056 - How New is the New Covenant?

You pick up your Bible and wonder, is there more here than meets the eye. Is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right well it may look like just print on a page, but it's more than eight. Join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than those boxes that are labeled and improved what you improve. Do not sell the Martin stopped as the box, but I do want something that's really radically really differ as well today as we read about, you will find out just how new the new covenant is today on more than you favorite this is this is a super big deal today were coming to and and so were glad you're with us because this paints. Such we talked last time, or time before but better better better better better hope and I think for believing do they think will what exactly are you talking about really well while glad you asked will be in living color today as we look at Hebrews 8.

So hold onto your chairs. This is great stuff and actually we left off. Actually, with the last verse being verse six he is obtained a more excellent ministry as much as he's a mediator of better covenant based on better promises as well.

What's better about it. So that's what were to see as we get to dig into this passage and we have so much we want to say but origin of the important ones. God's word is yellow so you know if you remember we were talking about Melchizedek last and and the bottom line question. I think most Jews minded be okay so you you shown to me that Jesus is some kind of high priest okay but not the high priest of the old temple. The old deal tabernacle and temple that can't be record that's erotic pretty so. Is there another temple you're talking about and what what's Jesus role in this new high priest think it it hints at something much bigger net 36. Well, yeah, the writer has already told us that there is a more concrete ring real tabernacle really is not a human hands, but one that God has Valdez already said that a couple of times and he's going to come start unpacking. Yes, I think last time you said in chapter verse five uses in all the stuff they service a copy and shadow of the writings so that so what were living right now what their living in the old covenant is a shadow all right. The real thing. Today is the real thing. Okay so that's you know saying that was a shadow is a pretty interesting statement because that was a minute until structure.

The tabernacle was was big and attracted attention.

But when he came around to building a temple that was attached to the ground in Solomon's time. That was an imposing structure. How can you say that's a copy and a shadow that a copy to shut right of the bigger deal. So in a really ironic sense. What you saw there in the gigantic temple there, but will all that limestone stuff that was that was the shadow reality is something in heaven. And the reality of the something in heaven that we participate in.

We participate in with a new high priest, not a son of Aaron, but I knew I priest and that's Jesus and that's the bigger reality that's the bigger reality. The things you see are not so much the bigger reality things in heaven. So today we step into that.

Okay so what's the bigger deal if we been talking up to know about shadow copies what's the substance and I think for you to say, wait a second I don't know anywhere in the Old Testament where there's a substance more than finding rest coming in the promised land. I mean that's that's the promise right. I mean, is there is or something else listed about being more I mean what we talk about about the fact that there remains a Sabbath rest know we came into the land were an arrest now to the probably wondering is there anywhere in the Old Testament that even hints at this bigger, more substantial temple, and hence nearness of God. Well, the part the pretense of the temple were really can get into next week.

In chapter 9 because today to talk about the old covenant and the new covenant right and them the promise that God made in the agreement to do life uncertain terms so that we probably need to just remind people that a covenant is an agreement and contract to do life in a particular way, in partnership or in our relationship with someone when we make a covenant we say I am this for you and you are this for me. Probably the most familiar covenant to us these days is the marriage covenant where we literally say that I am for you and you are for me and for great day on. We agreed to go forward together in this kind of relationship and so that's really the core idea of God's covenant with mankind. So there is an old and a new covenant. That's were stepping into right now because there's a new priest, a new high priest, Jesus was a priest in a temple context is my larger and more substantial than right shadow of what we've seen up till now right and this covenant is based on better promises right so thrown down the goblins. He says it's a better hope it's a better, yeah. Like how much better and how much hopeful how much more hopeful will last final data get into it with so much to say black and white and it is so stunning he hardly even comments on it just pulls it on the Old Testament that so were coming that were coming to Hebrews 8 verse seven. And do you want to report yeah he's got boy he's going to hit this after after saying there's a better covenant based on better promises all yes now here we are in verse seven for if that first covenant had been faultless, that would've been no occasion to look for a second, for he finds phone with them when he says, and now this is a direct quotation to Jeremiah 31 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 like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They did not continue in my covenant, and so I show no concern for them, declares the Lord. 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 I will write them on their hearts.

And I will be their God and they shall be my people, and they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying no, the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, for I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

In speaking of the new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete account to stop there yeah yeah you get that whole statement in you just read all Jeremiah 3131 34 and he did to him.

He just pointed out, princes want see what was more hopeful.

Check this out and this is this is been in there Old Testament over their entire generations.

This is been sitting there latent and they've not really quite know what to do with nieces will you know this new priest in this more substantial covenant that new covenant is what was mentioned 600 years ago in Jeremiah 31 stock permitted by the purpose of a covenant with God makes a covenant with man when what was the purpose of God making a covenant it so that they would live as God's own people to represent them to the world, he says, to serve as priests to the world. This is in Exodus 19 he says if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, and here comes you'll be my treasured possession among all the peoples you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, God's purpose to set apart a people to live in his name and represent him to the world what life looks like to model in right relationship with God to model God's intention for all mankind. And you know I always call Israel a model nation and turn you to do.

Develop model homes.

They represent what the homes will be what's offered for everybody when a sense Israel was that model nation was they were supposed to exist in order to display inward in the shoe leather of the day what relationship with God, right, and it was like right and as a result than for all the nations to come and say we want to be part of this is what right which they utterly failed dated and we do to you when you try and live according to the old covenant, which is you know we should probably talk about the contrast between the old covenant and the newest God said this words here says the first covenant wasn't faultless there. God finds fault with them because they didn't keep it, even though he was faithful so yeah and and in the same sense that this original old covenant is a shadow it's it's it's is not faultless in sense because it's also not as substantial as the real thing was meant to really mimic and to discuss way in our reality what it's like to be in relationship with God but I but is little Google back to Jeremiah 31 passage which was interesting as you redo the entire thing.

There's nothing mentioned there about great houses to live in great food to eat.

Great wonderful flowing streams doesn't mention any of that kind of circumstance were we would call you know the best life ever.

The what to do.

Corbett's relationship with relationship Benson the best of the heart, which is what he's been talking all way up to this about the nearness of God. The nearness of God. The nearness of God and going past the curtain pass the bill into the presence of God. That's where life is found. And that's with his Jeremiah 31 passage says you will go back on the will just come pick out a little well yeah I know I've done a lot of studying on teaching comparing the old and the New Testament are the elderly covenant and really from where from. As I understand it really boils down to three things the old covenant was externally imposed right.

It was at this given from the outside written on stone and said you must do this people said we well by their own power, but the new covenant is internally implanted written on our hearts and God does all the all the I will write I will do this in you and I will do this for you. So the contrast really is between something that's externally like the to something that's internally implanted it's it's a remarkable difference because there's there's Charlton Heston playing some of them coming down the mountain carrying the 10 Commandments. By the which are which are called the tablets of the covenant right of the old covenant is bring those in and in that something that's applied to the outside of the Israelites live right.

But now he says here in Jeremiah pitched runway past that now instead of etching a by the finger of God on stone section right on her heart you know and symbolically really strongly emphasizing the fact that it will be something that we apply to our lives like the laws of no speeding and stuff. I will complain that there's something that are hard to actually love that we that we embrace.

It's part of who we are, to the very nature of this covenant is something it's written on our hearts very internal with this just a remarkable different. It is it is, and Paul actually unpacks that for us in second Corinthians 3 silt I would say to you listeners go to second Corinthians 3 and read the whole chapter, by all means, but let me just read to you three verses where Paul says beginning in verse three of chapter 3. This is written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts sense of confidence.

We have through Christ toward God.

While there, it is better. Our high priest is not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves by our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. So that's an easy concept to grasp that something written on stone is cold, dead and distant, something written on your heart. Living in warm and near that happens by means of the spirit and natural you know when you read New Testament… You look at this idea of sanctification were were God changes our behavior to align with his law things are important. You know what goodness is all about and and that's actually an extra 11 to the fact that God is changing our hearts. He's writing is on our hearts and so we see this in reality this is this is what he does. And this is this is fulfillment of Jeremiah 31 and he says you are the original covenant was made at the father's when he took him by the hand right to lead them out of the land of Egypt, you know, and he says you're going to be my people and going to be your God that we want that we want that and then in the end they would not believe his promises for life and the restless. So go back and read Exodus 24 because that is where God when Moses had received the actual 10 words from God read to the people and then they had this big ratification ceremony where they slaughter the animals they sprinkle the blood and the people say we well we got said it will do it, but by faith didn't matter of days.

Yeah, they didn't and and in the Jeremiah passage you look at it in the Jeremiah passage EP includes a word that's like husbanding and so he says the wig.

When God brought brought Israel out of Egypt, he was a husband to them, and always the same picture is that during their times. You know, the groom would would bring the bride out of the bride's home and into a new house is always doing that with Israel, and I was a husband to you, that is, I fulfill my side of the covenant my side of the agreement, the two of us, but you messed up and you flew off and so so that covenant was broken up because my offer was bad or somehow defective because you decided to go a different direction like a new one goes toward another man and what's fascinating about this. To me this is a fresh insight for this last year so the point at which in the history of Israel that God makes this promise of the new covenant well that it's written very specifically in Jeremiah. It is reiterated in Ezekiel that was at a period of time in their history when the nation was falling to the Babylonians. Yes, 586 BC is when Jerusalem was leveled and what remained of the of the nation of Israel was carried off to Babylon to have as exiles was 500 something years after David and long time after Moses that they had had all those hundreds of years to walk as God's people and yet they had repeatedly failed repeatedly turned to other gods, small G right and we might emphasize it wasn't. It wasn't a failure to accomplish the law you are toward other God actually was even a failure to follow through with the ceremonial ritual because the temple was still standing and there is some semblance of something going on but God says that all of the heart has drained away and and that's why it's such an operative model of this husband and wife because it wasn't as though Israel is a wife didn't do the things what you do is because she preferred another mate right and Israel preferred another mate in their God and chased after the gods, the Babylonians, and guts, agree to one another. Husband will forgo all that you have and I haven't see how that turned up when they lived hundreds of years. Essentially, well 70 years for support for certain, but he never came back from Babylon. They stay because they became acclimated to life where another God was a bad trade but that's why you know you have this marital covenant. It almost sounds like Amanda Brewster verse 10 records of Jeremiah Reese's.

I will be there. Got my people, that sounds very very. I will yeah this is mutual. This ideal connection that's the covenant that's the promise from each and and even in that promise, that nearness of God. Interesting thing is the mystery because of the distance of God in the old covenant you can go pass the bill so I will be completely blown away and so people won't say which of the you know you need to know the Lord because they'll all know me, you that that nearness that present universal and it won't just be further and of a high and mighty religious authorities for the greatest. It'll be for the smallest to write it is the remarkable thing everybody in this new covenant has an access to the presence of God and knowing the heart not based on merit, not based on age, not based on accomplishment not based on having completed your membership class or gone your new card carrying the privileges they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them firsthand because God gives himself and that's why in this new covenant here that were in. You know why I constantly emphasize the need for having a religious intermediary in church because we all have access into the holy of holies where God is, and we can all know him ourselves without action, relying on someone else to translate for us what that's all about our high priest now is your pastor church. It's Jesus himself and his way into the presence of God himself. So all of us regardless of our status. We all can say I know God, because God is has ripped that veil ripped that curtain away open the way up and said come on in and each one of us, from the least to the greatest know God is in that find rest in this pastureland and the fulfillment of this promise from God. The started way back before Abraham and was prefigured with Melchizedek priesthood make it all happen in Jesus putting that all packing that all back in the context of the book of Hebrews here, so we skipped over something that I mean it doesn't show up in the text, but it shows up in Exodus 24 passage of the gratifying the old cabinet that is the blood of the sacrifice that is a primary difference between the old covenant and the new under the old covenant that was the constant sacrificing of animal always because that was I is in the blind to central and the blood was required in order to cover the sin right, but under the new covenant. What happens to where's the blood and what happens to it right. Jesus said this Is the blood of the new covenant are the new covenant in my blood right to remake it. So there again is the external and internal contrast right in the sprinkling of the blood under the old covenant blood get sprinkled on the altar and then sprinkled on the people representing that life that they've agreed to together and it costs your life if you break it, whereas Jesus says now in the new covenant drink the blood, which was shocking absolute prohibition to drink blood, but the symbol is so powerful that the old covenant was was placed upon you from the external side, but the new covenant becomes you from the inside. Yeah, if you want to look at that yourself.

Go to Luke 22 yeah oh yahoo 22 is the upper room or Jesus as the Lord's supper, you know, in the middle of the Passover and stuff and that's that's where he says that stunning phrase is that this is the new covenant in my blood. And so in that word new covenant was not an accidental bright phrase he's he's quoting from Jeremiah 31 three passage at the right of Hebrews quoting right here. This new covenant is possible through a new blood is the blood of our high priest, and sacrifice. Jesus so anyway, says a new covenant, that doesn't just mean the next one right means totally new, completely different. It's like you now do used to drive a Volkswagen. Now I'm going to give you a spaceship yeah right completely different thing in the first one kinda hits at the second rank 10, but it's incomplete in that sense is the only hint is a shadow it's a biopsy it's pointing you to that right with the old talking point is to use a substance to infect Jesus when Jesus dropped hints about this all the time. I had to go back and look it up but there's a point where he says you know you don't take a new piece of cloth and so writing mostly squat. The new stuff will just tear weights you got at the gotta be different important new wine you don't point legs old wineskin so he was doing the newel thing we had back then you can check that I can find that marked two or Matthew nine you sing the very same thing.

Something is so radically new. That's here now that you don't understand that. Don't try and merge it with the old because the old is incomplete is a copy and as a shadow but is pointing to this newer thing. This new covenant and then in Luke 22 during the Lord's supper. He says this blood that's the new covenant to pay for you.

Yeah it's for the forgiveness of your seat for the forgiveness covenant that blood never forgave your San Benito Harvard could make anything right and right if he was going to get into that the end of this Jeremiah passage he quotes in verse 12. In all, be merciful toward their iniquities, and I remember saying is no more sound like an end of all that blood right and it is Jesus. But it isn't in once for all shed blood.

The sacrifice yeah if you if you could go back in time and you could go with the Israelites to to Jerusalem and see what goes on in the temple. You'd be shocked at the amount blood and it's all because of the sinfulness of the people mean that was just the constant reminders that is that sin brings death and even at that all this blood all this death of these animals isn't really cleansing. Anyway, it's more of a reminder that, but in the new covenant in the new covenant totally different that pointed to the solution and the solution is the blood of Christ, and now he remembers our sins no more. That's how new the new covenant is so forget we never did read the last verse in our section hit part of it is speaking of a new heaven is the first one obsolete. And what's becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away right because it's completely fulfilled satellite made her fix. Nothing more needs to be added in Christ. Yeah, and I in you. I want to emphasize that this that this obsolete thing doesn't mean that God made a mistake on the horse covenant, but he put together something that was a shadow that was. It was a copy and a shadow representation of what the real more substantial covenant between man and God is in heaven and that particular sense. So here's an factors were used for obsolete that's a bad translation but is the same word that gets used when we talk about sewing, you know, new cloth into old coffee. You don't want to do the new wine into old wine. It's just gotten worn, worn and old, and it's gotten to the end of its usefulness.

It's not wrong right it only will go so far and it prepares you for what's to come. So this was talking on the on the new covenant comes the first one it gets worn out is saying here and it's growing old and it's getting sore.

Now it's ready to just that it's been shown to be completely inadequate right because it was based on human well and power to do what God had said, but it accomplished its role in terms of portraying us to the new covenant. The blood of Christ, which is based on God's well God's power in us like God accomplishes on our behalf. Are we trying to accomplish for both covenants is the same. I'll be your guide and you will be my people. God wants to dwell in the midst of his people. So this place of rest promised to us is a place of rest in the nearness of nearness and presence of God and yet the old covenant had that point had that veil had the curtain across the holy of holies the symbolic place where God lives and says can't come in can't commend can come in holy years in rank. We got a problem here. But Jesus is our forerunner went into the holy of holies on our behalf and sprinkled his blood for us so that we can now join him there in the nearness of God. Jeremiah 31 the new covenant is knowing God. That's just 1.0 have nothing to say that I think it is adult a lot of time commenting on this passage in Jeremiah 31 he pretty much as lays it out there says, but there you go.

There it is.

You've always known it. That was the thing that was to come. That's what he was talking about earlier in chapter 4 when he says you know there were even though Israel is in the promised land. There remains still remain as rest restaurant is still coming out better hope that we draw near to God and this is it this is it right here so that a promise of God's promise, not ours. So in order to amplify the contrast next time he's going to go in and show us he's no walk us into the Old Testament temple showed goes on in which was a gigantic learning tool for Israel and for us about that since to copies the shadow of the true reality of what it is. This promise from God for nearness and for life and for resting so next time dial back the Time Machine go back and walk to the temple who reminders what goes on there in that will start building a greater appreciation for what this real temple. This real soft so you won't want to miss that. It's really read ahead in chapter 9 does take some time to helps us understand and appreciate Christ so anyway so I'm Jim and Dorothy, I hope you're as excited we are nice to have goosebumps. We are so glad you're with. I come back next week. In chapter 9 will continue to talk about. So join us next week for living word