Covenant in the New Testament

In the New Testament, Jesus made a new covenant with his followers by giving out bread and wine during the last supper. In the early Church, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, as a symbol of the covenant with Christ, was an important ritual.

The most important places in the New Testament where the covenant is mentioned are the sections about Jesus’ last supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-22; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). These describe how Jesus gave bread to his disciples and passed around a cup of wine, as he said, “This cup is God’s new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20).
Here, Jesus is referring to the older covenant traditions, particularly in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which speaks of a new covenant that God will one day make with his people.

The celebration of the Lord’s Supper, following Jesus’ example, became one of the most important elements of Christian meetings in the time of the New Testament.
The concept of a “covenant” was probably interpreted in this period as an oath of allegiance. Most Christians probably saw the Eucharist as a ritual through which one pledged loyalty to Christ, who died for the sins of the world.

The Romans also regarded the Christian Eucharist as an oath of allegiance (the Latin word for this is sacramentum), as can be seen from a letter written by the Roman Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan in AD 112.
The Romans regarded this oath that the Christians swore to someone, other than the emperor, as a danger to political stability. This was unfounded, however, as the Christian oath was not political in nature. Through this oath, believers submitted to Christ’s reign, but this was a spiritual and not a worldly dominion.

By taking part in the Eucharist, the believers together became the body of Christ in this world. Together they formed a community of people from a wide variety of different backgrounds, united by common values. These values were not just spiritual, but also ethical: they had consequences for the behaviour of the faithful, for how they lived and related to others.