Words to Remember

• Biblical Covenant: A Solemn agreement between God and his people, legally binding on both sides and confirmed by offering a sacrifice to God or by solemn ritual.

• Sacrifice: A gift offered to God by a priest and destroyed in some way to show that it belonged to God alone.

Testing 1,2,3….

1. Give one example of the way Jesus and his disciples were people of their time.

A. Jesus and his disciples were people of their times and used language of the Jewish religion and culture. Many of the words they used took their meanings from ancient times and came from the OT. One of the most important words is covenant.

2. How did political covenants influence biblical covenants?

A. The form of a biblical covenant looked very much like that of an ancient political covenant. This covenant, like an ancient political covenant, also had several parts. Every political treaty was completed with a ceremony. The Sinai covenant was sealed with a sacrifice.

-Open up your Bible to Exodus 20-24.

3. What did Jesus mean when he said at the Last Supper, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you” (Lk 22:20)

A. Jesus was using covenant terminology. Like the covenant at Sinai, this covenant would be sealed in blood—the blood of Jesus—and a sacrificial meal. Now there was a new covenant between God and his people, completed through the blood of Jesus, the Son of God.

4. Why was the Temple in Jerusalem so important for Jesus and the Jews?

A. The Temple was the center of Jewish life and worship. It was only at the Temple that sacrifices could be offered to God. The offering of sacrifices was an important part of covenant and of Jewish worship. The Temple was a sacred place and contained the holy of holies.

5. Describe one of the Jewish prayer practices used at the time of Jesus.

A. Praying the Shema each day; going to the synagogue, especially on Sabbath; observing the Sabbath; worshipping at the Temple, especially on great feasts; knowing and living God’s law.