Heb 10:6-17 | JFB | STEP | 6. burnt offerings-- Greek, "whole burnt offerings." thou hast had no pleasure-- as if these could in themselves atone for sin: God had pleasure in (Greek, "approved," or "was well pleased with") them, in so far as they were an act of obedience to His positive command under the Old Testament, but not as having an intrinsic efficacy such as Christ's sacrifice had. Contrast .

‏ Hebrews 10:6-17

6. burnt offerings--Greek, "whole burnt offerings."

thou hast had no pleasure--as if these could in themselves atone for sin: God had pleasure in (Greek, "approved," or "was well pleased with") them, in so far as they were an act of obedience to His positive command under the Old Testament, but not as having an intrinsic efficacy such as Christ's sacrifice had. Contrast Mt 3:17.

7. I come--rather, "I am come" (see on He 10:5). "Here we have the creed, as it were, of Jesus: 'I am come to fulfil the law,' Mt 5:17; to preach, Mr 1:38; to call sinners to repentance, Lu 5:32; to send a sword and to set men at variance, Mt 10:34, 35; I came down from heaven to do the will of Him that sent me, Joh 6:38, 39 (so here, Psa 40:7, 8); I am sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Mt 15:24; I am come into this world for judgment, Joh 9:39; I am come that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly, Joh 10:10; to save what had been lost, Mt 18:11; to seek and to save that which was lost, Lu 19:10; compare 1Ti 1:15; to save men's lives, Lu 9:56; to send fire on the earth, Lu 12:49; to minister, Mt 20:28; as "the Light," Joh 12:46; to bear witness unto the truth, Joh 18:37. See, reader, that thy Saviour obtain what He aimed at in thy case. Moreover, do thou for thy part say, why thou art come here? Dost thou, then, also, do the will of God? From what time? and in what way?" [Bengel]. When the two goats on the day of atonement were presented before the Lord, that goat on which the lot of the Lord should fall was to be offered as a sin offering; and that lot was lifted up on high in the hand of the high priest, and then laid upon the head of the goat which was to die; so the hand of God determined all that was done to Christ. Besides the covenant of God with man through Christ's blood, there was another covenant made by the Father with the Son from eternity. The condition was, "If He shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed," &c. (Is 53:10). The Son accepted the condition, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God" [Bishop Pearson]. Oblation, intercession, and benediction, are His three priestly offices.

in the volume, &c.--literally, "the roll": the parchment manuscript being wrapped around a cylinder headed with knobs. Here, the Scripture "volume" meant is the fortieth Psalm. "By this very passage 'written of Me,' I undertake to do Thy will [namely, that I should die for the sins of the world, in order that all who believe may be saved, not by animal sacrifices, He 10:6, but by My death]." This is the written contract of Messiah (compare Ne 9:38), whereby He engaged to be our surety. So complete is the inspiration of all that is written, so great the authority of the Psalms, that what David says is really what Christ then and there said.

8. he--Christ.

Sacrifice, &c.--The oldest manuscripts read, "Sacrifices and offerings" (plural). This verse combines the two clauses previously quoted distinctly, He 10:5, 6, in contrast to the sacrifice of Christ with which God was well pleased.

9. Then said he--"At that time (namely, when speaking by David's mouth in the fortieth Psalm) He hath said." The rejection of the legal sacrifices involves, as its concomitant, the voluntary offer of Jesus to make the self-sacrifice with which God is well pleased (for, indeed, it was God's own "will" that He came to do in offering it: so that this sacrifice could not but be well pleasing to God).

I come--"I am come."

taketh away--"sets aside the first," namely, "the legal system of sacrifices" which God wills not.

the second--"the will of God" (He 10:7, 9) that Christ should redeem us by His self-sacrifice.

10. By--Greek, "In." So "in," and "through," occur in the same sentence, 1Pe 1:22, "Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit." Also, 1Pe 1:5, in the Greek. The "in (fulfilment of) which will" (compare the use of in, Ep 1:6, "wherein [in which grace] He hath made us accepted, in the Beloved"), expresses the originating cause; "THROUGH the offering ... of Christ," the instrumental or mediatory cause. The whole work of redemption flows from "the will" of God the Father, as the First Cause, who decreed redemption from before the foundation of the world. The "will" here (boulema) is His absolute sovereign will. His "good will" (eudokia) is a particular aspect of it.

are sanctified--once for all, and as our permanent state (so the Greek). It is the finished work of Christ in having sanctified us (that is, having translated us from a state of unholy alienation into a state of consecration to God, having "no more conscience of sin," He 10:2) once for all and permanently, not the process of gradual sanctification, which is here referred to.

the body--"prepared" for Him by the Father (He 10:5). As the atonement, or reconciliation, is by the blood of Christ (Le 17:11), so our sanctification (consecration to God, holiness and eternal bliss) is by the body of Christ (Col 1:22). Alford quotes the Book of Common Prayer Communion Service, "that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most precious blood."

once for all--(He 7:27; 9:12, 26, 28; 10:12, 14).

11. And--a new point of contrast; the frequent repetition of the sacrifices.

priest--The oldest manuscripts read, "high priest." Though he did not in person stand "daily" offering sacrifices, he did so by the subordinate priests of whom, as well as of all Israel, he was the representative head. So "daily" is applied to the high priests (He 7:27).

standeth--the attitude of one ministering; in contrast to "sat down on the right hand of God," He 10:12, said of Christ; the posture of one being ministered to as a king.

which--Greek, "the which," that is, of such a kind as.

take away--utterly; literally, "strip off all round." Legal sacrifices might, in part, produce the sense of forgiveness, yet scarcely even that (see on He 10:4); but entirely to strip off one's guilt they never could.

12. this man--emphatic (He 3:3).

for ever--joined in English Version with "offered one sacrifice"; offered one sacrifice, the efficacy of which endures for ever; literally. "continuously," (compare He 10:14). "The offering of Christ, once for all made, will continue the one and only oblation for ever; no other will supersede it" [Bengel]. The mass, which professes to be the frequent repetition of one and the same sacrifice of Christ's body, is hence disproved. For not only is Christ's body one, but also His offering is one, and that inseparable from His suffering (He 9:26). The mass would be much the same as the Jewish sacrifices which Paul sets aside as abrogated, for they were anticipations of the one sacrifice, just as Rome makes masses continuations of it, in opposition to Paul's argument. A repetition would imply that the former once-for-all offering of the one sacrifice was imperfect, and so would be dishonoring to it (He 10:2, 18). He 10:14, on the contrary, says, "He hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified." If Christ offered Himself at the last supper, then He offered Himself again on the cross, and there would be two offerings; but Paul says there was only one, once for all. Compare Note, see on He 9:26. English Version is favored by the usage in this Epistle, of putting the Greek "for ever" after that which it qualifies. Also, "one sacrifice for ever," stands in contrast to "the same sacrifices oftentimes" (He 10:11). Also, 1Co 15:25, 28, agrees with He 10:12, 13, taken as English Version, not joining, as Alford does, "for ever" with "sat down," for Jesus is to give up the mediatorial throne "when all things shall be subdued unto Him," and not to sit on it for ever.

13. expecting--"waiting." Awaiting the execution of His Father's will, that all His foes should be subjected to Him. The Son waits till the Father shall "send Him forth to triumph over all His foes." He is now sitting at rest (He 10:12), invisibly reigning, and having His foes virtually, by right of His death, subject to Him. His present sitting on the unseen throne is a necessary preliminary to His coming forth to subject His foes openly. He shall then come forth to a visibly manifested kingdom and conquest over His foes. Thus He fulfils Psa 110:1. This agrees with 1Co 15:23-28. He is, by His Spirit and His providence, now subjecting His foes to Him in part (Psa 110:1-7). The subjection of His foes fully shall be at His second advent, and from that time to the general judgment (Re 19:1-20:15); then comes the subjection of Himself as Head of the Church to the Father (the mediatorial economy ceasing when its end shall have been accomplished), that God may be all in all. Eastern conquerors used to tread on the necks of the vanquished, as Joshua did to the five kings. So Christ's total and absolute conquest at His coming is symbolized.

be made his footstool--literally, "be placed (rendered) footstool of His feet."

his enemies--Satan and Death, whose strength consists in "sin"; this being taken away (He 10:12), the power of the foes is taken away, and their destruction necessarily follows.

14. For--The sacrifice being "for ever" in its efficacy (He 10:12) needs no renewal.

them that are sanctified--rather as Greek, "them that are being sanctified." The sanctification (consecration to God) of the elect (1Pe 1:2) believers is perfect in Christ once for all (see on He 10:10). (Contrast the law, He 7:19; 9:9; 10:1). The development of that sanctification is progressive.

15. The Greek, has "moreover," or "now."

is a witness--of the truth which I am setting forth. The Father's witness is given He 5:10. The Son's, He 10:5. Now is added that of the Holy Spirit, called accordingly "the Spirit of grace," He 10:29. The testimony of all Three leads to the same conclusion (He 10:18).

for after that he had said before--The conclusion to the sentence is in He 10:17, "After He had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them (with the house of Israel, He 8:10; here extended to the spiritual Israel) ... saith the Lord; I will put (literally, 'giving,' referring to the giving of the law; not now as then, giving into the hands, but giving) My laws into their hearts ('mind,' He 8:10) and in their minds ('hearts,' He 8:10); I will inscribe (so the Greek) them (here He omits the addition quoted in He 8:10, 11, I will be to them a God ... and they shall not teach every man his neighbor ...), and (that is, after He had said the foregoing, He then adds) their sins ... will I remember no more." The great object of the quotation here is to prove that, there being in the Gospel covenant, "REMISSION of sins" (He 10:17), there is no more need of a sacrifice for sins. The object of the same quotation in He 8:8-13 is to show that, there being a "NEW covenant," the old is antiquated.