Hebrews 8 reminds me of watching an NFL pre-game warm-up. Someone was practicing punts. I was impressed by the height and distance… until the real punter came out. The difference was dramatic. Everything was significantly greater. The height, distance and sound of every kick was superior. There is a huge difference between Pros and Joes. The author of Hebrews begins with a conclusion. After listing the requirements of the perfect high priest, he contrasts men, in their weakness, offering sacrifices for themselves; to the eternal high priest. He proclaims, “We do have such a high priest”. He is seated “at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” and serves in the “true tabernacle set up by the Lord”. He then explains that the tabernacle (the original mobile place of worship carried through the wilderness) and later the temple design given to Moses “is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven”. The specifications were precise. God instructed Moses, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain”. Every single item was an earthy representation of a reality in heaven, but even the most spectacular man-made items are pale imitations of the original. Back to his main point, “the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs” just as the “the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one”. The ministry of Christ is reconciliation between mankind and our eternal God. “The new covenant is established on better promises”. That promise is: God is faithful to complete the righteous requirements of the Law so that all who believe can receive salvation.
The author asserts: “if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another”. This was not plan B. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish people while they were in rebellion (Jeremiah 31). 600 years before the birth of Christ, he announced: “The days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah”. This promise was made to the Hebrew people. They are called the Children of God, and will one day be fully redeemed. Jeremiah continues, “because they did not remain faithful to My covenant, and I turned away from them”. God did not turn against Israel. He allowed the nation to suffer the consequences of their rebellion in order to bring them to repentance and then restoration. The first step in repentance is always humility.
Listen to the hopeful words that follow: “After that time… I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people”. There is a significant change in the terms of this new covenant. The Mosaic law said, “Thou shalt”; while in the new covenant through Christ, God says “I will”. We no longer have to rely on our own amateurish efforts to achieve atonement. Jeremiah notes, “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest”. Once we see ourselves as God sees us, the human rankings begin to fall away. One difference that makes the ministry of Christ greater is that God’s forgiveness is perfect. “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more”. We may forgive, but we have a very hard time forgetting the pain and hurt. God forgives completely, and the confirmation we receive is the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. The writer of Hebrews ends with a final argument. “By calling this covenant “new,” He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear”. Each of us have the option of holding onto the faded glory-days of our own inferior efforts, or we can take hold of the perfection provided through the resurrected Lord. My friend, if you are sick of losing, maybe it is time to admit you need something better. Jesus is the answer.