When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on the night when he was betrayed, he called for his disciples to remember him and proclaim his death until he returned. When Jesus took the unleavened bread, he said to his disciples to eat the bread, remembering that this was his body given for them. But then he took the cup after eating the bread. In every record of the institution of the Lord’s Supper we are told that Jesus said that the cup is the blood of the covenant. The Matthew and Mark accounts say, “This is my blood of the covenant.” The Luke and 1 Corinthians accounts say, “This is the new covenant in my blood.” What did Jesus mean when he said that this cup represented the blood of the covenant? It should be worth noting that Jesus did not say that the cup represented his blood. The full expression is that the cup represented the blood of the covenant. Considering that Jesus said to remember him as we take the Lord’s Supper and specifically said that we need to remember the cup as the blood of the covenant, then it is very important that we understand what this term means. You might be surprised to know that this term, “the blood of the covenant,” is found in numerous places in the scriptures. I believe we can say that there are four dimensions to the blood of the covenant. So what I would like to do is spend four lessons looking at the four dimensions of this rich term, understanding its meaning in its context, and then applying the message to us through the Lord’s Supper. The first time we see this term in the scriptures is in Exodus 24. Please open your copies of God’s word to Exodus 24 and we are going to see what the blood of the covenant means in Exodus.
Entering into Covenant (Exodus 24:1-4)
Israel is at Mount Sinai and God is proclaiming his covenant to the people. He began with the ten commandments in Exodus 20. But remember that God speaking to the people was so terrifying that the people tell Moses to talk to God and then tell them what he said (Exodus 20:19). So God speaks to Moses and is continuing to give the laws to his covenant in Exodus 20-23. As Exodus 24 begins, God tells Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders to come up and worship from afar. Then Moses will come near the Lord on the mountain. Now look at verse 3. Moses came to the people and told them all the commands of the Lord. Look at the response of the people in verse 3. They say in one voice, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Then Moses goes about writing everything that God said (24:4). Moses is writing down the words of the covenant into a scroll or a book as some translations have it. After writing down all that God said, Moses gets up early and makes an altar at the foot of the mountain. The location of this altar is important for what is about to happen. So Moses has an altar at the base of Mount Sinai and places twelve pillars at the base of the mountain to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.
Sealing the Covenant (Exodus 24:5-8)
In verse 5 we see that the sacrifices begin to be offered. They are offering burnt sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices to the Lord. Now Moses has the blood of the animals and we are told in verse 6 that he takes half the blood and puts it into large bowls. He then takes the other half of the blood of the animals and throws it against the altar. The blood being thrown on the altar represents God’s part of entering into this covenant. The altar is at the base of Mount Sinai. So God is entering into a covenant with the people of Israel and sealing that covenant with blood.
But now look at what Moses does in verse 7. Moses reads the book of the covenant to the people. Think about this moment. Reading the book of the covenant to the people would have taken some time. After Moses reads the covenant laws to the people, the people respond, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” The people say that they will hold to the terms of the covenant. With their agreement to the covenant, Moses takes the blood that was in the large bowls. Look at what he does in verse 8. Moses throws the blood on the people saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” What a vivid, memorable moment! The blood has been thrown on the people, staining their clothing.
So what did Moses mean and what were the implication to the people? First, the blood of the covenant refers to the fellowship that was now established between God and the people. The people belong to God in a covenant relationship. Second, the blood of the covenant is a reminder to the people to the covenant commitment they just made. The people just said that they would do all that the Lord had commanded in the covenant. The blood of the covenant is sealing that commitment that they are making.
When we come to the Lord’s Supper, it is noteworthy that Jesus says that the cup represents the blood of the covenant. The first connection would be to this covenant moment at Mount Sinai where God ratified and sealed his covenant with his people. Rather than the blood of animals being thrown on us, the blood of Christ is symbolically drank to represent that we are in fellowship with God and in a new covenant through his blood. But think about what the blood of the covenant further represented. The blood of the covenant represented the response of the people to do all that was written in the book. When we drink the cup, we are saying to the Lord the same words, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” We are committing ourselves to the covenant. Now think about how powerful it is that we are making this proclamation each week as we drink. Peter quickly reminds us of this picture of being sprinkled with blood as he opened his first letter.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:1-2 ESV)
Notice the connection between obedience to Jesus and being sprinkled with his blood. We are proclaiming our desire and intent to be the covenant of Jesus and his blood as been sprinkled on us. All of this is symbolized in the cup that we drink.
Result of the Covenant (Exodus 24:9-11)
But there is one more picture we need to see from the book of Exodus regarding the blood of the covenant. Come back to Exodus 24:9-11. Verses 9-10 state that Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel now were able to go up on the mountain. Notice verse 10 says, “They saw the God of Israel.” The end of verse 10 shows that it was the beauty of God’s glory. But now look at verse 11 because it is amazing.
And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:11 ESV)
Why were they able to see the God of Israel? Why did God not lay his hands on these men who were on the mountain? How were they able to sit down and eat and drink a fellowship meal with the Lord? The answer is the blood of the covenant. The blood of the covenant made is possible to come near to God. The blood of the covenant is what makes it possible to be in fellowship with God. The blood of the covenant is why we will be able to see God just as he is.
The First Dimension
So what is happening when we partake of the Lord’s Supper and we come to the cup that represents the blood of the covenant? First, we are remembering that God ratified a covenant with us and sealed it with the blood of his Son. Second, we are remembering that we accepted the terms of the covenant, proclaiming that all the Lord has spoken we will do. Third, we are recognizing that the only way God can be with us and we can have fellowship is through the blood of the covenant. Finally, the blood of the covenant is what draws us closer to God rather than being driven out from his presence. In Exodus 19 we were told that no one could touch Mount Sinai and live. Now that the blood of the covenant had been sprinkled, the leaders of Israel were able to go up on that mountain and eat with God. In the same way we also are unable to come near to Mount Zion because of our sinfulness. But listen to what the writer of Hebrews says we can come to now through Jesus.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24 ESV)
You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that is greater than Abel’s blood. So this is rich picture of what we have in Christ that we remember when we partake. There are three more dimensions for our consideration and we will look at those in our upcoming lessons.