The Blood of the Covenant. Luke 22:1-20

Notes

1. From verse 7 we learn that Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover at the regular time. On the fourteenth day of the month the lamb was to be slain, and was to be eaten that evening. Jesus sent the disciples to prepare the Passover on the first day of unleavened bread, which was the fourteenth, when the lamb must be killed. See Ex. 12:6, 18. If He had departed from the regular custom, the disciples would not have accepted the change without question.

2. In this connection we may note a point in regard to the kind of bread and wine to be used in the Lord's Supper. The common argument against fermented wine is that it may awaken a desire for drink on the part of some; but this is not by any means the principal reason why it should not be used. The wine represents the blood of Jesus, who was without blemish, and without spot. Wine that has undergone fermentation would be no fit emblem of the blood of Jesus. It would be like offering a blemished lamb in the ancient time. Moreover, it was the feast of unleavened bread, and no leaven was to be found in any house. See Ex. 12:15. Therefore there could have been no leavened bread in the house at that time. The same text also shows that there could have been nothing but unleavened bread with which to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Leaven indicates decay, and that would not represent the spotless Lamb of God. Christ Himself was the Passover. 1 Cor. 5:7. The Lord said, "Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread." Ex. 23:18. To some this may seem an unimportant matter; but the Lord thought it of enough importance to require an express command.

3. Wherever in the Bible we find in our translation the word "testament," we should read "covenant." Christ said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood." His blood is "the blood of the everlasting covenant." Heb. 13:20. He is the surety of the new covenant. We enter into covenant relation with Him by accepting His blood as the sacrifice for our sins. Thus we make a covenant with Him by sacrifice. Ps. 50:5. He makes the sacrifice; we have only to accept it. And we eat and drink the Lord's Supper worthily when we discern the Lord's body, and, by faith, take Him into our hearts, just as really as we take the bread and wine into our mouths. As the bread and the wine go to nourish our bodies, and give us physical life, so the body and blood of Christ, taken by faith, will give us spiritual life.