Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

Hebrews 8

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, u one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in v the true tent 1 that the Lord w set up, not man. 3 For x every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus y it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve z a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, b "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." 6 But as it is, Christ 2 has obtained a ministry that is c as much more excellent than the old as d the covenant e he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 f For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says: 3
g "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
 10 h For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and i write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
for they shall j all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
k and I will remember their sins no more."

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And l what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

  1. Cross References
    Mark 16:19
    So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
  2. Cross References
    Hebrews 9:24
    For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
    Hebrews 9:11
    But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent ( not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 33:7
    Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.
  4. Cross References
    Hebrews 5:1
    For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
  5. Cross References
    Hebrews 9:12 - 14
    He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
    Hebrews 10:9 - 12
    Then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
    Ephesians 5:2
    And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
  6. Cross References
    Hebrews 9:23
    Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
  7. Cross References
    Hebrews 10:1
    For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
    Colossians 2:17
    These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 25:40
    And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
  9. Cross References
    Exodus 25:40
    And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
  10. Cross References
    Hebrews 1:4
    Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
    2 Corinthians 3:6 - 11
    Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  11. Cross References
    Hebrews 7:22
    This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
  12. Cross References
    Hebrews 9:15
    Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
    Hebrews 12:24
    And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
    Galatians 3:19
    Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
  13. Cross References
    Hebrews 7:11
    Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
  14. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:31 - 34
    Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:31 - 34
    Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
  16. Cross References
    Hebrews 10:16
    "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
    Romans 11:27
    "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
  17. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 3:3
    And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 54:13
    All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.
    John 6:45
    It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me -
    1 John 2:27
    But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie - just as it has taught you, abide in him.
  19. Cross References
    Hebrews 10:17
    Then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.
    Romans 11:27
    "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
  20. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 5:17
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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