Late at night a solitary figure walked away from three slumbering men snoring by a tree. His hunched stature and slow gate indicates a man carrying a heavy burden. He finds a secluded spot in the garden where He could privately express Himself and wearily sinks to his knees. “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.”
Most believers would say, “He died for my sins,” or something similar. While that is technically true, there is one absolutely essential reason that Jesus had to die. It had to do with a prophesy made hundreds of years before by the prophet Jeremiah. That prophecy promised a New Covenant; one that would not be like the one established at Mount Sinai.
Putting aside the absurdity of this season, filled Easter eggs, rabbits, sunrise services and other symbols of ancient fertility festivals masquerading as a holy day, this time provides an opportunity to look a little more closely at the issues that led to this cosmically consequential death. The day that Jesus died, whatever day that was, marked the end of one Covenant and the establishment of a different one. Jesus’ bloody execution was also the sacrifice required to initiate this New Covenant.
That changed everything, not only for the sons of Abraham, but for all of the inhabitants of the entire world. In an upcoming book entitled The Blood Covenants: Exploring the Three Major Blood Oaths of the Bible, we will take an in-depth look at this and two other momentous Covenants that every believer should be thoroughly familiar with. Look for it in the coming months.