Hebrews 8
8
Heavenly Priesthood of Jesus.#The Christian community has in Jesus the kind of high priest described in Heb 7:26–28. In virtue of his ascension Jesus has taken his place at God’s right hand in accordance with Ps 110:1 (Heb 8:1), where he presides over the heavenly sanctuary established by God himself (Heb 8:2). Like every high priest, he has his offering to make (Heb 8:3; cf. Heb 9:12, 14), but it differs from that of the levitical priesthood in which he had no share (Heb 8:4) and which was in any case but a shadowy reflection of the true offering in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 8:5). But Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is that of mediator of a superior covenant that accomplishes what it signifies (Heb 8:6). 1The 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,#1:3; 4:14; 7:26–28. 2a minister of the sanctuary#The sanctuary: the Greek term could also mean “holy things” but bears the meaning “sanctuary” elsewhere in Hebrews (Heb 9:8, 12, 24, 25; 10:19; 13:11). The true tabernacle: the heavenly tabernacle that the Lord…set up is contrasted with the earthly tabernacle that Moses set up in the desert. True means “real” in contradistinction to a mere “copy and shadow” (Heb 8:5); compare the Johannine usage (e.g., Jn 1:9; 6:32; 15:1). The idea that the earthly sanctuary is a reflection of a heavenly model may be based upon Ex 25:9, but probably also derives from the Platonic concept of a real world of which our observable world is merely a shadow. and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.#9:11; Ex 33:7; Nm 24:6 LXX. 3Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.#5:1. 4If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.#7:13. 5They 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.”#9:23; Ex 25:40; Acts 7:44; Col 2:17. 6Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.#7:22; 9:15.
Old and New Covenants.#Since the first covenant was deficient in accomplishing what it signified, it had to be replaced (Heb 8:7), as Jeremiah (Jer 31:31–34) had prophesied (Heb 8:8–12). Even in the time of Jeremiah, the first covenant was antiquated (Heb 8:13). In Heb 7:22–24, the superiority of the new covenant was seen in the permanence of its priesthood; here the superiority is based on better promises, made explicit in the citation of Jer 31:31–34 (LXX: 38), namely, in the immediacy of the people’s knowledge of God (Heb 8:11) and in the forgiveness of sin (Heb 8:12). 7For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second one. 8But he finds fault with them and says:#In citing Jeremiah the author follows the Septuagint; some apparent departures from it may be the result of a different Septuagintal text rather than changes deliberately introduced.
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,#Jer 31:31–34.
when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
9It 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.
10But 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.#10:16–17.
11And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen
and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for all shall know me,
from least to greatest.
12For I will forgive their evildoing
and remember their sins no more.”
13#Close to disappearing: from the prophet’s perspective, not that of the author of Hebrews. #Rom 10:4. 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.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Hebrews 8
8
The Mediator of a New Covenant
1 #
Ps 110.1. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a 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: 5#Exod 25.40. who 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 showed 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.
8 #
Jer 31.31-34. For 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 neighbor,
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.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.