Reflecting on Matthew 26:26-30
"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many... " (Matthew 26:28)
As a Jesus follower, I am not under the Moses Covenant or Law.
But these do provide helpful background for what Jesus says and does.
Jesus celebrates the Passover, a Jewish feast we no longer practice.
The Passover sacrifice was NOT a guilt offering, but a fellowship offering.
A guilt offering was burned up to God; a fellowship offering was shared.
I only found the phrase 'blood of the covenant' once in the OT (Exodus 24:1-11).
The scene there is on Mount Sinai, not the Passover.
God establishes a covenant (relationship) with Israel.
The people offered burnt offerings of bulls as fellowship offerings.
The blood was splashed on the altar and sprinkled on the people.
"This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you." (Exodus 24:8)
These offerings of bulls were not for guilt, they were for gratitude.
They indicated a close, personal relationship, a fellowship.
When Jesus speaks of the blood of the covenant, what does he mean?
"For the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
I don't see Jesus's dying as a guilt offering.
It is a fellowship offering which they eat together!
The blood is not a symbol of God's wrath, but of God's love.
God forgives us because of love, not because a sacrifice was made.
God welcomes them to the table by grace... even Judas.
We are welcomed and received into fellowship with God by gracious love.
We can all sit at the table and eat with God and Jesus!
At Mount Sinai only Moses could come close to God (Exodus 24:1-2).
Aaron, his sons, and the seventy elders could come a little way.
But the people of Israel could not come near.
Those who did sit with Moses "saw God" in the "bright blue" (Exodus 24:10).
"They saw God and they ate and drank." (Exodus 24:11).
Sounds like they were experiencing their own 'Lord's Supper'.
At Sinai the people had to worship from a distance.
But with Jesus all are welcome to sit at the table.
We can worship God ("sing hymns", Matthew 26:30) with Jesus face to face.
We have fellowship with God... even the Judas types.Lord Jesus, thank You for inviting us all to be close to God and You, to sit and eat with God and You, and to know that we are loved and forgiven despite our flaws, foibles and failures.
I welcome your sacrifice of love, and I offer my own with You to God!