Hebrews Chapter Ten, Taking In The View

 

Hebrews 10:19 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,

 

The word the NKJV translates “boldness” is the Greek, “parrhesia,” and means, “freedom of speech or unreservedness of utterance.” It is rendered “confidence” in the NASB and the ESV. The words are interchangeable, but I believe “confidence” is a more apt descriptor to understand the writer’s intention. Boldness, especially in modern language, could be misconstrued as arrogance; confidence comes from simple trust or faith.

The origin of our boldness or confidence is not found in us. There is no place for self-esteem and its attendant, horrific distortion of our sense of merit in Scripture. No, our confidence is based entirely in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. Verse 19 is a summit, like the reader has finished climbing a mountain and now enjoys the view from its lofty height. The verses prior, from the latter part of chapter 9 until now were steps carefully taken, designed to reveal this amazing truth when the ascent was achieved. Timidity is unnecessary. But neither must a Christian’s confidence be derived at all from oneself. Paul, the greatest Christian witness in history, placed no value in his person or religious pedigree, but found his sufficiency in his Lord, Philippians 3:3-9.

 

We may, by faith in the Son of God, enter the Holiest by pleading the virtue of Jesus’ blood. He opened a new and living way, consecrating it for us. Again, while the NKJV (and the KJV) use the word “consecrated” in verse 20, the NASB, RSV, HCSB, and ESV opt for the term, “opened,” to clarify what the writer was indicating. This definition seems apropos, since we read in the gospel, “Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,” Matthew 27:51. Christ opened the new and living way by the offering of Himself. He IS the way to God. “I am the way…no one comes to the Father except through Me,” John 14:6.

 

Just as Christianity is not “Christ plus our works = salvation,” it is also not “Christ is one way to reach God,” or, “Jesus opened the way so every path leads to God.” “All roads lead to God is a dangerous farce, laughable if it were not deadly, leading multitudes to the broad road that ends in destruction. Jesus’ language is unmistakable; he alone is the way to reconciliation with the Father. We are purchased by His blood. We are washed in His blood. We are kept by His power, we are indwelt by His Spirit. Salvation is all of God, begun, continued, and completed by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not accomplished by a higher power of whatever name. Such ambiguity plunges us back into the morass of polytheism, where deity becomes a favorite flavor, and our feelings about which one tickles our fancy the most replaces what is objectively true.

 

The reference to “His flesh,” reminds us of our Lord’s triumphant death. We know from Scripture that Jesus did not need to die. He did not have to die; His life was His own, and no one could take it from Him unless He permitted it, John 10:18. The death He accomplished opened the new and living way, giving believers in the Old Testament, waiting in Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise, access to Heaven and God’s presence at last. It grants immediate access to believers after the cross entry into Christ’s presence the moment we die, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23.

 

This new and living way brought to an end the necessity of adherence to the old way, that is, Law obedience, typified by animal sacrifice. Paul writes that Jesus, “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.” How? “He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross,” Colossians 2:14. The Law was contrary (in opposition or conflict) to us and against us. Furthermore, the Law was in our way. Christ, by virtue of His death, removed this obstacle from continuing to hinder those who approached, because the Law made nothing perfect, Hebrews 7:19. The Jews, by a covenant ratified with animal’s blood, were married to the Law since Sinai. Paul employs this terminology in Romans chapter 7 to demonstrate that the believer has passed away, leaving the pious Jew to wed Christ, though they were previously married to another, Romans 7:4.

 

More so, the Law conferred blessing only to temporal matters, not to one’s eternal state. Obedience to the Law from the heart was meant to illustrate saving faith in the obedient supplicant, Habakkuk 2:4. One’s works were “good” or “dead” depending on how the worshiper considered them. Works, being the outflowing of a lively faith, and whose purpose was to glorify God and serve one’s neighbor, were accepted. Works offered in an effort to obtain or sustain salvation were considered dead, because they were meant to manufacture righteousness via human effort. God rejects such effort because it insults His Son’s sacrifice. He will not share His glory with petty gods seeking to dethrone Jesus, Isaiah 42:8, 48:11.