Exodus 24:3-8

Read Exodus 24:3-8

Helpful Background Information: 

• When we come to Mark 14:12–16, we find Jesus and His disciples gathered around the table, celebrating Passover together. It’s a familiar meal, full of memory and meaning. But in the middle of it, Jesus says something that would have stopped everyone in their tracks. Taking the cup, He tells them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). That phrase, “blood of the covenant,” wasn’t random. It reaches all the way back to a defining moment in the book of Exodus.

• In Exodus 19–24, God meets His people at Mount Sinai. He calls them into a committed relationship (a covenant) and they respond with a willingness to obey. Then comes a powerful and even startling scene. Moses offers sacrifices, takes the blood, and first throws it against the altar. Then, after reading the book of the Covenant out loud, he sprinkles the rest on the people and says, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you” (Exodus 24:8). It’s vivid and unmistakably clear: this covenant binds them to God.

• Now fast forward to that Passover meal in Mark 14. Jesus takes that same covenant language and places Himself right at the center of it. He’s not just remembering the past, He’s revealing what it was all pointing toward. The Passover meal, rich with Israel’s story of deliverance, becomes the setting where Jesus explains His own death. In essence, He’s saying: This is the moment everything has been leading to.

• The covenant at Sinai bound Israel to God with a calling—to be His people, a kingdom of priests. But here, Jesus reshapes that reality around Himself. The blood that once marked a people is now His own blood, given for many. And when we come to what we now call Communion (or the Lord’s Supper) we step into that same story. Like Israel at Sinai, we’re reminded of our covenant relationship with God. But now we see even more clearly who God is. In Jesus, God doesn’t just call a people to Himself but He actually gives Himself for them.

Reflection Questions: 

• When you hear Jesus describe the cup as “my blood of the covenant,” how does that deepen your understanding of what His death accomplishes?

• In what ways does seeing the connection between Exodus 24 and Mark 14 change how you think about Communion?

• If God has bound Himself to you through the self-giving love of Jesus, how might that shape the way you live and relate to others this week?