The Blood Covenant of Jesus

Matthew 26:26-29

The Blood Covenant for the Forgiveness of Sins

“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.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

 (NLT) As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words – I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.

Jesus, while having His last supper with His disciples, mentioned to them about the bread and the cup, which signified His body and His blood.

Among the four gospel writers, Matthew is the only one who records Jesus’ mentioning about His blood which was poured out for many “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28).

“For the forgiveness of sins” was a pivotal moment of Jesus’ life mission as narrated by Matthew.

In Matthew’s narrative of Jesus’ birth, the angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” （Mt 1:21）And in the narrative of Jesus’ suffering, Matthew recorded that Jesus’ covenant made by blood was “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28).

Hence, we can see that at the beginning and the end of the life story of Jesus, Matthew purposely made “forgiveness of sins” as one of the corresponding themes to start and end his gospel (the other corresponding theme at the beginning and the end was “God is with us”; Mt 1:23;28:20).

“Forgiveness of sins” was an important theme in the work and teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 1:21,6:12,14-15;9:1-13;18:21-35; 26:26-28).  This theme appeared in the climax of Jesus’ life story at the end, i.e., when Jesus poured out His blood for the forgiveness of sins for many (Mt 26:28).

God is a Faithful Covenant-Keeping God

Jesus told the disciples that the blood that He poured out was “the blood of the covenant” (in Greek is “τὸ αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης”, Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24).

“The blood of the covenant” reminds us that God is more than a God who makes covenant with us. He is a faithful covenant-keeping God. How can we see this?

In the Old Testament, God entered into a covenant with Abram.

Genesis 12:1-3: Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. “

God also entered into a covenant with David.

2 Samuel 7:12-16, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”

Now in the New Testament, the first verse in the Gospel of Matthew pointed out the fact that Jesus Christ was the descendant of Abraham and David (Mt 1:1).

This carried with it an important meaning, that Jesus Christ was the seed of Abraham and that through Him all nations shall be blessed (Refer to Gen 22:18; Gal 3:16). And He was the son of David that would be enthroned forever (Refer to 2 Sam 7:12-13; Ps 89:3-4; Lk1:31-33).

So, God remembered His covenant with His people. The promises that He had made to Abraham and David was fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ, and thus His faithfulness was revealed.

“The blood of the covenant” is also reminiscent of the situation where the LORD made His covenant with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. This is known as the Sinai Covenant or Mosaic Covenant.

Moses declared the content of the covenant to the people and they responded in obedience that they would observe whatever the Lord had said.

Then, Moses sprinkled some blood of the sacrifice on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Ex 24:8, The Greek word for “the blood of the covenant” in this verse found in the Septuagint is “τὸ αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης”).

“The blood of the covenant” reminded the people of Israel how much they were loved by God and saved by Him, and how blessed they were to be the covenanted people of God and to inherit the land of Canaan.

Yet sadly, the Israelites sinned and rebelled against the covenant and they worshipped other gods. This caused their nation to be destroyed and they were captured and dispersed in a foreign land.

However, after 70 years of the destruction of Judah, the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple. It was because of the blood of the covenant that God released those who had been captured and exiled to return to their homeland. God’s people were given a hope with a promise of future deliverance (Zec 9:11-17).

God was faithful to keep His covenant, and He remembered His covenant with the Israelites. Though the Israelites had violated their covenant and were eventually captured by their enemies, God would still release them back to their promised land in accordance to His promises in the Law as long as they turned back to Him (Deut 30:1-6).

In addition to this, God promised that in the last days, He will make an everlasting covenant with His people, and He will forgive their sins. There are similar prophecies found in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you, … Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:3,7)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teaches his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.” （Jeremiah 31:31-34）

“They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God….and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant…” (Ezekiel 37:23-26）

The book of Hebrews followed this scriptural verse in the book of Jeremiah when it talked about the new covenant that Jesus made with His blood, a covenant that cleanses away the sin of the people (Refer to Hebrews chapter 8-10）.

When Paul and Luke mentioned about Jesus at the last supper, they said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood “καινὴ διαθήκη”. (Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25）

Matthew did not use the word “new” (καινή), but instead he mentioned “for the forgiveness of sins”. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” （Mt 26:28）In his words, “the covenant” was associated with “for the forgiveness of sins”.

It indicated clearly that the blood of the covenant does not merely referred to the “new covenant” that was prophesized by Jeremiah, but it also referred to the “everlasting covenant” that was prophesied by Isaiah and Ezekiel.

The three prophetic books all mentioned about God’s forgiveness or cleansing of the sins of His people whenever the prophecy of the covenant was related. Jesus shed His blood and fulfilled all the prophecies given by all the prophets, i.e. God will make an everlasting covenant with His people and He will give them the saving grace.

Conclusion

God took the initiative to give grace and to covenant with us, so that we can become His people (eg. Abrahamic Covenant, Mosaic Covenant, New Covenant).

People under the old covenant (those who lived before Jesus) could approach God only through a priest and an animal sacrifice.

Though God’s people had violated the covenant and sinned against Him, He was compassionate and merciful to them, and He promised them an everlasting covenant or New Covenant that their sins would be forgiven. This promise was fulfilled when Jesus shed His blood of the covenant.

The old covenant was a shadow of the new, pointing forward to the day when Jesus himself would be the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. Rather than an unblemished lamb slain on the altar, the perfect Lamb of God was slain on the cross, a sinless sacrifice, so that our sins could be forgiven once and for all.

All those who believe in Christ receive that forgiveness, for Christ’s death has made them acceptable in God’s eyes (Romans 3:21-24). Since God is faithful, He will do according to His promises, and whoever that trust in Jesus Christ shall receive forgiveness of their sins (Jn 3:18; Ac 26:18). The blood covenant of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins informs us that our sins are forgiven completely out of the mercy and faithfulness of God.

God has been merciful and faithful to us. May the love and faithfulness of God stir in us that we will respond to Him in gratitude and love. In that, we will keep His commands and serve Him with all our heart and with all our mind, so that we can become His faithful people.