a Self-confident Disciple Warned
The Passover looked back to the dread hour of the Exodus; the Supper links Calvary with the Second Advent. In partaking of it we should not confine ourselves to either retrospect or anticipation, but should endeavor to feed our souls with the very spirit and heart of our dear Lord, so as to absorb His divine strength, sweetness and love. We need to feed on His flesh and drink of His blood after a mystical fashion, so that He may become the Life of our life. The word new is not the same as in Matthew 9:17, but contrasts, with the present order of things, something entirely different. The former things will have passed away -such was our Lord's anticipation!
The new covenant is further explained in Hebrews 8:1-13. It is good to recite its provisions when we sit at the Table. It is as though God and the believer drink of the cup in pledge of that blessed understanding between them. See how our Shepherd eagerly warns one of the sheep that was dear to Him and for which He had pleaded often, Luke 22:31.