This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many

Mark 14:22-52 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away, yet I will not!” ³⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

³² They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³ And He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” ³⁵ And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. ³⁶ And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷ And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him. ⁴¹ And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

⁴³ And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹ A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. ⁵² But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

We live in the New Covenant, not under the law. We have all the blessings and promises of grace. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says: All the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God. We should though never presume on God’s grace, nor should we assume that we deserve His blessings. They are given freely, but they came at a tremendous price.

In today’s text it says: While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many.” When we claim the blessings and promises of God for our lives, we need to remember that they are ours only because of the blood of Christ that was shed for us and because His body was beaten and broken. The greatest blessing of all is that by His blood we are forgiven. How then could we presume on grace, how could we waste one precious drop of Jesus blood by choosing to continue in sin? In truth, the only sin that the blood of Christ cannot redeem and free us from, is the sin we choose to continue in. Jesus blood was shed, not so that we could continue in sin, but that we would be redeemed from it. The blood of Christ did not cleanse sin, making it acceptable to God, as some seem to believe today, saying that Jesus would accept and embrace the immorality and unrighteousness of our culture and society. Jesus blood cleanses us from sin, making us acceptable to God.

We should not presume that we can choose to continue in sin and claim the promises of the New Covenant. Romans 6:23 says: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Death is still the wage that is received for sin. Speaking of what we should not presume, in Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:  “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Grace has not done away with the need for righteousness to be acceptable in God’s sight. Jesus fulfilled the requirement of righteousness for us by His blood. If we choose sin, in spite of grace and redemption, we nullify the blood of Christ and will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

May the words of Psalm 51 be our declaration and prayer: Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings. Wash me thoroughly from my guilt And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge… Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness, Let the bones You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins And wipe out all my guilty deeds. Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, So that my mouth may declare Your praise… Amen.