Glimmers Day 5 Hope Of A New Covenant: Digging Deeper

1) What does Jesus mean when He said, ‘Take and eat it; this is my body’?
The twelve disciples had gathered not for the purpose of doing something new, but for remembering an event occurring centuries before. The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for over 400 years when God broke the chains of their bondage. Before they would be free, the Lord commanded them to bake bread without yeast, matzah, because there wouldn’t be time for it to rise. Every year since their freedom, the Passover meal was to include this bread as remembrance of their deliverance from slavery. It was this likely this bread Jesus picked up, blessed, broke, and told each of His disciples to eat. Jesus wanted them to see that the old way of viewing the Passover was about to become new. The old matzah was to take on fuller significance as the bread would now symbolize Christ’s body. Jesus invites His disciples to take in His body, eat of His sacrifice, symbolized with the bread, and become beneficiaries of the new covenant.

2) What is the blood of the covenant?
Blood covenants were common in ancient near eastern treaties and were a visual representation of the seriousness of that binding covenant. Five animals were killed and 3 (larger ones) were split in half. The halves were placed on the ground opposite each other that the blood would flow down in a ravine-like fashion. Then, the two parties entering the covenant would walk the blood path declaring to the other that if they broke the covenant, the other party had permission to do to them what had been done to these animals. In Genesis 15, God told Abraham, “I am your shield; your reward will be very great.” The Lord went on to promise Abraham a son and offspring more numerous than the stars, to which Abraham believed the Lord and God credited him with righteousness, but asked, “Oh Lord, how am I to know I shall possess it?” (Genesis 15:8) God responded by cutting a blood covenant with Abraham. Amazingly, God was the only one to walk the blood path while He put Abraham into a deep sleep. Only God could keep the covenant vows. Later, under the leadership of Moses God instituted many laws, including the Ten Commandments and directive on animal sacrifice to atone for Israel’s sin. (Exodus 24:8) Fast forward to Jesus sitting with the 12 disciples on the eve of His crucifixion the blood of the new covenant was about to be shed. A covenant where all of humanity would have the opportunity to be included in God’s promise to Abraham to be our “shield and very great reward.” A covenant bound not by the blood of animals, but by the blood of Christ Himself. (Hebrews 13:20)

3) Who are the “many” whose sins will be forgiven?
The Old Testament law and covenant were only for the children of Israel. Though non-Jews (Gentiles) could come in and have the benefit of being a Jew if they agreed to follow the covenantal laws, God’s promises were mainly for the Jew. But Jesus came to sacrificially die as an offering “for the sins of the whole world”. (1 John 2:2) Jesus was declaring that, along with a fuller perspective of the Passover, the disciples were to understand that forgiveness was offered through Him for many, for Jew and Gentile and every nationality. All were being provided the offer of forgiveness.