Moses was the mediator (go-between) of the old covenant in the giving of the law (Gal. 3:19–20). The people of Israel were so frightened at Mount Sinai that they begged Moses to speak to them so that they would not have to hear God speak (Ex. 20:18–21). Sad to say, this fear of God did not last long, for the people soon disobeyed the very law they promised to keep. The Mediator of the new covenant is Jesus Christ, and He is the only Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). Christ’s ministry as Mediator is more excellent than that of the Old Testament priests because it is based on a better covenant; and His covenant is founded on better promises.
The “better covenant” that is referred to in this paragraph was announced by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31–34). The promise was given in a prophecy that assured the Jews of future restoration. Jeremiah ministered during the closing years of the nation’s history, before Judah went into Babylonian captivity. At a time when the nation’s future seemed completely destroyed, God gave the promise of restoration and blessing.
Before our Lord went to Calvary, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples in the Upper Room. At that supper, He instituted what we call “the Lord’s Supper.” He said, taking the cup, “This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood, which is shed for you” (Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:20). The apostle Paul quoted these words and applied them to the church (1 Cor. 11:23–27). The writer of Hebrews stated clearly that Jesus Christ now “is the mediator of the new covenant” (Heb. 9:15) and repeated it (Heb. 12:24).
What, then, is the relationship between this new covenant promised to Israel, but today experienced by the church? Or, to state it another way, how can God promise these blessings to the Jews and then turn around and give them to the church?
Some Bible students solve the problem by concluding that the church is “spiritual Israel” and that the new covenant promises therefore belong to “Abraham’s spiritual seed” today. That believers today are the “spiritual seed” of Abraham is clear from Galatians 3:13–29; but this is not the same as saying that the church is “spiritual Israel.” The promise quoted in Hebrews 8: specifically names “the house of Israel and … the house of Judah.” Once we are permitted to make such plain words as “Israel” and “Judah” mean something else, there is no end to how we might interpret the Bible!
Other students believe that this “new covenant” has no present fulfillment in the church, but that it will be fulfilled only when the Jews are regathered and the kingdom is established at our Lord’s return to earth in glory. But then we have the problem of explaining Hebrews 9: and 12:24, verses that state that Jesus Christ is today the Mediator of the new covenant. To affirm that there are two “new covenants,” one for Israel and one for the church, is to create more questions!
Perhaps the solution is found in God’s principle of “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16). God did promise a new covenant for His people, but the blessings of this covenant are wrapped up in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Mediator of the new covenant. When Jesus began His ministry on earth, He went to His own people first (Matt. 15:24). When He sent out His disciples, He sent them only to Israel (Matt. 10:5–6). When He commissioned the church to witness, He instructed them to begin in Jerusalem (Luke 24:46–48; Acts 1:8). Peter’s message at Pentecost was addressed only to Jews and to Gentiles who were Jewish proselytes (see Acts 2:14, 22, 36). In his second recorded sermon, Peter clearly stated that the good news of the gospel would go to the Jews first (Acts 3:25–26).
But the nation rejected the message and the messengers. While it is true that thousands of individuals trusted Christ and were saved, it is also true that most of the nation rejected the Word, and that the religious leaders opposed the ministry of the church. One result was the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7). But what was God’s response? The gospel moved from Jerusalem and Judea into Samaria (Acts 8), and then to the Gentiles (Acts 10).
The church today is made up of regenerated Jews and Gentiles who are one body in Christ (Eph. 2:11–22; Gal. 3:27–29). All who are “in Christ” share in the new covenant, which was purchased on the cross. Today the blessings of the new covenant are applied to individuals. When Jesus comes in glory to redeem Israel, then the blessings of the new covenant will be applied to that beleaguered nation. Read all of Jeremiah 31 to see what God has planned for Israel, His people.
Before we examine the “better promises” of the new covenant, we must settle another matter. We must not conclude that the existence of the new covenant means that the old covenant was wrong or that the law has no ministry today. Both covenants were given by God. Both covenants were given for people’s good. Both covenants had blessings attached to them. If Israel had obeyed the terms of the old covenant, God would have blessed them and they would have been ready for the coming of their Messiah. Paul pointed out that the old covenant had its share of glory (2 Cor. 3:7–11). We must not criticize the old covenant or minimize it.
Even though the new covenant of grace brings with it freedom from the law of Moses (Gal. 5:1), it does not bring freedom to disobey God and sin. God still desires that the “righteousness of the law” should be fulfilled in us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1–4). There is a lawful use of the law (1 Tim. 1:8–11).
Now we are ready to consider the “better promises” that belong to the new covenant.
The promise of God’s grace (vv. 7–9). The emphasis in the new covenant is on God’s “I will.” The nation of Israel at Sinai said, “All the words which the Lord hath said will we do” (Ex. 24:3). But they did not obey God’s words. It is one thing to say, “We will!” and quite another thing to do it. But the new covenant does not depend on man’s faithfulness to God but on God’s faithful promise to man. The writer of Hebrews affirmed God’s “I will” on behalf of those who trust Jesus Christ (Heb. 8:10). In fact, God’s “I will” is stated three times in that one verse and six times in Hebrews 8:8–12.
God led Israel out of Egypt the way a father would take a child by the hand and lead him. God gave Israel His holy law for their own good, to separate them from the other nations and to protect them from the sinful practices of the heathen. But the nation failed; “they continued not in my covenant” (Heb. 8:9). God’s responses to Israel’s disobedience were to discipline them repeatedly and finally to send them into captivity.
God did not find fault with His covenant but with His people. “Wherefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12). The problem is not with the law, but with our sinful natures, for by ourselves we cannot keep God’s law. The law “made nothing perfect” (Heb. 7:19) because it could not change any human heart. Only God’s grace can do that.
The new covenant is wholly of God’s grace; no sinner can become a part of this new covenant without faith in Jesus Christ. Grace and faith go together just as the law and works go together (Rom. 11:6). The law says, “The man that doeth them [the things written in the law] shall live in them” (Gal. 3:12). But grace says, “The work is done—believe and live!”
The promise of internal change (v. 10). The law of Moses could declare God’s holy standard, but it could never provide the power needed for obedience. Sinful people need a new heart and a new disposition within; and this is just what the new covenant provides. (For a parallel passage, see Ezek. 36:26–27.) When a sinner trusts Christ, he receives a divine nature within (2 Peter 1:1–4). This divine nature creates a desire to love and obey God. By nature, sinful people are hateful and disobedient (Titus 3:3–7), but the new nature gives each believer both the desire and the dynamic for a godly life.
The law was external; God’s demands were written on tablets of stone. But the new covenant makes it possible for God’s Word to be written on human minds and hearts (2 Cor. 3:1–3). God’s grace makes possible an internal transformation that makes a surrendered believer more and more like Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
It is unfortunate that many Christians think they are saved by grace but must then fulfill their Christian life according to the Old Testament law. They want the new covenant for salvation but the old covenant for sanctification. The apostle Paul had a phrase to describe this condition: “fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4). Not “fallen from salvation,” but fallen from the sphere of God’s blessing through grace. We do not become holy people by trying to obey God’s law in our own power. It is by yielding to the Holy Spirit within that we fulfill the righteousness of the law (Rom. 8:1–4); and this is wholly of grace.
The promise of forgiveness for all (vv. 11–12). There is no forgiveness under the law because the law was not given for that purpose. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). The law could not promise forgiveness to Israel, let alone to all mankind. It is only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that forgiveness is possible to all who will call on Him. The Old Testament sacrifices brought a remembrance of sins, not a remission of sins (Heb. 10:1–3, 18).
Hebrews 8: quotes Jeremiah 31:34. It refers to that day when Israel shall be reunited with Judah (Heb. 8:8) and shall rejoice in the promised kingdom (Jer. 31:1–14). In that day, there will be no need to share the gospel with others because everyone will know the Lord personally. However, until that day, it is both our privilege and our responsibility to share the gospel message with a lost world.
What does it mean that God remembers our sins and iniquities no more (Heb. 8:12)? This important statement is quoted again in Hebrews 10:16–17. Does it mean that our all-knowing God can actually forget what we have done? If God forgot anything, He would cease to be God! The phrase “remember no more” means “hold against us no more.” God recalls what we have done, but He does not hold it against us. He deals with us on the basis of grace and mercy, not law and merit. Once sin has been forgiven, it is never brought before us again. The matter is settled eternally.
As a pastor in counseling ministry I have often heard people say, “Well, I can forgive—but I cannot forget!”
“Of course you can’t forget,” I usually reply. “The more you try to put this thing out of your mind, the more you will remember it. But that isn’t what it means to forget.” Then I go on to explain that “to forget” means “not to hold it against the person who has wronged us.” We may remember what others have done, but we treat them as though they never did it.
How is this possible? It is possible because of the cross, for there God treated His Son as though He had done it! Our experience of forgiveness from God makes it possible for us to forgive others.
The promise of eternal blessing (v. 13). The old covenant was still governing the nation of Israel at the time this epistle was written. The temple was standing and the priests were offering their appointed sacrifices. Devout Jews probably thought that their Christian friends were foolish to abandon such a “solid religion” for a faith that was seemingly intangible. What the unbelieving Jews did not realize was that their “solid religion” had grown old and was about to vanish away. In AD 70 the city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans, and the Jews have not had a temple or a priesthood to serve them ever since (see Hos. 3:4).
However, the new covenant brings eternal blessing. Jesus Christ is the Author of “eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9) and “eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). The new covenant can never get old and disappear. The Greek word translated “new” means “new in quality,” not “new in time.” This new covenant is of such quality that it will never need to be replaced!
Yes, our Lord is ministering on the basis of a better covenant, a new covenant that makes us partakers of the new nature and the wonderful new life that only Christ can give.