THE CONTRAST- Exodus 19 takes us to the original Torah-giving Mt. Sinai where the covenant between God and Israel will be ratified. By contrast, the new covenant promised through Jeremiah adds an internal dimension that makes the law not just something to be obeyed, but something to be experienced. The "newness" does not replace nor abrogate the former, but rather clarifies and extends. Perhaps it’s the emphasis that has changed-the new covenant will lead us into becoming the people of God both in principle and in practice.

WHAT IS BEING PROMISED? - The new covenant announced in 31:31-34 . . . revolves around the question of what comprises the new covenant and what that means for the old covenant. Who makes up the new covenant? And what happens to the community of the old covenant? The very expression "New Testament" serves to identify the new covenant with the Christ-event . . . we need to remember that in this as in all matters Christians are grafted onto the Jewish tree (Romans 11) and "come derivatively and belatedly to share the promised newness" . . . The largest question about the new covenant is not about who belongs to it but about whether any of us, Jew or Christian, show forth the new heart and new spirit that God has promised to effect within us. [1]

connections

How would you contrast Moses’ covenant and Jeremiah’s covenant to a friend?

In what way/s have you lived under both covenants-the "old" and the "new?"

What does Jeremiah’s new covenant promise? Which means the most to you?

gambits

The NIB suggests a homiletic trajectory that would invite the listening community to ponder what precisely "new" vis-à-vis "old" covenant means. In short, the issues that revolve around this lesson might include, who makes up the new covenant? And what happens to the community of the "old" covenant? Christian faith further identifies the blood of Christ and the cup of communion with the "new covenant" (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25) which connects the Christ-event with something radically new.

What we need to bear in mind, however, is that in this as in all matters Christians are grafted onto the Jewish tree (Romans 11), not visa versa. Thus, we "come derivatively and belatedly to share the promised newness." However God’s covenant is renewed with Israel, the Christian community enters anew to that newness through Christ. Such a reminder may lead us to be more modest, gentle, and humble. For the greatest question about this new covenant is not in the end about who belongs to it but about whether any of us, Jew or Gentile, show forth the new heart and new spirit that God has promised to create within us. [2]

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible VI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), pp. 815-816.
[2] NIB IV, page 815.