Bible Studies · Topical Studies
What Is New About the New Covenant?
Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, Yeshua, Hebrews—and the Covenant Written on the Heart
A Guided Topical Bible Study
Primary passages Exodus 19–24; Exodus 34; Deuteronomy 5; Deuteronomy 10; Deuteronomy 30; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:22–28; Matthew 5:17–20; Luke 22:14–20; Romans 7–8; Romans 11; 1 Corinthians 11; 2 Corinthians 3; Ephesians 2; Hebrews 7–10
Before We Begin
“The New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant.”
You have probably heard that.
Maybe you were also taught:
“The Old Covenant was the Law.”
“The New Covenant is grace.”
“The Old Covenant was written commandments.”
“The New Covenant is the Holy Spirit.”
“The Old Covenant was for Israel.”
“The New Covenant is for Christians.”
“Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant, so believers are no longer under any of those laws.”
Or perhaps you have heard the opposite:
“Nothing really changed.”
“The New Covenant is simply the Old Covenant renewed.”
“Everything from Sinai carries over exactly as it was.”
Those conclusions cannot all mean the same thing.
So before we decide what the New Covenant changed, we are going to do something very basic.
We are going to find the passage where Yehovah actually announces it.
And then we are going to ask Him.
Before beginning, write what you currently believe.
What was the Old Covenant?
---
What makes the New Covenant new?
---
Did Torah continue into the New Covenant?
---
What changed when Yeshua established the New Covenant?
---
What passage most strongly shapes your answer?
---
Now leave yourself room.
We are going to test it.
Find the New Covenant Before You Define It
Open:
Jeremiah 31:31–34
Do not start with Hebrews.
Do not start with Paul.
Do not start with your church's statement of faith.
Begin where Yehovah announces the covenant.
Read the passage slowly.
WHO MAKES THE COVENANT?
Who says:
“I will make a new covenant”?
---
WITH WHOM?
Write the two groups named.
The house of __________________________.
The house of __________________________.
Interesting.
The passage does not say:
“I will make a New Covenant with a completely unrelated people who replace Israel and Judah.”
Keep that observation.
We will return to Gentile inclusion later.
Which Covenant Is Being Contrasted?
Read Jeremiah 31:32.
The New Covenant will not be like which covenant?
The covenant Yehovah made with their ancestors when He did what?
---
What historical event is being referenced?
Egypt.
Exodus.
Sinai.
Now answer:
Is Jeremiah contrasting the New Covenant with every covenant Yehovah ever made?
Noah?
Abraham?
David?
Or with a specific covenant connected to the Exodus?
Write what the text says.
---
That matters.
“The Old Covenant” in this discussion is not a generic biblical synonym for:
“Everything God ever commanded before Matthew.”
Jeremiah identifies a covenant.
We need to do the same.
What Happened to the First Covenant?
Jeremiah says Israel did what to that covenant?
They __________________ it.
Who remained faithful?
Yehovah.
Who violated the covenant?
The people.
Stop.
ASK
Does Jeremiah say:
“The covenant failed because My Torah was bad”?
No.
Does he say:
“My commandments were defective”?
No.
Does he say:
“I made a mistake at Sinai”?
No.
What does he say happened?
The covenant was __________________ by the people.
Write it.
---
Already, we need to distinguish:
a covenant being broken
from
Yehovah's instruction being evil or defective.
Those are not the same claim.
Now Let Yehovah Define What Is New
Read Jeremiah 31:33 again.
What does Yehovah say He will put within His people?
My __________________.
Depending upon your translation, you may see:
law,
instruction,
Torah.
Now where will He write it?
On their __________________.
Stop there.
Do not rush past that sentence.
The New Covenant does not say:
“I will abolish My Torah.”
It says:
“I will put My Torah __________________ them.”
And:
“I will write it on their __________________.”
Write the words from your Bible.
---
Now ask:
If the New Covenant means Yehovah's instruction no longer matters, why does the New Covenant promise move His instruction inside the person?
Do not answer from theology.
Answer from Jeremiah.
---
What Else Is New?
Keep reading Jeremiah 31:33–34.
Do not reduce the New Covenant to one sentence about Torah.
Find all the promises.
COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
“I will be their __________________.”
“They will be My __________________.”
KNOWLEDGE OF YEHOVAH
They will all __________________ Me.
From the least to the greatest.
FORGIVENESS
“I will forgive their __________________.”
SIN REMEMBERED NO MORE
“I will remember their __________________ no more.”
Now list the major features you see.
1. ---
2. ---
3. ---
4. ---
5. ---
The New Covenant is not merely:
“same covenant, different label.”
Something profound is happening.
But neither is it:
“Yehovah removes His instruction.”
The text is more interesting than either slogan.
What Was the Covenant Made at Sinai?
Now go backward.
Open:
Exodus 19:1–8
Where is Israel?
---
What has Yehovah already done for them?
Look at verse 4.
He carried them on eagles' wings and brought them to whom?
---
Now verse 5.
Yehovah describes a covenant relationship.
If Israel faithfully hears/obeys His voice and keeps His covenant, what will they be?
His treasured possession.
A kingdom of priests.
A holy nation.
Now read the people's response in verse 8.
What do they promise?
---
Keep Going to Exodus 24
Read:
Exodus 24:1–11
Moses reads what?
The Book of the __________________.
How do the people respond?
What do they promise again?
---
Now what does Moses do with blood?
Look at verse 8.
“This is the blood of the __________________.”
Write it.
---
This is covenant-ratification language.
Remember it.
Someone else is going to use very similar words later.
Covenant Is Not Merely Another Word for Commandment
This distinction will help enormously.
A covenant is a relationship formally established with:
parties,
promises,
obligations,
terms,
signs,
mediators,
and sometimes covenant-ratifying blood.
Torah contains commandments.
But covenant and commandment are not identical words.
For example:
Yehovah made a covenant with Noah.
Yehovah made covenant promises to Abraham.
Yehovah made a covenant with Israel at Sinai.
Yehovah made promises concerning David.
These covenants relate to Yehovah's instruction, but they are not all interchangeable.
So when Hebrews later says a covenant becomes obsolete, we need to ask:
What exactly does the text say became obsolete?
And:
Does “covenant” automatically mean “every divine command contained anywhere within Torah”?
Do not decide yet.
Just learn to ask a more precise question.
The Problem Was Not Simply External Rules
Now read:
Deuteronomy 5:22–33
After the Ten Commandments are spoken, Yehovah hears the people's response.
Look at Deuteronomy 5:29.
What does Yehovah wish the people possessed?
A __________________ like this always.
A heart inclined to fear Him and keep His commandments.
Interesting.
The heart problem is already visible.
Now read:
Deuteronomy 10:12–16
What does Moses tell Israel to circumcise?
Their __________________.
Now read:
Deuteronomy 30:1–8
Pay special attention to verse 6.
Who will circumcise the heart?
---
What will the result be?
Loving Yehovah.
And in verse 8?
Returning and __________________ His voice.
So even within Torah, the story was already moving toward heart transformation.
That matters when Jeremiah later speaks of Torah written on hearts.
Ezekiel Gives Us Another New-Covenant Picture
Open:
Ezekiel 36:22–28
Read slowly.
Who acts first?
Yehovah.
What does He promise to do?
Gather.
Cleanse.
Give a new heart.
Give a new spirit.
Remove the heart of stone.
Give a heart of flesh.
Put His Spirit within His people.
Now look carefully at verse 27.
What does Yehovah's Spirit cause His people to do?
Walk in His __________________.
Keep His __________________.
Do them.
STOP
If the New Covenant means:
“The Spirit replaces obedience,”
Ezekiel is a strange way to describe it.
The Spirit seems to produce obedience from transformed hearts.
Write what you observe.
---
New Heart Does Not Mean No Instruction
Put these two passages side by side.
JEREMIAH 31
Torah written on the heart.
EZEKIEL 36
Spirit placed within.
Result:
walking in Yehovah's ways.
Now ask:
Are Torah and Spirit presented as enemies?
---
Does the Spirit appear to erase Yehovah's ways?
Or empower His people to walk in them?
---
Keep that answer.
We will need it when we reach Paul.
Yeshua Announces the Covenant
Now open:
Luke 22:14–20
Yeshua is eating Passover with His disciples.
Read verse 20.
What does He call the cup?
The __________________ covenant in My __________________.
Now remember Exodus 24.
Moses said:
“This is the blood of the covenant.”
Yeshua says:
“This cup is the New Covenant in My blood.”
ASK
What establishes the New Covenant?
Our performance?
Our ability to keep every command flawlessly?
Or Yeshua's blood?
Write the answer.
---
This matters tremendously.
The New Covenant is not established because humanity finally became good enough.
It is established through Messiah.
Read First Corinthians Too
Open:
1 Corinthians 11:23–26
Paul repeats the same covenant language.
What does the cup proclaim?
---
Until when?
Until He comes.
So the New Covenant is inseparable from:
Yeshua,
His death,
His blood,
forgiveness,
and His return.
Whatever else we conclude, do not turn the New Covenant into a discussion about rules that forgets the Mediator whose blood establishes it.
Did Yeshua Say He Came to Abolish Torah?
Now read:
Matthew 5:17–20
What does Yeshua tell His audience not to think?
That He came to __________________ the Torah or the Prophets.
What does He say He came to do?
__________________________.
We will do an entire Bible Study on the word fulfill later.
So do not try to settle everything here.
For now, notice the contrast.
Not abolish.
Fulfill.
Then read verses 18–19.
Does Yeshua speak as if Torah is a meaningless mistake waiting for the cross to delete it?
Write your observation.
---
CAREFUL
Matthew 5 by itself does not settle every question about how Torah functions under the New Covenant.
Hebrews will describe real changes.
But Matthew 5 should remain in the evidence set.
Do not let one part of Scripture cancel another before we have read both.
Now We Reach Hebrews
Good.
Because this is where people on both sides sometimes get nervous.
Open:
Hebrews 8:1–13
Read the whole chapter.
WHO IS THE PRIEST?
What kind of High Priest do we have?
Where is He seated?
Where does He minister?
In the earthly tabernacle?
Or the true/heavenly one?
---
Now read verse 6.
Yeshua has obtained a more excellent ministry.
He is mediator of what kind of covenant?
A __________________ covenant.
Established on __________________ promises.
Write the language.
---
Hebrews Quotes Jeremiah
Now notice something important.
When Hebrews wants to explain the New Covenant, what passage does it quote?
Jeremiah 31.
Not a new definition.
Not:
“New Covenant means no Torah.”
Hebrews quotes the same covenant we just studied.
Read Hebrews 8:8–12 alongside Jeremiah 31:31–34.
ASK
Does Hebrews remove the line about Yehovah putting His laws into minds and writing them on hearts?
No.
It repeats it.
Write what that tells you.
---
Then Comes Hebrews 8:13
Now the hard verse.
Read it.
By calling this covenant “new,” what has Yehovah made the first?
Depending upon translation:
obsolete,
old,
outdated.
And what is growing old is ready to do what?
Disappear.
Pass away.
Vanish.
Do not soften that.
THE QUESTION IS:
What is the grammatical subject?
What has become obsolete?
Read the verse carefully.
The first __________________.
Covenant.
ASK
Does Hebrews 8:13 say:
“Every command Yehovah ever gave is obsolete”?
Or:
“The first covenant is obsolete”?
Those sentences are not automatically identical.
But do not swing too far the other way either.
If the covenant is obsolete, something genuinely changed.
We are not allowed to say:
“Nothing changed at all.”
Hebrews will not permit that.
So write both truths:
Jeremiah/Hebrews says Torah is written on __________________.
Hebrews says the first __________________ is obsolete.
Now we have to understand how both statements belong together.
That is the study.
Why Was a Better Covenant Needed?
Read Hebrews 8:7–9 again.
Verse 7 says that if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second.
Then verse 8 begins:
“For finding fault with __________________…”
Depending upon translation, the wording points toward the people.
Compare versions carefully.
Now return to Jeremiah.
Who broke the covenant?
The people.
ASK
Was the central problem:
“Yehovah's moral instruction was wicked”?
Or:
Human beings broke covenant and needed forgiveness, transformation, a better Mediator, and a heart-level work Yehovah Himself would accomplish?
Write your answer.
---
Hebrews 7: A Change Really Did Happen
Now open:
Hebrews 7:11–28
Do not skip this.
What priesthood served under the Mosaic covenant?
The Levitical/Aaronic priesthood.
From which tribe did priests ordinarily come?
Levi.
From which tribe did Yeshua come?
Judah.
Now verse 12.
When the priesthood changes, what else necessarily changes?
There is also a change in the __________________.
Do not erase that sentence.
Something in the legal/covenantal administration changes because the priesthood changes.
ASK THE NEXT QUESTION
What is the immediate context?
Dietary laws?
Sabbath?
Murder?
Adultery?
Or priesthood?
---
The passage is discussing legal provisions concerning priesthood.
That does not mean Hebrews 7 is unimportant.
Quite the opposite.
It means the New Covenant cannot simply be:
“Sinai exactly as before, except we say Yeshua now.”
The priesthood itself changes.
And when priesthood changes, related Torah administration necessarily changes with it.
This is real discontinuity.
Keep it.
Yeshua Is a Different Kind of High Priest
Continue Hebrews 7.
What order is Yeshua's priesthood associated with?
Melchizedek.
What makes His priesthood different?
Look for:
indestructible life,
permanent priesthood,
once-for-all sacrifice,
ability to save completely,
continual intercession.
Write what stands out.
---
Now ask:
Is the New Covenant merely changing the location of commandments?
No.
It also gives us a better High Priest.
That is enormous.
Hebrews 9: The Sanctuary Changes Too
Read:
Hebrews 9:1–14
What did the first covenant have?
Regulations for worship.
An earthly sanctuary.
A tabernacle.
Priestly service.
Repeated sacrifices.
Now compare that with Yeshua.
Where does Messiah enter?
Through what kind of tabernacle?
With whose blood?
Goats and calves?
Or His own?
What does His blood accomplish?
---
LIST THE CONTRAST
First covenant administration:
---
New Covenant through Yeshua:
---
Again:
Something truly changed.
The Sacrifice Changes
Read:
Hebrews 10:1–18
What does Hebrews call the law in verse 1?
A shadow of the good things to come.
What could repeated sacrifices not do?
Make worshipers perfect/complete.
What did repeated sacrifices continually remind people of?
__________________________.
Sin.
Now what does Yeshua do differently?
He offers Himself.
How many times?
Once.
What happens after that?
He sits down.
Why does that matter?
Because His sacrifice is sufficient.
Read the New Covenant Promise Again
Now look at Hebrews 10:15–18.
After explaining Yeshua's once-for-all sacrifice, what does the writer quote?
Jeremiah's New Covenant promise again.
What gets written on hearts?
Yehovah's __________________.
What happens to sins and lawless deeds?
They are remembered no more.
Then verse 18.
Where there is forgiveness, what is no longer required?
Another offering for sin.
WAIT
This is important.
Hebrews connects the New Covenant directly with:
Torah written on hearts
and
the end of repeated animal offerings for sin because Yeshua's sacrifice is sufficient.
So if someone asks:
“What changed?”
We already have a major answer.
The sacrificial administration changed dramatically.
Do Not Say “Nothing Changed”
At this point Scripture will not allow that.
Under the New Covenant:
Yeshua is the Mediator.
Yeshua is High Priest.
The priesthood is different.
The sanctuary is heavenly.
The sacrifice is Yeshua Himself.
His sacrifice is once for all.
The repeated animal sacrifices cannot compete with His work.
Access to Yehovah is through Him.
Forgiveness is secured through Him.
The Spirit transforms hearts.
Torah is internalized.
That is not “nothing.”
It is enormous.
But Do Not Say “Everything Before Is Gone”
Jeremiah will not allow that either.
Because Yehovah says:
“I will put My Torah within them.”
Ezekiel says the Spirit causes people to walk in Yehovah's statutes.
Yeshua says He did not come to abolish Torah and Prophets.
Hebrews itself repeats the heart-writing promise twice.
So perhaps we need more precise categories than:
Old = everything bad and gone.
New = everything completely unrelated.
Keep studying.
Second Corinthians 3: The Ministry of Death
Now we need another hard passage.
Open:
2 Corinthians 3:1–18
Paul contrasts ministries.
Look at verses 3–6.
What is written:
not with ink,
but with the Spirit.
Not on tablets of stone,
but on tablets of human hearts.
Does that language sound familiar?
Jeremiah.
Ezekiel.
New Covenant.
Now verse 6.
What does Paul say?
The letter kills.
The Spirit gives life.
Then verse 7.
What does he call the ministry engraved in letters on stone?
The ministry of __________________.
Death.
Do not run away from it.
Is Paul Saying Yehovah's Commandments Are Evil?
Before deciding, open:
Romans 7:7–13
What does Paul say about Torah?
Is Torah sin?
His answer?
Absolutely not.
What does verse 12 call the law?
Holy.
What does it call the commandment?
Holy.
Righteous.
Good.
Now verse 13.
Did the good commandment itself become death to Paul?
Again:
Absolutely not.
What produced death?
Sin.
Sin used the commandment.
ASK
Can Paul call the commandment holy, righteous, and good in Romans 7 while describing the stone-engraved covenant ministry as a ministry of death in 2 Corinthians 3?
Apparently yes.
So perhaps we need to distinguish:
Yehovah's instruction
from
the covenant ministry that exposes and condemns sin without itself transforming the heart.
Write what you think.
---
Go Back to Exodus 34
Second Corinthians 3 also talks about Moses' shining face.
Open:
Exodus 34:29–35
What happens after Moses comes down with the covenant words?
His face shines.
He wears a veil.
Now return to 2 Corinthians 3.
Paul builds his comparison from that event.
The first covenant had glory.
Does Paul say it had no glory?
No.
It had glory.
But the New Covenant ministry has what?
Greater glory.
Surpassing glory.
ASK
Is Paul's argument:
“Yehovah used to give evil commandments and now gives good ones”?
Or:
“A glorious covenant ministry that condemned sin is surpassed by the greater ministry of the Spirit and Messiah”?
Write your answer.
---
“Old Covenant” Appears Explicitly
Read:
2 Corinthians 3:14
Paul actually uses the phrase:
“old covenant.”
What does he say happens when the old covenant is read?
A veil remains unless removed in Messiah.
This is serious discontinuity language.
Do not erase it.
But note again:
Paul speaks of a covenantal ministry.
The New Covenant is not merely Sinai with a new name.
Messiah changes the situation fundamentally.
What Then Happens to Obedience?
Now return to:
Ezekiel 36:27
Spirit → walk in Yehovah's statutes.
Return to:
Jeremiah 31:33
Torah → written on hearts.
Return to:
John 14:15
Love Yeshua → keep His commandments.
Return to:
Romans 8:3–4
Read it carefully.
What could the law not accomplish because of human flesh?
What did Yehovah do?
He sent His Son.
Why?
Look at verse 4.
So that the righteous requirement of Torah might be what?
Fulfilled in whom?
Those who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Interesting.
Paul does not say:
“The Spirit arrived, therefore righteousness and obedience stopped mattering.”
He describes Spirit-led people differently.
Who Is the New Covenant Actually With?
Return again to:
Jeremiah 31:31
House of Israel.
House of Judah.
Now read:
Hebrews 8:8
Does Hebrews change the recipients when it quotes Jeremiah?
No.
Israel.
Judah.
ASK
Then what about Gentile believers?
Good question.
Open:
Ephesians 2:11–22
What were Gentiles formerly?
Separated from Messiah.
Alienated from the commonwealth of __________________.
Strangers to the __________________ of promise.
Without hope.
Without God.
But now, in Messiah Yeshua, what has happened?
Those who were far away have been brought __________________.
Through what?
Messiah's blood.
Now read the rest.
Two become one.
Both have access through one Spirit.
Gentiles become fellow citizens.
Members of God's household.
ASK
Does Paul describe Gentiles as creating a completely unrelated covenant people?
Or as being brought near and incorporated into something from which they had previously been alienated?
Write your answer.
---
Romans 11 Gives Another Picture
Read:
Romans 11:13–27
What metaphor does Paul use?
An olive tree.
Some natural branches are broken off.
Wild branches are what?
__________________________ in.
Does Paul plant a completely separate Gentile tree?
No.
What are Gentile believers told not to boast against?
The branches.
What supports them?
The root.
Now near the end of the section, Paul speaks about Israel and covenant promises.
Look at verses 26–27.
“My covenant with them…”
connected with taking away their sins.
ASK
Does the New Testament picture Gentiles replacing Israel?
Or Gentiles being brought near/grafted in through Messiah?
Write what you see.
---
Do not force the metaphor farther than Paul does.
But do not ignore it either.
The New Covenant Is Not “Christianity Replaces Israel”
The original New Covenant promise names Israel and Judah.
Gentile believers are gloriously included through Messiah.
Brought near.
Grafted in.
Fellow citizens.
One body.
That is inclusion.
It is not grounds for Gentile arrogance.
Paul explicitly warns against that.
If your New Covenant theology makes Israel embarrassing baggage that Yehovah discarded so He could start over with better people, Romans 11 has words for us.
And they are not flattering.
So What Exactly Is New?
Now take a fresh page.
Do not answer from slogans.
Build the list from Scripture.
THE MEDIATOR
Old/Sinai covenant:
__________________________.
New Covenant:
__________________________.
THE HIGH PRIEST
Old covenant administration:
__________________________.
New Covenant:
__________________________.
THE PRIESTLY ORDER
Old:
__________________________.
New:
__________________________.
THE SANCTUARY
Old:
__________________________.
New:
__________________________.
THE SACRIFICE
Old:
__________________________.
New:
__________________________.
FREQUENCY OF SACRIFICE
Old:
__________________________.
New:
__________________________.
FORGIVENESS
What does Jeremiah promise?
---
HEART
What does Jeremiah promise?
---
SPIRIT
What does Ezekiel promise?
---
TORAH
Where does Yehovah place it?
---
KNOWLEDGE OF YEHOVAH
What does Jeremiah promise?
---
COVENANT STATUS
What does Hebrews say about the first covenant?
---
Now look at the whole page.
That is much more useful than saying:
“Old versus new.”
What Changed—and What Did Not?
Create two columns.
SCRIPTURE EXPLICITLY SAYS CHANGED
Examples to investigate:
Covenant.
Mediator.
Priesthood.
Priestly legal administration.
Sanctuary.
Sacrifice.
Access.
Heart transformation.
Spirit empowerment.
Forgiveness.
Write your evidence.
---
SCRIPTURE DOES NOT EXPLICITLY SAY HERE
“The New Covenant abolishes every command found in Torah.”
“The New Covenant means Yehovah no longer defines sin.”
“The New Covenant is made with Gentiles instead of Israel.”
“The New Covenant means nothing from Sinai has any continuing relevance.”
“The New Covenant changes nothing whatsoever.”
Test each statement.
Do not accept it merely because Sasha put it on the page.
Verify it.
Test the Claims We Hear
CLAIM:
“The Old Covenant is the Torah.”
Test:
Exodus 19–24
Jeremiah 31
Hebrews 8
Is covenant identical to every individual commandment?
Or is Torah part of the covenant's terms/instruction?
Write carefully.
---
CLAIM:
“Jeremiah says the New Covenant abolishes Torah.”
Read Jeremiah 31:33.
What does the passage actually say?
---
CLAIM:
“The New Covenant changes nothing.”
Test:
Hebrews 7–10.
What changes?
---
Does the claim survive exactly as stated?
---
CLAIM:
“Hebrews 8:13 says Torah is obsolete.”
What noun does Hebrews 8:13 explicitly describe as obsolete?
---
Does that settle every question about Torah's function?
---
CLAIM:
“Hebrews 7:12 says all of Torah was replaced.”
What is the immediate context?
---
What change prompts the legal change?
---
CLAIM:
“Because sacrifices changed, every commandment changed in the same way.”
Does Hebrews say that?
---
CLAIM:
“The Spirit replaces obedience.”
Test:
Ezekiel 36:27
Romans 8:3–4
What does the Spirit produce?
---
CLAIM:
“The New Covenant is for Christians instead of Israel.”
Test:
Jeremiah 31:31
Hebrews 8:8
Ephesians 2
Romans 11
What do the passages actually show?
---
CLAIM:
“Second Corinthians 3 proves Yehovah's commandments were bad and deadly.”
Test:
2 Corinthians 3
Romans 7:7–13
Can Paul's statements be reconciled without calling Yehovah's commandment evil?
---
The Word “New” Does Not Do All the Work for Us
A quick caution.
People sometimes attempt to settle this entire discussion by arguing over whether “new” should really mean:
new,
renewed,
fresh,
restored.
Do not build the doctrine on one English gloss.
Jeremiah calls it a new covenant.
Let him.
Then ask what the passage says is new.
The content of the promise tells us far more than a lexical argument can.
Yehovah Himself explains the covenant.
Read His explanation.
☕ Coffee Break With Sasha
Okay.
Coffee.
Bible.
Hebrews open.
Possibly five bookmarks sticking out of the thing by now.
Here's where I think Christians sometimes make this way harder than Scripture does.
We hear:
New Covenant.
And immediately decide that “new” must mean:
“Everything Yehovah said before has now been placed in the theological dumpster.”
But then Jeremiah—the guy who actually announces the New Covenant—says:
“I will put My Torah within them.”
Well.
That's awkward.
So then the other side reacts and says:
“See! Nothing changed!”
And Hebrews walks into the room carrying an entirely different priesthood, a heavenly sanctuary, a once-for-all sacrifice, a better Mediator, and a statement that the first covenant is obsolete.
Also awkward.
Excellent.
Now we're studying.
The New Covenant is not interesting because nothing changed.
Something changed enormously.
Yeshua changes everything.
The blood is different.
The High Priest is different.
The priestly order is different.
The sanctuary is different.
The sacrifice is different.
The access is different.
The covenant is better.
Forgiveness reaches its promised reality in Messiah.
The Spirit transforms.
The heart is changed.
But here's what I cannot make Jeremiah say:
“I will remove My Torah from them because rules were the problem.”
He doesn't say that.
He says:
“I will put My Torah in them.”
The problem was never that Yehovah's people had too much of His instruction written outside them.
The problem was that human hearts were really good at saying:
“All Yehovah has spoken, we will do!”
and then building a golden calf before the paperwork had cooled.
We're impressive like that.
So what does Yehovah promise?
A heart-level work.
His Spirit.
Forgiveness.
Knowledge of Him.
Instruction internalized.
And then Yeshua becomes the covenant Mediator whose blood does what bulls and goats never could.
That is not:
“Same exact arrangement, nothing to see here.”
And it is definitely not:
“Yehovah's standards disappeared.”
It is better.
Far better.
The thing I want us to stop doing is using the word new like a giant theological eraser.
A new heart doesn't mean:
“No more heart.”
A new song doesn't mean music has been abolished.
A new covenant doesn't automatically tell us which elements continue, which transform, and which reach fulfillment.
The passages have to tell us that.
Hebrews tells us sacrifice changed.
Hebrews tells us priesthood changed.
Hebrews tells us covenant administration changed.
Jeremiah tells us Torah moves onto the heart.
Ezekiel tells us the Spirit moves people toward obedience.
Paul tells Gentiles they were once strangers to Israel's covenants and are now brought near.
So perhaps instead of asking:
“Is the Old Covenant gone?”
—which Hebrews can answer—
we should also ask:
“What exactly was the Old Covenant, what does Scripture say replaced it, and what does Yehovah carry into the New?”
Now we're asking a question precise enough for the Bible to answer.
Are you picking up what I'm throwing down?
Now Answer the Original Question
We began with:
What Is New About the New Covenant?
Before reading my conclusion, answer for yourself.
1. With whom does Jeremiah say Yehovah makes the New Covenant?
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2. Which earlier covenant does Jeremiah contrast it with?
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3. What happened to that covenant?
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4. Where does Yehovah put His Torah in the New Covenant?
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5. What does Jeremiah promise concerning forgiveness?
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6. What does Ezekiel say Yehovah's Spirit causes His people to do?
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7. What establishes the New Covenant according to Yeshua?
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8. Who is the New Covenant Mediator?
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9. What happens to the priesthood in Hebrews 7?
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10. Why does Hebrews 7 speak of a corresponding legal change?
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11. What sanctuary does Yeshua serve in?
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12. What happens to repeated animal sacrifice under Yeshua's once-for-all offering?
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13. What does Hebrews 8:13 explicitly call obsolete?
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14. Does Hebrews itself repeat the promise of Torah written on hearts?
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15. Does 2 Corinthians 3 say the first covenant ministry had no glory?
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16. How does Romans 7 describe Yehovah's law and commandment?
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17. How are Gentiles related to Israel's covenant promises in Ephesians 2?
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18. What happens to Gentile believers in Romans 11's olive-tree picture?
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Now answer:
What is genuinely new about the New Covenant?
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What continuity do you see?
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What discontinuity do you see?
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What I Think the Evidence Shows
Here is where I land.
I believe the first covenant—the Sinai covenant—really has become obsolete as the governing covenantal administration.
Hebrews says so.
I do not think we should soften that because it makes Torah-observant believers uncomfortable.
Yeshua does not simply patch the Sinai covenant and send everyone back to the Levitical system.
He mediates the New Covenant.
He is the High Priest.
His priesthood is not Aaronic.
His sacrifice is not another animal sacrifice.
His blood establishes the covenant.
His sacrifice is once for all.
His ministry is heavenly.
That is genuine covenantal change.
But I also do not believe Scripture defines the New Covenant as the abolition of Yehovah's Torah.
Jeremiah will not let me say that.
Yehovah explicitly says His Torah will be put within His people and written upon their hearts.
Ezekiel says His Spirit will move them to walk in His ways.
Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's heart-writing promise while announcing the superiority of the New Covenant.
So the contrast cannot simply be:
Old Covenant = obedience
New Covenant = no obedience
That is not Jeremiah's contrast.
Nor Ezekiel's.
Nor Yeshua's.
Nor Hebrews'.
The Covenant Changed
This needs to be stated clearly.
The Sinai covenant is not the New Covenant.
The New Covenant has:
a better Mediator,
a different priesthood,
a superior sacrifice,
a heavenly sanctuary,
better promises,
direct access through Messiah,
full covenant forgiveness,
the Spirit,
heart transformation,
and Torah internalized rather than merely external.
That is substantial change.
The Character of Yehovah Did Not Change
Yehovah did not suddenly become holy in the Old Testament and easygoing in the New.
He did not once care about righteousness and later decide behavior was overrated.
The New Covenant does not rescue humanity from Yehovah's character.
It reconciles humanity to Him.
The same Yehovah who called His people to holiness gives His Spirit to transform them.
The Problem Was Bigger Than a Written Code
If merely writing commandments on stone could transform human beings, Israel's story would look very different.
External command can reveal.
Teach.
Define.
Correct.
Expose.
But it cannot perform heart surgery.
Jeremiah promises something deeper.
Ezekiel promises a new heart and Spirit.
The New Covenant addresses the human problem from the inside.
That does not make righteousness irrelevant.
It makes genuine transformation possible.
Yeshua Is Not an Add-On
This is perhaps the biggest difference.
The New Covenant is not:
“Sinai, plus Jesus.”
Yeshua is the Mediator.
High Priest.
Sacrifice.
Covenant blood.
Access.
Intercessor.
Everything centers upon Him.
Torah observance that pushes Yeshua to the margins has completely misunderstood the New Covenant.
We do not reach Yehovah by reconstructing the Levitical priesthood.
We come through Yeshua.
And Gentiles Are Brought Near
The New Covenant promise was spoken to Israel and Judah.
The New Testament does not seem embarrassed about that.
Instead, it shows Gentiles being brought near through Messiah.
Grafted in.
Made fellow citizens.
Joined in one body.
So Gentile inclusion does not require Yehovah to break His promise to Israel.
It demonstrates how astonishingly wide the promise becomes through Messiah.
What About Torah?
Here is where I think precision matters most.
The statement:
“The Sinai covenant is obsolete”
is biblical.
The statement:
“Therefore every command Yehovah gave in Torah is automatically abolished”
requires additional argument.
Those are not identical sentences.
Hebrews itself demonstrates this.
Some Torah instructions cannot continue in identical form because their covenantal structure has changed.
The Levitical priesthood does not continue as the mediator of access to Yehovah.
Repeated animal sacrifices for sin do not continue as though Yeshua's sacrifice were incomplete.
The earthly sanctuary does not remain the center of covenant access.
So Torah's application under the New Covenant cannot simply mean:
“Pretend Hebrews never happened.”
But neither can it mean:
“Pretend Jeremiah 31:33 never happened.”
We need Messiah-centered obedience informed by the whole biblical witness.
That takes more work than a slogan.
But it is worth the work.
A Safer New-Covenant Checklist
Whenever someone tells you what the New Covenant means, ask:
Have we actually read Jeremiah 31?
If not, begin there.
With whom is the covenant made?
Let Scripture answer.
Which earlier covenant is being replaced?
Identify it precisely.
What does Yehovah write on hearts?
Do not skip the sentence.
What does Ezekiel say the Spirit does?
Does He move people toward or away from Yehovah's ways?
What changes according to Hebrews?
List them.
Mediator.
Priesthood.
Sacrifice.
Sanctuary.
Covenant.
Access.
Are we confusing “covenant” with “every commandment”?
Define the terms carefully.
Are we pretending nothing changed?
Hebrews will correct us.
Are we pretending everything from before became meaningless?
Jeremiah will correct us.
Are we rebuilding a sacrificial system Yeshua fulfilled through His once-for-all sacrifice?
Hebrews will correct us again.
Are we using the New Covenant to erase Israel?
Jeremiah, Ephesians, and Romans will correct us.
Is Yeshua central?
If not, start over.
One More Question
Imagine you had never heard:
“Old Testament versus New Testament.”
You had never heard:
“law versus grace.”
You had never been told:
“The New Covenant means Christians do not follow the Old Testament.”
You simply read Jeremiah.
Yehovah says:
“I will make a New Covenant.”
You ask:
“What will be different?”
And He says:
“I will put My Torah within them.”
“I will write it on their hearts.”
“I will be their God.”
“They will be My people.”
“They will know Me.”
“I will forgive them.”
Then Ezekiel says:
“I will put My Spirit within them and cause them to walk in My ways.”
Then Yeshua lifts the cup and says:
“This is the New Covenant in My blood.”
Then Hebrews says:
“Yes—the first covenant is obsolete.”
And then explains:
New Priest.
New priestly order.
Heavenly sanctuary.
Once-for-all sacrifice.
Better covenant.
Better promises.
Full forgiveness.
Torah written on hearts.
Would you naturally conclude:
“The entire point is that Yehovah no longer cares whether anyone obeys Him”?
I would not.
Would you conclude:
“Nothing actually changed”?
I would not conclude that either.
I would conclude:
Something far better has arrived.
Messiah has arrived.
And Yehovah is doing from within His people what stone tablets alone could never accomplish.
Final Thought
The New Covenant is new.
Really new.
Not because Yehovah changed His character.
Not because righteousness became irrelevant.
Not because sin stopped being sin.
And not because He discarded Israel and started over.
It is new because Yeshua mediates a better covenant through His own blood.
The High Priest is better.
The sacrifice is better.
The sanctuary is better.
The access is better.
The promises reach their intended depth.
Forgiveness is secured.
The Spirit is given.
The heart is transformed.
And Yehovah's instruction moves from stone and scroll into minds and hearts.
So maybe the New Covenant is not Yehovah saying:
“Forget everything I taught you.”
Maybe it is Yehovah saying:
“I am going to do what your hard heart could never do on its own.”
That is not less demanding.
It is more intimate.
Torah outside you can tell you what righteousness looks like.
The Spirit within you begins transforming what you love.
And standing at the center of it all is Yeshua.
Mediator.
High Priest.
Sacrifice.
King.
The One whose blood establishes the covenant.
That is what makes it better.
Don't take my word for it.
Open your Bible.
Continue the Study
Before settling your conclusion, work through these passages together.
Sinai Covenant
Exodus 19:1–8 Exodus 20 Exodus 24:1–11 Exodus 34:27–35 Deuteronomy 5 Deuteronomy 10:12–16 Deuteronomy 30:1–10
New Covenant Promise
Jeremiah 31:27–40 Jeremiah 32:36–44 Ezekiel 11:14–21 Ezekiel 36:22–28 Ezekiel 37:21–28
Yeshua and the Covenant
Matthew 5:17–20 Luke 22:14–20 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
New Covenant Ministry
2 Corinthians 3 Romans 7:7–25 Romans 8:1–14
Gentile Inclusion
Romans 11 Ephesians 2:11–22 Galatians 3:6–29
Hebrews and the Better Covenant
Hebrews 7 Hebrews 8 Hebrews 9 Hebrews 10:1–25 Hebrews 12:18–29
Study Notes
Jeremiah 31
Jeremiah explicitly announces a New Covenant with the houses of Israel and Judah and contrasts it with the covenant made when Yehovah brought their ancestors out of Egypt. The earlier covenant was broken by the people. The New Covenant includes Torah/instruction placed within the people and written on their hearts, restored covenant relationship, knowledge of Yehovah, and forgiveness of sin.
Covenant and Torah
A covenant and Torah are related but are not simply interchangeable terms. The Sinai covenant incorporated divine instructions and obligations within a specific covenantal arrangement involving Israel, Moses, priesthood, sanctuary, sacrifices, covenant blood, and other structures. Distinguishing covenant from individual commandments helps clarify Hebrews' statements concerning covenant obsolescence.
Deuteronomy and the Heart
Torah itself recognizes the heart problem. Deuteronomy speaks both of Israel needing circumcised hearts and of Yehovah acting to circumcise the heart so His people will love Him and obey. Jeremiah's heart-writing promise therefore develops themes already present within Torah rather than appearing without precedent.
Ezekiel 36
Ezekiel describes cleansing, a new heart, a new spirit, and Yehovah's Spirit within His people. The result includes walking in Yehovah's statutes and carefully doing His judgments. The Spirit is therefore portrayed as producing transformed obedience rather than making obedience irrelevant.
Yeshua and Covenant Blood
At the final Passover meal, Yeshua identifies the cup with the New Covenant in His blood. The wording recalls covenant-ratification language such as Exodus 24 while locating the New Covenant decisively in Yeshua's sacrificial death.
Hebrews 8
Hebrews presents Yeshua as Mediator of a better covenant established on better promises and directly quotes Jeremiah 31. Hebrews 8:13 states that by speaking of a New Covenant, the first covenant has been made obsolete. The immediate noun is covenant; determining how specific Torah instructions function under the New Covenant requires attention to the wider argument rather than treating “covenant” and “every command” as automatic synonyms.
Hebrews 7
Hebrews teaches that Yeshua's priesthood differs from the Levitical priesthood and connects a change of priesthood with a corresponding change in law. The immediate context concerns priestly qualification and administration. This establishes genuine legal/covenantal change while not by itself specifying the status of every other commandment.
Hebrews 9–10
Hebrews contrasts the first covenant's earthly sanctuary and repeated sacrificial system with Yeshua's heavenly ministry and once-for-all sacrifice. The New Covenant therefore includes major transformation in priesthood, sacrifice, sanctuary, access, and atonement. Hebrews 10 then quotes Jeremiah's heart-writing promise again.
Second Corinthians 3
Paul contrasts the old-covenant ministry associated with letters engraved on stone with the New Covenant ministry of the Spirit. He describes the former as a ministry of death/condemnation that nevertheless possessed glory, while the Spirit's ministry possesses surpassing glory. The passage should be read alongside Romans 7, where Paul explicitly calls Torah holy and the commandment holy, righteous, and good while identifying sin as the agent producing death.
Romans 7–8
Romans 7 distinguishes the goodness of Yehovah's commandment from the power of sin that exploits the commandment. Romans 8 describes what Yehovah accomplishes through His Son and Spirit that weakened human flesh could not achieve, including the righteous requirement of Torah being fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit.
Gentile Inclusion
Jeremiah and Hebrews identify Israel and Judah as the New Covenant recipients. Ephesians 2 describes Gentiles as formerly alienated from Israel's commonwealth and strangers to the covenants of promise but now brought near through Messiah's blood. Romans 11 uses grafting imagery in which Gentile believers are joined into an existing cultivated olive tree rather than replacing it with a separate Gentile tree.
Continuity and Discontinuity
The New Testament presents genuine discontinuity between the Sinai covenant and the New Covenant, especially regarding covenant mediation, priesthood, sanctuary, sacrifice, and access to Yehovah. At the same time, Jeremiah's Torah-on-the-heart promise, Ezekiel's Spirit-enabled obedience, and related New Testament passages prevent the New Covenant from being reduced to the disappearance of divine instruction.
