New

Today's Bible Reading: MARK 14:1-26; MATTHEW 26:1-30; LUKE 22:1-30; JOHN 13:1-30

Matt 26:28

For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remissions of sins

We like new things. We seek out the new to replace the old.

Jesus speaks of something new. He talks about a New Covenant. It would be a covenant that would be initiated by His life, and instituted by His death. It would be an eternal everlasting covenant with God. It was foretold by the prophets. It was fulfilled by Him. It would not replace the old one, but fulfill it.

The old covenant says keep the law and live. In the new covenant Jesus says, “I’ll keep the law so you can live.” The old one says submit a sacrifice for your sin. In the new covenant Jesus says, “I’ll be the sacrifice for your sin.” The old one was based on the Law. The new one is based on the Lord. The old one seeks justification by the works of the Law. The new secures justification by the work of the Lord.

This is great news for us. We are born and bound in sin. God’s law reveals our sinfulness (Rom 4:15). As Paul said, . . . if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” (Rom 7:7). The Old covenant necessitates our perfect adherence to divine law. But our sin makes it impossible for us to completely obey the law. Thus, we cannot meet the demands of the old covenant. The old covenant required perfect obedience and perpetual sacrifices. It held us forever in a cycle of sin and sacrifices. Its requirements left us unsure and uncertain of our relationship with the Lord.

The New Covenant changed everything. Jesus was not like us. He was born and behaved without sin. As the scripture says of Jesus, He was “tempted as we are, yet without sin”. (Heb 4:15). He did what we could not. He completely obeyed the law. He completely fulfilled the law and the prophets (Matt 5:17). The sinless life of Jesus initiated the New Covenant, but his sacrificial death instituted it. But His death He permanently and perpetually paid the debt. By his once for all sacrifice He provided an eternal pardon from sin for all those who by faith follow Him. Through Him the cycle of sin and sacrifice was forever broken. As the scriptures states, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21). Through His shed blood we receive the remission of our sins.

This New Covenant makes our salvation sure. Unlike the old covenant we are secure and settled in our relationship with Lord. The new covenant is contingent on the life and work of Christ on our behalf, not our life and work. Jesus secured our salvation. In Him our salvation is secure. This new covenant brings us the assurance of an eternal relationship with the Lord. It is as we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior that we enter into this new unending covenant. Once we enter in, we can never be upended.

Today rejoice in the New Covenant that is in His blood and was initiated for the remission of your sins.