We Have This Hope as an Anchor for the Soul
6: 9-20

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul DIG: How does the author encourage his readers so that what they hope for could be fully realized? Is it possible to lose your salvation? What is your responsibility in ministering to the Body of Christ? What effect did God’s promise and oath have on Abraham’s descendants? What kind of illustration can Abraham provide for someone today? What were some of the ways that Isra’el was to be God’s channel of blessing to the rest of the world? What is the anchor for the soul? Why is it important?

REFLECT: How would you describe your spiritual appetite right now? Just nibbling? A good meal is nice now and then? I’m famished for all I can get? Why? When have you been spiritually dull? What got you going again? Where in your life does trusting in YHVH come the hardest? Easiest? Why? What promises of ADONAI are your anchors?

After the severest of warnings, comes the most loving of appeals. The writer was earnestly hoping that the unbelievers he so forcefully had been warning (to see link click Ag – The Audience of the book of Hebrews) would not fall away – that they would not apostatize. It is clear that the writer is differentiating between the believers and the unbelievers among his readers, and is using the saved as examples for his unsaved readers to follow.¹⁴⁹ He was convinced that his fellow believers in the congregation had all the true marks of salvation.

First, he gives a brief word to the believers who are to be imitated. Now even though we speak this way, these fearful warnings do not apply to you. Beloved, we are confident of better things in your case – the things that have to do with salvation (6:9). He calls the saved among them, beloved. It was if the writer was saying, “These warnings to apostates, or potential apostates, are put in this letter to you because these people are in your midst” (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ev – The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds). The word confident (Greek: pepeismetha) is in the perfect tense, meaning a past action with continuing results. In other words, their ministry in congregation of God showed that the Ruach ha-Kodesh had produced fruit in their lives, and that proved they were truly born again. The word better is one of the key words in Hebrews, and the author uses it eleven times to compare Messiah and His reign with what there was before.

The entire fifth and sixth chapters of Hebrews are devoted to the things that have to do with salvation. But the particular ones mentioned here are those that contrast the warnings of unbelief mentioned in 5:11 to 6:5. For example salvation is not seen in infancy by maturity, not milk but solid food, not inexperience in righteousness by perfection in righteousness, not repentance in dead works by repentance of sin and belief in Yeshua Messiah for eternal life. The things that have to do with salvation are positive, not negative. They are not seen in the external trappings of ceremonial religion, but internal transformation, a new life, born again. The things that have to do with salvation don’t come from repeated sacrifices, but from one perfect, complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They do not focus on the milk of the TaNaKh, but on the blessed hope (Titus 2:13), not just on being enlightened, but on being made new, not just on tasting salvation but feasting on it, not just being around when the Ruach ha-Kodesh is around, but having Him live inside you, not just getting a taste of God’s word, but drinking and eating it, not just seeing the Lord’s miracles, but being one. These are the things that have to do with salvation.¹⁵⁰

God is not unjust. He will not forget your work in the kingdom of God and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people, and continue to help them (6:10). As believers, our works do not what save us, but they are the evidence of salvation (James 2:14-26). God is not so unjust and insensitive that He fails to see the works of love His beloved children perform. He clearly sees the fruit of our righteousness. The one who overcomes the world (First John 5:4-5) will be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before My Father and His angels (Revelation 3:5). The book Jesus is referring to is the book of life, or the names of all those who were ever born (Psalm 69:28; Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15, 21:27). If a person dies unsaved, his or her name is blotted out of the book of life. Those who are saved have their names retained in the book of life. In Exodus 32:32-33, Moses asked that if the Lord would not forgive the sins of the nation, would He blot Moses’ name out of the book of life, taking away his salvation rather than Isra’el’s. The Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27), on the other hand, contains all those who have been born again, and therefore, it is impossible to be blotted out in that book. This promise assures all believers in every age, of their eternal security.

We serve others in the congregations of God by ministering with our spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8; First Corinthians 12:9-11; First Peter 4:10-11). But much of our service to one another is simply part of every believer’s responsibility. The proof that the Hebrews addressed in 6:9-10 were true believers was their loving, faithful, and continuing ministry to each other. If we love our Lord, we will serve each other. We cannot say we love God and, at the same time, have no use for our brothers and sisters in the faith: Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness (First John 2:9). A few chapters later, the author states the same truth even more strongly: Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love (First John 4:8). Finally, in the last chapter, he summarizes the truth: Everyone who loves the Father, loves His children was well (First John 5:1b).

Then he once again addresses the unbelievers, those who had made some sort of flimsy profession of faith but were in imminent danger of falling back into Judaism and losing their opportunity for salvation forever. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised (6:11-12). The hope was then extended to them to become imitators of the true believers just described and to step over the line from knowledge to faith. It was if the writer was saying, “Take a look at these true believers. My desire is that every one of you could have the same assurance of salvation. We don’t want you to fall away and lose all hope.” There is no hope apart from Jesus Christ. He is the blessed hope (Titus 2:13).

Diligence can carry the idea of eagerness or haste. The basic idea was that the unbelievers he was addressing should not waste any more time and put their faith in Messiah as High Priest today. Once someone hears and understands the gospel, stepping over the line from knowledge to faith should not be a long drawn out process. All it takes is an act of obedience. Salvation is an instantaneous experience and should not be postponed (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith).

The Jewish unbelievers’ laziness was a terrible barrier to their being saved. Lazy is a translation of the same Greek word (nothros) that is rendered dull earlier (see Ba – You Have Become Dull of Hearing). Just as they were dull in their hearing, they were lazy in their believing. They had not consciously rejected the gospel; but by not accepting it they had placidly rejected it. There are only two kinds of spiritual food. There’s devil’s food and there’s angels food . . . and if you aren’t eating one – you’re eating the other. There is a time for careful deliberation, but not when you know the right thing to do and have no guarantee of how long you will have the opportunity to make it. The time to accept Christ is never tomorrow, it is always today: Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Before it was too late, they needed to imitate true believes.¹⁵¹

Probably the most outstanding example of trusting YHVH in the TaNaKh is Abraham. In fact, he is called the father of all who believe (Romans 4:11; Galatians 3:7), and it is Abraham that the writer now sets before his readers as a model of faith.

As we have seen, the writer to the Hebrews had urging the Jews to completely abandon the Levitical sacrificial system and commit themselves to Christ as their great High Priest and once-for-all-time Sacrifice. But the author says, in very clear terms here (and even more clearly in Chapter 11), that faith was the essence of the sacrificial system. When a Jew brought a sin offering for unintentional sin, a guilt offering for known sin, a burnt offering for averting God’s wrath for sin by means of a substitute, a grain offering to restore fellowship with God, or a peace offering as an act of voluntary worship, the offering, any offering, was worthless in God’s sight with out faith because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

Then the writer cites the example of Abraham as an illustration of one of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises of YHVH. In light of Jewish persecution that those intellectually convinced Jews would almost certainly face if they made a commitment to Yeshua Messiah, they are pointed to Abraham. It was as if the writer was saying, “Not only can you look around you at the true believers as examples, you can look to Abraham. Look back at the history that you know only to well.” The father of the Jews is also the father of the faithful. He is the perfect illustration of a man of faith, who, in the midst of adversity, uncertainty, and seeming impossibility, totally trusted in ADONAI for everything. He went so far as to raise a knife to kill his son who alone could fulfill God’s promise- because God had told him to sacrifice his son. Such was his faith in God.¹⁵²

The hesitating Jews who recognized the truth of the gospel, who had seen miracles performed by the apostles, were still afraid to let go of the dead Levitical system. They were afraid to step over the line from knowledge to faith for fear that He might not be able to save them. And so the Ruach ha-Kodesh encourages them that they can trust YHVH to do just what He says: When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, so “He swore an oath by Himself,” (Hebrews 6:13 quoting Genesis 22:16). Just as surely as ADONAI has kept His promise to Abraham, He will keep His promise to those who trust in His Son. He said: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants (Hebrews 6:14 quoting Genesis 22:17). Did God keep His promise? Yes, there are untold millions of believers around the world today. Ha’Shem has never failed and He never will. He can’t lie or back out of His promises, “The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged (Deuteronomy 31:8). That is true for Isra’el and His children of every age.

And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised (6:15). The word patiently refers back to verse 12; the word received (Greek: epitugchano meaning to hit a marker or reach a point) summarizes the long wait for Isaac. Between the promise that God made to Abraham and the time Isaac was born, twenty-five years had passed. Abraham waited patiently for twenty-five years to receive what was promised. Abraham was a good example to those who were having second thoughts about receiving Christ as their Lord and Savior. While the promises of ADONAI are not always immediate, they are always certain.

The writer now illustrates the security of the divine promise by using the analogy of human practice. Since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, so “He swore an oath by Himself,” for people swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument (6:13b-16). When Ha’Shem makes a promise, it does two things. First, it stops all contradiction and controversy, and second, it establishes that which is trustworthy. Now, people swear by something greater. Jews swore by the Altar and the Temple. For them, that was supposed to settle the issue. When people swear by something greater, they pledge themselves to fulfill the promise. It is the nature of swearing to appeal to a higher authority. But God Himself is the highest authority, so His Word settles and confirms everything. YHVH swore the same oath that people swear. Yet, ADONAI could not appeal to a higher authority, so “He swore an oath by Himself.”¹⁵³

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath (6:17). The word promise is preceded by the definite article in the Greek text, pointing to a definite, particular promise defined in the context. Of course YHVH didn’t need to take an oath. His word is every bit as good without the oath – as ours ought to be (Matthew 5:33-37). But to accommodate to the weak faith of people, God swore His promise by Himself. Since His promise is already unbreakable, His pledge did not make His promise any more secure.

I believe the pledge (Greek: arrabon) of ADONAI’s oath is the Spirit of God. When you believed, you were marked in Christ with a seal of ownership, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession (Second Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13b-14). In modern Greek, the same basic word for pledge used by Sha’ul means an engagement ring, the promise of marriage. It was as if the Ruach was saying to those hesitating, unbelieving Jews, if you will only believe that Yeshua is who He says He is, and step over the line from knowledge to faith, I will come into your heart as a deposit, guaranteeing your inheritance in Christ.”

God did this so that, by two unchangeable (Greek: ametathetos) things in which it is impossible (Greek: adunatos) to lie (6:18a). The two unchangeable things are God’s promise and His oath. First, the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12 was unchangeable. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, YHVH promised him a son. Second, the promise with an oath was given when Abraham was ninety-nine years old. Both the promise and the oath are unconditional guarantees of the covenant. The term ametathetos was used in relation to wills. Once properly made, a will was ametathetos, unchangeable by anyone but the maker. Ha’Shem has declared His promise and His oath to be ametathetos, even to Himself. They cannot be taken back or altered. It’s as if God is saying, “You’re secure. Come to Christ; there’s nothing to fear. I’ll hold on to you; I’ll never let you go.” Our security isn’t in our never letting go of God, but in His never letting go of us.¹⁵⁴

We who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged (6:18b). The word refuge is a reminder of the concept of the cities of refuge found in the TaNaKh (Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 19; Joshua 20). Just as a man would flee to a city of refuge, those Jews who had not yet made a decision to follow Messiah needed to flee to Him because He was their only hope. Abraham patiently endured and the promise was fulfilled. Those unbelieving Jews would have the same results if they only believed. We will never know if God can hold onto us until, in desperation, we run to Him for refuge. The hope set before us is Jesus Christ and the gospel He has brought (First Timothy 1:1).

The hope that Hebrews describes is critical because it allows the believer to enter the inner sanctuary where ADONAI dwells. The vast body of Jewish law, known as halakhah (the way), or the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), can never usher anyone into the presence of YHVH. Only one who belongs to the Way (Acts 19:2) makes such communication possible. To all who have ever known the frustrating burden of attempting to enter by any other means, the words of Hebrews are a comfort: We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure (6:19a).¹⁵⁵

This hope is the anchor that enters the inner sanctuary behind the veil, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf (6:19b-20a). Yeshua is in the Most Holy Place in the heavenly Tabernacle. In the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), atonement was made once a year by the high priest. However, in the Dispensation of Grace (see Bp – The Dispensation of Grace), the atonement was made once for all time by Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross. This High Priest is the Rock of Salvation into which the anchor of the believer’s soul is fastened. Therefore, our anchored soul is, in the mind of God, already secure behind the veil. When Jesus entered the heavenly Most Holy Place, He did not leave after the sacrifice as did the Aaronic high priests, but He sat down at the right hand of HaG’dualh BaM’romim, the Majesty of heaven (Hebrews 1:3e CJB quoting Psalm 110:1a CJB).

The Aaronic high priest arrayed in his gorgeous robes, would enter the sanctuary, wearing on his shoulders twelve onyx stones upon which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el, and upon his breastplate, similar onyx stones with the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el upon them. Thus, he would carry upon the shoulders of his strength and upon the heart of his love, the righteous of the TaNaKh into the presence of ADONAI. Even so, our heavenly High Priest carries on His shoulders of omnipotence and upon the heart of His infinite love, those who believe in Him. Thus does the writer encourage the unsaved readers to put their faith in the Sacrifice of the B’rit Chadashah, the Messiah, rather than going back to the Levitical sacrifices that were set aside by God at the cross.¹⁵⁶

He has become our Great High Priest (Hebrew: Cohen Rosh Gadol) forever, in the Order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20b quoting Psalm 110:4). Specifically, the Son remains forever as Guardian of our souls. Such absolute security is almost incomprehensible. Not only are our souls anchored behind the impregnable, indestructible heavenly sanctuary, but our Savior, Yeshua Messiah, sits at the right hand of God interceding for us (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1). How can our security be described as anything but eternal (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Truly we can trust YHVH with our souls.

The author then returns to the line of thought that he left at 5:10 in order to exhort his readers to diligence. He was also preparing the groundwork for his coming position on the Order of Melchizedek and the priesthood of Yeshua (see Bj – The New Priesthood is Unchangeable).¹⁵⁷

Anchors are a clear and familiar image of security, yet there is something unique about the Anchor we see here. Every other anchor goes down into the sea to a place unseen to hold us secure, but this One goes up to heaven where by faith we can see the inner sanctuary behind the veil. What a powerful portrayal of hope for the believer. For others, hope is only wishing. Wanting but not having. And the failure of wishful hoping leads so many people into despair and depression. Believers want many things also. We want blessing, we want peace, and we want security. But unlike the hope of the world, which goes nowhere and has no anchor, our hope in Christ goes before us into heaven, where it is anchored to the unchangeable nature of His purpose and the oath He has sworn. We have a lifeline of salvation, so to speak, that nothing can break or destroy, so that we can be certain of arriving safe in the harbor of heaven.

Forerunner is yet another of the nautical terms used in Hebrews (6:19b). The Greek word prodromos appears nowhere else in Scripture, but has to do with a familiar scene in the ancient world. The Greek harbors were often cut off from the sea by sandbars, over which the larger ships dared not pass until the full tide came in. So a lighter vessel, a forerunner, took the anchor and dropped it the harbor. From that moment the larger ship was safe from the storm, although it had to wait for the tide before it could enter. Therefore, because Messiah, our forerunner, has entered heaven itself, He Himself is the pledge that we too, will one day enter the harbor of our souls and the very presence of YHVH. Can unforeseen circumstances break the line to this Great Anchor? No. ADONAI is greater than them all, and His oath shall override every obstacle. Believers are safe because God’s oath and promise, secured by the finished work of Messiah on the cross.¹⁵⁸

Once Fallen Away,
It is Impossible to be Brought Back to Repentance
The Fourth Warning – 6: 1-8
The Danger of Falling Away: Hesitating Jews

Once fallen away, it is impossible to be brought back to repentance DIG: What caused some of the Jews who had professed faith in Messiah to go back to Judaism? What were the Jewish people repeatedly warned about in the letter to the Hebrews? What did the writer of Hebrews mean when he asked his readers to go on to maturity? What do works that lead to death refer to? How does it differ from the concept of repentance in the B’rit Chadashah? What is the difference between baptisms and washings? How does the TaNaKh describe the resurrection of the dead? How does the New Covenant help to clarify the doctrine of the resurrection? What does it mean to have tasted of the goodness of God’s word? If someone shares in the Spirit necessarily be a believer? What is the point of the illustration in verses 7-8?

REFLECT: Some of these Jews were hesitating and were tempted to return to the Jewish ceremonies rather than embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior. Identify some ways that you sometimes feel more comfortable with the familiar, even though it is not necessarily what YHVH wants for you. Can you lose your salvation? How do you know if you are making spiritual progress or not? In what ways can you take responsibility for your own spiritual growth? We often don’t realize how far we’ve fallen away from the Word of God until we have really fallen. How would you describe the very first steps toward becoming dull to God’s Word? What elements of our culture make it easier to drift away from the Word and love of God?

As John MacArthur relates in his commentary on Hebrews, people can go to their messianic synagogue or church for years and hear the gospel over and over again, even become faithful members of the congregations of God, and never really make a commitment to Christ. Just because you sit in the garadge, it doesn’t make you a car. That kind of person is addressed here. The Ruach ha-Kodesh is specifically talking to Jews who had heard the gospel, but not accepted Yeshua Messiah as Savior and Lord, but the warning applies to anyone, Jew or Gentile. All who know the truth of the Lord’s saving grace in Jesus, who perhaps have seen a change in the lives of many of their friends and family members, who may even have made some flimsy profession of faith in Him, yet turn around and walk away from full acceptance, are given the severest possible warning. Persistent rejection of Messiah may in result in such persons’ passing the point of no return spiritually, becoming reprobate, such as Pharaoh (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Ch – The LORD Will Fight For You, You Need Only To Be Still), and losing forever the opportunity for salvation. This is what always happens to one who is indecisive. They eventually follow their evil heart of unbelief and turn their back forever on the living God. This is the fourth of five warning passages (see Ag – The Audience of the Book of Hebrews).

Such people have often adopted a form of spirituality, but the don’t have Christ. The use the right lingo and seem to act in the right way, but at best they are only playing the game, and at worst they are wolves in sheep’s clothing ripping off the flock (see the commentary on Jude Ah – Godless People Have Secretly Slipped In Among You). Yeshua says of them: Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive our demons and in Your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers” (Mattityahu 7:21-23). This is the issue here in the parenthetical statement to unbelievers from the Spirit of God.

Unlike a knife, truth becomes sharper with use, because acceptance and obedience comes from truth. A truth that is heard but not accepted and followed becomes dull and empty. The more truth is neglected, the more immune we become to it. By not accepting the gospel when it was still fresh in their minds, those first century Jews slowly began to grow indifferent to it and had become spiritually sluggish, neglectful and dull. Now they were hesitant about the gospel and couldn’t make a decision. But at that point, doing nothing was making a decision, a decision to walk away from the Lord and fall back into their comfortable cocoon of the Levitical sacrifices and system of worship (see Ba – It is Hard to Explain, Since You Have Become Dull of Hearing). The Spirit then gave them the solution.¹⁴²

The Torah is incomplete: Therefore, since solid food is for the mature, for those who can distinguish good from evil (5:14), they needed to leave behind the initial milk teaching (5:13), about the Messiah found in the symbolism of the Tabernacle, the priesthood, and sacrifices. All dependence upon the Levitical sacrifices needed to be left behind in order that the unbelieving Hebrews could go on to maturity (Greek: teleios). This maturity speaks of the belief in the New Covenant sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. In 7:11 the writer argues that if maturity (Greek: teleios) came under the Levitical priesthood, then there would be no further need of another priesthood. But since YHVH has brought in another priestly line in Christ after the Order of Melchizedek, it logically follows that this maturity can only be obtained under the New Covenant that Messiah has established. The author also states in 7:19 that Levitical sacrifices made nothing perfect (Greek: teleios). That is, the blood of bulls and goats could not pay for sin. But after the Lord Jesus had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God (10:12). His sacrifice was complete. Consequently, the writer urged those unbelieving Jews to desert the type for the reality, to leave the shadow for the substance, and to abandon that which is incomplete for that which is complete (6:1).¹⁴³

Six aspects of the incomplete Torah: The Spirit of God then urged those unbelieving Jews to abandon concepts that pointed to the gospel, but were not in themselves part of the gospel. These are not, as is often interpreted, elementary truths of the gospel, but actually stumbling blocks to the gospel. If they went back to the sacrifices described in the Torah, they would only be laying a foundation on that which was incomplete, then building upon it again! But, since the Torah was incomplete, they were being encouraged not to do so.

1. Repentance from works that lead to death: This is turning away from works righteousness. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from works that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (Hebrews 9:13-14). The TaNaKh teaches that people should repent from their evil acts that bring death and turn to living God. But too often the Jew turned to ADONAI only in a superficial way – fulfilling the letter of the Torah as evidence of repentance. The inner man, however, was still dead (Matthew 23:25-28; Romans 2:28-29). Such repentance was not the kind that brought salvation (Acts 11:18; Second Corinthians 7:10). Under the B’rit Chadashah, however, repentance from works that lead to death is coupled with faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Messiah declared: I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). An incomplete way of dealing with sin must be abandoned for a complete one.¹⁴⁴

2. Faith in God: Faith directed only toward God the Father is unacceptable without faith in God the Son. On the day of Shavu’ot Peter said: Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38). There is no acceptable repentance apart from Jesus Christ. The only repentance that leads to life is that which is related to belief in Yeshua Messiah (Acts 11:17-18). The TaNaKh taught repentance from dead works, and faith toward God. The B’rit Chadashah teaches repentance in faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The distinction is clear. The unbelieving Hebrews believed in ADONAI; but they were not saved. Their repentance from dead works and faith in YHVH, no matter how sincere it may have been, could not bring them to God without Yeshua. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

3. Instructions about washings: The Greek word here is baptismos, or washings, and not baptizo, which would be translated baptisms. This is a strong indication that this passage is not addressed to believers. Every Jewish home had a basin by the entrance for family and visitors to use for ceremonial washings, which were outward signs of cleansing (Exodus 30:18-21; Leviticus 16:4, 24, 26, 28; Mark 7:4 and 8). It is these washings that the readers are told to abandon. Even the TaNaKh predicted that one day its ceremonial washings would be replaced by a spiritual one that YHVH Himself would give: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols (Ezeki’el 36:25). The New Covenant, however, called for an inner washing. The old washings were many, physical, symbolic and temporary; the new washing is once-for-all-time, spiritual, real and permanent. It is the eternal washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). It is being born of water and the Spirit that Yeshua told Nicodemus was necessary for entrance into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

4. Laying on of hands: This has nothing to do with the apostolic practices (Acts 6:6, 8:17, 9:17; First Timothy 4:14, and so on). The Torah taught that Israelites who brought a sacrifice had to put their hands on it, to symbolize their identification with it (Leviticus 1:4, 3:8 and 13). Our identification with Jesus Christ does not come by putting our hands on Him; it comes by the Spirit’s baptizing us into union with Him by faith (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith?). It was if the author was saying to those hesitating Jews, “Forget the teaching about laying your hands on the Temple sacrifices. Lay hold of Messiah by believing in Him.”

5. Resurrection of the dead: The doctrine of the resurrection in the TaNaKh is neither clear nor complete. We learn of life after death and of rewards for the good and punishment for the wicked – and not much more. From Job, for example, we learn that the resurrection will be bodily and not spiritual (Job 19:26). In the B’rit Chadashah, of course, the doctrine of the resurrection is much more detailed. It is the theme of apostolic teaching and comes to fullness in Yeshua Messiah, who said: I AM the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). The resurrected body is described in considerable detail in First Corinthians 15, and in First John 3:2 we are told: We shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. Why should anyone be satisfied with trying to understand the resurrection from the limited and vague teachings of the TaNaKh when they have the clear and detailed teachings of the apostles and Jesus Himself?

6. Eternal judgment: We can learn little more from the TaNaKh about final judgment than what is given to us from Solomon: For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Punishment would come to the wicked and blessing to the good. Again, we are told a great deal more about eternal judgment in the New Covenant. Much more than some people want to hear. We know what will happen to believers: For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). We will have to stand before the Lord and have our work judged – for reward or lack of reward – but we ourselves will not be judged (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ). We all know what will happen to unbelievers (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment). We know that the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).

The point of 6:1-2 is simply that the unbelieving Jews should let completely go of the immature, elementary shadows and symbols of the TaNaKh and take hold of the mature and perfect reality of the B’rit Chadashah. These six doctrines were the basics of Judaism that were to be laid aside in favor of the better things that come with faith in Christ. The Torah is incomplete. It is true. It is of God. It was a necessary part of His revelation and of His plan for the salvation of mankind (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of Torah). But it was only partial revelation, and is not sufficient for salvation after the cross.

And we will do so, if God permits (6:2-3). In other words, the writer is saying, “I will continue to teach you what you need to know if God permits me to do so, and therefore, you will go on to maturity (Greek: teleios), if God permits. Both the writer and the readers needed to be energized by the Ruach HaKodesh if they were to be effective and fruitful. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God (Second Corinthians 3:5).¹⁴⁵

Five great advantages of those unbelieving Jews: As John MacArthur relates in his commentary on Hebrews, the Jews being addressed here, however, had five great advantages, which are summarized in these two verses.

1. They had been enlightened: For when people have once been enlightened. First of all, we should notice that this passage makes no reference at all to salvation. There is no mention of justification, sanctification, saved, or regeneration. Those who have once been enlightened are not spoken of as born again, saved, made holy or righteous. Non the normal New Covenant terminology for salvation is used. In fact, no term used here is ever used elsewhere in the B’rit Chadashah, and none should be taken to refer to it here. The word once is literally, once for all and never needs repetition. That meant that as those unbelieving Hebrews listened to the message of the gospel, the Ruach ha-Kodesh enlightened their minds and hearts to clearly understand it. They work of the Spirit had been so thorough that it never needed to be repeated to make it clear to them. Those Hebrews understood the gospel perfectly.

The enlightenment spoken of here has to do with intellectual perception of spiritual, biblical truth. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the TaNaKh, the word enlightenment, photizo, is translated several times, to give light by knowledge or teaching. It means to be mentally aware of something, to be instructed, or informed. It carries no connotation of response – of acceptance or rejection, belief or disbelief.

When Yeshua first came to Galilee to minister, He declared that He had come to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2, which, in part, reads: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light (Matthew 4:16a). All who saw and heard Messiah saw the great light, but not all who saw and heard were saved. Seeing God’s light and accepting God’s light are not the same thing. Those people in Galilee, and all the people who hear the gospel today, were to some greater or lesser degree enlightened. But judging by biblical accounts, few of them believed in Jesus, they had taken the wide gate and the wide road that leads to destruction (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dw – The Narrow and Wide Gates). They saw Christ, they heard His message from His own lips, and they saw His miracles with their own eyes. They had firsthand opportunity to see God’s truth. The Light of the gospel had personally broken in on their darkness. Their lives were permanently affected by the incredible impression Jesus must have made on them. Yet many, if not most, of them did not believe in Him (John 12:35-40). The same thing had happened to the Jews being addressed here. They were enlightened but not saved; thus, they were in danger of losing all opportunity of being saved, and of becoming apostate (Second Peter 2:20-21).

2. They had tasted of the heavenly gift: Yeshua’s gift of salvation is the ultimate heavenly gift. This great gift, however, was rejected. It was not feasted on, by only tasted . . . sampled. Christ told the woman at Jacob’s well: If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water (John 4:10). Jesus was speaking of the gift of salvation, the living water that leads to eternal life (Yochanan 4:14). Those who drank it – not sipped it or just tasted it – would be saved. A short time later in Galilee, Messiah told His hearers: I AM the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever (John 6:51). One of the presalvation ministries of the Ruach HaKodesh is that of giving the unsaved a taste of the blessings of salvation. This is a part of His wooing people to Christ. But tasting is not eating. The Holy Spirit will give us a taste, but He will not force us to eat. God had placed the blessing of salvation on the lips of these first century Jews, but they had not yet eaten. Those Jews were like the spies at Kadesh-Barnea who saw the Land and had the very fruit in their hands, and yet turned back (see At – A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God).¹⁴⁶

3. They become sharers in the Holy Spirit: the word sharers (Greek: metochos), has to do with association, not possession. Those Jews never possessed the Holy Spirit, they merely were around when He was around. This word is used of fellow fishermen in Luke 5:7, and of Christ in relation to the angels in 1:7. It has to do with sharing in common associations and events. In the context of 6:4, it refers to anyone who has been where the Spirit has been ministering. It is possible to be around when the Ruach ha-Kodesh is around and not be saved. As we have seen in 2:4 those Jews had heard the Word and had seen and even participated in various signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Spirit of God. They were actually involved in some of His ministry. But the Bible never speaks of believers being associated with the Ruach. It speaks of the Holy Spirit being within them! So there were some within this Messianic community who were merely associated with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, like most of the multitudes who Jesus miraculously healed and fed, they shared in the power and blessing of the Spirit, but did not have His indwelling. They did not possess the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit did not possess them (Hebrews 6:4).

4. They had tasted the word of God: Again these readers are spoken of as having tasted something of ADONAI, this time the goodness of His word. The Greek term used here for word is rhema, which emphasizes the parts rather than the whole, is not the usual one, logos, used for God’s Word, but it fits the context here. As with His heavenly gifts, they had heard YHVH’s rhema and sampled it, tasted it, without actually eating it. They had been taught about Ha’Shem, and no doubt they regularly attended the Messianic service. They may have listened carefully and even meditated upon what they had heard. But they could not say with the prophet, “When Your words were found, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Herod Antipas was like this. In spite of John the Baptist’s hard message, including accusations directly against the king himself, yet he liked to listen to him. The king was perplexed but fascinated by this dynamic preacher. He liked to sample the message of God, probably dismissing anything that he disagreed with. But when pressed into a decision, he rejected God’s man and God’s message. He reluctantly, but willingly, agreed to have John beheaded. His taste of God’s word only brought him greater guilt.

Tasting is the first step to eating. It is not wrong to taste God’s rhema word, or God’s logos Word. In fact David encourages that very thing: O taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8). To some degree, everyone must taste the gospel before accepting it. Like so many who hear the gospel for the first time, those Jews were attracted to its beauty and sweetness. They just kept tasting. It tasted good to them, but then, like a wine taster, they spit it out. But they didn’t swallow it, must less digest it. Before long, its appealing taste had become dull to them (see Ba – It is Hard to Explain, Since You Have Become Dull of Hearing). Their spiritual tastebuds had become insensitive and unresponsive.

5. They had tasted the power of the coming Age: The Messianic Kingdom is the coming Age and the powers of the coming Age (Hebrew: the ‘olam haba) are miracle powers (6:5). Those Jews had seen the same kind of miracles that are going to come when God the Son reigns personally on the earth, and His Chosen People are saved. They saw miracle upon miracle. And the more they saw and tasted without eating, the more their guilt increased. They were like those who saw Jesus perform miracles. How hard it is to explain the hatred and unbelief of those who saw the resurrected Lazarus, who saw the blind given sight and the dumb given voices. How guilty will they be when they stand before Jesus at the great white throne judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgement)? That Messianic congregation who had received this letter had been wonderfully blessed by God’s enlightenment, by association with the Holy Spirit, the tasting of His word, and by witnessing God’s miracles. But they still didn’t believe.¹⁴⁷

The Fourth warning: But after experiencing all those advantages, once fallen away – it is impossible to renew them to repentance (6:6a). The Greek word impossible, adunatos, cannot be diluted to mean difficult. The same word is used in Hebrews 6:18, 10:4 and 11:6, where it can only mean impossible. All three of these passages would be nonsense if impossible were changed to difficult. The harsh finality of the danger cannot be overstated. The same can be said of the Greek word renew, anakainizo, must be taken in its full force. It means to restore, to bring back to an original condition. When they first heard the gospel they were excited about it. They had moved from Judaism right to the edge of faith in Messiah. They had tried to turn from their old ways and their sin. But if they turned back now, they would be lost forever. There would be no more hope for them because they had rejected the Ruach ha-Kodesh (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven). They had rejected the only gospel that could ever save them. There was nothing more that could be said or done.

It wasn’t as if they were saved and lost their salvation. The true believes can never fear that they will loose their salvation. The Bible is absolutely clear about that (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). They were never believers in the first place. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going out showed that none of them belonged to us (First John 2:19).

They couldn’t be renewed because they were crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace (6:6b). Regardless of what they were saying in public, they had taken their stand with the crucifiers. If this happens with full light, with a full and complete understanding of the gospel, such a person has become apostate (see Ci – If We Deliberately Keep On Sinning, No Sacrifice For Sins is Left). It is dangerously self-deceptive for a person to think that just by staying on the sidelines, by holding off making a decision, by thinking himself tolerant of the gospel simply because he doesn’t oppose it, that he is safe. The longer one stays on the edge of that decision, the more one leans toward the old life. Standing on the edge of the line of faith without stepping over inevitably results in falling away from the gospel. It may not be a conscious decision against Christ. But is it a decision and it is against Christ. When a person walks away from Yeshua with full knowledge of the gospel, he places Him on the cross again, in his own heart, and puts himself forever our of the Lord’s reach.

For the land that soaks up frequent rains and then brings forth a crop useful to its owners receives a blessing from God (6:7 CJB). But “if it keeps producing thorns and thistles,” it fails the test and is close to being “cursed,” in the end, it will be burned (Hebrews 6:8 CJB quoting Genesis 3:17-18). Do you see the illustration? All those who hear the gospel are like the earth. The rain falls and the gospel message is heard. The gospel seed is planted and there is nourishment and growth. Some of the growth is beautiful and good and productive. It is that which is planted, rooted, and nourished by ADONAI. But some of the growth is false, counterfeit, and unproductive. It has come from the same seed and has been nourished by the same ground and the same water, but has become thorny, destructive and cursed. It has rejected the life offered it and in the end, it will only be good for burning. If you reject the Sacrifice . . . you become the sacrifice.¹⁴⁸

On June 30, 1869, Charles Blondin, the 34 year old French acrobat, traveled to Niagara Falls hoping to become the first person to cross the “boiling waterfall.” Noting the masses of snow on either bank and the violent whirls of wind circling the gorge, Blondin delayed the grand event until he would have better weather. He always worked without a net, believing that preparing for disaster only made one more likely to occur. A rope, 1,300 feet long, two inches in diameter, made entirely of hemp, sagging some 50 feet in the middle, would be the sole thing separating him from the churning waters below. He was only 5-5 and weighed 140 pounds, but he used a balancing pole 26 feet long, weighing some 50 pounds.

Then, a few days later, on July 4, 1869, he began his walk across Niagara Falls and became the first person to complete the feat successfully in only 23 minuets. He would go on to repeat his dangerous tightrope act more than 300 times, covering more than 10,000 miles. He often used various theatric variations: he crossed on stilts, he crossed blindfolded, did backflips, crossed backwards, and even stopped, sat on the rope, and cooked an omelet.

One day he pushed a wheelbarrow across the tightrope with a concave wheel on it. When he got onto solid ground, the crowd cheered loudly. But then Blondin asked, “How many of you believe I could put a person in this wheelbarrow and push him back to the other side?” Again, the crowd roared in approval. But then he asked for a volunteer. At first many in the crowd laughed. He wasn’t serious was he? Then they fell silent. The seconds ticked by . . . and they stood in awkward, immobile, silence. They were intellectually convinced that he could do it, but they didn’t have enough faith to get into the wheelbarrow.

Those unbelieving Hebrews were intellectually convinced that Yeshua was the Messiah, but they had not stepped over the line from knowledge to faith. Therefore, what the writer was asking his first century audience to ponder was this, “Are you in the wheelbarrow?”

You Have Become Dull of Hearing
The Third Warning – 5: 11-14
The Danger of Dullness of Hearing: Unconvinced Jews

You have become dull of hearing DIG: Where do the warning passages occur in Hebrews, and what do they warn unbelievers about? Who is the mediator of the New Covenant? Who was the mediator during the Dispensation of the Torah? Describe the warnings given in the book of Hebrews. Is there any difference between them? What should have been the response of the Jews who had been under the teaching of New Covenant truth in Messiah?

REFLECT: Can you be a believer in Christ without being made righteous in Christ (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith?)? Who do you know who has become dull of hearing about Jesus? What can you learn from this warning? How can you help others?

The central theme and message of the book of Hebrews is to contrast the superior, perfect, once-for-all-time sacrifice of Messiah to the inferior, never-ending sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood. This is the key that unlocks every section of Hebrews, and to use any other key is to make a forced entry.

As we have already noted, interspaced throughout Hebrews are several warnings to unbelieving Jews. These warnings could also function as an encouragement and counsel to the Israelites who had trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior but were being tempted to turn back to Judaism because of doubts, criticism, and, for some, even persecution. The first warning was about neglect the gospel (to see link click Al – How Shall We Escape If We Ignore So Great a Salvation), and the second was about hardening their hearts to hear it (see As – Today, If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts). The main thrust of this third parenthetical warning concerns spiritual maturity – the danger of staying with the elementary truths of the Levitical priesthood, now that the Great High Priest, Yeshua Messiah, had superseded it. Those unbelieving Jews knew a great deal about the gospel, but they had not stepped over the line from knowledge to faith. This is the third of five warning passages (see Ag – The Audience of the Book of Hebrews).

About Melchizedek we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull (Greek: nothros) of hearing (5:11). Who is the author talking to here? There are, of course, many exhortations in the New Covenant for immature believers to grow up. But I don’t think that is what’s being given here. He is saying to hesitant, unbelieving Hebrews still hanging on to Judaism, “Come to completeness, to maturity, in the B’rit Chadashah.” The warning and the appeal, as the two warning passages before, are evangelistic. The maturity being spoken of is that of an unbeliever coming into faith – into the full-grown, mature truths and blessings of Messiah as the Great High Priest. It is the same maturity, or perfection (from the Greek root teleo) as seen in 10:1, “For this reason the Torah can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect (Greek: teleo) those who draw near to worship,” and 10:14, “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect (Greek: teleo) forever those who are being made holy.” This can only refer to salvation, not the spiritual maturity of believers.

So, as John MacArthur relates in his commentary on Hebrews, before they could possibly understand the significance of Yeshua’s priesthood being like Melchizedek’s, the Jewish unbelievers needed to get beyond their limited understanding of YHVH. A key indication of their spiritual immaturity was simply dullness of hearing. The relation of Melchizedek and his priesthood to Messiah is rich and meaningful, and important to the flow of the book, but it cannot be understood by unbelievers, even the ones who intellectually accept the gospel: But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually (First Cor 2:14 HCSB). These unbelievers were being told that there was no use going into the deeper things of the New Covenant at that time, because they had become dull of hearing.

When people are spiritually dull, they are difficult to teach. Those Hebrews had been lulled into sleep because of the neglect and hardness of heart, and they would have to awaken and become alert if they were to ever appreciate the truth, significance and necessity of Christ’s once-for-all-time sacrifice. They could not truly understand the gospel, of course, until they put their trust in the Author of the gospel. In order to understand this, they needed to spiritually “wake up and pay attention.”

The implication of 5:11 is that those who were dull of hearing had once been alert and interested, perhaps even eager, to learn more of the gospel. But over time they lost interest. They didn’t start out dull; they became dull gradually. These where undoubtedly among the ones who had once been enlightened and had tasted of the heavenly gift (6:4). At one time they and been stirred and moved and open to the gospel. They were once on the brink of salvation. By now, however, they had sunk into a rather comfortable spiritual stupor.¹³⁹

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 (5:12). Because of the length of time they had been under instruction of New Covenant truth, they should have known enough to be teaching it themselves. But because they had never truly accepted it, they had not grown in it – and really, couldn’t grow in it. They had been exposed to a great deal of God’s truth, most of which they could probably have passed a quiz. They had the truth in a certain factual and superficial way, but the truth did not have them.

Rabbi Sha’ul wrote to the believers in Rome: But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on Torah and boast about God and know His will and give your approval to what is right, because you have been instructed from the Torah, and if you have persuaded yourself that you are a guide to the blind, a light in the darkness, an instructor for the spiritually unaware and a teacher of children, since in the Torah you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth; then, you who teach others, don’t you teach yourself (Romans 2:17-21a)? In other words, they prided themselves in the idea that they were great religious teachers. Hebrews states explicitly what is implicit in the passage from Romans. Those Jews were not only unqualified to teach, but they needed to go back to kindergarten. They didn’t even understand the ABC’s of their own faith. This was obvious by their unwillingness to recognize the TaNaKh’s clear fulfillment in the B’rit Chadashah.

Because they had become spiritually dull, the informed but unbelieving Jews needed someone to teach them again, and start all over with the basic principles of the oracles of God. These were Jews, and to them the oracles of God was Torah. They needed to go back to the basics. They had had considerable exposure to the New Covenant, but they couldn’t even comprehend their own TaNaKh, as evidenced by their lack of ability to handle the deeper truth about Melchizedek. Because of progressive revelation, the TaNaKh was the basics of the faith, where the B’rit Chadashah is the complete, mature message.¹⁴⁰

Does this mean that the legal part of the Torah stands in opposition to God’s promises? Heaven forbid! For if the legal part of the Torah that God gave had had in itself the power to give life, the righteousness really would have come by legalistically following such a Torah. But instead, the Torah shuts up everything under sin; so that what was promised, being given through faith in Yeshua Messiah, might be given to those who believe.

Now before the coming of this faith, we were imprisoned in to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism, kept under guard until the faith that was to come would be revealed. Accordingly, the Torah functioned as a custodian until Messiah came, so that we might be declared righteous on the ground of trusting and being faithful. But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian (Galatians 3:21-25 CJB). The Torah was the custodian that taught the first and basic truths about YHVH. But we are not under a custodian anymore. Christ has arrived, and the shadows have been replaced with substance.

By neglecting the gospel, and gradually turning away from it because of pressure or persecution that they were under, they had come to a place where they could only absorb milk, or the basic teachings of the TaNaKh, not solid food, the deeper teachings of faith in Christ for salvation. The types point to the coming of Christ had given way to the reality of Christ, but they couldn’t see Him. They needed to start all over again from the bottom up, gradually increasing their spiritual understanding.

For everyone who lives exclusively on milk is not accustomed to the Word of righteousness, since he is an infant (5:13). We must be careful to understand that the Greek word infant, nepios, meaning immature, carries no implication of salvation. The phrase, “babe in Christ” is used today to refer to a new believer. Take a look at Sha’ul’s use of it: Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ (First Corinthians 3:1). There, the word infants needed the qualifying phrase “in Christ” to indicate that those Corinthian infants were saved. Consequently, the word “infants” in our Hebrews passage cannot be made to show that the people referred to are believers. It has no birth relationship to it. Therefore, the central theme and message of the book of Hebrews requires that we understand “infants” to refer to unsaved Jews who, because of their neglect of the gospel and their turning away from it, have again become spiritually immature living on milk.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (5:14). The Greek word for practice, hexis, refers to a habit of the body or mind, and speaks here of the habitual use of the spiritual senses that are being constantly exercised. This results in the ability to discern between good and evil, and in this context, between good and evil spiritual teaching. Those unbelieving Hebrews, however, had abused their spiritual senses and rejected the gospel, the new light given to them, and were turning back to the Levitical system.¹⁴¹ It was as if the writer of Hebrews was saying to them, “Leave the Levitical system behind, and, in the instant of salvation, be mature and eat solid food.” The Levitical system was the infancy they needed to leave in order to go on to the maturity of faith in Christ. His priesthood was superior to the Levitical priesthood; He is a better priest than Aaron; He operates in a better Covenant; He has a better sanctuary and He is a better sacrifice. In other words . . . grow up.

Lord God, You are the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. You know all things and hold our lives in Your hands. You know the future as you know the past. You say in your Word that you will guide our steps (Psalm 37:23; 119:133). Help us to look to You and you alone for direction. Help us not to reply on old past ways to seek You, but to move forward as we follow what You say in your Word – that You alone are our Savior and path to heaven. In Yeshua’s name and thru the power of His resurrection, Amen

Unbelievers and Believers in Messiah
5:11 to 6:20

The book of Hebrews does not teach about two kinds of messianic believers – one immature and the other mature. Rather, the writer, under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, describes the differences between the unbelieving Jews and Jewish believers. The writer had barely begun his consideration of the Melchizedek priesthood when he felt compelled by the Spirit of God to pause and give two warnings to the unbelieving Jews within the Messianic community (5:11 to 6:8), warning them of the grave dangers of rejecting God’s revelation and grace. These third and fourth warnings were directed to the same group of unbelieving Jews who knew much about the gospel but who had not embraced it personally. Some had probably made a half-hearted profession of faith without really crossing the line from knowledge to faith. They had been warned of the danger of not entering into the blessing of God’s rest, apart from which they could not have eternal life. They were so close, yet so far away from true salvation.

Next, he addresses the righteous of the TaNaKh (6:9-20), reminding them of the certainty of ADONAI’s promises. The divine assurance is that all who come to Him through His Son will be saved. YHVH has never failed to deliver on one of His promises, and He never will. It is impossible for Him to be unfaithful. Consequently, it is impossible for anyone who believes in Christ not to be saved or to lose salvation once it is secured (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). How freeing to know that we can trust the LORD because He has no capacity for deception or failure in His nature! This is the wonderfully reassuring truth for those who have faith in the gospel.¹³⁸

Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest
5: 5-10

Messiah’s qualifications as our great High Priest DIG: What two qualities of Messiah allow the comparison with Melchizedek (verses 6-10 and Chapter 7)? What is the significance of our Lord’s full humanity? His sinlessness? How does that relate to your salvation? Read Psalm 110 and compare it with this passage. How does it describe Jesus Christ?

REFLECT: In what ways do you interact with Messiah as your Great High Priest? In what area of your life do you need the mercy and grace that can only be found when you come boldly to the throne of grace (4:16)? Think of a time when you have felt separate and distant from the LORD. Describe what you think it was like for Jesus Christ to be separate from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit on the cross for the first time in all eternity. What element of Messiah’s sacrifice as your Great High Priest touches you the most?

In this section, the author shows that Yeshua fulfilled the four qualifications necessary for the priesthood (to see link click Ax – Qualifications for the Great High Priest), but he doesn’t deal with them in the same order.

The High Priest Must Be Appointed by God: So, like Aaron, neither did the Messiah glorify Himself to become the Great High Priest (Hebrew: Cohen Rosh Gadol); rather, it was the One who said to Him, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father” (Heb 5:5 CJB quoting Psalm 2:7 CJB). The writer quotes Psalm 2:7 to show that Christ’s priesthood is related to His resurrection. Only the Son of God could serve in the kind of priesthood the author will describe later. Also, as He says in another place, “You are a Cohen forever, to be compared with Melchizedek” (Heb 5:6 CJB quoting Psalm 110:4 CJB). This shows divine appointment; not only was Jesus divinely declared the Son of God in Psalm 27, He was also divinely appointed to the priesthood. Not the Levitical priesthood, but to be compared with Melchizedek in Psalm 110:4.

Melchizedek will be discussed in greater detail later (see Bd – The Priesthood of Melchizedek), but a brief word here is necessary. He was a king-priest who lived in the time of Abraham, and whose ancestry is completely unknown. He was king of Salem (the ancient name for Jerusalem) and was a priest of God Most High (see the commentary on Genesis Ed – Melchizedek: King of Salem and a Priest of God Most High). He lived many centuries before the Order of Aaron was established and continues as a priest for all time (7:3 CJB), unlike that of Aaron, which began in the time of Moshe and ended in 70 AD, when the Temple was destroyed. Melchizedek’s priesthood, therefore, was superior to Aaron’s in two ways. First, Melchizedek was a king, whereas Aaron was not, and secondly, his priesthood lasts forever, whereas Aaron’s was temporary. In the final analysis, Melchizedek’s priesthood is a better picture of Messiah than even that of Aaron’s.¹³¹

The High Priest Must Be Human: Yeshua was human and every priest had to be human. During Yeshua’s life on earth (John 1:14), He offered up prayers and petitions in a sense of urgency, crying aloud and shedding tears (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lb – The Garden of Gethsemane). He cried out to the One who had the power to deliver Him from spiritual death when He became sin on our behalf (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God), and to bring Him out of spiritual death to new life. It is believed, and with good reason, that our Lord uttered the entire twenty-second Psalm while hanging on the cross. His prayers and petitions were heard because of His godly fear (5:7 CJB). The word fear in Greek is not phobos, the usual word for fear, but eulabeia. The verb of the same root means to act cautiously, to beware, to fear. The verb picture in the word is that of a cautious taking hold of, and a careful and respectful handling. Therefore, it speaks of a pious, devout, and reverent Christ, who in His prayer, takes into account all things, not only His own desire, but also the will of the Father.¹³² His prayers and petitions at Gethsemane and on the cross were answered because of His reverent fear of the Father.

The High Priest Must Be Compassionate and Sympathetic: He was compassionate and humane. He learned to be compassionate by learning obedience because He also suffered. Even though He was the Son of God, He was given no exemption from hardship and pain. He learned obedience through His sufferings and death on the cross (5:8 CJB). The expression: learned obedience, does not mean that Christ disobeyed; it means that Yeshua learned what obedience cost Him. It cost Him suffering: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). For Him, the office of priest meant suffering and death.¹³³ This is the kind of High Priest we need, one who knows and understand what we are going through.

Since God intends to make you like Jesus, He will take you through the same experiences Christ went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems. The Bible says Yeshua learned obedience through suffering and was made perfect through suffering. Why would ADONAI exempt us from what He allowed His own Son to experience? Rabbi Sha’ul said: We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with Him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with Him (Romans 8:17 The Message).¹³⁴

The High Priest Must Offer Gifts and Sacrifices for Sins: Messiah does function in a priestly order. And once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (5:9). The Greek word for perfect, teleiotheis, means the completion of a process or goal. Christ’s sufferings were completed on the cross. Teleiotheis has the same root, teleo, as the word used on the cross, tetelestai: It is finished (John 19:30). The cross marked the end of His sufferings for sin, and therefore, He could cry out: It is finished. The author repeats the point he made earlier: For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was only fitting that God the Father, the Creator and Preserver of everything, being consistent with God’s wisdom, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through what He suffered, death on the cross (2:10). Our Lord became to all who obey Him the Author of their eternal salvation. But this obedience is not by works, it is by faith (John 6:29; Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5; Ephesians 2:8-9).¹³⁵

The specific priestly order in which Jesus functions, since He had been proclaimed by God as a Cohen Rosh Gadol forever, is to be compared with Malki-Tzedek (5:10 CJB quoting Psalm 110:4 CJB). By His death, Yeshua because the source of eternal salvation; a Great High Priest forever. All the priests of all time could not provide eternal salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). They could only provide momentary covering of sins. But by one act, one offering, one sacrifice, Jesus Christ perfected forever those who are His. The perfect High Priest makes perfect those who accept His perfect sacrifice and obey Him.¹³⁶

It is difficult to resist the four qualifications of Jesus presented here. We must conclude with the writer of Hebrews that Yeshua Messiah, the Great High Priest, is superior to Aaron. It would be foolish for anyone to return to the inferior, momentary Levitical sacrificial system when they could enjoy the superior, eternal sacrifice of Messiah forever. But sadly and tragically, most do not believe and that’s exactly what we see in the first century Messianic community to which the writer was addressing, as we will see next.

Thank You, Jesus, merciful and eternal Great High Priest, for giving Your life for me. Thank you for opening the way to the Father through Your holy and perfect sacrifice.¹³⁷

Qualifications for the Great High Priest
5: 1-4

Qualifications for the great high priest DIG: What qualifications does your messianic rabbi or pastor have? Is it merely education, or is there much more? What qualities do you look for? Are these qualities ever lacking? How do his shortcomings help him deal gently with his congregation when they go astray, since he too is subject to weakness? How does his role compare to Yeshua’s in terms of how each is chosen? How each relates to sinners?

REFLECT: Do you put your messianic rabbi or pastor on a pedestal? Do you expect perfection, or can you allow for human imperfections? What expectations do you have on the wife of your spiritual leader? Can she be a regular person in the congregation, or does she have to lead the women’s ministries and play the keyboard? What about their children? Can their halo slip now and then, or do they have to perfect?

The heart of the book of Hebrews, in Chapters 5 through 9, focuses on the high priesthood of Yeshua Messiah. His superior priesthood, more than anything else, makes the Christ’s high priesthood better than the Levitical high priesthood. Jesus has done what all the high priests together in the Dispensation of Torah did not do and could never have done (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Da – The Dispensation of Torah).

The priests in the TaNaKh were bridge builders to YHVH. They couldn’t come directly into the presence of Ha’Shem, and therefore, God appointed certain men to be ushers, as it were, to bring mankind into His presence. The way to ADONAI was opened only as the priests offered sacrifices – day in and day out, year after year – presenting the blood of animals to the LORD. The priests were the Holy One’s mediators.

But with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, need for the Temple and for the Levitical priesthood ended. A high priest like those who succeeded Aaron were no longer needed. Yeshua was both High Priest and sacrifice, and provided mankind an eternal opening into the presence of YHVH. After His crucifixion, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lw – Accompanying Signs of Jesus’ Death), exposing the Most Holy Place to anyone who would come to God through His Son. In one perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God accomplished what millions upon millions of sacrifices offered by a multitude of priests never accomplished. He permanently opened the way to ADONAI, so that mankind, at any time by faith in Christ, could enter into God’s presence.¹²⁷

The Hebrews, however, had not been familiar with the idea of the Messiah being a High Priest. Jesus had not come from the Order of Aaron; His priesthood was from the Order of Melchizedek. While on the earth Christ didn’t function as a priest in the Temple in Yerushalayim. He performed no priestly duties and thus contradicted the whole Jewish conception of the priesthood. The writer feels the need of explaining in more detail about this new Priest to whom some where in danger of rejecting.¹²⁸

Not just anyone could serve the Israelite community as an ordinary priest, much less as high priest. One of the first questions a messianic Jew would ask when told the Yeshua held the position of High Priest was this: Is He qualified? The writer of Hebrews answers that question by reminding his readers that a high priest needed four qualifications.

The High Priest Must Be Human: For every great high priest (Hebrew: Cohen Rosh Gadol) taken from among men is appointed to act on the people’s behalf with regard to things concerning God (5:1a CJB). First, in order for a Cohen Rosh Gadol to act on behalf of men, he must be taken from among men. YHVH did not choose angels to be priests. Angels do not have the same nature as men. They cannot truly understand men and they do not have open communication with men. Only a man could be subject to the temptations of men, could experience suffering like men, and thereby be able to minister to men in an understanding and merciful way. This much, of course, was completely clear and acceptable to Jews. Their problem was with the incarnation – the fact that God became a man.

In the Dispensation of Torah, even after the covenants with Abraham and with Moshe, Ha’Shem was unapproachable. At the Fall, God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden and mankind no longer had access to the LORD’s presence (Genesis 3:24). In the wilderness, the people were told not to come too near Sinai, where ADONAI chose to reveal Himself to Moshe when giving the covenant of Torah. In the Tabernacle and in the Temple YHVH was behind a veil and could only be approached through the high priest.

By sending His Son, Jesus Christ, God no longer kept Himself aloof and separate from mankind. He entered into the human world and felt everything the mankind will ever feel in order that He might be a sympathetic, merciful and faithful High Priest. If God never became a man, He never could have been a high priest, a mediator, or an intercessor. He never could have offered the perfect and absolute sacrifice for the sins of His people, which divine justice required. Therefore, Messiah taking on human flesh and being born into this world as a man was not an option; it was an absolute necessity if we were to be saved.¹²⁹

The High Priest Must Offer Gifts and Sacrifices for Sins: To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins (5:1b CJB). Secondly, the high priest must function in a priestly order that offers both gifts and sacrifices for sins. The word sacrifices refers to blood-offerings, while the word gifts refers to the grain-offering used with sacrifices. The grain offering was the only bloodless offering given by Moshe in the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Ff – The Grain Offering). It was a voluntary act of worship and devotion, in recognition of God’s goodness and His provisions. The sin offerings, however, were for the temporary forgiveness, or covering, of sins. They could not take away a person’s sin nature, but were made for the covering of particular sins (see the commentary on Exodus Fb – The Five Offerings of the Tabernacle: Christ, Our Sacrificial Offering). Consequently, those sacrifices had to be continually repeated . . . day after day, and year after year. Every priest needed to function in some type of priestly order: Moses’ brother functioned in the Order of Aaron, and Yeshua functioned in the Order of Melchizedek. Therefore, Messiah was a superior High Priest (see Bl – Yeshua the Melchizedek Priest) to Aaron, and ministered within a superior covenant (see Bn – The Superiority of the New Covenant).

The High Priest Must Be Compassionate and Sympathetic: He can deal gently (Greek: metriopatheo, meaning to treat with compassion, with mildness or moderation, to be tender in the judgment of another’s errors) with the ignorant and with those who go astray, since he too is subject to weakness (5:2 CJB). Thirdly, because the high priest is taken from among men, he is able to have compassion on his fellow-sinners, since he himself is a sinner. This is the advantage of his humanity. Metriopatheo, then, speaks of a state of feeling toward the ignorant and the sinful that is neither too severe nor too tolerant. The high priest must be careful lest he become irritated at sin and ignorance. But he must also be careful not to become weakly indulgent.

Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for those of the people (5:3 CJB). The Greek word weakness, astheneia, means to be lying around, and implies moral weakness that makes man capable of sinning. In other words, having a totally deprived nature. Offering sacrifices was the main work of the priest. But since he himself had a totally deprived nature, he had to make sacrifices for himself as well as for the people. This was one disadvantage with the human priest on earth. On the one hand, he could be compassionate because he realized that he himself had the disease of sin, but on the other hand, he first had to sacrifice for his own sin. He had to obtain purity. So while the earthly Levitical priest had a sin nature and had to obtain purity, the Heavenly High Priest had no sin and, therefore, always had purity.

The High Priest Must Be Appointed by God: And no one takes this honor upon himself, rather, he is called by God (Exodus 28; Numbers 16:1-40; First Samuel 16:1-3), just as Aaron was (5:4 CJB). And last, a true priest could not just be any man. He had to be appointed by God because he had to represent man to God. When the priesthood was first established, Aaron was singled out by YHVH in Exodus 16:33 to be a priest. He was officially called into the priesthood in Exodus 28:1 when God said: Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve Me as priests. He was later reconfirmed in that office (Numbers 17:8). Ha’Shem rejected anyone who tried to be a priest without God’s appointment. For example, Korah led a rebellion against Aaron. The LORD killed him by having the earth swallow him up (Numbers 16:31-35). King Sha’ul’s attempt to take the role of a priest and perform his own sacrifice, because he would not wait for Samuel to arrive, led to God’s rejection of Sha’ul as king and to the anointing of David (First Samuel 13:8-14). When King Uzziah tried to burn the incense, which he had no right to burn because he was not a priest, YHVH struck him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16-23). Consequently, negatively, no man takes this honor upon himself, but positively, God must call a priest, and the example the writer gives is, just as Aaron was.¹³⁰

Messiah is a Better Priest Than Aaron
5:1 to 7:28

The author will prove the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood by the use of five contrasts. The second contrast is that believers have a better Priest. The Priesthood of Yeshua is after the Order of Melchizedek, which is superior to the Order of Aaron. As he develops this argument, the author will interrupt this train of thought to give his readers the third (to see link click Ba– You Have Become Dull of Hearing), and fourth warnings (see Bb – Once Fallen Away, It is Impossible to be Brought Back to Repentance) to Jewish unbelievers in the first century.

Today, however, the Roman Church asserts that the pope is superior to the Order of Aaron. The New York Catechism says, “The pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth. By divine right the pope has supreme and full power in faith and morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true Vicar (High Priest) of Christ, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all being judged by no one, God himself on earth.” Thus, the Roman Church holds that the pope, as the High Priest of Christ on earth, is the ruler of the world, supreme not only over the Roman Church itself but over all kings, presidents, and civil rulers, truly over all the peoples and nations of the world.

The triple crown the pope wears symbolizes his authority in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld – as king of heaven, king of the earth, and king of hell – in that though his absolutions souls are admitted to heaven, on the earth he attempts to exercise political as well as spiritual power, and through his special jurisdiction over the souls in purgatory and his exercise of “the power of the keys” (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Fx – On This Rock I Will Build My Church). He can release whatever souls he pleases from further suffering and those whom he refuses to release to continued suffering; the decisions he makes on earth are supposedly ratified in heaven. In his capacity as “head of the church,” seated in his papal chair, the Vatican Council of 1870 declared him to be infallible.

But the fallacy of this claim can easily be seen in the glaring contrast between Jesus and any pope. The pope wears, as a fitting symbol of the authority claimed by him, a jewel-laden, extremely expensive crown, while Christ had no earthly crown at all – except a crown of thorns that He wore on our behalf. The pope rides his “pope mobile,” while Yeshua walked everywhere He needed to go. The pope is adored with genuflections (a bowing of the knee in reverence), where the Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10). The pope lives in luxury with many servants in a huge palace in Vatican City, while Christ when on earth had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Many popes, particularly during the Middle Ages, were extremely immoral, while Christ was perfect in holiness. Messiah said: My Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and refused to exercise worldly authority. But the pope is a worldly ruler, just like a little king, with his own country, his own system of courts, servants, coinage, postal service, and a Swiss military guard that serves in sixteenth century uniforms as a papal bodyguard. Kissing the popes foot began with Pope Constantine in 709 AD, while Yeshua Messiah washed the feet of His disciples (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kh – Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet).

The fact is, that the early Messianic Community had no system of appointed priests on earth, to settle difficult legal questions as God (Deuteronomy 17:8-10, Second Chronicles 19:8-10). There was a doctrinal question at Antioch. What should the Messianic Community do to settle it? Should they write a letter to Peter asking for his decision? This would be the Roman position. But, no, they did not. Should they write a letter to the “college of Apostles?” No, they didn’t do that either. Rather, they sent representatives to meet in Yerushalayim where the apostles and elders came together to consider the matter (see the commentary on Acts Bs  – The Counsel at Jerusalem). They considered it carefully with prayer and studying the Scriptures. Finally they decided on a policy, sent out a letter (see the commentary on Acts Bt – The Counsel’s Letter to the Gentile Believers), and expected the Messianic Community to submit to their decision (Acts 16:4). There was no primacy of Peter or anyone else. Instead there was a meeting of the ordained leaders of the Messianic Community judging matters according to God’s Word. This is the Scriptural answer to the Roman Catholic position that Peter was the first pope. Therefore, in the final analysis, Messiah is not only a better High Priest than Aaron, but also a better High Priest than the pope!¹²⁶

Messiah is in a Better Position Than Aaron
4: 14-16

Messiah is in a better position than Aaron DIG: What are some of the positive reasons the writer to the Hebrews gives for receiving Messiah? What makes Christ the perfect High Priest? What would that mean to a Jew at that time? Explain why we no longer need priests. When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple that screened of the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom. What did that signify? What qualifies Jesus to be our empathetic High Priest? How could Messiah understand our struggle with sin, since He Himself never sinned? What is the throne of grace? How are we encouraged to approach God?

REFLECT: If you could have an ideal priest, what would his traits be? Do you frequently approach the throne of grace with confidence? Why or why not? Mercy means that YHVH doesn’t give us what we deserve, and grace means that He gives us what we don’t deserve. How have you seen mercy and grace displayed in your own life? Why is it difficult to grant mercy to someone else, even though we sin?

The Ruach Ha’Kodesh continues to appeal to Jews who have heard the gospel and turned from Judaism but have not yet trusted in Messiah. It’s as if He has been saying, “You know your dissatisfaction with Judaism and with your own lives. You know the superiority of Yeshua to the prophets (1:1-3), to angles (1:4-14), to Moshe (3:1-6), to Joshua (4:8) and the dangers of not trusting Christ, and of your need for Him. And here we find that He is superior to all other high priests. What is keeping you from making the final decision?”

Up until now the author’s appeal has been mostly negative: if you don’t believe, you will be separated forever from YHVH and His rest. But the message now turns to the positive side of the gospel. Salvation not only saves us from spiritual death, it brings spiritual life. The author will prove the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood by the use of five contrasts. The first contrast shows us that Yeshua has a better position than Aaron.

Messiah’s Perfect Priesthood: Therefore, since we have such a Great High Priest (Hebrew: Cohen Rosh Gadol) who has passed through to the highest heaven (Hebrews 7:24-26), Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we acknowledge as true (4:14 CJB). Only once previously (2:1 to 3:6) had the writer referred explicitly to the priesthood of Messiah, though it was implicit in 1:3, but now he was preparing to undertake an extensive consideration of that truth. But before doing so, he wished to suggest its practical relevance to his readers whom he exhorted to hold firmly to the faith. They had to know that the priesthood of their Lord offered them all the resources they needed.¹¹⁹

Have: In the Greek text, the word have is emphatic and it emphasizes a continuous availability. Believers have a Cohen Rosh Gadol who is always available.

Passed through: The Levitical priest, like Aaron, went into the Most Holy Place and after he finished his duties, he came out. A year later, on the Day of Atonement, he went in and out again. This is not the case with our Great High Priest. He has passed through the highest heaven. He has passed through the first and second heavens and entered into the third heaven, and He has remained there. The use of the Greek perfect tense (a completed action in past time, having continuous results in the present time) emphasizes that He has passed through and has been there ever since. The place of this Cohen Rosh Gadol’s ministry is in heaven, not on the earth, and therefore, has a better position.

But there is another way in which Messiah is seen to be better than Aaron. The events that took place when Jesus passed through the highest heaven, show that He is infinitely better than Aaron. Aaron could never have performed such a feat. The reference here is to our Lord’s resurrection from tomb, and after forty days, His ascension from the Mount of Olives (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Mr – The Ascension of Jesus) to heaven as High Priest having made atonement for sin at the cross. In Isra’el, the atonement was not complete at the bronze altar. Not until the high priest had carried the atoning blood into the Most Holy Place, and had sprinkled it on the mercy seat (see the commentary on Exodus Fs – The Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place: Christ at the Throne of Grace), was the atonement complete. Likewise, our Lord’s atonement was not complete at the cross. Not until He had entered heaven as the High Priest having made atonement for sin, was His atonement compete. He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time by His own blood, thus setting people free forever (9:12 CJB).

But that is not all that is involved in His superiority to Aaron. Not only was Aaron unable to offer a sacrifice that would pay for sin, but he could not have passed through the highest heaven to complete the atonement, even if he had been able to offer one. And there was more than gravity keeping Aaron from passing through the highest heaven. There was the power of the Adversary and his demons that would have opposed his progress through the atmosphere. This same power opposed the power of Christ as He ascended to present Himself as the High Priest who had made atonement for sin at the cross. But He disarmed the powers and authorities (the definite article in the Greek means the specific ones, or the evil one and his demons), and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). The verb disarmed (Greek: apekduomai) means to completely strip of from oneself. What a picture of the battle in the skies in which the old dragon and his demons attempted to keep Messiah from ascending to the mercy seat to complete the atonement. It was their last chance to keep Him from the right hand of the Father and He had to fight His way through to the highest heaven, something Aaron could not do. Thus, Jesus was better than Aaron.¹²⁰

Yeshua, Son of God: If there was any doubt in the minds of that first century Messianic community that Jesus was the Messiah, here the author gives the messianic title. Yeshua is His human name, and Son of God is His divine name.

The book of Hebrews describes the end of the sacrificial system. The Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of Torah) was based on a priesthood interceding between men and YHVH, but when Yeshua came as the final High Priest and offered the final sacrifice; as a result, the need for such a priesthood ceased to exist (see Aw – Messiah is a Better Priest Than Aaron).

Today there is no place in the congregations of God for any priesthood – that is an affront to the full and final priesthood of Jesus Christ Himself. Any priesthood on earth now implies that atonement for sin has not yet been made. Believers have no need for someone to go to the Father for them. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we can go directly to ADONAI’s throne of grace. First Peter 2:5 and 9 tells us that all believers are priests. Every believer, by faith in Yeshua Messiah, enters directly into God’s presence. When Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lw – Accompanying Signs of Jesus’ Death), indicating that access to the Father is now forever open to those who come through His Son.¹²¹

Messiah’s Perfect Person: For we do not have a Cohen Rosh Gadol unable to empathize with our weaknesses (4:15a CJB). To many people, God seems far off and unconcerned with human affairs, but that could not be further from the truth. The word empathize comes from the Greek word sunpatheo, which means to suffer with. The use of the word here means more than knowledge of human infirmity. It points a knowledge that has in it a feeling for the other person by reason of a common experience with that person. The weaknesses here are not sufferings, but moral and physical weaknesses that predispose one to sin. They are weaknesses that undermine our resistance to temptation and make it difficult for us to keep from sinning. The Ruach Ha’Kodesh wants to emphasize that somehow Yeshua’s temptation was different that ours; that the Adversary attacked Him with toy arrows. On the contrary, He felt the difficulty of being righteous in this world. Even though His divinity may have ensured His triumph, His temptation was real and could only be overcome by means that are open to all: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (First John 2:16). The one difference between our temptations and those of Jesus is that His were without sin.

Our Lord’s appreciation of our weaknesses comes from experience since in every respect He was tempted just as we are. Yeshua experienced the drive of human nature bent on sinning. His humanity was His battleground. It was in His humanity that Messiah faced and fought sin. Just like you and me. He was victorious, but not without the most intense temptation, grief, and anguish. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted, the only difference being that He never sinned (4:15b CJB). Temptation only becomes a sin when you give in to it. Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” You can’t keep the devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them.¹²²

When His accusers called Him a servant of Satan, Jesus demanded to see their evidence. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? He declared (John 8:46 NASB). Ask any of my best friends to point out my sin, and the hands go up very quickly. But when Messiah asked this question, no one spoke. Yeshua was followed by His apostles, analyzed by crowds, criticized by family, and scrutinized by His enemies, yet not one person could remember Him committing even one sin. He was never found in the wrong place. Never said the wrong word. And never acted the wrong way. He never sinned. Not that He wasn’t tempted, mind you. Lust wooed Him. Greed lured Him. Power called Him. Jesus – the human – was tempted. But Jesus – the holy God – resisted.¹²³

So when we have sinned and are in trouble, or are dealing with the temptation to sin, we often hesitate to turn to God. We think we can handle it on our own, or feel the need to “clean up or act” before we approach Him. How can Yeshua’s understanding and sympathetic nature motivate you to turn to Him today in times of temptation and trouble?¹²⁴

Because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into the heavenly Sanctuary, we can now approach ADONAI without fear. Every claim of God’s holiness and justice has been satisfied so that the LORD is free to act on behalf of sinners. Consequently, we are invited into His presence. Aaron could only approach the mercy seat once a year on the Day of Atonement (see the commentary on Exodus Go – The Day of Atonement), but we have access to YHVH every moment of every day. Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace (4:16a CJB).

The throne of grace is God’s throne of judgment, but when Yeshua sprinkled His blood upon it, He turned it into a throne of grace. That’s perfect provision. What was it that we needed? Mercy and grace. So we are to come boldly, confidently before God’s throne to receive the grace He has provided for us through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How could anyone reject such a High Priest?

Messiah’s Perfect Provision: So that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need, when you need it the most (4:16b CJB). The One who understands us perfectly will also provide for us perfectly. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (First Corinthians 10:13).

Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for not coming to You first and for questioning whether You could really understand my needs. Thank You for your mercy. I know I don’t deserve it and neither do I deserve Your grace, but I praise You because You are a gracious God. I renounce the lies of Satan that distort the knowledge of who You really are. Teach me to be merciful to others as You have been merciful to me, and teach me to give people what they need, not what they deserve. I thank You for Jesus Christ, who made it possible for me to come before Your presence, and I resolve from this day forward to do just that. I praise You for Your mercy and grace and for Your open invitation for me to come to You. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.¹²⁵

The Superiority of the Messiah
to the Levitical Priesthood
4:14 to 10:18

After his parenthetical warning on the danger of a hardened heart to unbelieving Jews (to see link click As – Today, If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts), and after having shown that Messiah is better than the first pillar of Judaism, the angels (1:4 to 2:18), and better than the second pillar of Judaism, Moshe (3:1-6), the writer now demonstrates that Jesus Christ is better than the third pillar of Judaism of his day, the Levitical Priesthood.

Here begins the longest single expository passage in Hebrews. Its very length suggests its importance. Its theme is the core theme of the book. The real resource of the struggling Messianic community, in the midst of their pressures, is the high priesthood of Messiah. They must realize the greatness of that priesthood, its superiority to the Levitical priesthood, and the perfect access they had to it on the basis of Yeshua’s death.¹¹⁶

Twice earlier, the author mentioned in passing that Yeshua is a High Priest. The first time was in 2:17: This is why He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect – so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, making atonement for the sins of the people (2:17 CJB). The second time was in 3:1: Always think about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publically as God’s Apostle and High Priest of our confession (3:1).

Now we will deal with this aspect exclusively. The author will prove the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood by the use of five contrasts: Messiah has a better position than Aaron – 4:14-16 (Av); Messiah is a better High Priest than Aaron – 5:1 to 7:28 (Aw); the new priesthood is based on a better Covenant – 8:1-13 (Bm); the new priesthood functions in a better Sanctuary – 9:1-10 (Bq), and the new priesthood is based on a better Sacrifice – 9:11 to 10:18 (Bu).¹¹⁷

The essential idea of a priest is that of a mediator between God and mankind. In our fallen state we are sinners (Romans 3:23), guilty before Ha’Shem, and alienated from Him. We have no right to approach the LORD, nor do we have the ability, or even the desire, to approach Him. Instead, we want to flee from ADONAI and to have nothing to do with Him. We are, therefore, helpless until someone acts as our representative. The Rabbis teach that the three pockets in the Afikoman ceremony during Pesach represent Ha’Shem, the priests, and the people – the priests representing the mediators between God and His people. But we know that Yeshua is our Great High Priest – our only Mediator.

In ancient Isra’el the priests performed three primary duties. They ministered in the Sanctuary before YHVH; they taught the people the Torah; and they inquired for the people concerning the divine will. Under the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), the priest was only a shadow of the great High Priest that was to come. With the coming of Christ this office was fulfilled in Him.

The Bible teaches that there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (First Timothy 2:5). However, the Roman Catholic church teaches that there are many mediators: the priests, Mary, a host of saints, and the angels, and Rome teaches that it is entirely proper to pray to them. All Roman Catholics must accept this teaching under pain of mortal sin, which can lead to damnation, or excommunication. The decree states, “The priest is the man of God, and the minister of God; whoever hears him hears God. The priest forgives sins as God. It is clear that their function is such that no one is greater. Therefore, the priests are not only called angels, but also God, holding as they do the power and authority of the immortal God.” There is probably no other doctrine revealed in the Bible that the Roman Church has so obviously turned upside down as that of their corrupted priesthood. Romanism put the priest between the believer and the knowledge of God as revealed in the Scriptures, and makes him the sole interpreter of truth. It puts him between the confession of sins and the forgiveness of sins.

There is one main passage in the Bible that deals with the priesthood of all believers: You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ . . . But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (First Peter 2:5-9). As believers, we are not mere spectators of our faith who may or may not engage in it as we choose, but priests, and therefore obligated individually to make the message of salvation known to others around us. Because of this privileged closeness with God, no other earthly mediator, as seen in the Catholic Church, is necessary.

With the coming of Messiah, and the accomplishment of redemption through His death and resurrection, the entire Levitical system in the Torah became obsolete and passed away in its entirety. It is very telling that the Roman Church retains their contaminated priesthood while discarding the other elements of the Levitical sacrificial system. First century had no priests, either within the Messianic Community or Gentile believers. Nowhere in the B’rit Chadashah does it describe such a leader (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Fx – On This Rock I Will Build My Church). The Jewish priesthood was changed (see Bh – The Former Priesthood Has Changed), and we are told that Jesus Christ is now our High Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (7:17). Consequently, Catholic priests are merely an invention of the Roman Church and a creation of its imagination.¹¹⁸

Just as Paul encouraged those of his day to choose Yeshua as their High Priest rather than an earthly priest – so let us choose Messiah as our High Priest, rather than any human. Praise God that He sent Christ as: our perfect High Priest (4:14-16), our mediator (First Timothy 2:5) who ransomed us from our sins (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, First Timothy 2:6, Hebrews 9:15) and opened the way for us to approach ADONAI’s throne of grace. How awesome to have such a Great and Mighty High Priest!

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
4: 1-13

A Sabbath-rest for the people of God DIG: What is the author warning his readers about from the story of Isra’el’s rebellion? Why was it not enough for Isra’el to merely know the truth? Why is hearing not enough? Why do people fail to enter God’s rest? What are several synonyms for rest? What is the significance of today? What is the proper response to the warning in verses 1 and 11? What does it mean that the LORD’s Word is alive? At work? That it cuts right through? What are the three activities to continue in God’s Word?

REFLECT: What kinds of tasks or jobs do you think we will perform as rulers with Yeshua in the New Heaven and New Earth? When you fall short in your spiritual walk, is it more a product of drifting, doubting, or disbelieving? What makes you say that? In what ways would you like to have more rest in your spiritual life? When you think of a restful place, what images come to your mind? Heaven will provide rest from this world. What are the things from which you will have the most rest?

Hebrews 4 continues the warning to informed but unresponsive Jews that the author had just warned (to see link click As – Today, If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts). They not only knew the basic truths of the gospel, but had even renounced Judaism. Nevertheless, they did not trust in Yeshua as the Messiah. Hearing the gospel doesn’t mean anything unless you believe it. The warning, of course, applies to anyone who is hesitating in committing fully to Jesus Christ, and can be summarized: Don’t harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness where you put God to the test (3:7-8). The Israelites left Egypt, but they often longed to go back. They refused to trust the Lord completely and, oppressive as it was, the old life still had a strange appeal. They halted at the crucial point of decision (Numbers 13-14). As a result, they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land and into God’s rest. So it is with many who are drawn to Messiah. Unbelief forfeits rest – that is the point he is making.

There are several meanings of rest. It means the end of trying to please ADONAI with our feeble, fleshly works; God’s perfect rest is a rest in free grace. It also means to be at peace with YHVH. We are free from running from philosophy to philosophy, from religion to religion, from life-style to life-style. We are freed from being tossed around by every doctrinal wind, every idea of fad, that blows our way. Rest means we have absolute confidence in the LORD’s power and care. We can depend on Him for all our needs now, in the future, which includes the Messianic Kingdom, the Eternal State (see the commentary on Revelation Fq – The Eternal State), and the New Jerusalem (see the commentary on Revelation Fs – The Eternal New Jerusalem). In other words, forever.¹⁰³

Therefore, let us be terrified of the possibility that, even though the promise of entering His rest still remains (4:1a CJB). The writer uses two different Greek words for rest in this chapter. The one used most often is katapausin, which is used eight times in Chapters three and four: 3:11 and 18; 4:1, 3 (twice), 5, 10 and 11. Apart from the book of Hebrews, this word is used only once in the entire New Covenant. It is unique to this writer and means a cessation of activity.

Any one of you might be judged to have fallen short of it (4:1b CJB). Not trusting in Ha’Shem is something to be feared (Matthew 10:28). Just as Isra’el never entered Canaan’s rest at Kadesh-Barnea because of unbelief, the author warns not to miss God’s salvation rest because of unbelief. It wasn’t too late! Some of the Messianic community probably thought it was. But they had no reason to fear because the promise still remained. However, they needed to act and not put their decision for Christ off any longer. As long as a person has the opportunity to decide, they can decide. People are never too far-gone for God to deal with them. As long as the heart is sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying, as long as they can hear His call, they have time to be saved. ADONAI’s rest is still available, but only He knows how long that will be for each person.¹⁰⁴

For Good News has also been proclaimed to us (first-century believers), just as it was to them (the generation that came out of Egypt). But the message they heard didn’t do them any good, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith (4:2 CJB). From the human side, the first requirement for salvation is faith. Hearing the gospel is vital, but it is not enough. The ancient Israelites heard YHVH’s Good News of rest, but it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. It’s tragic that hell is going to be populated with people who will say: Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew You. Away from Me, your evildoers (Matthew 7:22-23; Luke 13:26-27)! Their knowledge and their works were not united with faith.

The Jews were especially proud to be descendants of Abraham. But Yeshua warned them that true children of Avraham believe and act as Abraham did (John 8:39). Rabbi Sha’ul reminded his fellow Israelites that a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God (Romans 2:29). Spiritually, then, an unbelieving Jew is a contradiction in terms.

If you run a red light, you’re not innocent just because you know the driving rules. Knowing the law doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay the penalty. Again, Sha’ul says: For circumcision is indeed a value if you do what Torah says. But if you are a transgressor of Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision (Romans 2:25 CJB).¹⁰⁵

The Jewish writer to the Hebrews brought two themes together in order to make it exceptionally clear that Yeshua’s Sabbath rest was superior to that of Moses.

The first of these was creation. ADONAI ceased from His work and gave the seventh day as an eternal marker showing that not by works, but by faith, could one enter into His completed work. For it is we who have believed who enter that rest (4:3a CJB). Moshe, in writing Genesis, recorded no evening for the seventh day of creation, revealing that it is finished, yet open . . . an unending blessing for all who would receive YHVH’s invitation by faith. In a somewhat startling statement, the Father speaks of His own “refreshment” on the seventh day (Exodus 31:17) and invites His people to be refreshed as well.¹⁰⁶

The author again quotes Psalm 95:11 and points out that the wilderness generation did not enter God’s rest even though He had promised it since creation. It is just as God said, “And in My anger, I swore that they should not enter My rest” (Hebrews 4:3b quoting Psalm 95:11 CJB). He swore this even though His works have been in existence since the founding of the universe (4:3c CJB). Psalm 95 was sung on Shabbat in the Temple and remains a part of the Shabbat liturgy in the synagogue today. So it is natural for the author to make his point about rest by introducing a quotation from another Shabbat-related passage (used nowadays in the home service before the Friday night meal).¹⁰⁷

For there is a place where it is said, concerning the seventh day, “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works” (Hebrews 4:4 CJB quoting Genesis 2:2 CJB). Adam and Eve were completely righteous when they were created. They walked and talked with YHVH as regularly as they walked and talked with each other. They were at rest, in its original and fullest sense. They relied on ADONAI for everything. They had no anxieties, no worries, no pain, no frustrations and no headaches. They didn’t need the LORD’s forgiveness, because they had never sinned. They didn’t need His consolation, because they were never grieved. They didn’t need His encouragement, because they never failed. They only needed His fellowship, because they were made for Him. This was their rest in God.

But something terrible happened. When the Adversary began to question God’s word, integrity and love, Adam and Even chose to believe the old Serpent. When they lost their trust in Ha’Shem, they lost their rest. And from that time until now, mankind has not only been sinful, but restless. The entire purpose of the Bible, and the entire working of YHVH in human history has one purpose: bring mankind back into His rest.

To accomplish that, God had to remove the barrier that had separated us from Him. So He sent His Son to provide a way for our rest. Through Christ’s death we are again offered rest, the rest God had always intended for us to have. Even the people who lived before the cross were saved on the basis of faith in what ADONAI was going to do through His Son. Messiah bore sins past, present and future, and through Him God’s rest has been available to anyone who believes.

Those who sinned while wandering in the wilderness not only forfeited Canaan. Unless they exercised personal faith in God sometime during the forty years, they also forfeited eternal life – of which Canaan was merely a symbol.¹⁰⁸

And once more, our present text says, “They will not enter My rest” (Hebrews 4:5 CJB quoting Psalm 95:11 CJB). Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and those who received the Good News earlier did not enter because of their disobedience, again God fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David, so long afterward, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts” (4:6-7 CJB). When mankind lost ADONAI’s rest, God immediately began a recovery process. Through His Son, Yeshua Messiah, some would be restored because YHVH’s purpose must be fulfilled. He created mankind for fellowship and His plan would not be denied, either by a rebellious Adversary or by disbelieving humans. Because the LORD wants us to be saved, we can be saved. Only disobedience keeps us apart from His embrace.

The opportunity for God’s rest remains, but it will not remain forever. The Ruach ha-Kodesh demands immediate action to be saved. Rabbi Sha’ul said: Now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation (Second Corinthians 6:2 KJ). When Ha’Shem looked down on Noah’s civilization that was about to drown, He said: My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years (Genesis 6:3 NLT). In other words, people have no more than their lifetime to believe God. The average life expectancy today is much less than 120 years; and, of course, none of us has a guarantee of even living past today because ADONAI limits the time for salvation. In Messianic Kingdom, people will have to the age of 100 to believe that Christ is the Messiah or they will die (see the commentary on Isaiah Kq – The Wolf and the Lamb Will Feed Together, and the Lion Will Eat Straw Like the Ox). But for us, this is God’s today, right now – the only day, the only opportunity we can be sure of.¹⁰⁹

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day (4:8 CJB quoting Psalm 95:7-8 CJB). Canaan rest for Isra’el is a picture of the spiritual rest we find in Christ when we surrender to Him. True rest doesn’t come through Moshe, or David, or Joshua, it comes through Yeshua Messiah. When we come to Him in faith, we find salvation rest (Matthew 11:28). When we yield and obey Him by faith, we enjoy submission rest (Matthew 11:29-30). As a result, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1), and the peace of God (Philippians 4:6-8). It is by believing that we enter into His rest (4:3a).¹¹⁰ Whatever physical or earthly benefits ADONAI may give us, His ultimate promise is to give us spiritual rest. Some of the LORD’s children are some of the most physically afflicted people imaginable. Yet, they are in YHVH’s salvation rest.

So there remains, then, a Sabbath-rest (Greek: sabbatismos) for the people of God. The writer of Hebrews here uses a second Greek word found in this chapter for rest. It is used only here in the entire B’rit Chadashah. It doesn’t refer to Shabbat, but rather to Shabbat–observance, or Sabbath–celebration. The emphasis is not on the cessation of daily activities but rather on the celebration of YHVH’s life-sustaining presence among them (Exodus 31:12-17). This is the ideal rest. Is provided by God Himself.¹¹¹ For anyone who has entered God’s rest has also rested from their own works, as God did from His (4:9-10). This rest is also in the future. In his vision on Patmos, Yochanan heard a voice form heaven saying: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. And the Holy Spirit agreed with this, by saying: Yes, they will rest from their labor, and receive a reward, for their righteous deeds will follow them (Revelation 14:13). Hebrews 4:10 anticipates that final day when we will cease from all our effort and work in this life and enter into the presence of Messiah. That is the essence of Sabbath-rest.¹¹²

Shabbat-observance is expected of all believers. From Colossians 2:16-17, which says that the Sabbath was a shadow of the things that were to come, but the substance come from Messiah, we learn that the essence of Shabbat–observance for believers is not following the detailed rules which halakhah, or Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), sets forth concerning what may or may not be done on the seventh day of the week. Rather, as verse 10 explains, the Shabbat-rest expected of God’s people consists in resting from their own works, as God did from His; it consists in trusting and being faithful to God (verses 2-3). Although the specific “works” from which the readers of this letter were to rest were animal sacrifices (6:4-6), by implication all self-struggle, in which one relies on one’s own efforts instead of trusting God, is to be avoided; and in this the author is making the same point as Sha’ul does in Romans 3:19 to 4:25.¹¹³

The second theme deals with redemption. God enabled His beloved to rest in Canaan as the result of a redemptive miracle. Now ADONAI’s great redemptive sign-post, Yeshua Messiah, gives an invitation to a heavenly gathering where those standing on the sea of glass will sing two songs, the song of Moses (the servant of ADONAI) and the song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:3a). Jesus is God’s Sabbath rest for all who will trust in His finished work. He becomes the focal point of rest by virtue of His have been sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people (9:28).

As early as the first century, the friendly greeting shalom alechem (peace upon you) would bring the response alechem shalom (upon you peace). The word shalom also referred to a finished product; in fact, when the last stone of Solomon’s Temple was in place, many Jews spoke of the building as shalom, or complete.

No greater theme was ever expressed to the people of God than that which proclaimed their wholeness, their true shalom, in the Messiah. The rabbis correctly believed that Shalom was one of God’s names, for Isaiah’s prophecy called Him Sar Shalom, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Now the wholeness of YHVH is available: For He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Those who trust in Him have become a completed building, a holy temple in which His Ruach dwells (Ephesians 2:22). This clear word of shalom, of comfort, is counterbalanced by a compelling challenge: Therefore, let us do our best to enter that rest; so that no one will fall short because of the same kind of disobedience (4:11 CJB).¹¹⁴ The wilderness generation died a physical death. Those to whom this warning was given, would die in their sins and be lost forever if they didn’t repent. Therefore, the example of the wilderness wanderers should have been a deterrent to the Messianic community in the first century, and a deterrent to us today, from committing the same sin of unbelief.

See, the Word of God, that which offers rest to the believer, is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword (Greek: machairan meaning a short dagger) – it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. The immediate context of this verse means that the readers who were hesitating in trusting Christ, who were considering falling back into Judaism, had better be urgent and doing their best in seeking to enter God’s rest, because the Word of God is alive! Before God, nothing created is hidden, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account (4:12-13 CJB). Unbelief will not go undetected. The Word of God not only saves us and comforts us, but it is also a tool of judgment and execution. In the day of the Judgment (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment), His Word will expose all the rebellious hearts that have not trusted in Him. The naked truth of unbelief will be exposed and no flimsy, half-hearted profession of faith, or no list of good works will matter before Him. All the disguises will be ripped off and only the real you will be seen.

For us today, God’s . . . gracious Word can make you into what He wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly want (Acts 20:32 The Message). Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth. Yeshua prayed: Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth (John 17:17). Sanctification, or spiritual growth, requires revelation. As Rich Warren states so well in his book The Purpose Driven Life, the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. In other words, to become like Jesus, we must fill our lives with His Word. The Bible says: So that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (Second Timothy 3:17). When the LORD speaks, things change. Everything around you – all creation – exists because YHVH spoke it into existence. Without His Word we wouldn’t even be alive. As James points out: He chose to give us birth through the Word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all that He created (James 1:18).

The Bible is far more than a doctrinal guidebook. God’s Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever! We cannot live without the Word of God! Never take it for granted. You should consider it as essential to your life as food (Job 23:12). However, millions of believers are plagued with spiritual anorexia, starving to death from spiritual malnutrition. To be a healthy disciple of Jesus, feeding on God’s Word must be your first priority. Messiah said: If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples (Yochanan 18:32). In day-to-day living, continuing in God’s Word involves three activities.

Accept the authority of the Word: It must become the authoritative standard in your life: the compass you rely on for direction, the counsel you listen to for making wise decisions, and the benchmark you use for evaluating everything. Resolve that when God’s Word says to do something, you will trust it and do it whether it makes sense to you, or whether you feel like doing it. Obedience is better than sacrifice (First Samuel 15:22).

Assimilate the truth of the Word: It is not enough just to believe the Bible; you must fill your mind with it so that the Spirit of God can transform you with the truth. There are five ways to do this.

First, you receive God’s Word when you listen and accept it with an open, receptive attitude (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Et – The Parable of the Soils).

Second, read the Bible daily. If you will read the Bible for fifteen minuets a day, you will read completely through it in one year. Daily Bible reading will keep you in range of ADONAI’s voice. This is why YHVH instructed the kings of Isra’el to always keep a copy of His Word nearby: It is to remain with him, and he is to read it every day, as long as he lives; so that he will learn fear ADONAI his God and keep all the words of the Torah (Deuteronomy 17:19a CJB). But just don’t keep it with you, read it every day.

Third, study the Bible. The difference between reading and studying the Bible is asking questions and writing down your thoughts on paper or computer. But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect Torah that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy (James 1:25 NCV).

Fourth, memorize God’s Word. Your capacity to remember is a God-given gift. You may thin you have a poor memory, but the truth is, you have millions of ideas, truths, facts and figures memorized. You remember what is important to you. If God’s Word is important, you will take the time to memorize it. Select a few Bible verses that have touched you and write them down on a 3 by 5 index card that you can carry with you. Look at them, read them aloud, and when you can copy them over and over. Use all three of the ways you learn; see it, touch (write) it, and hear it. Remember that repetition is the mother of learning, so review, review, and review. Remember with Christ taught and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise (Colossians 3:16a LB).

The fifth way to assimilate God’s Word into your mind is to reflect on it, which the Bible calls meditation. For many, the idea of meditating conjures up images of putting your mind in neutral and letting it wander. This is the exact opposite of biblical meditation, which is focused thinking. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over again. How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit!  Their delight is in ADONAI’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night.  They are like trees planted by streams – they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds. (Psalm 1:1-3 CJB)

Apply the principles of the Word: Receiving, reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on God’s Word are all useless if we fail to put them into practice. We must become doers of the Word (James 1:22). This is the hardest step of all, because the Adversary fights it so strongly. He doesn’t mind you going to messianic synagogue or church as long as you don’t do anything with what you learn. Don’t fool yourself, just because you’ve read something doesn’t mean you’re internalized it. Jesus said: Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24). Messiah also pointed out that the blessing of ADONAI comes from obeying the Word, not just knowing it. He said: Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:17). I cannot overstate the value of being a part of a small Bible study discussion group. We always learn from others truths we would never learn on our own. Other people will help you see insights you would miss and help you apply God’s truth in a practical way.¹¹⁵

Today, If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts
The Second Warning – 3: 7-19
The Danger of a Hardened Heart: Unbelieving Jews

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts DIG: Why does God warn us? To what incident does the quotation of TaNaKh refer? How did the people of Isra’el harden their hearts? What were the results? What does it mean to turn away from the living God? What is an apostate? Why was God angry with the wilderness generation? What role do believers play in keeping us pointed in the right direction (verse 13)? What will be the outcome of faithfulness (verses 14-18)? What does it mean to enter God’s rest (verses 11, 18-19; 4:1-11)?

REFLECT: What is the only unpardonable sin? What are some practical ways they you can put verse 13 into practice? Does that make you nervous? How might reaching out to others actually help you? What has been one of the most rebellious times in your spiritual life? What resulted from it? Who (or what) helped to bring you back? How would you describe your heart right now? Soft? Hard? Cold? Warm? Why? How could you respond to someone who said they couldn’t live by faith?

From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures warn that the wrath of God is inevitable if people continue to sin. Since Ha’Shem takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezeki’el 18:32), and is not wanting anyone to perish, but that everyone to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9), He continually warns mankind. This is one such warning. ADONAI warns unredeemed men and women to turn to Yeshua Messiah before it’s too late. Many people know the facts of the gospel but have never committed themselves to Jesus Christ. To know the truth but not act on it brings a worse judgment than never to have known at all. This warning is to Jews who knew the gospel, but because of their love of sin or fear of persecution, they had not committed themselves to what they knew to be true. This is the second of five warning passages (to see link click Ag – The Audience of the Book of Hebrews).

It is as if there was a fire in a hotel and people are on the tenth floor. Because there is a net below, the firemen are yelling, “Jump, jump.” But they do not jump. They hesitate. They are well aware of the danger and they know the net is their only hope, but the do not act on what they know to be true and necessary. They might be concerned about saving some of their possessions, or perhaps they think they can find another way out. Some might even be concerned about how they would look while jumping. But the point is this: simply knowing about the danger and knowing the way out of it will not save them. If they don’t jump they will die. When your life is at stake, doing nothing shouldn’t be an option.⁹¹

The illustration of unbelief: The writer gives us a picture of what he is talking about from Psalm 95:7-11. Although David wrote this Psalm, it speaks about the time of Moshe. It is a moving example of the problem many Jews faced in the time of the early Messianic Community. It describes Isra’el’s disobedience and rejection of ADONAI in the Exodus wanderings. David used this story to warn his people of against unbelief. A thousand years later the writer to the Hebrews used it for the same purpose. Nearly two thousand years later the warning is still valid.

Therefore, as the Ruach ha-Kodesh says. The word therefore reaches back to the three preceding arguments. In view of the fact that Messiah is better than the prophets (1:1-3), better than the angels (1:4-14), and better than Moses (3:1-6), the warning is: Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts. The word today, of course, indicates urgency. In other words “right now!” These Hebrews were already hardening their hearts. Inspired by the Ruach, the author urged them to stop, turn, and repent. Today lasts only as long as there is an opportunity to decide. When the heart is soft, when the conscience is sensitive, when the intellect is convinced about Messiah – that is the time to decide. Otherwise that person’s heart will become spiritually hard, stubborn, and insensitive. The gospel no longer has any appeal. When a person’s today is over, it’s often too late.

Don’t harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing (see the commentary on Exodus Cu – Strike the Rock and Water Will Come Out of It) in the wilderness where you put God to the test (3:7-8 CJB quoting Psalm 95:7b-8 CJB). It was if the author was saying, “Don’t do what the children of Isra’el did even after they had seen proof of God’s power and care for forty years. They continued in their disbelief. Don’t do that! You never know how long you will have to decide.” In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). God’s time for salvation is always today.

In his earlier ministry D.L. Moody often would end his message with, “Go home and think about what I’ve said.” One night in Chicago he told the people to do this and come back the next night ready to made a decision. That night the great Chicago fire of 1871 broke out, and some who had been in his congregation died. That was the last time he told anyone to think over the claims of Christ and make a decision later. Today signifies the present time of grace. People today, as in the time of Moody, and in the time of the Hebrews, and in the David, and in the time of Moses, never know how long that time of grace will be for them.⁹²

Unbelief never has enough proof. Asking for more proof is merely a pretext, an excuse, and a delaying tactic. The Israelites kept testing God, and the time of testing lasted forty years (Exodus 17:1-2). Yes, your fathers put Me to the test; they challenged Me, and they saw My work for forty years (3:9 quoting Psalm 95:9-10a CJB)! The Greek word test (peirazomai) means to put to the test to see what good or evil may be in a person. What an insult it flings in the face of an all-loving, all-powerful God. The first century readers of this letter are warned not to take that same attitude toward YHVH. Yes, they were being bitterly persecuted because of their profession of faith in Messiah, but they needed to trust ADONAI in the midst of it all and not harden their hearts against Him.⁹³

The Israelites thought they could go their own way and do their own thing, but they couldn’t. Sin is deceiving. It takes you further than you want to go, and costs you more than you want to pay. Sin makes darkness seem light, bitter seem sweet, slavery seem like liberty, and wrong seem right. Most people do not need more proof that ADONAI is real or that Yeshua is His Son. They need to hate and repent of their sin and to commit themselves to Him. A God who is continually tested will never be accepted. The one who tests God toady does so for the same reason that the Israelites did in Moshe’s day – to put Him off, because they love their sin, their own way, their own plans far too much to give them up for God’s Way (Acts 9:2).⁹⁴

Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation – I said, “Their hearts are always going astray, they have not understood how I do things” (3:10 CJB quoting Psalm 95:7b-8 CJB). The objects of God’s loathing were the rebels, that generation that perished in the wilderness. They could not, and did not, enter into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 12:9; Psalm 132:8, 14). “In My anger against Isra’el’s sin I swore that they would not enter My permanent rest in Canaan,” in contrast to the slavery of Egypt (Hebrews 3:11 CJB quoting Psalm 95:10b-11 CJB). It is God’s rest that He would give to His people. It refers to the permanent and tranquil rest promised Isra’el in Canaan if they obeyed His Word. Unfortunately, even the generation that entered the Land enjoyed no permanent rest because of sin and was taken into captivity. The remnant that returned from the exile was governed by successive Gentile empires until 70 AD when it was scattered over the then known earth.⁹⁵ Ultimately, God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6) will never occupy all the Land that ADONAI had promised them, nor enjoy the shalom that He said would be theirs until the Messiah comes and institutes His thousand-year reign (see the commentary on Revelation Fj – My Chosen People Will Inherit My Mountains).

The invitation to end unbelief: Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to turn away (Greek: the root word is from histemi meaning to stand off from) from the living God (3:12 CJB)! And that is exactly what some of them were doing, standing aloof from YHVH (see the commentary on Jude Ah – Godless People Have Secretly Slipped In Among You). The ideas is not of departing, but standing aloof from. Our word apostasy is derived from a form of this Greek word. Some of the Jews in this Messianic community, should they renounce their professed faith in the B’rit Chadashah and go back to the Levitical sacrifices, would be apostatizing. Their choice was clear: Levitical sacrifices or the crucified Messiah!

The phrase brothers and sisters is not a reference to believers; when the writer addresses believers, he refers to them as brothers and sisters whom God has set apart (3:1 CJB). Here he merely addresses fellow Jews. He warns them that if they reject Yeshua as Messiah, they are rejecting God. They were on the verge of faith, but had not committed. They had rejected the wooing of the Holy Spirit. This is the only unpardonable sin (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven). They were in grave danger.

No matter how close you are to faith in Jesus Christ, if you never commit yourself to Him, you have an evil heart of unbelief. Your punishment will be even greater because you have departed from that which you knew to be true. Hebrews 6:6 says: It is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance. They turned away from the Truth and from life itself. When a person hears the truth of Jesus Christ, acknowledges that it is true, and then turns their back and walks away . . . there is nothing else Ha’Shem can do.⁹⁶

The instruction against unbelief: Instead, encourage (Greek: parakeleo, meaning come along side to give help) each other every day, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin (3:13 CJB). This echoes a well-known exhortation found in the Talmud, “Rabbi Eliezer said, ‘Repent on day before you die.’ His disciples objected, ‘Does one know in advance the day of one’s death?’ He replied, ‘All the more reason to repent today, lest you die tomorrow! In this way, your entire life will be one of repentance’ (Shabbat 153a).”⁹⁷

They were especially urged to help their unbelieving Jewish brothers and sisters by encouraging them not to harden their hearts but to accept Yeshua as Messiah. When a person becomes hardened, they are rarely aware of it. They can hear the gospel over and over again and not respond. But the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. If your heart is not melted by faith, it will be hardened by unbelief.

The old sinful nature suggests that trusting in Christ is no big deal. Becoming a believer in Yeshua is too costly, too demanding, too restrictive, too boring, and, above all, unnecessary. Many lost people think, “I take care of my family, I’m a helpful neighbor and a good citizen. I’m not perfect, but I’m not evil either. I’m not going around robbing banks for heaven’s sake. My life has room for improvement, sure, but it doesn’t need saving.” But God’s assessment is quite different: But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith, and if they shrink back, I will not be pleased with them. However, we are not the kind to shrink back and be destroyed; on the contrary we keep trusting and thus preserve our lives (10:38-39 CJB)!⁹⁸ The choice is clear. Once reaching the age of accountability everyone has the same decision they cannot escape. What do believe about Jesus Christ. Either you believe in Him and who He says He is, or you fall back into hell for eternity (see the commentary on Romans Al – The Evidence Against the Pagan Gentile). You don’t get to heaven by what you do, you get to heaven by what you believe.

None of us are immune to temptation. Given the right situation, you and I are capable of any sin. ADONAI knows this , so he has assigned us as individuals the responsibility of keeping each other on track. “Mind your own business” is not a phrase that believers should use. We are called and commanded to be involved in each other’s lives. If you know someone who is wavering spiritually right now, it’s your responsibility to go after then and bring them back into the fellowship: If you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back (James 5:19 The Message).⁹⁹

For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we should hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the very end (3:14 CJB). If we really believe the gospel, if we have committed our life to Yeshua Messiah, then at the end of the day, at the end of the year, at the end of our life, our commitment will still stand. The greatest proof of salvation is continuance of faith in Christ. The true believer stands with Jesus: If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples (Yochanan 8:31). When someone departs from the gospel, backs away from the faith they once professed, we can only conclude that they never really believed in the first place. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us (First John 2:19). Staying with the Lord marks the difference between possession and profession.¹⁰⁰

The issue of unbelief: Those who fall short of salvation do so because of unbelief. God’s blessings are available to those who take hold of them by faith (11:1). Some people claim they can’t live by faith – they have a pragmatic, empirical mind that has to have all the facts. However, when you think about it, everyone lives by faith. You live by faith when you eat at a restaurant. You live by faith when you drive a car. No one drives in constant fear that around the next bend they will smash into a forty-foot-high concrete wall; we trust the people who made our highways. When crossing a bridge, we don’t expect it to end halfway out. If you can put your faith in the highway department and the people who prepare your food, you can certainly put your faith and trust in the God of the universe.¹⁰¹

The appeal to turn to the Lord without delay is repeated again for emphasis. Now where it says, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion,” who were the people who, after they heard, quarreled so bitterly? Ha’Shem had become angry with all those whom Moshe brought from Egypt who would not believe and used them as an example. At the borders of Canaan they had refused to follow Caleb and Joshua into the Promised Land and exhibited a lack of faith. The inspired author pleads with his readers not to follow that example and suffer the same fate. And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned – yes, they fell dead in the Wilderness! Unbelief forfeits blessing and brings judgment (see the commentary on Jude Aj – The LORD Delivered His People Out of Egypt, But Later Destroyed Those Who Did Not Believe). And with whom was it that He swore that they would not enter His rest? Those who were disobedient (3:15-18 CJB). They were of that non-persuadable type that would not listen to reason, stiff-necked and obstinate. The writer says, “don’t be like them.”¹⁰²

In the final analysis, their disobedience, their insubordination, their rebellion, led to their lack of faith. So we see that they were unable to enter God’s rest because of lack of faith (3:19 CJB). Do you know someone who professes to be a believer but has walked away from the YHVH? On the basis of what you have learned in this teaching, how would you evaluate him or her? Begin to pray for that person, and ask ADONAI to give you an opportunity to share this warning, and the boldness to confront your friend with the consequences of continuing to walk away from God.

The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Position
3: 5-6

The superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His position DIG: Who made up the household of God in the Dispensation of the Torah? What is Christ’s household? In what ways are Jesus and Moses similar? What quality did Jesus and Moses have in common? In what ways is Messiah greater? Why is that important? How would you explain someone who once professed faith in Christ, but fell back into the world? What are two important things we learn from Hebrews 3:1-6?

REFLECT Are you serving the Lord with a heart of love and affection, or out of a sense of obligation? How can you examine yourself and change that? What is your ministry in the house of God where you worship? In what sense does ADONAI live in you? When your heart doesn’t feel like you are the temple of the living God, what does your head say? What does Scripture say? Which do you believe? Do you ever worry about your eternal salvation? Are you in Christ? Is He in you? What does that mean?

There is another factor in Christ’s superiority over Moses: The prophet Moshe spoke about things to come, but Yeshua Messiah brought the fulfillment of these things. Moses, as it were, ministered “in the shadows” (8:5 and 10:1), while Jesus Christ brought the full and final light of the gospel of the grace of God.

To accept Moses is to accept Jesus: Also “Moshe was faithful in all God’s house” (Hebrews 3:2 CJB quoting Numbers 12:7 CJB), as a servant giving witness to things God would divulge later, meaning in reference to the Messiah (3:5 CJB). The word servant (Greek therapon) is not the usual word used in the B’rit Chadashah used for servant or bondslave (Greek: doulos). Therapon has an ethical character attached to it, and speaks of a voluntary servant who acts because of love and affection. In the New Covenant, it is used only of Moshe. At the beginning of his ministry, Moses was hesitant and resisted the call of YHVH. But once he surrendered, he obeyed out of a heart of love and affection.⁸⁵ Moshe ministered to Isra’el, the people of God in the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), and Christ ministers to His Church, the people of God, under the Dispensation of Grace (see Bp – The Dispensation of Grace).

If this is what believers are – God’s house – then we should ask, “For what reason does one build a house?” We might conclude – “To live in it.” What a marvelous truth this is, that ADONAI has redeemed us so that He might dwell among His people (Revelation 21:3). This is true of believers individually. If you have come to YHVH through faith in Messiah, then He is living in you, working in you to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13), by means of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. Jesus said of the Spirit He would send to those who believed in Him: He lives with you and will be in you (John 14:17).

But this is also true of believers corporately. We are together God’s house. He dwells among us as well as in us. Rabbi Sha’ul says: We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people” (2 Corinthians 6:16). He used this point to argue that the universal, invisible Church, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14), is called to be holy, because ADONAI is holy. Kefa also said: You yourselves, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (First Peter 2:5). The Church is the holy temple where the holy God dwells in Spirit, is worshiped and served.

When you build a house, you first lay the cornerstone, which establishes the lines and angles for the whole house. Then comes the foundation, which will support the structure that is built upon it. Sha’ul tells us in Ephesians 2:19-22 that the Church is such a house. Yeshua Messiah Himself is the chief cornerstone, and the apostles and the prophets are the foundation. Their teaching, as it is recorded in Bible, tells us how the Messianic Community was started (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach ha-Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot) and how it grew into the universal, invisible Church today. Since the apostles are the foundation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles), a believer is one who receives and believes the apostolic teaching in the B’rit Chadashah and builds his or her life on it, as that foundation rests on Christ Himself.

The TaNaKh reveals the geography of salvation – if you wanted to know Ha’Shem, you could not look just anywhere. Yes, God is everywhere, yet He specially revealed Himself in a particular place, among His people in the wilderness (see the commentary on Exodus Ep – The Camp of the Twelve Tribes of Isra’el), and especially at Jerusalem in the Temple (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Ax – Solomon’s Temple). If you wanted to find ADONAI, you had to go there, where God’s house was, the way the queen of Sheba went to Yerushalayim in Solomon’s time. Today, if you want to learn about God, you should go to a messianic synagogue or church where God’s Word is taught. Though YHVH is everywhere, it is still in His house where He especially reveals Himself to those who come in faith.⁸⁶

Although Moses and Jesus were both faithful, there was a difference. Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house itself (3:3 CJB). While Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house, the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house (3:6a CJB). Moshe was but a member of the spiritual household that Jesus built. Messiah created both Isra’el and the Church. That is the essence of His deity: For every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God (3:4 CJB). Since through Him everything was made (John 1:3). He is God.

The mark of true believers: The closing statement shows the mark of a true believer: And we are that house of His, provided we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for (3:6B CJB). This does not mean that believers are saved only if they just hold on to the end. We can neither save ourselves nor keep ourselves saved. That would mean salvation is attained by works, not by faith. The point here is that to continue, to persevere in the faith is the evidence that a person is actually saved. Those who hold fast to their confidence and hope are proving that they are truly born again. If someone professes Christ as Savior and Lord, but abandons their profession altogether, the Bible says they were never saved to begin with: They out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us (First John 2:19).

Apparently there were some Jews in this persecuted Messianic community who had fallen away, and it was because of them that the writer to the Hebrews gives these words, which both warn and encourage. Some were at the edge of commitment, but hardened their hearts and fell away (see As – Today, If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts), proving that they were never saved. The true believers persevered, and their perseverance was evidence of their salvation: If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples (John 8:31). One of the clearest truths of the B’rit Chadashah is that the Lord holds on to those who belong to Him (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Yeshua has never lost anyone, and never will lose anyone, from His household.

This passage teaches us two important things. First, we should be sure we are true believers. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves (Second Corinthians 13:5). Secondly, when we know we are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, 7, 11-12), we should keep our eyes on Him. He is all we need. We are complete in Him.⁸⁷ Therefore, Yeshua is superior to Moses in His position.

The wandering of Isra’el in the wilderness is a major theme in the book of Hebrews. However, only two men in that nation – Caleb and Joshua – illustrate the attitude described in Hebrews 3:6b. Everyone else in Isra’el over the age of twenty died in the wilderness and never saw the Promised Land (Numbers 14:26-38). Nevertheless Caleb and Joshua believed ADONAI, and He honored their faith. For forty years Caleb and Joshua watched their friends and relatives die, but those two men of faith had confidence in God’s word that they would one day enter Canaan. While others were experiencing sorrow and death, Caleb and Joshua rejoiced in confident hope. As believers, we know that God is taking us to heaven, and we should reflect the same kind of joyful confidence and hope.⁸⁸

Lord, you make it possible for me to answer a heavenly calling that is impossible to embrace on my own. Through Your Holy Spirit, give me the strength today to follow you to the Father’s heart.⁸⁹

The Superiority of Messiah
to Moshe in His Person and Work
3: 1-4

The superiority of Messiah to Moshe in his person and work DIG: What is the main reason that the Jewish people hold Moses in such high regard? Read Exodus 3:1-13 and John 14:6-14. List some differences between the ways Yeshua and Moshe accepted their calls. What are some of the practical applications of what has been written about Jesus in Chapters 1 and 2? What is the significance of Christ being God’s messenger as High Priest?

REFLECT: To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God’s Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). The Adversary can’t get your attention when your mind is preoccupied with something else. That’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us to always think about Jesus. Fill your mind with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable (Philippians 4:8 GNT).

Next to Abraham, Moshe was undoubtedly the man most revered by the Jewish people. To go back to the Levitical system meant to go back to Moses, and the recipients of this letter to the Hebrews were greatly tempted to do just that. It was important that the writer convince his readers the Yeshua Messiah is greater than Moshe, for the entire Levitical system came through Moses. In this file, we learn that Jesus Christ was superior to Moshe in three respects; He was an apostle, a high priest, and a builder.⁷⁸

Therefore, brothers and sisters whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, always think about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publically as God’s Apostle and High Priest of our confession (3:1). These two titles are not used of Jesus anywhere else in the New Covenant. The writer implored his readers to always think about Yeshua. Most of them had already made their confession that Jesus was their Savior, the next step, was to make Christ their Lord and to learn from Him (Mt 11:29). This was no quick glance at Yeshua. It is a careful consideration of who He is and what He has done. It was as if the writer was saying to them, “You don’t need anything else. He is sufficient. Now that you have the supreme Reality, keep your attention on Him.” The little embattled Messianic community needed to always think about Messiah and not angels, not Moshe, or the Levitical system that was trying to lure them back.⁷⁹

Messiah the Apostle (Greek: apostolon): Although Moses was never called an apostle in the Bible, he could be considered one in the sense of conveying God’s truth and wishes to the people of Isra’el. Therefore, the writer is not using the term Apostle in the same sense as the twelve apostles (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles), but simply as a messenger. It was through Him that a new dispensation came into being and by whom a new covenant was made. Through Moshe, the First Covenant was made (see the commentary on Exodus Dd – The Mosaic Covenant) and the Dispensation of Torah was brought in. Through Yeshua the B’rit Chadashah was made (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el) and the Dispensation of Grace was brought in. As a result, Jesus was superior because He brought a better covenant and because He Himself was a better sacrifice. Yeshua Messiah is the supreme Apostle, the One sent as God’s “last Word” to sinful mankind (John 3:17, 34; 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; and 17:3).

Messiah the High Priest (Hebrew: cohen gadol): Although Moshe could be considered a type of apostle, he was not a priest at all, much less a high priest. That title belonged to his brother Aaron. But Jesus was not only an Apostle, He was a High Priest. Yeshua fulfills this role by interceding for the people (2:17), just as Moses did when the people worshiped the golden calf (Exodus 32). These two titles were given to Jesus: Apostle, which makes Him like Moshe; and High Priest, which makes Him like Aaron. The apostolic theme will be developed in 3:1 to 4:13 and the High Priest theme will be developed in 4:14 to 7:28. Therefore, Messiah is superior to Moses because He held two offices, whereas Moshe held only one. He is the High Priest of our confession, meaning the readers have publicly confessed their faith. The content of their confession was that Jesus is the Messiah (4:14 and 10:23). Now they need to consider who He is as the Apostle and High Priest of their faith.⁸⁰ He is the Supreme Priest, the supreme Mediator, between God and mankind. He is not only the Sent-One from God with all God’s power, speaking God’s voice, but He is the One who brings mankind and God together. Consequently, He brings God to mankind and mankind to God.

The comparison of Moses and Jesus was a most delicate one for the Messianic community. Moshe was the object of deep veneration to those Jewish readers. He carried out God’s plan. He came out of Egypt into the wilderness. Ha’Shem refined him. It took forty years for YHVH to make Moses usable; then, for the next forty years ADONAI used him. He was faithful in the wilderness, and it is this faithfulness that the Ruach emphasizes.⁸¹ So Moses was not sinless as was Christ, but he was faithful and obeyed God’s will. This would be an encouragement to those first-century Messianic believers to remain faithful to Messiah; even in the midst of the trials they were experiencing. Instead of going back to Moses, the persecuted Messianic community should imitate Moses and be faithful to their new calling in Christ. The writer shows great tact by showing that both Moshe and Messiah were faithful, before declaring that while Moses was faithful as a servant, Christ was faithful as the Son (see Aq – The Superiority of Messiah to Moshe in His Position).

Messiah is (present tense) faithful to God the Father, who appointed Him; just as “Moshe was (past tense) faithful in all God’s house” (Hebrews 3:2 CJB quoting Numbers 12:7 CJB). The house is the house of Isra’el. Moses was faithful in his work in the house of Isra’el. But Jesus was grater in faithfulness than Moses because even Moshe failed occasionally, Yeshua, however, never failed. Jesus is faithful to God the Father who appointed Him.

Messiah the Builder: But now, having prepared the ground, the writer comes out boldly with the assertion that Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house itself (3:3 CJB). Messiah built the house of Isra’el; Moses was a member of that house. Since Jesus has more honor than the house of Isra’el, it follows that He is worthy of more honor than Moshe, for he is a member of that house. Since Christ is better than Moses, the Covenant that He inaugurated must be better than the one Moses was instrumental in bringing in, and for that reason the superior Workman turns out a superior product.⁸²

The writer now guards against any possible misunderstanding on the part of his readers by stating: For every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God (3:4 CJB). Messiah is not only viewed as the Builder of the house of Isra’el, but as the Builder of everything. The Builder is greater than any of His tools. Moses was part of the house of Isra’el and an instrument ADONAI used in building it. To hold on to the forms of Judaism or to its greatest leader would be to hold on to the symbol of the reality, or to an instrument of that reality. To hold onto Yeshua was to hold on to reality itself.⁸³ Therefore, in His Person and His work, Yeshua is viewed as superior to Moses.

Moses is commended in this passage for his faithfulness as a steward of what God gave him. Could it be said of you that you are a faithful steward? How well are you managing the resources God has entrusted to you, such as your time, money, spiritual gifts, children, or ministry? Are you holding back any of those areas and not acknowledging God’s rightful ownership? Remember, a steward doesn’t own anything; he or she merely manages it for the owner. Ask the LORD to help you to be a faithful steward of all He has given you and to show you if you are being unfaithful in managing any of His resources.⁸⁴

The Superiority of Messiah to Moses
3: 1-6

After having shown that Messiah is better than the angels, the first pillar of Judaism of his day (1:4 to 2:18), the writer now demonstrates that Jesus Christ is better than Moshe, the second pillar of Judaism of his day (3:1-6). The background to this section is Numbers 12:5-8. The brother and sister of Moses challenged his authority and the LORD intervened, and pointed out Moshe’s faithfulness and his uniqueness as a prophet with whom He had spoken face-to-face. Next, to Abraham, Moshe was undoubtedly the man most revered by the Jewish people. To go back to the Levitical system meant to go back to Moses, and the recipients of this letter were very tempted to do just that. It was vitally important that the writer convince his readers that Yeshua Messiah is greater than Moses.⁷⁴

Moses was extremely esteemed by the Jewish people. YHVH had miraculously protected him as a baby and personally provided for his burial (see the commentary on Jude, to see link click Ao – Michael Disputed with the Devil about the Body of Moses). Between those to points in his life we see miracle after miracle after miracle. He was the man to whom ADONAI spoke face-to-face. He had seen the Sh’khinah glory of God, and, in fact, even had the Shechinah reflected in his own face for a brief while. After he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because He had spoken with the LORD (Exodus 34:29). He was the one who led Isra’el out of Egypt. As Rabbi Sha’ul stresses in Romans 2, the Israelites had great confidence in the Torah. The Israelites lived their lives by the 365 commandments and 248 prohibitions of the Torah, and to them Moses and the Torah were synonymous. The B’rit Chadashah often refers to the commandments and prohibitions of YHVH as the Torah of Moshe (Luke 2:22, 24:44; John 7:23; Acts 13:39, 15:5, 28:23; 1 Cor 9:9; Hebrews 10:28 CJB). Moses not only brought the Ten Commandments (see the commentary on Exodus Dh – Moses and the Torah), but he also wrote the five books of Moshe (B’resheet or Genesis; Sh’mot or Exodus; Vayikra or Leviticus; B’midbar or Numbers; and D’varim or Deuteronomy).

God spoke to the prophets in visions, but He spoke face-to-face with Moses. YHVH spoke to him in the burning bush. He spoke to Him out of heaven and gave him the plans for the Tabernacle and the ark of the Covenant. He spoke to him on Mount Sinai and wrote the commandments with a finger of fire. Moshe was, above all others, God’s man.⁷⁵

Because of the great importance of Moses and his bringing the Torah to the Israelites, a comparison of him and Jesus would have been of great significance to the Messianic community of Hebrews.⁷⁶ The contrast here, however, is not to denigrate Moses, but to exalt Jesus. Nor does the book of Hebrews denigrate the TaNaKh; rather it seeks to exalt the B’rit Chadashah. More than that, rather than denigrating the access Moses had to God, Hebrews exalts the access believers now have to ADONAI. And instead of denigrating the faithfulness of Moshe as God’s servant, Hebrews exalts the faithfulness of Yeshua as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12). Moshe was faithful in all God’s house, but the Messiah was faithful over God’s house (3:5a-6a CJB). Moses’ intimacy with the Torah, his face-to-face access to Ha’Shem, and his position as a faithful servant in all God’s house, all point to the One who would be greater in all these areas.⁷⁷

The Proof of Messiah’s Salvation
2: 10-18

The proof of Messiah’s salvation DIG: What is the ultimate weapon that the Serpent holds over us? How did Yeshua destroy that weapon? Why did we need someone with flesh and blood like us – not an angel – to die in our place? What did Messiah accomplish by His death as one of us? What is the goal of our salvation (verses 10-11)? What does it mean to call Jesus the Author of salvation? What is the difference between the way Yeshua made atonement for sins and the way the high priest made atonement on Yom Kippur?

REFLECT: Because Jesus makes you holy, ADONAI is proud of you. Being included in God’s family is the greatest privilege you and I will ever receive. Nothing even comes close. Why not pause right now and thank YHVH that He included you in His family? Read Hebrews 4:15. What does it mean to you that Yeshua actually experienced life the way you do? Read Philippians 2:5-11. If our attitude is like Messiah’s, what will our lives be like? Of all three titles for Christ (brother, Author of salvation, High Priest), which one means the most to you right now? Why?

The Talmud states that the world stands upon three things: Torah study, worship, and gemilut chasadim (good deeds). The rabbi’s primary responsibility then, as now, is not the preaching of sermons or visiting the sick; it is interpreting the demands of the 613 commands of the Torah. There is not secondary emphasis in the religious leader’s ministry, for the great Rabbi Hillel, an older contemporary of Yeshua, said: Who has gained for himself words of the Torah has gained the life of the world to come. The Pharisees extended hope only to those who, according to one of the apocryphal books, the Psalms of Solomon, could “walk in the righteousness of [God’s] commandments.” However, the gospel extends its unique hope to all those whose walk, whose way of life, is singularly bound up with the Messiah’s free gift of righteousness.⁶⁴

Christ crucified was, and is, a stumbling block to the Jew (First Corinthians 1:23). This may have been one of the factors that influenced some of the Jews to drift away from believing in Messiah (to see link click Al – How Shall We Escape If We Ignore So Great a Salvation), back to the Levitical sacrifices. The inspired writer seeks to justify his bold assertion: But we do see Yeshua – who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels – now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by God’s grace He might taste death for all mankind (2:9 CJB). He senses the recoil that some of his readers would have from the thought of a suffering Messiah (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mv – The Jewish Concept of Two Messiah’s), and now shows that Yeshua’s suffering and death were according to YHVH’s divine will.⁶⁵

For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was only fitting that God the Father, the Creator and Preserver of everything, being consistent with God’s wisdom, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through what He suffered, death on the cross (2:10). The cross was a masterpiece of wisdom. YHVH solved the problem that no human or angel could solve. What He did was also consistent with His holiness, for Ha’Shem showed His hatred for sin. It was consistent with His power, being the greatest display of power ever seen. Messiah endured thousands of years of sin in just a few hours on the cross God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). It was consistent with His love, in that He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish by have eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Finally, it was consistent with His grace, because Jesus’ sacrifice was substitutionary. He died in your place and in my place. No truth is more basic to the gospel than this. He who is above the angels, became, for a little while lower than the angels so that He might suffer death on behalf of everyone.⁶⁶

In verses 12-13, the author quotes three messianic passages from the TaNaKh to emphasize Messiah’s humanity and His identification with mankind. Concerning the fear of death, Satan’s ultimate weapon, the letter to the Hebrews offers us much to console us. For both Yeshua, who sets people apart for God, and the ones being set apart (sanctified) have a common origin – this is why His is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters when He says: “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise” (Hebrews 2:11-12 CJB quoting Psalm 22:22). Glory, not the grave, is our final destiny. Our passageway has been cleared of all obstacles by Him who became our perfect Savior through His death on the cross. In His oneness with us, we can rest assured that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, making us part of the family of God and infinitely precious to Him.

The little flock of Messianic believers needed to hear, not only of ADONAI’s provision for them in heaven, but also of His help for them on earth. They needed to know that what God the Father had done for them in His Son is not reserved solely for the world to come (2:5 CJB). Jews always believed in the necessity of making the most out of their lives in this world. Consequently, the Hebrews were told that Messiah suffered being mindful of His people’s needs during times of personal crisis (2:18), and that He is willing and able to sympathize with them in their weakness (4:15).⁶⁷

Also, “I will put my trust in Him” (Hebrews 2:13a CJB quoting Isaiah 8:17). This points out that Isaiah, finding that his prophecies of salvation and judgment met with no positive response from either the king or the people, put his faith and trust in God to deliver Isra’el. Here the writer of Hebrews quotes that passage to show the relationship of the Son to the Father as he now waits for Yeshua’s enemies to be subdued.

And then it goes on, “Here I am, along with the children God has given me” (Hebrews 2:13b CJB quoting Isaiah 8:18). The writer now quotes Isaiah to show the close unity that exists between the Lord Jesus and those whom He calls His brothers and sisters. The Lord Yeshua never called His people brothers or sisters before the cross. He called them friends or sheep, but never brothers or sisters. Why? Because they could not truly be brothers or sisters until after the cross, when their sin was paid for and His righteousness was transferred, or imputed, to their spiritual bank account. Only then did they become spiritual brothers and sisters of the Lord. As soon as Messiah rose from the dead, He said to Mary Magdalene: Go to My brothers and tell them that I am going back to My Father and your Father, to my God and your God (John 20:17b CJB). For the first time, He called His apostles brothers.⁶⁸

As a man Yeshua had to suffer like us in order to fully identify with us. This is what uniquely qualifies Him to be our mediator. By being identified fully with both YHVH and with us, He bridges the gap (Isaiah 59:1-2), and creates for us the unity with God that He Himself has.⁶⁹ Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, He became like them, flesh and blood, and shared the same human nature. As God, He does not have flesh and blood, but He became man to have a common element with humanity. When He was born, He shared the same human nature but without its sin. This was not in place of His deity, but it was something additional to it. So that by His death He might render ineffective (Greek: katargeo) the one who had power over death (that is, the Adversary), and thus set free those who had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death (2:14-15 CJB). The same word is used concerning the Torah. It was not destroyed, but it was rendered ineffective for salvation, and, as a result, it does not hold any legal authority over the believer anymore. The great dragon continues to exercise his power on earth, but insofar as the death of a believer is concerned, he has been rendered ineffective.

Indeed, it is obvious that He does not take hold of fallen angels to help them; on the contrary, “He takes hold of the seed of Avraham” (Hebrews 2:16 CJB quoting Isaiah 41:8-9). God didn’t choose to provide salvation for fallen angels; He only chose to provide salvation for fallen mankind. God had to become like the ones He is providing salvation for. He never intended to become an angel. And when He became human to provide salvation, He didn’t become just any human, but the seed of Abraham – a Jewish man.⁷⁰

This is why He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect (2:17a CJB). You’ve barely dipped a toe into Matthew’s gospel when you realize Yeshua hails from the Titled-Halo Society. Rahab was a Jericho prostitute. Ruth was from the wrong side of the tracks. David had a thirty-year problem with lust, culminating with his sin with Bathsheba. But did Jesus erase His name from the list? Not at all . . .

Why did Messiah hand His family’s dirty laundry out on the neighborhood clothesline?

Because your family has some also. The dad who never came home. The mother who always came home drunk. The grandparent who ran away with a coworker. If your family tree has some bruised fruit, then Christ wants you to know, “I’ve been there.”

The phrase, “I’ve been there” is in the chorus our Lord’s theme song. To the lonely, Jesus whispers, “I’ve been there.” To the discouraged, God’s Son nods His head and sighs, “I’ve been there.” Whatever you are facing, He knows how you feel.⁷¹

So that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest (Hebrew: cohen godol) in the service of God, making atonement, or propitiation (Greek: ilaskesthai). Propitiation is the averting the wrath of Ha’Shem by means of the vicarious (substitutionary, performed by others) and efficacious (producing the desired effect) sacrifice (death) of Jesus Christ (the atonement). Propitiation is the work of Messiah that satisfies every claim of God’s holiness and justice so that ADONAI is free to act on the behalf of believers (Isaiah 53:4-11; Second Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Romans 3:23-26; First Peter 2:24). Therefore, by means of Yeshua’s death, God was propitiated, and His wrath against sin was satisfied by the substitutionary payment of the innocent blood of the Son for the sins of the people (2:17b CJB). This concept is not found in any other religion.

The background of verses 14 to 17 is the concept of the kinsman-redeemer found in the TaNaKh (see the commentary on Ruth Ax – Ruth and Bo’az on the Threshing Floor). Under the Torah there were many ways a Jew could get into trouble, and one of these was to fall into a state of indebtedness beyond his ability to repay. In that case, a Jew had only two options. He had to sell himself into slavery for six years or find a kinsman-redeemer to pay his debt. But the kinsman-redeemer had to meet three requirements. First, he had to be a kinsman or blood relative; second, he had to have the means to pay his relative’s debt; and third, the kinsman had to be willing to pay of his relative’s debt. He was, however, under no obligation to do so because being a kinsman was a voluntary role.

The Bible teaches that those who sin are slaves to sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:15-23). This is true of all mankind – we were all born sinners. Yet, the Jews were also enslaved to the 613 commandments and prohibitions the Torah because of their inability to meet its high, holy standard of perfection. But Yeshua, the Kinsman-Redeemer, fulfilled all three requirements. First, He was a kinsman. By becoming human, He had a blood-relationship to all mankind in general. Since He came as a member of the seed of Abraham, He had a blood-relationship with the Jews in particular. Second, He had the means to pay His relative’s debt. In this case the price of redemption was innocent human blood. Because He was the only Jew who ever lived that kept all 613 commandments and prohibitions of the Torah perfectly, His shed blood was innocent. Third, He was wiling to pay His relative’s debt, and He did it voluntarily, saying: No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily (John 10:18 NLT).⁷²

Finally, the author makes the application of Messiah’s work to us in the conflict of life. For since He Himself suffered death when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted (2:18). Jesus was tempted at the beginning of His ministry (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bj – Jesus is Tempted in the Wilderness), tempted at the end of His First Coming on the cross (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God), and no doubt, countless times in between. The word help (Greek: boetheo) means to run to the cry of those in danger and bring them aid. How precious it is to know that when we are being tempted, our Lord Jesus always stand ready, eager to run to our cry and bring us aid.

When you have a problem, it’s wonderful to be able to talk with Christ who has already experienced it and come through successfully. Other people may be understanding, but they cannot fully understand. Yeshua came to identify with us, to experience what we experience. For we do not have a Great High Priest unable to empathize with our weaknesses; since in every respect He was tempted just as we are, the only difference being that He did not sin (4:15). Messiah became our Sympathizer, a merciful and faithful High Priest. He was hungry, He was thirsty. He was overcome with fatigue, He slept, He was taught (Isaiah 50:4), He grew, He loved, He as amazed, He was glad, He was angry, He was indignant, He was grieved, He was troubled, He was overcome by future events, He exercised faith, He read the Scriptures, He prayed, and He cried when His heart ached.

Jesus felt everything we will ever feel – and more. For example, He felt temptation to a degree that we could not possibly experience. Most of us never know the full degree of resistible temptation because we usually give in long before that degree is reached. But since the Lord never sinned, He took the full measure of every temptation that came to Him. And He was victorious in every trial.⁷³

Christ is not only the Author of salvation, He is not only the Sanctifier, He is not only the Satan-Conqueror, but He is also Yeshua the Helper. He is able to help us when we are being temped. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. So when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (First Corinthians 10:13). When tempted, look for the way out that Jesus has provided. This is our Savior. Better than the angles, our perfect Substitute. What a Savior He is. There is no other.

The Proof of Messiah’s Sovereignty
2: 5-9

The proof of Messiah’s sovereignty DIG: To whom did God subject the world? Why isn’t that rule complete, or universal right now? Who rules instead? In comparing people and angels, how are we both lower and higher? What is the ultimate destiny of humanity? What does the phrase the world to come refer to? How can the Kingdom be both present and future? In what respect was Yeshua made lower than the angels? What elevated Him above them? What does Christ share in common with humanity? How is He unique?

REFLECT: In what ways is being a human better than being an angel? In what ways do you think being an angel would be better than being a human? In God’s infinite wisdom, He surely could have chosen a different way to redeem us. Why do you think He chose becoming a man and dying as a sacrifice?

After his urgent appeal 2:1-4 for mankind not to neglect salvation, the writer briefly returns to his discussion of angels – as an introduction to his teaching about our destiny. First, he presents another remarkable truth about the angels’ rank or position in relation to Messiah, “For it was not through angels that God subjected the world to come, which is what we are talking about.” ADONAI alone will be Sovereign in the world to come, another indication of His superiority to angels. If angels are next below YHVH, and Yeshua is superior to angels . . . then Jesus is obviously God.

In addition to continuing the argument about the superiority of Christ above angels, this passage deals with the destiny of mankind. We are totally lost. In losing our right relationship with God, we also lost the meaning of our existence. These verses teach us what our destiny is, how and why it was lost, and how it can be recovered in the exalted Savior.⁵²

Our destiny revealed by ADONAI: For it was not through angels that God subjected the world to come (Hebrew: the ‘olam haba), which is what we are talking about (2:5 CJB). The word subjected is the translation of the Greek word hupotasso, a military term used of arranging soldiers in order under the commanding general. The word speaks of an economy, a system of administration. By saying the ‘olam haba, the author uses the most common rabbinic term for the Messianic Kingdom. In other words, angels will not rule the Messianic Kingdom; YHVH did not give the authority of the earth to an angel, any angel, either in the present or in the future.⁵³

But there once was an angel who was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, the wisest, most beautiful creature of all created beings. With his associated angels he administered the affairs of heaven. He was the anointed cherub, the guardian of holiness of God. But he struck at God’s throne, and forfeited his lofty position and was thrown to the earth and banished. A third of the angels followed him (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Go – A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre). That angel was Lucifer. He is now the devil.⁵⁴

But there is a place where someone has testified. The writer’s saying a place somewhere does not mean that he is ignorant of Scripture, but assumed that the readers knew who the author was. Throughout Hebrews, however, no human author is named. The writer is so concerned that his Jewish audience understands who really wrote the TaNaKh, that he gives credit it to no one but to ADONAI. It is the voice of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh that concerns him; the human author is incidental.

David, the author of Psalm 8, was amazed that YHVH would share His power and glory with created humans. “What is mere mankind, that You concern Yourself with him? Or the son of man [mankind] that You watch over Him with such care (2:6 CJB)? Ezeki’el was called son on man, only indicating that he was a human being, part of mankind.

Although Ha’Shem made mankind a little lower than the angels (and therefore inferior to them), He gave the authority over the earth to Adam, a privilege not given to angels. The author says, “You crowned him with glory and honor, You put everything in subjection under his feet.” In subjecting everything to Adam, God left nothing that was not subject to him (Hebrews 2:7-8a CJB quoting Psalm 8:5-6). Such was the lordship that mankind was given over all the creation. No doubt David and writer of Hebrews were thinking of Genesis 1:26-31. The LORD’s original plan for mankind was that we would be crowned king of nature, and given authority over the physical world.

But Adam lost his right to rule when he sinned. He lost his kingdom, no long master of himself. He had become a fallen creature with a totally deprived nature. Now He was a slave to sin. Now the animal kingdom was subservient to him only by fear, not affection. Now, instead of a life of leisure in the Garden, the ground would only yield its bounty by the sweat of his brow (see the commentary on Genesis Bg – Cursed is the Ground Because of You, Through Painful Toil You Will Eat of It).⁵⁵ Satan usurped the authority over the earth, and presently fallen angels are ruling it: the Adversary, the ruler of this world (John 14:30), and his demons. They rule not because Ha’Shem gave it to them, but because they took the authority from mankind when Adam fell (Romans 5:12).⁵⁶

Our destiny restricted by sin: We have a serious problem here, for it’s obvious that mankind today is not exercising authority over the physical world. In fact, we have a hard time controlling ourselves!⁵⁷ If we begin making a list of those things in this world not under our control, it quickly becomes evident that we control very little. Mankind is at the mercy of weather; our food supply is greatly influenced by forces outside of our control. We see people starving, bleeding, crying and suffering all over the world. Hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes and floods beat against us with unmastered fury. No wonder creation groans (Romans 8:22). We may enjoy some degree of influence over nature and the animal kingdom, but we do not rule them.⁵⁸ Consequently, at present time, we don’t see everything subjected to mankind – at least not yet (2:8b CJB). While God gave the authority over this earth to us, we have never had the opportunity to practice it because of the Fall. Mankind lost it when we fell in the Garden of Eden, and because of our inherited sin, we do not have the power to regain it. But it will be fulfilled in the Kingdom through the Ideal Man, the Messiah.⁵⁹

Our destiny recovered by Messiah: But now, in the midst of this dark picture of mankind’s lost kingdom, the Ruach ha-Kodesh calls our attention to a bright beam of light that pierces the darkness. God’s original goal for the first Adam will be fulfilled by the Last Adam – Jesus Christ (First Corinthians 15:45-49). Up to this point, Jesus’ name has not been mentioned to His Jewish audience. He was well aware of the fact that they were suffering persecution and were struggling with their faith. The controversy centered on the claims of Jesus of Nazareth as being the long awaited Messiah. At one time most of them had acknowledged Him as such. But now many were having second thoughts. The writer, up to this point, has spoken of the Son as superior to the prophets and angels. Now he suddenly says that the Son is the Yehoshua of the TaNaKh and the Yeshua of the New Covenant.

The vision of Jesus that the writer wished to bring to his readers was that of the Son incarnate, glorified, crowned with glory and honor, and seated at the right hand of God. It is this position of honor that the saved human race will share with Him in His future messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation Fh – The Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom).⁶⁰ It was if the Spirit of God was saying to those persecuted believers, “Keep your eyes focused on Messiah and your ultimate destiny. Don’t turn your back on the light of Jesus Christ, persevere in your faith and be blessed.”

But we do see Yeshua – who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels – now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by God’s grace He might taste death for all humanity (2:9 CJB). This would have been the encouragement those persecuted messianic Jews would need to persevere through the hardships they were facing. They needed to get their eyes off their circumstances, focus on their new position in Christ, and their new destiny.

God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21), and therefore we are reconciled to our Maker. The Messiah, the Ideal Representative Man, has won back His sovereignty for mankind because He defeated the Adversary at the cross. He will eventually exercise this sovereignty in the Messianic Kingdom. This was never promised to angels. This proves that Jesus is superior to angels. He will rule, they will not.⁶¹

Christ tasted death for all humanity. He did it to recover our lost destiny. If you have been groping around, trying to figure out why you exist, I hope you know the reason now. There is no reason for us to be slaves. There is no reason for us to be spiritual paupers. There is only reason for us to be kings and queens in the Kingdom of God.

People still ask today, “What is mankind?” The idolater and the animist (those who believe that plants and other inanimate objects have a soul) says, “Mankind is inferior to birds and animals, even to creeping things, stones and sticks.” And they bow down and worship the snake. The atheist says, “Mankind is obviously higher than any of the animals, but we are still only a product of chance, the result of evolutionary natural selection.” Most people believe such ideas or ones equally as foolish. But ADONAI says, “Mankind was created to rule the earth. Only for a little while have we been made a little lower than the angels.” Someday He will sit on His throne in the Temple in Yerushalayim (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple), and we will rule with Him for a thousand years (see the commentary on Revelation Ff – Blessed and Holy are those Who Have Part in the First Resurrection).⁶²

Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see You in all Your splendor. You are the head of mankind, and yet You call me to participate in Your glory. Help me always to look to You ad to set my mind on the victory You have won for me.⁶³

How Shall We Escape If We Ignore So Great a Salvation
The First Warning – 2: 1-4
The Danger of Neglect: Intellectually convinced Jews

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation DIG: What did the writer to the Hebrews do in the midst of his discussion of angels? Who is this warning to? Ultimately, how do people end up in hell? Who is a person actually rejecting when they reject Yeshua Messiah? Do they deliberately choose to go there, or do they drift into hell? What are the two key Greek words in 2:1? Define them both and explain their significance. Explain how the angels were instrumental in bringing the Torah to Isra’el. What were the gifts of the Spirit referred to in 2:4? What was their special purpose?

REFLECT: In what ways do you, or people you have observed, neglect their salvation? Why is it difficult to appreciate and pay attention to the Word of God as we should? Do you know of anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God who has come into the world to save sinners from hell, but has not crossed the line from knowledge to faith? Are you praying for them? Have you invited them to your place of worship? Have you challenged them to go the extra step?

The best way to reinforce your progress in fulfilling God’s purposes in your life is to keep a spiritual journal. Write down insights and life lessons YHVH teaches you about Himself, about yourself, about life, relationships, and everything else. Record these so you can review and remember them. The reason we must pay careful attention to these life lessons is that we forget them. Reviewing your spiritual journal regularly can spare you from a lot of unnecessary pain and heartache. We remember what we record.⁴¹

We are living in a time when truth does not seem to count for much. The intellectual climate is summed up by the popular bumper sticker, “My karma ran over your dogma.” In other words, “Don’t get hung up over matters of doctrine or truth. Feeling good is all that really matters.” This may sound inclusive, tolerant and attractive, but it is a far cry from the attitude of the biblical writers, to whom such an attitude is a recipe for disaster.⁴²

In Hebrews 13:22 the entire letter is referred to as a message of exhortation. Hence, it requires a response. So as his teaching on the superiority of Christ to angels warms the writer’s heart, he inserts a moving invitation. And like all good invitations, it includes both exhortation and a warning – what to do and what happens if you don’t do it.

The opening verses of Hebrews 2 contain the first of five warning passages (to see link click Ag – The Audience of the Book of Hebrews) interspaced throughout the book – often, as here, in the middle of a teaching on one of the superiorities of Messiah. It is as if the author could only go so far without stopping to make an appeal, “Now what are you going to do about this?” A person can know all the truth there is to know about Jesus Christ, but if they do not step over the line from knowledge to faith, they will end up in hell for all eternity.⁴³

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation (2:3)? To whom is this warning directed? It cannot be to believers. We can never be in danger of ignoring our salvation – in the sense of not receiving it – since we already have it and cannot lose it (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). We can neglect spiritual growth and discipleship, but we cannot neglect salvation. Nor can the warning be to those who have never heard the gospel, because they cannot ignore something they don’t even know exists. So the warning must be directed to those unbelieving Jews, who were intellectually convinced of the Good News, but who failed to receive it for themselves.

But if the warning is to unbelievers, why does the author speak of we and us? Does he include himself among the intellectually convinced but uncommitted? Is the author saying that he himself is not a believer? No. The us means that he includes himself among the Jews who had heard the gospel message. His willingness to identify himself with this Messianic congregation did not mean he was in the same spiritual boat as they were. There were weeds among the wheat (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ev – The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds). It’s as if the writer is saying to the intellectually convinced, “All of us who have heard the gospel ought to accept it.” The underlying message is really, to reject Yeshua Messiah is to reject God.⁴⁴

We are given three reasons to receive salvation. The character of Messiah: If Christ is just another angel, there is little reason to take His gospel seriously. But because He is God’s Son and much better than angels (1:4), we must therefore, pay the most careful attention (2:1a). The Greek word for pay attention, prosechein, is a nautical term. It was used to indicate holding a sailing course or securing an anchor. There is a danger, the writer argues, but there is also a remedy. To avoid drifting off course you hold onto the gospel wheel of the ship. To avoid drifting away with the current you drop your anchor of God’s Word in the sea of chaos and situation ethics.⁴⁵

Drifting away happens on its own without much effort on our part, but staying on course requires real effort. We must pay the most careful attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Greek: pararuomen, a word that occurs only here in the New Covenant). This is another nautical term describing a ship that has sailed off course, or a ship in harbor that has slipped its moorings. In other contexts it is used to describe something that slips our minds. One of the key ideas here is that this drifting away is something that happens largely unnoticed. While it is happening the changes are imperceptible; only later do its consequences show (2:1b).⁴⁶ Most people do not dive headlong and intentionally go to hell. They drift into it. The Word of God, however, never drifts. The harbor of salvation is Jesus Christ, and He never changes. Salvation is always available until the time when someone drifts past the harbor of grace. How many people have been so close only to drift away? Drifting is so quiet and easy, all you have to do is nothing.

By the time Hebrews was written, countless Jews had heard the gospel, many directly from an apostle. No doubt, many were favorably impressed with the message, even intrigued by it. They thought about it; but most rejected it. Yeshua’s warning: Listen carefully to what I AM about to tell you (Luke 9:44), can apply to the entire gospel. It must get inside of us and make a change in our lives. It is not enough just to hear it. That is only the beginning, as we are reminded: Pay attention to what I say, turn your ears to My words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body (Proverbs 4:20-22). When you hear the Word of God, make it yours.⁴⁷ Do not drift past it, for that has eternal consequences. Accordingly, the unbelieving Jews in the midst of the persecuted Messianic community were urged to act and to step over the line of mere knowledge – to faith.

The certainty of judgment: Next, the Spirit of God points out the reason why the readers should pay attention to the character of Messiah. For since the Word was spoken through angels was binding (2:2a). Nowhere in the TaNaKh is there a clear statement that Moses received the Torah through angels. There are, however, two passages in the TaNaKh that hint at that possibility (Deuteronomy 33:2 and Psalm 68:17). Even though these passages do not clearly state it, this teaching was a part of rabbinic tradition. Now and then the B’rit Chadashah confirms a rabbinic teaching and this is one of those cases (also see Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19). The LORD used angels in the divine work of revelation, including the Torah. For since the Word spoken through angels has proven to be sure and firm, how much more will this be true of the revelation that came by means of the One who is superior to angels: the Son!

And every transgression and disobedience received its just judgment (2:2b). The Torah, as the first readers of Hebrews well knew, is full with examples of judgment. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moshe and were swallowed up into the earth (Numbers 16:32); Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire (Leviticus 10:2). Achan disobeyed by taking that which was devoted to destruction and was stoned along with his whole family (Joshua 7:25). And the whole generation of Israelites who did not trust ADONAI were made to wander forty years in the wilderness before dying in the desert (Numbers 14:33).⁴⁸ However painful the temporary physical judgment is, it pales in comparison to the eternal punishment that awaits unbelievers. Yeshua Himself said: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Hell is a very real place. The B’rit Chadashah calls it eternal fire (Matthew 25:41), where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). It is called a lake of fire that burns with sulfur (Revelation 19:20), a bottomless pit or abyss (Revelation 9:11, 11:7 and others), outer darkness where there is continual weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13), and black darkness (Jude 13).

The principle seems to be, the greater our light, the greater is our responsibility, and the greater will be our punishment if we fail in our responsibility (Luke 12:47). It may well be that the different stages of punishment in hell are not so much a matter of objective circumstances as of subjective awareness of the pain and separation from ADONAI. This is parallel to the varying degrees of reward in heaven (Dani’el 12:3; Luke 19:11-27; First Corinthians 3:14-15; Second Corinthians 5:10). To some extent, the different degrees of punishment reflect the fact that unrepentant sinners will be given over to the evil desires of their hearts. The misery they will experience from having to live with their own wickedness, will be eternally proportionate to the degree of awareness of precisely what they were doing when they chose evil. Tyre and Sidon were terribly guilty of unbelief and disobedience, and throughout the Bible Sodom and Gomorrah typify gross ungodliness and immorality. But none of these were as guilty as Capernaum, or Bethsaida or Chorazin (Matthew 11:20-24) because these three not only had the light of the Torah, but the very light of the Messiah Himself! But for unbelievers, the person who knows and understands the gospel, but drifts away from it, will experience extreme punishment.

Two Greek words are used here for sin: transgression (parabasis) and disobedience (parakoe). Transgression means to step across the line, as a willful act. It is an overt sin of commission – of intentionally doing something we know to be wrong. Disobedience, however, carries the idea of deliberately shutting the ears to the commands, warnings and invitations of ADONAI. It is the sin of neglect, of omission – doing nothing when we should do something. One is active and the other is passive. Both are willful and both are serious, but the punishment for the sin is just. God is often accused of being unjust when His punishment seems to be out of proportion to the sin committed. But YHVH, by His very nature, cannot be unjust. In the Dispensation of the Torah, He punished severely those who were determined to live their lives without Him and to defy Him. He removed them from among His people for the sake of the righteous of the TaNaKh. His judgment on the people of Isra’el was sometimes severe because they had been given the Torah as a guiding light.

Punishment for unbelievers is always related to the light of God’s Word. ADONAI has set up a stream of blessing and a stream of cursing in this life (Deuteronomy 28:1-68). It applies to both believers and unbelievers. The more one obeys His Word, the more they will be blessed. If an unbeliever is basically an honest person, faithful to his or her spouse, works hard is honest and doesn’t cheat or steal, their life can experience the Lord’s blessing because, either knowingly or unknowingly, they are obeying God’s Word. They still aren’t saved, but their lives will go smoother. But if a believer is unfaithful to his spouse, is lazy at work or doesn’t work, lies, cheats and steals to get ahead, his life will be miserable and he will experience the cursing of God (see Psalms 37 and 73) because he is disobeying God’s Word. Believers do not lose their salvation, but their lives will be in constant turmoil. And if a believer drags God’s name through the mud long enough, the Bible tells us that he will not only be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved, but he will also face the judgment of loss of rewards in heaven (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – For We Must All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ).

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first declared by the Lord, was confirmed to us by the apostles who heard Him in person (2:3). When Yeshua first preached the gospel, He also did something that made it even more believable. He said: Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:38). When He claimed to be God and then did things that only God could do (see the commentary on Isaiah Gl – The Three Messianic Miracles), He confirmed His divinity, and, consequently, the truth of His message. On the day of Shavu’ot Kefa reminded his hearers that Yeshua the Nazarene was a man demonstrated to you to have been from God by the powerful miracles and wonders and signs He performed (Acts 2:22).

ADONAI gave similar confirming signs through the apostles, the first preachers of the gospel other than Christ Himself. Many of their listeners no doubt said, “Why should we believe them? There have always been a lot of false teachers around. How can we know that these are true?” For that reason the Lord confirmed that these men were really His apostles by giving them the ability to do the same things that He had done during His earthly ministry – the powerful miracles and wonders and signs. They raised the dead and healed many diseases and afflictions, and as a result, YHVH confirmed their ministry.⁴⁹

The conformation of God: As if this confirmation were not enough, Ha’Shem also gave the apostles special gifts of the Holy Spirit. While God also bore witness to it with various signs, wonders and miracles, and with gifts of the Ruach HaKodesh that He distributed as He chose (2:4 CJB). There are many gifts of the Spirit (Romans 12, First Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4:8). But the gifts referred to here were miraculous gifts for the sake of confirmation (Second Corinthians 12:12; Romans 15:19; Acts 14:3 and 19:11-12). Such gifts as prophesying, a word of knowledge, healing, miracles, tongues and interpretation of tongues all ceased with the apostolic era (First Corinthians 13:8). These confirming gifts have no need to exist today, and the age of signs, wonders and miracles ended with the passing of the apostles.⁵⁰

When Jesus and His apostles healed, they healed instantly. There was no waiting for restoration to come in stages. They healed with a word or a touch, without prayer and sometimes even without being near the afflicted person. They healed completely, never partially. They healed everyone who came to them, everyone who was brought to them, and everyone for whom healing was asked by another. They healed organic diseases from birth and raised the dead. Today anyone claiming the gift of healing should be able to do likewise.

We must pay the most careful attention to what we have heard, the writer to the Hebrews exhorts, so that we do not drift away. These words are as relevant today as they were when first written. We should fear to be separated from the anchor of God’s Word, or to have any other hand on the wheel of our lives than the Captain of our salvation. To drift away is ultimately to invite the judgment that Ha’Shem will inflict on those who neglect His saving message of Yeshua Messiah.

The writer to the Hebrews says that God bore witness to the gospel in the apostolic age with various signs, wonders and miracles. We are not to go seeking after signs and wonders, but there is a miracle that happens today in the lives of those who hold fast to the message of God’s Word. It is the miracle of a changed life – a changed mind and a changed heart, changed attitudes and changed behaviors – changed into the likeness of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This is the wonder by which YHVH conveys His Word to the world today, believers enlightened in truth, purified in holiness, settled in peace and energized in love. This is the eternal life that begins today in the lives of those who believe and do not drift away. As ADONAI does this in you, through His Word, He will use the miracle of your life to communicate His message in Messiah to others.

This is God’s “karma,” which runs over the dogma of this world’s unbelief, so that many will believe and be saved, no longer ignoring so great a salvation, and therefore escaping the wrath that is sure to come on all who are merely intellectually convinced about the truth of Jesus Christ.⁵¹

The Proof of Messiah’s Superiority
to Angels from the Scriptures
1: 4-14

The proof of Messiah’s superiority to angles from the Scriptures DIG: Who created angels? What is the significance of that? Why are the angels called fiery flames? What is the main difference between the nature of angels and Messiah? How do angels serve God’s people? If a child asked you, “How can Jesus be God and still be God’s Son?” how would you explain it? Which of the quotes from the TaNaKh, are now applied to the Son Yeshua? What does that imply?

REFLECT: What do you find out about yourself as you are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to you that Yeshua’s throne will last forever? What is the ultimate destiny of Yeshua Messiah? Describe what will happen in the Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fh – The Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom). What does that have to do with you and your salvation?

This verse completes what in the Greek text is a single sentence the runs from the beginning of verse 1. So Yeshua has become much better than the angels, and the name God has given Him is superior to theirs (1:4 CJB). This seems like an odd ending but there are two explanations. First, Jewish spirituality in that day had an excessively high view of angels. The Jews connected angels with the great events in the TaNaKh, believing that Ha’Shem gave Moshe the written Torah and the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law) through angelic mediation and that it was an angelic voice that spoke to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3:2. And secondly, people are just fascinated by angels. We know that we need a mediator with God. We need someone to open the doorway to heaven and to the blessing and power of YHVH. We need supernatural help for our otherwise insurmountable problems. But people in the first century, just as in our own time, found in angels an appealing and non-demanding form of spiritual hope and comfort. The fact that we don’t know much about angels makes them attractive for some people to venerate (worship) as the Catholic Church does today; the Roman Church fills in the details as they want them to be.³³ The writer of Hebrews does not quarrel with the overstated Jewish view of angels, but proceeds to prove that God’s Son is much better than angels by quoting seven scriptures from the TaNaKh, which made his argument all the more powerful and irresistible.

1. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father” (Hebrews 1:5a CJB quoting Psalm 2:7b CJB)? The angels had only been ministers and messengers. Only Christ is the Son. The angels are created servants. Though Yeshua came to the earth as a servant – indeed the supreme suffering Servant – He also became the Son. Although His sonship was anticipated in the TaNaKh (Proverbs 30:4), He did not become a Son until He was born into time by the virgin Mary. Prior to His incarnation He was eternal God as part of the Trinity. The term Son has only to do with Christ in His incarnation. It is only an analogy to say that God is the Father and Jesus is His Son. This is the Spirit’s way of helping us to understand the essential relationship between the first and second Persons of the Trinity. Yeshua was always God, but He became a Son in a two-stage process. Just as believers become sons and daughters of God in the fullest sense by being born twice (once at our physical birth and again at our spiritual birth), so Jesus Christ also became a Son in the fullest sense by being born not once but twice. He became a Son at birth; and He was declared to be a Son at His resurrection (Romans 1:3-4; Acts 13:26-34).

This is extremely important to understand because someday a Jehovah’s Witness might come to your door and say, “Since Jesus is the son of God, he is obviously eternally inferior to God the Father. Jesus, therefore, is not God; he is less than God. He is only a son.” You need to understand that Yeshua was not a Son until His incarnation. Before that He was eternally God. He is no “eternal son” always subservient to God, always less than God, always under God. Sonship is an analogy to help us understand Christ’s essential relationship and willing submission to the Father for the sake of our redemption.³⁴

Understanding this, then, how do you deal with Jehovah’s Witnesses? The Watchtower teaches that Jesus is the first of God’s (they say Jehovah’s) creations, the first “thing” God ever brought into existence. The Watchtower identifies Christ as the Archangel Michael, whose name appears only five times in the entire Bible. Without any Scriptural support whatsoever, the Watchtower teaches the personality of Michael the Archangel was somehow transferred to the womb of Mary, was born as a human to be the man, Jesus, and then when Messiah returned to heaven at the end of His earthly ministry, He became Michael again, but in a more exalted position. This comes from the father of lies (John 8:44) because in fact the New Covenant writers never refer to Yeshua as Michael. It is very important for believers to know that if Jehovah’s Witnesses could prove their connection that Jesus is Michael, they would prove that Christ is not God and the Trinity doctrine is false. However, just a brief examination of their proof texts (Dani’el 12:1; First Thessalonians 4:16 and Revelation 12:7-10) will reveal that the Witnesses are making huge assumptions in trying to identify Yeshua as Michael. There is absolutely no direct evidence in the Bible to prove their assumption. You should be very emphatic in bringing this to the attention of Jehovah’s Witnesses who stand at your front door. Unless you’ve had training, the easiest way to deal with them is to say, “Jesus is Jehovah to me,” then they will leave you alone.³⁵

2. Also, God never said of any angel, “I will be His Father, and He will be my Son” (Hebrews 1:5b CJB quoting Second Samuel 7:14 CJB). This quote from Second Samuel is part of the Davidic Covenant (see the commentary on the Life of David Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David), emphasizing Yeshua’s position as the fulfiller of that covenant. Not only was He declared the Son of God, but He continues in that position. This establishes Christ Jesus as the fulfillment of the covenant as the covenant head. The key promise of the Davidic Covenant is that the God-Man descendant of David is destined to rule over the saved and restored Isra’el from Jerusalem and from the throne of David during the millennial reign of Yeshua (see the commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom). So this One, by virtue of the Davidic Covenant, is destined to rule over Isra’el. No angel will have the privilege of ruling over Isra’el in the messianic Kingdom.³⁶

3. And when God brings His Firstborn into the world again a second time, He says, “Let all God’s angels worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6 CJB quoting Deuteronomy 32:43 CJB where Moshe speaks of the victory of God over His enemies, and avenging His people. The writer probably also had Psalm 96:7 in mind). The title Firstborn (Greek: prototokos) has nothing to do with time. It is a messianic title and refers to position (Romans 8:29 and Colossians 1:15, 18). The return of Messiah to this earth at the Second Coming will be accompanied by legions of worshiping angels (Second Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 19:11-16). The argument of the writer is that since the Son is to be worshiped by angels, surely He must be superior to them, which in fact, makes the New Covenant He inaugurated better than the First Covenant that the angels were instrumental in bringing in.³⁷

4. Indeed, when speaking of angels, He says, “Who created (Greek: poieo) His angels spirits and His servants fiery flames” (Hebrews 1:7 CJB quoting Psalm 104:4 CJB). This fourth quotation stresses the fact that angels are servants. Since Messiah created the angels (Colossians 1:16), He is obviously superior to them. The term winds (Greek: pneuma) emphasize the variableness of the angelic nature. They are created servants and do not operate on their own initiative, but on the direction of Ha’Shem, adapting to any special service. And being such, they are changeable, in marked contrast to the unchangeable Son, who is their Master. The word servants is the translation of the Greek word leitourgos, meaning religious devotion. They are His servants in the sense of being passionately, religiously, devoted to Him. Therefore, since Jesus Christ is their Creator and Master, He is superior to the angels. This makes the new covenant better, not like the previous covenant that ADONAI made with their ancestors when He took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt (Jeremiah 31:32).³⁸

5. But to the Son He says, Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever. The difference between angels and the Son is that Yeshua is the eternal God (John 5:18, 10:30; Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13). You rule Your Kingdom with a scepter of equality; You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. As you are conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), you will also learn to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore, O God, Your God has set You [Messiah] above Your companions [the angels] by anointing You with the oil [the Ruach Ha’Kodesh] of joy (Hebrews 1:8-9 quoting Psalm 45:6-7 CJB). Two things are emphasized in this passage, first, the deity of the Son, and secondly, His future Kingdom will be an eternal one and He will rule in righteousness. Isaiah speaks of His millennial reign and the fact that He will be the King anointed by the Spirit of God (see the commentary on Isaiah Dc – A Shoot Will Come Up from the Stump of Jesse). When Jesus was anointed, it proved that He was greater than the angels. In Acts 10:38, Peter tells Cornelius how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth. The Psalter anticipates the Lord’s anointing (Psalm 2:2) and David is a type of His anointing. The word in the TaNaKh for the coming Redeemer is the Anointed One, which is translated Messiah. All of this, again, points out that Yeshua Messiah is better than the angels.

6. He also says, “In the beginning, ADONAI, You laid the foundation of the earth; heaven is the work of Your hands. The unchangeable and eternal power of the Son find their basis in the fact that He created the earth and shaped the heavens. But the writer says that the [heavens] will vanish, but You will remain; like clothing, they will grow old; and You will fold them up like a coat. Yes, they will be changed like clothing, but You will remain the same, Your years will never end” (Hebrews 1:10-12 CJB quoting Psalm 102:25-27 CJB). While He is eternal, the universe will someday be discarded like an old piece of cloth. In the words of Revelation 6:14, the heaven’s receded like a scroll being rolled up, and in Second Peter 3:10, the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. The fallen angels, being part of the Son’s creation, are subject to change and decay as are the heavens. But Jesus Christ, the changeless One, is therefore superior to them.

7. Moreover, to which of the angels had God ever said, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool at Your feet” (Hebrews 1:13 quoting Psalm 110:1)? Ultimately, everyone and everything in the universe will be subject to Him. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (even those in hell), and every tongue confess that Yeshua Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). When will this happen? When He comes in glory at His Second Coming: Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of ADONAI’s angelic armies. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written (Revelation 19:15-16). In every way Messiah is superior to angels.

The author concludes this part of the argument by describing the status of angels. Are not all the angels merely spirits who serve (ministering servants), sent out to help those who will inherit eternal life (1:14)? While He is seated, showing His work is done, angels, on the other hand, are still busy doing their work. The Ruach ha-Kodesh does not use the Greek word that normally means servant because He pictures angels here as free agents voluntarily working in the employ of another. Here, again, the author uses the Greek word leitourgos, which means religious devotion. These angels are servants to those who inherit eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). This is as close as the Bible comes in showing that believers have guardian angels.

They are assigned specifically to care for us, and this care begins at infancy, which speaks to the foreknowledge of God (Matthew 18:10), and continues throughout our lives (Psalm 91:11). The existence of guardian angels does not mean they make sure nothing bad happens to believers. They are guarding in the sense that nothing will happen to believers outside the will of ADONAI. One angelic role is to observe us; angels observe our sufferings: We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings (First Corinthians 4:9), and angels even observe what we wear (First Corinthians 11:10). When believers die, our souls are escorted to heaven by angels: The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side (Luke 16:22a).³⁹

Hebrews 1:9 says that Messiah loves righteousness and hated wickedness. Name some actions in your life revealing that you love righteousness and hate evil. Are there actions in your life revealing that you hate righteousness because you love sin? What are they? One of the best teachings on righteousness versus wickedness is First John. Take the time to read through it in one sitting. Record every verse reference dealing with righteousness and sin, noting the attitude and actions of those who practice each. Then determine how you might apply the most significant passages to further your active love of righteousness.⁴⁰

The Superiority of Messiah to Angels
1:4 to 2:18

Now the author begins dealing with the first of the three pillars of Judaism of his day: angels. As John MacArthur records in his commentary, because of the popular rabbinic interpretations, the Jewish people of the time Hebrews was written had exaggerated the basic teachings of the TaNaKh about angels. Most Jews believed that angels were very important to the TaNaKh. They honored them as the highest beings next to YHVH. They believed that angels surrounded Ha’Shem and that they were the instruments of bringing His word to mankind and of working out His will in the universe. At that time, angels were thought to be eerie creatures made of fiery substance like blazing light, who did not eat or drink or reproduce. Many believed that angels acted as God’s council and He did nothing without consulting with them – that, for example, the us in, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), refers to this angelic council.

They believed two hundred angels controlled the stars and that one very special angel, the calendar angel, controlled the never-ending succession of day, months, and years. A mighty angel took care of the seas, while others oversaw the frost, dew, rain, snow, hail, thunder and lightening. Still others were wardens of Sh’ol and torturers of the damned. There were even recording angels who wrote down every word people spoke. There was an angel for death, and, on the other hand, a guardian angel for every nation and every child. They were said to be so many that one rabbi claimed that every blade of grass had its angel.

Many Jews believed that the Torah was brought to them from God by angels. This, above all else, exalted angels in the minds of the Isrealites. They believed that angels were the mediators of their covenant with ADONAI, and that angels continually ministered the blessing of the LORD to them as alluded to in Stephen’s sermon before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:51-53. Consequently, some adored angels so much that they actually worshiped them. Gnosticism involved, among other things, the worship of angels.

Therefore, to the Jewish mind angels were extremely exalted and immeasurably important. If the writer to the Hebrews was going to persuade his fellow Jews that Yeshua is the mediator of a better covenant, even superior to that given through Moshe, he would have to show, among other things, that Christ is superior to angels.³²

The Superiority of Messiah to the Prophets
1: 1-3

The superiority of Messiah to the prophets DIG: To what (to whom) is Jesus compared here? What was the function of the prophets in the Dispensation of the Torah? In what ways was Yeshua’s function similar? How was it different? How is Messiah superior to the prophets? What is the difference between the past and in these last days? Define progressive revelation. What are the seven examples that demonstrate the superiority of the Son? What is significant about the fact that Yeshua is sitting down at the right hand of God the Father?

REFLECT: What are some of the things we trust in today rather than trusting in God? What sometimes keeps us from examining our lives? Where are you in your daily routine that you can become more aware of God’s glory? In what area of your life do you need to ask the Ruach’s power to be like Messiah today?

The author does not delay and uses a pun in the original language to make his point: In the past God spoke at different times (Greek: polimeros) and in different ways (Greek: polutropos), directly and indirectly, in dreams and stories, history and prophecy, poems and proverbs, to our ancestors through the prophets of the Jewish people from Moshe to Malachi, and before Moses to Abraham, Isaac and Joseph (1:1).¹²

The word at different times means that YHVH did not choose to give His whole revelation all at one time. He chose to give it progressively over a span of 1,600 years by some forty plus writers. All could not be revealed at once, because all could not be understood at once. You don’t teach calculus to a first grader. It began to grow, truth upon truth. Sometimes He gave a little portion to Obadiah, which was one chapter long; at other times He gave a large portion as in Isaiah, which is sixty-six chapters long. And although Jeremiah has fewer chapters, it is longer than Isaiah. At different times can also be understood another way. Some prophets ministered for one month. An example of this is Haggai, who gave four prophecies all in one-month’s time and that was his whole prophetic ministry. Others, such as Moshe, Isaiah and Dani’el, gave prophecies that covered a lifetime. The point is that it was always progressive. ADONAI revealed so much and then stopped. Every time the LORD gave some revelation, He answered certain questions and then left some question unanswered. His revelation progressed from lesser to greater light. It did not build from error to truth, but from incomplete truth to more complete truth. And it remained incomplete until the B’rit Chadashah, and the book of Revelation, was finished.¹³

But now in the acharit-hayamin (in these last days) God has spoken to us through His Son (1:2a CJB). Here the author emphasizes finality. The TaNaKh was progressive, but this Word is final. The word last (or end in some translations) primarily means termination. In other words, the B’rit Chadashah revelation was the goal of the TaNaKh. It marks the termination period in which YHVH completes His written Word to us. The expression, in these last days, was a common rabbinic term for the Messianic days. The prophets often spoke of the Messianic age as in these last days (Jeremiah 33:14-16; Micah 5:1-4; Zechariah 9:9 and 16). So it was as if the author was saying, “It is now Messianic times because the Messiah has come, and He was the focal point toward whom all the previous revelation was pointing.”¹⁴ The whole New Covenant is centered around Jesus. The gospels tell His story, the epistles comment on it, and the Revelation tells of its culmination. From beginning to end the Messiah can be seen on every page of the B’rit Chadashah. No prophet had been given ADONAI’s whole truth. The TaNaKh was given to many men, in bits and pieces and fragments, and thus, was unfulfilled.¹⁵ It expectantly longs for the answer that only comes in Jesus Christ.

God has spoken. Had YHVH remained silent, enshrouded in thick darkness, the plight of mankind would have been desperate indeed.¹⁶ But God has spoken, revealing His life-giving Word. This is one of the most important statements that could be made in our time. It is something we need to know. Ours is an age of relativism. Most people insist there are no absolutes, either in matters of truth or morality. In secular society, having removed God, there is no longer a heavenly Voice to speak with clarity and authority. The price we have paid is the loss of truth, and loss of hope. Really, we are told, we don’t know anything for sure, nor can we.

All this is especially important when it comes to our knowledge of God Himself. Is there a Savior to help us? Unless God has spoken, we cannot even be sure He is there; unless God is there, there is no ultimate hope for us, and no answer to the ultimate problem of death. So if God is there and He wants us to know Him, He has to speak to us. And He must speak in a way we can understand. Therefore, there is nothing more important, nothing more essential, than what the Holy Spirit says at the beginning of Hebrews: God has spoken. He has spoken with authority and with relevance to our lives.¹⁷

God has spoken to us through [His] Son. Motivated by love and directed by divinity, surprised everyone. He became a man. In an untouchable mystery, He disguised Himself as a carpenter and lived in a dusty Judaean village. Determined to prove His love for His creation, He walked incognito through His own world. His callused hands touched wounds and His compassionate words healed hearts . . .

But as beautiful as this act of incarnation was, it was not the zenith. Like a master painter, God reserved His masterpiece until the end. All the earlier acts of love had been leading to this one. The angels hushed and the heavens paused to witness the finale. God unveils the canvas and the ultimate act of creative compassion is revealed.

God on a cross. The Creator being sacrificed for the creation. God convincing mankind once and for all that forgiveness still follows failure.¹⁸

God has spoken to us, not through the prophets, but through [His] Son. The word [His] is in brackets because it is not in the Greek text. Some translations may not read through [His] Son, but through [the] Son. But the definite article the is not in the Greek text either. The Greek text simply says through Son. In Greek, the absence of the definite article means there is an emphasis on the nature or quality rather than on personality. In other words, earlier He spoke through the prophets, but now, He is speaking through Son-ness, which is distinctive. Here the writer is not stressing what God said, but he is stressing the means by which His message came: through a Son. This time revelation didn’t come through mere men. This time it did not come through angels. This time it came through a Son. Son is singular in contrast to many prophets or many angels.¹⁹

Someone has said that Jesus Christ came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became the Son of Man that we might become the children of God. He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, was reared in obscurity, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which He was born – and that in His childhood. He had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor education in the world’s schools. His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluential. In infancy He startled a king. In boyhood He puzzled the learned rabbis. In manhood He ruled the course of nature. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book and yet all the libraries of the world could not hold the books written about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters together. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has. He never practiced medicine and yet He has healed more people than all the hospitals in the world. This Yeshua Messiah is the Star of astronomy, the Rock of geology, the lion and the lamb of zoology, the Harmonizer of all discords, and the Healer of all diseases. Throughout history great men have come and gone, yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him. The Adversary could not tempt Him. Death could not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him.²⁰

But before the Ruach ha-Kodesh identifies [the] Son as Jesus Christ, He describes features that demonstrate His superiority. In a series of seven examples, which are part of a single Greek sentence, the author sets forth the Son’s greatness.

1. He is appointed heir of all things (1:2b NET). This points to His being the focal point of the universe because He is the goal of history. He is the end of all things. Revelation 5 pictures Jesus with the title deed to the earth in His hand (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Cf – You Are Worthy To Take the Scroll). It is the deed for the Heir, the One who has the right to take the earth. He is an heir, and that means lordship. He is exercising the Father’s authority, and so being appointed heir of all things means He is exercising universal lordship. And to be able to exercise universal lordship over all creation means He cannot be less than God. He came as a man, but He came as a God-Man, and He was appointed heir in keeping with Psalm 2:7-8: He said to Me, “You are My Son (and in Isra’el it was the firstborn son who had the right of inheritance); today I have become your Father. Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.”²¹

2. He created the ages (1:2c CJB). The common Greek word for universe is kosmos, but that is not the word used here. The word ages here is aionas, meaning that the Son was in control of the Father’s plan and program for all eternity. Everything in time and space are under His control. Rabbi Sha’ul says it this way: For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). The expression through Him indicates that the universe was created through an intermediary, which is not an idea foreign to Judaism (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Af – The Memra of God). Also, the idea of aionas is not merely the vastness and majesty of the universe, but that Yeshua was the intermediary of God’s plan as it unfolded down through the ages. Therefore, the Son is the Divine Agent not only of the original creation of the physical universe, but also in the operation and management of that universe and all its creatures down through the ages of time. And that makes Him greater than the prophets.²²

3. He is the radiance of the Sh’khinah glory, the visible manifestation of the presence of God (1:3a CJB). Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. Therefore, the Son reveals the fullness of God’s attributes because He has an unbroken connection with the Father. So ADONAI’s glory is best seen in Yeshua Messiah. Yeshua is the light of the world (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gr – I AM the Light of the World) and illuminates God’s nature. Because of Jesus, we are no longer in the dark about what YHVH is really like. Christ came to the earth so we could fully understand God’s glory. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).²³

4. He is the exact representation of God’s essence (1:3b CJB). The words exact representation are the transliteration of the Greek word charakter and is where we get the English word character. Jesus is the very character of God’s essence. The Greek word means to have a perfect representation of the divine essence. It is a word that was used of the engraving tool from which a coin die was made. When the die was pressed against the metal and lifted off, the coin had the exact representation of what was on the die. Therefore, the Son is the exact representation of the Father. What is true of God the Father is true of God the Son in every respect. The Bible says that all people, not just believers, possess part of the image of God (Colossians 1:15a).²⁴ That is why murder and abortion are wrong (Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Romans 12:19 James 3:9). But the image is incomplete and has been damaged and distorted by sin. So the Father sent His Son on a mission to restore the full image we have lost.²⁵

5. He upholds all that exists by His powerful word (1:3c CJB). Yeshua not only is the Word (John 1:1), but He voices a powerful spoken word (Greek: reima) that upholds all that exists. The word upholds does not mean just to “hold it,” but to carry it towards a goal, and the present tense means He is continuously doing so, even now. All creation has a goal to accomplish a specific purpose and program of YHVH, and by means of His reima, the Son will make sure creation will reach its goal. He controls everything by His powerful spoken word.²⁶ Can you imagine what would happen if Messiah relinquished His sustaining power? The universe would be in chaos. But we need not worry. Jesus will finish what He started: He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). When your life is given to Messiah, He holds it and sustains it and one day will take it into the Father’s very presence (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). A life, just as the universe, that is not sustained by Christ is chaos.²⁷

6. He made purification of sins through Himself (1:3d CJB). This emphasizes the Son being our Redeemer. The words made purification refer to a priestly work. Yeshua made purification by dying. There are four specific aspects of this purification. First, it was exclusive, for He made it by Himself and no one else provided this redemption. Secondly, it was a sacrificial work of cleansing, because He made purification. Thirdly, it is a finished work as seen by the use of the Greek aorist participle, which emphasizes something already done, and there is nothing more He needs to do to provide purification for us. Fourthly, it is not merely an external purification, like a ceremonial washing, but a purification of sins.²⁸

When God saves a sinner. He breaks the power of the indwelling sinful nature at the instant the sinner places his faith in the Lord Jesus (Romans 6). When that believer dies, he loses the sinful nature and is left with a sinless glorified body. YHVH also removes the guilt and penalty of sin and gives the believer a righteous standing (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). The Son made all this possible when He died on the Cross. His blood delivers the believer form the power of sin in this present life, and from the presence of sin in the future life. As our perfect High Priest, His blood removes the guilt and penalty of sin and cleanses us from its defilement.²⁹ Yet amazingly, there are people who reject Him (see Ag – The Audience of the book of Hebrews).

7. When His work on the cross was finished, the Son sat down at the right hand of HaG’dualh BaM’romim, the Majesty of heaven (Hebrews 1:3e CJB quoting Psalm 110:1a CJB). In the Bible, the right hand is the power side. Jesus took His place at the right hand of God. The marvelous thing about this statement is that Messiah, the perfect High Priest, sat down. This is in great contrast to the Levitical priests. There were no seats in the Tabernacle or Temple. The priest had no place to sit because YHVH knew it would never be appropriate. The responsibility of the priests was to sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice, over and over and over again. Therefore, the priests offered sacrifices daily . . . and never sat down. But Yeshua offered one sacrifice and said: It is finished. He then went and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Christ’s one time sacrifice accomplished what could not be accomplished under the Levitical priesthood, even after centuries of sacrifices.

One of the human author’s main points in Hebrews is that Jesus is greater than all those things associated with Judaism and the Jewish way of life. Sometimes he actually uses the words greater than; sometimes he does not. But in all cases the theme is clear.

Jesus is greater than the prophets: 1:1-3

Jesus is greater than the angels: 1:4-14, 2:5

Jesus is greater than Moshe: 3:1-6

Jesus is greater than Joshua: 4:6-11

Jesus is greater than the Aaronic high priests: 5:1-10, 7:26 to 8:2

Jesus is greater than the Levitical priests: 6:20 to 7:25

Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek is greater than Abraham: 7:1-10

Jesus’ ministry is greater than the tabernacle ministry: 8:3-6, 9:1-28

Jesus’ B’rit Chadashah is greater than the TaNaKh: 8:7-13

Jesus’ sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of the Torah: 10:1-14

Experiencing Jesus is greater than the experience on Mount Sinai: 12:18-24 NIV ³⁰

Yeshua honored the Father by fulfilling His purpose on earth. We honor ADONAI the same way. We bring glory to God by worshiping Him, by loving other believers, by becoming like Christ, by serving others with our gifts and by telling others about Him. Living the rest of your life for the glory of YHVH will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path rather than an easy one. Will you live for your own goals, comfort, and pleasure, or will you live the rest of your life for God’s glory, knowing that He has promised eternal rewards? Those who love their life in this world will lose it. But those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity (John 12:25 NLT). It’s time to settle the issue.

Who are you going to live for . . . yourself or God? Don’t hesitate. Don’t worry. The LORD will give you what you need if you will just make the choice to live for Him. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness (Second Peter 1:3). Right now, God is inviting you to live for His glory by fulfilling the purposes He made you for. It’s really the only way to live. Everything else is just existing. Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe. To all that receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God (John 1:12). Will you accept God’s offer?

First, believe. Believe ADONAI loves you and made you for His purposes. Believe you are not an accident. Believe that you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you.

Second, receive. Receive Yeshua into you life as your Lord and Savior. Receive His forgiveness for your sins. Receive His Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose. The Bible says: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (Yochanan 3:36a). Wherever you are right now, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity, “Jesus, I believe in You and I receive You. Amen.” Go ahead.

If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God.³¹