The sacrifice of the New Covenant
A covenant or testament is an agreement or compact —a personal alliance between two parties. In the Scriptures, it means an alliance between God and man. God renewed through Moses the initial Old Covenant with the people of Israel, which was begun through Abraham. It was sealed with a sacrifice, with the blood of sacrificed animals, because blood was the sign of life.
Thereafter, at every Passover, the Jews recalled and renewed their covenant with God by sacrificing a lamb. This paschal lamb of the Old Testament is the main sign or figure of the sacrifice of Christ.
Jesus instituted the Eucharist during the paschal celebration, on the eve of his death. He was bringing the paschal feast to its total fulfillment; he was renewing it and replacing it with the definitive sacrifice.
This alliance had had the following content:
• On the part of God, the election of Israel as a chosen people. God will make them a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation. This election demanded from them sanctity and fidelity to God’s commandments.
• On the part of Israel, unconditional acceptance of the will of God. The Jews will recognize him as the only God and will observe all the commandments that the Lord had decreed.
The Jews accepted the terms of the covenant and God instructed Moses to prepare for its formal acceptance, and to seal their agreement with a sacrifice.
This Old Covenant had to be substituted with a new one, as announced by the prophets: “See, the days are coming—it is God who speaks—when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31 33). This New Covenant will be permanent: “I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever” (Ezekiel 16:59).
In the New Testament, during the Last Supper, Jesus made a reference to the Sinai covenant: The New Covenant sealed with his blood was to be the eternal one. And what had only been foreshadowed now became a reality: the communion of life between God and man. When Jesus said in the Last Supper, “This chalice is the New Covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20), he was repeating the same words of Moses. But now it will be the new alliance that will never be broken. Those who will receive the Eucharist will become part of the new people of God. The old sacrifices offered in the Temple came to an end. The sacrifices of bullocks, goats, and lambs offered by the Jews have found completion in Christ’s sacrifice.
Let us pray for all Christians, that all may strive to acquire sanctity in the unity of faith, in the sacraments, and in the governance.
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