Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8 elaborates on the high priesthood of Christ, contrasting it with the Levitical priesthood under the old covenant. The author argues that Jesus serves as a high priest of a better covenant, which is established on better promises. This chapter particularly focuses on the heavenly ministry of Jesus, comparing the earthly tabernacle with the heavenly sanctuary where Christ ministers.

Hebrews 8:1-2 (NKJV) Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

This passage underscores the supremacy of Christ's priesthood. He is not just any high priest but one who sits at the right hand of God, serving in the true tabernacle in heaven, which surpasses the earthly one made by human hands. This positioning signifies authority, power, and a direct involvement in divine affairs, contrasting sharply with the transient and imperfect earthly tabernacle services performed by human priests.

Hebrews 8:3-5 (NKJV) For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

These verses continue the argument by affirming that just like earthly priests, Christ, as a high priest, must also have offerings to present. However, His ministry is not earthly but heavenly, emphasizing that if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be recognized as a priest under the old covenant. The earthly priesthood and its services are mere copies or shadows of the true heavenly things, pointing back to the instructions given to Moses to make everything according to the divine pattern shown on Mount Sinai.

Hebrews 8:6 (NKJV) But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

This verse highlights the superior nature of Christ’s ministry compared to the Levitical priesthood. Christ is not just a high priest but also the Mediator of a new covenant, which is superior because it is founded on better promises. These promises include the internalization of God’s laws in the believer’s heart and a more intimate knowledge of God, moving beyond the external adherence required by the old covenant.

Hebrews 8:7-8 (NKJV) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

The necessity of a new covenant is based on the inadequacies of the first covenant, not because the covenant itself was inherently faulty, but because of the people’s inability to uphold it. This led to God’s promise of a new covenant, prophesied to bring a transformational change in how His people would relate to Him, specifically targeting the internal transformation rather than external regulation.

Hebrews 8:9-10 (NKJV) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Here, the author quotes the prophecy from Jeremiah about the new covenant, emphasizing that unlike the covenant made at Sinai, which was external and broken by the people, the new covenant would be internalized. God promises to write His laws directly into the minds and hearts of His people, ensuring a deeper, more intrinsic obedience and relationship with Him, where His presence and guidance are a direct, personal experience rather than mediated through rituals and priests.

Hebrews 8:11-12 (NKJV) None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The new covenant promises a universal knowledge of God, from the least to the greatest, eliminating the need for an intermediary to teach about God because each person will have a personal relationship with Him. This covenant is also characterized by a profound expression of God’s mercy: a complete forgiveness and forgetting of sins, showcasing the full realization of redemption and reconciliation brought forth through Christ’s ministry.

Hebrews 8:13 (NKJV) In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Concluding the chapter, this verse points out that by establishing a new covenant, God has declared the old covenant obsolete. This obsolescence indicates that the practices, sacrifices, and rituals of the old covenant are no longer effective or required under the new covenant, which is based on better promises and a more excellent ministry by Christ. This transition marks a pivotal shift from the shadowy representations of heavenly realities to their actual fulfillment in Christ.