THE HIGH PRIEST OF A NEW COVENANT

Hebrews 8:1-13

Key verse:  8: 6

“But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is a mediator  is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. “

Last week we had a wonderful Harvest Festival. The superior ministry of Jesus is mentioned in this chapter. Why is Jesus’ ministry superior to other priestly ministry? It is because Jesus brought better promises. Jesus is the beginning of the new covenant. He paid the price of our sins and offered the free gift of salvation to all sinners. Let’s come to Jesus, our superior high priest who brought us better promises through grace alone. I pray that we all may accept God’s promise to save us from the power of sin and death.

PART I THE SUPERIOR MINISTRY OF JESUS (1-6)

Look at verses 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.” The author summed up the main point of his writing. After seven chapters, here is what we should have firmly in mind” “We do have such a high priest.” What we need, what God has promised, has finally come. We have the priest who is able to save us completely. We need to focus our thoughts on him, hold fast to him and have confidence in him. The New Testament tells us that Jesus is our intercessor, our mediator, our Savior and King. But only the book of Hebrews tells us that he is our priest. This unique concept is the main message of Hebrews. What kind of high priest is Jesus?  In order to become our high priest, Jesus was made human (2:17). His priesthood is the reason we should hold fast to our faith (4:14); and the proof that the old covenant has been set aside. What is the difference between the Old Testament priest and Jesus? First of all, the office is different.  The OT priests worked in the earthly sanctuary which is a copy and shadow of heaven. (5) A copy is just a copy and not the real thing. When we go to the museums, we usually see copies of the original. Due to the fear of the losing the original, they usually display the copy. But Jesus’ heavenly office is genuine. He is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. He has direct access to God. Jesus is our priest not only because he lives forever, but because he has been exalted to a position of royal throne and spiritual power. He is the reality forever, not a temporary imitation. He holds the key of life and death. I always wanted to work in the office with a window because I wanted to see the beauty of the world but instead worked in an office without a window for 21 years. That was my temporary office. Now I work permanently for God in an office with two windows.  Jesus is superior to the OT priests because he works in the real sanctuary, not a copy. Look at verse 3a. “Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices…” The OT priests had to make sin sacrifices every day, showing that the final solution had not arrived yet. But Jesus was so effective that once was enough. It did not have to be repeated. I had to pay the toll repeatedly whenever I entered new highways. But the EZ pass holders did not pay repeatedly. They paid just once which let them pass over and over. I wish I had that EZ pass. Jesus is my EZ pass to enter the heavenly toll gate. Why? Jesus paid all the toll fees for me. All I have to do is say “Jesus.” Then they allow me to pass through the pearly gate of the heaven. Jesus said in John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Jesus paid it all and we have an easy pass to enter the gate to the heaven. There we will enjoy the glory of God forever in eternity. Jesus is such a high priest who meets all our need. I was saddened to hear that two Maryland students committed suicide while I was away. They paid a great cost without knowing that Jesus paid the cost of their sins once for all.  

If Jesus were on earth, “he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.” (4) He had the wrong genealogy to be a priest on earth. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah not from the Levites. Only the tribe of Levites was eligible to become a high priest. The tabernacle of Moses was “a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.” How about the ministry of Jesus? Look at verse 6. ““But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is a mediator  is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. “  Just as the heavenly sanctuary is better than the earthly one, so also is Jesus’ priestly ministry better than the Levitical ministry, and so also is the new covenant better than the old.  Jesus’ priestly work is much better than the old priesthood. The new is better than the old, as far as heaven is from earth. The old covenant promised a long life in the land of Israel; the new covenant promises eternal life with God, One big difference between the earthly priest and Jesus is the effect of their ministry as the mediator. Mediator is a legal term. Most mediators are lawyers. Whenever they are disputes or lawsuits, we need lawyers. There are so many lawyers. Mediators represent two parties. Moses was a mediator between God and man. But he could not negotiate a better deal for the people and it resulted in a legal contract. The mediator between the writers and television network failed to make a good deal for the writers and it resulted in a strike. Jay Leno respected the strike and Steve Carrell respected the strike but others crossed the picket line. It created a mess. The role of the mediator is very important. The mediator between GM and the union made a good deal and it avoided a strike. Jesus was the best mediator for us. Jesus knew that we were in a bad situation. Jesus gave up all his privileges and he offered complete sacrifice for us to God through his death on the cross. Jesus activated the better promises while he hung on a tree by saying, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. “ (Luke 23:34) Jesus as the Son brought a better deal for all people. He is a better mediator for the people because it brought the better promises. During the Depression of 1930s President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the new deal to create new jobs and revive the economy. His new deal policy enabled Americans to get out of the depression. Jesus’ new deal brought the new promises so that we could get out of darkness of sin and eternal condemnation.  Let’s look at the content of the new deal Jesus made.  

PART II THE NEW COVENANT (7-13)

Why was a new covenant needed? Look at verse 7. God found fault with the people. There was a problem with the people, not with the old covenant. Terms are important in making contracts. We have to read carefully every item when we sign a contract. The problem was that people promised to keep the law but they did not remain faithful to God. The law was holy and good but people could not keep the law. The old covenant could not make anyone perfect. That is why God predicted a new covenant. There are four major covenants in the Bible. Let’s examine two covenants-the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant. What is the Mosaic Covenant? The Mosaic Covenant is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24). The pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between a sovereign King (God) and his people or subjects (Israel). At the time of the covenant God reminded the people of their obligation to be obedient to His law (Exodus 19:5) and the people agreed to the covenant when they said; “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). The Mosaic Covenant is especially significant because in it God promises to make Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6) Israel was to be God’s light to the dark world around them. We studied the warnings of Israel’s history last week based on 1 Cor. 10. Israel’s history is replete with their disobedience to God. Instead of being a light in the darkness, they succumbed to the temptation around them. They made idols, engaged in sexual immorality, tested the Lord, and grumbled against God and their leaders.  They were punished severely and went into exile.

"What is the New Covenant?" The new covenant is spoken about first in the book of Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah predicted that there would be a time when God would make a new covenant with the nation of Israel. "'The day will come,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah....But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,' says the Lord, 'I will put my law in their minds, and I write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:31,33). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and create a new covenant between God and His people. The old covenant was written in stone, but the new covenant is written on our hearts, made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His own blood to atone for the sins of the world. The Old Covenant focused on the external restraints. But the new covenant focuses on the internal heart.

Look at verse 10. The prophet Jeremiah described it as a new spirit, a new heart, a covenant of peace, and an everlasting covenant. When we accept Jesus, he gives us a new heart to love others and obey his word with repentance. Repentance is a change of our heart. Without a new heart we cannot be born again into the kingdom of God. Salvation does not come from external restraints like the Pharisees but inner transformation of our heart through repentance like the disciples. Luke 22:20 says, "After supper, [Jesus] took another cup of wine and said, 'This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you – an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.'" Now that we are under the new covenant, we are not bound by the law. We are now given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift, not as a reward for any of our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9-11), we can now share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God. Hebrews 9:15 declares, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”

Look at verse 11. The knowledge of God is prevalent in the society and family circles. All humans will have equal access to the knowledge of God. Look at verse 12. This does not mean that we will be perfect people without sinning. It guarantees that we have perfect forgiveness. A forgiveness available to everyone based on God’s grace alone, without any priests or rituals. The New Testament is based on the forgiveness of sins. This is good news to all because God will no longer remember our sins. What a good news it is! God forgave all our sins by the Son’s blood. God knew our weaknesses and solved out sin problem through Jesus. By calling this covenant “new”, he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. In conclusion, the ministry of Jesus is superior to the OT priests. He is the giver of the New Covenant which is based on his grace and our faith in his death for our sins and his resurrection for our eternal life. Praise Jesus who gave us the new Covenant based on grace alone. May God bless us to accept Jesus and live by his word of grace and forgiveness! Let’s read the key verse 6.