"This [bread] is my body; . . . this cup is . . . my blood."
Luke 22:7-8, 14-23
The night before he died, Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal, but that night everything took on new meaning. The bread, Jesus said, “is my body” and the wine “is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Eating the bread and drinking the wine became the church’s central sacrament, as explained in I Corinthians 11:23-30. For two thousand years and in every branch of the Christian church, believers have eaten the bread and drunk the cup in remembrance of the Lord, whether calling it the Eucharist, Communion, or the Lord’s Supper.
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Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, . . .
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. |