Listen to the sermon with the player below, or, download the audio.
+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Amen.)
You may be familiar with secular “covenants”, such as covenants in contract law, like non‑compete agreements, or covenants in property law, such as agreements not to build a fence or to maintain a shared driveway, or covenants in finance, such as loan agreements that place restrictions on both borrowers and lenders. And, you may be familiar with spiritual “covenants” such as God’s promises to Noah (for example, Genesis 9:8-17), to Abram (Genesis 17:1-14), and to David (2 Samuel 23:5). Perhaps the most immediately familiar “covenant” is marriage, which can be seen as a covenant that has both spiritual and secular aspects. You also may be familiar with secular “testaments”, such as either a last will and testament, which dictates what is to be done after one’s death, or a testament that is a spoken or written tribute to someone. And, you are likely familiar with spiritual testaments, such as both the two main divisions of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the word “testament” used essentially as a synonym for “covenant”, as when Jesus’s statement in tonight’s Gospel Reading about the new “covenant” in His blood is used in the liturgy of Lutheran Service Book as the new “testament” in His blood (for example, LSB 209).
Theologians do not always agree on the translation and interpretation of the Greek word διαθήκη that is used in tonight’s Gospel Reading. One author suggests that neither “covenant” nor “testament” be used but instead something else be used that indicates the gracious disposition of God and declaration of His will concerning future salvation (Behm, TDNT 2:134). I admit that discussing “covenants” and “testaments” has always made me, and still makes me, a little uncomfortable, but I can hardly avoid it tonight, when the Old Testament Reading includes God’s promise through Jeremiah of a “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34), the Gradual refers to Jesus as the mediator of a “new covenant” (Hebrews 9:12a, c, 15a; Psalm 111:9a), the Epistle Reading quotes from the Old Testament Reading regarding the new “covenant” (Hebrews 10:15‑25; confer Hebrews 8:8-12), and the Gospel Reading includes Jesus’s identification of the cup poured out as the “new covenant” in His blood (confer 1 Corinthians 11:25). So, tonight we are considering “The New Covenant”.
When the old refrigerator in Pilgrim’s small kitchen last week stopped working, there was some talk about “planned obsolescence”, the practice of designing products to become obsolete or break quickly and so encouraging the sale of new products. While we might usually think of “planned obsolescence” in terms of electronic devices that cannot handle software updates or new applications, or tires that wear out quickly, or clothing that is prone to wear and tear, we might also say that God planned for His covenant with Moses to become obsolete when Jesus fulfilled it (confer Behm, TDNT 2:132). While the practice of planned obsolescence is illegal in some countries, we are not accusing God of doing anything wrong. Nor did God make a mistake with the covenant with Moses, as if God somehow naively did not know either that people had been completely sinful for generations already (for example, Genesis 6:5) or that they would break His covenant continuously going forward. Rather, with His covenant with Moses, God provided for the forgiveness of the people’s sinful nature and their actual sins. God provided for their forgiveness by sacrifices that they made in faith and by rituals that they received in faith, all pointing the people forward to the new, better, and eternal covenant of Jesus’s sacrifice and His Holy Supper (confer Hebrews 7:22; 8:6‑7; 9:15-20; 12:24; 13:20). By Jesus’s sacrifice and His Holy Supper, we, who are also sinful by nature and actually sin in countless sometimes unspeakable ways, receive not the eternal damnation that we deserve but instead receive in faith the forgiveness of our sins, as God calls and so enables us to repent.
In the covenant with Moses, the same sacrificial blood of animals both ratified the covenant with God and sealed the covenant with the people (for example, Exodus 24:8), and likewise, in the new covenant, the same sacrificial blood of Jesus both ratified the covenant with God and seals the covenant with us (confer Chemnitz, Lord’s Supper, p.115). In the covenant with Moses, first the animals were sacrificed, and then the blood was presented to God and applied to the people. But, in the new covenant, as we heard, Jesus first gave His disciples, as representatives of at least all believers, both His Body that was being given for them and His Blood that was being poured out for them, and then, hours later, the same Body and Blood were sacrificed to God on the cross for all people, including for you and for me. Though other people crucified Him, giving His Body into death and pouring out His Blood, Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, remained in control. Jesus died on our behalf, in our place, and then He rose from the dead. In our case, the sequence is as it was with Moses: first the sacrifice was made once for all (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 26; 10:10) and presented to God, and now we are incorporated into that sacrifice and its benefits, not by animals’ blood’s being sprinkled on us but by our drinking Jesus’s Blood for the forgiveness of our sins. No sin is too small or too big to be forgiven. And, no additional sacrifice is needed. True God in human flesh, Jesus is made to be the covenant for us (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8; confer Behm, TDNT 2:133). Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, His Body and Blood in the Holy Supper, and the free forgiveness of our sins—these three are inextricably interconnected, but they are not the only three.
God’s Word with other things that we can see, feel, and taste also indicate, effect, and assure us that we are included in God’s gracious disposition to save us. God’s covenant with Abram used the outward sign of circumcision to indicate inclusion in the covenant (Genesis 17:11), and now baptismal water is used to indicate inclusion in God’s Kingdom (Colossians 2:11-12). And, as the prophet Nathan essentially absolved David who had confessed his sin against the Lord to Nathan (2 Samuel 12:13), so now through the ministers of the new covenant is given the Holy Spirit Who gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6; confer Augsburg Confession V:2). But, especially in the Holy Supper, no longer the bread and wine of the Passover meal alone, but now Bread that is also Christ’s Body and wine that is also Christ’s Blood forgive us and so also give us life and salvation. Christ is really, physically present here, which real physical‑presence we each can affirm with our own “Amen” as we receive Him. He is present fully, no matter either the size of the bite of bread that we eat or the alcohol concentration in the sip of wine that we drink. Likewise, we are forgiven completely, no matter the size of the bite or the concentration in the sip, His forgiveness is more than sufficient, regardless of the extent of our sin.
God’s Word and sacramental signs transform us. As promised through Jeremiah and as quoted by the Divinely‑inspired author of Hebrews, God puts His law within our hearts and writes it on our minds. Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, we encourage one another and so stir up one another to love and good works. And, with daily contrition and faith, we live in God’s forgiveness of our sins, and we extend our forgiveness to one another. We do so all the more as we see the Last Day drawing near. Then, though the eternal new covenant will remain, in glorified bodies purged of our sinful nature, God will no longer need to forgive our iniquity and remember our sins no more.
We now both should be more familiar and can be more comfortable with “The New Covenant”. We are included in God’s gracious disposition to save us now and forever. Jesus’s Body and Blood in the Holy Supper connect us to His sacrifice on the cross and so freely forgive our sins. Thanks be to God, now and forever.
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +