LET US DRAW NEAR
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for the life you have given me. Help me to share it with others in ways that they can see and be drawn to you.
Read HEBREWS 10:11–25
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[a]
17 Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”[b]
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
A Call to Persevere in Faith
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 10:16 Jer. 31:33
- Hebrews 10:17 Jer. 31:34
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Open yourself to God now to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying through the Scriptures.
Think Further
Today’s reading is a good example of how the writer uses Scripture quotations and their application to encourage his readers. Here he quotes Jeremiah, in which the Holy Spirit ‘testifies to us’ (v. 15) about God’s new covenant, which includes our God-given enablement to obey God’s law and God’s resolve not to remember our sins.1 Then he applies that Scripture and encourages his readers. He applies the testimony of the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah to Jesus’ single, unique offering of himself as a sacrifice for sins. Jesus, having done this, sat down at God’s right hand, awaiting the subjugation of his enemies. That he is seated at the right hand of God, contrasts sharply with the priests who stand day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. In contrast to these sacrifices, by his one sacrifice Jesus has forever fitted us to enter God’s presence.2
Verses 19–25 are densely packed and are difficult to deal with, but we can notice several things. There are two ‘since’ clauses: ‘since we have confidence to enter’ God’s presence (v. 19) and ‘since we have a great priest’ over God’s house (v. 21). There is a ‘having’ clause (v. 22), like another ‘since’ clause: since we have been inwardly and outwardly cleansed. There is also a ‘for’ clause: ‘for he who promised is faithful’ (v. 23). These clauses all support the three things the writer encourages them to do. He wants his readers to draw near to God with sincere hearts, to hold unswervingly to their hope, and to consider how to spur one another on to good deeds. The last one is important and practical. He does not want his readers missing from the community gatherings: they need to be there, encouraging one another.
Apply
If I am not in a community of believers, how can I encourage my struggling sister or brother to persevere? Let this motivate us to continue to gather with God’s people.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I need your help and strength to keep my aim fixed and my hand steady. Help me keep my focus on you and on what you call me to be and do.
1 See Jer 31:31–34 2 This is the sense of the expression ‘made perfect’ (v. 14)
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