1 Corinthians 11:23-26. A new Covenant!! 9/4/09
(23) For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, {24} and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." {25} In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." {26} For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Here Paul reminds us that on the night before Jesus’ death on the cross he drew up a new agreement between God and his people. This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Here we then have something that is vital for our relationship between God and his people. God is establishing a new covenant; a new agreement between himself and us. In so doing, he is saying that the Old Covenant is no longer applicable and with his death a new covenant needs to be established.
To understand why and the significance of this, we need to go back and understand first of all what the old covenant was, and then we will understand in a greater way the significance of this new covenant for us and for our lives, week by week.
You may recall that instance where Abraham had been given the promise of many descendants, and a descendant through whom all people would be blessed, and that Israel would gain the inheritance of the land that God had promised them. But Abraham had trouble grasping and understanding if and how this could be possible. So God sets about making a covenant with him. He tells him to get a heifer, goat, ram, dove and a pigeon and to slaughter them in a special way. Then he would walk through the trail of blood, signifying that if this covenant was broken then this is what Abraham and his descendant could do to God himself: they could kill him. Thereby he assured Abraham and his descendants that they were guaranteed the inheritance of the Promised Land.
Some time later when Moses leads the people toward the Promised Land this covenant was revisited. Here God again reassures the people that he will be their God and they will be his people. He writes this agreement on those two tablets of stone that Moses brought down from Mt Sinai, where he stipulates that he is the Lord who has brought them out of Egypt, and he also states the Ten Commandments as the way that his people can live happily within that covenant relationship.
But he knows full well that the people will not always live up to their side of the agreement, so he gives them certain sacrifices to carry out when they have sinned. The blood of these sacrifices would remind the people and God of the covenant that he made with Abraham. Through that blood they were assured that their sin would not be held against them: they would still receive the promise of the inheritance and the full blessing of God.
However, the covenant also stated that if this agreement was broken by either party, then God would allow himself to be slaughtered. In this way it made the blood of the sacrifices effective. Every time that the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar or in the Holy Place it was a reminder that the Lord was going to die for the sins of the people so that the inheritance that he had promised would be guaranteed.
Every sacrifice then was a pointer to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Every sacrifice was a reassurance that God himself would make all things right for his people. Sadly, then as now, many no longer remembered or recognised this fact. They too believed that it is what they did that ensured Gods blessing for themselves and the nations of the world. They too often were not like their father Abraham, who believed God’s promises, and this trust was credited to him as righteousness.
So we see that this old covenant was God’s reassurance to his people that he was true to his Word. It was a reassurance that God would punish himself for the failures of his people and to ensure that his inheritance and blessing would be guaranteed; just as he had promised. That covenant found its fulfilment in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. There God allowed himself to be killed so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation could be extended to his people. All then who trusted God and his promises received all that God had in mind for them.
That then brings us to the night on which our Lord was betrayed, before going to the cross the next day. There Jesus knows that the old covenant is fulfilled and so sets up a new covenant whereby the people living this side of his death on the cross can receive the reassurance that their sin will not be held against them and that they too can have the full assurance that the inheritance that he has promised us will be ours.
Instead of looking forward to God’s promises fulfilled, he gave us a covenant meal whereby we can now, not only look back, but be taken back to and given that which ensured forgiveness of sins, life and salvation for each one of us. He takes us to the foot of the cross and gives us his very body and blood, which he shed on the cross so that this could be a reality for us.
We read: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
So he gives us Holy Communion: the Lord’s Supper, so that he can reassure us week by week that here the Lord himself died as a punishment for our failure to be the people that God wanted us to be. But he did so, in order that, all that God had promised us would be ours, guaranteed. Then so that we are constantly reassured of this he tell us to celebrate this special meal as often as we can.
In so doing, we are as Paul says, proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. We are being proclaimed to, and are telling one another that Jesus died so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation is there for each and every one of us. Even though we have sinned much: even though we do not deserve it; Jesus gives us his very body and blood so that we can know for sure that this is so.
So here, Jesus gives himself to us so that we can be sure that he loves us and is for us. At every Communion Service he tells us, “here is my very body and blood which was shed on the cross: my very presence is here with you so that you can be sure.” He doesn’t just give us some bread and wine, and say ‘remember’ that I love you and died for you: but says, “here IS my body – here IS my blood,” ‘here I am with you.’ ‘I am really and truly here for you – to assure you that I love you, forgive you, and have eternal life for you.’ And as an extension of that, he throughout our gatherings, joins us: he participates with us; speaks to us through his Word: listens to us in our prayers; and helps us through our fellow brothers and sisters. He is there to live in that close personal relationship with us every day; to be our God and our friend. And it is this that he established on that night when he was betrayed – before he goes to the cross and dies in our place, and then rises again three days later.
So, here we have something that is absolutely essential for us and for our wellbeing. It is the greatest – God promising and giving himself to us; assuring us of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation; reassuring us that he is with us and for us. He has made that covenant with us, and shares that with us every time we come forward in Holy Communion; so that we can know for sure that it is so.
Now that Jesus has established and does all of this for us, surely we will now live in that relationship; seek to make the most it; and find peace and assurance in it. Surely, we will not walk away from all of this and go back to living as if God is some distant and uncaring being out there somewhere: that he doesn’t have much at all do with us and our daily life. Surely if he has made us part his family; committing himself fully to us – we will now live in that relationship, and enjoy all the benefits, joys and security of it all; rather than go out and try to get through life on our own without God’s friendship and help; striving to ensure that we are good enough for God’s acceptance of us.
So to conclude, in the Lord’s Supper our God has set down this new covenant so that we can be sure that he is true to his promises that he has an inheritance for us in the Promised Land. His blessing does rest on us, even though we sin much and do not deserve it. He has sacrificed his Son so that all of this can be ours. And he gives us this special meal so that we can be reassured of this over and over again. So let us now make the most of living in this covenant relationship. It is the best that there is.
To God be the glory – great things he has done. To him be honour, glory and praise now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
(23) For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, {24} and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." {25} In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." {26} For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Here Paul reminds us that on the night before Jesus’ death on the cross he drew up a new agreement between God and his people. This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Here we then have something that is vital for our relationship between God and his people. God is establishing a new covenant; a new agreement between himself and us. In so doing, he is saying that the Old Covenant is no longer applicable and with his death a new covenant needs to be established.
To understand why and the significance of this, we need to go back and understand first of all what the old covenant was, and then we will understand in a greater way the significance of this new covenant for us and for our lives, week by week.
You may recall that instance where Abraham had been given the promise of many descendants, and a descendant through whom all people would be blessed, and that Israel would gain the inheritance of the land that God had promised them. But Abraham had trouble grasping and understanding if and how this could be possible. So God sets about making a covenant with him. He tells him to get a heifer, goat, ram, dove and a pigeon and to slaughter them in a special way. Then he would walk through the trail of blood, signifying that if this covenant was broken then this is what Abraham and his descendant could do to God himself: they could kill him. Thereby he assured Abraham and his descendants that they were guaranteed the inheritance of the Promised Land.
Some time later when Moses leads the people toward the Promised Land this covenant was revisited. Here God again reassures the people that he will be their God and they will be his people. He writes this agreement on those two tablets of stone that Moses brought down from Mt Sinai, where he stipulates that he is the Lord who has brought them out of Egypt, and he also states the Ten Commandments as the way that his people can live happily within that covenant relationship.
But he knows full well that the people will not always live up to their side of the agreement, so he gives them certain sacrifices to carry out when they have sinned. The blood of these sacrifices would remind the people and God of the covenant that he made with Abraham. Through that blood they were assured that their sin would not be held against them: they would still receive the promise of the inheritance and the full blessing of God.
However, the covenant also stated that if this agreement was broken by either party, then God would allow himself to be slaughtered. In this way it made the blood of the sacrifices effective. Every time that the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar or in the Holy Place it was a reminder that the Lord was going to die for the sins of the people so that the inheritance that he had promised would be guaranteed.
Every sacrifice then was a pointer to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Every sacrifice was a reassurance that God himself would make all things right for his people. Sadly, then as now, many no longer remembered or recognised this fact. They too believed that it is what they did that ensured Gods blessing for themselves and the nations of the world. They too often were not like their father Abraham, who believed God’s promises, and this trust was credited to him as righteousness.
So we see that this old covenant was God’s reassurance to his people that he was true to his Word. It was a reassurance that God would punish himself for the failures of his people and to ensure that his inheritance and blessing would be guaranteed; just as he had promised. That covenant found its fulfilment in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. There God allowed himself to be killed so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation could be extended to his people. All then who trusted God and his promises received all that God had in mind for them.
That then brings us to the night on which our Lord was betrayed, before going to the cross the next day. There Jesus knows that the old covenant is fulfilled and so sets up a new covenant whereby the people living this side of his death on the cross can receive the reassurance that their sin will not be held against them and that they too can have the full assurance that the inheritance that he has promised us will be ours.
Instead of looking forward to God’s promises fulfilled, he gave us a covenant meal whereby we can now, not only look back, but be taken back to and given that which ensured forgiveness of sins, life and salvation for each one of us. He takes us to the foot of the cross and gives us his very body and blood, which he shed on the cross so that this could be a reality for us.
We read: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
So he gives us Holy Communion: the Lord’s Supper, so that he can reassure us week by week that here the Lord himself died as a punishment for our failure to be the people that God wanted us to be. But he did so, in order that, all that God had promised us would be ours, guaranteed. Then so that we are constantly reassured of this he tell us to celebrate this special meal as often as we can.
In so doing, we are as Paul says, proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. We are being proclaimed to, and are telling one another that Jesus died so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation is there for each and every one of us. Even though we have sinned much: even though we do not deserve it; Jesus gives us his very body and blood so that we can know for sure that this is so.
So here, Jesus gives himself to us so that we can be sure that he loves us and is for us. At every Communion Service he tells us, “here is my very body and blood which was shed on the cross: my very presence is here with you so that you can be sure.” He doesn’t just give us some bread and wine, and say ‘remember’ that I love you and died for you: but says, “here IS my body – here IS my blood,” ‘here I am with you.’ ‘I am really and truly here for you – to assure you that I love you, forgive you, and have eternal life for you.’ And as an extension of that, he throughout our gatherings, joins us: he participates with us; speaks to us through his Word: listens to us in our prayers; and helps us through our fellow brothers and sisters. He is there to live in that close personal relationship with us every day; to be our God and our friend. And it is this that he established on that night when he was betrayed – before he goes to the cross and dies in our place, and then rises again three days later.
So, here we have something that is absolutely essential for us and for our wellbeing. It is the greatest – God promising and giving himself to us; assuring us of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation; reassuring us that he is with us and for us. He has made that covenant with us, and shares that with us every time we come forward in Holy Communion; so that we can know for sure that it is so.
Now that Jesus has established and does all of this for us, surely we will now live in that relationship; seek to make the most it; and find peace and assurance in it. Surely, we will not walk away from all of this and go back to living as if God is some distant and uncaring being out there somewhere: that he doesn’t have much at all do with us and our daily life. Surely if he has made us part his family; committing himself fully to us – we will now live in that relationship, and enjoy all the benefits, joys and security of it all; rather than go out and try to get through life on our own without God’s friendship and help; striving to ensure that we are good enough for God’s acceptance of us.
So to conclude, in the Lord’s Supper our God has set down this new covenant so that we can be sure that he is true to his promises that he has an inheritance for us in the Promised Land. His blessing does rest on us, even though we sin much and do not deserve it. He has sacrificed his Son so that all of this can be ours. And he gives us this special meal so that we can be reassured of this over and over again. So let us now make the most of living in this covenant relationship. It is the best that there is.
To God be the glory – great things he has done. To him be honour, glory and praise now and always. AMEN.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
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