Christians ought to look forward and Godward alongside the contemplation of the promises and covenants of God. The former alludes to “looking unto Jesus” verse in Hebrews 12:2. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of all the covenants stretching from the Adamic typology and seed, preservation of life in Noahic covenant, to Abraham’s promised land and descendants, including the Mosaic laws, and the awaited son in the line of the Davidic kingship.
Indeed, it was in Christ that the covenants had been both realized and inaugurated to which the people of God anticipated (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This “new” covenant, in Jer. 31:31-34, was the saving hope for the Israelites. This eschatological hope, the messianic fulfillment, began in Christ’s incarnation (Philippians 2:5-11) and commenced in His death and resurrection.
Why did Jesus need to die? Throughout the “conditional” covenant of God with his people—the Israelites, the covenantal violation or the keeping of the covenant regulations had failed repetitively. It should be understood that the nature of a divine covenant requires the shedding of blood once it was violated for appeasement of the obligations.
Providentially, by His grace, God initiated and represented humanity by sending His Son—the incarnated God to the world (John 1:1, 14; 3:16) for the reconciliation of His people to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19). It was through His blood that humanity has been given the grace to be released from the curse—slavery to sin, corruption, and depravity—to become part of the “new” covenantal family (Heb. 9:22).
This is why, Christ—the author and perfecter of our faith—told the disciples during the Last Supper, commemorating the Passover, that he was fulfilling the kingdom of God as part of the new covenant through His blood which was poured out for us (Luke 22:16-20).
References:
Gentry, Peter J., and Stephen J. Wellum. God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.
Robertson, O. Palmer. The Christ of the Covenants. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1980.
Wellum, Stephen J., and Brent E. Parker. Progressive Covenantalism: Charting a Course between Dispensational and Covenant Theologies. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016.
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