A Better Hope

What does the Holy Spirit mean by better? It appears twice in our text this Sunday (7:11 & 22). We have been using since our study began. Perhaps we ought to be clear about its meaning. It is not subjective. We are not talking about our preferences. We are not saying, “I like this one better."

The Holy Spirit intends better to be a term of comparison. It emphasizes the superior nature of one thing over another. As has been the case in Hebrews, Jesus is superior to everything and everyone to which He has been compared. By comparison, He is superior in effectiveness as well. What He does is profitable and useful to an eternal degree and to the satisfaction of the Father.

The super nature and effectiveness of Jesus, our Great High Priest, becomes explicitly clear in the hope He offers. He offers us a better hope, a hope through which we draw near to God (v. 18). We will cover 7:11 - 28 this week, and look at 3 specific reasons why the hope Jesus offers is better.