Bible School · Ministry and the church's offices · Class 23 of 27

A better covenant, a true sanctuary: Christ the minister of the heavenly tent

Hebrews 8–9 · about 21 minutes · The new covenant and the heavenly sanctuary

By the end of this class you should be able to

State the 'main point' of Hebrews 8:1-2 and identify the two sanctuaries the chapters contrast.
Explain how Hebrews 8:7-13 uses Jeremiah 31:31-34 to argue that the first covenant is obsolete, and list the promises of the new covenant.
Describe the tabernacle and its Day of Atonement ritual in 9:1-10 and say why the writer calls it a 'symbol' for the present age.
Trace the argument of 9:11-28 that Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary once, with his own blood, and will appear a second time.

Read the passage

8The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. ³And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. ⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⁹It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. ¹¹No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. ¹²For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” ¹³By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Open Hebrews 8 in the reader (BSB)

9Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ²A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. ³Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. ⁶When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties. ⁷But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. ⁹It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform. ¹¹But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. ¹²He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God! ¹⁵Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive. ¹⁸That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people, ²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” ²¹In the same way, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and all the vessels used in worship. ²²According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. ²³So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God. ²⁵Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

Open Hebrews 9 in the reader (BSB)

01Background

Hebrews does not name its author. The East long ascribed it to Paul; the West doubted this until about the fourth century. Origen (died c. AD 254), as Eusebius reports him, said that only God knows who wrote it. Barnabas (Tertullian) and Apollos (Luther) are among the proposals. The Greek is polished, and the writer calls the book a 'word of exhortation' (), that is, a sermon.

The date is disputed. Timothy is alive (), and 'those from Italy' send greetings (). Many scholars date the book before AD 70 because the priests are spoken of as still serving (; ; ) and the temple's fall is never mentioned. Others reply that the writer describes the tabernacle of Exodus, not Herod's temple, and that Josephus and Clement of Rome (c. AD 96) also use the present tense of the cult after 70.

The readers are Christians, probably of Jewish background, who have suffered loss () and are tempted to drift. showed that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. and 9 ask where he serves and under what covenant. The setting is the tabernacle Moses built () and the Day of Atonement (), the one day each year when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place.

02Outline

The main point: a high priest in the true tent, mediating a better covenant
Jeremiah's promise of a new covenant makes the first obsolete
The earthly tabernacle and the yearly entry: the way is not yet open
Christ enters the greater tent with his own blood and cleanses the conscience
The mediator of a new covenant: death and blood inaugurate it
Heaven itself purified: Christ appears once, and will appear again

03How to read it

Hebrews is a sermon that alternates exposition with warning and treats the Old Testament as God's living speech to the church: 'the Holy Spirit also testifies to us' (). These chapters weave four texts together: (the pattern shown to Moses), (the new covenant), (the covenant sealed with blood) and (the Day of Atonement). The tools are typology (the earthly tent as 'copy and shadow'), promise and fulfillment, and the argument 'how much more' (), which reasons from a lesser case to a greater.

Two contrasts run through the chapters, and scholars debate which controls. One is vertical: the earthly tent against the heavenly. The other is a sequence in time: the first covenant against the new, 'the present time' against 'the time of reformation' (). Ronald Williamson (Philo and the Epistle to the Hebrews, 1970) heard Platonic thought, through Philo, in the vertical language. L. D. Hurst (The Epistle to the Hebrews: Its Background of Thought, 1990) argued for a Jewish apocalyptic frame, in which heavenly realities are revealed and then arrive in history. The class follows the second view, because the writer anchors the heavenly pattern in and dates its arrival to 'the consummation of the ages' ().

In 9:16-17 the Greek diatheke can mean 'covenant' or 'will.' Many translations use 'will' for these two verses and 'covenant' elsewhere; others keep 'covenant' throughout. The argument stands on either reading, since return plainly to covenant and blood.

04What the text says

. 'The main point' (kephalaion, 'summary' or 'crown') is that 'we have such a high priest,' seated at the right hand of God's throne (; compare ). He is a 'minister' (leitourgos) of the holy places and of the 'true tent' that the Lord, not man, pitched.

. A high priest must have something to offer (the answer comes in ). On earth Jesus would not be a priest at all, since the law gives the priesthood to Levi's line and he came from Judah (). The earthly priests serve in a 'copy and shadow' of heavenly things, as God's command to Moses shows: make everything 'according to the pattern shown you on the mountain' (). Christ's ministry is more excellent because the covenant he mediates rests on 'better promises.'

. If the first covenant had been faultless, no second would be sought. The writer quotes , the longest Old Testament quotation in the New Testament. The new covenant is unlike the one made when God led Israel out of Egypt, which they broke. It brings four things: God's laws written on minds and hearts; a bond, 'I will be their God, and they will be My people'; knowledge of the Lord from the least to the greatest; and mercy, 'their sins I will remember no more.' is careful: by calling a covenant 'new,' God has made the first 'obsolete,' and what is aging is 'ready to disappear.'

. The tent had two rooms. In the Holy Place stood the lampstand, the table and the bread of the Presence. Behind the second curtain lay the Most Holy Place with the ark, the mercy seat and the cherubim. The ark is said to hold the manna jar, Aaron's staff and the tablets. That is a known difficulty, since says only the tablets were there at Solomon's dedication; and place the jar and staff 'before' the testimony, and the writer may be speaking loosely of what belonged with the ark. Priests entered the first room continually. Only the high priest entered the second, once a year, 'not without blood,' for himself and for the people's sins of ignorance (). By this the Holy Spirit shows that the way into the holy places was not yet open while the first tent stood. The arrangement is a parabole, a 'symbol' or object lesson, for the present time: gifts that could not perfect the worshiper's conscience, and rules about food, drink and washings that applied 'until the time of reformation.'

. 'But when Christ appeared.' He is high priest of the good things that have come and passes through 'the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands.' He enters 'once for all' (ephapax), not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own, having secured 'eternal redemption.' If the blood of animals and the ashes of a heifer () made the unclean ritually clean, how much more will the blood of Christ, who 'through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God,' cleanse the conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

. Therefore Christ is mediator of a new covenant. His death redeems the transgressions committed under the first covenant, so that the called receive the promised eternal inheritance. recall , where Moses sprinkled book and people with blood and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant.' Almost everything under the law is purified with blood, and 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.' That states the principle of the sacrificial system; it does not deny the exceptions, such as the flour offering allowed the poor ().

. Copies of heavenly things were purified by animal sacrifices; the heavenly things themselves need 'better sacrifices.' Christ entered not a man-made copy but heaven itself, 'to appear now in the presence of God on our behalf.' He does not offer himself often, as the high priest enters yearly with blood not his own. He has appeared 'once at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.' As people die once and then face judgment, so Christ was offered once 'to bear the sins of many' (the language of ) and will appear a second time, 'not to deal with sin' but to save those who eagerly wait for him.

05Key terms

minister leitourgos: One who performs public sacred service. In 8:2 it describes Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary.
copy and shadow hypodeigma kai skia: A sketch or model and the shadow a body casts (). The earthly tent is real but preliminary.
mediator mesites: A go-between who secures an agreement. Hebrews applies it to Jesus in , and . Compare .
covenant / will diatheke: The Greek Old Testament uses it for the Hebrew berit, 'covenant.' In everyday Greek it can mean a will. The writer plays on both senses in .
once for all ephapax: Used for Christ's entrance into the sanctuary () and his death (; ). It marks an event complete and unrepeated.

06In the whole Bible

Hebrews joins two things the Old Testament keeps close: covenant and priesthood. At Sinai the covenant was sealed with blood (), the tabernacle was built, and a priesthood was set apart to serve in it. says that when the priesthood changes, the law changes with it. The new covenant of therefore brings a new priest, a new sanctuary and a new sacrifice. speaks of the same hope as a new heart and the Spirit; Paul calls himself a minister of a new covenant, 'not of the letter but of the Spirit' (); and the cup at the Last Supper is the new covenant in Christ's blood (; ).

The heavenly sanctuary is a thread through the canon. God gave Moses a pattern (), and the LORD's throne is in heaven (). In Revelation the temple in heaven is opened (), and in the new Jerusalem there is no temple, 'for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple' (21:22).

For this course the chapters matter for what they omit. Christ is the one minister of the true sanctuary. Hebrews gives no title of priest to any person in the church; when it speaks of the church's leaders it uses other words (, 17, 24). Access to God now rests on Christ's own work, and the Old Testament priestly class and its repeated service belong to the age the writer calls 'a copy and shadow.'

07Where Christ is

Among Old Testament texts, the tabernacle is a type: God showed Moses the pattern (), and Christ ministers in the true sanctuary it pictured. The Day of Atonement is a type: the high priest entered yearly with the blood of a bull and a goat (), and Christ entered heaven itself once, with his own blood (, 24). The blood of is a type of the blood Jesus names at the Last Supper (). is a promise, fulfilled in Jesus as mediator (). 'To bear the sins of many' () draws on , fulfilled in his death. The red heifer of serves a lesser-to-greater comparison, and the text does not call it a type of Christ.

The chapters show Christ in three roles at once. He is the priest, seated at God's right hand (; ). He is the sacrifice, who offered himself 'without blemish' through the eternal Spirit (). He is the mediator, who inaugurates the covenant by his death (). His second appearance () joins the passage to the New Testament hope (; ).

The 'how much more' of says who he is. Animal blood reaches the body. His blood reaches the conscience, because his offering was a person's whole obedience, made in the power of the Spirit. His appearing 'in the presence of God on our behalf' () matches , where Christ at God's right hand intercedes for us, and , where we have an advocate with the Father.

08How traditions read it

Three points divide readers, and each bears on later classes.

First, what is the heavenly sanctuary? Some take it as a real place where Christ ministers; others as a figure for God's own presence, into which Christ brings his people; others, in the Platonic reading, as the eternal reality of which earthly things are images.

Second, is Christ's presenting himself in heaven () a continuing offering? Catholic teaching holds that Christ's priesthood continues in heaven and that his one sacrifice is made present in the Eucharist (Council of Trent, session 22, 1562; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992). Reformed and Lutheran writers answer that excludes any repeated or continuing offering: his heavenly work is intercession on the basis of a finished sacrifice. Some 17th-century Socinian writers placed the real atoning offering in heaven after the resurrection, and John Owen's Hebrews commentary opposed them. The class follows the Reformed reading of and , and notes that those who differ claim to defend the same verses.

Third, what does 'obsolete' () mean for Israel? Covenant theology sees the church as the people in whom is fulfilled. Dispensational readers hold that Jeremiah addressed 'the house of Israel and the house of Judah' and that the promise will be fulfilled for national Israel, the church sharing its blessings now. Jewish interpreters usually read Jeremiah as promising the inner renewal of the same Torah covenant, not its replacement. speaks of a system of priesthood and sacrifice growing old. Using it to justify contempt for Jews, as some have done, goes beyond the text and against .

09Review questions

What does say is the 'main point' of the argument so far, and how does support the claim that earthly priests serve in a 'copy and shadow'?
List the promises of the new covenant in , as quoted in . Which does particularly develop?
According to , what did the layout of the tabernacle and the high priest's yearly entry teach about access to God?
What is the 'how much more' argument of , and what does it say Christ's blood does that animal blood could not?
How does answer the idea that Christ offers himself repeatedly, and which Old Testament passage lies behind 'to bear the sins of many'?

Prepared with AI assistance. A scholar's review is still to come; if you spot anything to correct, please tell us.

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