Draw Near
Hebrews 10:19–25 (NIV)
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The Turn in the Letter
For nine and a half chapters, Hebrews has been explaining. Jesus is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, a better high priest, with a better covenant and a better sacrifice. Yesterday we read that his blood cleanses not only the outside but the conscience.
Then comes verse 19, and it begins with one word: “Therefore.”
This is where the letter turns. Up to now the writer has been telling us what Jesus has done. From here he starts telling us what to do about it. Everything before this verse is the reason. Everything after it is the response.
And the response is not complicated. In just a few verses he gives three simple invitations, each beginning with “let us.” Let us draw near. Let us hold on. Let us consider one another.
Confidence Where There Used to Be Fear
“Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.”
Think about how strange that sentence would have sounded to a first-century Jewish reader. The Most Holy Place was the one room nobody entered. Only the high priest went in, once a year, and he went in carefully. Leviticus 16 warns that if he came in the wrong way, he would die.
Now the writer says ordinary believers have “confidence” to enter. Not permission granted grudgingly. Confidence. The word means boldness, freedom to speak, the ease of someone who knows they are welcome.
That confidence does not come from us. It comes “by the blood of Jesus.” We do not walk in because we have cleaned ourselves up. We walk in because he has already done what the old sacrifices never could.
A New and Living Way
“By a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”
The curtain was the heavy veil that separated the Most Holy Place from everything else. It was a constant message: God is here, and you cannot come in.
The writer connects that curtain to the body of Jesus. When his body was broken on the cross, the way was opened. The Gospels tell us that at the moment Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Not from the bottom up, as if people had forced their way in. From the top down. God opened it from his side.
And notice the two words he uses for this way: “new” and “living.” The old way was the same ritual repeated every year, with dead animals. This way is new, and it is living, because the one who opened it is alive and still stands there as “a great priest over the house of God.”
Let Us Draw Near
Then comes the first invitation.
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.”
After everything the letter has built, this is the first thing it asks of us. Not to work harder. Not to prove anything. Just to come close.
A “sincere heart” means a true heart, an honest one. We do not have to come pretending. We can bring what is actually going on inside us.
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“Full assurance” means we come without hedging. Many of us pray as if we are standing at the edge of the room, not sure we should be there, ready to leave if we are noticed. Hebrews says the door has been opened by God himself. We are allowed all the way in.
The verse also gives two pictures of what has been done for us: “having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” The priests of the old covenant were sprinkled and washed before they served. Now the writer says the same has been done for every believer. Inside and outside. Conscience and body. We are ready to come near.
Let Us Hold On
The second invitation is about holding steady.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
“Unswervingly” is a picture of something that does not bend or lean. The first readers of Hebrews were under pressure. Some had lost property. Some were tempted to go back to the old ways because following Jesus was costing too much.
The writer does not tell them to grip harder by their own strength. He gives them a reason: “for he who promised is faithful.”
That is where the weight of our hope sits. Not on how strong our faith feels on a given morning, but on the character of the one who made the promise. Our grip may be weak some days. His faithfulness is not.
Let Us Consider One Another
The third invitation turns from God to the people around us.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
“Consider” means to think carefully, to pay attention. The writer wants us to give real thought to each other. Who around me is tired? Who is drifting? Who needs a push in the right direction?
“Spur” is a strong word. It is the same root as provoke or stir up. We usually provoke one another to irritation. Hebrews asks us to provoke one another to love.
Then he adds the practical part: “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
Even in the first century, some people were drifting away from gathering. It became a habit. The writer does not scold them so much as remind the rest what is lost when we stop showing up. We cannot encourage someone we never see. And we cannot be encouraged if we have quietly removed ourselves.
The three invitations belong together. Drawing near to God, holding on to hope, and staying close to each other. When one goes, the others usually start to weaken too.
Walk On
The way into God’s presence is open. It was opened from his side, at great cost, and it stays open. The question Hebrews leaves us with is whether we will actually use it.
It is possible to believe all of this and still live at the edge of the room. Still pray cautiously. Still keep our distance from other believers because it feels easier on our own.
Two questions to carry today:
Is there a part of your life you have been keeping outside the door, waiting until you feel clean enough to bring it in?
And who is one person you could encourage this week, simply by showing up?
All glory to God — forever and ever. Amen. 🤍
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