HEBREWS CHAPTER EIGHT Summarization of Hebrews 7 Hebrews

HEBREWS CHAPTER EIGHT

Summarization of Hebrews 7 • Hebrews chapter 8 continues the explanation for why Jesus, and the new covenant He brings, is superior to the old covenant of Judaism. • Hebrews 7: 26 -27 shows Christ on earth, as both Priest and Sacrifice. • Jesus, because of His perfect life, is in a position to be the ultimate high priest for all mankind, even greater than Melchisedec. • God had always intended to replace the Levitical priesthood with something greater.

Summarization of Hebrews 7 • The end of Hebrews 7 included a description of a priest who was perfect and sinless. • Hebrews 8 explains that Jesus is the perfect priest, and that He is currently serving in a greater place than some earthly temple. • The earthly objects, such as the tabernacle, are intended to be symbols of the real covenant with God. Since the promise of the new covenant is heavenly and eternal, it is far better than the old covenant, which fails due to the weakness of humanity

The High Priesthood of Christ (Hebrews 8: 1) • Since Christ has ascended to the right hand of God, and now sits there as a Priest upon His throne, proof has been given that He is not a Minister of the earthly and Jewish sanctuary, but of the antitypical and heavenly one. ØHis Seat: the Levitical Priest never sat down because their job was never done. No place was provided in the tabernacle or temple for the priest to sat down. The Mercy Seat was not really a seat at all; it represented God’s throne and special presence.

The High Priesthood of Christ (Hebrews 8: 1) ØHis heavenly sanctuary: Jesus has been given a place of honor. He has been ushered into the heavenly Holy of Holies and seated with God on His throne. ØJesus is at the right hand of God, the place of honor, mercy, and intercession. There He is ministering and interceding for the saint.

A Minister of the sanctuary (Hebrews 8: 2) • The "Sanctuary" in which Jesus our Great High Priest ministers is Heaven itself: üIt is the place where the majesty and glory of God are most fully displayed. (Ps 102: 19) üIt is where there really dwells and actually abides all that was typically prefigured in the holy places of Israel's tabernacle.

A Minister of the Sanctuary (Hebrews 8: 2) • The author uses the term tent instead of temple because the tabernacle was the original earthly manifestation of the sacrificial ritual of the old covenant. It was the prototype of the Jerusalem temple. • The tabernacle of Israel was the outstanding Old Testament type of the incarnate Redeemer. • The tabernacle was not permanent. (Mk 13: 1 -2)

Offering of Gifts and Sacrifices (Hebrews 8: 3 -4) • If Christ was on the earth He wouldn’t be a priest at all because He is not of the Levitical priestly line. • Jesus has already ministered the one final blood sacrifice that is sufficient for all time. His work is completely finished. • Because Jesus sits at the right hand of God He continually brings the gifts, the worship, and the praise of His people before God.

Jesus’ Priesthood had a Better Temple. (Hebrews 8: 4 -6) • Moses’ tabernacle built on earth was made according to a pattern that existed in heaven. (Ex 25: 40) • Jesus’ ministry as our High Priest takes place in this heavenly temple, not in the copy and shadow built on earth. • Jesus presides over a superior priesthood with a better covenant and better promises.

The Better Covenant (Hebrews 8: 7 -12) • All covenants are based on promises; sometimes the promises are conditional and sometimes they are not. • The sacrificial ritual of the Old Covenant was preparatory to the New Covenant realities that come in Christ. • Jesus superior seat and sanctuary are evidences of His superior ministry. • His superior ministry is evidence of the superior covenant with better promises, which He mediates.

The Better Covenant (Hebrews 8: 7 -12) • The Old Covenant wasn’t perfect because of its inability to take away our sins permanently. (Rom 3: 19 -23) üThe Jews did not obey the first covenant. (Ex 19: 8; Josh 1: 16) üThroughout most of the OT period they continued in disobedience.

The Better Covenant (Hebrews 8: 7 -12) • Since the old covenant was obviously flawed due to a dependence on sinful humans, a better covenant needs to be grounded on better promises. Christ's ultimate, finished, perfect work on our behalf is that very thing.

The Covenant of Jesus Fulfills the Other Covenants Described in the Bible: 1. There is an eternal covenant between the members of the Godhead that made possible the salvation of man (Hebrews 13: 20). 2. God’s redemptive plan was continued through the covenant He made with Abraham (Genesis 12: 1 -3). 3. The Mosaic covenant was another step in God’s redemptive plan (Exodus 24: 3 -8). 4. The Davidic covenant was yet another step in God’s redemptive plan (2 Samuel 7: 1 -16). 5. The redemptive plan of God was fulfilled in the New Covenant (Luke 22: 14 -20). © 2013 David Guzik –

The Superiority of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8: 7 -12) • The fact that God mentions another covenant proves that there is something lacking in the Old Covenant. • The weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Covenant itself but in the weakness and inability of man. • The New Covenant as it is presented in the Old Testament (Jer 31: 31 -34). • The New Covenant also features a greater intimacy with God than what was available under the Old Covenant.

Law Will Be Written in the Heart (Hebrews 8: 10 -11) • The Law being written on our hearts reveals two important things: First, we are reminded that the essentials of the Law are not merely outward observances but are matters of the heart. (Ps 119: 10 -11) Second, we know that since God will have to do the writing, we cannot do it ourselves. (Col 2: 10 -12)

Differences Between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant • The Old Covenant at Mount Sinai • The Old Covenant was thundered with fear and dread at Mount Sinai (Ex 19: 17 -24). • Moses mediated the Old Covenant. • The Old Covenant demanded a covenant of works. • The New Covenant at Mount Zion (Calvary) • Jesus Christ, God the Son, declared the New Covenant with love and grace. (Jo 1: 17) • Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant. • The New Covenant fulfills the covenant of works through the completed work of Jesu

Old Covenant and the New Covenant • The Old Covenant was • The New Covenant was dedicated with the dedicated with Jesus’ blood of animals blood spiritually applied sprinkled on the people to His people. (Ex 24: 5 -8). • The New Covenant has • The Old Covenant is a priesthood of all represented by the believers and a High priesthood of the Law Priest according to the of Moses and high order of Melchizedek. priests descended from Aaron.

Old Covenant and the New Covenant • The goal of the Old Covenant was to discover sin, to condemn it, and to set a “fence” around it. • The goal of the New Covenant is to declare the love, grace, and mercy of God, and to give repentance, remission of sin, and eternal life.

The Significance of a New Covenant. (Hebrews 8: 13) • When Jesus applied the words of Isaiah to Himself in Lk 4: 16– 21, He taught that restoration had begun with Him. • Now that the New Covenant has been inaugurated, the Old Covenant is thereby obsolete. • The difference does not lie in the fact that the old and new covenants promise different things. Rather, the difference is that we have more complete revelation under the new covenant. (Deut 6: 6; Jo 15: 15)

The Significance of a New Covenant. (Hebrews 8: 13) • The Jews simply can’t go back to an inferior covenant, which was ready to completely vanish away. The system of sacrifice under the Law of Moses soon did vanish away with the coming destruction of the Temple and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

Spiritual Lessons • Christ is not a priest on earth but is a priest in heaven; the earthly priests served only in the shadows of the things to come, but Christ serves in the reality of these things, which are better than the shadows. • The covenant Jesus mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. The better promises make a better covenant, which makes a better priesthood. (2 Pt 1: 4)

Spiritual Lessons • The greatness of the new covenant has come in the person and work of Christ Jesus. • Once God writes the Law on the heart, His people will obey Him perfectly and be His people by nature.