Question: Did Yahshua (Jesus) or His apostles start a new covenant?

The title is taken from Matt 26:28 (repeated in Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20; 1cor 11:25). At His last Passover meal (called the last supper; but was not His last supper), after Jesus had given the disciples bread to break and eat, He took wine and give them to drink saying “drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins".  Note He nor any apostle raised it in offering to the sun god as some denomination priests do.   Be careful with what you partake out of ignorance of its history. Some bible versions have changed

the word testament to covenant, then go on to link it with the Ten Commandments, Laws and, possibly everything God ordained in the Old Testament (see bible interpretation section above). I was shown this text in the past from someone else’s non KJV bible, which used the word covenant. At the time I was unaware the word should be testament. As a result I was confused. Now I see how satan has deceived many with the popularisation of easy to read bibles containing subtle change of words and hence meaning. Using the tactic, if you can not beat them join them and change from within.  There is a good reason why the Bible is divided into Old and New “Testaments” and NOT Covenant!

The Greek word used for “new” is reference G2537 meaning new in freshness or qualitatively not age or numerically as with G3510.  Jesus saying he gives a new “testament”. Something for them to use in their witnessing and spreading the gospel. Heb 9:16-17 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth”. Though some bibles use the word “covenant” in Matt 26:28, in Matt 24:14 they write “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a testimony to all…”

Thus Jesus' last earthly Passover / supper was a prelude to something that had not happened prior. Something that could not be testified to before. The death of Jesus, the son of God, sent by God. How would they be able to testify to this? Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: Act 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Act 13:31 he was seen many days of them, which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 1Cor 15:6 that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 1 John 1:2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 1John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.  1John 4:14 and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

The apostles were able to testify to what they had seen and experienced firsthand. That was the “new” testimony not cancellation of the Law or commandments. To whom were they to take this testimony and the reason they were given the power to speak in tongues (mans various languages)? Act 1:8 but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. said “Elijah verily cometh first and Restoreth all things” 9:12 (and Matt 11:14, 17:11). To restore means to put as it was in past i.e. adherence to keeping commandments, Sabbath etc so those who argue the “law” was changed can be seen to have mis-interpreted the text. If man or satan changed it, God will restore it to show the change was not from Him. See also feast days restoration.

1Tim 2:6 “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”. When was this time to be? Have you noticed the dots in the line from the old tabernacle and annual sacrifice of Aaron and the priests, to the destroying of the temple and exile of God’s people due to their constant sinning, to the rebuilding of the temple and repatriation of the people? They returned to their sinful ways, the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the spreading of His gospel around the world for approximately thirty seven years then the destroying of the temple in A.D.70. God allowed sufficient time for the gospel to spread around the world through the apostles being given the ability to speak in many languages to every nation, kindred and tongue (Rev 14:6). Then came the change. End of the animal sacrifices. Daily, annually and all as explained in the Shadow of Things to Come section. Now the new method of keeping the Passover, with bread and wine rather than slain animal. Thus, the “forever” ordinance as in Ex 12:14 can continue.

The worst sin of God’s people is to worship other god’s, Baal and his image. What are Baal’s images? Deu 4:19 “and lest though lift up thine eyes unto heaven and when thou see the sun and moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them and serve them”. The Jewish ancestors succumbed to worshipping these images, our ancestors, through the Church of Rome led Christians to doing the same via SUN day worship. Do not let others make merchandise of you whether deliberately or through ignorance (2Pet 2:3). Is it not time you returned to God, His day and His ways?

The other place where Jesus says to have given a “new command” is John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another”.  One should note, this commandment is not mentioned in any of the other gospels. Do you not think were it to have the effect some place on it of cancelling the Ten Commandments or the Law, that the Holy Spirit would have guided others to record it? For an indication to what Jesus meant we can refer to 1 John 4:12,24 “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” To me this is the last six of the Ten Commandments which Jesus previously summarized “love your neighbour as your self”. Because by following the same, one would not covet or take anything belonging to their neighbour. Love cancels out the devil. If you show love to God and each other, it manifests into, no false god worship, no envy, jealousy, stealing or doing ill to neighbour. The devil then has no way into your heart. This is no difference to the text in 1 Cor 13:13 (charity / love) or 1 Peter 4:8, the sum of the commandments towards fellow humans is love for another.. Ofcourse this is not the physical love as used by some same sex genders to justify their actions against for example, Lev 18:22 and 20:13 “though shall not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination”. If you are still not convinced this was not a new commandment see 19:18 “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self”; Lev 19:18; 1John 3:12. Thus Jesus always reiterates the Old Testament. Nothing was changed in the New. See also and compare Lev 23:10 and 1 Cor 15:20. Remind yourself of the texts in the What is Love section above.

Jer 31:31, Heb 8:8-10, 10:16 “for finding fault with them He saith the days come ..when I will make a new covenant with house of Israel... Not according to one with their fathers. because they continued not in it ... This is the new covenant, I will put my Laws into their minds and hearts. And their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. .. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin”. Note new and old covenants to do with laws not commandments, laws relating to (animal) offerings for forgiveness of sin (see 9:1). The change was the place the law was put not its nature or wording of Laws which was not defective. Reason for the change, people broke it. Child may brake ornament because of the place it stood. A new one exactly same as old could be purchased and placed elsewhere. New or second one does not necessarily mean different.  See Exodus 32:19 where Moses broke Tables of Stone and in 34:1 God replaced the wording as before.

How many items of clothing have you? Whether shoes, trousers, skirt or other, kitchen items as pots or glasses? Did you always throw away the former ones so that you now only have one of everything? I doubt it. Thus “new” does not necessarily mean replace old. It could mean addition: add to the former. A woman may buy a new dress or shoes for each new special occasion. Jesus was simply adding a new sign to the new occasion. As He said, He did not come to destroy the old. Just like when a new situation arises the government adds a new law or tax to the statutory books. The old, generally, still stand. Jesus was keeping the Passover of old and adding a new one of breaking of bread and the drink of the wine as a future replacement for the actual slaying of a lamb.

People who want to maintain Sunday worship says Jesus died to set them free. From what, the Law? See 1Tim 1:7-10 explained later under ‘Book of Galatians’. Yet they accept that Jesus and God are one and the same. Using their logic it would make no sense that this ‘same’ person would do one thing in Old Testament and another, totally different thing, in the New. That what they assume is said about the character in the New wipes out what the same person said in the Old. A meticulous character who pays attention to every detail, remains the same in Old and New Testaments. Read at least the first five books of the Old, in which God Himself speaks and note his meticulous and consistent character. Be led by the actual word of God not man’s custom or your pastor. Jam 2:8 if ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: Jam 2:9 but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. The Israelites made a similar mistake in wanting a king like other nations to lead them when they had God Himself. God said to Samuel “…for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” 1 Sam 8:7.

It was no accident that Jesus chose to use two elements of the Passover meal to institute the Lord’s Supper. In Exodus 12:5, 8 they were to “eat a lamb without blemish, a male… eat the flesh and unleavened bread”. Jesus was the lamb, His flesh. Similar to the Old. The wine was a “new” addition to the Old Testament habit. Both observances symbolize death and deliverance. Both reflect mankind’s plight and God’s mighty deed of grace and redemption. Jesus was the lamb slain at Passover and when we eat and drink we are reacting the old Passover and commandments etc but through grafting Gentiles (strangers) can be grafted in to the one “true vine” being nourished by God the husbandman.

Hebrew 8:7 and Jer 31:31 due to people’s inability to adhere to written covenant God decided to write it in each person’s heart so knowledge of it would not rely on one teaching the other. Note in both contexts it refers to Israel and Judah.  Satan, the master deceiver and counterfeiter seized on this as a good idea and also decided to make people follow and adhere to his day of worship (Sun day) willingly rather than by adherence to Sunday laws passed in the past. Now 99% unaware of history, fight from the heart to maintain their Sunday keeping worship. What is in the books of the New Testament is not a different message than in the Old. Save for the difference already mentioned, the New is mere repetition of Old. This is seen time and time again. Solomon said in 2Chron 6:36 “for there is no man which sinneth not”.   In Rom 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”.  1Kings 11:2-8 Solomon allowed 1,000 foreign wives etc to lead him away from God when he was “old” (verse 4). That is one against 1,000.A king specifically chosen, favoured and blessed by God gradually unawares was led away to worship other gods, not immediately; but as time went by, through following custom of wives. Similarly, early Christians allowed Romans in (though maybe had no choice due to the persecution) who became the majority and changed the Christian customs till now in the 21st century 99% worship other gods and do not know it.  

In context, the New Testament and Jesus are intended to reconcile us back to the Old and His Father.  Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.  Joh 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. Joh 5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.