The ultimate fulfillment of all covenant meals is the Last Supper Jesus celebrated with his disciples. The Lord’s Supper is a meal that seals God’s new covenant with his people (Luke 22:19-20).
The only reference to the new covenant in the Old Testament is in Jeremiah 31:31-34. As God was about to punish Israel for their disloyalty, he also promised a new covenant- a covenant that contrasted with the covenant at Sinai in at least four things:
- The LORD will write his law in the minds and hearts of those in the new covenant.
- The LORD will be their God, and they will be his people.
- The ones in the new covenant will know the LORD.
- The LORD will forgive their wickedness.
Jesus said that his sacrifice was the fulfillment of the New Covenant. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28) and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).
Furthermore, Jesus called himself “the bread of life” (John 6:35) because he is the ultimate source of life, both life in general and eternal life.