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Heb.9:1. And the first covenant had a decree regarding worship Having proved from the side of the priest, the priesthood and the covenant that the first covenant had to end, the apostle now proves this from the side of the very structure of the tabernacle. There were three compartments in it; one is external, intended for everyone in general, both Jews and Greeks; Next came the curtain, behind which the priests entered to perform daily services. This department was called holy: these departments were an image of the Old Testament, for everything was done there with sacrifices. The Holy of Holies was the image of our sacrament. For, he says, “the first,” that is, the Old Testament, “had a decree,” that is, symbols or laws, but “had” at that time, but now it does not, for it has ceased. He calls it “earthly” because it was allowed to enter it and in the same building there was a known place where Jews, Nazarenes, proselytes and Greeks stood. Since it was also accessible to the pagans, he calls it “earthly” (κοσμικόν - worldly). Hebrews 9:2. for the first tabernacle was built, in which was a lamp, and a table, and an offering of bread (cf. Ex. 10:22-25), and which is called the Holy Place. He calls this “first”, precisely in relation to the Holy of Holies, which was in the middle. In front of her was a brass altar, an altar of burnt offerings, set out in the open air. Then, if they lifted the veil, or rather the veil (Ex. 40:19), then it became the middle, in which there was a lamp, a meal, and an offering of bread. Hebrews 9:3. Behind the second veil was a tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. You see that there was the first veil, which Scripture calls a veil, since it was rolled up and drawn together - this veil separated the courtyard, into which everyone generally entered, in which they offered sacrifices on the brass altar, from the tabernacle, which was accessible to the priests who performed services daily. Further, as you passed through this veil, there was another veil, and behind it was the tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies, into which no one else entered except the high priest alone, and he too once a year. Everywhere he calls everything a tabernacle, because God dwells in it. Hebrews 9:4. having a golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, The Ark of the Covenant is called so because it contained the tablets containing the law (Ex. 40:20). where was the golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod that blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant, All these things served as monuments of Jewish ingratitude. “The golden vessel with manna” - in remembrance of the fact that, while miraculously feeding on it, they grumbled (Ex. 16:3-10), and so that descendants would remember both God’s favor and their bitterness. “Aaron's rod” - in memory of the indignation that was against him (Num. 17). “Tablets of the Covenant” - in memory of the fact that they crushed the first with their idolatry. You will ask how it is written in the book of Kings that there was nothing else in the ark except the tablets, but the apostle now claims that both the golden vessel and the rod of Aaron were placed in it? Since he was best brought up by Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) as a Jew, he probably borrowed this from tradition; for even now the Pharisaic Jews agree that this was so. However, not at first, but under Jeremiah, when it was necessary to hide the ark, then, they say, these things were probably put into the ark. cherubim of glory, (cf. Ex. 25:18–20) Glorious, or subordinate to God; but serving for His glory. And this is deliberately presented for the purpose of showing the superiority of what we have. “Atonement” he called the lid of the ark, as you will more accurately learn about this from Scripture itself, and, deceived by the words of some, do not think that it is anything else. Of course, by this he pointed to Christ, Who became the propitiation for our sins. He captured everything that was in the Old Testament and confirmed it. which does not need to be discussed in detail now. Here it shows that all this was not only visible, but also served as a sign of something else, the explanation of which requires too much time. Heb.9:6. With this arrangement, the priests always enter the first tabernacle to perform Divine services; Although this happened, he says, the Jews did not participate in it, since the veil held them back. This was preserved for us, for whom it was a type. Heb.9:7. and in the second - once a year only the high priest, Do you see the very prototypes already proposed here? Lest they say: the sacrifice of Christ was offered once, how did it sanctify everyone? Shows that this has been the case since ancient times, for the holiest and most terrible sacrifice in the Old Testament was offered by the high priest once. After he called the cross a sacrifice, and without fire, and without wood, and not often brought, it shows that the Old Testament sacrifice was like that; for once it was offered with blood. Some have asked how it is written in the book of Exodus: let Aaron burn incense on the golden altar, which apparently was in the Holy of Holies; “On it Aaron will burn sweet incense; every morning, when he prepares the lamps, he will burn incense with it” (Ex. 30:7-8), so that every day the high priest entered the Holy of Holies twice to burn incense over the place where the golden altar was located. Now, how does the apostle say here that this high priest came in once a year? And they decide that once a year the high priest entered with blood, with incense - twice a day. However, know that they doubted in vain and out of ignorance: Aaron did not burn incense twice a day in the golden censer, but over the golden altar, the latter was not in the Holy of Holies, but in the middle tabernacle; in it there is a lamp and a table: while with a golden censer he entered the Holy of Holies indeed once a year. For one is a censer, and another is an altar. I pointed out this bewilderment so that the reader of these words, having heard about the doubt from others, would not be misled into thinking that it is common sense. which he brings for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people. And again: “for yourself.” The lawful high priest says he made a sacrifice for himself. But Christ was not for Himself, for He was not involved with sinners. Everywhere there is a complete difference between this and that. He said “for sins of ignorance,” and not for sins, in order to bring both the ancient Jews and everyone into greater fear, and to humble pride. For if you did not sin voluntarily, you sinned involuntarily and out of ignorance, and no one is free from this. Some claimed that he said this, showing here the difference between the sacrifice of Christ and the legal sacrifices. According to the law, victims were forgiven for sins due to ignorance; the sacrifice of Christ forgives even conscious sins. Heb.9:8. By this the Holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been opened as long as the first tabernacle stands. Finally, he begins to consider more sublimely what concerns the tabernacles, and says that since the Holy of Holies, as an image of heaven, was inaccessible to other priests, meanwhile the first tabernacle, that is, the first, located directly further behind the brazen altar, was always accessible to them, being a symbol of legal service, this symbolically meant that as long as this tabernacle stands, that is, as long as the law is in force, and legal services are performed according to the law, the path is inaccessible saints, that is, entry into heaven, for those who perform such services. For them it is not only not open, but also locked, but only the One High Priest Christ was prepared for this path. Heb.9:9. She is an image of the present time, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make the offerer perfect in conscience, What he said above, the apostle now affirms, namely, that the tabernacle into which the priests always entered was a parable, that is, the image and shadow of the present time according to the law, the time before the coming of Christ: at this time such sacrifices are made and so weak that they cannot “in conscience,” that is, according to the inner man, perfect those who offer them. They cleansed bodily impurities, but not spiritual sins. They could not cleanse adultery, murder, or sacrilege. Heb.9:10. and which, with food and drink, and various washings and rites pertaining to the flesh, were established only until the time of correction. They, he says, were established only for the people of that time and are combined with instructions about eating and drinking. Eat this, he says, and don’t eat that. Why did he say: “drinking”? After all, the law said nothing about differences in drinks. He says this either about the priest, that he should not drink wine when he intends to enter the sanctuary; or regarding those who took vows, that is, promises to abstain from wine, such as the Nazirites; or said this simply with the aim of devaluing and humiliating these decisions. The ablutions were different. If anyone touched a dead man or a leper, and if someone suffered from the discharge of semen, he would wash himself and thus seem to be cleansed. Justifications of the flesh are precisely carnal commandments, purifying the flesh and carnally justifying those who were considered unclean in the flesh. However, they were not completely “established,” but “until the time of correction,” that is, until the coming of Christ, who would correct everything and introduce true and spiritual worship. And since the law was a heavy yoke, that’s probably why he said: “established.” Just as it is written in Acts: “Why are you now tempting God, desiring to place on the necks of the disciples a yoke, which neither our fathers nor we could bear?” (Acts 15:10). Hebrews 9:11. But Christ, the High Priest of future good things, came Old Testament worship, he says, did not lead to heaven. Christ, having “come,” once entered the Holy Place, for thought turns there. He did not say: having become a high priest, but “High Priest... having come,” that is, having come to do this very thing. He did not come first, then, when this happened, He became the High Priest: but the purpose of His coming to earth was the High Priesthood 8 . He did not say: High Priest of sacrifices, but of “future blessings”; since the word is powerless to represent everything exactly, he simply and vaguely called what was done for us blessings. He called these blessings to come, as if in relation to the time of the law. For just as he called that time present, so Christ calls it the future, as if in comparison with that, or also in comparison with the mysteries that will be revealed to us in the future century. with a larger and more perfect tabernacle, Here he means the flesh, it is a great tabernacle, because in it dwells both God the Word and all the power of the Spirit. For “God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34). Being a most perfect tabernacle, it accomplishes great things. not made with hands, that is, not of such a dispensation, Here heretics attack, saying that the body is heavenly and ethereal. However, if the apostle considered his body “heavenly and ethereal,” how would he say that it was “not of such a constitution”? For heaven is not excluded from the number of creations. So what do his words mean? On the one hand, the Old Testament tabernacle was built by the hands of the artist Bezaleel and his collaborators (Ex. 31:2–6), but the tabernacle of God the Word was formed by the Spirit. That is why he said that she is “not of this dispensation,” that is, not one of these creatures, but that she is spiritual and divine. For not a single creature has within itself God the Word by nature; the same by nature united with Him. So, in substance, the body of the Lord was similar to ours and of one being with us, as formed from the pure blood of the Blessed Virgin; according to the image of the union, it is higher than us, because by nature it was united with God the Word. Since the materials for the Old Testament tabernacle were wood and leather, gold and silver, copper and some fabrics, then, turning his attention to these objects, the apostle said that the tabernacle was “not of the same construction” as was needed for the Old Testament tabernacle. In general, he speaks comparatively and shows the superiority of Christ. He calls the Body of the Lord both a tabernacle, as here, due to the fact that the Only Begotten dwelt in it, and a veil, because it hid the Divinity. He also calls heaven by the same names: the tabernacle, because the High Priest is there; with a veil (Heb. 10:20), because it protects the saints. Hebrews 9:12. and not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood, Now everything has changed, and to the extent that the Blood of the Lord surpasses the blood of animals with which the High Priest of the Law entered. once entered the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption. Not a temporary cleansing like those, but an eternal liberation of souls from sins. Or that, having once entered, through one entrance he performed an eternal benefit for us. Pay attention to the expression “acquired”. This expression is used as if the thing happened beyond expectation, for liberation was doubtful for us: but He acquired it. Hebrews 9:13. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, through sprinkling, sanctifies the defiled, so that the body may be clean (cf. Lev. 16, Num. 19.) Since, perhaps, it seemed incredible to many that through a single sacrifice and the blood of one, eternal redemption is granted, he confirms this and shows the likelihood of this on the basis of the beliefs of the Jews themselves. If, he says, you believe that being sprinkled with the blood of goats, and also with ashes mixed with water, for the ashes were saved for cleansing, then how can the Blood of Christ not cleanse souls? Pay attention to his wisdom. He did not say that the blood of goats cleansed, but sanctified; not to glorify the law, but to accomplish what he desires. For if, as you believe, the blood of goats gave sanctification, then you should much more believe that the Blood of Christ gives sanctification. And that he did not say this in order to exalt the faith of the Jews, look how he added: “so that the body may be pure.” For sanctification was not for the purification of souls, but of the flesh. Heb.9:14. how much more the Blood of Christ, Who by the Holy Spirit 9 offered Himself blameless to God, It was not some bishop who sacrificed Christ, but He Himself - Himself, and not through fire, like heifers, but by the Eternal Spirit, which is why He perpetuated both grace and redemption. And “immaculate”, that is, sinless. For even in the Old Testament it was required that the heifer be without blemish. will cleanse our conscience from dead works, Although he said there: sanctifies, he added: “so that the body may be pure”; here, with the expression “cleanse”, he directly showed superiority. For he adds that he will cleanse the “conscience,” that is, the inner man, which was not there. True, even there, whoever touched the dead after making a sacrifice was purified; but here is cleansing “from dead works,” which can truly defile and turn away from God. to serve the living and true God! Hence, one who participates in dead works does not serve the living and true God, but idolizes the works chosen by him. Thus, the glutton worships the belly; thus the covetous man is an idolater. So, deeds of this kind are dead not only because they are alien to eternal life, but also because at the time of their very commission they are vile and false, since they deceive us, and although they seem pleasant, they are not really so. Heb.9:15. And therefore He is the mediator of the new covenant, Obviously, the death of Christ confused many of the weaker: if He died, they say, then how will He give what He promised? Now Paul, removing this confusion, shows that it is precisely because He died that His covenant is firm, for they do not speak of a covenant of the living. For this, he says, in order to cleanse us, He died, and in the covenant left us the remission of sins and the partaking of the Father’s blessings, becoming the Intercessor between the Father and us. Father did not want to leave us an inheritance; He was angry with us, as with sons who had departed from Him and become strangers. Therefore Christ became the Intercessor and pleaded with Him. How? What we had to undergo, for we had to die. He Himself stood up for us and made us “worthy of the covenant, and the covenant was confirmed again by the death of the Son, since this covenant brought an inheritance to the unworthy. For the covenant also considers some as heirs: listen to the covenant of Christ: “I want that where I am, they also should be with me” (John 17:24); - others deprived of the inheritance: “I pray not for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20). The covenant has witnesses: “The Father who sent Me bears witness of Me” (John 8:18) and: “The Comforter... will testify of Me... and you will testify” (John 15:26–27). so that, as a result of His death, which was for redemption from the crimes committed in the first covenant, Do you see that Christ's death was for our redemption? Therefore, how do you think that she is weak, when she is so powerful that she also healed the crimes that were in the law? So, why do you turn to a law that is so weak that it was not able to correct the crimes that were committed in it? Not because he was bad, but because he was weak. those called to an eternal inheritance 10 received the promise. If the death of Christ had not freed us from the sins with which we armed the Father against us, how would we have received the heavenly inheritance? The expression “called” means that in the beginning God was disposed towards us, like a Father towards his sons, and we were called to the inheritance, but later, through sins, we made ourselves unworthy of this inheritance. Hebrews 9:16. For where there is a will, it is necessary that the death of the testator follow, Heb.9:17. because the will is valid after the deceased: Therefore, do not let the death of Christ trouble you: for if He had not died, He would not have established the covenant that we should be heirs. For it is certain that the covenant becomes valid after death, and we would be completely unworthy of the inheritance, since the enmity would not be destroyed. it has no force while the testator is alive. Read and understand it as a question. Heb.9:18. This is why the first covenant was not confirmed without blood. (Compare Exodus 24:5) He proved what he said not only by general custom, but also by the events of the Old Testament, which convinced the Jews even more. “Why,” he says, that is, since it is necessary that death precede the covenant, therefore the first covenant “was not established without blood.” Blood is a symbol of death. But there is the blood of the lamb, for the Old Testament was a type; here, when the truth shone, the Son of God died in the flesh for us. What does it mean: “was approved”? That is, it became valid. For in no other way would it have received the beginning of action if it had not been preceded by an outpouring of blood. Heb.9:19. For Moses pronounced all the commandments according to the law before all the people. (Ex.24:7) “According to the law,” that is, as God laid down the law, so that His commandments were announced aloud to all the people; or “all the commandments according to the law,” that is, what was laid down by the law. He took the blood of bulls and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people (cf. Ex. 24:8) Why were books and people sprinkled? Or because from ancient times the Honest Blood was depicted, with which we and our hearts are sprinkled: for hearts are books, as he said above: “I will put My laws in their thoughts” (Heb. 8:10). Water is a symbol of baptism. Here blood and water are taken, perhaps to indicate that blood and water flowed from the side of the Lord; perhaps also because baptism, the symbol of which is water, announces the death of the Lord, the sign of which is blood. Hyssop was used as a thickening substance due to its density, and wool also served a similar purpose: or since Christ is a lamb, therefore the wool is “scarlet,” so that in color it would have the image of blood. Hebrews 9:20. saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you. (Compare Exodus 24:8) Christ says: “This is My Blood of the New Testament... for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). There is neither a new covenant nor the remission of sins. Therefore, do you see that he called the blood a covenant? So it is necessary to understand death where the covenant is spoken of. Hebrews 9:21. He also sprinkled blood on the tabernacle and all the liturgical vessels. (Compare Ex.40:9–11; Lev.8:30) And this was a type: for the tabernacle is us, according to the following words: “I will dwell in them and walk in them” (2 Cor. 6:16). We are also “vessels in the great house of God,” some of gold, others of silver (2 Tim. 2:20). So we have been sprinkled with the true Blood of Christ and sanctified, being baptized into His death. Hebrews 9:22. And almost everything according to the law is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Why did he add: “not at all”? ***** Because there was neither perfect cleansing nor complete remission of sins. For how is this possible when sins were not forgiven? Heb.9:23. So the images of heavenly things had to be purified by these, What he calls heavenly is what we have that concerns the Church. It was said above in what sense the Church is heaven. Therefore, the images and prototypes of our sacred rites were what was used by the Jews; That’s why they were cleansed with the blood of goats and the ashes of a heifer, and other equally insignificant things. This means what belongs to the Church, to us. Since ours are better than the Jews and better as much as heaven is better than earth - and indeed, they are promised earthly blessings, and our inheritance is heaven - then, in all fairness, our sacred rites are worthy of a better and more majestic sacrifice, the Blood of the Son of God, which cleanses us more completely. Thus, the death of Christ occurred not only to confirm the covenant, but also to accomplish true cleansing, the cleansing of the soul. He reminds us of the benefits of death because it seemed dishonorable to many, and especially death on the cross. Hebrews 9:24. For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made with hands, built in the image of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us, The Jews were very proud of their church; for nowhere on earth was there such a church, either in beauty or splendor. Since the Jews were fascinated by physical things, God commanded that it be built in the most magnificent way. Therefore, people came to him even from the ends of the earth (Acts 2:5-10). What does Paul do? Just as he acted in relation to the victims and overthrew them, contrasting them with the death of Christ, so here, by contrasting the church with heaven, he shows the difference. Other bishops entered “the sanctuary made with hands,” which was “built in the image of the true,” that is, it was the image of heaven. For it was the “true” sanctuary. Christ entered into heaven itself, although He fills everything and is present everywhere; but Paul says this in reference to human nature. The difference is shown not only for this purpose, but also to show that our High Priest is closer to God. For the Old Testament high priests saw God through symbols, but Christ contemplates God Himself, appearing “before the face of God.” And this is said according to His condescension, according to His human nature. What does it mean: “for us”? He entered, he says, with a sacrifice that could appease the Father, and also reconcile us with the angels: for they too were hostile to us, as enemies of their Lord. Therefore now he appears “for us”; "now" signifies that He entered as High Priest; for he entered for our reconciliation. Hebrews 9:25. and not in order to offer Himself over and over again, But he did not enter heaven now so that he could enter another time, offering himself. as the high priest enters the sanctuary every year Notice the excellence of Christ. He – “every year”, Christ – once. And this is excellence. He is “with someone else’s blood,” bulls and goats, but Christ is with His own. Hebrews 9:26. otherwise He would have had to suffer many times since the beginning of the world; Since, he says, if He had to offer sacrifices many times, then He would have to die many times due to the fact that He had to offer His own Blood. He once, towards the end of the centuries, appeared to destroy sin through His sacrifice. Here he also reveals a certain secret about why he appeared “at the end of the ages,” after many sins. For if His death had occurred at the beginning, when sin was not so widespread, then no one would have believed, but He should not have died the second time; therefore, everything would seem useless. Now, after there were many iniquities over time, it is right that God appeared at the end of the ages in order to “by His sacrifice,” that is, by His bodily death, to destroy, that is, to overthrow and weaken sin. He expressed the same thing in another place: “when sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). How did sin become powerless? Because those who committed it were forgiven with impunity. For the power of sin consists in bringing about punishment. Gregory of Nyssa asked himself this very question in his catechetical teaching; and in the homily for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ he speaks about this very thing: why did the Son become incarnate at the end of the ages? And he answers: because just as the best doctors, when the febrile heat is still slowly burning inside the body and, due to the reasons producing the disease, is intensifying, do not give any help from food materials to the patient, but wait for the time when the disease reaches the highest degree of its development, so it is in relation to us. The doctor of souls waited until the entire disease of wickedness was revealed, so that nothing hidden would be left unhealed, since the doctor heals only the obvious. You will learn more about what this divine man says if you wish to read his works themselves. Hebrews 9:27. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and then the judgment, Now he also expresses the reason why Christ died “once”: precisely because, he says, he was the redemption of a single death. For it is destined for people to “die one day.” Therefore, He “once” died for everyone. What then? Aren't we dying now? We are dying, but we are not subject to death as before, and we are not subject to it because of the hope of resurrection, the source of which was Christ who died for us, and such death is not death, but dormition. Therefore, since death possessed us all, He died to free us. Or now the apostle wants to show not that Christ paid for us with death, which we had to undergo as punishment, but the following: since Christ, being God, at the same time truly was a man, then just as people “once” die, and then the judgment, so He “once” died. Listen to what follows. Hebrews 9:28. So Christ, having once sacrificed Himself, Although He is the High Priest, He is also the offering and the sacrifice. to take away the sins of many, Just as at the Liturgy we offer up sins and say: willingly and unwillingly we have sinned, forgive me, that is, we first remember our sins, and then ask for forgiveness, so He Himself said to the Father: “for them I consecrate Myself” (John 17:19). Or: he lifted up sins, that is, he removed them from people and brought them to the Father so that He would forgive them. Why did he say “many” and not all? Because not everyone believed. His death corresponded to the destruction of all, and, as far as it depended on Him, He died for all. He did not take away the sins of everyone, because they themselves did not want it. Therefore, they made the death of the Son of God useless for themselves, which is worthy of horror. This is how Saint John Chrysostom explains. I found in him the following place in the Gospel: “and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28) a note explaining this expression: ““many” - instead of: “all”, for “all are many.” He will appear the second time not for the cleansing of sin, but for those who wait for Him for salvation. He died, he says, by taking up our sins and bringing them to the Father to blot them out, for which He died. For the Father imputed sin to Him who knew no sin, since He, Christ, took upon Himself our nature. “He will appear a second time,” no longer bearing sins and having no need for them in a second death, but as a Judge “to those who wait for Him for salvation,” that is, to those who believe in Him and await His coming: obviously, to those who live worthy of salvation. Of course, He will come not only for salvation, but also for the punishment of unbelievers and sinners, but the apostle said only joyful things. “That is, the offering of His own body as a sacrifice for our sins” - according to another reading of the bl. Theophylact. At the blzh. Theophylact reads: “By the Eternal Spirit.” At the blzh. Theophylakga reads: “eternal life and inheritance.” In Slavic “not at all”, in Russian translation – “almost”. – Ed. You might be interested in: