The Bridge between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace

Last night I woke up around 2:00 am, in a moment knowing a few things: I needed to go to the bathroom, and I needed to pray. Now, I am concerned that manic is kicking in for me, which can lead to hospital stays, and I can’t afford that, so if you’re reading this, pray for me about that!

I took care of need number one, and came back to my room. I wasn’t sure what prayers to pray. I realize some of y’all have never prayed with prayer points or bullets while engaging in spiritual warfare, but they are very effective. But, there is a new friend I met online, who had shared some special prayers to pray. Maybe eventually I’ll share them all on this blog. But I wanted to highlight this bridge for us.

In Matthew 26, we have a recording of Jesus with his disciples sharing the Lord’s supper. And, if you are not as familiar with the passage, he first gives thanks and breaks bread and says “this is my body broken for you.”

Jesus’ body was broken for us on the cross.

Then, Jesus takes some wine and gives thanks and he says something that maybe sounded peculiar to the disciples, but makes perfect sense to us today. “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28.

The covenant Jesus is talking about here is the covenant of grace. Previously, Israel had been under the covenant of works, or the covenant of the law. Jesus purchased the covenant of grace for us with His blood. He was the bridge between the old covenant and the new covenant. He alone could perfectly fulfill the covenant of the law, so he alone could bring the covenant of grace.

There’s this girl I follow on IG, she’s an athiest, and she will post things to try to stump Christians and kind of mock the God of the Bible. One day she posted about how cool it was that a God so powerful would take thousands of years to bring a savior to His people. But really, I don’t think she gets it. And that was the problem. Humanity doesn’t get it. We don’t see our need for a savior. It took those thousands of years to reveal how deep our need goes in redemptive history. I think God drew the story out, of course to display His glory, but also to make our need of a savior really obvious. Really, really obvious.

We clearly see the struggles of the Israelites in obeying God from the get go, leading to wandering in the wilderness 40 years, leading to captivity from Assyria and Babylon. We see in the characters we admire the most great flaws that show they aren’t perfect, that we needed a perfect deliverer and a perfect King and a perfect prophet and perfect savior to step in.

And between the Old Testament and New, there are 400 years of silence. It’s like a pause from heaven, for us to reflect on our need. Do you get it? God is saying. You are in dire need!

Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly. He spent 40 days in the wilderness and faced temptation perfectly. When Moses had struggled with his temper, Jesus perfectly delivered people with all sorts of needs. Whereas King David committed adultery and murder, Jesus raised the standard of the law, saying just looking at someone with lust is adultery, and just calling someone a fool is murder. Jesus made the law even more difficult. Impossible for all humanity. But in His perfection He proved His divinity.

Israel was expecting a political savior, but Jesus came to save us from a deeper need: our sin. Because our sin is what separates us from a Holy God, not an oppressive government. Our sin is what we need redemption from to be in a right relationship with God. And we all have sinned. If our government is perfect but we’re still in sin, and we’re still cut off from God, are we actually free? But if we are free from our sins, we are truly free.

Jesus’ blood was the cost of the purchase of the covenant of grace. Now He offers salvation to us freely, as a gift. His body, His blood, His life became the bridge to God for us. He is the bridge all of us need.

I don’t know who’s reading this, if you have crossed the bridge from sin through Christ on the cross to the Father, or if you’re contemplating that move, or if it’s never crossed your mind before. I pray you would cross from death to life on the bridge of Christ. And if you have, I pray your gratitude of Christ’s sacrifice would grow and grow more and more, as you realize the hole between your sinfulness and God’s holiness could have never been fulfilled by you. Knowing such truth will help you grow closer to Christ over your whole life.

The bridge between us is our need for grace. Jesus acts as our bridge to God the Father. The Holy Spirit is our bridge of connection to Jesus and the Father, and our bridge to new life filled by Him.

This is the most important bridge you’ll ever face. Take a step of faith. Cross through the cross of Christ to the other side.