Hebrews (10)

A Better Covenant

Hebrews 8:6–13 (KJV)

Introduction

The Book of Hebrews contrasts the old covenant—given through Moses and centered around the Levitical priesthood—with the new covenant, established by Jesus Christ through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Paul shows us that Jesus is not merely another priest in the old order, but the Mediator of something far superior — a better covenant, founded upon better promises.

This passage shows us why the new covenant is superior, what it accomplishes, and how it fulfills what God always intended for His people.

I. The Guarantee of a Better Covenant (v.6; 8b–9)

Why the new covenant is superior

“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” – Hebrews 8:6

A. The Person of the Guarantee

Christ is described as the Mediator—literally, the one who stands between. According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, the word Mediator (Greek: mesitēs) can also mean “one who acts as a guarantee” or “surety.” In other words, Jesus is not simply the messenger of the covenant — He is its guarantor, its surety, its security deposit ensuring that every promise of God will be fulfilled.

Christ’s priesthood surpasses the Levitical priesthood. The priests of the old covenant continually offered sacrifices, but Christ offered Himself once for all (Heb. 9:12). His ministry is “more excellent” because it is final, sufficient, and eternal.

He is the Mediator between God and man.As Mediator, Jesus bridges the gap sin created between a holy God and sinful humanity.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5

He became the guarantee. Just as earnest money secures a purchase, Christ’s blood secures our redemption. He is the “down payment” of every divine promise.

“He that spared not His own Son… how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” – Romans 8:32

He can guarantee Better promises because:

“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)

“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” (John 10:9)

“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

“I lay down my life willingly.” (John 10:18)

Christ Himself ensures the covenant’s success. What the old covenant demanded, Christ accomplished.

B. The Promise in the Guarantee (v.8b–9)

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

Here the writer quotes Jeremiah 31:31–32 — a promise made hundreds of years before Christ.

The new covenant is made with God’s covenant people, but extended to all who come by faith in Christ.

It is not like the covenant made at Sinai, which Israel broke. Despite God’s faithfulness, they could not remain faithful.

Main Idea: God Himself promises a new, unbreakable covenant relationship — one secured not by man’s obedience, but by Christ’s faithfulness.

II. The Necessity for a New Covenant (v.7–8a)

What it accomplishes

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them…”

The first covenant was holy, just, and good (Rom. 7:12), but it was not sufficient to save. Its fault was not in God’s law but in man’s inability to keep it.

The old covenant revealed sin but could not remove it (Rom. 3:20).

It showed the need for a Savior but could not provide one.

It was temporary and preparatory — a shadow pointing to the substance, which is Christ.

If the first covenant could bring men into perfect fellowship with God, there would be no need for another. But because it could not, the new covenant was necessary.

Main Idea: The old covenant revealed human failure but could not fix it. The new covenant provides the divine solution — grace through Christ.

III. The Effects of the New Covenant (v.10–13)

How it fulfills what God always intended for His people.

Here we see four powerful results of the new covenant.

A. Internal, not External

“I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.”

No longer written on stone tablets but on human hearts.

The Spirit internalizes God’s will — transforming desires, not just behaviors.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” – Ezekiel 36:26

A. Internal, not External

B. Personal Relationship

“I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”

The new covenant is relational, not ritualistic.

Through Christ, God calls us His sons and daughters. (Gal. 4:6–7)

A. Internal, not External

B. Personal Relationship

C. Universal Knowledge of God

“All shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”

Under the old covenant, knowledge of God was mediated through priests and prophets.

Now every believer has direct access to God through Christ (Heb. 4:16).

A. Internal, not External

B. Personal Relationship

C. Universal Knowledge of God

D. Complete Forgiveness

“Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

This is the crown jewel of the new covenant — full, final forgiveness.

No more remembrance of sin because the price has been paid in full.

“It is finished.” – John 19:30

A. Internal, not External

B. Personal Relationship

C. Universal Knowledge of God

D. Complete Forgiveness

E. Makes the Old Obsolete v.13

“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

By declaring something “new,” God made the old covenant obsolete — not useless, but fulfilled.

The old covenant served as the foundation upon which the new covenant stands.

Just as a retired worker leaves behind a legacy for others to build upon, the old covenant laid the groundwork for the new. The moral law still reveals God’s character, but salvation now rests fully in Christ’s finished work.

Main Idea: The new covenant transforms hearts, provides personal access to God, and assures complete forgiveness. The old covenant has passed away, replaced by the superior, enduring new covenant through Christ — yet it left us a foundation to understand God’s holiness and grace.

Conclusion

Hebrews 8:6–13 proclaims the heart of the gospel — that Jesus Christ has brought us into a better covenant:

Better in its Mediator — Christ Himself.

Better in its Promises — grace, forgiveness, and eternal life.

Better in its Power — the Spirit transforms from within.

Better in its Permanence — it can never fail, because it depends on Christ, not us.

“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17

Reflect/Discuss

What makes Jesus the “guarantee” of the new covenant?

How does the new covenant change our relationship with God?

Why is forgiveness central to the covenant’s promise?

In what ways can we live as people of the new covenant today?