Hebrews 8

This chapter stands at the center of Hebrews. Building on Hebrews 7, which explains the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, it sums up the main point of that argument and then leads into the discussion of the tabernacle and its sacrifices in Hebrews 9.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 state the main point of the argument: we have a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens and who ministers in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
• Verses 3–5 explain that every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. The earthly priests serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, just as Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle according to the pattern shown him on the mount.
• Verse 6 declares that Jesus is the mediator (one who stands between two parties and brings them together) of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
• Verses 7–12 argue that if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second, and then quote the new covenant prophecy at length. It promises that God will write his laws on their hearts, that all will know the Lord, and that he will remember their sins no more.
• Verse 13 concludes that in speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first old, and that it is decaying and ready to vanish away.

Key Verses

• Hebrews 8:5 "Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things" — This verse provides a basis for interpreting Old Testament institutions as pictures pointing to Christ.
• Hebrews 8:10 "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" — This verse shows the inward character of the new covenant.
• Hebrews 8:13 "He hath made the first old" — This verse summarizes the relationship between the two covenants.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ: The text presents him as the high priest of the heavenly sanctuary and the mediator of the covenant.
• Moses: Mentioned as the one who received the pattern on the mount and built the tabernacle (Exodus 25). The mount referred to here is understood to be Mount Sinai.
• Egypt: The land out of which God led the fathers when he made the first covenant.

Points for Reflection

The quotation in verses 7–12 comes from Jeremiah 31:31–34. Hebrews does not name the prophet but introduces the words with "saith the Lord," and the passage is counted among the longest Old Testament quotations in the New Testament (Hebrews 8:6–13). Regarding the statement that the new covenant is made "with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah," covenant theology tends to hold that the church shares in its fulfillment, while dispensationalism tends to hold that a fulfillment remains for ethnic Israel. Interpreters also differ on whether "made old" refers to the entire law of the Sinai covenant or only to the sacrificial system. The "new covenant" Jesus spoke of in connection with the cup (Luke 22:19–20) and Paul's description of himself and his coworkers as "able ministers of the new testament" (2 Corinthians 3:3–6) are closely connected with this chapter.