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The New Covenant in My Blood

Luke 22:14-23

Key verse 20

“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you””

Introduction

In this passage Jesus had His last supper with His disciples for celebrating the Passover feast. Jesus must have known that the words, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities:...for He shall bear their iniquities" prophesied of Himself. This prophecy laid out God’s clear plan for Jesus’ earthly life as the Son of Man as well as for all those who have faith in Jesus. He was to be the One by which the new covenant would be made firm; that covenant would be dedicated, inaugurated, ratified, put into effect as a result of His sacrifice. The blessing of sonship and fellowship with God was about to be realized for many others. Jesus would have all believers acknowledge and remember His sacrifice, its purpose, and the new arrangement through which their new life and spiritual relationship with God become a reality. So this passage began with the phrase, “When the hour came.” What a time! He then gave them the bread and cup of wine and made a new covenant through His blood. May the Lord help us to see the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice and live a life of great joy and peace.

1.Read verses 14-16. Why did Jesus eagerly want to share Passover with his disciples before his suffering? (14-15) When and where would He eat with them again? (16)

1-1. Read verses 14-16.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

1-2. Why did Jesus eagerly want to share Passover with his disciples before his suffering? (14-15)

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

It was the greatest moment of establishing a new Passover and a new covenant.

When the hour came

It wasn't so much that He was saying "goodbye" to His disciples, rather He arrived at the central reason why He came as the Son of Man.
This is not the beginning of the end; it is the beginning of the beginning.
Jesus really wanted to eat with them to establish the new covenant with his disciples who believed in him.
He knew the Passover was to be the prologue to his sufferings,
Jesus had eagerly desired to establish the new Passover to save people from the slavery to sin and the moment was approaching.
Jesus had waited for the moment even though he would die on the cross.
He wanted to teach the meaning of new Passover that he was about to establish.
It was last gathering with his disciples. Jesus wanted to give them the last words with important teaching that he wanted his disciple to keep all the time.

1-3 When and where would He eat with them again? (16)

I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.

Jesus will eat Passover in heaven after fulfilling his redemptive work through his death and resurrection.
Jesus has not yet celebrated a Passover in heaven. He is waiting for all His people to be gathered to Him, then there will be a great supper, known as the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is the fulfillment in the kingdom of God Jesus longs for.
Believers will enjoy a heavenly banquet together with Jesus, being set free from sin and death.

Revelation 19:6-9 reads,

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

2. Read verses 17-18. What did Jesus do with the cup? (17) What did it mean to take the drink and divide it among themselves after Jesus drank? What did Jesus promise them? (18)

2-1. Read verses 17-18.

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

2-2. What did Jesus do with the cup? (17)

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.
According to the custom, as the master of the feast Jesus took the cup and gave thanks for the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and the preservation of their first-born
Jesus gave thanks to God with the cup for the work that God would do through his death and resurrection.
He gave thanks to God for establishing a new covenant through his blood and sacrifice.
His heart was filled with thanks seeing God’s salvation work through his death.

2-3. What did it mean to take the drink and divide it among themselves after Jesus drank?

It meant to be united with Jesus, to participate in His suffering, and to share victory together with him.
Jesus wanted them to be united with him together and to build up and have unity among themselves.
Jesus wanted them to be one body by sharing His suffering and victory together.
Jesus wanted to build up His church among His disciples - those who believed in His death and resurrection.

2-4. What did Jesus promise them? (18)

“For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Jesus expressed his firm decision and will to fulfil his mission which was to bring the kingdom of God to the world through his death and resurrection.
Jesus will celebrate his fulfillment of God’s salvation work, eating together with his disciples in heaven.
The disciples will eat at the Lord's supper with a much more glorious redemption than that of the deliverance of God’s people out of Egypt .
The kingdom of God was now so near that the disciple would not need to eat or drink anymore until it came.
The disciples would eat the victorious eternal feast in the kingdom of God.

3. Read verses 19-20. What did Jesus do with the bread? (19a) What was the meaning behind this broken bread? (19b) How did Jesus relate the cup with his blood? (20) What can we learn about Jesus who poured out his blood for us?

3-1. Read verses 19-20.

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you

3-2. What did Jesus do with the bread? (19a)

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them

3-3. What was the meaning behind this broken bread? (19b)

This is my body given for you

The breaking of bread referred to the breaking of Christ's body as a sacrifice for us
He gave us his body. When we apply it to ourselves, we can take comfort in it and receive its benefits.
This bread that was given for us as food for our souls. Nothing can be more satisfying to our souls than the gospel of Christ's atonement for our sin.
Jesus’ broken body and flesh would be the true bread that gives eternal life.
He gave the bread to each of us who believe and accept him.

Do this in remembrance of me

Jesus commanded His disciples to partake in this communion in remembrance of him.
We do this in remembrance of what Jesus did for us, in making ourselves partakers of His body, joining ourselves to Him in an everlasting covenant.
Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice is critical to maintaining a close relationship with him.

3-4. How did Jesus relate the cup with his blood? (20)

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
The wine in the cup refers to Jesus’ blood that he shed to make atonement for our sin.
The cup of wine is a sign and token of the new covenant made with us.
The covenant was established by the blood of Christ and the blood confirms the promises of the covenant.
Jesus’ blood revives and refreshes our souls, as wine that makes glad to our heart.
We have to believe that Jesus shed his blood for each of us. We needed it, we take hold of it, we hope to have benefit through it

3-5. What can we learn about Jesus who poured out his blood for us?

He shed his blood because of his love for us. The blood he poured is the proof of his absolute love for us.
He sacrificed himself fully by pouring out his blood. He poured out his blood with great willingness, not saving anything for himself.
If Jesus had not shed his blood, we would never have had the new covenant.

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you

It is all about an inner transformation, that cleanses us from all sin.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says,

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrew 9:16-28 reads,

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we can have a new covenant relationship with God.
But many of us live as if there is no inner transformation, as if there is no cleansing from sin, as if there is no word and will of God in our hearts, and as if there is no new and close relationship with God.
Nothing is more important than this new covenant relationship in our generation where people are detached from the source of life, Jesus.
May the Lord help us to share Jesus’ covenant in His blood without despair.

4. Read verses 21-23. On what basis did Jesus give a solemn warning in regard to Judas Iscariot? (21-22) How did the disciples respond? (23)

4-1. Read verses 21-23.

But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

4-2. On what basis did Jesus give a solemn warning in regard to Judas Iscariot? (21-22)

But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!

Jesus would die according to God’s divine plan and sovereignty

Psalm 41:9 reads,

Even my close friend,

someone I trusted,

one who shared my bread,

has turned against me.

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for money. He would be judged with the heavy charge of betraying the Messiah.
Though God had already determined that the Christ would be betrayed, yet this doesn’t minimize the gravity of Judas's sin or punishment.

4-4. How did the disciples respond? (23)

They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

It must have been shocking for the disciples to hear Jesus’ words to them.
They might wondered how any of them could betray their master.
The disciples might have suspected that it was one of themselves, by saying that it was one of them.

Conclusion

Jesus established a new covenant through his blood. He broke his body to make atonement for our sins. The Passover and the deliverance out of Egypt were signs of Christ to come. He would deliver us from Satan’s hand and from the power of sin and death. He would do this through the power of His death and resurrection. His deliverance is much greater than the deliverance of God’s people from Egypt. We are assured of this, seeing his broken body and the blood that he shed. Those who believe in the power of his blood and sacrifice will participate in the Lord’s supper in the kingdom of God. It reminds us of Galatians 6:14-15, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”

One word: Do this in remembrance of me!