Summer Session (8) Sunday School July 23

Going to start on our fourth point here today, family in Christ, and then think about family being under Christ, and the idea between those two different prepositions I think will become clear as we move forward.

But we're going to be talking about, initially today, we're going to be talking about the New Covenant. And so you can either turn to Matthew 26 or Hebrews 8, either one, you'll be in a good place. Let's begin with a word of prayer.

Father, I thank you so much for the day that you've given us. I thank you for the opportunity to read your word together and to look at Christ together. And I pray that you would give us the joy of seeing your truth in his light, and that you would shape our expectations and our affections and guide us into all of your truth through him.

And we pray these things in his name. Amen. Well, we've been talking about the family in the covenants, and how it is that when the image of God was ruined by sin, God began to deal with his special creature man, mankind, those he made in his image.

He began to deal with them by way of covenants. So a covenant with Noah, a covenant with Abraham, a covenant with Israel, a covenant with David. And each one of those covenants, each one of those relationships that God formalized with chosen servants, those were all shaped in the image of God.

They all were concerned with how to love God supremely, how to love each other rightly, how to steward the creation around us responsibly. So each one of those covenants was shaped in the image of God and had a restorative effect.

Here's what was lost in the garden, here's what was lost in sin, but now the shape is being restored through these covenants. But each one of those also revealed the coming of Christ, the coming of Messiah.

Each one of those, well, it's unsurprising, right? If there's a covenant that's shaped in the image of God, who is Jesus Christ with the image of the invisible God, and so they're all shaped like him.

He ends up fulfilling everything that we encounter in the previous covenants in the Old Testament and so on. So we've been seeing how family, which is so essential to the image of God, how it inexorably flows from the image of God.

God made Adam and Eve immediately into a family, made them immediately husband and wife. The original instruction that we have in Genesis 2 .24 presupposes children and the propagation of more families.

Family is so closely tied to the image of God that it's unsurprising we find family so central to all the covenants that God made with these chosen servants. So we've been tracing the theme of family there through the covenants, and now we've come to the new covenant, and we're going to consider the themes of family in relationship to Christ as the fulfillment of all of God's promises.

So the image of God is first expressed in a marriage, first expressed in a household, and in God's covenant with Noah, remember that Noah's household, he and his wife, his three sons, and each of them had a wife, he was dealing with all of humanity all at once there in that first covenant that he made with Noah.

And then we see that God makes a covenant with Abraham specifically saying, through your family, all the other families of the earth will be blessed. And then God makes a covenant with Israel who are Abraham's descendants, but God through that is saying, here's how I'm going to be for the nations through this one nation, through this one extended family.

And for the good of this nation, God provides a royal house, a royal family, a lineage and a throne centered around a son, a representative of the whole nation. God talks to David about David's son, the son of David, and this one will reign in God's image for all those made in God's image.

So when God sends forth Jesus, how did he do it? He sent Jesus, sent forth his son in human flesh, and he's born into a family, right? Joseph on the cusp of putting aside Mary privately, remember, Joseph is on the verge of dissolving the family, right?

He is. Thought that's what he needed to do, given the situation. God says, no, this family will remain intact. And God's son is born into a family and named Jesus, Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins.

And as we get into who are those people, he's going to save his people from their, well, who are those people that he saves from their sins, we discover that he uses the metaphor of family to describe those people.

And that's going to be very significant for us. But we need to begin by looking at how the New Covenant is described. The New Covenant as that which takes up all the other covenants, like a patchwork quilt, and puts it all together into a mantle that is laid upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ.

Once we have a clear view of the supremacy of Jesus in the New Covenant, then we will be informed as to the meaning of family. We're not going to know really what marriage or fatherhood or sonship and so on is.

We don't know what all the different relationships within family truly are, unless we see it in the light of Jesus. That's what we discover reading through the New Testament. So, what is the New Covenant?

Well, it's an interesting thing. Sometimes you can get at the answer to a question by asking synonymous questions. And so, if somebody was to ask what is the New Covenant, I would expect if they were going to ask synonymous questions or questions that were going to be in the same direction with the same themes, though variations on that theme.

If someone's going to say, what is the New Covenant? I would expect them to also say, what is the new creation? I would also expect them to ask, well, what is this new Jerusalem? What is this heavenly Jerusalem?

If someone wants to know what the New Covenant is, they may also ask, well, what is the kingdom of heaven? What is the kingdom of God? Someone should also be asking, well, what is this new temple? What is this heavenly temple?

What is this spiritual temple that we were reading about in the New Testament as well? See, all of these themes are facets of the same diamond. Put a diamond up to the light, and you begin to move it, and each surface will sit there and sparkle.

They're different surfaces, but all in the same diamond. And God's covenant promises to Noah, and Abraham, and Israel, and David are brought about in their full manifestation, in their full brilliance through Jesus Christ.

Because, well, he makes all things new, doesn't he? He makes all things new. His city has foundations, the one that Abraham was looking for. Christ's city has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Remember, Abraham was promised that his descendants would be a nation as numerous as the stars. And this was expressly said about Israel. Look how many millions of these descendants there are. But Christ is the one, his kingdom of innumerable saints will not be shaken, unlike the kingdom of Israel, which was.

And the house that he builds will stand forever. The house that Solomon built got torn down and destroyed, but the house that the true son of David builds never will be destroyed. So, let's go to Matthew 26, and let's hear what Jesus has to say about the new covenant.

What does Jesus say? On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he kept the Passover with his disciples. Remember that the Passover was established during the covenant that God made with Abraham. Yes? Matthew 26, we're going to look at verses 27 through 29.

It's a big chapter, trying to find where you are in Matthew 26. It's 75 verses long. So, excellent question. This is not a Psalm 117 reference. Very easy to know where you are in that one. So, we're gonna be in verses 27 through 29.

So, God had established the Passover when he was rescuing the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob out of Egypt. And this Passover was to be kept very carefully, still under the covenant that God made with Israel.

And now, Jesus takes up the Passover, and like he does in his ministry, he's been doing this with all the other facets of the Old Testament, all the other pictures. He turns it just so, and says, here I am.

Something greater is here. And he does that with Passover. So, let's look at Matthew 26, beginning in verse 26. Back up one verse there. Verse 26, and as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat, this is my body.

Verse 27, then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Now, what's really helpful is that this encounter, this teaching, this very significant moment is repeated in the other Gospels. I just want to read Mark's account as well, so that we can hear how these words reinforce one another.

Mark 14, verses 23 through 25. Mark 14, verses 23 through 25. Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. So, when he says kingdom of my Father, he means the kingdom of God. Another synonym is the kingdom of heaven.

So, what is he saying here? He's saying that this is the new covenant. He's describing the new covenant in terms of his own sacrifice, in terms of his own coming death upon the cross, and the shedding of his blood.

He gives them a symbol, a picture, something to not only remember what Christ has done for them, not only to remember the importance of the new covenant, but something that teaches, something that informs, something that shapes our understanding of the new covenant, and helps guide our worship of our King because of what he has accomplished.

You see, Christ's body is soon to be sacrificed upon the cross. He's that unleavened bread that they were eating at the Feast of Passover. The bread with no yeast in it, the bread with no leaven in it, the picture of a pure bread.

Christ called himself the bread from heaven, and he comes as the lamb without blemish and without spot. He is offered up to God as that sweet-smelling aroma that brings peace between God the Creator and a special creature, man, who is in sin.

But there is a sacrifice that satisfies both God and man, and brings us together and reconciles us. He is cut as a covenant upon the cross, his blood shed for us. He is placed before the face of a holy God like the burnt offerings of old, and yet he is also the high priest all at the same time in one.

And he is placed for his people. It's his blood for us, because he is the representative for all of us, for all of his people, as the King. The King stands in for the whole. So here are all the covenants.

I see themes of Noah, God's covenant with Noah, and Abraham, and Israel, and David, all right here in this one moment, all compressed together in a very significant moment. That's what symbols are, right?

To take massive amounts of important information, vital teaching, Bible truth, and to compress them down into something that is tangible, and visible, and accessible. That's the purpose of a symbol, and that's what Christ offers in this sign of the new covenant.

What do we see going on here? Well, we have Noah's soothing, peacemaking sacrifice for the world. Here is God's righteous demand to Noah for blood satisfaction. Remember, blood must be shed. Here are the innumerable offspring of the seed purchased by the blood of the Passover lamb, which is shed for many.

How many? If you asked Revelation 7, more than any man can count. We also see, by Christ, God redeems his people from bondage. This is Passover, after all, and he's Yeshua, he is Jesus, who saves his people from their sins, bondage to their sins, slavery to the enemy, and to the depravity of their transgressions.

Here is Christ offering wine, like the prophesied Shiloh from Genesis, who promises the wine of the new creation to all those who will feast and rest with him in the kingdom of heaven. And he, of course, is the king.

He is the one who stands in for all of them, the new king of the kingdom of God, and all who are in him are the new people of God. Now, that's a lot of information all at once, but this is what he has been building to.

Think about the parables that Jesus has told by this point. All of the significance of those kingdom parables compressed here in this moment. Think about the ways in which Jesus has revealed himself as the Son of Man and the Son of God, the one who came to forgive sins, one who undoes the curse and all of his miracles.

All of that compressed down here into this moment. Think about the ways he has corrected the wrong understanding of the Old Testament in the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and revealing himself as the true chosen servant who comes to accomplish God's will.

All of that that he has been doing in his life, in his ministry, compressed down to this moment as he shares this cup with his disciples. As we pay attention to the deeds and the discourses of Christ, as we pay attention to his power and his parables and his prayers, what do we find?

We find Christ's brilliant light, shining light upon all of the scriptures. So, with that in mind, let's turn to Hebrews. We can do a little better in our study of the New Covenant than to turn to Hebrews.

And as we do, I think it'll become clear, establishing the meaning of the New Covenant, I think it'll be clear that it's about the supremacy of Jesus. It's about his preeminence in all things. That's important for family.

That's important for family. When we get into the instructions about family, there's ten different passages we're hoping to look at, if the Lord allows, about how husbands and wives relate to one another, how parents and children relate to one another, how siblings relate to one another.

All these different vital relationships within a family. Every single one of them must have reference to the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, they don't make any sense. So, this has to be established first.

We have to see the supremacy of Jesus in the New Covenant before we understand what it's like to live as family under his reign. Now, in Hebrews chapter 8, we are blessed that, and I'm just gonna guess that it's Paul who preached this sermon.

I don't know if it was him who wrote it down or somebody else compiled it, but I'm just gonna say it's Paul, if you're okay with that. But I'm glad he says, here's the main point. Isn't that great? Verse 1.

Hebrews 8, verse 1. Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying. Isn't that nice? Somebody says, now here's the main point. Well, thank goodness. Now, we can see what all these other very important passages are related to this passage.

And here we have a rejoicing in the supremacy and the blessings of the New Covenant. But what is the book of Hebrews all about, other than the preeminence of Christ, the supremacy of Jesus Christ, in all things?

And I think Paul is focusing very carefully in the book of Hebrews, focusing on an audience who are Jews, who have come to Christ, and yet they are extremely tempted to go back to the ways of the Old Covenant.

I mean, friends and family and Pharisees can be pretty persuasive. You know, the temple is still standing and the sacrifices are still being offered up day by day and festival by festival. And you have walked away from God.

You no longer keep these ceremonies. You no longer wash your hands in the proper way. I think you're slipping in your diet. And how could you turn your back on such a great God? Very persuasive that the Jews who have come to Christ would be compelled to go back to the old ways, back to the Old Covenant.

And that's why Paul puts so much emphasis on the supremacy of Christ over the covenant that God made with Israel. That the new covenant in Christ is superior to the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai, with all those customs and sacrifices and so on.

Now, that's not the only thing Paul talks about in Hebrews. It's the main thing. It's the main point of the things that he's been saying, because he's reaching for that particular audience. But he does not leave off the other covenants that we've talked about.

Remember that we talked about the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David. But they're all parade floats that work together. And it would not do to take one of them and steer them out of the way and sever one of them from the rest of them.

And this is true also in the book of Hebrews. Paul doesn't do that here in the book of Hebrews either. So just a brief word on that, and then we're going to get to Hebrews 8. Noah is named only once, but the themes of Noah's covenant are throughout the book of Hebrews.

Noah, certainly in his situation, stood in for Adam. He was like a whole new Adam, because he was the father, he was the man, he had his three sons with him, but it was like a new start. We say all of humanity is descended from Adam.

It's also true that all humanity is descended from Noah. It was kind of a whole new restart, a new creation, but lowercase letters on all of that. Because Noah wasn't the last Adam, he was not the ultimate man with whom God covenants on behalf of all creation.

That honor is Christ's alone, as is talked about in Hebrews chapter 2 verses 5 through 9. In fact, Hebrews 2 spans everything from Genesis 3 to the end of Leviticus, showcasing Jesus as the chosen faithful servant.

It's interesting to me that when we read about the new covenant in Hebrews chapter 12 verses 22 to 24, it says, if you have come to Christ, you have come up Mount Zion, you have come to the church of the assembly of the firstborn in heaven.

All that language of coming up the mountain that cannot be touched when you come to Christ. But it also says, you have come to the mediator of a new covenant, Jesus Christ. Now, this is very interesting.

Whose blood, whose sprinkling of his blood speaks of better things than the blood of, you would think goats, right? Because that's, you would think lambs, you would oxen. After all, that's the main audience and the main concern.

No, whose blood speaks that better than Abel. Abel? Where did Abel come from? But remember the blood of Abel. What did God say about the blood of Abel? It cried out to him from the ground. And what was God's answer ultimately in that story cycle that we looked at?

From Abel's blood being shed and the violence upon the earth. How did God answer that? How did he deal with innocent blood being shed? What did he say? He said, blood satisfaction. In the covenant that God made with Noah, he said, we're not going to let that blood cry out from the ground.

If a man sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. That was in the instructions in the covenant that God made with Noah. Well, you know, when you think about the blood of Abel and what it cries out, Abel's blood cries out, justice is demanded.

But Christ's blood cries out, justice is satisfied. You see? How much the better. How much the better. And Christ's blood was not wasted upon the ground, but sprinkled upon the true mercy seat for us and for our salvation.

Now, Paul also talks about the Davidic covenant, covenant God made with David. And in Hebrews chapters 1 and 2, he actually quotes from God's covenant that he makes with David and quotes the Psalms in which David speaks of his coming descendant.

The bulk of Paul's attention, though, is upon the promises God made to Abraham and the promises God made to Israel and the covenant there. Because that's his audience. He is reaching for them. He is laboring for them.

He does not want them to go back to that old covenant. And so that's why we have Hebrews 8. Hebrews 8. Back to verse 1 of Hebrews 8. Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man.

Remember that what Moses built and what Israel built were only shadows. Verse 3. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary that this one also have something to offer.

For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle.

For he said, See that you make all things according to the patterns shown you in the mountain. Another word, Paul is saying, if Jesus were here on earth, he would not be in the temple doing priestly things.

The ones who are there are shadow priests doing shadow things in the shadow of what is ultimately true in heaven. That is where Jesus is, and that is where he is having his high priestly ministry. If he were down here, he is such a high priest that he would not be in the temple.

He is a higher high priest than the high priest that we have. Verse 6 summarizes that. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Better than the old covenant God made with Israel. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Now notice where the fault is. It wasn't that, you know, God laid it all out at Sinai and made a bunch of mistakes.

Like, whoops, bad covenant, I guess I'll have to do a rewrite. No, whose fault was it? Not God's fault. Verse 8, because finding fault with them. Finding fault with who? With them, with Israel. Israel was the chosen servant of that covenant God made there at Sinai.

They were the mediating chosen servant who were supposed to showcase the image of God and all that they did as they were to love God supremely, love each other rightly, and steward the land that God gave them responsibly.

But God found fault with that mediator, didn't he? He found fault with that servant. And so there's a need for a better covenant. And why is it a better covenant? Because we have a better mediator, right?

A higher mediator, a better servant, a perfect servant. Now, verse 8, because finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel in the house of Judah.

Now he's now quoting Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34. So he's quoting a new covenant passage from the Old Testament. Verse 9, Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. So the days of the old covenant have come to a close. Now is a new covenant. What is he going to do? 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 of his brothers, saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

In that, he says, a new covenant. He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to pass away. So Jesus is our high priest. He is enthroned as the best servant in the true heavenly temple.

He is mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. This covenant is better because Christ is better. The first, the earlier, the old covenant, God found fault with Israel there. He found fault with the mediator, the servant of that covenant.

But in the servant songs of Isaiah, chapters 40 through 45, we see a servant, a capital S servant, whom God labels as Israel, whom God calls by the same names he would call Abraham and David and so forth.

And we see that Messiah is God's servant, the seed of Abraham and the seed of the house of David. Now it's very interesting, something that we heard just a few weeks ago, as we're reading through Isaiah on Sunday mornings.

In Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 6, this is very encouraging. Isaiah chapter 42.

And verse 6. And just in case there's any confusion about who God is talking about, just.

Read verse 1 of chapter 42, behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon him. What did God say at the baptism of Jesus? Holy Spirit comes down upon the Messiah.

This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, he delights in him. This is Jesus. He is the one. A bruised reed he will not break. Verse 3, smoking flax he will not quench all the way through. Now look at verse 6, I the Lord have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand.

Now he's addressing the servant, he is addressing Messiah. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. Now all along these covenants that God has been making, Noah, Abraham, Israel, David.

These relationships are shaped in the image of God time and time and time again. But in the Messiah, in Jesus Christ, he in and of himself is the covenant. Here's a covenant in the Old Testament, the shape of the image of God.

Here's a covenant in the Old Testament, the shape of the image of God. Here's a covenant in the Old Testament, the shape of the image of God. But here is the new covenant in one person, he is the image of God.

Which is why he is called the last Adam. Everything tied up in him. That's why when Jesus comes, he's the lamb and the priest. It's his righteousness and it's his intercession. He's everything. That's what he's doing there at Passover, taking up all the Passover and saying, now this is about me and the covenant is in my blood and it's the blood that I offer.

It all collapses into him. So the new covenant as promised in Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, is quoted here in Hebrews 8. It's the longest single quote of the Old Testament anywhere in the New. And two important features are shown to us.

One, God's Torah, his law, his instructions are internalized. Now it says, they will no longer teach one another. Does that mean that we're doing the wrong thing by having to? No. In the context, it says, no longer will it be like it was in the Old Covenant where everybody had to say to their neighbor and children, fear God, fear God, know the Lord.

Why? Why? Because in the Old Covenant, you could be lost as a goose going straight to hell and still be a full-fledged member of the Old Covenant. But in the New Covenant, everybody's born again. If you're in the New Covenant, it's because you're born again, you have the Holy Spirit at work in your life, and you have the instruction of Christ himself written upon your heart.

This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3. He quotes this passage and shows that what's.

Written on the heart is the instruction of Christ. We become letters of Christ. Yes, that's a.

Very important application of it. The papacy is definitely rejected. Romanism is definitely rejected here. We don't need the Pope or the Magisterium or an elite clergy priesthood because of the Holy Spirit being and dwelling all the members of the New Covenant because we're all living stones of the New Temple.

And yeah, exactly, because Christ is directly our sacrifice. And so, also, all members of the New Covenant, according to this passage, are forgiven of their sins. There are several countless members, many millions of members of the Old Covenant whose sins were not forgiven.

The whole generation who died in the wilderness, they were full-fledged members of the Old Covenant and under the horrific judgment of God. You see how the New Covenant is superior and better? So, once upon a time, and this is in Jeremiah 31 as well, once upon a time in the Old Covenant, the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth were set on edge.

Do you remember that expression? Various derivatives of that have been put into common pop culture. I'm going to hit you so hard your grandkids are going to feel it. But in the Old Covenant, it was generational.

There were generational curses. If this generation was horrible and they sinned, generations later would feel it. Not so in the New Covenant. Not so in the New Covenant. So, in the New Covenant, a man stands before God without regard to his father or his children and he stands there in need of a Savior, in need of God Himself to forgive him of his iniquity and remember his sin no more.

Now it has come to pass in the New Covenant that Christ has drunk the cup of wine of God's wrath down to the dregs for us and for our salvation that we may share in his cup of blessing. Coming back to communion, to the Lord's Supper.

Okay, more to say there. I want us to turn over to Colossians 1 and we're going to briefly look at Colossians 1 as a hymn to Christ who is the mediator of the New Covenant. And after we look at Colossians 1 verses 13 through 20, then we're going to begin to think about some of those curious passages in which it sounds like for some reason Jesus is against family.

But I think it'll make sense once we connect these perspectives. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13, speaking about how God saves sinners. How does God save us? He has delivered us, verse 13, he has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed, transferred, translated.

Very special word used when the Romans picked up an entire rebellious population that were conducting an insurgency and forcibly relocated them to another part of the Empire. Okay, that's the meaning of this word.

Ripped us out of the domain of darkness, the power of darkness, and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. And remember the significance of blood to the making of a covenant and the remission of sins, Hebrews tells us.

Okay, now the hymn as we reflect upon verses 15 and following here is a hymn to Christ. He is the image of the invisible God. Well, that's just packed full of stuff from the Old Testament, isn't it? He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.