The New Covenant

Jesus takes the Passover meal and points it toward the deliverance he is about to accomplish. Israel remembered release from slavery in Egypt and longed to throw off Rome’s rule. But the kingdom of God brings freedom from a deeper bondage: sin, death, and hell. Through his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, Jesus fulfills the redemptive promise that reaches back to Adam and Eve. The deliverance celebrated in the past is finding its fulfillment in his own body.

The bread and the wine give visible signs of that saving work. The bread remains bread, and the wine remains wine, but they represent Christ’s body given and his blood poured out. Eating and drinking proclaim the gospel because they acknowledge that sin requires a sacrifice believers cannot provide. Salvation requires someone outside themselves, someone untouched by sin. Jesus, fully God and fully man, pays for sin and grants his righteousness so that those who trust him can stand in God’s presence.

Thanksgiving belongs at the heart of this remembrance. God has not left sinners helpless and hopeless. The Eucharist recalls both the cost of salvation and the grace that provided it.

The cup also announces the new covenant promised through Jeremiah: God’s teaching written on hearts, sins forgiven, and his people brought into fellowship with him. God, the greater party, takes the initiative to make peace. The law exposes sin and the impossibility of earning righteousness; Christ fulfills that law on behalf of his people. His blood ratifies the covenant of grace, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation to Jew and Gentile alike.

Christ’s determined sacrifice does not erase Judas’s responsibility for betrayal. Nor does familiarity with the Lord’s Supper remove the need for faith. The church partakes as citizens of God’s kingdom, trusting Christ’s completed work rather than personal obedience for salvation. Even the manger points toward this purpose: Jesus was born to become the sacrifice for sin.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The kingdom breaks a deeper bondage. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt gave the Passover its shape, but Jesus brings its meaning to fulfillment through freedom from sin, death, and hell. A restored earthly nation could not answer that deeper captivity. Christ’s saving work reaches beyond one people’s political freedom to the spiritual bondage holding all nations. [39:54]
• 2. The table confesses dependence on Christ. Eating the bread and drinking the cup acknowledge that sinners cannot supply the sacrifice their salvation requires. These ordinary elements point beyond personal effort to Christ’s body given and blood poured out. Participation proclaims the gospel when outward remembrance expresses faith in the Savior who makes sinners able to stand in God’s presence. [47:19]
• 3. Thanksgiving remembers grace at its cost. The Eucharist is marked by giving thanks because God did not leave sinners in their sin. Its gratitude is not vague appreciation but remembrance of Christ’s body crushed and his blood poured out for salvation. The bread and cup hold together the seriousness of sin and the generosity of the God who made a way to save. [49:14]
• 4. God takes the initiative for peace. In the new covenant, the greater party seeks peace with the lesser, rather than waiting for the helpless to negotiate acceptable terms. The law reveals the sinner’s inability to earn righteousness, while Christ fulfills its demands on behalf of those who trust him. Forgiveness and reconciliation rest on the covenant ratified in his blood, not on a believer’s success at keeping the law. [52:28]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [30:55] - The Last Passover and First Lord’s Supper
• [31:37] - Luke 22:14-23
• [35:52] - The Coming Kingdom of God
• [39:54] - Deliverance From Sin, Death, and Hell
• [43:40] - The Bread and the Cup
• [47:19] - Proclaiming the Gospel at the Table
• [49:14] - Giving Thanks for Salvation
• [50:47] - Jeremiah’s Promise of a New Covenant
• [53:31] - The Law and the Covenant of Grace
• [56:17] - God’s Plan and Judas’s Betrayal
• [57:26] - The Church as Citizens of the Kingdom
• [59:13] - Born to Become the Sacrifice
• [59:58] - Closing Prayer for Faith and Thanksgiving

Bible Reading

Luke 22:14-23
“And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had 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.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.” [31:37]

Jeremiah 31:31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” [50:55]

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

Observation questions

1. What deliverance did Israel remember at Passover, and what deeper bondage does Jesus deliver his people from? [40:01]
2. In Luke 22:19–20, what do the bread and cup represent, and what actions does Jesus ask his disciples to continue? [45:24]
3. In Jeremiah 31:31–34, what changes does God promise concerning his people’s hearts, their relationship with him, and their sins? [50:51]
4. What two truths does Luke 22:22 hold together about God’s plan for Jesus’ death and the responsibility of his betrayer? [56:17]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would freedom from Rome still leave Israel needing the deliverance Jesus brings? How does this help explain the kingdom Jesus announces at the Passover meal? [39:54]
2. According to 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, sharing the bread and cup proclaims Christ’s death. How does receiving these ordinary elements express a believer’s dependence on a sacrifice that person could never provide? [47:19]
3. What does God’s initiative in establishing the new covenant reveal about his character? How might that change the way a person who feels unworthy approaches him? [52:43]
4. Why is outward participation in the Lord’s Supper not a substitute for faith in Christ? What distinguishes trusting Christ’s completed work from trusting religious habits or personal obedience? [57:44]

Application questions

1. When you think about what you most need God to change, do your thoughts turn first to your circumstances or to sin’s hold on your heart? Is there a particular struggle in which you need to depend on Christ’s delivering power this week? [40:01]
2. When you have failed, what do you tend to rely on to feel accepted by God—trying harder, doing something good, or remembering Christ’s finished work? What might it look like to respond to a recent failure with repentance and trust rather than trying to earn your way back? [58:02]
3. Has taking the Lord’s Supper ever become routine for you? What could help you approach the next celebration with thoughtful remembrance and renewed faith in Jesus? [57:44]
4. The bread and cup hold together the seriousness of sin and the generosity of God’s grace. Which is easier for you to lose sight of? How could remembering both shape your thanksgiving this week? [49:31]
5. God took the initiative to make peace with people who could not save themselves. Is there someone with whom you could take a humble step toward peace? What might that step look like without pretending the hurt does not matter? [53:04]
6. God’s new covenant promises include forgiveness and fellowship with him. Is there a past sin that still makes you hesitate to draw near to God? How could this group help you rest in Christ’s forgiveness rather than carry that guilt alone? [55:21]