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Heb 4:1-8

1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them; but the message which they heard did not benefit them, because it did not meet with faith in the hearers. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall never enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this place he said, “They shall never enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day.

195. – Having cited the authority and explained it, the Apostle now argues from it. In regard to this he does two things: first, he urges them to be anxious to enter; secondly, he advises them to hasten to enter (v. 11). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he inspires them with fear; secondly, he shows that anxiety should press them (v. 2).

196. – He says, therefore: It has been stated that He was offended by those who would not believe, so that He swore that they will not enter into His rest. Therefore, let us fear, namely, with a chaste fear and with anxiety: ‘Blessed is the man that is always fearful’ (Pr. 28:14); ‘He that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall’ (1 Cor. 10:12). For such fear is a useful admonition to give, and it is the companion of three spiritual virtues, namely, of hope, faith, and charity: ‘I am the mother of fair love and of fear and of knowledge and of holy hope’ (Sir. 24:24). But what should we fear? While the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it. For happiness or felicity consists in a man’s entering it: ‘Happy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed to see the glory of Jerusalem’ (Tob. 13:20); ‘Looking diligently, lest any man be wanting to the grace of God’ (Heb. 12:15), because, as Chrysostom says: ‘The punishment of not seeing God is greater than other punishments inflicted on the damned.’ And he says, lest any of you be judged according to God’s judgment: ‘Depart, you accursed, into everlasting fire’ (Mt. 25:41). Or be judged according to human opinion: ‘For know you this and understand that no fornicator or unclean or covetous person (which is a serving of idols) has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God’ (Eph. 5:5). Therefore, they should fear lest any of them be judged to have failed to reach it, because the promise of entering was made to them: ‘And my people shall sit in the beauty of peace and in the tabernacles of confidence and in wealthy rest’ (Is. 32:18); ‘From henceforth now says the Spirit, that they rest from their labors’ (Rev. 14:13). One should fear, therefore, that on account of his own guilt, he fails to enter, because he abandoned the promise, which we abandon by deserting faith, hope, and charity, through which we can enter. And this is done by mortal sin.

197. – Then he shows what anxiety should press us. In regard to this he does two things: first, he states his intention; secondly, he proves it (v. 3). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows that this promise has been made to us; secondly, that that promise is not enough (v. 2b).

198. – He says, therefore: for good news came to us as to them. Here it should be noted that the things promised in the Old Testament should be understood spiritually: ‘All things happened to them in a figure’ (1 Cor. 10:11); ‘What things soever were written, were written for our learning’ (Rom. 13:4).

199. – Then when he says, but the message did not benefit them, he shows that the promise is not enough, but that we should be solicitous; hence, he says that the message, which was heard and not believed, profited them nothing: ‘For not the hearers but the doers of the law will be justified’ (Rom. 2:13). And he says, not being met [mixed] with faith, because just as the union of intellect and thing understood make one thing, so the believer’s heart and formed faith make one thing: ‘He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit’ (1 Cor. 6:17). For the words of God are so efficacious that they should be believed as soon as they are heard: ‘your testimonies are become exceedingly credible’ (Ps. 92:5).

200. – Then when he says, for we who have believed enter that rest, he proves his conclusion. In regard to this he does three things: first, he shows that it is necessary for us to believe, just as it was for them; secondly, he cites two authorities to prove his proposition (v. 3c); thirdly, he argues from them (v. 6).

201. – He says, therefore: The word was spoken to us as it was to them that we shall enter into rest: ‘In peace in the selfsame, I will sleep and be at rest’ (Ps. 4:9); ‘You shall rest and there shall be none to make you afraid’ (Jb. 11:19). But there is a twofold rest: one in external goods, and a man passes to it from peace of mind; the other is in spiritual good, which is within, and to it a man enters: ‘Enter into the joy of your lord’ (Mt. 25:21); ‘The kind has brought me into his storerooms’ (S of S 1:3). Then he cites the authority: As I have sworn I my wrath: they shall never enter my rest.

202. – Then (v. 3b) he cites two authorities: one is from the Law in Genesis (chap. 2) and the other from Ps. 94. He says, therefore, in regard to the first: although his works from the foundation of the world were finished. For he has spoken somewhere of the seventh day. This can be read in two ways: in one way by omitting the for. Then the sense is this: they shall enter into the rest which was prefigured by the seventh day from the foundation of the world. And God rested the seventh day from all his works. Or the Holy Spirit spoke in a certain place of the seventh day. And he spoke after describing the works of the six days, when the works from the foundation of the world were finished. Bu he says, from the foundation of the world, because the world was first established, and after six days it was made perfect in all its parts.

203. – In regard to the distinction of the days the saints speak in different ways: for Augustine treats the matter differently from the other saints. Yet no matter how they are treated, it is clear that those works were perfect. For they contain a twofold perfection: one is according to the parts of the world which are heaven and the four elements; and this was wrought by the work of creation, which occurred on the first day, and by the work of distinction, which occurred on the second and third day. In this, Augustine agrees with the others. The other perfection is according to the individual parts. And this pertains to the work of ornamentation which occurred on the fourth day in regard to the higher things, on the fifth day in regard to the intermediate elements, namely, air and water, and on the sixth day in regard to earth, which is the lowest element.

204. – But if he rested on the seventh day, who made it, if it is not a work of God? ‘My father works until now and I work’ (Jn. 5:17). I answer that ‘rest’ is not taken as the opposite of labor, but as the opposition of motion. For even when He creates He is not being moved; yet, because we speak of him only in terms of sensible things in which there is no activity without motion; therefore, every action, broadly speaking, is called a motion, and He is said to have rested because He ceased producing new species. So God rested from producing works, because all in some sense preceded. And so, God made the seventh day as every other day, because something was added then, for that was the time when the state of purgation began. For every addition varied the state of the world, and made one day. It should be noted with Augustine that he does not say simply that He rested, but that he rested from his works. For He rested in Himself from all eternity, but when He rested, it was not in His works, but from His works. For God works in a different manner from other artisans: for an artisan acts because of a need, as a house builder makes a house to rest in it, and a cutlerer a knife for gain; hence, the desire of every artisan comes to rest in his work. But not so with God, because He does not act out of need but to communicate His goodness; hence, he does not rest in His work, but from producing a work; and He rests only in His goodness.

205. – Then he cites the authority of David, which has already been explained. But when he says, since, then, it remains for some to enter it, he argues from the premises. In regard to this he does two things: first he accepts the sense of the second authority; secondly, he argues form the first (v. 9). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he extracts two things form the second authority; secondly, he shows that those two things are understood in it (v. 8).

206. – Therefore, he extracts two things: one is well known, namely, that the ancestral fathers did not enter; the other is that during the time of David there remained another rest to be given. For although the promised rest was to be obtained in the promised land, yet by the fact David so long afterward says, Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, he shows that another rest remains. Otherwise, he would have made no mention of the rest, saying, Today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. There is, therefore, a rest into which we are to enter, but which they did not enter because of unbelief. Therefore, because they did not enter, others to whom the promise was made must enter, because they to whom it was first preached, did not enter. Therefore, it remains for others to enter. The reason for this is that if God created man for eternal happiness, for he created him according to His own image and likeness, He prepared a rest for him. Therefore, although someone might be excluded because of his sin, God does not wish that preparation to have been made in vain. Therefore, some will enter, as is clear from those invited to the marriage feast: ‘The marriage, indeed, is ready, but they that were invited are not worthy. Go, therefore, into the highways and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage’ (Mt. 22:8).

207. – Then when he says, For if Joshua had given them rest, God would never have afterwards spoken of another day, he proves that it remains for others to enter, because if Jesus Nave, i.e., Joshua, had given the children of Israel final rest, God would never have spoken of another day, i.e., another rest would not remain for us, nor would David have spoken of another rest after that day. Hence, it is clear that that rest was a sign of spiritual rest.

 

4-2

            Heb 4:9-13

9 So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; 10 for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

208. – Having cited two authorities: one from Genesis (2) and the other from Ps. 94, and drawn his conclusion from the second authority, the Psalm, the Apostle now concludes the same from the first. In regard to this he does two things: first, he gives the conclusion; secondly, he gives the reason for the consequence (v. 10).

209. – In regard to the first it should be noted that the Apostle has so far mentioned a triple rest: the first is God’s rest from His works, the second is a temporal rest, which the children of Israel had in the promised land; the third is eternal rest, which is designated by the first two. But the Apostle, before mentioning eternal rest, says that after the earthly rest there remains a day of rest for the people of God. This was represented in the Old Law by the Sabbath, namely, eternal rest: ‘If you call the Sabbath delightful, and the holy of the Lord glorious’ (Is. 58:13); ‘And there shall be month after month and Sabbath after Sabbath’ (Is. 66:23), i.e., eternal rest. And he says, a Sabbath rest, because just as in the Old Law the Sabbath represented God’s rest form His works, so that rest will be that of the saints from their labors’ (Rev. 14:13).

210. – Hence, he adds, For whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his works: because just as God worked six days and rested on the seventh, so by the six days the present time is signified, because it is a perfect number. Therefore, one who works perfectly, rests from his works on the seventh day, as God did form His; but not from all works, because there are certain works, for example, to see, to love and to praise: ‘And they rested not day and night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty’ (Rev. 4:8), but from laborious works: ‘But they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall work and not faint’ (Is. 40:31).

211. – Then (v. 11) he exhorts us to hurry. In regard to this he does two things: first, he give the advice; secondly, the reason for entering that rest (v. 12). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he urges us to hurry; secondly, he shows the danger in delay (v. 11b).

212. – He says, therefore, Because there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, let us strive [hurry] to enter that rest. He says, enter, because it does not consist in external goods, to which one goes out, but in internal goods: ‘You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance’ (Ex. 15:17); ‘Enter into the joy of the Lord’ (Mt. 25:21). Therefore, there are many reasons for striving to enter: one is that the way is long: ‘A certain nobleman went into a far country’ (Lk. 19:12). It is said to be long because of the difference of condition, because the fullness of all good and immunity from all evil is there, and also perfect vision and possession, whereas here we find the opposite. Furthermore, we must hurry, because the time is very short: ‘The days of man are short’ (Jb. 14:5), and because that time, besides being short and brief, is uncertain: ‘Man knows not his own end’ (Ec. 9:12) and because the call is urgent: for an inner call drives us with the goad of charity: ‘When he shall come as violent stream, which the spirit of the Lord drives on’ (Is. 59:19); The charity of Christ presses us’ (2 Cor. 5:14); ‘I have run the way of your commandments’ (Ps. 118:32), and because there is a danger in delay, as is clear form the foolish virgins who arrived late and could not enter.

213. – Therefore, he says, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. As if to say: the ancients could not enter because of unbelief. Hence, we must beware of the example set by another’s sin, lest we become incredulous, or by another’s punishment, lest we be excluded as they were: ‘she went into the hill country with haste’ (Lk. 1:39). For the punishment of others is brought to our notice as a warning: ‘The wicked man being scourged, the fool shall be wiser’ (Pr. 19:25).

214. – From this it seems that a person who is not corrected by another’s punishment will be punished more severely. But this would mean that the sin of Adam, who did not sin by following another’s example, would be less grave. I answer that these sayings are always to be understood, when other things are equal. For it sometimes happens that one is not graver than another; yet, because of some attendant circumstance, one becomes graver and not another. For example, two adulteries are of themselves equal; yet one which is committed with malice aforethought is graver than one which is committed through passion or weakness. In like manner, an idle word is more grievous when it is spoken from malice.

215. – But how we are to strive is taught by the Apostle in 1 Cor. (9:25), because ‘every one that strives for the mastery refrains himself from all things.’ Therefore, one must strive by putting off impediments, not only refraining from all sin, but also avoiding the occasions of sin: ‘I will lead you by the paths of equity’ (Pr. 4:11). But we are warned against hurrying: ‘He that is hasty with his feet shall stumble’ (Pr. 19:2). I answer that there are two ways of hurrying: one is by being headlong and this I reprehensible; the other is by being energetic, and this is praiseworthy. For, as the Philosopher says: All men should take a long time to consider, but be quick to carry out their decisions. Therefore, when hurry destroys counsel, it is precipitate and vicious. In this sense the objection is valid; but hurry in executing one’s decision is virtuous and praiseworthy. This is the type of hurry to which the Apostle exhorts us here.

216. – Then (v. 11) he gives the reason for this advice, and especially in regard to the danger. But this reason is taken on the part of Christ in Whom there are two natures: one is the divine according to which he is the Word of the Father; the other is the human according to which He is the high priest offering Himself on the Cross. First, therefore, he gives the reason based on the divinity; secondly, the reason based on the humanity (v. 14); He says three things about the Son of God: first, he describes His power; secondly, His knowledge (v. 12); thirdly, his authority (v. 13b) But he shows his power in three ways: first, its nature, secondly, its vigor (v. 12b); thirdly its action (v. 12c).

217. – He says, therefore, The word of God is living. This text is difficult, although it is clearer than another text: for where we have sermo the Greek has logos, which is the same as verbum, ‘word’; hence a saying, i.e., a word. This is the way Augustine explains Johns’ statement: ‘The word that I have spoken’, i.e., I who am the Word: ‘Your almighty word leapt down from heaven from the royal throne’ (Wis. 18:15). Similarly here, the word (sermo) of God is living, i.e., the living Word (Verbum) of God. For the Word of God conceived from all eternity in the intellect of the Father is the primordial Word of which Sirach (1:5) says: ‘The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom.’ And because it is primordial, all other words are derived from it; these words being nothing more than certain conceptions expressed in the angelic mind or ours, hence, that Word is the expression of all words, being their font. And what is said of that Word is somehow applied to the other words according to their mode. But it is said of that Word that it is living. But a thing is called living, when it has its own movement and activity. For as a gushing fountain is called living, so, too, that Word has eternal vigor: ‘For ever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven’ (Ps. 118:89); ‘For as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also have life in himself’ (Jn. 5:24). Or it can be referred to His human nature, for it is living, although others may regard it as dead; because it rose no more to die: ‘I was dead, and behold, I am living for ever and ever’ (Rev. 1:18). Similarly, the word of Scripture is living and unfailing: ‘Not as though the word of God had miscarried’ (Rom. 9:6).

218. – Then when he says, and active [effectual], he shows its vigor. But the word is said to be effectual because of its supreme power and the infinite force it has: for all such things were made by it: ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were established’ (Ps. 32:6); it is also effectual, because all the words uttered by God and delivered by angels or man draw there efficacy from it: ‘His word is full of power’ (Ec. 8:4); ‘The word which shall go forth shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and it shall prosper in the things for which I sent it (Is. 55:11).

219. – Then (v. 12b) he shows its action. In regard to this he does two things: first, he describes its action; secondly, he explains this (v. 12c).

220. – He says, therefore: And more piercing than any two-edged sword. But this is said to pierce which enters the depths of a thing. But this can take place in two ways: in one way, because it acts on the inmost recesses of a thing: ‘You have wrought all our works for us’ (Is. 26:12); in another way, because it knows the innermost parts of a thing: ‘He needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man (Jn. 2:25); ‘I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth’ (Sir. 24:43). For God’s action and knowledge reach into the inmost parts of a thing; hence, he says, than any two-edged sword. For a sword is more penetrating, because it is sharp; and this I especially true of a two-edged sword, which is sharp at both ends. And because the word of God is sharp in its action and its knowledge, it is compared to a two-edged sword: ‘And the sword of the spirit which is the word of God’ (Eph. 6:17); ‘In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword shall visit Leviathan’ (Is. 27:1). Or it is called two-edged in regard to its activity, because it is sharp enough to promote good and destroy evil: ‘From his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword’ (Rev. 1:16). Or in regard to its knowledge, and it is said to be more piercing than any two-edged sword, i.e., than any human intellect, which is called two-edged, because it is open to either part of a conclusion, until it comes to the end of its scrutiny and fixed its point there, namely, in the truth. For in the ordering of causes we see that a prior cause works at a greater depth than a subsequent one. Hence, that which nature produces is more profound than that which is produced by art. Therefore, because God is the first cause, by His action is produced that which is most inward in a thing, namely, its being.

221. – Then when he says, and piercing the division of the soul and of the spirit, he manifests what he had said above about its action. In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows this in regard to spiritual things; secondly, in regard to material things (v. 12d)

222. – According to the Apostle there are three things in man: body, soul, and spirit: ‘That you wholly spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord’ (1 Th. 5:23). For we know what the body is. But the soul is that which gives life to the body; whereas the spirit in bodily things is something subtle and signifies immaterial substance: ‘Egypt is man and not God: and their horses, flesh, and not spirit’ (Is. 31:3). Therefore, the spirit in us is that by which we are akin to spiritual substances; but the soul is that through which we are akin to the brutes. Consequently, the spirit is the human mind, namely, the intellect and will. This has led some to assert that there are different souls in us: one which perfects and vivifies the body and is called a soul in the proper sense; another is the spirit, having an intellect by which we understand and a will by which we will. Consequently, those two are called substances rather than souls. But this opinion was condemned in the book, The Dogmas of the Church. Therefore, we must say that the essence of the soul is one and the same, and by its essence it vivifies the body, and by its power, which is called the intellect, it is the principle of understanding eternal things. How this is possible will be clear. For the more perfect a form is, the less its activity depends on matter. Thus the forms of the elements, because they are most imperfect, do not extend beyond matter. Therefore, since the soul is the most noble of forms, it should have an action which altogether transcends the power of matter. That action is called understanding, on which follows its natural inclination, namely, willing. But there is a triple difference among the actions of the soul: first of all, the soul is that to which pertain the powers by which the soul acts in conjunction with the body; whereas the spirit is that to which pertain the powers by which it acts without the body. But the first difference between those powers and the actions proceeding therefrom is the difference between reason and sensibility, which is a power through which the soul acts with the body; because reason apprehends universals, but the sensibility material and sensible things. The second difference is between the parts of the sensibility, because the sensibility has one state insofar as it tends to its proper object according to its nature, and another state insofar as it is regulated by reason. For the concupiscible appetite is considered one way when it is regarded as a force relative to its object, and another way when it is regarded as partaking of reason. The third difference is between the parts of reason itself relative to its different objects: because it either tends to God, and this is supreme in it; or to spiritual effects, or to temporal effects. The Word of God effects and distinguishes between all those divisions and species, namely, how the sensibility is distinguished from reason; also, the species of the same sensibility in itself; also, the species of the function of reason, and what arises in the rational soul from the consideration of spiritual and earthly things. Or it can be explained according to a Gloss in two ways: so that the soul refers to carnal sins which involve bodily pleasures, such as lust and gluttony; but the spirit refers to spiritual sins, which involve an act of the mind, such as pride, vain glory, and the like. Or by soul is understood evil thoughts, and by spirit good thoughts. Then the sense is this: reaching, i.e., discerning, unto the division of the soul and the spirit, i.e., between carnal and spiritual sins, or between good and evil thoughts.

224. – Then when he says, of joints and of marrow, he declares what he had said about God’s activity in regard to temporal things. But it should be noted that something fails to penetrate something else for two reasons: one is due to juncture and the other to concealment. But neither of these can impede the word of God. There are in us, of course, certain joints, namely, of nerves and arteries; and there are parts which are enclosed and hidden, such as the marrow enclosed in the bones. But all these are open to the divine gaze; consequently, there is nothing too difficult for Him to penetrate. Or by joints can be understood the union of the soul’s parts to one another, as soul to spirit. As if to say: Not only does He reach to a knowledge of the difference and division of the soul and spirit, but to a knowledge of how they are joined. For he knows how the sensibility is ruled by reason. But marrow can be taken to mean that which is concealed in the reason and sensibility: ‘Fear him that can send both body and soul to hell’ (Mt. 10:28).

225. – Then (v. 12d) he treats of the Word’s knowledge. In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows that all things are subject to His knowledge; secondly, how He knows (v. 13b).

226. – There are two reasons why a things is not known: either because it is concealed within something; this is the way the secrets of the heart are concealed, because it is very deep and inscrutable: ‘The heart is perverse above all things and inscrutable’ (Jer. 17:9). In the heart thoughts are concealed, but the Word of God knows them: ‘Take away the evil of your devices from my eyes’ (Is. 1:16). Therefore, in regard to this he says, a discerner of thoughts. In another way, something is not known, because it is altogether unknown and invisible; which is the way the things of the will are unknown. But in the will is one’s intention, which is invisible of its very nature. For what a man does or thinks is revealed in his work, but the intention for which does it is utterly uncertain. But not even these are hidden from God; hence, he continues, and intentions of the heart: ‘The searcher of hearts and reins’, i.e., of thoughts and intentions (Ps. 7:11).

227. – But it should be noted that word, penetrating, can refer to an action, as has been said: then penetrator and discerner differ: but if it refers to thought, then the phrase, discerner of thoughts, explains it. As if to say: You say that it is more penetrating than any two-edged sword; this is true, because it is a discerner of the joints and the marrow, i.e., of thoughts and intentions. For joints are junctures, and, thus, thought in which there is a juncture of terms can be called a joint, when it passes from one thing to another: ‘Loose the bands of wickedness’ (Is. 58:6); ‘Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as the rope of a cart’ (Is. 5:18). Also, marrow is something that lies within and is concealed in the bones: ‘His bones are moistened with marrow’ (Jb. 21:24).

228. – Then when he says, before him no creature is hidden, he shows that anything invisible according to its nature is not hidden from God. For if something is not seen by us, it is because it is more simple and more subtle than our bodily or intellectual eyes, such as separated substances, which we cannot see in this life. But nothing is simpler and subtler than the divine intellect. Therefore, no creature is invisible in His sight.

229. – But does He know things in a merely general way, as some claim? No; but all things are naked and open to His eyes. By the eye we mean the cognitive power; for spiritual things are understood through sensible things. But it is significant that he says, eyes, because of the variety of things He understands: for He does not know one thing only, but a multitude of things. He says, naked and open, for something is known in two ways: in one way, superficially, in another way, in depth. Thus a naked man is seen superficially, but not one who is clothed. but all things are manifest to God, which are seen superficially; for there is nothing covering man to impede God’s knowledge, as clothing might: ‘Hell is naked before him’ (Jb. 26:6). But he says, open, because nothing is so concealed that it can escape God’s knowledge.

230. – Yet this seems to be contrary to what is stated in Hab (1:13): ‘Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on iniquity.’ Therefore, not all things are naked. I answer that in God is knowledge of simple understanding and knowledge of approbation. In the first way He knows all things, even wicked things and things that are not; but in the second way He knows good thing insofar as they exist.

231. – Then when he says, with whom we have to do, he shows the perfection of his authority. But this authority is the authority to judge: ‘It is he who was appointed by God to be judge of the living and of the dead’ (Ac. 10:42). To Him, therefore, is our speech, when we render an account of our works: ‘For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the proper things of the body, according as he has done, whether it be good of evil’ (2 Cor. 5:10). Therefore, because He is so powerful, so knowing and so great, let us hasten to enter into that rest.

232. – For three things are required for passing judgment: first, the power to coerce subjects: ‘Seek not to be made a judge, unless you have strength enough to extirpate iniquities’ (Sir. 7:6). And this belongs to Christ: ‘All power is given me in heaven and in earth’ (Mt. 28:18). Secondly, zeal for the right is required, in order that judgment be pronounced not from hatred or spite, but from love of justice: ‘Whom the Lord loves he chastises; and as a father in the son he pleases himself’ (Pr. 3:12). This love of justice is especially evident in Christ: ‘And justice shall be the girdle of his loins’ (Is. 11:5). Thirdly, there is required wisdom, according to which a judgment is formed: ‘A wise man shall judge his people’ (Sir. 10:1). But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24). Now this power to judge belongs to Christ as man: ‘He gave him power to do judgment, because he is the Son of man’ (Jn. 5:27), not, of course, because of the condition of the nature, according to Augustine, because then all men would have such power, but because of the capital grace, which Christ received in His human nature. But this power to judge belongs to Christ according to His human nature for three reasons: first, by reason of His affinity to men. For just as God works through intermediate causes, as being closer to their effects, so He judges through a man in order that the judgment may be gentler. For we have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, as has been said. Secondly, because in the final judgment, as Augustine says, there will be a resurrection of dead bodies, which God quickens through the Son of man, just as through the same Christ He quickens souls, inasmuch as He is the Son of God. Thirdly, because, as Augustine says in the book, The Words of the Lord, it was proper that those to be judged should see their judge. But the good and the wicked are to be judged. Therefore, in the judgment the form of man will be visible to the good and the wicked, the form of God being reserved for the good. But this power suits Christ both on account of His divine personality, on account of His dignity as head, and on account of the fullness of His sanctifying grace. Furthermore, He obtained it by His merits. hence, it was fitting that according to God’s justice the judge should be one who fought for God’s justice and overcame; and that the one unjustly judged should condemn the guilty: ‘I have overcome and I am set down with my Father on his throne’ (Rev. 3:21); ‘You have sat on the throne who judge justice’ (Ps. 9:5); ‘The judge will sit who stood before a judge, and He will condemn the guilty who was falsely judged guilty’ (Augustine, The Words of the Lord).

 

4-3

            Heb 4:14-16

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

233. – Having exhorted them to hasten to enter into God’s rest, and as an inducement citing Christ’s greatness according to His divine nature, the Apostle here does the same in regard to His human nature. He does three things: first, he states His dignity; secondly, he shows his piety (v. 15); thirdly, he urges us to have confidence in Him (v. 16).

234. – He says, therefore: Thus we have said that we can speak to Him, Who is the living Word, the true judge and the high priest, Since we have a great high priest: ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedech’ (Ps. 104:4). Nor is He just a high priest, but He is a great one: ‘and the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord’ (Zech 3:1) But He is called great, because He is not a high priest of temporal goods only, but of goods to come: ‘but Christ being come a high priest of the good things to come’ (below 9:11). Now two things pertained to a great high priest: one was his office, namely, to enter once a year with blood into the Holy of Holies. But this befits Christ in a special way: for the one enters with blood into a figurative Holy of Holies; but Christ through His own blood entered into the heavenly holy of holies. Hence, he says, ‘who has passed through the heavens’, i.e., He entered by His own power. The second thing is that he should be from a certain tribe, namely, from the stock of Aaron. But this belongs to Christ, Who is of nobler origin; hence, He is called the Son of God: ‘This is my beloved Son’ (Mt. 3:17); ‘You are my son; this day have I begotten you’ (Ps. 2:7). Therefore, because we have this high priest, let us hold fast our confession, i.e., let us cling with all our heart, because, as it says in Rom. (10:10): ‘With the heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.’ But Christ, the greatest high priest, demands this confession: ‘Everyone that shall confess me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven’ (Mt. 10:32). But he says, our confession. This can be understood in two ways: in one way, that the confession, as taken here, is a confession of faith. But faith is the source of hope. But Abraham begot Isaac, i.e., faith begot hope, not as a habit but at to its order to the act. For no one can hope or should hope for anything but what he can obtain. But the fact that we can obtain eternal things is due to faith.

235. – Then when he says, For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our infirmities, he shows that there is mercy and compassion in Him, lest perhaps anyone suppose that He cannot do anything but what His justice requires. Here it should be noted that Christ does not merely have the power, but is most ready to have compassion on our infirmities, because He has experienced our wretchedness, which, as God, He knew form all eternity by simple knowledge: ‘The Lord has compassion on them that fear him: for he knows our frame’ (Ps. 102:13).

236. – Hence, he adds, but as we are, tempted. But there are three kinds of temptation: one is from the flesh, namely, when the flesh lusts against the spirit, as it says in Gal (5:17) and this always involves sin, because, as Augustine says, there is one sin in which the flesh lusts against the spirit. But this was not in Christ; hence, he says, without sin, i.e., without thee slightest movement of sin: ‘Who did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth’ (1 Pt. 2:22). Therefore, He is called the Lamb of God. Another is temptation either by enticing us with prosperity or by terrifying us with adversity. Now Christ was tempted in those ways: for He was enticed by prosperity. For whatever pertains to prosperity in this life, pertains either to the concupiscence of the flesh, to the concupiscence of the eyes, or to the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16). The devil tempted Him with the first, when he tempted Him to gluttony, which is the mother of lust: ‘If you be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread’ (Mt. 4:3); also to vainglory when he said: ‘All these things will I give you, if falling down you will adore me’ (Mt. 4:9). ‘When all the temptations were over, the devil left him for a time’ (Lk. 4:13). Furthermore, He was tempted by adversity and by the snares laid by the Pharisees, because they wished to ensnare Him in his speech. And by insults: ‘You that destroy the temple of God in three days rebuild it, save your own self’ (Mt. 27:40); and by scourges and torments. Therefore, outside of being tempted without sin, he has been tempted as we are.

237. – He says, as we are, which can be explained in two ways: in one way, so that a final cause is designated. As if to say: He was tempted in order to give us an example how to handle temptation: ‘Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps’ (1 Pt. 2:21). Or so that the consequent is denoted: as if to say: He was tempted in order that He might be like as we are in all things, except sin. For if he had existed without temptations, He would not have experienced them, and then He could not have compassion. But if He had sinned, He would not have been able to help us, but would need help.

238. – Then when he says, Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace, he urges us to have confidence in him. As if to say: Since He can have compassion, let us go with confidence: ‘Behold, God is my savior; I will deal confidently and will not fear’ (Is. 12:2). Let us go, I say, to the throne. The king’s seat is called a throne. But Christ is king: ‘The king will reign and he will be wise’ (Jer. 23:5). But this throne has a twofold state: one, of justice in the future: ‘You have sat on the throne, who judge justice’ (Ps. 9:5). This will occur in the future: ‘When I shall take a time, I will judge justice’ (Ps. 74:3). The other throne is that of grace, which is meant here; hence, he adds, of his grace, namely, in the present, which is the time of mercy: ‘He shall give equal grace to the grace thereof’ (Zech 4:7). But by the grace of Christ we are freed of all misery, because we are freed from sin, which makes people wretched; hence, he says, that we may obtain mercy. Furthermore, by the grace of Christ we are aided in doing good; hence he says, and find grace; ‘You have found grace with God’ (Lk. 1:30); and this to help in time of need, i.e., to do good: ‘My help is from the Lord’ (Ps. 120:2). But that help comes through grace: ‘I have labored more abundantly than all they’ (1 Cor. 15:10). But this should come at a seasonable time; hence, he says, in time of need: ‘There is a time and opportunity for every business’ (Ec. 8:6). This is the present time, which is the time of mercy.