Hebrews Chapter 8

 

Hebrews Chapter 8

1  Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

2  a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

1. What is the “main point”?

The author reminds readers of the main point of the letter: Christians have a high priest who has brought full forgiveness of sins, and this is evident by his being seated at God’s right hand. ESV Study Bible Notes

The principal point of the whole matter under discussion-that the priesthood of Christ was real and permanent, while that of the Hebrew economy was typical, and was destined in its own nature to be temporary. Barnes Notes

The writer now moved on to explain Jesus Christ’s ministry more fully. Chapter 7 was in a sense introductory and foundational to what follows. “. . . the doctrine of Christ’s high priesthood and the pilgrimage of God’s people dominate the expository and paraenetic [i.e., exhortation] sections [of the epistle]. The theme of Christ as High Priest, however, is central to the epistle as a whole.” Constable’s Notes

2. Elaborate on the Majesty in the heavens concept.

            

Majesty. An indirect Semitic term for God himself. The Greek translated holy places will refer later to the “Holy Place” and the “Most Holy Place” (lit., “Holy of Holies,”  in the earthly tabernacle constructed at the time of Moses  as well as in the Jerusalem temple. But here the author is speaking of something even better, the actual heavenly “holy places,” that is, the area before the very throne of God himself. This is where Christ is now a minister. The true tent (Gk. skēnē) refers to heaven, God’s very presence; the earthly tabernacle functions as a picture of entering into God’s presence in heaven. Human beings made the earthly tabernacle; the heavenly tabernacle was set up by the Lord himself—probably a reference to God the Father, though possibly to Jesus. ESV Study Bible Notes

Christ did something which no priest in the Old Testament ever did. There is not a priest in the line of Aaron who ever had a chair in the tabernacle where he sat down. He was on the run all the time. Why? Because he had work to do. All of these things are shadows that point to a finished sacrifice. Now that Christ has died, all has been fulfilled, and we do not need to wonder if we are doing enough to merit salvation. All we need to do is turn to Jesus Christ and trust Him as our Savior. He sat down because He had finished our redemption. He asks only that we accept it. J Vernon McGee

3  For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

3. How is this high priest different?

For every high priest, etc. The Apostle intends to show, that Christ’s priesthood cannot coexist with the Levitical priesthood. He proves it in this way, — “The Law appointed priests to offer sacrifices to God; it hence appears that the priesthood is an empty name without a sacrifice. But Christ had no sacrifice, such as was offered under the Law; it hence follows, that his priesthood is not earthly or carnal, but one of a more excellent character.” Calvin’s Commentary

Just as any credible earthly priest, Jesus must have somewhat also to offer. The author makes the statement, but does not provide any proof. One reason for the omission of a response at this point could be that he has mentioned Christ’s offering only several verses earlier, stating that he gave himself. Another reason for the omission might be the fact that he will develop shortly that very truth regarding Christ’s sacrifice. The contrast between the continual offering of the priests and Christ’s one-time offering is demonstrated in verse 3 by the tenses of the infinitives, being first present (to continue offering) and then aorist (to offer).

KJV Bible commentary.

4  Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;

5  who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”

4. What pattern?

God had explained the fact that the tabernacle was a prototype of another temple, the heavenly one, to Moses when God gave him the directions for the construction of the tabernacle. Moses may have received a vision of God’s heavenly dwelling place then.

“Probably the conception of the tabhanith, the ‘model’, also goes back ultimately to the idea that the earthly sanctuary is the counterpart of the heavenly dwelling of a deity [in ancient Near Eastern thought].”

The writer’s point was that Jesus’ priesthood was not an earthly priesthood but one that operated in the realm of heaven. Jesus could have functioned as a priest on earth after the order of Melchizedek, but His real priestly ministry of sacrifice and intercession began when He entered heaven. Constable’s Notes

6  But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

5. A better covenant?

Now Christ has been the mediator of a new covenant, which is a better covenant, because it is established on better promises. Why? Because the new covenant is not predicated upon my faithfulness. The new covenant is predicated upon God’s faithfulness. The new covenant is not predicated upon my work. The new covenant is predicated upon God’s work. And because the new covenant is predicated upon the faithfulness and the work of God, it shall stand. It’s good. I can enjoy it and be blessed by it, because it isn’t conditioned upon me. It is conditioned upon God and His faithfulness. So, the new covenant is a better covenant. The New Testament superior to the Old Testament, or the new covenant superior to the Old Testament, because it is based upon better promises of the work that God has wrought through Jesus Christ, that finished work. Once and for all, offering the sacrifice, and now my just believing in Him. And that is the condition, my believing in Him. Chuck Smith Commentary

His office of priesthood is more excellent than the Levitical, because the covenant is better, and established on better promises: the old covenant referred to earthly things; the new covenant, to heavenly. The old covenant had promises of secular good; the new covenant, of spiritual and eternal blessings. As far as Christianity is preferable to Judaism, as far as Christ is preferable to Moses, as far as spiritual blessings are preferable to earthly blessings, and as far as the enjoyment of God throughout eternity is preferable to the communication of earthly good during time; so far does the new covenant exceed the old. Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

This verse forms a transition between the subject of the superior sanctuary and the discussion of the better covenant.

First, there is a comparison. Christ’s ministry is as superior to the ministry of the Aaronic priests as the covenant He meditates is superior to the old one.

Second, a reason is given: the covenant is better because it is enacted on better promises.

Christ’s ministry is infinitely better. He offered Himself, not an animal. He presented the value of His own blood, not the blood of bulls and goats. He put away sins, not merely covered them. He gave believers a perfect conscience, not an annual reminder of sins. He opened the way for us to enter into the presence of God, not to stand outside at a distance. Believer’s Bible Commentary

6. What does the mediator do?

 He is the Mediator. Galatians 3:19, where the word Mediator is explained. It means here that Christ officiates between God and man according to the arrangements of the new covenant. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament.

mediator. In Hebrews “mediator” is always “of a new covenant”. The role of “mediator” here appears to be not that of instituting the covenant but of guaranteeing that the covenant promises are fulfilled, that the promised deliverance is actually accomplished .

Galatians 3:19 (NASB)  Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

He is also Mediator of a better covenant. As Mediator He stands between God and man to bridge the gap of estrangement. Griffith Thomas compares the covenants succinctly:

The covenant is “better” because it is absolute not conditional, spiritual not carnal, universal not local, eternal not temporal, individual not national, internal not external.  Believer’s Bible Commentary

7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.

7. So what was the problem with the first covenant?

The line of argument here is similar to that in 7:11 , where the Levitical priestly order is shown to be inferior because it was replaced by the order of Melchizedek represented by Jesus. Similarly, if the Sinaitic covenant were without defect, there would have been no need to replace it with a new covenant. NIV Study Bible Notes

It is a better covenant because it is founded on better promises. The covenant of law promised blessing for obedience but threatened death for disobedience. It required righteousness but did not give the ability to produce it. The New Covenant is an unconditional covenant of grace. It imputes righteousness where there is none. It teaches men to live righteously, empowers them to do so, and rewards them when they do.

The Mosaic covenant was not wrong; rather, it was weak and ineffective  since it could not bring people to perfection. God’s purposes in the old covenant (among others) were to inform his people of the moral law, to convict them of sin, and (prominently featured in the book of Hebrews) to establish the pattern of sacrifice, priesthood, and promise of salvation that is fulfilled in Christ. Yet the inability of sinful humanity to achieve perfection under the old covenant required the promise of a second covenant, proving the ineffectiveness (i.e., the shortcomings) of the first. ESV Study Bible Notes

8  For finding fault with them, He says, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH;

9  NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.

10  “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

11  “AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.

12  “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”

8. Is there any reference to a future new covenant in the Old Testament?

Paul is citing the OT prophet Jeremiah over 600 years before Christ?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV)

31  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

32  not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

33  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

13  When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

9. So is there any value in the Old Covenant now for Christians?

The writer contrasted the New Covenant with the Old Covenant, namely, the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant is now “obsolete” and even as the writer wrote the Book of Hebrews it was also “growing old.” It virtually disappeared in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the temple, terminated its ritual and officiants, and scattered the Jews throughout the world.

ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study   Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….………Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………..Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM……………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC…………………Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD………………….  .Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB……………….Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB………………….Life Essentials Study Bible.

PC………………………Pett’s Commentary

JBC…………………….Joseph Benson Commentary

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