Jesus is Better

Lesson for Sunday, December 17, 2017

Review:

  • In today’s lesson, we are still looking at the period of 70 years of Babylonian captivity.
  • There were 3 phases to the captivity: 607 BC when Daniel and others were captured; 599 when Jehoiachin was taken; and 588 when the Temple and Jerusalem were torn down and destroyed.
  • Through all these events, God was directing His people. He had made a covenant with Abraham, and He made a covenant with Moses and the Israelites. Now He began to foreshadow the New Covenant to give His people hope during their captivity.
  1. A New Covenant – Jeremiah 31:23-40
  2. Observe God’s Word:
  3. Since we just picked up in the middle of a chapter, what rule of hermeneutics did we break? Didn’t identify context.
  4. Where does this message start? 30:3 – one day Israel will return to the Promised Land. 30:7-8 – pointing further in the future to Second Coming. 30:24 – the latter days. 31:1 – at the same time.
  5. What is the main idea communicated in vs. 23-30? God will restore the Israelites to the Promised Land at some point in the future.
  6. When will the “New Covenant” come? Some future point – no clear date given.
  7. What is the New Covenant contrasted with? What is verse 32 referring to? Contrast to the covenant made with the people at Sinai after God brought them out of Egypt.
  8. Review – read about the Mosaic Covenant in Exodus 19:1-8.
  9. Was this covenant conditional or unconditional? Conditional – “if you will obey my voice…you shall be a special treasure…”
  10. What was the essence of the Mosaic Covenant? The Ten Commandments – see Deut. 4:13, Ex. 34:28.
  11. Did the Israelites keep their end of the covenant? No, they constantly broke the command God gave them.
  12. Back to Jer. 31, what are the features of this New Covenant? God will put His law in the minds and hearts of people; all will have an intimate knowledge of the Lord; their sins will be forgiven and remembered no longer.
  13. What is the contrast intended (though unstated) by saying that God’s Law would be written on their hearts and minds? The laws were originally written in stone – Ten Commandments.
  14. Are there any conditional statements in the New Covenant? No, all of its parts are declarations of what God will do to the people.
  15. What is the purpose of verse 35? Intended to demonstrate God’s power and authority. God is asserting His character as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe to establish the New Covenant.
  16. What is the purpose of the two “if” statements in vs. 36-37? Literary device intended to communicate the surety of fulfillment. We might say “when pigs fly” to communicate the same idea. These events will never happen – God’s promise is sure.
  17. With whom is this New Covenant made? Vs. 31 – with the house of Israel and Judah.
  18. Interpret the Truth:
  19. God promised the Israelites that He would give them an amazing gift. They knew it was impossible for them to perfectly keep the Ten Commandments and other laws. This New Covenant would keep the sin debt from hanging over their head.
  20. What does Jeremiah 31:34 mean? Can an omniscient God actually “forget”?

Group Activity: Jesus is Better Worksheet

  1. Jesus is Better – Hebrews 8:7-13
  2. Observe God’s Word:
  3. What does this passage tell us about the 2 covenants? The first had faults, so the second was needed. The first has been made obsolete so the second can be in effect. Most of this passage is quoted from Jeremiah 31:31-34.
  4. Look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:26-28 for another connection to the New Covenant.What is the setting of this passage? Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the upper room on the night of His betrayal.
  5. What is the connection to the New Covenant? He is setting forth the bread and the wine as symbols of the establishment of the New Covenant. He explicitly states that the cup was His blood shed for sins – the blood of the New Covenant.
  6. When we link the passages, can we say that we are part of the New Covenant announced by Jeremiah? Yes – clear connection.
  7. Interpret Truth:
  8. All who are “in Christ” are part of the New Covenant.
  9. Our sins were not just temporarily covered, but paid in full. There was no longer a need for the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement – the perfect High Priest had offered Himself as the final atonement for sin.

Applying God’s Word

  • What interests you most about the two covenants?
  • Does this change in covenants contradict the doctrine of God’s immutability?
  • If the 10 Commandments were the essence of the Mosaic covenant, what is their purpose under the New Covenant?