Hebrews Chapter 8
Hebrews 8:1- 2 “The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the lord, not by man."
Good News! We do have such a high priest!
We have "such a high priest" is first noted in Hebrew 7:26. But instead of repeating His qualifications, verses 1 and 2 summarize Christ's qualifications in this manner. Jesus offered a better sacrifice - a sacrifice that could completely save! Because He did not have to return every year, unlike the earthly priests, to offer Himself again and again, He was able to sit down (His work was complete, finished) at the right hand of the Father. It is a fearful thing to turn away from Christ and to turn back to that which was inferior and anticipatory or Christ. Jesus serves in the true tabernacle which was used by God to direct Moses in establishing the earthly temporary temple which very intentionally foreshadowed Christ as priest. The author is emphasizing that Jesus is the "true" tabernacle, not in contrast to what was false, but in reference to Jesus who is the ultimate fulfillment of the earlier prototype. (John, in his gospel, references Jesus as the i.e. true light, true bread, true vine to point out that certain Old Testament people, things, or rituals serve as a prototype of an ultimate reality which is to be found only in Christ.) |
Standing Room Only
There were no chairs in the earthy Tabernacle. This was because the work of the priest was never completed. They had to constantly - day after day ; week-after-week; month-after-month, year-after-year - minister in the tabernacle. But we have "such a high priest" who completed and fulfilled the requirements of the law. The author is contrasting the earthly limitations to our heavenly high priest with all the advantages that brings. This will be spelled out in terms of His place of ministry (the true Tabernacle vs 1-5) and the basis of His ministry (the New Covenant vs 6-13). |
Hebrews 8:3-6 “Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises."
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Levite....No Service
Because Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, He would not have been allowed to serve in the earthly priesthood. Copy/Shadow/Pattern The earthly temple followed a pattern that reflected a spiritual reality foreshadowing Christ and His sacrifice. God graciously gave the earthly shadows to meet man's needs for the moment and to prepare the way for the vastly greater heavenly realities which would be realized in Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Revelation 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. NIV Life App Notes: There is no tabernacle in heaven that is a copy of the earthly tabernacle. To say that it is a copy means that it is an expression of eternal, theological principles. See also notes to the right under Earthly copy? LAB does not comment on Revelation 11:19 about God's temple in heaven?? |
Note: Because the phrase "for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by law" indicates that this book was written before A.D. 70 while the earthly Temple was still in existence.
** Earthly copy? According to Leah Adams Bible Study notes on Hebrews; there are references in Revelations to some of the furniture in the earthly Tabernacle: Revelation 8; 3 "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. he was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne". Revelation 11:19 "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. Understanding that the Book of Revelation uses much imagery throughout the writings, I cannot conclude if these references are literal. However, what I do know for absolute certainty is that Scripture indicates that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that the Tabernacle and its contents were intended to provide. |
Hebrews 8:7-13 “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. 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. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete;and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
TABLETS OF STONE VS TABLETS OF FLESH
Jeremiah 31:31-34 is quoted in this passage in which Jeremiah prophesied about a new covenant in which believers will not be governed by external laws written on tablets of stone. The fear of God alone was to keep them from sinning (Exodus 20:20). Rather, an new covenant was promised in which God's laws would be written on the hearts of believers and led by the Spirit to follow and live out what was pleasing to God. There were many other references that prophesied about a New Covenant such as: Isaiah 61:4-8, Jeremiah 32:36-41, Ezekiel 36:22-28, Ezekiel 37:24-28 and includes the following: I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts, so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God (Ezekiel 11:19-20). Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. Then you will remember, be ashamed, and remain silent when I make atonement for all you have done, declares the sovereign Lord’” (Ezekiel 16:60-63, WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW? WAS THE OLD COVENANT FLAWED? Romans 5:20 states "The Law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." The Law made people aware of their sin because it defined sin. The purpose of the law was to point us to a better way....to the need for a New Covenant because the people couldn't keep the law in totality. (Consider Bob Deffinbaugh's notes on Galatians 3) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 The ultimate purpose of the Old Covenant was to point people to Christ: “The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:24–25). One truth that must not be missed is that we are no longer under the Old Covenant. Many false teachers today call on people to keep the Law, or at least part of it, as a means to please God. WAS THE OLD COVENANT FLAWED? Paul explains in his letter to the Romans that the problem was not the law for it is "holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12). The problem is with sin and with the weakness of the flesh and with a covenant that could not overcome or permanently remove sin and it's consequences. So the fault of the Old Covenant is to be found in the sinfulness of men and in the Old Covenant's ability to remove sin. |
WAS THE OLD COVENANT MADE OBSOLETE?
Some may interpret this to mean that the old law was no longer relevant and may argue that it doesn't apply to today and think that is what is meant by being made obsolete. The law still has a legitimate function; that of revealing sin and pointing out man’s need for salvation but as we saw in Hebrews 7:18-19 that "the former regulation was set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." The Old Covenant law served a divine purpose but now had to be "set aside" because it was weak in that it only pointed out the sins of the people but it couldn't save the people. The sacrifices had to be repeated continually because the people continued to sin. We know that God's word can be trusted and that it is best to allow Scripture to teach Scripture to frame our understanding in context of God's Word. To aid in our understanding about the matter of making the Old Covenant obsolete, it is helpful to see what Jesus, Himself, says about the matter, for Jesus was born under the law and came to redeem those under the law (Galatians 4:4-5). Matthew 5:17 says "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Is Matthew 5 in contradiction to Hebrew 8? No...but it does take some understanding. The Old Covenant had three categories or parts: the moral law, the civil law, and the ceremonial/religious law. Everything about the Old Covenant law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't abolish the law (make it ineffective and of no importance) but it became obsolete in that Jesus fulfilled all the legal requirements of the Law. How did Jesus Fulfill the Law? Once Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again, there was no more need for the tabernacle or the daily sacrifice, because the perfect sacrifice had been made once for all. There was no need for a human priest to act as an intercessor between people and God, because the way into the throne room of God was opened. There was no need for the law to only be written on tablets of stone because now the law of God would be written on the hearts of all people. The New Covenant accomplished what the Old Covenant never could. THE PENALTY OF A BROKEN COVENANT The covenant was broken by the Israelites because the people disregarded God and His Covenant with them. The Mosaic Covenant was a bi-lateral conditional covenant in that there were obligations and commitments for both sides. Example's of bi-lateral covenants: Abraham and Abimelech (Gen 21:27,32) and the marriage covenant (Malachi 2:14). Exodus 19:5 "And now if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine." God promised blessings when His people kept His covenant (Deut 28:1-14) and curses when they disregarded it (Deut 28:15-68). In the case of the Abraham Covenant, it was a covenant in which God binds Himself to do certain things, but not conditioned upon the actions of others. God promised to make a great nation of Abraham, and to bless His seed greatly, and thus he and his offspring would become a blessing to others. This was an unconditional covenant and in addition, it was a covenant that was affirmed by God's oath. Thus, it was an unchangeable covenant. The New Covenant consists of promises (8:6) made by God and are unchangeable and irreversible since they are sealed by God's oath. These promises make the New Covenant vastly superior to the Old Covenant, so much so that the New Covenant makes the Old Covenant obsolete. The New Covenant is not merely a set of external commands and standards. The New Covenant produces a change of heart. This is the circumcision of heart God promised in Deuteronomy 30:6. The work of the Holy Spirit is internal, changing our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26). He creates in us a love for God and a desire to obey His commands. As a result, we can draw near to Him, entering into an intimate relationship free from fear and dread. |