New European Commentary

 

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Deeper Commentary

CHAPTER 6

6:1 Therefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to completion- The "us" would refer to Paul and his team. He wants to press on beyond teaching or re-teaching ["doctrine" = teaching] of the "first lessons" of Christ (GNB). They had heard those "first lessons" from Peter and the apostles when the Gospel was first preached to the Hebrews in Jerusalem. Paul felt that "completion" or "perfection" was to be pushed on towards after the first teachings had been believed. 1 Cor. 13 and Eph. 4 likewise envisage a point of "perfection" or completion. It seems Paul expected the Lord's return in the first century, and saw it is as coming when the fruit was ripe to harvest, i.e. when the believers had spiritually matured into the image of Christ.

We must not see the learning of the basic doctrines and baptism as an end rather than a beginning. It is a tragedy if a man dies knowing and appreciating little more than he did at his baptism. Sunday School Christianity isn't the stuff of the Kingdom of God. We must go on unto perfection. "Let us cease to speak of the first principles of Christ, and press on unto full growth" (Heb. 6:1 RV). It almost implies that the Hebrews were so busy talking about the first principles that they had omitted to use them as the springboard to growth. See on Heb. 5:12.

Not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith toward God- "Dead works" could refer to the idea that works of legalistic obedience could bring salvation, without the life of the Spirit. Their "repentance" would have been a re-thinking about such justification by works. Likewise "faith toward God" does not imply that previously the Hebrews were atheists, but rather that the first principle of Christ was of faith in God's justification through His Son, rather than by works.

6:2 The teaching of baptisms and of laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment- These "first lessons of Christ" which they had forgotten were perhaps taught to the Hebrew Christians during Peter's sermon, the account of which in Acts 2 is certainly abbreviated (it can be spoken out loud in just a few minutes). Or it could be that the regular gatherings of the newly baptized believers in the temple afterwards included this kind of instruction. That judgment will be "eternal", that there is an eternity we may miss, was a first lesson in the faith in Christ. The serious consequence of faith and unbelief were to be accepted and seen clearly.

6:3 And if God permits, this will we do- Not in the rest of the letter, but through a visit to Jerusalem to teach them these things again. Paul's last recorded visit to Jerusalem led to his rejection by the Hebrew Christians, betrayal by those he came to give aid to, and his imprisonment and subsequent exile in Rome. So God's will or permission for this was apparently not granted.

6:4 For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit- Enlightenment is something done to another; we do not make ourselves see, for we are helpless as spiritually blind persons. The light comes through grace, through having our mental eyes opened by God's initiative upon our hearts. We likewise are "made" to partake in the Spirit, the gift from God to us, the power of change and transformation unto salvation which is placed in the heart of each believer. They were all "partakers" of the heavenly calling (3:1), "the heavenly gift", but would only be "partakers in Christ" if they remained firm in their faith in salvation (3:14). The Corinthians likewise received the Spirit, but were "not spiritual" (1 Cor. 3:1).

It seems that this passage continues alluding to Israel's experience in the wilderness- a commonly alluded to situation. The 'enlightening' would refer to the pillar of fire which enlightened [LXX] or gave light to Israel on that journey (Ex. 13:21; Neh. 9:12,19; Ps. 105:39). The "heavenly gift" which was "tasted" is clearly the manna which was "rained down from heaven" as a 'gift' (Ex. 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40; 78:24). These Old Testament references always seem to place the pillar of fire and the manna together. They were partakers of the Holy Spirit in that the Spirit was given to the 70 elders in order to guide them through the desert (Num. 11).

The idea of "gift" would have played deeply upon the patron-client culture of the Greco-Roman world. There was no social security system or state health service. If you fell on hard times, you went cap in hand to your neighbour, family or employer. And within their culture, it was expected that you have charity to those in need. But you were forever then in social debt to your saviour. Society viewed in very harsh terms any ingratitude, just taking the assistance at the time and then not showing respect. That respect was to be shown by publically 'talking up' your saviour / benefactor, and loyalty to them in every way. This was at times expressed in superlative, over the top expressions of praise. There is something of this in the superlative expressions of Lordship and magnitude which are applied to the Lord Jesus in the New Testament. The way Israel, and the Hebrew Christians, had rejected God's gifts and even crucified His Son [afresh] was therefore to be seen as something deeply disgusting and awful. This is why we are confronted with the symbols of the Lord's death for us, regularly- in order to remind us of our deep and eternal obligation of loyalty to Him.


6:5 Who tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come- As in John 6, the manna, the heavenly gift of :4, is seen as representing the word of God's goodness, His assurance of salvation. The allusions to the historical Israel are again clear, as we saw on :4. In this case, to Josh. 21:45; 23:15, where entry into Canaan was "all the good words which the Lord spoke to the children of Israel". They did not however totally possess Canaan at that point; the idea was rather that all God's good words to them had come true potentially. And so it was true for the new Israel. Israel at the Exodus witnessed miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit in order to back up the word of God spoke by Moses and Aaron. So often we encounter this: "Moses announced to Aaron all the words of the Lord... and all the signs. .. . Moses and Aaron went and Aaron spoke all these words .. . and Moses performed the signs before the people" (Ex. 4:28-30). Signs / miracles likewise back up the word spoken to Pharaoh (Ex. 3:18-20), and the subsequent reminiscences of these events likewise connect the miracles / signs to the word of God which was spoken (Neh. 9:10-17; Ps. 78:10-11, 32; 105:27-28; 106:7-12, 21-25). Likewise in the first century, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit backed up the spoken word of God. And the Hebrew Christians, many of them baptized around the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, had witnessed this. But again, miracles didn't inculcate real faith. Just as at Kadesh-Barnea the people decided to return to Egypt, so the Hebrew Christians were returning to Judaism. Which was effectively Egypt, with Jerusalem, the city where the Lord was crucified, being termed the city spiritually called Sodom and Egypt (Rev. 11:8). Just as the Hebrew Christians 'threw away your confidence' (Heb. 10:35).

The tasting of the Spirit (:4) is related to but not totally identical with tasting the goodness of God's word. These were the things promised in the word of God's goodness, and they had tasted them as real; and thus had had a foretaste of the Kingdom age. For the current experience of the Spirit is an earnest, a foretaste given "in our hearts", of our future salvation in the Kingdom (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5). It is by the Spirit now in us that we shall be immortalized in the age to come (Rom. 8:11).  

6:6- see on Mk. 15:15; 1 Jn. 2:28.

But then fell away- I suggested on :5 that the connection is with  how  at Kadesh-Barnea the people decided to return to Egypt; and so the Hebrew Christians were returning to Judaism, giving up on the Kingdom journey- at least in their hearts. The Hebrew Christians were tempted to "rebel... sin... disobey... disbelieve" (Heb. 3:16-18), which are the very words used of the rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea. It was there that God gave up with that generation: "When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying Go up and possess the land which I have given you, then you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you didn’t believe Him, nor listen to His voice. You have been rebellious against Yahweh" (Dt. 9:23,24).

The 'falling [away]' is the same word for how the bodies of the rejected Israelites 'fell' in the wilderness ("whose carcases fell in the wilderness", Heb. 3:17).  The Hebrew Christians were not to "fall after the same pattern of unbelief" (Heb. 4:11). The same argument and the same word is used by Paul in 1 Cor. 10:8,12: In the wilderness rebellion, 23,000 Israelites "fell in one day" and Christians are to beware lest they likewise "fall". So the 'falling away' here refers to death by Divine judgment. Otherwise there would arise the endless fear that our temporal failure, of 5 minutes or 5 years, was a 'falling away' from which there can be no repentance. It is only death which is the point of no further repentance. In the next verses, we will read that it is the land which bears thorns which is to be burnt in the rejection of the last day. Rejection only comes when the fruit is finally seen- whether it is thorns or fruit. The Lord taught that unless we repent, we will perish; or "die in our sins". This of itself implies that whilst there is life, there is the possibility of repentance. It cannot be that in mortal life, a man can cross a line to a point whereby there is no repentance. Once we understand the continual allusions to Israel's experience in the wilderness, then we will see that 'falling away' refers to falling down dead in condemnation; because like Israel, we have stated we do not wish to enter the promised land, and have set our hearts upon returning to Egypt. We note that the argument here is not that some of the Hebrews had at this point fallen away, indeed the rest of this chapter is quite positive about the audience. He writes in :4 of "those..." who fell away, i.e. the dead Israelites in the desert- not any still living Hebrew Christian. Because the falling away is ultimately in death.    

It is impossible to renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame- It is not impossible for anyone to repent. But a person cannot be spiritually renewed to repentance whilst they are crucifying the Lord afresh. Paul is addressing the Hebrews who have fallen away and is urging their repentance. So he clearly means that they cannot be renewed again whilst they are re-crucifying the Lord. He uses a related word in saying that how the Hebrews 'fell' in the wilderness is a warning to the Hebrews of his day (3:17; 4:11). It could be that by "then fell away" Paul is speaking from the perspective of judgment day; those who fall condemned in that day cannot be renewed again to repentance. We noted on Acts 3:26 that the gift of the Spirit involved not only forgiveness but repentance itself; they were led to repentance, renewed to it. Repentance us a gift from God, granted by Him (Acts 11:18) and also not granted by Him to some (Is. 6:9,10 "lest they should turn again / repent", as with 1 Sam. 2:25 and the hardening of Pharaoah's heart not to repent). But whilst the giving of the Spirit is not just at baptism and can continue throughout mortal life, it cannot operate on those who were once enlightened but refuse to stop crucifying the Son of God and shaming Him. They had been once renewed- the new life of the Spirit had been given them, they had become a new creation, the gift of the Spirit after baptism had been for them "the washing of regeneration" by the Spirit; but that regeneration / renewing could not again happen whilst they were shaming the crucified Christ. The idea is that the Holy Spirit would not be given again to those who refused it. For the believer, "the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). The "new man is renewed" (Col. 3:10). This new, inward man is renewed by the work of the Spirit; we are "strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man... to truly know and understand the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:16,19). But that renewing by the Spirit cannot occur if a person sets their heart or spirit upon Egypt and gives up on the path to God's Kingdom. This withdrawal of the Spirit is what happened to Saul, he was given another heart, made another man- but the Spirit was taken from him, because he set his heart in the path of jealousy and egoism. We must understand "It is impossible..." as more referring to the limitation of man; for nothing is impossible with God.  We think of Mk. 10:27 (“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God”). Westcott observes: "The use of the active voice limits the strict application of the words to human agency". It is impossible for man to allow himself to be renewed whilst he is crucifying Christ afresh. And that I take to refer to how the Hebrew Christians were returning to Judaism, which had crucified God's Son. This was the real import of caving in to peer pressure and returning to your culture of origin [Judaism]. For by trusting in the ritual sacrifices, they were making the Lord's death to be in vain, and if they were to repent, they would as it were need to have Him crucified again. Or we can read "Seeing they crucify..." as effectively meaning 'Whilst they...'. Repentance, even for crucifying God's Son, was always possible. As the Hebrew Christians themselves knew; for it was they who had been convicted of this sin and had cried out "What shall we do?".  Putting the Lord to an open shame implies there was some public dimension to their denial of the Lord. In the spirit of Saul, the Jews were compelling Christian Jews to blaspheme, and to call Jesus "accursed" (1 Cor. 12:3). This often involved mocking and blaspheming His cross.  

The falling away, or falling dead, of the Israelites was in refusing to believe they would enter Canaan, and instead deciding to return to Egypt. To turn away from the path to the Kingdom is to crucify Christ afresh, it is to declare Him dead in vain. It is to do despite to the spirit of saving grace. Their decision to return to Egypt was irreversible, even though, like the rejected at judgment day, they sought to reverse it. The Divine comment is that in their hearts, they returned to Egypt. I take that to mean that despite their momentary desire to enter Canaan, they decided in their hearts that they wanted Egypt and not Canaan. Although they did not manage to physically return there, in their hearts they did- and this is how God counted them. Likewise at the day of judgment, there will be no second chances. But "we make the answer now" as to whether we want to keep on the journey to Canaan, or whether in our hearts we are Egypt people. And would prefer nothing better than sitting by the fleshpots of Egypt rather than fighting for the eternal milk and honey of Canaan. As Heb. 3 stresses, they disbelieved in their hearts. The single reason for their failure to enter the Kingdom was their unbelief in their hearts. And it is the same with us.


In the Lord's death we see the heart that bleeds, bared before our eyes in the cross. It is written of Him in His time of dying that He "poured out his soul unto death" (Is. 53:12). The Hebrew translated "poured out" means to make naked- it is rendered as "make thyself naked" in Lam. 4:21 (see too Lev. 20:18,19; Is. 3:17). The Lord' sensitivity was what led Him to His death- He made His soul naked, bare and sensitive, until the stress almost killed Him quite apart from the physical torture. To be sensitive to others makes us open  and at risk ourselves. A heart that bleeds really bleeds and hurts within itself. And this was the essence of the cross. It seems to me that the Lord was crucified naked- hence those who turn away put Him to “an open [Gk. ‘naked’] shame”. In being sensitive to others, we make ourselves naked. The heart that bleeds is itself in great risk of hurt and pain. The Lord Jesus is not passive in Heaven; He has sensitivity and pain, He can be shamed and crucified afresh by those who turn away to legalism and Judaism. This of itself opens a window onto what it may mean to have Divine nature.

It was this same category who in 10:29 trod underfoot the Lord's blood and treated it as unholy. These one time Christians had become so influenced by Judaism that they considered Him unholy and despised His sacrifice, supporting the same Jewish authorities and mentalities which had crucified Him. They re-crucified Him by coming to agree that what the Sanhedrin had done was correct. It was as if by such an attitude, they too were guilty of His crucifixion. This falling away was all a matter of the heart; for no man or human organization can pluck us from the Lord's hand; we shall "never perish" because of that, but only from our own internal lack of faith (Jn. 10:28)

6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God- The land which has drunk in the rain gives forth “herbs meet for them by whom it is tended” (Heb. 6:7 RV). The parallel is intended with "those who have tasted the good word of God" (Heb. 6:5). If the land represents those who respond to the Gospel, as in the sower parable, who are those who tend it? Surely the preachers and pastoral carers. They benefit, they are encouraged, by those whom they have cared for and converted. I've seen this so very often- one goes to exhort, and comes back home exhorted. But this is all part of the intended upward spiral in functional ecclesial life. But the cultivation still depends upon the rain of blessing from God, which has been defined in 6:4,5 as the gift of the Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit is given not just once at baptism, but "often". For our fruitfulness is God's intention; He gives us the Spirit in order to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. The husbandman produces fruit which is appropriate to his labours, and so our eternal future and being will be a reflection of our labours now (Heb. 6:7). Not that salvation depends upon our works: it is the free, gracious gift of God. But the nature of our eternity will be a reflection of our present efforts and the efforts of others for us. The ground brings forth fruit appropriate to those who have worked on it. Does this not suggest that we each bring forth a unique and personally appropriate form of spiritual fruit?

The language of :7,8 very much recalls the promises for obedience and curses for disobedience offered in Dt. 28:1-6; 29:23. The "earth" is therefore an allusion to the land, of Israel. The idea is that the Hebrew Christians stood where Israel did- faced with blessings or curses. 


6:8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and in danger of being cursed, whose end is to be burned- The parable of the wheat and weeds teaches that at the time of Christ's coming, there will be weeds actively growing in the ecclesia. Those are the "thorns and briers" of Heb. 6:8, the 'thorns' who crucify Christ again (2 Sam. 23:6,7; Heb. 6:6-8). Yet we will, in some sense, rub shoulders with this category if we are in the latter day ecclesia (Mt. 13:27-30). In the last days, the true Christian community simply won't be (isn't?) the spiritually safe place, where error is impossible, which we may have felt it to be in the past. The man of sin, the wicked one, will sit in the very temple of God, the ecclesia. The "end" of the rejected is to be later "burnt", as if rejection occurs in the mind of God now, but will articulate the punishment later, at the judgment. There is a play on ideas here, in that "thorns and thistles" were part of the curse; but if we bear them instead of spiritual fruit, then we shall be cursed. If we act as sinners, as the cursed, rather than seeing our potential to rise above- then we shall remain cursed. "In danger of being cursed" is literally 'close to being cursed' [AV "nigh unto cursing"], and probably refers to the soon coming day of judgment in AD70. And in a wider sense, to our need to live life in the belief that judgment day is coming soon.

6:9 But beloved, though we speak in this manner, we are confident of better things for you; things that accompany salvation- This is the kind of positivism Paul employs to the Corinthians. He convicts them of serious failure and tendencies towards condemnation, and then states that he has every confidence in them and rejoices over them (2 Cor. 2:3; 7:16). "Better" is a common word in Hebrews, used of how the new covenant in the Lord Jesus is "better" than the Mosaic system (1:4; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9;23; 10:34; 12:24). Paul wishes to be persuaded that they are going to be saved; he uses the same term "better things" of our final salvation in 11:40. We too cannot condemn our brethren, so we are to assume that all baptized believers shall be eternally saved.


6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work- They were tempted to think that God did not notice the great love which the Hebrew Christians had shown to their fellow believers in selling their possessions and giving to the poor. Perhaps now in later life they were regretting their past generosity. But Paul encourages them that God would not forget what they did; to think that would be to suggest He is unrighteous.

And the love which you have shown toward His Name, in that you serve the saints and still do- Serving other believers is love toward the Lord's name in that these who needed help were baptized into His Name. Our attitude towards those in Christ is our attitude to Him. "Serve the saints" is a Greek phrase used only elsewhere in Rom. 15:25, again specifically concerning serving the poor believers in Jerusalem. The generosity of the Hebrew Christians towards their poor had been significant and perhaps the greatest ever display of Christian financial generosity. 

6:11 And we desire that each one of you may show the same zeal to have the full assurance of hope until the end- The great devotion and generosity of the Hebrew believers (see on :10) was zeal indeed; but it was not works of generosity to the poor which would save. They needed to show the same zeal as they had in giving their wealth to the poor in maintaining their assurance of salvation, their "hope" in the sense of utter assurance. The joy they had once had in that assurance was waning, because their faith in Jesus as their saviour was fading and being replaced by dependence upon their own works. Their great works of generosity had earlier been motivated by faith and joy in an assured salvation, but now their works were motivated by a fear they were not saved and thinking that works could bring them salvation.


6:12 Do not be lazy, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises-The laziness in view is not regarding works, for they are commended for continuing to care practically for "the saints" (:10). See on 5:11. Paul's concern was that they would continue to totally believe that the promise of eternity in the Kingdom would be fulfilled to them. To maintain a real faith and confident assurance in future salvation, that if the Lord returns now or I die now, I shall be saved... this requires huge mental effort. For it requires our all. If I am sure of my salvation, this takes all my passion, thinking and living. It would be fair to say that this is demanding, so much so that the human tendency to laziness kicks in; we want a quieter, less mentally and practically demanding life, and so laziness can lead to a lack of faith in our future salvation. We must take for live templates those others who believed the promises of salvation and patiently endured in that faith.

6:13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He could swear by none greater, He swore by Himself- We are to be followers of Abraham's example (:12) because in essence, the very same promises have been made to us. The good news of eternal salvation in the Kingdom was preached to Abraham as much as to us (Gal. 3:8). We ought to believe that we will be saved because God made the promise of salvation "by Himself". the whole of God is as it were staked on our being saved. To doubt it is to doubt God and all God stands for.

6:14 Saying: Surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you- The emphasis is upon "Surely". The blessing is that of eternal salvation, and that a multitude of men and women would become in Christ and be saved in Him, thus bringing about the multiplication of Abraham's seed. The program, the plan and purpose, was "surely" going to work out; and we should be "sure" of this great salvation for ourselves.


6:15 And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise- See on :12. This patient endurance was not just a waiting, a sitting it out. Abraham's life was active, and motivated by his belief that the promises of future salvation and inheritance really would come true for him. Abraham received the promise in a limited sense in this life, just as the Holy Spirit is our foretaste of the future inheritance (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5). Abraham is our example in that he received in his lifetime the promise, to an extent. We have been saved, we should be able to rejoice at this "today" that we will eternally live if the Lord comes for us today. In this sense Abraham is our example of obtaining the promise in this life. Indeed all the faithful "obtained promises" (11:33 s.w.). Abraham's patient endurance is that of :12, he kept on and on believing that the salvation promises would come true; and they did.


6:16 For men swear by something greater, and in every dispute of theirs, the oath is final for confirmation- The fact God has promised our salvation on oath should end any dispute within our own minds, or theologically with others such as Judaists, that we really can be saved by faith through grace. Romans 3 however presents the "dispute" as a legal challenge by doubting man against God, putting Him in the dock, judging Him as to whether He really can bring us to the Kingdom. And out of this showdown, every such doubting man is declared a liar. The greatest possible assurance has been given; oaths have to be made upon some higher source entity, and that entity is God. The confirmation should therefore be seen as "final", all our wonderings and hopping between certainty and uncertainty should be no more; the assurance is total and final. This oath is "an end of all strife" (AV), what cannot be contradicted (s.w. 7:7 "without contradiction"). There can be no argument against the proposition that we are saved in Christ right now. The confirmation is in the Lord's death (Rom. 15:8) and the gift of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor. 1:21,22; Heb. 13:9 s.w.). But His word of promise is itself confirmed. The arguments every way are for our total assurance that His promise of salvation shall come true for me, today.


6:17 Therefore God, determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of His purpose, confirmed with an oath- The word of promise was enough, seeing it came from God; but God confirmed it with an oath, because He was "determined" to show us the certainty of the promise. Despite having promised us eternal inheritance, as promised to Abraham, God is eager for us to accept it. He has not just made promises and left us to do our part by believing them. He comes to meet us, using every logical, intellectual and spiritual instrument to do so, and crowning them all with the death of His Son to confirm the word of promise to Abraham which comprised the new covenant. God discerned that we fear His promise might change; the oath showed it was immutable. Perhaps our wide experience of failed promises and agreements is the psychological root of our difficulty in accepting the most simple truth- that we really shall be saved if we have said 'Yes' to God's purpose of salvation for us. The Galatians like the Hebrews had been "removed" from the Christian Gospel to another (Gal. 1:6); and "immutable" here translates the negative of this word, the 'not-removable' nature of God's promise. The priesthood was "changed" (7:12), but the new covenant promises of God to Abraham of our salvation will not be "changed" as they are not-changeable, "immutable".


6:18 So that by two immutable things- The promise of God and the oath confirming it.

In which it is impossible for God to lie- To doubt our salvation is to effectively accuse God of being a liar. But that is impossible. And yet in this sense, as Romans 3 puts it, man has put God in the dock. And yet He shall be justified, and every man shall be declared a liar who has doubted His salvation.

We may have a strong encouragement- God not only promised our salvation but confirmed the promise with an oath. Paul says the same in different terms in Rom. 5:8: "God commends His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly".

Who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us- The allusion is to how the person who found they had committed a sin worthy of death, yet without as it were wishing to have done so, could flee to a city of refuge and be saved there by the death of the high priest. The curse upon Levi was that the members of this tribe were to be scattered in Israel (Gen. 49:7). However, this resulted in the cities of the Levites being scattered throughout the land, thus providing accessible cities of refuge to all who wished to escape the consequences of sin. Those cities were evidently symbolic of the refuge we have in Christ (Heb. 6:18). Again and again, the curses and consequences of human sin are used by the Father to mediate blessing. It is the sure hope before us which is our refuge. "Hope", elpis, is a confident knowledge of a future reality, rather than a hoping for the best. We should be confident in our salvation.

6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and passing into the presence beyond the veil- The certainty that we shall be saved is what give us spiritual and personal stability, as an anchor. But the "anchor" in view is not simply that of a moored boat. This anchor enables us to pass beyond the veil into the most holy place, the very presence of God. The allusion is to how the high priest entered the most holy each year to make atonement for Israel with a rope attached to him in case he were to die there and need to be pulled back out of the most holy, so that no man needed to enter the most holy to retrieve the body. The height of the challenge for first century Hebrews is hard to appreciate; we are called not simply to salvation but to the very status of the high priest on the day of atonement. For we are in Christ. We are to go into God's very presence, in Christ, to do the work of atonement for others. This is the spirit in which we should pray for others. And we need no human anchor- for our sure knowledge of future salvation is our anchor.


6:20 Into which as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek- As noted on :19, it is us who are called to enter the holiest place and God's presence. The Lord Jesus has entered there, but He has done so as a forerunner, whose steps we are to follow. Priestly work is therefore to be our eternal occupation- seeking salvation and blessing for others. He is like the boy who brings the ship's line to shore ("forerunner"), and then guides the ship to dock. But that dock for us is the most holy place, the presence of God personally, when God Himself shall dwell amongst us in the Kingdom of God on earth.

 Here in Hebrews alone in the New Testament is the Lord's simple, human name “Jesus” used so baldly- not ‘Jesus Christ’, ‘the Lord Jesus’, just plain ‘Jesus’ (Heb. 2:9; 3:1; 4:14; 6:20; 7:22; 10:19; 12:2,24; 13:12). And yet it’s Hebrews that emphasizes how He can be called ‘God’, and is the full and express image of God Himself.  I observe that in each of the ten places where Hebrews uses the name ‘Jesus’, it is as it were used as a climax of adoration and respect. For example: “… whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus” (Heb. 6:20). “But you are come unto… unto… to… to… to… to… and to Jesus the mediator” (Heb. 12:22-24). The bald title ‘Jesus’, one of the most common male names in first century Palestine, as common as Dave or Steve or John in the UK today, speaking as it did of the Lord’s utter humanity, is therefore used as a climax of honour for Him. The honour due to Him is exactly due to the fact of His humanity. The juxtaposition of the Lord’s humanity and His exaltation is what is so unique about Him. And it’s what is so hard for people to accept, because it demands so much faith in a man, that He could be really so God-like. The juxtaposition of ideas is seen in Hebrews so powerfully.