Hebrews 7 explained the significance of being a priest in the order of Melchizedek, and how that is superior to the Aaronic / Levitical priesthood of the Jewish Old Covenant. We were told that the New Covenant in Jesus is greater, and here in chapter 8, that explanation continues. Let’s take a look:
1) V1-3 – 1The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 3Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.
Of course we know, and have known, the identity of this high priest in the order of Melchizedek all along. But putting yourself in the shoes of the author’s Hebrews audience, you may have thought he was talking about Jesus this whole time. But the repetition is key, and so again, we need to see that Jesus is our high priest, doing everything required of the high priest once and for all, doing away with the Old Covenant by fulfilling it, all as He instituted the New Covenant in His blood. Perhaps the audience understood that the order of Melchizedek was greater than the order of Levi or Aaron; but maybe they didn’t realize the reality of Jesus fulfilling this greater priesthood. He “sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (v1; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12; 12:2; Revelation 3:21) and serves even now at the true tabernacle established by God, not the mere manmade tabernacle built by Moses or the Temple built by Solomon, the returned exiles, or Herod. Jesus, in Himself, as the Son of God, has everything to offer God the Father, and He does it on our behalf.
2) V4-7 – 4If He were on earth, He would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” [Exodus 25:40]. 6But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. 7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
The author has focused on Jesus, and rightly so, all the while hinting that the New Covenant is greater than the Old Covenant. While v4 might be difficult to understand, it’s meant as a transition, because for the rest of the chapter, the author is shifting from a very obvious focus on Jesus with hints at the New Covenant, to a very evident focus on the New Covenant itself, with Jesus as Mediator (v6). Ligon Duncan says of the author, “He directs us for a moment away from the Christ of the New Covenant to the New Covenant itself and says you can see the superiority of the Christ of the New Covenant by looking at the promises of the New Covenant.” The Old Covenant was a type or sign; but the New Covenant is reality. And it’s not that something was wrong with the Old Covenant; it did exactly what God had intended it to do. But from the human perspective, it couldn’t have done what the New Covenant would do.
3) V8-13 – 8But God found fault with the people and said [or fault and said to the people]: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to My covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 11No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” [Jeremiah 31:31-34]. 13By calling this covenant “new,” He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
We’ve noted that the problem wasn’t with the Old Covenant, but with the people. And here God confirms that (v8). The author of Hebrews then quotes a large section (4 verses) of God’s words from Jeremiah 31, to point out the reality of His promise of the coming New Covenant long before it came.
In the Old Covenant (v9), the people were unfaithful; the New Covenant will be different, because Jesus is faithful for us, and our faithlessness cannot void His faithfulness (2 Timothy 2:13). In the Old Covenant (v10), the law of God was written on stone tablets and taught to the people; the New Covenant will be different, because the law of God will be written on people’s hearts. The people will not have to be taught to know the Lord; they will know Him (v11; Romans 1:19-21,28). The presence of God will be incredibly superior in the New Covenant, because instead of merely dwelling near or with His people, as in the Old Covenant, now God will dwell in His people, through the Holy Spirit. Finally, in Old Covenant (v12), there was the routine offering of sacrifices for sin; it must have been very difficult to have assurance of forgiveness. But in the New Covenant, forgiveness is guaranteed, and assurance of forgiveness with it.
The Old Covenant is obsolete, but for some reason, people still live by it. People still try to work their way to God through actions and not by faith alone through Christ alone. The author of Hebrews says, “What is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” (v13). Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Don’t go back to the old. The new has come. Rejoice!
Footnotes
- 8:5 Exodus 25:40
- 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
- 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.