Bread and Wine; Body and Blood

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Luke 22: 14-20

Sundown has arrived, officially marking the beginning of Passover. Passover symbolized not only the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, but also foretold of the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus, in these verses, is eager to prepare the apostles for what is to come, things that they will likely not completely grasp, but which will become the centerpiece of Christianity in the years and centuries to follow. Through the bread and the wine, as symbolic of Christ’s body and blood, Christ transforms the Passover Seder into an entirely different kind of ceremony – one which looks back in remembrance of His atoning death on the cross.

C.S. Lewis in The Business of Heaven says it is hard to imagine what the apostles understood as Christ, his body not yet broken and his blood not yet shed, handed them the bread and the wine, saying they were his body. Were they confused by what they heard or did they grasp the symbolic intent of Christ’s statement? What do we experience as we meditate on Christ’s death on the cross? What do we experience as we dwell on the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper? Do we fully understand what Christ’s atoning death did for us? That not only did Christ die and bear our sins, but that we who believe in Christ have also been crucified with and died with him. The new covenant that has been established through Christ’s death and resurrection has restored our fellowship and communion with God – something that we cannot fully comprehend or appreciate. Fortunately, however, as Lewis says, the command to the apostles (and to us) was to “Take, eat: not Take, understand.”

by Greg Lewis
for the Adult Discipleship and Membership Development Council