Hebrews 9:11-12

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

9:11 But now Christ has come ¹  as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured ²  eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:14

9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ³  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

Hebrews 9:24

9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation ⁴  of the true sanctuary ⁵  – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.

Hebrews 10:4

10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. ⁶ 

Hebrews 10:10-17

10:10 By his will ⁷  we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 10:11 And every priest stands day after day ⁸  serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins. 10:12 But when this priest ⁹  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ¹⁰  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting ¹¹  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. ¹²  10:14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, ¹³  10:16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put ¹⁴  my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” ¹⁵  10:17 then he says, ¹⁶  “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.” ¹⁷ 

Luke 24:26

24:26 Wasn’t ¹⁸  it necessary ¹⁹  for the Christ ²⁰  to suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Luke 24:46

24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ ²¹  would suffer ²²  and would rise from the dead on the third day,

John 14:3

14:3 And if I go and make ready ²³  a place for you, I will come again and take you ²⁴  to be with me, ²⁵  so that where I am you may be too.

John 14:1

Jesus’ Parting Words to His Disciples

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be distressed. ²⁶  You believe in God; ²⁷  believe also in me.

John 1:19-21

The Testimony of John the Baptist

1:19 Now ²⁸  this was ²⁹  John’s ³⁰  testimony ³¹  when the Jewish leaders ³²  sent ³³  priests and Levites from Jerusalem ³⁴  to ask him, “Who are you?” ³⁵  1:20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!” ³⁶  1:21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? ³⁷  Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” ³⁸  “Are you the Prophet?” ³⁹  He answered, “No!”

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ⁴⁰ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ⁴¹ 

and at the cost of your own blood ⁴²  you have purchased ⁴³  for God

persons ⁴⁴  from every tribe, language, ⁴⁵  people, and nation.

[9:11]  ¹ tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.

[9:12]  ² tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”

[9:14]  ³ tc The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D² 0278 33 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.

[9:24]  ⁴ tn Or “prefiguration.”

[9:24]  ⁵ tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.

[10:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “by which will.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:11]  ⁸ tn Or “daily,” “every day.”

[10:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “this one.” This pronoun refers to Jesus, but “this priest” was used in the translation to make the contrast between the Jewish priests in v. 11 and Jesus as a priest clearer in English.

[10:12]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

[10:13]  ¹² sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “after having said,” emphasizing the present impact of this utterance.

[10:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[10:16]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Jer 31:33.

[10:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and.”

[10:17]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Jer 31:34.

[24:26]  ¹⁸ tn This Greek particle (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[24:26]  ¹⁹ sn The statement Wasn’t it necessary is a reference to the design of God’s plan (see Luke 24:7). Suffering must precede glory (see Luke 17:25).

[24:26]  ²⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:46]  ²¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:46]  ²² tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.

[14:3]  ²³ tn Or “prepare.”

[14:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “bring you.”

[14:3]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to myself.”

[14:1]  ²⁶ sn The same verb is used to describe Jesus’ own state in John 11:33, 12:27, and 13:21. Jesus is looking ahead to the events of the evening and the next day, his arrest, trials, crucifixion, and death, which will cause his disciples extreme emotional distress.

[14:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “Believe in God.” The translation of the two uses of πιστεύετε (pisteuete) is difficult. Both may be either indicative or imperative, and as L. Morris points out (John [NICNT], 637), this results in a bewildering variety of possibilities. To complicate matters further, the first may be understood as a question: “Do you believe in God? Believe also in me.” Morris argues against the KJV translation which renders the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative on the grounds that for the writer of the Fourth Gospel, faith in Jesus is inseparable from faith in God. But this is precisely the point that Jesus is addressing in context. He is about to undergo rejection by his own people as their Messiah. The disciples’ faith in him as Messiah and Lord would be cast into extreme doubt by these events, which the author makes clear were not at this time foreseen by the disciples. After the resurrection it is this identification between Jesus and the Father which needs to be reaffirmed (cf. John 20:24-29). Thus it seems best to take the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative, producing the translation “You believe in God; believe also in me.”

[1:19]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:19]  ²⁹ tn Grk “is.”

[1:19]  ³⁰ sn John’s refers to John the Baptist.

[1:19]  ³¹ tn Or “witness.”

[1:19]  ³² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Iουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[1:19]  ³³ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have πρὸς αὐτόν (pro" auton, “to him”) either here (B C* 33 892^c al it) or after “Levites” (Ì^{66c vid} A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 al lat), while the earliest mss as well as the majority of mss (Ì^66*,75 א C³ L W^s ˹ Ï) lack the phrase. On the one hand, πρὸς αὐτόν could be perceived as redundant since αὐτόν is used again later in the verse, thus prompting scribes to omit the phrase. On the other hand, both the variation in placement of πρὸς αὐτόν and the fact that this phrase rather than the latter αὐτόν is lacking in certain witnesses (cf. John 11:44; 14:7; 18:31), suggests that scribes felt that the sentence needed the phrase to make the sense clearer. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ has πρὸς αὐτόν in brackets, indicating doubt as to the phrase’s authenticity.

[1:19]  ³⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:19]  ³⁵ sn “Who are you?” No uniform Jewish expectation of a single eschatological figure existed in the 1st century. A majority expected the Messiah. But some pseudepigraphic books describe God’s intervention without mentioning the anointed Davidic king; in parts of 1 Enoch, for example, the figure of the Son of Man, not the Messiah, embodies the expectations of the author. Essenes at Qumran seem to have expected three figures: a prophet, a priestly messiah, and a royal messiah. In baptizing, John the Baptist was performing an eschatological action. It also seems to have been part of his proclamation (John 1:23, 26-27). Crowds were beginning to follow him. He was operating in an area not too far from the Essene center on the Dead Sea. No wonder the authorities were curious about who he was.

[1:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:21]  ³⁷ tn Grk “What then?” (an idiom).

[1:21]  ³⁸ sn According to the 1st century rabbinic interpretation of 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah. How does one reconcile John the Baptist’s denial here (“I am not”) with Jesus’ statements in Matt 11:14 (see also Mark 9:13 and Matt 17:12) that John the Baptist was Elijah? Some have attempted to remove the difficulty by a reconstruction of the text in the Gospel of John which makes the Baptist say that he was Elijah. However, external support for such emendations is lacking. According to Gregory the Great, John was not Elijah, but exercised toward Jesus the function of Elijah by preparing his way. But this avoids the real difficulty, since in John’s Gospel the question of the Jewish authorities to the Baptist concerns precisely his function. It has also been suggested that the author of the Gospel here preserves a historically correct reminiscence – that John the Baptist did not think of himself as Elijah, although Jesus said otherwise. Mark 6:14-16 and Mark 8:28 indicate the people and Herod both distinguished between John and Elijah – probably because he did not see himself as Elijah. But Jesus’ remarks in Matt 11:14, Mark 9:13, and Matt 17:12 indicate that John did perform the function of Elijah – John did for Jesus what Elijah was to have done for the coming of the Lord. C. F. D. Moule pointed out that it is too simple to see a straight contradiction between John’s account and that of the synoptic gospels: “We have to ask by whom the identification is made, and by whom refused. The synoptic gospels represent Jesus as identifying, or comparing, the Baptist with Elijah, while John represents the Baptist as rejecting the identification when it is offered him by his interviewers. Now these two, so far from being incompatible, are psychologically complementary. The Baptist humbly rejects the exalted title, but Jesus, on the contrary, bestows it on him. Why should not the two both be correct?” (The Phenomenon of the New Testament [SBT], 70).

[1:21]  ³⁹ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. Acts 3:22 identifies Jesus as this prophet.

[5:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ⁴¹ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ⁴² tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ⁴³ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.