When was the last time we stopped to intentionally think: “What does Jesus’ New Covenant really mean to me?”
Please do not misconstrue what I am about to share, but I believe that when we fail to intentionally remember the New Covenant, we lessen its power, value, and significance in our lives.
Why this Covenant? What kind of power and value does this New Covenant in Jesus’s Blood carry?
That is what today’s PropheticVoice is about. Let’s dig in.
It is the time of the Passover, and Jesus, the Passover Lamb of GOD, enters the upper room. He takes His place at the table, sitting down with those closest to Him, His disciples. Before the events that were about to unfold, Jesus desired to share in the Passover meal with His apostles since He would be unable to eat with them again until its fulfillment in the Kingdom of GOD. This historical and symbolic supper would illustrate the things that needed to transpire and the sufferings He was about to endure for us. This is the reason why, unbeknownst to the apostles, this Passover meal, though familiar, would be different than in times past.
To appreciate why this was taking place during Passover, we must first understand the significance of this Jewish feast. It is a yearly celebration commemorating the day, GOD, through His servant Moses, delivered the nation of Israel from slavery, the land of Egypt, and its tyrannical Pharaoh. GOD instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, dip the hyssop in the blood of the lamb, and cover the two doorposts and lintel of the home with that blood. This would be a sign to the death angel to “pass over” their home, sparing the life of the firstborn of that household.
His disciples, being Jewish, were familiar with Passover and the old covenant established through Moses and the Ten Commandments. However, I wonder, if they stopped and thought to themselves: “What is Jesus talking about? Is He getting ready to blaspheme and introduce a different belief system outside of the one we know through Moses?” Yet not one of them said a word. Instead, they watched and listened to the words of the Rabbi, Jesus.
In the New Testament, the Christ of the Bible is the Passover Lamb of GOD that was slain to take away the sins of the world. He gave His life for ours, shed His Blood to wash us from sin, delivered us from death, and reconciled us back to GOD. When we accept Jesus and His work at the Cross, we, the Temple of His Holy Spirit, are covered with the atoning Blood of Jesus, the Lamb. Through this brutal yet love-filled act on the cross, He washed us of our sins, delivering us from destruction and death; giving us eternal life. This is the New Covenant in His Blood!
Let’s take a look at what Jesus was illustrating to the apostles of old and His disciples of today:
- The wine in the cup was symbolic of His Blood
- The pouring from the cup signified His Blood being shed
- This act resulted in a New Covenant written in His Blood
- The broken bread was symbolic of His body being given for them and us
- The bread dipped in the wine was symbolic of His body being stained with His Blood
- When we accept Jesus as our Lord, the act of the bread being dipped into the wine symbolizes our bodies stained with His Blood, removing the blemish of sin from our lives
- His Blood represents the fulfillment of the old covenant with a new and more excellent Covenant
- This New Covenant is permanent, eternal, and unchanging
- Accepting Him and remembering His work at the Cross would remind us:
- What He did
- Of the gift of salvation
- Of GOD’s promise to forgive our sins
- We are free
- We are His
- We are powerful
- Jesus made us righteous
- Our heavenly Father sees us cleansed by the Blood of Jesus
- Who we are
- Communion is a constant reminder of this Covenant
In His Service,
