Dear friends:This is the second part of a series on the blood of Jesus, mostly taken from my 1988 book, The World's Greatest Truths. Be blessed, and praise God for His precious blood. Part 1 can be found at www.insights.injesus.com. If you are interested, footnote references and the whole book can be found at http://www.choicesforliving.com/truth/.
Jim
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The Eternal Blood Covenant
The basic functions of Messiah's blood are not an isolated concept in the Old and New Testaments but are a constant theme, a theme which, in fact, is too little known, understood, or appreciated. This chapter and its One Minute Summary will describe this deeply mystical yet practical truth -- the eternal blood covenant. It is probably the most profound truth in the universe and in all of the history of the human race.A "covenant" is a binding pledge, promise, or agreement between two parties (the words "covenant" and "testament" are synonyms; the two parts of the Bible are sometimes called the Old Covenant and the New Covenant).
"Cutting a covenant" was an ancient practice, not just with the Hebrews but also in other nations and cultures. It involved the cutting of flesh (animal or human) and the shedding of blood to seal this binding agreement. A blood covenant was the most sacred and solemn of contracts, even bringing an inter-union of the two parties (see Chapter 8 for elaboration of the inter-union concept). It was a completely unbreakable pledge, not revocable for any reason (this in itself has profound theological implications).
Foreshadowing the eternal blood covenant to come, God made a covenant with Abraham:
"I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."8
Abraham's part of the covenant was to institute the rite of circumcision, as "a sign of the covenant."9 Circumcision, of course, "cuts" flesh and sheds blood, a bloodletting/covenant act which foreshadowed the time when God would also shed His own blood in a covenant act. (But why on such an odd and humbling part of the male anatomy? A mystery. But God is never arbitrary. Perhaps it is because in God's perspective it represents the human instrument for the inter-union of beings, from which comes new life, all symbolic.)
The story of Abraham contains further symbolism that relates to the New Testament, such as belief in a miraculous birth (Isaac), offering his only son (by Sarah) as a sacrifice, and belief that his son would be resurrected -- all pointing to the miraculous birth, death, and resurrection of the Son.
Through the Hebrew prophets God spoke of a "new covenant" to come in the future. It would be for all the people of the world, not just the Hebrew people. The Messiah would be the mediator of this new covenant, and it would be ratified in His own blood.10
The Last Passover Lamb
At the "last supper" before His crucifixion, Jesus was at the table with His disciples. It is deeply significant that they were eating the traditional Passover meal. Because of the rapid Hellenization of Christianity in the first century as it spread throughout the Gentile world, many forget its totally Jewish origin. Jesus was a strict Hebrew, always observant of the law. The Passover meal itself is rich in tradition and symbolism, its origin tracing to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt some 1,500 years earlier. God had told those early Israelites to take the blood of an unblemished male lamb and put it on their door posts, then eat the lamb. The blood, He said, would protect them from death. God said He would "pass over" them when He saw the blood, thus the term Passover. And as we shall see, "eating" the lamb had great prophetic significance.It is ironic but providential that the true Passover Lamb was Himself eating the traditional Passover meal just hours before His own blood would be shed, finally fulfilling centuries of prophecy and symbolism. In fact, the miraculous chronology of events during this time is fascinating. The slaying of Jesus, the true Lamb, coincided with the sacrifice of the other symbolic lambs during this Passover! This in itself is absolutely amazing timing and evidence of the divine plan and prophetic fulfillment.
There is also scientific reality in the Passover. Blood from an "unblemished" male lamb was necessary, symbolic of the Lamb of God who was without sin (unblemished), unlike any other human who ever lived. The blood had to be perfect. Normal human blood can be quite imperfect and can carry impurities, even death-causing viruses so prevalent in the world today. Only the Lamb's blood was pure, perfect, and undefiled. Only perfect blood can perfectly cleanse.
During this Passover meal before His death, Jesus took some bread, blessed and broke it, then gave it to His friends, saying:
"Take, eat; this is my body."11
Jesus' words and actions here shocked the disciples, according to Jewish authors Ceil and Moishe Rosen, because the meal, including the lamb, had already been consumed.12 According to tradition, nothing else was to be eaten.
Jesus instituted a new memorial, an after dish, later called "aphikomen." He demonstrated that the Paschal (Passover) lamb no longer had significance because the true Lamb had come. Also, Jesus apparently saw into the future when there would be no more altar (destroyed shortly thereafter by the Romans in A. D. 70) or sacrifice. He used the aphikomen for the first time to represent the Paschal lamb and His own body, formerly represented by the body of the animal.
The Jews have always used unleavened (matzo) bread for the Passover ceremony. Leaven is symbolic of sin. They use three matzo wafers. The middle one, the "aphikomen," is broken during the meal, hidden, and later returned. This is an early but mysterious tradition. No one really knows its meaning. The three wafers represent unity, but Jewish scholars do not agree on what the unity represents. Some Jews believe the three wafers represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but Isaac's body (the middle wafer) was never actually broken! Could it be that the unity of the three wafers represents the unity of the one but triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and the unleavened, of course, His purity. Is the middle wafer the Son (aphikomen) whose body was indeed broken, who is mysteriously hidden from the Jewish people, and who will return as their Messiah as He promised? I believe it is. Such an interpretation clearly makes sense, especially in view of Jesus' own introduction of the after dish to represent His own body, plus all other Passover symbolism.
Interestingly, aphikomen comes from a Greek word that is translated "the coming one," or "that which comes last."
In every Passover meal, then, the Jews albeit unknowingly celebrate the sinless Messiah whose body was broken, who temporarily is hidden, and who will return. They finish eating the broken aphikomen in the Sephardic or Eastern tradition with the words, "In memory of the Passover sacrifice." This has to be one of the most profound ceremonies in human history where, ironically, the participants do not understand the full meaning of their actions!
After Jesus broke the bread and told them to eat it, He then took a cup of wine (fruit of the vine), gave thanks, and passed it to his friends, saying:
"Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."13
"Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."14
They were actually invited to "consume" Jesus' body and blood. This is not surprising, for as we pointed out above, the Passover lamb had been "eaten" from the beginning (later, with no lamb, the aphikomen was eaten instead).
Previously Jesus said something puzzling to the people:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."15
He was obviously not talking about cannibalism, but about a spiritual phenomenon. But what does it mean, and how does it work? Well, the early church replaced the prophetic Passover meal of Judaism, which was fulfilled in the Messiah, with a sacrament called "Communion," or "the Lord's Supper." Believers gathered and partook of bread (His body) and wine or grape juice (His blood) "in remembrance" of Him. The church continues that tradition today. Beliefs vary on the extent of symbolism involved in this sacrament. However one believes, it is important to participate and to remember the cleansing and life-giving effects of the Lamb's body and blood.
The reality of the new covenant, the eternal blood covenant, is that in the Messiah God chose to inhabit a human body, and let that body become as a sacrificial lamb, taking upon Himself the sins of the entire human population of the planet from the beginning to the end of human history. All of history and every human who ever lived or ever will live was represented on the cross with Jesus: the most profound eventever.
Dr. Roy Blizzard, a recognized American expert in Hebrew studies and archaeology, once voiced a simple summary of this historical event for which no adjectives are adequate to describe: "In the veins of Jesus flowed God's own blood." It is a mind-boggling thought that the Creator God would choose to experience this human condition. But He purposed to do so as an ultimate act of love. (Note: the divine blood in Jesus' body was a result of the virgin birth, essential for the fertilized egg and resulting chromosome/gene combinations to have a divine component. Rather than myth, the virgin birth was biologically mandatory for the entire purpose of the incarnation and later crucifixion. It was a product of God's wisdom and power, and an integral and indispensable part of His plan.)
Continued....