³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Four times in this book of Hebrews are we told about being confident (3:6, 4:16, 10:19 and here). The underlying word can be translated as boldness, openness, publicly. We have the confidence to boldly, openly and publicly connect with God. There is no barrier on His side, so there should be none on our side. There is no need for an earthly priesthood to mediate between us, for we have a perfect High Priest who has already provided the once-for-all-time sacrifice for our sin.

At the least, we should have the confidence and that is a big part of what this letter to the Hebrews is all about. It is possible for something to be true, but for us to live in ignorance of it. What good does it do me to have a million dollars in a bank account in my name, if I don’t even know that the money or the account exists? True, at some point, it may become known, and at that time I will be able to use it. But it will not benefit me now.

In Christ, we have been brought into the family of God and He now calls us “brothers” (Heb 2:11-12). We have access to God’s presence, behind the veil, as it were. The question now is whether we can enjoy the family relationship with all its benefits, especially the “rest” we have in Christ. We no longer need to live with the constant weight of offering sacrifices that can never take away sin. Those things do nothing more than continually remind us of our sinfulness, that we come up short. But, in Christ, we can rest from all the work, because it is finished in Christ.

So the Hebrew readers should not throw away their confidence by going back to life under the Law, with all its ritual sacrifices and requirements. Why trade confidence for uncertainty, finality for incompleteness, rest for labor. That would make absolutely no sense. To do so would be to “trample under foot” (10:29) the perfect Sacrifice of God; it would be to “put Him to open shame” (Heb 6:6). Going back to the Law after having the knowledge of the truth would be complete hostility toward Christ (see Heb 12:3).

On the other hand, holding on to our confidence has a great reward. Of such the Scripture has much to say, but in this context the reward is the “rest” of God, resting from the religious weight of earning our way to God. It is now done, complete because of what Christ has done. And we need to enjoy our reward for believing what God has done. He has done all the work, and now invites us to simply join Him in His rest.

Lord, I rest in You from all my struggles and difficulties. Your security encourages me and gives me a safe haven from the struggles of life.