Read the passage here.
Our passage today picks up immediately from last week’s passage. If you recall, last week’s passage, Hebrews 7, focused on the idea of Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek – something that the author has brought up several times. And the basic idea was that Jesus as High Priest is of an entirely different sort than the High Priesthood of Aaron (the Levitical priesthood). That priesthood proved itself to be wildly insufficient to solve the problem of human sin and fallenness, and to draw us near to God. Jesus becomes our High Priest in an entirely different way.
And then we touched on the idea that because Jesus’ High Priesthood is of a different kind, our response to His ministry is of a different kind. It’s not sufficient to merely acquiesce to the system (as in the Levitical priesthood); rather, we are called to respond to and follow the person of Jesus Christ.
Now again, our passage today picks up on this idea or theme (and as we know, the chapter divisions are not original to the biblical text). And what we’re going to see is the notion of Jesus as a different kind of High Priest expanded or extended to consider what this means for how the people understand the Temple (or Tabernacle) and the Covenant. To put it another way, just as Jesus redefined the High Priesthood, so does He also or consequently redefine Temple and Covenant.
And just as a quick aside, it’s important to note the significance of these two things. Temple (or again, Tabernacle, largely in Hebrews) is the place where we meet God. For the Israelites (and the people of the Ancient Near East), God was distant and other. God was so far above, that to think of God as engaging with the people was amazing. But the tabernacle was where this happened. The tabernacle was where God came down to be in the midst of the people.
And the covenant was the terms by which God would have relationship with the people. Make no mistake, the covenant was according to God’s terms, not ours. But by those terms, God entered into and participated in the life of the people.
So Tabernacle and Covenant are not merely two religious, theological ideas. They were very practical, on-the-ground ways of experiencing God.
So, to our passage today. Today’s passage picks up on chapter 7’s idea of Jesus as High Priest of a different sort. And Jesus as a different sort of High Priest means, firstly, there is a different kind of temple, or sanctuary. As the author says:
8:1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
So as we see, the author immediately points out that Jesus serves in the “true tabernacle,” which means that there is a tabernacle which is not-true. And the distinction that the author is pointing to is between that tabernacle which is set up by God, and that which is set up by human beings.
Now we should point out that the author’s comparison here should not be taken to mean that he believes the entire temple system is set up by human beings – after all, the Old Testament tells us explicitly that it is set up by God. That is, the temple system exists at all because of the word of God given to Moses.
However, as we know, the temple system (including the priesthood) that the people lived with was a far cry from what God had intended, what God had instituted. So we can probably take it to mean something like that the temple system has been co-opted by human beings. And this is something that Jesus Himself seems to acknowledge and point out numerous times in the gospels.
But, as the author says, there is a true tabernacle at which the true High Priest (Jesus Christ) ministers, where the will of God (for the redemption of creation) is truly accomplished.
Now the author has more to say about the Tabernacle. So he continues in v. 3:
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
So the author is here making several comparisons:
Firstly, between the work that High Priests (of Levi) do – offering gifts and sacrifices – and the work that Jesus, the true High priest does. Now the author doesn’t elaborate here, but we know what he’s talking about. And the author does make it explicit later in the letter. In chapter 9:11-14, we read:
Heb. 9:11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtainingeternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
We won’t elaborate on it today, but obviously in chapter 9, the author continues the theme of Jesus as the true High Priest, and the gifts and sacrifices he offers are his own body and blood.
The second comparison that is made in these verses is not really explicit. He says in v. 4:
4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.
So we can see that Jesus, who is not on earth, is being compared with priests who are on earth. In other words, Jesus is of the heavenly realm, not the earthly realm. Therefore, His priesthood is also of the heavenly realm and not the earthly realm.
Now the importance of this distinction is not really clear until we get to the third comparison. In v. 5, we read:
8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
So here, the comparison is between the earthly sanctuary (or tabernacle) and the heavenly tabernacle. And the point that the author wants to make is that the earthly tabernacle is only a shadow of the heavenly, or true tabernacle. It is not meant to be the true solution, the place where the true High Priest does His work. The earthly tabernacle merely points to the heavenly tabernacle.
But the true High Priest is now here. And he work He does (the gifts and sacrifices He offers) is the true work; and it is done at the true tabernacle. In other words, the salvation work that Jesus does is truly effective, is truly complete; Jesus is all that we need.
The next major section of this passage obviously gives us one more comparison: between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. From v. 6, we read:
8:6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
8:7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Now I don’t want to spend too much time discussing these verses. I will say that the quote is from Jeremiah 31:31-34. And the Jeremiah passage is spoken/given in the context of exile. That is, the people of Israel are in exile. Which, as we’ve discussed many times before, is not just a political consequence. That is, it’s not merely a matter of losing land and nationhood. Rather, it is an issue of identity. For the people of Israel, exile – losing land and nationhood – means losing who they are as the chosen people of God. God has rejected them, and this because the people have rejected God.
In other words, the people in Jeremiah’s time are living precisely with the knowledge that the covenant has failed – or more precisely that they have failed the covenant. According to the terms of the covenant, the rebellious, unfaithful nation of Israel has received precisely what they deserve. But God is not satisfied with this justice. God still loves His people and desires that they be saved. Therefore, He is issuing a new covenant – a new bond in blood sovereignly administered. God is instituting a new covenant that will truly accomplish His redemptive purposes.
And the point that the author of the Hebrews is making is that this new covenant has now been inaugurated. God’s renewed purpose has been fulfilled in the body and blood of Jesus Christ, by the High Priest who is also Jesus Christ. Because of faithfulness of Christ, God has forgiven our wickedness and will remember our sins no more.
Now over the years, we’ve talked a lot (I’m sure) about how we put our trust in other things, and how we need to put our trust in Jesus alone. We are well aware of the temptations around us and the need to be on guard, so to speak. We are constantly being pulled in different directions, constantly being pulled away from Christ.
And I think that this is certainly something that this passage speaks to. We’ve seen how the author is making a distinction between Jesus and other things in order to demonstrate the superiority and sufficiency of Jesus. Jesus is greater than. In our particular passage, we are seeing how Jesus is the greater High Priest because He is the one true High Priest. And again, Jesus as the one true High Priest serves at the one true temple, inaugurating and instituting the final covenant between God and human beings.
So we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus because in Him alone, God’s work is truly done. In Him alone is redemption truly accomplished.
However, as I read through the letter to the Hebrews, I wonder if something else is also going on. Certainly we can see how the author is encouraging the readers to not be led astray – to not put their trust in other things (and here as in many places in scripture, the other things are largely religious things).
But when I read through Hebrews, I wonder if the author is also telling the readers to not lose heart (and isn’t this a lot of what’s going on Jeremiah?). I wonder if the author is telling the congregation to not be discouraged. Because, again, they would have been well aware of the shortcomings of the Levitical priests. They would have been well aware of the shortcomings of the temple system. They would have heard the stories of the failures of the kings of Israel and Judah which led to exile. They would have known of the stories of all of the sinfulness of the so-called people of God. And they would have known that all of the efforts of human beings had fallen short of the purposes of God.
But what the author tells them is that in Jesus, God has done something new. Jesus is not merely more of the same. More of the same priests, temples, laws, customs, and expectations. In Jesus, there is new creation, new life. In Jesus, all of God’s purposes are fulfilled. Therefore, in Jesus there is true hope.
Therefore, I think that maybe the author is saying not merely, don’t put your hope in other things; but that he might be saying, don’t lose heart because of all of these other things – don’t be discouraged. We put our faith in Jesus. Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Because in Jesus there is fullness of life. Because Jesus is greater than.