Hebrews 8:1-6

¹ “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a High Priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man. ³ For every High Priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this High Priest also have something to offer. ⁴ Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; ⁵ who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.”

Verse 1: The main point the author is making is that we have a high priest in Jesus who is seated at the right hand of God in heaven. This signifies His exalted position and authority as our mediator. Because Jesus is our high priest his salvific work is completely finished. Such a concept was totally foreign to Jews. Their experience with high priests was that their work was never done because the sins of then people were always before them. But because Christ sat down, there is no longer any work to be done. We have total forgiveness and a new heart in him.

Verse 2: Jesus serves in the true sanctuary, which is not a man-made tabernacle but one established by the Lord himself. This emphasizes the heavenly and eternal nature of His ministry and covenant. The Old Covenant is likened to something being set up by a human being in comparison to the New Covenant which is from God.

Verse 3: Like other high priests, Jesus also had something to offer. However, His offering was not the temporary gifts and sacrifices of the Old Covenant, but His own perfect sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus offers the greatest sacrifice. This sacrifice removed our sins once and for all. This is propitiation. In the Old Covenant, there was atonement which was merely a covering of sins. High Priests in the Old Testament, therefore, had lesser gifts to offer.

Verse 4: The Old Covenant law is again associated with the earth, or with temporary things. The high priests who served under the law could never truly take away sins by the blood of bulls and goats.

Verse 5: The earthly sanctuary and tabernacle served as a copy and shadow of the heavenly reality. Just as the Old Covenant served as a shadow of the New Covenant. But shadows are not the realities themselves. Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain, yet this was merely a shadow of the heavenly tabernacle and consequently Christ finished work.

Verse 6: The ministry that Jesus has received as our high priest is far superior to the ministry of the earthly priests. This is because the New Covenant, of which Jesus is the mediator, is superior to the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is established on better promises, bringing greater forgiveness, redemption, and a personal relationship with God that the law could never achieve.