FROM PASTOR TIM
We are off and running in 2024. Thank you all for such a wonderful 2023, which we will discuss in more detail this Sunday right after the church service for our Annual Meeting. Please plan to attend; we’ll have plenty of food. The Packers don’t play until after 3, and the Lions (really?!!) not til even later. We’ll for sure be done in time for you to see the Packers.
I got a good question from Sunday’s message. I mentioned in the sermon that I did not think the New Covenant that Jesus ushers in is the same one as found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is quoted in Hebrews 8.
Going back to before Advent, I preached on Hebrews 8 and argue that the author of Hebrews is simply saying that because the Mosaic Covenant was insufficient to save all of Israel, God had to announce a New Covenant.
But that new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is unequivocally for the House of Judah and Israel; God’s chosen people. It is not a universal covenant in my view. The Church that comes as a result of Jesus’ work on earth does not replace Israel as the recipients of that Covenant.
So, when the book of Hebrews mentions Jesus’ New Covenant, it is not implying that Jesus’ New Covenant is the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 for two reasons. First, as noted, the text is clear that Jeremiah 31 is for Jews.
Second, Jesus’ New Covenant (see Hebrews 9:15, etc.) comes as a result of the shedding of blood. That is not the case in Jeremiah 31. In Jeremiah 31, God simply declares that all Israel will one day know Him correctly.
If you read on in Jeremiah 31:34-37; you’ll see that God says His chosen people will be His forever. Only if the sun, moon, stars and order of the universe end will the chosen people stop being His people.
The key to making a biblical distinction between the Church and Israel is one of horizontal versus vertical. God’s chosen people, the Jews, have been chosen to bring out salvation through horizontal means. They are a nation on earth, they produce the prophets, Jesus, own the land, etc.
But no Jew can have salvation apart from faith in Jesus. So, the Church, which is made up of both Jews and Gentiles, is united in a vertical, relational way through faith alone.
In a sense, though the Church exists on earth, it is a vertical phenomenon and the nation of Israel is a horizontal phenomenon. This is a bit of an oversimplification, but at its core seems the most biblical understanding in my view. The church has NOT replaced Israel and her horizontal purpose.
The Church is unified through faith in Christ alone so the relationally, vertically, there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
All that said, I do not think the author of Hebrews is equating Jeremiah 31:31-34 with the New Covenant that Jesus ushers in by His blood.
The ramifications are significant and impacts how one views baptism, communion, election, tithing…every aspect of what it means to be a growing follower of Jesus.
Speaking of Baptism…I will lead a class during our first “Milk to Meat” evening on January 21 starting at 5:00 PM…unless the Packers or Lions are playing still…Come Lord Jesus Come :).
This will be a good time to learn about baptism, ask questions and chew on whether or not you sense God is calling you to be baptized.
Happy New Year!
Pastor Tim