Lesson 8

Memory Text: “ But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises”. (Hebrews 8:6Hebrews 8:6 But 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.)

By living a perfect life, and then by dying in our place, Jesus mediated a new, better covenant between us and God. Through His death, Jesus canceled the penalty of death that our trespasses demanded and made possible the new covenant.

This truth is explained in Hebrews 10:5–10, which identifies Jesus as having manifested the perfect obedience required by the covenant. It references Psalm 40, referring to the Messiah’s desire to render to God total obedience: “ ‘Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart’ ”(Ps. 40:7, 8, ESV). “In the original context this phrase [‘to do your will’] described moral obedience to the will of God. The author of Hebrews uses the phrase to show that the sacrifice of Christ fulfilled the will of God in providing an acceptable atonement, which the animal sacrifices had not provided.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 460.

For Paul, this psalm acquired special significance with the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus embodied the obedience of the new covenant. He is our Example. We have been saved, not only because of His death but also because of His perfect obedience.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 19.

According to Hebrews, the fact that Jesus was appointed Priest according to the order of Melchizedek implied that a new covenant had been inaugurated. The old covenant had been given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:11, NASB). The Levitical priests acted as mediators between God and Israel, and the law excluded anyone else from the priesthood. The author concludes, then, that a change of priesthood implies a change of the law of the priesthood, as well as the change of the covenant (Heb. 7:12, 18, 19).

The issue with the old covenant was that it could not provide perfection(Heb. 7:11). Paul is talking about the Levitical priesthood and its ministry (sacrifices, feasts, etc.). The animal sacrifices offered through them could not provide true, total cleansing from sin, or access to God (Heb. 10:1–4; Heb. 9:13, 14; Heb. 10:19–23). The fact that a new covenant was necessary does not mean that God was unfair with Israel when He gave them the old covenant. The Levitical ministry and the services of the tabernacle were designed to protect them from idolatry and also to point them to Jesus’ future ministry. Hebrews stresses that the sacrifices were “a shadow of the good things to come”(Heb. 10:1, NKJV).

By pointing them to Jesus, the sacrifices should have helped the people put their hope and faith in “ ‘the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV; compare with Isaiah 53). This is the same point that Paul makes when he says that the law was “our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24, NASB) or that “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4, NIV). In other words, even the Ten Commandments, as good and perfect as they are, cannot provide salvation (Rom. 3:20–28, Rom. 7:12–14).

They provide a perfect standard of righteousness, but they do not provide righteousness, any more than looking in a mirror can erase the wrinkles of age. For perfect righteousness, we need Jesus as our Substitute.

Compare Hebrews 8:10–12 with Deuteronomy 6:4–6, Deuteronomy 30:11–14, and Jeremiah 31:31–34. What does this teach us about the nature of the new covenant?

The promise of a new covenant in Hebrews refers back to Jeremiah. According to Jeremiah, God’s promise of a new covenant was, in fact, a renewal of the covenant that He had first made with Israel through Moses (Jer. 31:31–34). It could be argued, then, that Jeremiah 31 was not strictly speaking of a “new” covenant but of a “renewal” of the origi nal covenant with Israel. In fact, the Hebrew word for new, hadashah, can have both the sense of “renew” and “brand new.

The issue with the old covenant was that the people broke it (Heb. 8:8, 9).The covenant was not faulty; the people were. If Israel had seen through the symbols to the coming Messiah and put their faith in Him, the covenant would not have been broken. Yet, to be fair, there were many believers throughout Israelite history in whom the purposes of the covenant were fulfilled and who had the law in their hearts (Ps. 37:31, Ps. 40:8, Ps. 119:11, Isa. 51:7). While the new covenant is a renewal of the old covenant, there is a sense in which it is, indeed, new. Jeremiah’s promise of a “new covenant” did not simply envision a renewal of the conditions that existed before the exile, which had been broken and renewed several times because the nation had lapsed several times into apostasy. And that’s because the people were simply unwilling to keep up their end of the covenant with God(Jer. 13:23).

Instead, God promised to do a “new thing”(Jer. 31:22). The covenant would not be like the covenant that God had made “with their fathers” (Jer. 31:32). Because of the unfaithfulness of the people, the promises that God made under the Mosaic covenant were never fulfilled. Now, in virtue of the guarantee given by the Son(Heb. 7:22), God would fulfill the purposes of His covenant. God did not change His law or lower His standards; instead, He sent His Son as a guarantee of the covenant promises (Heb. 7:22, Heb. 6:18–20). This is why this covenant does not have curses. It has only blessings because Jesus fulfilled it perfectly, becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).

Which fate will be ours? That answer, ultimately, rests with us. We have the choice before us, life or death.

Read Hebrews 8:1–6. Why is Jesus a better Mediator of the covenant?

The Greek term mesitēs(mediator) derives from mesos(“middle”) and denotes the one who walks or stands in the middle. It was a technical term that referred to a person who fulfilled one or more of the following functions: (1) an arbiter between two or more parties, (2) a negotiator or business broker, (3) a witness in the legal sense of the word, or (4) one who stands as a surety and, thus, guarantees the execution of an agreement.

The English term “mediator” is too narrow a translation for mesitēsin Hebrews because it focuses only on the first two or three uses of the Greek term. Hebrews, however, emphasizes the fourth function. Jesus is not conceived of as “mediator” in the sense that He settles a dispute between the Father and humans or as a peacemaker who reconciles parties in disaffection or as a witness who certifies the existence of a contract or its satisfaction. Instead, as Hebrews explains, Jesus is the Guarantor(or Surety) of the new covenant (Heb. 7:22). In Hebrews, the term “mediator” is equivalent to “guarantor.” He guarantees that the covenant promises will be fulfilled. Christ’s death makes the institution of the new covenant possible because it satisfies the claims of the first covenant with Israel (and even with the first humans in Eden), which had been broken(Heb. 9:15–22). In this sense, Jesus is the Guarantor who took upon Himself all the legal obligations of the covenant that had been broken. In another sense, Jesus’ exaltation in heaven guarantees that God’s promises to human beings will be fulfilled (Heb. 6:19, 20). Jesus guarantees the covenant because He has shown that God’s promises are true. By resurrecting Jesus and seating Him at His right hand, the Father has shown that He will resurrect us and also bring us to Him.

Jesus is a greater Mediator than Moses because He ministers in the heavenly sanctuary and has offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for us (Heb. 8:1–5, Heb. 10:5–10). Moses’ face reflected the glory of God (Exod. 34:29–35), but Jesus isthe glory of God (Heb. 1:3, John 1:14). Moses spoke with God face to face (Exod. 33:11), but Jesus isGod’s Word personified (Heb. 4:12, 13; John 1:1–3, 14).

We may be tempted to think that the new covenant has “better promises” in the sense that it has greater rewards than the old covenant had (a heavenly homeland, eternal life, etc.). The truth is that God offered the same rewards to Old Testament believers as He has offered us (read Heb. 11:10, 13–16). In Hebrews 8:6, the “better promises” refer to differentkinds of promises. The covenant between God and Israel was a formal exchange of promises between God and Israel. God took the initiative and delivered Israel from Egypt and promised to lead them into the Promised Land.

Compare Exodus 24:1–8 and Hebrews 10:5–10. What are the simi­ larities and differences between these two promises?

The covenant between God and Israel was ratified with blood. This blood was sprinkled both over and beneath the altar. The people of Israel promised to obey all that the Lord had spoken. “The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 62.

God satisfies the absolute demands of the new covenant for us because He gave His own Son to come and live a perfect life so that the promises of the covenant might be fulfilled in Him, and then offered to us, by faith in Jesus. Jesus’ obedience guarantees the covenant promises (Heb. 7:22). It first requires that God give Him the blessings of the cove nant, which are then given to us. Indeed, those who are “in Christ” will enjoy those promises with Him. Second, God gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfill His law.