Heb 8 — The Message of Hebrews: A Better Covenant

Why Preach Hebrews?

The title of the sermon today is The Message of Hebrews: A Better Covenant. I have always wanted to tackle this book. This is one of the greatest books of the New Testament. It is right up there with Paul’s epistle to the Romans and also the Gospel of John as being some of the richest and deepest theological books of the New Testament. And so I have always wanted to preach through Hebrews, but I have never had the opportunity. And so now the Lord has given me that opportunity. But I also feel that it will be helpful for us as a congregation to study this book in depth to achieve a richer and fuller appreciation of the person and work of Christ. This letter is full of Christ.

It is all about our Lord Jesus Christ and who he is and what he has done. His person, that he is the eternal son of God who became man. His work, that he offered himself as the final sacrifice for sins and that his work as a high priest did not end there on the cross, but it continues for he has been raised and seated at the right hand of God where he intercedes for us continually. Not only does the person and work of Christ occupy the main focus of this book and give us a richer and fuller appreciation of who he is and what he has done and continues to do for us, but this book also presents the person and work of Christ in the context of the New Covenant.

And that is why I chose Hebrews 8 as the text for today to introduce this book because Hebrews chapter 8 is the heart of the letter. It tells us what this letter is all about. The author of Hebrews says right there at the beginning, here is the point, here is the main thing I have been trying to communicate to you. The main point that we are saying is this, we have such a high priest. Who is the mediator of the new and better covenant.

Understanding the person and work of Christ in the context of the new covenant, that is understanding him as the mediator of this new covenant, gives us a much deeper and more robust and fleshed out understanding of who Christ is and what he has done and continues to do for us.

I do not know if you have ever heard this term before, but sometimes in academic writing, especially in the area of anthropology, they talk about having a thick understanding of something. Have you heard that term before? Versus a thin understanding? The analogy that they give will be sometimes like this.

You could speak of someone contracting their eyelid in a very thin way, just going like this. Contracting your eyelid. Or you could speak of them winking. And winking is something much more significant and meaningful than simply contracting your eyelid.

It is like a communication. It has social significance. And so anthropologists and sociologists talk about having a thick understanding of reality, a thick understanding of things in terms of how it is embedded within a whole social system of meaning and significance.

I think something similar could be said about the letter to the Hebrews. The letter to the Hebrews is saying, do not just look at Christ from the outward perspective as Jesus of Nazareth, who did miracles, died on the cross and rose again from the dead. That is all true, but that is a little bit of a thin understanding of things.

We must understand who Christ is and what he has done in a thicker and fuller and richer way in connection with the new covenant. The whole covenantal significance of what Christ has done. His blood was not simply literal blood coming from his body on the cross. His blood was the inauguration of a covenant, just like with Israel at Mount Sinai, when Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of the covenant and said, now God is making a covenant with you, the old covenant people of God. So also the blood of Christ, in a thicker understanding of that, is the inauguration of the new covenant.

That is just one example, but there are so many other things that the author of Hebrews does to give us that richer and fuller understanding of who Christ is. And the best way to connect the dots between who Christ is and this new covenant is to say that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. That is from our text actually, Hebrews 8 verse 6. But as it is, it says, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old, that is the old ministry under the old covenant, the ministry of the priests and the sacrifices in the tabernacle and the temple of Israel. Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant that he mediates is better. Since it is enacted on better promises. Christ, according to the author of Hebrews, is the mediator of the new covenant. That is, he is the one who inaugurates that covenant, and he is the one who continues to intercede for us at the right hand of God to mediate that covenant, and to give us, as the people of God, access to God and communion with God.

Now this letter, the letter to the Hebrews, has traditionally been understood as one of Paul’s epistles. That is why in our Bibles, it is located right after the letter of Paul to Philemon. And it is at the beginning of the next section of the New Testament, which is called the Catholic epistles. James, first and second Peter, and so on. Traditionally, the letter to the Hebrews has been understood as authored by the Apostle Paul.

But there are several good reasons to question that traditional view. Number one is the absence of the identification of Paul as the author. If you look at Hebrews chapter 1, it does not begin, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, it just begins, long ago and many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. If this were one of Paul’s epistles, we would have to then explain why he did not identify himself as the author. Paul does not strike me as the kind of person that would hold that back and try to suppress that. He seems like the kind of person that would boldly proclaim that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ and he would not be shy about stating that at the very beginning. So the fact that the identification of the author is missing and that Paul is nowhere mentioned as the author of this letter gives us good reason to question that traditional view. Furthermore, the author of Hebrews, whoever he is, says that, this is in chapter two and verse three, he says that the gospel was attested to us by those who heard the Lord Jesus.

So he identifies himself with that word us among the second generation of Christians who heard the gospel not directly from Jesus, but through the apostles themselves. But the apostle Paul makes clear that he did receive the gospel directly from Christ himself. Just read Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. In the first chapter and maybe even to the second chapter, the first chapter and a half is all about that, about how he received the gospel by direct revelation from Christ himself and not from men. And so it is difficult to believe that if Paul were the author, that he would classify himself alongside the second generation of Christians who received the gospel, not directly from Christ, but from the disciples. So for these reasons, I will not be referring to this letter as being authored by Paul.

Although I may sometimes slip up and say, Paul says in this passage and that passage. It is very easy to just say Paul this and Paul that. We are so used to talking about Paul. But I will try to correct myself and say the author of Hebrews says this. And says that.

Who Wrote Hebrews?

However, the traditional view of Pauline authorship is not completely out of the question. There is a reason why the church has traditionally viewed Paul as the author. Because Hebrews clearly has some kind of a connection with the Apostle Paul. There are a number of clues in this letter that show that it is somehow connected to Paul. Maybe not written directly by Paul, but connected to Paul.

One of the key clues to that effect is at the end of the letter in Hebrews chapter 13, how in these letters, the author will often give his final greetings and so on? In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 23, the author of Hebrews says this.

He says, you should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. The reference to Timothy, who we know is a close companion of the Apostle Paul, shows that this author is connected to Paul. He knows Timothy, and therefore he must know Paul as well.

In addition, the distinctly Pauline flavor of this letter stands out, not only in the area of Christology, understanding who Christ is as the Son of God, but also in this whole issue of the relationship between the Old Covenant and the New. That is something that the Apostle Paul talks quite a bit about in his other letters. In Galatians, for example, and in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he describes the connection and relationship between the Old and the New Covenants, just as this letter does as well. And so therefore, although I do not believe that Paul is directly the author, I do think we must recognize that it does reflect Paul’s theology.

It was probably authored by someone from the Pauline circle. Obviously not Timothy, because he mentions Timothy at the end, but someone like Timothy, someone like maybe Luke, who was Paul’s traveling companion. Or someone like Barnabas who accompanied Paul in his first missionary journey in Acts 13. Or maybe someone like Apollos who was mighty in the scriptures and whom Paul endorses in one of his epistles.

So even though Paul himself may not be the author, we can still hear the voice of Paul speaking through this disciple of Paul, associate of Paul, whoever he is, and we can recognize the voice of Paul’s thinking and theology, especially on this relationship between the Old and the New Covenant. We do not know who it was, but we know that he was directly connected to the Pauline circle.

The Situation of the First Readers

Now what was the situation that gave rise to the need for this letter? Most of the letters in the New Testament have a situation or a context that called for the need for this letter. In this particular letter, the situation that called for this letter was that there were former Jews who had come to faith in Christ, but who are now beginning to rethink their commitment to Christ.

This is implied in Hebrews 6, and verses 4 and 5, where it says it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened. And have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God through their own harm.”

That reference there to they would be crucifying once again the Son of God, implies that they had been Jews before they became Christians, and that they had participated, maybe not directly, but at least indirectly, in the desire of the people of Israel to have Jesus crucified. But they are on the verge of reconsidering their commitment to Christ. They are on the verge of what is called apostasy, that is, turning away from the Lord. They had once professed faith in Christ, but now they are considering returning back to their old Judaism, to a non-messianic form of Judaism that looked to the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood and sacrifices.

The author of Hebrews says that they are in danger of drifting away. For example, in Hebrews chapter two, verse one, he says, therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. And again, in chapter three, verse 12, he says, take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Of course, this raises a host of questions theologically. Is it possible for a true believer who is regenerated by the Holy Spirit to fall away from Christ? We do not believe that, and I will explain all of those passages when we come to them. But the main point is to see that this is the situation that is calling forth this letter.

So the letter is written as a call to this congregation of Jewish Christians to not turn back to non-Messianic Judaism, but to persevere in their faith in Christ. To hold on to that profession of faith, to have their confidence in Christ to continue. What was the attraction of Judaism? Why is it that they were thinking about and toying with the idea of going back to Judaism? The attraction was that the temple and the priesthood were still standing.

That is implied in our text that we read at the very beginning in Hebrews chapter 8. In Hebrews chapter eight and verses four and five, it says, now if he, that is Jesus, were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who serve, who offer gifts according to the law, because they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.

Notice the present tense verbs there. There are priests now who are offering gifts. And they are currently now serving a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. And so scholars have argued that because of the present tense of those verbs there, this letter must have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The priesthood was still active. They were offering sacrifices in the temple.

Judaism had a visible and earthly form of worship that was very attractive. Because it is very different from Christianity, which is a spiritual worship that depends on faith in unseen, invisible realities. Now the author of Hebrews is going to say, we actually have the reality. We do have a priest. We do have a temple. We do have a sacrifice. But the reality is that it is not something that you can tangibly see. You cannot literally go to a temple somewhere and see it.

It is something that is grasped by faith. That is why the author of Hebrews has chapter 11. Remember the famous by faith chapter? Faith is the conviction of things not seen. The author of Hebrews is saying, this is what we need to do, is we need to believe these unseen spiritual realities.

You cannot see Christ now. The sacrifice that he offered is in the past. The spiritual sanctuary where he ministers now is in heaven and invisible to us, but this has always been the way with God’s people, even from the beginning, going all the way back to Abraham, that the people of God walk by faith in unseen realities, and therefore we must continue to do that and hold fast to these spiritual realities that are ours in Christ. This letter is then written as a call, a clarion call, a trumpet call to call the people of God who are struggling in their faith, who are doubting the reality that Christ is indeed their great high priest, calling them to stay in the new covenant and not to go back to their former Jewish religion without Christ. This letter could have been relatively short.

It could have been maybe a couple of chapters long, and all the author of Hebrews would have had to say is, do not go back. Continue in your faith in Christ. Believe in the Lord Jesus. You professed faith in him. You are a part of this new covenant. So continue to believe in him. But that would have been a very thin description.

The author of Hebrews says, I want to do something more powerful and more profound. And we can thank the Lord that he chose to do that, that he chose to go into great theological depth to make that exhortation. To give us a thick description of who Christ is and what this new covenant is that has been inaugurated through Christ. The epistle of Hebrews then grounds the exhortation, the call to persevere in the faith and not to apostatize and turn back and to go back to Judaism. He grounds this exhortation in First principles. He does painstaking, careful theology in understanding the significance of the Old Covenant and understanding the significance of the work of Christ in establishing the New Covenant. He does not simply make the command, do not fall away, just keep believing in Jesus. He grounds the command, he grounds the call and the exhortation in first principles, in depth understanding of covenant theology.

So we should be thankful. That the author of Hebrews decided to do that because now we have this rich banquet of theology and covenant understanding before us and understanding the glory of Christ as the mediator of the new covenant. Praise the Lord. Thank the Lord for giving us this wonderful banquet of rich theological truth. Because the author of Hebrews did not simply issue the command, keep believing in Jesus, do not go back, but he issued that command on the basis of theological argumentation that really delves into the weeds, really gets into the inner workings of the whole history of redemption, going all the way back to Abraham and the Old Covenant.

A Better Covenant

The epistle to the Hebrews then proclaims for us the surpassing glory of the new covenant, in which Jesus Christ, the mediator of that covenant, secures perfect access to God for his people. That is the main point. You just want to take away one main point from this whole sermon today. It is that right there. The epistle to the Hebrews is proclaiming to us the surpassing glory of the new covenant in which Jesus Christ, the mediator of a better covenant, secures perfect access to God. For his people.

The main thesis of Hebrews as we read in Hebrews chapter 8 is to show us the contrast between the old covenant and the new. To show us that the old covenant was earthly. That it was merely a shadow of the true realities to come. That it was transitory.

From Shadow to Substance

But the new covenant inaugurated in Christ’s blood is a heavenly covenant. It is not the shadow, but the substance to which the shadows pointed, and it is not transitory, but permanent. In fact, he will say at the very end of his epistle, remember that final benediction? He says, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. He is referring to the new covenant there, using that term everlasting to show us that this is the final covenant. There is no further third covenant to come. This is it.

This new covenant that has been established through Christ’s blood is the full and final revelation of God and the true means of access to the presence of God. One way to summarize the main thesis of this letter is to use this phrase, a better covenant, which I have used in the sermon title. That phrase, a better covenant, is from Hebrews 7, verse 22, where it says, this makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. And then it is repeated again in 8.6. That Christ mediates a better covenant. He is the mediator of a better covenant.

This involves an implicit criticism of the old. It implies that the old was not as good as the new. However, we have to be careful because the way that the author of Hebrews sets up this covenant theology and showing us the contrast and the relationship between the old and the new is not simply to say negative things about the old. Yes, there is an implicit critique of the old as being temporary and insufficient. Or as it says in our text, he finds fault with it. Or if the first covenant had been without fault, there would have been no need to even talk about a second covenant. Hebrews 8 verse 7. So yes, there is a criticism of the old, but it is not only criticism. It is not only saying, let us take that whole old covenant and throw it in the trash. We do not need it anymore. There is also a positive view of the old covenant. The Old Covenant was full of types and shadows pointing ahead to Christ.

There is a very helpful statement about this in the Westminster Confession of Faith. In chapter 7 of the Westminster Confession, the Westminster Confession says this about the Old Covenant, that the covenant of grace was administered under the law, that is under the Old Covenant, by promises prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Paschal Lamb, that is the Passover Lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all for signifying Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient and efficacious through the operation of the Spirit to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah. I think that is a helpful summary of one of the points of this letter. I think much of this language here is taken from Hebrews itself. For example, Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10 verse 1 says that the law had a shadow of the good things to come. It did not have the reality, it had the shadow, but it did have a shadow. And that shadow was useful for that time.

And God was able, by His Spirit, to use that shadow, to use the types, the sacrifices, the Passover lamb, all of these things, to build up the elect in the Old Testament times. To build them up in faith in the promised Messiah. So that they were able to enjoy the blessings of the new covenant, even before the new covenant had been established. And they were justified by faith alone. They received the forgiveness of sins, not because of the sacrifices, the sacrifices of blood and the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin, but because of the sacrifice of Christ to which those sacrifices pointed.

So my point here is this, is that the author of Hebrews is implying something negative about the Old Covenant, but he is not only saying something negative, he is also showing us something positive as well. The problem though was that the Old Covenant could not provide perfect access to God.

He gives this argument, for example, he says, that yes, they did have a priesthood. Yes, they did have sacrifices. But the priests that they had were sinful themselves, and they had to deal with their own sin. Those priests were also mortal, and they had to pass on the priesthood to their sons and to their sons after them. And so there were many priests. And furthermore, the sacrifices that they offered were not truly capable of in themselves of dealing with sin and therefore those sacrifices had to be repeated over and over again and again.

Christ, Our Great High Priest

So the author of Hebrews is saying to us that we have the reality to which those priests and sacrifices pointed. He says we need a priest to arise after a new order. The old order of the Aaronic priesthood was insufficient. But we need a priest after a new order, the order of Melchizedek. Remember that whole thing in chapter 7? Hebrews chapter 7 is all about Melchizedek.

So the author of Hebrews is saying that Christ is that superior priest. He is superior in His person. He is not just an ordinary mortal man. He is the Son of God who took on flesh. And the sacrifice he offers is superior, not the blood of bulls and goats, but the sacrifice of himself. And as a result, Christ is the mediator of a better covenant.

So this letter then is a call, a call to these Jewish believers in Jesus who are wavering in their faith, who are looking at all of the impressive system of worship and sacrifices and priesthood that is found in the Jerusalem temple and who are thinking about going back to that. But the call of this letter is to persevere in confessing Christ and not to fall away from that confession. And the author’s strategy to keep them from falling away, it is as if they are almost out the door and he is saying, let me draw you back in. Do not go out that door. Come back in.

Look at this feast I have set before you here. And he lays out this feast of glorious gospel truth, showing us all of the wonderful, rich food and delightful banquet that we have in Christ. He says, do you not see what you have here? Do you not see this Christ? Look at all this wonderful, rich meat and this red wine and all this glorious, wonderful food that we have in the New Covenant. He wants to display the greatness and the supremacy of Christ and of the new covenant of which he is the mediator. He says, look at this feast that we have.

Why would you want to walk out that door and go down to fast food and just get some cheap unhealthy, unsatisfying food. Do not go back to Judaism. It does not have the reality. It only has a shadow. It only has an outer shell of the truth. We have the truth. We have the substance. We have Christ himself, a greater priest, a greater sacrifice, a greater sanctuary, not an earthly one made of stones, but the heavenly sanctuary itself. And we have unlimited, perfect, complete, and total access to the presence of God through Jesus Christ.

So the author’s strategy then is to delve into all of this wonderful, rich theology about Christ, Christology, about covenant, covenant theology. To display for us the glory of the new covenant and of Christ, the mediator of that covenant, that we might persevere in our faith.

Yes, it is hard, and the Christians there were probably also dealing with a little bit of persecution. Maybe not the full-on persecution of the Romans later on, where they were killing the Christians, but they were dealing with social ostracization and social pressure, especially from their unbelieving Jewish friends and family. It was hard for them, and they were dealing with a difficult time.

Hold Fast to Christ

But the author of Hebrews says, keep persevering in your faith. We have a great high priest, come to him. Yes, he knows your struggles, he knows your doubts, he knows how hard it is, but he is there for you, interceding for you. So do not throw away your faith in Christ, but persevere in him, and he will preserve you to the end.