Hebrews - Chapter 8
CHRIST THE BETTER SACRIFICE
NEW REALITY REPLACES OLD SHADOWS
8:1-5
The earthly ministry is a shadow of the Heavenly ministry where Christ is forevermore our perfect great high priest.
In chapter 7 we saw that the priesthood of Christ is not of the traditional Levitical order but rather after the order of Melchidezek, a different and changed order from that which existed before.
The consequence of this change was that the priesthood of Christ was clearly of a position that surpassed the entire order that had gone before him, based upon human ancestry, not spiritual.
The priesthood of Christ was real & permanent while that of the Levites was by its nature temporary.
Christ’s more exalted priesthood arrived because He was the mediator of a better covenant, one seated within the heart of the believer rather than formed by external observances & rules.
NOTE: The primary purpose now was to draw the hearts of the Hebrews away from the temple at Jerusalem to the true sanctuary of Christian worship residing in Jesus Christ. It is for that reason that the ascension of Christ must occupy the central position in the better way, for He was the new sanctuary and it was not of earth but of Heaven, where he now is seated in authority.
There had existed for centuries a priesthood on earth. Now there is a better priesthood in Heaven, in majesty that cannot be found on earth. The priests here serve at a sanctuary that is a shadow & copy of that which is above.
This is why Moses was warned in Exodus 25:40:
“See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain”.
The law is only a shadow of the good things to come and is NOT the reality itself. This is why it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated year after year, make perfect those who draw to worship under it.
A shadow is only of two dimensions and it is always shown in darkness, while the reality of the true thing is fully formed and resides in light.
Remember, under the law, the holy place was off limits to the believer. The Holy of Holies lived behind the veil. Now our great high priest is seated in the most holy position at the right hand of the Father, accessible to every believer’s heart.
8:6-9:
The New Covenant
If there had been nothing wrong with the old covenant, no room would have been found for a new one. The new covenant is superior to the old, founded on better promises, based upon a better sacrifice, led by a better priest.
The OT revealed this fact in Jeremiah 31:31-32:
“The time is come, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord”.
At best, the old covenant was ineffective to God’s will for His people, therefore the new covenant arrived in Jesus.
At the last supper, He took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20).
Just as the Lord had prepared the people for the old covenant by:
The sending of Moses to announce & begin it.
Deliverance from the bondage of Egypt.
The miracle of the escape through the Red Sea.
Giving the law at Sinai.
He also prepared the people for the new covenant as well by:
The sending of John the Baptist to announce & begin it.
The incarnation & ministry of Jesus delivering grace.
Confirmation in Christ’s death, where the promise became a testament.
The resurrection of Christ became further confirmation.
Pentecost brought the means to deliver & expand it.
The Holy Spirit arrived to form & manage it.
8:10-13
Aspects of the New Covenant
In the new covenant, the Lord has promised:
“… I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart… they will not teach every man his neighbor, for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them…” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
The Lord also clearly teaches here that He will forgive our sins and will remember them no more. By calling this covenant “new” he has made obsolete the “old” or former one, and it should therefore disappear.
There are two aspects of the new covenant that be broadly described as Sanctification & Justification.
Sanctification:
Under the new covenant, each believer is given a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ in cooperation with the Holy Spirit sent by him to maintain here what He mediates above.
Under the Old Covenant, the letter of the law kills. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 3:6:
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”.
Under the New Covenant, behavior is affected by the regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit. Right behavior starts to come naturally to the Christian.
John 1:3 teaches that “No one who is born of God will continue sinning, because God’s seed remains in him…”
Romans 8:5 teaches that “those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires”.
Justification:
The personal relationship is made possible under the New Covenant by the incorporation of the forgiveness of sin, through faith in Christ.
Eph 1:7 “In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Under the New Covenant, not only are sins forgiven but He will remember the sins no more.
NOTE: If the glory of God’s New Covenant brings us forgiveness of sins against Him, and wipes them away from rememberance, maybe each of us should rededicate ourselves to forgive others of their sins against us and seek to remember them no more, as he has provided the best example to us of His will in this matter.