(Audio version; Music: "In The Name Of" by: JJ Weeks Band and "Nothing But The Blood" by: Matt Redman)
Introduction
Since
humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden, we have been looking for ways to make
things right with God. Even civilizations who don’t recognize the God of the Bible realize that they fall short of the standard established by some deity. Whether
it was the ancient Grecians who wore themselves out trying to appease their
many gods or Buddhists who believe they will be reincarnated again and again
until they do life right, humanity has tried to atone for their mistakes; their
sins. Even atheists seek reconciliation even though they would choke before
admitting it. You can see it when they hurt someone and say, “I’m sorry.” The
fact that they are sorry betrays the belief inherent in all humanity, whether
they admit it or not, that there is right and wrong and when you do something
wrong, you have to make things right. It made me think of the Old Testament
practice of animal sacrifice; the shedding of blood, and it’s central
significance in the life of faith of Israel.
Animal
sacrifice as a means to reconnect with God began long before the cultic
practice outlined in the Book of Leviticus. The first animal sacrifice occurred
in Genesis 3:21 right in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned. Remember
that after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they
realized that they were naked. After God confronted them about their sin, He
provided them with clothes made of animal skin. Unless there was a skinless
animal wandering around the Garden, an animal was sacrificed so Adam and Eve
could have what they needed. Thereafter, Abel sacrificed the firstborn of the
flock, Noah offered animal sacrifice, and Abraham offered animal sacrifice.
Clearly animal sacrifice was practiced as a means to worship and honor God long
before it was formally instituted as part of Israel’s cultic ritual system.
However, it wasn’t until the Law was formally established that animal sacrifice,
specifically for the forgiveness of sin, was instituted in Leviticus 16.
God
commanded Israel to perform various sacrifices according to certain procedures.
The animal had to be spotless, the person offering the sacrifice had to identify
with the animal, and the person offering the animal had to shed its blood. When
the sacrifice is done in faith, a temporary covering of sins is provided.
Another sacrifice called for on the Day of Atonement, demonstrates forgiveness
and the removal of sin. The high priest was to take two male goats for a sin
offering. One of the goats was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people of
Israel, while the other goat was released into the wilderness. The second goat
is where we get the term “scapegoat” from. The sin offering provided
forgiveness, while the other goat provided the removal of sin. What’s important
to remember is that sacrifices for the forgiveness of corporate and individual
sins had to be repeated regularly. However, just as God provided a sacrificial
system for the forgiveness of sins that the people could practice regularly,
God would provide one final sacrifice for the sins of all humanity that would
put an end to the need for all other sacrifices. God Himself would become the
sacrifice—God would become The Lamb Of
God that would take away the sins of the world.
Subject Text
Hebrews 10:1-18
1The
law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities
themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated
endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2Otherwise,
would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been
cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But
those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4It is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when
Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not
desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6with burnt offerings and
sin offerings you were not pleased. 7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written
about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’ ” 8First
he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did
not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance
with the law. 9Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your
will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10And by
that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. 11Day after day every priest stands and
performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered
for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13and
since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14For
by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15The
Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16“This
is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will
put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17Then
he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18And
where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Context
Hardship
has a way of making a person question some of their choices. The letter to the
Hebrews was written primarily to Jewish Christians but applies to all of us as
well. These Christians were undergoing intense persecution from both the Jews
and the Romans. Add to this the fact that Christ hadn’t returned, as so many
anticipated, and many of them were beginning to question if they made a mistake
abandoning the sacrificial system prescribed by the Law. Sin and its spiritual
and eternal consequences were serious matters for the believers who took their
relationship with God seriously. They no longer practiced animal sacrifice for
the forgiveness of their sins because they sincerely believed Jesus was the
sacrifice for the forgiveness of humanity’s sins. However, under the pressure
of persecution, some of them were understandably questioning that decision. As
a result, the author of Hebrews reassures them that Christ was indeed the
once-for-all sacrifice for humanity’s sins and that no additional sacrifices
are necessary because animal sacrifice merely foreshadowed Jesus’ sacrifice. The
blood of animals was ultimately ineffective to accomplish the eternal
forgiveness of sins made possible by the shed blood of The Lamb Of God.
Text Analysis
1The
law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities
themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated
endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2Otherwise,
would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been
cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But
those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4It is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
I love how
the author of Hebrew begins his argument in vv. 1-4. Remember who he’s talking to—they’re trying to figure out
if they should go back to what they were doing before Christ came and died on
the cross, or maybe combine their faith in Christ AND continue to offer
sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. I know it sounds ridiculous but
the mind under duress can rationalize almost anything. The best way to help
these believers get back or stay on the right track was to remind them of some
very important truths of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
People often think that the New
Testament was necessary because God didn’t anticipate that the Old Testament
wouldn’t accomplish what He wanted to accomplish. But that’s not how redemption
works. You have to remember that God is moving people toward redemption without
over-ruling their freedom to choose. If you think about it, God could have
avoided everything if He hadn’t placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil in
the Garden in the first place. So why didn’t He do it? Because He wanted Adam
and Eve to be in obedient relationship with Him by their own choice not by
manipulation or coercion. Adam and Eve chose to be disobedient. Once sin
entered creation God put in motion the plan for redemption. Every event from
the time Adam and Eve sinned until creation reaches its Final Glory travels
along the Trajectory Of Redemption. It looks something like this:
All the events
after humanity fell because of sin, travel along the Trajectory Of Redemption (Figure 1). Additionally, certain events
during the Old Testament Era foreshadowed the events that would take place
during the New Testament Era. The sacrificial system was one of those events.
The Old Testament practice of animal sacrifice for the temporary forgiveness of
sins foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice by Jesus. Later in our Subject Text there will be more
examples of how the Old Testament voices speak into the New Testament.
It makes
perfect sense that if the sacrifice of animals sufficed to take away humanity’s
sins, then it wouldn’t have been necessary to repeat the sacrifices year after
year after year. As it was, the practice of animal sacrifice prepared God’s
people to advance along the Trajectory Of Redemption until they could
experience the ultimate redemption provided by Christ. “As with the old
covenant tabernacle, the law’s sacrificial system can only be seen as an
imperfect copy of what God ultimately had in mind, since it contained elements
that had a degree of ineffectiveness. That it constitutes a ‘shadow’ suggests
that the earthly system mimics enough of the original to point God’s people to
greater, heavenly realities. Nevertheless, by its perpetual need for new
sacrifices, it demonstrates its inadequacy…
The law’s
sacrificial system, rather than delivering worshipers from guilt, actually has
the effect of reminding them of their sinfulness and, thus, their constant
separation from God. Why is this the case under the older covenant? Because the
sacrifice of that system—‘the blood of bulls and goats’—do not have the ability
to remove sins…
The idea of
‘removing’ sin speaks of the burden sin placed on the worshiper’s conscience
being lifted in a decisive, perpetually effective cleansing, which establishes
one’s status before God. This is what the old covenant sacrifices were unable
to do, which is why sin remained a separator, a perennial, detrimental force
disallowing a permanently right relationship between God and his people.”[1]
5Therefore, when Christ came into
the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you
prepared for me; 6with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were
not pleased. 7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the
scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’ ” 8First he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not
desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance
with the law. 9Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your
will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
Let me
guess, some of you are very confused by vv.
5-9 because you can’t find anywhere in the Gospels where Jesus said these
things. Just relax and take a deep breath. These words are spoken by David and
come directly from Psalm 40:6-8:
Sacrifice and offering you did not
desire—but my ears you have opened— burnt offerings and sin offerings you did
not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in
the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
You might
recall that I taught you in a previous lesson that this is understood as the
Law of Double Reference. It means that a text has both an understanding in its
original context and also in a future context. This is a magnificent example of
the beauty of God’s Word. In its original context Psalm 40 praises God for His
saving acts. David is saying in Psalm 40 that God doesn’t desire sacrifice and
offerings even though those things are prescribed by the Law. God desires
relationship and He demonstrates that desire by saving us when we are in dire
need and being faithful to do for us what He says He will do. David was
obedient to the will of God by proclaiming God’s salvation and deliverance
within the great assembly of God’s people and Jesus was obedient to God’s will by
being humanity’s salvation and deliverance. We are obedient to the will of God
when we proclaim that message of salvation and deliverance—the Gospel—within
the great assembly that is the world around us.
“Applying
to Christ the words of Psalm 40:6-8, Christ came to offer his body on the cross
for us as a sacrifice that is completely acceptable to God. God’s new and
living way for us to please him comes not by keeping the laws or even by
abstaining from sin, but by turning to him in faith for forgiveness and then
following him in loving obedience. This is what set Christ’s sacrifice apart.
He followed God’s will, obeyed him, and offered the perfect sacrifice of
perfect obedience.
The entire
Old Testament (the Scriptures) had written about Christ and his coming. The law
and the sacrificial system was a shadow of what was to come. Christ fulfilled
the law as well as the prophecies that announced the coming of the new
covenant…
God did not
want the sacrifices required by the law of Moses. God had never planned for the
old system to be the final system. Instead, he provided a new way, a new
covenant through Christ, who obeyed God and willingly gave up his life as a
perfect sacrifice. Christ cancels the first covenant in order to establish the
second. Setting aside the first system in order to establish a far better one
meant doing away with the system of sacrifices contained in the ceremonial law.
(It didn’t mean eliminating God’s ‘moral’ law, contained in the Ten Commandments.)
The ceremonial law prepared people for Christ. With his coming, that system was
no longer needed.”[2]
10And by that will, we have been
made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Let me just
say that the importance of v. 10
can’t be overstated. The “will” referred to in this verse is God’s will that
Jesus would pay for our sins by dying on the cross in our place. Here is a
very, very important theological principal: We (believers) are holy because of
Jesus’ sacrifice. Not because of anything we have done or will do. We are
saints the moment we put our faith in Christ. Why is this understanding important?
Because it combats the awful heresy that says we have to do something to earn
our salvation and holiness. For example, recently the Catholic Church conveyed
sainthood upon Mother Theresa. This is another in a relatively long list of
unbiblical practices by the Catholic Church but this one is particularly
heinous in light of our Subject Text
generally and v. 10 specifically. Mother
Theresa was deemed a saint because of all the work she did in her life. Can you
see the ramifications of that heresy? If you or I don’t do enough, we won’t be
saints and if we aren’t saints then we aren’t saved and if we aren’t saved then
Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t sufficient to make us holy. Do you see how something so
seemingly benign can wound someone’s faith? I know this from personal
experience.
Just last week while visiting my
mother, she said, “Did you hear that they made Mother Theresa a saint?” I
watched her expression as she held this new “saint” in such high esteem. My
mother is 81-years old and has been a Catholic her entire life yet doesn’t
realize that she too is a saint. So she goes to church more, goes to confession
more, prays more and serves more. What a terrible burden to act not in response
to God’s favor but in order to earn His favor. Conversely, what a tremendous
burden is lifted from our shoulders when we no longer try to earn God’s favor
but instead recognize what He has done for us and to us through Christ’s
perfect sacrifice. I want you to try something for me and see how it feels.
Look at your self in the mirror and say, “Because of Jesus, I am holy. Because
of Jesus I am a saint.” It might seem silly to most of you but for those of you
who are like me, I can acknowledge those words in my head but I seldom believe
them in my heart. I know that doesn’t sound very good for a pastor but a
lifetime of trying to earn the favor of important people in my life has
transferred to my relationship with God and it will probably take the rest of
my life to get to the place where I can say those things and believe them in my
heart not just know them in my head. But I’m going to keep saying them and if
you’re having trouble believing them then you need to keep saying them as well.
“The only
complete fulfillment of the will of God appeared in Christ’s perfect obedience.
Because we who have trusted Christ are identified with him, we also have
fulfilled the will of God. God received us on the basis of Jesus’ complete
fulfillment of God’s will. Once for all
showed the finality of the transaction.
In Christ
believers receive complete cleansing of their sin. They are equipped to enter
God’s presence. They can offer acceptable worship to him. They are accepted!”[3]
11Day after day every priest
stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest
had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God, 13and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made
his footstool.
There are a
few things going on in vv. 11-13
that need some specific context in order to understand properly. V. 11 is a continuation of the previous
verses and serves to emphasize the futility of the priests’ religious duties of
offering sacrifices over and over and over; sacrifices that can, nevertheless, not
remove the peoples’ sins.
When v. 12 refers to “this priest” it is
referring to Jesus. It might seem like an odd reference but it was earlier that
the author of Hebrews taught us that Jesus is our Great High Priest (Heb.
4:14-16) when he said:
Therefore, since we have a great
high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly
to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need.
Jesus, our Great High Priest, is the priest from v. 12 of our Subject Text. Now think about that in the context of our Subject Text. The Jewish priests
offered animal sacrifices day after day, year after year. Jesus, not just any
priest but our Great High Priest, didn’t offer animal sacrifices for the
forgiveness of sins, He offered Himself as the “once-for-all” sacrifice that is
sufficient to cleanse us from our sins for all time.
It is a
little more difficult to understand v.
13 because it seems a little out of place unless we remember that the
people reading the letter were thinking of returning to their old way of life
because Christ hadn’t returned yet. I’m guessing they went from wondering when
Christ would return to why He hadn’t returned yet. I’m guessing they were
wondering how much longer they would have to endure the persecution that was
pressing in around them every day. Although v. 13 doesn’t tell them when Christ will return, it does tell them
why He hasn’t returned. Christ will not return until His enemies are all
identified and He issues His final judgment of eternal condemnation over them. Who
are His enemies? Unbelievers. When will that happen? Go back and take a look at
Figure 1. Jesus’ enemies will be made
His footstool right before the end of the Trajectory Of Redemption; right
before those of us who believe in Him will enjoy Him in Final Glory for all
eternity. V. 13 is also another
example of the Law of Double Reference. In fact, it is one of the more
interesting instances of the Law of Double Reference. The text comes again from
one of the Psalms—Psalm 110:1. Read it very carefully because it’s one of those
instances that takes your breath away because the Psalms were written hundreds
of years before. If the Old Testament is a shadow of things to come then Psalm
110:1 is almost more than a shadow; it is almost a shadow with recognizable
features; it is a shadow that is almost real enough to touch.
The LORD says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
What an
amazing foreshadowing of Christ and a vision of that point in time near the end
of the Trajectory Of Redemption also referred to in v. 13 of our Subject Text.
“From the time that Christ sat down at God’s right hand he eagerly awaits the
final overthrow of his enemies by God. This waiting is not some passive thing
but an eager expectation of the kind that our author commends to his readers.
This ready anticipation suggests rest, but not inactivity, for the seated
Christ powerfully intercedes for his people and saves them completely ([Heb.]
7:25; 4:14-16; 9:24). The enemies are not identified here, but in general terms
they include every power that resists God’s gracious redemptive purposes. According
to Hebrews 2:14-15, Christ’s exaltation was a victory over the devil. The
solemn admonition that follows in 10:26-31 may imply a warning that urges the
readers not to let themselves be counted among the enemies (v. 27) of the
exalted Christ, but instead be reckoned as his friends and companions who
follow him faithfully to the end (3:14).”[4]
14For by one sacrifice he has
made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
There are a
couple of things going on here in v. 14
that can be sort of confusing. I don’t know about you but I am not perfect by
any stretch of the imagination. So what does the author mean that we have been
made “perfect” forever? This is the fulfillment of something Jesus said that is
recorded by Matthew in 5:48 where Jesus commands us to be perfect the way our
heavenly Father is perfect. Well on our own that’s not really possible no
matter how hard we work at it. But who is perfect like the Father is perfect?
Jesus! Right? So the Father is perfect and Jesus is perfect but how do we
become perfect? It has to do with something that is theologically referred to
as “substitutionary atonement.” It means that Jesus substituted Himself in our
place as a sacrifice for our sins. As a result, our sins are washed away and we
become spiritually perfect in the same way that Jesus is perfect. You see,
confessing and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice in our place means we are connected
to Him forever. It means that Jesus’ perfection becomes our spiritual
perfection because of His sacrifice in our place.
V. 10 clearly says that we have been
made holy already so what does it mean when v. 14 says we are being made holy? This is part of the already/not
yet of the spiritual life I thought you about before. For example, Jesus says that
the Kingdom has arrived with His advent. However, we know that the Kingdom in
its entirety couldn’t possibly have arrived because we are still surrounded by
sin. I have already explained that once we accept Christ, we are saints.
However, we are not saints in the fullest sense because we are still sinners.
The Bible clearly states that we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be
saved. In the same way, we are holy and we are being made holy. Let’s go back
to Figure 1 above to fill out our
understanding of some of the things that will take place at the Final
Glory—Christ’s Kingdom will be inaugurated in it’s fullest sense, we will be
fully saved, fully perfect, fully holy, and fully saints.
“Three
outstanding effects are thus ascribed to the sacrifice of Christ: by it his
people have had their conscience cleansed from guilt; by it they have been
fitted to approach God as acceptable worshipers; by it they have experienced
the fulfilment (sp) of what was
promised in earlier days, being brought into the perfect relation to God which
is involved in the new covenant.”[5]
15The Holy Spirit also testifies
to us about this. First he says: 16“This is the covenant I will make
with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.” 17Then he adds: “Their sins
and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18And where these have
been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
You will
search the Bible in vain to find where the Holy Spirit actually says the things
the author of Hebrews attributes to Him in vv.
15-18. This is another use of the Law of Double Reference. The text attributed
to the Holy Spirit is substantially the same words God spoke to Jeremiah about
the people of Israel with a few alterations (Jer. 31:33-34).
“This is the covenant I will make
with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my
law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they
will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one
another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and
will remember their sins no more.”
“Transformation
of the human heart has its basis in the forgiveness of sins. This is especially
apparent in the repeated reference to the promise of a new covenant from the
book of Jeremiah. In Hebrews 8:7-12 the author cites the passage in order to
establish the inadequacy of the Law, ‘the first, antiquated covenant.’ The
inscription of the Law of God on the heart is summarized in Jeremiah as
‘knowing God,’ and this knowledge of God in turn is based on the forgiveness of
sins. In his second recollection of the Jeremianic text (Heb. 10:15-18) the
author underscores the finality of Christ’s sacrifice, which, by providing
forgiveness of sins, sets aside the provisions of the Law. The author’s
inclusion in this citation of God’s promise to implant his laws in the hearts
of his people serves as a reminder of the inability of the Law to do so and
implicitly presents inward renewal as a result of forgiveness of sins.”[6]
Application
When Paul
the Apostle was still Saul the persecutor of the Church, he was intent on
defending God’s honor by putting to death anyone who aligned themselves with
Jesus. Paul had everything invested in maintaining the status quo. He had all
the boxes checked off: circumcised on the eighth day, born of Israel, from the
tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and with respect to the Law he was a
Pharisee—which means he meticulously kept all aspects of the Law including its
sacrificial practices for the forgiveness of sins. Paul had everything to lose
and for a while he fought like a crazed maniac to protect his way of relating
to God. However, God intervened in Paul’s life in dramatic fashion and Paul’s
heart was transformed. Paul went from believing that he was in complete control
of the forgiveness of his sins through the sacrifice of animals year after year
after year, to realizing that there was nothing he could do to rid himself of
his sins and right his relationship with God. Ultimately, Paul reached the
conclusion that it was only through Jesus’ sacrifice that his sins could be
forgiven. Paul came to understand that no matter how much blood he shed,
whether the blood of animals or the blood of Christians, his sins would only be
removed as a result of Christ’s blood shed on the cross.
Paul’s
pattern of behavior repeats itself all around us every day. Muslims offer animal
sacrifices until rivers of blood literally run through the streets or they shed
the blood of anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe in order to protect
God’s honor. Catholics wear themselves out doing more religious “stuff” in order
to earn God’s favor. Atheists keep trying harder and harder to be “good” people—although
I’m not sure why since they don’t believe they will have to answer to a final
Judge for anything. Yet there is nothing any of us can do earn God’s favor; no
religious act we can perform; no sacrifice we can make to pay for our sins. It is
only through the sacrifice Jesus made once for all time when He allowed himself
to be put to death on the cross that our sins will be forgiven if we are
willing to accept it. No sacrifice is acceptable to God except Jesus who is The Lamb Of God who takes away the sins
of the world.
If you
haven’t yet accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you are done
trying everything else to deal with your own sins, your sins can be forgiven
right now if you will simply confess your faith in Jesus. You might not know
how to do that and I don’t want to make it into something it shouldn’t be.
Nevertheless, if you would like, you can click on “The Sinner’s Prayer” tab at
the top of the page and it will lead you through the prayer of salvation.
There’s nothing magic to the words, they are just a guideline to help you.
Honestly, the simple words, “Jesus save me,” will suffice. In any event, if you
have decided to turn your life over to Christ, and it is safe, please tell
someone (me hopefully!), find an opportunity to be baptized, and find a church,
if that’s safe and possible, where you can live out your new life as a perfect,
holy saint within a community of other perfect, holy saints. I am praying for
all of you who are reading this and are trying to decide if you want to make
that leap of faith and believe. I know it can be scary but I promise you that
it will be worth every scary second because you can look forward to eternity in
Final Glory with Jesus; The Lamb Of God
who took away your sins.
[1] George
H. Guthrie, Hebrews—The NIV
Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 326-327.
[2] Bruce
Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary,
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 1,040.
[3] Thomas
D. Lea, Hebrews & James—Holman
New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1999),
183-184.
[4] Peter T.
O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews—The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2010), 356.
[5] F. F.
Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews—The
New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 247.
[6] Ralph P.
Martin & Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary
of the Later New Testament & Its Developments, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1997), 277.
No comments:
Post a Comment