Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“This cup, with my blood which is being poured out for you, is the new covenant.”
Jesus in Luke 22:20
“For this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for the forgiveness of sins for many.”
Jesus in Matthew 26:28
We sometimes speak of studying the New Testament, but in reality, that is not possible. Jesus said the New Testament is in his blood, which means that it is beyond man’s ability to judge. The New Testament is not something men can read, analyze, and judge. The New Testament is life, God’s life poured out upon humble men, and because of Jesus, poured out “more abundantly.” It is power and truth; it is heavenly joy and peace; it is what came out of the bosom of God because of His great love for people. There is no such thing as men studying it. The New Testament reads us and analyzes us, and it does not take the New Testament long to analyze us, either. We do not present the holy Ghost with any intellectual challenges. The New Testament judges us, and judges us perfectly, not vice-versa.
We can study the letters and books written by holy men in this New Testament; and with God’s help, we can analyze them somewhat and make judgments about them. But the books are not what Jesus died for; the books are not what God has put in our hearts; the books are not the New Testament in the blood of Christ. The books tell us about the New Testament and point us to it, but that is all. If men were to burn up every Bible on earth, the New Testament would exist and still be here for us to save us from sin and to teach us about our heavenly Father. In fact, the New Testament cannot be destroyed at all; on the contrary, the New Testament is the eternal Word of God that will someday destroy all sin and sickness, the earth, and these heavens besides.
The flesh would like to think it has the wisdom to analyze the New Testament. It would like to think it can sell copies of the New Testament in bookstores. And it would not be wise to make a huge deal about that. At the same time, we should know in our hearts that the New Testament that Jesus purchased with his blood is beyond the ability of mankind to control, to print (either large print or small), to buy or sell, to analyze, or to judge. The greatness of what God accomplished in Christ, this holy covenant, is such that no human description of it is adequate. The best that we can do is to take advantage of this precious opportunity to enter into the New Testament while we can, to fall prostrate before God, let Him analyze us, believe what He says, and be healed.