Introduction

‘When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’ Luke 22:14-20

Constable, in his commentary, says the following.

‘This is the seventh of nine meal scenes that Luke recorded in his Gospel, Luke 5:29-32 / Luke 7:36-50 / Luke 9:12-17 / Luke 10:38-42 / Luke 11:37-54 / Luke 14:1-24 / Luke 22:14-20 / Luke 24:28-32 / Luke 24:36-42.’

Jesus desired to eat this Passover with His disciples before He suffers, Luke 22:15. Jesus knew exactly what was to come and He was well aware of the suffering He needed to endure to fulfil the will of the Father. He tells His disciples that He won’t eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God, Luke 22:16.

In other words, He won’t eat another Passover until His own death happened, 1 Corinthians 5:7. Some believe this means that Jesus won’t eat the Passover again until we all get to heaven.

However, I believe it could also have reference to the time when His kingdom was established on earth, that is the church, Matthew 3:2 / Mark 9:1 / Luke 9:31 / Acts 2.

Notice that Luke records that there were two cups, Luke 22:17 / Luke 22:20.

Constable, in his commentary, says the following.

‘There were four times that participants in the Passover meal drank together, commonly referred to as four cups. The Passover opened with a prayer of thanksgiving followed by the drinking of the first cup. Then the celebrants ate the bitter herbs and sang Psalms 113-114. Next, they drank the second cup and began eating the lamb and unleavened bread. Then they drank the third cup and sang Psalms 115-118. Finally, they drank the fourth cup. The cup in view in this verse may have been the first of the four. If it was, Jesus evidently did not participate in the drinking of the following three cups, Luke 22:18.’

‘The other Gospel writers did not refer to the first cup, so this may have been the third cup, the so-called cup of redemption. This view assumes that Jesus did participate in the drinking of the first and second cups, which would have been normal.’

Jesus takes this first cup, thanks God for it and then asks the disciples to take it and divide among themselves, Luke 22:17. He tells them that He won’t drink again until the Kingdom of God comes, Luke 22:18 / Matthew 3:2 / Mark 9:1 / Luke 9:31 / Acts 2.

Jesus now institutes His memorial that had more significance than the normal Passover meal that the Jews ate at this time of the year, Exodus 12:11 / Mark 14:17-26 / Luke 22:14-20 / 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

Jesus took bread, Matthew 26:26 / Mark 14:22 / Luke 22:19 / 1 Corinthians 11:23-24, probably unleavened bread, Exodus 12:15 / Exodus 13:3 / Exodus 13:7 / Deuteronomy 16:3, gave thanks to God for the bread and gives it to His disciples.

A traditional Jewish prayer for giving thanks for food was as follows, ‘Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.’

Jesus tells His disciples that the bread represents His body, Mark 14:22 / Matthew 26:26 / Luke 22:19 / John 10:7, that is, metaphorically speaking.

Paul later tells us that Jesus also spoke about the bread as His spiritual body, the church, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. The ‘breaking of bread’, is often used in the Scriptures to speak of the Lord’s Supper, Acts 2:42 / Acts 20:7 / 1 Corinthians 10:16-18.

After supper, Jesus then takes another cup, Matthew 26:27 / Mark 14:23 / Luke 22:20 / 1 Corinthians 11:25, gave thanks to God for the contents of the cup, that is, the fruit of the vine, Mark 14:25, and then passed it to His disciples to drink, each one of them, Mark 14:23 / Acts 20:7.

This was to become a symbol of the blood of Christ, Matthew 26:28 / Mark 14:24 / Luke 22:20, who offered up His own life for others, Leviticus 7:26-27 / Acts 15:20 / Colossians 1:20 / Hebrews 9:12 / Hebrews 9:14 / Hebrews 9:20 / 1 Peter 1:2 / 1 John 1:7.

Jesus’ blood of the covenant was poured out for the forgiveness of sins, Jeremiah 31:31-34 / Exodus 24:8 / Acts 2:38.

Jesus tells them He won’t drink of it again until that day when He drinks it new in His Father’s kingdom, Matthew 26:29 / Mark 14:25 / Luke 22:17 / Matthew 3:2 / Mark 9:1 / Luke 9:31 / Acts 2.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Christ made the Lord’s Supper the solemn sign and seal of the covenant for the forgiveness of the sins of his disciples in all ages. Christians who forsake the Lord’s Supper are described in the New Testament as having ‘trodden underfoot the Son of God’ and as having ‘counted the blood of the covenant wherewith (they) were sanctified an unholy thing’ and as having ‘done despite’, insulted, unto the Spirit of grace, Hebrews 10:29.’

Why Was Wine Used?

Have you ever considered why wine is being used in the Passover? God never commanded the use of wine for the Passover, there’s no mention of it in Exodus 12. There are a few reasons for drinking four cups of wine according to the Jews.

When promising to deliver the Jews from Egyptian slavery, God used four terms to describe the redemption, Exodus 6:6-8.

1. ‘I shall take you out.’

2. ‘I shall rescue you.’

3. ‘I shall redeem you.’

4. ‘I shall bring you.’

They were freed from Pharaoh’s four evil decrees.

1. Slavery.

2. The ordered murder of all male progeny by the Hebrew midwives.

3. The drowning of all Hebrew boys in the Nile by Egyptian thugs.

4. The decree ordered the Israelites to collect their own straw for use in their brick production.

The Jews believe that the four cups symbolise their freedom from our four exiles.

1. The Egyptian.

2. Babylonian.

3. Greek exiles.

4. And their current exile which they hope to be rid of very soon with the coming of the Messiah.

The reason this is important is that in Luke’s account, we read that there were two cups used, one on either side of the bread, Luke 22:17 / Luke 22:20. In Jewish history, the cup of the Passover was likely four cups of wine, which is the number found in the Mishnah, interspersed throughout the meal.

Jesus says He won’t drink from this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when He drinks it new with them in His Father’s kingdom, Mark 14:25 / Luke 22:18.

This is either speaking of the time when Christ’s kingdom was established, Matthew 18:20 / Acts 2:42, and He will partake of the new supper with His people, or it could be speaking about the time we get to heaven.

Smith, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Now I look forward to that day when I drink of it in His Father’s kingdom with Him. I am going to have a glorious Lord’s supper someday. And we’re going to just be there with Jesus in the kingdom of God.’

Dummelow, in his commentary, says the following.

‘These mysterious and beautiful words are a well-known ‘crux’ of interpreters. It seems clear, however, that they are to be taken as referring to the whole rite of the Lord’s Supper, and not simply to the ‘fruit of the vine’, or cup. This is evident from Luke 22:16, ‘I will not any more eat thereof’, that is, of the Christian Passover or Supper, ‘until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Interpretations fall into two main classes, according to as ‘the kingdom of God’, that is, ‘My Father’s kingdom’, is understood to refer to the period after the Resurrection, or the period after the Judgment.’

‘According to the first interpretation, the sacred rite which Jesus now institutes, and which He will not again celebrate until He has triumphed over death and sat down a conqueror on the throne of His Father’s kingdom, will, after the Ascension, and especially after the descent of the Spirit, be to the disciples a new thing. No longer will the shadow of disappointment and seeming failure hang over their meetings. The sin of the world will have been atoned for, death will have been conquered, the Spirit will have been given, and Jesus will be present at the feast, not, as now, in the body of His humiliation, but the power of His risen and glorious life.’

‘According to the other interpretation, the Lord’s Supper is regarded as a type and prophecy of the eternal marriage supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:9. These two views do not exclude one another. The title ’this fruit of the vine’ which Jesus applies to the sacred cup even after consecration, would seem to exclude the mediaeval doctrine of Transubstantiation.’

The Lord’s Supper

I would like for us to consider a few things concerning the Lord’s Supper.

Firstly, the prayer for the bread and the wine, too often I hear people asking God to bless the bread and the wine, but this isn’t what Jesus did, He simply thanked God for them, Matthew 26:26-27, He blessed God, not the bread and the wine because He knew that God was the One who supplied the bread and the wine and supplied everything for them to have it, i.e., the rain and sun which caused them to grow so that they could make bread and wine.

Secondly, we must remember that we don’t come to the Lord’s table looking for forgiveness, Matthew 26:28, I’ve lost count of the number of times I hear someone asking God to forgive us our sins as if we only have our sins forgiven once a week. Our sins have already been forgiven at our baptism Acts 2:38 and when we confess our sins to Him, 1 John 1:9.

Is it a time of celebration or mourning? Well, possibly both, it saddens us when we remember what we did to cause Jesus to have to go to the cross but it’s also a time of celebration because Jesus has conquered death and dealt with our sins and promises to come back again, whilst we remember what He did for us.

Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper in order for us to remember the great sacrifice He made for us and that we rely on Him and His sacrifice for our salvation.

He gave us this memorial, so we would not forget Him and what He did for us. In Luke 22:19, when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me.’ This is done to help us remember the Lord and what He did for us.

The death of our Lord wasn’t an accident. It was in God’s eternal plan of redemption for Christ to come to this earth and take our punishment for our sins by dying for us, so God can now be just in saving us. In several places in the Old Testament, God foretells the death of His Son for us, Isaiah 53:5-6.

God and Christ are loving and wonderful for what they have done for us. We read of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

This is how we remember the great suffering that our Lord did for us. We proclaim our faith in this great and wonderful deed to the world each time we partake of the Lord’s Supper.

Some partake of only the bread and their priest partakes of the fruit of the vine, this is a perversion of the Lord’s Supper. This isn’t doing it the way the Bible instructs.

But notice each Christian is to partake of both the bread and the fruit of the vine. When we partake of the unleavened bread, we picture our Lord’s body hanging there, suffering in anguish and pain, taking the punishment that was rightly due us.

As we drink of the fruit of the vine, we envision His precious blood which was poured out for us to cleanse us from all our sins. What great love and concern God and Christ have for us!

The Lord wants us to remember what He did for us every first day of the week as the church did in the first century.

We are to remember that our Lord gave up heaven to come to this earth for thirty-three years, and then died for us.

We remember the humiliation of the mock trial, the crown of thorns and the terrible scourging that left His back raw and bleeding.

We remember the soldiers gambling for the Lord’s only earthly possession, the clothes on His back.

Then we remember the nails as they were driven into His hands and feet, and the cross as it was raised and dropped into the hole.

We also remember the spirit of forgiveness of our Lord, as He was being crucified, Luke 23:34.

We remember our Lord’s loud cry of victory, Matthew 27:46.

We remember as our Lord hung on the cross, how the people mocked, shamed, and made fun of Him as He was dying not only for their sins but the sins of all mankind, 1 Peter 2:24.

We remember the sun refused to shine, and the earth shook because of the death of the Son of God, Matthew 27:45 / Matthew 27:51.

We must first examine ourselves to determine whether we have the right attitude to partake in this memorial. We must put all else from our minds. We should make sure we have our minds centred on what Christ did for us.

We must clear our minds of all other thoughts and centre our minds on the sacrifice of our Lord, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, or otherwise as 1 Corinthians 11:29 (KJV) says, ‘We eat and drink damnation to ourselves.’

There are four things we need to look at before and whilst we participate in the Supper.

1. We need to look back to the cross, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.

2. We need to look forward to His return, 1 Corinthians 11:26.

3. We need to look within ourselves, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29.

4. We need to look at each other, 1 Corinthians 11:33.

Many Christians today refuse to partake of the Supper because they feel they are ‘unworthy’. The truth is all of us are ‘unworthy’, but this isn’t Paul’s point.

Paul is speaking about the Christian’s attitude towards the Supper, do they partake without really thinking about what the bread and wine symbolise?

Do they partake without thinking about what Christ did for them on the cross? If not, they are spiritually crucifying Jesus all over again, hence the need to self-examine first to avoid judgment.

Many Christians today refuse to partake of the Supper because they have a problem with a brother or sister in Christ and, so they believe they would be partaking in the Supper in an ‘unworthy manner’.

I find this tragic that Christians refuse to partake of the Supper because they have a problem with someone else. The truth is, Christians shouldn’t be participating in ‘worship’ as a whole, not just the Supper if they have a problem with their brothers or sisters, Matthew 5:23-24.

I’ve often heard Christians say that we should refuse non-Christians the Lord’s Supper because they will bring ‘judgment on themselves’.

First of all, Paul is writing to Christians and its Christians who should be ‘examining themselves’, Paul doesn’t deal with non-Christians participating in the Supper.

Secondly, if non-Christians partake of the Supper, how much more ‘judgement’ can a non-Christian come under?

I find it fascinating that some Christians will refuse any non-Christian visitor the Supper but will happily take their money for the offering! I believe the Supper is for Christians but if a non-Christian begins to come regularly to our assemblies, then someone should go and explain to them what the Supper is all about and who it is for.

Many people don’t want to remember the Lord’s death for us very often since they only partake of the Lord’s Supper monthly, quarterly, annually, or not at all.

The excuse is given that they do not want to partake of it more often because it will become too commonplace and lose its meaning. But the very opposite is true.

The Lord’s Supper loses its meaning when we choose not to partake and think about it. This would be like saying that we should only pray two or three times a year, for if we prayed more often, then prayer would lose its meaning.

This would be absurd. Does the Lord’s death really mean anything to us? But Jesus requested in Luke 22:19, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me.’ Do we really care to regularly remember the death of our Lord?

People seem to be turned off by the death of Jesus and the shedding of His blood. They don’t care to remember it. But it is His blood that cleanses us from our sins, Revelation 1:5.

They would rather remember Him as a babe in a manger than a crucified Saviour. It is an insult to Jesus to celebrate His manger and then ignore His cross. Many people seem to be ashamed of the death of Jesus, Mark 8:38.

This memorial of our Lord is called ‘the Lord’s Supper’ in 1 Corinthians 11:20 and ‘the Lord’s table’ in 1 Corinthians 10:21. In 1 Corinthians 10:16, it is referred to as ‘the breaking of bread’ and ‘communion’. But the church in the first century met every first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper, Acts 20:7.

Why did they come together on the first day of the week? Here we see the church in the first century came together on the first day of every week to break bread, which is the Lord’s Supper.

Their primary reason for coming together on the first day of the week was to partake of the Lord’s Supper. We cannot be pleasing to the Lord if we observe the Lord’s Supper only a few times a year or not at all.

Are we really interested in proclaiming the Lord’s death to the world until He comes? 1 Corinthians 11:26. People today don’t seem to have a problem with the example to give on the first day of each week, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.

One of the things they were to do when they came together was to give. What else was the church at Corinth to do every first day of the week when they came together? They were condemned for making a gluttonous feast out of the Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:20.

When did they come together in one place? Every first day of the week. What were they doing when they came together every first day of the week? Perverting the Lord’s Supper by making it into a glutinous and drunken feast.

What were they supposed to be doing every first day of the week? Partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Two of the things the church at Corinth did every first day of the week were to give and partake of the Lord’s Supper.

Why shouldn’t we be like those in the first century who assembled on the first day of every week to remember the Lord’s death by partaking in the Lord’s Supper?

But many people seem to have a problem in seeing the importance of partaking in the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week as the church in the first century did when it was under inspired apostolic guidance.

When the Jews, who lived under the Old Testament, were commanded to remember the Sabbath Day, that is the seventh day of the week, to keep it holy, they kept all 52 Sabbath Days of the year holy. The first day of the week also occurs 52 times each year.

When Christians today observe the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week, they are following the Biblical example of Acts 20 of the disciples who came together on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper, Acts 20:7.

We also read in Acts 2:42 concerning the church at Jerusalem, ‘And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread and in prayers.’ Again, we see the first-century church was steadfast or regular in the breaking of bread which is their observance of the Lord’s Supper.

But later men in denominational groups chose to partake of the Lord’s Supper less frequently. Should we be any less regular than the church in the first century? According to what we have seen in the scriptures, we are to both give and partake of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week.

Could the Bible be any clearer concerning the Lord’s Supper? Another perversion of the Lord’s Supper occurred when men introduced the absurd doctrine of transubstantiation in the Decrees of the Council of Trent, which met from 1545 to 1563 A.D.

This decree devised by men stated that the bread and the fruit of the vine are converted miraculously into the literal body and blood of Jesus when we partake of it. Sadly, men would dare to pervert the Lord’s Supper into such a mockery.

It’s ridiculous to place literal interpretations on symbolic language. In John 15:5 Jesus says, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches.’ Here Jesus is using figurative language because we know He isn’t a literal vine, and we aren’t literal branches. In John 10:9 Jesus said, ‘I am the door.’ But again, He uses symbolic language.

Concerning the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said in 1 Corinthians 11:25, ‘this do in remembrance of Me.’ The Lord’s Supper is designed to help us remember what the Lord did for us.

And as we partake of it as 1 Corinthians 11:26 says, ‘You proclaim the Lord’s death till He Comes’. We are showing the world that we believe that Jesus died for our sins.

One Cup Or Many!

It’s hard to believe that churches years ago split over the issue of ‘one cup or many’, even today there are some divisions within the Lord’s body over how many cups should be used for the Lord’s Supper.

I find it heart-breaking when divisions arise within the Lord’s church, but I find it even more heart-breaking when some go as far as to make it a salvation issue.

Let’s go ahead and see some of the arguments that are used to ‘prove’ that we should only use ‘one cup’.

The Bible refences cited next are the passages, some Christians use to argue for the use of ‘one cup’ only, Matthew 26:27 / Mark 14:23 / Luke 22:20 / 1 Corinthians 10:16 / 1 Corinthians 10:21 / 1 Corinthians 11:25 / 1 Corinthians 11:26 / 1 Corinthians 11:27 / 1 Corinthians 11:28.

When we’re dealing with any Biblical text, we must think carefully about what is being said, keep it in context and be consistent with the outcome.

When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, we know that the ‘bread’ represents the ‘body’ of Christ, Matthew 26:26. When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, we know that the ‘wine’ represents the ‘blood’ of Christ, Matthew 26:27-28.

And so, if the ‘bread’ represents His ‘body’ and the ‘wine’ represents His ‘blood,’ what does ‘the cup’ represent? Most Christians who argue against more than ‘one cup’ maintain they are following the example of Jesus, but we need to ask ourselves the question, is every part of an example binding?

Look at Acts 20:7-8, the text says they met in the ‘upstairs room’, are we going to say that the church today must meet in an ‘upstairs room’? Look at Matthew 3:13, the text says that ‘Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan’, are we going to say that we must follow Jesus’ example and be baptised in the River Jordan?

If Jesus was baptised in a river, does this mean that anyone who’s been baptised in a baptistry or a lake hasn’t received a Biblical baptism? ‘Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.’

When we think about the ‘bread’ which was used in the first century, it looks nothing like the unleavened crackers we use today, does this mean we must use a ‘loaf’ for the Lord’s Supper?

Those who insist on one cup only argue that they’re following Jesus’ example, and they say if churches use more than one cup, they have gone beyond what is written, 1 Corinthians 4:6 and therefore it is sinful.

The bulk of the argument is based on the that there is no Biblical evidence that authorises the use of more than ‘one cup’. They do agree though that the Bible authorises by command, example, direct statement and expediency which basically means something useful.

Expediency involves the right of choice, within the realm of that which is authorised in the New Testament and is not itself a source of authority. A basic example is that we are commanded to teach, and the use of overhead projectors would be useful for doing so.

Those who argue for the use of ‘one cup’ only always ask the question, where is the command, example or direct statement that authorises the use of individual cups for the Lord’s Supper?

It seems to me they have forgotten about the expediency part. And like most people who make everything a salvation issue, they fail to be consistent with their arguments.

The same people who argue for the use of ‘one cup’ only, have no problems authorising things like a church building, songbooks, seats etc. because they say those things are expediency. Surely if those things are expediency, then so is the use of ‘multiple cups’ for the Lord’s Supper!

With all the arguments about ‘the cup’, what about the bread? The consistent argument would be to ask, where is the Scripture that authorises the use of two or more plates for the bread to be served on? There is none! Yet these same Christians use more than one plate for the bread to be served on.

I also find it interesting that these same Christians, understand that the expression ‘one bread’ just means that all are to partake of the bread, and they understand that the number of plates for the bread doesn’t change anything, in other words, they are all taking the bread.

You see, there is just as much Bible authority for more than ‘one cup’ as there is for more than ‘one plate’ for the bread. The point is that the ‘container’ isn’t important but what is important is ‘the fruit of the vine’ and ‘the bread’.

A cup is an expedient or aid to taking the fruit of the vine just as a plate is an aid to taking the bread. The number of cups or plates isn’t specified.

Think about this, when the Samaritan women spoke to Jesus and said in John 4:12 ‘Surely, you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.’

Does this mean that each of them put their lips on the well and drank? Surely it means all of them drank from it but not all from the same container.

Jesus says in Matthew 26:27 ‘Drink from it, all of you.’ When said this, did He mean for them to drink the cup or its contents? This was a figure of speech known as a metonymy.

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.

We all agree that one plate or many plates don’t violate the command to eat the bread, why? Because the plate isn’t significant, it’s the bread which represents the body of Christ which is significant.

It’s heart-breaking to hear how some Christians take things to the extreme and turn things into a salvation issue whilst being inconsistent with their arguments.

The number of cups used in partaking of the Lord’s Supper should no more divide the church than whether we meet in an upper room or ground floor, whether we baptise people in the Jordan River or a bath in someone’s house, Ephesians 4:3.

The Blood Of Christ And Baptism

Many people dismiss baptism as necessary for salvation because they don’t understand the connection between the ‘water’ used in baptism and the ‘blood of Christ’. Many Christians, as I once did, struggle to understand how they are connected.

To see and understand the connection between the water and the blood of Christ, we need to go back to Jesus’ words when He instituted the Lord’s Supper. The text tells us the reason why Christ shed His blood; He says it was for ‘the forgiveness of sins’. Matthew 26:27-28.

We know that if there was no blood shed, there would be no forgiveness of sins available to anyone, Hebrews 9:22. To this very day, all sinners need the blood of Christ in order to be forgiven for their sins, Hebrews 9:13-14.

When we read Acts 2:38, we learn that people were baptised in the Name of Christ ‘for the forgiveness of their sins’. This demonstrates that Christ’s blood is connected to baptism in water.

John tells us that it is Christ’s blood that ‘washes our sins away’, Revelation 1:5. When Paul met Ananias, Ananias told Paul to ‘be baptised to wash away his sins’, Acts 22:16. This also demonstrates that Christ’s blood is connected to baptism in water.

Paul tells us that it is ‘in Christ’, that Christians have ‘redemption, through the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins’, Ephesians 1:7.

The word ‘redeem’ carries with it the idea of being bought out of slavery. Christians have been bought out of slavery by the blood of Christ and when they are baptised, they have the forgiveness of sins, 1 Peter 1:18-19.

The Hebrew writer tells us, ‘having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water’. Hebrews 10:22.

The sprinkling is a clear reference to the blood of Christ, 1 Peter 1:22, and the water is a clear reference to baptism, Ephesians 5:25-26. Peter speaks of our baptism as a pledge of a clear conscience toward God, 1 Peter 3:21. This again demonstrates that Christ’s blood is connected to baptism in water.

It’s the blood of Christ that reconciles people into a relationship with God, Ephesians 2:13 / Ephesians 2:16. For a person to be reconciled to God, they need the blood of Christ, and they come into contact with the blood of Christ at baptism.

Christians have been justified by the blood of Christ and because they have been justified by His blood, the result is salvation, Romans 5:8-9.

The word ‘justify’ means simply means to make righteous (right before God, just as if one has never sinned). Yes, everyone has sinned, but it’s only Christians who can appear before God as though they haven’t sinned. Christians are justified by the blood of Jesus when they have their sins washed away in the waters of baptism.

The Connection

1. Jesus shed His blood in His death on the cross, John 19:33-34, sinners are baptised into His death, Romans 6:3.

2. Jesus shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins, Matthew 26:28, sinners are baptised for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38.

3. Jesus shed His blood to clean our conscience, Hebrews 9:13-14, sinners are baptised as a pledge for a clear conscience, 1 Peter 1:21.

4. Jesus shed His blood so that we can be washed of our sins in it, Revelation 1:5, sinners are baptised to have their sins washed away, Acts 22:16.

Conclusion

The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus’ blood saves us, but the Bible also tells us that His blood can only be accessed by being baptised in water for the forgiveness of our sins, Acts 2:38 / Acts 22:16.

It’s through the waters of baptism that God washes us clean from our sins, Colossians 2:11-13, and gives us a pledge of a clear conscience towards Him, 1 Peter 3:21.

We come into contact with the blood of Christ in the waters of baptism, it’s then that we become ‘in Christ’ and all of our past sins are forgiven, and we receive a new life, Romans 6:1-5.

After we’ve been baptised, His blood will continue to cleanse us and purify us from all unrighteousness, if we remain faithful to Him and confess our sins to Him, 1 John 1:6-9.

Have you been baptised for the forgiveness of your sins? If not, why not? Acts 22:16.