Matthew 26:28

My Notes

What Does Matthew 26:28 Mean?

Matthew 26:28 is the sentence Jesus spoke while holding a cup of wine at the Last Supper — and every word institutes a new covenant in real time. "For this is my blood of the new testament" — touto gar estin to haima mou tēs diathēkēs. My blood — haima mou, personally possessive. Not a lamb's blood. Not a bull's blood. His blood. The new testament (diathēkē — covenant, binding agreement, the legal arrangement between God and humanity) is ratified by this blood. Every previous covenant was sealed with animal blood. This one is sealed with the blood of the One who made every previous covenant.

"Which is shed for many" — to peri pollōn ekchunnomenon. Shed — ekchunō, poured out, emptied, spilled. The present participle (ekchunnomenon — being shed) indicates the ongoing, present reality: the shedding is in progress. The blood He holds in the cup is already being poured out. And the scope: for many — peri pollōn. Not for a few. Not for the elect only in this context. For many — a vast, inclusive, uncountable beneficiary list.

"For the remission of sins" — eis aphesin hamartiōn. Aphesis — release, pardon, the cancellation of a debt. Hamartia — sin, the universal condition of missing God's standard. The blood is poured for one purpose: the release of sins. The account is cleared. The debt is cancelled. The legal claim against you is dismissed — because someone else's blood paid it.

Jesus speaks these words while still alive. The cross is hours away. He holds the cup and says: this is my blood. Already poured. Already effective. The sacrifice is accomplished in His will before it's accomplished on the wood.

Reflection Questions

• 1.When you take communion, do you experience it as a memorial or as a present-tense reality?
• 2.What does 'remission of sins' — debt cancellation — mean for the specific guilt you're carrying right now?
• 3.How does Jesus speaking of His blood as 'being shed' (present tense) before the cross change your understanding of the sacrifice?
• 4.If the new covenant is sealed in better blood than the old, what confidence does that give you about its permanence?

Devotional

This is my blood. Not a symbol of what might happen. A declaration of what already is.

Jesus holds a cup of wine at a table with twelve men — one of whom will betray Him before sunrise — and says: this is my blood of the new covenant. He's still breathing. His hands aren't pierced yet. The cross is still hours away. And He speaks of His blood as already shed — ekchunnomenon, being poured out, present tense, in process. The sacrifice is operative before the execution. The will to die is the death, in God's accounting.

The new testament — kainē diathēkē, the new covenant — is the arrangement that replaces everything that came before. The old covenant was sealed in animal blood at Sinai (Exodus 24:8: "Behold the blood of the covenant"). The new covenant is sealed in Jesus' blood at this table. Same structure. Same sealing mechanism. Infinitely different blood. The animals couldn't take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). This blood can — because the blood belongs to the One who made the covenant in the first place.

"For the remission of sins." Aphesis — release, the opening of chains, the cancellation of debt. Your sins — every missed mark, every deliberate rebellion, every failure you've accumulated across your entire life — are covered by what's in this cup. The remission isn't partial. It's comprehensive. And the scope — for many — means the table is bigger than twelve disciples in a Jerusalem upper room. The many includes everyone who would ever drink from this cup by faith.

Every time you take communion, you hold the same cup. And the words are the same: this is my blood. Shed for you. For the remission of your sins. The cup doesn't commemorate a hope. It declares an accomplished fact.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture