Jesus, Our New Covenant

Amen. We’re going to go right into it. We have been in the study of the book of Hebrews, and we’re going to continue in that in chapter 8 this morning. So if you have your Bibles, I’m going to invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 8 this morning.

We’re talking about Jesus, our New Covenant, today. Jesus, our New Covenant. Let’s say that together: Jesus, our New Covenant. There you go. He is our promise, as we were just singing those words. He is our secure and eternal promise.

Let me just pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. Holy Spirit, we ask that You would speak to us through Your Word, as You always do. We open our hearts to receive, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, let’s go to Hebrews chapter 8. We’re just going to break this down piece by piece. If you have your Bibles, I would encourage you to bring your Bible so you can follow along. Mark it up, make notes in your Bibles. That’s a good thing to do. Hebrews chapter 8, starting at verse 1.

A High Priest seated in heaven

I should recap just really quickly, because we’ve been at this for a while. We’ve been talking about how Jesus is our great High Priest, how He is the one who has gone before us in heaven, and He is making intercession for us and serving as our High Priest. Back in the Old Testament times, there was not this direct access that people had to the presence of God to be made right with Him. So what they would have to do is go to the tabernacle. They would sometimes journey for days or for weeks, and they would bring a sacrifice and give it to the high priest, and the high priest would make a sacrifice on their behalf to cover their sins, for them and for their household.

Well, how many of you know that because of Jesus — He is the perfect sacrifice, and He is now our great High Priest who has made the once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins. So there’s no more work to be done. There’s no more sacrifices to be made. It is done. It is finished. Those are the words that Jesus said on the cross, right? “It is finished.” The work is done. Somebody say amen.

So we’ve talked about how Jesus is our great High Priest, and I want us to talk about how this applies to our life. We’re going to look at this in Hebrews chapter 8, starting at verse 1. I love how the author says it: “Now this is the main point.” Don’t you just like it when they cut to the point? I bet some of you are like, “I wish you would just get to the point sometimes.” Yes.

“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Isn’t that what we were just singing about and praising about? He is seated on the throne at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, “a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.”

As we were just saying, there were these earthly tabernacles. When God gave the designs to Moses to build the tabernacle, it was a type and a shadow of the heavenly tabernacle. That’s why there are times where you’ll come in a church and there are these traditions or sacraments, and oftentimes they are things that were given to us by God. They are a representation and a reminder of who He is: that He is a holy God, that He’s worthy, and that there is sacrifice that needs to be made on our behalf. Because Scripture says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is not one person besides Jesus who has lived on this earth who deserves eternal life with Him. But thank God for what Jesus has accomplished on the cross.

So I love how this starts: this is the point. We’ve talked about the priesthood according to Aaron, according to Moses, and according to the order of Melchizedek. And this is why this is so important. Verse 1: “We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Now, there was an existing priesthood in Jerusalem, but the author is pointing out that our great High Priest is so much greater, is so much better, who ministers and intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. And where is He seated? In heaven. Everybody say “in heaven.”

So imagine this: Jesus is your High Priest, and He is interceding for you from heaven. Thank the Lord. That’s significant. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase before, “It’s good to have friends in high places,” right? We’ve got the best friend in the highest place of all. If you are a believer and you have given your life to the Lord, you are seated with Him in heavenly places.

And notice His posture. We briefly talked about this, but He is not kneeling. He is not standing. He is not hurrying about. He is seated at the right hand. Why? Because the work has been done. It’s already been done. See, in the earthly tabernacles the priests’ work was never done. They were always running about. There was no seat in the tabernacle for them to sit down, to take a break. Why? Because the work was never done. There was always sacrifice that needed to be made. But Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect and so accepted by the Father, it is once and for all.

Verse 2 says, “a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” Verse 3: “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.” This is such an interesting picture, because the priests in the Old Testament would receive the sacrifice from the people. It would be a goat or a ram, and they would shed the blood. The only way for the remission, or the covering, of sins was blood. So there was this blood sacrifice that had to be made. But Jesus is not in heaven offering bowls of His blood. It was once and done. He does not need to die again. He does not need to be raised again. It was done. It is perfect. It is finished.

But there is this interesting picture in this verse, because not only is Jesus the priest, the one who is making the sacrifice — He is the sacrifice. That’s why we say He’s the perfect Lamb of God. Why the perfect, spotless, sinless? You had to bring the best of your sacrifice for the atonement of sins, but Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb without blemish, and it was accepted by the Father.

So notice where this sacrifice is being offered. And I know I’m flying through this. I love you guys. I just had such a good time with you this morning. Did we not have a good time as a church? I was speaking to a pastor who has pastored for 60, 70 years, and he broke it down like this. He said, “All people want is a safe place to come and to worship the Lord.” And that’s really, I think, our heart. We want to create a safe place for us to worship the Lord together. And when we worship Him, the Holy Spirit reveals Himself to us. Amen. So special.

A copy and shadow of heavenly things

Verse 4 says, “For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” So notice, the things that are on earth are a copy and a shadow. That earthly tabernacle was modeled after the tabernacle in heaven. But the earthly tabernacles were made by man, “as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”

So I want us to just be clear: this earthly tabernacle was a copy and shadow of heavenly things. And if the earthly is made according to a copy or a pattern, that must mean that there was an original, that original tabernacle in the heavenly places. So I want us to be assured of this this morning: there is a throne room in heaven right now, and there is a man, a God-man, Jesus, who is seated on the throne. And Scripture says that around the throne are angels and the elders and all the saints, and they are worshiping Him.

So that’s why it is important that when we gather together corporately, we’re not just going through the motions and singing songs. No, we are matching the atmosphere that is in heaven. Amen. If you have desires to be a worship leader someday, I will tell you the best worship set isn’t the most trendy song. It never is. It is: what is the song that is being sung in heaven right now? There’s no better worship song. There’s a lot of trendy songs out there, but they really aren’t giving glory to the Lord. We’ll move on.

So there is a throne room in heaven, and there is a place in heaven where that sacrifice is being offered. I want you to picture this. Jesus is your High Priest, and He is your sacrifice. Every time the Father looks at Jesus, He sees you. And so every time the Father looks at you, it is through the lens of what Jesus has already done. It’s not based on your past. It’s not based on your mistakes — thank goodness. It’s not based on your future mistakes. You see, Jesus is our New Covenant. He is our new promise. He has established a new order of things.

A better covenant on better promises

So what does this mean? Verse 6 says, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant.” Say “a better covenant.” This is significant. For those of you that don’t know, the Bible is split really into two parts. There is the Old Testament, and then there is the New Testament. The Old Testament is according to the old covenant, or the old promises. The New Testament is according to the new promises. And what the author is saying here is that the new covenant is a better covenant, meaning that there must have been maybe something missing in the old.

And it’s not to say that what God did wasn’t perfect. What the old covenant does is it lays out beautifully what is required, that God is a holy God. But the gap is me. We could not hold our end of the deal with the old covenant. The problem wasn’t what God had set in order. The problem wasn’t God Himself, and there was no mistake. Hear me on that. There’s much that we can learn from the Old Testament: that He’s a holy God, that there is a gap, that there is a need, that because of sin we were separated from Him. But there was a problem. We couldn’t hold up our end of the deal.

So there is this need for this new covenant, and the Scripture says it will be built on better promises. There is this better covenant — say “better covenant” — “which was established on better promises.” You see, the earthly temple was based on an old covenant, the covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai when Moses ascended the mountain. But now Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, and He has established a better covenant.

I believe Jesus wants us to understand this, because the night before Jesus died, He was celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples. This was a meal that was given to the people of God as a reminder of their deliverance out of Egypt. And during this meal, Jesus took the wine, and He lifted it up, and He said what? “This is My blood, which is a better covenant for you. This is the new covenant in My blood.”

This was an introduction and an unleashing that was unheard of. Nobody else could make this statement. Aaron or Moses could not make this statement. David could not make this statement. Nobody else could make this claim except for the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, who was perfect. And He lifted up the cup, and He says, “This is the new covenant in My blood.” So the night before Jesus died, He was saying, “I am making a new covenant. It’s better. It is built on better promises, where it’s not dependent on if you get everything right, where it’s not dependent on whether you make mistakes. No, it’s dependent on Me and who I am.” Somebody say amen.

God sets the terms

Verse 7 says — I’m sorry — “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.” And God begins describing the nature of this new covenant. Verse 8: “Because finding fault with them” — in other words, God wouldn’t have given us a new covenant if there wasn’t fault with the first — He says, “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make…’”

I think that’s so important, because we live in a world, in a culture, that says, “Go and find your truth. Whatever works for you works for you, and that can be your truth, and you can work it out with God.” But I want us to notice what God says. He says, “No, I will make a covenant, and My way and My promise and My word will be faultless.” Listen, you don’t want to build your own covenant. You don’t want to build your own terms and negotiations. You cannot earn your salvation. You cannot earn eternal life. There is nothing you can do. The world says, “Find your own truth. Follow your heart.” But Scripture says the heart is deceitful and wicked above all things; who can know it? We must trust that what God has said is true.

So God says, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.” In other words, God is saying, “I’m going to set the terms, and they will not fail.” We should be praising right now. “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — 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.” This is referring to the old. “Because they did not continue” — notice the fault was with us — “they did not continue in My covenant” — they did not continue in My promises — “and I disregarded them, says the Lord.”

And so this new covenant, it is new. The old was about your performance. It was about your ability. But the new covenant is about what Jesus has done for us and what He has accomplished on the cross. Say amen.

You know, when God made that first covenant on Mount Sinai, Scripture says there were lightnings, there was thunder, they heard the voice of God speak. I would like to think that if I had experienced that, I would never sin again. I would be changed forever. It was not 40 days until the people that heard the voice of God created a calf and said, “This is our god who has delivered us.” How quickly do we turn from Him.

A new heart and a new spirit

You see, the old did not have the transforming power that is found in the new. When you give your life to the Lord, not only does He say, “I will give you eternal life.” He says, “No, I’m going to come, and I’m going to live inside of you, and I will give you a born-again spirit.” In other words, your spirit without God is dead. Scripture says when sin entered the world, death came. And that word death is the word “mthm,” which means “die, die.” Not only did death enter physically; death entered spiritually. But those who have been born again have a new spirit. That’s why you’ll hear, “Have you been born again?” What does that mean? It means you’ve received what Jesus has done on the cross, and He has made you a new creation. Behold, the old is gone; all things are new.

So there is this new covenant. In the old there was no transformation. There was no power to live it out. Verse 10 says — oh, this is where it gets real good — “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.”

When you give your life to the Lord, it’s not just, “Okay, you’re in. Good luck.” There’s a transformation that happens. You’re not like everybody else. You don’t think like everybody else, because there is someone inside of you that has written His law in your heart and on your mind. That’s why Scripture says, don’t be conformed to this world, but keep your mind on heavenly things. Why? Because when you’re born again, this world means nothing. All I want to do is be with Him and fix my mind on the things of heaven. Somebody say amen.

He says, “I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.” This is talking about that transformation that takes place. And friends, be encouraged: it doesn’t happen all at once. Okay? You come into church cussing, and you give your life to the Lord — you might still cuss when you leave, but God’s not done with you yet, right? You might still have some of the same struggles. You might still have some of the same issues. You might still have some of the same insecurities. But if you want to see your life transformed, what do we do? It’s what we did this morning. We come to the feet of Jesus, and we let Him heal us, touch us, teach us, feed us. Amen.

It’s so important that when you give your life to the Lord, you don’t just go back to what you were doing before, but that you come and you start spending time in His presence, that you spend time with Him. Because He’s the one who feeds us. He’s the one who gives us what we need. Amen.

Relationship, not religion

“And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” I’m so glad we’re a Jesus people. This is so good. “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.” In other words, in the new covenant you don’t have to go through other people to have relationship with God. You have your own relationship with God.

You’ve heard it before, and we’ve said it before. Sometimes we’ll talk to people, or maybe you invite someone to church, and they’ll say, “Well, I’m not religious.” How many of you know that’s not what we want to be? Jesus said, “I desire mercy over sacrifice.” He rejected religion. He was about relationship. We’re offering and inviting people into the relationship that you have experienced. If you’ve been transformed by the love of Jesus, there is something that has been given to you that you can freely give to others. Amen. And they need Him. There is so much suffering and so much fear and so much anxiety. There is so much inner turmoil. But when you give your life to Jesus, there is peace, there is joy, there’s healing.

Verse 12 says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness” — thank the Lord, He is merciful — “and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Thank the Lord. You see, there is forgiveness and putting away of sins in the new covenant. Jesus is our New Covenant.

There is sin that we all have, sin that we wish would not be remembered, right? I’ve had better moments. “Oh, I hope nobody ever sees that.” And it’s not that God is forgetful. How many of you know He’s not forgetful? He chooses not to remember, because, again, every time He looks at you, He looks through the lens of Jesus. So if you are a part of this new covenant, you can come to God, and we can confess our sins. Scripture says confess our sins and repent, which means, “I am setting in my heart that I’m going to do a 180. I’m going to turn from my old ways, and I’m going to live according to the new way.” And when we do that, He has grace to forgive.

Verse 13 says, “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.”

All Scripture speaks of Him

Hear me. I read Scripture every day. I read the Old Testament and the New Testament every day, and there is so much that we can learn from the Old Testament. Jesus said this when He was on His earthly ministry — oh, hey, friend. He’s blessed, because he’s wearing the right colors today.

Jesus said this when He was on His earthly ministry. What was the Scripture that Jesus had? He had the Old Testament. And He said this: all Scripture speaks of Me. If you want to know Jesus better, you must know His Word better. And I always say the best way to read Scripture is to read it looking for Jesus. It’s all about Him. When you’re in Genesis — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” — where’s Jesus? He’s created. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God,” and all things were created through Him and by Him and for Him. He’s everything. And those who give their life to Him belong to Him in this new covenant, in this new reality.

So when we are talking about this — Jesus, our New Covenant — not only are you born again; Jesus is not just a ticket into heaven. He’s God, and He wants nothing more than to be in relationship with you. And my dream for our church is that we wouldn’t just come to God when we need Him. He’s more than a genie in a bottle. Should we ask of Him? Yes. Should we pray? Yes. Should you let your requests be known? Yes. My dream is that we would come because we just want more of Him. And that’s when the real transformation takes place: when you don’t just want the stuff; you want Him.

And when your heart starts to burn for Him, it’s like this little spark that turns into a little flame, and then that little flame turns into a consuming fire. Because He is a consuming fire, and He will burn up every part of you that is not of Him. I don’t know about you, but I want to be who God’s called me to be. I don’t want to live according to my flesh or my desires. He has a plan for your life. He has dreams for you, and they’re good.

But He’s the only one who satisfies. And so many are starving. They’re hungry, and they’re looking everywhere. They’re going to tarot card readers. They’re going to fortune tellers. They’re going to these rocks — there’s rocks now. They’re going to all these things. Nothing satisfies but Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Everything else is a lie meant to get you distracted. And maybe you’ve looked in those areas before, and you found, no, they’re lifeless. They’re dead. Maybe there was a coincidence. But no, your every answer is found in Jesus and Jesus alone.

Living in the new covenant

So when you give your life to Him, you are born again. And your birthright, the promise that has been made to you, is that you will have a transformed heart. Say “a transformed heart.” You will have a special relationship with God. Say “I will have a special relationship with God.” And you will have the forgiveness of sins.

Now I want you to just take a moment and be honest. Are you living in that reality? Has your life been transformed? Thank you, honey. She’s my biggest fan. It’s not about me. Is your heart transformed? Do you have a relationship with God? Are you living in the forgiveness of sins, or is there guilt and shame that is just hanging over you? Friends, that is not the Lord. Scripture says He is our peace. He is our freedom. In Him we have life and the forgiveness of sins.

Listen: Jesus, our New Covenant — this is what He wants to give you. And maybe you go to church, maybe you come here, but you’ve not given yourself to the Lord, and you’re not living in this reality. Maybe you are born again, but this doesn’t feel like your reality today. But according to the Scriptures, these things belong to you. Amen.

Can we stand this morning? I’m going to close with just a prayer of blessing. Can we just lift our hands to the Lord?

Lord Jesus, we thank You, and we love You. We need You. And Lord, we thank You for what You’ve done and for what You have accomplished on the cross. Father, we thank You for Your love, that You loved us so much that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life as the pure, spotless Lamb and to die for our sins. And not only did You die for our sins; You defeated death, and You were raised to life three days later. You have ascended into heaven, and You are seated at the right hand of the throne, because You have conquered death and You have made it available to each and every one of us, to whoever would believe in their hearts that You are the Lord. And whoever would confess their sins, You would forgive them.

So Lord, we come to You today to thank You for the better promise. We come to thank You for the better hope that we have found in You. You are our promise. You are the prize. Oh Lord, if we could just get that You’re everything. And so Lord, we give all that we are to You, Lord. And we ask, Lord, today that You would wash us by the cleansing of Your precious blood.

And if you’re here today — maybe you’ve never heard this before, or maybe you’ve never given your life to the Lord — but if you are here and you’re saying, “I want to give my life to Jesus,” with every head bowed and every eye closed, I want you just to look at me and simply lift your hand to me and say, “I want to give my life to Jesus. I want to live in this new reality.” Amen. Thank You, Lord.

And so, Lord Jesus — I’m going to ask that we all say this out loud together. Say: Lord Jesus, I give my life to You. I thank You for what You’ve done for me. Thank You for dying on the cross, that You are my sacrifice, and You are the one who intercedes for me today at the right hand of the Father. Father, I confess my sins to You, and I turn from them and choose to follow You from this day forward. You are the Lord of my life, the Son of the living God, and I put my hope and trust in You. And I thank You that I am born again, a new creation, and that I now have life with You forever. We give You thanks, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Can we thank the Lord this morning? Amen. Scripture says all of His promises are yes and amen because of one reason: Jesus. So choose Him. When you leave this place, look for Him, because He’s there, and allow Him to continue to speak to your life. Amen. Isn’t He awesome? He’s so good. He’s so good.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.