Chapter 8
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9Not 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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”
Overview
The author declares that Christ is the High Priest who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ministering in the true tabernacle pitched by the Lord, not by man. He explains that the earthly tabernacle was a shadow of heavenly realities and quotes Jeremiah 31 at length to show that God promised a new covenant that would supersede the old, writing His laws on hearts rather than on tablets of stone.
Key Themes
Christ's Heavenly Ministry
Jesus serves as High Priest in the true heavenly tabernacle, of which the earthly tabernacle was only a copy and shadow.
The New Covenant Promised
God declared through Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant, not like the one broken by Israel, but one that transforms hearts from within.
The Old Covenant Made Obsolete
By calling the covenant 'new,' God has made the first one old, and what is old and aging is ready to vanish away.
Study Questions
What is the significance of Jesus ministering in the true tabernacle rather than the earthly copy (vv. 1-2)?
How does the new covenant promise that God will write His laws on our hearts (v. 10) differ from the old covenant?
What does it mean that under the new covenant 'all shall know me, from the least to the greatest' (v. 11)?
Why does God say He will 'remember their sins and their iniquities no more' (v. 12), and what does this mean for the believer's conscience?
How should the fact that the old covenant is 'ready to vanish away' (v. 13) shape our understanding of the relationship between law and grace?
Connection to Christ
Christ is the mediator of a better covenant established upon better promises. He ministers in the heavenly sanctuary itself, and through the new covenant He secures the complete forgiveness of sins and the internal transformation of His people.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Hebrews 8. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?