The writer of Hebrews implores Jewish Christians to stay faithful, despite mounting pressure to return to Judaism. The same Jesus who died once for our sins will appear a second time to complete the work of salvation he began in all Christians.
Meanwhile, we are to keep the Christian community intact, meet regularly, and remind ourselves that “in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay” (Heb. 10:37).
Hebrews 9:27-28 – And just as it is appointed for people to die once — and after this, judgment — so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Some Greeks held to Plato’s belief in reincarnation. And some Jewish traditions allowed for temporary punishment in gehenna after death to expiate one’s remaining sins. But the writer of Hebrews affirms the majority first-century Jewish view, and the consensus New Testament teaching, that death ends a person’s opportunity for reconciliation with God. Today is the day to set things right with our creator and judge (Heb. 4:5-7). As Jared Ingle writes, “We are profoundly limited by Today. It is our only opportunity to engage God.”
Equally important, Christ has provided reconciliation through his death, burial, and resurrection. His work to “bear the sins of many” is drawn from Isaiah 53:12. Now seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven, the exalted Jesus will appear “a second time” – in his glorious future return – to finish his work of salvation in us. He is raising us from the dead and giving us glorified bodies, rewarding us for faithful service, and forever banishing death and hades to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
Our role as followers of Jesus is to serve him faithfully in view of his imminent return. As Jesus tells his disciples in the parable of the ten minas, “Engage in business until I come back” (Luke 19:11-27, especially v. 13).
Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Religious associations in the Greco-Roman world were key to a sense of community. Jewish people in the first century gathered weekly at their synagogues. Christians seemed to have gathered at least weekly with an emphasis on Sunday (Acts 20:7).
But persecution may have discouraged some Christians from attending worship, even in relatively private house churches. So, the writer of Hebrews urges them not to neglect vital engagement in Christian community, especially as they see “the day approaching” – that is, the day of Jesus’ return and judgment.
Hebrews 10:37 – For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.
The writer of Hebrews expresses confidence that his readers, having already endured much, will not shrink back and abandon the faith (Heb. 10:32-39). He cheers them on to faithfulness. Drawing from Habakkuk and Isaiah, he seeks to bolster their trust in the return of “the Coming One” (cf. Isa. 26:20; Hab. 2:3-4).
Habakkuk speaks of a revelation that is coming: “For the vision is yet for the appointed time …. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late” (Hab. 2:3). The prophet is referring to the looming judgment of Judah and the punishment of Babylon. The writer of Hebrews changes the focus to a person. Since Jesus is the God-Man, as well as God’s last word to man (Heb. 1:1), the adaptation fits perfectly to the return of Christ.
Just as God delays his judgment of Judah and his vengeance on Babylon, he holds the return of Christ in reserve for a future day. Peter tells us this delay is an exercise of God’s patience. Even so, the “day of the Lord” comes certainly and swiftly, punishing the wicked, purging the world of sin, and resulting in new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:1-13).
As Donald Guthrie notes of Hebrews 10:37, “Here the thought is of the certainty of God’s intervention, which was particularly significant for the church in a time of persecution. The assurance that the coming one would not tarry shows that any delay should be regarded as temporary.”
