The New Covenant Cup of Blessing

The Passover Supper

Luke 22:14–16 “14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.””

Start of Passover is in Egypt.

Exodus 12:21–25 “21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.”

The Passover was a blood sacrifice to God. Those who partook were those who in faith obeyed. They were counted as under the blood.

This wasn’t salvific, but a temporary stay of execution from the Justice and Judgment of the Lord.

The Passover in Jerusalem

In Canaan the Children of Israel were divided to there inheritances, even with some on the other side of the Jordan.

Deuteronomy 16:1–7 “1 “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to put His name. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning. 5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you; 6 but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord you God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.

Here the passover was to be a great assembly. This would continue in Israel forever. They were to assemble near the temple / tabernacle to remember the sacrifices. If fact the sacrifice of the lamb would now be at the temple / tabernacle.

It was to be a time of waiting together recognizing their dependence on an external sacrifice to atone for their sins.

It was a time of fellowship as all came together to eat and worship the Lord together.

The Passover in the Millenium.

Ezekiel 45:21–25 “21 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 23 On the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. 24 And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah. 25 “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.””

Notice that there is no lamb sacrificed.

Somewhere between there a perfect Lamb is sacrifice.

John 1:29 “29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Hebrews 9:12 “12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Why did Jesus desire this?

It was the rejoicing of God’s ability to forgive, to Passover the sins of the people and on this very day (evening and morning were the first day.) Jesus would offer the true Lamb of God to take away the sins of the World.

He longed for this last time of fellowship as they looked to God together, remembering His goodness and looking forward to the fulfillment of all the promises.

The Coming Kingdom

Luke 22:17–18 “17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.””

After the Lamb with the bitter herbs, a cup was shared. This is the end of the meal when the cup washes away the bitterness.

If there is a picture, it is that of the joy of forgiveness when you sins have been washed away.

Yet Christ adds this. Luke 22:18 “18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.””

Revelation 19:6–10 “6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.””

Jesus eats with the fledgling group who will be struck and scattered and that He will have to call back. Yet he does this with the knowledge that the day is coming where the whole church will join with Him and these twelve in a feast that the Father will give.

This feast will be after the Lord has destroyed His enemies. It mirrors the pattern of Matthew 22:1-14 where a King throws a wedding feast and those invited refuse to come.

The New Ceremony

Luke 22:19 “19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.””

This whole celebration is a celebration of our Union with Christ. It is the symbolic union of us being sustained and nourished by the Lord.

It was originally one loaf of bread that is broken and given to each.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 “16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”

Each partook to show their dependence on Christ.

His teaching that feed us.

Jeremiah 23:28 “28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.”

Matthew 4:4 “4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ””

We are to eat remembering His coming, His life and teaching, and the breaking of His body on the cross.

Luke 22:20 “20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Here the conclusion of the passover meal is explained.

They all share in one sacrifice, partaking of the sacrifice together.

They all exist under the blood shed for them that spares them from the wrath of God.

Matthew 26:27–28 “27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

The Old Covenant was the 10 Commandments.

Deuteronomy 10:4 “4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me.”

Paul would call this covenant a covenant of death in 2 Co 3, written on stone…

Stone would signify the Covenant.

It could not bend, could not be reasoned with, was hard and unyielding, without mercy or pity.

Stoning was the means of execution under the Law.

When Moses came down from the Mt of God with the 10 Commandments, 3000 people died.

Here Jesus is looking at a New Covenant.

The Jews have been waiting for this promised New Covenant. It was foretold in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

It was God’s promise that at some point He would make a New Covenant with all of Israel, saving them and bringing them into the Kingdom of God.

This is the start of that New Covenant.

It will be fulfilled at the end of the 70th week of Daniel, but as Paul says, there is a remnant according to grace even today.

Application

We meet to fellowship as one body.

We meet to declare our dependence on the Jesus for our sustenance and cleansing.

We meet to reaffirm our love for Him and our dedication to serving Him.

We meet to remember His promise that He is coming back.