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being spoken by the Lord. Literally the passage reads, "which having received a
commencement to be spoken by Lord". The idea is that the Lord Jesus was the first One
to give shape and expression to this new aspect of salvation. It may be asked why. In the
first case, He was born King and came preaching the Kingdom, and until it became
manifest that He would be rejected by His people the "so great salvation" was not
prominent. When, however, the signs began to multiply, showing that His ministry
would end in rejection, then He spoke more openly of the added glory that should be
shared by those who in His day of humiliation shared His rejection.
A hint is given in the distinction made between the treasure which having been found
in the field was hidden again, and the one pearl (Matt. 13:). When the Lord "began" to
speak of His own death, He also began to speak of the qualifications of those who should
attain the "so great salvation". He speaks of self-denial, of losing one's soul, and finding
it when the Lord comes with His angels (Matt. 16: 21-28). To the young man the Lord
said:--
"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven.....and come follow Me.....he went away sorrowing for he had
great possessions.....Peter said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed
thee, what shall we have THEREFORE? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, that ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit
on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel."
The parable which comes later in the Gospel, that of the Marriage of the King's Son,
is a warning to those who "neglect so great salvation"--the very word translated
"neglect" in Hebrews being here rendered "to make light of" the invitation. The unwise
and unready virgins of Matt. 25: speak again of the folly of neglect, they neglect the
word spoken by the Lord, "Watch therefore", as the others we have seen despised His
exhortation to give up now for His sake. The Hebrews on the contrary were commended
in that they had taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods, and were urged not to cast
away their confidence which had great recompense of reward. Parallel with the "so great
salvation" of Hebrews is the "saving of the soul" of Peter. The link is found in
Heb. 10: 39, where the true rendering is, "believe unto the acquiring of the soul".
Acquiring is the rendering of peripoiēsis which occurring but five times in the N.T. will
not take long to consult:--
Eph. 1: 14.
"Unto the redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION."
I Thess. 5: 9.
"To OBTAIN salvation."
II Thess. 2: 14.
"To the OBTAINING of the glory."
Heb. 10: 39.
"Unto the obtaining or the purchasing of the soul."
I Pet. 2: 9.
"A PURCHASED people" (margin).
The passage in Heb. 10: is parallel with Matt. 16: 24-27. Peter's expression, "the
saving of the soul", contains a very different idea from that which is intended in present
day gospel preaching. Paul never taught the saving of the soul when writing to the
churches, he does when addressing the Hebrews. Peter does when writing to the
dispersion. Those to whom Peter addresses his epistle were redeemed (I Pet. 1: 18), yet
the salvation of their souls was something they could receive as "the end of their faith".