The promise of a New Covenant

Q: Archbishop J, why covenant? Part 2

Last week, we traced the covenants from creation, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. Interestingly, with each successive covenant, the God-human relationship was changed with new requirements on both sides. Also, the covenants moved from a couple to a family, to a nation and, ultimately, an eternal kingdom.
Each covenant showed more of God’s love for us humans. Each covenant draws us deeper into a love relationship with the divine. Covenant expresses God’s unconditional love for us, His sinful people.
As we saw last week, in the Old Testament, God promised a New Covenant. Jeremiah prophesied: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jer 31:31-34). This was the subject of much mystery and expectation.
The prophecy goes on to say:

“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.
No longer will they teach their neighbour,
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.” (Jer 31:33-34)

This prophecy contains four promises about the New Covenant: (1) The Lord will write His laws in His people’s minds and hearts; (2) He will be their God and make them His people; (3) God will reveal Himself to the whole world; and (4), God promises to forgive our sins and remember them no more.

The New Covenant
Every first-century Jew would have known about the New Covenant’s promises. It was part of the religious imagination and created excitement among the people. Simeon was promised that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah (Lk 2:26). No one would have expected the terms and conditions of the New Covenant.
On the night before He died, Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant during the Last Supper. St Matthew says:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Mt 26:26-28)

In each account of the Last Supper, Jesus refers to the New Covenant, saying the same words over the cup (see also, 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 22:19-20; Mk 14:22-24). St Paul begins, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you” (1 Cor 11:23). Then he gives the tradition as he had received it.
At the Last Supper, Jesus did something extraordinary. He inaugurated the New Covenant as part of the Paschal meal. As such, it took the ancient ritual and invested it with new meaning. The memory is not simply recollection; when tied to the Paschal supper, it relives the sacred experience of the deliverance from Egypt.
It is clear the New Testament Church saw the Lord’s Supper as a New Covenant. The promise spoken by Jeremiah was fulfilled through Jesus. By saying, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mk 14:24), Jesus ties the Last Supper to His crucifixion on the next day.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is slain at the same time the lambs are slaughtered for Passover. As the blood of the slaughtered lambs and water flowed from the side of the temple that day, so too, blood and water flowed from Jesus’ side (Jn 19:24).
He was both the spotless lamb and the temple where sacrifice was made. The Book of Revelation sees these sacred mysteries as the marriage feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-10)—the nuptial union between Christ and His bride, the Church.
Here is the covenant’s motive and its effects, which were promised by Jesus the night before He died. Jesus had said: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (Jn 14:23). This is the promise of nuptial union, which was achieved on the cross.

The Book of Hebrews
In the Book of Hebrews, the theme of the New Covenant is taken to new heights. First, the author establishes that Jesus is a high priest of the order of Melchizedek and for ever (Heb 7:17). He offers His sacrifice once and for all time with no need of a sin offering to cleanse Himself. The author describes Him:

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Heb 7:26-27)

So, the author is led to conclude:

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:22-25)

Hebrews spells out the difference between the old Covenant, which was imperfect, and the new, which is forever: “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear” (Heb 8:13).
In this New Covenant, Christ is seen as mediator (Heb 8:6). The law is internalised; it is in the heart (Heb 8:10). All sins are forgiven (Heb 10:17). God is directly accessible to the believer (Heb 10:19-22). It is an eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15). The author says, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a New Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Heb 9:15).
Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we participate in the New Covenant of Christ. His command to His apostles was: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19). Here, “in memory” means entering into the ancient scene as if you were there at the table with Jesus on the night before He died—and walking with Him the way to Calvary where you witness His death. Then, too, you witness His Resurrection. This participation in the sacred mystery is the ultimate relationship we can have with God.
It is not about a feeling but a nuptial union between God and His bride, the Church. The author of Hebrews makes the bold claim: Through the Blood of Christ, we have a right to enter the sanctuary. This was not possible before, except for the high priest once a year.

Key Message:
The New Covenant is inaugurated with the Last Supper and lived every time we celebrate the Eucharist, guaranteeing us direct access to God in God’s self.
Action Step:
Consider the high cost of the New Covenant and consider what you are willing to sacrifice to show your love to God.
Scripture Reading:
Heb 10:19-25