Joel M Bradshaw

6But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. 7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

10This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

13By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.–Hebrews 8 (with emphasis, quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34)

1. The Old Covenant involved God symbolically and supernaturally leading His people, conquering their enemies, and covering over their sin.
2. The people were to respond with obedience to God’s laws and exclusive allegiance to Him.
3. The power of he Law was that it revealed we are all law breakers and in need of salvation. We need our sins fully dealt with, not simply covered over again and again so that the relationship with God could continue.
4. The New Covenant involved God providing the once-for-all sacrifice for the people’s sins, conquering the great enemy of death, and dwelling spiritually with them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. The mediator was no longer a sinful Moses or a sinful High Priest, but Jesus, God in the flesh.
5. The people respond with confession of sin, trusting in Jesus for their salvation, and living a life of self-denial. On our own we are totally unable to keep the commands of the Law and need the sacrifice of Jesus. We require the Holy Spirit to work within us and transforming us to be more like Jesus.
6. The Old Covenant of Moses is now considered obsolete by God. The New Covenant of Jesus is the only one on the table. To follow the Father, you must follow the Son.
7. How do you respond to this?–JMB