For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.” And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
mediator - "The word 'mediator' is the translation of 'mesites' which refers to one who intervenes between two, either to make or restore peace and friendship, to form a compact, or to ratify a covenant. Here the Messiah acts as a go-between or mediator between a holy God and sinful man. By His death on the Cross, He removes the obstacle, sin, which caused an estrangement between man and God. When the sinner accepts the merits of Messiah's sacrifice, the guilt and penalty of his sin is his no more, the power of sin in his life is broken, he becomes the recipient of the divine nature, and the estrangement between himself and God, both legal and personal, disappears." (Wuest)
covenant (or testament) - is translated from the Greek word "diatheke" - "The word [diatheke] itself is from 'diatithemi,' the root meaning of 'dia' being 'two,' and the meaning of 'tithemi' being 'to place,' the total meaning of the word being literally 'to place between two.' The word in classical Greek meant 'to arrange each in their several places, to distribute, to dispose of, arrange as one likes, to dispose of one's property, devise it by will, to make a will, to arrange or settle mutually.' The noun 'diatheke' meant 'disposition of property by a will, a testament, a compact, a covenant, a disposition.' ... With the foregoing in mind, the present writer offers the following with reference to the usage of 'diatheke' in the Book of Hebrews: In every place except 9:16, 17, 'diatheke' refers either to the Levitical sacrificial system or to the sacrifice of the Messiah. The word refers to the disposition of eternal life to the recipient on the basis of his acceptance of the atoning merits of the latter sacrifice. In the sense that the word 'diatheke' refers to the act of God as one party making a disposition to another on specified terms, the word means 'a covenant.' But when the substitutionary death of the One making the disposition is brought into the picture, the idea of a covenant is merged with that of a will or testament. Since the new covenant was made effective through the death of the Testator, the Messiah, and since the first covenant is typical of the new, both covenants take on themselves the idea of a last will or testament. The present writer has, therefore, translated 'diatheke' uniformly in Hebrews by the word 'testament' in the sense which the writer to the Hebrews gives it in 9:16, 17. The word 'inheritance' in 9:15 leads the inspired penman to define the content of 'diatheke' as it is used in this epistle. An inheritance involves the idea of someone making a disposition of his property, the heir receiving same at the death of the testator. Just as in human relationships, where a will or testament is of force only after the one who makes the will is dead, so in the God bequeathing salvation to the lost sinner, the bequest in only operative by reason of His death. Thus, in 15 the writer speaks of the Messiah as the Mediator of the New Testament who made that Testament effective through His death, and in that way lost sinners who accept salvation on the terms of the will or testament come into their inheritance." (Wuest)
vs 15- 16 - "The translation would be as follows: 'For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be brought about the death of that which confirms the covenant. For a covenant is of force over death ones: for doth it ever avail while the confirmer liveth?' The word rendered 'confirmer' may be taken to refer, firstly, to the victim whose death made the covenant valid, but a form of the word has been chosen which has in view the fact that in the new covenant Christ Himself was not only the voluntary victim whose death was essential to the fulfillment, but also, in union with the Father, is the personal confirmer of the covenant. God takes all the responsibility of fulfilling it upon Himself and carries it out through His Son, who is thus virtually the covenanting person." (Vine)
"In your Bible, after the book of Malchai and before the book of Matthew, no doubt there is a title page, declaring in bold print: "New Testament." And were you asked to turn to the first page of the New Testament, most likely you would turn to Matthew's first chapter. These verses [15-16] in Hebrews declare that the book of Matthew has no part in Israel's New Testament prior to chapter 27:50. In Mark the Old Testament runs through chapter 15:41, in Luke it is chapter 23:49 and finally, in John, Old Testament doctrine operates through 19:37. It is at those verse locations where we find the death of the testator, the Lord Jesus Christ; and these verses in Hebrews teach that the New Testament cannot exist before those points. While it would be wrong ti disregard the gospels, it is equally wrong to attempt to live according to Israel's Old Testament doctrine. What hasn't been taught is that every verse in our Bible operates on three levels in that every verse contains historical information, spiritual information and doctrinal information. Anyone at any time may profit from the historical or the spiritual information; but to apply doctrinal information one must be operating within the dispensation to which the doctrine applies." (McLean)
the one who made it - "i.e., the one who made the covenant or will. This is strong proof that it is the death of Christ, not His life, that put into effect the new covenant with all its blessings. His sinless life qualified Him to be the suitable sacrifice for sin, but it was His death that made the payment for sin." (Ryrie)
"'Even so through the obedience of the One' (Romans 5:19) — This was our Lord's death, as an act of obedience: “He became obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross.” He was of course always obedient to His Father, but it cannot be too strongly emphasized that His life before the cross, — His “active obedience,” as it is called, is not in any sense counted to us for righteousness. “I delivered to you,” says Paul, “first of all, that Christ died for our sins.” Before His death He was “holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” He Himself said: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Do you not see that those who claim that our Lord's righteous life under Moses' Law is reckoned to us for our “active” righteousness; while His death in which He put away our sins, is, as they claim, the “passive” side, are really leaving you, and the Lord too, under the authority of the Law? ... I say again, that the Law was given to neither Adam. The first Adam had life: God did not give him law whereby to get life! Not until Moses did the Law come in, and then only as an incidental thing to reveal to man his condition. The Law was not given to the first Adam, nor to the human race; but to Israel only (Deut. 4:5-8; 33:1-5; Ps. 147:19,20). Again, the Law was not given to the Last Adam! “The Last Man Adam became a life-giving spirit”: this is Christ, Risen from the dead, at God's right hand, communicating spiritual life. Is He under law? It is only the desperate legality of man's heart, his self-confidence, that makes him drag in the Law, and cling to the Law, — even though Christ must fulfill it for him!" (Newell)
"Christian righteousness begins with the death and resurrection of Christ. The risen Christ Himself is our righteousness, not Christ fulfilling the law in our place. The Christian's connection to the law is broken through the death and resurrection of Christ. The apostle Paul in Romans chapter seven expands upon this important theme. The law's power is only in force as long as a person is alive, or in the words of the apostle, 'Law has dominion over a man as long as he liveth' (Rom. 7:1). Paul then sets forth our complete deliverance from under the law when he says that those who were under the law were made dead to the law by the death of Christ, that they might be joined to another, to Him that was raised from the dead (Rom. 7:1-6). A dead man is not subject to civil or religious law; in like manner, the believer is not subject to the law of Moses because he is dead and risen in Christ. Therefore, to those who believe on Christ, the law has lost its authority to bring either condemnation or righteousness through the obedience of Christ. Paul finally concludes this argument in Romans by writing, 'For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes' (Rom. 10:4). If the law is powerless to make righteous, what then is the true character of justification? Justification is the declaration by God unto us of a high and measureless righteousness, in that the whole value of the death of Christ was credited to the believer by faith, irrespective of the law, according to grace. Through the resurrection of Christ the believer now has a new standing in the risen Christ in glory (Rom. 4:25)." (Dunlap)
without blood - the death of animals in Ex 24:3-8
almost - "For exceptions to the requirement of blood for cleansing permitted by the law, see Lev 5:11-13; Num 16:46; 31:50." (Ryrie)
mediator - "The word 'mediator' is the translation of 'mesites' which refers to one who intervenes between two, either to make or restore peace and friendship, to form a compact, or to ratify a covenant. Here the Messiah acts as a go-between or mediator between a holy God and sinful man. By His death on the Cross, He removes the obstacle, sin, which caused an estrangement between man and God. When the sinner accepts the merits of Messiah's sacrifice, the guilt and penalty of his sin is his no more, the power of sin in his life is broken, he becomes the recipient of the divine nature, and the estrangement between himself and God, both legal and personal, disappears." (Wuest)
covenant (or testament) - is translated from the Greek word "diatheke" - "The word [diatheke] itself is from 'diatithemi,' the root meaning of 'dia' being 'two,' and the meaning of 'tithemi' being 'to place,' the total meaning of the word being literally 'to place between two.' The word in classical Greek meant 'to arrange each in their several places, to distribute, to dispose of, arrange as one likes, to dispose of one's property, devise it by will, to make a will, to arrange or settle mutually.' The noun 'diatheke' meant 'disposition of property by a will, a testament, a compact, a covenant, a disposition.' ... With the foregoing in mind, the present writer offers the following with reference to the usage of 'diatheke' in the Book of Hebrews: In every place except 9:16, 17, 'diatheke' refers either to the Levitical sacrificial system or to the sacrifice of the Messiah. The word refers to the disposition of eternal life to the recipient on the basis of his acceptance of the atoning merits of the latter sacrifice. In the sense that the word 'diatheke' refers to the act of God as one party making a disposition to another on specified terms, the word means 'a covenant.' But when the substitutionary death of the One making the disposition is brought into the picture, the idea of a covenant is merged with that of a will or testament. Since the new covenant was made effective through the death of the Testator, the Messiah, and since the first covenant is typical of the new, both covenants take on themselves the idea of a last will or testament. The present writer has, therefore, translated 'diatheke' uniformly in Hebrews by the word 'testament' in the sense which the writer to the Hebrews gives it in 9:16, 17. The word 'inheritance' in 9:15 leads the inspired penman to define the content of 'diatheke' as it is used in this epistle. An inheritance involves the idea of someone making a disposition of his property, the heir receiving same at the death of the testator. Just as in human relationships, where a will or testament is of force only after the one who makes the will is dead, so in the God bequeathing salvation to the lost sinner, the bequest in only operative by reason of His death. Thus, in 15 the writer speaks of the Messiah as the Mediator of the New Testament who made that Testament effective through His death, and in that way lost sinners who accept salvation on the terms of the will or testament come into their inheritance." (Wuest)
vs 15- 16 - "The translation would be as follows: 'For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be brought about the death of that which confirms the covenant. For a covenant is of force over death ones: for doth it ever avail while the confirmer liveth?' The word rendered 'confirmer' may be taken to refer, firstly, to the victim whose death made the covenant valid, but a form of the word has been chosen which has in view the fact that in the new covenant Christ Himself was not only the voluntary victim whose death was essential to the fulfillment, but also, in union with the Father, is the personal confirmer of the covenant. God takes all the responsibility of fulfilling it upon Himself and carries it out through His Son, who is thus virtually the covenanting person." (Vine)
"In your Bible, after the book of Malchai and before the book of Matthew, no doubt there is a title page, declaring in bold print: "New Testament." And were you asked to turn to the first page of the New Testament, most likely you would turn to Matthew's first chapter. These verses [15-16] in Hebrews declare that the book of Matthew has no part in Israel's New Testament prior to chapter 27:50. In Mark the Old Testament runs through chapter 15:41, in Luke it is chapter 23:49 and finally, in John, Old Testament doctrine operates through 19:37. It is at those verse locations where we find the death of the testator, the Lord Jesus Christ; and these verses in Hebrews teach that the New Testament cannot exist before those points. While it would be wrong ti disregard the gospels, it is equally wrong to attempt to live according to Israel's Old Testament doctrine. What hasn't been taught is that every verse in our Bible operates on three levels in that every verse contains historical information, spiritual information and doctrinal information. Anyone at any time may profit from the historical or the spiritual information; but to apply doctrinal information one must be operating within the dispensation to which the doctrine applies." (McLean)
the one who made it - "i.e., the one who made the covenant or will. This is strong proof that it is the death of Christ, not His life, that put into effect the new covenant with all its blessings. His sinless life qualified Him to be the suitable sacrifice for sin, but it was His death that made the payment for sin." (Ryrie)
"'Even so through the obedience of the One' (Romans 5:19) — This was our Lord's death, as an act of obedience: “He became obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross.” He was of course always obedient to His Father, but it cannot be too strongly emphasized that His life before the cross, — His “active obedience,” as it is called, is not in any sense counted to us for righteousness. “I delivered to you,” says Paul, “first of all, that Christ died for our sins.” Before His death He was “holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” He Himself said: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Do you not see that those who claim that our Lord's righteous life under Moses' Law is reckoned to us for our “active” righteousness; while His death in which He put away our sins, is, as they claim, the “passive” side, are really leaving you, and the Lord too, under the authority of the Law? ... I say again, that the Law was given to neither Adam. The first Adam had life: God did not give him law whereby to get life! Not until Moses did the Law come in, and then only as an incidental thing to reveal to man his condition. The Law was not given to the first Adam, nor to the human race; but to Israel only (Deut. 4:5-8; 33:1-5; Ps. 147:19,20). Again, the Law was not given to the Last Adam! “The Last Man Adam became a life-giving spirit”: this is Christ, Risen from the dead, at God's right hand, communicating spiritual life. Is He under law? It is only the desperate legality of man's heart, his self-confidence, that makes him drag in the Law, and cling to the Law, — even though Christ must fulfill it for him!" (Newell)
"Christian righteousness begins with the death and resurrection of Christ. The risen Christ Himself is our righteousness, not Christ fulfilling the law in our place. The Christian's connection to the law is broken through the death and resurrection of Christ. The apostle Paul in Romans chapter seven expands upon this important theme. The law's power is only in force as long as a person is alive, or in the words of the apostle, 'Law has dominion over a man as long as he liveth' (Rom. 7:1). Paul then sets forth our complete deliverance from under the law when he says that those who were under the law were made dead to the law by the death of Christ, that they might be joined to another, to Him that was raised from the dead (Rom. 7:1-6). A dead man is not subject to civil or religious law; in like manner, the believer is not subject to the law of Moses because he is dead and risen in Christ. Therefore, to those who believe on Christ, the law has lost its authority to bring either condemnation or righteousness through the obedience of Christ. Paul finally concludes this argument in Romans by writing, 'For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes' (Rom. 10:4). If the law is powerless to make righteous, what then is the true character of justification? Justification is the declaration by God unto us of a high and measureless righteousness, in that the whole value of the death of Christ was credited to the believer by faith, irrespective of the law, according to grace. Through the resurrection of Christ the believer now has a new standing in the risen Christ in glory (Rom. 4:25)." (Dunlap)
without blood - the death of animals in Ex 24:3-8
almost - "For exceptions to the requirement of blood for cleansing permitted by the law, see Lev 5:11-13; Num 16:46; 31:50." (Ryrie)
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