Sermon: The Bread and Wine of Passover

#1692
David C. Grabbe
Given 04-Feb-23; 67 minutes

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We will begin today by considering a seemingly-minor but significant fact. That is, as shown in the pages of the Bible, the New Covenant church has very few rituals.

I am using the term “ritual” in the sense of a prescribed religious act, or some sort of service that has been established by a religious authority, especially God. A ritual is an act that is carried out for religious purposes, or an act with symbolic meaning. Today, the term ‘ritual’ is often used negatively, and it is true that many rituals have wandered far outside God’s intent, or else were never within His intent to begin with. But what is clear from Scripture is that God is not against rituals, and we know this because He instituted quite a few. There are acts that He requires His people to physically perform—to practice—rather than just mentally contemplate.

The New Testament does mention religious practices with symbolic meaning, but not very many compared to the Old Covenant system. Under that covenant, there was a physical priesthood, a physical tabernacle or temple, and any number of actions that had to be carried out in a specific way, such as the various offerings. But the New Covenant does not have the same priesthood, even though the principles regarding priests remain. The New Covenant does not have a physical temple or altar, though there are spiritual applications that remain. There is much less emphasis on religious acts. But what this means is that the few rituals that are supported by the New Testament are of extra importance. They are significant enough that God has us do more than just contemplate the principles. He intends that we do something as an effective teaching instrument.

Christianity—and I use that term in the broadest sense here—tends to have two extremes. On one hand, there is Catholicism and the various Orthodox flavors, which are highly ritualized. Their rituals include going to Mass, going to confession, repeating certain statements like the Our Father or Hail Mary, praying with a rosary, crossing oneself, and so on. Those rituals developed over many centuries from the minds of men, and a great many of them were borrowed from paganism.

On the other extreme is Protestantism, which emerged as a backlash against Catholicism, and particularly the heavy emphasis on rituals it came up with and which were oppressive. For example, Martin Luther, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, was so disgusted by the ritualistic works of the Catholic Church that he went to the opposite extreme, proclaiming that all one needed was faith alone. In the minds of Luther and his ilk, all one had to do is believe, and thus, religious practices were inconsequential.

And so, Protestantism today has followed that course. The patterns of thought established during the Reformation take a dim view of God’s rituals. Whether they know it or not, Protestants have put on Luther lenses that blind them to the clear New Testament instructions or examples that support God’s religious practices. They are in favor of good works of the charitable kind, but resist the ones prescribed by God Himself. With only a few exceptions, religious acts are looked down upon as being ritualistic, and thus, trying to earn salvation. To them, it is just about belief—about the heart—and about being a good person, but not bothering with specifics of what God says to do, because then (they think) it would be a works-based religion.

Now, those who hold to apostolic Christianity—which we try to do—are between these two large camps. The religious practices we see in the New Testament are much fewer in number and quite different from what are practiced by Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. On the other hand, it is also apparent that first century Christianity had more religious practices than Protestantism will tolerate. Yet the New Testament does show practices that the apostles understood that God still required as an obligation, just not the means of justification or salvation.

For example, the New Testament shows Jesus, the apostles, and the early church keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Catholicism, though, changed some of these observances drastically, dropped many, and added its own. Protestantism considers them to be rituals that can be ignored, thus making the word of God of no effect. And indeed, they are rituals, in that they are religious practices for which God requires that we do something. But He never gives us permission to ignore them.

Aside from baptism, Passover is probably the clearest New Testament ritual. It is so clear that even mainline Protestant churches have retained a form of it. Of course, they call it “Communion” or “the Lord’s Supper” instead of Passover (because that sounds Jewish) and they won’t observe it at the right time (because that would be Jewish). But the bread and wine are so obvious in Scripture that even those most opposed to ritual keep these.

Today, we will be focusing on the bread and wine of Passover. By definition, those are rituals. Obviously, God does not have a problem with His own rituals. He instituted quite a few of them. However, problems develop if God’s instituted practices lose their intended significance—if they become acts without personal meaning, which leave us unchanged.

Today we use the phrase, “going through the motions.” Maybe we can update that and say we do things on autopilot. It refers to doing things by rote or by habit, but with little conscious thought. That’s what the religion that God gave to Israel deteriorated into, with the people carrying out some practices after a fashion, but with little thought of God or His intent. And so, for the relatively few physical religious practices that we find evidence of in the New Testament, we must guard against simply doing them out of habit while our minds wander off to something else. If this happens, we may be able to check off the activity as having showed up, but without our minds being present and engaged, and without seeking God within the practice, there will be no real benefit. The God-ordained ritual will indeed be empty, instead of having both the meaning and the effect He intends.

Please turn to I Corinthians 11. A large part of this letter is dedicated to a foundational ritual that was being observed incorrectly. Paul had to correct the congregation regarding the Passover, both in the details of the practice, as well as in their overall approach. If the Corinthians truly understood the Passover, it would have shaped their conduct for the better in numerous areas. But their present behavior showed Paul they weren’t getting it yet.

I Corinthians 11:27-30 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Paul warns against participating in this annual practice in an unworthy manner, or we could say, in a manner that is not fitting or appropriate for the occasion. The manner in which we approach and observe the Passover is so important that Paul indicates that God had afflicted many in the congregation, and He had also either put many to death or at least allowed many to die. The fact that a ritual cannot justify or save does not mean it is unimportant. As this indicates, God is deadly serious about this service in particular.

The Corinthians were guilty of not fully appreciating the bread and wine, as proved by their gluttony and even drunkenness at the Passover meal. That is one way of observing the Passover in an unworthy manner. But we can similarly be guilty if we go through the Passover on autopilot—if we partake of the bread and wine without meditating on all that they stand for, such that the meaning is real, and personal, and changes us. So, today we will review the symbols of the bread and the wine so that when we observe the Passover, we can have a fitting appreciation of the depth and significance of these symbols in our minds.

Please turn back a chapter, where the Passover symbols are also mentioned together:

I Corinthians 10:16-21 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

To fully understand what Paul is saying here, we need to step back and revisit what the Passover is. The Passover centers on a meal, and everywhere the Passover is mentioned as a practice, the emphasis is on eating, even though the symbols mean much more.

It is necessary for us to make a distinction between the evening Jesus spent with the disciples, and what He instituted then, and then His fulfillment of the sin offering on the following afternoon. Those events were in close proximity, and His atoning sacrifice did take place on Passover afternoon. But the evening before, the predominant focus was not on the sins of the disciples, nor even their payment, though there was a mention of that.

If you compare the Passover instructions with the sin offering instructions, you will see that they could hardly be more different. Instead, the Passover greatly resembles a peace offering. A peace offering symbolizes the offeror, the priest, and God sharing a meal in peace and secure fellowship. It is an occasion of thankfulness, typically because of something God has done, and because the offeror is accepted by God. It includes a sense of well-being because the offeror, the priest, and God were on good terms. It is not an attempt to make peace, like we use the term today, but rather an offering of gratitude for abundance and good relationships.

In a peace offering, death is present, but the symbolism is not of sins being paid for. Instead, the symbolism is of a life that is given for the sake of what it would produce—that is, fellowship and thankfulness. A living being was sacrificed to provide the occasion in which people, priests, and God symbolically fellowship over a meal.

I mentioned the sense of well-being, and this is important to understand because of how it relates to the Passover. The word for “peace” in “peace offering” is very close to the Hebrew shalom, which is very difficult to translate because of how broad the term is and what it can include. It has been summarized as, “the presence of all that is good, and the absence of all that is not. “Peace” indicates much more than the lack of conflict. It includes internal calmness, and an absence of fear, of anxiety, of tension. “Peace” is the opposite of restlessness, of discontentment, of striving for more. It is the feeling, as we say today, that all is right in the world. Of course, all is not right in the world, but it is that sense in the moment of calm acceptance as worries are set aside, and all feels right in our own world.

We can start tying this to the Passover. Jesus said, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” He knew what lay ahead for Him, but for that occasion, He could set aside the anticipation of suffering, and enjoy the environment of peace that is possible when the relationship with God is on good terms, and because of all that flows from the Father. Jesus greatly desired that occasion, not for the sake of the physical food, but because of the fellowship, and because of what God provided.

Some commentators call the peace offering a “communion sacrifice,” which is the term Paul uses here regarding the bread and wine. We don’t use that term much because of how it has been appropriated, but communion means, “to be in close fellowship or participation with.” It has the same root as the word “community.” This passage teaches that a sacrificial meal joins a person in fellowship with the object of that sacrifice, whether the true God or an idol—or, really, the demon behind the idol. In this regard, as a sacrificial meal, the Passover unites us with God. It also unites us with the others who are partaking of it, and we become one because we share and are filled with that one bread, which is Christ.

In addition to teaching about Passover, this passage also gives us the basic principle for dealing with questions that arise regarding participation in things like family holiday meals, office Christmas parties, or maybe dates or even just well-wishes on Valentines’ Day. The spiritual principle that Paul gives here is that our participation in those rituals means that we are aligning ourselves with the false gods that are behind the paganism.

Paul says we must choose. We can either be in fellowship with the true God through our participation in the Passover, or we can be in fellowship with demons through practicing things that have come out of paganism. If we choose the cup of demons, we cannot also be in fellowship with God. We must choose which table or cup we partake of, because though our actions, we signal who it is we want to be one with.

We can add to this what it says in James 2 regarding faith and works. What we do—what we practice—demonstrates what we believe. It is not enough to have the knowledge that Christmas is rooted in paganism. If we know that yet still attend the office holiday party because we are concerned about our place in the company, it is our action, not our knowledge, that demonstrates where our loyalty lies. Similarly, our observance of the Passover demonstrates our desire to be one with Him. Only agreeing with Paul’s statement that Christ is our Passover is as empty as telling someone to “be warm and filled” without doing anything to demonstrate that’s what we actually desire for the person. If Christ is our Passover, we will demonstrate it, which includes the practice of partaking of the bread and wine at the instituted time and in a worthy manner.

So, getting back to the fundamental teaching of this passage, the bread and wine of Passover symbolically join us with the object of the sacrifice, which is Christ. These verses show the overall effect of taking the bread and wine, which is to make us one with God. It also makes us one with the others who are sharing in fellowship with God.

Thankful and peaceful fellowship is one of the primary effects, but there is another facet of the Passover that helps to keep us pointed in the right direction:

Luke 22:14-16 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Last week, Richard reiterated the lesson from the transfiguration that Christ’s words must be heard. Well, here is an application of that. We may not know exactly what to do with Christ’s words here, but we dare not turn a deaf ear to them. He says that the fulfillment of the Passover is still future. The Passover has forward-looking aspects. It is not simply a memorial of a past event, but also what that event means for us now in terms of our relationship with God, and what that relationship is moving toward. Jesus already fulfilled the sin offering. Passover isn’t about that. It is about what Christ’s death set into motion, which finds its culmination in the future Kingdom.

Now we will look at the two components of that sacrificial meal that the New Testament highlights, that of bread and wine, so please turn with me to Matthew 26:

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Like the Exodus Passover, this Passover focused on eating (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12, 14; Luke 22:8, 11, 15-16; John 13:2). However, the scriptures place far more emphasis on the bread and wine than on the other food. Yet we should recognize that the bread and wine are not new symbols. They are the original elements of the fellowship meal between Melchizedek and Abraham (Genesis 14:18) on the eve of the historic covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis 15). Similarly, this Passover was a fellowship meal on the eve of the sealing of another, much-anticipated covenant.

This linkage between the bread, wine and Abraham is significant for a couple of reasons. First, God’s covenant with Abraham undergirds the Exodus Passover. God was inclined to destroy Israel in Egypt for her idolatry, yet He made a merciful exemption for the sake of His name and His faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. The Hebrew word for Passover means “exemption.” God overlooked Israel’s sins because of His covenant with the family of Abraham, and it began with Melchizedek bringing out bread and wine.

Second, the timing of Christ’s sacrifice also relates to the Abrahamic covenant. Christ’s death did not take place at the time He commanded Israel to kill the Passover lambs, which was between sunset and dark at the beginning of the 14^th day of Abib. Instead, His death took place in the afternoon of the 14^th, which lines up with the time God made the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. Christ’s death at that time signifies an incredible step forward in His fulfillment of that covenant, upon which the New Covenant is based.

In these verses, Jesus identifies the bread as a symbol of His body. In the ancient cultures of the Middle East, bread was a critical staple of the diet. In the cultures found in the Bible, bread was a primary food source and other types of food were more like accessories. Starting in Eden, “bread” stands for food in general. Because it is an umbrella term, when a verse mentions “bread,” it may include other things like fruit and meat. Bread was such a centerpiece of the diet that the word became synonymous with the word “food.”

Human life in those cultures really depended on the grain harvests, and a good harvest depended on the right amount of rain at the right time. Since rain was in the province of the divine, bread took on a sacred quality because it was dependent on rain, and thus, it was considered to be a gift from heaven. The “breaking of bread” became a symbol of fellowship and friendship. It meant sharing the providence of heaven, and we can tie that back to I Corinthians 10, about the fellowship surrounding the one bread, which is Christ.

Because of the centrality of bread in the diet, and because we must eat to live, bread is also a symbol for what sustains of life. That is its primary symbolism—bread supports life. Psalm 104:15 says that “bread . . . strengthens man’s heart,” and in other places, bread is said to refresh the heart (Genesis 18:5; Judges 19:5).

Because of this, we can understand that when God promised Israel that He would lead them to “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity” (Deuteronomy 8:9), He was talking about more than loaves of wheat and barley products. He meant that He would provide all they needed to sustain life, even to have an abundant physical life. When David says that he has “not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25), he refers to their entire food needs. Bread stands for more than just a baked product made from grain, but for abundant sustenance and the fuel for a good life.

Now, we will turn just slightly. God tells us in that even though bread sustains life, it cannot truly satisfy, and this is where we start to differentiate between physical and spiritual bread. In Deuteronomy 8:3, God tells Israel that His working with them in the wilderness, including the provision of manna, was to teach them that “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus quoted this in His answer to Satan when Satan tried to tempt Him with something that was necessary for life and even good, but which was far less important than spiritual truth.

In Isaiah 55, God chides His people, asking, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread. . . ?” (Isaiah 55:2). Then He continues with a parallelism: “. . . and your wages for what does not satisfy?” The “bread” He is talking about that they should have pursued is not made from wheat or barley. One cannot purchase from a store, nor make from scratch, the bread that truly satisfies. Instead, the chapter talks about seeking God, calling upon God, and returning to God. The true bread comes from God, sustains life spiritually, and satisfies in a way physical bread cannot.

Those without spiritual bread have a gaping hole in their lives. There is a void, longing to be filled, and they try to stuff it in various ways. They become adept at living for the moment, and staying busy and distracted so they don’t have to feel that emptiness. Being still is uncomfortable. They are restless because they do not have God’s peace.

However, nothing physical—no matter how thrilling or stimulating—can ever truly fill the void or satisfy spiritual hunger. And yet the natural man sets his mind on things that seem like they will satisfy because they are exciting. Physical things register with the natural mind as more exhilarating than what the Savior offers.

We know what our priority should be, our lives show what is truly most important to us. We should consider whether we can truthfully proclaim with the psalmist, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). If we are honest with ourselves—which we should be, as much as possible—we will acknowledge that we often long for material things, experiences, circumstances, entertainments, achievements, and status, more than we do for spiritual bread. If so, it is because we don’t yet really trust that it can satisfy and sustain us, because we are still fleshly. It is something to evaluate.

Now, with that background on bread, we can move on to Christ’s use of bread as a symbol of His body. Christ’s body is referred to in different ways, and we need to have a good grasp of those ways, so we understand what we are partaking of during the Passover.

Revelation 13:8 tells us that Christ’s death was foreordained from the foundation of the world. By extension, that means that His life in a human body was foreordained as well. He had to be given a form that could die. Hebrews 10:5 says, “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.’” Because mankind is made of flesh and blood, Jesus “likewise partook of the same things” (Hebrews 2:14, ESV). God’s plan necessitated that the Creator partake of the same physical life and substance that He had created.

Because flesh is mortal, death is always an aspect of human life, and Christ’s life in the flesh was no different. Some scriptures focus on the death aspect of Christ’s human body, and those are the ones we tend to think of first. For example, I Peter 2:24 says that Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” The body God prepared for Him was marred and disfigured so much at His crucifixion that He no longer looked human.

A primary effect of the sacrifice of His fleshly body is reconciliation, both between God and man as well as between men—Jews, Gentiles, and everyone else. And because of that reconciliation, there can be fellowship—communion—with God and with all others who likewise fellowship with God, which fits with the passage we saw in I Corinthians 10. When we partake of that one bread, we are reminded of the brutal end of Christ’s life as a Man, which brought about reconciliation and allowed for spiritual fellowship.

But we cannot stop there, because Scripture speaks of Christ’s body in other ways as well. It really is a complex symbol.

Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

Notice that this imagery relates to life rather than death. The larger context is the church’s relationship with Christ. Our relationship is with a Being full of life. It is true that the church consists of those who were buried with Christ in baptism, but we don’t remain in the watery grave. We are raised to newness of life as we become members of His body. As we partake of the Passover bread, we become one with the living Savior.

Now, when bread is used as a symbol for Christ’s body, it is overwhelmingly a symbol of life, even eternal life. This springs from the symbolic usage of bread in Scripture that we saw, which always relates to life rather than death. We find Christ’s own explanation of the bread symbolism in John 6, if you would turn there.

John 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him. . . .

John 6:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . . .

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” . . .

John 6:47-51 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

This is Christ’s explanation of bread as a symbol for His flesh. He speaks of bread that endures to everlasting life; the bread of God; the bread of life; and the living bread. Please note this: When Jesus uses bread to represent His flesh or body, it is consistently a symbol of life. He says that He is the “living bread” in verse 51, which indicates that His flesh is not merely something that leads to eternal life, but within this metaphor, His flesh is living. The picture is of living bread, indicating living flesh, and thus a living body.

At the end of verse 51, He says He would give His flesh “for the life of the world.” Because we hear so often about Jesus giving Himself for the sins of mankind, we commonly read this verse in a similar way. It sounds like He is saying He would give His flesh in exchange for all those under the death penalty. But we need to consider that carefully.

Another way to understand this verse is that Christ lived His life so that the world, in time, could likewise experience life as He lived it. That is, His complete and sinless life would be a gift that everyone can receive. Those who receive the life He gives are then sustained by Him. It is about becoming one.

There is a specific aspect of Christ’s life that adds to this picture. The metaphorical bread—His flesh—can only provide true satisfaction and immortality because of its absolute purity. There was nothing in His life (which we share now) to separate Him from God. The bread of life is a symbol of the sinless life that Jesus lived, which He offers to His followers.

When we partake of Christ’s flesh, we are taking in and being joined to His sinless life. Eating the bread symbolizes the living Savior abiding in us, and our abiding in Him. Thus, we eat living bread to continue our connection to Christ and the others who are also eating of the living bread. Eternal life—which the bread represents—comes from knowing Him and the Father. So, eating the bread is about the ongoing relationship rather than atonement.

Now, here is something to think about carefully. Having our sins forgiven does not, by itself, give us eternal life. Justification simply means that Christ paid the death penalty so we can be in legal alignment with God and His standard of righteousness. But something more must happen for us to have a life that will be sustained beyond the grave. We could have our sins wiped clean, and yet without God teaching us how to truly live, we would only continue as slaves of sin. And God is not going to give immortality to someone who does not practice living as Christ lived. The righteousness imputed to us must become real.

This helps us to understand the “bread.” One of the reasons Christ came in human flesh was to give eternal life after He wipes the slate clean. As we ingest Him, He lives His life in us. If we remain faithful to this feeding process, He sustains us—that’s what bread does—and He will give us everlasting life in the resurrection. Eternal life comes through the living Savior abiding in us, teaching us how to live, and thus the bread is a symbol of divine life.

I Corinthians 11:26 says that at Passover, we proclaim Christ’s death, and certainly there are aspects of the Passover where death is pictured. A lamb had to die to become the Passover meal. Like in the peace offering, the sacrifice of a living being provides the occasion for harmonious fellowship. Also, the wine representing shed blood is a reference to death. But the bread is a symbol of life. It is the life He gave—through living in sinless, devoted service—for us to share. In addition, that verse says we “proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” It is looking ahead to something, something that Christ’s death started but which will not be completed till He comes.

Thinking back to the Passover a type of the peace offering, one of the themes of the peace offering is that man in accepted by God, such that God shares a meal with him. Our acceptance is based on Christ’s sinless life, and we partake of that perfect life at Passover. And just as bread strengthens us physically, so the bread of life strengthens us spiritually because we are partaking of the sinless life of the Creator.

The idea of strengthening is found in the peace offering as well. This is something that does not readily occur to us in the Western world, and especially the United States, because of the tremendous food abundance to which we are accustomed. We tend to eat three rounded meals a day, plus snacks in between. In addition, hardly any of us do physically demanding labor all day, six days a week, that would deplete our energy stores and completely empty our muscles of every ounce of fuel. Most of us don’t really know the depths of that kind of bone-weary exhaustion, day after day. Because of that, we are not as familiar with the effects of a really good meal to replenish those reserves and refuel us.

The effect of a peace offering is a refreshing that strengthens the people. However, the fact that it is a meal with God gives a purpose for the strengthening. The peace offering was given in appreciation to God, which implicitly acknowledges that man is under obligation to God. There are strings attached, we might say, but they are positive ones. The peace offering strengthens the people to be able to do what God requires of them. In other words, the people are strengthened so they can serve.

Similarly, Ecclesiastes 10:17 speaks of feasting to gain strength. The Passover is a feast. When we put this all together, it teaches that, when observed properly, God provides the spiritual strength in whatever form is needed to then carry out what He has given us to do. We see this exemplified in the Passover before the crucifixion. When supper ended, Christ rose, and the first thing He did is He served. He washed the disciples’ feet. He ate the Passover, and then He served in a way that most would find demeaning.

Being strengthened by God isn’t always glorious in human terms. Human nature would like the raw physical strength of Samson, or maybe the natural vigor of Moses, or the power for great exploits. Instead, God might strengthen our humility. God might strengthen us so that we can say, “Not my will, but Your will be done”—to say it, and mean it to the depths of our beings. God might strengthen things that our carnality would rather not have strengthened. Jesus was strengthened, not only for footwashing, but also then to complete His service on the stake. It is no wonder Christ had desired the Passover feast before He suffered. Among other things, Christ wanted what God would provide through the Passover so that He could finish the work His Father had given Him to do.

We will turn our focus now, and consider the wine of Passover. It symbolizes Christ’s blood, which is another complex symbol. In the context of a meal—and especially a feast such as Passover—bread stands for the enjoyable food that provides strength and physical satisfaction. However, wine adds another quality to the meal above simply a full belly. While bread is said to strengthen man’s heart, Psalm 104:15 says wine makes his heart glad. Wine causes rejoicing. Judges 9:13 says that wine cheers both God and man.

Please turn with me to Zechariah 10, which is a prophecy of Israel’s restoration:

Zechariah 10:6-7 “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; for I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them. Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.

Notice the linkage between wine and rejoicing. Also notice, though, that within the overall context, the true rejoicing comes, not from physical wine, but from the restored relationship between Israel and God. That restored relationship will add a quality to life, and enhance the life of Israel and Judah, far beyond what the fruit of the vine can.

We can tie this theme to Christ’s miracle at Cana in John 2. The people at the wedding feast needed wine, but all they had was water. They had six stone waterpots with water for their manmade purification rituals. Six is the number of man, and stone symbolizes a heart that is hardened and impenetrable. Whether Christ’s mother, Mary, knew it or not, her statement that “they have no wine” aptly described the state of the nation. The nation had traditions, but she was lacking the spiritually-enhanced life that would come from a New Covenant. She was missing something. So, even though His time had not yet come, Jesus turned the water into wine. It foreshadowed the covenant that would cause true rejoicing. Thus, Zechariah prophecies that Israel will rejoice as if with wine when their hearts are lifted up in the right way because of a renewed covenantal relationship with God.

Now, the wine of Passover is symbolic of Christ’s blood, and represents the covenant relationship. I will read two of the references to the Passover cup of wine to you, and then we will turn to the other two. (You can start turning to Luke 22.)

In I Corinthians 11:25, Jesus is quoted as saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. . ..”

In Mark 14:24-25, Jesus says, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Now, Luke’s account shows that Christ and the disciples drank of the cup of wine twice—once during the Passover meal, and once after. I don’t know what significance this has, but it is in the biblical record, so we should at least be aware of it:

Luke 22:17-18 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Luke 22:20 Likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Christ’s words in verses 17-18 reiterate what He declared in verse 16, that He would “no longer eat of [the Passover] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” The resurrected apostles will be present when Jesus resumes His partaking of the Passover meal, including the wine. So, as mentioned, Passover has forward-looking aspects.

The second taking of the cup (in verse 20) receives the most attention. The wine in the cup represents the blood that would seal the New Covenant. We will see this again in Matthew 26:

Matthew 26:27-29 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

In Christ’s words, the commonality in all the accounts is the covenant. Matthew adds the detail that Christ’s blood was shed for the remission of sins, but we need to get the emphasis and order correct. Notice that the remission of sins does not stand on its own. Instead, it is part of the New Covenant. A covenant proposal was taking place here, one that includes the assurance of forgiven sins, but which also includes much more.

Biblically, blood is a symbol for life. As early as Genesis 9:4, God says that we “shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” In Leviticus, He reiterates that the life of the flesh is in the blood. The best-known application of this symbology is that blood can indicate the payment for sin. This is because one life symbolically pays the life-debt of another.

However, the various covenants show a second application of the symbol of blood, where blood represents life given as a pledge of faithfulness. When God made the covenant with Israel, He had them seal it with blood, which we will see in Exodus 24:

Exodus 24:8 “And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words’"

The source of the blood used here is significant. The blood designated as “the blood of the covenant” did not come from a sin offering. In fact, the first sin offering is not commanded until 5 chapters later (Exodus 29:14). Instead, verse 5 here tells us that the blood of the covenant came from burnt offerings and peace offerings. If you recall what the offerings picture, the burnt offering symbolizes wholehearted devotion to God, which certainly fits with the ratification of a covenant. And the peace offering pictures a relationship that is on good terms, such that all the participants are satisfied and can enjoy the abundance of the occasion. It is easy to see why the blood that sealed the Old Covenant was taken from these two offerings.

Now, as it says, the Passover wine is symbolic of the blood of the New Covenant. This covenant includes the remission of sins, but God promises more than that. We will review the New Covenant in Hebrews 8:

Hebrews 8:10-12 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

In His Passover prayer, Jesus includes a fundamental and priceless aspect of this covenant, that of knowing God personally. Jesus says in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The establishment of this covenant allows for those entering the covenant to have a relationship—a fellowship, a communion—far beyond what ancient Israel ever had. Jesus calls this relationship eternal life. It is a life of abundance—foremost spiritual—that continues past the grave. This speaks to the quality of life that comes through the New Covenant, a quality that is not dependent on our physical circumstances.

Now, it is crucial to understand that the remission of sins comes through the covenant, not before it. When God calls us, we respond with belief and repentance. When we pledge our loyalty to Him through baptism—accepting His covenant—He then forgives us. When we are put into Christ, we are washed clean (Acts 2:38; 4:12; 8:36-37; 22:16; Romans 6:3-7, 23; Colossians 2:12; Titus 3:4-7). But the blood of atonement is only available to those who have accepted the blood of the covenant.

Neither the Old Covenant nor the covenant with Abraham were preceded by atonement. Instead, God’s pattern is to pass over transgressions until He establishes a covenant. It is within the covenant, then, that sin is addressed. With Israel, sin was dealt with only in type—with animal blood. Under the New Covenant, there is not only remission, but also empowering by God to actually conquer sin.

In addition to forgiveness, Christ’s blood is also a pledge that God will carry out His extraordinary purpose in us. We won’t turn to it, but Hebrews 7:22 says that Jesus is a surety, a guarantee, of a better covenant. But we will turn to Hebrews 12, which gives us a glimpse of what the covenant is heading toward:

Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

This really is a mouthful. It may be helpful to remember Paul’s comment that God “gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17), because the imagery in these verses blends the present and future together. But my focus is on the phrase, “the spirits of just [or, righteous] men made perfect,” and its connection to the Covenant. This is what the New Covenant does. Having God as our God, and knowing Him, and having His laws put into our minds and written on our hearts, leads to perfection.

Thus, the blood of the covenant—the blood of the Savior—is a symbol, a pledge, of God’s purpose to perfect us. In this also we see that Passover speaks to something that is ongoing, something set in motion by Christ’s death. When we are resurrected, immortal beings, we will be completely redeemed from this life in the flesh, not only with new spirit bodies, but more importantly, with a nature just like God’s. When we are perfect, then Passover will be fulfilled, which is why Jesus put the fulfillment in the Kingdom.

The blood of the New Covenant is not sprinkled on the outside of those making the covenant, as was done with Israel. Instead, it is ingested. It goes into the innermost parts of the person. It is a covenant that changes us on the inside, nor merely covering us on the outside. Instead of being sealed with the blood of oxen, the New Covenant is sealed with infinitely more precious blood, blood that serves as a testimony of eternal life (see I John 5:6-12), as well as a pledge of God’s loyalty to those within the covenant (see I Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 10:29; 12:24).

The blood of the covenant is priceless, and it has tremendous gravity. Just a few chapters before this inspired encouragement is a chilling warning against “count[ing] the blood of the covenant . . . a common thing.” The author puts it in terms of the covenant rather than atonement. The warning is not against simple sin, if I can put it that way, but against a rejection of all that God has offered. God makes us perfect within the covenant, but willful sin terminates that process, signifying that the willful sinner rejects this priceless gift. He doesn’t care about knowing God. God’s laws stop being written on his heart, and enmity develops instead. He won’t submit to God’s terms for the relationship, so there is no longer a sacrifice to pay for his sins since he is outside of the covenant. God turns him over to the bitter fruit of his choices, ending in the second death.

Thus, even though the Passover is “just” a ritual, the way we approach it and observe it indicates to God what value we place on this covenantal relationship. Remember that God caused many to be sick and to die in Corinth because they were losing their appreciation for the Passover and what the symbols entail. This was manifest not only in the drunkenness, gluttony, and self-serving behavior at the Passover itself, but also throughout the year in their interactions. Our conduct and the state of our relationships in the body give evidence of what the bread and wine truly mean to us. The evidence cannot be hidden. A life in which these symbols hedge and guide every deed, word, and thought, will be quite different from a life where the relationship with God is on autopilot while other things are pursued.

Christ’s blood is the only blood God allows us to consume—indeed, we must consume it, for it is the guarantee of eternal life. Jesus explains this in John 6:53-57, which I will read:

John 6:53-57 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed [or, true food], and My blood is drink indeed [or, true drink]. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

The eating and drinking relate to something that is ongoing rather than something that is past. Jesus has already fulfilled the sin offering, and the individual would not eat or drink of it anyway. But the spiritual life—the abundance—pictured in the bread and wine is something we experience as we look forward to the future with great hope because of the covenant and what God promises to do within it. The verbs, “eat,” “drink,” “eats,” “drinks,” “abides,” and “feeds” in this passage are in the present tense, meaning that we do them on a continual basis. Our “eating” and “drinking” of Christ describe our relationship with Him.

John 6:57 in J.B. Phillips’ translation reads, “The man who eats [M]y body and drinks [M]y blood shares [M]y life and I share his.” The life He gives us imparts the true well-being and fulfillment that this world cannot give. The Passover is a commemoration of the abundant, eternal life that God has graciously made available to us, which will find its culmination when the Passover is fulfilled at Christ’s return.

The Passover wine, symbolic of the blood of the covenant, is a powerful reminder that God is perfecting us, and it is backed by His absolute trustworthiness to carry it out.. As Paul asks rhetorically in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” God has already given the most precious blood that has ever pumped through human veins; will He not also supply whatever else we need? What the Father is most interested in giving us is not material, but spiritual, so we can become just like Him.

In summary, the bread and the wine represent the sacrificial meal, which ultimately is Jesus Christ. God accepts those partaking of this meal, and He is pleased to have them in His presence. The bread of life imparts spiritual strength, and through drinking the wine, we take in the blood of the covenant. That blood is an overwhelming guarantee by Almighty God to finish His work in those who remain faithful, who do not count the blood of the covenant as common. The blood is the witness of eternal life and ultimate redemption.

Because Passover is an exemption—a sparing—it is not the same as providing atonement or removing sins. God overlooked Israel’s sins rather than providing atonement, even in type. Israel was a nation of idolators in Egypt. The Passover is a demonstration of God’s acceptance on the basis of His grace rather than justification. It begins with this overlooking for the sake of the covenant in which sins are then dealt with.

Neither sin nor the sin offering is the focus of Passover. Instead, God’s mercy underlies the fellowship He initiates. The much greater focus is on the ongoing fellowship with the Father and the Son, as well as communion with those who partake of that one, living Bread. It is a memorial of Christ’s death that sealed the covenant, as well as a grateful observance of our spiritual abundance and hope because of God’s faithfulness. It is a solemn yet joyful celebration of the peace, well-being, and acceptance by God because of Jesus Christ.

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