Now the main point of what we are saying is this: we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

‘Worldly men suppose that the only real and true things are the things which they can see or feel. They think that heavenly things are only imaginary and don’t really exist. But the man who is spiritual knows that this world is passing away. He knows that only heavenly and spiritual things are ultimately real and lasting. This is why the writer says here that the earthly sanctuary built by the Jews is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary built by Jesus.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.864.