by Douglas Goodin
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. (Hebrews 8:6-7)
Which covenants are being compared?
Many things are clear from the passage quoted above. One, the author identifies two separate covenants. Two, these two covenants are not referred to as “two administrations of one covenant of grace.” Three, one of the covenants (the second) is decidedly better than the other (the first). Four, the first covenant had faults which provoked the need for the second. Five, Christ is the mediator of the second covenant. Six, the second covenant has been established on superior promises, thus implying that the first covenant was established on inferior promises. (For our Covenant Theology brothers, that means that the two covenants are explicitly stated to have been established according to different promises. That means they were not established according to the same promises.)
So, what was the first covenant? Was it a covenant of works made with Adam in the Garden of Eden prior to the fall? A quick read of the entire chapter shows that the first covenant refers to the one of which Moses was the mediator and which was established at the time of the exodus. It is what we call “The Old Covenant,” or “The Mosaic Covenant.” It is the pact God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai (see Exod. 19f). It is the one containing the Ten Commandments as its core stipulations (Deut. 4:13). It is the one including the detailed priestly and sacrificial system of the Levites, Aaron the high priest, and tabernacle furniture (altar, table of bread, etc.).
In this text, indeed throughout the entire book, the author of Hebrews compares God’s covenant with Israel mediated by Moses to God’s covenant with believers mediated by Christ, and concludes that the latter vastly surpasses the former.
What makes the New Covenant better than the Old Covenant?
Better Tabernacle. The Old Covenant tabernacle was a picture of God’s house, but Christ ministers in the actual manifest presence of God in heaven (Heb. 8:1-5). That’s better in the same way that kissing my wife is better than kissing my screensaver. (There’s no comparison.)
Better High Priest. The ministry of an Old Covenant priest lasted only as long as he lasted. Death invariably terminated his job. Christ’s ministry, on the other hand, continues eternally because He lives eternally (Heb. 7:23-25). Furthermore, the priests of the Old Covenant were sinners who were required to make sacrifices for their own sins before they could perform the priestly duties on behalf of others. Christ is sinless, and therefore does not need an atoning sacrifice in order to enter into the presence of God (Heb. 7:26f). And if that’s not significant enough, the high priest of the New Covenant is also the High King of the universe, seated at the right hand of God (Heb. 8:1).
Better Sacrifice. The Old Covenant priests slaughtered bulls, goats, and sheep twice a day everyday. Millions of them. Incessantly. Day after day after day. They couldn’t stop sacrificing because the Jews couldn’t stop sinning. Moreover, the death of such animals did not actually atone for anyone’s sins in such a way as to provide relief for the sinner’s conscience. It wasn’t meant to. The ongoing repetition of sacrifices served to remind the Jew that he remained unrighteous before God. But under the New Covenant, sinners are forgiven once and for all because Christ’s death on the cross provided eternal perfection for every believer. No further sacrifice is necessary. (See Heb. 9:6-10:18.)
Better Mediator. Moses was a faithful, humble, compassionate, brave, and diligent servant in God’s house. But he was a servant. The mediator of the New Covenant is no slave; He is the very heir and owner of the house (Heb. 3:1-6). Moses strung, tuned, polished and hauled the Stradivarius around, Jesus get to play it.
What are the Promises of the New Covenant and why are they better than the Old Covenant?
The most significant way in which the New Covenant is better than the Old is in regard to their respective promises (Heb. 8:6).
The promises of the Old Covenant were varied. Some were temporal—land, offspring, military domination, affluence, and the like. Others included enjoying a relationship to God unlike that of any other nation. However, there was a more ominous group of promises—curses, wrath, and total destruction if Israel broke it (see Blessings and Curses of the Old Covenant). Furthermore, the covenant did not include the necessary supernatural help for keeping God’s laws.
With the New Covenant, however, everything is different. Its promises include eternal life, the absolute forgiveness of sins, and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome evil temptations, all of which make it an incomparably superior covenant to the Jewish agreement.