Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
Let Us Go to Him
Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the second century, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11).
It is likely that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter. My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late 67-early 68 A.D.
In this letter, Paul is writing to Hebrews who have converted to Christianity from Judaism. Family and friends are likely pressuring them to return to Judaism, so Paul is writing to these Hebrew Christians to encourage them to remain steadfast in their faith and not to return to Judaism.
The book of Hebrews is divided into two main topics Through Hebrews 10:18 the topic is the superiority of Christ to Judaism.
The rest of the book is devoted to exhortations to obedient living, a fitting conclusion to Paul’s writings.
Initially, in this second topic, Paul gave examples of great men and women of faith who were honored for their obedient living. Now, he is exhorting Christians to obedient living.
In this passage, Paul begins by writing “We have an altar” (v.10a). Christians also have their altar. That altar is Jesus Christ.
He continues with “from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” (V.10b). Paul proclaims that those who minister at the tabernacle, the Jewish priests, “have no right” to partake of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, because they are not Christians.
Paul begins by comparing the sacrifice of Christ to the ritual of animal sacrifice of Judaism. An altar is defined as any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and worship are made for religious purposes.
In Judaism the altar resided in the room designated as the Holy of Holies in the temple, or tabernacle. Only the high priest could sacrifice the blood of the sacrificial animal upon the altar, and then only once a year.
Paul writes “For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin” (v. 11a). The high priest carries the blood of the sacrificial animal into the Holy of Holies and offers it as a sacrifice to God upon the altar.
The remains of the animal are then “burned outside the camp” (v. 11b), meaning outside the perimeter fence of the temple grounds. This is the fence that borders the courtyard of the temple in Jerusalem.
This description, “burned outside the camp”, goes back to the days prior to the building of the temple. The tabernacle was a tent that was set up in the center of wherever the Israelites camped. The bodies of sacrificial animals were literally carried out of the camp and burned.
Next, Paul writes “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate” (v. 12). Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, the camp. He was crucified at Golgotha, outside the gates of Jerusalem.
His sacrifice sanctified the people, made them holy, through His own blood. The sacrifice of Jesus made the people holy, whereas animal sacrifice only ritually covered the sins of the people.
Animal sacrifice had no power to make the people holy. It would make them feel cleansed, but it had no cleansing power.
It would be a sacrifice for the Jewish people and would last for one year, whereas Jesus’ sacrifice was for all people and lasted forever. It replaced animal sacrifice, and made it possible for all people to go before God at any time, and not just the high priest once a year. The sacrifice of Jesus was much superior to animal sacrifice.
Paul continues with “Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (v. 13). This is a call for the first century Hebrew Christians to make a clean break from Judaism.
They faced intense pressure, even persecution, to return to their previous religion. Paul wants them to turn from that religion once and for all, and never look back. He wants them to picture themselves joining with Jesus and taking up His cross.
Paul writes “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come (v. 14). Paul wants them to turn from anything that reminds them of Judaism, including the city of Jerusalem, the center of Judaism where the temple resided.
Jerusalem is not an enduring city. It and its religion will eventually be destroyed, along with the rest of world. Paul wants them to turn from Jerusalem and its religion, and turn to the enduring city of Christ, the city that is to come, Heaven itself, the New Jerusalem.
So, Paul is encouraging the Hebrew Christians to turn away from Judaism once and for all, “forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead” (Phil. 3:13), as Paul wrote. He wants them to be like Elisha when he followed Elijah.
Elisha left his life as a farmer forever. He made that decision permanent by slaughtering his oxen and cooking them over the fire of his burning plow (1 Kings 19:21).
Paul echoes the words of Jesus to the disciple “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Mt. 8:22). He wants them to bury their old religion.
He wants them to stop sitting on the fence and make a decision. The message is to move on with Christ, and don’t look back.
That is also the message to us today. If there is anything keeping us from following Jesus, we need to turn our backs on that and move on with Christ.
We all have our “Jerusalem” that we need to leave behind in order to go to our “New Jerusalem”. For me, it was my job, my home, my hometown and all my friends.
It may be different for you. It may be a habit, or a vice.
It may be a person, or persons. Or, like the first century Hebrew Christians, it may be another religion.
Whatever the cost, it is well worth it. We will never regret following Jesus. Let us go to Him.