Chapter 8
1 The main point of 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 heaven, 2 a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. 3 Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second one.
8 But he finds fault with them and says:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they did not stand by my covenant
and I ignored them, says the Lord.
10 But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds
and I will write them upon their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen
and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for all shall know me,
from least to greatest.
12 For I will forgive their evildoing
and remember their sins no more.” (quote is from Jeremiah 31:31-34)
13 When he speaks of a “new” covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.
“The main point”! Now comes is the more “solid food” our Preacher/Writer has been preparing us for. The covenant with Israel has now seen change—we now have a permanent High Priest stationed in heaven with God. We hear this, 2000 years of Christianity later, and think, “well, of course.”
But consider what a revolution in thinking, a “revolving” of top-to-bottom and of bottom-to-top, this called for among Jews. Their Temple was the earthly analogue of the Temple in Heaven. They, among all peoples, had been instructed to build the Temple so that it mirrored God’s Temple. It was a privilege to worship at THE Temple that God had given them the plans for. And THEIR High Priest got to enter the Holy of Holies to be as close to God as it was safe for a human being to be, once every year. It was their pride and joy!
Now, the Preacher points out—things have changed. Christ has taken his once-for-all offering for sin into the original Heavenly Temple, not a copy. And he remains there, its High Priest, permanently, presenting every day the fruitfulness of the offering (changed hearts of followers of Jesus) directly to the Heavenly Father whose throne room he shares!
That level of change undoubtedly came as a shock to the Jews. Most Jews probably heard Jeremiah’s words above as presaging a return from the Babylonian Exile and a renewed appreciation of the Torah among them and a rebuilding of the Temple—which happened. The Second Temple era did result in resumption of worship according to the Law, more careful instruction and enforcement of that Law, and in some quarters the beginning of an outreach beyond the strict genetic confines of Judaism. Yet there were continuing problems, two of the major ones being the breaking of the High Priestly family line and its deterioration into a political appointment by non-Jews, and the lack of any prophet sent from God to direct them in how to straighten things out.
We must be careful here. When Hebrews speaks of a New Covenant, we do not understand this simply as “and then Christianity replaced Judaism” as if the new covenant destroyed the older one. That is called “supersessionism” –the belief that Christianity simply superseded or replaced Judaism. That was a common Christian understanding that often led to persecution of Jews right up into our own times. What our Preacher is speaking of here as becoming “obsolete” is the Jewish form of worship in the Mosaic Covenant–once the Temple was destroyed and all Jews of Jerusalem exiled or sold into slavery by the Romans, that way of worship–priesthood, animal sacrifices, the Holy of Holies in a man-made temple– was over, and it has remained so ever since.
What we have instead is a new covenant that builds upon the older covenant. This was true with the covenant with Moses itself, where God built upon the covenant with Abraham. The new covenant through Moses did not destroy the covenant with Abraham. In fact it confirmed the centrality and importance of that covenant. So with us Christians: Jesus said he came “not to abolish but to fulfill” the Law (Matthew 5:17). Rejecting certain interpretations of the Law is not rejecting the Law. Surpassing the demands of the Law is not nullifying it. Paul is at great pains in Romans to show how God has not abandoned his Jewish people, even as He makes use of the time of their refusal to recognize Jesus to bring millions more people to salvation. The dynamic of our salvation is forever bound up with theirs. Keep in mind that we and the Jews look forward to a final saving-and-judgmental intervention by our God at the end of history. We call that the Second Coming.
Reflection:
Do I keep my Jewish brothers and sisters in my prayers, asking God to bless them?
Do I include them in my acts of mercy, particularly as I may speak of them to others?
Thoughts, comments, questions all welcomed.
It is often not really that hard to think of others. I live in a senior center that has a large Jewish population. There was a memorial service after the deadly killings in the Temple in Pennsylvania. It followed Jewish prayers and traditions. I came as I have done with other services important to my Jewish neighbors. There were some other Christians who came as well. I wish there had been more because I cannot tell you how much this simple act meant to many of my fellow residents. It is not really that hard to do for others.
Good witness, Gay! May we all do as well. Jim
Thanks, Jim!
Really appreciate your insights , Jim. Helps me see Bible readings in a whole different light. Can’t believe how much I miss , when reading on my own ! What a Godsend you are !