Hebrews 8:1-13
1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “SEE THAT YOU MAKE ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “BEHOLD, THE DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH—
9 NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS IN THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; BECAUSE THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DISREGARDED THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR MIND AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
11 NONE OF THEM SHALL TEACH HIS NEIGHBOR, AND NONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST OF THEM TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.
12 FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
13 In that He says, “A NEW COVENANT,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
For there to be right relationship with the God of the Universe, the One who is set apart in righteousness and holiness, there is a need for Him to be honored with gifts and personally prepared for with sacrifices. The gifts are a statement of trust and reliance on Him from a heart that places Him above all temporal and worldly things in priority. The sacrifices are the cleansing from the uncleanness of sin to be acceptable in His presence. Under the law there was a need for a priest to offer both gifts and sacrifices for the people, but this was proven to be faulty in that the priests were mortal and the sacrifices were never sufficient to cover the continuance of sin. For there to be an adequate remedy, the priest would need to be immortal and forever in the holy place by the Father. The sacrifice offered would also have to be an eternal one that could always be available to those who would never have access to an earthly and mortal priest. In establishing an amazing plan to fulfill both these requirements, a new way for this to be legally valid would be established with a new covenant that has Christ as the eternal priest, offering both our honoring gifts and Himself as the sacrifice on our behalf. While there is now no need for an earthly priest, there is yet a requirement for completely walking in the newness of life in this new covenant. Gifts still proclaim and demonstrate the heart’s honor, while the blood of Jesus is still made to be an effective washing of all uncleanness with its embraced death to sin. Our access to the Father now is completely reliant upon our eternal Priest at His side and any requirements on our part are now established through a heart commitment to the way of love written there on it by His Spirit.