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.”
Main point: The author of Hebrews now affirms the main point of the preceding chapters. Christians have a High Priest who has sat down because His work of salvation is accomplished. His sacrifice was completely sufficient for perfectly cleansing believers (Hebrews 10:14). The concept of a seated priest was foreign to the Jewish audience. Priests were never seated because the sin issue was never over. But in Christ, all sins have been removed.
Minister in the Sanctuary: Jesus is the minister of the true tabernacle pitched by God, not pitched by man as in the Old Covenant. Consequently, what Jesus offers is superior to what the Old Covenant offered.
Have something to offer: 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.
Pattern shown you on the mountain: Moses comes down from the mountain having had a revelation. He is to build a tabernacle based on what he saw on the mountain. But this building is only a shadow of the reality which he saw on the mountain. This is exactly what the author of Hebrews tells us about the law in general. It was a shadow of the reality that we have in Jesus Christ.
Better covenant: The author of Hebrews is declaring that the New Covenant is more excellent than the ministry of the law. This means that Jesus’ finished work is superior to anything offered in the law. Because sin is completely dealt with in Christ, there is no longer any interruption in relationship with God.
