Hebrews -- Holding on to JesusNäide

A Better Covenant

Every year, we’re told about something new and improved. A new iPhone, a new gaming console, a new upgrade that promises to change everything. But often, these “improvements” are little more than clever marketing. The new product may be barely different from the old, sometimes even worse, with bugs and issues yet to be worked out.

In contrast, what we find in Christ isn’t just a slight improvement; it’s a complete and glorious fulfillment of the old. The writer of Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes that everything about Jesus is better. Not just marginally improved, but categorically superior. A whole new reality.

In Hebrews 8, this truth is applied specifically to the New Covenant. What Jesus brings is not simply a rebranding of the old—it is something entirely new, far surpassing the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. For the Jewish believers receiving this letter, that would have been a difficult pill to swallow. Their heroes of old, people like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and David, were the spiritual giants of their faith. To say that Jesus brings something better could have sounded, at first, like dishonor. But that was never the author’s intent. The people and the system of the Old Covenant were significant and served God’s purpose for their time. But they were never the final solution. They were mere shadows of what was to come. A shadow is not the real thing. It’s a silhouette that only points to the real thing. And all the laws, sacrifices, and prophets of the Old Testament were only shadows of the true reality found in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 8 highlights how Jesus, our Great High Priest, is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. That’s significant. Under the law of Moses, priests never sat down in the temple; there were not even any chairs to sit down on, because their work was never done. Sacrifices were daily, ongoing, and ultimately unable to take away sin. But Jesus sat down. Why? Because His work is finished. He doesn’t serve in an earthly tabernacle made by human hands, but in the true tabernacle, the heavenly one, built by God Himself (see Exodus 25:8–9). Earthly priests ministered in a copy, but Jesus ministers in the original. Jesus is also the better priest, offering a better sacrifice. He didn’t offer animals; He offered Himself. Though He never served as a priest in the line of Aaron, He is the only one qualified to serve in the heavenly priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek. Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices had to be repeated again and again. Under the New Covenant, Jesus’s sacrifice is once and for all. No earthly priest could do what Jesus did: fully and finally take away sin. That’s why His ministry is better. That’s why His covenant is better.

Jesus is also said to be the mediator of this new and better covenant. The Greek word used is mesitēs, someone who stands between two parties and brings them together. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the New. He brings us to God the Father through His own blood. This New Covenant fulfills and surpasses every previous covenant in the Bible. The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12), the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 24), and the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7) all pointed forward to this final, lasting covenant inaugurated by Christ (Luke 22:20). Unlike the Old Covenant, which began with “If you obey ...” (Exodus 19:5), the New Covenant begins with “I will.” This covenant originates not with man’s effort, but with God’s initiative and grace.

There are two Greek words for “new”: neos, new in time, but not in nature, and kainos, new in nature and quality. The New Covenant is kainos. It’s not just a refreshed version of the old. It’s a completely new kind of relationship with God. The Old Covenant was written on stone tablets. The New Covenant is written on human hearts. The old attempted to regulate behavior from the outside. The new transforms us from the inside. Instead of merely covering sin (as animal sacrifices did), the New Covenant removes sin and offers complete forgiveness. It creates intimacy with God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who is now given freely to all believers—not just select individuals.

Hebrews makes it clear: The Old Covenant is now obsolete for those in Christ because it has been fulfilled in Christ. Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice and heavenly priesthood make it unnecessary and inferior. This would have been especially important for early Jewish Christians tempted to return to the familiarity of the old system. But the message is clear: You can’t go back to something inferior when you’ve experienced the real thing. Shortly after Hebrews was written, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, making it physically impossible to continue the old sacrificial system. God was making it abundantly clear: The Old Covenant had passed away.

Hebrews 8:7 (NIV) "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another."

Luke 22:20 (NIV) “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Just to drive home the point, see the chart linked below that points out the key differences between the old and new covenant:

Old/New Covenant Comparison

In a world filled with empty promises of “new and improved,” the New Covenant through Jesus is the real deal. It’s not a marketing scheme. It’s not a patch on the old system. It is a totally new and better way to know, love, and walk with God. Let’s not settle for the shadows when we’ve been invited into the light. Let’s not go back to dead religion when we’ve been called into living relationship. Let’s rejoice that we serve a Savior whose sacrifice is sufficient, whose priesthood is eternal, and whose covenant will never pass away.