Theophylact of Ohrid, on Heb 10:1

“For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things; by the selfsame sacrifices which they offer continually every year, can never make the comers thereunto perfect:”

“That is, being an image of the future blessings of the New Testament, which Christ bestows upon those who have accepted this Testament. That is, not the very truth. Of what things? Of our sacrifice, of the remission of sins. For the things of the Old Testament, being unclear, resembled a shadowy outline; but those of the New Testament are like an image, that is, the truth, since they appear in brilliance and perfection. So explains St. John Chrysostom. But it is not useless to take into account also what Gregory the Theologian gives us to understand in this passage. In other discourses as well, but especially clearly in his oration on Pascha, he says: the Paschal lamb of the law—I state decisively—was an image darker than an image. Thus he gives us to understand that by "shadow" the apostle means the law; and by image, what is now performed in the Church, as a reflection of other more perfect blessings which the worthy will receive as their portion in the age to come; and these are what the apostle now calls "things." Therefore, just as an image differs in some way from the archetypal thing, so too the present mysteries differ from the more perfect things of the age to come; and to the degree that an outline falls short of an image, to that same degree the law falls short of the New Testament. The meaning of this passage is as follows: if the sacrifices of the Law had power, they would not have been offered continually; once offered and having proved beneficial, they would have ceased. But since they were offered every year, constantly, it is clear that they had no power to perfect. And therefore after the first sacrifice they offered a second, and then yet a third. Just as among medicines, those are effective which, having been applied once, bring healing; whereas those that are frequently applied thereby demonstrate their own inefficacy. But the question arises: what then? Do we not also unceasingly offer bloodless sacrifices? Of course, always; but we perform a remembrance of the death of Christ. And this sacrifice is one, not many, since it was offered once. We constantly offer one and the same Lamb, or rather: we perform a remembrance of that offering, as though it were being performed now. Consequently, the sacrifice is one. As for the fact that the sacrifice is offered in many places—are there then many Christs? No, one—everywhere, and complete there, and complete here, one Body of His. And just as, being offered in many places, He is one Body and not many bodies, so also the sacrifice is one. For we offer that sacrifice which was offered then. But there, the lamb offered yesterday was different from today's. And today's lamb was offered not as a remembrance of yesterday's, but as itself constituting a sacrifice in its own right. So in what sense does the Apostle say "the same sacrifices"? The sacrifices were the same inasmuch as the same kinds of sacrifices were offered—for example, today a lamb and tomorrow a lamb—but they were different in number. Some, however, have said that the sacrifices were the same in the manner of offering—that is, they were performed through slaughter or burnt offering—but different in kind, such as sheep, oxen, turtledoves, pigeons. The expression δύναται—"can"—although it is found in manuscripts with the letter ν, I have nevertheless found a note requiring it without the letter ν. "The Law," he says, "having a shadow of the good things to come... can never make (δύναται) perfect those who draw near." And indeed, in accordance with grammatical precision, one must preserve Scripture so that no error arises in it. But since in Scripture there is not a single word about rules of speech, we shall understand this passage as the manuscripts contain it, namely: they can (δύναται) never—evidently, those who offer—make perfect those who draw near.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.