Into the Holy Way - Hebrews 10:19-25

The author continues his exhortation to dissuade the readers from returning to the habits and rituals of their former Jewish lifestyle. He explains the spiritual realities that are shadowed by the physical ones mandated in the Old Testament. His particular focus in this case is the ultimate atoning sacrifice of Christ. It is a discussion begun in Hebrews 4:14 in the context of the sacrifices of earthly priests versus the heavenly priest, Melchizedek. The focus was picked up again with Jesus’ sacrifice foreshadowed by animal sacrifices described in Hebrews 9:13. The author calls on his readers to accept his words and so fulfill the basic purpose of the book, ‘to cast off any weight or entangling sin by fixing the reader’s eyes upon Jesus, the initiator and perfecter of faith’ (cf. Heb. 12:1-3).