The New Covenant, Part 1
Hebrews 8:1-13
Tonight we come, in our continuing study of Hebrews, to the eighth chapter. And, if you have your Bible, I'd like to ask you to turn to the eighth chapter. It's amazing to me how the Spirit of God dovetails our studies. And, as we've been going through Acts and Hebrews, we've found ourselves being paralleled on several occasions. And I think it's generally on those occasions that are somewhat difficult that the Spirit of God gives us kind of a double dose so that we really kind of let it sink in.
Now, in the Book of Hebrews, as we first began its study, I mentioned to you that it is not an easy book. There are many difficult things about the Book of Hebrews. Most of its difficulty comes from the fact that we cannot see it in the light of a Jewish mind. We cannot see it in the context of Judaism, not really having been raised in Judaism as those to whom it was written. Some of you who are Jewish believers, who've spent a portion of your lifetime in Judaism, find the Book of Hebrews speaking perhaps a little more directly, and at some points more clearly, to you than to Gentile believers or Jewish believers who have no religious background.
And so we have found it somewhat difficult at certain points, and yet how the Spirit of God has thrilled us and blessed us as we have studied through particularly the last portions on the priesthood of Jesus Christ. But as we come tonight, we want to be reminded that the theme of the epistle is the absolute sufficiency and superiority of Jesus Christ. And the point of the letter is to tell those Jews in that community that they can put everything on Jesus Christ, that they can put all of their confidence in Him, all of their hope in Him and all of their trust in Him and drop entirely all of the old features of Judaism, for Christ is superior and He is sufficient.
That is the message of this book, that they do not need a combination of both the old and the new, that they dare not hang on strictly to the old, but that they come to Christ, who is everything they need. And as we have studied the comparisons in the Book of Hebrews, we have seen how the writer says that He is better than angels, that is, Jesus is, He is better than Moses, He is better than Joshua, and so forth and so on, showing that Christ is superior to all those connected with the old covenant.
But the primary issue, and the key to the covenant, the old covenant, is the priesthood. What dominates the Old Testament is the priesthood. That was the agency by which God and man were brought together. And so the priesthood becomes the key, and if Jesus is to introduce a new covenant, and if He is to be superior to all of those connected with the old, then He must be a superior priest as well.
And, starting from chapter 4, verse 14, the writer of Hebrews begins to talk about the priesthood of Jesus Christ. And in verse 14, He says, "We have a great high priest, Jesus, the Son of God." And from there He goes on, clear through 5, 6, 7, 8, even into 9 and 10, He is still talking about the priesthood of Jesus Christ. This becomes, then, the great crux of the Book of Hebrews. For, really, the old covenant was based upon a functioning priesthood, and so the new covenant must be based on a functioning priesthood, and if it's better, then He must be a better priest. And so the writer belabors His point to render the fact that Jesus is a superior priest.
Now, His priesthood is superior, primarily, as we have studied, because it is a priesthood after a different order, the order of Melchizedek, which was introduced to us at the beginning of chapter 5, in verse 6. Now, the priesthood of Melchizedek, being a superior priesthood, and having been prophesied to occur, from the Psalms, really indicates that the old priesthood would pass away and be replaced. If there is a superior priesthood, certainly it'll come into view at some time, and David directly prophesied that indeed it would.
So the writer uses the argument of prophecy to prove that the old priesthood would be set aside and a new one instituted, and the new one is after the order of Melchizedek. That is, the account of the man in Genesis 14 becomes the picture of the new priesthood. And we saw in our study, and just a quick review, we saw that the Melchizedek priesthood was superior, first of all, because it was a priesthood forever. There was no beginning or end. But Aaron's was bounded by time. The Levitical priesthood was only involved with time.
Secondly, the priesthood of which Jesus Christ is a priest is better because it was confirmed by an oath, and we studied the fact that when God makes an oath, that is a permanent confirmation, an eternal confirmation. God never made an oath with the Aaronic priesthood. It was always intended to be temporary. Thirdly, we saw the priesthood of Jesus Christ is superior because it is a priesthood founded on personal greatness, whereas the Levitical priesthood was founded upon racial heredity.
Then we saw that the priesthood of Christ is better because death can't interrupt it. Jesus Christ lives forever, whereas death kept continually interrupting the Levitical priesthood. Those priests kept on dying all the time. We saw not only that but that Jesus' priesthood is better because it offers one sacrifice only, not an endless repetition of sacrifices. Next we saw that Jesus' priesthood is better because it was so pure that He needed to offer no sacrifice for His own sins, and thus it was a holy priesthood in a way that the Levitical priesthood was not, since they had to offer sacrifice for their own sins before they could do it for anybody else.
Next we saw that it's a superior priesthood because it can take men into God's presence and anchor them there forever, something the old priesthood could not. There was always a veil. But in Christ, there is full access. And then we saw lastly, as closing out chapter 7, that it is a priesthood that saves to the uttermost, totally and forever, something also Levitical priests could not do.
And so in all of this that we've studied from chapter 4 through chapter 7, the Word of God has clearly presented to us the fact that Jesus is a priest, a high priest, superior to every other priest or high priest in the old economy. And not only is He superior, and we don't want to get only that idea, He is not only superior and far beyond us, but, at the same time, He has been touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He senses what we sense. He has in all points been tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He is compassionate and personal. And so, though He be the superior priest, though He be loftier than any other priest who ever lived, He is, at the same time, condescending and compassionate. That is our high priest.
And all of that leads up to the beginning statement in chapter 8. "Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such an high priest." That's about all He can say to wrap it up. Such a high priest. You know, the Bible chooses amazingly simple adjectives. I've often thought, in I John chapter 3, verse 1, John says, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us." Now, if I was writing that, I would say, "Oh, that 'what manner.' That doesn't even say it. 'Behold, what manner.'" I would say, "Behold, the fantastic, unbelievable, supernatural, glorious, stupendous, monumental love." And John says, "And I tried all that, and it all didn't make it either, so I just put, 'Behold, what manner of love.'" See?
Or you go to Ephesians and he says that He has redeemed us because of His great love. And you say, "Oh, Paul, oh, not only just great. I mean, that, we use that so flippantly." But when the Word of God uses a word, it means it in its purest sense. It cannot really deal with the problem that we have through the etymological process of language where it soon deteriorates so that words that used to mean something mean nothing and we have to invent new ones.
"We have such an high priest," who is superior in every fashion to all the old economy. What a message this is to the Jew. This is Jesus Christ. You don't need any of that stuff. It's all second rate, second class. "We have such an high priest," who can do everything that no other priest could ever do.
And then He goes on to say this. "We have such an high priest, who is seated on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." Down in verse 6, He says He has a more excellent ministry. In verse 6, He has a better covenant. In verse 6, better promises. And then He goes on to talk about that.
We have received the priest that is more excellent than any other. His ministry is more excellent. His covenant is more excellent. His promises are more excellent. Just think of the wonder of the Hebrews as they read this section when they received this letter. All their lives they had, gener