VII.
A New and Better Covenant (8:1–10:39)
C.
The Old Sanctuary and Its Ritual ()
9.
() The tabernacle "is a symbol for the present time." That is, the real meaning of the tabernacle can now be understood. The writer is contrasting the limited access that was all that could be obtained in Old Testament days with the free access to the presence of God that Christ has made possible for His people. The trouble with the sacrificial offerings of the old covenant was that they could not "make the worshiper perfect in conscience." The reference to "conscience" is significant. The ordinances of the old covenant had been external. They had not been able to come to grips with the real problem, that of the troubled conscience. This does not mean, of course, that Old Testament saints never had a clear conscience, but they did not obtain it by the sacrifices as such, because of continuing sins of omission or commission requiring more sacrifices of pure animals.
10.
() The externality of the old way is brought out from another viewpoint. It concerned only matters like "food and drink and various washings." There is no problem about the mention of food, for the Old Testament had some strict food laws (). But drink is not so prominent. Priests were to abstain from alcoholic drinks while engaged in their ministry (), and there were limitations on the Nazirites (). () No one was allowed to drink from an unclean vessel. And, of course, there were libations accompanying some of the sacrifices (e.g., ; ), several ceremonial lustrations (purify by actions such as those performed by the priests in their ministry, ), and a variety of washings for defiled people (; ; ). All such things the divine author dismisses as "regulations for the body." They have their place, but only "until a time of reformation." The new covenant Christ brought has replaced all the merely external regulations of the old covenant.
D.
The Blood of Christ ()
1.
() The sacrifices of the old covenant were ineffectual. In strong contrast, Christ made an offering that secures a redemption valid for all eternity The divine author explains what the "good things to come" are, and the expression is also a comprehensive way of summing up the redemption Christ has won for His people. We are pointed to the Cross and all it means, though the divine author well knows that there is more to come than we now see (the invasion of Israel by Rome in A.D. 70 and the appearance of Christ then). Yet the full realization of what this means is yet to come.
a.
What is meant by "greater and more perfect tabernacle" (vs. 11) and with it the meaning of "through", which relates to this tabernacle. Also, this same Greek word relates negatively to the blood of animals and positively to the blood of Christ. Many commentators see a reference to heaven in "a greater and more perfect tabernacle. We also have the words "not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation" (vs. 11). We should take notice of the similar expression in verse 24, where the author says that it was by means of the heavenly sanctuary, and by means of Christ's own blood (not that of animals), that Christ entered the holiest of all, into the presence of God. This is an emphatic way of saying that He has won for His people an effective salvation and that this has nothing to do with earthly sacrifices.
2.
() The divine author turns again to the Levitical sacrifices. In them he finds the power to effect an external purification, a cleansing from ritual defilement. He refers to the blood "of goats and bulls," which means much the same as that of "goats and calves" in verse 12. "The ashes of a heifer" point to the ceremony for purification described in . A red heifer was killed, the carcass was burned, and the ashes used "as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin" (). When anyone was ceremonially unclean because of contact with a dead body or even by entering a tent where a dead body lay ([optional reading] ), he was made clean using these ashes. The verb "sanctify," often used of the moral and spiritual process of "sanctification," here refers to a ritual matter. The Levitical system is not dismissed as useless. It had its values and was effective within its limits. But those limits were concerned with what is outward.
3.
() The "how much more" argument stresses the incomparable greatness of Christ and His work for us. "The blood of Christ" means Christ's death is regarded as a sacrifice to God for sin. Atonement must be seen in the light of God's demand for uprightness in a world where people sin constantly. No view of atonement can be satisfactory that does not regard the divine demand. "Without blemish" is the word used technically of animals approved for sacrifice, animals without defect of any kind.
a.
There is a problem in the way we should understand "the eternal Spirit." It may refer to the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is nowhere else referred to in this way. Thus, many commentators prefer to see the "spirit" as Christ's own spirit. But perhaps we ought to see the "Servant of the Lord" imagery behind this whole passage, who is introduced in Isaiah with "I have put My Spirit upon Him" (). Just as the prophet sees the Servant as accomplishing his entire ministry in the power of the divine Spirit, so we should see Christ as winning our salvation by a mighty act performed in the power of the Spirit of God. There is, in other words, an allusion to the Trinity here. Christ's own spirit was indeed involved in His voluntary sacrifice, but so is the divine Spirit. The writer seems to have chosen this unusual way of referring to the Holy Spirit to bring out the truth that there is an eternal aspect to Christ's saving work. Christ, then, offered Himself in sacrifice, the aim being "to cleanse" our "consciences." His saving work operates on quite a different level from that of the Levitical sacrifices. These latter were external and material, as the divine author repeatedly emphasizes. But Christ was concerned with the sins that trouble the human conscience (see vs. 9). Thus, His sacrifice was directed to cleansing the conscience, something that the Old Testament sacrifices could never do (cf. ). This cleansing is from acts that lead to death, and the result of those purified by Christ is that they "serve the living God" (see ). The Christian way is positive, not negative.
E.
The Mediator of a New Covenant ()
Having introduced the thought of the death of Christ, the author proceeds to develop it. This death is the means of redeeming people from the plight in which they found themselves as the result of sin. It brings them an eternal inheritance. With a play on the double meaning of diathéke (both "a covenant" and "a last will and testament"), the author brings out the necessity for the death of Christ just as the death of the testator is required if a will is to come into force.
1.
() "For this reason" may refer to the preceding: because Christ really cleanses us from dead works by His blood, He mediates the new covenant. But it is also possible that the words look forward: Christ mediates the new covenant so that the called might receive the inheritance. The passive voice in "those who have been called" preserves the divine initiative, as does "promise". Both expressions remind us of the freeness of salvation and of God's will to bless His people. "Inheritance" (see ) originally denoted a possession received through the will of someone who died; then it came to denote anything firmly possessed regardless of how it was obtained. "Eternal" stresses that the believer's possession is no transitory affair. The salvation Christ won is forever.
a.
Christ's death is viewed, then, as a ransom, the price paid to set free a slave or a prisoner or a person under sentence of death. While the idea of redemption was widespread in the ancient world, the word used here (the most common one in the New Testament) is rare — suggesting that the redemption Christians know is not simply another redemption among many. It is unique. And it avails for those who sinned under the old covenant as well as for those who are embraced in the new covenant. The divine author insists that the sacrifices offered under the old covenant cannot take away sins. So, it is left to Christ to offer the sacrifice that really effects what the old offerings pointed to.
2.
() The argument is not easy to follow in English because we have no single word that is the precise equivalent of diathéke. This Greek word is the normal word for a last will and testament, but it was also used to refer to any "covenant " God makes with people. These are not the result of a process of negotiation in which God talks things over with people and they come to a mutually acceptable arrangement. God lays down the terms. The result is a covenant characterized by the same kind of finality we see in a testament. (One cannot dicker with a testator!) The divine author therefore moves easily from the idea of covenant to that of new covenant. It might help us follow him as we consider the first clause in verse 15: "He is the mediator of a new covenant." The death of the testator is necessary for a will or testament to come into effect. The will may be perfectly valid, but it does not operate until a death occurs.
3.
() The author uses a technical legal term to indicate that the covenant (diathéke) is "valid only" when a death occurs. "It is never in force" is another legal term. Only the death of the testator brings the provisions of a will into force. From this the author reasons to the necessity for Christ's death, since He is bringing into force a new covenant (diathéke). It was not, so to speak, an option God happened to prefer. (The author later shows the same theme from the Law, that for sin to be forgiven blood had to be shed, i.e., Jesus had to die.)
4.
() When the first covenant was made (), Moses did two things. First, he had "spoken … every commandment [of the law] to all the people." He set out the terms and conditions of the covenant; he explained the requirements the covenant laid on the people, so they were left in no doubt as to what covenant membership demanded of them. Since they were now God's people, they had to obey God's laws.
a.
Second, Moses performed certain ritual actions. In what follows, the divine author includes some details not mentioned in . There, Moses threw blood on the altar and on the people and read the book to the people. But there is no mention of the water, scarlet wool, hyssop, or the sprinkling of the book. (; cf. ) Water, scarlet cloth, and hyssop were used in the rite of cleansing healed lepers. Hyssop is mentioned also in connection with the Passover () and the cleansing rites associated with the ashes of the red heifer ( already read; see also ). The sprinkled book was written by humans led by the Holy Spirit, and thus it had to be cleansed of any human defilement conveyed to it.
5.
() "This is the blood of the covenant" ("covenant blood" is a quotation from ) is also reminiscent of the words used by Jesus at the Last Supper (). The phrase "which God commanded you" is highly suitable in the case of a covenant where God lays down the terms. This is no negotiated instrument.
6.
() "In the same way" does not imply "at the same time," for when the covenant was made, the tabernacle had not been constructed. But the cleansing with blood that marked the solemn inauguration of the covenant also marked the solemn inauguration of the place of worship (according to Josephus, Aaron's garments, Aaron himself, and the tabernacle and its vessels were all sprinkled with blood). Under the old covenant, sprinkling with blood was the accepted way of cleansing. Perhaps the dedication of the tabernacle should be seen as a kind of renewal of the old covenant.
7.
() Cleansing, then, meant blood, though the qualification "one may almost say" shows that the divine author understands there were exceptions. () Thus the worshiper who was too poor to offer even little birds might instead make a cereal offering. Some purification could be effected with water (e.g., ), and there might be purification of metal objects by fire and "the water for impurity" (). On one occasion, gold made atonement for the warriors (), while on another occasion incense atoned (). But such ceremonies were all exceptional.