High level review:
Chapter 7 of Hebrews emphasizes the prayers and perfect character of Jesus our High Priest. Chapter 8 summarizes the significance of these truths. These chapters serve as a foundation for new hope because Jesus was a new leader who authored a new covenant.
A New Leader (vv. 1–6): Jesus was a new leader who worked in heaven at God’s right hand and offered an effective sacrifice for sin (vv. 1–3). The priestly service of Jesus was effective in supporting a new covenant (vv. 4–6).
A New Agreement (vv. 7–13): Jesus produced a new agreement for His people because the old covenant was ineffective (v. 7). This new covenant promised new power, new closeness to God, and a fresh experience of forgiveness (vv. 8–12). The result of this covenant was the superiority of the new over the old covenant (v. 13). The first covenant was made obsolete and is disappearing.
Main Themes in Hebrews 8:
- Jesus is the Superior High Priest at the right hand of God:
- Author makes it clear by saying the “main point” of previous discussion: “we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.” (vv. 1-2, NASB)
- Jesus the Mediator of a better covenant:
- “Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” (vv. 6, ESV)
- The reason for a new covenant:
- “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second…. In speaking of a new covenant, he [Jesus] makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (v. 7, 13; ESV)
Summary:
By faith in Jesus, you and I become members of God’s family. We have urgent and desperate needs. Because God is now our heavenly Father, He loves us too much to leave us empty and without. We are family. God will help. It is a promise we can hold and cling to.
We desperately need to know that God will accept us. Whenever we are honest about it, we must admit that we have broken God’s laws, lived selfishly, forgotten to seek God’s will, and lived as if there were no life beyond. We have lived in the here and now and have forgotten or forsaken the heavenly rewards. Through the Spirit’s guiding and leading, we know something is not right with us. We know we cannot stand before the Almighty and Holy God as unholy people. We know that we have no right to stand before God on our own. We know we need a Mediator. We know we need a Savior. We then cling to the promises of God. We cling to the sacrifice of Jesus. We cling to what He did in His life and death. We hold onto to faith in Christ. We need to know that someone will represent us before God. We need someone who can say for us, “God, I present my life as a sacrifice for their sins. Let them enjoy your blessing.”
That’s where Jesus fits in. He is the new leader who gives us hope. Through faith in Jesus, we become children of God (Jn 1:12). Through following Jesus, we experience abundant life (Jn 10:10). Because of Jesus, we can find mercy and grace for our every need (Heb. 4:16). Praise God for Jesus!
Knowing these truths produces three responses in our lives. First, we have thanksgiving and gratitude. We can say, “Thank you, God, for Your great provisions for me.” We can live as thankful people. Second, we have encouragement. We can trust in God’s promises and know that He has our best interest in mind. He supplies all we need. When our load becomes heavy and our future confused, we find hope simply to keep moving on (even as slow as it might be) in God’s strength. Third, we find fear, awe, and respect for God. We agree that a God this gracious deserves our obedience. Then we must live as if we mean it.
PRINCIPLES
• Jesus serves as our High Priest in God’s presence.
• Jesus offered an effective sacrifice for our sins.
• God has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to obey His laws.
• God has given us the privilege of knowing Him and calling Him our Father.
• Through Jesus we have our sins forgiven.
APPLICATIONS
• Come confidently to God through Jesus with your needs.
• Follow the strength of the Holy Spirit as you do God’s will.
• Rejoice that you personally know the God who made heaven and earth. The Creator of all things knows you, loves you, and wants a better relationship with you. May we give Him more of our lives
• Believe that God will forgive your sins. And has forgiven your sins.
• Find hope, joy, and reverence for God as He forgives and helps you.
Application to modern believers
Through Hebrews 8, we realize that God’s forgiveness offers us at least two marvelous benefits. First, it wiped the slate clean with God. Guilt for past disobedience was gone “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12). Second, God’s forgiveness sets us free to understand and accept ourselves. Because Jesus has accepted us, we do not fear exposure before others. There are some people that delight in pointing the finger at Christians and will say something like, “You live like that and call yourself a Christian? You are a hypocrite! How can you be a Christian when you used to do that stuff? We used to be friends and I saw what you did. There is no way you are a Christian.” Forgiven Christians can say, “Yes, I have sinned. I can’t hide it. God has forgiven me.”
Christians alone can accept pardon for sins in the past, mistakes of the future, and embarrassments in the present. Only Christians have the resources to accept themselves when others accuse them. God’s forgiveness is a wonderful gift. IF there are any sins that have not been confessed, when we hear or feel those promptings from the Spirit, we can come with confidence before the throne of grace because of Christ and find mercy and grace. We know that God will forgive us and will still accept us as His children. This is grace. Not performance, not works, not anything we do. Simply grace.
Deeper topics:
Mediator (v. 6): This is the first appearance of a word (mesites) which appears also in 9:15 and 12:24 (cf. Gal. 3:19–20; 1 Tim. 2:5). The mediator was an arbitrator or a go-between for two parties. As the Mediator of a covenant between God and human beings, Jesus showed a concern to preserve the honor of God from all stain. He also looked with unrelenting zeal for sinners whom He could rescue and reclaim.
To say Jesus is our Mediator means more than that He was our middleman. His service as our Mediator guaranteed our salvation. Since His priesthood endures forever (7:22–25), the covenant He established will last eternally. Christ both stands with and between God and lost human beings, guaranteeing that lost sinners can find God.
Minds and Hearts (v. 10): Whenever the term “mind” is used alone, it generally refers to the understanding or intellect (Eph. 2:3). Whenever the term “heart” is used alone, it generally describes the will and the emotions (Rom. 2:15). Used together, the words denote the human personality as a unity. God has placed His laws on the intellect, emotions, and will of His people. This expression serves as a picture of the inward effect of the new covenant. This new covenant does not affect people superficially, but it reaches to the very core of their being. The new covenant affects all that we think, feel, and choose.
Know (v. 11; ginosko): Also in John 21:17; Gal 4:9. (Strong’s 1097) Also, in Greek oida, Jn 21:15-17; 2 Cor 5:16; Gal 4:8-9 (Strong’s 1492). In the statement “know the Lord, for all shall know me,” there are two different Greek words for “know.” The first word (ginosko) means “to come to know” or “to know personally.” It can designate ongoing, personal knowledge, which implies a relationship between the knower and the person who is known. The second word (oida) is derived from the Greek verb meaning “to see.” Thus, oida means “to perceive” or “to know absolutely.” It suggests complete knowledge, while ginosko means a growing knowledge.