14 Reasons Jesus Went To The Cross - To Establish A New Covenant

14 Reasons Jesus Went To The Cross - To Establish A New Covenant

Luke 22:20

“And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”

Way back in the Old Testament, Jeremiah the Prophet wrote that a day would come when God would make a new covenant with His people. That covenant would replace the old covenant of the law of Moses.

The covenant of Moses had a unique element to it. There was the law, of course, but there was also the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was an enormous tent in which the people of God worshipped. It was the precursor to the Temple. It also housed the law. The tablets of the law were kept there.

Almost 800 years after Moses, Jeremiah talked about a day when there would be a new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:33

“But this is the covenant which I will make … I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

That prophecy refers to Jesus, who would come about 600 years later. The Gospel of John tells us something truly amazing about that arrival. He writes that Jesus “dwelt” among us - but he doesn’t use the right word for “dwelt”.

He uses the word for “tabernacle”.

John 1:14

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…”

Literally, John is saying that Jesus “tabernacled” among us. Now, let’s fast forward to the Last Supper. Jesus talked about the bread and the cup. It’s important to note that the new covenant is inaugurated at the cross where Jesus gave His blood for you and for me and where the tabernacle was destroyed. Think that through. The bread and cup represent the body and blood of Jesus. Where will the law be kept, now?

It is a law of faith, not ink and paper. It is written in your hearts, drawing you closer to God, not pushing you away from Him, and the pathway to God is no longer the law or the tabernacle. It is the body and blood of Jesus.

That’s why Jesus went to the cross.

Matthew 26:27-28

“…Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”