Hebrews 8:1-7, TCENT “Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister of the holy places and the true tabernacle, which was set up by the Lord, not by man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 For if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to build the tabernacle, he was warned by God, “See to it that yoʋ make everything according to the pattern that was shown to yoʋ on the mountain.”” 6 But as it is, the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant he mediates is superior to the old one, since it has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.
V1 “Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven…” We = Christians. Our High Priest is Jesus, God’s Son. After His resurrection, He ministered to the disciples of whom over 500 people saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:6). After His post-resurrection ministry on earth, He, in the sight of many witnesses, ascended into heaven beginning His ministry until the Rapture of the Church. When He reached heaven, He sat down on God the Father’s right hand. The Greek word for “Majesty” is (3172) μεγαλωσύνη megalōsýnē, which means divine majesty, the majesty of God. It is used 3X in the NT and a number of times in the Old. Strong’s: “only in Biblical and ecclesiastical writings (cf. Winers Grammar, 26, 95 (90); Buttmann, 73, and see ἀγαθωσύνη) (μέγας), the Sept. for גֹּדֶל and גְּדוּלָה; majesty: of the majesty of God, Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Jude 1:25 (so 2 Samuel 7:23; Psalm 144:3, 6 (Ps. 145:3,6); Wis. 18:24; Sir. 2:18, and often).”
V2 “…a minister of the holy places and the true tabernacle, which was set up by the Lord, not by man.” Our Lord is a minister, too. He ministers on behalf of believers. He is qualified as the High Priest (in the order of Melchizedek) to minister in the Holy Places (the heavenly Temple) which is the true tabernacle built by God. Moses saw this tabernacle and built the earthly Tabernacle according to its plan (Exodus 25:9 and Exodus 25:40).
V3 “For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.” Since all the High Priests offered gifts and sacrifices, the Lord Jesus also needs to and does.
V4 “For if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law.” This is because Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.
V5 “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to build the tabernacle, he was warned by God, “See to it that yoʋ make everything according to the pattern that was shown to yoʋ on the mountain.”” The priesthood of Israel and in particular the High Priest was according to the pattern that Moses saw. God revealed it to him.
V6 “But as it is, the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant he mediates is superior to the old one, since it has been enacted on better promises.” The words “to the old one” are added and are not in the text. It was added to clarify. The superiority of Jesus’s ministry to any human. He is the mediator of the New Covenant which is superior to the Old Covenant, because there are better promises (forgiveness of sin, new creation, eternal life, God’s blessings, evil destroyed, etc.). The Old Covenant is the covenant given at Mt Sinai and agreed to by Israel (Exodus 24:3 and Exodus 24:7). The New Covenant was revealed in Jeremiah 31:31-34.
V7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.” The fault was the first one could not be obeyed perfectly and could not cleanse the conscience. The New Covenant is explained more in Hebrews 8.