In Matthew 26:28 we read, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (marg.). This verse reveals that the blood of Christ is the “blood of the new covenant.” This blood is especially for the establishing of a covenant. The new covenant was established through the blood; therefore, the new covenant is dependable; it is secure.
We need to understand why the new covenant must be established through the blood and why a covenant is effective only when it is established with the blood. To understand this we must return to the story of Eden and the requirement of the law.
We know that when Adam was cast out of Eden, he lost the position of fellowship with God. He lost life, and he also lost his inheritance. From Adam to Moses, death reigned (Rom. 5:14). From Moses to Christ not only did death reign, but sin also reigned (Rom. 5:21). This does not mean that from Adam until Moses there was no sin. Scripture tells us that “until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13). God gave Moses the covenant of the law on Mount Sinai. This covenant was conditional. If man would abide by the words of this covenant, God would bless him; if man would not abide by the words of this covenant, he would be cursed (Gal. 3:12, 10). What then did the law do for man? The law brought man the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). Besides this, man was guarded, kept in ward, under the law (Gal. 3:23). This means that man was formerly under the dominion of death, because death reigned; but now he was also under the power of sin, because sin reigned.
Therefore, before Christ came to the earth, man suffered two great losses: first, he suffered because of Adam’s sin, and second, he suffered because he could not keep God’s law. Because death and sin reigned, man was kept far from God and could not enjoy God’s presence. He became foolish and could not know God; he lost the spiritual life and power to do God’s will. In Adam, under the law, what can man boast in? He can only cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Is there then no way to solve the problem of sin and death? There surely is! By the Lord Jesus shedding His blood, these two problems are solved.
We have seen that from Adam to Moses death reigned and that from Moses to Christ not only did death reign, but sin also reigned. Praise God, the blood of the Lord Jesus has solved these two problems for us! Due to the fact that the Lord Jesus shed His blood we have been washed from our sins, and we do not have to die.
God’s original intention was to impart His own life and everything He is to us. But due to our sins and the death resulting from sin, we were alienated from God. We could no longer obtain all that is of God. We lost all that God had given, and we also lost all that God intended to give us. But the blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses us from our sins. He has also restored our relationship with God (Eph. 2:13) so that all God has given and will give to us can become ours without hindrance. Therefore, the blood of the Lord Jesus not only reconciled us to God (Col. 1:20), but also brings God Himself to us (Rom. 8:32).
The blood of Christ not only accomplished redemption; it also accomplished an eternal redemption. The blood of bulls and goats, upon which the people of the Old Testament depended, only reminded them of sin every year (Heb. 10:3-4). But Christ, through His own blood entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, having found an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). The blood of Christ purifies our conscience (Heb. 9:14) so that we no longer have any “conscience of sins” (Heb. 10:2). Praise God, the blood of Christ eternally and completely solves the problem of sin!
The blood of Christ enables us to receive the forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22; Matt. 26:28; Eph. 1:7). Just to realize this much is a most glorious thing. Those who sense the shamefulness of sin and know how hateful sin is, all realize this. But we praise God that the blood of the Lord Jesus not only solves the problem of sin and death, but it also restores the inheritance we have lost and brings us what we did not have in the past. This blood has done a most wonderful thing: it has enabled us to obtain God. The blood of the Lord Jesus not only redeems from sin so that we will not suffer its consequences, but also completely restores what we lost in the Garden of Eden and adds new things as well. The Lord Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). On one hand the Lord’s blood was shed for redemption. It removes on the negative side those things which damage us. On the other hand His blood was shed for the establishing of the new covenant. It restores on the positive side the inheritance we have lost and also gives us new things. Therefore, the blood of the Lord Jesus is not only for redemption but also for restoration, restoring what we have lost and bringing that which we did not have in the past.