TEXT: Hebrews 9:16-24

SUBJECT: Exposition of Hebrews #10: The Covenant Ratified

The Epistle to the Hebrews is about one thing: Christ Over All. The author is a devout Jew, "believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets". Yet he views these ancient writings--not as final--but as prepatory to something better than they are; something much better. And that "better something" is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is better than the prophets, the angels, Moses, and Aaron. The last is the most difficult case to make. The Jews, after all, were taught to revere the priesthood. And so they did, even when occupied by unworthy men. Why? Because of its supreme value: it was through the priesthood that the nation drew near JEHOVAH. And so, it was not easy proving to these people that our Lord's priesthood is superior to Aaron's. Thus, the writer of Hebrews spends nearly seven chapters crafting his argument.

In the fifteenth verse of chapter nine, he introduces our Lord Jesus as "the Mediator of the New Covenant". Consequently "redemption" and "eternal inheritance" are found in no one else. This bold assertion was hard for the Hebrew Christians to believe. Why? Because the apparatus of the Old Covenant was still in place. A Temple stood in Jerusalem; a priesthood served there; sacrifices were slain on its altars. The Old Covenant, therefore, seemed to still be in effect. And if this is so, how can the New Covenant (and its blessings) be in force? The answer is provided in vv.16-24.

He begins with a commonplace: Covenants come into effect only at death, v.16: "For where there is a covenant, there must also of necessity be the death of the one making the covenant". I am reluctant to change the wording of our English Bibles, but here I had no choice. The word "testament" is the same Greek word as "covenant". Why the translators went with it, I can't for the life of me understand. Nowhere else in the Epistle is the word used in this way; rarely (if ever) in the rest of the Bible. Moreover, this "testament" is placed in direct comparison to "the first" of v.18. What was this "first" thing? A "testament" or a "covenant"? What did Moses sprinkle? The "first covenant", of course. And so, the meaning is clear: covenants are ratified by death. Until the victim is slain, the covenant is of no effect.

This is stated, positively, in v.16: "...there must also of necessity be the death of the covenant-maker". The One who makes the covenant, of course, is God. Did He die when He made His pacts with Noah, Abraham, and Moses, for example? Yes He did. Not literally, but typically. The animals slain on each occasion represented the Lord Jesus.

The same is put, negatively, in v.17: "For a testament is in force (only) after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the covenant-maker lives". Divine covenants are planned in eternity, but do not take effect till the death occurs.

This is the general principle. It is illustrated in vv.18-22. "Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood". The Old Covenant was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but it did not come into force until it was ratified with the sacrificial blood. What was sprinkled on that fateful day?

V.22 is the summary: "No shedding of blood, no remission of sin" as J.B. Phillips words it.

Once again: Covenants come into effect only at death. In general, it is true. The Old Covenant amply demonstrates the principle. But the question troubling these people is not "Do covenants come into effect only with death?" Or "Was the Old Covenant ratified with death?" Their interest is more practical than this; and more important. "Is the New Covenant now in effect?" Its corollaries: "Have I been redeemed from the transgressions under the first covenant?" And "Have I received the promise of the eternal inheritance?" Or, "Must I wait for another?" to quote John the Baptist.

Vv.23-24 give a resounding answer. The New Covenant is in effect because Christ has shed His blood. It is:

"I will put my laws in their mind

And write them on their hearts;

And I will be their God

And they shall be my people."

"None of them shall teach his neighbor,

And none his brother, saying,

`Know the LORD'

For all shall know Me

--From the least of them

to the greatest--

of them".

"For I shall be merciful to their

unrighteousness,

And their sins and their lawless deeds,

I will remember no more".

This word is death to the proud. It tells him that his best efforts can never gain his salvation. Why not? Here's why: "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission". "The soul that sins shall die". Either in himself or in his Mediator. There is no third option.

The word is life to the humble. It tells him that his worst efforts are no bar to his salvation. Why not? Because "With the shedding of blood there is remission". You can never save yourself. But you don't need to. Because Christ has died. Look to Him--bleeding for you--and enter into the blessings of the New Covenant. There is no other Mediator. We don't need another.

"Christ is all in all".