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Matthew 26:26-29
Institution of the Lord's Supper Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” |
This passage takes place at the ‘Last Supper’, the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples before He died.
Jesus talking about the bread being His body and the wine being His blood is strange: this is not how we normally talk about food!
We know what happened after but the disciples were in the moment and they didn’t know. It must have been very hard for them to understand.
Jesus says that He gives His body for us and that His blood is poured out for the forgiveness of sins: this happened when Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks to God, breaks the bread and then gives it to His disciples. Just as, on the cross, Jesus would take His life and give it for all of us.
But at the cross Jesus did more: He took our sin and gave us eternal life.
Jesus gave His disciples this meal to remember Him and what He did at the cross. Wine and bread are everyday food, eaten around tables every day, to help us remember what Jesus did for us.
Today as we gather around tables and eat meals, may we remember all that Jesus did for us at the cross. He has taken away all our sin, has brought us back to God and has given us eternal life. That’s something worth talking about!
Adrian, Karen, Alasdair and Kate