CHAPTER 12
1. So, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also remove every obstacle - that is, sin that prevents us from moving forward - and, showing endurance, continue to run in the competition offered to us,
2. Looking at the Initiator and Finisher of this trust, Yeshua, who in exchange for the joy offered to him, was executed on the counter, like a criminal, despised dishonor and sat down at the right hand of God's throne.
Looking, as a runner looks to the finish line, at the Initiator (see Eph. 2:8) and Finisher of our trust, Yeshua, or, as other translations say, “at Jesus, the author and finisher of the faith” (Synod . per.). Comparing Yeshua to the beginning and end, aleph and tav, can be found in Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13. His "endurance" (v. 1) is an example for us: think of him (v. 3; cf. Phil. 2:5). He, in exchange for the joy offered to him as a reward (10:35), was executed on the rack, like a criminal (see Mt. 10:38N and Phil. 2:8), despised dishonor, which is described on more deep level in Phil. 2:6-11. Believers should not despise those who dishonor them, but dishonor itself (cf. 1 Keph. 4:16).
On the right hand of God's throne, or "in the place of glory near God's throne" (Living Bible). See point (7) in note to 1:3, and also 1:13. Mat. 22:44.
3. Lest you be discouraged and discouraged, think of one who has experienced such hostility from sinners.
4. In the contest against sin, you have not yet resisted to the shedding of your own blood.
Verses 3-4 Compare 4:15, which says that Yeshua, like us, "was subjected to all sorts of temptations, the only difference being that he did not sin."
Don't lose heart. This expression anticipates the Tanakh passage quoted in v. 5-6.
5. In addition, you forgot the advice that is offered to us as sons: " Do not reject the punishments of Adonai, my son, and do not lose heart when He reproves you.
6. For whomever Adonai loves, He punishes him, and beats anyone whom he considers a son."
7. Consider what you endure as a punishment; God treats you like sons. Is there a son who would not be punished by his father?
God treats you like sons. Israel as a whole is called the son of God (Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15&N; Rom. 9:4&N); but more than that, every believer, whether Jewish or not, is also, on an individual level, a son of God by reason of his oneness with the only begotten Son of God, Yeshua the Messiah (Rom. 8:14-19,29; Gal. 4:1-7 ; Rev. 21:7).
8. All legitimate sons are punished; and if this does not happen to you, then you are not a son, but mamzer!
In rabbinical Judaism, the word mamzer is a special term referring to a child born of a marriage forbidden in Leviticus 18. In a broader sense, it means "illegitimate son" and has a sharp connotation of contempt. See Yin. 9:34&com.
9. Further, if we were punished by our parents according to the flesh, and we respected them, how much more must we obey our spiritual Father in order to live!
10. After all, they punished us for a short time, doing everything that was in their power; He punishes us in such a way that it brings us true benefit and gives us the opportunity to partake of His holiness.
11. Any punishment, while we endure it, burdens, and does not please us; for those who are taught it, it subsequently bears the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Verses 9-11. The punishment of Adonai, our spiritual Father, brings forth the fruit of holiness (see v. 14) and righteousness (5:13; 10:38; 11:4,7,33).
12. Therefore, strengthen weak hands and trembling knees;
13. And also make a path for your feet; not to dislocate the damaged, but to heal.
Verses 1-13. In addition to summing up the discourse on trust that began at 10:35, verses 1-4 contain the idea that believers in Yeshua are in a contest against sin (vv. 1, 4). requiring endurance (vv. 1-3, 7). Endurance implies that when we face the suffering, tribulations, and setbacks that are inevitable in a believer's life (Acts 14:22, Jn 16:33), we should treat them as Adonai's punishment (vv. 5-13 are a lesson in this topic, in which Art. 5-6 is the base text, and then, in 7-8, 9-10 and 11-13 three arguments are presented). Only then do we exhibit the “obedience based on trust” (Rom. 1:5, 16:26), which is the goal of the gospel.
In the contest offered to us (v. 1), which is "doing the good works God has provided for us" (Eph. 2:10), Shaul (Paul) used sports metaphors when writing to the Greeks (1 Cor. 9:24 -27, Phil. 3:12-14, 2 Tim. 4:7-8), for whom athletic competition was an integral part of life. However, the author of this letter writes to the Jews, and for them at that time such competitions seemed more like Hellenistic paganism (see 1 Maccabees 1:10-15). However, the rabbis made comparisons to gladiators (Exodus Rabbah 30:24), wrestlers (Genesis Rabbah 22:9), and other athletes. The language of sports metaphors used in Art. 1-4 is repeated in vv. 11-13, where the author compares believers to athletes in training who heal their bruises so that they can continue to play effectively.
Verses 12-13. A striking contrast with Art. 1: The author no longer encourages the fleeing, but addresses those who can barely walk due to physical and social disadvantage, emotional handicaps, or spiritual apostasy.
Strengthen weak hands, that is, gradually develop your spiritual capacity for obedience based on trust in God (Rom. 1:5).
Strengthen your shaky knees, that is, control your emotions, stop being afraid of the world.
Break the path. " Guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake” (Psalm 22:3). Make your physical and social environment such that you can work in it for the good, do not expose yourself to excessive temptations, and take only what you can accomplish.
For your feet. Isaiah writes of the wicked: Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood” (Isaiah 59:7; cf. Rom. 3:15). And about the Servant of God, he says: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald of peace, the herald of joy, the proclaimer of salvation! ” (Isaiah 52:7; cf. Rom. 10:15).
One who is wounded or bruised in any of these aspects, and careless about it, may dislocate the injury, so that in the end, "a person becomes even worse than before" (Matt. 12:46). If he gives due spiritual attention to such a problem, the damaged will be cured.
14. Strive for shalom with everyone and for holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
Strive for shame (cf. Ps. 33:15) with everyone (cf. Rom. 12:18).
15. See to it that no one falls short of God's grace, that no bitter root, appearing, does harm and infects many,
Bitter root. At the conclusion of the covenant between God and “all Israel” (Deut. 29:1), Moses warned the Israelites: “ Should not be among you[those]...whose heart would turn away from Adonai...who would go and bow down to the gods of these nations. There shall not be among you a root whose fruit is gall and bitter wormwood (contrast this with the "peaceful fruit of righteousness," v. 11, above), such a person who, having heard the words of this curse(Deut. 28:15-68), would bless himself in his heart and say: I will have peace, even if I act according to the desire of my heart ... Adonai will not agree to forgive such a thing ”(Deut. 29:17-20) .
16. and that there be no profligate people among you, or wicked people, like Esau, who exchanged his birthright for food.
17. You know that later, wanting to receive a blessing from his father, he was rejected, and although he asked with tears, his repentance did not help him.
Although he asked with tears, his repentance did not help him. If we accept such a translation, then it says that although in the interval between Gen. 25:27-34 and Gen. 27:30-41 Esau repented, this did not help him persuade his father, Isaac, to bless him with the blessing that he left for the firstborn. However, the Greek text can also mean the following; “Although [Esau] begged with tears that his father would change his mind, his attempts were unsuccessful,” in part because a blessing once given cannot be taken back. Regardless of which translation is correct, we see that it is impossible to annul the effects of sin.
Even if it is Esau's repentance, it is not implied here or in Genesis that it was sincere. His tears were not caused by pain, suffering, which was perceived "as it is perceived by God", contributed to "the abandonment of sin and return to God, which leads to salvation" (2 Cor. 7:10). Rather, his "repentance" (Gr. metanoia, - “change of attitude, thoughts”; see com. to Mat. 3:2) was that he valued his firstborn rights (Genesis 27), after having despised them for a long time (Genesis 25). Thus, although some translations support such an understanding, there is no reason to conclude from this passage that it is "too late to repent" or too late to turn from sins and turn to God. This attitude is just an excuse to continue sinning. It is never too late, God is always ready to take us into His arms, His goal has always been for "all to turn away from their sins" (2 Keph. 3:9).
Verses 14-17. To holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. This is the beginning of the warning, which will culminate in v. 29. Those people who do not want to listen to him, who believe that their intellectual recognition of the existence of God and the Messiahship of Yeshua, not accompanied by good deeds and submission to the will of God, gives them a “pass to heaven”, will be shaken and disappointed (cf. Yaak 2:19-20, Rev. 20:15).
18. You did not come to a tangible mountain, to a flaming fire, to darkness, gloom and storm,
Theophany (the appearance of God to mankind) was often accompanied by fire (Exodus 13:21, Judges 13:20, 1 Kings 18:38), darkness (Genesis 15:12; Exodus 10:21-22, 14:20; 1 Kings 8:12 ; Joel 3:4 (2:31); Amos 5:18) and a storm (Nahum 1:3; Job 37:9, 38:1; Zechariah 9:14).
19. not to the sound shofar and a voice that speaks the words that the people prayed to be told no more,
The sound of the shofar will be heard at the end of days during the final manifestation of God's glory (Isaiah 27:13, Zechariah 9:14), which in the New Testament is more specifically identified with the Second Coming of the Messiah (Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16&N).
When God gave the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-18), which in the Torah are called the “decalogue” (Decalogue; Deut. 4:13), all the people of Israel heard His voice and prayed that they would not be told anything else, but only Moses as their representative. This is described in Deuteronomy 4:10-13, 5:20-25 and 18:16-17 (in the passage where God promises to raise up a prophet like Moses; according to Acts 3:22-23&N, Yeshua fulfilled this prophecy).
20. because they could not bear what was commanded to them: " Even if an animal touches the mountain, it will be stoned",
21. And the sight was so terrifying that Moshe said: " I'm in fear and trembling".
Moshe said, "I am in fear and trembling." Not only all the people, but Moses himself was frightened. However, by quoting the words of Moses, uttered not on Mount Sinai, but upon his return and discovery of the golden calf (Deut. 9:14-19), the author of the book to Messianic Jews shows that Moses, after personal communication with God, had a healthy fear of Him (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10), and not only at the time of receiving the Torah, but also afterwards, throughout his life. By this the author wants to say that the same thing should happen to us. We, who once believed in Yeshua, should not weaken our zeal in the future.
Verses 18-21. At the time of the giving of the Torah to the people of Israel, the view of Mount Sinai inspired awe, which reflected God's holiness. See Exodus 19:16-20, 20:15-18 (18-21); Deuteronomy 4:10-13.
22. No, you have come to Mount Zion, that is, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem; to a gathering of tens of thousands of triumphant angels;
On Mount Zion, King David placed the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:2); in the New Testament, Yochanan sees Yeshua, the Lamb, “standing on Mount Zion” (Rev. 14:1). Already in the Tanakh Mount Zion is identified with the city of the living God, Jerusalem:
"Great is Adonai and greatly glorified in the city of our God, on His holy mountain. Beautiful is the height, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, on the edge of the northern (side) - the city of the great King." (Psalm 47:2-3)
However, this identification goes beyond the earthly Jerusalem and is also applicable to the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:25-26, Rev. 21:2), about which the author speaks in more detail in 11:10, 13-16&N; 13:14. The idea that spiritual truth as it manifests here on earth is but a shadow of the heavenly original is found again and again in the epistle (8:5&N; 9:11&N, 23- 24&N; 10:1&N).
Tens of thousands of angels. " The Lord went ... with thousands of saints" in heaven to give the Torah on Mount Sinai(Deut. 33:2).
Assembly... triumphant. From 1:14 Dan. 7:10, Luke. 2:13-15 and Rev. 5:11-12 we learn that the purpose of this meeting is to serve God and His people.
23. to the community of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; to the Judge, who is God for all; to the spirits of the righteous who have reached the goal;
Community, Greek ekklesia; see com. to Mat. 16:18.
Perventsev. Yeshua "exceeds all creation", literally "the firstborn of creation" (Col. 1:15&N).
“Besides, he is the head of the Body, the Messianic Community, he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, which makes it possible for him to be the first in everything” (Col. 1:18). Finally, he is "the firstborn among many brethren," who are to follow his example and be like him (Rom. 8:29), whereby they themselves become the firstborn in the sight of God and receive all the rights that go with that status according to the Bible (v. 16 above). God originally gave Israel the status of the firstborn (Exodus 4:22). By applying this status to believers in general, God deepens the identity between the Messianic Community and Israel (see Rom. 11:25-26&N; Gal. 6:16&N; Eph. 2:11-16&N). ).
Whose names are written in heaven in the Book of Life (see Rev. 20:12N).
To the Judge, who is God for all. There is no way to avoid meeting God, the "righteous Judge" (2 Tim. 4:8&N); many passages of the New Testament and Tanakh confirm that every one will appear before him at the Day of Judgment; see Rev. 20:11-15. God entrusted judgment to Yeshua the Messiah (Jn 5:22&N 27-30; Acts 17:31; Rom 2:16).
To the spirits of the righteous (11:4,7,33) who have reached their goal (N on 7:11), like us (11:39-40), thanks to Yeshua, the Finisher of our trust (that is, the one who brings this trust to goals, article 2).
24. to the mediator of the new treaty, Yeshua; and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaks of something better than the blood of Hevel.
To the mediator of a new treaty, Yeshua. Wed 7:22, 8:6-13.
To the blood of sprinkling, the blood of Yeshua. Wed 9:12-14, 19-21; 10:19-21; 13:13-15. Which speaks of something better than Hevel's blood (see 11:4&N). Abel was the first to die (Genesis 4:3-10), Yeshua was the last (since his death has no time limits): the blood of Yeshua brings life (Leviticus 17:11), and the blood of Abel brought only death. See com. to 1 Kef. 1:2.
25. See, do not reject the Speaker! Consider, for if those who rejected Him did not escape [punishment] when He gave His revelation on earth, much less will we escape if we turn away from Him, while He warns us from heaven.
Especially not ... Argument cal vehomer(com. to Matt. 6:30), supported by v. 26.
26. Even then His voice shook the earth, but now He made this promise: Once again I will shake the earth, and, besides, the sky!"
Even then, on Mount Sinai, His voice shook the earth. Compare Book. Judges 5:4-5; Psalms 67:9, 76:19, 113:7.
27. The words "once again" mean that everything that is shaken, being created, will be removed so that it remains unshakable.
28. Therefore, since we have received an unshakable kingdom, let us preserve the grace whereby we can please God by our service, done with reverence and fear.
Let's keep grace. Let's accept the gift of His Son, whose sacrificial death atones for our sins, instead of holding on to expired animal sacrifices or any other means of influencing God in order to gain the status of a righteous man in His eyes. Although animal sacrifices were originally prescribed by God's grace, now, after the sacrificial death of Yeshua, atoning for sins, these sacrifices are useless, and the one who offers them is trying to earn righteousness by works.
By accepting God's grace, we can please God by our service. Word labor in Hebrew it means "work", "work", "service", but is also used as a special term for the ministry of sacrifice in the Tabernacle or Temple; cf. 13:15 Rom. 12:1. Chapter 13 summarizes all that is included in such a service pleasing to God.
29. For " Our God is a consuming fire!"
See also 10:31,12:18.
Verses 18-29. As in 2:1-4, the author, comparing Mount Sinai (vv. 18-21) and the spiritual Mount Zion (vv. 22-24), shows all those numerous aspects, explicitly or indirectly indicated in previous chapters, in which the messianic Judaism with Moshe and Yeshua surpasses (see second paragraph of note on 1:2-3) traditional Judaism, which recognizes Moshe but does not recognize Yeshua's messianism.
In both cases, the same God reveals Himself, His promises and requirements. One can come to the only possible conclusion: See don't reject the speaker(vv. 25-29) through Moshe then and through Yeshua now. As the Shema succinctly says, “Adonai is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4), therefore, anyone who rejects the God of Yeshua rejects the God of Moshe (this understanding is reflected in many places in the New Testament, including Luke 16:29-31, 24:25-27; Jn 1:45, 5:45-46, 9:28-41; Acts 3:22-23, 26:22-23, 28:23-27; Rom 3:29- 31:10:4-10; 2 Corinthians 3:6-16; Me. 3:1-6; Rev. 15:3). The punishment for rejecting God is terrible, for although He is merciful to those who trust Him, our God is a consuming fire (v. 29; cf. Exodus 34:6-7, Mk. 9:43-49, Rev. 20: 11-15).
Verses 12:1-13:19. The last of the author's five instructions (see 2:1-4N) is the longest. Chapter 12 emphasizes the negative, culminating in a stern warning in v. 25-29, while chapter 13, in contrast, focuses on the positive.
Comments on Chapter 12
INTRODUCTION TO THE HEBREWS
GOD IS MANIFOLDLY REVEALED TO US
People have never had a unified view of religion. "God," said Tennyson, "reveals himself to us in different ways." And George Russell put it this way: "There are as many ways to climb the stars as there are people who dare to climb them." One famous and beautiful proverb says: "God has His own key to every heart." AT in general terms There are four concepts of religion.
1. For some people, religion is it is an inner friendship with God. This is such union with Christ that one can say that the Christian lives in Christ, and Christ lives in the Christian. This is how Paul understood religion. For him, religion was that which mysteriously united him with God.
2. For others religion is the model according to which they should build their lives and the power that allows them to achieve this model. This is how James and Peter looked at religion. They saw in religion a model according to which they should build their lives, and it gave them the strength to achieve this model.
3. Others see religion satisfaction of their intellectual pursuits. Their mind searches and searches until they realize that their minds can rest in God. Even Plato says that unexplored life is unworthy of being lived. There are people who must either understand or perish. The first chapter of the Gospel of John is the world's greatest attempt to satisfy the demands and demands of the human mind.
4. There are also people for whom religion is the path that leads into the presence of God. It removes barriers and opens doors to Him. This is exactly how the author of Hebrews understood religion. He was completely absorbed in this thought. In Jesus he found the One who can bring him into the immediate presence of God. AT Heb. 10:19-23 a great idea about religion.
"Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the sanctuary through the Blood of Jesus Christ, the new and living way, which He again revealed to us through the veil, that is, His flesh ... Let us draw near with a sincere heart, with full faith ...".
TWO WAYS OF THINKING
The concept of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews fit into both contemporary ways of thinking. On the one hand, this is the Greek way of thinking. Even from Plato, that is, for five centuries, the consciousness of the Greeks was preoccupied with contradictions between the real and the unreal, the visible and the invisible, the transient and the eternal. It was the Greeks who came up with the idea of the existence of a real world somewhere, for which our world is only a weak reflection. Plato believed that somewhere out there there is a world of perfect shapes, ideas, or samples. Plato said: "The Creator of the world planned his creation and executed it according to an imperishable and eternal pattern, of which this world is a copy." Philo of Alexandria, who borrowed his ideas from Plato, said: “From the very beginning, God knew that an excellent copy can only be made with an excellent sample, and that objects, having decided to create this visible world, He first created an ideal world in order to create an objective bodily world according to incorporeal and divine pattern." Cicero spoke of laws known to people and applied by them on earth: "We have nothing like true law and true justice; what we have is only a shadow and crumbs."
This idea of the existence of a real world somewhere, of which our world is an imperfect copy, can be found in all thinkers of antiquity. In this world we can only guess and grope; here we can only work with copies and imperfect objects. And all real and real objects are in a world that is not visible to us. On the tombstone of the famous theologian, a Latin inscription is inscribed: "Away from shadows and appearances to truth." If this is so, then it is quite obvious that the purpose of our life in this world is to get away from shadows and imperfections and reach reality. And that's exactly what the author of Hebrews claims, that Jesus Christ gives us that ability. The writer of Hebrews tells the Greeks, "All your life you've been trying to get away from the shadows and come to the truth. Jesus Christ gives you the opportunity to do it."
JEWISH MINDSET
But the writer of Hebrews also shares Jewish way of thinking. In Judaism it was dangerous to approach God. "Man," God said to Moses, "cannot see Me and live" (Ex. 33:20). Jacob was extremely surprised at Penuel: "I saw God face to face, and my soul was saved" (Gen. 32:30). When Manoah realized who his guest was, he said to his wife in horror: "True, we will die; for we have seen God" (Judg. 13:22). One of the most important religious holidays of the Jews was the Day of Atonement. Only on this day did the high priest enter the Holy of Holies, where, according to the Jews, God dwelt. No one has ever entered the Holy of Holies except the high priest, and only on this day. The law clearly stated that when entering the Holy of Holies, the high priest must not stay there for a long time, "lest he bring terror upon Israel." It was dangerous to enter into the presence of God; who stayed there too long could be killed.
That is why the idea of covenant. God, in His mercy and without any merit on the part of the Jews, turned to the people of Israel and invited them to enter into a special relationship with Him. But this special attitude was due to the observance of the law given to them. In a dramatic scene Ref. 24:3-8 it shows how the people of Israel entered into this relationship and accepted this law.
From that moment Israel had access to God, but only if he obeys the law. The transgression of the law is sin, and sin erected a barrier between Israel and God and closed their access to Him. And in order to remove this barrier, the whole system of the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices was created. God gave Israel a law; people have sinned; therefore a barrier arose between Israel and God; sacrifices were made to remove barriers to God. But life has shown that sacrifice is not able to do this. This was proof that the whole system of continued sacrifices was hopeless. This battle was doomed to defeat, and its very goal - to remove the barrier erected by human sin between man and God - is unattainable.
THE PERFECT PRIEST AND THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
The people needed perfect priest and perfect sacrifice. Someone was needed who could make a sacrifice to God, which would once and for all open the way and access to Him. And that is exactly what Christ did, says the author of Hebrews. He is a perfect high priest because He is both a perfect man and a perfect God. In His human form He brought people to God, and in His divinity He brings God to people. There is no sin on Him. The perfect sacrifice that He offered to God is Himself, a sacrifice so perfect that it never needs to be offered again.
To a Jew, the author of Hebrews said, "You have been looking all your life for the perfect priest who could make the perfect sacrifice and give you access to God. You received Him in Jesus Christ and in Him alone." And to a Greek, the author of Hebrews said: "You are looking for a way from shadows to reality: you will find it in Jesus Christ."
Jesus was the One who gave people access to reality and to God - that's the main idea this message.
THE MYSTERY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
So far everything is clear. All other questions that arise in connection with the study and interpretation of the book of Hebrews are shrouded in mystery. E. F. Scott wrote, "Hebrews is in many ways the enigma of the New Testament." Answers to questions, when it was written, to whom and who wrote it, we can only assume. The history of this epistle shows how the mystery surrounding it led to it being treated cautiously and with suspicion. It took a long time before the epistle finally and unquestionably entered the number of books of the New Testament. In the Muratorian canon, compiled around 170, it is not mentioned at all. The eminent scholars from Alexandria, Clement and Origen, knew and loved him, but agreed that his place among the books of Holy Scripture is debatable. As for the North African Church Fathers, Cyprian never mentions him, and Tertullian knows that his place among Scripture is disputed. Eusebius, a historian of the Church, stated that among the controversial books, this epistle stands out for its high qualities. It was not until the time of Athanasius, in the middle of the fourth century, that the book of Hebrews was finally included in the New Testament, but even Luther was not firmly convinced of the correctness of this decision. It is strange that this important document has waited so long for its recognition!
WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN
Information about this we can draw only from the epistle itself. It was undoubtedly written in an era that can be called the second generation of Christianity. (2,3). Events are told to the listeners by those who themselves have heard the Lord. To the people addressed by this message, the Christian faith was not a novelty; in all likelihood, they must have been mature people and trained listeners (5,12). They must have had a long history, because the author refers to the events of the past days (10,32). They had a great past behind them and heroic martyrs to look up to and draw inspiration from. (13,7).
In fixing the date of the epistle, the mention of persecution can help us first of all. From the message it is clear that at one time their mentors and leaders died for their faith. (13,7). The addressees of the message themselves have not yet been persecuted, because they "have not yet fought to the point of bloodshed" (12,4). It is also clear that they experienced suffering as they had to "accept the plunder of their property" (10,32-34). In general, the message gives the impression that the recipients are in danger of being persecuted. Based on this, it can be said with certainty that the epistle was written in the period between two waves of persecution: in the days when Christians were not directly persecuted, but also did not enjoy love among their fellow countrymen.
The first persecution of Christians was in the year 64, during the time of Nero, and the second - in 85, under the emperor Domitian. Somewhere between these two dates, the Epistle to the Hebrews was written, most likely closer to the era of the reign of the emperor Domitian. In all likelihood, the epistle was written around the year 80.
TO WHOM WAS THE MESSAGE WRITTEN?
Here, too, we must confine ourselves to the information and hints that we find in the message itself. One fact is clear - the epistle could not have been written to a large church community, because then its name would not have completely disappeared from memory. First, let's stick to what we know. The message was written to a church community that had a long history (5,12), who once suffered persecution in the past (10,32-34). It was written to a church that had great times, great teachers and preachers. (13,7). It was written to a church that was not founded by the apostles themselves (2,3), church distinguished by its generosity and open-mindedness (6,10).
The message also contains a direct hint. Among the greetings that complete the message, we find the following sentence: "The Italians greet you" (13,24). [At Barkley: "Those who come from Italy greet you"]. Taken alone, this phrase can mean that the letter was either sent from Italy, or in Italy; it is more likely that it was written in Italy. Let's say a person writes a letter from Leningrad abroad, he probably won't write: "Everyone from Leningrad greets you", but rather: "Everyone in Leningrad greets you". If he is abroad and other Leningraders are with him, he may well write: "All Leningraders greet you." So we can say the message was written to Italy and if so, it is very probable that it was written in Rom.
But, quite clearly, it was not written by the whole Roman church, then it would never have lost its name. Further, it gives the impression that it was written by a small group of like-minded people, probably a group of scientists. From 5,72 we see that they have been studying for a long time and preparing to become teachers of the Christian faith. In addition, reading the book of Hebrews requires such knowledge of the Old Testament that only a learned man could write it.
Putting all this together, we can say that the book of Hebrews was written by a major preacher and teacher of the Church to a small group or school of Christians in Rome. He was their teacher. But at the present time he was away from them, and because he was afraid that they were going astray from the path of faith, he wrote this epistle. This is not so much a message as a conversation. It does not begin like a letter from Paul, although it does end with a greeting, like any letter. The author himself calls it a word of exhortation, a sermon.
WHO WROTE THE LETTER?
Apparently, the most intractable is the question of authorship. And it was precisely this uncertainty that was the reason that they did not dare to include it in the New Testament. In those days it was simply called "Jews". No authorship was attributed to him, no one connected him directly with the name of the Apostle Paul. Clement of Alexandria admitted that it was written by Paul in Aramaic, and Luke translated it because the style was completely different from Pavlov's. Origen famously remarked, "Only God knows who wrote Hebrews." Tertullian considered Barnabas its author. Jerome said that the Roman Catholic Church did not consider it to be Paul's epistle and went on to say, "Whoever is the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews...". Augustine did the same. Luther claimed that Paul could not have written it because he had a different way of thinking. Calvin said that he could not bring himself to believe that this epistle was written by the apostle Paul.
Throughout the history of the Church, no one has ever seriously admitted that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. But how did the message get its name? It happened very simply. When the New Testament was finally taking shape, it acquired its own modern form, disputes arose about which books to include and which not. To make a final decision, a check was made: was the book or epistle written by an apostle or a person who had close relations with the apostles? By this time the book of Hebrews was known throughout the Church. Many, like Origen, who believed that God alone knows who wrote it, have read and loved this epistle and wished it were included in the New Testament. This could only be done by including it along with the thirteen epistles of the Apostle Paul. The book of Hebrews occupied its place among the books of the New Testament because of its own greatness, but to be included it had to refer to the letters of Paul. Even then people knew very well that it was not written by Paul, but they considered it to be Pavlov, because no one knew its author and it must have been included in the New Testament.
AUTHOR OF THE EPIST TO THE HEBREWS
1. Tertullian believed that Barnabas wrote it. Barnabas was a native of Cyprus; the Cypriots were known for their excellent Greek, and Hebrews is written in the best Greek in the New Testament. Barnabas was a Levite (Acts 4:36) and had among the writers of the New Testament the most accurate knowledge of the priesthood and sacrifice, on which the epistle is based. He was called "son of comfort" in Greek paraclesis: the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews also calls the epistle the word exhortations, paraclesis (13:22). Barnabas was one of the few Jews and Greeks recognized because he was familiar with both Jewish and Greek ways of thinking. Maybe Barnabas really wrote this epistle, but why then did his name disappear from its pages?
2. Luther was convinced that Apollos was the author of Hebrews. According to the New Testament, Apollos was a Jew, originally from Alexandria, a man eloquent and versed in the Scriptures. (Acts 18:24; 1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4). The man who wrote Hebrews knew the Scriptures well and was eloquent; he thought and argued in the same way as the educated inhabitants of Alexandria. Undoubtedly, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was, in origin and mode of thought, a man similar to Apollos.
3. A romantic guess was made by Harnack, a prominent German theologian. He suggested that these could be reflections of Aquila and Priscilla. They were teachers (Acts 18:26). Their home in Rome was a church (Rom. 16:5). Harnack believes that this is why the letter begins without greetings and why the name of the author disappeared - the main part of the message was written by a woman, and she did not have the right to teach.
But, even after considering all conjectures and assumptions, we are forced to say, as Origen said already seventeen centuries ago, that only God alone knows who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. For us, the author remains only a voice; but we can thank God for the work of this great nameless one who, with incomparable skill and beauty, wrote about Jesus, who is the way to reality and the way to God.
COMPETITION AND GOAL, THE ROAD OF FAITH (Heb. 12:1-2)
This is one of the greatest and most touching passages in the New Testament, in which the author of the epistle gave an almost perfect summary of the most important elements of the Christian life.
1. A Christian has in life goal. A Christian does not just wander along the lanes of life, he walks along the highway. The Christian is not a tourist returning every evening to the place from which he left in the morning; a Christian is a pilgrim on his eternal journey. The ultimate goal is majestic - to become like Christ. The life of a Christian goes in a certain direction and towards a certain goal, and it would be good if we asked ourselves every evening the question: "Well, could I go further?"
2. In the life of a Christian there is inspiration. We have the thought of an invisible cloud of witnesses who are witnesses in two senses: they have already testified to their faith in Christ, and now they are witnesses of our deeds. A Christian is like a runner in a crowded stadium. While he is striving forward, the crowd is looking down at him, the host - those who have already won the crown.
In the famous book of Pseudo-Longinus "On the Sublime" there is a recipe for creating a great literary work: "It is good to ask yourself a question in your soul," he says, "how would Homer express it? How would the great Plato or Demosthenes write it? How would he reflect is it in his story Thucydides?" Because if we were to compete with such great figures in our work, they would undoubtedly light the way for us and raise us to that perfection that we only dream of. It would be even better if we mentally asked ourselves this question: "How would what I said sound to Homer if he stood nearby, or to Demosthenes; how would they react to what I said?" And in fact, it would be the highest test if we imagine such a jury for our own works of art and report on your literary works such heroes, to their judgment. "After all, the actor will really play with a vengeance if he knows that a famous playwright is sitting in the stalls and watching his game. And the athlete will make redoubled efforts if he knows that he is not being watched just spectators in the stadium, but famous Olympic athletes.The essential and most important moment in the life of a Christian is precisely the fact that he is closely watched by the great heroes of the faith who lived, suffered and died in their time. greatness and glory, when such heroes and ascetics look down on him?
3. In the life of a Christian there is interruptions and failures. Yes, we are surrounded by the greatness of the past, but we are hindered by our sins. After all, not a single person will climb Everest with a warehouse of bulky and unnecessary things that pull him down. Those who are going to travel far should travel light. An important duty of a person in life is to get rid of the unnecessary and superfluous: habits, pleasures, self-indulgence, memories pulling back. We have to shake them off like an athlete takes off his training suit when he goes to the start, and often we need the help of Christ to do this.
4. The Christian has at his disposal remedy, unshakable patience. The author used the Greek word here hupomone, which means not patience with which one sits quietly, accepting things as they are, but patience subordinating circumstances to oneself. It is not a romantic ability that gives us wings to soar over difficulties and troubles. It is a determination, unhurried, but urgent, with which they go forward and refuse to deviate from the chosen path. Obstacles cannot confuse her, and her discouragement does not take away her hope. This unwavering patience leads us relentlessly until we finally reach our goal.
5. A Christian has example in life. This example is Jesus Himself. For the sake of achieving the goal set before Him, He patiently endured everything: to achieve this goal meant going to the Crucifixion. The author of the epistle makes a brilliant discovery: contemptible shame. Jesus was very sensitive; no one has ever had such a sensitive heart. Crucifixion was a humiliating execution, criminals were subjected to it, criminals in whom society saw scum, scum - and yet He went for it. Philip of Neri tells us to "despise the world, despise ourselves, and despise the very fact that we are despised." If Jesus could endure like that, then we should also endure.
6. A Christian is not alone in life, he is always with him stays Jesus. Jesus is not only the goal of our pilgrimage, but also our companion on the journey; We must meet Him, and He accompanies us to the goal. The miracle of the life of a Christian lies in the fact that he goes to his goal, as if surrounded by saints, renouncing everything except the glory of his goal, and always together with the One who has already passed this path and reached the goal and is now waiting for us there to greet us when we also reach it.
SAMPLES FOR COMPARISON (Heb. 12:3-4)
The author of the epistle uses two very interesting words, translated here as wear out and weaken souls. Aristotle used these words to characterize an athlete who, exhausted, sinks to the ground. after after he passed the finish line. Thus, the author of the message is really saying: "Do not give up prematurely; do not relax your efforts before you have passed the finish line." In order to convince his listeners of this, he uses two arguments.
1. The struggle of Christianity has not yet become a life-and-death struggle. When the author says that they have not yet fought to the point of bloodshed, he uses the phrase that the leaders of the Maccabees called on their fighters to fight to the death, to fight to the last. Declaring that they have not yet fought to the point of bloodshed, the author, according to Moffat, "does not blame them, but shames them." When people remember what the believers of the past have gone through to keep their faith for us, they certainly cannot fall into apathy or shy away from conflict.
2. He encourages them to compare their suffering with the suffering endured by Jesus. He gave up By your glory; He was born into this world, with all its shortcomings and weaknesses inherent in human life; He faced the hostility of the people and had to die on the Cross. The author of the letter, in fact, says: "How can you compare the suffering that falls to your lot with the suffering that He went through? He endured everything for you, and what are you going to do for Him?"
In these two verses, the author clearly shows what price was paid for the Christian faith: it was paid for by the lives of the martyrs, for it the Son of God paid with His life. One cannot simply neglect what was bought so dearly. Such a legacy a person cannot pass on to offspring tainted. Contained in these two verses is the call to every Christian: "Show yourself worthy of the sacrifice that God and men have made for you."
THE MANNER OF THE LORD (Heb. 12:5-11)
And now the author of the epistle gives another reason why people should cheerfully endure the misfortunes that fall on them. The author has already said that they need to be transferred, because the saints of past eras transferred them. He said that they must be endured because they are insignificant in comparison with those endured by Christ. And now he says that the hardships and deprivations of life must be endured because they are sent down by God and without them the life of a person would have no value.
A father always punishes his child. It cannot be considered that he loves his child who allows him to do whatever he wants; on the contrary, it shows that he is nothing more than an illegitimate child for whom he feels neither love nor responsibility. We submit to the punishments of the earthly father: a power that is transitory (until we reach maturity) and that, at best, always contains an element of despotism. To the earthly father we owe our physical life; how much more fully should we submit to the punishments of the Lord, to whom we owe our immortal spirit, and who, in his wisdom, cares only for our greatest good.
There is an interesting passage in Xenophon's Cyropaedia. The case concerns a dispute about who brings more good to the world - the person who makes people cry, or the person who makes people laugh. Aglaitides says: "The one who makes his friends laugh seems to me to do them a much lesser service than the one who makes them cry, and if you look at this problem correctly, you will also understand that I am telling the truth. Be that as it may, fathers instill self-control in their sons by making them cry, and teachers in the same way imprint good lessons in the minds of their students, and the laws also direct citizens to the foot of justice by making them cry.But can you say that those that make people laugh also either benefit our bodies or prepare our brains for the better organization of our private or public affairs?" Aglaitides believed that it was the person who imposed punishments that really served the good of his fellow citizens.
On those who hear this passage for the first time, it will undoubtedly have a twofold impression, because paternal authority, Patria Potestas, was of great importance in ancient world. Under Roman law, the father had absolute power over his family, and if his son married, absolute power continued to apply both to the son and to any grandson who was born to the son. It all started from the moment of birth. The Roman father could, at will, leave the newborn or abandon him. He could bind or scourge his son; he could sell him into slavery; he even had the right to kill or execute him. True, when the father intended to take a serious step towards any member of his family, he usually convened a family council of all male adults, but he was not obliged to do so. True, in later times, public opinion would not have allowed a father to execute his son, but this took place even in the era of Emperor Augustus. The Roman historian Sallust cites a case from the era of the Catiline conspiracy. Catiline rebelled against Rome; among those who joined him was Aulus Fulvius, the son of a Roman senator. He was arrested, brought back to Rome, and tried by his own father. He sentenced his son to death. In eyes patria potestas the son of a Roman never came of age. He could pursue a public career; he could hold the highest judicial office; he could be revered by the whole country, but none of that mattered—he was under the direct and absolute authority of his father as long as he lived. Thus, if ever people knew what a father's mandate was: then such people, in any case, were the Romans; and when the author of the epistle spoke of how an earthly father punishes his son, his listeners and readers knew well what he was talking about.
So, the author of the epistle declares that we should look at the difficult trials and hardships that fall to us in life, as the punishment of God, which was sent down not to harm us, but for our final and highest good. To support his premise, he quotes from Prov. 3:11-12. People may have different attitudes to the punishments sent down to them by God.
1. Alone humbly accept them. That's what the Stoics did. They believed that nothing in this world happens apart from the will of God, therefore, they argued, there was nothing left but to accept them. Doing otherwise is like banging your head against the "walls" of the universe. Maybe this is what acceptance and higher wisdom is all about, but in any case, it has nothing to do with the acceptance of fatherly love, it is only the acceptance of fatherly authority. This is not a humble, submissive acceptance, but an acceptance by a conquered, defeated person.
2. Others accept punishment with a gloomy feeling and a desire to get through these troubles as soon as possible. A famous Roman once said, "I won't let anything get in the way of my life." A person who looks at punishment in this way accepts it defiantly, and not at all gratefully.
3. Others accept punishment with a feeling of self-pity, which leads to death, physical or spiritual. Some, having got into a difficult situation, behave as if only they were cruelly hurt by life. They are completely consumed by the feeling of self-pity.
4. There are those who accept punishment with outrage. Strange as it may seem, the Romans at that time saw the revenge of the gods in the people's and personal misfortunes. Lucan reads: "Happy would be Rome, and blessed would be its inhabitants, if the gods applied as much force in caring for people as they apply to take revenge on them." Tacitus believed that the misfortunes that befell the Romans proved that the gods were more concerned with punishing people than with their safety. Even today there are people who consider God to be vengeful. If something happens to themselves, or to people close to them, they ask: "What have I done to deserve it?" in such a tone to emphasize that, in their opinion, this is an unjust punishment of God. It never occurs to them to ask, "What does God want to teach me and what does God want me to do with this?"
5. And finally, there are those who accept punishment as from a loving Father. Jerome said the paradoxical thing, but the truth: "The greatest anger is that when God is no longer angry with us when we sin." This leaves us alone, as untouchables, pariahs. A Christian knows that everything that happens to him comes from God the Father, who will not cause him anything that would cause him innocent tears, and that a person must accept all this in order to become better and wiser.
We must give up feelings of self-pity, indignation and rebellious complaints, remembering that the punishment of God is dictated by love and serves our good.
OBLIGATIONS, GOALS AND DANGERS (Heb. 12:12-17)
The author of the epistle moves on to the problems of everyday life of Christians. He knows that sometimes a person acquires wings in order, like an eagle, to rise high, that sometimes a person can tirelessly strive to achieve his great goal; but he also knows that the most difficult thing is to go forward from day to day without fainting from fatigue. And here he reflects on the everyday everyday struggle that a Christian has to fight on his way.
1. First, it obligations. In every church community and in every church organization there are weaker ones who can go astray and leave the struggle. The duty of the stronger is to breathe fresh strength into drooping hands and buckling legs. To pass a value drooping hands the author uses the same words that are used in the Bible to describe the children of Israel in the days when they intended to abandon the hardships of the journey through the wilderness and return to the comforts and cauldrons of meat in Egypt.
In the "Odes of Solomon" there is a description of the accomplishments of true servants and preachers:
They soothed parched lips,
And they revived the spirit that had begun to fall ...
And weakened members
They straightened up and stood up.
The greatest glory is that which inspires a person close to despair and restores strength to a weakened one. To help such people, we must guide them on the right path. The Christian has a double duty: a duty to God and a duty to his fellow men. The "Testimony of Simon" (5.2.3) gives a vivid description of the duties of a godly person: his heart must be righteous in the eyes of the Lord, and his life - godly in the eyes of people, and then God will love him and people will love him.
Man must come before God with a pure heart; with people he must lead an honest way of life. The duty of a Christian is to guide a person on the true path, by his own example to keep him on the right path, to remove all kinds of stumbling blocks from his path, to make the road easier for shaky legs. A person must give his heart to God, and his ministry to people and set an example for them.
2. Second, goals, to which the Christian must go.
a) Its purpose should be world. In the language and worldview of the Jews, the world was not something negative, but, on the contrary, something extremely positive. It was not only the absence of worries and troubles. The world meant two things.
First, it meant everything that promotes the highest good of man. According to the Jews, the highest good of man was to obey God. In the Proverbs of Solomon it is said: "My son, do not forget my instructions, and let my commandments keep your heart; for the length of days, years of life and peace they will add to you." The Christian must always strive for that complete obedience to God, with which life finds its highest happiness, highest good, complete perfection, world.
Secondly, the world meant for the Jews the true relationship between people, and by this they understood the complete absence of hatred and the concern of each person for the absolute good of his neighbor. The author of the epistle says: "Strive to live together, as Christians should, in true unity, which comes from life in Christ."
Man must seek the peace that comes from obedience to the will of God, which raises human life to a higher consciousness and helps to establish and live in right relationships with fellow men.
One more thing remains to be noted: pursuit to reach this world. For this you need to make an effort: it does not happen by itself. This world is the result of enormous physical and mental labor and shed sweat.
The gifts of God are given to people, they are not presented; need them conquer; for they can only be accepted under God-determined conditions, the greatest of which is obedience to Him.
b) Its purpose should be holiness (hagiasmos). Word hagiasmos comes from the same root as the adjective hagios, which is usually translated as St. This word is based on the meaning difference and separation. Although this man lives in the world, St always in a certain sense different and separate from the world. He lives according to other standards than the laity, his behavior also differs from the behavior of others. He seeks to establish good relations with God. Holiness, as Wescott defines it, is "a preparation to enter into the presence of God." The life of a Christian is subordinated to one great goal - to enter into the presence of God.
a) This is, firstly, the danger of not seeing the Lord, lose the grace of God. The word used by the author can be expressed in words inability to keep up with the grace of God. One of the early Greek commentators on the Bible used to interpret the word as a parallel with a group of travelers checking again and again: "Is anyone lost? Has anyone fallen behind when others rushed forward?" AT Mich. 4.6 There are such words: "In that day, says the Lord, I will gather up the lame." Moffat translates it like this: "I will round up the stragglers." It is easy to fall behind, to be delayed in the way, to allow passive behavior instead of moving forward with a firm step, and thereby forfeit the grace of God. After all, you can miss every opportunity. The grace of God gives us the opportunity to make ourselves and our lives the way they should be. In his hibernation of life, in his madness, in his uncertainty, a person can miss the opportunity that the grace of God gives him. We must always be on guard against this.
b) Secondly, as the Bible says, danger, to what a bitter root, having arisen, did no harm. This phrase goes back to Deut. 29.18, which speaks of people who go to serve foreign gods, incline other people to this and, thereby, have a bad influence on the life of the whole society. The writer of Hebrews warns against people who are bad influences. There are always people who consider Christian standards of life too rigid and pedantic; there are always those who do not see anything shameful in turning again to worldly norms of life and behavior. This was especially true in the era of early Christianity. The Church at that time represented a small island surrounded by a sea of paganism, and the members of the Church themselves had just come out of paganism, or, at best, their parents. It was easy to fall away from the faith and fall back into the old ways. Therefore, the author of the epistle warns against the infection of the world, which is sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously, introduced into Christian communities.
c) Finally, it is a danger become a fornicator or a wicked man. For the wicked, the author of the epistle used the Greek word babelos. This word has an interesting history and meaning. They were designated an unholy, unconsecrated land, as opposed to consecrated land. The ancient world had its own religions, which could only be entered dedicated, accepted. And in a word babelos denoted a person uninitiated and disinterested as opposed to pious and devotee. So, for example, they called Antiochus Epiphanes, who swore to destroy all true religion; so called apostate Jews who renounced God. Wescott believes that this word means a person who recognizes only the earthly, for whom there is nothing sacred and does not experience any reverence for the other world. The wicked have no idea of the existence of God and no interest in the question of His existence. In his thoughts, goals, pleasures, he is limited exclusively to the earthly and concentrates his attention on it. We must carefully take care that our worldview and the area of our feelings are not narrowed down to exclusively worldly, because this path will inevitably lead us to the loss of honor and purity.
To illustrate his point more vividly, the author of the epistle cites the example of Esau. He combines two stories into one: Gen. 25:28-34; 27:1-39. According to the first, Esau, who came terribly hungry from the field, sold his birthright to Jacob for a portion of the food that the latter prepared. The second story tells how Jacob skillfully and cunningly stole the birthright from Esau, impersonating him and thereby receiving from the old and blind Isaac the blessing intended for Esau as the eldest of two sons. And when Esau wanted to receive the blessing that Jacob slyly obtained, and found out that this was no longer possible, he lifted up his voice and wept.
But behind this phrase lies more than it might seem at first glance. In the legends of the Jews and in the interpretations of the rabbis, Esau was presented as an exclusively carnal man, putting the needs of his flesh above the spiritual. According to Jewish legend, when Jacob and Esau - they were twins - were still in the womb, Jacob said to Esau: "My brother, two worlds are ahead of us: this world and the world to come. In this world, people eat and drink, trade and marry, raise sons and daughters, but in the world to come all this will not be. If you want, take this world for yourself, and I will take the world to come. And Esau readily agreed to take this world for himself, because he did not believe that there was still any other world, the world to come. According to Jewish legend, by the day Jacob slyly obtained Isaac's blessing, Esau had already committed five sins: "...swearing to strange gods, shedding innocent blood, persecuting a betrothed girl, denying the life to come, and despising his birthright."
In the interpretation of the Jews, Esau was an exclusively carnal, sensual person who saw nothing but gross earthly pleasures. Every man who does so sells his birthright, for the man who throws away eternity throws away his inheritance.
According to the Bible, Esau could not change his thoughts (father). The Greek text uses the word metanoia, which literally means change in mindset. Therefore, it would be better to say that Esau could not change the mind of his father. This does not say that he was henceforth denied the forgiveness of God; it simply states the sad fact that certain decisions are made once and for all: they cannot be changed, and certain consequences of these decisions cannot be removed even by God. Here is such a simple example: if a young man loses his virginity, and a girl loses her virginity, nothing can restore them to them. The choice has been made, the decision has been made and it is irreversible. God can forgive and He wants to forgive, but He cannot turn back the clock.
A person must remember that some actions in life are irreversible. If, like Esau, we choose the path of this world, and elevate the carnal as the highest good, we will give preference to transient pleasures over the joys of eternity. God may and even wants to forgive, but something happens that can never be changed again. There are certain things in which a person cannot change his way of thinking, but must forever adhere to the choice made once and for all.
THE TERROR OF THE OLD AND THE GLORY OF THE NEW (Heb. 12:18-24)
This passage is a contrast between the old and the new, the contrast between the law given at Mount Sinai and the new covenant that Jesus brought. Before 12,21 echoes the story of Moses receiving the law at Mount Sinai. The Lord's declaration of His covenant is described in Deut. 4:11-12 like this: "You approached and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heavens, and was darkness, cloud and gloom. And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire." Ref. 19:12-13 it is said that the people could not approach and touch this terrible mountain: “And draw a line for the people on all sides, and say: beware of climbing the mountain and touching its sole; whoever touches the mountain will be put to death; let no hand touch him, but let them stone him, or shoot him with an arrow, whether it be cattle or a man, let him not remain alive. In Deut. 5:23-27 it is told that the people were so frightened when they heard the voice of God that they asked Moses to go and bring them a message from the Lord: "If we still hear the voice of the Lord our God, we will die." In Deut. 9.19 Moses' fear is spoken of, but the writer of Hebrews connects Moses' words with the moment he received the covenant, although (according to the biblical text) Moses spoke them after he came down from the mountain and found his people worshiping the golden calf. The entire passage before 12,27 recalls the story of the making of the covenant at Mount Sinai. The author of the message brought together all the terrible places in order to emphasize the horror of the scene that was taking place.
From the story of Moses receiving the law on Mount Sinai, the author emphasizes three points:
1. The absolute majesty of God. The Bible emphasizes the awesome power of God and does not speak of love at all.
2. The absolute unattainability of God. The way to God is simply closed: anyone who tries to get close to Him must die.
3. Absolute horror before God. People feel nothing but awe of Him, afraid to look at Him and even hear Him.
But here with 12,22 everything becomes different. In the first part of the passage - what people can expect in accordance with the Old Testament, concluded by God with the people of Israel - God, in a lonely power, completely separated from people, inducing numbing horror. But Christians were brought a new covenant and a new relationship with God.
1. First, a new heavenly Jerusalem awaits them. This world with its arrogance, fears, secrets and division is passing away, and the life of Christians is being built in a new way.
2. Next, a host of angels await them in the triumphant cathedral. The author used the word panegyrus(translated in the Bible as a triumphant cathedral), meaning a joyful folk festival in honor of the gods. For the Greeks, it was a joyful sacred day when everyone celebrated and rejoiced. Christians are waiting for such heavenly joys that even the angels rejoiced.
3. God's chosen ones are waiting for them. To characterize them, the author of the epistle uses two different words. First, he calls them firstborn. Well, the first-born son inherits the estate and honor. And besides, the author says that their names are written in heaven. In ancient times, kings kept lists of citizens loyal to them. Thus, Christians are waiting for all those whom the Lord honored and whom He singled out among His citizens.
4. God the Judge is waiting for Christians there. The writer of Hebrews never forgets that, ultimately, Christians must endure the test of God. Glory awaits them there, but the reverent fear of God remains. The New Testament is never in danger of distorting the idea of God in any way, of making Him more sentimental.
5. There, finally, the spirits of the righteous, who have reached perfection, who have achieved their goals, are waiting for them. Once upon a time, the righteous, as it were, surrounded them as they walked towards their goal, with an invisible cloud, but now they themselves will partake of them, join them. And they themselves will be among those who are listed in the honorary list in heaven.
6. Finally, the author of the epistle says that Jesus was the initiator of this new covenant that made possible this new relationship with God. It is He, the perfect High Priest and perfect sacrifice, who made the inaccessible accessible, and He made it at the price of His blood. And thus the passage ends with an interesting contrast between the blood of Abel and the blood of Jesus. When the innocent Abel was killed, his blood on the ground called for revenge (Gen. 4:10); when the innocent Jesus was killed, His blood opened the way for people to reconciliation. His sacrifice allowed man to enter into an intimate relationship with God.
Once people were terrified of the law; their relationship with God was characterized by chilling horror and inaccessibility. But after Jesus came, Jesus lived and died, the God who was so far away became closer to people and the way into His presence was opened.
THE GREAT COMMITMENT (Heb. 12:25-29)
The author of the epistle continues his oppositions, which already take on the character of a warning. Moses brought to earth the message of God, His immutable truths. The author uses the word chrematicein, indicating that Moses served only as a transmitter of the immutable truths of God, a mouthpiece through which God spoke, and yet a person who violated these commandments did not escape punishment. The author contrasts Moses with Jesus. In relation to Him, he used the word lalein, implying directly the speech of God Himself. Jesus was not just an instrument that conveyed the voice of God, He was the voice of God. Well, since this is so, how much more surely will the punishment befall the one who refuses to obey Him? As much as a man deserves a curse for not keeping an imperfect message-law, how much more does he deserve it for breaking a perfect gospel-covenant? Precisely because the gospel is the full revelation of God, he who hears it bears a double and terrible responsibility; and his condemnation must be much greater if he breaks it.
Further, the author of the epistle expresses another thought. When the law was given to the people, the earth trembled: "Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire; and the smoke from it ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook greatly" (Ex. 19:18). Tremble before the Lord, O earth, before the God of Jacob (Ps. 113:7)."The earth shook, even the heavens melted at the presence of God" (Ps. 67:9)."The voice of Your thunder is in the circle of heaven; lightnings illuminated the universe; the earth trembled and shook" (Ps. 76:19).
But the author of the epistle finds another reference to the trembling of the earth in Agg. 2.6. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament we read: "Once again - and it will be soon - I will shake heaven and earth, sea and land." The writer of Hebrews sees this as a notice of the day when our earth will perish and the new age will come. In that day everything that can be moved will be destroyed; only that which cannot be shaken will remain whole and unharmed, and above all, our relationship with God.
Everything can perish; the earth, as we know, can be blown out of its orbit and life can end too, but one thing remains the same forever: the attitude of Christians towards God.
If so, we have a huge responsibility. We must honor God with reverence and serve Him in fear; for nothing must disturb this relationship, which will be our salvation when this world perishes. And the author of the epistle ends with one of the formidable quotations which he so often brings down like thunderbolts on his readers. He took this quote from Deut. 4.24. Moses says that they should never forget the covenant made with God and fall back into idolatry, because God is a jealous God. People must worship only Him, or they will see in Him a consuming fire. The author of the letter seems to be saying: “You have a choice: remain unwaveringly faithful to God and in the day when the universe will be shaken and destroyed to the ground, your relationship with Him will remain reliable and secure; or deceive Him, and then the God who could be your salvation, will become to you a destructive consuming fire." This is a gloomy thought, but it contains an eternal truth: a person who is unfaithful to God loses everything. In time and eternity, only faithfulness to God matters.
Commentary (introduction) to the entire book of "To the Hebrews"
Comments on Chapter 12
There is no other book in the Scriptures, the author of which has been so much disputed, and the inspiration of which has been so undeniable. Conybear and Howson
Introduction
I. SPECIAL MECTO IN THE CANON
Hebrews is unique in the NT in many ways. Its beginning is completely uncharacteristic of the epistolary genre, which cannot be said about the end; it is quite obvious that it was sent either to Italy or from Italy (13:24) and addressed to a specific group, in all probability, Jewish Christians. It has been suggested that it was originally addressed to a small house church and for this reason was not known to large and well-known communities, which would have preserved traditions about its origin and addressee. The style of the Epistle is the most literary of all the books of the NT. It is poetic, full of quotations from the Septuagint. The author of the Epistle had a great vocabulary and strictly adhered to the rules of the Greek language regarding tenses of the verb and other details.
Being in some way very Jewish(it is often compared to the book of Leviticus), writing is very important for Christendom as a warning against drifting away from the true essence of the death of Christ to an empty religious ritual.
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is unknown, although in many editions of the Synodal translation of the Bible the name of the apostle Paul is present in the title of the book. In the early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both from Alexandria) it was suggested that Paul was the author of the Epistle. After long hesitation, this point of view prevailed (starting with Athanasius), and in the end the West also agreed with it.
However, in our time, hardly anyone would argue that Paul was the author of the Epistle. Origen admitted that content the letters, as well as some details, were characteristically Pavlovian, while the style of the original is completely different from the style of Paul. (This, however, is not rules out the possibility that Paul was its author, because a literary genius can change his style.) Over the centuries, authorship has been attributed to seven different people: Luke, whose style is very similar to that of the Epistle and who was well acquainted with Paul's sermons; Barnabas, Silas, Philip, and even Aquila and Priscilla.
Luther suggested that the author was Apollos, a man who was able to write a book of this content and style: he knew the Scriptures of the OT and mastered the art of eloquence (he was from Alexandria, which was famous for its school of rhetoric). The argument against this theory is that this is not mentioned in any of the Alexandrian traditions, which would hardly have been possible had this Epistle been written by a native of Alexandria.
For some reason, the Lord felt it necessary to leave the name of the author unknown. It may well be that it was Paul who wrote this letter, but deliberately concealed his authorship due to the prejudice that the Jews harbored against him. And therefore, no one in all the ages has added anything to the words of Origen, said in antiquity: "Who wrote this Epistle, only God knows with certainty."
III. WRITING TIME
Although human, who wrote the epistle is unknown, time its spelling can be determined quite accurately.
External the evidence favors its appearance in the first century, since this book was used by Clement of Rome (c. 95). Although Polycarp and Justin Martyr quote the Epistle, they do not name the author. Dionysius of Alexandria cites Hebrews as a work of Paul, Clement of Alexandria claims that Paul wrote the letter in Hebrew and Luke translated it. (However, the book itself does not look like a translation.) Irenaeus and Hippolytus believed that Paul was not the author of the Epistle, while Tertullian believed that Barnabas was the author.
Based domestic evidence gives the impression that the author is a second-generation Christian (2.3; 13.7), so it is unlikely that it was written very early, say, simultaneously with the Epistle of James or 1 Thessalonians (cf. 10:32). Since there is no mention of the Jewish Wars (beginning in 66 AD) and apparently still being sacrificed in the temple (8:4; 9:6; 12:27; 13:10), this letter was written before 66 AD and, no doubt before the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD).
Persecution is mentioned, but believers "have not yet fought to the point of bloodshed."
If the letter was sent to Italy, then due to the bloody persecutions unleashed by Nero (64 AD), the date of writing of the Epistle is moved to the middle of 64 AD at the latest.
It seems quite probable to us 63-65 AD.
IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND THEME
In general, the book of Hebrews deals with the incredible struggle that accompanies the transition from one religious system to another. It is the pain of breaking old ties, the stress and tension of alienation, the enormous pressure placed on the apostate to return.
But the problem at the center of this Message is not simply the transition from the old system to a new one of equal value. No, it was a question of passing from Judaism to Christianity and, as the author shows, of leaving a shadow for the sake of substance, a ritual for the sake of the true essence, preliminary for the sake of the final, temporary for the sake of the permanent - in short, good for the sake of the best.
But it was also a problem of moving from the popular to the unpopular, from the majority to the minority, from the oppressors to the oppressed. And this gave rise to many serious difficulties.
The message was addressed to people of Jewish origin. These Jews heard the gospel preached by the apostles and evangelists at the dawn of the Church, saw the great miracles of the Holy Spirit that reinforced this sermon. They responded to the Good News in different ways.
Some believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and sincerely converted to Christianity.
Some claimed to have become Christians, were baptized, and took their place in local congregations. Yet they were never regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God.
Others vehemently rejected the message of salvation.
The Epistle deals with the first two groups - the Jews, who truly gained salvation, but who were far from Christianity.
When a Jew left the faith of his fathers, he was looked upon as a renegade and apostate ("meshummed"), he was threatened with one or more punishments: - disinheritance; - exclusion from the religious brotherhood of Israel; - job loss; - deprivation of property; - "psycho-terror" and physical torture; - becoming an object of universal ridicule; - imprisonment; - martyrdom.
There was, of course, the road to retreat. If he renounces Christ and returns to Judaism, he will be spared further persecution. Between the lines of this Epistle, we read about some of the arguments that were launched to convince the "renegade" to return to Judaism: - the rich traditions of the prophets; - the outstanding ministry of angels in the history of the ancient people of God; - closeness with the famous legislator Moses; - national ties linking the Jew with the brilliant military leader Joshua; - the glory of the Aaronic priesthood; - Holy of holies, a place chosen by God to dwell among His people; - the covenant of law given by God through Moses; - the divinely ordained arrangement of the sanctuary and the splendid veil; - worship in the sanctuary and especially the ritual on the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur - the most important day in the Jewish calendar).
Before our eyes vividly rises the image of a Jew who lived at the dawn of our era, who describes all the glory of his ancient religion, rich in rituals, and then asks with a contemptuous grin: "And what do you Christians have? We have all this. What do you have?" you? Nothing but an unpretentious upper room and a table with bread and wine on it! Do you really want to say that you left everything for the sake of this?"
The book of Hebrews is actually the answer to the question: "What do you have?" And this answer is summed up in one word: "Christ". In him we have:
- One who is greater than the prophets;
- One who is greater than angels;
- One who is greater than Moses;
- One who is greater than Joshua;
- One whose priesthood is higher than that of Aaron;
- One who ministers in a much better sanctuary;
- One who introduced a much better covenant;
- The one whose type was the structure of the tabernacle and the veil;
- One whose sacrifice of Himself once and for all is superior to the repeated sacrifices of bulls and goats.
Just as the stars fade in the rays of a brighter sun than they, so the types and shadows of Judaism fade in the rays of a more glorious Person of the Lord Jesus and His work.
But there was also the problem of persecution.
Those who claimed to belong to the Lord Jesus faced fierce fanatical opposition. In view of this, true believers were in danger of losing heart and falling into despair. So, they needed to be encouraged, encouraged not to lose faith in the promises of God. They must endure everything patiently in view of the reward to come.
Those who only professed to be Christians were in danger of apostasy. Having once declared that they had accepted Christ, they could now categorically deny Him and return to ritual religion. This is tantamount to trampling the Son of God underfoot, defiling His Blood and insulting the Holy Spirit. There was no repentance or forgiveness for such deliberate sin. Hebrews warns again and again against this sin. 2:1 says that the one who commits this sin disappears from the message of Christ; in 3:7-19 - that he rebels against God, or hardens his heart.
In 6.6 he is named fallen away or an apostate. In 10:25 this sin is called a sin leaving the meeting in 10:26 - sin arbitrary or deliberate. In 12:16 this sin is spoken of as selling his birthright for one meal. Finally, at 12.25 he is named refusing to listen The one who speaks from heaven. But all these warnings are directed against different aspects of the same sin - sin apostasy.
The book of Hebrews is as relevant today as it was in the early days of the Church.
We need a constant reminder of the eternal privileges and blessings that are ours in Christ. We need to be exhorted to endure everything patiently, in spite of all difficulties and opposition. All professing Christians need a warning: do not return to ceremonial religion after you have tasted and seen how good the Lord is.
Plan
I. EXCELLENCE IN THE PERSON OF JESUS (1.1 - 4.13)
A. The superiority of Jesus over the prophets (1:1-3)
B. The superiority of Jesus over the angels (1:4 - 2:18)
C. Superiority of Jesus over Moses and Joshua (3:1 - 4:13)
II. THE SUPERIORITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS (4:14 - 10:18)
A. The superiority of the high priesthood of Jesus over the high priesthood of Aaron (4:14-7:28)
B. The superiority of the ministry of Jesus over the ministry of Aaron (Ch. 8)
C. The superiority of the sacrifice of Christ over the sacrifices of the Old Testament (9:1 - 10:18)
III. WARNING AND ADVANTAGE (10:19 - 13:17)
A. A warning not to despise Christ (10:19-39)
B. An Exhortation to Faith in the Old Testament (Ch. 11)
C. Exhortation to Hope in Christ (Ch. 12)
D. Exhortation on various Christian virtues (13:1-17)
IV. FINAL BLESSING (13:18-25)
C. Exhortation to Hope in Christ (Ch. 12)
12,1 We should not forget that this Epistle was written to a persecuted and persecuted people. Leaving Judaism for Christianity, they faced fierce resistance. The danger that they would interpret the suffering as a sign of God's displeasure was great. They could lose heart and give up. Even worse, they might be tempted to return to the temple and its rituals.
They should not have considered their suffering unique. Many of the witnesses described in chapter 11 suffered severely because of their faithfulness to the Lord and yet persevered. If, however, they, who were not endowed with such enormous privileges as we, were able to show unshakable endurance, then what great patience should we, who have received all the advantages of Christianity, show? They surround us like a great witness cloud. it not means that they are watching what is happening on the ground. They testify to us by their lives of faith and longsuffering, and they set an example for us to follow.
When reading this verse, the question invariably arises: "Can the saints in heaven see our life on earth or know what is in our hearts?" The only thing that can be said with certainty is that they know when any sinner is saved: “I tell you that in this way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who do not need repentance" (Luke 15:7).
The life of a Christian is a marathon that requires discipline and perseverance. We must, without regret, discard everything that hinders our movement. These can be things that are harmless in themselves, but, nevertheless, hinder progress: property, family ties, love of convenience, weight on lifting, etc. There are no words in the rules of the Olympic Games forbidding an athlete to take supply of provisions, but then he will not be able to win the race.
We should overthrow oneself and the sin that stumps us. Any sin can be implied here, but especially the sin of unbelief. We must trust the promises of God without hesitation, fully confident that the life of faith will surely triumph.
In great danger is the one who believes that our field- not a particularly burdensome little run that everything in the Christian life is painted in pink tones. We must be ready to move forward, pushing through trials and temptations.
12,2 Throughout the race, we must, ignoring everything else, keep an eye on Jesus the most important of all those who have passed this distance. A. B. Bruce writes: “It is immediately evident that Odin stands much higher than all the others ... The man who was the first to perfectly realize the idea of life by faith ... meekly endures the cruel torments of the cross and, despite his shame, is strengthened by faith, which so vividly saw the coming joy and the glory that blotted out the awareness of the pain and shame now being felt."(A. B. Bruce, hebrews, pp. 415-416.)
He - Chief our faith in the sense that he gave us the only perfect model of what the life of faith should be.
He - perpetrator our faith. He not only started this race, but also came to the finish line as a winner. The route of His race ran from heaven to Bethlehem, then to Gethsemane and Golgotha, then to the grave and back to heaven.
Not once did He stumble or try to turn back. His eyes were fixed on the glory to come, when all the redeemed will be with Him for all eternity. This gave Him the strength not to think about shame and endure suffering and death steadfastly. Today He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
12,3 Here the picture changes from a race to a battle with sin. Our fearless commander is the Lord Jesus; no one has yet endured such reproach upon himself, How is he. Whenever we're in danger wear out and weaken the soul you need to think about what he had to go through. Compared to this, all our troubles will seem trifling.
12,4 We are engaged in an endless battle with sin. But still we are did not fight to the blood, that is, not to death. He is to death!
12,5 Here is the Christian view of suffering. Why are persecutions, trials, sickness, pain, grief, and trouble invading the life of a believer? Do they signify God's wrath or disapproval? Or does it happen by accident? How should we respond to them? These verses teach us that suffering is an integral part of the educational process of God's children.
Although they do not come from God, He allows them to enter our lives, and then takes over them - to His glory, for our good and the blessing of others.
Nothing happens to a Christian by accident. Tragedies are blessings in disguise, and disappointments are an invitation to come to Him.
God uses adverse life circumstances to transform us into the image of Christ.
So, the author instructs the first Jewish Christians to remember the words from the book of Proverbs (3:11-12), where God refers to them as sons. There He warns them not to despise His punishment and not to lose courage at His reproof. If they resist or give up, then the benefit of His educational measures will be nullified, and they will not be able to learn anything.
12,6 Reading such words as "punishes", "punishment", we immediately think of punishment. But here punishment means only the education, or upbringing, of the child. The components of this process are instruction, punishment, correction, and warning. Their main goal is to cultivate Christian virtues and eradicate evil. In these verses the punishment is not punishment for wrongdoing, but education through persecution. The verses cited from Proverbs clearly state that God's punishment is a proof of His love, and none of His sons can escape it.
12,7 humbly accepting God punishment, we allow His discipline to mold us into His image. If we try to obstruct His educational measures, He will have to teach us further, using more effective, and therefore more severe methods. There are also several levels in God's school, and we move to the next class only when we have mastered the educational material of the previous one.
Therefore, when trials come to us, we must realize that God is treating us as sons.
If there is a normal relationship between father and son, then the father brings up his son because he loves him and wishes him well. God loves us too much to let our development take its course.
12,8 In the spiritual realm, those who have not known the discipline of God, illegal children, not having with him sons nothing in common. For the gardener does not cut the weeds, he cuts the vines. In that spiritual world lives by the same rules as the natural world.
12,9 Many of us have been punished by our carnal parents. But we did not interpret this as a manifestation of hatred towards us. We understood that they cared about our well-being and respected them.
How much more we must respect education Father of spirits to live! God - Father(or Source) of all beings that are spirits or that have a spirit.
Man is a spirit that lives in a human body. By submitting to God, we can enjoy life in the true sense of the word.
12,10 The disciplinary measures of earthly parents are far from perfect. They are effective only for a limited period of time, that is, in childhood and adolescence. If at that time they were not successful, then they will no longer be useful. These measures were taken according to their will according to what the parents thought was right. Sometimes they were very wrong about this.
God's punishment is always perfect. His love is infinite, His wisdom is infallible. He never punishes according to His whim, but always - for our benefit. Its purpose is that we may have a share in his holiness.
Righteousness cannot be found anywhere except in the school of God.
Jowett remarks: "The purpose of God's punishment is not to punish, but to build up. He punishes us so that we can share in His holiness. In the phrase "that we have" there is a hidden indication of the direction, and it points to a purified, ennobled life. The fire He kindled is not a fire, burning carelessly and carelessly and devouring valuable things, it is a flame burning in a refining furnace, and near it sits a brickmaker, unshakably, patiently and gently melting holiness out of heedlessness and stability out of weakness.God always creates, even when using the dim means of grace. He produces the fruits and flowers of the Spirit. His love is always in search of beauty."(J. H. Jowett, life in the heights, pp. 247-248.)
12,11 Right now, every punishment hurts. But after being taught through it it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness. This is why evidence like Leslie Vazarhead's confession is often found: "Like everyone else, I love sunny heights lives teeming with health, happiness, and success, but in the chilly darkness of fear and defeat, I learned a lot more about God and about myself than I could have learned by bathing in the sun. After all, treasures are stored in darkness. This darkness, thank God, passes. But what you learn from it stays with you forever. “Trials,” wrote Bishop Fenelon, “that you think have come between you and God, will turn into bonds that bind you even stronger to Him if you go through them in humility. Everything that shakes us to the core and hurts our pride does us more good than what inspires and encourages us."(Leslie Weatherhead, Prescription for Anxiety, p. 32.)
Consider the testimony of C. G. Spurgeon: “I’m afraid that all the grace that I knew in my happy hours and minutes, free from worries and anxieties, would fit in children’s palms. But all the good that I took out of the times of sorrow, pain and sadness is truly immense. do I have something good that a hammer and anvil would not bother to make? Sorrow and disaster are the best decoration for my house.(C. H. Spurgeon, "Choice Gleanings Calendar".)
12,12 Faced with adverse circumstances in life, believers should not give up, their weakened faith may have a negative impact on others. drooping hands must be strengthened to serve the living Christ. Weakened knees must gain strength for persevering prayer.
12,13 lame legs should be directed to straight path of Christian discipleship. Williams writes: "Whoever follows the Lord Jesus with all his heart tramples down this path for weak brothers; whoever does not follow Him always and in everything leaves ruts and potholes in his wake and gives birth to spiritual cripples."(George Williams, The Student"s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, p. 989.)
G. H. Lang illustrated it this way: “Tired by the road and exhausted by the gusts of a storm, the traveler stopped, seized by the deepest despondency, bound by lack of will. His shoulders are lowered, his arms are weakened, his knees are bent - he is ready to surrender and sink to the ground. According to the author, a pilgrim of God can reach such a state. another traveler approaches him and, radiating confidence, with a kind smile and firmness in his voice, says: “Cheer up, straighten up, stand firmly on your feet, gather your courage. You've come a long way, don't give up what you've worked hard for. At the end of the path, a palace awaits you. Look: there is a direct road to it; step right on it; ask the great Physician to heal you of your infirmities... Our Lord has already passed the same difficult path to the palace of God; many before you have walked it to the end; many are still on the way; you are not alone. Just do not give up, go, and you will come to the goal and receive a reward. "Happy is the one who knows what words to strengthen the weary (Is. 50:4). Happy is the one who accepts the words of exhortation (Heb. 13:22). And thrice happy is he whose faith is so strong and simple that he will not doubt the Lord when His punishment is severe.(G. H. Lang, The Epistle to the Hebrews, pp. 240-241.)
12,14 The Christian must do his best try to have peace with everyone people and at all times. But this instruction takes on special importance during periods of persecution, when some leave the faith, when the nerves are tense. At such moments, the temptation is great to give vent to your disappointment and fear by attacking the dearest and closest.
We should also strive to holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. About what holiness does it say here? To find an answer to this question, it is necessary to remember that, speaking of the holiness of believers, the NT lists at least three types of it.
First of all, when converted, the believer receives holiness as far as he is concerned provisions before God; he is separated from the world to God (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11). Because of his unity with Christ, he is sanctified forever. This is what Martin Luther meant when he said, "My holiness is in heaven." Christ is our holiness as far as our standing before God is concerned.
Is there some more practical sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23). This is what we must do day by day. We must move away from evil in all its forms. This holiness must increase, that is, we must become more and more like the Lord Jesus.
And finally there is perfect, or complete, consecration. It will take place when the believer goes to heaven. There he will be forever freed from sin. His old nature will disappear, and his condition will be completely in accordance with his position.
So, to what holiness should we strive? This, of course, is about practical holiness. We do not need to strive for the sanctity of our position before God: we acquire it automatically when we are born again. Neither do we strive for the perfect holiness that we will receive when we see His face. But practical or progressive holiness cannot be achieved without our obedience and cooperation. We must constantly work on this holiness. The fact that we must strive for it shows that in this life we will never master it in its entirety. (For a more detailed description of the various aspects of sanctification, see the commentary on verse 2:11.)
Wust writes: "The author addresses the born-again Jews who have left the temple with the admonition to live so holy, to hold on to their newly acquired faith so stubbornly that the unsaved Jews, who also left the temple and seemingly accepted the truth of the New Testament, gain strength to continue their path to faith to the Messiah as High Priest, instead of returning to the abolished sacrificial offerings of the Levitical system, He warns these truly regenerated Jews lest by their limping in the Christian life they turn the unsaved Jews astray."(West, hebrews, p. 222.)
But the problem still remains! Can we really not see the Lord without practical sanctification? Yes, to some extent this is true; but let us not interpret these words in such a way that we can earn the right to see the Lord by living a holy life. Our only ticket to heaven is Jesus Christ. The same verse says that practical holiness should be an evidence that a person has gained new life. If someone does not grow in holiness, he does not have salvation. If the Holy Spirit lives in a person, then He declares His presence by moving away from evil. The principle of cause and effect reigns here: where Christ was received, rivers of living water will flow.
12,15 The next two verses seem to present four specific sins to be avoided. But at the same time, it is quite clear from the context that this is another warning against the sin of apostasy, and that these four sins are most directly related to it.
Apostasy is, first of all, the deprivation of oneself the grace of God.
A man may appear to be a Christian in appearance, and in words, and in name, but he has never been born again. He came close to the Savior, but did not receive Him; he is very close to Him and at the same time so far from Him.
Apostasy - bitter root. A person with bitterness turns away from the Lord and renounces the Christian faith. His wickedness is contagious. His complaints, doubts and denials defiled and others.
12,16 Apostasy is closely related to immorality. He who professes to be a Christian may fall into the terrible sin of debauchery. Instead of admitting his guilt, he blames the Lord for everything and turns away from Him. The connection between apostasy and sexual sins is mentioned in 2 Peter 2:10-14-18 and Jude 8:16-18.
Finally, apostasy is a form of unbelief, exemplified by Esau. For him, the birthright had no value; he readily exchanged it for a temporary satisfaction of hunger.
12,17 Later, Esau regretted the loss of the eldest son's right to a double part of the inheritance, but it was too late.
His father could not revoke the blessing.
So is the apostate. He does not value spiritual treasures very highly. He is ready to renounce Christ, if only to avoid reproaches, suffering or martyrdom. It can no longer be renewed by repentance. If we achieve anything, it will be only regret, not remorse.
12,18 All who are tempted to return to the law should remember the terrifying events that accompanied the transmission of the law to the Israelites and learn spiritual lessons from them. Then it was a mountain Sinai real, tangible, burning with fire.
She was hidden by a veil, or veil, through which everything was seen in a blur, vague and unclear. A terrible storm broke out at the foot of the mountain.
12,19 Terrible supernatural phenomena have been added to these natural disasters. resounded trumpet sound, and voice thundered so menacingly that people begged him to be quiet.
12,20 Divine verdict that if the beast touches the mountain, he will be stoned, deprived them of any presence of mind. They understood that if this brought death to a dumb, unintelligent animal, then what about those who understood this warning? (The words "or struck by an arrow" are absent from most manuscripts, including the most ancient ones. They were most likely added later.)
12,21 it vision It was so terrible and it's scary that even Moses was in awe. All this testifies eloquently to the nature and ministry of the law. It is a revelation of God's righteous requirements and His wrath against sin. The purpose of the law is not to give the knowledge of salvation, but the knowledge of sin. He points to the gulf between God and man that has opened up because of sin. This is a ministry of condemnation, darkness and gloom.
12,22 The believers did not proceed to the awe-inspiring horrors of Sinai, but to the radiant warmth of grace:
Mountain blazing with fire, mystic cover
Gone forever with our horror and guilt
And conscience knew eternal peace and rest,
For there, on high, the Lamb sat on the throne.
(James G. Dec)
Now every blood-bought child
God can say: "All the horrors of the law and God
They have nothing to do with me;
Obedience and Blood of my Savior
Covered all my crimes."
(O. M. Topledi)
"Essentially, we already came to where we will actually be for all eternity. The future has entered the present.
In today's day, we own the future. On earth we own the heavens" ("Favorites").
We do not come to a tangible mountain on earth. We are honored to enter the sanctuary in heaven. By faith we draw near to God in confession, praise and prayer. We are not limited to just one day a year, but we can enter the Holy of Holies at any time in the full confidence that we will always meet with a warm welcome. God no longer says, "Don't you dare approach."
He says, "Come without fear."
The law has its Mount Sinai, but faith has its Mount Zion. This heavenly mountain symbolizes the combination of all the blessings of grace - all that has become ours through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The law has an earthly Jerusalem, but faith has hail heavenly. it city of the living God, a city that has a foundation, the Artist and Builder of which is God.
When we enter into God's presence, we are in the midst of a most magnificent congregation. First of all, we are surrounded by myriads of angels who, though untainted by sin, cannot join our hymn because they have not known the joy of salvation.
12,23 Then we get into the assembly firstborn written in heaven.
These are the members Churches, The bodies and Brides of Christ who died after the day of Pentecost and now consciously enjoy the presence of the Lord. They wait for the day when their bodies will rise from the grave in glorified form and be reunited with their spirits.
By faith we see The judge of all is God.
It is no longer hidden by darkness and gloom; to the eye of faith, His glory is dazzling.
There are the holy OTs, the spirits of the righteous who have reached perfection. Justified by faith, they stand in spotless purity, because the whole value of Christ's work is credited to their account. They also look forward to the moment when the grave will give up what has been stored in it for centuries and they will receive the glorified bodies.
12,24 There and Jesus, Mediator of the New Testament. There is a big difference between Moses as the mediator of the Old Testament and Jesus as the Mediator of the New Testament. Moses mediated simply by receiving the law from God and giving it to the people of Israel. In making the sacrifice that sealed the covenant, he was the representative of the people.
Christ the Mediator new testament in an incomparably higher sense. Before God could rightly make this covenant, the Lord Jesus had to die. He was to seal this covenant with His own blood, to give Himself a ransom for many (1 Tim. 2:6).
By His death, He secured the blessings of the New Covenant for His people. His infinite life guarantees these blessings to them.
By His service at the right hand of God, He guards His people to enjoy these blessings in a hostile world. All these are the ingredients of His work as Mediator.
Marked with the wounds of Golgotha, the Lord Jesus was exalted, taking his place at the right hand of God as Prince and Savior.
Oh, how I love to look at Him,
In the height of heaven seated on the throne.
Soon the saints will share all His glory,
The Lamb who ascended the cross of Golgotha.
(James G. Dec)
Finally, there is Sprinkling blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Ascended, Christ presented to God all the value blood, shed by Him on the cross. There is no reason to believe that He literally brought His Blood to heaven, but the merits of His Blood became known in the sanctuary. J. G. Dec put this truth into verse:
His precious blood
The throne was sprinkled;
His wounds were announced to all heaven,
That the work of salvation is completed.
His precious Blood opposed to blood Abel. Whether we understand Abel's blood as the blood of his victim or his own shed by Cain, the voice of the Blood of Christ is much more merciful. The blood of Abel's sacrifice said, "Temporarily covered." The Blood of Jesus proclaims, "Forgiven forever."
Abel's blood screamed "Vengeance!" The blood of Jesus calls out, "Mercy, forgiveness, peace."
12,25 The closing verses of chapter 12 compare God's revelation at Sinai to His revelation in and through Christ. The unparalleled privileges and glory of the Christian faith are not to be taken lightly. God speaks, invites, persuades. To reject Him is to perish.
12,26 At Sinai, the voice of God caused an earthquake. But when He speaks in the future, His voice will shake the heavens. This is what was predicted by the prophet Agey (2:6): "...once again, and it will be soon, I will shake the sky and the earth, the sea and the dry land."
This shaking will take place between the rapture and the end of Christ's kingdom. Before Christ comes to establish His kingdom, heaven and earth will be shaken by a series of natural disasters. The planets will go out of their orbits, which in turn will cause huge tsunamis in the oceans and force the sea to overflow. Then, at the end of the Millennium reign of Christ, a terrible heat will destroy the earth, the sky and the cosmos (2 Pet. 3:10-12).
12,27 talking "again", God foretold the complete and final destruction of heaven and earth. This event will shatter the myth about the reality of only what we can see and feel, what we can control, and hence the unreality of everything invisible. When the hesitation and upheaval is over, only that which was truly real will remain.
12,28 All those who were carried away by the tangible, visible rites of Judaism clung to things that would be shaken. True believers have kingdom is unshakable. This should inspire us to the most zealous worship and admiration. We must continually praise Him with reverence and fear.
12,29 God is a consuming fire for all who refuse to listen to Him. But even for God's people, His holiness and righteousness are so great that they should engender in our hearts the deepest reverence and reverence.
12:1 cloud of witnesses. Those. great multitude.
pass... field. Those. distance, just as the ancient Greek athletes ran it at the Olympic Games. By "race" the author of the epistle means the life path of every believer.
12:2 looking to...Jesus. This is how the Old Testament heroes of faith passed their "field".
chief. See com. to 2.10.
doer of faith. As a "performer," Jesus brought to faith all those to whom God had ordained through him a higher destiny: to enter into His presence through worship pleasing to God (10:14; 11:40; 12:28).
instead of the joy that was set before Him. As the sinless Son of God, Jesus should not have seen death and suffering. But He, having become the Savior of sinners and taking upon Himself "the sins of the whole world", suffered the punishment for all. Death for Jesus was not an inevitability - He accepted it voluntarily.
12:3 reproach from sinners. Following Jesus, the readers of the epistle should also patiently endure "the reproach of sinners" and not lose heart.
12:5 son. God's intention to bring many sons to glory requires that the leader of their salvation be "perfected" (raised up) through suffering (2:10), even if He is a Son who did not deserve this suffering (5:8). Therefore, adopted children of God who follow Christ can come into possession of their inheritance through disciplinary trials.
12:8 illegitimate children. Roman patricians contemporary to the author often had illegitimate children, whom they provided for financially, but paid little attention to their upbringing, since they did not inherit either their father's name or family fortune.
12:9 Father of spirits. Those. God.
12:12-13 The edifications contained in these verses are clothed in the verbal images of the Old Testament (see, for example, Proverbs 4:25-27; Isaiah 35:3.4).
12:14 Try to have peace with everyone. Wed Rome. 12.18.
holiness. Holiness is obtained through the sacrifice of Christ (10:10), which sanctified us once and for all and reconciled us to God. In this case, the word "holiness" means a righteous way of life.
will not see the Lord. To see the Lord means "to be with God", which is the main purpose of salvation (Rev. 22:4). See also 1 Jn. 3.2; 2 Cor. 3.18.
12:15 bitter root. Here it may mean heretical doctrine, sinful behavior, and anything else that leads away from Christ. Wed Deut. 29.18.
12:16 Esau is a type of those who do not value the promises of God (cf. ch. 11, speaking of people of faith) and who are "lost" forever (v. 17). Moses traded the blessings of Egypt for "the reproach of Christ" because he saw the ultimate reward (11:26); Esau traded his birthright for lentil stew, because his spiritual vision did not extend beyond this "good" (Genesis 25:29-34).
birthright. As the firstborn (eldest) son, Esau was entitled to the special blessing of God (Genesis 25:31-34; 27:36). Later, according to the law of Moses, the firstborn was entitled to a double share of the inheritance (Deut. 21:17). In practice, Esau gave up his place in the covenant lineage, not just his share of the inheritance.
12:17 you know what after. The readers of the epistle knew what followed Esau's renunciation of his birthright, when his brother Isaac took his place and received God's blessing (Genesis 27). This blessing included the promises made to Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3; 27:29).
could not change. Although Esau mourned the loss of the blessing (Gen. 27:38; cf. 2 Cor. 7:10), he could no longer atone for his sin of neglecting God's promise.
12:18-24 A comparison is made between the Old and New Testaments, which are figuratively represented as mountains (Sinai and Zion). Fear is the dominant concept associated with Sinai, the mountain where the law was given (vv. 18-21). Bliss and trust are the main motives of Zion. Sinai is associated with earthly life and the categories of earthly existence; Zion is conceived in terms of heavenly life (v. 27).
12:18 to a palpable mountain. As the sacred place where the old covenant was established, Mount Sinai, representing the law associated with it, is only a part of creation that can be shaken and shaken (v. 27). As something "tangible", Mount Sinai personifies the transient, temporal nature of the Old Testament (8:13).
12:19 lest... the word be continued. Fearing that direct contact with God's holiness would destroy them (Ex. 20:19), the Israelites asked Moses to become a mediator between them and the Lord and convey His words to them.
12:22 you have started. Staying in their earthly journey, Christians, like the patriarchs (11:13), look with faith at the future city (13:14), heavenly Jerusalem, and can enter the Holy of Holies to worship the Lord (10:19-22). See the article "Heaven".
12:23 to the church of the firstborn. In Israel, all the firstborn were to be consecrated and given to the service of the Lord in the place of His presence, but the Levites, by their ministry, replaced the firstborn sons (Num. 3:11-13). In the heavenly triumphant assembly, all believers are "firstborn," consecrated to God, and stand as His priesthood. Believers are invited to share with Jesus His birthright (1:6-14; 2:11-12). See the article "Church".
reached perfection. It refers to the spirits of those who died in Christ (2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 14:13). This includes believers who lived in the Old Testament era and between the two testaments, whose righteousness by faith in God was tested by Himself (11:2.4.5.39) and who are recognized as perfect due to sanctification in Christ.
12:24 The atmosphere of bliss and confidence that prevails in heavenly Zion is explained by the presence of Jesus there. The blood of Abel cries out from the earth for vengeance (Genesis 4:10), the blood of Jesus cries out for the granting of forgiveness to the children of God (9:12-15; 10:19-22).
12:25 The difference between the content of the Old Testament and the message brought from Heaven by the Son of God refers to what was said in 1:1-14.
12:28 to serve God well. Show gratitude, knowing that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) and constantly realizing the indescribable gift of God - Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 9:15). Reverence and awe spring from understanding who God is (v. 29). Good worship includes both of these things.
12:29 consuming fire. This image, taken from Deut. 4:24 emphasizes God's holiness and implies God's Judgment as the absolute manifestation of His holiness (10:27).
An exhortation to endure suffering, following the example of the Head of the Faith (1-3). Benefits of Divine Punishments (4–11). Exhortation to cheerfulness, peace with all and holiness (12-17). New Testament in place of the Old (18–24). Exhortation to the obedience of God (25-29).
Heb.12:1. Therefore, having such a cloud of witnesses around us, let us cast off every burden and sin that stumbles us, and with patience we will pass the race that is set before us,
Just as a cloud protects with its shadow the one who is scorched by burning rays, so the remembrance of the saints restores and strengthens the soul, dejected by disasters. He didn’t say: hanging over us, but: “surrounding us”, which means more and shows that, wrapping around, this cloud of witnesses makes us safer ... (Gold.). - Every burden. What is "everything"? That is, sleep, negligence, low thoughts, all human (Gold.). - “Sin that stumbles us” τηνευπερίστατον αμαρτίαν, more precisely Slav.: “Convenience of circumstantial sin”, that is, either conveniently seizing us, or conveniently conquered; the latter is better, since we can, if we want, easily overcome sin (3lat.). - “Let us flow with patience” (“let us pass with patience”). He did not say: we will fight ... but what is easiest in the field, that is what makes it visible. He also did not say: let us strengthen the current, but: let us be patient in the same current, let us not weaken (Gold.).
Heb.12:2. looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who, instead of the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Then he presents the main consolation that he offers both before and after - Christ ... "gazing", he says, that is, in order for us to learn the exploits, we will look at Christ (Gold.). - “Instead of the joy that was set before Him, he endured the cross ...”, i.e. He could not suffer if he wanted to, because He “does not iniquity; :30, 10:18). But if He, not having any need to be crucified, was crucified for us, then is it not all the more just for us to endure everything courageously? (Golden). - "Neglecting the shame ..." "Let Him die: but for what a reproachful death? For nothing else than to study us to put human glory in nothing ”(Zlat.). - "He sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God ..." Do you notice the victorious reward? Paul says the same in another epistle (Philippians 2:9-10). This he speaks of Christ according to the flesh” (Zlat.).
Heb.12:3. Think of Him who endured such reproach from sinners against Himself, so that you do not become exhausted and weaken in your souls.
The apostle rightly added this, because if the sufferings of our neighbors encourage us, then what consolation will not the sufferings of the Master give us? (Golden).
Heb.12:4. You have not yet fought to the blood, striving against sin,
The meaning of these words is as follows: you have not yet undergone death, you have only lost property and glory, you have only suffered exile; Christ shed His blood for you, but you did not shed it for yourselves; He even to death stood for the truth, striving for you, and you have not yet been exposed to dangers threatening death (Gold.). - "Struggle against sin" Here the apostle shows that sin also attacks strongly and is also armed (Gold.).
Heb.12:5. and forget the consolation that is offered to you as to sons: my son! do not despise the chastisement of the Lord, and do not be discouraged when He reproves you.
“Forgotten consolation”, that is, they lowered their hands, weakened (Gold.). "Which is offered to you as sons." Having presented the consolation of works, now the apostle, moreover, adds the consolation of sayings, from the testimony given: “Do not be discouraged,” he says, “when He reproaches you” ... So, this is the work of God; and it brings a lot of consolation when we are convinced that what happened could have happened by the action of God, by His permission (Gold.).
Heb.12:6. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens; he strikes every son whom he receives.
You cannot, he says, say that there is any righteous man who did not endure sorrows, and although it seems to us so, we know no other sorrows. Therefore, every righteous person must go through the path of sorrow. If it is impossible otherwise, then it follows that all those who entered life (Gold.) walked the narrow path.
Heb.12:7. If you endure punishment, then God deals with you as with sons. For is there any son whom his father does not punish?
If God punishes us, then for correction, and not for torture, not for torment, not for suffering. See how the apostle, by this very thing, because of which they considered themselves abandoned, inspires them with confidence that they are not abandoned, and, as it were, says this: undergoing such disasters, do you already think that God has abandoned and hates you? No, if you did not suffer, then you should be afraid of this, because if "He beats every son, he accepts him," then the unbeaten one, perhaps, is not a son. But how, you say, don't evil people suffer? Of course they suffer - how else? - but he did not say: everyone who is beaten is a son, but: every son is a beaten. Therefore, you cannot say: there are many and evil people who are beaten, for example: murderers, robbers, sorcerers, grave-diggers. They are punished for their own atrocities; they are not beaten like sons, but punished like villains; and you are like sons (Gold.).
Heb.12:8. If you remain without punishment, which is common to all, then you are illegitimate children, and not sons.
Just as in families fathers do not care for illegitimate children ... so in the present case. Therefore, if not being punished is characteristic of illegitimate children, then one should rejoice at the punishment as a sign of true kinship (Gold.).
Heb.12:9. Moreover, if we, being punished by our carnal parents, were afraid of them, then shouldn’t we be much more subject to the Father of spirits in order to live?
Heb.12:10. They punished us according to their arbitrariness for a few days; but this one is for profit, that we may share in his holiness.
Again, he borrows encouragement from their own suffering, which they themselves endured ... If children obey carnal parents, then how can one not obey the Heavenly Father? Moreover, here the difference is not only in this, and not only in persons, but also in the very motives and actions. He and they (God and carnal parents) are not punished by the same motive... species, but for you, solely for your benefit ..., not in order to receive anything from us, but to give us ... so that we become capable of receiving His blessings (Gold.). - "Have a part in His holiness" - so that we become worthy of Him, if possible. He cares that you receive, and takes every measure to give you... therefore punishment is beneficial, for it brings holiness. And, of course, so. After all, if it destroys laziness, vicious desires, attachment to worldly objects, if it concentrates the soul, if it disposes it to despise everything around here—and hence sorrow comes—then isn’t it holy, doesn’t it attract the grace of the Spirit? (Golden).
Heb.12:11. Every punishment now seems not joy, but sorrow; but afterward, to those who have been taught through it, it delivers the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Those who take bitter medicines first experience an unpleasant feeling, and then they feel a benefit. Such is virtue, such is vice: in the latter, first pleasure is experienced, and then sorrow; in the first - first sorrow, and then pleasure. And yet both are not equal; it is absolutely not the same thing - to experience sorrow in advance, and after - pleasure, or - to experience pleasure in advance, and after - sorrow. Why? Because in the latter case, the expectation of future sorrow reduces the present pleasure, and in the first case, the expectation of the future pleasure greatly weakens the present sorrow, so that sometimes there is not even any pleasure felt, but here no sorrow. However, not only in this respect there is a difference, but also in another - namely, that they are unequal in terms of the length of time, but one is less, while the other is much more ... From here Paul borrows consolation ... Do you grieve? he says. This is understandable: such is always the punishment, it begins with this ..., it seems not to be a joy (hence, it is not really) .... for that after that, “those who were taught through him,” i.e., those who endured and suffered for a long time, “delivers the peaceful fruit of righteousness,” Slav.: “the fruits are peaceful” (καρπόν ειρηνικόν) thus expressing their great multitude (Gold.).
Heb.12:12. So strengthen your drooping hands and your feeble knees
Heb.12:13. and walk straight with your feet, lest what is lame be perverted, but rather be corrected.
He speaks as if to runners, fighters and warriors. Do you see how he arms them, how he excites them... If punishment comes from love and kindness and leads to a good end, as he proved by deeds, and words, and everything, then why are you weakening? This is done only by the desperate, not supported by hope for the future. Go straight ahead, he says, so that the lame no longer cringes, but returns to its former state ... You see that it depends on us to be completely healed ... (Gold.).
Heb.12:14. Try to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
What he said above (Heb. 10:25), he expresses the same here. In temptations, nothing makes us so easily conquered and seized as separation. And here is proof of this: scatter a detachment of soldiers in battle, and it will not be difficult for the enemies to take and bind them ... (Gold.). – “Peace be with all…”, therefore, with those who do evil (Rom. 12:18)…, because nothing shames those who do evil so much as if we courageously endure the insults and do not avenge either by word or deed (Gold.) .
Heb.12:15. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; lest any bitter root spring up and cause harm, and lest many be defiled by it;
“Do you see, says Chrysostom, how the apostle everywhere commands everyone to contribute to the common salvation? (Heb 3:13). Do not leave, he says, everything to the teachers, do not entrust everything to the primates; and you can edify one another... (1 Thess. 5:11, 4:18) You can, if you wish, do more for each other than we do; you treat each other more often, you know your affairs better than we do, you see mutual shortcomings, you have more frankness, love and sociability; and this is not unimportant for learning, but it provides great and beneficent conveniences. - "So that no one loses the grace of God." The apostle calls the future blessings, the gospel faith, the virtuous life the grace of God: all this is from the grace of God (Gold). - “What a bitter root ...”, etc. This is said in Deuteronomy (Deut. 29:18), and the expression itself is figuratively borrowed from the example of plants. If there is such a “root of sorrow”, i.e., one that brings harm, then do not allow it to sprout, but tear it out so that it does not bear its own fruits, so that it does not infect and defile others ... Rightly he calls sin bitter; indeed, there is nothing so bitter as sin. This is known to those who, after bad deeds, are remorseful and experience great bitterness ... The property of bitterness is to be harmful. And he beautifully expressed himself: “the root of sorrow,” he did not say: bitter, but: “sorrow.” A bitter root can bear sweet fruits, but the root is the source and basis of sorrow - “when it cannot bear sweet fruit, everything is bitter in it, there is nothing sweet, everything is tasteless, everything is unpleasant, everything is full of hatred and disgust” (Gold.). - “So that many are not defiled by it ...”, that is, so that this does not happen, excommunicate depraved people from yourself (Gold.).
Heb.12:16. so that there is no fornicator or wicked among you, who, like Esau, for one meal would give up his birthright.
Let no one be, like Esau, a “defiler”, that is, a glutton, intemperate, devoted to the world, despising spiritual blessings ... who gave the honor given by God out of his own carelessness, and for small pleasure lost the greatest honor and glory (Gold. ).
Heb.12:17. For you know that after that, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; could not change his father's thoughts, although he asked for it with tears.
"What does it mean? Does he reject repentance? No. But - how does he say "repentance will not find a place"? (μετανοίας γαρ τόπον αύκ εύρεν). If he condemned himself, if he cried a lot, then why "do not find a place of repentance"? Because it was not a consequence of repentance. Just as Cain's sorrow was not the result of repentance, which he proved by murder, so here (Esau's) words were not the result of repentance, which he later also proved by murder: and by his intention he killed Jacob. “Let them draw near,” he said, “the days of my father's weeping, that they might kill Jacob my brother” (Gen. 27:41). Therefore, tears could not tell him repentance. And he didn’t just say: “repentance,” but: “if you seek repentance with tears, you won’t find a place.” Why? Because he did not repent properly” (Gold). “You will not find,” he says, “repentance,” either because you have sinned more than you can make up for by repentance, or because you have not brought worthy repentance; therefore, there are sins greater than repentance. Therefore, let us not allow the fall of the unhealing; while we are only lame, it is easy to correct; and when we are completely upset, then what will happen to us? He addresses this to those who have not yet fallen, restrains them with fear, and says that the fallen cannot be comforted. And to the fallen, so that they do not indulge in despair, he inspires the opposite ”(Gold.).
Heb.12:18. You have come not to a mountain palpable and burning with fire, not to darkness and gloom and storm,
Heb.12:19. not to the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the verbs, which those who heard asked that the word no longer be continued to them,
Heb.12:20. for they could not endure what was commanded: if the beast touches the mountain, he will be stoned (or struck with an arrow);
Heb.12:21. and so terrible was this vision that Moses said, "I am in fear and trembling."
Wed Ex 20:18-19, 19:12-13, 16, 18. The fear of Moses (v. 21) is not mentioned by himself when describing these events. Obviously, the apostle used here some kind of tradition, on which the first martyr Stephen, who also mentions the fear of Moses in his speech, was probably based (Acts 7:32). Some basis for this tradition can be seen in Deuteronomy 9:19, where Moses says: “I was afraid of the wrath and fury with which the Lord was angry with you and wanted to destroy you ...” (which was after the breaking of the tablets).
Heb.12:22. But you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and ten thousands of angels,
Heb.12:23. to the triumphant council and the church of the firstborn, written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous who have reached perfection,
Heb.12:24. and to the Mediator of the new covenant, Jesus, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than Abel's.
“Do you see how many arguments he used to prove the superiority of the New Testament over the Old? Instead of earthly Jerusalem - heavenly; instead of Moses - Jesus; instead of the people - all the angels ..., all the hosts of the faithful ... So, do not grieve, he says: you will be with them ”(Gold.). Some, in making a comparison, humiliate everything that was then, in order to more exalt the present; but I consider that even marvelous, but at the same time I prove that ours is much more excellent and more wonderful. It is doubly great; as glorious and important, and at the same time as more accessible and short… Those did not get what we… They saw the darkness and the cloud, heard the voice. But you also heard the voice of God, only not through a cloud, but through the flesh of Christ, and at the same time you were not embarrassed and not afraid, but stood and talked with the Advocate ... Then Moses was afraid, but now no one. Then the people stood below, and we are not below, but above heaven, near God Himself, like His sons, and not like Moses; there was a desert, and here was a city, and a host of angels… They did not come, but stood far away, as did Moses; and you started (Gold.). - "Sprinkling blood, speaking better than Abel's" (Compare Heb 11; Gen 4:10). “The blood of Abel is still being glorified, however, not in the same way as that of Christ, because this one cleansed everyone and emits a voice that is more glorious and important, the more the deeds testify to it” (Gold.). If the blood speaks, then the more the Slain Himself is alive. And what she says, listen: "And the Spirit makes intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26). In what way he speaks: entering into a pure soul, elevating it and prompting it to speak (Gold.).
Heb.12:25. See that you also do not turn away from the speaker. If those, not listening to him who spoke on earth, did not escape punishment, much less will we escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven,
Heb.12:26. Whose voice then shook the earth, and Who now gave such a promise: once again I will shake not only the earth, but also the sky.
If they did not escape punishment by disobeying the one who commanded on earth, then how can we not obey the one who commands from heaven? The apostle speaks of the difference not of persons, but of gifts (Gold.).
Heb.12:27. The words: “once again” mean the change of the shaky, as created, so that the unshakable remains.
Everything will be changed and arranged for the better from above; this is expressed here in the words quoted. Why do you mourn, suffering in the temporary world, distressed in the fleeting world? If in future fate the world was insecure, then he who awaits the end ought to mourn. - "So that it abides," he says, "unshakable." What is unshakable? Future (Golden).
Heb.12:28. Therefore, having received an unshakable kingdom, let us preserve grace, by which we will serve God well, with reverence and fear,
“Let us keep grace” - έχωμεν χάριν - yes, imams, grace, that is, we will thank God, we will be firm. We must not only not grumble in present disasters, but also give God the greatest gratitude for them for the sake of the blessings of the future (Gold.). It is impossible to serve God pleasingly without giving Him thanks for everything – both for temptations and for consolations. - “With reverence and fear”, that is, we will not say anything bold, nothing shameless, but we will begin to improve ourselves in such a way as to earn respect (Gold.).
Heb.12:29. because our God is a consuming fire.
Just as above the Apostle called God the Judge of all, i.e., not only of the Jews, or the faithful, but of the whole world, so here he also calls Him “a consuming fire”, inspiring the fear of salvation to those who, even in the new grace, do not cease to need it.
B. Final Warning (Chapter 12)
The author concludes the main arguments and proofs presented by him with the last instruction and warning in the epistle. In his usual manner, the moralizing part follows from the "explanatory" preceding it. The consideration of living by faith is followed by another call to perseverance.
1. INTRODUCTORY INSTRUCTION (12:1-2)
Heb. 12:1-2. Life by faith is sufficiently and convincingly "certified" by a cloud of witnesses from the Old Testament. And, therefore, modern believers should with patience (compare 10:32,36; 12:2-3,7) pass the race that is set before them, rejecting everything that hinders them in this, and above all the sin that sticks to them (in Greek rather, "a sin that serves as a trap"). At the same time, Jesus remains the highest role model for them (no matter how attractive any of the Old Testament characters may look).
After all, Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. "Prince" He is here called in the sense that he was the first to follow the path of faith, which Christians are supposed to follow. Jesus is called the “doer” (i.e., the one who has reached perfection) because he triumphantly walked this path to the end. He looked at the joy that was set before him (which is alluded to in 1:9, where it is implied that he would receive the eternal throne). And believers who are to share this joy should also look to it.
After Jesus endured the cross, despising shame, He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (compare 1:3; 8:1; 10:12), thus foreshadowing the last and final victory - His own and those who believe in Him (compare 1:13-14) .
2. A REMINDER THAT THINGS ARE NOT AS WRONG AS THEY SEE (12:3-11)
Nothing is more natural for a man than to exaggerate the severity of his trials. But the author of the epistle would not want this to happen to his readers.
Heb. 12:3-4. If they think of Jesus, Who endured such... reproach from sinners, they will certainly be strengthened in spirit. In the end, unlike Him, they had not yet shed blood, fighting against sins (here, probably, it means “against sinful people” who opposed them, and hardly against their own sin, which they should have resisted in every possible way, holding on his Christian confession of faith).
Heb. 12:5-8. The author reproaches the readers for forgetting the words of consolation he offers, which is contained in Prov. 3:11-12. In these verses the punishment of the Lord is seen as evidence of His love. So they should not be despondent, enduring the punishment that certifies their sonship. For it is a means to prepare them for "the glory of many sons" (compare 2:10 and the commentary on this verse). All children of God are subject to punishment from Him; a phrase that is common to all in Greek sounds like "punishment, of which all are partakers" (compare with "metochoi" - "participants", "participants" in 1:9; 3:1,14; 6:4).
Speaking of those left without punishment as illegitimate children, the author may have had in mind Christians who did not stand firm in the faith, who, as a result, will be deprived of their inheritance (or reward). (In Roman society, an "illegitimate child" did not have the right to inherit.) Such Christians, the author implies, are not subject to punishment for disciplinary purposes - for the sake of their reward in the Millennium, but to severe condemnation.
Heb. 12:9-11. The author resorts to an analogy with earthly parents, whom we feared (in the sense of "respected"), while they punished, guided by their ideas about the good of the child for many days of his life. Referring to this, the author encourages readers to submit all the more to the Father of Spirits, in order to reap in eternity, having a share in His holiness; for, having been taught through chastisement, Christians will find peace and joy in the life to come.
3. CALL FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL (12:12-17)
Heb. 12:12-13. The author felt a tendency towards spiritual weakening among his readers and, in the light of the truths he set forth, encouraged them to overcome it. If they begin to walk straight with their feet, strengthening in righteousness, then even the weakest among them (limping) "will not be deceived", but will be corrected.
Heb. 12:14. Peace with all people in personal holiness is what one must strive for with all one's strength, because without holiness no one will see the Lord. Since sin cannot be in God's presence, Christians must be (and will be) sinless when they see the Savior (1 John 3:2). The realization of this impels one to achieve holiness already here and now. But the author, in addition, could mean that now the degree of perception of God depends on the "degree" of the believer's holiness (compare Matt. 5:8).
Heb. 12:15-17. As an unpleasant reminder-warning, the author’s words sound about what can happen among believers: someone who has lost the grace of God will become like a bitter root (the image is taken from Deut. 29:18, where the Old Testament apostate is called “a root that grows poison and wormwood”) ; if such a person appears among the believers, he can poison them with his "poison".
The wicked is compared to Esau, the brother of Jacob, who forfeited his birthright for stew. Such people, the author warns, will eventually regret their stupidity bitterly, for they risk irreversibly losing the privilege of inheritance given to them, as happened to Esau. This is the end that awaits apostates from Christ.
4. PROPER WARNING (LAST) - 12:18-29
Heb. 12:22-24. What has become a reality for the people of the New Testament, what they have begun, is, however, more impressive, for all this is heavenly. Not only Jerusalem, the city of the living God, but also the creatures that inhabit it, both angels and people.
The expression to the triumphant council and the church of the firstborn may refer to the "assembly" of those who have already received the right to inherit (since, according to the law of the Old Testament, the "firstborn" was "heir number one"). Such have already approached the heavenly spheres where the angels dwell. But, above all, they "approached" both the Judge of all God (some indeed could withstand His scrutiny of their lives; these are the spirits of the righteous) - and the Intercessor of the New Testament, Jesus (compare 8:6; 9:15) whose Blood, shed in redemption, does not cry out for vengeance, like Abel's, but ensures the acceptance of all believers of the New Testament by God.
If the readers will rightly perceive all these things, then reverence will seize them, and they will become even more eager to achieve those higher privileges that the new covenant promises them.
Heb. 12:25. The contrast between the two testaments is presented here as the contrast between the warning that comes from the earth and that which comes down from heaven. If those who disobeyed the old covenant did not escape punishment, how can those who "turn away" from the new covenant hope to escape it (cf. 2:3)? Here the author undoubtedly had in mind "those who turn away" from the One who initiated the new covenant and now sits "at the right hand (of the throne) of Majesty on high" (1:3).
Heb. 12:26-27. By the voice of God, which once shook only the earth, not only the earth, but also the sky will be shaken in the end. In English the translation of verse 27 reads as follows: "The words "again" mean the removal of what can be shaken, that is, everything created, so that what cannot be shaken can remain." This is a link to Agg. 2:6; the author saw in this verse evidence of a final "re-creation" of the heavens and earth that would take place after the Millennium (compare Heb. 1:10-12). What remains after this cataclysm will be eternal.
Heb. 12:28-29. We who receive an unshakable kingdom are to keep grace, the source of which is our High Priest (4:14-16); and by this grace, it is better (acceptably) to serve God by being in your New Testament congregations. Let us turn away from this service done in reverence and fear, always remembering that our God is a consuming fire (compare with 10:26-27), that the believer who neglects his great privilege brings God's vengeance upon himself.
