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.)
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:
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:
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:
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 … . . .
As this passage shows, the Passover lamb did much more than just provide blood - it was a distinctive meal. God begins with instructions to ensure that every person would have enough, but also that it would not be wasted. He continues with specific details, including when it should be eaten, how it should be prepared, what should be eaten with it, what should be done with the remains, and even how the Israelites should be dressed. The bulk of God's instructions concern the specially prepared lamb they were to eat. The repeated emphasis in both Old and New Testaments is on the eating of the Passover (Exodus 12:43, 48; 34:25; Numbers 9:11; II Chronicles 30:18; Ezra 6:21; Matthew 26:17, 26; Mark 14:12, 14, 22; Luke 22:8, 11, 15, 19; John 13:2; I Corinthians 11:23-26; see John 6:31-58), and this begins to set it apart from a sin offering, which was not generally available for eating.
Christ's Passover with the disciples continues what we have seen. During the Passover service, we read John 13 - 17, and the themes of the peace offering stand out in those chapters when you look for them. Jesus speaks of the disciples being one with the Father. He speaks of the love and fellowship they should enjoy with each other because of the fellowship they have with God. He speaks of peace, of joy, of being so close that the Father and Son are indwelling. Think about the incredible acceptance and determined peace that requires on God's part. Christ speaks of the disciples' bearing fruit through their attachment to Him - that fellowship. He speaks of friendship between God and man. Yet in the whole discourse, He does not mention their sins once. His words that evening give us the right pattern as we remember Christ's sacrifice and the priceless fellowship it opens.
Verse 15 tells us what was on Christ's mind, and again, it was not the disciples' sins. Instead, the Son of God had been fervently looking forward to this special occasion - this fellowship - with those whom the Father had given Him (see also Matthew 26:18-29; Mark 14:13-25). Like the Exodus Passover, this Passover was about eating. However, the New Testament Scriptures place the emphasis on the bread and wine. The bread and wine are not new symbols, though, but the original elements of the fellowship meal between Melchizedek and Abraham (Genesis 14:18) on the eve of a historic covenant (Genesis 15). In like manner, this Passover was a fellowship meal on the eve of the sealing of a much-anticipated covenant.
There is not time to explore this completely, but notice that Jesus says that the Passover will not be fulfilled until the Kingdom of God. It is easy to read right over that, but it is a critical part of Passover. The sin offering has already been fulfilled (Hebrews 1:3; 7:27; 9:12-14, 26-28; 10:12, 18), but the Passover has not, as it says here. This is because of Passover's theme of redemption, which is actually a process. This is why Scripture speaks of redemption in both the past (Romans 3:23-25; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14) and future tenses (Luke 21:28; Romans 8:23-25; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30). We have been redeemed from the death penalty, but we still need to be redeemed from this corrupted nature that incurs the death penalty (see Titus 2:11-14). God must redeem us from this flesh - this body of death, as Paul calls it - so we can fully manifest the image of our Creator. Thus, our final redemption occurs when we have been resurrected and have fully taken on the incorruptible nature (see I Corinthians 15:50). At that point, Passover will be fulfilled.
Remember I mentioned that some commentators call the peace offering a communion sacrifice, which is the term Paul uses here regarding the bread and the wine. We might shy away from the term because of how it has been appropriated, but it means, to be in close fellowship or participation with. This passage teaches that a sacrificial meal joins a person in fellowship with the object of that sacrifice, whether the true … . . .
