A New Position in Christ

Christ Is Better Than Aaron and the Levitical Priesthood (4:14-10:18) 

In these next 18 verses, the author brought the subject he began in chapter seven to a conclusion, presenting to readers the superior Priest: Jesus of the order of Melchizedek.

A New Covenant Priest Enters Heavenly Sanctuary with Superior Sacrifice (1-18)

All the blood of the Old Covenant put together could never cleanse the conscience of deliberate sin; only the blood of Jesus could (1-4). It wasn’t necessarily Jesus' death that was so powerful but His willingness to come and do God’s will, no matter what it cost Him, to the point of death. In the volume of the book, Jesus discovered God’s will, and He performed it in complete obedience and trust (5-8). Because He fully, without defect, trusted in the Father’s will and endured to perform it, He not only made former rituals obsolete, but He also set us apart to our ultimate destiny in Christ (9-10). Jesus is now reigning in the true sanctuary, forcing every enemy to submit to Him (11-13). Jesus' eternal sacrifice set us apart to God, and now we know we are His because the Father has put His law in our hearts and written His law on our minds. Further, He has eternally forgotten all our sins and made all other sacrifices and offerings unnecessary (14-18).

Entering and Enduring Is Better Than Shrinking and Destruction (10:19-39)

The author, at long last, ended his presentation of Christ, the better Priest.

A Superior Spiritual Position (19-21)

He next told his audience that they also had a superior spiritual position in Christ. They knew their position was superior because they had been sanctified, as their sins had been forgiven and forgotten, and they could enter into the heavenly Holy of Holies where Christ was seated (19-21).

A Superior Exhortation (22-25)

He next launched into three exhortations:

• “Let us draw near …” with full confidence (22).

• “Let us hold fast …” without wavering (23).

• “Let us consider how to provoke …” to good works (24 NRSV).

All three of these exhortations have to do with faith. In the first, we are to draw near in faith; in the second, we are to hold fast to faith without wavering; and in the third, we are to complete our faith by encouraging each other to do good works.

The author reminded readers not to neglect gathering together as some of the lust-addicted believers were making a habit of. As the day of Christ’s appearance neared, this habit would become even more important (25).

A Superior Judgment (26-31)

We come now to the sixth warning where the author warned them about making a habit of deliberate sin or rebellion. Under the Law, those who rebelled were killed (Numbers 15:30); no sacrifice could save them (26-28). Here in this section, the author reminded them that the punishment for those who continued to rebel against Christ was even more severe (29). It was not that the blood of Jesus would not cleanse the rebel; it was that a point would come when the rebel’s heart would no longer be willing or wanting to turn to God. Instead, the rebel to Christ would trample the blood of Jesus by using God’s grace to please self. The author concluded that it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God’s judgment (30-31).

A Superior Possession (32-39)

The author next gave a desperate appeal for them to remember how dedicated they were at the beginning of their journey with Jesus (32)—how they endured, how they exposed themselves to public reproach, how they were compassionate toward imprisoned preachers, and how they even surrendered their property because they knew they had a better possession coming in the New World (33-34). He begged them not to throw away their confidence nor their former endurance to do God’s will but to continue on until they had received the promise (35-36). He quoted Isaiah 26:20 and Habakkuk 2:3-4 to assure them that God’s judgment was coming, and those who lived by their faith would not shrink back nor be destroyed but remain strong in faith and persevere (37-39).