... and experience is one of awe and mystery and the holy. God's transcendence and utter "otherness" is dominant. This God is separate and holy, and must be worshiped and respected as such. But changes are coming as evidenced in our reading when we hear that the new covenant, "... will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband says the Lord" (31:32). You see, do you ...
... land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13) It took a mighty act of faith on the part of the Israelites to believe this and to perform such a ceremony. But every house that was marked was spared that night! And it is also thus with Holy Communion which is the new covenant! It takes a mighty act of faith to know that we shall be spared the due reward of our misdeeds if in faith we participate in the ceremony instituted by Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday - that God’s great act of deliverance is conveyed to us under such ...
... think, "This is too good to be true!" And then ... another reality sets in and we find ourselves sinning once again. We think sadly to ourselves, "Yes, it is too good to be true." That is finally where we always end up, isn't it? The whole vision of a new covenant in which we always stay connected to God is just that -- a vision. The idea is just too good to be true. That's where it all ends ... except for one last thing. It would all end there except for the fact that our God does, in fact, have some ...
... Mark 1:15, [italics mine]). Something new came near. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is my body. Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them 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' " (Matthew 26:26-28). Something new is in the Lord's supper. The Gospel of John calls that something new, "light." "In him [Jesus, the Word] was life and the life was the light of all people" (John ...
... -39), and Mark (2:21-22) with the parable of the old and new wineskins. And when asked why his disciples and he don’t fast, he answers, “Can you make the children of the bride chambers fast, while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus speaks of the new covenant, of himself as the messiah and the gift and promise of God. His miracle of wine is that he signifies the coming of the final promise. The wine Jesus creates is given to the people in secret; those who recognize him as the Messiah will see in him ...
... visible sign of covenant agreement. Not long ago we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection day, just after the Jewish Passover. And every time we celebrate Holy Communion, we continue to celebrate that ritual of Jewish Passover combined with Jesus’ additional sign of His “new covenant” in which He Himself has become the Lamb of sacrifice, assuring us life, protection, a dwelling place in God’s eternal house, and entry into the gates of Eden, the Garden City of God, the Holy Living Tabernacle. But let’s ...
... they want, even if it's wrong. God and Israel had had that kind of experience and it ended in heartache and pain. But in the new covenant, God will write the law on the hearts of the people. They will want to please God. They will want to do the will of God ... of wills, no conflict of interest. Doing the will of God will be part of their nature. That is the promise of God. In the new covenant, not only will the people of God want to do God's will, but it is promised that they will know God. Knowing God is an ...
... he began it with a fellowship meal. Our Lord sat at the table with a lingering look of love as he picked up thecup that was before him. He blessed it. Then he handed it to his friends saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." God was moving from an outward relationship with his people to a new inner relationship. The revelation of redemption was rotated to a new focal point. The God, who had become flesh and had entered into the world, was now about to become spirit and ...
... and redeeming love that was planted as a seed by Hosea found its full growth and flower in Jesus. Hosea risked the ridicule and embarrassment of public scrutiny of his personal life to reveal the aspect of love that was to become the foundation of the new covenant. Jesus risked the criticism of the Pharisees, and eventually gave up his life in showing the extent to which the love of God reaches, even to people who despise and reject him. That we are invited to accept that love and live as people of the ...
... said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." (Exodus 24:6-8) Blood must be shed. In the upper room Jesus was announcing that blood would be shed once and for all. God would enter into a New Covenant, of love not Law, instituted by the sacrifice of his own son. It would be forever binding and blood need never be shed again. It is as if Jesus was lifting the cup in full view of his disciples to say, with a foreboding sense of finality; "Behold ...
... a bit. An elder once complained to a pastor about the use of a common loaf and cup in communion. "It’s so messy," she said, "it looks so untidy." The minister thought for a moment and replied: "Perchance, does that remind you of anything?" Christ’s blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for many is the reason why all of us are here tonight. What God had to do to gather us into the Covenant was not at all tidy, not at all un-messy, and we don’t need to go into the reasons behind that! But ...
... I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." This covenant could not be broken; it would become an integral part of their identity, written on their hearts. The new covenant will affect both the minds and hearts of the people. This new covenant will bring forth a newfound sense of wholeness and joy. This was clearly good news for the people. When we are forced to do something, often we feel some resentment. At the least, our hearts are not interested in whatever ...
... proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the "Good Hunter" who lays down his life for the world. It was an illustration they could understand, and one that can remind us why Jesus did what he did. Because of God's love and compassion for us, Jesus became the New Covenant he would make with his people. A covenant that transcends all times and all places, and puts every living being in a new relationship with God. There was a little girl whose parents had lived in a miserable marriage and finally ended it in a divorce ...
... is not for a new, but for a renewed, church. Will this Reformation Sunday be the beginning of a renewed church for a new century? What would it take to renew the new covenant? A renewed new covenant would result in a renewed church. A Renewed Faith For the church to be renewed today, it needs to be renewed in faith. It is a faith in the new covenant and in the Christ who made the covenant with us. Facts prove that today’s church is anemic in faith. On an average Sunday, two-thirds of the members of the ...
... relationship to God. In Jesus Christ that is what he found and was so eager to share with others. In Jesus Christ we truly see "God inside" and "God with us" who is not against us but forgives our sins radically (v. 31). In Christ, we see the new covenant — we see the "language of love and faithfulness" — in the flesh and in action. In him we see what it means to be in relationship to God and God's people, and through him we are invited into that relationship in a new way. Through the faith relationship ...
... his grace is sufficient. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That’s what it me to live in the New Covenant. My friend James W. Moore, pastor in Houston, tells the a young man whose wife had died, leaving him with their small son. ... now I can not see my way through. But if your face is toward me, somehow I think I can make it." The wonderful news of the New Covenant is that God's face is towards us. If we repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord, then once again God is our God ...
... become fruitful. The land cannot prepare itself for planting; the farmer has to do it. Similarly, the future of God's people did not hang on Judah's self-restoration, but on a new act by God. Our fate does not hang on our self-restoration but on the new covenant that finds its ultimate fulfillment in what God has done in Christ Jesus. That means we do not have to keep reliving the same old reruns of our lives. God is not a cold-hearted judge, keeping score, but is like an attentive spouse who leads us ...
... he has made. The covenant with Abraham was to raise up a new people. Centuries later, a covenant was confirmed through Christ, gracefully extended, to create a new people ... redeemed, spirit-led transformed. Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15) The covenant confirmed through Christ is an everlasting covenant. A recent news article reported that millions of Filipino Christians began Holy Week observances by ...
... came into the world. They have known their sins forgiven. They have found themselves made clean. And they have been able to make a new beginning. Here is the really good news for the day. We have a chance to start over. The past is blotted out. A new covenant with God is possible for us. Pastor James Moore’s father died in a car wreck when James was only thirteen years old. Tragically, young Jim read it in the newspaper before anyone could reach him to tell him about it. When he saw the picture of their ...
... sees his death, for all people - for you and me. Here is the new day, the new hope God promised and Jeremiah looked forward to. Here is power for this new spirit within us. It is created not by rules but by love that has died for me. The new covenant is not another law to be obeyed to make one’s self righteous and often times self-righteous. Instead, sinners will be filled from within to do what is right, filled with desire to do God’s will. This transformation comes about in grateful response to what a ...
... , and God is building a new team. God’s covenant-making initiatives with Abram begin in chapter 12; this episode is actually the fourth such scene in just six chapters. That ought to alert the reader to the critical changes which surface in this new covenant-making event. Along with the parity agreements between individuals of similar social rank in the ancient world (think of Jacob and Laban forming their parity treaty at the end of Genesis 31), there were two forms of king-subject covenants. One was a ...
... history. God has come to us in Jesus Christ, to bring us back into relationship with him. It is no accident that the New Testament is called, "testament," because "testament" is a synonym for "covenant." So the New Testament is the announcement of a new covenant, only more properly it should be a "renewed" covenant, because it is consistent with the promises that the prophets revealed, that God will be always faithful to us, and bring us back to him. That is the content of the teachings of Jesus, especially ...
... what would come to pass some day in the future. Luckily for us, the future is now! The help that he spoke of is already here in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We who live on this side of the Hebrew Scripture in the age of the new covenant can know God intimately and have all our sins forgiven. That is not only good news, that is restoration for reformation people. But, because God allows us free will, we can still choose not to listen to Jeremiah, or any of the other prophets who preached God's Living ...
... with a common formula reflecting that hope in God's salvation: "The days are surely coming, says the Lord." We may be unfaithful to the covenant, but God is not. Surely these coming days will be marked by the action of God! The Lord says, "I will make a new covenant with you" (29:11; 24:6-7; 32:39; 33:26). Note that it is purely objective; it is given without reason or explanation. I will do it! It comes out of the resolve that God has for the relation with Israel. God defines the covenant first by contrast ...
... . Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ... Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." A prophet like Moses will bring the law of God to Israel. There will be a new Moses who will bring forth a new covenant. A prophet like Moses will also lead the covenant people from bondage. The prophet whom God raises up will again act to save Israel. Just as Moses led the children of Israel through the Sea, so a new prophet will once again work to set the ...