A Better One-Jesus and the New Covenant
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Intro:
Conclusion to our series on Covenants
Author of Hebrews: Unknown, speaks of direct revelation from the Lord 2:3 although form and style are unclear as to who wrote it. It was most likely written in and around 65-69 AD since the writer mentions the current operation of the Temple and levitical priesthood. We know that in 70 AD the Temple was destroyed by Rome.
The purpose of Hebrews: Written to Hebrew Christians, who were being tempted to desert the faith in Christ during growing persecutions. Among those were Jews possibly weighing the options of trusting Christ but yet have not committed to him by faith. This is why the writer makes the continual contrast of Old Covenant practices with Jesus as better than the angels, a better Mediator, of a better covenant with better blessings and better promises for a new people.
Reason: For the church on this Resurrection Sunday, we find great hope and encouragement for looking to Jesus as the guarantee of the New Covenant. This New Covenant was sealed by his blood and has better promises for God’s people today. A New Covenant does not mean a faulty covenant in the past. As we have seen through our study in the covenants, God links each of these as the structure of his grand redemptive story that culminate in Jesus. Our passage in chapter 8 today is a great passage summarizing the truths of the New Covenant to serve as an encouragement for believers as we look to Christ, our King, High Priest, and Salvation!
A Better King v.1
A Better King v.1
The writer begins perfectly for our context this afternoon as He announces the position of Christ in the heavenly places. How did he arrive at the throne of heaven to sit in the place of honor…he had to defeat sin and death by rising from the grave and ascending. The writer of Hebrews declares by the moving of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is there, sitting in the place of Honor at the right of the Father. Sitting in this context speaks of great authority. We understand from eastern cultures that kings sat to rule the kingdom, teachers sat to teach the word and sitting reflected the permanence of the position of Christ. He is not just King, he is king permanently, for all eternity.
His resurrection and ascension brought great hope to the disciples on the Mountain as the angels informed his friends that He did not just leave, but that he would return again in the same way. Therefore his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven and his return all reflect the glorious nature of Jesus as King. As a servant, he was born in a meager state, grew up in obscurity, humiliated and rejected by his peopl, mocked and beaten by his enemies, crucified, stabbed and upon his death, buried in a borrowed tomb. This was his stage of humiliation.
But at his resurrection, He came forth in victory, casting off the bondage of the grave, rising as victor over sin and death. He accentuated that rising from death after 40 days to rising to glory, seated at the Father’s right hand in honor and power. The angels remind the disciples what they were already told by their Lord in John 14:1-3
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus surpasses all the Kings of Israel in every way. Their reign over Israel were corrupted by sin in their own lives and the lives of the people. Jesus rules in a bette way, sinless in every way, with all knowledge wisdom and power. You and I can trust him as an impartial, loving, good king who rules sovereignly over the heavens and earth.
Do you submit to him?
A Better Priesthood vs.2-4
A Better Priesthood vs.2-4
The scene continues for the writer of Hebrews, as we read that Jesus is not just King but High priest as well. We have learned many truths about the High Priests in our study through Ezra and Nehemiah. We learned of their access to God in the Holy of Holies that no other Jews had access to. The High Priest mediated or stood between God and man, representing man to God and acting on God’s behalf for man.
High priests served in the Temple and they were destined for this office by the lineage of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Consecutively, the High Priest served his role until he died and a son, being in the line of Aaron took up the office.
In chapter 7, we read two clear obstacles to the priesthood under the lineage of Aaron, serving the Old Covenant,
no perfection under the law (7:11)
Heb 7:11 “11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?”
the priests could not offer a cleansing of the soul from sin. Their acts of sacrificing were external acts of service to God but the guilt of sin upon the consciences of the people remained. The law reminded them that sin offended a holy God. Therefore continual sin was needing atonement so sacrifices were continually offered.
no priest lived forever (7:23)
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
the priestly office of Aaron was necessary to continue on throughout history because death end the service of each priest
Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi, under Aaron so being an earthly priest wasn’t an option. Jesus came from the Kingly line of Judah and yet not disqualified. The levitical priesthood served the commands of the law, Jesus fulfilled the law and therefore transcends the law’s demands and becomes priest by appointment, appointment as Son of God
Hebrews 7:14-16 “14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.”
Jesus is a better high priest and the final one because he provided the perfection need by fulfilling the law in every way. He offered not a sacrifice for his own sins, like the earthly high priests but instead he offered himself as a gift of sacrifice for the sins of his people. Because He is the eternal God, who could not be held by the grave 7:16, then the resurrection is the evidence that Jesus is the final high priest because He carries on into eternity, never to lose that office to death or to another.
So Jesus as High Priest, as as the worthy sacrifice for sin, accomplishes what the earthly High priests could not by his power. He is able to remove the stain of sin on our consciences, that alarm system of the soul that the law of God informs us when he have violated the law of God.
In the old system, the guilt of sin legal could be covered but the human heart still felt the weight of sin. But now under Jesus, when sin is removed the guilt and shame is miraculously extracted from our souls. The gospel informs our minds that Jesus is victorious over sin and guilt remains no more.
Heb 9:13-14
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Illustration:
During Covid I remolded my kitchen. I tore out a wall in my kitchen to open it up some. I repaired the ceiling were the wall tied in and I laid new tile. All aspects of that walls existence has been removed. It would seem silly for me to walk up to that area and act as though a wall was still there. Trying to open a door that doesn’t exist.
Application:
The New Covenant reminds us that in Jesus his work on the cross removes our guilt and shame. Why do you hold on to that shame for that which Christ has removed? You cannot wear that shame of your sin because your Lord adorned himself with it when he went to the cross.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul!
A Better Access v.5
A Better Access v.5
In verse 5, the writer explains the tent of meeting that was described to Moses. In giving the blueprints to Moses, the design was from God and it reflected a copy of heaven where God dwelt. The writer uses synonymous terms to communicate that the tent and the temple were “shadows” and “copies” of heavenly things. The tent in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem was the presence of God dwelling among his people. To approach the temple or tent was a holy journey and although you could not go worth into the most holy place, your approach was an astonishing journey towards God.
With that came the denial of access, like Israel at Mt Sinai, they could go near the mountain but they could not touch it. Only Moses could near the presence of God’s glory and even he could not look fully at God’s holiness. With the OC, the separation from God and man remained because of sin. The Temple was the place to approach heaven in a sense, or at least of the reflection of God’s presence in heaven.
The writer in v 5 makes the comparison of that tent of shadow in comparison to the real existence of heaven and God’s presence.
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
The perfect tent is heaven where God’s presence dwelt and we are assured that Jesus entered as High Priest offering himself as the final and complete sacrifice for sin, that can purify the conscience and appease the wrath of God against sin. There is nothing else needed Jesus has not provided for us!
This gives God’s people a better access to God because of the work of Christ. What was once fear and separation now becomes worship and access into the throne room of God
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Application:
The resurrection ensures that by the victory on the cross and from the grave, we can have an intimate relationship with the Creator of all things. Through Jesus, you can approach the throne in prayer by a united relationship with the Lord. Is 53:5 “upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Peace with allows us to call him Father. Peace with God allows us to cry to him and know that He will answer us according to his will. Peace with God means his wrath is not coming on us, it has already come on His son.
A Better Covenant vs.6-13
A Better Covenant vs.6-13
vs. 6-7 Summary
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.
This verse is not saying that the Old Covenant was faulty or that somehow God made a mistake that needed correcting. First of all, it is the ministry of the priests that was changing under the change of the covenant. No longer were sacrifices, slaying of animals, fancy adorned outfits in fancy building with temple servants, singers and gatekeepers needed. The ministry of worship changed because Jesus is better. He fulfills all those things and therefore those aspects of service and ministry to the Lord now are different.
The Superiority of the New Covenant is based on the Superior Mediator who serves between God and man. Because Jesus is superior to all the former High Priests, because the sacrifice is greater, because the Temple is relocated, then the entirety of the Covenant is New and Better!
How is it better? Consider its betterment:
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.
A Spiritual Israel
Now Jeremiah has this vision about the New Covenant when he is ministering to the people before the Babylonians sacked the city, destroyed the temple and captured the Jews. Assyria had already laid waste to the Israel and both waves of destruction to the Jewish people were predeicted by the prophets like Jeremiah.
But the promise of a New Covenant was hope in the midst of a storm. To think that God would enter into another covenant with Israel was astonishingly gracious to those covenant breakers. The promise in Jer 31 that is quoted by the writer of Hebrews tells us the covenant with be with “the house of Judah and Israel.” Those are the divided houses of Israel as a nation. But what the New Covenant offers is that relationship with God does not come by birthright or lineage…it comes by faith. Since Jesus represents Israel’s fulfillment of the New Covenant, then all who believe in Jesus receive the blessings from the NC that is established.
Matt 28:19 tells us that followers of Jesus could be people of all nations and so therefore the promises of Abraham that He would be a blessing to all nations is fulfilled in Christ because people from every tongue tribe and nation can enter into the NC through faith in the finished work of Jesus.
Paul speaks of this in Gal 3:16 “16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”
An Eternal Covenant
The New Covenant is different because it brings about a change in parties of the Covenant. Yes the New Covenant is with God and His People, but Christ steps in as our representative. He fulfills the obligations of the covenant on our behalf so that we will not break his covenant. Those who are elected, called, regenerated, justified, adopted, sanctified, and glorified will be faithful until the end because
The constant failures of Israel were planned by God to show the effects of sin in the world and bring awareness to something greater. Corrupt prophets, priests, judges, kings, and people all show us that sin’s deeply rooted in all humanity and without a supernatural work of God, we are all doomed. We needed something different!
The New Covenant is different because it brings about a change in parties of the Covenant. Yes the New Covenant is with God and His People, but Christ steps in as our representative. He fulfills the obligations of the covenant on our behalf so that we will not break his covenant. Those who are elected, called, regenerated, justified, adopted, santified, and glorified will be faithful until the end because Jesus is our Covenant Keeper. Just as Moses was the mediator between God and man, moses was also a covenant breaker. Jesus is mediator between God and man and covenant keeper.
3. An Inward Change v. 10-12
It should astonish us that at times Israel lost touch with the law of God given to them. They lost it and they ignored it. It at times meant nothing to them as a people. Similarly, when Israel as a nation were disobedient towards God, his presence ceased to dwell among them. They were physically distant from him and physically ignoring the words from him.
The NC brings an inward change so that God dwell with men by possessing them by His Spirit. The bible tells us that His spirit tabernacles with His people. Vs. 10-11,
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.
Knowing the Lord would not longer be about living near the Lord but the Lord living in them by His spirit, without limitation or discrimination.
Similarly, they will not have tablets of stone that merely have the words of God, but God would write the words of the law on their hearts and minds (10).
Hebrews (Exposition)
Although we can read the law in the Scriptures, and see it wrought out in the life of Christ, yet it is needful that the Spirit of God should come and enlighten us with regard to it if we are really to know what it is. Otherwise, a man may hear the Ten Commandments read every Sabbath day and go on breaking them without ever knowing that he is breaking them. He may be keeping the letter of the commandments and yet all the while be violating their spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes to us, He shows us what the law really is....
When the Lord thus writes His law upon our heart, He makes us to know the far-reaching power and scope of the commandment. He causes us to understand that it touches not only actions and words, but thoughts and indeed the most transient imaginations, the things that are scarcely born within us, the sights that pass in a moment across the mind, like a stray passenger who passes in front of the camera when a photographer is taking a view. The Spirit of God teaches us that even these momentary impressions are sinful, and that the very thought of foolishness is sin.
Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: Hebrews, ed. Elliot Ritzema and Jessi Strong, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 210.
The church, the called of God’s people who are the spiritual Israel, the transformed people from within, hear the call of God and respond by faith to His word, believing fully in Christ, and being dwelt by His Spirit so that the words of life are daily alive within them. They move and work inside like remodelers of a home changing us day by day from old to new.
4. Covenant Blessings v 12
With that inward change, comes salvific effects. Total and complete forgiveness by the sufficient sacrifice of the Son.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
Application: Part of our inward change is the amazing reality that sin has been washed away. No longer is the person who trust in Jesus carrying the weight of sin’s debt, guilt, and shame. Believers in Jesus are liberated once and for all. This is the final exodus for God’s people, where Jesus leads the people through the waters of grace, escaping the bondage of sin, and receiving the promised land of rest in Him. The spoils that we receive from our liberation are not jewels or coins or property, we receive forgiveness.
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church Christ’s Forgiveness Overcomes Our Weaknesses
Let all the world know that the Lord Jesus will not cast away His believing people because of short-comings and infirmities. The husband does not put away his wife because he finds failings in her. The mother does not forsake her infant because it is weak, feeble, and ignorant. And the Lord Christ does not cast off poor sinners who have committed their souls into His hands because He sees in them blemishes and imperfections. Oh! No! It is His glory to pass over the faults of His people, and heal their backslidings,—to make much of their weak graces, and to pardon their many faults.
Conclusion: On this resurrection day, let us remember that the New Covenant is what the church operates under today. This is as Heb 13 tells us an eternal covenant with God and man, through Christ. When Jesus sat down with his disciples in the upper room, the night before his arrest and death, Jesus enjoyed a meal with his Disciples, a passover meal. In that meal, he broke the bread and told the disciples that they bread now represented, not the escape from Egypt but the escape from sin through his broken body on the cross. The wine didn’t just represent joy in that escape from Egypt but it was joy in the blood of the New Covenant that washes sins away.
We have hope today because the death and resurrection of Jesus institutes that New Covenant to which He accomplishes all that is needed for us to be saved.
Will you trust in Him today?