Fully Devoted: JesusSample

A New Covenant and a New Command

While eating the Passover meal at the Last Supper, Jesus inaugurates a new covenant and issues a new command: 

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:26-29 NIV

A covenant is a divine partnership between God and His people. Jesus uses this meal to form the New Covenant between God and all of humanity. It’s a covenant symbolized by the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine—because it’s established by the breaking of Jesus’ body and the pouring out of His blood for the forgiveness of sins. This covenant is marked by a command to love one another the same way Jesus loves us. 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV

So Jesus inaugurates a new covenant between God and all of humanity, and He issues a new command that people of the covenant are called to live out. Jesus tells us that our commitment to this new command will so set us apart that people will know who He is by the way we love. 

As disciples of Jesus, this covenant and this command are what define our relationship with God and with His people. It was through the sacrificial death of Jesus that our sins could be forgiven and our relationship with God could be healed. It is through our commitment to loving others the same way Jesus has loved us that we can show the world we’re His disciples. 

After leaving the Last Supper, Jesus heads toward the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. He knows that every step brings Him closer to His arrest and execution, so on the way, He continues to prepare the disciples, ensuring they’ll have what they need for what’s to come:

• He comforts them by promising that, even though He’s going to leave for a little while, He will come back to lead them to the Father.
• He encourages them by promising to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be their guide.
• He challenges them to remain faithful and committed to Him no matter what hardships may come.
• He warns them that they will be hated and persecuted because of their connection to Him.
• He assures them that their grief will not last forever, and it will, in time, turn to joy. 
• He prays for them and all who believe to be unified so that the world will know that He was sent by the Father.  

While Jesus covers a lot of ground with these teachings, He keeps coming back to one key idea: His command to love one another. It’s almost like Jesus is telling His disciples, “If you forget everything else, just remember this: Love one another.” 

Jesus is hammering away at the importance of love over and over again knowing that it won’t be long now before Roman soldiers are hammering away at His hands and feet as they nail Him to a cross.  

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:9-12 NIV 

Journaling Questions

• What verse or passage stands out to you the most from today’s reading? Write it in your journal.
• If someone asked you to describe what your relationship with God is like, what would you tell them? 
• Do you think you put as much emphasis on loving other people in your life as Jesus does in the chapters we read today? Why or why not?