Hebrews 10:26–35

10:26 Because “the Day” of Christ’s return to subdue his enemies is “drawing near” (10:13, 25), to “go on sinning deliberately” after “receiving the knowledge of the truth” is to bring upon oneself the severest form of divine wrath. “Deliberately” (hekousiōs) and its cognates describe actions performed voluntarily, not under coercion (Lev. 7:16; Num. 15:3; Ezra 1:4–6; 3:5; Ps. 54:6 [53:8 LXX]; Philem. 14; 1 Pet. 5:2). The law of Moses distinguished between sins committed inadvertently out of ignorance and those committed “with a high hand,” reviling the Lord and despising his word (Num. 15:22–31; cf. Deut. 17:12). Atonement through sacrifice was possible for inadvertent violations of commandments (“unintentional sins”; Heb. 5:2; 9:7), but not for transgressions committed deliberately and defiantly.

In a move that would have sounded shocking to Jewish ears, our author identifies the high-handed, unforgiveable sin not as a willful breach of the Ten Commandments but as abandoning trust in the Son of God and the blood he shed to sanctify sinners (6:6; 10:29) by returning to the OT sanctuary and its sacrifices. This repudiation of Christ is not a sin committed in ignorance, for it is committed by those who have received “the knowledge of the truth” (10:26), who were “enlightened” (6:4–5; 10:32) when they heard the good news of cleansing through Jesus’ blood (4:2; 10:19–22).

The discussion of the contrast between the old covenant and its animal sacrifices, on the one hand, and the once-for-all sacrifice offered by Jesus to inaugurate the new covenant, on the other (8:1–10:18) has shown why “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” if we turn away from Christ to seek cleansing elsewhere. The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins, but now even their foreshadowing function has been rendered obsolete by the once-for-all, conscience-cleansing offering of Christ’s body. As we learned from Psalm 40, “He does away with the first in order to establish the second” (Heb. 10:5–10). This development in redemptive history means that, now that Jesus has inaugurated the new covenant (10:18), “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” in any sense under the old covenant system.

10:27 All that remains for those who abandon God’s provision in Christ is a “fearful expectation of judgment” and a “fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” of God. The author blends wording from Isaiah 26:11 and Zephaniah 1:18. “Fury” translates the Greek zēlos, which refers to God’s zeal for his own glory and his jealousy for his people’s absolute loyalty.

10:28–29 Our preacher again reasons from lesser to greater: violations of God’s lesser-to-greater revelations deserve lesser-to-greater punishments. God entrusted the law to Moses, so the violation of its commands warranted capital punishment (in many cases). To “set aside” (atheteō) the law of Moses may sound like a mild offense, but it is actually to reject the authority of God, who spoke the law’s commandments (cf. Mark 7:9; Luke 7:30). In Ezekiel 22:26 God accuses Judah’s priests of having “done violence” (LXX atheteō) to his law and having defiled his sanctuary. Because the punishment was so severe, Israel’s judges were obligated to establish an offender’s guilt through the “evidence of two or three witnesses” (cf. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:1–7; 19:15; cf. also Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19). Mercy could not be shown to those committing capital violations, such as murder or advocating idolatrous worship (Deut. 13:6–11; 19:11–13).

Mere physical execution, however, cannot compare with the “worse punishment” awaiting those who have contemptuously repudiated the Son of God, the mediator of the new and better covenant. Previously the preacher characterized the sin of apostasy as “crucifying once again” and “holding . . . up to contempt” the divine and messianic Son (Heb. 6:6). Now the defiant scorn is portrayed as “[trampling] underfoot,” treating him as utterly worthless (cf. Isa. 10:6; 25:10; Matt. 5:13; 7:6; Luke 8:5).

To turn from Christ back to the ineffective animal offerings of the OT is to pour scorn not only on Christ’s person but also on his infinitely costly sacrifice, “profaning” (regarding as unholy) the “blood of the covenant” he shed to atone for others’ transgressions (Heb. 9:14–15). To look elsewhere for atonement is tantamount to claiming that Jesus shed his blood not as a sinless substitute for sinful people (7:26; 9:14) but merely as one more defiled sinner receiving his just deserts, along with the rest of humanity (9:27; Rom. 5:12; 6:23). It is all too possible to be part of the covenant community, even to be “sanctified” (set apart from the unbelieving world) visibly and externally by the “blood of the covenant” (cf. Heb. 9:18–20), but then, through unbelief, to throw away the benefits offered in the gospel (10:35–39). Because the Holy Spirit is bearing witness to us that Christ’s death secures forgiveness of sins (10:15–18), to repudiate Christ and his blood is to “outrage” the Spirit as the messenger of this grace.

10:30–31 The reasoning that leads from the capital punishment of those who disregarded the Mosaic law to a more terrifying penalty for those who spurn Christ is confirmed by God’s announcement that he will repay vengeance to his enemies and will judge his people. Two OT citations are drawn from the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:35, 36; cf. Ps. 135:14). As in the earlier citation of Isaiah 8:17–18 (Heb. 2:13), “and again” is inserted to show that, though they are adjoining, each quotation makes a distinctive statement, the second complementing the first. Moses’ song previewed the future history of the Lord’s faithful grace toward Israel (Deut. 32:1–14), Israel’s unfaithfulness (vv. 15–18), the Lord’s judgment on his unfaithful people (vv. 19–38), and the Lord’s eventual compassion on his humbled people and vengeance on their enemies (vv. 39–43).

The words cited by our preacher appear in the section in Deuteronomy 32 announcing Israel’s punishment under the just hand of God. In the second statement the verb “judge” (krinō) can include both vindicating and condemning verdicts; thus in Deuteronomy 32:36 the ESV and other versions opt for “vindicate,” since the next line says that the Lord will have compassion on his people. Here in Hebrews, however, our author uses “judge” in a negative sense, parallel to exacting “vengeance.” His point is that God exacts vengeance not only on Israel’s enemies (Deut. 32:41) but also on those among his own people who spurn his grace in unbelief. Being a member of the covenant community does not, in itself, guarantee immunity from divine displeasure, either for OT Israel or for the NT church.

Again our author states that it is “fearful” (phoberos; cf. Heb. 10:27) to be confronted by God in his wrath apart from the cleansing of Christ’s blood. Similarly, the psalmist extols God as the one “to be feared” (Ps. 76:7–12 [LXX 75:8–13]), and Jesus himself advised his hearers to fear God “who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Moses, the faithful servant in God’s house (Heb. 3:5) who met God on the mountain (8:5), found the display of divine glory “terrifying” (phoberos) and trembled with fear (12:21). To fall into the hands of the living God when his jealous anger is kindled is to face anguish and destruction.

10:32 Although some in the original congregation were at risk of “[falling] away from the living God” (3:12), our preacher hastens to reassure his hearers that the evidence of God’s grace in their response to suffering in “the former days” gives them grounds to expect that their faith will stand the test of mounting opposition in the present. Fear has its place in dispelling the “deceitfulness of sin” and alerting us to its danger (3:13), but it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance and his initiating love that evokes our love in return (Rom. 2:4; 1 John 4:10–12, 19).

Recalling how Christ’s light-giving word produced life-changing fruit when it first burst into our hearts gives stronger grounds for persistent trust in the face of opposition. The hearers were “enlightened” when the gospel of Christ was first preached to them and they “tasted the goodness of the word of God” (Heb. 6:4–5). At that point they “endured a hard struggle with sufferings.” Endurance under persecution will be a major emphasis in the next section of the sermon (10:36; 12:1–3, 7), as it has been implicit in the exhortations to “hold fast” our confession (3:6, 14; 4:14; 6:18; 10:23). “Struggle” (Gk. athlesis) has overtones of both military combat and sports, since these activities were closely connected in the Hellenistic world (Phil. 1:27; 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:5). Our author uses athletic imagery elsewhere in 6:20 (“forerunner”) and in 12:1–2, 11–13.

10:33–34 Earlier in their history, the recipients of Hebrews had suffered both individually and corporately. Their past readiness to identify with persecuted fellow believers set a standard that they need to recapture in the present. Since the same sorts of afflictions are threatening their personal safety, freedom, and financial security, they must recall how God’s grace had strengthened them to suffer alongside each other. The author itemizes their experiences in four categories, starting and ending with personal distresses. Between these, he commends their readiness to identify themselves with other sufferers for the faith:

1. Personal: publicly exposed to reproach and affliction
   1. Corporate identification: partners with those so treated
   2. Corporate identification: you suffered with¹ those in prison [AT]
2. Personal: joyfully accepted the plundering of your property

Fear of persecution may be motivating “some” to neglect gathering with other followers of Jesus (10:25), so the preacher commends his hearers’ previous courage in staying close to those who were paying the price of faithfulness, enduring both public reproach and imprisonment. Among the forefathers in faith soon to be empaneled as witnesses to attest to God’s reliability (11:1–40) is Moses, who “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt” and therefore chose “to be mistreated with the people of God” (11:25–26).

Like Moses (and like themselves, at the outset) the hearers of this letter must also “bear the reproach” Jesus endured by sharing the repudiation he suffered “outside the camp”—excluded from the established Jewish community (13:12–13; cf. comments on 13:11–12; 13:13–14). Their proactive ministry to prisoners in the past must continue in the present, despite the risk of guilt by association (13:3). They had joyfully acquiesced when their property was seized by others, confident that they had a better, abiding possession, just as the patriarchs fixed their spiritual sights on a city with foundations, “whose designer and builder is God”—a better, heavenly country (11:10, 16). The hope of a “kingdom that cannot be shaken” (12:28) and a “lasting city” to come (13:14) will sustain Jesus’ followers today, just as it strengthened OT people of faith to endure mocking, flogging, chains, homelessness, destitution, and death (11:36–38).

10:35 With the reappearance of “confidence” (parrēsia), the exhortation arising from Jesus’ superior priesthood draws to a close. Those who approach God through Jesus’ sacrifice have confident access in the present to enter the heavenly Most Holy Place in worship (10:19–21), and likewise they have confident hope for the future, knowing that in his overflowing generosity God has promised a great reward. The exhortation not to “throw away your confidence” also builds a bridge to a new section (10:36–12:17), in which the enduring faith that pleases God, described in Habakkuk 2:3–4, will be illustrated in a series of OT “witnesses” (Heb. 11:1–40) and in Jesus, the “founder and perfecter” of faith (Heb. 12:1–2). As God promised Abraham a great reward (Gen. 15:1), so now those who hold fast their confidence in Jesus can expect a great reward bestowed by grace, the better, abiding possession of a heavenly homeland (Heb. 11:16).