Folia Theologica et Canonica 10. 32/24 (2021)
Sacra theologia
46 ATTILA THORDAY Passover meal, he makes prophecies of the shedding of his own blood. Words and gestures go together and interpret each other. On this occasion, it was no longer the deliverance of Moses’ followers from Egypt, for which the people of Israel had given thanks year after year, but the ‘new and everlasting covenant’ that was made at the price of Jesus’ own blood. The covenant was made between God and his people at the foot of Mount Sinai, sealed by the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrificial animal. But here Jesus speaks of his own blood as the “blood of the covenant”. Let us highlight some of its infinitely rich meanings.17 First of all, Jesus himself offered the sacrifice of his life, and was not overcome by the powers of this world. Secondly, this covenant, which is made between God and humanity through his blood, is essentially ‘new’, that is, not merely a new one in the line of the previous ones (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David); and ‘eternal’, that is, unsurpassable, since, as the Baptist testifies, ‘he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ (Jn 1:29). Yes, Jesus Himself thus offers Himself to His disciples, so that His shed blood might serve to reconcile humanity to God. God’s manifold promise was fulfilled in this, and Jesus’ final words on the cross echo this. In Jesus’ total self-surrender, all God’s promises were fulfilled. When Jesus “bared his soul” (Jn 19:30), he kept all his promises. And when the risen Lord gives his children “the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” in the baptismal formula, he proclaims this as a summary promise to “remain with them to the end of the world” (Mt 28:18f). Conclusion: Heirs of the promises In the foregoing, we have observed, starting from the holiness of God, how the God of the Bible reveals Himself in a surprising way and enters into a covenant relationship with man. In doing so, he promises, above all, to be present among his people and to care for his elect. In an unsurpassable way, he has fulfilled his promises in this regard in the person of Jesus, in whom God’s presence in the world is made tangible. Finally, the question arises: who are the heirs of the divine promise following this turning point in salvation history? During Jesus’ absence, from his death until his glorious second coming, the disciples will receive another great promise that will further deepen the relationship between God and man. By virtue of the power of the faith-bond with the exalted Christ (i.e. Jn 14:12), signs and wonders are performed, and even greater works than Jesus was able to perform under the conditions of his earth17 Thorday, A., Értünk adta önmagát. Jézus szenvedéstörténete a szinoptikus evangéliumokban, Budapest 2009. 48-62.
