So, since the passage studied in the previous article (i.e., Hebrews 9:11-14, if you’d like to review it) showed us parallels between the practices of Old Testament worship of God and what Jesus did for us, Hebrews 9:15-22 shares that all of this “newness” also involved a new covenant. I encourage you to read that entire passage (or the whole chapter, if you want even more context), even if only one verse is included below.
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Hebrews 9:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.9.15.NIV
By the way, covenant, testament, and even will [per NIV, NASB, and their footnotes] are overlapping – if not identical – concepts. These are formal, binding agreements between parties. And, what did the covenant that God made with His people in Moses’ day require? According to this, it required blood, or perhaps the life that blood symbolizes. In the case of a will, we understand that it is triggered when the signer of the will passes away. Throughout the Bible, though, covenants were associated with blood and/or life. For instance:
- God made a covenant with Noah (Genesis 9), commanding him and his sons to not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it (see Genesis 9:4), and emphasizing the value of blood and human life (see Genesis 9:5-6).
- God made a covenant with Abram (Genesis 15), involving the sacrifice of 5 animals. Later, God gave Abraham [the same guy as Abram, now with a new name] the covenant of circumcision, which also involves blood.
- The author of Hebrews mentions Moses applying blood to the scroll, the people, the tabernacle, and the tabernacle furnishings.
Apparently, no blood means no forgiveness. Praise be to Jesus Christ, though, that He was willing to give His blood – His life – for the people (all people) who He loves.
And, don’t miss verse 15: The new covenant through Jesus Christ not only frees us from the sins we might have committed after He was crucified, buried, raised from the dead; it also covers all of the sins committed under the previous covenant (because – peeking ahead to Hebrews 10:1 – animal sacrifices weren’t enough for that). And, what are the results for human beings under these covenants? In the tabernacle, practicing the old covenant, the people looked forward to the Promised Land. In Heaven, for those accepting the new covenant, we look forward to an eternal inheritance, spending eternity with a good and loving God. However, because of the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice, even Jewish people who were faithful before Jesus came can also experience an eternal inheritance, the “ultimate” Promised Land, we might say.
I think that this is where many works-based beliefs fall short: The idea of being “good enough” might satisfy a hypothetical god who is happy with people being more good than bad. However, for a perfectly holy God, who cannot accept even the smallest sin without it needing to be paid for, “good enough” cannot be enough. No amount of doing good deeds can cancel out even a single sin. The great news for humankind, though, is that the holy and perfect God is not only just and fair (meaning that sin has to have consequences), but He is also incredibly loving. And so, in His love, He made a way for the terrible consequences of our sins to be paid for. That payment wasn’t just a life lived without sin, though. Although Jesus was indeed sinless, the cost that He paid for our redemption was His life, with His blood spilled out so that we could be brought back into God’s presence for eternity.
Sin is a terrible thing, and can only be atoned for with the very blood of life. That was what we owed, when Jesus took our sins upon Himself so that we didn’t have to remain eternally separated from Him. His offer is our only hope, but it is a wonderful gift if we will accept it.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 15, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
