Title: New Covenant....
True Love Church 2007·04·08
Do you remember that life in this world is meant to prepare you for life in heaven? Life in this world of 70-80 years is meant to prepare you for life in the eternal heaven. Our short life in this world determines our eternal life. Do you remember this fact and live your life well prepared for life in heaven?
Passover
On the night of his arrest, the Lord shared the Passover supper with his disciples. That night's supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples before he died. For the Jews, the Passover was the biggest feast. The Passover was a festival to commemorate God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt.
When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, God sent ten great plagues on Egypt to set them free. Pharaoh, who had endured to the end, did not let the Israelites go out of Egypt until he saw the tenth and last plague. The final plague was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt.
God made the people of Israel, who had been saved in this way, to commemorate their salvation by establishing and keeping the Passover. So, every year the children of Israel got together with their families to keep the Passover by slaughtering sheep and eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It was to commemorate and thank God for saving Israel from Egypt while keeping the Passover.
The Lord who instituted the sacrament
Jesus shared that very Passover supper with his disciples. After sharing this Passover supper with the disciples, the Lord went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Then he was taken by those sent by the chief priests and elders, tried and whipped, and crucified to death. Therefore, this Passover meal was the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples on this earth. “I tell you, I will no longer eat this Passover until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (verse 16).
But Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper at the very same place of the Passover supper. The Lord broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, and said that it was the body of the Lord given for the disciples. “And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (verse 19). “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (B 20b).
So now the Passover was changed to the Lord's Supper. It was so natural. Because the Passover foreshadowed that Jesus would deliver His people from their sins. The Passover Lamb pointed to Jesus Christ, who would shed His blood on the cross for us. Therefore, it was only natural that the Passover was replaced by the Lord's Supper. And the sacrament meeting has the meaning of commemorating that the Lord died on the cross to save me. The Lord said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Today, as we participate in this sacrament meeting, we commemorate the Lord who suffered all the sufferings, torn His body and shed His blood on the cross to save us.
new covenant
In the text, the Lord spoke about the new covenant. “In the same way with the cup after supper, he said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (verse 20).
If it is a new covenant, of course, the old covenant is presupposed. The old covenant refers to the law. The law promises that people will be blessed by obeying the Word of God. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the word of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 28:2). “If you do not obey the word of the LORD your God, and do not keep and do all the commands and ordinances I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and come upon you” (Deuteronomy 28:15). There are a lot more things we can't keep than there are to keep. It is impossible for anyone to keep all the laws. Therefore, the Old Covenant, the Law, has imprisoned everyone under a curse.
The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” But there is no one who does not sin. In the end, all people have no choice but to be cursed for their sins and perish forever. But Jesus made a new covenant with His blood. The Lord has said that He sheds blood for us. It refers to dying for us on the cross. The Lord was saying that He would die for us, who had no choice but to die because of our sins.
The Old Covenant sentenced the sinner to a curse and destruction. No one of all mankind can escape this curse and destruction. However, the new covenant that the Lord established brought life and salvation to these people. Anyone can be saved if they believe only in Jesus, who shed His blood for me on the cross. This is the new covenant established by the blood of the Lord. By participating in this new covenant, we believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior and were saved. This salvation was not through the blood of the Lamb as in the Old Testament, but through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So how firm are you? Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ will never perish but be saved.
Salvation in the Kingdom of God
Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper at the time of the Last Passover Supper with his disciples. So, the Passover became a sacrament meeting. The Passover, which commemorates our salvation in Egypt, has been changed to a sacrament meeting that looks to the cross that saved us from our sins. But the Lord looked forward to the Passover being fulfilled in the kingdom of God at that very dinner table. “I tell you, I will not eat it again until this Passover is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (verse 16).
It means that the Passover and the sacrament will be consummated in the kingdom of God. These verses teach us what to look for in the sacrament meeting. We believe in Jesus Christ and are already saved. But we still live in this world. We still have not cast off our sins, and we are still living in our frail bodies. We are still living in a world suffering. But now the day is coming when our salvation will be complete. We will soon enter the kingdom of God. We will see God's face there and live with God. There is no more death, sin, sickness, pain, and sorrow. “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and God dwells with them, and they shall be God's people, and God Himself was with them and wiped every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, nor will there be any more mourning or crying or pain, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4) Our salvation is completed there.
We have something to look back on and look forward to through this sacrament meeting. As we participate in this ceremony, we commemorate the torn and shed blood of our Savior Jesus Christ on the cross for me. The fact that the Lord died to save me should not be forgotten until the day I die, and I should remember it more emotionally. Now, it is a new resolution to live for the Lord who died for me. That's not all. It is through this sacrament meeting that we must look to the completion of our salvation in the kingdom of God. Then we will see the face of the Lord, who shed His blood on the cross to save us, and we will live with Him forever. What a blessed and glorious hope. Those who have this hope do not risk everything in life in this world. Prepare for life in that country and live.
Don't forget that Jesus died on the cross for me. And now look forward to seeing that we will soon enter the kingdom of God and live in eternal glory. Remember that life in this world is given to us to prepare us for a glorious life in the eternal kingdom of God. Blessed are the saints who always remember this and live. If you remember this, you will know specifically how you are going to live each day today. I hope that you will become a saint who will live the rest of your life while emotionally remembering the Lord's grace of salvation and preparing for the eternal life of the kingdom of God.