19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Commentary
Vs. 19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus"
The Word of God now begins summing up all that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have through the New Covenant. The first is that we have unrestricted access to God. For it is by the blood of Jesus we have access to Holiest. An unheard of notion under the Law where the Israelite's approached God first through the priests, and of these only the high priest once a year could enter the holiest of all on the Day of Atonement. Anyone else who tried to approach God behind the veil was to be put to death (Num. 3:10, 38, 18:7). Yet now through the blood of Jesus this access is fully available to us who believe in Him, therefore we have boldness to enter the Holiest in heaven because Jesus Christ Himself has made the way for us to be received in God's sight there.
Vs. 20 "by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,"
Now the way for us to enter the Holiest is by a new and living way which Jesus Christ consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh. Therefore the veil (here represented by Christ's flesh), that is Jesus Christ's Person Crucified unto death for us all is the only means by which we can enter the Holiest in heaven.
Vs. 21 "and having a High Priest over the house of God,"
Now because we enter behind the veil by a new and living way there is the Living Christ Himself who is High Priest over the house of God who makes our Presence there with God Himself possible. Therefore let us boldly draw near to God through Jesus Christ alone.
Vs. 22 "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
Therefore having the way paved for us the Word of God now exhorts us to draw near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, because, "without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). That then is critical, drawing near to God in the full assurance of faith. Now the second part of the Word's exhortation to us is that we have "...our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Here the analogy of the sprinkling of sacrificial blood on the priests and the washing of their bodies in water before they could approach God is thus applied to us all who believe in Christ who by His own sacrificial death and Resurrection from the dead and Ascension back to God the Father before pouring out is Spirit on us all who believe in Him, has not only washed us from all our sins and transgressions, but we have been baptized into Christ by the Spirit of the Living God so that we can in full assurance of faith draw near to God. No believer then should ever think themselves unworthy of drawing near to God, since our standing before God is not based on us, on what we do, but on what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. Therefore we can have confidence to approach God at anytime about anything.
Vs. 23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
In light of such things, of our having not only salvation, but also unrestricted access to God through Christ alone, let us hold fast our confession of hope, for He who promised is faithful. God's promises then of having life here and now and the life to come are what keeps us grounded in this tossed and turbulent world ("...I am with you always, even to the end of the age" Matt. 28:20).
Vs. 24 "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,"
Since we who believe are fully secured In Christ, we ought to live lives that are not only reflective of our Lord and Savior, but are also encouraging/inspiring to others to do and believe the same. The Christians life then is not one that is self-serving, or self absorbed. Rather it considers others in order to stir up love and good works, which is the Christians calling card (Matt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14; 1 John 4:8 etc.).
Vs. 25 "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
The assembling of believers is one of the most edifying experiences that a believer can have. For it is there in the local church we can build relationships, and we find encouragement and experience Spiritual growth. As well it is a place where we can both worship and serve God and others and thus exercise our faith gifts and passions with other believers. For having volunteered in variety of places in the world I can truly testify that the most rewarding experiences I have ever had have always been in and through the church. Now this exhortation is even more important as we see the Day approaching, that is the Day of the Lord when He returns for His bride the Church before this worlds finial judgment comes. And so staying rooted and grounded in the faith is strengthened by having a healthy relationship with Christ by maintaining ones Christian fellowship, which itself is always a strong defense against the father of lies and the degenerating lies of this world which he is propagating through it (consider Ecc. 4:12; Matt. 18:20).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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