The Essence of the Law

¹² “So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,^{(A) 13} and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. ¹⁴ Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it,^{(B) 15} yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today.^{(C) 16} Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.^{(D) 17} For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe,^{(E) 18} who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.^{(F) 19} You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.^{(G) 20} You shall fear the Lord your God; him you shall serve; to him you shall hold fast; and by his name you shall swear.^{(H) 21} He is your praise; he is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen.^{(I) 22} Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.^(J)

¹¹ Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

¹² Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.^{(A) 13} And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.^(B)

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.^{(C) 15} For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested^[a] as we are, yet without sin.^{(D) 16} Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness,^{(A) 3} and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.^(B)

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by^[a] the one who said to him,

⁶ as he says also in another place,

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus^[b] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.^{(E) 8} Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered,^{(F) 9} and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,^{(G) 10} having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus and John the Baptist

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there, and people kept coming and were being baptized. ²⁴ (John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.)^(A)

²⁵ Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew.^{[a] 26} They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”^{(B) 27} John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.^{(C) 28} You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,^[b] but I have been sent ahead of him.’^{(D) 29} He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.^{(E) 30} He must increase, but I must decrease.”^[c]

The One Who Comes from Heaven

³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all.^{(F) 32} He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.^{(G) 33} Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified^[d] this, that God is true.^{(H) 34} He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.^{(I) 35} The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.^{(J) 36} Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life but must endure God’s wrath.^(K)