“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)
The Law given in the Old Testament was holy, righteous and good, according to Paul (Romans 7:12). In fact, it only had one weak point: man. It was our humanness, our “flesh” as the Bible states it. The Law is holy, but I am flesh, unable to do what the Law asks of me. Only through the power of the Spirit of God can I overcome that flesh, yet I still find myself falling short of perfection.
Our God knows this. As the Psalmist says “he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). Because of that, he sent his Son, who, by power of a perfect life, was able to condemn sin through his death. Those of us that choose to accept his sacrifice are freed from the necessity of paying for our sins through our own sacrifice.
His body was given, and we remember it in the bread. His blood was shed, a covenant established, and we remember that through the cup. Freedom from condemnation was brought to us, to condemnable man, and we remember that in this memorial meal.