Christians (verse 25). [10.6] Some of the Jewish Christians grew tired and no longer went to worship. So when we meet together for worship, there must be joy and hope. 'Encourage one another'. People must not go away sad and tired. They must want to follow Jesus more than ever. They must be sure that He is with them, and that the Spirit of God lives in them. If people do not go away like that, we must not be surprised if they no longer come to worship. For the Jewish Christians at the time when the letter was written, there was another thing. They would quite soon hear that the Roman army had taken Jerusalem. The Romans would destroy the Temple Jesus had said that these things would happen (Matt 24: 2; Luke 21:20,24). The followers of Jesus could hardly believe Him when He said that Jerusalem, the holy city, and its Temple would be destroyed. So when these Jewish readers of the Letter heard that it had happened, they would know that Jesus was right in this.

That was not all that Jesus had said. He said that He would come again. We still wait for the day when He will come. We expect Him to come again. We must live like men and women who know that their Master may come back again at any time (Matt 24: 42-51).

Now we come to the two reasons the writer gives for all this.

1. In verses 19 and 20, he tells us again that unlike the Jews in the past, we are quite free to enter the Holy Place where God is. [10.7]. We come by a way which is fresh and it is a way to new life. There is still power in the blood of Jesus, which He poured out when He died for us. He Himself opened this way through the curtain, which before had separated us from God. God has accepted the offering, which Jesus has made for our sins. All this sums up what the writer has said so far in his letter.

2 The second reason is this (verse 21). Jesus is now our Great Priest. He rules over the House of God. (See 3:1-6). We are the House of God. So He rules over us.

Our English bibles mostly repeat the words ‘since we have’ at the start of verse 21. They are right to add this, though it is not in the Greek.

 

Then the writer brings together three great words. They are Faith (verse 22), Hope (verse 23), and Love (verse 24). We found these words together in 6: 11 and 12. This was after one of the warnings that the writer gives to his readers. Now he will give another very strong warning in verses 26-31. Then he says in verses 32-39 that he does not think that his readers really need this warning. The next chapter is the famous chapter about Faith (Chapter 11). The word 'Hope' is not used in Chapter 12, yet I think we shall find that hope is really what it is all about. Love is spoken of in 13: 1, and most of that chapter is about love.

We too see that the Day of God is not far away. It is getting nearer to us. It is the Day when Jesus will come again. That should make us eager to help one another in the Christian life.

Verses 26-31: The Fourth Warning

Life for the Jews was not easy. Many people hated them. But at least their religion was not against the Roman Law. It was very old, and it was the religion of one of the many nations who lived in the Roman Empire. The Christian religion was very new, and it had spread through all nations. Roman Law did not recognise it or allow it. So Jewish Christians were tempted to go back to the Jewish worship of the synagogue. Life was safer! This is one of the reasons why the writer has to give his strong warnings. These verses are the fourth of these warnings. The other three warnings were in 2:1-3; 3: 7-19 and 6:4-8.

It is likely that a Christian who went back to Jewish worship would be made to say three things, which were quite wrong: - [10.8].

1) That Jesus was not the Son of God

2) That it had been right for the Jews to put Him to death.

3) That the gifts of the Holy Spirit were the work of unclean spirits. (See Mark 3:22, 28, 29.)

This is the sin that the writer warns his readers against in verse 26. We call it 'apostasy'. Verse 29 shows us what it means. People who say such things have turned against all God's goodness to them. In the Good News, God says: 'I will not remember and punish their sins any more'. (9:17). 'Apostates' are saying: 'We want to go back from the Good News to the Law of Moses'. In that Law, God says: 'The soul that sins will die'. So 'apostates' have chosen to be punished by God for their sins, when instead God would have forgiven all their sins because Jesus has died for us. This is what verse 30 says.

So in verse 26, the writer does not talk about any of our other sins. He speaks about the sin of 'apostasy'. People who have heard the full truth of the Good News know that there is no other offering for sin except the death of Jesus.

In the old Jewish worship, if you offered one animal for your sins, you might feel no better for it. So if you could find the money, you could always buy another animal and try offering that one! God has given to us His own Son to suffer and to die for our sins. No one should dream or imagine that God has any other offering, which He will provide for our sins. [10.9]. No sinner can say to God: 'You have given your own dear Son for my sins. But I want something more, something else. What you have done is not enough'. No other offering to make peace with God for our sin is left. If Christ's gift of Himself will not do for us, verse 27 tells us what is left. There would only be a share in God's judgment and the angry fire that will destroy the enemies of God and His people.

In verse 28, the writer uses a part of the Law of Moses, from Deuteronomy 17:2-6. In the old times the Law said that an 'apostate' was to be killed. The people had to throw stones at him until he was dead. But this was not to be done unless two or three people agreed that he had done wrong. Great care was to be taken. The people had to be quite sure that he had worshipped a false god. Verse 30 tells us that the punishment of anyone who turns against the Good News will be much worse than stoning. He has behaved as though the blood, which makes us clean, was itself unclean. God will punish such people (verse 30). God says that He will pay people back for the wrong that they do to Him (Deuteronomy 32:35).

Verse 29 asks us: 'How much more should he be punished?' The answer is: 'Far more!' This is why it is so wrong for Christian people not to forgive other people. If other people wrong us, God will deal with them. We gain nothing when we wrong them in return. But we lose our joy and peace.

The second part of verse 30 - 'The Lord will judge His people' - comes from Psalm 135: 14 and Deuteronomy 32:36. Both of these verses show that the Lord will give a judgment in favour of His people, not against them. Every sinner who is not forgiven and who does not trust in Jesus will be a helpless sinner in the hands of an angry God (verse 31). And if God will judge in favour of His people, how much more He will judge in favour of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verses 32-34: Remember what you used to be like

The judgment of God is in the future. The writer leaves his warning behind now. He tells his readers to look back at their past. They had suffered for their faith in several ways. This was soon after they had trusted in Jesus. Then the light of day had come to their hearts and minds. That past suffering was wasted unless they still followed Jesus now. They must follow Him all their lives.

So in verse 32 we read that soon after they believed the Good News, they had suffered. This experience should have made them stronger. [10.10]. Verses 33 and 34 tell us the ways in which they suffered: -

1. Their enemies had shouted bad language at them. They had said that they had done things that were wrong, and this was not true. It was as though they had been put on show in a theatre.

2. At other times, their Christian friends had been treated like this. They had stood with them and helped them, although it was full of shame to do so.

3. When Christians had been in prisons, they had visited them. In those days a prison did not give food to the prisoners. The prisoners had no food unless friends took some in to them. This was not safe! It very quickly gave away the fact that you were a Christian too! It was a brave thing to do. (See 13:3.)

4. At other times the city crowd had stolen everything that they had from them. They had lost everything, but they felt joy, because they suffered for the sake of Jesus. Joy and suffering go together in the Christian life.

The last part of verse 34 means that when the crowd robbed them of everything that they had, they still had something left which was much better. They still had themselves. They were still children of God. No one could take that away from them. They had the hope of glory.

Verses 35-39: A reward!

God will give a great reward in the life to come to those who follow Jesus. We shall find this spoken of twice in the next chapter. (See 11: 6 and 26.) It is spoken of in many other places in the New Testament. Even where we do not find the word 'reward', we shall find the idea. We have the example of Jesus (12: 2). He suffered pain, shame and death. God rewarded Him with joy, and a place with Him in His throne in glory. God expects us to be faithful to Him in this life, even if we have to suffer for it. But He does not ask this from us without promising to give a reward to us. If we keep on following Jesus, and do not try wrong ways to escape from suffering, God will give us our reward (verse 36).

Then in verses 37 and 38 we find some words from Habakkuk 2:3,4. (Paul also uses these words: see Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11.) We do not really have long to wait. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the One who will come. He will come again at His Second Coming. Jesus does not make His people wait for His help longer than is necessary. 'The righteous one' is any real Christian. Such a man lives and follows Jesus because he knows that he can trust Him. This is what it means to 'live by faith'. We depend on His faithfulness. The opposite of this is 'to shrink back'. It is to draw back and not to follow Jesus. People who do this are no longer brave enough to follow Him. God says He will not be pleased with such people. He will be angry with them and He will destroy them. But (verse 39 says) we belong to those who have faith and we win the race to eternal life.