Heb. 12:14. and holiness,
That is, purity: if someone is unmarried – preserving virginity; if in marriage, then – chastity: not because marriage is a holy thing, but because through the lawful relationship it preserves unimpaired the holiness from baptism.
Heb. 12:14. Without which no one shall see the Lord.
For neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Cor. 6:9–10). As the Lord also says in the Gospel: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8).
Heb. 12:15. Watch out, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;
Just as someone, traveling a long road accompanied by many people, says: see to it that no one falls behind. For I am concerned not only that you do not draw close, but that you also watch over others, that is, visit, inquire, investigate regarding the weak: if even one were to be last, that he not be neglected either. And he calls faith and good conduct and future blessings the grace of God, for all these things are from grace.
Heb. 12:15. Lest any bitter root, springing up, cause harm,
This is found in Deuteronomy (Deut. 29:18). He took the metaphor from plants. What he says in another place: "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9), he says here as well, so that no wicked person be admitted to the destruction of the majority: cut off the root of bitterness, that is, of sin, lest it spring up, that is, lest it make others the same. And that sin is bitter, that there is nothing more bitter — this was known by those who after committing it are gnawed by conscience. Note, he did not say: a bitter root, but: a root of bitterness; for a bitter root can bear sweet fruits, but a root of bitterness, that is, the source and cause of that very bitterness, can never bear sweet fruit.
Heb. 12:15. and so that many would not be defiled by them;
For, seeing the ungodly, the frivolous enter into rivalry with them and thus defile their souls. Therefore, let such roots be cut down.
Heb. 12:16. lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
He does not say that Esau was a fornicator, but stop here: "lest there be any fornicator among you." For although he hints that some among them were vile, he does not wish to expose them, but feigns ignorance so that they might be corrected. Then again he said: "or profane person,... like Esau," that is, insatiable, worldly, one who defiles and tramples upon what is spiritual; for he gave away, and moreover for "one morsel of food," the privilege of the birthright given to him by God (Gen. 25). This is what "profaneness" is, namely contempt for what is divine. Here he shows them what an evil thing negligence is, because the elder, having fallen into faintheartedness and not having withstood the desire to eat, became the younger.
Heb. 12:17. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected;
He was rejected by the words of his father: "Behold, I have made him lord... what then shall I do for you, my son?" (Gen. 27:37). Some, however, explain that he "was rejected" by God. So then, first, he was rejected by God. For God was the cause of the deceived Isaac blessing Jacob. As for the rejection that followed after this, when he sought the blessing, one must think it was on the part of the father, or at one and the same time from both; for it is clear that the father also rejected him by the will of God.
Heb. 12:17. He could not change his father's mind, even though he begged him with tears.
So, does Paul deny repentance here? By no means. In what sense, then, does he say, "for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears"? First, understand the word "it" (αὐτήν) not as referring to "repentance," but to the blessing (εὐλογίαν); "for he found no place of repentance" is parenthetical. For is it a matter of repentance to say, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will slay my brother Jacob" (Gen. 27:41)? Thus, "he found no repentance" because he did not seek it as he ought to have. For even though he wept, it was not with tears of repentance, but of envy and enmity, since he could not bear or accept another's superiority over him, just as Cain's "sorrow" was not the fruit of repentance but of envy, and he became a murderer. So this either has the meaning I have stated, or it means that Paul very wisely frightens those who have not yet fallen, expressing the idea that for great sins there is no place for repentance; he does this with the aim of guarding them from falling through fear. But when he saw that some had fallen, he again exhorts them not to despair, as also in the Epistle to the Galatians: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal. 4:19). Thus, Paul does not deny repentance here, but safeguards believers against falling.
Heb. 12:18. You have not come to the mountain that could be touched and that burned with fire, nor to darkness and gloom and tempest,
Heb. 12:19. not to the sound of a trumpet (cf. Exod. 19:19)
He shows that if they do not endure and at the same time do not believe in the promises, they are far more guilty than those under the Old Testament. And see how he makes the comparison. Having shown the superiority of the New Testament over the Old in many respects, as is already known, he now sets forth also the great and wondrous events of the Old Testament that took place on Mount Sinai (Deut. 5:22), and shows that they are insignificant and cannot be compared with the events of the New Testament. For there, he says, were many figures for the frightening of that infantile people. He adds also "fire," to reveal the punitive power of the Lawgiver and so that He might immediately appear fearsome. The "cloud" and "darkness" pointed to the significance of the Old Testament as a shadow. For if that covenant was a figure, then it is clear that until the truth came, the figures were obscure, which is why they did not know what they signified. Through them also the invisible things of God were revealed. For, he says, the cloud is the footstool of His feet. And the storm roused the heedless Hebrews to attention. And the trumpets signified, as it were, the presence of the King. For this will also occur at the second coming of Christ.
Heb. 12:19. and the voice of words, which those who heard begged that no more word be spoken to them,
For they heard God speaking, so that the legislation would be worthy of faith and so that they would not think these were the words of Moses. In general, the voice of God is terrifying, while that of Moses is weak. Therefore they refused to listen to God, saying to Moses: "You speak with us... let not God speak with us" (Exod. 20:19).
Heb. 12:20. For they could not endure that which was commanded:
That is, they could not bear to hear with their ears what God was saying, as something terrifying. And so they became the reason for God's appearing in the flesh, so as to become accessible to them.
Heb. 12:20. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned (or struck by an arrow);
Heb. 12:21. So terrifying was the sight,