Hebrews 8:8 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Hebrews 8:8

Comments

This is the great quotation from the prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34 speaking before Calvary. It is new, because Christ in New Testament times came and newly paid the price for that ancient covenant of grace. It is new because it is newly published in a vast worldwide manner when Christ came. It is new because it marks the end of God’s dealing with the Jews in a special way under the previous covenant, the old covenant of Moses. It is the last arrangement God will ever have with man before Christ comes again. But the ‘new covenant’ was in force long before it was ratified by Christ, and it was running throughout the Old Testament period. On the basis of it, Abraham and all other Old Testament saints were justified and saved. So certain and reliable are the purposes of God that even before Christ died, God could anticipate Christ’s future work and justify Abraham on the basis of it. Whoever repented and trusted in the mercy of God and relied on the sacrifices which pictured what the coming Saviour would do; whoever trusted in those things was saved on the basis of the new covenant, the covenant of grace, even in Old Testament times. The reasoning here is that no new covenant would have been announced if God had not viewed the old covenant as in some way inadequate. The days will come, says Jeremiah, when the new covenant is made to no longer run alongside the old, but is the only covenant that is recognised by the Lord. That day will mark the day when many other changes take place: Christ will carry out the work of redemption in order to make the new covenant effective; the church will be made up solely of believers and no longer the mixed multitude of the Old Testament; the form of worship will change, and the ceremonial law will retire.

Application

Do not these things stir us up to greater love? Do not these things deepen our sense of indebtedness? Do they not make us want to dedicate ourselves to him all the more and trust him? It would be such a sad, sad thing if a believer were to think to himself or herself, ‘Oh it is wonderful to have a high priest, who is divine and eternal, who is so accessible, who has me on his heart all the time’, and yet not be moved to dedicate themselves more fully to him. How much I owe it to him! I do not want to be one of those believers who only appreciates and takes the benefits, but one also who lives for him. This makes us want to use our remaining years in his service.

Questions

The new covenant will be made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. What does that mean? The verses that follow show that the new covenant is made only with those whose hearts are changed, who have the law written on their minds and their hearts, and therefore these are true believers in Christ. They are the people who are transformed in their hearts. They are not ethnic Israelites who have refused to believe the gospel. They are spiritual Israelites who include all those Gentiles who believe and are of the seed of Abraham. So why are they called the house of Israel and the house of Judah? To show us who are Israelites indeed (John 1:47).

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Introduction

Hebrews 8:8 Commentary and Bible Study