Better Covenant

"This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant." – Hebrews 7:22 ESV

Greek
ἔγγυος/engyos: surety, a person who would guarantee legal obligations

Why It Matters
In 1931 as the world was facing a global financial crisis, England still owed the U.S. over $4 Billion they had borrowed for the cost of WWI. That year, President Herbert Hoover announced a 1-year moratorium on the need for countries to repay their loans, but even with that reprieve it still took until 2015 for England to pay off their outstanding war bonds!

It essentially took 84 years for this powerful country to pay off its debt, but the U.S. wasn’t too concerned about whether it would “make its money back.” Why? Among other reasons, the strength and scope of the British Empire served as its own engyos (surety, guarantor). England was in no danger of falling apart, and so long as relations with the U.S. were good, America trusted she would be repaid.

This is the traditional understanding of an engyos. In classical literature, this word always identified a person who guaranteed that a legal obligation would be carried out. So when the writer of Hebrews calls Jesus our engyos of a Better Covenant (the only time in the New Testament this word is used), it was a reminder to them of just how Good Jesus is. Because He lives forever, Jesus will personally see to it that the terms of this Better Covenant are executed by the Party who initiated it.

And herein lies the Good News – God Himself did the initiating! In a world that often makes little sense, seems unfair, and is chaotic, we never have to worry whether God will keep His Covenant Promise or not. Jesus is the Guarantee that God loves us and has Himself achieved the terms of Salvation on our behalf. But unlike a human engyos, Jesus has an Unchanging Nature and will live forever. So if the accuser ever calls on us to pay the spiritual debt we’ve accrued, our hope can rest on an Eternally Effective Guarantor.

Prayer
Thank You, Lord that I don’t have to wait for the specifics of my life to change before I find the Hope that I’m searching for. Help me to let go of any created thing that I once believed would bring me the qualities that You promise are found solely in You. In Jesus’ Name!

Application
When this week will I lay down my past in order to pursue my future?