Out With the Old; In With the New

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

Growing up, how many of you had a TV that looked something like this? We did. It was a black and white TV that only got three channels. And the only remote it had was when our dad asked one of us kids to get up and change the channels. But how many of you still own a TV like that? Unless you go to an antique store, you can’t even find one like that today because they are obsolete.

And how many of you once owned a phone that looked like this? My guess is that many of you here are so young, you wouldn’t even know how to make a call on a phone that looks like this. How many of you still own a phone like that? Even if you still have a land line, which is becoming increasingly rare, you probably don’t have one of these rotary dial phones, because they are also obsolete.

Tension

As we continue our study of the book of Hebrews this morning, our passage is going to focus on something that was already obsolete in that day - the Jewish religion that the audience of Jewish Christians was considering going back to. But as the author of Hebrews keeps pointing out, that would have been just as ridiculous as us trying to buy a black and white TV or a rotary phone. There was something new that was far superior to that obsolete way of trying to approach God.

While it’s unlikely that any of us here today are in danger of going back to the Old Testament system of priests and animal sacrifices, it is certainly possible that we might be tempted to revert back the ways we have tried to approach God in the past - perhaps through religious traditions or rituals, or even through our own efforts to serve God in order to earn His favor. But as we’ll see this morning, those practices would also be just as crazy as trying to use some product that is now obsolete when we now have something that is far superior.

Truth

Go ahead and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 8. The first two verses serve as a transition from previous section that began back at the end of chapter 4 to the following section that will take us all the way through the end of chapter 10.

Hebrews 8:1–2 ESV

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.

The author begins by looking back to the previous section which focused on the appointment of Jesus as our great high priest - one in the order of Melchizedek - and then it looks forward to the next section that will focus on the ministry of Jesus as our great high priest.

The author introduces the argument that will continue all the way through the end of chapter 10 - the ministry of Jesus is superior to that of the earthly priests because of where it takes place - at the right hand of God in the holy places. The author calls that the “true tent”, or literally the “true tabernacle”. We’ll see in a moment that is in contrast to the earthly tabernacle where the Jewish priests ministered.

Let’s continue reading:

Hebrews 8:3–7 ESV

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.

Here is the argument that the author is making to the Jewish Christians who were considering going back to their Jewish religion. The earthly tabernacle is only a copy and shadow of the real tabernacle, which is in heaven. So therefore the ministry that takes place there is inferior to the ministry of Jesus that takes place in heaven. Or, as I’m going to phrase it this morning...

The Old Covenant is obsolete because it is merely a shadow of the New Covenant, which is the substance

The idea of a covenant is central to this chapter. We’ve already seen it used twice in the first seven verses and it will be used five more times by the time we get to the end of the chapter. So let’s take a moment to define what that term means as it is used in the Bible.

Here is the best definition of a covenant I found this week:

“a chosen relationship or partnership in which two parties make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal”

A lot of us probably think that a covenant is the same as a contract. While the two are related, the biggest distinction is that a covenant is relational and personal. Contracts generally focus on the self-interest of both parties but a covenant focuses on what is mutually beneficial to both parties.

While God designed marriage to be a covenant, unfortunately in our culture it tends to be viewed more like a contract. When that happens, one or both of the parties in that marriage begin to focus on their individual rights, like the “right to be happy”, rather than on fulfilling their vows for the good of the relationship as a whole. And that is the root cause of the high divorce rate in our culture.

In the Bible, covenants are initiated by God and they are for the benefit of man. While some identify seven, or even eight, covenants in the Bible, the general consensus is that there are five explicit covenants:

Noahic

Abrahamic

Mosaic

Davidic

New

The first four are all part of the Old Covenant, and all but the Noahic covenant deal with God’s chosen people, Israel.

But as the author points out here, that Old Covenant was not “faultless”. If it had been sufficient, there would have been no need for a new one. In verse 5, the author quotes from Exodus 25:40 to explain why that Old Covenant could not possibly be “faultless”:

Exodus 25:40 ESV

40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

The NET Bible translates the beginning of verse 5 like this:

The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary...

Although I can’t be dogmatic about this, the Scriptures do seem to indicate that God gave Moses a glimpse of the true tabernacle in the heavens and then had him sketch it out, kind of like an architect sketching out the plans for a new building. But that earthly tabernacle was only a copy and a shadow of the real thing. As I illustrated with the kids earlier, a shadow only gives us an outline of the real thing. It is not the substance, but only a fuzzy picture of the substance. So the earthly tabernacle would always be inferior to the one in heaven and thus the ministry of the earthly priests in that earthly tabernacle would always be inferior to the ministry of Jesus in heaven.

The author is now going to quote from the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah as one more proof that God has always intended the Old Covenant and its system of priests and animal sacrifices to be temporary.

This is the longest quote of an Old Testament passage in the entire New Testament. Here the author quotes the entire text of Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Hebrews 8:8–13 ESV

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.

Even though this is a long quote, the author of Hebrews focuses on just one word here - NEW. He is pointing out that even in Jeremiah’s day, God was planning a “new” covenant because the current one was growing old and would one day become obsolete.

In Greek, there are two primary words that can be translated “new”:

neos - recently produced

kainos - fresh existence or quality

We see how Jesus used both words in the same sentence:

But new [neos] wine must be put into fresh [kainos] wineskins. (Luke 5:38 ESV)

Jesus was making the point that His ministry was new in quality. It wasn’t just another branch of Judaism.

The author of Hebrews uses the Greek word “kainos” throughout this passage. He is conveying the idea that the New Covenant is different. It’s not just an attachment to the Old Covenant. It has a fresh quality to it that distinguishes it from the old.

This quotation from Jeremiah provides us with...

THREE REASONS THE NEW COVENANT IS SUPERIOR TO THE OLD

The law is internalized (v. 10a)

Under the Old Covenant, the law was external. It declared God’s holy standard and it focused primarily on external behavior. But its biggest drawback is that it never provided the power that was needed for the people to obey it. So time after time the people of Israel claimed that they would obey the law, but they continually fell short.

Under the New Covenant, the law is put into our minds and written on our hearts. That obviously doesn’t mean that we don’t still need to read the Scriptures. But what it does promise is that when we do that, God’s Holy Spirit will guide us into truth and change our hearts, which then gives us the ability to obey God’s commandments. So we are transformed from the inside out.

That obviously doesn’t mean that any of us will obey God perfectly, however, since we still have our sin nature. I’ll talk about that more in a moment. But it does mean that in Christ we have been given the power that we need to overcome sin, not by changing our external behavior or circumstances, but rather by allowing Jesus to change our hearts.

The relationship with God is personal (v. 10b-11)

Under the Old Covenant, the relationship with God was primarily corporate. God made covenants with Israel and the blessings and curses that resulted from obeying or disobeying the law largely applied to the entire commonwealth of Israel. The idea of knowing God personally really wasn’t present because the people needed a priest to provide a bridge to God and/or an “expert” to teach them about God.

Under the New Covenant, God promises to be our God and for us to be His people. But there is an added blessing that comes with that. Each individual person has the opportunity to know God personally. That doesn’t mean that we can’t still benefit from the teaching of others, but it does mean that we can individually draw near to God through Jesus and, as a result, come to know God more deeply and intimately. That is why the author of Hebrews keeps hammering home the idea of drawing near to God, a privilege that just wasn’t available under the Old Covenant.

The decisive forgiveness of sins (v. 12)

As we’ve talked about before, under the Old Covenant, the priests made sacrifices on behalf of the people. While those sacrifices served to “cover” the sins of the people, they were incapable of “cleansing” the people from their sins and taking away the guilt of that sin.

But under the New Covenant, God remembers our sins no more. That obviously doesn’t mean that God just has a bad memory and that He just forgot what we did to violate His standards. But it does means that because Jesus is at His right hand interceding for us, that God no longer holds my sin against me.

This is why we have said this morning that...

The Old Covenant is obsolete because it is merely a shadow of the New Covenant, which is the substance

While the Old Covenant pointed ahead to Jesus and His heavenly ministry that makes the New Covenant far superior, it was only a shadow of that substance. And therefore, the author of Hebrew argues, why would anyone settle for the shadow, when they could have the substance?

In verse 13, the author claimed that because the Old Covenant was obsolete, it was soon going to vanish. And less than ten years after this letter was written, that is exactly what happened. In 70 AD the Roman army, under the leadership of the future emperor Titus, captured the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. From that point forward, the Jews could no longer make the sacrifices that were prescribed under the Jewish law. Unfortunately, in spite of that, most of the Jews who have lived since that time still fail to see the futility of the Old Covenant and the need to embrace the New Covenant and its great high priest, Jesus.

Application

While there are many different applications we could make based on what we’ve learned today, including the need to put our faith in Jesus individually, I’m going to focus on just one application that is at the heart of this passage:

HOW TO APPLY THIS PASSAGE IN MY LIFE

Keep my mind focused on the things above

I doubt that any of us here this morning want to go back to an old black and white TV or a rotary dial telephone since we now have something that is far superior. And yet, so many of us are tempted every day to settle for the things of this world, when we have something far superior - our citizenship in heaven.

One of the things we’ve seen this morning is that the things of this world are only a shadow of the reality of the things in heaven. Although we can’t see them right now, the heavenly and the spiritual are actually much more real than the things that are earthly and visible. And while heaven isn’t visible right now, that won’t always be the case.

Over the next few weeks, Ryan will be covering Hebrews 9 and 10 and talking more about some of the specific features of the tabernacle that pointed ahead to Jesus. But this morning I want to call your attention to just one feature of the tabernacle that is relevant to this application.

The tabernacle itself, also called “the tent of meeting”, consisted of two parts - the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies. That was the part of the tabernacle where God manifest His presence and only the High Priest could enter that part of the tabernacle and he could do that only one day a year on the Day of Atonement. That section of the tabernacle was a perfect cube - 10 cubits by 10 cubits by 10 cubits. Later When Solomon built the Temple, the Holy of Holies there was also a perfect cube, but it was larger - 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits.

As we have seen this morning, these are only a shadow or a sketch of the real tabernacle in heaven.

In Revelation 21, we learn that one day, after Jesus returns to this earth, that a New Jerusalem will descend from heaven to earth. And guess what shape it is? That’s right - it’s a perfect cube - 12,000 stadia by 12,000 stadia by 12,000 stadia - or roughly 1,400 miles cubed. I can’t help but wonder if that is what Moses saw when he sketched out the plans for the first earthly tabernacle.

Even if it isn’t, the New Jerusalem described in Revelation reminds us that there is something far superior to anything we have on earth right now. So it only makes sense for us to focus our attention there. No wonder Paul wrote these words in his letter to the church in Colossae - words that we studied just a couple months ago:

Colossians 3:1–2 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

That is easier said than done, isn’t it? We’re constantly surrounded and bombarded by the things of this world and unless we intentionally, deliberately and consistently take steps to meditate on the things of God, the things of His kingdom and the reality of the things in heaven, we are going to get caught up in pursuing the wrong things - things that are only temporary.

Action

So how do I do that? I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks suggesting some practical ways to do that - getting to know God in His Word, changing the way we approach prayer, spending time with other disciples. So I’m not going to repeat those suggestions again. What I am going to do is to suggest some questions to ask yourself to help you evaluate how well you are keeping your focus on things above.

Do I know God (not just know about God) better today than I did a month ago? A year ago? Five years ago?

Do I genuinely desire to obey God or am I seeking to see how much I can get away with and still “squeak into heaven”?

Do I believe that God has forgiven my sins completely or do I fear that I have done something that God can’t or won’t forgive?

When I look at my calendar and my bank account, do they reflect a focus on the things of this earth or the things above?

Do my relationships with others demonstrate the same grace and mercy that God has extended to me?

Do I love others enough to tell them about Jesus?

I could continue with my list, but I think that if all of us asked and honestly answered those six questions about our lives, we’d have a pretty accurate assessment of where our focus is most of the time. So I want to encourage you to set aside some time this week to prayerfully consider those questions. And my guess is that all of us will discover that we’re falling short in one or more of those areas. I know that is certainly true of my life. So once you’ve done that, ask God to forgive you where you’ve fallen short. Ask Him to help you do a better job of keeping your focus on the things above. And then commit to make whatever changes you need to make in your life to make that happen.

Inspiration

In a sense, the entire book of Hebrews is the author’s argument that what Jesus told His disciples on the night before His crucifixion is true. He is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through Him. Any other way we try to draw near to God is just as obsolete as a black and white TV or rotary dial phone.