“Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29).
Hebrews 10:28-29 alludes to those legislative portions of the Old Testament Law that mandated a death sentence in the case of certain transgressions. Those violations included…
- Idolatry (Deuteronomy 13:1-18, 17:2-5).
- Physical violence against a parent (Exodus 21:15).
- Laboring on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2).
- Unlawful killing (Leviticus 24:17).
- Arrogance, disrespect, or contempt for lawful authority (Deuteronomy 17:11-13).
However, the Law also protected those who might fall victim to a malicious or unfounded attempt to enforce those penalties…
“One witness is not enough to convict someone of a crime; at least two witnesses are necessary to prove that someone is guilty. If any of you try to harm another by false accusations, both of you are to go to the one place of worship and be judged by the priests and judges who are then in office.
The judges will investigate the case thoroughly; and if you have made a false accusation, you are to receive the punishment the accused would have received. In this way your nation will get rid of this evil” (Deuteronomy 19:15-19 GNT).
The author of Hebrews used these edicts to make an important spiritual point…
“Under the Old Covenant, if an Israelite spurned the Mosaic Law and at least two or three witnesses verified his actions, he was put to death. This being true, the author then argued from the lesser to the greater. If defiance of an inferior covenant could bring such retribution, what about defiance of the New Covenant which, as he had made clear, is far superior? The answer can only be that the punishment would be substantially greater in such a case.” (1)
Remember that our author has already established that “… the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things…” (AMP) in Hebrews 10:1. If the Old Covenant Law prescribed the death penalty in these instances, how much worse will the retribution be for those who transgress against the One who annulled “…the first covenant in order to put the second into effect” (Hebrews 10:9 NLT)?
(1) John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Bible Knowledge Commentary. David C Cook, 1983 [p. 805]