The New Covenant of Christ

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money” ...

Therefore My people shall know My name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am”...

The voice of your watchmen⁠ — they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem...

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

— Selective verses from Isaiah 52:1-12 (ESV)

Behold, My servant shall act wisely; (John 7:15-16)
he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. (Philippians 2:5-11)

As many were astonished at you
(his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind)
so shall he sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.

Who has believed what he has heard from us? (Romans 10:16)
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For he grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; (Luke 2:52)
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. (John 7:24; Matthew 11:8)

He was despised and rejected by men, (John 7:1-9; Matthew 11:9)
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; (John 12:27; Galatians 2:21)
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; (John 10:11-18; Mark 14:27)
we have turned — every one — to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 1:17)

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see his offspring; He shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, (Revelation 1:5-6)
because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; (Luke 22:37)
yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

— Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 (ESV)

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

• But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh,
• while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants.

1. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
2. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

...

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say?

So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

— Galatians 4:22-26, 28-31 (ESV)

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters...

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.

— Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who does this...

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD...

And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD... these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The Lord GOD, Who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.

...

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

— Isaiah 61:8-9,11 (ESV)

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all.

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.

— Romans 9:1-6 (KJV)

And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD,
I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer "Jezreel" (God will sow),
I will sow her (God's "wife") for Myself in the land.

And I will have mercy on "No Mercy",
and I will say to "Not My People", "You are My people";
and he shall say, "You are my God".

— Hosea 2:23 (ESV)

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea (Genesis 22:17), which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God”. — Hosea 1:10 (ESV)

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on Him.

— Romans 10:11-13 (ESV)

1. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters (John 7:37; Revelation 22:17); and he who has no money, come buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price (Romans 3:23-24, 6:23). Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread (John 6:35-37), and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
2. Listen diligently to me (Romans 6:16) and eat what is good, and
3. delight yourselves in rich (abundance of) food (or life/mind).

Incline your ear, and

1. come to me;
2. hear,
3. that your soul may live (John 10:10, 14:6); and

I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast,

1. sure love for David (Acts 13:34).
2. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
3. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,

because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you (Colossians 3:4).

1. Seek the LORD while He may be found (2 Chronicles 7:14; Amos 5:4; Matthew 7:7-8);
2. call (proclaim) upon Him while He is near (Psalm 50:15; Joel 2:32; Acts 22:16; Romans 10:13);
3. let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man thoughts (Psalm 1:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; Ephesians 5:11); let him return to the LORD (2 Corinthians 3:6,16),

that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

— Isaiah 55:1-7 (ESV)

3: For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

2: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

1: “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace...

— Isaiah 55:8-12 (ESV)

Thus says the LORD:

• “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed.
• Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and
• keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people”; and
let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose the things that please Me and hold fast My covenant: I will give in My house and within My walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

• to minister to Him,
• to love the name of the LORD, and
• to be His servants,
• everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and
• holds fast My covenant: these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The Lord GOD, Who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

— Isaiah 56:1-8 (ESV)

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” — Isaiah 57:21 (ESV)

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace:

• the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and
• all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
• Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
• instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and
• it shall make a name for the LORD,

an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

— Isaiah 55:8-13 (ESV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. — John 13:34-35 (ESV)

But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. Yet he warned them not to make him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

— Matthew 12:15-21 (NKJV)

Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the Prophets,

Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me — not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

— John 6:43-51 (ESV)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”

— Matthew 26:26-29 (ESV)

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

— Mark 14:22-25 (ESV)

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.

And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

— Luke 22:14-20 (ESV)

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and body of the Lord.

— 1 Corinthians 11:23-27 (ESV)

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people:

Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled.

Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:

whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old.

Moses indeed said:

Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.

Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham:

Unto you first God, having raised up His servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

— Acts 3:11-26 (ASV)

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through [because of] our Lord Jesus Christ, through because of whom we have now received reconciliation. — Romans 5:9-11 (ESV)

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned — for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. — Romans 5:12-14 (ESV)

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

— Romans 5:15-17 (ESV)

• Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men**.
• For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

— Romans 5:18-19 (ESV)

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that:

• as sin reigned in death,
• grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through [because of] Jesus Christ our Lord.

— Romans 5:20-21 (ESV)

• Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
• but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

— Romans 6:13 (ESV)

• For the wages of sin is death, but
• the free gift of God is eternal life in [with] Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 6:23 (ESV)