The Main Point Is the Throne Text: Hebrews 8:1-6
Introduction: Reality Check
The book of Hebrews is a sustained argument against spiritual nostalgia. The recipients of this letter were Jewish Christians who were feeling the immense cultural and familial pressure to return to the old ways. The temple was still standing, the sacrifices were still being offered, and the aroma of that ancient liturgy was a powerful pull. It was tangible, it was visible, and it was what their fathers had always known. In a word, it felt real. The new Christian faith, by contrast, could feel abstract. Its High Priest was unseen, its sanctuary was in heaven, and its sacrifice was a past event.
So the author of Hebrews has been systematically dismantling this temptation by showing them, and us, what is actually real. He has demonstrated that Christ is superior to the angels, superior to Moses, and superior to Aaron. His priesthood is of a higher order, the order of Melchizedek, an eternal priesthood. And now, in our text, he brings his argument to its sharpest point. He says, in effect, "Let me summarize everything I have been saying. Let me give you the bottom line, the central reality upon which everything else hangs."
We live in an age that is just as confused about reality as those first-century believers were. Our world is drowning in shadows. We are told that reality is what you feel, that truth is a personal construct, and that the material world is all there is. We are tempted to trade the solid realities of Christ's kingdom for the flickering images on a screen, for political promises that never materialize, or for the thin gruel of therapeutic spirituality. Into this confusion, Hebrews 8 comes as a bucket of cold, clear water. It tells us to look up and see what is truly there, what is substantial, and what is permanent. It directs our attention away from the flimsy stage props of the old covenant and points us to the throne room of the universe.
The Text
Now the main point in what is being said is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
(Hebrews 8:1-6 LSB)
The Sum of the Matter (v. 1-2)
The author begins by telling us he is getting to the heart of it all.
"Now the main point in what is being said is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man." (Hebrews 8:1-2)
The "main point," or the sum of it all, is not a proposition but a person in a place. We have a High Priest. This is not a theoretical construct; it is a present reality. And where is He? He "sat down." This is crucial. The priests in the earthly tabernacle never sat down. Their work was never finished. The furniture of the tabernacle included a table, a lampstand, and an altar, but no chairs. The endless cycle of sacrifices was a constant reminder that sin had not been dealt with finally. But our High Priest, Jesus, offered one sacrifice for all time and then He sat down. His sitting is a declaration that the work of atonement is finished. It is done. To go back to the old sacrifices is to stand up and declare that Christ's work was insufficient.
And where did He sit? "At the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." This is the position of ultimate authority and power. He is not resting; He is ruling. His session at the right hand is not retirement; it is the assumption of His reign. From this throne, He is actively governing all things until all His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. This is the central fact of history. Christ is King, now. Not later. Not after we fix everything. He is reigning from heaven, and the effects of that reign are being worked out on earth through the preaching of the gospel.
He is a minister, a liturgist, in the "true tabernacle." The word "true" here does not mean that the old one was false, but rather that the old one was a sketch and this one is the solid building. It was a blueprint; this is the reality. And this true sanctuary was "pitched by the Lord, not man." The tabernacle of Moses was a marvel, but it was constructed by human hands. It was portable, temporary, and ultimately, destructible. But the heavenly sanctuary is the uncreated reality of God's presence. It is permanent, eternal, and it is the center of all true worship. This is where our worship ascends. When we gather on the Lord's Day, we are not huddling in a merely earthly building; by faith, we are joining the assembly in the heavenly Jerusalem.
A Priest Must Have a Sacrifice (v. 3-4)
The logic of the priesthood requires a sacrifice. Christ, as our High Priest, is no exception.
"For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;" (Hebrews 8:3-4 LSB)
The very job description of a priest is to offer something. The Levitical priests offered gifts, which were bloodless, and sacrifices, which were bloody. So what does our High Priest offer? The author has already told us and will elaborate further: He offered Himself. His was not the blood of bulls and goats, but His own precious blood. This is the ultimate offering, the one to which all other offerings pointed.
The author then makes a startling point. If Jesus were on earth, He wouldn't even qualify to be a priest. He was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. He did not have the right pedigree for the earthly, Aaronic priesthood. This is a polemical jab. The author is saying, "You who are tempted to go back to the earthly system must realize that your Lord doesn't even fit into that system." His priesthood is not a better version of the old one; it is an entirely different and superior category. The old system, with its Levitical priests, was still operating when this was written. But it was a system with a built-in expiration date. It was a placeholder for the reality that was to come.
Shadows and Substance (v. 5)
Here we get to the heart of the relationship between the two covenants: one is a copy, the other is the original.
"who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”" (Hebrews 8:5 LSB)
The priests of the old covenant were not frauds. They were legitimate ministers in a God-ordained system. But the system itself was a "copy and shadow." A shadow is cast by something real. It proves the existence of the real thing, but it has no substance in itself. You cannot get warm by a shadow of a fire. You cannot get nourishment from the shadow of a loaf of bread. The entire sacrificial system, the tabernacle, the priesthood, all of it, was a shadow cast into history by the heavenly reality of Christ's person and work.
This is proven by the instruction given to Moses on Sinai. He was not told to innovate or design the tabernacle based on his own aesthetic sense. He was commanded to make it according to the "pattern" he was shown. This means there was an original, a heavenly template. The earthly tabernacle was a divinely authorized copy. Now, who would prefer the copy when the original is available? Who would prefer the shadow when the substance has come? To return to the temple sacrifices after Christ has come is to prefer the blueprint over the finished cathedral. It is to turn your back on the sun in order to study its shadow on the ground.
A Better Ministry, a Better Covenant, Better Promises (v. 6)
The conclusion is inescapable. Because Christ's person and place are superior, His ministry and the covenant He mediates must also be superior.
"But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6 LSB)
Christ's ministry is "more excellent." The Levitical ministry was glorious, but it was a ministry of condemnation and death, as Paul says. It constantly reminded the people of their sin and their distance from God. Christ's ministry is excellent because it is a ministry of reconciliation. He brings us near.
He is the mediator of a "better covenant." The Old Covenant was good. It was from God. But it was faulty in that it relied on the faithfulness of the people, and the people were faithless. It was a covenant written on tablets of stone. The New Covenant is better because it is a covenant written on the heart. It does not depend on our fickle obedience, but on Christ's perfect obedience. It is a covenant of grace.
And this better covenant is established on "better promises." The promises of the Old Covenant were largely blessings in the land: rain, crops, victory over enemies. These were good things, shadows of the better things to come. But the promises of the New Covenant are internal, spiritual, and eternal. As the author will go on to quote from Jeremiah, the promises are the forgiveness of sins, the law written on our hearts, and an intimate knowledge of God. These are better promises because they deal with the root of our problem, which is our sinful heart. The Old Covenant could regulate behavior, but the New Covenant transforms the heart. It conquers our sinfulness from the inside out.
Conclusion: Living in Reality
So what is the main point? The main point is that we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has finished the work of salvation, who is ruling from the right hand of the Father in the true, heavenly sanctuary, and who has inaugurated a new and better covenant on our behalf.
This is not wishful thinking. This is the central reality of the cosmos. Our politics, our work, our family life, our worship, all of it must be oriented by this reality. We are not citizens of a failing earthly republic, trying to hold things together until Jesus comes back to bail us out. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, and our King is already reigning. His victory is an accomplished fact.
Therefore, we do not live in fear. We do not look back with nostalgia to lesser shadows. We look up, to the throne. We see our High Priest, ministering for us. And because He is there, we can come with boldness to the throne of grace. We have access to the control room of the universe. The old system kept you out. The veil said, "No entry." But Christ, our forerunner, has torn the veil and entered on our behalf, securing for us a permanent place in the presence of God. This is the main point. And because it is the main point, it must be the main thing in our lives.