Hebrews 13:9-16
9. about—rather, as oldest manuscripts read, "carried aside"; namely, compare Eph 4:14.
divers—differing from the one faith in the one and the same Jesus Christ, as taught by them who had the rule over you (Heb 13:7). strange—foreign to the truth. doctrines—"teachings." established with grace; not with meats—not with observances of Jewish distinctions between clean and unclean meats, to which ascetic Judaizers added in Christian times the rejection of some meats, and the use of others: noticed also by Paul in 1Co 8:8, 13; 6:13; Ro 14:17, an exact parallel to this verse: these are some of the "divers and strange doctrines" of the previous sentence. Christ's body offered once for all for us, is our true spiritual "meat" to "eat" (Heb 13:10), "the stay and the staff of bread" (Isa 3:1), the mean of all "grace." which have not profited—Greek, "in which they who walked were not profited"; namely, in respect to justification, perfect cleansing of the conscience, and sanctification. Compare on "walked," Ac 21:21; namely, with superstitious scrupulosity, as though the worship of God in itself consisted in such legal observances.10. Christianity and Judaism are so totally distinct, that "they who serve the (Jewish) tabernacle," have no right to eat our spiritual Gospel meat, namely, the Jewish priests, and those who follow their guidance in serving the ceremonial ordinance. He says, "serve the tabernacle," not "serve IN the tabernacle." Contrast with this servile worship ours.
an altar—the cross of Christ, whereon His body was offered. The Lord's table represents this altar, the cross; as the bread and wine represent the sacrifice offered on it. Our meat, which we by faith spiritually eat, is the flesh of Christ, in contrast to the typical ceremonial meats. The two cannot be combined (Ga 5:2). That not a literal eating of the sacrifice of Christ is meant in the Lord's Supper, but a spiritual is meant, appears from comparing Heb 13:9 with Heb 13:10, "with GRACE, NOT with MEATS."11, 12. For just as "the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by . . . are burned without the camp," so "Jesus also that . . . suffered without the gate" of ceremonial Judaism, of which His crucifixion outside the gate of Jerusalem is a type.
for—reason why they who serve the tabernacle, are excluded from share in Christ; because His sacrifice is not like one of those sacrifices in which they had a share but answers to one which was "wholly burned" outside (the Greek is "burnt completely," "consumed by burning"), and which consequently they could not eat of. Le 6:30, gives the general rule, "No sin offering whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be burnt in the fire." The sin offerings are twofold: the outward, whose blood was sprinkled on the outward altar, and of whose bodies the priests might eat; and the inward, the reverse. the sanctuary—here the Holy of Holies, into which the blood of the sin offering was brought on the day of atonement. without the camp—in which were the tabernacle and Levitical priests and legal worshippers, during Israel's journey through the wilderness; replaced afterwards by Jerusalem (containing the temple), outside of whose walls Jesus was crucified.12. Wherefore Jesus—In order that the Antitype might fulfil the type.
sanctify—Though not brought into the temple "sanctuary" (Heb 13:11) His blood has been brought into the heavenly sanctuary, and "sanctifies the people" (Heb 2:11, 17), by cleansing them from sin, and consecrating them to God. his own—not blood of animals. without the gate—of Jerusalem; as if unworthy of the society of the covenant-people. The fiery ordeal of His suffering on the cross, answers to the burning of the victims; thereby His mere fleshly life was completely destroyed, as their bodies were; the second part of His offering was His carrying His blood into the heavenly holiest before God at His ascension, that it should be a perpetual atonement for the world's sin.13. therefore—This "therefore" breathes the deliberate fortitude of believers [BENGEL].
without the camp—"outside the legal polity" [THEODORET] of Judaism (compare Heb 13:11) "Faith considers Jerusalem itself as a camp, not a city" [BENGEL]. He contrasts with the Jews, who serve an earthly sanctuary, the Christians to whom the altar in heaven stands open, while it is closed against the Jews. As Jesus suffered without the gate, so spiritually must those who desire to belong to Him, withdraw from the earthly Jerusalem and its sanctuary, as from this world in general. There is a reference to Ex 33:7, when the tabernacle was moved without the camp, which had become polluted by the people's idolatry of the golden calves; so that "every one who sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation (as Moses called the tabernacle outside the camp), which was without the camp"; a lively type of what the Hebrews should do, namely, come out of the carnal worship of the earthly Jerusalem to worship God in Christ in spirit, and of what we all ought to do, namely, come out from all carnalism, worldly formalism, and mere sensuous worship, and know Jesus in His spiritual power apart from worldliness, seeing that "we have no continuing city" (Heb 13:14). bearing—as Simon of Cyrene did. his reproach—the reproach which He bare, and which all His people bear with Him.14. here—on earth. Those Hebrews who clung to the earthly sanctuary are representatives of all who cling to this earth. The earthly Jerusalem proved to be no "abiding city," having been destroyed shortly after this Epistle was written, and with it fell the Jewish civil and religious polity; a type of the whole of our present earthly order of things soon to perish.
one to come— (Heb 2:5; 11:10, 14, 16; 12:22; Php 3:20).15. As the "altar" was mentioned in Heb 13:10, so the "sacrifices" here (compare 1Pe 2:5, namely, praise and doing good, Heb 13:16). Compare Ps 119:108; Ro 12:1.
By him—as the Mediator of our prayers and praises (Joh 14:13, 14); not by Jewish observances (Ps 50:14, 23; 69:30, 31; 107:22; 116:17). It was an old saying of the rabbis, "At a future time all sacrifices shall cease, but praises shall not cease." of praise—for salvation. continually—not merely at fixed seasons, as those on which the legal sacrifices were offered, but throughout all our lives. fruit of our lips— (Isa 57:19; Ho 14:2). giving thanks—Greek, "confessing." BENGEL remarks that the Hebrew, "todah," is beautifully emphatic. It literally means "acknowledgment" or "confession." In praising a creature, we may easily exceed the truth; but in praising God we have only to go on confessing what He really is to us. Hence it is impossible to exceed the truth, and here is genuine praise.16. But—But the sacrifice of praise with the lips (Heb 13:15) is not enough; there must be also doing good (beneficence) and communicating (that is, imparting a share of your means, Ga 6:6) to the needy.
with such—and not mere ritualistic sacrifices.