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Do you like hints? They can be a little frustrating, but they can also be fun. They can also be significant beyond what I think some days.

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” ~Jesus

Luke 22:20

So, in God’s old way of doing things (Old Testament / Old Covenant / the Law), He gave us hints in the old plan about the good things to come in His new way of doing things. He had a new plan. A new way of relating to us. And, He not only planned for it, He did it.

  • So, we had the hints. If you know where you are going, and it is a big difference from where things are today, sometimes you hint about what the future will be like.
  • God did that for sure.
  • It is easy to get locked in the past.
  • God wants me to live in the new way.
  • It is the good news plan.

And then we had Jesus, the Messiah and our Master, being born to change things permanently. And He did. Plan executed.

The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Thank goodness things got simplified in the new plan. No more countless rules and regulations to remember. Just love God and love everyone else I meet.

What is a covenant? A covenant (διαθήκη diathēkē) is an agreement or contract between two parties. In the scriptures, it is between God and His people or certain specific individuals. The fulfilment of God’s purposes of salvation expressed in the covenants (διαθήκη diathēkē) of the scriptures, mediated by Jesus the Messiah and sealed in his blood.

It is a covenant of grace, the benefits of which include forgiveness, a renewed relationship with God and, through the Holy Spirit, an inward transformation that enables obedience to its demands and so ensures that it will not again be broken.

Jesus the Messiah, the new covenant sealed in Jesus blood — Blood was an important element in sealing the Sinaitic covenant.

The New Covenant (or New Agreement) is the promise that God makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus the Messiah is the mediator of the New Agreement, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise. The New Agreement was predicted while the Old Agreement was still in effect — the prophets Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all allude to the New Agreement.

  • Exodus 24:8 — So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Master has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
  • John 6:54 — “He who eats My flesh and drinks My bloodhas eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
  • 1 Corinthians 10:16 — Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of the Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of the Messiah?
  • 1 Corinthians 11:25 — In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

We are no longer under the Law but under grace. The Old Agreement has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better agreement” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the agreement of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new agreement is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

  • Hebrews 10:29 — How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the agreement by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
  • Hebrews 9:14 — How much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

We have good news! Want to know how to be saved? Click here and here for more.