Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 13:11

"For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest [as an offering] for sin, are burned without the camp." — Hebrews 13:11 (ASV)

The author moves from the general idea of serving the altar to a specific example, one most likely taken from the Day of Atonement ceremonies. On that Day the high priest brought the blood of the victims into the Most Holy Place (Leviticus 16:14–15), but the bodies of the animals were totally burned outside the Israelite camp (Leviticus 16:27). “And so” introduces an inference. The Day of Atonement typologically foreshadowed the atoning work of Jesus. The author apparently is reasoning that because the type (the sacrificial victim in Lev 16) involved an activity “outside the camp,” there will be an equivalent with the antitype (Jesus). But the parallel is not complete, because in the case of the sin offerings the animal was actually killed inside the camp and only the carcass disposed of outside the camp. The human name “Jesus” brings before us the picture of the Man, suffering for us. His suffering was not aimless but was designed “to make his people holy” (GK 39). This verb means “to set aside for God”; and it is applied both to things used for ritual purposes and to people who are thus taken out of the circle of the merely worldly and brought into the number of the people of God.

This process was effected “through his own blood.” This expression puts some emphasis on the fact that Christ did not need an external victim (as did the high priests) but brought about the sanctification in question by the sacrifice of himself. "Blood” clearly signifies “death,” as is commonly the case in the Bible. “People” can mean people in general; but more characteristically it means “the people of God,” a meaning that suits this passage. To make people holy, then, Jesus suffered “outside the gate.” Though not stated elsewhere in the NT, this is implied in Jn 19:17; and, anyway, crucifixions normally took place outside cities.