Jesus is the Teacher, but He’s much more! This Teacher dies for His students! This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
During the Last Supper, Jesus tells His students about a new covenant. A union with God in which His life is the basis of an unbroken relationship!
His perfect sacrifice, not our imperfect performance!
There can be no enduring accord with God that depends on our performance alone. There must be a covenant filled with grace! Didn’t we see that from the very beginning?
Adam and Eve’s relationship with God depended on their performance. And actually not much was required to maintain their part of the bargain. Just don’t eat the fruit of one tree!
How hard could that be? Apparently, difficult enough because they did not – could not - live up to it!
Next came the Law of Moses, with not one command but over 600 of them. Quite expectedly, nobody could keep all those either.
Surely, we are supposed to understand an entirely new kind of arrangement is needed. One that recognizes our inherent weakness! One that accounts for the fact we always break our side of any pact!
The prophets predicted and longed for such a relation with God. And now Jesus announces – It’s here! I’m here!
Jesus offers a relationship with God that is sustainable because He takes the punishment for our failures in advance. Now there is constant forgiveness even as we fail.
Finally! A covenant we can keep. Even energizes us to do our very best to please this Teacher!
Very well said Denny!
ReplyDeleteJust as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (mt 21:28)
ReplyDeleteBut God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and ar ejustified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ (Rom 3:23-24)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Eph 2:8-9)
Amazing grace - how sweet the sound!