Compare also the Lord's prophecy: Matt. 24:15 ff. The Fathers commonly understand the phrase of leaving the world and the like. This may be a legitimate application of the command, but it is wholly foreign to the original meaning.
One example may be quoted: Qui enim vult corpus et sanguinem ejus accipere debet ad locum passionis ejus accedere, ut honores et opes tabernaculi relinquens improperia et paupertatem pro nomine ejus ferre non respuat...(Herv.).
to;n ojneid. auj. fevr.
]
carrying His reproach
, Vulg.
improperium ejus portantes.
Comp. Heb. 11:26 (
to;n ojneidismo;n tou' Cristou'
); Luke 23:26
(
ejpevqhkan aujtw'/ to;n staurovn, fevrein
...). The thought is not only of a burden to be supported (
bastavzein
Gal. 6:2, 5); but of a burden to be carried to a fresh scene. Comp. Heb. 1:3 note.
e[xw th'" par.
] outside the camp, and not only outside the gate.
[Exw th'" parembolh'" ajnti; tou' e[xw th'" kata; novmon genwvmeqa politeiva"
(Theodt.). Christians are now called upon to withdraw from Judaism even in its first and purest shape. It had been designed by God as a provisional system, and its work was done.
The exhortation is one signal application of the Lord's own command, Lk. 9:23.
Heb. 13:14. ouj ga;r e[comen w|de ] The necessity for the abandonment of the old, however dear, lies in the general fact that we have no abiding system, no unchanging organisation, in the present transitory order ( w|de here on earth). That which abides belongs to the spiritual and eternal order. And such an abiding city lies before us. For we are seeking, not with a vague search for one to come, but that which is to come , that which hath the foundations , of which the organisation and the stability are already clearly realised.
For
mevnousan
compare Heb. 10:34; 12:27; 1 Pet. 1:23. The inadequate and misleading translation one (a city) to come is due to the Latin
futuram inquirimus.
But the object of Christian hope and effort is definite (
th;n mevll. ejpiz.
). All earthly institutions are imperfect adumbrations of the spiritual archetype. Compare Heb. 11:10 (
th;n tou;" qemelivou" e[cousan povlin
); 16 (
hJtoivmasen aujtoi'" povlin
); 12:22 (
povlei qeou' zw'nto"
). Herm.
Sim.
1.1
hJ povli" uJmw'n makravn ejstin ajpo; th'" povlew" tauvth"
. For
ejpizhtou'men
compare Heb. 11:14 note; and contrast 13:10
e[comen
. 13:15, 16. There is another side to our duty to Christ. Our sacrifice, our participation in Him, involves more than suffering for His sake: it is also an expression of thanksgiving, of praise to God (13:15), and of service to man (13:16), for Christ has made possible for us this side also of sacrificial service.
13:15.
dij aujtou'
...]
Through Him
and through no other
let us offer up a sacrifice of praise.
The emphatic position of
dij aujtou'
brings out the peculiar privilege of the believer. He has One through Whom he can fulfil the twofold duty of grateful worship: through Whom (Heb. 7:25) as High-priest every sacrifice for God and for man must be brought and placed upon the altar of God. Compare 1 Pet. 2:5 (
ajnenevgkai
...
dia; jI. C.
); 4:11
(
i{na...doxavzhtai oJ qeo;" dia; jI. C.
); Rom. 1:8 (
eujcaristw'
...
dia; jI. C.
); 16:27
(
qew'/ dia; jI. C.
...
hJ dovxa
); Col. 3:17; Clem. 1
ad Cor.
36, 44 and Bp Lightfoot's
note. Thus we gain the significance of petitions made through Jesus Christ.