The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (249 page)

Jesus the Great High Priest

14
 Since then
we have a great high priest
who has
passed through the heavens
, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
¹⁵
For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet
without sinning
.
¹⁶
Let us then with
confidence
draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5
  
For every high priest
chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
²
He can deal gently with the
ignorant and wayward
, since he himself is beset with weakness.
³
Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for
his own sins
as well as for those of the people.
⁴
And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5
 So also
Christ did not exalt himself
to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

  
"You are my Son,

  
today I have begotten you";
 
*

⁶
as he says also in another place,

  
"You are a priest for ever,

  
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."

7
 In the
days of his flesh
, Jesus
^j
offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear.
⁸
Although he was a Son, he
learned obedience
through what he suffered;
⁹
and being
made perfect
he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
¹⁰
being designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchiz'edek.

Spiritual Growth

11
 About this we have much to say which is hard to explain,
since you have become dull of hearing
.
¹²
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food;
¹³
for every one who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child.
¹⁴
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish
good from evil
.

The Peril of Falling Away

6
  
Therefore
let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ
and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
²
with instruction
^k
about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
³
And this we will do if God permits.
^l
4
For it is impossible
 
*
to restore again to repentance those who have once been
enlightened
, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
⁵
and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
⁶
if they then
commit apostasy
, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.
⁷
For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
⁸
But if it bears
thorns and thistles
, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.

9
 Though we speak thus, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of
better things
that belong to salvation.
¹⁰
For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.
¹¹
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope
until the end
,
¹²
so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God's Promise

13
 
For when God made a promise
to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he
swore by himself
,
¹⁴
saying, "
Surely I will bless
you and multiply you."
¹⁵
And thus Abraham,
^m
having
patiently endured
, obtained the promise.
¹⁶
Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
¹⁷
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the
heirs of the promise
the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath,
¹⁸
so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize
the hope
set before us.
¹⁹
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into
the inner shrine
behind the curtain,
²⁰
where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever according to the order of Melchiz'edek.

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7
  
For this
Melchiz'edek
, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him;
²
and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name,
king of righteousness
, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
³
He is
without father
 
*
or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life,
 
*
but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever.

4
 
See how great he is
! Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of the spoils.
⁵
And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in
the law to take tithes
from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also are descended from Abraham.
⁶
But this man who has not their genealogy received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
⁷
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
⁸
Here tithes are received by
mortal men
; there, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
⁹
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,
¹⁰
for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchiz'edek met him.

Another Priest, according to the Order of Melchizedek

11
 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise according to the order of
Melchiz'edek
, rather than one named according to the order of Aaron?
¹²
For when there is a
change in the priesthood
, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
¹³
For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.
¹⁴
For it is evident that our Lord was descended
from Judah
, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15
 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchiz'edek,
¹⁶
who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life.
¹⁷
For it is witnessed of him,

  
"
You are a priest for ever
,

  
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."

¹⁸
On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
¹⁹
(for the law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

20
 And it was not without an oath.
²¹
Those who formerly became priests took their office
without an oath
, but this one was addressed with an oath,

  
"The Lord has sworn

  
and will not change his mind,

  
'You are a priest for ever.' "

²²
This makes Jesus
the surety
of a better covenant.

23
 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;
²⁴
but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever.
²⁵
Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always
lives to make intercession
for them.

26
 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
²⁷
He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices
daily, first for his own sins
and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
²⁸
Indeed, the law appoints
men in their weakness
as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.

Mediator of a New Covenant

8
  
Now
the point
in what we are saying is this:
we have such a high priest
, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
²
a minister in the sanctuary and the
true tent
ⁿ
which is set up not by man but by the Lord.
³
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have
something to offer
.
⁴
Now if he were on earth,
he would not be a priest
at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
⁵
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary; for when Moses was about to erect the tent,
ⁿ
he was instructed by God, saying, "
See that you make
everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."
⁶
But as it is, Christ
^o
has obtained a ministry which is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
⁷
For if that
first covenant
had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second.