Pastor Scott Jonas
9/22/18
Hebrews 8
Jesus > The Covenant
We’ve studied 7 chapters of
Hebrews. Our theme is Jesus is
Greater. Jesus is greater than Angels,
Mankind, Moses, Priests, Faith, Doctrine, and Melchizedek. All of these great people and gifts pale in
comparison to the Son of God. They are
signs that point to the Savior. Today in
Hebrews chapter 8 we Jesus is greater than the Covenant.
First we
need to explain the Old Covenant. It was
established in the first five books of the Bible. God chose Abraham and his descendants to make
a contract. God agreed to follow certain
promises and the Hebrews agreed to follow other promises. God would bless and keep them as his
people. The heavenly father would be
with his people. He would ensure that
the Hebrews would occupy and thrive in the promised land. God promised to keep his side of the
bargain. The Hebrews, agreed to follow
and serve the one God, Yahweh. They would
do all that he commanded. If God said
love the Lord with all of your heart then they would do it. If God said, walk around Jericho 7 times and
blow a bunch of trumpets, then they would obey.
If God said, build a tabernacle to exact specifications then that is
what the Hebrews would create. The
Father ended up demanding over 600 rules.
According to the old covenant, the Hebrews had to perfectly follow them
all. If they refuse to fulfill their
responsibilities then the deal is off.
God has the right to back out. He
will no longer be their God.
You can
figure out the problem with this agreement.
God can provide his promises but the Jews can’t provide their part. Time and time again, they fail. Almost right away, they worship the golden
calf. What took longer, from Adam and
Eve being created to them disobeying God or the Hebrews receiving the ten
commandments to them worshipping the Golden calf? I don’t know but they blew the Old covenant which
at the time was a brand new covenant.
Later, they are afraid to enter the promised land, despite God being
with them. They ask for a king, rather
than directly follow the Lord. Their
kings put personal power ahead of Yahweh.
Eventually, God’s people forget all about the covenant. There are times when there are no
sacrifices. The Bible becomes a distant
memory. They all but rip up their duties
that they promised to fulfill. Once
again, the Hebrews break the agreement with God. The Lord can walk away. That is the old covenant.
It is enough
for the reader to wonder if God knows what he is doing. How could he make a deal with the Hebrews as
if they are equals? They clearly are not
special. They are screw ups just like
all of the other nations. Maybe you have
experienced the same reaction. Does God
know what he is doing?
During one
of the times that Israel breaks it’s promises, God makes a promise. He says,
“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 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 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 all know me,
from the least of
them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember
their sins no more.”
In the Old Testament,
a New Covenant is predicted through the prophet Jeremiah. The Old covenant was a precursor to a better
covenant.
In the Old
Testament, the word for a covenant is an
agreement entered into by two people. It
is dependent on conditions on which they mutually agree; and if either shall
break the conditions the covenant becomes void.
It’s like when you buy a house, if the seller lies about the condition of
the property or if the buyer is wrong about their financing then the deal is
off.
In the New testament, Diatheke is the
word for a covenant and it is radically
different. It is not a deal between
equals but a contract between someone who has died and someone who is living. Diatheke is a last will and testament. Because Jesus died, the old agreement is void
and his written will takes over. The diseased
person dictates the agreement, stating what they beneficiary is to receive. Because of the cross, Jesus is able to wipe
away the old and create something much, much greater. We no longer need to perfectly obey in order
to live up to our part. We are given a
gift just as an inheritance is a gift.
We talk about our inheritance in the
Lord’s supper, “And when he had given thanks he gave it to them and said, this
is the new covenant in my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Our gifts begin with forgiveness but there is
also a life filled with good things, love, friendship, a family, a home, a
purpose, eternal life. The new covenant
is clearly better than the old. The Old was temporary; the new is forever. The Old was dependent on u; the new is
dependent on God’s work on the
cross. The Old was based on rules
outside of us, the new is based on the inner work of the Holy Spirit. The old was
based on not sinning the new is based on
God remembering our sins no more. In
some respects we are saved from the old covenant by the new. God knew what he was doing all along. This was the plan. We can have confidence every time we doubt
God’s choices.
But the name of this sermon is Jesus
is greater than the covenant. He obviously
is greater than the old covenant which couldn’t save us. But he also is greater than the new covenant.
Here is what I mean. The person you have a contract with is more
important than the contract. Anyone know
veggie Tales? It was started by Phil
Vischer in the 90s. He had a handshake
deal with a fellow Christian named Dick Leach to distribute Veggie tale video cassettes. The relationship was great until Dick
died. Someone else took over the company
and sued Veggie tales. Veggie tAles had
sell or else the company would have gone bankrupt. It was
the relationship between two people that mattered, Phil and Dick, not the
written agreement. In the same way, the covenant
is our written agreement with God.
Or it is like a marriage. I’m talking to Clayton Toney and his Fiancée
Janay. The character of the person you
are marrying is more important than the wording of the ceremony. Likewise, the new covenant is important, but
more important is Jesus himself. Your
life depends on him and you can trust that he will follow through. He came to earth for you. He died and rose to show you that he is
worthy. Whenever you think that God
doesn’t know what he is doing remember the covenant. Jesus is greater.