Day 39: Hebrews 8-9
The entire book of Hebrews sets out to prove that Jesus is better -- better than angels, better than mankind, better than Moses, better than the priests and sacrifices of the old covenant. These chapters in particular gloriously bring together so many themes from Days 1-20 of this study and explain how Jesus is the true definition of so many of the offices and ideas established in the Old Testament.In the longest New Testament quotation from the Old Testament, chapter 8 quotes the prophesied new covenant from Jeremiah 31 (see Day 20), the covenant that has come to pass thanks to the work and ministry of Jesus. When the author calls the old covenant “obsolete,” he is referring to the Mosaic covenant with its system of laws, priests, and sacrifices (not the entire Old Testament or even to the Abrahamic or Davidic covenants, which had largely been fulfilled in Jesus). Chapter 9 goes on to explain the full significance of Christ’s death in terms of that old system. In short, the tabernacle’s rules and regulations “were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper… [they were] external regulations applying until the time of the new order” (vv. 9-10). Even the tabernacle and Most Holy Place themselves were copies and shadows of what was in heaven. So when Jesus died, he entered the true Most Holy Place -- the very presence of God -- as both true priest and true sacrifice “by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” v. 12). God had allowed the blood of animals to make people ceremonially clean, so how much more would the blood of Christ purify people from the inside out! As the author triumphantly explains, “For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (v. 15).
Furthermore, this sacrifice was better because it did not need to be repeated day after day or year after year. Rather, he appeared “once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (v. 26). When he appears again, he will “bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (v. 28). Creation was completed, rebellion undertaken, and now true redemption enacted. The only thing left in the story -- restoration -- has, in fact, already begun.
Questions for reflection and discussion: Throughout this study, we have seen Jesus as the true king, the true prophet, the true temple, the true priest, the true sacrifice, and the true Israel. Which of these offices is most significant to you right now, and why? How has the Old Testament given you categories to understand who Jesus is? How can understanding these categories increase our love for him?
