Joseph Duckworth’s dad was 77 years old and was not long for this world. But he had one last request for his son. Duckworth’s dad was a World War II veteran of the South Pacific, having been stationed on the USS Bunker Hill, CV-17. His request… to have a flag on his coffin that had flown over an aircraft carrier.
Being the loving son that he was, Joseph first called the Navy recruiter’s office to get some direction. The recruiter recommended he call his congressman. The congressman sent him to a Navy admiral’s office. The admiral answered the phone with a gravelly voice:
“Now you listen to me, young man! Those brave people who served in World War II kept us free! This is one admiral in the United States Navy who intends to see to it that those old sailors receive the honor and gratitude of our country! I’ll give you the name and telephone number of a captain here at Norfolk Naval Base. You call him and tell him I said to get you an aircraft carrier flag in the mail today!” Then the admiral asked Joseph on which aircraft carrier he served: USS Bunker Hill, CV-17.
There was brief silence on the phone. The admiral then commented: “Kamaikazes. Two of them. It was bad. I am telling you, your dad’s flag will be on the way to you today.” Mr. Joseph thanked the admiral but the admiral responded: “No, Son, thank you! You’ve given me the opportunity to thank that old sailor and provide him with the flag of our country. He deserves it, and I intend for him to have his flag.”
Mr. Joseph Duckworth got his flag two days later. His dad had a flag from an aircraft carrier draped over his coffin when he died July 4, 1995. (Reader’s Digest, November 2024, pages 28-31)
Jesus had a special memorial in His heart when He was on His “death bed.” He wanted you and me to assemble around His table every Lord’s Day and remember His sacrifice for us. And to be grateful that you and I are members of His kingdom. Let’s study the institution of the Lord’s Supper as Luke presents it in Luke 22.
When God wanted to make His plan, His agreement to bless the world through the seed of Abraham, God used a word from man’s international diplomacy to convey that plan. In Hebrew, it is the word “berit.” The word is used 284 times in the OT. The English word is “covenant.” Our modern English equivalent is the word “treaty.” The U. S. signs something like 200 treaties every year. God made a covenant with Noah and his family in Genesis 6 & 9. God has made several treaties / covenants in the OT; the two most important are the treaties God made with Abraham, recorded primarily in Genesis 12 and 17 and the treaty with King David in 2 Samuel 7.
Jeremiah, when Israel was being seized by Babylon, predicted a new covenant between God and His people which would provide the forgiveness of sins which precipitated the exile: Jeremiah 31:31-34. See Matthew 26:28; Luke 24:49; Acts 2:14-39; 2 Cor 3 & 4; Heb. 8-10.
The Greek word “covenant” is used 33 times in the NT, only twice in the Gospel of Luke. In 1:72, the father of John the baptizer says that God is accomplishing redemption for His people by remembering the covenant He made with Abraham, in sending Jesus into the world (1:72).
THE NEW COVENANT IS MEMORIALIZED IN THE LORD’S SUPPER – 22:14-23:
Jesus takes a cup of the juice from the grape (ver. 17) and thanks God for the events which the Passover meal memorialized – the redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt (probably), and then He shares that cup with the apostles.
Jesus then takes the unleavened bread (ver. 19) and after He gives thanks again, He breaks the bread and gives it to the apostles. He tells them the bread “is” His body. Jesus assuredly uses the bread (and “cup”) as a metaphor for His body; the Law of Moses forbid eating blood and cannibalism (Lev. 3:17; 7:26-27; 17:14; Deut. 12:16, 23-25; 15:23).
Then Jesus takes another cup after they had eaten the meal itself, and He told them the cup was the “New Covenant” – the New Testament of Jesus Christ – which was confirmed and inaugurated by His blood which will be poured out (ver. 20). The apostles do not grasp the fact that Jesus is predicting His death at this point.
The reference to the “blood of the covenant” alludes to Exodus 24:8 where it denotes the idea that the Mosaic covenant was inaugurated by the blood of animals. The New Covenant will be inaugurated by the blood of the holy Son of God (Heb. 9:18-28). See also Matthew 26:28. There is also an important theological principle linking blood with forgiveness in Leviticus 17:11. “Being given” and “being shed” (ver. 19 and 20) are both present tense participles, suggesting that Jesus is in the process of giving His life and shedding His blood. The present tense makes the offering very vivid.
Paul Holland
