Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

People's New Testament

10:29 Of how much sorer punishment. Where much is given much is required. How great the sin of the apostate!

Who hath trodden under foot the Son of God. Despised him instead of Moses.

And hath counted the blood of the covenant. the blood of Christ, the blood by which he was sanctified.

Wherewith he was sanctified. Cleansed from the guilt of sin,

An unholy thing. Treated this blood as if it was unholy.

And hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Rejected all the work, the words, the preaching, the pleadings of the Holy Spirit.

Wesley's Notes

10:29 Of how much sorer punishment is he worthy, who - By wilful, total apostasy. It does not appear that this passage refers to any other sin. Hath, as it were, trodden underfoot the Son of God - A lawgiver far more honourable than Moses. And counted the blood wherewith the better covenant was established, an unholy, a common, worthless thing. By which he hath been sanctified - Therefore Christ died for him also, and he was at least justified once. And done despite to the Spirit of grace - By rejecting all his motions.

Scofield Reference Notes

Margin Spirit of grace

Grace (in salvation). 1Pet 1:10,13 Rom 3:24 See Scofield Note: "Jn 1:17".

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

29. sorer-Greek, "worse," namely, "punishment" (literally, "vengeance") than any mere temporal punishment of the body.

suppose ye-an appeal to the Hebrews' reason and conscience.

thought worthy-by God at the judgment.

trodden under foot the Son of God-by "wilful" apostasy. So he treads under foot God Himself who "glorified His Son as an high priest" (Heb 5:5; 6:6).

an unholy thing-literally, "common," as opposed to "sanctified." No better than the blood of a common man, thus involving the consequence that Christ, in claiming to be God, was guilty of blasphemy, and so deserved to die!

wherewith he was sanctified-for Christ died even for him. "Sanctified," in the fullest sense, belongs only to the saved elect. But in some sense it belongs also to those who have gone a far way in Christian experience, and yet fall away at last. The higher such a one's past Christian experiences, the deeper his fall.

done despite unto-by repelling in fact: as "blasphemy" is despite in words (Mr 3:29). "Of the Jews who became Christians and relapsed to Judaism, we find from the history of Uriel Acosta, that they required a blasphemy against Christ. 'They applied to Him epithets used against Molech the adulterous branch,' &c." [Tholuck].

the Spirit of grace-the Spirit that confers grace. "He who does not accept the benefit, insults Him who confers it. He hath made thee a son: wilt thou become a slave? He has come to take up His abode with thee; but thou art introducing evil into thyself" [Chrysostom]. "It is the curse of evil eternally to propagate evil: so, for him who profanes the Christ without him, and blasphemes the Christ within him, there is subjectively no renewal of a change of mind (Heb 6:6), and objectively no new sacrifice for sins" (Heb 10:26) [Tholuck].

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:26-31 The exhortations against apostacy and to perseverance, are urged by many strong reasons. The sin here mentioned is a total and final falling away, when men, with a full and fixed will and resolution, despise and reject Christ, the only Saviour; despise and resist the Spirit, the only Sanctifier; and despise and renounce the gospel, the only way of salvation, and the words of eternal life. Of this destruction God gives some notorious sinners, while on earth, a fearful foreboding in their consciences, with despair of being able to endure or to escape it. But what punishment can be sorer than to die without mercy? We answer, to die by mercy, by the mercy and grace which they have despised. How dreadful is the case, when not only the justice of God, but his abused grace and mercy call for vengeance! All this does not in the least mean that any souls who sorrow for sin will be shut out from mercy, or that any will be refused the benefit of Christ's sacrifice, who are willing to accept these blessings. Him that cometh unto Christ, he will in no wise cast out.