The Blood of the New Covenant

Today being Holy Thursday, the day the church commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus, it only makes sense to meditate on the Blood of Jesus, as the blood of the New Covenant. We find several verses that speak of this, the first being in Matthew 26, echoed in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11. The second verse I want to think about is from John 6.

Matthew 26:26-28 NIV:
[26] "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” [27] Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. [28] This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

John 6:53-58 NIV:
[53] Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. [55] For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. [56] Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. [57] Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. [58] This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

In these two verses we again find the themes of forgiveness of sins and life being in the blood, both pointing back to the understanding God had established through the old testament. In the Gospel on Matthew, Jesus speaks of establishing a new covenant with His Blood. The Hebrew word translated covenant, meant to come into agreement, the root of the word, meant to eat together as in cutting. So here they are eating together and Jesus is preparing to be cut and have His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. I am not sure if the apostles really grasped the significance of what they were experiencing, but in this moment God was establishing a new covenant that superseded the old covenant. No longer will sacrifice for sins be required every year, no longer will the requirements of the law need to be kept to be righteous, this new covenant would open a new way of relating to God.

In the second set of verses from John, we see Jesus alluding to the fact that His Body and Blood would bring eternal life. Ultimately this is because of the sacrifice His Body and Blood became for our forgiveness, and our restoration of relationship with the Father.

I can imagine the confusion the people experienced when Jesus spoke those words. We understand them now in the context of what we know happened, and the fullness of the Gospel. They, however, had not yet grasped the fact that Jesus would become the Lamb of God, so for them hearing Jesus speak about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, must have been unnerving, to say the least.

Regardless of their confusion, as we look at Jesus words, its clear He is speaking of the coming new covenant, as there is a new level of relationship and intimacy with the Father and Jesus. It is clear also, that through this partaking in this new covenant, this eating together, we enter into eternal life. This is not just a covenant that affects our present experience of life, but has eternal consequences. This is something new!

So, although this meal that is described in Matt 26, is known as the Last Supper, it is in reality the First Supper of the New Covenant. It is in this eating together, that God established a new covenant with us all, where the Blood of Jesus would be poured out as an eternal atonement for all our sins, and the way would be opened for us to enter into an eternal relationship with Him. What an awesome deal!

Thank You Lord for making a way for me to participate in this New Covenant! Thank You for Your Blood which was poured out for me, and through which I have eternal life!