TEXT: Jeremiah 31:31-34

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #29: Mediator of the New Covenant

Today, with God’s blessing, we’ll proceed in our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Our Lord is not mentioned in the verses, of course, but He is their central figure. I’ll get to that later. But for now, let’s talk some theology.

The key word in our passage is Covenant. That’s a term found all over the Bible.

What is a Covenant? It’s an agreement that creates or defines a relationship. Marriage is a covenant. It turns John and Jane into husband and wife, with all the privileges and responsibilities of marriage.

How many covenants are there in the Bible? Many. There are covenants between men (e.g., Jacob and Laban). There are covenants between nations (e.g., Israel and Gibeon). But most of the covenants are between God and men. For example, the Lord made a covenant with Noah, Abraham, David, and others.

What are the main covenants in the Bible? There are two of them. They’re often called The Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works. The terms are not in the Bible, but theologians think they make the issues clear.

In my opinion, they do just the opposite. If you’ve studied the covenants, you know there are works in the Covenant of Grace and grace in The Covenant of Works.

It is better to stick with the terms found in the Bible. The Scriptures call the Covenants Old and New. The Old Covenant was cut before the Fall of Man and was ratified at Mount Sinai. The New Covenant was made after the Fall of Man and confirmed at Mount Calvary.

The Old and New Covenants have a lot in common. Both are issued by God. Both are made with sinners. Both promise great blessings. Both issue solemn warnings. In II Corinthians 3, the Apostle calls them both "glorious".

No one should look down on the Old Covenant as though it were unworthy of God or of no value to us! Our motto should be David’s,

Although the Covenants have a lot in common, they are not identical. That’s the point Jeremiah is making. Though he knows how much they are alike, here he stresses their differences. That’s made quite clear in vv.31-32,

when I will make a new covenant with the house

of Israel and the house of Judah—not according to

Jeremiah was a daring preacher. Nobody had more guts than he did. He denounced a king in public. He told hard and patriotic soldiers to give up. But of all the bold things he said, nothing compares to this one.

He recalls the Exodus. That was the greatest event in the history of Israel. Then he goes on to say, in effect, that that was nothing in comparison to what God is going to do for you in the future!

The New Covenant is not only different from the Old, but better--infinitely better. No one had more respect for the Old Covenant than Paul, yet even he said of it,

A floodlight will blind you at night. But in the daytime you hardly notice it. It’s very bright--but not compared to the sun. The Old Covenant is the floodlight. The New Covenant is the sun. That’s what Jeremiah says. He tells his people to live in hope. Though the years ahead will be dark, the long-term future could not be brighter!

The Old Covenant was full of blessings. But most of them were of a material and time-bound nature. If Israel kept the Covenant, God would keep them on their land; He would give them victory over their enemies; He’d make the land fertile; He’d give them children, good health, long lives, and more. The most unspiritual Jew could sing Psalm 34,

Their blessings were real and many. But the Lord has better things for us. The prophet names four of them:

• A love for God’s Law—"I will put My law in their minds and write it in their hearts".

• A sense of belonging to God—"I will be their God and they shall be My people".

• A knowledge of God—"No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD’, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them".

• The forgiveness of sin—"I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more".

These are the blessings of the New Covenant. They belong to every believer without exception. The youngest Christian knows the Lord. The silliest believer loves God’s law. The worst Christian belongs to God. The newest convert is no less forgiven than the glorified saint in heaven!

The blessings don’t come to us because we’ve earned them in some way or another. There’s nothing harder to explain to unbelievers than grace. They’re all bent on earning their salvation, or making themselves acceptable to God. They do good works, give to the poor, go to church, read the Bible, pray, become monks, get rid of their TVs, homeschool their kids—the list never ends.

But look at the New Covenant. Look at Who’s doing what,

It’s not what we do for God that saves us. It’s what God does for us. Listen to the Apostles John and Paul,

We’re not born again by receiving Christ. We receive Christ because we’ve been born again. The New Birth is not of man’s will, but of God!

We receive mercy—not because we wish for it or pursue it—but because God wants to give it to us.

We are saved because the Father planned it, the Son provided it, and the Spirit applied it. In short,

At the beginning of the sermon, I told you that, although He’s not mentioned by name, Jesus Christ is the central character of the New Covenant. Yet here I am—near the end of the sermon—and have hardly mentioned Him at all. It is God the Father who issues the New Covenant and we His people who receive it.

What part does the Lord Jesus play in the New Covenant? The most important role of all. He ratifies it. When the Covenant was made at Mount Sinai, God gave it to His people and they accepted it. But that wasn’t all. This took more than a verbal agreement; more than a handshake. It had to be formalized. Moses took some blood, the blood of a Sacrifice. Half of it, he sprinkled on the altar (i.e., on God). The other half, he sprinkled on the people. And said,

The blood of the Innocent Sacrifice put the Old Covenant into effect.

That’s what Christ did for the New Covenant. He activated it with His own blood.

Would an honest man tamper with a contract? After having it notarized, would he change the terms? Would he cross out his obligations? Would he add new conditions to the other party? No he wouldn’t. Only a crook would do that.

And God is no crook! That means the believer is forgiven and belongs to the Lord forever!

The Old Covenant was entered by birth. The New Covenant is entered by faith. That means—if you want a part of it—you must believe in Christ. Believe in Christ now and you’ll have it’s every blessing. Remain in unbelief, and you’ll have none of them. It’s time for you to believe in Christ. So do it. Right now.

The love of God be with you all. Amen.