A Commentary of the Book of Hebrews
By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins
Text Used: King James Version
Bible Study Hebrews 8: 1-13
Text:
8 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on 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 pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith 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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Verse by verse commentary:
Verse 1: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;”
Christ accomplished what no priest in the Old Testament ever achieved. Within the lineage of Aaron, no priest was ever granted a seat within the tabernacle; rather, they remained perpetually active due to the continuous nature of their duties. These ordinances served as shadows pointing toward a final, complete sacrifice. Through the death of Christ, all has been fully satisfied, eliminating any uncertainty regarding the necessity of human effort to merit salvation.
Verse 2: “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
Bezaleel functioned as the master artisan responsible for constructing the ornate furnishings of the tabernacle. Notably, the mercy seat and the golden lampstand were fabricated from gold and intricately detailed. Although his craftsmanship was executed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it remained a human endeavor. In contrast, the Lord Jesus exercises His ministry within a heavenly tabernacle established by Himself.
Verse 3: “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.”
The offering presented by Jesus Christ consisted of Himself, encompassing His own body and blood.
Verse 4: “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:”
Due to His earthly lineage, Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, which was not the priestly tribe. The phrase "there are priests that offer gifts" instead designates members of the tribe of Levi. Additionally, the present tense of the verb "offer" here and throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews suggests that the Jerusalem temple was still active. Therefore, the letter must have been composed before the temple was destroyed in AD 70.
Verse 5: “ who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”
The earthly tabernacle constructed by Moses offered a form of worship designed as a reflection of the heavenly realm where Christ carries out His ministry. Both the structure itself and the worship conducted within it served as a prophetic preview of the divine plan of salvation ultimately fulfilled through Christ.
Verse 6: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
The phrase “But now” establishes a definitive contrast with the prior Levitical priestly order. Jesus (“He”) serves as the mediator of a fundamentally superior covenant. This new covenant, mediated by Christ, transcends the covenant established through Moses at Mount Sinai, as it is founded upon superior divine promises.
Verse 7: “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.”
This reasoning mirrors the argument found in 7:11, where the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood was demonstrated by its replacement with the order of Melchizedek. In the same manner, if the Mosaic covenant had been flawless, there would have been no need to establish a second one. While the Mosaic covenant was not inherently faulty, it lacked the capacity to transform lives from sin and its consequences.
Verse 8: “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:”
“For finding fault with them”—rather than with the covenant itself. The deficiency never resided within God’s covenant or His law; indeed, the law is flawless. Instead, the failure lies within humanity. Human beings are inherently incapable of keeping the Law and consistently fail to meet its perfect standards.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” This divine promise, documented in the prophecy of Jeremiah, is also attested to throughout the writings of the other prophets.
Verse 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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.”
The people failed to remain faithful to the first covenant, breaking it because it did not enable them to perform what it demanded. While the Mosaic covenant and its law were flawless, the deficiency lay within humanity's inherent inability to meet its perfect standards. This first covenant, established when God took their fathers by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, lacked the capacity to transform lives from sin and its consequences. Because they did not continue in it, the Lord did not regard them.
Verse 10: “or this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
The New Covenant shall be inscribed upon their hearts, rather than engraved upon tablets of stone, thereby enabling their obedience.
Verse 11: “and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”
Under the New Testament, private instruction will not be as essential as it was under the Old. The old covenant was dim, symbolic, ritualistic, and harder to comprehend; priests taught infrequently and only a few at a time, and the Holy Spirit was given more conservatively. Conversely, the new covenant will feature an abundance of qualified gospel preachers and regular administrators of ordinances in churches, drawing a net of outreach into communities. This plentiful outpouring of the Spirit of God will make the gospel ministry highly effective, resulting in a dramatic expansion and deepening of Christian knowledge across all types of people, regardless of gender or age. The phrase “all shall know me” signifies that while access to the presence of God was restricted under the law, all who approach God through Jesus Christ are now permitted to enter the true sanctuary.
Verse 12: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
In contrast to the law's repetitive sacrifices, which served as a yearly remembrance of sins, Jesus' self-offering has established complete forgiveness, holiness, and perfection once for all.
Verse 13: “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
Upon the introduction of the new covenant, the “first” is rendered “old.” This distinction is strictly temporal rather than expressing disapproval; it does not signify that the former covenant was inherently flawed, but rather that it “decayeth.” Shortly after the book of Hebrews was written, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and its Levitical worship ceased.
