Twentieth Century New Testament - 41 - Hebrews Chapters 5-9

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Letter to the Hebrews, chapters five through nine, from
the twentieth century New Testament. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
by J. A. Carter www dot authentic light dot org.

(00:24):
The twentieth century New Testament by a company of about
twenty scholars, The Letter to the Hebrews, chapters five through nine.
Chapter five, Every high priest taken from among men is
appointed as a representative of his fellow men and their
relations with God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices in
expiation of sins. And he is able to sympathize with

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the ignorant and deluded, since he is himself subject to weakness,
and is therefore bound to offer sacrifices for sins, not
only for the people, but equally so for himself. Nor
does anyone take that high off upon himself till he
has been called to do so by God, as Erin was.
In the same way, even the Christ did not take

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the honor of the high priesthood upon himself, but he
was appointed by Him who said to him, thou art
my son, this day I have become thy father, And
on another occasion also thou art a priest for all
time of the Order of Melchisedek. Jesus in the days
of his earthly life, offered prayers and supplications with earnest

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cries and with tears to him who was able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of
his devout submission. Son, though he was, he learnt obedience
from his sufferings, and being made perfect, he became to
all those who obey him, the source of eternal salvation,
while God himself pronounced him a high priest of the
Order of Melchisedek. Now, on this subject I have much

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to say, but it is difficult to explain it to you,
because you have shown yourselves so slow to learn. For
whereas consider during the time that has elapsed you ought
to be teaching others, you still need someone to teach
you the very alphabet of the divine revelation, and need
again to be fed with milk instead of with solid food.
For everyone who still has to take milk knows nothing

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of the teaching of righteousness. He is a mere infant.
But solid food is for Christians of mature faith, those
whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish right
from wrong. Chapter six. Therefore, let us leave behind the
elementary teaching about the Christ and press on to perfection,
not always laying over again a foundation of repentance, for

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a lifeless formality of faith in God, teaching concerning baptisms
and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the
dead at a final judgment. Yes, and with God's help
we will. For if those who were once for all
brought into the light and learned to appreciate the gift
from Heaven, and came to share in the Holy Spirit,
and learned to appreciate the beauty of the Divine Message

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and the new powers of the coming age, if those
I say fell away, it would be impossible to bring
them again to repentance. They would be crucifying the Son
of God all over again for themselves in exposing him
to open contempt. Ground that drinks in the showers that
from time to time fall upon it and produces vegetation
useful to those for whom it is tilled receives a

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blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles,
it is regarded as worthless. It is in danger of
being cursed, and its end will be the fire. But
about you, dear friends, even though we speak in this way,
we are confident of better things, of things that point
to your salvation. For God is not unjust. He will
not forget the work that you did and the love

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that you showed in His name in sending help to
your fellow Christians, as you are still doing. But our
great desire is that every one of you should be
equally earnest to attain to a full conviction that our
hope will be fulfilled, and that you should keep that
hope to the end. Then you will not show yourselves
slow to learn, but you will copy those who, through
faith and patience, are now entering upon the enjoyment of

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God's promises. When God gave his promise to Abraham, since
there was no one greater by whom he could swear,
he swore by himself. His words were, I will assuredly
bless thee and increase thy numbers. And so, after patiently waiting,
Abraham obtained the fulfillment of God's promise. Men, of course
swear by what is greater than themselves, and with them

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an oath is accepted as putting a matter beyond all dispute.
And therefore God, in his desire to show with unmistakable
plainness to those who were to enter on the enjoyment
of what he had promised, the unchangeableness of his purpose,
bound himself with an oath, for he intended us to
find great encouragement in these two unchangeable things which make

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it impossible for God to prove false. We, I mean,
who fled for safety where we might lay hold on
the hope set before us. This hope is a very
anchor for us, our souls secure and strong, and it
reaches into the sanctuary that lies behind the curtain, where Jesus,
our forerunner, has entered on our behalf, after being made
for all time a high priest of the order of Melchisedek.

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Chapter seven. It was this Melchisedek, king of Salem and
priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings, and gave him his blessing.
And it was to him that Abraham allotted a tithe
of all the spoil. The meaning of his name is
king of righteousness, and besides that, he was also king
of Salem, which means king of Peace. There is no

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record of his father or mother or lineage, nor again
of any beginning of his days or end of his life.
In this he resembles the son of God and stands
before us as a priest whose priesthood is continuous. Consider then,
the importance of this Malchisedek, to whom even the patriarch
Abraham himself gave a tithe of the choicest spoils. Those

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descendants of Levi, who are from time to time appointed
to the priesthood, are directed to collect tithes from the
people in accordance with the law, that is, from their
own brothers, although they are also descended from Abraham. But Malchisedek,
although not of this lineage, received tithes from Abraham, and
gave his blessing to the very man who had God's promises.

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Now no one can dispute that it is the superior
who blesses the inferior. In the one case, the tithes
are received by mortal men, in the other case, by
one about whom there is the statement that his life
still continues. Moreover, in a sense, even Levi, who is
the receiver of the ties, has through Abraham paid ties,
for Levi was still in the body of his ancestor

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when Melchizedek met Abraham. If then perfection had been attainable
through the levitical priesthood, and it was under this priesthood
that the people received the law, why was it still
necessary that a priest of a different order should appear,
a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and not of
the order of Erin. With the change of the priesthood,

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but a change of the law became a necessity. And
he of whom all this is said, belonged to quite
a different tribe, no member of which has ever served
at the altar. For it is plain that our Lord
has sprung from the tribe of Judah, though of that
tribe Moses said nothing about their being priests. All this
becomes even yet plainer when we remember that a new
priest has appeared, resembling Melchizedek, and that he was appointed

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not under a law regulating only earthly matters, but by
virtue of a life beyond the reach of death. For
that is the meaning of the declaration Thou art for
all time a priest of the order of Melchisedek. On
the one hand, we have the abolition of a previous
regulation as being both inefficient and useless, for the law
never brought anything to perfection. And on the other hand

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we have the introduction of a better hope, which enables
us to draw near to God than again. The appointment
of this new priest was ratified by an oath, which
is not so with the levitical priests. But his appointment
was ratified by an oath when God said to him,
the law Lord has sworn and will not change. Thou
art a priest for all time, and the oath shows

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the corresponding superiority of the covenant of which Jesus is
appointed the surity. Again, new levitical priests are continually being
appointed because death prevents their remaining in office. But Jesus
remains for all time, and therefore the priesthood that he
holds is never liable to pass to another, and that
is why he is able to save perfectly those who

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come to God through him, living forever as he does
to intercede on their behalf. This was the high priest
that we needed, wholly innocent, spotless, withdrawn from sinners, exalted
above the highest heaven, one who has no need to
offer sacrifices daily, as those high priests have first for
their own sins and then for those of the people.

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For this he did once and for all, when he
offered himself as the sacrifice. The Law appoints as high
priests men who are liable to infirmity. But the words
of God's Oath, which was later than the law, law,
named the Sun as for all time the perfect priest,
Chapter eight. To sum up what I have been saying,

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such is the high priest that we have one who
has taken his seat at the right hand of the
throne of God's Majesty in Heaven, where he ministers in
the sanctuary, in that true tabernacle set up by the
Lord and not by man. Every high priest is appointed
for the purpose of offering gifts and sacrifices to God.
It follows therefore, that this high priest must have some

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offering to make. If he were, however, still upon earth,
he would not even be a priest, since there are
already priests who offer the gifts as the Law directs.
These priests, it is true, are engaged in a service
which is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly realities.
As is shown by the directions given to Moses when
he was about to construct the tabernacle. Look to it
are the words that thou make every part in accordance

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with the pattern shown thee on the mountain. But Jesus,
as we see, has obtained a ministry as far excelling
theirs as the covenant of which he is the intermediary,
least as it is on better promises, excels the former covenant.
If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have
been no occasion for a second. But finding fault with
the people, God says. Behold, a time is coming, says

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the Lord, when I will ratify a new covenant with
the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
Not such a covenant as I made with their ancestors
on the day when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For
they did not abide by their covenant with me, and
therefore I disregarded them, says the Lord. This is the
covenant that I will make with the people of Israel.

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After those days, says the Lord, I will impress my
laws on their minds and will inscribe them on their hearts,
and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people. There shall be no need for every man
to instruct his fellow citizen, or for a man to
say to his brother, learn to know the Lord, for
every one will know ME from the lowest to the highest.

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For I will be merciful to their wrong doings, and
I will no longer remember their sins. By speaking of
a new covenant, God at once renders the former covenant obsolete,
and whatever becomes obsolete and loses its force is virtually annulled.
Chapter nine. It is true that even the first Covenant
had its regulations for divine worship and its sanctuary, though

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only a material one. For a tabernacle was constructed with
an outer part which contained the stand for the lapse
and the table and the consecrated bread. This is called
the sanctuary. The part of the tabernacle behind the second
curtain is called the inner sanctuary. In it is the
gold incense alter and the ark containing the Covenant completely
covered with gold. In the arc is a gold casket

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containing the manna errins, rod that bted, and the tablets
on which the Covenant was written, While above it and
overshadowing the cover on which atonement was made are the
caribim of the presence. I must not now dwell on
these things in detail. Such then, was the arrangement of
the tabernacle. Into the outer part priests are constantly going

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in the discharge of their sacred duties. But into the
inner only the High Priest goes, and that but once
a year, and never without taking the blood of a victim,
which he offers on his own behalf, and on behalf
of the errors of the people. By this, the Holy
Spirit is teaching that the way into the sanctuary was
hidden as long as the outer part of the temple
still remained, for that was only a type to continue

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down to the present time. And in keeping with it,
both gifts and sacrifices are offered, though incapable of satisfying
the conscience of the worshiper, the whole system being concerned
only with food and drink and various ablutions external ceremonials
imposed until the coming of the New order. But when
Christ came, he appeared as high priest of that better

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system which was established, and he entered through that nobler
and more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands. That
is to say, not a part of this present creation.
Nor was it with the blood of goats and calves,
but with his own own blood that he entered once
and for all into the sanctuary and obtained our eternal deliverance.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the

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sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer purify those who
have been defiled, as far as ceremonial purification goes, how
much more will the blood of the Christ, who, through
his eternal spirit offered himself up to God as a
victim without blemish, purify our consciences from a lifeless formality
and fit us for the service of the living God.
And that is why he is the intermediary of a

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new covenant, in order that as a death has taken
place to effect deliverance from the offenses committed under the
first covenant, those who have received the call may obtain
the eternal inheritance promised to them. Whenever such a covenant
as a will is in question, the death of the
testator must of necessity be alleged, for such a covenant
takes effect only upon death. It does not come into

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force as long as the testator is alive. This explains
why even the first Covenant was not ratified without the
shedding of blood. For when every man had been announced
to all the people by Moses in accordance with the law,
he took the blood of the calves and of the
goats with water, scarlet wool, and a bunch of hissip,
and sprinkled even the book of the Law as well
as all the people, saying as he did so, this

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is the blood that renders valid the covenant which God
has commanded to be made with you. And in the
same way he also sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and
all things that were used in public worship. Indeed, under
the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and unless
blood is shed, no forgiveness is to be obtained. While
then it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly

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realities to be purified by such means as these, the
heavenly realities themselves required better sacrifices. For it was not
into a sanctuary made by human hands, which merely foreshadowed
the true one, that Christ entered, but into Heaven itself,
that he might now appear in the presence of God
on our behalf. Nor yet was it to offer himself
many times, as year after year the High priest entered

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the sanctuary with an offering of blood, but not his
own blood, for then Christ would have had to undergo
death many times since the creation of the world. But
now once and for all, at the close of the age,
he has appeared in order to abolish sin by the
sacrifice of himself. And as it is ordained for men
to die, but once death being followed by judgment, so

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it is with the Christ. He was offered up once
and for all to bear away the sins of many.
And the second time he will appear, but without any
burden of sin, to those who are waiting for him
to bring salvation. End of the Letter to the Hebrews,
Chapters five through nine.