Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame (He 12:2). Amen.
It is easy to become cynical when you see the word “new,” isn’t it? Maybe even more so if “improved” is added. “New and improved.” Something that might fall into that category is a cell phone. Now that we can hardly live without them. Every so often there is an upgrade. (It seems as if it is every other day.) And companies and carriers spend a lot of time and money pitching the new device—like two out of every three commercials. (My estimates may be a bit low.) Perhaps we question: “What was wrong with the old?” You could send your texts effortlessly. Possibly we comment: “I liked the old.” You could find your apps easily.
That was the situation that the Hebrew Christians were struggling with. Only on a much grander scale. A new covenant. What was the problem with the old? In fact, they were in danger of going back to their former way of worship. It was legal. It was comfortable. But the unknown writer reminds them of the person and the promises behind the better covenant.
Jesus Our Great High Priest Is the Mediator of the New Covenant.
Again, it bears repeating. Jesus is the Christ (Mt 16:16)—anointed to be prophet, priest, and king. Our focus during the six Wednesdays of Lent has been on that second title—priest. That entity was between the people and God—an intercessor. Or mediator, a middleman. That pictured Jesus. And that is what the unnamed author penned. “But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one” (He 8:6). Jesus came to serve (Mt 20:28). And he carried out his assignment carefully and completely as he established a new covenant, standing between us and God on Calvary’s cross.
Now the readers’ ears may have perked up. They were extremely familiar with the solemn agreement that God had given through Moses at Mt. Sinai. The Lord had just taken them out of the slavery like a father takes his son across the street: “when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt” (He 8:9).
There was very little that it didn’t regulate or legislate in their lives—where and when to worship, why and what to sacrifice. There were certain days that were significant and several foods that were special.
But the author argues. “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another” (He 8:7). The problem was not with the pact; it was with the people. In the old covenant, there were two sides—God and the Children of Israel. Each would perform. And the people were willing. They asserted: “We will do everything the Lord said; we will obey” (Ex 24:7). And then it was sealed, put into effect with blood (Ex 24:8).
But they couldn’t and didn’t keep their end of the bargain. It wasn’t long before they blew the First Commandment by bowing down to a golden calf (Ex 32). Like a cheating spouse, “they did not remain faithful” (He 8:9). It is a true statement: “God found fault with the people” (He 8:8). God could accuse them and be accurate. Therein lies the difficulty. The law reveals sin, but cannot remove it. God had every right to have no concern for them because they couldn’t observe the demands all the time and in every way (He 8:9).
But he didn’t step away; he stepped in. He was going to enact a new covenant. The writer grabs our attention too as he goes back to the prophet Jeremiah (Je 31:31-34). Note that the Lord stands behind it—the One whose love is changeless just as he is. And it is definite because he says it is (3x the phase “declares the Lord” repeats). And he does all the work—“I will, I will, I will.” It is completely dependent on him. “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (He 8:8). It is “new” in the sense of kind or quality or character, not “new” as in recent or current like a 2018 (or 2019) car.
“I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” (He 8:10). There are no more stone tablets. As a child of God, God’s teaching of grace is part of our inner being. And we obey, not out of fear, but in faith. We join the psalmist as he says: “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free” (Ps 119:32). We have the desire and determination to do what God wants.
“I will be their God, and they will be my people” (He 8:10). There is no nearer or dearer relationship than this. We are his; he is ours. We can make that claim because of what we will see and celebrate tomorrow at Calvary. Jesus endures God’s fury over our sin so we can enjoy God’s forgiveness of that sin.
“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (He 8:11). Through the Holy Spirit, we appreciate what God has done for us in Christ. To see Jesus is to know salvation. And no one is excluded. It is for young and old, extraordinary and ordinary.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (He 8:12). That is the biggest and the best. God is merciful even though our wrongdoings are many. The Father does not recall them any longer because he punished his Son in our place. He doesn’t store our sins away in files to dredge them up at a later time or date. He wipes them from his memory through the blood of Jesus.
And that is why Maundy Thursday is so meaningful. There Jesus is with his disciples to celebrate the Passover—the meal that pointed to him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29). There and then he institutes a new meal.
And now year after year we go back to the upper room to go over Jesus’ command: “Do this in remembrance or me” (Lk 22:19). Do “this”—this eating of his body with the bread, this drinking of his blood with the wine. The body given and the blood shed “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28). Jesus comes with the blessings of the new covenant in an intimate and individual way. To each communicant who is repentant, recognizing his or her sin—big or small, significant or insignificant, he contends: “God sends your sins away. Your guilt is gone.”
No wonder the author could conclude: “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” (He 8:13). We hang on to and hold on to the new covenant because it never goes out or gets old.
There is a time and place for “new and improved.” If a cell phone catches fire, you don’t want that in your purse, let alone your pocket. It is time for a higher number behind your mobile device. Even more so with the new covenant. Jesus Our Great High Priest Is the Mediator of the New Covenant who gives and guarantees the removal of all of our sins.
We read from Hebrews 8:6-13:
6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Grace be with you all (He 13:25). Amen.
March 29, 2018
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