Hebrews 8:1-13
Monday, 22 April 2024
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. -Hebrews 8:6
The Book of Hebrews offers us profound insight into the supremacy of Jesus Christ in the establishment of the eternal New Covenant. While the Old Covenant initiated a way for the Israelites to have a relationship with God, through the sacrificial system which was only a temporal covering for sin, in the New Covenant Christ Jesus through His perfect sacrifice paved the way for an intimate fellowship with God for everyone who believes in Him (cf. Heb. 9:11-12). Through His suffering and death on the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ – the sinless Lamb of God paid the price of our sin bringing eternal redemption, mediating an everlasting covenant for us.
God revealed His plan of eternal restoration in Jeremiah 31:31–34. Decades later, in the Upper Room while instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus proclaimed the sacrifice He was to become for the sin of the world. His body that was bruised and broken and His blood that was poured out for us, has bought us forgiveness for sins (Matt 26:28). Now He is our eternal High Priest in Heaven and the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace to all believers. As believers, how does the new covenant apply to us today?
1. An Inner Transformation (Vs 10): ‘I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts.’ (Ezekiel 36:26) God’s Word written upon our hearts leads us in a constant awareness of His presence and a desire to walk in the way of truth and holiness that He has called us to. The entrance of His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit brings a change in our innermost being, in our perceptions and priorities, transforming the inner man into Christ-likeness. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor. 5:17)
2. An Intimate Relationship (Vs 10): ‘And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.’ God’s desire is that we will be united with Him and share a deep personal relationship with Him. In Christ, we have the provision to be called children of the Most High God (Gal. 3:26)—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17). Can you fathom what a great privilege it is to be the son and daughter of the Creator of the universe? Let us live worthy of this high calling!
3. A Revelation of God (Vs 11): ‘…For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.’ His Law engraved upon our hearts brings knowledge of God and His purposes. Further, He has given us the Holy Spirit, the divine Teacher who will teach us all things, revealing the depth of God’s Word to us and leading us in divine counsel (John 14:26).
4. The Forgiveness of Sin (Vs 12): “For I will be merciful to their iniquities,And I will remember their sins no more.” We serve a compassionate God, who in His great mercy has chosen us before the foundations of the earth and rescued us from the dominion of sin and darkness, through His beloved Son Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and we are cleansed. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12).
Now we have a responsibility to grow and mature in the Lord. May this new covenant relationship established in God’s grace and appropriated in our lives through faith, have an outworking from our hearts to others through the agape love of God. Yield to Him whole-heartedly and choose to be a channel of blessing to others.
Prayer: Thank You LORD Jesus for the new and living way opened for me to enter into a relationship with God. Amen.