Day 4

The Body

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 

John 6:51

In partaking of a covenant meal, bread was shared between parties representing the flesh of each one. They would symbolically nourish one another with their flesh, creating an irreversible bond between them. They were now a part of one another. That bread they chew and swallow gets broken down and nourishes and strengthens each cell in their body. Their covenant union could not be reversed any more than you could reverse being nourished by the bread. 

“… The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you…’” 

1 Corinthians 11:23-24

Jesus took the bread and broke it. 

“I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting…” 

Isaiah 50:6

“… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” 

Isaiah 53:5

The idea of covenant is one of exchange - exchange of identity. My lot in life for yours. My situation for yours. 

It’s all about a right to something, according to the terms of the covenant set in place. 

HE entered into covenant with me. With God, that’s the only possible way. I can’t stand before Him alone, I have no right before a Holy God - there has to be a go-between. Why? Because of sin nature - nature being passed down through blood. But since He was the one to initiate the covenant, and because I was represented by One who is both fully God and fully man, it is valid. He initiated the covenant. He sets the terms. 

What does it mean that He was wounded for our… He was bruised for our…? It means that He took upon Himself our natural right. Our only right from a just God, is justice. In a sinful state, justice is death, punishment for sin. 

Jesus took upon himself our own sinful state. He put it on like a garment. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21). That’s what covenant does - it’s an exchange of right of birth. 

We exchanged right of birth with Jesus because it was the Father’s good pleasure to give it to us (Luke 12:32). He took our only right as sinners and bore the punishment for us, fully and completely. “… there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins [to be made]…” Hebrews 10:26

So if we exchanged right of birth, He took upon Himself our right, and gave to us His own. Just as He took everything upon Himself we were entitled to as sinners, He gave us to take upon ourselves everything that He had a right to as the Son of God. 

“Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ [through right of covenant in Christ].” 

Galatians 4:7

To think Jesus only died so that every time we messed up we could crawl to God and beg to be forgiven and drag ourselves off, tail between the legs - is a dishonor to the covenant and the One Who desired to make it. 

How much does this covenant cover? Covenants are not unbalanced. The scale is equal between the two parties. The scope of covenant for one is the scope of covenant for the other. If Jesus became our sin - we became His righteousness. If He became our imperfect state, we became His perfect state… “As He is, so am I…” 1 John 4:17

When we take of the covenant bread - we receive the Lord’s body, broken for us that we might be whole.

“And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘take, eat…’” 

1 Corinthians 11:24