Day 7: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Luke 22:14-23
Helpful Background Information:
At the Last Supper, or the first communion, Jesus and the disciples were celebrating the Passover meal; the ritual which celebrated two things: The blood of the Passover Lamb which shielded the Israelites from God’s striking down of every firstborn and God’s redemption of the Israelites out of Egypt. However, Jesus reinterprets this meal from that point onward as referring to a greater redemptive act: his body and blood, which are to be poured out on the cross. Here, Jesus utters the important saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
This idea of the New Covenant does not begin in the New Testament but finds its origins back in the Old Testament. More specifically, God, through the prophet Jeremiah, makes clear that there would be a future new covenant that was better than the Old. Everyone in this covenant would have God’s teachings in their hearts, they will all have a personal relationship with God. In Ezekiel 34:31-34, these promises are specified. Unlike the Old Covenant, God will give the New Covenant members a new heart, and the Holy Spirit will be in each of them.
Hence, when Christ says that this cup symbolizes the New Covenant, he is fulfilling this wonderful promise! This first communion points us to Jesus’ death on the cross where a new covenant would begin. Israel was in a covenant relationship with God, but now, there would be a new covenant brought about by Christ’s blood. And because we have been washed clean from sin by the blood of Christ, through which we are members of this New Covenant, we have the Holy Spirit within us, God has forgiven us and given us new hearts, and we can know the Lord intimately and closely!
Reflection Questions:
Jesus’ death established the New Covenant. How does this covenant affect how you view your relationship with God today, especially in terms of forgiveness, intimacy, and transformation?
Communion reminds us of Christ’s death on the cross, where he died for our sins and brought about the New Covenant. How does this enhance or enrich the significance of Communion for you? How does this affect your heart posture when taking it?
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon had some wonderful meditations on the New Covenant. In a sermon preached on August 31, 1856, he stated that the most precious promise of the New Covenant is that we have Jesus Christ with us. He is our reward, our hope, our great friend, our king, comforter, and savior.
From the quote shared below, journal some praises on the amazing, marvelous blessing of having Christ as our Lord.
→ Spurgeon said, “[In the New Covenant] it is our firm belief that Christ is ours, and is given to us of God…. We feel that we have a personal property in our lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and it will therefore delight us for a while, this morning, in the simplest manner possible, without the garnishings of eloquence or the trappings of oratory, just to mediate upon this great thought, that Jesus Christ in the covenant is the property of every believer.”