Hebrews 8 | From Shadows to Reality: The Power of the New Covenant

What is the new covenant mentioned in Hebrews 8?
How does Jesus serve as our High Priest?
Why is the old covenant considered obsolete?

Hebrews 8 highlights the supremacy of Jesus as the ultimate High Priest of a new and better covenant. The author contrasts the old covenant, mediated by earthly priests, with the new covenant established by Christ. 

The chapter emphasizes that the old covenant was temporary, designed to point people to their need for a Savior. It served as a copy and shadow of the heavenly realities now fulfilled in Christ. With His perfect sacrifice, Jesus abolished the old system of sacrifices and rituals, ushering in a covenant that grants direct access to God. Believers today are called to embrace this new covenant, living in the freedom and assurance of God’s grace.

Through vivid imagery, Hebrews 8 draws parallels between the earthly tabernacle and the true heavenly tent where Christ intercedes for us. This points to the profound privilege believers have in experiencing God’s presence through the Holy Spirit, a defining mark of the new covenant. 

The new covenant brings a profound shift in how believers relate to God. Instead of relying on external laws, the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live out God’s will from the heart. This transformative truth reminds us that salvation has always been rooted in faith—looking forward in the Old Testament and looking back to Christ in the New.

Hebrews 8 concludes by reminding readers that the old covenant is obsolete and fading away, having fulfilled its purpose of preparing the way for Christ. The call is clear: embrace the fullness of the new covenant, with its better promises, direct access to God, and the assurance of eternal forgiveness. It’s a powerful encouragement to persevere in faith, recognizing Jesus as the ultimate High Priest who intercedes for us.

#FaithInChrist #JesusIsBetter #NewCovenant #ChristianLiving #BibleStudy
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Transcript

 Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's Plan, Your Part, Year Two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. All right. Welcome back to God's Plan, Your Part. Today we are diving into Hebrews chapter eight.

Uh, Jenny is here with me and she says that Hebrews chapter nine is much better. Yeah, it is. I think it fleshes it out more, but we will first cover Hebrews eight. You'll notice over and over and, and probably at the risk of repeating this too many times. Um, the whole point of the book of Hebrews is to show, um, like Christians of Jewish origin, Jesus is much better.

And the things that Jesus is doing. Is much better than the old way and the old covenant. And I would say that imagery is very strong here in chapter eight, uh, here talking about how Jesus is a better priest of a better covenant. Again, we're, we're coming out of talking about Melchizedek. Um, so he's building on this case that Jesus is a [00:01:00] new kind of priest.

And then I think building, uh, we'll see here in a second on Jeremiah 31, that we are now under this new covenant and it is a better covenant. So it starts talking about this covenant that Ryan was just. Mentioning. Verse 3, though, talks about, um, the priests that are under the old covenant, essentially what they need to do.

Uh, verse 3, for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. So there was only one high priest, so that's, like, important to know, too. Like, this is a super rare job, opportunity, whatever you want to call it. Typically, he was the high priest for as long as he lived, and when he died, then there had to be a new high priest to Like Supreme Court justice.

Yes. Yeah, sort of. Yeah. Anyway, um, it does say he's appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, thus it's necessary for the priest to also have something to offer, because he needs to also offer it for himself, I'm assuming. Yeah. Um, so what is really crazy then is in verse four, actually verse five, I suppose, um, what four says, it's like Jesus wouldn't [00:02:00] even be, he wouldn't have even been given the opportunity to be a priest at all because he was not from the Levitical line.

Oh, that's a, Anyway, um, but in verse five, it says that those priests, however, although Jesus didn't even come from the line that he needed to, to be a high priest, it says that in verse five, they were simply just a copy and shadow of what Jesus actually is. So I think that is really, I don't know, that's really key.

That's really interesting because these were like super high held up in very like high regards. And Jesus is even better than that, and he doesn't even come from the right line, if you will. I would say the author of Hebrews kicks off chapter 8, and chapter 8 would not have been chapter 8. I like to point out these chapters and headings, all these things, these were added after the fact.

Um, but he kicks off chapter 8. By saying that the, um, let's see, verse, verse one. Now at the point in what we were saying is this, we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places [00:03:00] in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man, that would make the original audience that would make them, um, Envision the tabernacle like right away.

Right. And so the, the idea of the tabernacle was that there was this tent, um, for the presence of God to dwell in as the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness, um, they were on their journeys. Um, God's spirit was in this tabernacle, this tent. And this author of Hebrews is saying that the true tent is really in the heavenlies where God is already seated.

And therefore. Everything on earth is just a copy and a reflection and a shadow of the thing that is in heaven that is better. And so this idea of copy of shadow, um, you know, of representation of something greater is beautiful. Very present here in chapter eight. And it is again, saying that like God, God's physical presence, like being with God in heaven is much better than worshiping in a tabernacle than worshiping in a [00:04:00] temple.

Um, those are just shadows and copies, like things that we can look at that our minds can make sense of that are actually just mere representations of something that is much. Greater. So being in the actual presence of God is much greater than being outside of a tent. Okay, so then my mind kind of goes this crazy direction then.

So first of all, to me, I have two questions, and they're kind of like, they're semi related. The first one is, if everything is just a copy in a shadow, that first covenant of what Jesus would eventually come to be, Um, Why bother with the first covenant at all? Okay, so that is like so frustrating, uh, kind of interesting I feel like i've i've used a couple cop outs lately where I say i'm not the expert in this topic But i'm not the expert in the topic Um god did not change his mind and send us jesus All of us, all of us throughout all of time were always meant to be saved by Jesus.

And it's one of my favorite things to talk about on this podcast is that, um, the folks in the old Testament who were under the old [00:05:00] covenant, um, when they were found faithful, they were actually saved by believing forward that the ultimate, uh, savior would arrive for them. So. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

It's not the things that Abraham did that saved him. It's his faith that God would send a redeemer that saved him. So our, our, whatever, like our old Testament, um, brothers and sisters, they died having faith. forward, knowing that the ultimate redeemer would come. They lived under the old covenant. They were looking forward to the new covenant.

Uh, that's proven here in Hebrews eight, because the author of Hebrews eight is telling us like directly quoting Jeremiah 31, talking about the ultimate. The presence of a new covenant, um, all of us today are believing backward, knowing that Jesus is that ultimate redeemer and he has died for our sins and paid the penalty.

And because of that, we can have right relationship with God. So the, the presence of the old covenant [00:06:00] was merely just to help people understand their own fallenness, their own need for a savior. Uh, it was to help them to understand their own sin. Um, through the mosaic law, we see. That we are all sinners and we have all fallen short and we cannot measure up to God's standard and because of that Sacrifice must be made so that we can have right relationship with God and moat the the mosaic law actually sets up The things that are sins the things that separate us from God and the things that we must do to accomplish restitution before God So now We know under the New Covenant that there is evil, that we are by nature evil, that we do things that are against God, that we offend God with the things that we do that fall short, and we need a Redeemer.

The difference in the New Covenant is that we know who that ultimate Redeemer is, and we know that his blood covers our sin, and when we find faith in him, we have a right relationship with God. So, the Old Covenant actually is, is, uh, I would say [00:07:00] a shadow, uh, and, uh, what, what are the words we're using a, uh, a shadow and a copy.

The old covenant is a shadow and a copy of the new covenant and the new covenant is better than the old covenant, but the old covenant helped to point the way to the new covenant. We understand the new covenant well because we understand the old covenant well. Okay. So then I have another question. This is a second.

Does that actually like help make sense? It does. Okay. And I guess this kind of goes along with it then too. So this is talking about covenants, right? And we talked about how, um, in verse one, Uh, he's seated at the right hand of the majesty in heaven, um, and verse two, a minister in the holy place is in the true tent that is the Lord, that the Lord set up, not man.

So okay, my thing, like, so that, that refers to heaven or does that refer to like God's presence because God's presence again in this new covenant is within us. So like, yes. Is this like future thinking heaven, or like So he's referring to the [00:08:00] idea that God is seated on the throne in heaven. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

Heaven's not the right word, but like, the true tent. Yeah, the the true tent is the presence of God and within us today We are living in the presence of God because God's Spirit dwells within us You can actually see that the second part of the New Covenant is actually talking in some of that language I will put my laws in their minds.

I'm quoting I'm quoting Jeremiah 31, but here it's Hebrews Um, I will be their God, they shall be my people 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 to the greatest for I will be merciful towards their iniquities and remember their sins no more.

But the Holy Spirit empowers us to do that. And that is a uniquely New Testament thing that the Holy Spirit is in all of us who believe it used to be that the Holy Spirit would come on to people, uh, at specific times for specific purposes. It was very [00:09:00] unique. That's exactly it. And so now God's spirit dwells in all of us.

We all have access to the Holy spirit and he leads us. So here's another wild, crazy question that kind of piggybacks that. Um, Verse 11, And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall know me, from Elise to the Grace. Who does that refer to? The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.

Everyone. Everyone is convicted of their sin. That's why you find people who have not been exposed to Christianity. That still have an idea of, um, like, like trying not to be offensive to God. Everybody in all creation, in all the world has a sense of who God is and a sense of there is a right way to honor God and a wrong way to honor God.

Everyone has that. See, and that's like where my mind went when I was thinking about this chapter earlier today of like missionaries who go out into like the jungles that [00:10:00] like There is nobody like this, not, it's not like present day, whatever, like they don't have access to the Bible at all. Right. But they hear about it for the first time.

They still have that, like, they still have an innate desire to honor God with their lives. It sounds a lot better than what I would have said. What's. Yeah. What's really interesting is if you do spend time talking to people who have been in those kinds of circumstances, there are instances of people groups that have not been contacted by outside people groups, and yet they have had visions of Jesus reaching out to them.

So it is like God. Everybody knows and desires a relationship with God. Now we don't know, you know, not everybody knows his name. Uh, not everybody knows, you know, the, the revealed word of God, but everybody has this general revelation that there is a God and we should strive to honor him. You actually have to work very hard against that innate built in desire to arrive at a place where you reject all of it.

It's not a natural [00:11:00] state of man to reject God. Well, that's so interesting. Cause there's always like this. guilty part of me, I guess, when I hear the verse, like every knee will bow, every tongue confess, like, well, what about the ones who don't know? But it's like, there's always that tugging within everyone.

It's just whether or not you choose to accept or reject. That's right. Which is crazy. That's right. Um, so all that to say, like to, to bring it back home to Hebrews eight, Hebrews eight is making the case of, Hey. There is this new and better covenant. It actually was revealed in the Old Testament by the prophets as they defended the law and the covenant.

Um, why in the world would you place yourself willingly under the old covenant and reject the new covenant? So again, remember the author of Hebrews is trying to teach the people to persevere in their faith, to hold to their newly found Christian faith and understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law You Not the rejection of the law.

So verse 13, and [00:12:00] speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. That's right. Very clear cut. That's right. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. So in my mind, it's like, why cling to something like that? That's right. Why you get stuck so hard? And that literally says right here, it's becoming obsolete or is obsolete because of Jesus.

So like holding on to that. That past peace only is worthless. And by the way, uh, I believe Jesus in Luke 22 is purposely quoting Jeremiah 31 when he says, this is the new covenant in my blood. He knows that the people have been looking forward to the new covenant. And so Jesus in Luke 22, um, and, and really in that last supper scene is recognizing Officially that the new covenant has come.

I think his audience would have connected those two things because they were looking forward to that time and hear the, the author of Hebrews, is also connecting the dots to that and, and recognizing that Jesus has come, [00:13:00] uh, the promised redeemer has arrived and we can trust him and follow him and find right relationship with God under this new and better covenant.

Um, you know, not in disrespecting the old covenant, but understanding that the old covenant is just a shadow, um, and, uh, a tent. And so. We want to be servants of the new covenant. We want to be excited about the fact that we have a high priest who intercedes for us, who understands us, who has been through the things that we have been through, um, who is, what, what, uh, what's the, what we're teaching our kids, the catechism thing.

So it's like he is fully man and fully God. He is the redeemer that has died to pay for our sins. Um, he obeyed the law perfectly. And because of that, he can serve as a perfect sacrifice and take the human sin away. He can take away our sin because he is that perfect sacrifice. And so there you go.

Hebrews eight, which Jenny says is not as good as Hebrews nine. It's nice. Cause it's short, but nine is much longer and kind of pulls pieces out [00:14:00] more. And it really causes you to think more deeply about this. This specific topic. All right. So that's Hebrews eight. I would say that your part, again, we, we've been saying this over and over through Hebrews, but it is incredible to know that Jesus does in fact know us and care for us.

Uh, we have a high priest who authentically represents us and intercedes for us. Um, No one outside of Christ has that. So what an incredible thing to have and what an incredible thing to take advantage of. So if you're dealing with something difficult, um, talk to Jesus about it, look to Jesus for direction through it and, uh, trust that God's spirit is in you and guiding you and leading you and go to him for direction.

Uh, we'll be back again tomorrow with Hebrews chapter nine. We'll see you then. Thanks for joining us for another episode of God's Plan, Your Part. We wanted to remind you that reading God's Word is so important and it will transform your life. If you want a copy of the Bible that we use here on the podcast, just go ahead and send us an email at godsplanyourpart at gmail.

com. [00:15:00] With that being said, here is the reading for today. Hebrews chapter 8. Now the point in what we were 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, a minister in holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.

Thus, it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 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. 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 to you on the mountain.

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. For if that first covenant had been [00:16:00] faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 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, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day that 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. 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.

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, for I will be merciful towards their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more. 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.[00:17:00]

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