Matthew 26:28 → Jeremiah 31:31

Jesus's words over the cup at the Last Supper — "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" — contain an explicit reference to the new covenant (berith chadashah) promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Lucan parallel makes this explicit: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). Jeremiah 31:31 promised that Yahweh would establish a new covenant with Israel and Judah, distinct from the Sinai covenant, one characterized by written law on the heart and the forgiveness of sins: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (31:34). Matthew's addition of "for the forgiveness of sins" (eis aphesin hamartiōn) — unique to his account — makes the connection to Jeremiah 31:34 unmistakable. Jesus declares that his blood is the ratifying act of the new covenant Jeremiah prophesied, accomplishing in history what Jeremiah announced was coming.