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How the Reformation Gave us the Bible

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Barry Waugh takes advantage of the anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 theses to reflect on how the Reformation put the Bible into the hands of God’s people.

Owning Scripture was not only pricey but possession could lead to imprisonment or execution. Fourteenth-century forerunners of the Reformation such as John Wycliffe of England and one of his followers in Bohemia, Jan Hus, were persecuted for providing Bibles in the common language of their people. In the case of Hus, translation work contributed to the heresy case against him resulting in his execution at the stake. In the next century, William Tyndale was hunted down wherever he set up his printing press as he moved from place to place to clandestinely provide Scripture in English. He was eventually caught, strangled, and burned at the stake for publishing the Word in the vernacular. Lives were sacrificed for the translation and distribution of Scripture. If Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale could return to visit their homelands today they would likely be encouraged by the availability of the Word, especially with digital Bibles accessible on a variety of devices, but they would also be discouraged by the common indifference to and ignorance of Scripture.

Along with the history lesson comes some helpful advice regarding Bible reading.

Check it out!

Announcing our 2024 Bible Reading Challenge

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We believe one of the best ways to learn to study the Bible is to read it. A lot of it. Over and over again. That won’t give you everything you need to understand it, but it will get you quite a long way toward the goal. As in marching through Kadesh all the way to the peaks of Pisgah. All you have to do is look down toward the valley, trust that God meant what he said, and finish the job from there. Don’t listen to those fools who speak of giants and grasshoppers. Just look at the size of those grapes. And the size of the God who gives them.

If you’re not sure what I mean by all this Kadesh/Pisgah stuff, then maybe this is your year to read the entire Bible in 90 days. Milk and honey are yours for the taking. Not the under-the-tongue sort (Song 4:11) but the flowing-land sort (Deut 26:9). Though, of course, there is a theological connection between the two.

But I digress and perhaps ought to get to the point.

The Challenge

I’m writing to announce our 9th annual Bible reading challenge. The challenge is to read the entire Bible within 90 days. If you wish, you may begin today. Regardless of when you begin, your 90-day period must end no later than March 31, 2024.

And why—you ask—would you embark on such a strange venture? (“Has the day finally come,” they inquire, “when the Lord has struck with madness the riders of this horse we call the blogosphere?” Zech 12:4) I can think of at least three reasons.

  1. Your grasp of the Bible’s big picture will surge like a COVID case count in winter.
  2. Your reward in heaven will be great.
  3. We’ve got a sweet set of prizes to urge you on in the present age.

All who complete the challenge are invited to fill out the form below (which we’ll share repeatedly as the twilight of March draws nigh). One grand prize winner will be selected at random to win an ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible in Top Grain Leather, generously provided by the good people at Crossway Bibles. Yes, you read that right: This Bible has top grain leather. This is one of those gorgeous “premium” Bibles that might not normally fit the budget.

One additional winner will be selected to receive a one-volume reader’s Bible of their choice. Physical prizes are limited to the continental United States. Winners in other parts of the world will receive a $50 Amazon gift card via email.

If you’d like a checklist to help you stay on pace, here are three. You may make a copy and update the dates, if you plan to start on a date other than January 1.

  1. Canonical Order
  2. Chronological Order
  3. Hebrew OT & NIV Sola Scriptura NT Order

Or here is an iOS app that can help you track your plan. You may also want to consider making a reading plan in the Dwell listening app if you prefer audio.

You may now begin any time, and may this be the ride of your life.

Official Rules

Here are the rules:

  1. You must read (not scan or skim) all 66 books of the Protestant Bible. You may choose the translation and reading plan (canonical, chronological, etc.). You don’t have to stop and meditate on every detail, but the Lord sees and knows when you are being honest about reading and not skimming. Listening to an unabridged audio Bible is acceptable. You may also use any combination of audio and visual reading, as long as you’ve read or listened to the entire Bible within the allotted time period.
  2. You must read the entire Bible within a 90-day period.
  3. The last day of that 90-day period must be between November 4, 2023 and March 31, 2024. If you’d like to understand why we recommend such fast-paced reading, see our Bible reading plan for readers.
  4. To enter the drawing, you must fill out the survey below, letting us know the dates you read and what you thought of the speed-reading process. Your thoughts do not have to be glowing, but they should be honest; you’ll still be entered into the drawing if you didn’t enjoy your speed-read.
  5. Any submissions to the form below that don’t meet the requirements or appear to be fabricated will be deleted. For example: multiple entries with different data, date of completion not between November 2, 2023 and March 31, 2024, “What I thought about the experience” has nothing to do with Bible reading, or date of completion is later than the date of entry submission (please don’t try to enter the drawing if you plan to read the Bible; only enter once you have completed reading it).
  6. In the first week of April 2024, we will randomly select 2 winners from those who have submitted the form. We will email the winners to get their shipping addresses. If a winner does not respond to our request for a shipping address within 1 week, a new winner will be selected in their place.
  7. The first prize winner (if continental US) will receive a copy of the ESV Wide Margin Reference Bible in Top Grain Leather. The second prize winner (if anywhere in the US) will get their choice of a one-volume reader’s Bible (While these are not your only options, we have reviewed the following: ESV, CSB, NIV.). Any winner who does not qualify for a physical prize will receive a US $50 Amazon gift card via email.
  8. Unfortunately, though they are terrific people doing marvelous work for the sake of Christ, staff members of DiscipleMakers are not eligible to win the drawing.

How God Directs His People in the Book of Numbers

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A few weeks ago, I finished reading the book of Number 20 times in a row. From that reading, my draft of the main point is “Yahweh sees his people through the wilderness, though not in a manner any of them hoped or expected.”

Douglas Allison recently posted an overview of Numbers, where he proposes a similar main point: “I have taught that the big idea of Numbers is that Yahweh is his people’s guide to the promised land.”

Allison defends his main point through an outline of the book and an explanation of benefits for reading the book.

As we read today, we can be confident that the same God who led the Israelites through the wilderness in Numbers is the same God who will see us home. Yahweh was Israel’s guide to the Promised Land. And he has not left us without a guide.

Check it out!

Your Conscience Requires an Eternal Inheritance

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Previously, I proposed that Jesus is the best thing for your conscience because he provides an eternal redemption and he promises an eternal inheritance. This is what Hebrews 9 is all about. Last week I explained our eternal redemption in Heb 9:1-14. Now it’s time to see the eternal inheritance in Heb 9:15-28.

close up photography of concrete tombstones
Photo by Mike Bird on Pexels.com

The Promised Eternal Inheritance

Hebrews 9:15-28 states its main idea right at the beginning, in Heb 9:15: That which awaits the beneficiaries of Jesus’ new covenant is a “promised eternal inheritance.”

‌Now the way an “inheritance” worked back then was very similar to how it works now. An inheritance is the thing you receive when your parents or grandparents pass away. A person spends their life building up an estate.‌ And when they die, they pass that estate on to their heirs in portions.

‌That’s what this text is saying that Jesus does.

‌The text has been talking about a “covenant” (Heb 9:, 15), but in Heb 9:16, he’s suddenly talking about a “will.” At least, it feels sudden to us, but it’s not sudden at all.

‌You should know that the original Greek word for “will” (Heb 9:16-17) is exactly the same as the original Greek word for “covenant” (Heb 9:15, 20, etc.). This one Greek word could be used in a variety of ways, and we need two English words to capture the sense of it.

‌But a “covenant” and a “will” are closely related concepts, and the author plays off those concepts here in this text.

  • “He is the mediator of a new covenant…” (Heb 9:15)
  • “For where a covenant is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.” (Heb 9:16)

‌What he’s saying here is simply that an inheritance cannot pass on until the person owning it passes away. And that’s exactly what happened with Jesus Christ.

‌So those who trust in Christ and join his new covenant receive a promised eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15). But they can’t actually get it unless the one who promised it dies (Heb 9:16-17). Heb 9:18-22 references Exodus 24, where the first covenant was activated in those copycat, earthly places by constant death. But the new covenant was activated in the real place—heaven—by just one death (Heb 9:23-26).

‌Sometimes people think of the Old Covenant as being real and physical, and the new covenant as being spiritual and invisible. But this text looks at the differences differently:

  • The old covenant was only figurative. The one making the covenant didn’t actually die. He had to kill an animal as a substitute to activate the covenant. And since it was only figuratively forgiving sins, the sacrificial deaths had to occur over and over again.
  • But the new covenant is the thing that is real, not symbolic. Therefore only one death had to occur, since it fully and finally activated the will, so the heirs could receive the inheritance.

‌So what is the point of all this?

‌You can know your redemption is real and eternal, because the Lord Jesus died, activating his covenant, and passing on his full estate as your inheritance.

‌Application

‌Stop trying to cleanse your conscience through good deeds or religious activity! You can’t silence the inner voice of accusation by attending services or performing rituals. And you’ll never do enough good deeds to balance out the sin you have committed.

‌Instead, look to the inheritance that belongs to you because the Lord Jesus died.

‌And that begs a crucial question: What is that inheritance? What is it that we get after Jesus died that we couldn’t have gotten before he died?

‌The Old Testament people of God had the land of Canaan as their inheritance. They lost that inheritance when they rejected God as their God. But what is our inheritance under the new covenant?

‌Well, that’s what the author ends with: the general principle that all people die and face judgment (Heb 9:27), applied specifically to Jesus (Heb 9:28). Jesus himself died, and will one day face judgment. Though in his case, the judgment he faces will not be brought against him. It is his own judgment to put the world to rights and save his people from injustice.

‌And who will those people be? How can you tell who will be saved by him on the last day when he returns?

‌He “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb 9:28).

‌Right here, the author informs us of what we inherit. The thing we get, now that Jesus has died, is Jesus himself. We are those who are waiting for him. Eagerly.

‌And if you’re tempted to think that’s lame and anticlimactic, because that’s not the sort of inheritance you were hoping for, and you wonder where all the fortune and glory is—

‌Then you need to go back to chapter 1 of Hebrews and remind yourself of who Jesus is.

‌It is no small thing to say that Jesus is yours. That he is your inheritance. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. Jesus is the one who upholds the universe by his word of power. He created the world, and he is the heir of all things.

‌And when he is your inheritance, everything that is his becomes yours. And you belong to his God and Father.

‌So as a final application: Let’s test your conscience right now.

‌If you found out that Jesus was returning this afternoon, how would you take that development? Would you embrace the news eagerly, as the solution you’ve been waiting for? Or would there be a nagging voice in your head that springs to life, reminding you of the grave danger you are in, rehearsing all the things you’ve left unresolved?

‌Would you feel as though Jesus’ return would cut you off from experiencing something “better” that you haven’t experienced yet?

‌I encourage you to wait for the Lord Jesus to return, and to wait eagerly. As you look ahead to his return, you ought not be wracked with guilt, anxiety, or distress. You can serve him now with a clear conscience, because you wait eagerly for him to become fully yours then, when he returns. He’s already dealt with your sin and that of the world. Now you’re just waiting for him to clean up all the undesirable effects of it.

‌Your eternal inheritance is the Lord Jesus himself, your great high priest. He provides you with the assurance that your redemption is eternal. And because of his eternal redemption and eternal inheritance, your conscience is clean.

‌Not just for a little while, but now and forever.

‌Jesus is the best thing for your conscience.

Watch Out for Silly Putty Bible Study

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Consider the following scenario. What do you think could be the problem with it?

…a Christian woman who has been praying for her family’s conversion stumbles upon Acts 16 during her quiet time. Her eyes settle on Paul’s response to the Philippian jailer, who asked, “What must I do to be saved?” “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” Paul answered, then added, “you and your household” (vv. 29–31).

Encouraged by these words, the woman begins to claim the “promise” that her own household will be saved, with the justification that “the Holy Spirit gave me this verse.”

This situation comes from a wonderful article from Greg Koukl about how easy it is to treat the Bible like Silly Putty®—a squishy, doughy substance you make into any shape you want. Koukl’s analysis and counsel is very good.

Check it out!

Your Conscience Requires Eternal Redemption

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Last week, I proposed that Jesus is the best thing for your conscience because he provides an eternal redemption and he promises an eternal inheritance. This is what Hebrews 9 is all about. Let me now tackle the first part of that thesis.

Regulations for Worship and Place

Hebrews 9:1-14 has a tremendous amount of detail‌ because the author is summarizing the entire ceremonial law of Moses for us. But his main argument consists of three pieces.

  • Jesus’ redemption is eternal (Heb 9:11-14),
  • because he provides better worship (Heb 9:6-10)
  • in a better place (Heb 9:1-5).

That’s it. Amid all the detail, that’s all that he’s saying here. Jesus’ redemption is eternal, because he provides better worship in a better place.

The tricky part is to grasp what that means. And in order to grasp what that means, you’ve got to grasp the Old Testament system of worship.

Ruk7, Creative Commons

‌Regulations for Place

Referring to God’s contract with his people in the Old Testament, the author reminds us that the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness (Heb 9:1). He then expands on the place first in Heb 9:2-5. Then he explains the rules for worship in Heb 9:6-7, before bringing the two (worship and place) together again in Heb 9:8-10).

‌With respect to the place, he describes the tabernacle Moses set up.

‌It had two rooms, with certain pieces of furniture in each room. The only doorway takes you into an outer room, with a lamp, and a table with bread on it. There’s a doorway with a curtain, going into a second, inner room, with an altar to produce a sweet-smelling cloud to cover the large golden box containing God’s personal belongings.

‌In Heb 9:5, the author states that “of these things we cannot now speak in details.” What he’s saying is not that the details don’t matter but that they do. We could study them and discuss them at great length. For example, see my series on the tabernacle in Exodus, beginning here.

‌But now is not the time to go into all of those details. The main idea in Hebrews 9 is simply that that old covenant had a place for worship.

This tent, with its two rooms, and all its furniture, provided a place on earth where God could dwell with his people, and they could come and enjoy a relationship with him.

‌Regulations for Worship

But beyond the place itself, we ought to consider the regulations for worship. In other words, what transpired in that place to enable God’s people to worship him?

‌Most people could not enter the tent, but had to remain in the front yard, where gifts and sacrifices were offered. But any priest could enter the first room (Heb 9:6). And only the high priest could enter the second room, and that on only one special day each year (Heb 9:7).

That high priest must offer blood to cover the sins of both himself and the rest of the people. If he tries to enter without the blood of a substitute, he dies.

The ritual described here is called the Day of Atonement, and you can read about it in Leviticus 16.

‌But what is the point? Why do we need to know about the place? And why do we need to know the regulations for worship?

According to Heb 9:8, as long as there is a temple in Jerusalem with two rooms (because the first, or outer room is still standing), that means that there is no way opened into the holy places. In other words, there is no access to God’s presence with his people. There is only a hint or shadow, a tease of his presence.

‌This is symbolic for the present age (Heb 9:9)! At the time Hebrews was written, the temple was still standing. The curtain between the two rooms had torn on the day Jesus died, showing that access was now granted. But the Jews had repaired it, and access to God’s presence was once more denied to God’s people.

The impact of all of this comes at the end of Heb 9:9: When gifts and sacrifices are offered in an earthly place with limited access to God, those gifts and sacrifices cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper. The best they can do is provide outward conformity to a ritual code (Heb 9:10).

‌So under the old system, you can conduct worship in a special place, and that worship will clean you up on the outside.

But it can’t do anything for you on the inside.

‌Your sin will still hound you, and your conscience will continue to convict you. That’s how it worked under the old system.

‌Eternal Redemption

But when Christ came along, to be a new high priest, he changed all that.

‌Jesus did not conduct his priesthood by entering the earthly temple in Jerusalem (Heb 9:11). He actually went into the true and original tent pitched in heaven! He conducted his ministry in a better place than the Jewish priests.

And he offered a better worship (Heb 9:12). He didn’t bring the blood of goats and calves, but his own blood.

And there’s the main idea of the entire section: Because our priest Jesus conducted better worship in a better place, he secured an eternal redemption. Jesus offered himself once and only once, and it worked!

The proof that it worked is that he doesn’t have to keep doing it! It worked, and our sins were forgiven, and therefore, he has purified our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb 9:14).

Do you get what this means?

Because Jesus your priest offered better worship in a better place, you can be with God forever. If you belong to Christ, your sins cannot ever be held against you. The accusations of conscience can be done away with forever. You can be free of the inner prosecuting attorney who claims you are a miserable excuse of a human being.

The blood of Christ, applied to the holy places in heaven, speaks on your behalf. It bears witness to the inhabitants of heaven that you are a child of God, and that nothing can ever change that.

You have been bought and paid for. Your redemption is eternal.

Application

If you do not yet follow Jesus Christ, I want you to know that it is possible to clean your conscience once and for all. When that nagging voice speaks up to condemn you for the things you have done, it is probably speaking the truth!

It is not healthy to suppress the voice of conscience. And what Jesus does is not suppress the conscience, but satisfy it.

If that voice speaks up to condemn you, but you have placed your trust in Jesus as your King and great high priest, then there is another voice — that of God’s Holy Spirit — who comes and argues with the voice of conscience. He shows forth the blood of Christ spilled once for all on behalf of sin, and then splashed onto the heavenly tent to make it welcoming and accessible to God’s children for the rest of time.

You don’t have access to God, or to the satisfaction of conscience, unless Jesus is your King and master.

So if you do follow Jesus, and you trust him as your high priest, then you can now serve God with a pure conscience.

You don’t have to worry about when the hammer will fall, or whether you will get swept away in the coming judgment. You have been rescued, redeemed, bought and paid for. And that redemption is eternal.

The blood of Jesus decorates the heavenly tent for the rest of time. And the resurrected Jesus himself dwells there, bodily, for the rest of time.

There is no outer room to keep you out, but only a single room, testifying forever to your eternal redemption. Such an eternal redemption does wonders for your conscience.

‌But That’s Not All

Now that would be wonderful enough — to have a redemption that can’t ever be brought into question. But our text doesn’t stop there.

It’s one thing to have judgment and accusation removed from you, but how do you ever know that it really worked? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tangible and specific affirmation to signal your newfound security? Something to remind yourself of on those days when the voice of accusation rears back up?

That’s where he goes in the rest of the chapter, which I’ll cover in another post.

Follow Your Heart: Is it in the Bible?

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Yes, it is.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Mitch Chase wonders what this could mean, in light of all that Jesus, Moses, the prophets, and sages of Israel had to say about not following one’s own heart.

Chase makes excellent use of correlation with other wisdom texts as well as the context of the argument within the book of Ecclesiastes to answer the question. And he arrives at a great place.

The writer, in Ecclesiastes 11:9, is not advocating reckless living but Godward living, decisions made overflowing from a heart that fears and follows the Lord.

The only thing I might add to Chase’s conclusion is that, in light of the joy granted as a gift of God, all throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, “the ways of your heart” here are not only the commands of God that have been written on the heart—but also the personal affections and delights God implants when he shapes a person in his image. In other words, when one fears God, not only their Godward morality—but also their Godward hobbies, vocation, and delights—are unlocked to enjoy to the fullest.

As long, of course, as one never forgets that the Lord remains the judge of our hearts’ delights, such that we might walk in the fear of him.

So go swing a baseball bat, plant a rose garden, or audition for a play—to the glory of your creator. Such things are nothing but vanity in themselves. But the gift of God to those with whom he is pleased is the ability to enjoy such vain things to his glory.

Check it out!

Jesus is the Best Thing for Your Conscience

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A person’s conscience is a funny thing.

‌My earliest memory of what I would consider my “conscience” involves a little orange newt I found when I was 6 or 7 years old. I picked it up and thought it would be fun to throw it as hard as I could into a brick wall at point blank range.

‌Far from being fun, it made me feel sick to my stomach.

‌A little voice in my head informed me that I was a poor excuse for a human being. And that voice was right.

‌I tried to cover my tracks, so nobody would know of my dark deeds. But I still just couldn’t stand the time spent waiting for others to return to my location, and potentially catch me red-handed.

eastern newt on ground
Photo by Connor McManus on Pexels.com

‌What about you? What sort of run-ins have you had with your conscience? And what is it like to wait for the eventual return of King Jesus?

‌Does your conscience inject your waiting with anxiety at what he will find, or with eagerness for his justice?

‌Maybe your conscience still accuses you of things you have done. Maybe it reminds you of your past, or of the secret desires you don’t wish to speak about openly. Maybe your conscience gives you a clean bill of health … for now.

‌Regardless, Hebrews 9 has some really good news for you: Jesus is the best thing for your conscience.

The chapter divides into two main sections. The first section (Heb 9:1-14) describes the “regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness” (Heb 9:1), culminating in the assurance of eternal redemption (Heb 9:12) through the eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14). The second section (Heb 9:15-28) elaborates on Jesus’ new covenant mediation, which provides an eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15).

‌So Jesus is the best thing for your conscience — for those two reasons. He provides an eternal redemption, and he promises an eternal inheritance.

‌If Jesus is your priest, nobody can take these things away. Your redemption. Your inheritance. And these two things will have a profoundly cleansing effect on your conscience.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll take a closer look at each section of this glorious chapter.

How Can a Human Book be Divine?

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Lewis Varley addresses a matter commonly raised by both Muslims and secularists against the Christian doctrine of special revelation: How can a book produced by humans be inspired by God or accurately communicate divine speech and intentions? Isn’t God—according to the Christian conception—so far above us that human speech and human writing is utterly unable to adequately communicate his will?

Varley offers a number of helpful responses:

  • The Divine-Human Scriptures Point to God’s Power
  • What Form Should a Book of Direct Revelations Take?
  • God Has Shown His Kindness to Us in the Accommodation of Scripture
  • The Divine-Human Scriptures Are Made Possible Because of Our Identity as God’s Image Bearers
  • The Literary Forms of Scripture Resonate with Our Lives

Here is a taste:

It comes as no surprise that our friends who deny that God could inhabit a human body would also deny that God’s words could also be human words. To deny the character of Scripture as a divine-human book is, by extension, to deny that God could ever come into our world, our times, our lives, but must inevitably be detached from us. To affirm the divine-human word is to affirm God’s immanent involvement in our everyday, often ordinary, lives.

Check it out!

The Shocking Secret to Jesus’ Ministry Success

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There can be no dispute: The main point of the middle section of Hebrews (roughly chapters 3-10) is that, in Jesus, we have a great high priest:

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Hebrews 8:1-2

Here is one of the rare places in the Bible where the author tells us straight out what is his main point. We don’t have to guess, read between the lines, or check an expositor’s work. Make sure to savor this moment.

The Ministry They Copy

Having savored that moment, we ought to notice that this high priest, who serves the Father in heaven, rules all things. His ministry is more effective than any other. He’s been tremendously successful at what he does.

And don’t fail to observe the precise wording of Heb 8:1 — that priest is the one we have. As long as we rely on him to get us through (Heb 4:14).

He is not like all those other priests on earth, who are merely copycat priests serving God in a copycat place (Heb 8:3-6). Those Jewish priests under the old covenant were crucial components of God’s revelation of himself and his relationship with his people. But that’s primarily because they were copying the priesthood of Jesus.

And now that the bona fide original has appeared, there’s no further need for copycats.

Imagine if your church started a ministry of Elvis impersonation. You could dress in bright sequined leather, wearing bushy wigs and sunglasses. You could help children memorize Bible verses to the tune of “Love Me Tender,” and really connect with older generations as well.

Photo by JR Harris on Unsplash

But now imagine that Elvis himself presented himself alive and showed up at your ministry of impersonation. Would you let him join the troupe?

Of course you wouldn’t! First off, he’d show everyone up. And second: it would turn the whole thing into a mockery. The point of impersonation is that you’re trying to be like someone or something else. It would ruin the whole point of it if you’ve got the original present. You can’t impersonate yourself.

That’s what Hebrews 8:4-6 is saying. The tabernacle built by Moses was only a copy of the heavenly tent. But because Jesus’ ministry in heaven is the real deal, in the real temple, his ministry is more excellent (Heb 8:6). Doing the real thing in the real place for it is more excellent than doing a copy of it in a copycat place.

But what makes the “real” ministry of Jesus so excellent? Why is the original better than any copy ever could be?

Because its covenant is enacted on better promises (Heb 8:6b). And … what are those promises?

The People He Has

The first covenant, you see, had faults (Heb 8:7). But the problem wasn’t actually with the covenant. It was with the people (Heb 8:8): “For he finds fault with them when he says…”

Now there’s a manuscript discrepancy there, such that some ancient manuscripts do in fact say that “he finds fault with it when he says.” So I can’t base an entire argument on a single disputed pronoun.

But that’s okay, because the following quotation from Jeremiah 31 fully supports the “them” pronoun in Heb 8:8. When God led the people from Egypt, “they did not continue in my covenant” (Heb 8:9). These are the same people who fell in the wilderness due to hearing but not believing God’s promises (Heb 3-4). Generations later, they persisted in unbelief and were exiled to Babylon.

So the problem with the old covenant was not primarily with the covenant but with the covenant’s people. They were sinners who kept on sinning. They had ways to deal with their sin, but only in copies and shadows. Never the real deal.

In short, God made promises to and about these people in the old covenant. But one thing he never promised was to produce any true knowledge of himself within them.

How are the promises of the new covenant any better? Well, in addition to having a means for true (and not merely foreshadowed) forgiveness (Heb 8:12), God actually promised to make his new people into the sort of people he requires them to be (Heb 8:10-11).

So do you see what is the shocking secret to Jesus’ ministry success? His ministry is better because his covenant is better. And his covenant is better because its promises are better. Its promises are better because they promise to make the people better.

Isn’t that crazy? It’s not that the new people sin less than the old people did. It’s not that the new people are innately good and righteous in a way the old people weren’t.

No, the difference between God’s old people and his new people is simply that he promises to make his new people into the kind of people he expects them to be. That promise was never in place in the old covenant. And that’s why this new covenant is enacted on better promises.

The shocking secret to Jesus’ ministry success is his people. And if you are his, don’t ever forget: You are not pleasing to God because you are spiritually mature. You are spiritually mature because you are pleasing to God. Do not get this backwards.

This is great news for those who draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Heb 10:22). But it’s also very, very bad news for those who remain in unbelief (Heb 10:26-27).