After these words of exhortation the Apostle adds, saying: For we who have believed shall enter into His rest, as He said: As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest. In this place, to complete the sense, it is necessary to add something. Let us enter, he says, into the rest of the heavenly homeland promised to us by God, lest perhaps it be said to us, if we shall have been unbelieving, as to those who did not enter: If they shall enter—that is, they shall not enter into my rest. By these words he exhorts all to enter into the rest of the Lord, lest perhaps on account of unbelief it be said to us what was said to them; for as it is certain that the unbelieving shall not enter, so it is held certain and fixed that believers shall enter.
And indeed the works being finished from the foundation of the world. That is, the adornment of the world being finished. For He said in a certain place concerning the seventh day thus: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works. In Genesis God said this through Moses. By these words the Apostle wishes to show that the rest to which we are called is other than that which was in Palestine, to which the Jews were called. He does not say that we are to enter into that which was in Palestine, but he shows that they did not enter on account of the hardness of their heart, neither into Palestine nor into the heavenly rest; he therefore speaks thus of the first rest: The Lord rested on the seventh day from all His works.
He rested indeed from the making of new creatures, but He did not rest from the governance of those things which He had made, and so that even now He daily brings forth from them; whence Truth in the Gospel says to the Jews: My Father works until now, and I work. For it was no more for God to create the world out of nothing than to govern what was made. Having therefore set forth first the rest of the seventh day, in which God rested, he subjoined the second, which is promised to the people of God, saying: Concerning that one, indeed, God spoke thus in a certain place through Moses. And in this one—understand, place—He says again: If they shall enter into my rest.
But if the conjunction 'if,' as was already said above, can be taken for affirmation, for doubt, or for denial—for above in two places it was set for negation, where he says that God swore on account of their unbelief, 'If they shall enter into my rest,' that is, they shall not enter—here indeed it can be taken for affirmation, under another sense, as John Chrysostom and other doctors expound, as though He were saying: If they shall enter into my rest—understand, it shall be well with them; and take this of the rest which was in Palestine. Whence he at once adds: Since therefore it remains that some enter into it, and those to whom it was first announced did not enter, on account of unbelief.
Because few entered into that rest which was in Palestine—that is, only two, Caleb and Joshua, out of all those who came out of Egypt—therefore he says: Since it remains, or is left, that some enter into the rest of the land of promise, and these—that is, the six hundred thousand—to whom it was first announced, did not enter into it, but their corpses were laid low in the desert. Again he determines a certain day, 'Today,' in David, saying, after so long a time, as was said above: Today, if you shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
The order of the words is: after so long a time—during which they murmured and died in the desert—the Holy Spirit again determines, that is, appoints and defines, a certain day, namely the time of the New Testament, saying through David, Today, etc. Where the Apostle speaks in the person of the prophet: Today, if you shall hear His voice; as though he were saying in other words: O Jews, my fellow-citizens, do not think that this, which David said:
'Today, if you shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts,' pertains to that in which they murmured in the desert, or that he said it for the sake of the salvation of those who were already dead; for it pertains to another time, namely to the time of the New Testament. For from the day of their murmuring in the desert to David, and to us, to whom David was speaking these things, there is much time; and at the same time it is to be considered that 'day' is to be taken for the time of the Lord's advent and of the New Testament. And that he said 'In David' is as much as to say 'through David,' changing the preposition after his usual manner. It can also be understood thus, that he said:
He determines a certain day, that is, the Holy Spirit sets a term and end to the past time, which was from the day of their murmuring, and gives a beginning to another time, saying through David, Today. There follows: For if Jesus—the son of Nun, leader of the people of Israel—had given them rest—understand, true rest—He would never have spoken of another day. David. After this day—that is, thereafter, after they had obtained it. Here he shows a certain third rest, of which David spoke, Today, etc., signifying not that one into which Jesus the son of Nun led the people, but a certain other far more excellent one, into which not the typical Jesus, but the true Jesus daily leads those who are His:
for if Jesus the son of Nun had given true rest to the people whose leader he was, David would by no means have spoken afterward of another rest. It is therefore certain, as being something future, that some receive that rest which was signified by that one which was in Palestine. And so—understand, because Jesus the son of Nun did not give true rest to the people over whom he was set—there remains—that is, is reserved for the future—a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. For those who truly believe it is reserved for the future, namely eternal life, which surpasses the sabbath of the law, since in that one only the bodies rested, but in this one the souls of the people of God. Whence there follows: For he who has entered into His rest—of God almighty, who is eternal life.
He also has rested from his own works—earthly ones and all labors—just as God did from His. He rested on the seventh day. The rest of God is to be understood as the perfection of His works, namely that, the primordial creation of things being finished on the sixth day, on the seventh He ceased from the creation of new natures; but by that rest of God, which is not eternal, He zealously provokes us that with all our efforts we should pant after that rest of eternal blessedness which He calls the Sabbath-rest. Whoever therefore shall have entered into that Sabbath of God rests perpetually from all labor and work, just as God rests from the creation of new things. Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall into that same example of unbelief.
Great indeed and salutary is faith, since without it none can be saved, as it is written: Without faith it is impossible to please God. But for salvation faith alone does not suffice; for it is necessary to work through the love of faith and to conduct oneself worthily of God, because faith without works is dead. Considering therefore the faithfulness of eternal life, the Apostle exhorts, saying: Let us hasten, by right faith and holy action, to enter into that rest of the heavenly homeland promised to us, lest any of you fall into that same example of unbelief and despair into which those men fell.
Let us hasten, he says, since faith alone does not suffice, but there must be added also a life worthy of faith; for we are sufficiently taught by the example of our forefathers, lest, falling into that same thing into which they fell, we suffer such things as they too suffered. For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword. Since the Apostle says and exhorts, let us hasten to enter into the rest of the heavenly homeland by faith and action, lest any of us fall into that same example of unbelief into which those men fell, and lest such things come upon us as came upon them who were laid low in the desert. Those Jews might have answered:
Such things will by no means happen to us, because we do not have prophets and judges through whose mouths the Lord may speak to us, as they had; and therefore, whatever we do, we shall be excusable. To this the Apostle, wishing to show that we have the same judge whom they had, who condemned them on account of unbelief, said: It is not so, for the word of God is living and effectual. The word of God the Father is the Son, the Word, who powerfully slew those six hundred thousand in the desert on account of their unbelief, and because they were unwilling to believe Him. This is the Word who never dies, but always remains the same, according to what the Psalmist says: But You are the selfsame, and Your years shall not fail. This is the Word who says of Himself:
If anyone shall keep my word, he shall never taste death for ever. For if those men had kept the word of God by believing rightly and living well, they would have lived both a temporal and an eternal life, and would have entered the land of promise. Likewise we too, if we shall keep His word, shall live and shall enter the heavenly rest. This Word of God the Father, who always lives with God the Father, and through whom the Father judges all things, is effectual—that is, ready for working, because He works without difficulty; for He Himself spoke, and they were made, and whatsoever He willed He did.
It is also more piercing than any two-edged sword—that is, sharpened on both sides; because a material sword, sharp on both sides, can divide the members from the body and penetrate the hidden parts of the flesh, so as to make the soul depart from the body and reduce the body itself to death, yet it cannot divide the soul itself piece by piece, nor penetrate its secret parts; whence the Lord says: Fear not those who kill the body, for they cannot kill the soul. There follows: And reaching—the same word of God—even to the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
By the soul we live, by the spirit we understand rationally; the carnal life is common to us with the beasts, the spiritual reason with the angels. And there are certain sins which pertain more specially to the body, such as hatred, anger, deceit, envy, and other things of this kind, which do not exist without an act of the body; and because the body is quickened by the soul, we may not incongruously understand by the soul the bodily sins, but by the spirit the spiritual sins, which are engaged in the secret of the mind. Again, by the joints we ought to understand the thoughts which are joined to one another, when one follows another; but by the marrow, the subtle intentions. And this is what he subjoins: A discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The word of God the Father is therefore so effectual and more piercing than any two-edged sword, that it discerns between the works of the flesh and the works of the spirit, between carnal sins and spiritual ones, and between good and evil thoughts, and good and evil intentions; for a thought can in some way be good, and the intention evil. For example, that we may speak by way of comparison: There is a certain widow whose hereditary possession is invaded by one more powerful;
and going to the judge and doctor of the law, she entreats that he take up her cause and be of aid to her, that she may be able to obtain the inheritance taken from her, promising him either a hundred solidi or even no small part of that same inheritance. He, entering the church of God, prostrates himself on his face, praying and saying: Eternal God, since You judge all things justly, and You who have said, 'Judge for the people, defend the widow,' grant me aid this day, that I may be able to obtain the cause of this widow. In saying this, the thought indeed and the words are good, but the intention is wicked, since, unless the widow had promised him something which he hoped to receive, he would by no means have taken up her cause.
This subtlety of the thoughts and intentions of the heart the word of God discerns and judges, considering with what mind or with what desire each one serves in his heart; so piercing is His gaze that all things which we do, or think, are more surely known by Him than by ourselves. Let us therefore have as witness of our acts, and of our thoughts and intentions, Him whom we are to have as judge; let us fear His presence, whose knowledge we can in no way escape; whence there follows: And there is no creature invisible in His sight, but all things are naked and open to His eyes—that is, to His presence:
How therefore can any thing be unknown to Him by whom all things were made? Nor is it any wonder if He, being wholly everywhere, knows His whole creation. Hereby especially the Apostle terrified the Jews, saying: But all things are naked and open to His eyes; with whom is our discourse—with whom, that is, the Son. For no other reason than that we are to render to Him an account of our acts, and likewise of our thoughts and intentions. Having therefore a great high priest, who has penetrated the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold the confession of our hope—that is, the faith of His name. A little above, discoursing on the divinity of the Son of God, he said: All things are naked and open to His eyes.
But is it not, because he speaks of the flesh and disputes concerning the priesthood of Him who offered Himself on the altar of the cross for the cause of our salvation? For He Himself is the high priest or priest, He also is the sacrifice. For He is called Pontifex (bridge-maker) because He furnishes a bridge and a way to the people, and the Lord Himself showed us the way of righteousness by which we ought to walk, saying: Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart. And He furnished a bridge for reaching the heavenly homeland by the blood of His passion together with the water of baptism, or because He first penetrated the heavens.
Therefore Moses, the leader of the people, to whom a transitory rest was promised, did not enter into the rest promised to the people entrusted to him; whence also he calls Him a great high priest, who has an eternal priesthood, ever living, to make intercession for us; for thus the angel said of Him to Mary: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, showing Him to be the Son of God. He said Jesus the Son of God, which he nowhere wished to say of Moses, but rather called Moses His servant. There follows: For we do not have a high priest who cannot have compassion—or suffer together with us.
in our infirmities. That is to say, He is not ignorant of the things which are ours, for He came by the way of the human condition in all things without sin; wherefore not only because He is God and knows all things, does He know the infirmity of our frailty and can have mercy, but also through this, that He was made a partaker of the frailty of the flesh without sin, He both knows and is able to pardon. Many high priests are ignorant of those who are placed in tribulation, nor do they know what tribulation there is in anyone; it is impossible for the afflictions of the afflicted to be known by him who has not had experience of affliction and has not sensibly endured all things;
but our high priest fittingly endured all things which were brought upon human misery after the sin of the first man, and then, the inner veils being passed, He ascended to the throne of the Father's majesty; whence there also follows: Tempted—understand, we have a high priest—in all things—that is, temptations—according to the likeness of the flesh of sin, without sin. Christ was tempted in many ways through all temptations, but He was not overcome by the temptations; rather, being proved, He stood forth a victor. Now the temptations by which He was tempted were these: hunger, thirst, the temptation of the devil, the persecution of the Jews, spittings, accusations, calumnies, rejection by His own people, and at the last crucifixion, and death.
He was tempted in these ways, indeed in the likeness of the flesh, without sin; but since in truth Christ had had true flesh, why does he say that He was tempted according to the likeness of flesh? For in this, that He was made man, He had true flesh; but in this, that He did not have the flesh of sin, but was without sin, He had the likeness of our flesh, which is the flesh of sin. For He had no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. But if He had been able to have sin, He would surely have had, not the likeness of the flesh of sin, but in truth the flesh of sin; for our flesh is the flesh of sin, because we are conceived with sin, and are born with sin.
But His flesh was not of sin, but of purity, of chastity, and of innocence; wherefore He was not tempted in the flesh of sin, that He might commit sin, but in the likeness of the flesh of sin, that He might remain without sin. Let us therefore approach with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. Because we have a high priest who knows how to have compassion on our infirmities, through this, that He endured all like things, and is able to help, through this, that He is God, who has already by His own power penetrated the height of the heavens, the Apostle exhorts us to approach to His throne with confidence, and says:
Let us approach, in mind and contemplation, and through faith adorned with good works, to the throne of grace—that is, to the faith of the Son of God, who has been given to us by God the Father; and who sits in the fullness of the Father's majesty, and can freely forgive us our sins: for the Son of God is called the grace of God, given to us freely. According to what the same Apostle in this very Epistle manifestly says: That by the grace of God He might taste death for all. And why we ought to approach to His throne with faith and devotion, he adds, saying: That we may obtain mercy—that is, the remission of sins—and find grace—of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or indulgence—in seasonable aid, that is, in the present age;
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nuncenimopportunumesttempusauxiliietmisericordiaeillius, dequoApostolusaliasdicit: Eccenunctempusacceptabile, eccenuncdiessalutis. Etdequopropheta: Tempore (inquit) acceptoexaudivite. Cumeniniinpræsentisæculomisericordiamsuampræstititdimittendoeipeccata, etgratiadonorumspiritaliumrecipietillum, utiqueinfuturoregnosecumregnarepermittit, etquiapontifexnosterest, sedensinthronogloriaepaternae, omniatribuit, quaenobisadsalutemvenirecertissimumest. CAP. v.
for now is the seasonable time of His aid and mercy, of which the Apostle elsewhere says: Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. And of which the prophet says: In an accepted time (he says) I have heard you. For when in the present age He has bestowed His mercy by forgiving him his sins, and shall receive him by the grace of spiritual gifts, He surely permits him in the future kingdom to reign with Him; and because He is our high priest, sitting on the throne of the Father's glory, He grants all things which it is most certain will come to us for salvation. CHAPTER V.
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in the things that pertain to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, who can condole with those who are ignorant and err, since he himself also is compassed with infirmity, and on that account he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. In these words the Apostle sets down certain things common to Christ and to the priests of the old law: for what he says, Every high priest taken from among men, as Aaron and Christ, is appointed for men in those offices which pertain to God, praying for their salvation—this is common to Christ and to those priests:
for it is the office of the high priest to stand between God and the people, and to entreat God for the sins of the people. This Christ did, through the fact that He is both man and God, offering Himself for our sins, ever living to intercede with God the Father for us. Once indeed taken from among men, He ever intercedes for all. Again, that he says: That he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, in part is common and in part by no means so, and is dissimilar: for in this, that Christ offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people, which they too did, there is communion; but in this, that He did not offer for Himself, as they offered sacrifices for their own sins—namely oxen, rams, he-goats, and other such things:
But Christ offered a rational living being for the salvation of the whole world, that is, Himself, who is the Lamb, according to what John says: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and the rest which follows—these are no longer common. And indeed what he says, Who can condole with those who are ignorant and err, since he himself also is compassed with the infirmity of the flesh, in which He could be tempted in all things in the likeness of the flesh of sin, without sin—here now is the excellence pertaining to Christ, of which we discoursed more fully a little above; for through this, that He suffered like things, He can have compassion, and through this, that He is God in each substance, He is able to have mercy.
But what he added, And on that account he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins, this pertains rather to the legal priests, or to those of our time, than to Christ, who committed no sin. That also which he said, Since he too is compassed with infirmity, can be referred to the priests of the law, or to ours; so that infirmity be taken for sin, and because they are compassed with the infirmity of the flesh, that is, with sin, they need, as for the people, so also to offer for themselves.
By these words the Apostle wished to show what that high priest is, and to demonstrate what things pertain to the high priest, and what is his ministry, and what are the signs of the pontificate—namely, that he offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, knowing how to condole with those who err in ignorance; and thereafter he set about to dispute how one ought to approach to the priesthood, saying: Nor does anyone take the honor—of the priesthood—to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron—understand, was called by the sign of the flowering rod, or by the sign of the burning of those who, envying his pontificate, strove to invade the dignity of the priesthood by aspiring to it. For by these two signs shown, he was demonstrated to be a priest chosen by God.
But the blessed Apostle confounds and smites those priests greedy of honor and eager for the priesthood, who of their own accord thrust and force themselves into the priestly ministry, not by the calling or will of God, but rather by the intervention of gifts, because they do this not for the salvation of the people, but for worldly ambition. So also Christ did not glorify Himself, that He might become high priest, but He who said to Him, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you. To glorify, to honor, to clarify—these indeed are three words having one sense, which in Greek is held as one for the Latin; for what in the Gospel the evangelist said the Lord had said: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing—here the Apostle named glorification.
Christ therefore did not glorify or clarify Himself, that He might become high priest of Himself and have the honor of the pontificate, because He was not from Himself; and this is what the Lord Himself says in the Gospel: I did not come of myself, but He sent me. And again: I do not seek my own glory; and: It is my Father who glorifies me. As therefore He did not come of Himself, because He was not from Himself, and did not seek His own glory, so He did not clarify Himself, that He might have the honor of the pontificate from Himself, but He was clarified by the Father, who said to Him on the day of His baptism: This is my beloved Son.
This glorification, or making-glorious, was long before foretold through the prophet, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who spoke in the person of the Son of God and said: 'The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.' And because to almighty God all things future are, as it were, already past or present, that which He was to say after the baptism He held, as it were, as already said; and therefore He used the past tense, saying: 'The Lord said unto me.' Now by the name 'Lord' we ought to understand God the Father; and that we may believe there to be one person in Christ, He added: 'This day have I begotten thee' -- that is to say, what properly belongs to God alone. There follows: 'As also He saith in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech.'
These words depend upon the preceding verse, where the Apostle says: that Christ did not glorify Himself to be made high priest, but God the Father, who spoke to Him, 'Thou art my Son,' He glorified Him. As also in another place of the psalm it is said to the Son: 'Thou art a priest for ever,' etc. Now it must be considered that Christ is not a priest according to that whereby He was begotten of God the Father before all ages, coeternal and consubstantial with His Begetter, remaining true God with the Father; but according to this, that He was born of the virginal womb, made man at the end of the ages -- not on account of the victim which He offered for us, namely His flesh and blood which He took from us.
But as to why He is said to be a priest after the order of Melchisedech, and not after the order of Aaron, there are various reasons, and the first indeed is this: that Melchisedech was not a priest according to the mandates of the Law, but according to the dignity of a certain singular priesthood, offering bread to God and not the blood of brute animals. In the order of which priesthood Christ was made a priest -- not a temporal but an eternal one, not offering the legal victims but, after the likeness of that man, bread and wine, namely His flesh and blood; whence He said: 'My flesh,' saith He, 'is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.' These two gifts also, namely bread and wine, He committed to His Church, to be offered in remembrance of Him.
Whence it is plain that the sacrifice of cattle, which was of the order of Aaron, has perished, and that rather that which was of the order of Melchisedech abides, because Christ confirmed it and taught the Church to hold it. The second reason is that Melchisedech was king and priest, and was anointed not with visible oil, as the priests of the Law, but with the oil of the Holy Spirit; and Christ remains marked with this twofold dignity. For that He possesses royal dignity, He Himself plainly declares: 'But I am appointed king by Him,' that is, by God the Father. And after His resurrection He says: 'All power,' saith He, 'is given unto me in heaven and in earth.' The Psalmist too says to God the Father: 'Give the king thy judgments, O God.'