| Geneva Study Bible {2} A minister of the {a} sanctuary, {3} and of the {b} true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. (2) They of Levi were high priests in an earthly sanctuary, but Christ is in the heavenly. (a) Of heaven. (3) They of Levi exercised their priesthood in a frail tabernacle, but Christ bears about with him another tabernacle, that is, his body, which God himself made everlasting, as shall later be declared in Heb 9:11. (b) Of his body. People's New Testament 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary. Not of any earthly temple, but of the sanctuary above. And of the true tabernacle, the tabernacle made of God, whose Holy of Holies is in the heavens, of which the earthly tabernacle was only a feeble pattern. The earthly tabernacle had an outer court, with the altar, a holy place, and a Holy of Holies. These parts have been understood to be typical (1) of the world, from whence we pass by the altar of sacrifice, the blood of Christ into (2) the holy place, the church, and from the holy place the high priest passed beyond the veil into (3) the Most Holy Place, typical of heaven itself. There our high priest, having rent the veil that all in the church may follow, dwells and intercedes for us. There he presented his offering, the blood of his atonement. Wesley's Notes 8:2 A minister - Who represents his own sacrifice, as the high priest did the blood of those sacrifices once a year. Of the sanctuary - Heaven, typified by the holy of holies. And of the true tabernacle - Perhaps his human nature, of which the old tabernacle was a type. Which the Lord hath fixed - Forever. Not man - As Moses fixed the tabernacle. King James Translators' Notes of the sanctuary: or, of holy things Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 2. minister-The Greek term implies priestly ministry in the temple. the sanctuary-Greek, "the holy places"; the Holy of Holies. Here the heavenly sanctuary is meant. the true-the archetypal and antitypical, as contrasted with the typical and symbolical (Heb 9:24). Greek "alethinos" (used here) is opposed to that which does not fulfil its idea, as for instance, a type; "alethes," to that which is untrue and unreal, as a lie. The measure of alethes is reality; that of alethinos, ideality. In alethes the idea corresponds to the thing; in alethinos, the thing to the idea [Kalmis in Alford]. tabernacle-(Heb 9:11). His body. Through His glorified body as the tabernacle, Christ passes into the heavenly "Holy of Holies," the immediate immaterial presence of God, where He intercedes for us. This tabernacle in which God dwells, is where God in Christ meets us who are "members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." This tabernacle answers to the heavenly Jerusalem, where God's visible presence is to be manifested to His perfected saints and angels, who are united in Christ the Head; in contradistinction to His personal invisible presence in the Holy of Holies unapproachable save to Christ. Joh 1:14, "Word . dwelt among us," Greek, "tabernacled." pitched-Greek, "fixed" firmly. not man-as Moses (Heb 8:5). Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 8:1-6 The substance, or summary, of what had been declared was, that Christians had such a High Priest as they needed. He took upon himself human nature, appeared on earth, and there gave himself as a sacrifice to God for the sins of his people. We must not dare to approach God, or to present any thing to him, but in and through Christ, depending upon his merits and mediation; for we are accepted only in the Beloved. In all obedience and worship, we should keep close to God's word, which is the only and perfect standard. Christ is the substance and end of the law of righteousness. But the covenant here referred to, was that made with Israel as a nation, securing temporal benefits to them. The promises of all spiritual blessings, and of eternal life, revealed in the gospel, and made sure through Christ, are of infinitely greater value. Let us bless God that we have a High Priest that suits our helpless condition. | 
