The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 149

ordinl\rv son learning obedience to his tr6a, .,;;, tµd.,.,o.. See nlso Gesenius on the father "through suffering. Recurring now Hebrew word o•NSt:1. Hence, and in view of to the question raised under ver. 3, whether the drift of the passage before us, Jaokson the high priest's obligation to offer in the very decidedly regards T<1'<1c.,6dr in ver. 9 first place for himself had any counterpart ns a ~rbum solenne, denoting specifically in the oaae of Christ, we may perceive Christ's consecratwn to his eternal office of such a count.erpart in the agony, as above High Priest. So also Hammond and Whitby. regarded. For, although for himself Christ Being thus perfected, or consecrated, he needed no atonement, yet the "prayers and became, for ever afterwards, the Author, not supplfo.itions" were offered i_n his ow:11 _beh~lf, of mere ceremonial cleansing or temporary being di..e to his own ent1re participation remission of guilt, but of eternal salvation; in the conditions of humanity; the whole potentially to all mankind ( cf. vrr~p ,ravTbs, '' agony and bloody sweat" were !?art of eh. ii. 9),and effectively to "all them tha.t obey his own preparntion and co_nsecmt!on for him ; " being addressed, in this his consum- executing the office of a High Pnest for mated position(the reference being to Ps. ex.) others • and like the Aaronic priest's offer- ea " High Priest for ever," etc. Here again ing fo; hi~self, they were the sifn and we perceive that it is not till after the Resur- evideuce of his being one µETp,01raO"v 6vvd.- rection that the prophetic idenl of the SON µ.vos. Thus (xc.,pls a.µap-rlas being all a.long at God's right hand, and of the eternal understood) they answered truly to the pre- High Priest, are regarded as fully realized. pe.ratory pa.rt of Aaron's original conse<;ra- If it be objected that his high priesthood tion (Lev. viii 14-ix. 15), o~ to th~ high must have begun before the Resurrection for priest's own offering, before his offermg for bis death upon the oross to be a true atone- the people and entering behind the veil, ment, it may be replied that his one oblation on the Day of Atonement (Lev. xiv. 6). It of himself upon the cross at once consum- may be (though not necessarily so) that mated his consecration and effected the the word 1rporr•VP"fK1U in !er. 7, corr~ atonement. Doubtless, as 11, true High sponding with 1rporrtplp••" 1n ver. S, 1B Priest on earth, he thus "offered one sa- intended to suggest this analogy. crifice for sins for ever" (eh. x. 12); all that Vere. 9, 10.-And being made perf~ot, he is meant above is that it was not till after beoame unto all them that obey him the the Resurrection that be enterecl on his Author of eterna.l. sa.lntion; ce.lled(or rather eternal office of mediation in virtue of tha.t 8 0 addressed) of God a High Priest after one accomplished sacrifice. the order of Melcbizedek. Here TE1'••"'0.ls Ver. 11--oh. vii. 1.-This is the long (translated •• being made perfect") refers to admonitory digression (see under ver. 1) fe!t the time of his resurrection, when the suffer- by the writer to be necessary before his ings were over and the atoneme~t complete exposition of 1<aTa. ..~,,, ..&~,,, M•1'x•(•6t,c. ( of. Luke xiii 32, ,,.~ Tpl-rp T<1'«ovJta<). The He is entering on n new theme, higher and word ma.y be used in its general sense of less level to the comprehension of his readers perfected, i.e. "being made perfect~; that than any that bas gone before. Even so for, which he was intended to become (De- we ha.ve seen how their Jewish prejudices litzsch). In such sense St. Pu-nl uses the hacl evoked admonitions, frequently inter- word of himself Oux 3n ~611 T•T•1'•i"'µa, posed in the course of the argument. Much (Phil iii 12). ' Or the specific sense of more so now, when it is to be shown how priestly consecration may be here, as well es the priesthood of Christ not only fulfils the in eh. ii. 10 and vii. 28, intended. In eh. ideo of, but also supersedes, that of the sons vii 28 the A. V. renders <is .,.1,., ai.;;,,,. TE-r~; of Aaron, being of a different order from -,.._.,,.,,.~011 by "consecrated for evermore; theirs. The region of thought to be ent~re~ .And this view is supported by pess9:ges ID now, being that of" the mystery of Chrtst, the LXX., where the word TEAEl"'on lB. used transcends more than any that has been so with specie.I reference to the consecration of fe.r entered the ordinary conceptions of the high priest. Of. tirr, -yap .,..-,....i..rr11 a6-n, traditional Judaism. Hence the writer's (Exod. :r.xi.:r.. 22); Toii ,cpwii .,;js 'TEAudirr••r, shrinking from entering aµ at once on the 8 ,irr,v 'Aa.pdi11 (vers. 26, 'J:l, 31); ":"•l&~ru subject for fear of not being even under- 'TAI ,ci;ipas a&r,i;,v (vers. 29, 83, 35) ; 'l"llf 611,ruu stood • hence his earnest warnings to his -rijr 'l'EM&dil1E:IOS (ver. 84); .,.1,,, a.6.. Epoll ,rp,b~ reade;s as to the necessity of advancing to -rijr 'l'EAeidicrEGOr (Lev. viii. 22, 29); bb TOIi the Htate of full-grown Ohristia.ns who can ,cavoii T,is T<1'Hdil1ECdS ( ver. 26); .,1, li1'0,ra{,,-<1>µ<Z discern spiritual things. rijs .,,1'.udirr••s (ver. 28): l<1>s '1,µlp<Z 'll'A11P"'Oij, Ver. 11-oh, vi. 20.-INTERPOSIID Ex• 71 µ,pa T<Audirr•"'s vµ..iv (ver. 33); also Lev. BORTATIOIII. xxL 10 where the high priest-Ii i,pe~s b Vrr. 11.-0r whom (the most obvious nn- µ,-ya, i,.,,1, .,.;;,, &.6;1',P..iv ai,.,.~ii-is descnbe~ tecedent being Melcliizedck, hut with regn~d ae 'l'OU i'll'Ulf,Cll/&EJ!OII h-1 '1'111' KEtpaJ..¾1, '1'011 to his typical eignitlcance, oe referred to ID illMMI nii Xp,rr-roii u1 'f'ffW1110µ.Evo11 ,,,a{,cra,- Pa. ex.) we have man:, things to ay (the OB, V, 1-14.] 'l'HE EPIS'l'LE TO THE HEBl!.EWS. 141