Bread and Wine From Heaven
He told the crowd and his disciples to stop praying out loud—but not to stop praying in their hearts. Then he told them to stand up, and they all rose to their feet.
He broke bread again, blessed it, and gave it to his disciples to eat. After they had eaten, he told them to break the bread and give it to the crowd. When they’d given the bread to everyone, he also gave them wine to drink and told them to share it with the crowd.
Now, the disciples hadn’t brought any bread or wine with them—and neither had anyone in the crowd. But he gave them real bread to eat and real wine to drink. He said to them, “Whoever eats this bread eats of my body for their soul, and whoever drinks this wine drinks of my blood for their soul. And your soul will never hunger or thirst again. You will be filled.” After everyone had eaten and drunk, they were filled with the Spirit. They cried out together with one voice and gave glory to Jesus—the one they had both seen and heard.
The Covenant With Israel
When they’d all finished giving glory to him, Jesus said, “Now I complete the command the Father gave me concerning you, who are a remnant of the house of Israel. You remember I told you: when Isaiah’s words are fulfilled—they’re written down, you have them in front of you—search them. I tell you the truth: when they’re fulfilled, the covenant the Father made with his people will be fulfilled. O house of Israel—“ The remnants scattered across the face of the earth will be gathered from east and west, from south and north. They’ll be brought to know the Lord their God, who has rescued them.”
“The Father has commanded me to give you this land as your inheritance.”
Warning to the Gentiles
“I tell you: if the Gentiles don’t turn back to God after the blessing they receive—after they’ve scattered my people—“ “Then you, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, will go out among them. You’ll be in their midst, though they are many. You’ll be among them like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep—treading down and tearing to pieces whatever he passes through. And no one will be able to stop you. You’ll overpower your enemies, and all who stand against you will be cut down.”
“I will gather my people together like a farmer gathering his grain into the barn. I will make my people—the ones the Father has covenanted with—strong. I’ll make your horn iron and your hooves brass. You’ll crush many peoples, and I will dedicate their wealth to the Lord, their riches to the Lord of all the earth. And I am the one doing this. The Father says: The sword of my justice will hang over them on that day. And unless they turn back to me, it will fall on them—on all the Gentile nations.”
A New Jerusalem
“I will establish my people, O house of Israel. I will establish this people in this land, fulfilling the covenant I made with your ancestor Jacob. It will be a new Jerusalem. The powers of heaven will be among you. I myself will be in your midst.”
“I am the one Moses spoke about when he said: ‘The Lord your God will raise up a prophet from among your own people, like me. Listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who refuses to listen to that prophet will be cut off from the people.’ I tell you the truth: all the prophets from Samuel onward—every one who spoke—testified about me.”
“You are the children of the prophets. You are of the house of Israel. You are part of the covenant the Father made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham: ‘Through your family line, all the peoples of the earth will be blessed.’ The Father raised me up and sent me to you first, to bless you by turning each of you away from your sins—because you are the children of the covenant. After you are blessed, the Father will fulfill the covenant he made with Abraham, saying: ‘Through your family line, all the peoples of the earth will be blessed.’ This blessing will come through me pouring out the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles. That blessing will make them mighty—powerful enough to scatter my people, O house of Israel. They will punish the people of this land. But when they’ve received the fullness of my gospel, if they harden their hearts against me, I will turn their sins back on their own heads, says the Father.”
The Gathering of Israel
“I will remember the covenant I made with my people. I promised that in my own time I would gather them together. I would give them back the land of their ancestors as their inheritance—the land of Jerusalem, which is their promised land forever, says the Father. The time will come when the fullness of my gospel is preached to them. They will believe in me—that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God—and they’ll pray to the Father in my name.”
“Then their watchmen will lift up their voices and sing together, because they’ll see it clearly—eye to eye. Then the Father will gather them together again and give them Jerusalem as their inheritance.”
“Then they’ll burst into song—sing together, you ruined places of Jerusalem, because the Father has comforted his people. He has rescued Jerusalem. The Father has shown his holy power to all the nations. All the ends of the earth will see the Father’s salvation. The Father and I are one.”
Zion’s Redemption
“Then what is written will come to pass: ‘Wake up, wake up! Put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, the holy city. From now on, the unclean will never enter you again.’ ’Shake off the dust. Stand up and take your place, O Jerusalem. Break free from the chains around your neck, captive daughter of Zion.’”
“The Lord says: ‘You sold yourselves for nothing, and you’ll be bought back without money.’ I tell you the truth: my people will know my name. On that day they’ll know that I am the one speaking.”
“Then they’ll say, ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, who announces peace, who brings word of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your God reigns!’”
“Then a cry will go out: ‘Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything unclean. Come out from among them. Be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.’”
“You won’t leave in a panic or run away in fear. The Lord will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will guard you from behind.”
The Suffering Servant
“My servant will act wisely. He will be lifted high, honored, and greatly exalted. Just as many were horrified at you—his appearance was so disfigured, more than any person, his form barely recognizable—“ He will startle many nations. Kings will fall silent before him, because they’ll see what they were never told, and they’ll understand what they’d never heard. I tell you the truth: all these things will surely happen, just as the Father commanded me. Then the covenant the Father made with his people will be fulfilled. Jerusalem will be inhabited again by my people, and it will be the land of their inheritance.”