Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
HEBREWS 8
The High Priest of a New Covenant
1 Now the main 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, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Application Notes
8:4 Under the old Jewish system, only those from the tribe of Levi were priests, and sacrifices were offered daily on the altar for forgiveness of sins (see 7:12-14). This system would not have allowed Jesus to be a priest, because he was from the tribe of Judah. But his perfect sacrifice ended all need for further priests and sacrifices.
The use of the present tense -- "there are already priests who offer the gitts"-- indicates that this book was written before AD 70, when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, ending the sacrifices.
8:5 The pattern for the tabernacle built by Moses was given by God. It was a pattern that illustrated the spiritual reality of Christ's sacrifice, and thus it looked forward to that future reality. There is no tabernacle in heaven of which the earthly one is a copy, but rather, the earthly tabernacle was an expression of eternal, theological principles. Because the temple in Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed at the time Hebrews was written, using the worship system there as an example would have had a great impact on the original audience.
8:8-12 This passage quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34, which compares the new covenant with the old. The old covenant law was given by God to Israel. Now God has provided a new and better covenant, one of grace, in which Christ offers to forgive our sins and bring us to God through his sacrificial death. This new covenant reaches beyond Israel and Judah to include all people. Because it is written on our hearts and in our minds, it works at a deeper level to guide and transform us than any system of external rules and regulations could. It offers a new way to receive forgiveness-not through animal sacrifices, but through faith. Have you entered the new covenant and begun walking in this better way? Do you find God's truth coming alive in you?
8:10-11 Under God's new covenant, he has written the law on our hearts, and adherence to an external set of rules and principles is no longer required. The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ's words, activates our consciences, influences our motives and desires, and makes us want to obey God. Now, doing his will can become something we truly desire with all our hearts and minds.
8:10 If our hearts have not been changed, following God's rules will be unpleasant and difficult. We will rebel against being told how to live. The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new desires, helping us want to obey God (see Philippians 2:12-13). With new hearts, we find that serving God is our greatest joy.
8:13 Some of the Jewish believers were clinging to the obsolete old ways instead of embracing Christ's new covenant. All the joy of newfound faith and all the relief of fresh forgiveness had given way to a kind of drudgery and toil that was never supposed to be part of the Christian life. Growth had stopped. What should be done if this happens to you?
Realise that life in Christ is never complete in this world. Until heaven, growth is the normal pattern. Growth often endures seasons of drought and drabness. That's also normal. But think about what you are doing that might be spiritually ineffective or obsolete. Do you feel stale and stuck in your relationship with Christ? If you feel you have plateaued, remember that heaven offers complete rest and renewal. Intensify your Bible study, find help that provides more substance than you've had up until now, and engage in meeting needs in new areas of service. Seek God, asking how he wants to add new vitality to your journey.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)