Hebrews 13:20-25

May 12, 2013

Let’s finish up our study of Hebrews:

20
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, 21Make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ;
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 22And I beseech you, brethren,
suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few
words. 23Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he
come shortly, I will see you. 24Salute all them that have the rule over you,
and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. 25Grace be with you all. Amen.

Our main focus now will be on this everlasting covenant. Let’s ask four questions:

What is the everlasting covenant?

To help us answer this, first go over to the Gospel of John:

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36But I said unto you, That
ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39And this is the
Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40And this is the will of him
that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 41The Jews then murmured
at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42And
they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43Jesus therefore answered
and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last
day. 45It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46Not
that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the
Father. 47Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48
I am that bread of life. 49Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead. 50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat
thereof, and not die. 51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any
man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52The Jews therefore strove among
themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53Then Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh
my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is
meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father hath sent
me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58This is
that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and
are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever (Jn. 6:35-58).)

The end of verse 39 sums this covenant up perfectly. There’s a contract between
the Father and the Son, and everyone in the Son will live to see eternal life.

But there’s more from the Old Testament that helps us define this new covenant:

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out
of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and
do them. 28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall
be my people, and I will be your God (Ez. 36:25-28).

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I
made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto
them, saith the LORD: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my
people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31-34).

Now go to the New Testament and see some commentary on this verse:

For finding fault with them, 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:
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; because they
continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the
Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be
to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11And they shall not teach every
man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall
know me, from the least to the greatest. 12For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13In
that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which
decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away (Heb. 8:8-13).

Think of how the listening Jews would have perceived this! They failed in their
covenant, but God has something new and better.

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20Likewise
also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which
is shed for you (Lk. 22:19-20).

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by

us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone,
but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4And such trust have we through Christ to God-
ward: 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but
our sufficiency is of God; (II Cor. 3:3-5).

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin
and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin
in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Rom. 8:2-4).

It’s very important to note that the new covenant is not a transformed or extended
version of the old. The old is the letter of the Law and it’s nailed to the cross. It
gave no life and only condemned. The new is by the Spirit according to grace.
There is no condemnation under this covenant because it’s not between God and
man; it’s between the Father and the Son, and all God’s people are heirs of the
reward of His obedience.

The old covenant was written on stone and observed in rituals and practices; the
new covenant is written inside of us and on us. The old was external and by the
letter; the new is internal and by the Spirit!
How is this covenant put into effect?

Look again at what the text says:

20
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and
the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. […] Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for
sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities (Is. 53:5-6, 10-11).

Everything hinges on blood because without there’s no forgiveness. It is the

payment for our sin (Jn. 19:30). When Jesus said, “It is finished” the Greek word
means it is fulfilled or completed. It is paid. In the Old Testament they looked for
this: And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold
the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all
these words (Ex. 24:8).

What are the effects of the everlasting covenant?

Look again at the text:

21
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that
which is wellpleasing in his sight

We are made perfect in every good work, and we’re pleasing in front of Him. We
have no sin before God, but it’s not because we’ve kept the old law; the reason is
because of the blood shed for us according to the everlasting covenant. Christ
didn’t save us, and so now we keep the law—Christ saved us despite the law
because it was His plan from the beginning to do so: And you, being dead in your
sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it
to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16Let no man therefore judge you in meat,
or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ (Col. 2:13-17).

This is why we have total freedom from the external and condemning law of
Moses: Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the
law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2For the woman which hath an
husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the
husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her
husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress:
but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress,
though she be married to another man. 4Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are
become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit
unto God. 5For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the
law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6But now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should
serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter (Rom. 7:1-6).

Does that mean, then, that we’re without law? Absolutely not! A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that
ye also love one another. 35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another (Jn. 13:34-35).

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself, ye do well (Js. 2:8).

Who benefits from the everlasting covenant?

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Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep

The heirs of this covenant are the sheep of Christ.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12But he
that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and
scattereth the sheep. 13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not
for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of
mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my
life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one
shepherd. 17Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I
might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father. 19There was a division therefore again among the Jews for
these sayings. 20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye
him? 21Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil
open the eyes of the blind? 22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication,
and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 24Then
came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us
to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25Jesus answered them, I told you,
and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of
me. 26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of
my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father’s hand (Jn. 10:11-29).

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