BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: HEBREWS CHAPTER 8

HEBREWS CHAPTER 8

I) [REVIEW OF HEB 7:26-28]:

or jump to the beginning of Hebrews chapter 8 - go to

(Heb 7:26 NASB) For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:27 NASB) who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

[Biblestudymanuals]: on Heb 7:26-28]: So the priesthood of the priests of the order of Aaron who administered the Law to Israel were limited in their mortal lifespans, weak, sinful and not able to administer salvation unto eternal life to themselves or to others. It was fitting that all of mankind in order to have available to them eternal life to have a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, Who does not need daily, like those high priests who administered the Law to Israel - the priesthood of Aaron - to offer up sacrifices for others and even for their own sins. So Christ Who is without sin offered up Himself once for the sins of all mankind. But the word of the oath [which word came from God making an oath] which came after the Law, appoints a Son - Jesus Christ made perfect forever in His Perfect Humanity - appointed by God Himself as high priest to the order of the priesthood of Melchizedek - a priesthood equal to the eternality and perfection of the high priest Jesus Christ.

[(Heb 7:26-28) Expositor's Commentary On Heb 7:26-28]:

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

"4. His better sacrifice (7:26-28)
This section of the study is rounded off with a glowing description of Christ as our High Priest, better qualified than the Levitical priests, and one who offered a better sacrifice than they did.

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;"

"26 NIV omits the important word "for" (gar) that links this proposition to the preceding one. It is because Christ is what he is that he intercedes as he does. "Meets our need" is literally "is fitting for us" (hemin eprepen). Even our human sense of the fitness of things is able to recognize Christ's suitability for his saving work.
There are two Greek words for "holy," one (hagios) refers to the quality of separateness of belonging to God, and the other (hosios) signifies rather the character involved in that separation. Hosios is used here. He is also "blameless" (akakos, "without evil," "innocent") and "pure" (amiantos). "Pure" contains the thought of being undefiled, and there may be a contrast between the ritual purity the Levitical high priest must be careful to maintain and the complete moral purity of Jesus.
There is probably another contrast in the words "set apart from sinners," for the Levitical high priest was required to leave his home seven days before the Day of Atonement and live in such a manner as to ensure that he avoided ritual defilement (M Yoma 1.1). But Jesus' separation was not ritual. Some think the words refer to his spotless character and think he is being contrasted with sinful men. It is more likely that we should take the words closely with the following. His work on earth is done. He has accomplished his sacrifice. He has been "exalted above the heavens." This makes him the perfect intercessor.

(Heb 7:27 NASB) "who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."

"27 There is a problem in the reference to offering sacrifices "day after day" for, while there were daily sacrifices in the temple, the high priest was not required to offer them personally; and the sacrifices that did demand his personal action, those on the Day of Atonement, took place once a year not once a day, a fact the author well knows (9:7, 25, 10:1). Some have thought that we should understand the words to mean not that the high priest offered every day but that he felt the need to offer every day. Others think that Christ's high priestly office, unlike that of the Levitical high priests which involved repeated offerings, is fulfilled daily by his one sacrifice. Such solutions have their attraction. Yet it is not easy to reconcile them with the actual words used. Bruce (in loc.) reminds us that it was always possible for the high priest, as for other people, to commit inadvertent sin, which required the offering of a sin offering (Lev 4:2-3) and that thus the high priest needed to offer daily (to ensure his fitness for ministry). We should also bear in mind that Leviticus requires the high priest to offer the cereal offering each day (Lev 6:19-23; notice that it is "the son [not all the priests] who is to succeed him [Aaron] as anointed priest" who is required to offer this offering [v. 22]). This was regarded as expiatory (Lev R 3:3).

Jesus stands in contrast to the earthly priests. He has no need to offer for his own sins because he has none (4:15). And he has no need to keep offering for the sins of the people, for his one sacrifice has perfectly accomplished this. They were sinful men and had to provide for the putting away of their own sin before they were in a fit condition to do anything about the sins of the people. What they did for themselves, they then proceeded to do for others. But Christ's offering is different. There is none for himself. And for others, he offered "once for all" (ephapax). There is an air of utter finality about this expression. It is characteristic of the author that he introduces the thought of Christ's sacrifice but does not elaborate. He will return to the thought later and develop it."

(Heb 7:28 NASB) "For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

"28 Here the contrast between men with all their infirmities and the Son with his eternal perfection is further brought out. "The law" brings us back to the law of Moses, the law of divine origin indeed, but the law that necessarily operates among men with all their weakness. And when the law appoints high priests, they must be limited as all men are limited. There is no other possibility. The "weakness" (astheneia) refers to "the frailty to which all human flesh is heir" (BAG, s.v.). Priests are not made from some super race but from ordinary men, with all the frailty that characterizes ordinary men.

"But" introduces the contrast: the oath makes the difference. This, we are remind ed, "came after the law" and so cannot be thought of as superseded by it. The oath has the last word, not the law. And the oath appointed the Son. Actually Psalm 110 which speaks of the oath, does not mention the Son, who is referred to in Psalm 2. But the author sees both psalms as referring to Jesus; so he has no difficulty in applying terminology taken from the one to a situation relating to the other. And the Son "has been made perfect forever." He has been made perfect through those sufferings (2:10) that bring people to God."

[(Heb 7:26-28) Bible Knowledge Commentary On Heb 7:26-28]:

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever."

"7:26-28. After all, He is the kind of High Priest who meets our need. His character is utterly without blemish and He has been exalted above the heavens. Consequently too, He had no need like the Levitical priests to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. At first sight verses 27-28 seem to refer to the ritual of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16), but that was yearly, not "day after day." Probably these verses telescope that ritual with the regular sacrificial routine. There seems to be some evidence from Jewish tradition that a high priest was thought to offer daily sacrifice, and the stipulations of Leviticus 6:12-13 may refer to him.

In any case the new Priest had no need either for sacrifices for Himself or for repeated sacrifices for others. His one act of self-offering was definitive and sufficient. Of this more will be said in Hebrews 9 and 10. Here the author was content to conclude that, in contrast with the Levitical priests, the Son is a perfected High Priest. The reference to the fact that He has been made perfect forever recalls 5:8-10. The sufferings of the Son, here referred to as His sacrificial offering of Himself once for all (ephapax, cf. 9:12; 10:10; also cf. hapax, "once" in 9:26, 28), are what have constituted Him "perfect" for His role in God's presence where He intercedes for His followers. Thus the Law appointed as high priests those who were weak, but the oath, which came after the Law, appointed this kind of Priest. Accordingly the readers could go to Him at all times, fully confident of His capacity to serve their every need."

II) HEBREWS CHAPTER EIGHT

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man."

[Biblestudymanuals On Heb 8:1-2]:

Beginning with Heb 7:26, which reads, 'For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;' and
(Heb 7:27 NASB) which continues with, "who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself; and (Heb 7:28 NASB) which states, "For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever;" and thereby we have in view such an exalted "main point" as was begun to be stipulated in Heb 8:1 and what has been in view for all of mankind and that main point has in view an exalted high priest above all high priests, Jesus Christ, Who after having paid for the sins of all of mankind, (cf 1 Jn 2:2), has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty - the LORD God - in the heavens. Then Heb 8:2 continues with Jesus Christ, "a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle in the sense of the heavenly one which heavenly tent the Lord God pitched not man thus assuring it's absolute perfection - without flaw thus securing Christ's sacrifice for sins so as to be absolutely reliable so as to guarantee salvation for all individuals who trust in Christ's propitiation for them.

[Expositor's Bible Commentary On Heb 8:1-2]:

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man."

'''A. Christ's "More Excellent" Ministry (8:1-7)
The author leads on from his treatment of the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek to emphasize the point that Christ's ministry far surpasses that of the Levitical priests. The readers of the epistle would be familiar with this priesthood, and the writer wants it to be clear that Jesus has a ministry far excelling it.

1 The problem in this verse is whether we should understand kephalaion in the sense of "the chief point" or "to sum up." While the word could have either meaning, here it seems that something like "the chief point" is required. The words that follow are not a summary of what has gone before (nor do they summarize the argument that is to be developed). The present participle legomenois (NIV, "what we are saying") does not suit a summary, and the same must be said of the introduction of new material (e.g., "the true tabernacle" [v. 2]). The writer is rather picking out the principal point and proceeding to develop it. There is also something of an ambiguity with "such," which might be taken with the preceding ("such as we have just de scribed") or with the following ("such that he sat down... "). The stress on his high place perhaps favors the latter. We have, then, a high priest who is so great that he took his seat at God's right hand. "The Majesty in heaven" is a reverent way of referring to God, and to be at his right hand is to be in the place of highest honor (see comments on 1:3). The posture of sitting points to a completed work. "Heaven" can be used in a variety of ways, but here it clearly means the dwelling place of God.

2 "The sanctuary" renders ton hagion, which might mean "of holy men," but in this context almost certainly means "of holy things," i.e., the sanctuary. NIV has taken the noun leitourgos ("minister," "servant") and made it into a verb—"who serves."
The word is used of one who engages in any one of a variety of forms of public service. In the Bible, however, it seems to be confined to the service of God, though it includes what is done by pagan officials (Rom 13:6). It is used also of angels (1:7) and of men (Rom 15:16; Philippians 2:25). It speaks of Christ in his capacity as servant, which is striking, as it immediately follows the reference to his high place in heaven.
The "tabernacle" takes us back to the wilderness days. The word means no more than "tent" and could be used of tents that people lived in. But it was also used of the tent used for worship during the wilderness wanderings (e.g., Exod 27:21). That earthly tent corresponds to a heavenly reality, and it is in the heavenly reality that Christ's ministry is exercised. "True" (alethinos) means true "in the sense of the reality possessed only by the archetype, not by its copies" (BAG, s.v.). This is further brought out with the statement that the Lord pitched it, not man. Sin is dealt with in the way and in the place determined by God.'''

[Bible Knowledge Commentary On Heb 8:1-2]:

(Heb 7:26 NASB) "For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

(Heb 7:28 NASB) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man."

"In chapter 7, the writer had considered the superiority of the new priesthood. It follows that such a priesthood must have a superior priestly ministry. That it does is unfolded in this section of the epistle. In the process, the letter reveals that the New Covenant underlies this newer priestly service.

A. INTRODUCTION TO THE SUPERIOR SERVICE (8:1-6)
8:1-2. The author of Hebrews opened this passage with a clear transitional statement: the point of what we are saying is this. He wished to summarize what he had been teaching and go on to new ideas. By referring to the Lord Jesus as a High Priest who sat down at the right hand... of the Majesty in heaven, he picked up the wording of 1:3 (cf. 10:12; 12:2). What he meant by this truth is reasonably clear but will be elaborated further in what follows. In the expression who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, he touched on ideas already implicit in his foregoing instruction, yet used new terms to describe them. The idea of service (leitourgos, a "minister" in the priestly sense) is in reality the new theme. The "true tabernacle" is the heavenly sphere where that service takes place."

[Biblestudymanuals note on Bible Knowledge Commentary above]:

Note that it is not the heavenly sphere but the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who is Himself the "true tabernacle" - the One heavenly, eternal "tent" - the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the eternal Tabernacle / Tent, not pitched by man but by the Lord God Himself:

Compare Rev 21:3: "And I heard a loud voice from among the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them."

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

(Heb 8:3) 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.

(Heb 8:4) 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;

(Heb 8:5) 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.

(Heb 8:6) 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."

[Biblestudymanuals on Heb 8:3-6]:

So in view of Heb 8:1-2 which read,

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man;"

so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

Heb 8:3 which immediately follows, clarifies verses 1 & 2, as follows:

(Heb 8:3) For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest [a unique One Who is specifically in view in Heb 8:1-2] also has something to offer," in the sense that since every high priest has his duties / appointments to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so the unique high priest in view in Heb 8:1-2 - Who is unique in a multitude of ways, not the least of which is the unique high priest who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, Who is a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle [in heaven, which the Lord pitched, not man; - especially it is He Who is to offer both gifts and sacrifices.

And following this, we have Heb 8:4, which reads, "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."

According to the Book of Hebrews, at the timeframe within which it was written, Christ's priesthood was not then of the earth in the sense of then not being exercised on earth; albeit He sacrificed Himself earlier in the first century on earth in His perfect humanity for the sins of the whole world; but at the present time of this letter and ongoing thereafter, Christ's priesthood is a heavenly one; albeit Jesus Christ died on the cross on earth in order to pay for the sins of the whole world in an earthly setting. Note that priesthoods at that time that were earthly based which priests offered gifts according to the Mosaic Law which did not qualify one for eternal life due to the flawed nature of the priests and those individuals who were under the Law. Furthermore, it is not the heavenly sphere but the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who is Himself the "true [heavenly] tabernacle" - the One heavenly, eternal "tent" - the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the eternal Tabernacle / Tent, not pitched by man but by the Lord God Himself:

Compare Rev 21:3: "And I heard a loud voice from [those] among the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them."

Thereafter comes Heb 8:4-6 which verses read as follows with clarifying comments from Biblestudymanuals in brackets:

(Heb 8:4) "Now if He were on earth

[Now if Jesus Christ was serving on the earth as a priest of the order of Melchizedek as a result of having sacrificed Himself on earth for the sins of the whole world; which has in view the time that the letter of Hebrews was written]

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;

[He = Jesus Christ]

would not be a priest at all

[on earth],

since there are those

[who were at those times priests of the Aaronic priesthood]

who offer the gifts according to the Law

[i.e., the priests of the Aaronic priesthood; indicating that the Law was still in effect for Israel at that time; albeit Christ became a priest of the order of Melchizedek during the first century when He propitiated / made a once for all satisfactory payment for the sins of the whole world on earth and thereby officated as a forever priest of the order of Melchizedek in heaven - having departed to heaven from earth about 32AD to guarantee salvation to all those who trusted in Him for that payment unto eternal life forever]

(Heb 8:4) 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;

(Heb 8:5) who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things,

[since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things; referring to the earthly priests of the Aaronic priesthood - at the timeframe of the Book of Hebrews. Hence in view is the exercise of the priesthood of those Aaronic priests who were an ineffective copy of the actual effective exercise of Christ's once for all payment for the sins of all mankind in the exercise of His priesthood of the order of Melchizedek - the sacrifice of the sins of the whole world on earth which priesthood He presently exercises in heaven at the Right Hand of God]

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"

[indicating that the tabernacle that Moses erected on earth according to the pattern which God showed Moses which tabernacle Moses built was a temporary ineffective copy of the heavenly eternal Tabernacle in heaven Who is Christ Himself!

(Heb 8:6) "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."

"But now"

["But now" in the sense of the timeframe of the Book of Hebrews which is after Jesus Christ went up into heaven sometime around AD32,

"He"

["He" meaning the resurrected and glorified Jesus Christ referring to when He was resurrected and arrived in heaven.]

"He has obtained a more excellent ministry"

["He has obtained a more excellent ministry," for all of mankind who believe in His sacrifice for sins will receive forgiveness of sins unto eternal life in the sense of His ministry having been established by Himself through God the Father via His sacrifice for the sins of all of mankind. So the words rendered, "a more excellent ministry" indicate that He has provided a more excellent ministry - a perfectly effective means / ministry by which those that believe in His propitiation for the sins of the whole world will receive eternal life.

"by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises."

[And by this "more excellent ministry," which He - Jesus Christ - has obtained, He has obtained it "by as much as He is also the mediator" - the go between God and man - the One in His perfect Humanity Who has made provision for / payment for the sins of all mankind and thereby obtained "a better covenant" - a better covenant than the keeping of the Law of Moses in order to have eternal life. For the latter is impossible with man because of his flawed nature.

Now there is a serious contention by many of the nature of this "better covenant" - specifically what this "better," i.e., "new covenant" entails, (ref. Heb 8:8-13) . Many contend that this is no longer for Israel, that the Church is the New Israel; or that this "better covenant," i.e., new covenant as opposed to the Old Covenant, i.e., the Mosaic Law applies to everyone. On the other hand, a careful examination of the Book of Hebrews vs key passages in other Books of the Bible such as Jeremiah & Ezekiel when properly read - provide quite a different point of view relative to what this "better covenant" is all about:

****** EXCERPT FROM STUDY ON THE NEW COVENANT ******

OR BYPASS THIS EXCERPT & CONTINUE WITH HEBREWS CHAPTER 8

3) [The Book Of Hebrews]:

a) [Introduction]:

The Book of Hebrews has in view individuals who are Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Christ for salvation unto eternal life since Christ's ascension, (cf Ro 1:1-17), i.e., the church’s reception of benefits through the One Who Himself is the Fulfillment of the New Covenant with a future generation of Israel, Who is the Servant of the LORD, (Isa 52:1-53:12 ), Jesus Christ, ). But it is evident from the context of the book of Hebrews, and from all of the other epistles relative to the believers in Christ of the Church Age, that the destiny of believers in this age is not the same as the future generation which is exclusively and completely comprised of the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Under the fulfillment of the New Covenant, a single generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah will all be gathered in the future from the ends of the earth, restored together in the land promised to their forefathers, transformed by the indwelling Spirit into individuals with God's laws implanted within their minds. Hence they will need no instruction or correction, wherein they will all live faithful lives, and experience sinless perfection in their mortal lives and more, as it states in Jer 30-31 and Ezek 36 & 37 .

So the context of the fulfillment of the New Covenant of a future generation of the regathered / restored houses of Israel and Judah such as stipulated in Jer 30 & 31 and Ezek 36 & 37 when compared with the context of the benefits received as a result of the New Covenant of those whom the Book of Hebrews has in view indicates that there are two different groups of people from two different periods of time which are in view with some similarities but very significant differences.

b) The Context Of The Book of Hebrews vs Jer 30-31 & Ezek 36-37:

In the Book of Hebrews, in view are individuals who are believers in Christ, with a focus* on Jewish believers who are spread throughout what is now called the Middle Eastern region, as well as parts of Europe.

*Gentile believers are also applicable as they also will in this age inherit salvation and accompanying blessings in the same manner as the Jewish believers of this age will, (cp Ro 1:1-17).

- This is unlike the fulfillment of the New Covenant of an entire future generation of regathered / restored / rejoined houses of Israel and Judah exclusively; which generation of people will own and occupy the land promised to their forefathers, experience peace and prosperity there forever, who will all express faith in Christ and then all will receive salvation unto eternal life; and while in their mortal bodies all will be transformed into faithful individuals with an inherent and complete knowledge of God's laws while in the Promised Land - as stipulated in Jer 30-31 and Ezek 36-37 .

In view in the Book of Hebrews are those Jewish and Gentile believers who are spread all over the region including Italy, (ref. 13:24) - in and outside of the land promised only to the forefathers of Israel; who already have salvation unto eternal life, lit., "inherit salvation" [unto eternal life]' (1:14), without being regathered or restored; whose salvation is attested to by signs and wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, (2:4) - implying that they have received the Holy Spirit within; who are called "holy brethren," and are partakers of a heavenly calling, and who have confessed Jesus as their Apostle and High Priest, (3:1); and who are immature / not perfectly faithful believers who need to grow in the faith to become mature believers, (5:11-6:3);

- The situation of the future generation of believers of restored Israel is somewhat similar to that of believers in previous ages, such as the reception of salvation unto eternal life through faith; but the accompanying blessings and responsibilities vary considerably. The timing and place of the salvation unto eternal life of those in the Church Age is unlike the future generation of Israelites: the latter of whom will be saved only after they all occupy the land promised to their forefathers, (ref. Ezek 36:24-25 ). The Church Age believers' salvation is not location specific; and certainly not tied to possession and occupation of the Promised Land at all. Furthermore, the exclusively Jewish believers of the future generation of restored Israel under the New Covenant as stipulated in the writings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel will all be mature and faithful believers with an inherent full knowledge of God's laws - not needing any instruction or discipline relative to God's law, i.e., Scripture, as do the believers of the Church Age. Although Joel chapter 2 indicates a resumption of the expression of certain supernatural spiritual gifts in the age to come ; the sign and wonder gifts of the Church Age were temporary - they ceased before the 2nd Century began , and they were not identical to the future miraculous gifts of the future generation of Israelites as depicted in Joel chapter 2 .

The Book of Hebrews has in view believers who have tasted of the Holy gift of salvation, who have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, (6:4); who have tasted the Word of God, [but are nevertheless needful of further instruction in it as evidenced by instructional passages in the Book of Hebrews and the rest of the epistles]

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Israeltites as stipulated in Jeremiah 30-31 and Ezekiel 36-37 who will inherently receive from the Spirit a full and complete knowledge of God's laws who will not then have to be taught anything, as well as the Spirit causing them to walk in God's statutes and be careful to observe His ordinances. On the other hand, the believers of both ages - the Church Age, (Heb 6:4); and the age to come - will receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, (Ezek 36:26-27); but the blessings and gifts of the indwelling Spirit of God are evidently not identical to one another after careful examination of passages in Scripture - especially the miraculous gifts.

The believers of the Book of Hebrews have tasted the powers of the age to come, (6:5);

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Jews in Jeremiah and Ezekiel who will be fully experiencing those powers received from God in the age to come - forever;

The believers of the Book of Hebrews are instructed to have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus by His flesh, (10:19); who have Jesus Christ as a great High Priest over the house of God, (10:21); who after being enlightened, endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated; and who showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of their property, knowing that they have for themselves a better possession and a lasting one in heaven, (10:34); God disciplines them as His sons, (12:37);

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Jews of Jeremiah and Ezekiel who will never suffer such difficulties, but will experience unending prosperity and peace, their enemies done away with by the LORD, with all mankind at peace with one another and God, (cf. Isa 11:1-16 ; Ezek 34:25; 37:26). And that future generation will have no need of God's discipline. For they will always be faithful, (Jer 31:31-34   and Ezek 36:22-27 ).

And the Book of Hebrews has in view individuals who are believers who are admonished not to drift away from what they have heard: truths about Christ and salvation - their having learned from others the doctrines of the faith, (2:1)

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Jews in Jeremiah and Ezekiel who will be given by the Spirit within them an inherent knowledge of God's laws and faithful obedience to them by the Holy Spirit.

The individuals in view in the Book of Hebrews are not to neglect so great a salvation that they have, (2:3-4); nor have an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God; who are to hold fast the beginning of their assurance of salvation until the end - not hardening their hearts, (3:12-14); who are to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace, (4:16); who are to draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, (10:22); who are to hold fast to the confession of their hope of eternal life without waivering, (10:23); who are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds and not forsake their assembling together; who are to encourage one another, (10:24-25); who are not to go on sinning willfully, (10:26); who are not to trample under foot the Son of God, nor regard as unclean the blood of the new covenant by which he was sanctified, nor insult the Spirit of grace, (10:29); who are not to throw away their confidence, and not be of those who shrink back to destruction, but to be of those who have faith toward the preserving of the soul toward eternal rewards, (10:35-39); and see to it that they do not refuse Him Who is speaking; who are to strengthen their hands that are weak and their knees that are feeble; and who are to make straight paths for their feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. And who are to pursue peace with all men, and sanctification; and see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; and that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble; and that they not be an immoral or godless person, (12:12-16).

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Jews in Jeremiah and Ezekiel who will be transformed by the indwelling Spirit into individuals with God's laws implanted within their minds, hence they will need no instruction or correction, wherein they will all live faithful lives, and experience sinless perfection in their mortal bodies.

Many instructions and admonitions are given to the individuals addressed in the Book of Hebrews and the rest of the epistles which imply an imperfect knowledge of God's Word / His laws, sinfulness and unfaithfulness - actual and potential.

- This is unlike the believers of the future generation of Jews in Jeremiah and Ezekiel who will be transformed by the indwelling Spirit into individuals with God's laws implanted within their minds, hence they will need no instruction or correction, wherein they will all live faithful lives, and experience sinless perfection in their mortal bodies.

Since the salvation unto eternal life of all of mankind and accompanying blessings have been provided for under the auspices of the Servant of the LORD, Jesus Christ, Whose substitutionary atonement applies to all of mankind as well as to that future generation of Israel / Judah, (ref. Isa 52:1-53:12 ) - each in accordance with his / her own circumstances; then the Servant of the LORD, Jesus Christ and His atoning work as stipulated in Isa 52:1-53:12, is in view in key passages in the Book of Hebrews and the other Epistles relative to believers in the Church Age wherein the details of their reception of eternal life by faith with its accompanying blessings in this temporal life and in eternity are in view as a result of His atonement work which was not only for the fulfillment of the New Covenant with a future generation of Israel; but also for the benefit of all mankind.

So the once for all time sacrifice of Jesus Christ is in view throughout the book of Hebrews - depicted as all that is required for God to be propitiated and all that is necessary for the believer to enter eternal rest in the Eternal Kingdom of God forever. Jewish believers of ancient times and for that matter all believers, are exhorted to keep their moment of faith alone in Christ alone in focus relative to the eternal kingdom life that they are assured of having; and not to seek to add personal acts such as Mosaic Law sacrifices in order to secure salvation unto eternal life which they already have secured by faith alone - a key message to believers in the Book of Hebrews. Grace verses Law is the issue, any law = any system of personal acts are useless toward entering eternal rest and even might cause a believer to be at enmity with God and under His discipline, (Heb 12:5-11 ). Thus the book of Hebrews demonstrates over and over the absolute superiority -

of the Messiah Jesus Christ over the angels

of our Lord's Melchizedek priesthood over the Levitical priesthood

of His once for all time sacrifice over any individual's personal acts of sacrifice.

Outside of faith in Christ anything else will be totally ineffective to providing eternal life.

This superiority negates in all cases anything man or angels can contribute toward entering God's eternal rest.

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c) [Compare Heb 7:11-22; 8:6-13; 9:11-22; 10:1-17; 12 & 13:20-21]:

(Heb 7:11 NASB) "Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?"

¤ [The author of Hebrews proposes that if perfection, i.e., sinlessness could be achieved through the Levitical priesthood, i.e., through the Law then "What further need was there for another priest, that is Jesus Christ, (vv. 14-17), to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not [be] designated according to the order of Aaron?" - the first priest of the tribe of Levi, (Ex 28:1-3). The answer is implied that the people have failed to be faithful to the Mosaic Law and that they need another priest to arise, but this time from the order of Melchizedek. For such a priest has "neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, He remains a priest perpetually," (Heb 7:3)]

(Heb 7:12 NASB) "For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also."

¤ [And when the priesthood is changed, then the whole legal system on which the Levitical institutions were predicated also had to be changed. The Law did not work because the people could not be faithful to it.]

(Heb 7:13 NASB) "For the One concerning Whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.

(Heb 7:14 NASB) "For it is evident that our LORD was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests."

¤ [For the One, (Jesus Christ), concerning Whom these things are spoken, (the changing of the priesthood), belongs to another tribe, (Judah, (v. 14), from which no one has officiated at the altar, (because it is reserved for Levitical priests). For it is evident that our LORD, (Jesus Christ), was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests]

(Heb 7:15 NASB) "And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,"

¤ [And this is clearer still: the fact that there has been a changeover from the Levitical priesthood to another priesthood: if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek]

(Heb 7:16 NASB) "Who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

(Heb 7:17 NASB) For it is attested of Him, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' "

¤ [In view is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek Who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, such as being a descendant of Aaron, but according to the power of an indestructible life - in the sense that His priesthood can never be destroyed because His life is indestructible, He is eternal, even God . For it is attested of Him, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' [cf. Ps 110:4] So an unending life is an inherent part of the order of Melchizedek. [cf. Heb. 7:8]. And His priesthood is not one of keeping physical requirements]

(Heb 7:18 NASB) "For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness.

(Heb 7:19 NASB) (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God."

¤ [For in this changeover of priesthoods, there is a setting aside of a former commandment - the statutes of the Mosaic Law - because of its weakness and uselessness in that man cannot and will not be faithful to its statutes. Furthermore, on account of man's failure to obey it, the Law made nothing perfect. It only demanded perfect obedience from man, which he cannot and will not do. But on the other hand, the priesthood of Melchizadek brings a better even a sure hope of righteousness unto salvation through which we draw near to God - implying that righteousness unto salvation are a grace gift from God]

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(Heb 7:20 NASB) And inasmuch as it [the Melchizedek priesthoood] was not without an oath

(Heb 7:21 NASB) (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One Who said to Him, 'The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, You are a Priest forever);' " [Ps 110:4]

(Heb 7:22 NASB) so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.'''

¤ In Heb 7:20, it indicates that the priesthood of Melchizedek differs dramatically from the Levitical priesthood in that the former was instituted with an oath. By contrast, the descendants of Aaron assumed their jobs without any oath. The writer then quoted again the divine oath of Psalm 110:4, "The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, You are a Priest forever" the solemnity of God's oath alone argues for the superiority of the new Priest, Who (Jesus Christ, v. 22), was majestically inducted into His role by that oath. Moreover, because of this oath, Jesus became the guarantee of a better covenant - one that is based on His eternal, indestructible life and priesthood. In His own Person, Jesus assured the superiority of the covenant over the old because His oath secured His permanent installation in the priestly office. His is a ministry that will not be done away with. This new covenant will provide righteousness unto eternal life, not on the basis of faithful works to the law - human doing, but on the basis of a grace gift from God.

So in Hebrews chapter 7, the author argues that the legal (Mosaic Law) and religious (Levitical priesthood) components of the Old Covenant were inadequate relative to being righteous before a Holy God ; and therefore had to be replaced by something better. Thus, the author launches into a discussion of a forever priesthood that is superior to the Levitical priesthood - the Melchizedekian priesthood, . The author argues that since the Melchizedekian priesthood ushered in a superior priesthood, it follows that the whole legal system on which the Levitical institutions were predicated also had to be changed because mankind failed to keep its commandments and be righteous.

Therefore, in place of the Mosaic system there would come a "better hope" (v. 19), lit., a sure hope   of righteousness unto eternal life. Verse 22, identifies this "better hope" as a "better covenant." The context which follows indicates that this "better covenant" can be none other than the New Covenant as stipulated in vv. 8-12. As this passage continues, it will be established that the New Covenant applies to the readership of believers in Christ within the period of time of the Church Age in the sense that the Priest according to the order of Melchizadek, Jesus Christ - His substitutionary atonement for sins suffices as a once for all sacrifice for sins unto eternal life for those that trust in Him for it in order to be declared righteous unto eternal life by grace: Those of the future generation of Israel and Judah and those of all mankind of all ages.

Whereupon the author of Hebrews provides a further explanation in chapter 8 which strongly argued that the "better covenant" must be the New Covenant, which is corroborated by the citation in Heb 8:7-13 of the New Covenant prophecy found in Jer 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8:8-12:

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(Heb 8:6 NKJV) "But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

(Heb 8:7 NKJV) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second."

¤ [But now Jesus' ministry is a more excellent one because He is Mediator, i.e., Intercessor - one Who arbitrates between two parties (God and Israel) - of a better covenant than the covenant of the Mosaic Law. This is because the New Covenant was established on better promises - those based on the substitutionary atonement work of Christ alone - promises that are faultless. For if that first covenant of the Law had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second covenant]

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(Heb 8:8 NKJV) Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -

(Heb 8:9 NKJV) not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.

(Heb 8:10 NKJV) 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 in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

(Heb 8:11 NKJV) None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

(Heb 8:12 NKJV) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. [Jer 31:31-34 ]

¤ [Heb 8:8-9 indicate that past generations of Israel - both kingdoms - were found at fault in keeping the old covenant of the Law, (Hos 1:9-11; 2:14-23 ). But in the future the LORD will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah - not according to the covenant He made with the generation He brought out of Egypt. Because the Israelites did not faithfully keep the old covenant of the Law, the LORD declared to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, (Hos 1:9-11, note that author and prophet Hosea included both kingdoms): "Name him [Hosea's newborn son] Lo-ammi, which means "not My people" for you are not My people and I am not your God. Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, 'You are not My people,' It will be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.' And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel." (Hos 1:9-11; 2:14-23 ; cf. Ro 9:25-26 ). Note that the word rendered "Jezreel" is a reference back to Hos 1:4-5, where Israel's defeat in the Valley of Jezreel is predicted; but it is also a reference forward to 2:22-23, where Jezreel really stands for Israel, in the sense of the nation's being "sown" in the land by God for her rebirth and multiplication. So after those days of generations of Israel not being God's people, in a future time the LORD will make a New Covenant with a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, (ref. Heb 8:8-12; Jer 31:31-34 ).

Heb 8:10-12 continues to quote from Jer 31:31-34 about the New Covenant which stipulates that God and a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah are exclusively the parties of that covenant:

"I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Notice that the fulfillment of the New Covenant does not have in view believers of the Church Age or the ages before that. Nevertheless the ongoing context of the Book of Hebrews repeatedly conveys the message that believers in Christ of the Church Age benefit from the ministry of Jesus Christ which will fulfill that future covenant, although they are not party to that covenant. For the parties that will experience the fulfillment of the New Covenant remain as originally stipulated: God and a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah regathered in the promised land. For just as a father can make an agreement with his son to start an enterprise and then give all of that enterprise to his son when he retires, and during the time until he retires through that enterprise benefit others who are not party to the agreement and effect no violation or change in that agreement; so the New Covenant between God and a future generation of Israel is not violated because the Means by which that covenant will be fulfilled, the substitutionary atonement of the Servant of the LORD, Jesus Christ, is not only for the parties of that covenant, but for all of mankind. Those who are not party to the New Covenant who trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life will receive eternal life and benefits in accordance with the appropriate passages in Scripture for their timeframe and group of people - all by virtue of the Means by which the New Covenant is fulfilled: Jesus Christ Himself, without effecting a violation or change in that Covenant.

God promised to make a covenant with a future generation of Israel to give them a particular and precisely stipulated inheritance at a certain future time. So far in history God has benefitted innumerable others that will not be party to that future covenant by the Means by which that future covenant was ratified and thus enabled to be fulfilled when the time comes - by the shed blood of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement for the sins of all mankind. ]

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(Heb 8:13 NKJV) In that He says, 'A New Covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

¤ In Hebrews chapter 7 it indicated that the Mediator of the future New Covenant, is a Priest forever according to the likeness - the order - of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ, Who has become the guarantee of that better covenant - a future covenant with a future generation of Israel, Who has been presently benefitting believers in the Church Age as well - who are not parties to that covenant.

So then in Hebrews 8:6-7, the author provided further explanation of this "New Covenant" as a "better covenant." He noted that this "better covenant" is founded upon better promises, (Heb 8:6). He also observed that the first covenant of the Law was flawed, or else there would have been no need for a second covenant to take its place. In verses 8-12, the author left no doubt as to which covenant he had in mind through his quotation of Jeremiah 31:31-34: the New Covenant with a future generation of Israel.

Then in Hebrews 8:13, the author continues to contrast the "New Covenant" with the previous obsolete and flawed old covenant which "is becoming obsolete and growing old [and] is ready to vanish away."

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Hebrews chapter 9 indicates that because of Christ's high priesthood - His substitutionary atonement - His cleansing of sins through His blood to obtain eternal redemption and an eternal inheritance for all mankind, which priesthood satisfies God's future covenant with a future generation of Israel, believers of the Church Age benefit in their own ways as stipulated in the chapter and elsewhere in Scripture:

(Heb 9:11 NASB) "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things [having come], He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;"

¤ [WH NU have "the good things having come" from P46, B, D*, 1739, syr(ph).

TR has "the good things about to come" from sinaiticus, A, D2, Ivid, 0278, 33, Maj.

The Greek phrase in the Textus Receptus rendered "the good things about to come" is probably a scribal emendation, evidently influenced by Heb 10:1. It misses the point of the passage: the benefits of Christ's priesthood are not stored away for the future. His priesthood provides benefits that believers experience in the present age as a result of Christ's blood which was shed not only to fulfill the future New Covenant with a future generation of Israel, but for all mankind - each individual in accordance with God's own plan and sovereignty, which varies from individual to individual, age to age. He Himself provides the means to access God both now and forever. All modern versions, except NASB and NJV follow the better reading.

So Hebrews 9:11 speaks of the "good things having come" in the sense of being present in the lives and minds of believers in Jesus Christ today. This includes eternal redemption, (9:12), and the sure hope of the promise of an eternal inheritance, (9:15). These "good things" came as a result of the death / the substitutionary atonement of the Mediator of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ Himself for all mankind, (Heb 9:12-15). Present day benefits from Christ's priesthood ministry for believers of this age are stipulated throughout the Book of Hebrews and the other epistles, many of which vary from the description of benefits received by a future generation of Israelites when the New Covenant will be fulfilled as a result of Christ's substitutionary atonement in His blood, (Heb 8:8-12; cf. Jer 31:31-34 ).

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(Heb 9:12 NASB) "and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

(Heb 9:13 NASB) For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,

(Heb 9:14 NASB) how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

¤ In Heb 9:12 it indicates that the sacrifices of the old Mosaic Law covenant were ineffectual for eternal redemption - for receiving forgiveness unto eternal life. But Jesus Christ made an offering of Himself that secured a redemption which is valid for all eternity for all of mankind who choose to believe in Him for that, (cf. Heb 4:2; 6:1, 12). He had won for His people and for all of mankind an effective salvation which is not dependent in any way upon earthly sacrifices or human doing such as the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses.

What Christ did on the cross was final and forever, and for all mankind. It needs no supplement, renewal or human doing to maintain. The phrase in Heb 9:12 rendered, "Once for all" is an emphatic expression underlining the decisive character of Christ's saving work for all mankind. There is no need for repetition. And "Redemption" is the process of setting one free by the payment of a ransom price, in this case being set free from the eternal consequences of sin by the death of Jesus, i.e., by His substitutionary atonement ; and this through a moment of faith alone in Christ, (ref. Heb 4:2; 6:1, 12).

In Heb 9:13 the author turns again to the Levitical sacrifices of the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses. In the Law is found the availability of an external and temporal purification from sin through ritual and ceremony, not an intrinsic and eternal one through faith alone as is available through the sacrificial blood of Christ unto eternal redemption. The Levitical system was effective within its limits , but those limits were concerned with what is outward and temporal, not eternal. And those rituals / ceremonies had to be repeated constantly.

Then in Heb 9:14 "How much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" stresses the incomparable greatness of Christ and His sacrificial work for all mankind. "The blood of Christ" means Christ's death regarded as a sacrifice for sin according to the ongoing context from the beginning of the Book of Hebrews and now through vv. 9:12-14. Although blood can be symbolic of physical life, it is not an allusion to life in the context of this passage, as some contend. For the context is fully established that Christ offered himself in sacrifice to God for the sins of all mankind through the shedding of His blood. The Hebrew word rendered, "Unblemished" is the adjective used to describe animals approved for sacrifice, animals without defect of any kind under proper observation of the covenant of the Mosaic Law. It was meant also to be a picture of Christ's sinless perfection in His once for all sacrifice, of which the animal sacrifices were only a picture, not the reality.

Heb 9:14, which is rendered, "How much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" makes the point that the "eternal Spirit" has empowered Christ in His sacrificial work. The phrase rendered "the eternal Spirit" is another name for the Holy Spirit (cf. NIV, KJV, RSV, JB, et al.).

i) [Compare Isa 42:1, 6 ]:

(Isa 42:1 NASB) "Behold, My Servant, Whom I uphold; My chosen One in Whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

(Isa 42:6 NASB) I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations.

Passages in Isaiah chapters 42 , 49 , 50 and 52-53 , et. al., have the "Servant of the Lord" Who is Christ as accomplishing the ratification of the New Covenant through His substitutionary atonement for the sins of all mankind to provide for the availability of redemption and salvation for a future generation of Israel and all of mankind through faith throughout the ages in the power of the Holy Spirit, the eternal Spirit.

While Christ's human spirit is involved in His own sacrifice, the Spirit of God is involved, as well. It seems that the writer has chosen this unusual way of referring to the Holy Spirit to bring out the truth that there is an eternal and divine aspect to Christ's saving work.
So Christ, then, offered Himself without blemish in a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for all mankind, the aim being to "cleanse our consciences from dead works," affording not only God's gracious salvation of a future generation of Israel, but the salvation of all of mankind throughout the ages from the beginning - through faith. It is important to be clear that Christ's saving work operates on quite a different level from that of the Levitical sacrifices. The latter sacrifices were temporal and external. But Christ's work of redemption was concerned with erasing the effect of all sins upon mankind once and forever. Sins when they are committed become part of the conscience within a man, leaving him with the knowledge of his accountability before God which leads to eternal condemnation. So Christ's sacrifice was for the cleansing of the conscience of one as a result of Christ Himself paying for the penalty of ones eternal condemnation - something that the sacrifices under the law or any human doing could never do (cf. Heb 10:2). Note that the NIV renders Heb 9:14b "cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death," but the Greek text literally reads "cleanse our [other mss have "your"] consciences from dead works," in the sense of the cleansing of the consequences from God of sinful acts committed that are placed upon the consciences of individuals, thus providing for forgiveness of sinful acts to those who have believed in Christ for salvation. Ones conscience can only be cleansed through faith in Christ's substitutionary atonement and not through dead works such as the Old-Covenant rituals which did not have that purpose in the first place . Once ones conscience is cleansed via faith in Christ's sacrifice, one is then enabled to serve the living God instead of suffering eternal condemnation]

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(Heb 9:15 NASB) "For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

(Heb 9:16 NASB) For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it."

¤ In Heb 9:15, the phrase "kai dia touto" rendered "and for this reason" refers back to "the good things having come" and what follows in Heb 9:11-14, not the least of which includes Christ having obtained eternal redemption for all mankind, and the cleansing of ones conscience from dead works to serve the living God through the death of Jesus Christ, the ratification in His blood of His mediatorship of the New Covenant and His payment for the sins of all mankind. Heb 9:15 goes on to add that Christ's death made redemption and an eternal inheritance presently available in this age and all timeframes from the beginning of Creation after the Fall. Furthermore, the New Covenant in verses 15-16 must be the same New Covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31 because Heb 8:8-12 actually quote Jer 31:31-34 stipulating the precise terms of that covenant, and Heb 9:15-16 contrasts the New Covenant with the Old Covenant - the Mosaic Law. Thus, Heb 9:11-16 conveys that "the good things" therein referred to are a present reality in the lives of believers. This is so because Christ’s death - His substitutionary atonement for sins in order to make and then fulfill the yet future New Covenant with a future restored Israel in the Promised Land, was also for the benefit of all mankind of all ages, by faith in Him. So His death not only was for the benefit of a future generation of restored Israel under the terms of that covenant for the parties of that agreeement; it was also for the benefit of all mankind from the beginning of creation, (after the Fall), and throughout the ages, who are not party to that Covenant. Therefore, these verses form a strong argument that the church is presently experiencing blessings because of Christ's mediatorship of the New Covenant via His substitutionary atonement for the sins of not just a future generation of Israel but of all mankind - not the least of which is the redemption of the individual's transgressions under their endeavors to keep the old covenant, the Law, (and all their sins), unto an eternal inheritance, i.e., eternal life - by grace through faith alone in Christ's substitutionary atonement for sins alone.

Nevertheless, the benefits for believers of the Church Age in view in the Book of Hebrews received through Christ's priesthood ministry which ratified the New Covenant in His blood - His substitutionary atonement for mankind are similar but not identical to those of the parties of the yet future New Covenant that God will make with and fulfill with a future generation of Israel, (ref. Jer 31:31-34   and Ezek 36:24-27 ).

For example, believers in the Church Age - Jews and Gentiles - have been persecuted and dispersed, (ref Acts 5:4; 8:1; 11:19; Phil 1:12-14; Heb 10:32-36; Gal 1:13), as opposed to a future generation consisting exclusively of Israelites under the New Covenant who will all be gathered from all over the earth to occupy, own and prosper in the land promised to the forefathers of Israel - the Promised Land without any persecution or dispersement.

And according to the Book of Hebrews, those same persecuted Jewish and Gentile believers who have neither matured in the faith, nor lived faithful lives under the benefits of Christ's priesthood ministry are juxtaposed to the future generation of Israelites which will have a full and perfect knowledge and faithfulness to God's Laws as stipulated in God fulfilling His New Covenant with and in them.

Hebrews 9:15 furnishes further evidence that Christ’s mediatorship of the New Covenant, His substitutionary atonement for the whole world is by virtue of including all of mankind an ongoing reality in the church age. But mankind is not experiencing the reality of the fulfillment of the New Covenant itself to which they are not a party; which fulfillment is yet future exclusively with a future generation of Israel who is a party to that covenant.

That there are present benefits to Christ's mediatorship of the New Covenant is suppported by the present tense verb "estin" rendered "He is" in the phrase in Heb 9:15, "He is the mediator of a new covenant" indicate that Christ is presently the Mediator of the future New Covenant in the sense that His substitutionary atonement for the sins of all of mankind has ratified the New Covenant justifying God's future unilateral fulfillment of that covenant exclusively with a future generation of Israel so that it can be justly fulfilled without Israel's participation but by God alone. This is so because Israel - all mankind are unable to fulfill the righteous requirements of that New Covenant's stipulations, not the least of which are sinless perfection and forgiveness of sins.

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(Heb 9:17 NASB) For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

(Heb 9:18 NASB) Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.

(Heb 9:19 NASB) For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

(Heb 9:20 NASB) saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you."

(Heb 9:21 NASB) And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

(Heb 9:22 NASB) And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

¤ Hebrews 9 also has much to say regarding the New Covenant’s ratification. According to Hebrews 9:17, for a covenant to be valid and in force it requires the death of the testator. Because Christ as testator has died, then the New Covenant is now ratified and thus enabled to be fulfilled with a future generation of restored Israel when God so chooses. Furthermore, since Christ's death, benefits have been available for the rest of mankind who are not parties to the New Covenant through His substitutionary atonement for all mankind. And even before Christ's death, benefits were made available to the saints who died before the cross to go to Paradise, (Ro 3:25 ).

Heb 9:18-22 indicate that the former Old Covenant of the Law was ratified based on a blood ceremony. In fact, the words "this is the blood of the covenant" that are quoted in verse 20 are taken from Exodus 24:8 and refer to God’s inauguration of the Mosaic Covenant with Israel at Sinai. These words parallel Christ’s words which are quoted in Heb 9:20 from Matthew 26:28 ("this is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins"). The writer of Hebrews uses these express and implied references to the Mosaic Covenant and the Upper Room Discourse to show that just as blood ratified the Mosaic Covenant, Christ’s blood ratified the New Covenant in order to justify God's unilateral making and fulfillment of a future New Covenant exclusively with a future generation of Israel which substitutionary atonement included the salvation of all of mankind through faith throughout the ages, past, present and future - which the latter group of people are not party of that New Covenant. Thus, verses 18-22 of Hebrews chapter 9 indicate that benefits have been forthcoming as a result of the forgiveness of sins for all of mankind via the shed blood of Jesus Christ, Who is the Mediator between God and a future Israel via the New Covenant which was ratified in His blood and now awaits fulfillment with that future generation when the time comes in accordance with the sovereignty of God - and the volition of man each of every single individual of that generation of Israel to express a moment of faith alone in Christ alone as He arrives to earth at His Second Coming.

Note that the benefits for believers in view in the Book of Hebrews of the Church Age, (and even from the beginning of Creation after the Fall as well), are not the same as what is stipulated for the parties of the New Covenant in Jer 31:31-34   and Ezek 36:24-27 . For example, believers in the Church Age - Jews and Gentiles - have been presecuted and dispersed as opposed to a future generation consisting exclusively of Israelites having been gathered from all over the earth to occupy, own and prosper in the land promised to the forefathers of Israel - the Promised Land. And according to the Book of Hebrews, those same persecuted believers have also not matured in the doctrines of the faith, nor lived faithful lives as opposed to the future generation of Israelites having a full and perfect knowledge and faithfulness to God's Laws as stipulated in their fulfillment of the New Covenant.
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(Heb 10:1 NASB) '''For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

(Heb 10:2 NASB) Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?

(Heb 10:3 NASB) But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

(Heb 10:4 NASB) For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

(Heb 10:5 NASB) Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for Me;

(Heb 10:6 NASB) in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure.

(Heb 10:7 NASB) Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do your will, O God.' " [Ps 40:6-8]

(Heb 10:8 NASB) After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings [Ps 40:6] and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law).

(Heb 10:9 NASB) then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." [Ps 40:7] He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

(Heb 10:10 NASB) By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

(Heb 10:11 NASB) Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

(Heb 10:12 NASB) but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, "Sat down at the right hand of God, [Ps 110:1]"

(Heb 10:13 NASB) waiting from that time onward "Until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet." [Ps 110:1]

(Heb 10:14 NASB) For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are [being] sanctified."

¤ [There is presented here in Hebrews chapter 10 the result of the ratification of the New Covenant, not its fufillment, as some contend. For the author of Hebrews refers to the temporary and repetitive nature of the sacrifices under the Law, the Old Covenant, (v. 1), that can never take away sin, (vv. 11-14) vs. the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all mankind which offering serves as the ratification of the New Covenant in anticipation of its fulfillment with a future generation exclusively of Israelites. So the offering of Christ's body and blood was to take away sins - the basis upon which God will unilaterally and justly fulfill His New Covenant with a future generation of Israel. This offering includes the forgiveness of sins and salvation unto eternal life for not only that future generation, but for all of mankind from the beginning of Creation after the Fall. The latter who are not party to the New Covenant, but nevertheless benefit from Christ's sacrifice that applies to them outside of the New Covenant]
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(Heb 10:15 NASB) "And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,

(Heb 10:16 NASB) 'This is the covenant that I will make with them [Israel and Judah] after those days,' says the LORD: 'I will put my Laws upon their [Israel's and Judah's] heart, and on their mind I will write them,' [Jer 31:33] He then says,

(Heb 10:17 NASB) 'And their [Israel's and Judah's] sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." [Jer 31:34].

¤ [With Heb 10:1-14 in view relative to the once for all sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ for sins - which verses imply that all believers in Christ receive forgiveness of sins by faith in His sacrifice, the author of Hebrews again quotes Jer 31:33-34   and draws the conclusion in Heb 10:15-17, which follows, that the one time sacrifice for the sins of all mankind by Jesus Christ will provide forgiveness of sins for not just a future generation of Israel and Judah, as a result of God's unilateral fulfillment of the New Covenant as stipulated in Jer 31:31-34; but Christ's atonement brings to anyone of any timeframe who believes in Him, forgiveness of sins, because His atonement has in view all humanity of all timeframes. On the other hand, this does not mean that the New Covenant benefits / blessings that a future generation of Israel and Judah will receive, such as the a perfect knowledge of the Laws of God and perfect obedience to them without sin, (cf. Jer 31:31-34) will also be received by individuals from other timeframes. This was not stipulated in the Book of Hebrews, nor anywhere else in Scripture relative to those of the body of Christ, the Church. Benefits afforded each individual when he believes vary in accordance with the individual, his group of people and his timeframe as Scripture stipulates]
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(Heb 12:18 NASB) "For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

(Heb 12:19 NASB) and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

(Heb 12:20 NASB) For they could not bear the command, 'If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.'

(Heb 12:21 NASB) And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, 'I am full of fear and trembling.'

(Heb 12:22 NASB) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

(Heb 12:23 NASB) to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

(Heb 12:24 NASB) and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel."

¤ In chapter 12, the writer of the Book of Hebrews continues to speak of the current benefits by virtue of the substitutionary atonement of the Mediator of the New Covenant - blessings enjoyed by his readers. Christ's substitutionary atonement in His blood for the sins of all of mankind from all timeframes serves as His ratification of the future New Covenant to be made and fulfilled by God with a future generation of restored Israel.

For example, verse 18, the author reminds his readers that "you have come not to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind," i.e., to Mount Sinai - where Moses received the Old Covenant from God. The author in verses 18-21, uses the historical experience of Israel at Sinai to depict Israel’s experience under the Old Covenant. The same verb "you have come" is again used in verse 22, "you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels" which represents the ongoing present reality of their having come by faith to Jesus Christ unto the ongoing spiritual blessings of eternal life - even in this temporal life. The blessings that believers have experienced and are experiencing as a result of their union with Christ are highlighted in verses 22-24. Thus, this paragraph is depicting the believer’s present experience juxtaposed to the Old Covenant experience.

The verb rendered "you have come" in verse 22 describe the reader's present spiritual experience. It is in the perfect tense - a completed action with ongoing present results, implying their having become believers. By using the perfect tense in verse 22, the author indicates that all of the spiritual realities that are enumerated in verses 22-24 are present realities for his audience. Though some have attempted to view these items as future realities, the perfect tense of makes such a view difficult to sustain. Although the perfect tense can refer to future time, such as in James 5:2-3, the over all context of Hebrews 12 makes such a view implausible.

Thus, the reference to the heavenly Jerusalem in verse 22 probably does not refer to the future arrival of believers in heaven or to the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21-22 but rather to the Christian’s present experience of salvation. The items in verses 22-25 describe realties of the spiritual realm to which believers have come. Also, Zion is probably used figuratively. Mount Zion symbolizes the grace and blessing of salvation, the accomplished realities in contrast to types and shadows which are symbolic and not eternal.

In addition, the author uses the perfect tense when referring to the spirits of the righteous men made perfect (v. 23). The verb "perfect" (teteleiomenon) is in the perfect tense. The spirits of the righteous men made perfect is a reference to Old Testament saints with whom we share salvation. They are called spirits because they have not yet been united with their bodies in resurrection. They are made perfect in their spirits, however, because Christ’s sacrifice for sins has actually accomplished the removal of their sins.

Heb 12:18-24 begins with a contrast between the mountain that the Jews approached for the Mosaic Law, and the mountain believers of the present age have come to, (vv. 18-22); followed by a single long sentence beginning with "But you have come," which refers to believers in the present age; and ending with "[But you have come] to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel," (vv. 22-24). These verses speak of a present reality which benefits believers of the present age because of Christ’s substitutionary atonement in His blood for the sins of mankind - which atonement also encompasses Christ's mediatorship of the New Covenant in order to enable its future fulfillment. This passage therefore has in view present benefits received by believers of the present age as a result of that atonement - but not the future benefits reserved exclusively for a future generation of Israel.

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(Heb 13:20 NASB) "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the [everlasting] covenant, even Jesus our Lord,

(Heb 13:21 NASB) equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

¤ Heb 13:20-21 stipulate that God brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, even Jesus our Lord; i.e., God raised Jesus from the dead through His atoning sacrifice in His blood for the sins of a future generation of Israel, parties of the everlasting covenant, (Heb 8:8-12) - and the sins of all mankind who are not parties of the everlasting covenant. In these verses, a benediction is provided that connects Christ’s death and the New Covenant ("the blood of the everlasting covenant") with both His resurrection and present ministry to believers, not in the sense of present day believers being party to the everlasting New Covenant, but that they are beneficiaries of His substitutionary atonement for them. Thus, to the extent that Christ’s present ministry of making believers "complete in every good work to do His will" and working in believers what is "well pleasing in His sight" are present realities, the New Covenant does not have to be a present reality unless it so stipulates, which it does not simply because His substitutionary atonement for all mankind permits that reality.

Just as a father can make an agreement with his son to start an enterprise and then give all of that enterprise to his son when he retires, and during the time until he retires through that enterprise benefit others who are not party to the agreement and effect no violation or change in that agreement; so the New Covenant between God and a future generation of Israel is not violated because the Means by which that covenant will be fulfilled, the substitutionary atonement of the Servant of the LORD, Jesus Christ, is not only for the parties of that covenant, but for all of mankind. Those who are not party to the New Covenant who trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life will receive eternal life and benefits in accordance with the appropriate passages in Scripture for their timeframe and group of people - all by virtue of the Means by which the New Covenant is fulfilled: Jesus Christ Himself, without effecting a violation or change in that Covenant.

God promised to make a covenant with a future generation of Israel to give them a particular and precisely stipulated inheritance at a certain future time. So far in history God has benefitted innumerable others that will not be party to that future covenant by the Means by which that future covenant was ratified and thus enabled to be fulfilled when the time comes - by the shed blood of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement for the sins of all mankind.

In sum, even through the benediction in the very last chapter of the book, the author of Hebrews continues to maintain that believers experience some present benefit from Christ's mediatorship - His ratification - of the New Covenant by virtue of His substitutionary atoning sacrifice for the sins of a future generation of Israel and also for all mankind. But the rest of mankind will not experience the same results that a future generation of Israelites will experience as a result of the fulfillment of that New Covenant. Nevertheless every individual throughout the ages - Jew or Gentile - who believes in Christ's substitutionary atonement for ones sins will possess eternal life along with accompanying benefits, each in accordance with ones timeframe, whether Jew or Gentile, etc.

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****** END OF EXCERPT ON THE NEW COVENANT ******

CONTINUE WITH HEBREWS CHAPTER 8 STUDY:

[(Heb 8:3-6) Expositor's Commentary On Heb 3-6]:

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

(Heb 8:3) 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.

(Heb 8:4) 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;

(Heb 8:6 NKJV) But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

(Heb 8:3) "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 The author has already said in 5:1 that high priests are appointed to offer sacrifices. "For" (which NIV omits) links the argument to the preceding. Christ is ministering in the real tabernacle because to offer sacrifice is of the essence of being high priest. So the writer finds it "necessary" that Christ have something to offer. The Greek has no verb here and some understand the phrase in the sense of "it is necessary." NIV is, however, surely right. The author is referring to one offering made once for all, not a continuous offering always being made in heaven. Christ is eternally High Priest, for he never loses his status. But to say that he is eternally offering is quite another thing and one to which this epistle lends no support. It is characteristic of the author that he does not say what is offered at this point; having introduced the subject, he will explain it more fully later (9:14; cf. also 7:27).

(Heb 8:4) "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;"

4 We must be clear that Christ's priesthood is not one of this earth (though his offering of himself took place here). There are divinely appointed earthly priests, and Jesus has no place among them. On earth Jesus was a layman. He performed no priestly functions in any earthly sanctuary. Those functions were performed by the priests to whom God had entrusted them. Christ's priestly functions must obviously, then, be exercised elsewhere, in the true sanctuary in heaven.

(Heb 8:5) "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."

"5 The earthly priests serve in a sanctuary they value highly, though it is no more than "a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." There has been much discussion as to how "Platonic" this idea is. Some remind us that Plato thought of heavenly "ideas" as the archetypes of all things earthly. They think that the author has used the thought of an earthly sanctuary as no more than the imperfect actualization of a Platonic heavenly sanctuary. Others point out that the idea of heavenly counterparts of earthly objects was widespread. For example, we read of the heavenly temple in the Testament of Levi (T Levi 5:1) and in Wisdom 9:8, which says, "Thou hast given command to build a temple on thy holy mountain, and an altar in the city of thy habitation, a copy of the holy tent which thou didst prepare from the beginning."
There can be no question but that there is enough of the heavenly counterpart concept in Jewish sources for us to maintain that the author need not have been dependent on Plato. However, he does not say that the earthly was an exact copy of the heavenly, as the rabbis apparently did. There is a good deal to be said for the idea that his language is that of the Alexandrian modification of Platonism. This does not mean that he is using the distinction out of strong philosophic views but that he is using popular terminology with such associations. His main thought accords with the OT model, though he adds the idea that the earthly is but imperfect. It is the heavenly that is real. Inevitably the ministry of the Levitical priests was defective; they could serve only the "copy and shadow." So we are reminded of the Lord's words to Moses that he must make everything "according to the pattern shown [him] on the mountain" (Exod 25:40). The rabbis often appealed to the Mosaic example (see SBK pp. 702-4). For example, they said, "An ark of fire and a table of fire and a candlestick of fire came down from heaven; and these Moses saw and reproduced" (Tal Menahoth 29a; the passage goes on to affirm that Moses did this "after their pattern" and not merely "according to the fashion thereof").

(Heb 8:6 NKJV) "But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."

"6 The ministry of priests in a sanctuary made according to the heavenly pattern is obviously one of great dignity. But the author's point is that Jesus' ministry in the heavenly archetype is of incomparably greater dignity and worth. He chooses to bring this out by using a comparison of the two covenants. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. "Mediator" is a legal term for one who arbitrates between two parties. The thought is that Christ mediates between men and God; it is he who establishes the new covenant (for this latter term see comments 7:22). This new covenant is better than the old because it is "founded on better promises." Calvin reminds us that "the same salvation" was promised to the ancients (in loc.). But the new covenant is explicitly based on the forgiveness of sins, as the author goes on to show; and the better promises may be held to refer to the concentration on spiritual things in the new covenant (there is a good deal about possessing the land and the like in the old covenant) and in its unconditional nature."

[(Heb 8:3-6) Bible Knowledge Commentary On Heb 8:3-6]:

(Heb 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,

(Heb 8:2) a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

(Heb 8:3) 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.

(Heb 8:4) 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;

(Heb 8:6 NKJV) But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."

"8:3-6. Here is an initial, preliminary elaboration of the new theme. Since the role of a priest involved gifts (dōra) and sacrifices (thysias; cf. 5:1; 9:9), it follows that this new High Priest should have something to offer. Nevertheless His service cannot be an earthly one since the Levitical ritual of sacrifice continued. (These words imply that the Jewish temple was still standing.) But the sanctuary used for that is a mere copy (hypodeigmati; cf. 9:23-24) and shadow (skia; cf. 10:1) of the heavenly one in which the new Priest ministers. Its status as a "shadow sanctuary" was secured when Moses erected the tabernacle (prototype of the temple) under strict divine direction (8:5). But Jesus' ministry surpasses that of the Levitical priests just as the covenant He mediates supersedes theirs. (The word Mediator is used of Jesus by the author three times—8:6; 9:15; 12:24.) The word ministry (leitourgia, cf. "serves," 8:2) again strikes the pivotal note, but it is now added that the superiority of the new priestly service is related to a superior covenant, which in turn is founded on better promises. Both the covenant and its promises will now be considered."

(Heb 8:6 NKJV) "But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

(Heb 8:7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second."

[Biblestudymanuals]:

In view of the message of Heb 8:6, namely, "But now that Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises:" So Jesus' ministry is a more excellent one because He is Mediator, i.e., Intercessor - The One one Who arbitrates between two parties (God and Israel) - of a better covenant than the covenant of the Mosaic Law. This is because the New Covenant was established on better promises - those based on the substitutionary atonement work of Christ alone - promises that are faultless. For if that first covenant of the Law had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second covenant.

[(Heb 8:6-7) Expositor's Bible Commentary On Heb 8:6-7]:

(Heb 8:6 NKJV) "But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

(Heb 8:7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second."

7 The author brings out the superiority of the new covenant by referring to the supersession of the old one. If there had been "nothing wrong" with the old covenant, there would have been no place for the new. That the new covenant has now been established is itself evidence that the old one was not adequate. (For the line of argument, cf. 7:11ff.) The old covenant was lacking not so much in what its terms spelled out as in the fact that it was weak and unable to bring men to God (cf. 7:18f.; Rom 7:10f.)."

[(Heb 8:7) Bible Knowledge Commentary On Heb 8:7]:

(Heb 8:6) "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.

(Heb 8:7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second."

"8:7. That there is a promise of a New Covenant the writer will shortly prove by quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34. By doing so, he argued that such a promise demonstrates the inadequacy of the old one."

(Heb 8:8 NASB) "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;

(Heb 8:9 NASB) 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.

(Heb 8:10 NASB) "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.

(Heb 8:11 NASB) "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.

(Heb 8:12 NASB) "FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."

(Heb 8:13 NASB) When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."

[Biblestudymanuals]:

"So in Hebrews chapter 7, the author argues that the legal (Mosaic Law) and religious (Levitical priesthood) components of the Old Covenant were inadequate relative to being righteous before a Holy God ; and therefore had to be replaced by something better. Thus, the author launches into a discussion of a forever priesthood that is superior to the Levitical priesthood - the Melchizedekian priesthood. The author argues that since the Melchizedekian priesthood ushered in a superior priesthood, it follows that the whole legal system on which the Levitical institutions were predicated also had to be changed because mankind failed to keep its commandments and be righteous.

Therefore, in place of the Mosaic system there would come a "better hope" (v. 19), lit., a sure hope of righteousness unto eternal life. Verse 22, identifies this "better hope" as a "better covenant." The context which follows indicates that this "better covenant" can be none other than the New Covenant as stipulated in vv. 8-12. As this passage continues, it will be established that the New Covenant applies to the readership of believers in Christ within the period of time of the Church Age in the sense that the Priest according to the order of Melchizadek, Jesus Christ - His substitutionary atonement for sins suffices as a once for all sacrifice for sins unto eternal life for those that trust in Him for it in order to be declared righteous unto eternal life by grace: Those of the future generation of Israel and Judah and those of all mankind of all ages.

Whereupon the author of Hebrews provides a further explanation in chapter 8 which strongly argued that the "better covenant" must be the New Covenant, which is corroborated by the citation in Heb 8:7-13 of the New Covenant prophecy found in Jer 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8:8-12:

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(Heb 8:6 NKJV) "But now He [Jesus, vv. 7:24-8:5] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

(Heb 8:7 NKJV) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second."

¤ [But now Jesus' ministry is a more excellent one because He is Mediator, i.e., Intercessor - one Who arbitrates between two parties (God and Israel) - of a better covenant than the covenant of the Mosaic Law. This is because the New Covenant was established on better promises - those based on the substitutionary atonement work of Christ alone - promises that are faultless. For if that first covenant of the Law had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second covenant]

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(Heb 8:8 NKJV) Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -

(Heb 8:9 NKJV) not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.

(Heb 8:10 NKJV) 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 in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

(Heb 8:11 NKJV) None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

(Heb 8:12 NKJV) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. [Jer 31:31-34 ]

¤ [Heb 8:8-9 indicate that past generations of Israel - both kingdoms - were found at fault in keeping the old covenant of the Law, (Hos 1:9-11; 2:14-23 ). But in the future the LORD will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah - not according to the covenant He made with the generation He brought out of Egypt. Because the Israelites did not faithfully keep the old covenant of the Law, the LORD declared to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, (Hos 1:9-11, note that author and prophet Hosea included both kingdoms): "Name him [Hosea's newborn son] Lo-ammi, which means "not My people" for you are not My people and I am not your God. Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, 'You are not My people,' It will be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.' And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel." (Hos 1:9-11; 2:14-23 ; cf. Ro 9:25-26 ). Note that the word rendered "Jezreel" is a reference back to Hos 1:4-5, where Israel's defeat in the Valley of Jezreel is predicted; but it is also a reference forward to 2:22-23, where Jezreel really stands for Israel, in the sense of the nation's being "sown" in the land by God for her rebirth and multiplication. So after those days of generations of Israel not being God's people, in a future time the LORD will make a New Covenant with a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, (ref. Heb 8:8-12; Jer 31:31-34 ).

Heb 8:10-12 continues to quote from Jer 31:31-34 about the New Covenant which stipulates that God and a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah are exclusively the parties of that covenant:

"I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Notice that the fulfillment of the New Covenant does not have in view believers of the Church Age or the ages before that. Nevertheless the ongoing context of the Book of Hebrews repeatedly conveys the message that believers in Christ of the Church Age benefit from the ministry of Jesus Christ which will fulfill that future covenant, although they are not party to that covenant. For the parties that will experience the fulfillment of the New Covenant remain as originally stipulated: God and a future generation of the house of Israel and the house of Judah regathered in the promised land. For just as a father can make an agreement with his son to start an enterprise and then give all of that enterprise to his son when he retires, and during the time until he retires through that enterprise benefit others who are not party to the agreement and effect no violation or change in that agreement; so the New Covenant between God and a future generation of Israel is not violated because the Means by which that covenant will be fulfilled, the substitutionary atonement of the Servant of the LORD, Jesus Christ, is not only for the parties of that covenant, but for all of mankind. Those who are not party to the New Covenant who trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life will receive eternal life and benefits in accordance with the appropriate passages in Scripture for their timeframe and group of people - all by virtue of the Means by which the New Covenant is fulfilled: Jesus Christ Himself, without effecting a violation or change in that Covenant.

God promised to make a covenant with a future generation of Israel to give them a particular and precisely stipulated inheritance at a certain future time. So far in history God has benefitted innumerable others that will not be party to that future covenant by the Means by which that future covenant was ratified and thus enabled to be fulfilled when the time comes - by the shed blood of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement for the sins of all mankind.]

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(Heb 8:13 NKJV) In that He says, 'A New Covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

¤ In Hebrews chapter 7 it indicated that the Mediator of the future New Covenant, is a Priest forever according to the likeness - the order - of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ, Who has become the guarantee of that better covenant - a future covenant with a future generation of Israel, Who has been presently benefitting believers in the Church Age as well - who are not parties to that covenant.

So then in Hebrews 8:6-7, the author provided further explanation of this "New Covenant" as a "better covenant." He noted that this "better covenant" is founded upon better promises, (Heb 8:6). He also observed that the first covenant of the Law was flawed, or else there would have been no need for a second covenant to take its place. In verses 8-12, the author left no doubt as to which covenant he had in mind through his quotation of Jeremiah 31:31-34: the New Covenant with a future generation of Israel.

Then in Hebrews 8:13, the author continues to contrast the "New Covenant" with the previous obsolete and flawed old covenant which "is becoming obsolete and growing old [and] is ready to vanish away."

[(Heb 8:8-13) Expositor's Bible Commentary Of Heb 8:8-13]:

"B. The Old Covenant Superseded (8:8-13)

This long quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34 makes the point that the old covenant under which Israel has had its religious experience is now superseded by a new covenant. The author's interest is in the fact that under the new covenant forgiveness of sins is brought about. As soon as he comes to the words about forgiveness, he breaks off his quotation.

8 The writer proceeds to show that a place was indeed sought for a new covenant. He begins by telling us that God found fault with the men of old, and this leads to the quotation from Jeremiah 31:31ff., which differs only slightly from the LXX reading. The Greek says only "he says." But NIV is correct in inserting "God" as subject. It is the author's habit to ascribe what is found in Scripture to God. "I will make" (synteleso) is not the usual word for making a covenant but one with a meaning like "I will bring a new covenant to accomplishment" (BAG, s.v.). There may be the thought that the covenant is all of God. Men do not bargain with God and come to an acceptable compromise. In any covenant with God, it is God who lays down the terms (for "covenant," cf. comments on 7:22). The prophet looks for the unification of "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah." They had long been separated when Jeremiah wrote, but his vision was large enough to take in both and to look for the day when they would be one.

9 The new covenant is contrasted with the old one. Calvin points out that the prophet does not say, "I will renew the covenant which has failed by your fault," but "he says expressly that it will be different" (in loc.). It will not be simply the old one patched up and renewed. The differences will be those mentioned in the following verses, especially the way the new covenant brings forgiveness of sins. But first the kindness and the love of God are brought out by the reference to taking the people "by the hand" to bring them out of Egypt. The metaphor is that of a father or mother taking a little child by the hand to lead him safely to the place where he is going (cf. Hos 11:1-4). Egypt had been a place of slavery. Yet God had brought Israel out of it to set up the old covenant. But Israelites lacked perseverance. The emphatic pronouns set "they" and "I" over against each other. They refused to remain faithful but found no less a one than God ranged against them. "I turned away from them" is a strong expression (emelesa auton), with a meaning like "I ignored them" (Buchanan, in loc.) or perhaps "I abandoned them" (NEB).

10 From the failures of the past, Jeremiah turns his vision to the future. Again he sees a united people as he thinks of the covenant being made with "the house of Israel." It will be made "after that time," which clearly refers to the future but does not locate it with any precision. The repeated "declares the Lord" keeps before the reader the truth that a divine and not a human act is in mind. The first point is that the new covenant is inward and dynamic: it is written on the hearts and minds of the people. A defect in the old had been its outwardness. It had divinely given laws, indeed; but it was written on tablets of stone (Exod 32:15-16). The people had not been able to live up to what they knew was the word from God. It remained external. Jeremiah looked for a time when people would not simply obey an external code but would be so transformed that God's own laws would be written in their inmost beings. We should probably not distinguish too sharply between "minds" and "hearts," for in poetic parallelism such expressions are close in meaning. But if there is a difference "hearts" is the more inclusive term, standing for the whole of the inner life.

The second point in the new covenant is that there will be a close relationship between the God who will be "their God" and the people who, he says, will be "my people." There is nothing really new in the terms of this promise, for in connection with the old way it was said, "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God" (Exod 6:7). But Bruce is certainly correct in saying, "While the `formula' of the covenant remains the same from age to age, it is capable of being filled with fresh meaning to a point where it can be described as a new covenant. `I will be your God' acquires fuller meaning with every further revelation of the character of God" (in loc.). The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus mean that God has acted decisively to save a people. The God who saves people in Christ is the God of his redeemed in a new and definitive way. And when people have been saved at the awful cost of Calvary, they are the people of God in a way never before known.

11 The third significant feature of the new covenant is that all who enter it will have knowledge of God. There will be no need for a person to instruct his neighbor. The word rendered "neighbor" (polites) means a "citizen" (as in Luke 15:15), and thus a "fellow-citizen." Jeremiah moves from the wider relationship in the community to the narrower relationship in the family and says that in neither case will there be the need for exhorting anyone to know God. For "from the least of them to the greatest," all will know God. This does not mean that in the conditions of the new covenant there will be no place for a teacher. There will always be the need for those who have advanced in the Christian way to pass on to others the benefit of their knowledge. Rather, the meaning is that the knowledge of God will not be confined to a privileged few. All those in the new covenant will have their own intimate and personal knowledge of their God.

12 The fourth significant thing about the new covenant is that in it sins are forgiven. "For" shows the important point that it is God's forgiveness that is the basis of what has gone before. It is because sins are really dealt with that the blessings enumerated earlier become possible. And those sins really are dealt with. God's wrath no longer rests on the sinner and God does not bear his sins in mind. They are completely forgotten. We might get some of the force of all this by reflecting that the men of Qumran saw themselves as the men of the new covenant. But for them that meant looking forward to a day when the corrupt priesthood in Jerusalem would be deposed and replaced by those they regarded as the true priests and when the whole temple ritual with its never-ceasing round of sacrifices would be carried on in the way they approved in a kind of ritualist's paradise! For the writer of this epistle, there was no more sacrifice. The one sacrifice that avails has been offered once and for all. Therefore sin has been completely and finally dealt with; it is a problem no longer.

13 The author picks out the word "new" (cf. v. 8) and sees it as making his essential point. It implies that something else is "old" and that the old is to be replaced. When God speaks of a "new" covenant, then, it means that the old one is obsolete. And that in turn means that it is close to disappearing. It is not something people should go back to with nostalgia. The words used of it emphasize that it is ineffective, unable to meet people's needs, outworn.

The idea of the new covenant is not confined to this epistle. It is implied in the narratives of the institution of the Lord's Supper in the first two Gospels (Matt 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24). What is the meaning of "covenant" in these passages unless the new covenant is in mind? And it is explicit in Luke's longer narrative (Luke 22:20) and in Paul's account (1Cor 11:25). Paul also saw Christian ministers as "ministers of a new covenant" (2Cor 3:6). The new covenant is thus one of the strands in the NT teaching about what Christ has done for us. While it emphasizes radical novelty, we should not overlook the fact that it also points to continuity. The new arrangement retains the term "covenant" and it is established on the basis of sacrifice. It refers to the fulfillment of what is superseded rather than outright opposition to it."

[(Heb 8:8-13) Bible Knowledge Commentary Of Heb 8:8-13]:

" 8:8-12. The promise of a New Covenant was made, the writer pointed out, in a passage where God found fault with the people. The Old Covenant failed because of the sinfulness of the nation, for which it had no remedy. The New Covenant, however, has such a remedy.
In the passage quoted, there is first the prediction that a New Covenant will be made (v. 8) followed by a strong declaration that it will differ from the previous one (v. 9). Then follows (vv. 10-12) a description of the superior accomplishments, or enablements, of the promised covenant. These are: (1) an inner inclination to obey (God will put His laws in their minds and write them on their hearts), (2) a firm relationship with God (I will be their God, and they will be My people), (3) the knowledge of God (they will all know Me), and (4) the forgiveness of sins (I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more). These are the "better promises" alluded to in verse 6.

It is clear that all these benefits belong, in fact, to all the regenerate of every age since the Cross. Though the New Covenant is specifically focused on Israel (cf. house of Israel and "house of Judah" in Jer. 31:31), it is clear that Christians of the present time also stand under its blessings (cf. Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6). This perception does not lead to an inappropriate confusion between Israel and the church. The New Covenant is God's appointed vehicle for fulfilling the Abrahamic blessings to Israel. But the Abrahamic Covenant also promised universal blessing, so the New Covenant becomes as well God's vehicle of salvation for believers since the Cross. To say this is not to say anything more than Jesus did when He declared that "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). In no way should this impede the perception of the Christian church as a unique, interadvent body, closely united to Christ as His bride and significantly distinct from the nation of Israel. But inasmuch as all salvation is through the Cross of Christ, it is also through the blood of the New Covenant.

8:13. From the Old Testament prophecy he had just quoted, the writer then drew the justifiable conclusion that the Old Covenant was obsolete (palaioumenon) and aging and would soon disappear. The ceremonies still being conducted under it (cf. vv. 4-5) were spiritually anachronistic and the author's words suggest that he recalled the prophecy of Jesus that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed (Matt. 24:1-2). Probably this prophecy was fulfilled soon after Hebrews was written. If so, it was a dramatic confirmation of the writer's thesis about the Old Covenant."