Hebrews 8 presents the glory and superiority of Christ’s priesthood in establishing a new covenant. The chapter emphasises that the old covenant, given through Moses, was temporary and flawed, pointing to a system that could never perfect the worshiper. In contrast, Christ serves as the ultimate High Priest in a covenant grounded in God’s promises and mercy. This covenant is characterised by forgiveness, intimate knowledge of God, and internal transformation. Here we see God’s plan for redemption not as an external law but as an internal, living reality, made effective through Christ.
“We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.”
The chapter opens by establishing the present ministry of Christ. He is not a priest serving in a copy of heaven on earth, like the Levitical priests in the tabernacle, but a High Priest in the true sanctuary, the heavenly tabernacle itself.
Matthew Henry observes: “The priests of the Old Testament represented and served the people by visible things, but Christ serves in heaven itself, before God, in the true tabernacle.”
The earthly tabernacle and its ministry were shadows and copies, pointing forward to the heavenly reality. They were designed according to God’s instructions, but their purpose was temporary. Christ, however, ministers according to God’s oath and perfect design, making the heavenly things accessible to us through His intercession. The same High Priest who died for me now continually pleads for me at the right hand of God.
“Now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant.”
The writer highlights the necessity of a better covenant. The old covenant, given on Sinai, was righteous in its demands but could not change the heart. Its laws exposed sin but offered no true power to overcome it. Therefore, a new covenant was needed, one that is superior in every way. The covenant made by Christ is better, not because God changed, but because man needed a covenant that could truly purify, guide, and save.
The term “better covenant” conveys both quality and permanence. Christ mediates this covenant through His blood, ensuring that it is effective and eternal, unlike the old, ceremonial covenant that required repeated sacrifices and could never fully cleanse the conscience. The old covenant points to what Christ now fulfills.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”
Here, the writer quotes Jeremiah 31:31–34, showing that the superiority of Christ’s covenant was promised long before its fulfillment. Its defining characteristics are remarkable:
Internal Transformation – God will write His laws in hearts and minds. Faith is no longer external compliance but internal conviction.
Personal Knowledge of God – Everyone will know the Lord intimately, from the least to the greatest.
Complete Forgiveness – God will remember sins no more. Unlike the repeated sacrifices under the old covenant, this forgiveness is final and effective.
The old covenant could not reach the conscience; it condemned but could not purify. The new covenant takes sin away, changes the heart, and establishes a living friendship with God. Christ’s blood secures a covenant that transforms our very soul, not just my outward actions.
“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.”
The old covenant is described as fading and obsolete, not because God failed, but because its purpose was fulfilled in Christ. The law’s temporary measures pointed to a permanent solution, Christ Himself.
The first covenant, with its ceremonies, was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. Now that He is come, the old is done away and we walk in the reality. Christ’s ministry secures what the law could never give: an enduring, internalised covenant of grace, mercy, and knowledge of God. The better covenant invites me into true rest, not mere ritual.
Hebrews 8 paints a magnificent picture of God’s redemptive plan. Christ is the High Priest of a superior covenant, one that cleanses the heart, provides direct access to God, and secures eternal forgiveness. The old covenant prepared the way, but the new covenant fulfills God’s promises. This chapter reminds us that true religion is not outward ritual but an inward, transformative relationship with God through Christ.
💡Key Takeaway:
Christ mediates a better covenant: internal, forgiving, and eternal. The old system served its purpose; the new covenant secures our conscience and invites intimate fellowship with God.
🙏🏽 Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my Great High Priest, thank You for the new covenant secured by Your blood.
Write Your law upon my heart, and help me to know You personally, deeply, and continually.
Free me from guilt and condemnation, and teach me to live in the rest and confidence You provide.
May my life reflect the grace, mercy, and internal transformation You bring through this superior covenant.
Amen.