The Lord's Supper

Matthew 26:26-30

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

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After having drawn the curtain on the Passover, the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper.

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And as they were eating, the Lord Jesus Christ took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

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The Lord Jesus Christ broke the bread because it came in large flat pieces, which had to be broken to be distributed.

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Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you."

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All eleven disciples shared the cup.

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All of us who come to the Lord’s Table are also participants.

All of us participate in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of us are partakers of His table.

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"This is my body."

That was a new concept.

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The unleavened bread had always been a symbol of leaving Egypt and the past life behind.

It was a way of saying, "We’re starting anew. Our old life will not influence us."

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But now the unleavened bread symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ’s body.

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Luke 22:19 tells us the Lord Jesus Christ’s complete sentence: "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

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The bread is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ’s body; the reality of His life given in sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin.

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"For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

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God required the shedding of blood in making covenants with men.

When God brought about reconciliation with Himself, the price was blood.

That let man know that a relationship to God would cost the blood of a sacrifice.

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Hebrews 9:22 says, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."

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A covenant with God always demanded more than simple death; the death had to be accompanied by the shedding of blood because the life of the flesh is in the blood.

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The pouring out of blood by animal sacrifice is a graphic and painful demonstration of the loss of life.

It pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be the final sacrifice for reconciliation with God.

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The Lord Jesus Christ died to save us from our sin.

But it wasn’t enough for Him to die.

His blood had to pour out through the wounds in His hands, feet, side, and the thorn marks in His head.

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The blood running out of the Lord Jesus Christ graphically demonstrated that life was flowing out of Him as He offered Himself as the final sacrifice for sin.

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The importance of the cup is to remind believers of His blood, which was shed on our behalf.

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We were saved through the Lord Jesus Christ’s death.

His blood needed to be shed because the only kind of sacrifices God accepted were those whose blood had been shed.

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Matthew 26:28 says the Lord Jesus Christ’s blood was shed for many.

Who are the many?

All who believe, both Jew and Gentile.

It was shed not just for the nation of Israel.

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It was shed for the remission of sins.

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Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted a memorial to His death the night before it occurred.

He headed to the cross to pour out His blood as a sacrifice for sin.

He instituted the bread and the cup as a memorial that we might remember His sacrificial death on our behalf.

None of the sacrificial animals of the Old Covenant could take away sin.

Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ could do that.

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"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."

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How long are we to celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

We are to keep celebrating it until the Lord Jesus Christ shares it with us in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

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Praising God was the last thing they did before going to the Mount of Olives.

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The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember what God has done for us in providing salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ!