1. Hebrews 8:1-6 ………………………………… A Better Covenant 1

2. Hebrews 8:7-13 …………………………………. A New Covenant 3

3. Hebrews 9:1-10 ……………………………………The Old System 5

4. Hebrews 9:11-14 ……………………… He Entered Once For All 7

5. Hebrews 9:15-22 ……………………The Blood of the Covenant 9

6. Hebrews 9:23-28 ……………………The Better Heavenly Things 11

7. Hebrews 10:1-10 …………………A Body You Have Prepared 13

8. Hebrews 10:11-18 ………………………….An Effective Sacrifice 15

1. Hebrews 8:1-6 ………………………………… A Better Covenant

Read: Hebrews 8:1-6. Observe: 1. Where does our high priest currently reside and minister? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why is it necessary for every priest to have something to offer? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why wouldn’t Jesus be a priest if he was on earth? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What did the earthly priests serve? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why is Jesus’s ministry better? Why is the New Covenant better? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why was there a need for a second covenant? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • The author of Hebrews declares that Jesus ministers in the “true tent that the Lord set up.” This is

describing the heavenly reality of the tabernacle in heaven versus the imitation of the earthly tabernacle. The “true tent” is “not an imitation of something better than itself.” In other words, Jesus 1

as our true and better High Priest has a correspondingly true tabernacle that He ministers in- He points to no other priest!

• The earthly tabernacle is described as a “copy and shadow” of the heavenly tabernacle. This is an example of typology. The earthly tabernacle pointed to Christ’s future ministry as High Priest, and Christ and the heavenly tabernacle fulfill the type of the Old Covenant tabernacle and priesthood.

• Jesus and Moses are both described as Mediators in the New Testament; Moses of the Law (Gal 3:19-20) and Jesus of the New Covenant. A mediator is someone who stands between two parties to act in both parties’ interests, but here there is a sense in which Jesus Himself is the guarantee of the New Covenant as well- because of His work, the New Covenant will stand forever.

F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1964), 163. 1

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Think: 1. Since theses verses are so clear about the ultimate truth and reality of Jesus’s priesthood

and the heavenly tabernacle, what does that imply for any other kind of earthly priesthood?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Using supporting scripture references, what are the the better promises of the New Covenant?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why are these better promises? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What two offices do we describing Christ in 8:1? What are the three offices of Christ we have read about in Hebrews so far? (Hint: Go back to 1:1-4 for the third one).

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Apply:

1. How do the better promises of the New Covenant encourage you? Pick one or two to focus on and spend time in prayer giving thanks to God.

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2. If Jesus is our heavenly high priest in a heavenly tabernacle, where should our focus be? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

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2. Hebrews 8:7-13 …………………………………. A New Covenant

Read: Hebrews 8:7-13

Observe: 1. What passage of Scripture is the author of Hebrews quoting? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who had God originally spoken these words to? _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. According to 8:9, was it the covenant or the people who failed? _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Why did God make a New Covenant? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are the characteristics of this New Covenant? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What has God done to the Old Covenant in making a New Covenant? _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • Go back to Jeremiah 31 and skim through the passage. The whole chapter is about

God’s merciful plans to preserve His true people and to restore them. In the midst of these words being given, Judah was under the judgement of God and near to being exiled, and Jerusalem was under siege from Babylon. Despite the people’s sin, God made a promise to make a New Covenant with His people and to forgive them.

• The word “obsolete” in the Greek appears elsewhere in the New Testament: read Lk 12:33 (“grow old”) Heb 1:11 (“wear out”). Consider how the verb is used in these instances: they describe something that has served its purpose but can no longer do so and is ready to be retired. Consider this in relation to the Old Covenant.

• In the Greek “he makes… obsolete” is actually a verb in the perfect tense. The perfect tense in English is like “I have built a house;” it describes a past action with continuing effect. “The perfect is used typically of the permanent effect of God’s

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speaking, especially as recorded in scripture.” When God declares the Old 2

Covenant obsolete through Jeremiah’s lips, it is a declaration that stands forever!

Think: 1. Even though the author of Hebrews is quoting Jeremiah, who does he attribute these

words to? Why is that significant? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Compare Hebrews 8:8-12/Jeremiah 31:31-34 with Deuteronomy 31:15-20. What are the differences and similarities between the covenants discussed in these passages?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why does the New Covenant mean an end to the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Does the passing away of the Old Covenant mean that the promises of God in the Old Testament are no longer valid? Explain your answer in detail.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International 2

Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1993), 418.

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3. Hebrews 9:1-10 ……………………………………The Old System

Read: Hebrews 9:1-10

Observe: 1. How do these verses connect to Chapter 8? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is described in these verses? _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Who went into the first section of the tabernacle? The second? _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What did the High Priest always take with him into the second section? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What sins were the sacrifices made for, according to v. 7? _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is the first section of the tabernacle symbolic of? _____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What could these gifts and offerings not do? _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • See the diagram below to get a better idea of the layout of the tabernacle (not to

scale):

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HOLY PLACE

MOST HOLY PLACEThe table and the bread of the Presence

The Ark of the Covenant

The lampstand

• Exodus 30:6 and Leviticus 16:12, 18 state that the altar of incense was in the Holy Place, not the Most Holy Place, while the author of Hebrews seems to be saying that the altar of incense is in the Most Holy Place (9:2). However, as Allen notes, “the 3

author is less concerned about the physical location of the altar and more concerned with its functional correlation to the holy of holies. There are simply no grounds to charge the author with an error on this point.”

• Verse 8 is a difficult one to interpret, but the following is a helpful interpretation: "The Holy Spirit shows us by this means that the way into the real tent had not yet been opened as long as the old tent still remained in use.”

Think: 1. What are these verses describing? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What were the ultimate purposes of these laws and rituals? (Hint: Read Galatians 3). _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How many sacrifices did the High Priest need to make? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does the author of Hebrews mean when he says that the Most Holy Place is “symbolic for the present age”?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 3

2010), 461.

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4. Hebrews 9:11-14 ……………………… He Entered Once For All

Read: Hebrews 9:11-14

Observe:

1. Where did Christ appear and enter? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. By what means did Christ enter? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What did Christ’s work and entry into the holy places secure for us? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does the blood of Christ purify and cleanse, according to 9:14? How does that differ from the blood of bulls and goats?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • F.F. Bruce explains the reference to “sprinkling… with the ashes of a heifer” as follows: “A

perfect red heifer, which had never borne the yoke, was to be slaughtered outside the camp of Israel in the presence of Eleazar the priest … who was then to sprinkle its blood seven times in front of the tabernacle. The body of the heifer was then to be completely incinerated; Eleazar was to throw cedar wood, hyssop (marjoram), and scarlet thread into the burning fire. When all was consumed, the ashes were to be gathered up and stored out-side the camp to be used as occasion required for the preparation of mi niddǎh “water for (the removal of) impurity.” Anyone who contracted ceremonial defilement through touching or approaching a dead body was to be cleansed by being sprinkled with water containing some of the ashes of the heifer. Hence the allusion here to “the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who have been defiled” so as to “sanctify” them in respect of “bodily cleansing.” … The ritual of the red heifer is appropriately mentioned by our author at this point because, like the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement, “it is a sin offering” (Num 19:9).” 4

Bruce, Hebrews, 214–15.4

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Think:

1. What is the significance of the author’s use of the phrase “greater and more perfect tent”? What is this an example of?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain how Christ has obtained an eternal redemption for His people, according to these verses in Hebrews. Feel free to bring in other references we’ve read in Hebrews as well.

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3. What does the author mean by “dead works”? Use other New Testament scriptures to support your answer.

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4. What does the author of Hebrews compare Christ to by using the phrase “without blemish”? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is “conscience” contrasted with in v. 13-14? Explain the importance of this. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Apply:

1. The author of Hebrews states that Christ’s work has been accomplished once and for all. Not only that, but it is the only truly effective sacrifice, and it does what sacrifices of animals could not. In fact, any term of external religion fails to purify the conscience- only the blood of Christ could do that. Be encouraged that Jesus’s sacrifice is truly effective based on His merit, not ours!

2. Read Philippians 2:1-11. What mind/attitude should the once for all sacrifice of Jesus, our unblemished sacrifice, produce in in us?

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5. Hebrews 9:15-22 ……………………The Blood of the Covenant

Read: Hebrews 9:15-22

Observe:

1. How is Jesus described in these verses? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does Jesus’s role as mediator of a new covenant provide for His people? How? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What must happen before a will can take effect? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What was the first covenant inaugurated with? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What does not occur without the shedding of blood? _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • The Greek word for “will” and “covenant” is the same word: diathēkē. However, it is best to

understand the use of diathēkē in v. 16-17 as referring to a last will and testament rather than a covenant, especially in the context of the “eternal inheritance mentioned in v.15. However, the author of Hebrews jumps back to a covenantal sense in v.18, likely engaging in some wordplay.

• The concept of God’s people being those who are called is an explicit theme in the Bible. Think of God calling His people out of Egypt, or the many uses of the term in the New Testament (e.g. Rom 1:6, 8:28-30; 1 Cor 1:24; Jude 1). In fact, the term “elect” comes from the Greek term that means “to be called out.” In other words, Jesus’s work is behalf on those whom God has called to receive salvation.

• For more information about the “sprinkling” mentioned in 9:12-22, read Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8.

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Think: 1. What does it mean that Jesus is the “mediator” of a new covenant? What covenant is

referred to here, and where did we see it mentioned in Hebrews? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain the significance of the words "so that” in v. 15. What other verses describe this inheritance?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. What does the author of Hebrews mean when he states that Jesus has redeemed us from under the transgression committed under "the first covenant”? Keep in mind the audience to whom he is writing.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Think carefully about what the author of Hebrews means when he states that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Is he stating that the blood shed by the Old Testament sacrificial animals was effective in providing forgiveness? Explain your answer and be sure to provide cross references.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Apply:

1. Consider what Jesus has given you a share in by His death: “the promised eternal inheritance.” Read Colossians 2:12-14. Take time to give the Triune God thanks for His gracious work in qualifying (making we who were unqualified qualified by the work of Jesus) you to partake in this great inheritance.

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6. Hebrews 9:23-28 ……………………The Better Heavenly Things

Read: Hebrews 9:23-28

Observe: 1. How does v. 23 connect back to v. 22? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Where has Christ entered, and for what purpose? _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why didn’t Christ offer Himself repeatedly? _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What has Christ’s sacrifice accomplished, according to b. 26? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the purpose of each of Christ’s comings? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • The author of Hebrews uses what is called a “lesser to the greater” argument in v.23; if the

lessor, earthly sanctuary (which was only a copy of the heavenly sanctuary) needed to be purified by animal sacrifice, how much better a sacrifice will be required for the heavenly sanctuary! However, this raises the question: What do “heavenly things” refer to, and why do they need to be cleansed? There have been three main interpretations of this difficult passage: 1) the inauguration of the heavenly sanctuary, in which it is not so much cleansed as it is inaugurated, as when Moses sprinkled the elements of the tabernacle with blood. 2) cleansing of heaven, which has been affected by the fall to some degree. 3) “Heavenly things” refers to God’s people and His temple, and Christ’s sacrifice has purified them.

• The term “put away” in v. 26 is the translation of the Greek word athetesis, a noun which appears twice in the New Testament (both occurrences are the book of Hebrews, cf. 7:18). It communicates the idea of annulling or abrogating something; in other words, Christ’s sacrifice did not merely move sin into a secret location away from where we can see it, but His work has removed any condemning power from our sin. He has made our sin null and void!

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Think: 1. What do you think is the best way to interpret the v. 23, and why? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. How does v. 24-25 continue the author’s contrast of the Levitical Priests and Christ? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Based on 6:4-8, why is there no use in “laying again a foundation”? Can apostasy be remedied by a return to the foundation of “repentance and faith”?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the implications of the phrase “before the foundation of the world” in v.26? What does this tell us about Christ and God’s redemptive plan? Use your cross references to help strengthen your answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Describe in detail the two comings of Christ, using cross references. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Apply:

• Read Titus 2:11-14. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus’s sacrifice is once and for all, meaning that our sin is completely dealt with. The next time Christ appears, it will not be to die for sin, but to gather His people to Himself and deliver those who are eagerly waiting for Him. Consider the great encouragement and hope we have in Christ’s return. How should this affect the way we live?

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7. Hebrews 10:1-10 …………………A Body You Have Prepared

Read: Hebrews 10:1-10

Observe: 1. Why can’t the Law make perfect those who draw near? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why would sacrifices have ceased to be offered if they were effective? _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. In reality, what did the sacrifices themselves do, according to 10:3-4? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What OT passage does the author quote? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the “first” and the “second” mentioned in v.19? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is the effect of the offering of Jesus’s body? _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • Compare Psalm 40:6-8 in your Old Testament with Psalm 40:6-8 in the author’s citation. The

difference here is due to the use of the Septuagint. In the Hebrew (Masoretic Text), the words of the second part of 40:6 literally read “ears you have dug for me.” David Allen states the following: “Most think this is an interpretive paraphrase of the MT where the Greek translators probably interpreted the Hebrew “ears” with “body.”1138 Only by means of the incarnation can Jesus accomplish the will of God to do away with sin. The LXX translates the Hebrew “my ears you have opened” with this intended sense in mind. The open ear and the yielded body both signify obedience to the will of God.1139 Is this an example of dynamic equivalence at work in translation? It is indeed if the intent is to communicate the concept of obedient service implied in the term “ear.” 5

• In v.9-10, it is best to understand the “first” as the system of burnt offerings, and the “second” as obedience to God’s will. In other words, Jesus does away with the sacrificial

David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 5

2010), 496.

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system to bring about the internal realities of the New Covenant, which results in true Spirit led obedience to God from the heart.

Think: 1. Is the author of Hebrews describing the things prescribed in the Law as at type? Explain. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Read Galatians 3:15-29. How does these two passages complement and relate to each other regarding the New and Old Covenants?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Explain the connection and flow of the author’s argument between 10:1-4 and 10:5-10. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the significant implications regarding the eternality of the Son according to v.5-10?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Describe how the author of Hebrews is quoting Ps. 40:6-8. Does he consider it a foreshadow, prophecy, does he place it directly in the mouth of Jesus, etc?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. The word “we have been sanctified” in Greek is in the perfect tense, which describes the presently continuing effects of a completed past action. Describe the kind of sanctification described here. Is this progressive sanctification (our growing in holiness)? Explain the connection to the New Covenant here.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

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8. Hebrews 10:11-18 ………………………….An Effective Sacrifice

Read: Hebrews 10:11-18

Observe: 1. Does 10:12 look familiar? Where else in Hebrews have we seen this verse? _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Where did Christ sit after offering a sacrifice for sin? _____________________________________________________________________________________

3. How long will Christ sit there? _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What has Jesus done through His single offering? _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What does God do for sinners in the New Covenant, according to 10:15-18? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn: • Notice how 10:10 describes Christians as “having been sanctified” through Jesus’s death

and 10:14 as describing Christians as “being sanctified.” In the Greek, we find the same word in two different tenses: 1) in 10:10, it is in the perfect tense, which describes the 6

ongoing results of a completed past action and 2) in 10:14 it is in the present tense, describing an incomplete and ongoing action. The significance of this is that the author is describing both our positional righteousness and our progressive righteousness. In other words, Christ’s sacrifice has made us completely holy in the eyes of God; yet at the same time, we are in the process of actually becoming holy.

• The phrase “right hand” refers to a position of power in the ancient world. To sit at the right hand of the king would indicate the highest honor, and would would grant the one who sat there great power.

Technically, it is a participle.6

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Think: 1. If the animal sacrifices made by the Levitical priests couldn’t take away sin, what was the

point of them? Make sure to support your answer with scripture. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does v. 13 tell us about the return of Christ? Additionally, can you find the verse from the Psalms that this verse is alluding to? (Hint: We have been looking at this Psalm a lot).

_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. 10:16-17 is a citation of Jeremiah 31:33-34, but who does the author of Hebrews attribute these words to? Why is this significant?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Examine the way the author cites Jeremiah 31:33-34 in Hebrews 10:15-18. Explain the flow of his argument here.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Even though the author of Hebrews argues for God’s work in writing His laws on His people’s hearts, what is the big main idea of the New Covenant highlighted in these verses?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Apply:

• Consider what the author of Hebrews writes about the work of Christ and the nature of the New Covenant in providing forgiveness of sins. Take some time to think about the incredibly reality of this, and describe the effects of knowing your sins are fully forgiven by Christ’s once and for all sacrifice!

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