Better Priest, Pattern, Promise

TEXT: Hebrew 8

THESIS: The Old Testament is done away with and is no longer binding, and the law of Christ is better in its High Priest, pattern, and promise.

INTRODUCTION: A covenant is a promise; it is an oath.

1. For example.

a. When we get hired for a job, we make a covenant with the employers.

b. Typical it leads to both parties signing a contract the employee agrees his time and energy for payment.

c. This is two persons in agreement; this is a covenant.

2. Another type of covenant is a verbal agreement; have you ever told someone you are going to do something?

a. Could be for some good that has been rendered.

b. These promises are covenants.

3. The Bible is divided into two covenants, the Old and the New Testament; both covenants are significant.

a. Because they come from God, and both have significant value to us.

b. However, one of the great things about having both of these covenants in one book is that it shows us how much better the new covenant is than the old.

4. This morning, we will look at how the new is better than the old in these ways.

a. The new provides a better Priest.

b. The new provides a better pattern.

c. The new provides a better promise.

DISCUSSION:

I. A Better Priest. (He. 8:1-2).

A. Hebrews 8:3.

1. Every priest in the Mosaic age (under the old law) had to make sacrifices.

a. Some offerings unto God were voluntary sacrifices and included:

1.) The burnt offerings, which were an act of worship to express devotion to God, it was also used as an atonement for unknown or unintentional sin (Lev. 1; 8:18-21; 16:24).

2.) The grain offering was to express thanks to God for providing undeserved goodwill toward the person making the sacrifice (Lev. 2; Num. 15:4-7).

3.) The peace offering, in which thehigh priest and another priest were present; the high priest was given the breast of the animal, and the other priest was given the right foreleg. These pieces of the offering were called “wave offerings” because they were lifted over the altar (Lev. 3).

b. Then there were the mandatory sacrifices which included

1.) The sin offering was to atone for sin and cleanse from defilement (Lev. 4).

2.) The trespass offering was given as atonement for unintentional sins that required repayment to a person and also as a cleansing from defiling sins or physical illnesses (Lev. 5:14-19).

2. All this was to be done by the priesthood or high priest, and the high priest was to sacrifice for himself.

a. This system of offerings was only temporary.

b. Constantly having to make these offerings yearly or when the need arose.

1.) To say this was a flawed system would be incorrect and foolish because nothing God does is without a purpose.

2.) There was a reason that the animal sacrifices were to be without blemish and that they were to give the first fruits of their labor.

B. It was all foreshadowing the sacrifice that God was going to make.

1. Our God, as he did with Abraham (Gen. 22:13), provided us with a sacrifice that only He could.

2. Our God sent Himself (John. 1:14) for us; Our High Priest Christ.

a. The man who was God John 1:1.

b. Who was rich and gave that up 1 Corinthians 8:9.

c. Who suffered many things Luke 9:22.

d. To make sure that we have a perfect sacrifice; came to earth and live a perfect life.

e. And made the most worth sacrifice, and not another person would ever need to make another sacrifice.

3. No high priest in the Old Testament could ever make a more worthy sacrifice.

4. We, the New Covenant, revealed to use a better High Priest in Christ because He is:

a. Holy and sinless.

b. Harmless and undefiled.

c. Separate from sinners.

d. Higher than the Heavens.

II. A Better Pattern (Heb. 8:5-6).

A. With our great High Priest Christ, who was able to offer a more perfect sacrifice.

1. That great sacrifice came with some benefits that the Old Covenant did not have.

a. As already mentioned with our great High Priest sacrifice, the need to make blood offerings mandatory sin offerings.

b. Another benefit that came with sacrifice is that it only needed to be made once, and it was made for all men

c. Heb. 7:26-28.

d. He did not have to make them for Himself, daily and only once.

2. Those under the Old Covenant did not have this luxury; they also did not have a mediator, that is, sitting on the right hand of God.

a. Romans 8:34

b. Through Christ, we have been given a better avenue to talk with the Father.

c. In the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter the holiest places.

d. However, with the New Covenant, we may boldly Go before the throne of God.

e. Hebrews 4:16.

B. This is all a better pattern for us, and this pattern has been in design since the foundation of the world (1 Pe. 19-20).

1. The New Covenant pattern was all possible because of our Great High Priest.

a. The Old Covenant was needed to provide for them away to atone for sin.

b. That system of things was not flawed because God designed it.

c. The Old Covenant that God had a real purpose that they had the same hope for reward if they kept.

2. That Old Covenant pattern was a prelude to a better pattern.

a. The Old Covenant pattern did not provide the same hope found only in Christ.

b. The same opportunity that the new covenant gives to all who accept it.

c. The same freedom that we have.

3. The New Covenant provides us with a better High Priest, one that is sinless, Holy, and undefiled.

4. The New Covenant provides a better pattern we can enjoy because of our High Priest.

III. The New Covenant Provides a Better Promise (Heb. 8:6).

A. I have said a lot about how the Old Covenant was not flawed.

1. Some would point to Hebrews 8:7, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place been sought for the second.”

2. Therefore, the first covenant was flawed.

3. That is the same as saying God was wrong; God made a mistake, and God was flawed.

a. God knew what he was doing when he made the first Covenant.

b. However, the people under that covenant were not keeping the law.

1.) It was not the covenant that was flawed but the people under the Old Covenant.

2.) Hebrews 8:8-13.

B. The Hebrews writer is saying that God was going to make a New and better Covenant.

1. And He did; God made an agreement with us that is open to all.

a. No one needs to Sacrifice animals as with the Old.

b. All sins can be forgiven at any time, unlike with the Old.

c. We are fellow heirs with Christ, unlike with the Old.

d. We can go before the father boldly, unlike with the Old.

e. We have a greater hope, unlike with the Old.

2. All of this is a part of God’s promise to us, to all people.

a. Those who live sinful lives can partake in this promise.

b. Those who have lied can be forgiven.

c. Those who have stolen can be received.

d. Those who have committed murder can be made heirs.

3. All things under the New can be forgiven, and when God forgives, He forgets (Heb 8:12).

a. There is a catch to this New Covenant; God has done his part and made the promise to all and open for all, but we must obey Him in the way He says to receive the promise.

b. And, we have a time limit to do it once this life is over and our eyes are closed; it is too late.

CONCLUSION: The Old Covenant should not only be studied by Christians and learned from, but from a historical perspective, we as God’s people need to understand what a blessing we have, and that comes with an appreciation of the sacrifice that God did not have to make for us.

1. The Old Covenant was not flawed; it was not broken, and nothing was wrong with it.

2. However, because God found fault with the people, and because He knew from the foundation of the world, He decided to give us a New Covenant that was better than the Old.

3. That was made better because of our High Priest, the Pattern, and the Promises that came with it.