What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, "Take and Eat, This Is My Body Given For YOU"? Matthew 26:26-30

Matthew 26:26-30

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

These verses renind us what happend at the Last Supper.  The last meal Jesus had with his disciples on Thursday night before going to the cross on Friday.  The context was the Passover meal, which the Jews celebrated every year as part of the Passover festival.  Usually the end of the meal was reserved for eating meat from the sacrificial lamb whose blood covered the collective sins of the Israelites.

Jesus is going to give new signficance to this meal for them and for us.  The meal Jesus introduced over 2,000 years ago is celebrated by Christian churches around the world to remember Jesus' sacrificial death for the sins of the world.  John 13 tells us that sometime during or after this Last Supper, Jesus washed their feet to show his very nature as a servant.  He tells them that they too should wash other's feet, as an example of His love to the whole world. 

Everything eaten at the Passover meal had symbolic meaning. The bitter herbs recalled the bitterness of slavery; the salt water remembered the tears shed under Egypt’s oppression. The main course of the meal – a lamb freshly sacrificed for that particular household – did not symbolize anything connected to the agonies of Egypt. It was the sin-bearing sacrifice that allowed the judgment of God to pass over the household that believed. Guzik

The words, "Take and eat is my body" was not the usual words the head of the household would say at during the celebration of this meal.  This is an obvious reference that Jesus is now the center of the meal and would fulfill the covenant God had made with Israel.  As we receive the bread of the communion meal, we should remember that Jesus body was broken on the cross, as they beat him, broke his shins and pierced his side.  

Then, Jesus said something very profound and would have been equally shocking to his disciples.  As he poured out the wine from the chalice, he informed them that this was his blood, which was the new blood of the covenant.  The blood was usually the blood of the unblemished and innocent lamb, which was a symbol of God's grace poured out on the Israelites and covering their sins.  But there was a new unblemished and innocent Lamb of God, and he was right before them.  The new covenant God was making with Israel was that He would shed HIS OWN blood through His OWN SON.  And this blood would not only cover their sins, but the sins of the whole world.  

What the terms this is "MY body" and "My blood" have been debated hotly over the many centuries as to what these terms actually mean. Here is a VERY brief summary in terms of what major denominations of Christians have believed, which is simplified somewhat for the sake of time.

Catholic = Catholics believe in "transubtantiation", which means that the bread and wine offered in Holy Communion are literally transformed into Jesus' actual body and blood.  This is why there is a lot of emphasis on how the elements are handled.  I.e. The priest will finish the wine from the cup at Mass so there is no wasting of Jesus' sacrificial blood.  The term "mass" itself is a reference to Christ's body and is the central thing around the mass is celebrate by Catholic churches.

Lutheran = Lutherans teach that the bread and wine represent the "real presence" of Christ.  While they don't go as far as the Catholic to try and define literally what this means, they believe Jesus is truly present in a way we cannot understand and can only be comprehended by faith.  Since Jesus said, "This is my body", Lutherans believe this is more than just symbolic, but in these words offer his very real persence for whatever we need and most importantly in regard to our need to be reminded the forgiveness of sin which comes only through his sacrificial death on the cross for each of us.

Reformed/Baptist/Non - Denominational - These churches which represent a wide cross section of the body of Christ teach that these words are meant to be interpreted as only symbolic in nature.  The bread and wine are signs which point what Jesus did on the cross over 2,000 years ago. They represent and serve as a memorial for us to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross in faith. 

Each group would cite different biblical texts to back up their understanding of Holy Communion.  It would a mistake to say that each group doesn't consider this meal to be of paramount importance in our life and worship together in the body of Christ.   

As you can see each group takes Jesus' Words of Institution very seriously and each group practices the celebration of Holy Communion on a regular basis.  While as a Lutheran pastor, I believe and teach the Lutheran understanding of Jesus' Last Supper, I think the main thing is that we remember Jesus' death and what he did for us on the cross often and in a very real way. I.e. Not just intellectually.  Also, we should truly take the time to enter into the reason and meaning of this Holy Sacrament in the context of worship thinking about our lives and are we living our lives in manner of our calling to be Christ followers.  It should be a central part of our worship, so we will never forget what Jesus did for us and how it should inform our lives as his followers.

Jesus then concludes by saying that they will not eat of this meal again, until they drink it again in His Father's kingdom.  This is also a good thing for us to remember when we receive Holy Communion. This meal is not only a present reminder of what Jesus did for us, but also a looking forward to the meal we will have with him and all the saints in heaven.  In my church we call communion,  "A foretaste of the feast to come."  That will be a great day won't it!