Two points as to why it is a better covenant, 1. The Better Mediator 2. The Better Promises

Read verses 1-6

Pray

The first reason the new covenant is better than the Old is that it has a better mediator.

v.6 But now hath he (Christ) obtained a more excellent ministry…

Christ is a more excellent high priest all the way down the line , so because he is, he has obtained a more excellent ministry.

This makes a statement to Jewish readers: What fool around in the shadows when you can come to the reality. Why mess around with the photo negative when you can have the real picture of perfection, Jesus Christ who is in the heavens.

The new covenant is a superior covenant because of who mediates it. Jesus the great high priest.

We saw him as greater because of his seated position, his work is ,finished and because of his real sanctuary, now we will see him as superior because of his better covenant.

Here is 8:6-13 we will examine the quote from Jeremiah, but as mentioned we need to note the Mediator of this covenant.

Mediator: 1 Tim 2:5 (One God and One mediator). Mediator is from a word meaning “in the middle”. Galatians 3:19: Moses was in the middle between God and the Old Covenant. And Moses was great, the covenant was great too. But Jesus is the perfect mediator of a perfect covenant, he is the mediator between God and man and he provides access to God when Moses could not.

So the new covenant is better because it has a better mediator, but secondly it is better because it is based on better promises.

All covenants are based on a promise. I made a promise to my wife 35 years ago that I would love her and stay with her and not go with anyone else. That was a LIFTETIME promise and based on my word to her.

In the Bible a covenant is God promising to do something. IN verses 7-12 we’ll see that the promises of The New Covenant are greater than the old. That makes the New Covenant better than the old.

Being good devout Jews they have to ask a question. Who gave you the right to say the Old Covenant isn’t perfect? In Jeremiah 31:31 and following we read: for God finding fault with them said: (verses 8-12) "Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. "It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

"For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.

"And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. "For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer .

He uses their own scriptures to prove the Old Covenant was imperfect, yet even today the Jews hang onto an outmoded covenant, not realizing that it has been perfected in Jesus.

The Old Covenant ,according to Galatians 3:21, was intended to point to Christ but it couldn’t bring men to God., so a New Covenant was needed.

Who says? God Says! And Jeremiah launched into a description of how the New would be better than the old and our writer uses this quote to convince his readers.

How is the New Covenant better?

1. God is the author. God says “I will make a New covenant. The normal word for covenant is one that is used of a marriage or a contract between 2 people. (sunthake). But here the term is different, it is a word that means a covenant made by one. (diathake) This is like a will, not a covenant between two equals because God and men never made a covenant between two equals.

There is no argument here about God’s terms. You accept or reject, you can’t change it. So it is better because God is the author.

2. It is better because it is different. There are 2 words for new in Greek. One is New like a new car like other new cars (same kind) the other means new of a different kind. Like a new sort of car just invented. New and different, never existed before. So the new covenant isn’t just added to Moses, but it is new and different and better in fact in verse 13 he says the Old one is ready to vanish away.

This is very important to these readers who are hanging on to an old, outdated covenant which is decaying.

So the new covenant is better because it is authored by God, is new and different, also it is a covenant made with Israel.

This covenant was not made with the Church. God never made a covenant with Gentiles. Now don’t lose me here, He made it with the house of Israel and with Judah BUT we benefit from it..

Romans 9:4 “ Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

But never fear, God prepared his covenant with us in mind when he told Abraham :In thee and thy seed shall all the nations be blessed.”

The Abrahamic covenant was unconditional. God alone swore it so no matter what Abraham did, God blessed Israel, and God blessed us.

But Israel wasn’t holy, so God set up the Mosaic Covenant to give them morality. It was conditional, you obey you get blessed, disobey and get blistered. But Israel didn’t obey God and forfeited many blessings. BUT don’t miss this, God did not do away with those blessings. He couldn’t break his covenant with Abraham, so when the Mosaic covenant didn’t work, He said “I’ll get a new one, and this is it.”

Gal. 3:7-9 “so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, "All the nations will be blessed in you." So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

So even Gentiles can accept the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant . The Jews will accept it (time of Jacob’s trouble) But not now.

So we see God is the Author, It is different and new, it is made with the Jews. Fourthly IT WILL NOT BE LEGALISM.

Verse 9: "It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

God had a legalistic covenant with the Israelis. He led them out of Egypt and they blew it. And he says
I regarded them not” That’s the Mosaic Covenant, you obey I bless, don’t obey and I do not bless.But the New Covenant is not like that. The covenant on Sinai was “Obey or get zapped.” And there was never any freedom from guilt or permanent forgiveness.But this new covenant not only forgave their sins, but also kept them. It si not based on legalism, but on Faith and grace and God is permanently in our hearts, he will never forsake us.So we see that it is better because God si the Author, It is new and different, It is with the Jews, It is not legalistic and it is also better because this covenant is internal.V. 10 In 1^st John 2:27 we see that the Holy Spirit teaches us from inside.

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In the Old Testament they obeyed because of fear and punishment. IN the New Testament we obey because of Love, which fulfills the law, Worship is internal not external, real not just ritual.

Israel never knew God like that. They pledge to obey but don’t have the power to obey. But the New Covenant took away the heart of stone according to Ezekiel 36, and gave a heart of flesh and His Spirit. He changed the inside. Also the New Covenant is personal.

Verse 11 "And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

In Israel only the :higher ups knew the law, that wasn’t God’s intention but the poor were not taught. But the New Covenant ALL can know from them poorest down to the richest. A personal knowledge of Jesus.Then in verse 12 we see the capstone of the new covenant, the promises of the Old Testament all fulfilled.

"For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer."

Contrast that with 10:3, The greatest promise; Sins totally forgiven (10:14). Ponder.

In verse 13 is closing remarks. “When he speaks of a new covenant, he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear.”

Just the fact of a prophecy of a new covenant coming inot existent meant the old had to fade away, vanish away.What is this saying?Simply that in Jesus it is all fulfilled, the age of the Law and Priests is done. The age of the Son is here forever. So don’t cling to anything else because Jesus Christ is the perfect and only High Priest.

You have the power to live right. “I can’t” is not to be in our vocabulary when it comes to following Jesus. If we choose our own way, Let’s be honest and say I won’t, I do not choose to. The power is there. The forgiveness is there. NOT to live in sin (See Rom 6 shall we live in sin?) But to live well and abundant and love God and others.