2026/10/26

271. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The New Covenant in My Blood

The New Covenant looks beyond itself to the fulfilment of God's promise to David concerning his son Solomon: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son" (2 Sam 7:14). To reach that point, one must follow the indispensable path of having eternal life and being raised up, just as Jesus repeatedly emphasised: "This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:39–40). To this end, as implied by Jesus' added words, "that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me," the fundamental prerequisite is the forgiveness of sins that saves people whilst they are still alive. "The New Covenant in my blood" guarantees that this forgiveness of sins will be realised.

That Word is found in the New Testament. It is embraced within the words of instituting the Eucharist. Matthew recorded, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28); Mark recorded, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mk 14:24); and Luke recorded, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Lk 22:20). These words came into effect at the moment immediately after Jesus died on the cross, when "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water" (Jn 19:34). Even the Roman centurion standing there, upon seeing that Jesus had breathed his last, said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mk 15:39). We believers have yet to realise the significance of the words we proclaim, standing before the Eucharist.

Once we realise the significance of proclaiming that the Eucharist is Christ, the Son of God, we believers, too, can share in the intention of John the Evangelist when he wrote as follows, concerning the fact that "there came out blood and water" from Jesus' side: "He who saw it has borne witness -- his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth -- that you also may believe" (Jn 19:35). In Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John, it is written: "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:12–13). This passage tells us that we who received the sacraments of initiation, accepting Jesus and believing in His name, were given the "power to become children of God."

Moreover, to be "born ... of God" means to be born of Jesus' "new covenant in my blood." We believers bear witness to this. The "power to become children of God" takes effect when believers spontaneously call God "Heavenly Father," and then Jesus' "new covenant in my blood" becomes real. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus used the words "your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:45, etc.) when speaking to his disciples and the people, and he taught them the Lord’s Prayer so that they might address God as "Our Father art in heaven" (cf. 6:5–13). This is because the "power to become children of God" is a power that can be exercised by calling God "Heavenly Father. " This power embodies the strength of the prayer Jesus offered at the Last Supper: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me" (Jn 17:11-12).

This prayer of Jesus tells us that when believers call God "Heavenly Father" of their own accord, that name protects them. As we chant at the end of the Lord's Prayer, this means they are protected from temptation and evil—and therefore from sin as well. For example, let us reconsider God—who in Genesis forbade humankind from taking and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—as our Heavenly Father. With this perspective in mind, when we read the story of the first two humans who disobeyed God in Genesis Chapter 3, we can see the Father busily dealing with the aftermath of what His own children have done. Furthermore, in God's reaction to Cain's murder in Chapter 4, we can see the Heavenly Father who faces His child who has sinned head-on and strives to save him by any means possible. Calling God "Heavenly Father" gives us the strength to overcome the mistakes and sins that arise from disobeying His commands. A person emerges who moves forward, cutting off despair, brings about change, even losing something, and seeks to create time anew in collaboration with the Holy Spirit.

The power of understanding God as the "Heavenly Father" eventually leads us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our neighbour. This is the strength of the "power to become the children of God," and for us believers, calling God "Heavenly Father" holds immeasurable potential. When we call God "Heavenly Father," we are calling upon Jesus, who said, "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30). In this moment, we see God's way of being as "Father and Son." The "Lord God," who appeared in Genesis Chapters 2 and 3, is there (cf. blog, No. 264). The "Lord God," whilst being the Holy Trinity, is present in the Eucharist, assuming the way of being of "Father and Son" so that the Holy Spirit can collaborate with the faithful. That is possible because the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. That is how God draws the faithful exactly into Him. Therefore, we believers fully accept Jesus' words below, complete the Mass liturgy, and advance towards the Second Coming.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:53–56).

Maria K. M.