a better covenant

the main point

The preparation for understanding Hebrews 8 has been built in Hebrews 7. The writer of Hebrews established that Jesus is part of a different priesthood just like Melchizedek. Jesus’ priesthood is a better priesthood because

he holds the priesthood permanently because he is eternal (7:24).

he is able to completely save those who come near to him because he always lives to make intercession (7:25).

he does not have to offer sacrifices for himself because he is holy, innocent, unstained, and separated from sinners (7:26-27).

Finally, his priesthood is superior because it does not come from the law but from God’s oath (7:28).

So we are moving from the nature of Christ’s priesthood to the sphere of its efficacy - from heaven and therefore for all (chs8-9)

recall logic of Hebrews 7:12 “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.”

Hebrews 7:21–22 “but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”

elements of the priestly system as laid out in Torah:

priesthood - JC is the kind after Melchizedek

covenant - new/renewed for all

sanctuary - heavenly

sacrifice - Jesus Himself

The heavenly sanctuary

READ - Hebrews 8:1–6

MP - we have the better HP and His scope of service is heavenly and therefore for everyone. it is not earthly and weak but spiritual and eternal.

Hebrews 8:1 “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,” (cf. Ps. 110:1)

ps. 110 v1 king v4 priest after M

Hebrews 1:3 “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

sit down = job is done - now he rules and intercedes

His work goes even beyond the cross

The old covenant priests could never “sit down” because their work was never finished. Day after day they had to offer sacrifices.

ch10 will hit more on that better sacrifice

Jesus’ heavenly ministry means:

He is the exalted king-priest

Dan. 7:13-14 -> JC at his trial

shares thrown w/God Ps. 110 - this is what gets him killed!

His priesthood is eternal (better (8:1-2, 6; cf. 7:28)

He brings a better covenant (vv6-13?)

Since Jesus has a better priesthood, with a better offering, in a better sanctuary, then by necessity the covenant Jesus provides is a better covenant.

The Better Covenant

READ Heb. 8:7-13

here we have a synopsis of the new covenant in prophetic form. Since the new covenant is true totality or fulfillment of TNK, this passage, although not exhaustive, sums up the essence of what it means to be a Christian.

what we read here was the longest quotation of an OT passage in the NT: Jer. 31:31-34

lays the foundation for chs9-10

v7 cf. 13 Mosaic covenant was inadequate

parallels Heb. 7:11-19 w/the levitical priesthood - sin/die

ch10 sacrifices offered over and over

ch9 (8:1-5) tabernacle/temple is but a shadow/copy (8:5)!

v8 finds fault w/the people! Not that the OC was bad or evil - it is inadequate and is a shadow (v5).

the Law and the OC are not identical btw - obviously a Jew to fellow Jews doesnt think that -

Romans 7:12 “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

NC: The entire covenantal arrangement centered on Sinai has been superseded by Christ's new covenant ministry.

vv8bff

“days are coming” - used over and over in Jeremiah

future judgment e.g., Jer 7:32; 9:25; 19:6; 51:52) or blessing (e.g., Jer 16:14; 23:5, 7)

recalls opening of sermon: Heb. 1:2 the latter days as promised in Jeremiah have arrived in Jesus’ resurrection/ascension

v9 not like Sinai - Ex. 24:1-8; cf. Heb. 9:18-20

Israel’s unfaithfulness is highlighted

cf. Numbers 14:11–12 “And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.””

led to Moses interceding ^ God only killed off older gen

v10

Better Promises:

Inward transformation (10a)

hearts - command of Deut. 6:6-9 (DBS)

Jer. 17:1 - people had sin written on their hearts!

Jer. 31 promise - I will rewrite your hearts

The Law was the covenant's instruction; the covenant was the relationship. Hebrews 8 teaches that Christ did not merely replace one set of rules with another—He established a new covenant that creates a new people whose hearts are transformed to know and obey God.

hebrews focus of law in Heb. 7-10 is centered on what? the ten commandments? No - those are just assumed by a Jew and they are not even mentioned in this book or this context

the focus of law is the priesthood/sac system/tabernacle

earthly —> heavenly

so the Law are the stipulations of the cov

the OC - marriage-like relationship between God/Israel

The vows are not the entirety of the marriage, though they belong to it.

now - the Law and the covenant are so closely connected that Scripture sometimes uses them almost interchangeably. For example, Paul can speak of being "under the law" and mean being under the Mosaic covenant order.

but think -

If the old covenant were simply a list of rules, then a new covenant would merely require a different list of rules. But Hebrews 8 says the problem was deeper than that. The issue was not that Israel needed updated regulations; they needed transformed hearts.

So the promise is not:

"I will give them a better law."

The promise is:

"I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts" (8:10).

It is enacted by a better HP and a better covenant!

list of rules what? does that show grace or does it bring a charge of guilt?

2 Corinthians 3:3 “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

2 Corinthians 3:6–8 “who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?”

if we take the NC and change it to the same thing as the OC - enforce the letter w/out the Spirit! - ministry of death/condemnation

go back to childlike behavior and rules (Gal.)

rules alone are for immature children

transformed mind and heart is for the mature - for the one in the NC with the HS

Ezekiel 36:26–27 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

2. Personal Relationship (v10b-11)

“I will be their God” = Ex. 6:7; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Dt. 26:17-18

This^ statement regularly appears with a call for a response of obedience from God’s people (Jer 7:23; 24:7; 30:22; Ezek 11:20; 37:27; Zech 8:8; 13:9).

v11 “they will all know me” “each citizen”

author is saying this has been inaugurated by the Messiah, Jesus!

Knowledge of God and His ways will be personal, not national.

abraham’s fam = born a Jew you were in. Male? circumcised! (debated in NT!)

Col. 2 compares circumcision of the HEART - not an external birthright - Gal. 3 - those who have FAITH are children of abe not those born in the right family

paedobaptism? vs. you must be BORN AGAIN

Every believer is able to approach God confidently and directly because of Jesus’ mediating work (Heb 4:16; 7:25; 10:19–22; 12:22–24).

knowledge of God to a Jew wasnt just academic - relational

sexually even between man/woman “knew each other:

Marital! Eph. 5

Michael Shank records this in Muscle & shovel

“Mr. Mike, having a personal relationship with Jesus is a hoax. It’s one of the greatest false teachings of modern-day religion. You know why? Because it’s not taught anywhere in God’s Word. No one was ever told to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, nor is the principle taught in the Bible. A personal relationship with Jesus mocks God because it infers that God is a respecter of persons and He is not.

(Kindle Locations 2439-2443).

REALLY???

this is denominationalism Church of Christ style in push back to the sinners prayer -

knowing God and we are his and he is ours is not personal???

John 14:15–16 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,”

it’s not “if you keep my commandments you will love me”

it’s “if you love me, keep my commandments”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Lyle said this morning at the table — God wants a relationship w/us - He made us - He sent His Son to save us - that’s how/why we have a relationship:

3. Eternal Forgiveness (of sin) (v12)

God always responded w/mercy when there was a righteous mediator in the OT - like w/Moses on Sinai. cf. Num. 14:13-20

“I will not remember their sins any longer”

The old covenant included an annual reminder of sins (Heb 10:3 and note; on the Day of Atonement, see note on 9:7; note on 9:12).

Under the new covenant, God no longer remembers the sins of His people—they receive forgiveness via Jesus’ work as high priest and His role as the sacrificial offering for their sins

resurrection proclaims the efficacy of the cross!

9:28 - offered himself once! - that is all it took. one offering.

So:

The Old is Obsolete (v13)

Hebrews 8:13 “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

obsolete - worn out - useless - weak

but Jesus’ HP role is one of an undestructible life

better promises - better HP - better covenant

in some sense, it is a renewed covenant

We need to think about how we perceive God’s word, esp w/NT

There are two potential approaches. One approach is like the approach of the first covenant. - ministry of death - record of sins.

The law was something known but never changed the hearts of the people. Transformation never occurred. A veil remained over the hearts of Israel so that they lost the promised land and missed Jesus when he came.

We can do the same thing. We can have a copy of God’s word, read the NT even and still treat it like a reference work. A dictionary. A cold and rigid constitution

we will and have end up acting like the Pharisees and will ironically not respect the authority of God’s word w/our man-centered and fleshly conclusions…

these are spiritual matters - law written on the heart

the law of Christ

The new covenant does not replace one legal code with another legal code. It replaces an external covenant administration with a living relationship mediated by Jesus Christ.

Obedience remains essential bc it flows from transformed hearts that love God, bc of the gift of the indwelling Spirit, and union with Christ rather than from mere conformity to a written code.

in other words, we live by faith.

In the Old Covenant, you would bring your required sacrifice, whether it was crops, or livestock, or a bird, or whichever sacrifice was required for your situation by the law. You would give it to the priest, who would present it in the tabernacle or temple on your behalf. You had to trust the priest would do the right thing with it, and had to trust that God was true to his word

so now — trust the HP, Jesus

cross/resurrection/tabernacle/priesthood

this is the better covenant… the first one is obsolete as it was weak and temporary - the old law brought condemnatation

but the NC stipulated by the Law of Christ bring

inward transformation

personal knowledge/relationship w/God (Father)

Eternal forgiveness - sin remembered no more