April 18, 2019
When I was in sixth grade, my best friend was John Wedman. Wedmans lived in a small housing development just across a corn field from our small housing development on the south side of Ames, Iowa. Often I would get off the school bus with John and then walk across the cornfield, or maybe take the longer walk through the woods, if the cornfield was not passable. John and I played baseball together. We played football together. When we couldn’t go outside, we’d play ping pong or pool or cards. On the weekends, John would stay overnight at my house or I’d stay overnight at John’s.
Summer came. The weather turned warm and mild. We spent even more time together. We convinced our parents to let us set up a tent – my Montgomery Ward pup tent – in the woods. Late in July, we slept there three nights in a row, before our parents ordered us back inside. On the third night, John suggested we perform a ritual that countless young boys have done over the years, that is, to become blood brothers. John took his pocket knife and made a small cut in his forearm. I did the same. Then we rubbed the blood from those cuts together.
I remember feeling two very distinct feelings at the time. One was revulsion. I had been around blood before - on the farm during chicken butchering time or at the lake filleting fish - but it must have been the idea of human blood, my own human blood, that gave me the feeling that nowadays would be called, “gross.” Or maybe I just felt vulnerable in a way I had never felt before.
I also, though, felt a kind of awe at the strange thing we were doing. I sensed that, even though we had been good friends before, we now had a bond that was more than being friends, maybe even more than being brothers, because it was a choice. We were both the middle of three sons. We had no choice about that. But we were choosing each other. John and I had a special bond, a bond of blood.
When the people of Israel were led by Moses out of Egypt, they witnessed mighty signs and wonders. They passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. They were fed with manna and with meat in the wilderness.
At last they came to Mt. Sinai. And God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites, ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the people. Indeed, the whole earth is mine. But you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.”
Then God spoke to Moses the terms of the covenant, the basis for this unique relationship. God gave Moses laws concerning property and violence, laws concerning rite and ritual, laws concerning restitution and justice, laws concerning slaves and Sabbath. Finally, God told Moses to bring with him Aaron, Nadab and Abihu up to the mountain, along with 70 elders of Israel, to worship.
So, Moses told the people what God had said. The people replied, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down the words of the Lord.
Then Moses arose early in the morning and built an altar before the mountain of the Lord and set up 12 pillars, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. He sent young men to sacrifice oxen. Half the blood Moses splattered on the altar. Then he read the words of the Lord. The people said again, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses took the other half of the blood and dashed it on the people.”
At last, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel went up on the mountain. They stood in the presence of the God of Israel. They saw God, and they ate and they drank.
Many centuries later, Jesus sat with his disciples to celebrate that Passover. The 13 of them gathered around a table. Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup of wine, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sin.”
With his blood, Jesus makes a new covenant. Jesus is the living bond between God and people, and it is his blood which seals this covenant. On the cross, his blood is shed. On the cross, his blood is poured out. On the cross, we know that not even death will break this covenant we have with God.
At the high point of the trial of Jesus, as Matthew tells it, Pilate washes his hands and says to the crowd, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” The crowd responds, “His blood be on us and on our children.” The crowd is taking responsibility for his death, yet, even without their quite knowing it, it is also his death that seals the new covenant, a covenant of faithfulness and of forgiveness. Even their desire to get rid of Jesus is taken up into the new covenant.
God had learned long ago, that perfection is not a realistic part of any human relationship. For when Moses went back up Mount Sinai and stayed for 40 days and 40 nights, the people become impatient. They convinced Aaron to melt down their jewelry and made a golden calf to worship. Through the intercession of Moses, God renewed the covenant, but without requiring a promise of, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do,” from the people. It is not built on obedience, on our faithfulness, but rather on the faithfulness of God.
So, the covenant God makes with us is not established on what we do, but on what God does for us through Jesus. It is a covenant of blood and forgiveness.
When the summer ended and fall came, John and I entered the seventh grade. That meant not only a new school with new friends and new activities. It also meant a new stage in our lives. For we found we were interested not only in sports, but now also in girls. John and I were in the same homeroom. We sat in the same row. A girl sat between us. Her name was Pam Swenson. Both John and I took a liking to Pam. And Pam took a liking to John.
When I realized that, I didn’t talk to John for a long time. I avoided him. It was not hard to do. The sports we played were now at school on school teams. There were other activities, other people to be involved with. The year passed.
Then summer came again. One day John called and asked if I wanted to come over and play basketball. I knew basketball was his favorite game. I was bored and couldn’t think of a good excuse not to. So, I headed across the cornfield. We played a few games of Horse. Then one-on-one. As we played, the game became more and more physical. There was a loose ball. We both went for the ball. Or, I should say, John went for the ball and I went for the ball and for John. John was knocked to the driveway. When he stood up, he gave me a funny look. He held up his right arm. I could see that it was scraped, and that blood was beginning to run.
I saw the blood and realized what I had done. I said, “I’m sorry, John. Are you okay?”
John looked at the blood on his arm and said, “Yeah, I’ll be okay.” He ran inside and washed his arm. Then he came back out and we kept playing.
We got together more after that. In the fall, we returned to school to find that, over the summer, Pam Swenson had moved to another state. John and I were good friends. We were never best friends again, but we were good friends. For we had relationship that was built not only on blood, but on forgiveness.
This is the covenant, the new covenant that God makes with us in Jesus. It is sealed in his blood, blood that is shed on the cross. And when we drink this cup in faith, we have exactly what Jesus promises - the forgiveness of sin. For this is a covenant of blood and forgiveness.
For Jesus took a cup of wine and, when he had given thanks, he gave it to all to drink, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of your sin.”
Summer came. The weather turned warm and mild. We spent even more time together. We convinced our parents to let us set up a tent – my Montgomery Ward pup tent – in the woods. Late in July, we slept there three nights in a row, before our parents ordered us back inside. On the third night, John suggested we perform a ritual that countless young boys have done over the years, that is, to become blood brothers. John took his pocket knife and made a small cut in his forearm. I did the same. Then we rubbed the blood from those cuts together.
I remember feeling two very distinct feelings at the time. One was revulsion. I had been around blood before - on the farm during chicken butchering time or at the lake filleting fish - but it must have been the idea of human blood, my own human blood, that gave me the feeling that nowadays would be called, “gross.” Or maybe I just felt vulnerable in a way I had never felt before.
I also, though, felt a kind of awe at the strange thing we were doing. I sensed that, even though we had been good friends before, we now had a bond that was more than being friends, maybe even more than being brothers, because it was a choice. We were both the middle of three sons. We had no choice about that. But we were choosing each other. John and I had a special bond, a bond of blood.
When the people of Israel were led by Moses out of Egypt, they witnessed mighty signs and wonders. They passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. They were fed with manna and with meat in the wilderness.
At last they came to Mt. Sinai. And God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites, ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the people. Indeed, the whole earth is mine. But you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.”
Then God spoke to Moses the terms of the covenant, the basis for this unique relationship. God gave Moses laws concerning property and violence, laws concerning rite and ritual, laws concerning restitution and justice, laws concerning slaves and Sabbath. Finally, God told Moses to bring with him Aaron, Nadab and Abihu up to the mountain, along with 70 elders of Israel, to worship.
So, Moses told the people what God had said. The people replied, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down the words of the Lord.
Then Moses arose early in the morning and built an altar before the mountain of the Lord and set up 12 pillars, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. He sent young men to sacrifice oxen. Half the blood Moses splattered on the altar. Then he read the words of the Lord. The people said again, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses took the other half of the blood and dashed it on the people.”
At last, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel went up on the mountain. They stood in the presence of the God of Israel. They saw God, and they ate and they drank.
Many centuries later, Jesus sat with his disciples to celebrate that Passover. The 13 of them gathered around a table. Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup of wine, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sin.”
With his blood, Jesus makes a new covenant. Jesus is the living bond between God and people, and it is his blood which seals this covenant. On the cross, his blood is shed. On the cross, his blood is poured out. On the cross, we know that not even death will break this covenant we have with God.
At the high point of the trial of Jesus, as Matthew tells it, Pilate washes his hands and says to the crowd, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” The crowd responds, “His blood be on us and on our children.” The crowd is taking responsibility for his death, yet, even without their quite knowing it, it is also his death that seals the new covenant, a covenant of faithfulness and of forgiveness. Even their desire to get rid of Jesus is taken up into the new covenant.
God had learned long ago, that perfection is not a realistic part of any human relationship. For when Moses went back up Mount Sinai and stayed for 40 days and 40 nights, the people become impatient. They convinced Aaron to melt down their jewelry and made a golden calf to worship. Through the intercession of Moses, God renewed the covenant, but without requiring a promise of, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do,” from the people. It is not built on obedience, on our faithfulness, but rather on the faithfulness of God.
So, the covenant God makes with us is not established on what we do, but on what God does for us through Jesus. It is a covenant of blood and forgiveness.
When the summer ended and fall came, John and I entered the seventh grade. That meant not only a new school with new friends and new activities. It also meant a new stage in our lives. For we found we were interested not only in sports, but now also in girls. John and I were in the same homeroom. We sat in the same row. A girl sat between us. Her name was Pam Swenson. Both John and I took a liking to Pam. And Pam took a liking to John.
When I realized that, I didn’t talk to John for a long time. I avoided him. It was not hard to do. The sports we played were now at school on school teams. There were other activities, other people to be involved with. The year passed.
Then summer came again. One day John called and asked if I wanted to come over and play basketball. I knew basketball was his favorite game. I was bored and couldn’t think of a good excuse not to. So, I headed across the cornfield. We played a few games of Horse. Then one-on-one. As we played, the game became more and more physical. There was a loose ball. We both went for the ball. Or, I should say, John went for the ball and I went for the ball and for John. John was knocked to the driveway. When he stood up, he gave me a funny look. He held up his right arm. I could see that it was scraped, and that blood was beginning to run.
I saw the blood and realized what I had done. I said, “I’m sorry, John. Are you okay?”
John looked at the blood on his arm and said, “Yeah, I’ll be okay.” He ran inside and washed his arm. Then he came back out and we kept playing.
We got together more after that. In the fall, we returned to school to find that, over the summer, Pam Swenson had moved to another state. John and I were good friends. We were never best friends again, but we were good friends. For we had relationship that was built not only on blood, but on forgiveness.
This is the covenant, the new covenant that God makes with us in Jesus. It is sealed in his blood, blood that is shed on the cross. And when we drink this cup in faith, we have exactly what Jesus promises - the forgiveness of sin. For this is a covenant of blood and forgiveness.
For Jesus took a cup of wine and, when he had given thanks, he gave it to all to drink, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of your sin.”
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