Matthew 26:28 means that Jesus’ death would be the basis of a new relationship between God and people, and that this would bring forgiveness of sins. Jesus says this over a cup of wine during the Passover meal, calling it his blood of the new covenant. He speaks these words to his twelve disciples on the night before his crucifixion.
For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
Matthew 26:28 (WEB)
What Matthew 26:28 Means
The phrase “this is my blood” points to the sacrifice Jesus is about to make. In the Old Testament, blood was closely tied to life and to atonement, so Jesus’ words link his coming death with the purpose of a sacrifice. The cup he holds is not just a symbol of past rescue but of a sacrifice that is about to happen.
The word “covenant” means a solemn agreement, and the word “new” signals that something older is being fulfilled and reshaped. Jeremiah 31 had spoken of a future covenant in which God would write his law on people’s hearts and forgive their wrongdoing. Jesus presents himself as the one through whom that promise begins.
The verse says the blood is “poured out for many for the remission of sins.” Remission means release or cancellation of a debt, and the verse makes clear that forgiveness is connected to Jesus’ death. It does not say that everyone will automatically receive forgiveness, nor does it describe the mechanics of how each person comes to faith. It states what Jesus’ sacrifice accomplishes and invites people to receive it.
The Context of Matthew 26:28
Matthew’s Gospel was written to a largely Jewish audience and traditionally attributed to Matthew, one of the twelve disciples. The Gospel presents Jesus as the promised king and teacher who fulfills Israel’s Scriptures. By the time of this passage, the narrative has been moving steadily toward the cross, and the Passover setting would have been immediately recognizable to its first readers as a memorial of God’s deliverance from Egypt.
The verses just before this one show Judas identifying himself as the betrayer, and the verses after it show Jesus predicting that the disciples will all fall away. Read in that light, the cup is offered in the middle of betrayal and fear. The new covenant is not announced in a calm, celebratory moment, but in the shadow of human failure, which is part of why the promise of forgiveness carries such weight.
Key Phrases in Matthew 26:28
Jeremiah 31:34
They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says the LORD: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(WEB)
This verse speaks of God forgiving wrongdoing and remembering sin no more under the new covenant. It is one of the Old Testament promises that Matthew 26:28 echoes, showing that the cup Jesus offers fulfills a long-standing hope.
Hebrews 9:22
According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
(WEB)
Hebrews explains the role of blood in forgiveness within the sacrificial system and presents Christ’s sacrifice as its fulfillment. It helps readers understand why Jesus speaks of his blood as the means by which sins are remitted.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 26:28
Lord Jesus, you held the cup and spoke of your blood poured out for many, and I thank you for the forgiveness you won through your death. I bring you the failures I keep carrying, the things I have said and done that I wish I could undo. Help me receive your forgiveness fully and let it shape how I treat the people around me. Teach me to trust that the new covenant you began is strong enough to hold my life, and let me live from that grace each day. Amen.
