A Better Way

The New Covenant A Better Way - Hebrews 8:1-13 September 13, 2026 If you have your bible and you want to follow along, we'll be in the book of Hebrews this morning. Hebrews is towards the end of the New Testament, after Paul's letters, and right before James. We'll be in chapter 8 this morning. Before we get into the text for this morning, allow me to "set it up." The unnamed writer of the letter to the Hebrews is making a claim to these early Jewish Christians: Jesus is better. Maybe to say it another way, I'll borrow our own language from this sermon series that we did from 2021 through 2023 in the book of Hebrews that we called: Greater Than. The writer, from the very beginning of the letter, shows us how Jesus was Greater Than everybody and everything! The angels. Moses. Joshua. The High Priests. And ... the Old Covenant. Here, to begin chapter 8, we see that the writer will transition to his next point. But where was he just prior to this? I already gave you a hint. Jesus is greater than (or better than) the High Priest. Better stated, Jesus is the true High Priest. You'll see why I say that momentarily. The writer of Hebrews, in many ways, was attempting to show the Jewish Christians that moving forward, under the New Covenant, is the better way. Unfortunately, they seemed to be heading back to the old way, instead of the newer (and better) way. So, as we continue in this series on the New Covenant, remember that word: better. If I do my job correctly this morning, I'll help you to see why the Jesus way is better than the old way. Let's read chapter 8 of Hebrews this morning: 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, 2 A MINISTER IN THE HOLY PLACES, IN THE TRUE TENT THAT THE LORD SET UP, NOT MAN. 3 FOR EVERY HIGH PRIEST IS APPOINTED TO OFFER GIFTS AND SACRIFICES; THUS IT IS NECESSARY FOR THIS PRIEST ALSO TO HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER. 4 NOW IF HE WERE ON EARTH, HE WOULD NOT BE A PRIEST AT ALL, SINCE THERE ARE PRIESTS WHO OFFER GIFTS ACCORDING TO THE LAW. 5 THEY SERVE A COPY AND SHADOW OF THE HEAVENLY THINGS. FOR WHEN MOSES WAS ABOUT TO ERECT THE TENT, HE WAS INSTRUCTED BY GOD, SAYING, "SEE THAT YOU MAKE EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN THAT WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN." 6 BUT AS IT IS, CHRIST HAS OBTAINED A MINISTRY THAT IS AS MUCH MORE EXCELLENT THAN THE OLD AS THE COVENANT HE MEDIATES IS BETTER, SINCE IT IS ENACTED ON BETTER PROMISES. 7 FOR IF THAT FIRST COVENANT HAD BEEN FAULTLESS, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO OCCASION TO LOOK FOR A SECOND. 8 FOR HE FINDS FAULT WITH THEM WHEN HE SAYS: "BEHOLD, THE DAYS ARE COMING, DECLARES THE LORD, WHEN I WILL ESTABLISH A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, 9 NOT LIKE THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO BRING THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND SO I SHOWED NO CONCERN FOR THEM, DECLARES THE LORD. 10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, DECLARES THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 11 AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH, EACH ONE HIS NEIGHBOR AND EACH ONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR THEY SHALL ALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST OF THEM TO THE GREATEST. 12 FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TOWARD THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE." 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. Obviously, the immediate connection between this chapter and Jeremiah 31 that we looked at last week is the writer's quotation in verses 8-12. Last week in Jeremiah, we saw what God promised in the New Covenant. This week in Hebrews, we see why that promise can be trusted: Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. Notably, the quotation is the from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), not the Hebrew, which is why the language varies slightly. It's also worth noting that chapter 7's claim that Jesus is the better High Priest provides us important context to chapter 8. In short, we determined last week that the New Covenant promised us a new relationship with God, through Jesus. Here, we see that Jesus is clearly the one who establishes and mediates this new relationship with God. With that in mind, here's the main idea I want to build upon this morning: Jesus gives us a better covenant that brings us into a better relationship with God. I think the obvious question is this: WHY IS THE NEW COVENANT BETTER? The text gives us, at least, three reasons that the New Covenant is better. First: * Jesus a better High Priest. (vv.1-6) o Remember that he is building off chapter 7, which reminded us that Jesus is a priest "AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." o That's the background and context of these next few verses. o So, let's look at the contents of these first six verses. o Verse 1 reminds us that this High Priest - Jesus - is seated at the right hand of God. * This, by the way, is a call back to Hebrews 1:3-4, where the writer says: 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, 4 HAVING BECOME AS MUCH SUPERIOR TO ANGELS AS THE NAME HE HAS INHERITED IS MORE EXCELLENT THAN THEIRS. * That seat was reserved for one of special favor and authority. * Notice the posture as well. Here's how Guzik put it: Jesus is seated in heaven, in contrast to the continual service of the priesthood under the Law of Moses. o Next, the writer calls Jesus the TRUE TENT. * This, of course, calls our attention to the tabernacle. * The writer quotes Exodus 25:40, where God reveals to Moses the blueprint for this tabernacle - heaven itself. * We just read in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus was the "EXACT IMPRINT" of God's nature. * Hebrews 8:5 told us that these pictures are a "COPY AND A SHADOW" of the heavenly things. * In other words, as a I stated last week, these are all pictures of Jesus. They all point us to Him. * This means that they were never meant to be permanent, thus the necessity of a "NEW" covenant. o What made Jesus' offerings "better" than the Jewish High Priests? * His sacrifice was Himself. Perfect and final. * This opens the door for the salvation of both Jew and Gentile. o Hebrews 5 reminds us that the Jewish High Priest was imperfect himself and required atonement. o Jesus was the fulfillment of all these copies and shadows that we see in the Old Covenant. o So, what does that mean for us today? o Jesus, as stated in verse 6, is the mediator between man and God. We have access to the Father because of the work that He did. o We couldn't do it. o The High Priests couldn't do it. o The Law couldn't do it. o So, seek the only one who can: Jesus Christ, the better High Priest. o Next, * Jesus gives us a better way. (vv. 7-9) o One key element to this New Covenant is that it fulfills all the other covenants. For example: * The promise to Abraham has a past, present and future aspect to it, all fulfilled in Jesus. * The promise to David, obviously, was fulfilled in Jesus, and will be fully realized when Jesus rules during the Millenium. o I used the phrase "better way" because clearly something needed to shift. o So, here comes the word(s) "FAULT/FAULTLESS" found in verses 7-8 to help us understand why the shift was needed. o The argument is clear: if the Old Covenant worked, there would be no need for a New. o Here's the tricky part. Does this mean that God was wrong in instituting the Old Covenant? Of course not. o Here's how this word is understood: In context, "faultless" doesn't mean morally evil, but insufficient, unable to accomplish full salvation. Thus, it was not blameless in the sense of being fully adequate, for it had a "design flaw by intention" -- it could expose sin but not remove it. o Again, the Old Covenant (the Law) was not bad, but it was simply a piece of the overall larger picture. o We don't have time to get into this in detail, but we know from Romans 7:7-12 and Galatians 3:15-29 that the Law was good, and that it had a purpose. o Included in that purpose was to reveal our sin and point us to Jesus. o What is that better way? Hope. o The Law could not save. o The Law could not forgive. o Only Jesus could. And only Jesus could offer that hope to everyone. o Be sure to put your hope in the only Way. o Finally, * Jesus gives us better promises. (vv. 6, 10-13) o We identified three of those promises last week from Jeremiah: * God gives us a new heart. * God gives us Himself. * God gives us forgiveness. o In many ways, it's this forgiveness that is so critical here. We can't be reconciled and commune with a holy God without it. o Verse 12 (Jeremiah 31:34) shows us how the New Covenant offers forgiveness of sin, once for all. o Author and theologian William MacDonald reminds us that "the law (Old Covenant) could not deal effectively with sins. It provided for the atonement of sins but not for their removal. (The Hebrew word for atonement comes from the verb meaning cover.) He later said that the Old Covenant only made them ceremonially clean. o I hate to double down on a quote, but it just seems to fit here. o Here's what John MacArthur said about this better way for forgiveness: Here [forgiveness] is the capstone of the New Covenant. Here is what men need more than anything else-and what the Old Covenant pictured but could not give. The promise of the Old Testament is finally fulfilled! Under the Old Covenant, sins could never really be forgotten, because they were never really forgiven. They were only covered, foreshadowing and anticipating true forgiveness in Jesus Christ. But for those who belong to His dear Son-whether they believed under the Old Covenant or under the New-God forgets every sin. As we close, let's first be reminded of our main idea: Jesus gives us a better covenant that brings us into a better relationship with God. Verse 13 reminds us why that new and better covenant was necessary. Why? I'll allow the writer to say it for me: 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. The Old Covenant had run its course. It had a good run. But when Jesus came, He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law that we could not. He bore the consequences of breaking that Law, so that we don't have to. He has become a better High Priest, has offered a better way, and fulfills better promises than the Law ever could. The Hebrews were drifting away, contemplating going back to their old lives - under the old way - but Jesus offers a better way. Even today - Jesus offers a better way. So, let's respond by following the One who is better. The Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 2