John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 9:11

"But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation," — Hebrews 9:11 (ASV)

But Christ being come... He now sets before us the reality of the things under the Law, so that it may turn our eyes from them to this reality. For whoever believes that the things then prefigured under the Law have truly been found in Christ will no longer cling to the shadows, but will embrace the substance and the genuine reality.

But the particulars of the comparison between Christ and the ancient high priest should be carefully noted. He had said that the high priest alone entered the sanctuary once a year with blood to atone for sins. Christ is, in this respect, the ancient high priest, for He alone possesses the dignity and the office of a high priest; but He differs from him in this, that He brings with Him eternal blessings which secure a perpetuity to His priesthood.

Secondly, there is this likeness between the ancient high priest and ours: both entered the holy of holies through the sanctuary. But they differ in this: Christ alone entered into heaven through the temple of His own body. The fact that the holy of holies was opened once every year to the high priest to make the appointed atonement obscurely prefigured the one true sacrifice of Christ.

Entering once was common to both: for the earthly high priest it was every year, while for the heavenly High Priest it was forever, even to the end of the world. The offering of blood was common to both, but there was a great difference in the blood, for Christ offered not the blood of animals, but His own blood. Atonement was common to both; but the atonement according to the Law, being ineffective, was repeated every year. However, the atonement made by Christ is always effective and is the cause of eternal salvation for us.

Thus, there is great importance in almost every word. Some render the words, “But Christ standing by,” or “asking”; but the Apostle’s meaning is not expressed this way. For he intimates that when the Levitical priests had performed their office for the appointed time, Christ came in their place, as we found in the seventh chapter.

Of good things to come... Understand these as eternal things. For just as μέλλων καιρὸς (time to come) is contrasted with the present (τῷ ἐνεστηκότι), so future blessings are contrasted with present ones. The meaning is that we are led by Christ’s priesthood into the celestial kingdom of God, and we are made partakers of spiritual righteousness and of eternal life, so that we should not desire anything better. Christ alone, then, has that by which He can retain and satisfy us in Himself.

By a greater and more perfect tabernacle... Although this passage is explained in various ways, I have no doubt that he means the body of Christ. For just as there was formerly access for the Levitical high priest to the holy of holies through the sanctuary, so Christ, through His own body, entered into the glory of heaven. Because He had taken on our flesh and suffered in it, He obtained for Himself this privilege: to appear before God as a Mediator for us.

In the first place, the word “sanctuary” is fittingly and suitably applied to the body of Christ, for it is the temple in which the whole majesty of God dwells. He is further said to have made a way for us by His body to ascend into heaven, because in that body He consecrated Himself to God; He became in it sanctified to be our true righteousness; He prepared Himself in it to offer a sacrifice. In a word, He made Himself in it of no reputation and suffered the death of the cross; therefore, the Father highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name, that every knee should bow to Him (Philippians 2:8–10). He then entered into heaven through His own body, because it is for this reason that He now sits at the Father’s right hand. He intercedes for us in heaven for this reason: because He had taken on our flesh, consecrated it as a temple to God the Father, and in it sanctified Himself to obtain for us an eternal righteousness, having made an atonement for our sins.

It may, however, seem strange that he denies the body of Christ to be of this building, for doubtless He proceeded from the seed of Abraham and was liable to sufferings and to death. To this I reply that he is not speaking here of His material body, or of what belongs to the body as such, but of the spiritual efficacy that emanates from it to us.

For as far as Christ’s flesh is quickening and is a heavenly food to nourish souls, and as far as His blood is a spiritual drink and has a cleansing power, we should not imagine anything earthly or material in them. And then we must remember that this is said in allusion to the ancient tabernacle, which was made of wood, brass, skins, silver, and gold—all of which were dead things. But the power of God made the flesh of Christ a living and spiritual temple.