Perhaps you have noticed with me that one of the marketing techniques that manufactures use is to stimulate a new interest in their product by making the assertion that there product, though it is the same old product, is now, new and improved!
What is the point of this introduction?
Well one of the greatest challenges that the apostles had I believe, when trying to convert their Jewish brethren, was to convince them that God was doing away with an Old Covenant that He had established through Moses, in lieu of a Covenant that was new and improved, even though it was prophesied by Jeremiah!
Jeremiah 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.-NIV
Why?
Hebrews 8:7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. -NIV
Hebrews 8:9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. -NIV
And so it’s improvement would be based on several better ingredients according to the writer of Hebrews…it would be a..
Hebrews 7:22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. -NKJV
Because…it is based on..
Hebrews 7:19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. -NKJV
Because it is…
Hebrews 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. -NKJV
And upon…
Hebrews 9:23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. -NKJV
Insuring us..
Hebrews 10:34 for you had compassion on me[fn] in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. -NKJV
Because it is founded on a…
Hebrews 1:4 (Jesus better name) having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
In fact Paul refers to the 1st covenant as….
2 Corinthians 3: 7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! – NIV
Well the reason that I took you down this road, is because of the topic that John brings before his readership, and what I’ve entitled this message after…
The New and Improved Commandment of 1st John!
And I base this statement on this:
1 John 2: 7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8a On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you which is true in Him -NASB
It’s Old, and Yet it is New, my take on it is that it is new and improved…
And so my proposition to you from this passage today is this:
An examination of the “New and Improved Commandment” of 1 John 2, will place before us the essence and the evidence of eternal life!
In other words…
My obedience to this command is the evidence as to whether I possess eternal life or not!
And this is one of the major thrusts of the writings of John….
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. -KJV
So let’s begin with…
I. The Importance of the commands.
1 John 2:3a By this we know that we have come to know Him,( if )
A) Point?
1. If – introduces a condition.
a) Condition?
1 John 2:3b we keep His commandments.
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent. -KJV
B) Proof?
1. Of possessing eternal life?
a) Keeping his commands!
1 John 2:4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
C) Perspective?
1. Love of God (agape) the selfless, sacrificial, supernatural, Spirit wrought love that characterizes the essence of God
1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
2. Perfected (reached maturity) (teleioo = brought to a purpose, an aim, an intended goal, an end.)
3. The idea is: It is a love that is consummated in action.
a) A Love that bears the fruit of obedience.
4. Consistent?
a) Jesus himself taught this:
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
D) Picture?
a) I (Jesus) will come and manifest the assurance of the pardon of your sin, and the peace with God that comes only through believing in and receiving Me as Lord and Savior.
b) (My Father) will come and assure you that you are now His son or daughter!
c) (The Holy Spirit) will come and permanently live in you, and be with your forever!
E) Precondition?
John 14: 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. -NIV
Act 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” -NIV
John 14:24a “He who does not love Me does not keep My words -NKJV
1. An evidence of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior is your obedience to His commandments.
2. If someone claims to know God with their lips yet deny Him with their lives (lifestyle) they are liars (living a lie)!
1 John 2:4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; -NASB
F) Prophesied/Promised?
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.-NIV
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. -KJV
Philippians 2:13 "God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him." -NLT
H) Perfection?
1 John 2: 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1. No!
2. The verb "keep" is in the present tense which indicates that the general direction of our life is toward obedience, not disobedience.
3. John is not insinuating perfection, he had already dealt with those who say they are without sin in chapter 1!
1 John 1: 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. -NIV
4. John however is calling for us to make an assessment of our life's direction!
1 John 2:6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked. - NASB
1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.-NIV
Charles Spurgeon- If I am living in sin day by day, what right have I to conclude I am a child of God? Indeed, what right? Dear reader, do not be deceived by the false teaching that says you can believe in Jesus and thereafter behave any way you please! Or the corollary false teaching that if you at any point in time in your life profess "belief" in Jesus Christ, than it makes no difference how you live after that because you are "saved" and you have a "fire insurance policy!" This is an affront to the Gospel of Jesus Christ which frees men from the shackles and domination of the old Sin nature and makes them slaves to a new Master, energized by grace, not law. This is utter foolishness, sheer craziness! And this genre of false teaching will take many who are duped by it straight to an eternal hell! Do not be deceived dear reader. Genuine belief in Jesus will always show itself genuine by holy fruit in one's life. Genuine belief births holy behavior! And note carefully that we are not talking about perfection of one's life, but of the general "direction" of one's life.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – “If you have eternal life, it is bound to show itself, and if it does not, then you do not have eternal life.”
II. The Inception of the old command?
1 John 2:7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. -NASB
A) Inception?
1. Argued:
a) Old testament era?
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. – NIV
i. Love God
Leviticus 19: 18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.-NIV
ii. Love your neighbor
B) Incapsulated in the decalogue?
1. Love for God:
Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
Exodus 20:8a Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
2. Love for neighbor:
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.
Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
C) Insinuated in the new testament:
Romans 13: 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.-NIV
1. Old commandment of love is to do no harm to your neighbor.
III. The Improvement of the old command.
1 John 2:7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. -NASB
1 John 2:8a On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, -NASB
A) Perspective?
1. I’m introducing a new and improved version of the old commandment!
B) Possible?
1 John 2:8a which is true in Him -NASB
C) Picture?
1. True ?????? (alethes)
a) That which cannot escape notice
b) That which conforms to reality, which is unconcealed which is manifested, which is characterized by reality, which is genuine, which is real, authentic, not imaginary!
c) Which is worthy of credit and emulation!
2. In ?? en
a) In, by, with
b) A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality.
3. Him?
a) Jesus!
C) Point?
1. Jesus raised the standard of this old command to a whole new level!!
V. The Incarnation of this new and improved command?
1 John 4: 9a In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world,
A) Incarnation?
1. Person of Jesus!
a) God’s love for us was made manifest in sending his Son into the world, in the form of human flesh, as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
B) Intention?
1 John 4: 9b so that we might live through him.
1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him -BSB
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. -ESV
1. Propitiate -??asµ?? (hilasmos)
a) Appease an angry god.
b) To propitiate - (hilasmos) refers to a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God and thereby makes God propitious (favorably inclined or disposed, disposed to be gracious and/or merciful, ready to forgive) toward us.
i. God’s love for us was made manifest in sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins—the sacrifice that turned away God’s wrath.
ii. It was manifest in Jesus being mocked, whipped, scorned, and, ultimately, crucified on the cross.
C) Incredibleness
1. God’s love is not some empty, hollow, fluffy, feel good kind of love!
a) It was love that took 39 lashes upon its back
b) Mocking and jeering
c) A crown of thorns
d) Nails in its hands and feet
e) A love that agonized on a cross for 6 hours, till it’s life ebbed away
f) A love that a speared through its side
g) A love that was laid in a tomb
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.-NIV
John 15:13 For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends.- TPT
2. Jesus Love is the purest love known to man.
a) It is a central theme of the Christian faith and theology!
b) John 15:13 describes such a pure and unadulterated kind of llove
c) By giving up his Earthly life on the cross, Jesus showed the ultimate love, for all of mankind.
d) Through his sacrifice, he provided a eternal forgiveness and a pathway to spend eternity with God.
D) Important!
1. How does the scripture define love?
a) A feeling – not necessarily!
i. Biblical love is sacrificial
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
ii. Biblical love implies action
1 John 3:18 Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth
iii. Biblical love is not a primarily a feeling, but rather a way in which I relate to God and my fellow man!
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8a Love never fails.-NIV
2. But perhaps the most ignored definition of love in the Bible is this:
a) Biblical love demands obedience
1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.
IV. The Inauguration of the new and improved command.
1 John 2:8a On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you,
A) Inaugurated?
1. The night Jesus established the new covenant!
John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had handed all things over to Him, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
V. The Illustration of the new and improved commandment!
John 13:4 got up from supper and laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and tied it around Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began washing the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself.
A) Illustration?
1. Judas’s feet included!
John 13:12 Then, when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am. 14 So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you.
2. Jesus is saying:
a) I’ve just illustrated the inauguration of the new commandment!
John 13:33 Little children, I am still with you a little longer. You will look for Me; and just as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”
VI. The Insistence for this new and improved commandment?
1 John 2:8b because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
Matthew 4:16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”-ESV
A) Incarnation was an inauguration of a new age – Church age!
1. The church age is an age in which the light/love of God is made manifest in our world in through Christ, and in and through the believer!
John 3:21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” .”-ESV
B) Illustration?
Matthew 5:43a Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour,
Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor, I am the Lord.
Matthew 5:43b and hate thine enemy.
1. God never told them to hate their enemies!
a) Over the centuries they justified it by referring to this Psalm:
Psalm 139:21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Q: Why?
Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Matthew 5:48a Be ye therefore perfect,
A) Perfect?
1. IN LOVE!!
Matthew 5:48B even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
a) The commandment to be perfect in the same way our Father is perfect is to be seen in the context of love.
B) Point?
Herman Ridderbos- The word “perfect” as used here denotes quite a different meaning. It concerns the “perfectness,” the consistency of love. Man is bound not only to love his neighbor but also his enemies. It is in this sense that the heavenly Father, too, is perfect. “For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). There is no room in His love for half measures. Hence perfect love is also demanded from His children, not partial, not only towards friends, but enemies as well.
Saint Remigius –“Because the utmost perfection of love cannot go beyond the love of enemies, therefore as soon as the Lord has bid us love our enemies, He proceeds, Be ye then perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
1. Loving only your neighbors or those who love us back is an incomplete love.
Luke 6: 27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
Luke 6: 32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Herman Ridderbos- Hence also Luke can add in the corresponding passage in his Gospel: “Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). “Even as” means “equally perfect,” “equally consistent.”
C) Purpose?
1 John 2:9 The one who says that he is in the Light and yet hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.
1. Light and love are used interchangeably!
a) 1 John neatly divides into two categories:
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
D) Point?
Matthew 5: 14 “You are the [light/love] of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your [light/love] so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
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1. Tertullian c.ad 160–c. 225. Roman theologian and Church Father from Carthage: who was created with these quotes:
a) Tetrutllian – Behold they [pagans] say, 'how they [Christians] love one another, for they themselves [pagans] hate one another, and how they [Christians] are ready to die for each other], for they themselves [pagans] are readier to kill each other.
b) Mahatma Gandhi- “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”
2. Christians are to let the light of their love shine before men.
1 John 2:10a The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light,
1 John 2:10a He that loveth his brother abideth in the light,
a) Not only has he entered into it but has made it his home, his abode!
1 John 2:10b and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling.
b) He has in him nothing likely to ensnare him or cause him to stumble.
c) He has in him nothing likely to cause others to stumble.
1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
David Guzik - Enduring Word Commentary - The point is plain. If we lose love then we lose everything. There is nothing left. You can do all the right things, believe all the right truths, but if you do not love other Christians then all is lost. The three tests - moral, doctrinal, and love - all stand together, like the legs on a three-legged stool. It is all too easy for people to place “ministry” or “being right” above love in the body of Christ. We must do ministry, and we must be right, but we must do it all in love - if not in perfect actions, then following with proper repentance.
Ray Stedman -Authentic Christianity-I remember an occasion when I was counseling with a woman about a physical problem that really had a spiritual basis in her experience. I discovered she hated another person for years. Hate had turned her bitter and rancid and had poisoned all her thoughts. I said to her, You must find it in your heart to forgive this person, as God has forgiven you. She looked at me and said, I can't forgive her; I'll never forgive her!
Ray Stedman -I said, But God says you must. If you can't, then you need to face the fact that you are not a Christian, because if you can't forgive, then you've never been born again. She looked at me and said, I guess you're right. I know I am a Christian, and I see I have just been deceiving myself. I need to forgive. And she did! There came a change in that woman's life that was like night turning to day.
Ray Stedman -Christians can delude themselves into going along with the world's attitude that they cannot forgive. When worldlings hate, they find themselves locked in an unbreakable grip from which they cannot escape. But when the Son of God comes into their lives, the power of the evil one is broken, and they are delivered from this and can forgive. But we still must agree to it. God is not going to make us forgive apart from our own will, though the ability to do so is there.
Ray Stedman -True Christians are marked by the ability to forgive anyone despite how they feel. Do we need our eyes opened so we can willingly escape the grip of unforgiveness?
Ray Stedman -Lord, I pray that Your love might be manifest in and through me, not because I am trying so hard, but because I know You, and You have loved me and come to live Your life through me
Closing:
VII. The Insistence for this new and improved command
Jesus had taught the disciples many things during the three years they had been together, but this new commandment was the final one before He was crucified. What would it take to impact the world as He had done? It wouldn’t be their speaking abilities, their miracle-working powers, or their courage. Jesus said the world would be drawn to His message when it saw His followers continuing to love each other.
In giving the new commandment, Jesus laid the foundation for the formation of a group of people unique in human history. Jesus created a group identified by one thing: love. Other groups may identify themselves by skin color, by uniform, by shared interests, by adherence to a code of behavior, by alma mater, etc. But the church is unique. For the first and only time in history, Jesus created a group whose identifying factor is love. Followers of Christ are recognized by their love for each other.
The new commandment to love one another is one we all need. The disciples had not started out loving each other. They were a mismatched crew of unlikely world-changers: some friends, some relatives, some strangers. They were as rough around the edges, sinful, and selfish as anyone else. But, in the three years that they followed this new Rabbi, they had experienced the love of God as no one ever had before. They came to the realization that this was God come to earth. The love and patience with which He taught them began to change them. He modeled love for them. He demonstrated the compassion and tenderness that God has for mankind—but this was a God that looked nothing like how the Pharisees described Him.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly prefaced a teaching by saying, “You have heard it said . . . but I say to you” (Matthew 5:21–38). And He taught about love in a way His hearers had never heard before:
When Jesus presented His followers with the new commandment the night before He was crucified, it fit with everything else He had said and done. Though they didn’t understand it at the time, Jesus was telling them that He would not be with them much longer. The love He had poured into them they must now pour into each other if His message was to impact the world after He was gone.
They had not been easy to love at first. In fact, there was nothing at all lovable about some of them. But for three years Jesus had shown them that love is not dependent upon the worthiness of the one being loved. God’s love embraces flaws, weaknesses, and outright unworthiness.
Jesus demonstrated this unconditional love by washing His disciples’ feet, even those of the one who would betray Him.
He exemplified the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. Living with this kind of love was the new commandment Jesus gave to everyone who wants to be His disciple.
Communion
Matthew 26: 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
