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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,'all');">Hbr 8</a> - A New, Better Covenant</h2>
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<p>A. Jesus, our heavenly priest.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,'1-2');">1-2</a>) A summary of points previously made regarding Jesus as our High Priest.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Now <i>this is</i> the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">This is the main point of the things we are saying</span></b>: We have a <b><span class="c3">High Priest</span></b> - Jesus Christ - who ministers for us from a position of all authority in heaven (<b><span class="c3">seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who is seated at the right hand of the throne</span></b>: Additionally, Jesus is <b><span class="c3">seated</span></b> in heaven, in contrast to the continual service of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Covenant had beautiful furnishings, but no place for the priests to <i>sit down</i>, because their work was never finished. The work of Jesus is finished - He <b><span class="c3">is seated</span></b> in heaven!</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Jesus serves in the <b><span class="c3">true tabernacle which the Lord erected</span></b>, the <b><span class="c3">original</span></b> made by God, of which the earthly tabernacle was a <i>copy</i>, made by man (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',25,'8-9');">Exd 25:8-9</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some have supposed the <b><span class="c3">true tabernacle</span></b> to be the Church, or Jesus' earthly body. But it is best to understand it as the heavenly reality that the earthly tabernacle imitated.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,3);">3</a>) Jesus' priesthood had a sacrifice - and a better sacrifice.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore <i>it is</i> necessary that this One also have something to offer.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices</span></b><span>: </span>Sacrifice for sin is essential to the concept of priesthood. Jesus, representing a superior priesthood, offered a superior sacrifice. He laid down His own life to atone for sin.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">It is necessary that this One also have something to offer</span></b>: Though Jesus never offered a sacrifice according to the Law of Moses, He offered a better sacrifice instead - Himself.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,'4-5');">4-5</a>) Jesus' priesthood had a temple - and a better temple.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See <i>that</i> you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">If He were on earth, He would not be a priest</span></b>: Jesus is not qualified to serve in the inferior earthly priesthood. <b><span class="c3">There are priests</span></b> - plenty of them - who were qualified to serve in the priesthood according to the Law of Moses.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things</span></b>: There were plenty of priests who could serve in <b><span class="c3">the copy and shadow</span></b> on earth. But Jesus is the only One qualified to serve in the superior heavenly priesthood. The earthly service, though it was glorious in the eyes of man, was really only a <b><span class="c3">copy and shadow</span></b> of the superior heavenly service.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Copy and shadow of the heavenly things</span></b>: <a onclick="return mV('Exd',25,40);">Exd 25:40</a> makes it clear that what was built on the earth (Moses' tabernacle) was made according to a <i>pattern</i> which existed in heaven - the <i>pattern which was shown to you</i> [Moses] <i>on the mountain</i>. Therefore, there is a <b><span class="c3">heavenly</span></b> temple that served as a pattern for the earthly tabernacle and temple. Jesus' ministry as our High Priest takes place in this <b><span class="c3">heavenly</span></b> temple, not in <b><span class="c3">the copy and shadow</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. First century Jews took tremendous pride in the temple, and for good reason: it was a spectacular architectural achievement. However glorious the Jerusalem temple was, it was of man (and mostly built by a corrupt, ungodly man, Herod the Great), and it was nothing compared to the glory of the heavenly temple that Jesus served in.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,6);">6</a>) The result: Jesus presides over a superior priesthood, with a better covenant, and better promises.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. Jesus has <b><span class="c3">obtained a more excellent ministry</span></b>: No earthly priest could take away sin the way Jesus did, so Jesus' ministry is far better than the ministry of the priesthood under the Law of Moses.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Mediator of a better covenant</span></b>: Jesus has mediated for us a <b><span class="c3">better covenant</span></b>, a covenant of grace, not works, which is guaranteed for us by a cosigner (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',7,22);">Hbr 7:22</a>). It is a <b><span class="c3">covenant</span></b> marked by believing and receiving instead of by earning and deserving.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Which was established on better promises</span></b>: Jesus has for us <b><span class="c3">better promises</span></b>. <b><span class="c3">Promises</span></b> to see us through the most desperate and dark times. <b><span class="c3">Promises</span></b> that become alive to us through the Spirit of God. <b><span class="c3">Promises</span></b> of blessing and undeserved favor instead of promises of cursing.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Jesus is our <b><span class="c3">Mediator</span></b> for this greater covenant. <b><span class="c3">Mediator</span></b> is the ancient Greek word <i>mesites</i>, which means "one who stands in the middle between two people and brings them together." (Barclay)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, because he "brought the two parties together." Jesus is the <b><span class="c3">Mediator</span></b> of the New Covenant, <b><span class="c3">a better covenant</span></b>, bringing us to God the Father.</p>
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<p class="c1">5. An overview of covenants through God's redemptive history.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. There is an <i>eternal covenant</i> between the members of the Godhead that made possible the salvation of man (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',13,20);">Hbr 13:20</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. God's redemptive plan was continued through the covenant He made with <i>Abraham</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',12,'1-3');">Gen 12:1-3</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">c. The <i>Mosaic covenant</i> was another step in God's redemptive plan (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',24,'3-8');">Exd 24:3-8</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">d. The <i>Davidic covenant</i> was yet another step in God's redemptive plan (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',7,'1-16');">2Sa 7:1-16</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">e. But the redemptive plan of God was fulfilled in the <i>New Covenant</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',22,'14-20');">Luk 22:14-20</a>).</p>
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<p>B. The superiority of the New Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,7);">7</a>) The mere fact that God mentions another covenant is proves that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For if that first <i>covenant</i> had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. It's in the nature of man to come up with things that are "new" but not needed. God isn't like that. <b><span class="c3">If the first covenant had been faultless</span></b>, there would have been not need <b><span class="c3">for a second</span></b> covenant. If God established a New Covenant, it means that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,'8-12');">8-12</a>) The New Covenant as it is presented in the Old Testament (quoting from <a onclick="return mV('Jer',31,'31-34');">Jer 31:31-34</a>).</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. For this <i>is</i> the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the <span class="c6">Lord</span>,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Finding fault</span></b>: In this passage from <a onclick="return mV('Jer',31,'all');">Jer 31</a>, God shows that there must have been something lacking in the Old Covenant - because a New Covenant is promises. In the days of Jeremiah, that New Covenant was still in the future, because he says <b><span class="c3">"Behold the days are coming."</span></b></p>
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<p class="c5">i. In its context, Jeremiah's prophecy probably comes from the days of Josiah's renewal of the covenant after finding the law (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,3);">2Ki 23:3</a>). This renewal was good, but it wasn't enough, because Jeremiah looks forward to <b><span class="c3">a new covenant</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I will make</span></b>: The Lord makes it plain that this covenant originates with God, not with man. At Sinai, under the Old Covenant, the words were <i>if you</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',19,5);">Exd 19:5</a>), but in the New Covenant, the words are <b><span class="c3">I will</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">A new covenant</span></b>: This covenant is truly <b><span class="c3">new</span></b>, not merely "new and improved" in the way things are marketed to us today. Today, products are said to be "new and improved" when there is no substantial difference in the product. But when God says "<b><span class="c3">new</span></b>," He means <b><span class="c3">new</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There are two Greek words that can describe the concept of "new." <i>Neos</i> describes newness as regards to <i>time</i>. Something can be a copy of something else, but if it recently made, it can be called <i>neos</i>. The ancient Greek word <i>kainos</i> (the word used here) describes something that is not only <b><span class="c3">new</span></b> in reference to time, but is truly <b><span class="c3">new</span></b> in its quality. It simply isn't a new reproduction of something old.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">With the house of Israel and the house of Judah</span></b>: The New Covenant definitely began with Israel, but did not end with Israel (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',15,24);">Mat 15:24</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Act',1,8);">Act 1:8</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers</span></b>: This covenant is <i>not like</i> the <b><span class="c3">covenant</span></b> God made with <b><span class="c3">their fathers</span></b>. Again, this emphasizes that there is something substantially <i>different</i> about the New Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Because they did not continue in My covenant</span></b>: The weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Covenant itself. It was in the weakness and inability of man. The reason the Old Covenant didn't "work" was <b><span class="c3">because they did not continue in My covenant</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts</span></b>: The New Covenant features transformation from within, not regulation through external law.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. <b><span class="c3">I will be their God, and they shall be My people</span></b>: The New Covenant also features a greater intimacy with God than what was available under the Old Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c4">i. <b><span class="c3">Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more</span></b>: The New Covenant offers a true, complete cleansing from sin, different and better than the mere "covering over" of sin in the Old Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Hbr',8,13);">13</a>) The significance of a <i>New</i> Covenant.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>In that He says, "A new <i>covenant,"</i> He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">He has made the first obsolete</span></b>: Now that the New Covenant has been inaugurated, the Old Covenant is thereby <b><span class="c3">obsolete</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">What is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away</span></b>: The message to these discouraged Jewish Christians, who thought of going back to a more Jewish faith, is clear. They simply <i>can't</i> go back to an inferior covenant, which is ready to completely <b><span class="c3">vanish away</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The system of sacrifice under the Law of Moses soon did <b><span class="c3">vanish away</span></b> with the coming destruction of the Temple and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="center"><b><i>Differences Between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant</i></b></p>
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<p>1. They were instituted at different times. The Old Covenant around 1446 <span class="c6">b.c.</span>, the New Covenant around 33 <span class="c6">a.d</span>.</p>
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<p>2. They were instituted at different places. The Old Covenant at Mount Sinai, the New Covenant at Mount Zion.</p>
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<p>3. They were spoken in different ways. The Old Covenant was thundered with fear and dread at Mount Sinai (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',19,'17-24');">Exd 19:17-24</a>). Jesus Christ, God the Son, declared the New Covenant with love and grace.</p>
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<p>4. They are different in their mediators. Moses mediated the Old Covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant.</p>
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<p>5. They are different in their subject matter. The Old Covenant <i>demanded</i> a covenant of works. The New Covenant <i>fulfills</i> the covenant of works through the completed work of Jesus.</p>
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<p>6. They are different in how they were dedicated. The Old Covenant was dedicated with the blood of animals sprinkled on the people (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',24,'5-8');">Exd 24:5-8</a>). The New Covenant was dedicated with Jesus' blood spiritually applied to His people.</p>
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<p>7. They are different in their priests. The Old Covenant is represented by the priesthood of the Law of Moses and high priests descended from Aaron. The New Covenant has a priesthood of all believers and a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.</p>
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<p>8. They are different in their sacrifices. The Old Covenant demanded endless repetition of imperfect sacrifices. The New Covenant provides a once and for all, perfect sacrifice of the Son of God Himself.</p>
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<p>9. They are different in how and where they were written. The Old Covenant was written by God on tablets of stone. The New Covenant is written by God on the hearts of His people.</p>
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<p>10. They are different in their goals. The goal of the Old Covenant was to discover sin, to condemn it, and to set a "fence" around it. The goal of the New Covenant is to declare the love, grace, and mercy of God, and to give repentance, remission of sin, and eternal life.</p>
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<p>11. They are different in their practical effect on living. The Old Covenant ends in bondage (through no fault of its own). The New Covenant provides true liberty.</p>
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<p>12. They are different in their giving of the Holy Spirit. Under the Old Covenant, God did grant the Holy Spirit, but not in the same way and extent that He is given to believer under the New Covenant.</p>
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<p>13. They are different in their idea of the Kingdom of God. Under the Old Covenant, it is mainly seen as the supreme rule of Israel over the nations. Under the New Covenant, it is both a present spiritual reality and a coming literal fact.</p>
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<p>14. They are different in their substance. The Old Covenant has vivid shadows. The New Covenant has the reality.</p>
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<p>15. They are different in the extent of their administration. The Old Covenant was confined to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. The New Covenant is extended to all nations and races under heaven.</p>
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<p>16. They are different in what they actually accomplish. The Old Covenant made nothing perfect. The New Covenant can and will bring in the perfection of God's people.</p>
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<p>17. They are different in their duration. The Old Covenant was designed to be removed. The New Covenant was designed to last forever.</p>
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<p><i>"Let us observe from these things, that the state of the gospel, or of the Church under the New Testament, being accompanied by the highest privileges and advantages that it is capable of in this world, there is a great obligation on all believers unto holiness and fruitfulness in obedience, unto the glory of God; and the heinousness of their sin, by whom this covenant is neglected or despised, is abundantly manifested."</i> (John Owen)<i></i></p>
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