1. Our Great High Priest
Hebrews 8

2. Our Great High Priest Background
Central to the structure of God’s relationship with men was the concept of the covenant
A covenant was more than just a treaty
It was both a legal contract and a formalized bond of life and death, sealed with an oath

3. Our Great High Priest Background
The mediator of such a covenant was the priest
He was the one who would represent men to God and God to men
He officiated over the sacrifice and he brought the blood to the altar
He went into the presence of God on behalf of men

4. Our Great High Priest Background
In Hebrews 7, we saw that Jesus was our High Priest
His priesthood was not of the Aaron line, as He was not a Levite
His priesthood was of a much older line of priests – back to the days of Abraham
His priesthood was of the Melchizedek line of priesthood

5. Our Great High Priest Hebrews 8
The author wants his readers to understand
What is better about Jesus as our High Priest
Why the New Covenant is a better Covenant than the Old Covenant

6. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
Everything that has been said in Hebrews up to this point has been to bring us to this main point

7. in the person of Jesus Christ
Our Great High Priest
A Better High Priest
Everything that has been said in Hebrews up to this point has been to bring us to this main point
We have a High Priest
in the person of Jesus Christ

8. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
We saw in Hebrews 1:1-4 that God has spoken in a Son who sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
This is now repeated nearly word for word in Hebrews 8:1, “we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven”
We have come full circle to see Jesus

9. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
It is one thing to see Jesus as our High Priest, but quite another to see Him as our High Priest who has taken His seat
The one thing that no Old Testament priest ever did was to take his seat – Priests in the temple always stood
There were no seats in the temple or tabernacle – the only seat was God’s seat – the seat of mercy – the lid of the Ark of the Covenant

10. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
No priest would ever have dreamed of even touching the Ark let alone actually sitting on it
Jesus did exactly that – He is a priest who sat down
And notice where He sat – at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven

11. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
Two things should be noted with regard to Jesus sitting at the right hand of God
To be seated at the right hand was to be seated in the place of honor
The right hand was used for fellowship and for eating
The left hand for more mundane tasks
Jesus has been given the place of honor in heaven

12. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
Two things should be noted with regard to Jesus sitting at the right hand of God
In the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel, it was the custom for two scribes to sit on either side of the judges of that court
The scribe on the right hand side would write the acquittals
The scribe on the left hand side would write the condemnations

13. Our Great High Priest A Better High Priest
Jesus has been given the seat of pardon
His ministry has been one of bringing pardon and forgiveness to men
And, in Revelation 3:21 Jesus promises to Him who overcomes, “I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne”

14. Our Great High Priest A Better Sacrifice
The major function of any priest was the administration of gifts and sacrifices – some big like a bull, others small like a dove – but they always offered sacrifices
For Jesus to be a priest means that He also had to offer a sacrifice
He did not offer an animal

15. Our Great High Priest A Better Sacrifice He offered Himself
He is the High Priest who sacrificed Himself
He placed Himself upon the altar of God’s holy condemnation

16. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant
Hebrews 8:6 tells us that Jesus has a more excellent ministry, as He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises
The priests were the mediators of a covenant
God established His covenant with the nation of Israel

17. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant
There were stipulations to this covenant relationship and it was the duty of the priest to mediate the sacrificial and ceremonial aspects of these stipulations
There was nothing wrong with the Old Covenant – It was made between a holy God and His covenant people

18. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant
But today, there is a better Covenant – a New Covenant
The Covenant is new in the Hebrew sense of the word “new” in that it was previously unknown
God has done something new in Christ that He had never done before – both new and better

19. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant
The New Covenant is better because it was enacted on better promises
Our text points to at least 5 promises of the New Covenant

20. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
The promise of a New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant
One of the Old Covenant promises was that there would eventually come a day when a New Covenant was established (Jeremiah 31:31)
The fact that a New Covenant was promised while the Old Covenant was still in effect assumes that there was a need for something better

21. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
2. The New Covenant is better because it is an Internal Covenant
“I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.” (Hebrews 8:10)
The participants in the New Covenant have something that the believers of past ages never had – the Holy Spirit living within them
God has gifted His people in a special way – working from the inside out

22. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
3. The New Covenant is better because it is All-Inclusive
“for they all shall know me” (Hebrews 8:11)
The Old Covenant was primarily Jewish is scope
It was focused upon the land of Israel and upon the sacrifices that took place in Jerusalem
If you wanted to enter the Old Covenant and were not Jewish, you needed to become like the Jews – circumcision and an adherence to the Law

23. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
3. The New Covenant is better because it is All-Inclusive
This changes with the New Covenant
Even though it is made with the House of Judah and with the House of Israel, it looks outward to the world to invite all men to enter the Kingdom

24. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
4. The Covenant is Better because it Forgives Sins
“For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
The Israelites broke the Old Covenant
God wrote His Commands on tablets of stone
When the Israelites disobeyed, Moses took the tablets and shattered them

25. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
4. The Covenant is Better because it Forgives Sins
The New Covenant is not written on tablets of stone
It is written in men’s hearts
Because it is written in men’s hearts, it brings with it the means of fulfilling its obligations – by trusting in the One who fulfilled them on your behalf

26. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
4. The Covenant is Better because it Forgives Sins
This was the greatest failure of the Old Covenant
It could not forgive sins – could only temporarily cover sins with animal sacrifices that looked forward to a future fulfillment
The blood of sheep and goats can never take away sin
For this, a New Covenant relationship was needed

27. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
5. The New Covenant is Better because it does not become obsolete
“In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)
The fact that a New Covenant was promised indicates that the Old Covenant would be rendered obsolete
Notice the tense “is becoming obsolete” used by the author

28. Our Great High Priest A Better Covenant – Better Promises
5. The New Covenant is Better because it does not become obsolete
It denotes continuing action in the present time
As he was writing Hebrews, something was taking place on the horizon that was making the Old Covenant obsolete and which would eventually cause it to disappear
Within a few years, the Romans besieged Jerusalem, took it, burned the temple to the ground, and all of its ceremony and ritual would cease

29. Our Great High Priest Lesson 10 Summary
The days of the Old Covenant are gone
We are to live by the Spirit, trusting in His power and walking in light of His teaching
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and has brought us into a New Covenant relationship with Himself
We are to hold onto Jesus

30. Will you hold onto Jesus?
Our Great High Priest
Will you hold onto
Jesus?