Understanding the differences between the Old and New Covenants helps us to grasp our roles on earth as we follow Jesus. There is a big difference between what God wanted his people to hope for in this life under the Old Covenant and what he wants us to hope for in this life under the New Covenant, which was established by the blood of Jesus on the Cross. As you read through the following list consider how it influences your life.
- New: forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God through the blood of Christ (vs Old: temporary forgiveness of sins through sacrifices at the temple.)
- New: God’s people not associated with any specific nation or ethnic group (vs Old: God’s people were part of the nation of Israel and the Jews; the Jews were evicted from Palestine in the early 2nd century.)
- New: No specific location of God’s abiding presence because believers are temples (vs Old: God’s abiding presence was in the holy of holies in the Temple, which was destroyed.)
- New: Jesus completes the Law by his teachings, death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit (vs Old: the Law is not able to restore the image of God and make humans good.)
- New: Jesus is the new human king, he is physically absent but present by the Spirit to all the people of God, (vs Old: David as the best king of Israel but he was sinful and died is not present anymore.)
- New: No promise of material prosperity for God’s people – Jesus as our model (vs Old: prosperity for the faithful.)
- New: No political power promised, Jesus had no title and his kingdom is not of this world (vs Old: political and military success promised for Israel if they were faithful; e.g. much concern with King David’s success.)
- New: God has incarnated as a human so we know what it looks like for a human to live in the image of God which is God’s goal for humans (vs Old: no clear example of a human with the restored image of God.)
- New: God’s people can expect persecution and suffering, for example Jesus and Paul, Matthew 5, in Romans 8:36 we are sheep for the slaughter and in Hebrews 13:13 we are “outside the camp” (vs Old: God’s faithful people can expect long life, worldly blessing, honor)
- New: The human heart is held to a higher standard; for example, The Sermon on the Mount (vs Old: God had to emphasize basic morality and avoiding destructiveness; for example, The 10 Commandments, though the heart was still important in the Old Covenant)
- New: primary relationships are based on membership in God’s family and Spiritual society (vs Old: emphasis on one’s biological family and ethnic society)
- New: we have the gift of the indwelling of the Spirit of God (vs only a handful of OT characters who had various types of indwelling of the Spirit).
- New: The kingdom of God, Eden, is placed inside the hearts of the people of God (vs Old: a mostly external kingdom that was weak and ultimately a failed kingdom of God in the nation of Israel.)
- New: we have a new regenerated self in the image of God (vs Old: trying to be godly without having a reborn heart)
Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36, NIV) and ““Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:28, NIV). So instead of looking to establish successful earthly kingdoms as the people of God we follow the way of Jesus who did not have earthly prosperity but rather endured many trials. And just as Jesus had the deep joy and peace of loving fellowship with his Father in the midst of trials, so too can we.
