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“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel.” We live in a capitalistic, business oriented society. As such we don’t here about people making covenants any more. Most transactions nowadays are done through a binding, legal contract and most involve an exchange of money for some kind of good or service. Whenever there is a big free agent signing in sports it always involves a contract and very large sums of money. In exchange the athlete is expected to play for a particular team for a certain number of years. In some cases, where the player might be one of the more elite players in the league, there will be incentives given to the player if the team they play on goes to the playoffs or wins a championship or even if the player gets voted as an all star. But, it’s all very business-like. The team would like to be as successful as they can and they see a particular player who may help them get there and they put certain expectations on that player. In exchange the player receives a certain amount of money and incentives. It’s all very business-like and wrapped up nice in a legally binding contract. If one party fails to live up to their end of the contract, then that contract has been broken.
But imagine if athletes and sports teams made covenants with each other. Imagine turning on ESPN and hearing “History was made in the NFL today when Randy Moss and the Minnesota Vikings agreed to the first ever NFL covenant.” How would it be different?
Well first of all we should determine the difference between a covenant and a contract. Many biblical scholars don’t like the use of the word, covenant being used to describe the relationship between man and God. They say covenant is too similar to contract. And when you look up the word covenant in the dictionary there are some aspects of the definition of covenant that seem to confirm that allegation. But, one word that is in the definition of covenant that isn’t in the definition of contract is the word pledge. It’s a subtle distinction, but the use of the word pledge implies that if the terms of a covenant are broken, that doesn’t necessarily end the relationship. There is still a binding agreement, but the relationship goes on, even if the terms have to be re-defined.
So perhaps in this type of relationship when Randy Moss fails to show up for practice, rather than simply fining him, maybe Mike Tice will go out and look for him. Much like the shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep, maybe he would leave his “99 other sheep” on the football field and go find his one “lost sheep.” Or when Moss finally returns, much like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, maybe Tice will throw Moss a party and put a ring on his finger and bring out the best robe, no doubt a purple one, and bring out the fattened calf. But then maybe Duante Culpepper would get a little jealous and upset because a party had been thrown for Moss after disappearing for a while. But then Tice would put a comforting arm around Culpepper and say “Duante, you are always with me, but this teammate of yours was dead and is alive again, was lost and now is found.”
Yeah, this probably wouldn’t work too well in the business atmosphere that has permeated professional sports. But in the Old Testament, God and His people had a covenantal type of relationship and there is a string of covenant agreements that show this.
As early as Genesis 1:26-28 we see what has come to be known as the Edenic covenant. This was the covenant that established between the triune God and the newly created man. This covenant regulated man’s dominion over the earth. It was a simple test of obedience, but the penalty was death. In Genesis 3 we fail to live up to end up to our end of the covenant when Adam and Eve partake in the forbidden fruit.
But God, continues to seek out his lost children through future covenants. In Genesis 12 we learn of a covenant of promise when God tells Abram to leave his country and his people, and God will make unto him a great nation. In Genesis 13 we see the fulfillment of the covenant of promise when God tells Abram “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”
And then there is the covenant that Jeremiah mentions in today’s text, the Mosaic covenant God made with Israel’s forefathers when he lead them out of the land of Egypt. It was the legal covenant given solely to Israel. It consisted of commandments, the judgments and the ordinances; or the law. It was a conditional covenant of works, but it was still a covenant, which of course means that one person’s failure does not destroy the relationship. There are no conditions to the faithfulness of a covenant. No matter how much talk of the law, a covenant is still an unconditional commitment to love and serve. That’s why our relationship with God is covenantal, because God knew that we wouldn’t be able to live up to our end of the bargain. He knew that we would get lost and He knew that He would have to come looking for us.
And in today’s text the Lord speaks of a new covenant. But this is a radically new type of covenant. This is not just another in a series of covenants that we will break. This is a new covenant. But what exactly is so radically new and different about this covenant.
Jeremiah explains that in the New Covenant the law is not written on stone but on our hearts. The old covenant sought justice. The new covenant seeks atonement. The old covenant was dependent on what we would do. The new covenant is dependent on what Christ has already done.
In our second lesson, Paul wrote that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but that we are now justified by grace, which is a gift we receive only through Christ. Paul wrote that God put Christ forth as a sacrifice of atonement. He writes that in doing this, God passed over the sins previously committed. He does this to show that He is righteous, and that He justifies those who have faith in him.
It’s interesting that Paul uses the phrase “passed over” here. It sounds almost like he is making reference to the ancient Jewish holiday of Passover. In fact the tradition of celebrating communion has it’s roots in the Passover holiday. The passing of the bread and the passing of the wine was something that was done at the Passover feast. At the Last Supper, Jesus took that tradition and changed it’s meaning to be that the bread and the wine was representative of the body and blood of Christ. He used the bread and the wine to demonstrate the significance of what He was about to do on the cross.
The story of the ancient Jewish holiday of Passover goes back to when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians under the rule of the Pharaoh Ramses. Moses, who at the time was a simple shepherd, was instructed by God to go to the pharaoh and demand freedom for his people. Pharaoh ignored Moses’ plea. Moses warned Pharaoh that God would send punishment upon the Egyptians if the Israelites were not freed. The pharaoh ignored Moses’ request and warning and in response, God unleashed a series of ten plagues upon the Egyptians. The intent of these plagues was to kill the first-born of both man and beast in Egypt. To protect themselves, the Israelites were told to mark their doors with lamb’s blood so that God could identify them and “Pass over” their homes.
That’s what the New Covenant is. It’s like an eternal Passover. During the Last Supper, Jesus said "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you..” By using the phrase “Passed-over” Paul is saying that, Just like the Israelites enslaved in Egypt were passed over from God’s punishment, we too are “passed over” for punishment. But, our being passed over is not dependent on us doing something like marking the door of our house with lamb’s blood. Instead it is given as a gift.
When we have faith in Christ as our savior, because of the price He paid on the cross, we are saved from punishment for our sin. Because of the price that Jesus paid on the cross, we have been marked with the blood of the lamb of God, Jesus our savior. We are passed over from God’s punishment for sin and death, and brought into eternal life.
In the Old Testament text we read that the law will no longer be written on tablets of stone but on our hearts. So what does this mean? Well, most of the interpretations that I have read interpret it something like this, with the old covenant the law was external and it was something that we had to strive toward on our own abilities and if we failed there was a penalty. But with the new covenant, the old covenant is dead. The law isn’t dead. But since it is no longer written on stone but on our hearts then it is no longer a standard that we live by on our own efforts. The author never uses the word spirit but he does write that God will put His law within us when He writes His law upon our heart. He writes of an inner power that guides us toward obedience to God’s will. It’s clearly implied that the spirit moves our hearts to create a desire to obey God’s will.
Over the last year, I have been reminded quite frequently what it means to have the law written on our hearts. As many of you know, 11 years ago I was serving in the military in the gulf war. In the time that I was there I became very appreciative of the life that I am able to lead in this country. When we left for the Middle East, I really didn’t know a whole lot about Saddamm Hussein except that he had commanded a totally un-warranted invasion of Kuwait. But, when I got there, I was able to witness first hand, the kind of destruction that this man is capable of.
When he finally started to realize that there was absolutely no way he was going to be able to put up any kind of opposition to the coalition forces that were getting in the way of his plans, one of the ways he responded was to start burning a whole bunch of his oil. Now I didn’t really care about the oil, but the reason this made me so mad was because he was creating a very unhealthy situation for everybody in that region. He burnt so much oil that you would have thought that it was nighttime all the time. We had to walk around with masks on our face because the air was so dangerous to breathe.
When the war was pretty much over, we were able to go into Kuwait. When we went there we saw destruction all over the place; buildings toppled down to nothing, cars blown up, human remains on the side of the road and Kuwaiti citizens who found themselves hungry, sick and poor, all because of the greed of Saddam Hussein. As a result of witnessing this, seeds of hatred toward Saddam Hussein were planted in my head. These seeds remained dormant for the next 12 years or so. But then when the US went to war with Iraq 12 years later, all of a sudden Hussein was seen regularly on the news again. The seeds of hatred that were planted 12 years earlier were sprouting once again. But it wasn’t just leading to feeling hatred toward Hussein, but I was feeling anger and frustration toward people who didn’t seem to understand or want to acknowledge that Saddam Hussein was a threat and that he needed to be stopped.
When these feelings rose up though, I knew that it wasn’t very Christian of me to have these feelings and I was reminded at the end of the day I’m no better than Saddam Hussein. That comes from the law being written on my heart. The law being written on my heart reminds me that, on my own abilities I can’t obey the law of God. But the law being written on my heart also reminds me that by the grace of God I have been included in the new covenant which means I have been marked with the blood of Christ. Because of Christ and only because of Christ I am able to stand righteous before God. Because of this, I am inspired to live a life that is consistent with God’s will, not out of obligation but out of a sense of inspiration and freedom that can only from the grace of God and His Son Jesus Christ.
In our Gospel lesson, John writes “you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” The truth is Jesus, and because of Jesus we are no longer bound by a law written on stone but we are freed by the gospel which places the law in our minds and on our hearts and frees us to share the love of Christ with the world around us gives us the power to stand righteous before God.
In the business-oriented world we live in relationships are built on an If / Then basis.
If Randy Moss lives up to the viking’s expectations, then he will get a ridiculous amount of money.
If a farmer can produce and sell a certain amount of corn, wheat, beans whatever then they will make a profit.
If you are willing to pay all the necessary fees and wear all of the necessary bright orange gear then you can go hunting.
But, because of the new covenant, our relationship with God is built on a Because/ Has basis.
Because God loves us we are brought into the new covenant.
Because God loves us He sent His Son to die for us and we are marked with the blood of Christ and are able to stand righteous before God.
Because God loves us, we are given eternal life.
Amen