Hebrews 9:11

But Christ. The high-priestly work of Christ now comes up for consideration and is shown to be vastly superior to the services performed by the earthly high priest.

Being come. Greek paraginomai, “to come,” “to arrive,” “to be present,” “to appear.” The verb form is preferably translated “having come,” or “having appeared.” Christ is here presented at the moment that He is inaugurated high priest of the heavenly sanctuary.

Good things to come. Textual evidence is divided (cf. p. 10) between this and the reading “good things having come.” Both readings may be fitted into the context. The phrase “good things to come” would take account that the period when Paul wrote was one of transition and that the new had not completely replaced the old. This was especially true with regard to Jewish Christians (see on v. 9). The translation “good things having come” would take note of the fact that when Jesus was installed as the high priest in heaven above, the good things of the new covenant had also come.

By. Greek dia, “through,” “by means of,” “with.” The preposition also has many other meanings. The context must determine the precise meaning. The context here does not favor the idea of passing through something. Certain commentators adopting this idea interpret “tabernacle” here as the lower heavens, through which Jesus passed on the way to heaven. But there is insufficient reason for adopting a different meaning for “tabernacle” here from that given to it in Hebrews 8:2 (see comment there.) Furthermore, the lower heavens are “of this building,” literally, “of this creation.” However, the idea of passing through is only one of the many meanings of dia. The instrumental idea is very common, and that meaning here, in the sense of “employing,” makes excellent sense in the context. The passage may thus be translated, “But Christ having appeared as high priest of good things to come, employing the greater and more perfect tabernacle ... entered once for all into the holy place [or “places”].” To perform their services the earthly priests employed a handmade tabernacle; for His services Christ employed a greater and more perfect tabernacle.

One other view may be mentioned. The majority of the Church Fathers, both Greek and Latin, held that the word “tabernacle” here refers to the body of Christ, or to His humanity. They gave to dia an instrumental force and taught that it was by means of the incarnation that Christ was prepared for His high-priestly ministry. This is a fact and one that the author has already emphasized (see on Hebrews 5:7-9). Proponents of this view note that Jesus spoke of the temple of His body (John 2:21), and that the word “dwelt” in John 1:14 is literally “tented” (Greek skenao, the noun form of which is skene, the word translated “tabernacle” in Hebrews 9:11). They also cite other texts to show that the human body is referred to by “tabernacle” (2 Corinthians 5:1, 4) or “temple” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The principal objection to this view is that it does not seem to conform well with the context. It introduces a definition for “tabernacle” that disrupts the consistent use the author has at least thus far made of the word. It is therefore safer to give to “tabernacle” a definition already given to it in the context, especially since no difficulty is encountered in interpreting the passage in this way.

Greater and more perfect. No earthly structure can represent the vastness and glory of the heavenly temple where God dwells (see PP 357).

Tabernacle. See on Hebrews 8:2; cf. Hebrews 9:24.

Not made with hands. That is, not made with human hands. Earthly high priests functioned in handmade temples. Christ, the great High Priest, functions in a vastly superior tabernacle “pitched” by the Lord (ch. 8:2).

Building. Literally, “creation,” here probably meaning the visible creation (cf. on Romans 8:19).