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Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8 connects Jesus’ heavenly priesthood with God’s promised new covenant, grounded in inward obedience, knowledge of God, and forgiveness.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of God’s throne, serving as high priest in the sanctuary the Lord established. The unnamed writer of Hebrews directs readers to his greater ministry, contrasting it with earthly priests who serve a copy of heavenly things. A long quotation of God’s promise to Israel and Judah then explains the better covenant Jesus mediates: God will write his laws within his people, make himself known, and forgive their sins.

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1Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.
3For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
4For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law,
5who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
6But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t 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 into their mind; I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11They will not teach every man his fellow citizen and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
13In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first obsolete. But that which is becoming obsolete and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Hebrews 8:10God promises to write his laws within his people, joining inward obedience with the assurance that they belong to him.
Hebrews 8:12God’s pledge to forgive brings the covenant promises to their climax and addresses the people’s failure under the first covenant.
Hebrews 8:6This verse links Jesus’ greater priestly ministry to his role as mediator of a covenant established on better promises.
Where this chapter reaches

Hebrews quotes Jeremiah’s promise of a new covenant with Israel and Judah, including God’s law written within and sins forgiven. Ezekiel shares the promise of inward renewal that leads to obedience, while 2 Corinthians also connects the new covenant with God’s work on human hearts.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What does the contrast between the earthly copy and the heavenly sanctuary clarify about Jesus’ ministry?

Write on this

Which part of God’s covenant promise draws your attention, and what would you write in response?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Hebrews 8

What is the new covenant in Hebrews 8?

The new covenant is God’s promised covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, mediated by Jesus. Its promises include God’s laws written on minds and hearts, belonging to God, knowing him across all ranks, and forgiveness. The writer presents these promises through a quotation from Jeremiah.

What does Hebrews 8:13 mean by calling the first covenant obsolete?

The writer reasons that God’s announcement of a new covenant marks the first as obsolete. The quotation identifies that first covenant with Israel’s departure from Egypt and names the people’s failure to keep it. The conclusion concerns that covenant’s standing; God’s laws remain present in the new covenant, written within his people.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).