000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

Fifth Sunday in Lent/Year B 147
the next generation. The community can rebuild without being hog-tied
by the sins of the previous generation (Jer. 31:34b).
In this context of renewal, Jeremiah anticipates a new covenant with
both Israel and Judah, that is, with a newly reunited nation (Jer. 31:31).The
covenant “will not be like the one that I made with their ancestors” whom
God led out of Egypt. The ancestors broke the covenant, even though
God was related to the community with the same bond that binds husband
and wife (31:32).
What is new about the new covenant? Not very much. Even a casual
reading of Jeremiah 31:33–34 reveals that the content of the covenant is
not changed. According to Jeremiah, God says, “I will put my law within
them, and I will write it on their hearts.” This emphasis is similar to
Deuteronomy 30:11–14, when Moses says that the commandment “is not
too hard for you, nor is it too far away.... Neither is it beyond the sea. . . .
No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for
you to observe.” The new element is that in the restored land, “No longer
shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD,’ for
they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (especially
the monarch, priests, and prophets who have come under withering criticism
in the book of Jeremiah) (Jer. 31:33–34, italics ours). With Jeremiah
the new element is mainly a matter of emphasis.
The terms of the covenant will continue with life-shaping power. It will
be inscribed on the hearts of the community. The people will no longer
need human teachers (whose misinterpretations of Torah contributed to
the downfall of Judah and Israel).
The passage from Jeremiah is paired with John 12:20–33 and Hebrews
5:5–10. These pairings can only be described as mystifying, for the motif
of the “new covenant” does not appear in them. Christians sometimes say
that the “new covenant” through Jesus Christ replaced the “old covenant”
that God made with Israel. From an exegetical point of view, some texts do
seem to fall into this category (e.g., Heb. 8:1–10:39, esp. 8:8–12; 10:16–17).
However, from a theological point of view such a bald statement is problematic,
for it would mean that God had abandoned the promises to the
Jewish community. If God would abandon such promises, then God would
no longer be trustworthy. Other texts from the New Testament are more
in line with Jeremiah’s vision, while implying the added dimensions of the
covenant eventuating in the eschatological rule of God and including Gentiles
(e.g., Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25). 46
In any event, Jeremiah’s hope is still unfulfilled. Judaism still ordains
rabbis and the church still ordains ministers to teach Torah in community.