Hebrews 8:3-9:28

What’s Happening?

The author of Hebrews is writing to a largely Jewish audience. He wants to prove that God’s first covenant with Israel has been fulfilled in a new covenant that Jesus has made with all people. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. In God’s first covenant, God agreed to bless Israel by being with them, and Israel agreed to be his people by being like God (Exodus 6:7; 24:1-7). This covenant also included provisions for when someone defiled this relationship by acting contrary to who God is. When this relationship was defiled, the high priest could purify the relationship by offering a sacrifice in Israel’s temple. But just as God’s first covenant with Israel was fulfilled in Jesus' new covenant, so God’s first sacrificial system was fulfilled in Jesus’ new sacrifice.  

The Jewish prophet Jeremiah tells Israel that a new and better covenant is on the way (Hebrews 8:1-7). In a new, permanent covenant, God would purify Israel’s defilement in a new way. God would make his people like him all the way to the heart. So much so that they would know in their conscience that their relationship with God is fully pure and no defilement is left  (Hebrews 8:8-12). And according to the author of Hebrews, this permanent and internalized covenant is made possible by a new high priest, namely Jesus. This means everything promised in the first covenant to make us pure and like God, has been accomplished by Jesus in his new covenant (Hebrews 8:13). 

The author’s Hebrew audience should have expected this. The first covenant and temple always pointed to eternal heavenly ones. The temple itself was only a man-made copy of an eternally existing heavenly temple (Hebrews 8:5, 9:24). This copy only allowed one man once a year to secure purification for God’s people (Hebrews 9:1-8). That purity was secured by the blood of animals, which could not fully clean a human’s conscience deep down. Animal blood could only clean people ceremonially, symbolically, and temporarily (Hebrews 9:9-10). Purification would need to be secured again the next year, and then again the year after that, and then again (Hebrews 10:1-2). Everything in the first covenant anticipates God’s plan to permanently and internally transform his people.

Where is the Gospel?

The new and better covenant began when Jesus died on a cross. Jesus, by blood way more valuable than a goat or a lamb, has entered into not a copy of God’s home but God’s very presence (Hebrews 9:11-12). And since Jesus has offered his own blood, the purification he secures will clean his people deep down to their consciences (Hebrews 9:13-15). We can know that our relationship with God is perfect (Hebrews 9:9).

The author presses his point by talking about covenants in a different way. In a household covenant, what we might call a will, the inheritance is given only after death (Hebrews 9:16-17). That’s why God’s first covenant came into effect only after animals were sacrificed (Hebrews 9:19). Death put the covenant into effect. In the same way, the inheritance of God’s presence and purification only came after animal sacrifice as well (Hebrews 9:18-22). Death put the promise of purification into effect. Climactically, when Jesus died, all the covenant promises God made to his people were given as an inheritance to us. Jesus’ death put all God’s promises into effect.  

What God did for Israel in their first covenant was amazing, but it was only a shadow of what God has done for us in Jesus. We never again have to build a temple. We never again have to appoint a priest. We never again have to make a sacrifice. Jesus' sacrifice has permanently and forever secured the blessing of God’s forgiveness. There’s no reason to feel guilty or beat yourself up for what you have done wrong because God died to purify you once and for all. You can run into the arms of your priest, Jesus, knowing that he has already repaired the relationship. Our priest embraces us with nail-marked hands.

But God hasn’t just blessed us with unconditional forgiveness. Beyond our forgiveness, Jeremiah prophesied that the hearts and consciences of his people would be transformed (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus will make us like himself. And he will heal our consciences so deep down that we will feel and know the purity his death has brought into effect. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who has given us a new covenant. And may you see Jesus as the one who has blessed us with unconditional forgiveness and a new conscience.