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:
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).
All three synoptic gospels describe the cup as containing the blood of the covenant, as do Paul's Passover instructions in I Corinthians 11. Matthew adds here that the blood also accomplishes the remission of sins. Notice, though, that the remission of sins does not stand on its own, but it comes through the New Covenant. That covenant contains the forgiveness of sins, but also includes much more (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:10-12; 10:16-18).
In His Passover prayer in John 17, Jesus includes another aspect of the New Covenant, that of knowing the Father and Him. This covenant allows for those entering the covenant to have a relationship far beyond what the previous covenant offered - to actually know the Father and the Son. Jesus calls this relationship eternal life. It is a life of abundance - foremost spiritual - that continues past the grave in the resurrection.
