It’s my own fault that I never noticed it. It’s easy to say, “Nobody ever pointed that out to me growing up,” but experience tells me that I don’t always capture everything that people are trying to teach me. Add to that the fact that this point is clearly pointed out in Scripture, and I have to take the blame.

You see, when talking about the Lord’s Supper, I always thought that the bread represented the body and the cup represented the blood. And I was almost right. It’s just that my understanding of the cup was more than a little shallow.

Let’s read what Jesus says the cup is:

Matthew 26:28 “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Mark 14:24 “And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.””
Luke 22:20 “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.””
1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”””

It’s not just blood, it’s covenant blood. My best guess is that however Jesus said it in Aramaic, the words “covenant” and “blood” were so related that the order could be inverted in the tradition without really changing anything. And the words would have resonated deeply with a Jewish audience, for they were familiar words. They were words spoken centuries before by Moses:

Exodus 24:8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

It’s not just blood, it’s the blood that ratifies the covenant. As the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 9:15-27, it is the blood that not only brings us salvation and forgiveness of sins, but also inaugurates the era of the new covenant. We’re not just remembering a death; we’re remembering a covenant! It’s not just blood, it’s covenant blood.

Think about that, and take this covenant-blood blessing:

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.