Why the New Covenant is the Better Covenant

Scripture Introduction:

I want to show you a famous painting. Matthias Grünewald (ca. 1480–1528) painted the Crucifixion in the hospital chapel of St. Anthony’s monastery. The monastery hospital specialized in the treatment of a painful skin disease. If you look closely you can see similar spots on Christ. The artist did this to help those who were suffering to see that Christ identified with them in their own suffering.

I want to show you a famous painting. Matthias Grünewald (ca. 1480–1528) painted the Crucifixion in the hospital chapel of St. Anthony’s monastery. The monastery hospital specialized in the treatment of a painful skin disease. If you look closely you can see similar spots on Christ. The artist did this to help those who were suffering to see that Christ identified with them in their own suffering.

But I share this painting for another reason. Who is the central figure of this painting? What’s it all about? It’s clearly focused on Christ, right? But what would happen if we made this entire painting about a guy with a bony finger, and we said that his entire painting was all about that finger? You’d be saying, “that’s crazy”. What’s the finger pointing to? When your eyes go to the right in the painting you see John the Baptist, with Latin words “He must increase, I must decrease.” His finger immediately points you back to what is significant. Those who are needing healing aren’t going to find it in John or that bony finger—they’ll only find it when they follow what the finger is pointing to and look to Christ.

What the author of Hebrews is saying here is something very similar. See if you can pick it up.

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Sermon Introduction:

Hebrews 7:26–8:13 ESV

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. 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, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 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. 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.” 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. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 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, 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. 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. 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. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 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.

I want to try to briefly trace the argument of the author to Hebrews and then we’ll make a couple of points of application here. In Hebrews we have seen how Christ is better than angels, better than Moses, better than Aaron. And it’s really all leading up to this chapter. This chapter is really the core of the argument for the author of Hebrews. Christ is better because the new covenant he mediates is better.

v26-28 kind of summarizes what we’ve been seeing for the last couple of chapters. Jesus Christ is the perfect one to stand between us and God. He’s the perfect one to give us access to God. He’s fitting as a high priest. But the author has been moving us on to the next part of his argument that Christ is the high priest of a new and a better covenant. The first part of chapter 8 is him really making one particular point—the tabernacle and all that it implied was a shadow pointing to Jesus. Now that the reality is here you’d be foolish to hang onto the shadows. When the real is here you stop clinging to the shadow. You don’t worship the fingers that are pointing to the Messiah—you worship the Messiah.

Imagine a father, he’s a soldier who has been deployed. And his little girl is absolutely heartbroken. He gives his little girl a teddy bear and says, whenever you miss me give this teddy bear a hug and it’ll remind you of this hug that I’m giving you now. It’ll remind you that daddy is always thinking of you. Now imagine that daddy is now able to come back home. His time of service is over. And he comes through the door to greet his precious little girl. But instead of hugging daddy as he comes through the door she goes and runs and hugs the teddy bear.

That seems a bit off doesn’t it? That’s what the author of Hebrews is saying that his audience is in danger of doing. They’ve got the substance right here—Christ has come—but they are in danger of going back to the systems. They are in danger of hugging the teddy bear and rejecting the Father who gave it as a shadow of something greater to come. That bear was meant to hold her over until she could get the real hug.

But I don’t know if that analogy fully works because it doesn’t really explain the power and the pull of tradition or the beauty of the tabernacle. Be careful how you listen here because you could think that I’m saying something I’m not but I think it might help. Let’s think for a moment about Christmas. What if we said, “get rid of all the candles, all the Christmas songs, all the trees, all the ornaments, no candles, no bells, no stars, wreaths, no mistletoe, no tinsel. None of it. And remove all the crosses in your church because they are just symbols.”

You’d be a bit upset wouldn’t you? Because these symbols are something powerful. They point to things that are real and beautiful and true. They are wrapped up in memories and such. They are powerful. You’d likely call me a Grinch trying to take away your Christmas. Or maybe you’d actually get the message of the Grinch:

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

In the same way for the people of God in the Old Testament, and even withing the early stages of the Church as they wrestled with what the coming of Christ meant, this was tough. It was passionate. I’m only using that Christmas decorations analogy to help us emote in a similar way to the temple. There is a difference between a symbol that points backwards and foreward and one that only points foreward but has been fulfilled. Symbols are powerful and Christ gives us symbols. So I’m not saying you need to take down your ornaments or burn up your Christmas tree.

Perhaps this can help us to understand emotionally what was going on in

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

They knew how to cause trouble for Stephen. And it’s possible that the same type of trouble was happening for the hearers of this sermon that we have in Hebrews. What you do is you miss his point entirely, you don’t listen to him talking about the fulfillment in Christ who is their Messiah, you don’t hear stuff about the new heavens or the new earth, you don’t hear him saying how Christ fulfills the law and temple and all that stuff. You don’t hear the gospel. Instead what you do is you make a focal point out of those cultural things that they were holding onto. “Why this guy is talking about tearing down the temple. And we know what the temple is. We know what Moses told us. We know how this is the means that we have access to God. Why you listen to this Stephen guy—this blasphemer---and you’ll end up getting us kicked out of the land again. We’ll be back in exile once again.”

But they missed that Stephen was speaking about a new Exodus, a greater and better temple. They missed what is being said here in Hebrews. Look at 8:1-2.

One who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven…lots that could be said about this, but notice the fact that he is seated. That means his job is finished. His sacrifice is complete. Contrast this with Aaron and the priests in the old covenant. Always standing. Always sacrificing. Never finished.

Also note the difference in their place of service. Aaron and his sons are sacrificing here on earth in a tabernacle made by people. But where is the sacrifice of Christ being made? In the heavens in the actual tabernacle made by God. That’s kind of what verse 3 is pointing to. Christ isn’t like those on earth making yearly sacrifices. He’s an entirely different type of high priest. “They serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things”. That’s key.

We might do a full sermon on this soon, but you can trace this beautiful story of the temple and the presence of God all the way from to . And it’s connected to our text here. Again it’s all about access to God. The Garden of Eden was kind of like a tabernacle a temple. It was a place where God dwelled with humanity. God has always planned to restore Eden—the new heavens and the new earth. Notice that part of that beautiful promise in is about the dwelling of God with humanity. Dwelling place is the very word for tabernacle. Same thing with the Christmas story in John. He made his “dwelling” among us. That’s tabernacle. And so what’s the author of Hebrews saying? Everything I said to you earlier.

The tabernacle, the priesthood, the clothes, the shellfish regulations, the you can’t eat bacon stuff, all the dietary laws, the feasts, the circumcision of the flesh, all that stuff was a shadow. That’s why Moses had to be so specific because God wanted the symbols to accurately represent and point to Christ. To show humanities failure, to remind us of our sin, to point to God’s provision. A picture of man’s ruin and God’s remedy. But they were shadows pointing to the reality. Those are shadows and so you don’t do them anymore. You don’t hug the teddy bear when daddy comes barging through the door.

But that’s actually a little unsettling isn’t it?

I think Piper does a good job of helping us see this:

What this means, in essence, is that the entire worship life of the Old Testament has been radically refocused onto Jesus himself and has become a radically spiritual thing, as opposed to an external thing. The external is still important, but now the spiritual is so radically pervasive that virtually all of external life, not just church life, is the expression of worship.

In the New Testament, all the focus is on the reality of the glory of Christ, not the shadow and copy of religious objects and forms. It is stunning how indifferent the New Testament is to such things: there is no authorization in the New Testament for worship buildings, or worship dress, or worship times, or worship music, or worship liturgy or worship size or thirty-five-minute sermons, or Advent poems or choirs or instruments or candles. [DO YOU REALIZE HOW DIFFERENT THIS IS FROM THE OLD COVENANT?]

It’s kind of wide open. And Piper I think is correct when he notes that this is for a missional reason. The Old Testament was come and see. But the New Testament is go and tell.

And to make that possible, the Son of God has not abolished worship, but made it the kind of radically spiritual engagement with God in Christ that can and must happen in every culture on the earth. Worship is not trivialized in the New Testament, but intensified, deepened, and made the radical fuel and goal of all missions.

The frightening freedom of worship in the New Testament is a missionary mandate. We must not lock this gospel treasure in any cultural straitjacket. Rather let us find the place, the time, the dress, the forms, the music that kindles and carries a passion for the supremacy of God in all things. And may our communion with the living God be so real and the Spirit of God so powerfully present that the heart of what we do becomes the joy of all the peoples we are called to reach.

Hebrews 8:1–7 ESV

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, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 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. 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.” 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. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

This is why Law and religion is so appealing. It’s a lot tighter. We like rules (at least for others). We like to be able to say if I do this then I know I’m accepted. I give a tithe—God blesses. I come to the house of God with my goat, I sacrifice it on the alter. God and I are cool now. Religion is far more comfortable. And so sometimes it can feel like it’s the better option. This is why we slip into legalism so easily. That’s why we still have fights about things like worship music, and clothes, and time, and forms, and symbols and all that stuff. Because the new covenant is somewhat unsettling to us.

But friends it’s only unsettling if we don’t actually believe the new covenant. This is where the author of Hebrews now takes us. He’s wanting to make the point that the Old Covenant and thereby the temple and the systems and all that stuff is obsolete because it is fulfilled in Christ. And he wants to show us why this is such great news. Why’d you need a new covenant?

He takes them to . This isn’t him just pulling stuff out of thin air. He’s saying all this stuff was shown and pointed to in the Old Testament. Jeremiah writes to a people who are in exile. Why are they in exile? Well because they didn’t obey God’s Law at all. What he said would happen in if they didn’t obey the law has happened. And now they are in exile because of it. But the author of Hebrews picks up on this and says, “so if the old covenant is the end—the telos—the mature—the perfect—the finished—the goal…then tell me why Jeremiah spoke about this new Exodus and this new covenant.” Why is it that there was this period of exile in Egypt and then Moses rescued them. And now there was this period in captivity and Jeremiah speaks of a new Exodus? What was the need for all of that.

Notice verse “for he finds fault with them.”

What was the problem? Why did the old covenant need a new covenant? Was it that God didn’t know how to write the first one and so he has to start over? No the problem was with the people who received that first covenant and their hearts. The fault was within them. But listen to what said was going to happen.

Fundamentally what we have here is that the law of God is now written on changed hearts. This is what we talk about with the new birth. Your heart changes, your desires change, your affections change, you want to obey Christ. You want to follow Jesus. What does God’s Word say? I want to do it. Not just say I’ll do it like in the Old covenant but my heart has been radically changed and I truly want to obey my Lord. (Yes, imperfectly. Yes, old habits die hard. But there has been a fundamental change).

Secondly you have a new relational status. There was language within the old testament that was similar to this. Part of what we see in Hosea is something like, “no longer my people”. That implies that they were his people but their unfaithfulness causes that covenant to be broken. And so now we’ve got this something new happening. Something new is being rebuilt. And Hosea was pointing to that as well. A fundamental relational change. Christ in you the hope of glory. Adopted. Children of God. Sons of God. All these great and beautiful things we see in the new testament about who we are in Christ our relationship with God. Access to God all that stuff is right here.

Thirdly, they’ll know the Lord. That’s an intimate word. Not just know about the Lord. Not just know that the Lord is God. Or that God exists or something like that. But it’s saying to know the Lord—to know the word of the Lord. It’s a relationship with God that we have now. And this changes everything.

And all of this is grounded in God’s mercy to us. Notice the “for” in verse 12. It is because of what our high priest has done that his new covenant is put in place. Who is it for? What does he mean when he says, “with Israel”? Does the new covenant only apply to those who are ethnic Jews? If so, then you and I as Gentiles are in pretty bad shape. No he’s saying here in what Paul would say later.

Listen to:

Listen to

Galatians 3:7–14 ESV

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Know then that it is ithose of faith who are jthe sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that kGod would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, l“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

What does all of this mean? It means that for those who are in Christ (Jew or Gentile) we have changed hearts and the new covenant and all of it’s promises are ours. What are those promises? It’s not just new heaven and new earth it’s a real and true and intimate relationship with God. It’s access again. It’s relationship. But it’s also restoring our hearts and our affections.

Look with me at verse 13. It’s really a huge statement. And I think this is also evidence that Hebrews was written before AD 70. Why? What happened in AD 70? The Jerusalem temple was destroyed. And I think the author of Hebrews was prophesying that. It was “vanishing away”. Why isn’t there at temple anymore? Hold on…there is a temple! And you’re seeing it today. It’s the gathering of believers in Jesus. Followers of Christ are the temple. What does that mean? We aren’t talking about a building we’re talking about the fact that God is with us. That’s why there isn’t a temple in Jerusalem. Because it’s obsolete. It’d be offensive to God to sacrifice a goat in Jerusalem. Why? Because his perfect Son was already perfectly sacrificed. And that’s what the author of Hebrews is saying.

To a people whose culture and tradition and everything would be pulling at them and saying, “come on man, come to the temple and sacrifice. Hedge your bets. This is the way we’ve always done it.” That old pull of religion. Friends that pull is still crying out for us today. I’ve always loved this from Tim Keller.

10 For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, n“Cursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for q“The righteous shall live by faith.”4 12 But the law is not of faith, rather r“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit5 through faith.o

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, n“Cursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for q“The righteous shall live by faith.”4 12 But the law is not of faith, rather r“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit5 through faith.

But you and I also know the lesson of the Grinch.

But you and I also know the lesson of the Grinch.

That’s what he’s saying at the first part of

Shadows

When the real is here you don’t worship the shadow. You don’t worship the fingers pointing.

What he is saying about the tmeple

Why is that so scary?

Cultural tradition

Law is appealing. Keeps order. We like twelve steps. SPiritual, grace is kind of a scary thing.

But it’s only scary if the NC isn’t true and better.

Problem with OC

Heart.

New Exodus—hearts changed

WHat does JEremiah Say

law written on changed hearts

relational status

know the Lord

Grounded in God’s mercy. Sins forgiven. Cleansed. Changed. Born again. New status.

v13 such a huge statement—you want to relate to God how?

That finger of John the Baptist is us. This is our ministry. Look to Christ.

Acceptance

Religion: “I obey; therefore, I’m accepted.”Gospel: “I’m accepted; therefore, I obey.”

 Motivation

Motivation

Religion: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.Gospel: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

Obedience

Religion: I obey God in order to get things from God.Gospel: I obey God to get God – to delight in an resemble him.

 Circumstances

Religion: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.Gospel: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle, but I know my punishment fell on Jesus and that while God may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.

Criticism

Religion: When I am criticized, I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a “good person.” Threats to self-image must be destroyed at all costs.Gospel: When I am criticized, I struggle, but it is not essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ.

Prayer

Religion: My prayer life consists largely of petition, and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.Gospel: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with God.

Confidence

Religion: My self-view swings things between to poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble but not confident – I feel like a failure.Gospel: My self-view is not based on my moral achievement. In Christ I am simul lustus et peccator – simultaneously sinful and lost, yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad that he had to die for me, and I am so loved that he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deep humility and confidence at the same time.

Identity

Religion: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work, or how moral I am – and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral.Gospel: My identity and self worth are centered on the one who died for me. I am saved by sheer grace and I can’t look down on those who believe or practices something different from me. Only by grace am I what I am.

So which one do you want today? You want the good news of the gospel or do you want religion?

The new covenant is beautiful and we have a high priest who has made it certain for us.

I want to end where I began. You and I are in that painting. We’re in there in the fact that Christ is hung on the Cross on our behalf. We’re the reason that lamb is slain. But we’re also there in the finger of John the Baptist. That’s what our life is about. “He must increase, I must decrease”. We are that finger pointing to Christ. So as we enjoy Christ let us also be those with the heart of John whose whole life is pointing. “You’re the guy with all the answers. Nope. I’m the guy who points to that guy.”