Hebrews 12:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

At the same time, I prove that what is ours is far more excellent and wonderful. It is great in two ways: as glorious and more important, and also as more accessible and gentle.

So also in the Epistle to the Corinthians the Apostle says: "We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord," and not as Moses, who put a veil over his face (2 Cor 3:18, 13).

They, he says, were not deemed worthy of what we have received. Of what were they deemed worthy? They saw darkness and cloud, and they heard a voice.

But you too have heard the voice of God, only not through a cloud, but through the flesh of Christ. Moreover, you were not troubled or terrified, but stood and conversed with the Mediator.

By darkness Scripture also signifies invisibility. "And darkness," says the Psalmist, "was under His feet" (Ps 17:10).

Then Moses too was afraid, but now no one is. Then the people stood below, but we are not below. We are above heaven, near God Himself, as His sons, and not as Moses.

There was the wilderness, but here there is a city and myriads of angels.

Therefore it is impossible for human nature to know the order of that life and all its adornments. These are the very things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor 2:9).

Besides this, we know that there are myriads of angels, the triumph of the saints, and the Church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven (Heb 12:23).

David speaks of this city: "Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God" (Ps 86:3). Through Isaiah God gives this city the promise: "I will make you an eternal majesty, a joy from generation to generation. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor devastation and destruction within your borders, and you shall call your walls salvation" (Is 60:15, 18).

Therefore, lifting the eyes of your soul worthily toward the things above, seek knowledge of the city of God. But how can one conceive anything worthy of that blessedness, which the river of God gladdens, and whose craftsman and builder is God (Heb 11:10)?

Let the vigilant soul, which seeks Christ and desires to possess Him, grasp the meaning. "On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not" (Song 3:1).

For whoever seeks well will seek both on the bed and by night. Let neither day nor night be idle, and let no time be empty of the duty of piety.

If the soul did not find Him at first, let it arise and go in search. Therefore it says: "I will rise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares, and I will seek him whom my soul loves" (Song 3:2).

And perhaps it still does not find Him there, because it sought Him in the squares, where lawsuits are tried, and in the streets, where market days of trade have begun. For Christ is not comparable with money, nor is He acquired by money.

We may also understand it thus. She sought Christ on the bed who seeks Him in peaceful stillness. She seeks by night, since He speaks in parables (Mt 13:13; Ezek 20:49).

For "He made darkness His hiding place" (Ps 17:12), and "night to night reveals knowledge" (Ps 19:2). Therefore we meditate in our hearts upon our beds and become still (Ps 4:4).

Yet even so the soul does not find Christ, and therefore it says, "I will rise now." That is, I will raise and lift up my intention on high, so that I may seek tirelessly and attentively, and enter the city.

But there is also a soul that says: "I, the Lord, am its keeper. Every moment I water it. Night and day I guard it, lest anyone break into it" (Is 27:3 LXX).

The city is fortified by Christ, and that city is Jerusalem in heaven. There is a multitude of interpreters skilled in the teaching of the faith and of the Law of God. Through them the word of God is sought.

And since the name Jerusalem, according to its interpretation, means vision of peace, this is pre-eminently in heaven, where all is filled with peace and calm.

"And to myriads of angels."

There were myriads of people, but here there are myriads of angels. How much greater this is!

Further, the Church is called the heavenly Jerusalem, as such a city of God or kingdom of God as is "not of this world" (Jn 18:36).

It consists not only of earthly men, but still more of heavenly dwellers. In it those born on earth receive heavenly blessings and lead a heavenly life.

The Church is called a festal assembly, πανήγυρις, that is, a universal festive gathering. In the same way Christ likens His kingdom to a wedding feast, to which the heavenly Master of the house invited many (Lk 14:16).

Myriads of angels belong to the Church. Then, as a constituent part, there enters into her the Church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.

These are the holy saints, patriarchs, and apostles, who before the rest were enrolled among the citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Lk 10:20).

The Apostle also numbers among the Church of Christ, in general, "the spirits of righteous men made perfect." Until the time of the general resurrection they are separated from their bodies.

They are not clothed with flesh, and are more like the bodiless angels than those born on earth. Yet they await the reception of bodies like the glorious Body of Christ (1 Cor 15:44; Phil 3:21).

By portraying the constitution of the Church in this way, the Apostle gives an unshakable foundation for Orthodox dogmas. These include invoking and glorifying the heavenly powers and the holy saints of God in prayer.

They also include prayer for the departed, and the prayerful intercession and gracious help of angels and departed saints for those who remain alive.

In the Church, because of her unity, all pray for all, and all assist all. In no other way can it be expressed that we have truly come to the "triumphant assembly" and to the "heavenly Jerusalem."

Ascending by the ladder of creatures to the summit of heavenly Zion, to uncreated and eternal Being, the Apostle says: "You have come to God, the Judge of all, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant."

God the Father is the lawgiver and judge of mankind. He said of Himself, "I am a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation" (Ex 20:5).

He will not acquit those who disobey and transgress His will, nor will He cleanse those who sin (Ex 34:7; Jer 32:18-19).

From this it becomes clear how precious, or priceless, for men is the mediation of Jesus Christ, Who obtains eternal redemption and the New Covenant for them.

At the same time, the mediation of Christ is raised to such a height that the mediation of the bodiless powers and the saints cannot be compared with it.

By the mediation of Christ the New Covenant has been given to us. The mutual help of men in the work of salvation is already grounded in their abiding in the one New Covenant.

By the mediation of Christ the Church was created. The prayerful aid of the saints toward us already flows from our dwelling with them in one Church, since we have come to "the spirits of the righteous."

Therefore, although we flee to the intercession of the saints, we in no way compare them with the one Mediator (1 Tim 2:5).

Explaining how Christ obtained eternal redemption for us and bestowed the New Covenant, the Apostle Paul says: "You have come to the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better than that of Abel."

Concerning Abel's blood the Lord said to Cain, "The voice of your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground" (Gen 4:10).

These words express that the blood of the brother shed by Cain is not silent. It cries out and intercedes before God for vengeance.

This served as the Apostle's basis for comparing it with the Blood of Christ. That Blood also cries out, that is, intercedes before God. Yet it cries out better, not for vengeance, but for reconciliation and forgiveness.

As a result of this mediating action of Christ's Blood, men receive redemption and the New Covenant.

It is important for us to ask this question here. Did the Blood of Christ cry out to God for us only once, namely when it was shed on Golgotha, or does it cry out even now?

The Apostle said, "which speaks," meaning that it speaks constantly. Besides this, Abel's blood cried out after the murder, not only while it was being committed.

Job, wishing to be reconciled with God, whom he represents as hostile to him, says, "O earth, do not cover my blood" (Job 16:18).

He is convinced that his innocent blood, flowing from his wounds and crying out to God, will one day return God's mercy to him.

It is not in vain that Job is considered a type of Christ, since his blood also cried out better than Abel's.

The Prophet Isaiah says that the earth will reveal the blood of the slain, not doubting that this blood will obtain vengeance against the murderers (Is 26:21).

In all these cases, blood appears as crying out not only at the time of its shedding, but also afterward.

Therefore the Blood of Christ cries out even now. Everyone who enters Christ's Church also approaches this Blood that cries without ceasing, and thereby becomes a participant in the New Covenant obtained by it.

But in order to cry out constantly, the Blood of Christ must constantly abide. In order to approach it, one must find it somewhere.

In order to partake of it, one must believe that it has not dried up. It is continually distributed to the faithful, and is therefore called the blood of sprinkling, from an inexhaustible source.

This covenantal Blood is communicated to us, as if sprinkled upon us, in the mystery of the Eucharist. For its sake, through the mystery of Baptism, we entered the Church, which serves as its inexhaustible treasury.

Such, according to the Apostle, must be the image of the Church. God dwells in her. Christ the Mediator sanctifies her by His Blood. In her unity she embraces those born on earth and those who dwell in heaven.

That is, they are numbered with the community of believers. This includes those still living on earth, but rightly considered citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20), and those who have already fallen asleep, namely the blessed men of the Old Testament and the first Christians.

They have come to such a Judge, who is the God of all people and their Master. Therefore He can always punish the disobedient and apostates.

They have come to the assembly of souls who have completed their earthly contest, though they have not yet been clothed in the glorified body.

Finally, we have drawn near to the very Mediator of the new, or newly established, covenant, νέας. We make use of the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better things than the blood of Abel.

Abel's blood cried out for vengeance, but Christ's blood cries out for forgiveness (Heb 12:18-24).