Jesus’ Blood Established The New Testament

When people think about the New Testament, they normally think about 27 books, Matthew - Revelation.

Yet when Jesus went to the cross, books were not on his mind, blood was on his mind...his blood.

Forgiveness of sins was on his mind…our forgiveness.

Read the words of Jesus below.

"This is my blood of the covenant [testament], which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:28 NIV)

“This cup is the new covenant [testament] in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:20 NIV)

Notice the words blood and forgiveness...no mention of books.

Jesus' blood established the New Covenant or the New Testament.

The New Testament/Covenant isn't a collection of books that begins at Matthew Chapter 1.

The New Testament/Covenant is the complete forgiveness of sins established at the cross of Jesus when he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins.

Jesus didn't shed his blood to establish a collection of books but to secure eternal forgiveness of sins.

Some may say the New Covenant and the New Testament are different.

They will say the New Testament starts at the birth of Jesus in Matthew and the New Covenant starts with the death of Jesus in Matthew 26.

However, that is an incorrect understanding of the Bible.

Notice how the King James Version translates Matthew 26:28 and Luke 22:20.

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

“This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."

The NIV and many other versions translate the Greek word diathéké as covenant.

Other translations, such as the KJV, translate diathéké as testament - both are correct.

It's the same Greek word in all the translations - diathéké.

It means testament, will, or covenant.

So what does this mean?

The New Testament does not start at the birth of Jesus and a crib...it starts with the blood of Jesus and a cross.

Why does this matter?

It significantly effects how we interpret Scripture.

Since the New Testament/Covenant starts at the cross of Jesus with his shed blood, then the Old Testament is in effect until the cross of Jesus.

Most people think of the Old Testament as a collection of 39 books (Genesis - Malachi).

However, the Old Testament is not about books, nor is it a collection of 39 books.

The Old Testament is about blood, just as the New Testament is about blood.

The Old Testament began in Exodus 24:5-8 when an animal was sacrificed to established the Old Testament/Covenant (same Hebrew word - either translation is correct.)

The Old Covenant/Testament was about the Law of Moses and was put into book form, which we can find in Exodus 19-Deuteromy.

The Law of Moses, with all of its animal sacrifices, provided temporary forgiveness of sins for the people of Israel.

Under the Law of Moses - the Old Testament/Covenant - sins were constantly being forgiven with each individual sin...over and over again.

The Old Testament/Covenant of Law was in effect until Jesus died, when Jesus' blood was shed on the cross for the eternal forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus shed his blood on the cross, the New Testament/Covenant was established, replacing the Old Testament/Covenant forever.

The New Testament/Covenant is the new way God relates to not only the people of Israel, but how he relates to all people.

This new way is by grace.

By grace, Jesus died for every one and every sin (Hebrews 2:9; 7:27; 10:1-14).

All of our sins were counted against Jesus.

None are left to be counted against us (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Through faith in Jesus, we receive forgiveness of sins...all of our sins...for all time - eternal forgiveness (Acts 10:43; 13:38-39; 26:15-18).

God remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 10:17-18).

Under the New Testament/Covenant of grace, we do not seek forgiveness of each individual sin - that is life under the Old Testament/Covenant of law.

Under the New Covenant of grace, we receive eternal forgiveness of all sins through faith in Jesus (Acts 10:43; 13:38-39; 26:15-18; Ephesians 1:6-8; Colossians 1:13-14; 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:12; 10:18; Revelation 1:5).

This is a one-time experience of forgiveness that lasts for a lifetime.

No more seeking God's forgiveness.

No more asking God for forgiveness.

Some may ask, "But didn’t Jesus say in the Lord's Prayer...unless we forgive others, the Father will not forgive us?" (Matthew 6:14-15)

Others may ask, "But didn't Jesus say we must forgive 70x7 if we are to be forgiven by the Father?" (Matthew 18)

Great questions!

And yes, he did say this.

But what Testament/Covenant was Jesus speaking under when he said these words about forgiveness?

The Old Testament/Covenant of Law.

The Law of Moses was still in effect.

The New Testament/Covenant of grace had not gone into effect yet.

Remember the words of Jesus just prior to going to the cross:

"This is my blood of the new testament/covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

This is why it is so important to understanding that the Old and New Testaments are not about books but about blood and full, forever forgiveness of sins.

Without this understanding, we will misinterpret and misapply Scripture.

This is why understanding that most of the contents of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are under the Old Testament/Covenant.

Some may ask, "But doesn't the page before Matthew 1 say New Testament?

Yes, it does.

But it is important to know the New Testament begins where Jesus says it begins and not where this page says it begins.

The "New Testament" page was added by those who translated the Bible, but the page is not in any of the original manuscripts.

Jesus makes it very clear that the New Testament/Covenant was established in his blood.

The book of Hebrews reinforces this truth.

While Jesus was living, the Law of Moses was in effect, not the grace of the cross of Jesus.

That is why Jesus used the Law to convict the religious leaders of sins so many times in Matthew-John, and it is why Jesus told the disciples to do what the priests of the Law of Moses told them to do.

It is also why Jesus told people to sacrifice animals in accordance to the law of Moses.

But we are under the New Testament of Grace, established in the blood of Jesus at the cross.

Understanding this is vital to accurately interpreting and applying the Bible to our lives, such as in the area of forgiveness.

Without this understanding, the Bible can be confusing, misinterpreted, and misapplied.

But with a correct understanding that the New Testament/Covenant is not about books but blood, where eternal forgiveness was purchased for us at the cross and is received by faith in Jesus, we can more clearly understand the Bible and more accurately apply or not apply Scripture.