In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new [will] in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Luke 22:20

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

Hebrews 9:16-17

Where there is a will, there must be death. Maybe not the version of that saying we are most accustomed to, but it is the explanation that the Bible reinforces with regard to the promises God has made us through Jesus, the Anointed One.

He was the one who had to die for the will to come into force. The same word that is used in the recording of Jesus blessing over the Lord’s Supper is the word translated will in Hebrews 9; it’s a sacred promise, bound lawfully as in a contract.

That is the significance of the new covenant, not to remove the old testament but to add more people to a new promise with God; not to limit the inheritance but to expand it! Thank God for his gracious nature and his love demonstrated to all believers.

Ethan Kirl