Blessings!
Today’s Promise is Matthew 26:27, 28 CJB:
“Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah [blessing], and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven.”
Devotion:
Even though this cup of “wine”* was symbolic of the blood Jesus was to shed shortly afterward, this was a very strange thing for Jesus to say. These are all Israelite men. They know God has commanded them never to eat the blood of any creature. Why? Because “the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.” (Lev. 17:11).
Why then would Jesus command them to drink of His blood? Was He cancelling one of His commands? Not at all. Jesus was fulfilling it, establishing two facts. First, under this New Covenant, the altar of atonement would now reside in a new Temple. Our hearts. Once He made the final atoning sacrifice, no animal sacrifice could keep us from His wrath. Secondly, in order to redeem us, He would have to become a part of us, spirit, soul, and body. Just as what you eat essentially becomes what you are (you are what you eat), we too would have to become one with Jesus. In other words, the reason we are forbidden to eat/drink the blood of any other creature is the very reason we are commanded to drink of the blood of Jesus. His life is in His blood. And His life is holy. Jesus’ sacrifice was the fulfillment of His end of the New Covenant. Only by His life abiding in us are we able to fulfill our end. Holiness.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son, making it possible for me to know You and dwell in You, and You in me. There truly is no greater love than that which You have shown me. And You are only beginning. Glory be to Your name! Amen.
Have a victorious day in the Lord!
Rebecca
*The word “wine” doesn’t appear in the original text. No alcoholic beverage would have been consumed for Passover, as it would have contained leaven, and this was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
