If Hebrews 7 answered who Jesus is as our high priest, Hebrews 8 answers what he has done — and what kind of covenant he has established in doing it. This chapter marks the pivot point of the entire letter, and it opens by declaring its main point in the very first verse: we have a high priest who sat down at the right hand of God. That single posture — sitting — changes everything.
The Seated Priest
The Levitical priests never sat down in the tabernacle. There were no chairs, because their work was never finished. Every sacrifice had to be repeated. But Jesus sat down. His sitting signals completion: the atoning work is done, the sacrifice is final, and he now ministers from heaven in the true tabernacle — not the earthly copy Moses built, but the original that has always existed in the presence of God.
A Better Covenant Built on Better Promises
Because Jesus ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, the covenant he mediates is necessarily superior. The earthly temple was always a shadow of the real thing — a divine pattern given to Moses pointing toward something above and beyond itself. Any attempt to return to that shadow system now means turning away from the very reality it was meant to represent.
Jeremiah’s Prophecy: The New Covenant Promised
The longest Old Testament quotation in the New Testament appears here — Jeremiah 31:31–34, written during the Babylonian exile when everything appeared to be collapsing. God declared he would not simply renew the broken Sinai covenant but replace it entirely. Four promises: the law written on the heart, a restored relationship, universal personal knowledge of God, and complete permanent forgiveness.
God No Longer Remembers Our Sins
This is not merely God overlooking sin or deciding to set it aside for now. In the Greek, the word used means the record has been erased. Those sins are no longer stored as evidence. They will not be brought forward as the basis of judgment. The new covenant begins not with human performance but with divine forgiveness — unconditional, initiating, irreversible.
The Old Covenant Is Already Obsolete
The author declares the first covenant “old” and “obsolete” — and notes that what is aging and obsolete is about to disappear. For the original readers around 60 AD, this was not abstract. The temple still stood, but the author could see it was already passing. A decade later, it would be gone.
The new covenant doesn’t upgrade the old one. It replaces it entirely — with forgiveness written in Christ’s blood, the law written on our hearts, and a priest who sits because his work is complete.
Download blank templates, schedules here:
https://schmern2.notion.site/Downloads-Template-Word-and-Excel-Schedule-67439d14449d4c20bfe00efe069f78b8
Logos RAMPS Workflow - RAMPS Bible Study - The Bible in Small Steps in Logos Workflows
Jill’s Links
https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod
https://twitter.com/schmern
Email the podcast at jill@startwithsmallsteps.com
“Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.”
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
“The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”.
Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/
Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”.
By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal study, faith perspective, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, seminary-trained theologian, or biblical scholar. Any scriptural interpretation, commentary, or reflections offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, church body, or faith community. Theological understanding is a lifelong journey — I encourage you to study alongside your own tradition and trusted spiritual leaders. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.
