Letter To Our Children
by Pastor Joe | April 13, 2022 | Letters To Our Children
April 13, 2022
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Hello Friends.
In the very early part of April, A.D. 33, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal for Him to eat with His disciples. We know this as The Last Supper. We replay what this scene is saying, in a meaningful way, every time we take communion together as a church family.
Thursday
In this meal, Jesus was replacing the old covenant with the new, not by replacing something good with something bad, but rather by replacing the incomplete with the complete.
The old covenant had limitations and expectations. Its limitations were that it could not put away sin forever but pushed sin aside for now. God forgave His people's sins in the old covenant, but His wrath on sin was not fully satisfied. The expectation was that something better was coming and would completely deal with sin once and for all.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. (Romans 3:25)
At the Last Supper when Jesus said, this is my blood, which seals the covenant (Matthew 26: 28). He used the same words Moses used (except for my) when he established the Old Covenant (Exodus 24:8). Ever since the time of Homer (Ten centuries before the birth of Christ), nations poured out a cup of wine to seal treaties and covenants. The ritual was crucial, for it explained that a sacrifice was to be made by two parties for the covenant to be true, meaningful, and lasting. Jesus wisely used contemporary treaty symbolism (the wine) so people would understand.
However, the wine was also pointing to His death. Because He also wanted His followers to know He alone was establishing a new covenant where He would represent both parties. He was the promise maker and the promise keeper.
Good Friday
In less than 24 hours, Jesus went from eating the Passover meal in establishing the new covenant (Thursday evening) to dying as a Lamb of God that put the covenant into effect (Friday afternoon). Jesus poured out His blood when He died for us as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Therefore, everyone can be part of His Kingdom through faith that He is our only hope in life and death as our Lord and savior. He alone has completely paid the penalty for our sin.
All real, life-changing love is costly and sacrificial. At the cross, and in Communion, which retells the story of the cross, we discover the love of Christ towards sinners like us again and again.
We do not have to make ourselves suffer like Jesus did to earn forgiveness. We receive the forgiveness earned by Christ. 1 John 1:9 says that God forgives us because He is ‘just.’ That is a wonderfully merciful statement. It would be unjust of God if He ever stopped forgiving us even once. Why? Because Jesus earned our acceptance!
In religion, we must earn our forgiveness by our repentance. In the gospel, we simply receive forgiveness. From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. The gospel tells us, that He absorbed the loss and the debt. He bears it Himself—in Christ alone.
This Good Friday at 6:30 p.m. we are going to retell the true story of how Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. Maybe you will come? Maybe you will invite a friend whose never heard.
God bless you this week, with all you need and more besides.
Pastor Joe