Jesus, Our Better High Priest and New Covenant Mediator

Sep 21, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Christ Seated: Resting in Finished Work and Authority

Jesus’ position at the Father’s right hand isn’t just a theological truth—it’s an invitation to rest. His finished work on the cross means we no longer strive to earn approval. The throne room isn’t a place of anxiety but of settled victory, where our High Priest intercedes with nail-scarred hands. This posture of seated authority assures us every promise is secured by His perfection, not our performance. Trust grows when we fix our eyes on His completion, not our incompleteness. [01:02:26]

“We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.”
(Hebrews 8:1-2, NIV)

Reflection: Where are you striving to “earn” God’s favor instead of resting in Christ’s finished work? How might your prayers shift if you truly believed Jesus is advocating for you right now?

Day 2: God’s “I Will” Promises: Grace Written on Hearts

The new covenant flips the script: no more “if you obey, then I’ll bless.” God’s “I will” declarations rewrite our DNA. His Spirit doesn’t etch rules on stone but carves desires onto hearts, turning duty into delight. Like a parent teaching a child to walk, He pledges, “I’ll hold your hand until My ways become your longing.” Every stumble is met with grace, not a ledger. [01:24:57]

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time: I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
(Jeremiah 31:33, NIV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels like relentless rule-keeping? How might focusing on God’s “I will” instead of your “I should” change your approach?

Day 3: Heart Transplant: From Stone to Spirit-Led Flesh

God doesn’t reform old hearts—He replaces them. A stone heart can’t weep over sin or leap for joy in worship. But a Spirit-transplanted heart pulses with heaven’s rhythm, beating in time with God’s compassion. This isn’t self-improvement; it’s resurrection. The same power that rolled away Christ’s tombstone now cracks the granite around our desires. [01:28:00]

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees.”
(Ezekiel 36:26-27, NIV)

Reflection: Where do you sense lingering “stone-hearted” resistance to God’s ways? What would it look like to invite the Spirit to soften that area today?

Day 4: Better Sacrifice: Once for All, Forever Enough

Animal blood covered sins temporarily; Jesus’ blood cancels debts eternally. Ancient priests stood daily, their robes stained with reminders of unfinished business. Our Priest sat down, His work complete. No more sacrifices—not your tears, efforts, or guilt. The veil tore so we could stop counting failures and start celebrating freedom. [01:18:16]

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”
(Hebrews 10:10-12, NIV)

Reflection: What “sacrifice” are you still trying to offer God to feel forgiven? How would living as fully cleansed change your interactions with others?

Day 5: Resurrection Power: Spirit’s Strength in Mortal Weakness

The Spirit who resurrected Jesus isn’t a distant force—He’s your resident power source. Weakness isn’t a liability but a conduit for divine strength. Like a vine nourishing branches, He transforms frailty into fruitfulness. Your weariness, limitations, and even failures become classrooms where resurrection life proves stronger than human effort. [01:38:35]

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
(Romans 8:11, NIV)

Reflection: What struggle feels insurmountable in your strength? How might you lean into the Spirit’s resurrection power there today?

Sermon Summary

Hebrews 8 brings the main point back into clear view: Jesus is better. Jesus is the better High Priest, seated at the right hand of the Father, because His work is finished, His authority is complete, and His ministry never ends. The earthly priests served in a tabernacle made by men, offering sacrifices again and again, but Jesus ministers in the true tabernacle in heaven, the one the Lord erected and not man.

Jesus reveals exactly what the Father is like. Christ’s holiness is not some distant, cold religious pose. Christ’s holiness shows up in love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Christ upholds all things by the word of His power, purges sin by Himself, and ever lives to make intercession for His people. The enemy may whisper that God does not care, does not love, or does not even like His children, but Jesus is calling their names before the Father.

The old covenant exposed the righteous standard of God, but it could not give life or produce righteousness in sinful people. The law was a tutor, showing that somebody had to come and do perfectly what nobody else could do. Jesus fulfilled that need. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension secure everything needed for salvation and life. The question is not, “Have I done enough?” The question is, “Has Jesus done enough?” The new covenant answers with a resounding yes.

The new covenant rests on the great “I wills” of God. God says, “I will put My laws in their minds,” “I will write them on their hearts,” “I will be their God,” and “Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Grace is not human effort trying to climb toward God. Grace is God coming through Christ, giving a new heart, placing His Spirit within His people, and causing them to walk in His ways.

The Spirit does not leave obedience as a command hanging over somebody’s head. The Spirit changes what believers love. The love of Christ compels them to live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again. Sorrow, loss, sickness, and limitation can still become places where God receives glory and His children discover that His grace is enough.

The new covenant does not give permission for careless living. Grace does not become a license for sin. Grace becomes the power and motivation to make Christ Lord, to walk in freedom, and to live for the glory of God and for real good. God’s faithfulness, not human ability to hold on, is the foundation of this covenant. Jesus has secured the promises, and the Holy Spirit makes them real in His people.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus has done enough forever. Jesus did not merely make salvation possible and then leave people to finish the job. His sacrifice, righteousness, resurrection, and ascension fully accomplish what sinners could never produce. Confidence before God rests in Christ’s perfect performance, not in a daily attempt to earn acceptance. [79:40]
2. God’s “I will” changes everything. The new covenant is built on God’s initiative, God’s grace, God’s power, and God’s faithfulness. God gives a new heart, writes His law within, and puts His Spirit in His people. Faith receives what God has promised rather than trying to manufacture spiritual life through sheer effort. [84:57]
3. The Spirit changes what believers love. Obedience eventually collapses when it is driven only by fear, duty, or personal discipline. The Holy Spirit changes affections so that the glory of God becomes the desire of the heart. The love of Christ compels a life that increasingly belongs to the One who died and rose again. [90:46]
4. Grace is power, not permission. Grace does not excuse sin or invite careless living. Grace gives the strength to fight sin by the Spirit, to reject condemnation, and to stop living like an orphan. Christ’s forgiveness and indwelling presence create freedom for wholehearted obedience.

## [101:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[59:57] - The Main Point: Jesus Is Better
[62:26] - Christ Seated at the Father’s Right Hand
[63:14] - Jesus Ministers in the True Tabernacle
[67:34] - Christ Reveals the Father’s Holiness
[73:26] - Jesus Ever Lives to Intercede
[77:23] - Finished Work, Not Religious Performance
[80:40] - A Better Covenant and Better Promises
[84:28] - The Great “I Wills” of God
[88:59] - New Hearts and the Spirit Within
[90:46] - The Love of Christ Compels
[96:36] - The Spirit Gives Life and Power
[101:15] - Rejecting Old Covenant Mentality
[104:03] - Living as New Covenant People

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Hebrews 8:1-13
“Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” [59:57]

Jeremiah 31:31-34
“The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” [01:23:46]

Ezekiel 36:26-27
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” [01:27:46]

Observation questions

In Hebrews 8:1–6, what details show the difference between Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of the earthly priests? [01:03:14]
What repeated promises does God make in Hebrews 8:10–12, and what does each promise reveal about God’s role in the new covenant? [01:24:50]
According to Ezekiel 36:26–27, what does God promise to change within His people, and what does He promise His Spirit will produce in them? [01:27:46]
What does Hebrews 8 say about the old covenant’s limitations, and why was a better covenant needed? [01:22:48]

Interpretation questions

Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. How does His seated position communicate both a finished work and ongoing authority for believers who struggle to feel secure before God? [01:02:29]
Hebrews describes Jesus as the mediator of a better covenant. What does it mean in practical terms that the blessings of the new covenant come through Christ rather than through a person’s religious performance? [01:24:19]
God promises to write His law on the hearts of His people and put His Spirit within them. How is this different from simply trying harder to obey commands from the outside? [01:30:16]
Grace forgives sin and gives power for obedience. Why is it important to hold these two truths together rather than treating grace either as pressure to perform or permission to live carelessly? [01:43:11]

Application questions

When do you most often find yourself asking, “Have I done enough?” What would it look like to answer that fear by remembering that Jesus has done enough? [01:19:40]
Are there places where you feel like God must love you less because of a recent failure, weakness, or lack of spiritual discipline? How does Jesus’ ongoing intercession change the way you can come to the Father? [01:13:53]
God’s new-covenant promises are built on His “I will,” not on our “I will do better.” Which promise from Hebrews 8 or Ezekiel 36 do you need to trust especially this week? [01:44:12]
Where are you tempted to fight sin mainly through willpower, shame, or trying to make up for the past? What could it look like to depend on the Spirit’s power and ask, “Lord, what can we do?” [01:27:21]
The Spirit changes what believers love, so obedience becomes a response to Christ’s love rather than mere duty. What area of obedience currently feels mostly like duty, and how might you bring that honestly to God? [01:30:46]
Grace is not a license to sin; it is power to make Christ Lord in every part of life. Is there an area where you have lowered the call to wholehearted obedience, or an area where you need courage to walk in freedom? [01:43:15]
Sorrow, sickness, loss, and limitations can become places where God receives glory and His children find His grace sufficient. What difficulty are you carrying, and how can the group encourage you to trust God in it without pretending the pain is small? [01:32:34]

Sermon Clips

52s

#RighteousnessInChrist

“Our confidence before God is not found in how well we perform, but in how perfectly Jesus has performed on our behalf. We've been given his righteousness. And by the way, that's a 100%. Do you ever remember? I think I had a few of them. The teacher right at the top of your page, a plus. I didn't know which one I liked better. The 100 or the a plus. Look at that. 100. Alright. You know? Well, Jesus is 100. Amen? He's the sinless, perfect lamb of god. He he put a check by everything that the god the father wanted him to do. That's our savior. That's the one who prays for us.”

32s

#TrustAndSurrender

“Jesus is our better high priest. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. Jesus has provided a better sacrifice himself. Through him, we know God. Through him, our sins are forgiven. Through him, we belong to God. Through his spirit, God is changing us from within, from one degree of glory to another. It's about the work of Christ in our lives. And what you say, well, David, then what do we do? I'll tell you what you do. You trust and you surrender.”

45s

#GraceOverPerformance

“Some Christians are living under the new covenant, but thinking with an old covenant mentality. I need to do more so God will love me. I should put more on the end of that. I failed too badly for God to use me. You know who this if you ever had these thoughts, I want you to sniff the air because there'll be sulfur around somewhere. You know what I mean by that? That's from the enemy. That's straight from the pit of hell. I need more to do more for God to love me more. I fail too badly for God to use me. I need to somehow make up for my past. That's what the cross was all about.”

38s

#ChristOurRedeemer

“Why was it given? Galatians says that the law, the old covenant, the if you do this, then I'll do that. All that, law, and and it was to do one thing. It was a tutor to say, there's someone coming because you will fail to do this. And every one of us have, but there's someone coming that's gonna do it perfectly. And he's gonna die for your failure, and then he's gonna come through the Holy Spirit and live within you and keep you faithful.”

47s

#TransformedByTheSpirit

“The new covenant doesn't merely say God is the standard. Live up to it. Now I know you've been raised in church like me, a lot of you. It's did you hear the word not merely? I know you're gonna you I'm I know some of you are writing down. He's a heretic. Just hang on. Here's god saying there live up to it. That's not what he said, I'm gonna transfer your heart. And then we just read in, Ezekiel. It's no longer out here just a standard. I'm gonna put my spirit within you. I'm gonna change your heart. You're gonna be a new person. You're gonna be born again by the spirit of God.”

37s

#StopEarningStartTrusting

“He says at one place, if you and I could remedy the problem of sin, then he is an evil god to put his son on the cross and cause him to be sin for us. What an it was essential. It was absolutely essential. Listen. Don't go back to trying to earn what Jesus died to give you. Jesus died to give you not only salvation, but righteousness all the way through.”

55s

#FinishedWorkOfChrist

“You know, one would die and another one would have to replace them, the other die. Their ministry was earthly, temporary, and repetitive. It was the same thing. But Jesus is our living. He never dies. Our living high priest, our reigning and permanent high priest. He he doesn't have to change. He's gonna be this way forever. For the new covenant believer, this means our relationship with God rests Christ's finished work and not on our religious performance. If you and I don't do it well one day, that's all. You ask forgiveness, and you realize though that Christ in you is causing you to be, and I'm getting it, changed from one degree of glory to another. He's working in us. It's his work.”

43s

#PeopleOfTheNewCovenant

“God said, look, I had a plan all along. I wanted to show everyone that if even if you had a miraculous etching of stone 10 commandments, and even though you've seen that wonderful cloud at during the day leading you and a fire at night to show you my presence were there, I gave you everything you needed. And, of course, I knew you would fail. And so I had a plan all along. I was gonna introduce a new covenant, and it was gonna be ratified and purchased by Jesus Christ, my son. We are people of the new covenant.”

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