Many have made a distinction between the work of God in the Old and New Testament because they view the words and works of Christ as something new and believe Christianity to be an offshoot of Judaism. What one finds, however, when they simply study the the Bible, is that God’s work of redemption in the Old Testament foreshadows the redemption He provides in the New, which is also known as the atoning sacrifice that grants all believers freedom from sin and freedom to serve God.This is never more clearly shown than in Jeremiah 31. In this chapter, Jeremiah’s message is one of hope even though the situation is seemingly tragic. In the previous chapters, he had affirmed that Israel and Judah would face God’s judgment because they turned away from Him and gave themselves over to the futile worship of idols. He then, however, after assuring them that God would set Himself against them, promises a future redemption and restoration. He affirms, “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him” (Jer. 31:10). Later in this chapter, Jeremiah promises a new covenant that will offer a better situation for the people of God than the old covenant provided.
Jeremiah first shows that this new covenant will offer a better relationship with God because it cannot be broken (v.32) since people are reconciled by God’s grace through Christ’s death and resurrection. According to R.C. Sproul, “The new covenant will make good the deficiencies of the old, which lay in the people’s inability to keep it.” It will also permanently redeem God’s people from the enslavement of sin. In Jeremiah 31:34, God promises that when His new covenant is established, He will forgive people and remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:34). Sproul asserts, “The continuing cycle of sacrifices under the old covenant provided a constant reminder of sins (Heb. 10:3, 4, 11). The words ‘no more’ underscore that the satisfaction made for sins in the redemption to come will be perfect, making any further sacrifices unnecessary.”
The readers of Jeremiah are also reminded of the promise made to Abraham that embraces all peoples (Jer. 33:22). The reason the new agreement between God and man is better is not only because it is made possible apart from human works and based soley upon Christs death and resurrection, but because it is available to all who trust in Christ for salvation. Christ's work fulfills the covenant made to Abraham that promises that all families of the earth will be blessed through him because through Abraham comes Christ and through Christ alone one is made right with God.
Jesus often had to correct critics who thought He was introducing new doctrines that were contrary to what was taught in the Old Testament. Jesus assured them, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
Sproul, R.C. Jeremiah. The Reformation Study Bible. Orlando: Ligonier Ministries. 2005.
