The Ancient Word...

Ancient Jews offered many different types of sacrifices. Through "sin offerings," for example, they sought God's forgiveness for unintentional sins (see Leviticus 4). Through "fellowship offerings" they celebrated their closeness to the Lord (see Leviticus 3). And through "thank offerings" they expressed appreciation for God's blessings (see Leviticus 7:12-21).

Another type of sacrifice established a "covenant," or a formal relationship between two persons or groups. To illustrate: Abraham sacrificed a heifer, goat, ram, dove, and pigeon when he covenanted with God in Genesis 15. Jacob and Laban likewise offered sacrifices when they made a covenant in Genesis 31.

When God established the Mosaic Covenant with Israel, they sealed the new relationship with the sacrificial blood of two young bulls (see Exodus 24:1-11). Moses read God's Law to the nation, detailing the Lord's expectations under that Covenant (v. 7a). The people affirmed their willingness to participate in such a relationship by promising, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey" (v. 7b, NIV).

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words" (v. 8).

Centuries later, on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus used a simple loaf of bread and cup of wine to explain the purpose of his death to his disciples:

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom. (Matthew 26:28-29; compare Luke 22:20 -- "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." )

Jesus used words nearly identical to Moses' words because he was describing the same type of sacrifice. Just as the sacrificial blood of bulls established the old Mosaic Covenant between God and Israel, so did the sacrificial blood of Jesus establish the New Covenant between God and disciples of Jesus.

As the Lord indicates, participation in this New Covenant brings "forgiveness of sins" and a place in God's "Kingdom."

So, without the Cross of Christ, we have no New Covenant relationship with God, no forgiveness, and no share in the Kingdom. To the Cross of Christ we owe our peace for the present and our hopes for the future.

... for Today

Last week(end), Christians around the world remembered the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We grieved on Good Friday and celebrated on Easter Sunday. This traditional observance drew our attention again to the brutality of Christ's crucifixion.

But the Cross ought to evoke more from us than simple horror or revulsion.

On the one hand, the blood sealed and affirmed the Father's New Covenant with us. But, in this instance, the blood flowed from His Son, rather than a mere beast. Christ himself was "poured out."

On the other hand, this covenant is affirmed by our own sacrifice too. We don't press pin-pricked thumbs together, like small boys in club initiation rites. Instead, we offer ourselves as "living and holy sacrifices" (Romans 21:1).

Just as Christ sacrificed himself for us, so we also sacrifice ourselves for him. This mutual sacrifice forms the foundation for meaningful covenant and fellowship.

The Cross is not a spectacle for macabre curiosity. It calls us to reciprocity. The Cross does not invite our casual attention; it demands our earnest response. The Cross, cruel and barbaric, became the charter for our New Covenant with God. The blood he shed became the ink with which He wrote it on our hearts.

It all sounds rather dramatic...and it is. We marvel at the cost of the Covenant as we survey the Cross. But the cost for us should be no less. That's how covenants work.

Discuss...

1. How would you describe the "cost of covenant," in your own life, in recent months or years?
   
2. What might the Father be calling you to change (sacrifice) in the interests of deeper covenant life?

Chris Davis, PhD & David Timms, PhD
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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