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| Chapter 8 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Now of the things of 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, 2 a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it is of necessity that this Man have something also to offer. 4 For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests who offer gifts according to the law, 5 and who serve unto the copy and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished by God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For, "See," saith He, "that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee on the mount." 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. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 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-- 9 not 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. 10 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 minds and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. 11 And 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. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." 13 In that He saith "a new covenant," He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. |
We now have a better Sanctuary. 8:1-6; 9:1-14. During the previous chapters the writer has shown that Christ has all the correct and true qualifications of the new priesthood and is superior to the Aaronic Levitical, and also superior as an High Priest. We now examine the ministry of this new High Priest over the next 2 chapters. Where is the High Priest? v1-6. The true tabernacle. v2-5. A better Priesthood v3-6. v1-6 we find that this High Priest ministers from the right side of God’s throne in heaven. This priest is not in the temple ‘holy of holies’ but in the sanctuary (holy place of God)of God in heaven. Having offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin v2,3 His ministry cannot now be in an earthly temple which was only available to priests selected by the law. The ministry of this High Priest now operates from the true sanctuary of God, performing intercessions and the prayers of His children before the Father. v4,5. "The True Tabernacle" mentioned in v2 has been suggested to be the Church, the Body of Christ 1 Cor 3:16-17; John 2:21 and the temple of the Holy Spirit. There are points for and against this idea. This ministry is "more excellent," the covenant between Man and God, for which He is the superior mediator, rests on "better promises," v6. The ministry of Christ as the High Priest does not have any earthly restriction, the ‘mediator’ priest, as a result of the Moses covenant, was very poor being a covenant fixed to the law, the new covenant is a God given promise for ever. Two Covenants v7-13. v7-9 The first covenant had problems so a second covenant was introduced. This promised the forgiveness of sin, v12, the power of overcoming Man’s weakness, v10 and finally a promise of close relationship with God v11. The first covenant, (details in Exodus 19 to Leviticus 27), could show the sin of man but was not able to remove it, neither could people keep the covenant properly, so God had to introduce the second covenant. A new nature. v10-12 The new covenant is spiritual and inward "I will put My laws into their minds and write them in their hearts," The old covenant showed good and evil but no power to resist evil. Romans 7 shows that a person can be delighted by the law but still not submit to it. The power in the new covenant comes from the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. A deeper understanding of God and His forgiveness. v11,12 The new covenant gives full and complete assurance that God can promise "their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." v13 The new covenant replaces the old covenant because it has become old and is expiring of old age. The writer has written as if the Jewish legal and ceremonial system of worship was about to disappear, which it did in A.D. 70 when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. |
Easy English Translation
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