When God made his covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai he did so from the mountain with a display of power and might that terrified the people. He warned them that, if they even touched the mountain upon which he was present, they would die. The message was clear: a sinful people can have no contact with a holy God. God was making this point because he was about to prescribe to them the tabernacle system which would show them what must happen for them to have fellowship with him. It would require sacrifice. God therefore instituted blood sacrifices which symbolised and anticipated the New Covenant that Jesus Christ would establish by his own sacrifice. Here in Luke 22 Jesus inaugurates that New Covenant. Notice the difference: whereas the Old Covenant was given from a mountain with warnings for the people to keep their distance, the New Covenant is inaugurated around an intimate fellowship meal. The God who had thundered from the mountain was now with them, in Jesus Christ, sitting at a table. The communion table is like the Most Holy Place in the temple which the people were barred from by the great curtain. The disciples were now in the Holy Place communing with their God. Between us and God there is an infinite gulf, but God has bridged that through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. You and I can commune with God in Jesus Christ. No more distance! God wants you now to walk closely with him. He is calling you into communion with himself.
Draw near to God and ask him to draw near to you.
Read Luke 22:1-38
