The new covenant offered to all

Luke 22:14-34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ 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. ²¹ But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

²⁴ And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. ²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; ³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” ³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

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.” ²⁰ 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.”     Jesus established a new covenant. He said He would not eat the Passover meal again until it was fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Jesus was/is the fulfillment of the Passover. Just as the blood of a sacrificial lamb marked the doorposts of the Israelites and they were spared from the plague of death in Egypt, the blood of Jesus covers us and saves us from death caused by sin. His sacrificial death on the cross established the new covenant, fulfilling the requirement of the old covenant. We no longer need to atone for our sins through sacrifice.         For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18)

What is amazing about the grace of God and Jesus establishment of the new covenant, is that we see in today’s text that the terms of the new covenant were offered even to the one who would betray Him. Judas, the betrayer was among those at the table. He was offered the body and the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus says:   “behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table.  For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”     Jesus death on the cross had been determined from the foundation of the world.   1 Peter 1:20 says:   He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.         Jesus though, declares woe to the man by whom He is betrayed. Even though Judas was there and was offered the terms of the new covenant in Christ, we see later that he refused Jesus offer. In Matthew 27: 3-5, we read the fate of Judas:       Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” ⁵ And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.    Rather than accept the offer of forgiveness through the blood of Christ, Judas paid the price for his own sin. Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Judas chose death instead of eternal life, he refused the free gift offered by Christ.

Peter, the denier, was also there when the new covenant was offered and established.  Jesus says:   “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; ³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”       Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Peter knew who Jesus was, in Matthew 16:16, he says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”    Peter knew well the importance of keeping his eye on Jesus, the object of his faith. In Matthew 14:28-31 we see:    Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.     Peter knew it was Jesus who was His savior, he could not do it on his own. In Luke 22:60-62 we read:   Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.   Unlike Judas, Peter recognized that in his sin he needed Christ’s forgiveness. He returned to Jesus. He watched as Jesus was crucified. He heard the words of his Lord saying, “Father forgive them”  Peter accepted Jesus offer, he accepted the terms of the new covenant, Christ’s blood for the forgiveness of sin.

We too, may at times deny Jesus before men. We might even fail and betray Him. Still His offer stands. He died for sins, once for all. We must choose though, will we pay the price on our own, or accept the offer, the free gift of eternal life in Christ?  Jesus said of Peter:  “when once you have turned again”     To accept the terms of Christ’s covenant we must repent, we must turn again to Him. We must turn from our sin and turn to Him.

Thank You Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, what I could never do, atone for my own sin, You did for me. I accept Your offer and choose to turn to You each day and to walk in faith in You.   Amen