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Hebrews Chapter Eight

 
Our Glorious High Priest (8:1-6)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. With the beginning of chapter eight, we come to the close of the 
 first major section of "The Epistle To The Hebrews"...
 a. In which the key thought is "The Superiority of Christ"
 b. In which Jesus is shown to be superior to:
 1) To the prophets - He 1:1-3
 2) To angels - He 1:4-2:18
  3) To Moses - He 3:1-5
 4) To Aaron and his Levitical priesthood - He 5:1-10; 7:1-28
 
2. The next major section really begins in earnest with verse 7...
 a. In which the key thought will be "The Superiority of the New 
 Covenant"
 b. In which this covenant is shown to be based upon:
 1) Better promises - He 8:7-13
 2) A better sanctuary - He 9:1-28
 3) A better sacrifice - He 10:1-18
 
3. In He 8:1-6, we find a transition...
 a. In which the main point of the first section is summarized
 b. In which the main points of the next section are introduced
 -- Indeed, these six verses truly summarize what the author seeks to
 establish in the first ten chapters of this epistle!
 
4. It can all be summarized in these words: "We have such a High 
 Priest..."
 a. In Jesus, we have a High Priest
 b. Not just any High Priest, but "such" a High Priest; i.e., a 
 glorious High Priest!
 
[In what ways is Jesus "Our Glorious High Priest"? First, He is...]
 
I. SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD (1)
 
 A. THE PHRASE "THE MAJESTY IN THE HEAVENS"...
 1. A Jewish circumlocution meaning "God" (Believers' Study Bible)
 2. I.e., a roundabout way of referring to God - cf. He 1:3
 
 B. MANY PASSAGES REFER TO JESUS AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND...
 1. David prophesied that the Messiah would sit at God's right 
 hand - Psa 110:1
 2. Jesus said that He would sit at the right hand of God - Mk 14:
 60-62
 3. When He ascended to heaven, He then sat down at God's right 
 hand - Mk 16:19; He 12:2
 4. At God's right hand, He poured forth the Holy Spirit - Ac 2:33
 5. Peter preached Jesus as being exalted to be at God's right 
 hand as our Prince and Savior - Ac 5:30-31
 6. Paul taught that Jesus is at God's right hand, interceding for
 us - Ro 8:34
 7. He is at God's right hand, "waiting till His enemies are made
 His footstool" - He 10:12-13
 8. Yet while He sits and waits, He rules! - Psa 110:1-2,5; cf.
  1 Co 15:24-26
 9. For at God's right hand, He is above all other authority 
 - Ep 1:20-22; 1 Pe 3:22
 -- In one place, we read of Jesus "standing at the right hand of
 God" (Ac 7:55-56); was Jesus showing His respect for Stephen,
 the first Christian martyr?
 
[Exalted to such a place of honor and authority, we truly have a 
"glorious" High Priest, one who is "the ruler over the kings of the 
earth" (Re 1:5)! As we look at the next verse in our text, we see
that He is also...]
 
II. A MINISTER OF THE TRUE TABERNACLE (2-5)
 
 A. ERECTED BY GOD, NOT MAN...
 1. We are now introduced to a contrast between two "tabernacles"
 a. There had been the earthly sanctuary or tabernacle
 1) As ordained under the first covenant (i.e., the Law) 
 - cf. He 9:1ff
 2) It was built by man
 b. But now we read of one "which the Lord erected"; i.e., a
 heavenly tabernacle
 2. The heavenly tabernacle is none other than heaven itself! 
 - cf. He 9:11-12; 23-24
 
 B. IN WHICH HE OFFERS "SERVICE"...
 1. As a High Priest, it is necessary for Him to have something to
 offer - He 8:3
 a. Every high priest is appointed for this purpose - He 5:1
 b. What Jesus has to offer is not mention here, but will be
 later - cf. He 9:12
 2. This service He renders in heaven, not on the earth - He 8:4
 a. If He were on earth, He couldn't be a priest!
 b. For the Law required priests from the tribe of Levi, and 
 Jesus was from Judah
 3. As for priests on the earth...
 a. They serve only the copy and shadow of the heavenly things 
 - He 8:5
 b. For Moses had been told by God to build the earthly 
 tabernacle according to pattern shown to him on the 
 mountain - cf. Exo 25:40
 
[As "Our Glorious High Priest", then, Jesus renders service in the 
true tabernacle, which is heaven itself. This thought will be expanded
upon in chapters nine and ten. But consider also how He is...]
 
III. THE MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT (6)
 
 A. HE HAS OBTAINED A MORE EXCELLENT MINISTRY...
 1. In contrast with the ministry of the Levitical priests
 2. Their ministry was simply a shadow and copy of His ministry 
 - cf. Co 2:16-17
 
 B. AS MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT...
 1. The word "mediator"...
 a. The Greek is "mesites" {mes-ee'-tace}
 b. It means "one who intervenes between two, either in order
 to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact,
 or for ratifying a covenant"
 2. By His death on the cross, Jesus has become the Mediator of 
 the new covenant - cf. He 9:15; 12:24
 3. This new covenant is here referred to as "a better covenant"
 a. Better than what? Better than the "first covenant" - cf. 
 He 8:7
 b. I.e., what had been established through Moses
 
 C. ESTABLISHED ON BETTER PROMISES...
 1. What makes the new covenant better than the old are its 
 promises
 2. Some of those promises are explained later - cf. He 8:10-12
 3. But Peter describes the promises we receive as "exceedingly
 great and precious promises" - cf. 2 Pe 1:3-4
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. With this transition passage, then, we are introduced to things that
 will be expounded upon as we proceed through the epistle...
 a. The better covenant we have in Christ, based upon its better 
 promises
 b. The better ministry Christ renders as our High Priest in heaven,
 seated at God's right hand
 
2. When such things are properly understood, we can see how Jesus is 
 truly "Our Glorious High Priest"!
 a. One who stands ready to minister in our behalf
 b. He is "able to save to the uttermost those who come to God 
 through Him" - He 7:25
 c. He is "able to aid those who are tempted" - He 2:18
 
Have you accepted Jesus as your High Priest by obeying His gospel? He
is truly...
 
 "...the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." (He 5:9)
 
For those who have not obeyed His gospel, we find this awesome warning:
 
 "...and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord
 Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming
  fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those
 WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. These shall
 be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
 Lord and from the glory of His power..." (2 Th 1:7-9)
 
Please render obedience to the gospel today if you have not yet done 
so! - cf. Ac 2:36-39

The Promises Of God's New Covenant (8:7-13)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. Up to this point, the focus of "The Epistle To The Hebrews" has 
 been on Christ...
 a. His superiority to prophets, angels, Moses
 b. The superiority of His priesthood to the Levitical priesthood
 
2. With the transition in He 8:1-6, the focus shifts to the New 
 Covenant...
 a. A new covenant in which Jesus has already been described as:
  1) The "surety" (guarantor) - He 7:22
 2) The "Mediator" (one who intervenes) - He 8:6
 b. In both passages, this covenant was described as a "better" 
 covenant
 
3. Better than what? Better in what way? In Hebrews 8, we learn the 
 answer...
 a. Better than the "first covenant" - cf. He 8:7
 b. Better because of the "promises" contained in it - cf. He 8:6
 
[In this study, "The Promises Of God's New Covenant", we shall examine
our text (He 8:7-13) to ascertain how the New Covenant is better, 
especially with regard to its promises.
 
Let's begin by noticing...]
 
I. GOD'S PROMISE OF A NEW COVENANT (7-9,13)
 
 A. THE FIRST COVENANT WAS NOT FAULTLESS... (7)
 1. Otherwise, there would have been no need for a second covenant
 2. We have already seen concerning the first covenant that...
 a. The Levitical priesthood could not bring perfection - He 7:
 11
 b. The Law made nothing perfect, and was therefore annulled 
 due to its weakness and unprofitableness - He 7:18-19
 3. This inadequacy has special reference to the sacrifices of the
 first covenant...
 a. They could not make those who approach perfect - He 10:1-3
 b. The blood of animals offered by the priests could not take
 away sins - He 10:4,11
 
 B. THE PEOPLE OF THE FIRST COVENANT WERE ALSO AT FAULT... (8-9)
 1. God found fault because they did not continue in His covenant 
 - cf. Jer 11:7-10
 2. For this reason He disregarded them, allowing them to be taken
 away by their enemies - cf. Jer 11:11-14
 -- Even so, He did not leave them without some hope, for through
 the prophet Jeremiah He made a promise...
 
 C. GOD PROMISED A NEW COVENANT... (8-9)
 1. Promised in Jer 31:31-34
 2. In which God would make a "new covenant" with Israel and Judah
 2. A covenant different than the one made at Mt. Sinai (how, we
 shall see in a moment)
 
 D. THE NEW COVENANT HAS MADE THE FIRST "OBSOLETE"... (13)
 1. By even calling the promised covenant "new", God made the
 first covenant obsolete
 a. The old covenant actually continued on for about 500 years
 after Jeremiah
 b. But with the promise of the new, attention would be taken
 away from the old covenant and directed toward the new one
 that was coming!
 2. Its obsolescence was especially seen in the days of the Hebrew
 writer...
 a. It was "becoming obsolete and growing old"
 1) The death of Jesus rendered the sacrifices of the first
 covenant unnecessary
 2) Before long, the temple itself would be destroyed, and
 along with it, the last vestiges of the Levitical 
  priesthood
 b. Truly, it was "ready to vanish away"
 
[So God promised a "new covenant" to replace the "old covenant"; and 
Jesus is the "Mediator" of this covenant, which is "a better covenant".
Better in what way?
 
Better because it "was established on better promises". Let's now 
consider some of...]
 
II. GOD'S PROMISES INVOLVING THE NEW COVENANT (10-12)
 
 A. IT WILL BE INWARD AND SPIRITUAL... (10)
 1. "I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their 
 hearts"
  2. The first covenant had its laws written on tablets of stone; 
 the new covenant is one that requires God's laws be written in
 our hearts
 3. It is not enough to have God's Word in our hands, on our 
 coffee tables, etc.
  a. We must plant God's Word into our hearts - cf. Ja 1:21
 b. For only then can we truly be born again by the 
 incorruptible seed, the word of God - 1 Pe 1:22-23
 -- Are you living up to intent of the New Covenant, or are you
 little different than those under the first covenant, who had
 the Word, but not on their hearts?
 
 B. IT WILL PROVIDE A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD... (10)
 1. "I will be their God, and they shall be My people"
 2. The actual terms of this promise is really nothing new - cf. 
 Exo 6:7; Lev 26:12
 3. But in each successive "age", its promise is filled with fresh
 meaning; for example...
 a. In "this age", we enjoy a closer relationship with God 
 - cf. 2 Co 6:16-18; 1 Pe 2:9-10
 b. But even more so, in the "age to come", which is in 
 eternity - cf. Re 21:1-7
 -- Are you utilizing the blessings whereby you can have a closer
 relationship with God?
 
 C. IT WILL BE WITH PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE LORD... (11)
 1. "None of them shall teach...saying, 'Know the Lord', for all
 shall know Me..."
 2. The New Covenant will be with people who have already come to
 know the Lord
 a. Unlike the first covenant, in which people entered it at 
 birth; as they grew up, they needed to be taught about the 
 Lord
 b. In the new covenant, one must come to know the Lord before
 they can enter the covenant
  3. So it is that one must believe in Jesus before they can enter
 into a covenant relationship with their Lord through baptism 
 - cf. Ac 8:36-38
 -- Does not this feature of the New Covenant preclude the 
 practice of infant baptism?
 
 D. IT WILL PROVIDE TRUE FORGIVENESS FOR SIN... (12)
 1. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their
 sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more"
 2. Here is the ultimate basis of the blessing previously 
 described; by virtue of the forgiveness of sins can we truly 
 be God's people, and He our God!
 3. Thus the New Covenant provides what the first covenant could 
 not: true forgiveness of sins! - cf. He 10:1-4,11
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. Such are "The Promises Of God's New Covenant"...
 a. As foretold through the prophet Jeremiah
 b. Now fulfilled through the coming of Jesus and His death on the 
 cross
 -- By virtue of "better promises", Christ is truly the Mediator of a
 "better covenant"!
 
3. But there is more to be said about why the New Covenant is a better
 covenant...
 a. It also has a better sanctuary
 b. It also has a better sacrifice
 -- But consideration of these things will be saved for later
 
At this point it might be appropriate to ask:
 
 Have you truly entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord?
 
The entrance terms of this New Covenant are simple: They involve faith
in Christ and a confession of that faith (Ro 10:9,10), along with 
repentance of sins and baptism into Christ (Ac 2:36-39). 
 
The promised blessings of the New Covenant await any and all who are 
willing to so respond to the gospel of Christ!

－－《Executable Outlines》

The better new covenant

Put in their minds

Write on their hearts

I. Serve in the true tabernacle

1. Set up the tabernacle

2. Sit in heaven

3. Pattern shown on the mountain

II. Mediator of a better covenant

1. A superior ministry

2. Wrong with the Old Testament

3. Promise of a new covenant

III. Promise to be with men

1. Know the Lord better

2. The power of removing sins

3. Substitute the old by the new

－－ Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》