Jesus Is Better

We open Hebrews 8 with one steady claim: Jesus is better than everything we keep trusting to save us. We trace how his finished work brings a better covenant, real forgiveness, and the kind of heart change we cannot force on ourselves. 

• why “Jesus is better” is an objective claim, not a preference 
• Hebrews 8 as the summary of Christ’s superior high priesthood 
• the tabernacle as a shadow that points forward to Christ 
• Jesus as the better sanctuary where the work is finished 
• Jesus as the better sacrifice offered once for all 
• the failure of the old covenant because of human unfaithfulness 
• the new covenant promise of God’s law written on hearts 
• Romans 3 and “propitiation” as the gospel on display 
• why self-punishment cannot pay for sin and cannot replace grace 
• the Holy Spirit’s role in real transformation and new desires 
• a direct call to conversion, rest, and surrender to Christ 

Today’s a good day to join the family. 

Transcript

Home, Vacation, And Jesus Better

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Have your copy of God's Word this morning. Let me invite you to Hebrews chapter number eight. Hebrews chapter eight, where we'll spend our time in God's Word today. It is so good to be home. We were gone for two weeks. One of those weeks was against our will and was courtesy of the TSA. We thank them for that extra Sunday off. So good to be home. If you have ever gone away, you know it's good to go away, but it's always better to come home. Amen. Praise the Lord for that. I love vacation. Can I tell you, home is better. Home is better. I went and found some warm weather, and I can report back to you. It is warm somewhere. But I'm telling you, I'd rather be in Michigan. Home is. I want to visit, but I don't want to stay. I want to come home. A lot of things great in this world, but I can tell you some things that are better. Some things that are better, objectively, not subjectively, objectively, absolutely better. Hebrews chapter 8 tells us Jesus is better. He's better than everybody and everything and everyone and every tradition and every hope should be in Jesus. He's better. In fact, the the cry and shame, as my mother would say, that's a cry and shame. I don't know what that means, but it's not good. The cry and shame is so many people have traded in Jesus for something that's not better. They've traded in Jesus for a boy or a girl or a job or a hobby or some fame or some likes or retweets or whatever. I'm here to tell you Jesus is worth it all. And one day we'll all stand before God and we'll give an account of ourselves. And I'm telling you on that day, you might not agree today, but you will agree on that day. Jesus. Jesus was better the whole time. He's perfect in all of his ways. In fact, the Bible says in Hebrews, he is a better sanctuary, he is a better sacrifice, he is a better mediator, a better high priest, and he brings about a better transformation in our lives. Do you want a better transformation in your life? I do. Let me ask you this: do you need a better transformation in your life? Wives, do not elbow your husbands. He knows we all need a better transformation in our lives. Right? Summer's coming. You've heard it. 30 days to a new you. Get that beach body. Get ready. We're transforming, we're shedding pounds, we're adding muscle, we're removing hair from places, right? We're trying to get ready. I'm telling you, Jesus is the one that really can make the change. Before we read God's word, would

Hebrews 8 Read Aloud

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you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you're better. We look here in this passage and we're going to read it, Lord, and I've prepared over it. But if you don't teach it to our hearts, it'll all be in vain. We ask that you would be the preacher this morning. We ask that you would guard this preacher, Lord, and from this sacred desk, would you deliver your word to your people in Jesus' better name? We pray. Amen. Let's read chapter eight in its entirety. Now of the things which we have spoken, that means the sum of everything from chapter 1 through chapter 7, and the case that he has made that Jesus is better. This is the sum. We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and a true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifice, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer, the man Jesus Christ, he means. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law. You see, he's not even in the same category as the other priests, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith he that now make all things according to the pattern showed in thee, in the mount. So Moses was given a command of God to build the tabernacle. He goes, And I want you to make this thing, but I want you to know this is a shadow of what's to come. This is a pattern, this is a template, this is not the be all and the end all. This is a foreshadowing of the better tabernacle that's coming. His name is Jesus. All these priests, they're good. They're fine. Yes, that's fine. Yes, the sacrifices, the bulls of the blood, the what yeah, all of that. There's a better one coming. That's what that means. Verse 6, but now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, you see the old covenant, if it had not been a problem with it, we could have kept it, but there was a problem with it, and that problem was me, was you. We didn't keep our end of the deal. Verse 8, for finding fault with him, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Now, according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand and led them by the land of Egypt, out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, they were unfaithful to God, and you're unfaithful to God, and I'm unfaithful to God. Therefore the agreement could not stand. And in regarded them not, I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws in their minds. Think about that. He said from the Old Testament, now there are days coming when I'm going to make a new covenant, and I'm going to put my spirit in them, my law on their minds, my law on their hearts. I'm going to fill them with my spirit, and that'll be a better deal, won't it? Middle of verse 10, I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. They shall not teach every man his neighbor, every man and his neighbor saying, Know the Lord. They won't have to say it. Why? For all shall know me, from the least, youngest, to the greatest, the oldest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Can you believe I just read that to you? If you take nothing else home, take verse 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. That's what you need. That's what I need. And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. What better deal are you going to find than that? In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old.

The Old Tabernacle Explained

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They would make rings and poles, and they were just drapery hanging down. There was an outer court and an inner court, and it was separated in the inner court by the holy place from the holy of holies by that curtain that was rent when Christ died upon the cross. Inside there was the holiest place where the Ark of the Covenant was. You know the Ark of the Covenant? You've seen Indiana Jones? You're good. Okay? Not quite. You also need to read your Bible, turns out. And this is how worship was done. God said to Moses, The people will come to me. I give them a priest, and they will bring an animal, and the priest will receive the animal. He will confess sin over the animal, taking it from the person on the animal, slaying the animal, burning the animal, consuming the offering. There was drink offering and burnt offering, bread offering, and various kind of offerings. And you come into my tabernacle and I'll meet with you there. That's where my presence will be. My presence, he said, will reside between the wings of the cherubs that is upon the ark. That's the mercy seat. That's where I'll be, and I'll be with you. And you could see it from the outside, even. The presence of God by day was a pillar of cloud, and at night you could see it was a pillar of fire. This was the old tabernacle, and it was really cool. And everywhere the people of Israel went in the wilderness for 40 years, they tore that thing down, and each family had a job, and this one carried the poles, and this one rolled up the walls, and this one carried the hooks, and this one over here did this, and the priests carried all the implements of the table of showbread, the lamp that did light, that that menorah that you're familiar with seeing, the altar where they would burn, all that would be transport. It was all around. And every year they would come, and on the day of atonement, Leviticus chapter 16, they would come and make atonement for the sins of the people for the entire year. But then the next year they had to do it again. And the next year they had to do it again. And the next year they had to do it again. Pop quiz. On the next year, you guys are awake. Thank God. I appreciate that.

Jesus The Better Sanctuary

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You see, Jesus comes, he replaces the old, and he becomes a better sanctuary. Everyone say better sanctuary. That's right, he's a better place to worship. That was just a pattern, but he comes and what was unfinished in the original, he finishes, he completes. A few Sundays ago, I told you about all that furniture there in the tabernacle, of all the pieces, what was lacking, what was not in there? A chair, a bench, a stool, nowhere to sit down. That's on purpose, because God was wanting to know there's never a chance for the priest to be done. Never could he sit down and say, Well, good thing those sacrifices are done. Those sins are paid for. That's wonderful. We can take a breather. It kind of reminds you of like Santa's elves, you know, when they're like, hey, a successful Christmas, and the presents have been delivered. What do we do now? Let's make presents for next year, right? And there's no stopping, it's just continual. The Bible says, Hebrews chapter 1, this is a beautiful phrase I'll read to you. It says, He, Jesus, who being the express brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power, that's who he is. When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of God. You see, in that sanctuary, Jesus, the work is finished. What was that cry from the cross that he said? Testelesti, what does it mean? He's finished. What was finished? What was finished? I love it. Richard says, all of it. That's a right, brother. By the way, that's a cheap answer. Yeah. That's my answer covers everything, therefore I cannot be wrong. But you're exactly right. He covered, he paid for all the sin and all the guilt and all the shame, and the wrath of God that hung over our heads was paid for by the Savior in that sanctuary, on that cross, permanently. And what does the Bible say? He goes to heaven and he sits down. Jesus Christ is a better sanctuary. Not only is he

Jesus The Better Sacrifice

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a better sanctuary, he's a better sacrifice. He's a better sacrifice. Look in verse 3 of our text, chapter 8 and verse 3. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts, sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat to offer. You see, in the Old Testament, the priest would come and he would not only offer your sacrifices, he would have to bring one for himself. He'd have to bring a he's a Levitical guy from the tribe of Levi. He's a priest, he's good, he's a nice guy, but he's not holy in the pure sense. And so before he could begin work, he had to sacrifice an animal for himself, for his sins. When Jesus comes, he doesn't have to sacrifice for himself because he never sinned. He was absolutely perfect. It says when he comes, it's a necessity that he should bring a sacrifice. He was the sacrifice. He was the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. And Jesus' offering is infinitely better than any offering that had ever been prepared before. Flip over in your Bible to Hebrews 10. You're right there at it. So go to one page to the right or so, and I want to read to you from verse 4. Hebrews 10 and verse 4, the Bible says this. For it is impossible, I'm sorry, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. You see, they covered sins, but they never took away sins. And that's an important distinction to note. It was just delaying this until Christ came and made final atonement for sins. It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Let's read all the way to verse 10. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering, thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared me. In burnt offering and sacrifices for sin, thou hast no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O Lord. This is talking about Jesus coming to do the will of God above when he said, Sacrifice an offering and burn offerings and offerings of for sin thou wouldest not, neither hast pleasure therein. By the way, do you think God is interested in the burning of animal flesh? You think he needs that? It was simply a demonstration of their faith. I mean, they were learning something about what sin actually costs, but it was a it was an aroma going up before the Lord. But he doesn't love that. It's not like that's really what he enjoys. It was all a foreshadowing of Christ's better sacrifice. Verse 9, it says, Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God, he taketh away the first sacrifice, that he may establish the second. By that which will we be sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. You see, he's a better sack. Not next year, not on the next year, we're gonna get together and pray for more. This is so great. Think about this. And the Bible says, and I will be merciful to those that are under the sacrifice of Christ. By the way, if you're trying to pay for your own sins by however means or whatever necessary, by beating yourself to death by the sins that you've committed, one, God's not impressed. Two, he is insulted because he has already made a better sacrifice for our sins. The church father Augustine, he would whip himself. Before he came to Christ, he he was a part of the Catholic Church. He would whip himself to pay for his sins. He would sleep on a stone floor, cobblestone floor, and I think he had a nose like me, because he he says in his diary that he would dig out the grout from the floor so he'd have a place to put his nose down in the floor. I'd be digging for a while. Do not laugh. And he would lay there in the shape of a cross, he would sleep like this. Because he thought that God would be pleased by his discomfort. And then one day he read in the book of in the book of Romans, the just. He goes, that's what I want to be. Shall live, yes, go on, by faith. That the Christ has made the sacrifice. We no longer have to whip ourselves and sleep on cabbage, and God is that's right, keep sleeping like that. Yeah, maybe I'll be happy with your sacrifice in a little bit. Lord, I come to you in Jesus' name. I wear his blood, I wear his robe, I stand not on my own, I come boldly, yes, but I come in his name based on his sacrifice and not on mine. He's the better sanctuary where I worship. I don't have to go to some place, I can go right to him. I don't have to provide some sacrifice, he already did.

Better Covenant And Better Mediator

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He's the better sanctuary, better sacrifice, and he's the better promise, he's the better covenant, he's the better mediation. I didn't know how to say it. Look in verse 6. Chapter 8 and verse 6. The Bible says, But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. That's why I couldn't decide how to phrase that. He is a better covenant, he's a better mediator, he's a better promise. And what was wrong with the old covenant? The old covenant was damaged because it involved us. It involved us. Think about this. God entered into an agreement with human beings like us, and here's how the agreement went I'll be God and I'll be faithful to you, and you be my people, you be faithful to me. Now I know, this is me in God's place, I know that you can't be faithful to me, and I know that you won't be faithful to me, and given the choice, you will choose to not be faithful to me. Let's enter into an agreement. To where you are unfaithful to me, I will continue to be faithful to you, and then I'll send my son to die on the cross for your sins for all the unfaithfulness that you have committed against me. Wanna shake on that? Who would make that deal? Anybody want to go into business? How about you put up half the money and I'll put up half the money, but I'm not gonna pay? Because I can't pay. Wanna do it? And then when I can't pay, you have to pay. And then you have to still love me. That's what God does for us. He's a better mediator, he makes a better covenant. The problem is God is holy and that we are not. Look over into Romans chapter 3, and I want to show you the gospel on display. The gospel on display is found in Romans chapter 3 and beginning in verse 21. It says, But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. You see, we've seen that in the Old Testament. We saw the whole train wreck there. The whole entire history of Israel is a train wreck of unfaithfulness to God. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and unto all them that believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. Say that. Would you say that word with me? Propitiation. I think most of you got it. Can we try it one more time? Propitiation. And as far as you know, that's the correct way to pronounce it. All right, let's pronounce it that way. It's right. I've heard smart people say it differently. It causes me to question all of my theology. It means that God sent his son to stand in our place. He was the stand-in, he was the one that came to take our penalty and to negotiate a better deal with us. The deal was this we are sinners and we plead guilty. And God, who is the judge, gave us himself to not only be judge and executioner, but also he's the defending attorney. And he says, Your Honor, they are guilty. They're guilty as dogs, they're low-down liars. But I'd like to pay the price for their crimes. And if I pay the price for their crimes, father, there'll be no more price that they'll have to pay. And when they walk out of this courtroom, There's no double jeopardy. And they can't be brought up on these same charges again. What I'm paying here today on the cross is good for all eternity. Can you imagine them going into mediation in the back room going, they're never going to accept that deal? Jesus comes out 11 seconds later and goes, It's all taken care of. You're free to go. Where are you going? To the cross. Where should I go? Well, you could watch, and then you could obey. That's what Jesus is for us. He's a better sanctuary, a better sacrifice, a better covenant, a better promise, better mediator. And he brings about

Better Transformation And New Heart

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a better result. He brings about a better transformation. Listen to what the Bible says there in our passage. Read it to you one more time. Verse 12. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. He says, I will put within them my law. I will write it on their hearts and in their minds. Look in verse 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. Here's the better covenant. I will put my law in your mind. Write it upon your heart. And we'll go back to the original agreement. I will be a God, and they shall be to me a people. Can I tell you, you cannot serve God alone and by yourself? I mean, you might want to. You might like desire to do right things. Let me tell you, when your heart is unconverted, you cannot obey God. You're a slave to sin, a slave to unrighteousness, a slave to the old man, and you have an old man living inside of you. Or old lady, depending on how you sit. Okay? And we're trying to kill that guy. We're trying to kill the old, but praise the Lord, God has brought a new man and a new girl into this world. And he's put his law on our hearts. He's given us his Holy Spirit to rest inside of us, to teach us and to guide us so that when we are tempted to sin, he goes, No, don't do that. That's not only wrong, it's bad for you. It's bad. We don't live like that. No, no, honey. We don't live down there. You are the child of a king now. We don't live in the gutter anymore. You used to. The old you, yes, but not the new you, and in tenderness and kindness. And that's real. You see, it's not the fear of God that causes us to love him necessarily. And did you have a parent that beat you to love them? Some of you did. You had bad parents. And yes, God is a terrible and a fearful figure. Yes. He's to be feared. But it's the love that he shows us that causes us to change. Let me ask you: have you been converted? Have you been changed? Do you have the rest that God promises in his word? There is therefore a rest for the people of God? Many people say, I don't have that. My mind doesn't have that. I don't have that in my soul. You need to become a person of God. You need to join the family. Today's a good day to join the family. You see, that's the only way to have a better transformation because you and I cannot headlock our sins into submission. But I know someone who can. I know someone better. I know someone stronger. You say, Pastor, I got a foul mouth. I know a guy. I can't, I just can't put down this substance. I can't, the smoking, the drinking, the relationship at work that's inappropriate, the viewing online, whatever it is, I know a man who can help you. If you surrender yourself to him, if you come to him in faith, you know what he'll do? Here's what he'll do. I'm not making this up. He'll put his word on your mind and in your heart. He'll take out your old man, old woman heart. He'll give you a new heart. He'll make you new. You say, I just could never live the Christian life. You're right. You can't, but he can. You see, he's better in every regard. And I want to just challenge you this morning. I want to give you hope. There is a place for you to land. You can jump into him, into his lap. He will receive you. You think, I'm just so far gone, I'm just, you don't even know my life. Don't you doubt my Jesus?

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He's better.

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Jesus is

Prayer And Final Charge

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better. Let's stand for prayer. Father, I do thank you and appraise you. Lord, that you are the better everything. We come to you, Lord, and we ask, Father, for your help. And we ask, Lord God, that you would bless and minister to us in a lasting way, a better, more transformative way. Change our desires. Change our hearts. Cause us to hate sin and to love righteousness. We ask it in Jesus' better name. And the whole church said Amen. Amen. Let's see.