Why did Jesus establish a New Covenant when God established his Everlasting Covenant with Israel?

Question

I know I'm going to get the objection "Well yeah, but Jesus needed to Establish it because mankind transgressed the Eternal Covenant", but by definition, mankind could've just followed the original covenant again, and learned the error of their ways.

Answer 1

Many think Jesus founded a new religion, but He did not. He fulfilled the religion that was already spoken of in the Old Testament, but that was not the same religion that the Jews had at that time. The Jews' religion, at that time, was a religion of their own interpretation, just as the Christian religion of today is a religion of Christianity's own interpretation.

The doctrines and beliefs handed down to us from our Christian fathers concerning the change made from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant has resulted in a most confused and mixed-up state of affairs for today's Christian churches. A covenant is merely a contract of agreement between two parties, the first party promising to do something for the second party as long as the second party keeps the terms of the contract. The Old Covenant stipulated that man must obey the Law of God by following a written set of rules in order to receive the promise of God, which is Life.

The Old Covenant was a written law for the disobedient which needed to be studied by scholars and taught by teachers. The people under this covenant still retain the "knowledge of good and evil" which simply means that they still have "two natures" enabling them to perform both good and evil deeds. I would venture to say that even Hitler did at least one good deed in his days proving that he also had "two natures." The people who have two natures are still under the influence of the spirit of disobedience, which is also the spirit of this world. [Ephesians 2:2]

Because of the influence of this spirit, it's quite impossible for men to perform the will of God, which is to do only good without doing any evil. Even when a man is aware of this spirit's influence upon his thoughts and actions (though most aren't aware of it), he is not able to defend himself against it. The Old Covenant then gives us a written Law and also proves to us that we're not able to perform the Law or even to understand the Law. Under the Old Covenant, we were required to obey the Law of God by force of our own will power, attempting to follow a written set of laws whether recorded on stone, clay tablets, or paper.

Then came this announcement concerning a New Covenant: "Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers...But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' declares the LORD, 'I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." [Jeremiah 31:31-34]

Under the New Covenant, neither the Law of God nor the promise of God was changed, but the only change was in the terms of the covenant. Under the terms of the New Covenant, the Law of God is put in the mind to know and to perform which is accomplished through the Christ, the Spirit of Truth and the Knowledge of God.

Both covenants, the Old and the New, were made with Israel who are God's own people and should not be confused with "fleshly" Israel (Israelites as we know them in the world).

Answer 2

The new covenant was established because mankind could not keep the covenant God established with Israel. Secondly, the original covenant was established for Israel only, because God needed a Holy nation, to have His son Jesus Christ born into. When you read, the Old Testament, you see there are so many laws given to Israel, it was impossible for the people to keep. The new covenant was necessary because it allowed all of mankind to have access to God by Christ Jesus' death on the cross. The new covenant allows Jew and Gentile (non-Jews), bond (slave) or free man to be a part of God's family. Mankind did not learn from pass mistakes. Jesus Christ had to come to correct the failure of Adam and Eve is the garden of Eden, if they had not sinned and caused mankind to die and be separated from God, Jesus would not have had to come and there would not have been any need of a New Covenant. His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection was the only thing that could defeat Satan, put us back in fellowship with God, give up eternal life and to keep us from dying eternally, by just believing on Jesus Christ.. The disobedience of Adam in the Garden was the reason a New covenant had to come, because with that disobedience brought about sin and death.

Answer 3

I have to disagree in part... there is definitely a future eternal covenant not like the one made in Egypt... but eternal covenant I think is sometimes used for both covenants... I think in a way the covenants with the Jews cannot be broken in a sense and the covnenant the new one in Jesus fullfils it and is new in another sense ... notice the following

God himself says he will make a covenant NOT LIKE the one made when they came out of Egypt and this time he will

1) give them hearts to fear him, Moses said the day he died that the Jews did not to that day been given hearts to fear him
2) take away their sins
3) give them His spriti and new hearts


clearly... the Jesus exodus.. the new covnenant was needed and foretold by Jeremiah and others

observation... the eternal covenant was future to Jeremiah
Jeremiah 33:14
[ The LORD's Eternal Covenant with David ] "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

observation .. a covenant was coming that would include the gentiles
Isaiah 42
6"I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,

Answer 4

sorry but Jesus DID NOT establish a New Covenant with Israel nor with mankind.
GOD HIMSELF DID IT! Take a look at Jeremiah 31:30 AND 31
It speaks about a NEW COVENANT THAT GOD HIMSELF WOULD MAKE WITH THE PEOPLE AND NOT AS THE COVENANT DONE PREVIOUSLY WITH THE first fathers....
well.. READ for your self. Ponder. Decide.
By the way, Jesus IS the fulfillment of THAT New Covenant. The ETERNAL covenant done WITH ISRAEL FIRST than with all mankind, as clearly stated in the NEW Testament (which in Hebrew, the ORIGINAL LANGUAGE of the Bible is called NEW COVENANT = BREET HADASHAH)

Answer 5

Exactly as the First Answerer said: The New Covenant is with the early Jews who BECAME CHRISTIANS and the Gentiles who followed. It is not with the Jewish Nation of Israel, but as the New Testament says, those who are "Spiritual Jews, Spiritual Israelites and those who are circumscied of the Heart." God's Covenant was done away with Israel at Jesus' death. With Christ's death came a "new covenant" with the Christians (those who are "christ like") and are now looking forward to God's return through Christ's Kingdom on Earth in the Near Future.

IN NOW WAY could we have followed the OLD COVENANT because it DIDN'T GET OUR SIN'S FORGIVEN FOR ALL TIMES. Christ's sacrifice did. Thus, as it says in the N.T., "Christ died ONCE, for ALL TIMES." He will NEVER have to die again. Its over. Christ as the 2nd Adam, fulfilled the Old Testament Law (or Covenant). He was the "living embodiment of the old testament law). By dying, he not only fulfilled it he surpassed it and created a "new covenant" that would save us forever, which the old one could NOT DO!

Answer 6

Christian_Warrior is right, to establish a covenant with everyone, not just the nation of Israel. In the Old Testament, we see the covenant God made with His people Israel, it is know as the Covenant of the Law, you had to follow every regulation and every sacrifice to make attonement for your sins. Under the New Covenant, made through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, everyone is called to be part of the people of God, jews and gentiles alike. No more sacrifices are necessary since the ultimate sacrifice was made by Jesus to make attonement for all of humanity's sin. This is also known as the Covenant of Grace. Because through Grace and Mercy we are made righteous before God's eyes. All we have to do is accept Jesus Christ as our saviour and Lord of our lives. Isn't it amazing?

Answer 7

God's eternal covenant was for a Messiah that would be the final ransom for sin. The laws and sacrifices in the Old Covenant, or Old Testament, was only meant to be a temporary fix until the Messiah arrived to fulfill God's promises.

Once Jesus fulfilled the scriptures and became that sacrifice, animal sacrifice as outlined for the remission of sin under the Old Covenant was no longer necessary because it wasn't a perfect sacrifice to begin with.

Don't forget, the Mosaic law was not given as a means to show you what was humanly possible; it was given to show you what humans could never do on their own. Even Jesus, as He talks about the law, COMPLETES the law with His own commentary.

Further, Paul tells us that the law is what makes us recognize that we are sinners and in need of the promised Messiah, Jesus.

Answer 8

I suppose the most obvious answer would be that there was no "eternal covenant" established with Isreal. As for why...well...four thousand years of the Isrealites, vasilating back and forth leaving God and Him taking them back after punishing them. As the New Testament says..."if there had been no problem with the old covenant, then there would never have been sought a second one. The first covenant could not save them, since the blood of bulls and goats could not forgive their sins...only attone for them. Jesus became the one true and perfect sacrifice and from Him we now have forgiveness. So the old one was not eternal, nor good enough.

Answer 9

the old covenant was a covenant of damnation ... it proved that through following rules and laws no man could do it and no man could be saved ... it brought out that man was sinful and could not avoid that also it defined what was sin so that by knowing what was sin exactly it became exceedingly sinful to deviate from the laws ... the new covenant offered a way to be freed from sin and to overcome it ... and like was said above, it was not only a covenant to the Israelites but to all men.

Answer 10

because, throughout the OT, the Children of Israel repeatedly broke the original covenenant. Look in 1Samuel, 2 Samuel, Judges, 1Kings, 2kings, and ALL THROUGH the prophets.. Israel repeatedly broke the original covenant, forsaking Jehovah, ignoring His commandments.... and Jesus didn't come to ESTABLISH the covenent laws, but to FULFILL THEM.