“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” —Luke 22:17–20
The Master’s table is our individual and corporate privilege! When we come to it, we obtain a fresh and renewed awareness of the precious benefits of our Savior’s sacrifice. It is to be our constant reminder of the person and work of Jesus. His body broken, His blood poured out, the elements constantly pointing to the truth that Christ Jesus died for sinners; our foundation for encouragement, hope, and joy. The blood of animals, while commanded through the law, was not sufficient. The constant sacrificing for sins was proof enough of that. The writer of Hebrews tells us:
“For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” —Hebrews 10:1–4
Jeremiah prophesied regarding God’s future establishment of a new covenant which would be based on the full and eternal atonement secured by the death of Christ Jesus.
“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the LORD. “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the LORD. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.” —Jeremiah 31:31–33
This new covenant is based on an individual, personal knowledge of God and is characterized by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is an eternal covenant of peace which Jesus, the Prince of Peace, ushers in. Paul tells us in Colossians:
“And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” —Colossians 2:13–15
“The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.” —Oswald Chambers
Become More
“God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” —2 Corinthians 5:21
“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.” —John 3:16–17
Further Reflections
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.” —-Acts 4:12
“For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–it is not by works, so that no one can boast.” —Ephesians 2:8–9