Read or listen The Epistle to the Hebrews chapter 8 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Heavenly High Priest – Hebrews 8:1-5

The key theme of the entire Epistle to the Hebrews can be considered Jesus as the heavenly high priest (verse 1). The author discusses Christ's heavenly priesthood in chapters 8-10.

The fact that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father is a sign that the sacrificial service has already been completed (verse 1, compare Hebrews 9:25: "Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly..."). The heavenly priestly service (in Greek "leitourgia", from which comes "liturgy") is therefore not a sacrificial service.

The Jewish worship is only a reflection, a shadow of the heavenly worship (verse 5, Exodus 25:40). However, the old covenant has not been abolished, but the new covenant is the fulfillment of the promises of the old covenant. From this it naturally follows that the time of the old covenant is passing away when the new one comes (Hebrews 8:13).

Jesus could not have been a Jewish sacrificial priest because he was not a Levite (verse 4, Hebrews 7:12-14). The sacrifice offered by Christ is not described yet (verse 3), but is described in chapter nine, which is otherwise a more detailed and in-depth examination of the ideas of chapter eight.

New Covenant – Hebrews 8:5-13

In verses 8-12, the author quotes the prophet Jeremiah's prophecy about the new covenant:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Jeremiah expected a new covenant to be established when the people returned from exile. Although Israel's religious life was renewed during the exile, it was not a new covenant at that time.

At His last meal with His disciples, Jesus said in the words of the institution of the Lord's Supper:

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."
(Luke 22:20)

The change of covenant had certain consequences. The old covenant had been broken (verses 7-9) and powerless to grant forgiveness of sins. When the new covenant came, the old one had to give way. Therefore, it would be absurd to return to Judaism, even if through it a Christian at that time would have been freed from the persecution.

The new covenant:

1. is more important than the old covenant (verse 6)
2. is greater than the old covenant (verse 6)
3. is "internal," God's law is placed within people (verse 10)
4. is universal - concerning the whole world (verse 11)
5. brings knowledge of God (verse 11)
6. brings forgiveness of sins (verse 12)

Paul had already spoken of Judaism as the old covenant (2 Cor. 3:14), but it is not until the writer of Hebrews states that the old covenant is disappearing, giving way to the new covenant. Christians can rightly be called the "people of the new covenant."

What does "covenant" mean? The Greek word "diatheekee" can be translated both as "covenant" and as "testament." The word brings to mind two equal partners in a covenant, but the Letter to the Hebrews—and the Bible in general—does not think so. Man is not equal with God.

The central thing in the new covenant is the mediator of the covenant, Christ (verse 6). Jesus acts as a mediator between people and God. Luther has said that sinful man cannot approach the holy God except under the protection of Christ.

The new covenant is specifically a promise of forgiveness of sins (verse 12). Jesus atoned for our sins and God counts that work on the cross of Golgotha for our benefit. We cannot demand it from God, but He does it in His goodness, out of grace.