The previous chapter ended with the truth that Jesus was unlike other high priests because He sacrificed for sins once for all when He offered himself to take away sin. The writer now goes on to explain the significance of Jesus as the great High Priest of the new and better covenant.
1]. Jesus, The High Priest Who Offered A Better Sacrifice. 8:1-5
Hebrews chapter 8 begins with, “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.” 8:1-2. The words ‘The point” is from [kephalaion; κεφάλαιον] meaning a sum total, or the crowning point in a discussion. The whole epistle centres on Jesus Christ as the High Priest of God already seated at the right hand of God. That aligns with how the writer introduced Jesus in the first chapter of this epistle, “… After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3. His ministry as a high priest of offering the one perfect sacrifice for sin had been accomplished and so He was able to sit at the right hand of God.
Jesus is also described here as “a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” The sacrifice He offered was in a heavenly temple, a real temple unlike the temple on earth which was simply a copy of the heavenly temple. 8:3-5.
Jesus was the true high priest. All the other high priests offered gifts and sacrifices but they were serving copies or shadows of heavenly things. The true substance, the perfect sacrifice, was offered by Christ in the heavenly temple, “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.” Hebrews 8:3-5.
2]. Jesus Mediated A Better Covenant Enacted On Better Promises. 8:6-9
The writer continued describing the superiority of the ministry of Jesus as the great High Priest by showing that it was associated with a better covenant based on better promises. Heb 8:6, “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. The word for “better” is from [kreittōn; κρείττων] meaning superior or more valuable. It is used 6 times in Hebrews out of a total of 19 times in the whole of the New Testament. The writer describes why that is so in verses 7 to 9. The first covenant God made was with Israel at the time of the Exodus but His people did not continue in it. So a new covenant was necessary and God established that in the ministry of Jesus, 7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 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.”
3]. The New Covenant Established By God For People To Become His People. 8:10-13.
Heb 8:10 “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 neighbour 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.”
The new covenant had the following advantages:-
- God would put His laws into their minds.
- He would write His laws on their hearts.
- He would initiate an intimate relationship with His people, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
- This intimate relationship would mean that all His people would know Him personally and would not need to be taught about Him by others.
- He would be merciful concerning their iniquities and would not remember their sins any more.
The writer concludes the chapter with an important declaration, 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.”
The focus of the Hebrew readers was to be on Jesus who had established a new covenant they were to live under, through His death and resurrection. The high priests of the old covenant and the sacrifices they offered were just a copy or shadow of the one true sacrifice that Jesus that offered, as the great High Priest, on the cross.
Blog No.522 posted on Saturday 03 February 2024.
About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.
holbeck 
522. Hebrews chapter 8. “The New Covenant is Much Better Than The Old.”
The previous chapter ended with the truth that Jesus was unlike other high priests because He sacrificed for sins once for all when He offered himself to take away sin. The writer now goes on to explain the significance of Jesus as the great High Priest of the new and better covenant.
1]. Jesus, The High Priest Who Offered A Better Sacrifice. 8:1-5
Hebrews chapter 8 begins with, “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.” 8:1-2. The words ‘The point” is from [kephalaion; κεφάλαιον] meaning a sum total, or the crowning point in a discussion. The whole epistle centres on Jesus Christ as the High Priest of God already seated at the right hand of God. That aligns with how the writer introduced Jesus in the first chapter of this epistle, “… After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3. His ministry as a high priest of offering the one perfect sacrifice for sin had been accomplished and so He was able to sit at the right hand of God.
Jesus is also described here as “a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” The sacrifice He offered was in a heavenly temple, a real temple unlike the temple on earth which was simply a copy of the heavenly temple. 8:3-5.
Jesus was the true high priest. All the other high priests offered gifts and sacrifices but they were serving copies or shadows of heavenly things. The true substance, the perfect sacrifice, was offered by Christ in the heavenly temple, “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.” Hebrews 8:3-5.
2]. Jesus Mediated A Better Covenant Enacted On Better Promises. 8:6-9
The writer continued describing the superiority of the ministry of Jesus as the great High Priest by showing that it was associated with a better covenant based on better promises. Heb 8:6, “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. The word for “better” is from [kreittōn; κρείττων] meaning superior or more valuable. It is used 6 times in Hebrews out of a total of 19 times in the whole of the New Testament. The writer describes why that is so in verses 7 to 9. The first covenant God made was with Israel at the time of the Exodus but His people did not continue in it. So a new covenant was necessary and God established that in the ministry of Jesus, 7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 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.”
3]. The New Covenant Established By God For People To Become His People. 8:10-13.
Heb 8:10 “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 neighbour 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.”
The new covenant had the following advantages:-
The writer concludes the chapter with an important declaration, 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.”
The focus of the Hebrew readers was to be on Jesus who had established a new covenant they were to live under, through His death and resurrection. The high priests of the old covenant and the sacrifices they offered were just a copy or shadow of the one true sacrifice that Jesus that offered, as the great High Priest, on the cross.
Blog No.522 posted on Saturday 03 February 2024.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.