The New Covenant is Superior to the Old Covenant. (Hebrews 8:1-13)

Here we arrive at a crucial point in the line of reasoning of Hebrews. Jesus is the superior priest, because His sacrifice is real. All other sacrifices under the old covenant were in some way copies of a reality beyond the reality we can experience in the here and now. Jesus did not enter the temple (nor the tabernacle) and offer His sacrifice there. He entered the real house of God. The temple (and tabernacle before it) was a mere shadow of the real heavenly dwelling of God. What Moses saw and replicated is likely impossible for us to understand. It was also likely impossible for Moses to comprehend even as he made the replica.

Jesus’s sacrifice was not just made in an ultimate reality. It was a new covenant. Here the writer quotes Jeremiah. YHWH’s words through Jeremiah were that God would make a new covenant where: 1. The law would be inscribed on the hearts of His people. (Actually, they would be given new hearts “capable” of knowing and following God’s commands.) 2. His people would, individually, know and experience God in a personal way. And, Their sins would be erased from reality.

The new covenant is a new reality. We don’t just memorize God’s law. We don’t just hear about God. We don’t just have our sins paid for. We are transformed in reality. We are new creatures with new spiritual hearts. We are friends with God. We are forgiven as if we had never sinned at all.