Now Of The Things Which We Have Spoken This Is The Sum. We Have Such An High Priest; Who Is Set Down At The Right Hand O
HOMILY XIV
HEB. 8:1, 2.
NOW OF THE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE SPOKEN THIS IS THE SUM. WE HAVE SUCH AN HIGH PRIEST; WHO IS SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF THE MAJESTY IN THE HEAVENS: A MINISTER OF THE SANCTUARY AND OF THE TRUE TABERNACLE WHICH THE LORD PITCHED, AND NOT MAN.
PAUL mixes the lowly things with the lofty, ever imitating his own Master, so that what is lowly becomes the path to what is lofty, and through the former we are led by the hand to the other, and when we are amid the great things we learn that these [lowly ones] were a condescension. This accordingly he does here also. After declaring that He offered up Himself, and shewing Him to be a High Priest, what does he say? But as the sum of what has been spoken, we have such an High Priest, who is set down on the right hand of the throne of the majesty. And yet this is not [the act] of a Priest, but of Him to whom the other ought to be Priest.
A minister of the sanctuary, not simply a minister but a minister of the sanctuary. And of the true Tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. Thou seest the condescension. Did he not a little before make a wide separation, saying: Are they not all ministering spirits? and for this cause (he saith) it is not said to them, Sit thou on my right hand, on the view that He that sitteth is not a minister. How is it then that he here says, a minister, and a minister of the Sanctuary? for he means here the Tabernacle.
See how he raised up the minds of those Jews who believed. For as it was likely that they would be imagining, that we have no such tabernacle [as they had], see here (saith he) is our Priest, Great, yea, much greater than that other, and who has offered a more admirable sacrifice. But [they might say] is not all this mere talk? is it not a boast, and merely said to win over our minds? on this account he established it first from the oath, and afterwards also from the tabernacle. For this difference too was manifest: but the Apostle thinks of another also besides, which (saith he) the Lord pitched [or made firm] and not man. Where are they who say that the heaven whirls round? where are they who declare that it is spherical? for both of these notions are overthrown here.
But (saith he) for the sum of what has been spoken. By the sum is always meant what is most important. Again he brings down his discourse; having said what is lofty, henceforward he speaks fearlessly.
[2.] In the next place that thou mayest understand that he used the word minister of the manhood, observe how he again gives a further intimation of it: For (saith he) every high priest is ordained to offer both gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is necessary that this one also have somewhat to offer.
Do not now, because thou hearest that He sitteth, suppose that His being called High Priest is mere idle talk. For the former, viz. His sitting, belongs to the dignity of the Godhead, but this other to His great loving-kindness toward man, and His tender care for us. On this account he repeatedly urges this very thing, and particularly dwells upon it: for he feared lest that other [truth] should overthrow it. On this account he again brings down his discourse to this subject: since some were enquiring for what purpose He died. He was a Priest. But there is no Priest without a sacrifice. It is necessary then that He also should have a sacrifice.
And in another way; Having said that He is on high, he affirms and proves that He is a Priest from every consideration, from Melchisedec, from the oath, from offering sacrifice. From this last point he next frames another necessary syllogism. For if (saith he) He had been on earth, He would not be a Priest, seeing that there are priests who offer the gifts according to the Law. If then He is a Priest (as He really is), we must seek some other place for Him. For if He had been indeed on earth, He would not have been a priest. For how [could He be]? He offered no sacrifice, He ministered not in the Priest’s office. And with good reason, for there were the priests. Moreover he shews, that it was not even possible that [He] should be a priest upon earth. For how [could He be]? There was no rising up against [the appointed Priests], he means.
[3.] At this point it is necessary to apply our minds attentively, and to consider the Apostolic wisdom. For again he points out the difference of the Priesthood. Who (he saith) serve the example and shadow of the heavenly things.
What are the heavenly things he is here speaking of? The spiritual things. For although they are performed on earth, yet are they nevertheless worthy of the Heavens. For when our Lord Jesus Christ lies slain [as a sacrifice], when the Spirit is with us, when He who sitteth on the right hand of the Father is here, when sons are made by the Washing, when they are fellow-citizens of those in Heaven, when we have a country, and a city [a home], and citizenship there, when we are strangers as to things here, how can all these be other than heavenly things? But what! Are not our Hymns heavenly? Is it not [the fact] that the very things which the divine choirs of unbodied powers sing on high, these we also who are below utter in concert with them? Is not the altar also heavenly? How? It hath nothing carnal, all the things which are placed there become spiritual. The sacrifice does not disperse into ashes, or into smoke, or into steamy savour, it makes [the elements] that are placed there bright and splendid. How again can the rites which we celebrate be other than heavenly? For when He says, Whosoever sins ye retain they are retained, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted: when they have the keys of heaven, how can all be other than heavenly?
Who (saith he) serve the sample and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was warned, when he was about to finish the tabernacle, for see, saith He, thou shalt make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Inasmuch as our hearing is less ready of apprehension than our sight (for the things which we hear we do not in such wise lay up in our soul, as those which we see with our very eyes), He shewed him all. Either then it is this that he means by the sample and shadow, or else he [speaks] of the Temple. For, he went on to say, See (His words are), thou shalt make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Was it then only what concerned the furniture of the temple that he saw, or was it also what related to the sacrifices, and all the rest? Nay, one would not be wrong in saying even this; for The Church is heavenly, and is nothing else than Heaven.
[4.] (ver. 6) But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is Mediator of a better covenant. Thou seest (he means) how much better is the one ministration than the other, if one be a sample and figure, and the other truth [and reality]. But this did not at all profit the hearers, nor cheer them. On this account then he says what especially cheered them: Which has been established upon better promises. Having raised them up by speaking of the place, and the priest, and the sacrifice, he next lays down also the wide difference of the covenants, having indeed before also said that [the first] was weak and unprofitable.
And observe what safeguards he sets down, when intending to find fault with it. For in that other place after saying, according to the power of an endless life, he then said that there is a disannulling of the commandment going before; and then after that, he set forth somewhat great, saying, by which we draw nigh unto God. And in this place, after leading us up into Heaven, and shewing that instead of the temple, we have Heaven, and that those things were figures of ours, and having by these means exalted the Ministration [of the New Covenant], he then proceeds naturally to exalt the priesthood.
But (as I said) he sets down that which especially cheers them, in the words, Which has been established upon better promises. Whence does this appear? Inasmuch as the one was cast out, and the other introduced in its place: for the reason why it is of force is that it is better. For just as he says, If perfection were by it, what further need were there, that a different priest should arise, after the order of Melchisedec? so also in this place he used the same syllogism saying (ver. 7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, there should have been no place sought for the second; [faultless], that is, if it made men faultless. For it is because he is speaking of this that he did not say, But finding fault with it, but (ver. 8, 9) But finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covena it that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt: because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Yea verily. And whence does it appear that [the first Covenant] came to an end? He shewed it indeed also from the Priest, but now he shews more clearly by express words that it has been cast out.
But how is it upon better promises? For in what way, tell me, can earth and heaven be equal? But do thou consider, how he speaks of promises there [in that other covenant] also, that thou mayest not bring this charge against it. For in that former place also, he says a better hope, by which we draw nigh unto God, indicating that there was a Hope there also; and in this place better promises, intimating that there also He had made promises.
But inasmuch as they were for ever making objections, he says, Behold! the days come, saith the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. He is not speaking of any old Covenant: for, that they might not have [occasion] to assert this, he determined the time also. Thus he did not say simply, according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, lest thou shouldest say [it was] the one made with Abraham, or that with Noah: but he declares what [covenant it was], not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the Exodus. Wherefore he added also, in the day that I took them by the hand, to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. Thou seest that the evils begin first from ourselves (they themselves first, saith he, continued not in [the covenant]) and the negligence is from ourselves, but the good things from Him; I mean the [acts] of loving-kindness. He here introduces, as it were, an apology shewing the cause why He forsakes them.
[5.] (ver. 10) For this, saith he, is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their heart, and on their minds will I write them, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. Thus it is concerning the New [covenant] that He says this, because His words are, not according to the covenant which I covenanted.
But what other difference is there beside this? Now if any person should say that the difference is not in this respect, but in respect to its being put into their hearts; [saying that] He makes no mention of any difference of ordinances, but points out the mode of its being given: for no longer (he saith) shall the covenant be in writings, but in hearts; let the Jew in that case shew that this was ever carried into effect. However he would not find it [possible to do so]; for it was made a second time in writings after the return from Babylon. But I, on the other hand, shew that the Apostles received nothing in writing, but received [it] in their hearts through the Holy Ghost. And for this cause also Christ said, When He cometh, He will bring all things to your remembrance, and He shall teach you.
[6.] (ver. 11, 12) And they shall not teach (saith he) every man his countryman, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me from the least of them even to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their iniquities and their sins I will remember no more. Here is also another sign. From the least even to the greatest of them (he says) they shall know Me, and they shall not say, Know the Lord. At what time hath this been fulfilled save at the present? For our [religion] is manifest: but theirs [i. e. the Jews’] was not manifest, but had been shut up in a corner.
[A covenant] is then said to be new, when it is a different one and shews that it has some advantage over the old. ‘Nay surely, says one, it is new also in this case when part of it has been taken away, and part not. For instance, when an old house is ready to fall down, if a person leaving the whole, has patched up the foundation, straightway we say, he has made it new, when he has taken some parts away, and brought others into their place. For even the heaven also is thus called new, when it is no longer of brass, but gives rain; when it is not unfruitful; not, when it has been changed; not, when portions of it have been taken away, and portions remain. And in this sense, says he, he hath well termed it a New Covenant.’
If then I shew that that covenant had become Old in this respect, that it yielded no fruit? And that thou mayest know this exactly, read what Haggai says, what Zachariah, what the Messenger [says], when the return from the Captivity had not yet fully taken place; and what charges Esdras brings. How then did [the people] receive him? And how did no man enquire of the Lord, inasmuch as they [the priests] themselves also transgressed, and knew it not even themselves? Dost thou see how thy [interpretation] is broken down, whilst I maintain my own: that this [covenant] must be called New in the proper sense of the word?
And besides, I do not concede that the words the heaven shall be new were spoken concerning this. For why, when saying in Deuteronomy the heaven shall be of brass, did he not set down this in the contrasted passage, “but if ye “hearken, it shall be new.”
And further He says that He will give another Covenant, on this account because they did not continue in the first. This I shew by what he says (For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh; And again, Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?) But they did not continue therein, he says.
In this place he shews that God counts us worthy of greater and of spiritual [privileges]: for it is said their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. That is [the meaning of] they shall not say each man to his neighbour Know the Lord. And again, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as much water to cover the seas.
[7.] In calling it a new [covenant] (he says), He hath made the first old: but that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. See what was hidden [in that word]; how he hath laid open the very mind of the prophet! He honoured the law, and was not willing to call it old in express terms: but nevertheless this he did call it. For if the former had been new, he would not have called this which came afterwards new also. So that by granting something more full and different, he implies that it was waxen old. Therefore it is done away and is perishing, and no longer exists.
Having taken from the prophet his boldness of speech, he attacks it with more suitableness, pointing out that our [dispensation] is now flourishing. That is, he shewed that the other was old: then taking up the word old, and adding of himself another [circumstance], the [characteristic] of old age, he took up what was omitted by the other, and says ready to vanish away.
You see then that the New has not simply caused the old to cease, but only as it had become aged, as it was not [any longer] useful. For on this account he said, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof, and, the law made nothing perfect; and that if that first had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. And faultless; that is, useful; not as though it [the old Covenant] was obnoxious to any charges, but as not being sufficient. He used a familiar form of speech. As if one should say, the house is not faultless, that is, it has some defect, it is decayed: the garment is not faultless, that is, it is now coming to pieces. He does not therefore here speak of it as evil, but only as having some fault and deficiency.
[8.] Thus then we also are new, or rather we were made new, but now are become old, and for this cause we are near to vanishing away, and to destruction. Let us rub off this old age. It is indeed no longer possible to do it by the Washing [of baptism], but by repentance it is possible here [in this life]. If there be in us anything old, let us cast it off. If [there be] any wrinkle, if any stain, if any spot, let us wash it away and become fair: that the King may desire our beauty.
It is possible for those even who have fallen into the extremest deformity to recover that beauty of which David says that the King shall desire thy beauty. Hearken, O daughter and consider; and for get thy people and thy father’s house: and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty. And yet forgetting doth not produce beauty. Yea verily: [it produces] the beauty of the soul. What sort of forgetting? The forgetting sins. For he is speaking in reference to the Church from among the Gentiles, exhorting her not to remember the things of her fathers, that is [of] those that sacrificed to idols; for from such was it gathered.
And he said not, ‘Go not after them,’ but what is more, Do not admit them into thy mind; which he says also in another place, I will not make mention of their names through my lips. And again, That my mouth may not talk of the deeds of men. As yet is this no great virtue; nay, rather, it is indeed great, but not such as this [which is here spoken of]. For what saith he in that place? He says not; ‘Talk not of the things of men, neither shalt thou speak of the things of thy fathers;’ but, Do not even recall them in thought, nor admit them into thy mind. Thou seest to how great a distance he would have us removed from wickedness. For he that remembers not [a matter] will not think of it, and he that does not think, will not speak of it: and he that does not speak of it, will not do it. Seest thou from how many paths he hath as it were walled us off! by what great intervals he hath removed us far away! even to a very great [distance].
[9.] Let us then also hearken and forget our own evils. I do not say the things which we have done amiss, for (He saith) Remember thou first, and I will not remember. I mean for instance, Let us no longer remember rapacity, but even restore the former [plunder]. This is to forget wickedness, and to cast out the very thought of rapacity, and never at any time to admit it, to wipe away even the things which have been already done amiss.
But by what means shall we attain to a forgetting of wickedness? By remembering good things, by remembering God. If we are continually remembering God, we cannot remember those other things also. For (saith he) If I remembered Thee upon my bed, if I thought upon Thee in the morning dawn. We ought then to have GOD always in remembrance, but at that time especially, when thought is undisturbed, when by means of that remembrance [a man] is able to condemn himself, when he can retain [things] in memory. For in the day-time indeed, if we do call these things to mind, other cares and troubles entering in after, drive the thought out again: but in the night it is possible to remember continually, when the soul is calm and at rest; when it is in the haven, and under a serene sky. The things which you say in your hearts be ye grieved for on your beds, saith he.
For it were indeed right to retain this recollection through the day also. But inasmuch as you are always full of cares, and distracted amidst the things of this life, at least at that time remember God on your bed; at the morning dawn meditate upon Him.
If at the morning dawn we meditate on these things, we shall go forth to our business with much security. If we have first made God propitious by prayer and supplication, going forth thus we shall have no man our enemy. Or if thou shouldest, thou wilt laugh him to scorn, having God propitious to thee. There is war in the public places; the affairs of every day are a fight, they are a tempest and a storm. We have therefore need of arms: and prayer is a great weapon. We have need of favourable winds; we should be acquainted with every thing, so as to go through the length of the day without shipwrecks and without wounds. For every single day the rocks are many, and oftentimes our boat strikes against them and is sunk. For this cause have we most especially need of prayer morning and evening.
[10.] Many of you have many times been spectators of the Olympic games: and not only have been spectators, but have been zealous partizans and admirers of the combatants, one of this [combatant], one of that. You know then that both during the days of the contests, and during those nights, all night long the herald thinks of nothing else, has no other anxiety, than that the combatant should not disgrace himself when he goes forth. For those who sit by the trumpeter admonish him not even to speak to any one, that he may not spend his breath and get himself laughed at. If therefore he who is about to engage in a contest before men, uses so great forethought, much more will it befit us to be continually thoughtful, and anxious, since our whole life is a contest. Let every night then be a night of devotion, and let us be careful that when we go out in the day we do not make ourselves ridiculous. And would that it were only making ourselves ridiculous. But now the Judge of the contest is seated on the right hand of the Father, hearkening diligently that we utter not any false note, any thing out of tune. For He is not the Judge of actions only, but of words also. Let us watch through the night, beloved; we also have those that are eager for our success, if we will. Near each one of us Angels are sitting; and yet we snore through the whole night. And would that it were only this. But many do even many licentious things, some going to the very common brothels, and others making their own houses places of whoredom by taking courtesans thither. Yes most certainly. For is it not so? It is in a pretty way that they are anxious about their contest. Others are drunken and speak amiss; others make an uproar. Others keep vigil through the night in an evil way, and worse than those who sleep, by arranging schemes of deceit; others by calculating usurious interest; others by bruising themselves with cares, and doing anything rather than what is suited to the contest [in which they are engaged]. Wherefore, I exhort you, let us lay aside all [other] things, and look to one only, how we may obtain the prize, [how we may] be crowned with the Chaplet; let us do all by which we shall be able to attain to the promised blessings. Which may we all attain in Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom to the Father and also to the Holy Ghost be glory, might honour now and for ever and world without end. Amen.