by Mr. Titus Menezes
Hebrews 8 and 9
This evening for our reflection we have the Ch 8 from the Book of Hebrews. It is believed that Paul wrote this letter or atleast spoke of this to the Jews who had converted from Judaism to Christianity.
The Jews were experiencing much persecution from the Jewish people and wanted to give up on Christianity and go back to Judaism. Judaism was also acceptable to the Romans. But Paul wanted to encourage them not to give up on Christ. He shows through this letter that Judaism which they followed was only a shadow of the good things to come with the coming of Jesus.
He makes use of nearly every book of the OT – of the law and the prophets to show the fulfilment that has happened with the coming of Jesus Christ. We are going to look at how the OT was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ.
The theme that we have summarises in the best possible way the entire bible. As we all know, the bible is divided into two sets of books – the OT and the NT. Have we reflected why we call the OT, Old Testament, and NT New Testament? 2000 years have passed – can we call the NT also OT? What is new about the NT?
Testament comes from the Latin word ‘testamentum’ which was translated from the Greek word diatheke. It means a legal disposition a man makes of his goods after his death. A solemn, authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his will as to disposal of his estate and effects after his death. It is the will of a person that is to be executed after his death. We as humans make a will as to whom our belongings would go after our death.
Diatheke can also be translated as covenant. But covenant is made between the living. Both parties are living. Testament on the other hand comes into effect when the person making the agreement dies. It is a will.
So if we look at both the words covenant and testament both the parties are living i.e. God and man so it's a covenant yet at the same time a death occurred making it a testament. The Jewish people understood the word covenant (berith) as it was passed on to them through generations and Paul is telling them about the old covenant. That is why we have the word covenant in this verse but in effect it means testament or last will because a death has occurred.
New – now we can understand new in two ways – Naya Surf Excel. Is it really new? Some improvements have been carried out, it has been reworked or renewed, so to that extent its new. The other way is something new had been discovered. We had telephones and over a period of time they evolved and it became digital. These were confined to homes. But then a few years back came wireless technology and you could move with your phones anywhere in the world. It was completely new. Today we have even newer technology – touch phones, no more buttons to press. This is completely new.
This is the meaning of the word new here. It was completely new. It was not renewed or reworked or extended. It was completely different. Though the purpose was same, it was going to take on a new and bigger dimension. That is why we have what is called as the new covenant or New Testament. Because there is a new testament the previous one has been rendered old or obsolete. It is no longer required.
Then we have the word mediator. A mediator is a person who brings two warring or estranged parties to an amicable (friendly) agreement. When there is a discord between husband and wife the person who agrees to mediate between them to a suitable arrangement is called a mediator. Here the two estranged parties are God and man. And the man who is bringing the two to an agreement is Jesus. 1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human.
Jesus was in the rightful position to take up this job as the mediator. He was God, so He knew the person of God yet He was human born in flesh like you and me and so he knew man. Jesus was going to be the mediator of the new covenant. When you ask priests, people to pray for you, to plead your case before God they mediate with Christ. Only Christ can mediate with God, so the people are secondary mediators and are better known as intercessors.
For many of us we understand intercessors as people who stand in the gap. ‘na ghar ka na ghat ka’ An intercessor is a person who needs to know both the parties very well. He has to be in the shoes of both the persons and think as each would think and then pray for an agreement. In the book of Job we see his friends trying to play a mediatory role but they never understood Job nor did they understand God.
Moses was a proper mediator as at that time there was no mention of Jesus. He was face to face with God and he mediated the old covenant. But Jesus was the perfect mediator between God and man given his divine and human nature.
Hebrews 8:6 - But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.
Jesus is the mediator not only of the new covenant but of a better covenant with better promises.
This automatically conveys to us that the previous covenant was not so good. Heb 8:7 - For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.
Hebrews 8:8 - God finds fault with them when he says: "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
God was not very appreciative of the Mosaic covenant and was going to bring about a new covenant. And he gave this message through the prophets Jeremiah & Ezekiel who lived about 600 years before Christ came.
What was going to be the new covenant?
Jer 31:31-34 / Heb 8:10-12 - This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities (moral injustice, wickedness), and I will remember their sins no more."
Four things were to happen:
- God’s law will be in the minds and hearts of His people (v10a)
- He will be their God and they will be His people (v10b)
- All will know God personally (v11)
- They will receive mercy and their sins will not be remembered anymore (v12)
How was the new covenant different from the old covenant?
In every respect the new covenant was going to be new. In both the covenants two things are common - one is the law – God’s law and the other is blood to atone.
The old covenant was given to the people through Moses on Mount Sinai. The new covenant would be established at Mount Zion.
The old covenant was written on tablets of stone but the new covenant was going to be written in their hearts and their minds. In the old covenant people did not have an opportunity of knowing God personally but with the new covenant all would know God just as Adam and Eve had fellowship with Him. The very sin of Adam and Eve would be conquered and God’s plan of salvation would be fulfilled.
Lev 4 talks of atonement /sin offering for unintentional sin of the priest, congregation, ruler and a commoner – they had to offer an animal as a sacrifice. But for intentional sin i.e. iniquity, for breaking God’s law the punishment was capital punishment – death and the Jews did this by stoning. Lev 20 / Ez 18 tells he who did abominable things would surely die and his blood would be upon himself. Whenever a law is broken there is a penalty, a price has to be paid. They would perish.
With the new covenant this was set to change. The very God who spoke of death and sacrifices was going to do something through which people would receive His mercy. Not only would they receive mercy, even their sins would not be remembered. There would be a chance for that soul to be reconciled.
How was God going to ratify / establish this new covenant?
By sending His Son Jesus! He was going to do something for all eternity. He did not tell Jeremiah or Ezekiel when but He made a promise and every promise God makes, He will fulfil. By the very mention of the new covenant it was clear that the old covenant was going to be obsolete, done away with.
V8 tells us God finds fault with the old covenant. Did God make a mistake while designing the old covenant? God was going to establish His plan of salvation in stages and He gave a glimpse of what He is going to achieve and the OT is a witness to it. It was like seeing through a fogged glass. Its not very clear but you can make out something. It was a shadow, you could see the outline but couldn't see the contents. V5 tells us that.
A covenant was ratified only with blood. A death had to occur. We see that at the sin of Adam and Eve, God made clothes from skin to cover their nakedness but He made a covenant at that time to save man from sin.
Ratification of the old covenant
In Ex 24 when the old covenant was being given, God gave Moses the words and oxen were sacrificed. Moses dashed half of the blood on the altar that he erected at the foot of Mount Sinai, then he read the book of the covenant i.e. the laws in the hearing of the people who agreed to be obedient. Then Moses took the other half of the blood and dashed it upon the people saying this is the blood of the covenant.
This is one part - the ratification of the covenant. Both parties agreed to keep their promises. This was a once and for all act. It did not require to be repeated again. But this covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. The earthly sanctuary was also called tabernacle or tent. Hundreds of years later Solomon would build the bigger beautiful temple which was broken down and then rebuilt and rebuilt by Herod the Great.
While making the covenant God gave Moses the commandments and various laws. He also specified what restitution needs to be done when a law was broken. He gave instructions to Moses on how to build the temple with clear instructions to make it according to the pattern which was shown to him Ex 25:40.
Paul is now describing this earthly sanctuary in Heb 9. Not that the Jews had forgotten about it but he is about to present a comparison. The interesting part is coming up now.
He writes that the earthly sanctuary had two parts or rooms:
· Holy Place – lampstand, the table and the bread of the presence
· Holy of Holies – golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant.
Only in the book of Hebrews do we read that the altar of incense was in the Holy of Holies. In the OT it is mentioned in the Holy Place. But that's not critical for our topic. The two rooms were separated by a curtain.
According to Leviticus, the rites performed by the priest were of two kinds: the daily and the yearly rituals. These two types of ritual had deep spiritual meaning. The daily sacrificial rites justified the sinner; the annual rites typified the sanctification of the Christian. Justification forgives the sinner, sanctification means that the believer trusts in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and reach the standard of holiness required by Christ.
Daily Sin Offering
The priests would conduct their ritual duties continually in the first tent i.e. the Holy Place. This is where the five different offerings were to be made.
The daily sin offering had to be done in a particular way. A sacrificial animal without blemish or defect had to be taken and depending on for whom the sacrifice was being offered, the person laid his hands on the head of the animal. Two things happened here – the person or persons would remind themselves they were sinners and they ought to die for their sins but now they would not die instead the substitute would die (identification). The second thing was they believed their sins passed onto the sacrificial animal (imputation).
The offerer then had to slay or kill the animal. The high priest then would take some of the blood and sprinkle it on the veil and thus make atonement for all the Israelites. He would then come out and put some blood on the horns of the altar of incense and then come out.
Day of Atonement (Lev 16)
But only the high priest was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16) with the blood of the animals sacrificed which he offered for himself (bull) and for unintentional sins committed by the people (goat). Note unintentional sins, not intentional sins for which the person would be stoned to death.
On the ‘Day of Atonement’ (Lev 16), sacrifices did not begin and end with the slaughter of the animals (bull and goat) and sprinkling of blood on the veil but the high priest had to go into the most Holy Place and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat. (The mercy seat was the place of God’s presence). He would then proceed with the other steps.
The author writes all these gifts and sacrifices that were offered could not perfect the conscience of the worshipper. It could only purify the flesh (Heb 9:13). These were all externals and physical and were only a glimpse of what was to come. There was no spiritual effect connected with this.
Then came Jesus who had been in the greater and perfect heavenly tent with the Father before He came to earth. He was going to be the sacrifice that was to be offered. He was going to be the High Priest who would enter the Holy Place once and for all not with the blood of animals but with His own blood. The earthly high priest would go once a year into the Holy of Holies and make atonement for all of Israel with the blood of animals but that did not have any effect on the conscience of the worshipper. Something was lacking. With the blood of Jesus who offered Himself without blemish, the conscience of the worshipper from sins would be purified and eternal redemption would be obtained. There was not going to be the need for another sacrifice for atonement. Christ achieved it all through His sacrifice.
The veil symbolized the separation between God and His people; when it was torn after Jesus' death, it symbolized that, through Jesus, there is no more separation; we are made one with the Father.
Now to continue with the OT and NT sacrifice comparison, we have a come to a stage where the final events have happened. Let us remember one thing that in the OT all this happened in the sanctuary and the one additional act was when the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat on the ‘day of atonement.’
Now we know Jesus died on Calvary, He didn't die in the temple, so when did He sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat?
Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us something in this regard.
But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
The greater and perfect tent is heaven and there is only one place – we may call it the holy place, holy of holies or sanctuary. They all mean the same.
When did Jesus enter into the Holy Place once and for all? After His ascension He went back to the Father seated on the throne, the mercy seat and offered His glorified blood. He became the High Priest to reach the mercy seat of Heaven for ever. He is now a perpetual minister in the sanctuary and true tent in heaven. His ministry is an everlasting ministry.
Ez 36:26-28 - A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
With the death, resurrection, ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus mediated a new relationship between God and man and paved the way for establishing the promised new covenant.
- God’s law would be in their mind and their hearts of His people (v10a)
- He would be their God and they would be His people (v10b)
- All will know God personally (v11)
- They will receive mercy and their sins will not be remembered anymore (v12)
At the elevation time during the Eucharist we have the priest saying these words “Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”
Hebrews 9:15 - For this reason Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
I would like to approach the close with the verse we all know and have repeated so very often. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
We can see God’s love in the new covenant for mankind, so much is His love that He sent His only Son. But I want to focus on the words believe and perish. By reciting the I believe, can I say I believe in Christ. People of the other faith also say they believe in Jesus. Is that the belief that is being talked about here?
We need to understand the word ‘perish’. Perishing is on account of sin and not for any other reason. Sin alone separates us from God. So something has to be done wrt sin. And this is what the new covenant is all about.
To believe is to understand what Jesus did on the cross. He was the sacrifice for sin offered to God. When we come in heartfelt repentance before Him, when we place our sinful hands on Him in faith, we identify ourselves as sinners and transfer our sins onto Him. In the process, His purity is transferred to us. The same as we saw in the OT sacrifice. Has it ever occurred to you why did that poor sinless animal have to die for the sins of the people in the OT? Can you now ask the same question about Christ – why did that poor innocent, sinless lamb have to die for our sins?
That is when our hearts of stone are taken away and we get hearts of flesh, that is when God’s Spirit begins to operate in our lives and writes God’s law on our hearts and minds and we become His people, His children, we begin to know Him personally and our sins will be remembered no more.
Another thing happens when we agree to be obedient to the Lord just as the people responded in the OT with a loud shout. When we do this the blood of Jesus covers us and we enter into a covenantal relationship with God. This is how we receive the eternal inheritance i.e. eternal life.
God is ready with His side of the covenant. Have you had that heartfelt repentance? Have you reached out in faith to Christ asking forgiveness of sins? Then you are in a covenantal relationship with God and eternal life and inheritance is yours. Then you are children of God, heirs of God.