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From: Hebrews 10:11-14, 18

Christ’s Offering of Himself Has Infinite Value (Continuation)

[11] And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sa-
crifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when Christ had offered for all
time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [13] then to
wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. [14] For by a single of-
fering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

[18] Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

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Commentary:

11-14. Teaching given elsewhere in the letter (8:5; 9:9-10, 12-13, 25; 10:14) is
now reiterated in order to show the universal efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice. Howe-
ver, here it is expounded by comparing the posture of the Old Testament priests
with that of Christ. They did in fact have to STAND in the presence of Yahweh,
offering victims repeatedly. Standing was the correct posture for servants and
employees. The reference is to Old Testament priests who repeatedly, every
day, went through the same motions and offered the same sacrifices. By con-
trast, Christ, as is stated in Psalm 110:1, after his Ascension is seated at the
right hand of God the Father (see notes on Mt 16:19 and Heb 1:3). In addition to
conveying the idea of repose and rest, being seated would be equivalent to recei-
ving royal investiture or to exercising authority (cf. Heb 7:26; 8:1); also, a king’s
chief minister or heir used to sit on the right of the king, as in a place of special
honor (cf. Mt 26:24; Mk 14: 62; Lk 26:69); and it might be pointed out that David
pitched his tent to the right of the tabernacle: cf. 2 Sam 7:18). What has hap-
pened is that by virtue of the efficacy of his single sacrifice, Christ has taken pos-
session of heaven for ever more and has merited royal dignity; all that remains to
happen, and it shall happen, is for all his enemies to submit to him (cf. 1 Cor 15:
25-28). So fruitful is his sacrifice that those who take part in it, “those who have
been sanctified”, are thereby perfected: they obtain forgiveness of sins, purity of
conscience, access to and union with God. In other words, the source of holi-
ness in men is the sacrifice of Calvary.

15-18. The last proof of the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of
sins is based on this passage of Jeremiah 31:33-34, already quoted in 8: 10-12.
The letter is insisting on the spiritual character of the New Covenant—ratified with
the blood of Christ—which is impressed on the hearts and minds of men. And it
is also emphasizing the effects of this Covenant—forgiveness of sins by God.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 13:24-32

Signs of the End of the Word and the Coming of the Son of Man

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [24] “But in those days, after that tribulation, the
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, [25] and the stars will
be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. [26] And
they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. [27]
And then He will send out the angels, and gather His elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Time of the Destruction of Jerusalem

[28] “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender
and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. [29] So also, when you
see these things taking place you know that He is near, at the very gates. [30]
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take
place. [31] Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

[32] “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father.”

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Commentary:

24-25. It would seem that at the end of time even irrational creatures will shrink
before the Supreme Judge, Jesus Christ, coming in the majesty of His glory,
thus fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Isaiah 13:10; 34:4;
Ezekiel 32:7). Some Fathers, such as St. Jerome (”Comm. in Matthew, in loc.”)
and St. John Chrysostom (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77) understand “the powers
in the heavens” to mean the angels, who will be in awe at these events. This in-
terpretation is supported by the liturgical use of describing the angels, taken to-
gether, as “virtutes caelorum” (cf. “Roman Missal”, Preface of Martyrs). But
many other commentators think the phrase, like the preceding words in the text,
could mean “cosmic forces” or “stars of the firmament”.

26-27. Christ here describes His Second Coming, at the end of time, as an-
nounced by the prophet Daniel (7:13). He discloses the deeper meaning of the
words of the ancient prophet: the “one like a Son of Man”, whom Daniel saw
and to whom “was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, na-
tions and languages should serve Him,” is Jesus Christ Himself, who will gather
the saints around Him.

28-30. As already pointed out in the note on Mark 13:4, Jesus’ disciples, follo-
wing the ideas current among Jews at the time, could not conceive the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem as separate from the end of the world; and, also, there is a
connection between the two events, in that the former is a prefigurement of the
latter. Our Lord answers His disciples in Mark 13:20 by saying that the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem will happen in the lifetime of their generation (as in fact oc-
curred in the year 70, at the hands of the Roman legions). For further explana-
tion of the ruin of Jerusalem as a figure of the end of the world, cf. note on Mat-
thew 24:32-35.

31. With this sentence our Lord adds a special solemnity to what He is saying:
all this will definitely come to pass.

God has only to speak and His words come true, only He who is Lord of the Uni-
verse has all existence in His power, and Jesus has received from the Father all
power over heaven and earth (cf. Matthew 11:27 and 28:18).

32. Referring to this verse, St. Augustine explains (”On the Psalms”, 36:1): “Our
Lord Jesus Christ was sent to be our Master, yet He declared that even the Son
of Man was ignorant of that day, because it was not part of His office as Master
to acquaint us with it.”

Regarding the knowledge Christ had during His life on earth, see the note on
Luke 2:52.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.