“And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.”
My Notes
What Does Mark 14:24 Mean?
Jesus identifies the cup at the Last Supper: this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), shed for many. The wine in the cup isn't symbolic of blood. It IS His blood — the blood of a new covenant, poured out for a multitude. The meal becomes the mechanism. The cup becomes the covenant.
The phrase "of the new testament" (tēs kainēs diathēkēs — of the new covenant) connects the cup directly to Jeremiah 31:31-34: the new covenant God promised through the prophets. The old covenant was ratified with animal blood (Exodus 24:8). The new covenant is ratified with Christ's blood. The cup Jesus raises is the inauguration of what Jeremiah predicted.
"Shed for many" (ekchynnomenon hyper pollōn — poured out for many) means the blood isn't spilled accidentally. It's poured. Deliberately. Intentionally. For many — not for a few, not for the disciples alone, but for the multitude that the cross will reach across every century.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does knowing the cup inaugurates Jeremiah's 'new covenant' (law on hearts, permanent forgiveness) deepen your experience of communion?
- 2.How does 'shed for many' (deliberately poured, not accidentally spilled) change the character of Jesus' death?
- 3.Does every communion you take connect you to this specific room and this specific cup?
- 4.Is the new covenant (internal law, direct knowledge of God, permanent forgiveness) your actual experience — or just your theology?
Devotional
This is my blood. Of the new covenant. Poured out. For many.
Jesus lifts the cup and redefines it: what was Passover wine becomes covenant blood. What was a memorial meal becomes the inauguration of everything Jeremiah promised. The new covenant — the one where God writes the law on hearts and forgives sin permanently — is being ratified. Right now. With this cup. In this room.
"My blood" — the cup represents Jesus' own blood. Not a lamb's. Not a bull's. His. The covenant that animal blood could only foreshadow is now sealed with the blood of the God-man. Every temple sacrifice for fifteen centuries pointed forward to this cup. This cup is what they were all about.
"Of the new testament" — Jeremiah 31:31 promised a new covenant: not like the old one (which Israel broke). One where the law would be internal, not external. Where sins would be forgiven, not just covered. Where knowing God would be direct, not mediated. Jesus raises the cup and says: this is it. The new covenant. Starting now. In my blood.
"Shed for many" — poured out. Not spilled. Not leaked. Poured. The way a libation is poured in worship. The blood is an offering — deliberately released for a specific purpose: the many. The multitude. Every person in every century who receives what this cup inaugurates.
Every communion since — every broken bread, every raised cup, every "do this in remembrance" — is a participation in what happened in that room. The blood of the new covenant, poured out for many. The cup that Jeremiah promised and Jesus delivered.
The cup is in your hands. The blood was poured for you. The covenant is new. And the many includes you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Verily I say unto you,.... This seems, to have been said after the eating of the passover, according to Luk 22:18, but…
See this passage explained in the notes at Mat. 26:20-35. Mar 14:31 More vehemently - More earnestly, more confidently.
In these verses we have,
I. Christ's eating the passover with his disciples, the night before he died, with the joys and…
This is my blood of the new testament or rather, Covenant. Some of the best MSS. here omit "new." He reminds them of the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture