Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Perfect Pardon in the New Covenant
10 The Torah has a shadow of the good things to come—not the form itself of the realities. For this reason it can never, by means of the same sacrifices they offer constantly year after year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers—cleansed once and for all—would no longer have consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices is a reminder of sins year after year— 4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 So when Messiah comes into the world, He says,
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but a body You prepared for Me.
6 In whole burnt offerings and sin offerings
You did not delight.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I come to do Your will, O God
(in the scroll of the book it is written of Me).’”[a]
8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (those which are offered according to Torah), 9 then He said, “Behold, I come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By His will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Messiah Yeshua once for all.
11 Indeed, every kohen stands day by day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. [b] 12 But on the other hand, when this One offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God— 13 waiting from then on, until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. [c] 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those being made holy. 15 The Ruach ha-Kodesh also testifies to us—for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will cut with them:
‘After those days,’ says Adonai,
‘I will put My Torah upon their hearts,
and upon their minds I will write it,’”[d]
then He says,
17 “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”[e]
18 Now where there is removal of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Let Us Pray Boldly in God’s Presence
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have boldness to enter into the Holies by the blood of Yeshua. 20 He inaugurated a new and living way for us through the curtain—that is, His flesh. 21 We also have a Kohen Gadol over God’s household.
22 So let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and body washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the unwavering confession of hope, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds.
25 And do not neglect our own meetings, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another—and all the more so as you see the Day[f] approaching.
26 For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God. [g] 28 Anyone who rejected the Torah of Moses dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. [h] 29 How much more severe do you think the punishment will be for the one who has trampled Ben-Elohim underfoot, and has regarded as unholy the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the One who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “Adonai will judge His people.” [i] 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Suffering Perfects Yeshua’s Followers
32 But remember the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to abuses and afflictions, and other times you became partners with those who were treated this way. 34 For you suffered along with the prisoners and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession. 35 Therefore, do not lose your boldness, which has great reward. 36 For you need perseverance so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. 37 For yet
“in a very little while,[j]
the Coming One will come,
and He will not delay.[k]
38 But My righteous one shall live by emunah;
and if he shrinks back,
My soul takes no pleasure in him.”[l]
39 But we are not among the timid ones on the path to destruction, but among the faithful ones on the path to the preservation of the soul.
The Faithful See from Afar
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen. 2 For by it the elders received commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible.
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. Through faith he was commended as righteous[m] when God approved of his gifts. And through faith he still speaks, although he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken so as not to see death, and he was not found because God took him.[n] For before he was taken, he was commended as pleasing to God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about events not yet seen, in holy fear prepared an ark for the safety of his household. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he migrated to the land of promise as if it were foreign, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob—fellow heirs of the same promise. 10 For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive[o] when she was barren and past the age, since she considered the One who had made the promise to be faithful. 12 So from one—and him as good as dead—were fathered offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as uncountable as the sand on the seashore.[p]
13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised—but they saw them and welcomed them from afar, and they confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. [q] 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If indeed they had been thinking about where they had come from, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they yearn for a better land—that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had received the promises was offering up his one and only son— 18 the one about whom it was said, “Through Isaac offspring shall be named for you.” [r] 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise him up even from the dead—and in a sense, he did receive him back from there.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he bowed in worship while leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the exodus of Bnei-Yisrael and gave instructions about his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was an extraordinary child and they were not afraid of the king’s decree. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 Instead he chose to suffer mistreatment along with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the disgrace of Messiah[s] as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt—because he was looking ahead to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger—for he persevered as if seeing the One who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the smearing of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as if on dry ground. When the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were circled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she welcomed the spies with shalom.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 By faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, and made foreign armies flee.
35 Women received their dead raised back to life; and others were tortured, after not accepting release, so they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others experienced the trial of mocking and scourging—yes, and even chains and prison.
37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were murdered with the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them! They wandered around in deserts and mountains, caves and holes in the ground. 39 And all these, though commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised— 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that only with us would they reach perfection.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.