Christology, Chiasm, and the Concept of Faith in Hebrews 10:19-39 37 of confidence’.13 However, a mere subjective understanding of the word is inadequate. In the present context it has the meaning of the freedom of access to God or the authority to enter the sanctuary.14 The author indicates that this free access is made possible by the blood of Jesus (ἐν τῷ αἱματι Ἰησοῦ) (10:19). The preposition ἐν here expresses the idea of cause, thus indicating the reason for being able to have an access to the sanctuary.15 Moreover, verse 20 reveals that the inauguration of the entrance to the sanctuary was accomplished through the curtain (διὰ τοῦ καταπετάσματος), which is his body. Thus it is evident that the first ground for the exhortation to draw near is Christologically oriented. The second reason for the readers to draw near is expressed in 10:21, in which the participle ἔχοντες in 10:19 is connected to ἱερέα (priest) in 10:21: “we have a great priest in the house of God”. The phrase “a great priest” (ἱερέα μέγαν) is a reiteration of “the great high priest” (ἀρχιερέα μέγαν) in 4:14. The phrase “the house of God” is a reminder of the faith- fulness of Christ as a Son over the house of God in 3:6. For this reason it is logical to assert that 10:21 is the summary statement of the doctrine of Christ’s high priesthood which the author presented in different parts of Hebrews, especially in 7:1–10:18. Thus it may be said with certainty that the second reason for the exhortation to draw near is also based on the Christological teaching of Jesus’ high priesthood. In the closing part of the structure (10:22bc) the author employs two additional participles to indicate that the exhortation to draw near to God (10:22a) is also Christologically oriented. The first parti- ciple ῥεραντισμένοι is the perfect tense of ῥαντίζω, which means, ‘to sprinkle’.16 In the immediate context it is used metaphorically to refer to the inner cleansing of the heart from an evil conscience, which is equi- valent to the “consciousness of sin” in 10:2.17 In other words, it refers to the sprinkling of our hearts with the blood of Jesus, namely, the blood F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, trans. T. L. Kingsbury 13 (Edinburgh 1878), II:170. See also J. Moffatt, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh 1924) 142. Moffatt understands the word as “confident trust, the unhesitating adherence of a human soul to God as its only Master”. A subjective sense of trust is clearly indicated. H. Schlier, “Παρρησία, παρρησιάζομαι”, Friedrich, Theological Dictionary NT 5, 14 884. See also Lane, Hebrews 9-13, 273. He translates the word as “authorization,” under- standing it in the objective sense. A.T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical 15 Research (Nashville 1934) 532. BDAG, s.v. ῥαντίζω. 16 Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 288. 17