“Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (v. 15)

It’s a fascinating comparison.

To help us understand the New Covenant in Christ, the Holy Spirit led the writer of Hebrews to an illustration. The writer compared the New Covenant—salvation by grace through faith because of Christ—to a will.

Do you have a will? Have you thought about one before? What’s the purpose of such a document?

Try this:

A will explicates who gets what, of yours and from you, when you die.

This is the image the writer picks up on: We who believe have been given the covenant of grace. We have been granted forgiveness and mercy. We have received ultimate cleansing, of the heart, and not just surface-level. And all of it was promised in the things written.

But, for it to take effect, the One who had the things to give…had to die.

Jesus, because He died, leaves us His life. Because the terms of the will are fulfilled, the gifts are transferred. It was a promise before the cross; it is a reality because of it.

The will of the Worthy One is wonderfully good for us, because He has left us the Gospel.

— Tyler