Ebr. 9, 11-13.
But Christ came to be a high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not so constructed; nor by the blood of goats or calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the holy things, having found eternal redemption. For if the blood of oxen and of goats, and the ashes sprinkled from the heifer, sanctify the unclean to bodily purity, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who offered Himself without change through the Holy Spirit to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And therefore he is also a mediator of the new testament, so that through the death that took place for redemption from the transgressions that were under the first testament, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
1. part of the understanding of this piece is that one almost understands this whole epistle to the hebrews. Recently in the Summa: It deals with two kinds of priesthood. The old one was a bodily priesthood, in bodily adornment, house, sacrifice, forgiveness and all its: Being. The new is a spiritual one, in spiritual adornment, house, sacrifice and all its essence. For Christ did not walk in silk and gold and precious stones when he did his priesthood and sacrificed on the cross; but in godly love, wisdom, patience, obedience, and all virtues, which no one saw but God, and where the Spirit was; for this is spiritual adornment.
002 Neither did he offer goats, nor calves, nor fowls, nor bread, nor blood, nor flesh, as Aaron and his seed did; but his own body and blood, and that also spiritually, as he saith here, by the Holy Ghost. For though Christ's body and blood were seen as a bodily thing, yet it was not seen that it was a sacrifice, nor that he offered it, as was seen when Aaron offered, since not only was the calf, goat, bird, bread, etc. bodily thing, but it was also visibly seen that he offered and was a sacrifice. But Christ sacrificed Himself in the heart before God, which no one saw or noticed, therefore His bodily flesh and blood is a spiritual sacrifice, just as we Christians, as the descendants of our Aaron, sacrifice our bodies, Rom. 12:1, and yet it is a spiritual sacrifice, or as St. Paul calls it there, "a reasonable service of God"; for we do it in the spirit, since God alone sees.
(3) So also the tabernacle or house and church of Christ is spiritual, that is, heaven or before the face of God; for he hung on the cross in no temple, but before the eyes of God, and is there still. Item, the altar is also spiritually the cross; for the wood was seen, but that it was Christ's altar, no one knew. So his prayer, his sprinkling of blood, his burning of incense was all spiritual, for it was all done by his Spirit.
4. Accordingly, the fruit or benefit of his sacrifice and ministry, namely, the forgiveness of sin and our justification, was also spiritual; for in the Old Testament the priest, by his sacrifice and sprinkling of blood, acquired no more than a childish, external absolution or forgiveness; So that whoever was made a partaker of the same, might be and walk publicly among the people, and was outwardly holy, when he was put out of the ban; but whoever was not made a partaker of the same, was unholy, and must not be in the church and enjoy it, but be set apart, in all the same measure as the exiles are now.
(5) But with this, no one was holy and pious inwardly before God, but there had to be something greater that could obtain the right forgiveness; just as now also happens with the ban, that whoever has nothing more than the forgiveness and absolution of the spiritual judge, would probably remain eternally outside of heaven; as again, he who is in the ban does not therefore have to go to hell, unless there is something greater. So it went here also, that I give no better likeness,
The Jewish priesthood is to be understood as the papal priesthood with its binding and tying, by which nothing but outward fellowship among the Christians is forbidden and permitted. Although God also wanted this at that time, to force the people and to keep them in fear, just as he still wants the ban to apply where it is right to punish the wicked and to keep them in fear, but not to make them truly pious or wicked.
6. but Christ has in his priesthood the right spiritual forgiveness, sanctification and absolution, which is valid before God, God grant that we may be outwardly under ban or not, holy or not; for his blood has purchased for us a forgiveness that endures forever before God, because God will forgive us our sin for the sake of his blood, as long as the same is valid and calls for mercy for us: so now it is valid and calls forever for us, therefore we are eternally holy and blessed before God. This is the summa and opinion of this epistle, which is now easy to understand, and we will now go through it.
But Christ is darkened a high priest of the goods to come.
7 That is, Aaron and his descendants, the high priests, came in their bodily adornment, and acquired bodily forgiveness in the bodily temple or tabernacle, so that it was seen; these were temporal, present goods, so that one might be absolved before men, holy and in the church etc. But Christ came on the cross, so that no one saw him going before God in the Holy Spirit, adorned with all grace and virtue, a true high priest; for there are not temporal goods, that one might have bodily forgiveness *), but future, that is, spiritual and eternal. He calls them "future," not that we should wait for forgiveness and all grace in that life, but that they are now in faith, yet hidden, and will be revealed in that life; also because they were future in Christ, to be reckoned against the old priesthood.
*) So b reads c f g; d has "temporal goods". D.Red.
By a greater and more perfect tabernacle, which is not made with hands, that is, which is not of this creature.
8 He will not and cannot call this tabernacle so strange, for it is before God in faith and is yet to be revealed; therefore it is not made with hands like that one, that is, not of this creature. For that tabernacle, like all other buildings, had to be made of wood and other things, which God had already created and made bodily; as He says Isa. 66:1, 2: "What house is this that you are building for Me? did not My hand make all this before?" But that tabernacle is not yet there and ready, but God is building it and will reveal it; as Christ speaks Joh. 14, 3.: "If I go, I will prepare the place."
Nor with the blood of a goat or calf, but with his own blood he once entered the holy place and found eternal redemption.
9. in the 3rd book of Moses Cap. 16. the high priest of the year had to go once into the holy of holies with goat's blood etc. and thereby reconcile the people bodily. This means that Christ, the right priest, should die once for us, to acquire the right reconciliation for us. But because this had to be done again every year, it was a temporary and imperfect reconciliation, and not eternal enough, as Christ's reconciliation is. For though we fall again and sin, we are assured that Christ's blood does not fall nor sin, but remains steadfast before God, making atonement forever and ever, so that we may come again and again to grace under it, without any work or merit on our part, if only we do not remain unbelieving.
For so the blood etc. and the ashes from the cow.
10. of the water of sprinkling and the ashes of the red heifer read Deut. 19, of the blood of the goat and of the ox Deut. 16, 14. 15. for there was purity in time and in body (as he says here), as I have said above; but Christ cleanses the conscience before God from dead works, that is, from
Sins that deserve death, and of works done in sins that are dead, that we may serve the living God in living works.
Damm he is also a mediator of the New Testament etc.
(11) Under that law, when there was nothing but outward forgiveness before the people, bodily, sin and transgression remained inwardly in the conscience before God, and did not help the soul, because God had not instituted it to cleanse and secure the consciences thereby, or to give the Spirit; but to draw, compel and keep the people in discipline outwardly. That is why he speaks here, the over
But Christ mediates with His blood that we may be redeemed in conscience before God, because God promised to give the Spirit through the blood of Christ; whom not all have received, but those who are called to be heirs forever, that is, the elect.
(12) Now in this fine epistle is the comforting doctrine that we should know Christ to be our minister and bishop for our souls, and that no sin is forgiven by our works or merit, nor is the Spirit given, but by His blood alone, to whom it is given by God; of which enough is said in all the epistles.