Hebrews 8: Jesus, High Priest of a New Covenant

• v.1-3 Jesus, priest approved
• v.4-6 Earthly Ministry
• v.7-13 Old Covenant replaced

v.1-3 Jesus, priest approved

v.1,2 Now the main 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, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

v.3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.

[Note: Our high priest, who represents us before God, actually now sits alongside God, but priests have to offer something….]

v.4-6 Earthly Ministry

v.4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.

v.5 They 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.”

v.6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

[Note: On the earth, not being a Levite, he would be redundant but earthly ministry is just a copy of the reality achieved in heaven [Exo 25:40] but not only is Jesus superior, but also his ministry is superior to the earthly priesthood’s ministry.]

v.7-13 Old Covenant replaced

v.7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.

v.8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

v.9 It will not be like the covenant made with their ancestors 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.

v.10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people 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.

v.11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

v.12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

v.13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

[Note: If the first covenant worked perfectly there would be no need for another one – but it didn’t! – and God saw that and planned for a new covenant. Remember, Israel failed to keep the Sinai covenant and were rejected in the desert, so God planned a new covenant whereby the Law would be within the people of God. No longer would they need to teach the Law because it would be in them, and their sins would be forgiven [Jer. 31:31-34]. ‘New’ implied the old was obsolete.]

[Additional Note: The Flow of Writing: As we said at the end of the previous chapter, this one expands on what was said previously by reiterating that

• Jesus our high priest now sits in heaven
• the earthly priestly ministry was merely a shadow of then reality expressed in heaven
• the old covenant was inadequate in that Israel showed they were unable to keep the Sinai covenant
• so God had already planned to replace it with a new covenant that would result in the law being in the hearts and minds of believers who had received God’s forgiveness on the basis of the sacrifice for sin of His Son. The old covenant was now obsolete.

The following chapter further explains this by descriptions of the requirements of the Law – including the shedding of blood [by the sacrifice]. The use of blood in the old covenant is examined and contrasted with the shedding of Christ’s blood. As a subject that is so alien to modern life, we will seek to see the meanings behind all these things.]  

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: