Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31

The Structure of Jeremiah 31

Restoration of Israel (vv. 1–22) – God promises to bring His people back from exile and restore them to the land they had before Babylon would come and take them away.

Future Joy and Healing (vv. 23–30) – Jeremiah prophecies of a time of renewal, where sorrow will turn into joy, and injustice will be replaced by righteousness.

The New Covenant (vv. 31–40) – A transformative covenant, different from the one made at Sinai, written not on tablets of stone but on the hearts of God’s people.

Unlike the Mosaic covenant, which focuses more on ritual and moral purity, the New Covenant would be a covenant more focused on intention and the heart: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). This points to a deeper, Spirit-empowered obedience, one that Jesus would later describe as being “born again” (John 3:3). There is no longer a set of rules to follow but a community of believers led by the Spirit to guide us in right relationships and harmonious unity. 

Jeremiah 31:34 states, “No longer shall each one teach his neighbor… saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me.” This foreshadows a time when every believer would have direct access to God, fulfilled through Jesus, who became the mediator between God and humanity (Hebrews 9:15). Every believer comes to a deeper understanding of God through the Holy Spirit that dwells in all believers. As Jesus said, “He will teach you and remind you of all I have said”. 

God declares, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). This marks a shift from temporary daily, yearly sacrifices to a complete and final atonement found in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Hebrews 10:16–18). Jesus died once for all sins for all people. There is no need for another sacrifice. 

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He declared, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). He was identifying His sacrificial death as the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31. The New Covenant is inaugurated in Christ, bringing salvation not only to Israel but to all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). The cup at Passover would now symbolize the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross and his blood would be the symbol of the new covenant coming into play. With the death of Jesus, the new covenant was here. Hebrews 8:6–13 directly quotes Jeremiah 31, affirming that Jesus is the mediator of a “better covenant.” 

Jeremiah 31 stands as a turning point in Scripture and the story of the Bible. It assures exiled Israel of restoration, but more importantly, it reveals God’s ultimate plan to transform His people from the inside out. The New Covenant is the foundation of the gospel, fulfilled in Jesus and applied through the Holy Spirit. Through it, we are not only forgiven but made new, empowered to live as God’s people with all people.