Much
ink has been used to discuss the concept of a covenant; whole schools of
Biblical interpretation have been formed to support one method over another.
It is not my purpose in this lesson to give a definitive answer as to who (if
anyone) has it right. We shall confine ourselves to that which is needful.
Here is Luke’s brief account of the institution of the Last Supper:
Now
the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death;
for they were afraid of the people. And Satan entered into Judas who was called
Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed
with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were
glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to
them apart from the crowd. Then came the first
day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb
had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat
it." They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare
it?" And He said to them, "When you have
entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him
into the house that he enters. "And you
shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is
the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' "And he will show you a large, furnished upper
room; prepare it there." And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they
prepared the Passover. When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He
said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat
this Passover with you before I suffer; for I
say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And when He had taken a cup and
given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it
among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God
comes." And when He had taken some
bread and given 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 which is poured out for you is the new
covenant in My blood.
(Luk 22:1-20 NASB)
Providence
It
is important to note the introduction of the passage. It is not an accident,
nor is it a coincidence. It is the providence of Almighty God.
There
is a curious parallel to this section. Saul has an experience as foretold by
Samuel.
It is God’s way of telling Saul that he is indeed king; that Samuel is not just
some crazy old man but the man of God. Thus convinced, Saul proceeds to take
the kingship in hand.
God
works like that. Here, the details of “finding” the upper room are laid out in
advance, so that the disciples will know that the small things are in God’s
control. They will need this; the next few days will be a horror to them.
It
is a curious thing: many Christians will acknowledge God’s control over the
large developments of history, but not the small things. But His eye is still
on the sparrow; even in the ordinary things of life we detect his hand. Now
sheltering, now disciplining, He is always there. If he controls the great, is
he so limited that he cannot control the small?
The
Passover as image
One
way in which we see the providence of God is in this: he provides for us
pictures – images – of that which is to come. The Passover itself is such an
image. We see the sacrificial lamb – which was to be without defect. This is
the image of the coming Christ, the sinless sacrifice. Those who accept that
sacrifice – by painting blood on the lintels – are passed over by the angel of
death. It foreshadows how the blood of Christ is our security against the
angel of death; we are to live eternally.
Consider
well the prophecy in the Bible. Is it not the case that, having seen the fulfillment
in part at the first coming of Christ, that the rest will be fulfilled at his
return?
Concept
of Covenant
Christ
here institutes a new covenant. The word is a “church word” for the most part;
at one time it had a legal meaning as well. That usage has died out (it was
used to restrict the future sale of homes by race), so we are left with the
Biblical meaning.
First,
rid your mind of the notion that a covenant is the same thing as a contract.
It is not, though the word is often used for agreements between men. A
contract is between equals (in theory). A contract requires the exchange of
valuables; what valuable do you have that would place the Almighty in
obligation to you?
Rather,
it is a “take it or leave it” offer from Almighty God to us. There are four
common elements which we will take as instructional:
- Covenants
carry with them some form of sign. For example, the state offers you
license plates for you car – on the state’s terms, take it or leave it.
When you take up their offer, you put the sign of that on your car in the
form of the plates. What would otherwise remain unseen is now
proclaimed.
- God’s
covenants (we shall look at historical examples) deal with the problem of
sin and guilt. That’s because He loves us – but sin stands between us and
our heavenly Father.
- His
covenants carry with them a present blessing. God knows we would “leave
it” if there were only blessings in heaven. Therefore he provides us with
blessings in this life.
- His
covenants also deal with the future. They look forward to a time when
they will end, and a greater covenant will be made.
Let’s
look at some examples:
Noah
- Sign:
One of the most common of images in Christian children’s literature is a
picture of Noah’s Ark. You usually see it on the waves or the mountain
top, and often you see with it a rainbow. That’s the sign God gave to
Noah in his covenant: the rainbow.
- Sin:
As Bill Cosby might have put it, He “drowned it right out.” It is a
simple method; get rid of the sin by getting rid of the sinners.
- Present
blessing: Noah and his family were saved by being in the Ark.
- Future
blessing: no more floods like that one.
Abraham
- Sign:
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s name to Sarah. Beyond that,
God ordered that circumcision be implemented. (The implications of that
are rather lengthy; we will slide over them.)
- Sin:
God tells Abraham to make a sacrifice – of his own son. It shows that
Abraham truly keeps God first. It also sets the groundwork for Moses and
the Levitical system of sacrifices.
- Present
blessing: At an age of 99, Abraham gets to worry about whether or not
Medicare covers pregnancy – for Sarah gives birth to a son, Isaac.
- Future
blessing: God tells Abraham that his descendants will be incredibly
numerous and that one of them (the Messiah) will bless all the nations of
the earth.
Moses
- Sign:
The various feasts of the Levitical law, especially the feast of the
Passover.
- Sin:
the system of sacrifices for sin and atonement.
- Present
blessing: God will call them his own people, take them out of slavery and
by his mighty hand give them the inheritance of the land promised to
Abraham.
- Future
blessing: the covenant would be kept forever – IF the Jews would be
obedient.
The
New Covenant
We
may now understand a little more clearly what Christ did at the Last Supper.
He proclaimed the covenant under which we live – the covenant of the church
age.
Sign
The
sign of this covenant is given here: the Lord’s Supper. Like the others, it
is a simple thing. It has two elements:
- Bread
– usually unleavened – symbolizes the body of Christ. In the early days
of the church it was a common loaf; anyone could see that it fed the body
of Christ on earth – His church.
- Wine
– in those days, white wine was rather difficult to produce. Most wine
was red – the color of blood, which it symbolizes.
You
confirm your acceptance of the covenant when you take communion; you also
proclaim to all who might be watching that you are a Christian. It is a sign
for you; it is a sign for the world.
Sin
Of
all things most powerful, the sacrifice of our Lord on Calvary is the
greatest. You can see its image in the Passover: the spotless, unblemished
lamb slaughtered, portraying the Lamb of God to come.
It
is the atonement, though, that makes this covenant unique. The covenant with
Noah destroyed sin by water; Abraham appeased God with animal sacrifices; Moses
brought forth God’s law in detail for those sacrifices – but this sacrifice
actually atones for sin, cleansing us from it.
What
makes this all the more powerful is this: Christ died for us willingly. His
life was not taken; he gave it up.
Present
blessings
Christians
are often accused of thinking of “pie in the sky” as our blessings in return
for a dull life here. It is not so.
- We
have within our souls the Holy Spirit. As the work of our days becomes
more complex, the Holy Spirit guides us in the simple truth.
- We
have the power of prayer. No longer do we need a priest to mediate
between us and the Father; the door is open. The light is on.
- Indeed,
on this earth we have the church, designed by Christ and bought with his
blood, which is both comfort and guide.
Future
blessing
Compare
these blessings to those of the older covenants:
- At
the return of our Lord we will see the resurrection of the dead. Those in
the ground will return and walk again.
- When
he returns, he will bring justice with him. Rewards for the faithful;
final justice for the wicked.
- Perhaps
greatest of all is this: no more death. No more sin, no more death.
We
are indeed the recipients of the greatest of covenants.
What
should I do?
- Take
the Lord’s Supper every week – openly, with honesty, examining yourself,
knowing exactly what you are proclaiming to the world.
- Accept
the blessings of forgiveness – by admitting that you need it.
- Ask,
seek and knock – so that the Father will be pleased to provide for you in
all things.
- Finally,
watch! You do not know the hour of his coming.