Jesus Institutes The Lord's Supper and Establishes The New Covenant in His Blood (26:26-30).
We are so used to the Lord's Supper that this moment can almost pass us by unmoved. It was, however, as sensational as anything within the career of Jesus. He had made many remarkable claims, as we have seen, but none more remarkable than this. For Jesus was here taking over the most precious ceremony known to the Jews, a ceremony instituted by God, centred on God and pointing to God's great deliverance, and turning it into a remembrance of Himself and a portrayal of the salvation that would be wrought through Him. If Jesus had not been of unique heavenly status this would indeed have been blasphemy of the most supreme kind. The institution of the Lord's Supper was the clearest of indications that Jesus saw Himself as on the divine side of reality.
Moreover central to it was the fact of His own death as a sacrifice, sealing the new covenant in His blood, in the same way as Moses had sealed the old covenant in blood so long before (Exodus 24). And it was, among other things (compare Hebrews 8:6-13 where it spoke of transforming men's lives), a covenant that provided for the forgiveness and removal of sins. Here then the full significance of His death is being portrayed (compare Matthew 20:28). He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Whatever else we read into the passage this must not be overlooked. It is central to Jesus' thinking, and to Matthew's purpose in writing the Gospel. And participation in the Lord's Supper involves recognition that it is through Him and His death on our behalf that we receive the forgiveness of our sins.
The connection of the giving of the Lord's Supper with the Passover is very relevant. Both were feasts of deliverance, and both would be continually repeated in remembrance of that deliverance. At the first Passover the deliverance was yet to take place. In all later Passovers the participants looked back to the first Passover and its already accomplished deliverance, and in spirit became a part of that deliverance. The first Passover consisted of a meal in which the participants by eating it were closely involved in God's external activity. It was the earnest (guarantee) of their deliverance. And they were aware that what they were eating had been offered as a substitute for their firstborn sons. God had provided a ransom, and all were participating in it. Later participants looked back to in remembrance and ‘participation by faith', and they too would remember that they had had to ransom their firstborn sons (Exodus 13:13; Exodus 34:20; Numbers 18:15-16).
A similar situation applies to the Lord's Supper. This initial institution has in mind the events that will occur on that night and in the following day, while all later participation will look back to that night and its accomplished deliverance. In the original institution those who participated were being called on to recognise in it the earnest of the offering of Jesus as an offering and sacrifice. It portrayed the guarantee of their future salvation and deliverance. And they would themselves also to some extent share in the fall out from Jesus' afflictions. But those who participated in the future would ‘participate' in it by faith, looking back to the one sacrifice for sin for ever as it was offered at the cross, and responding to it in their hearts by faith. They would be proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes again (1 Corinthians 11:26).
But the question may be asked as to how the institution as described by Matthew fits in with the other descriptions found in Mark, Luke and Paul? For at first sight all appear to be somewhat different. Before going on therefore we shall consider that question first.
Excursus: A Comparison Of The Accounts Of The Instituting Of The Lord's Supper.
The question is often asked, “Why are their different versions of the words used by Jesus at the institution of the Lord's Supper in the Gospels and in Paul?” A partial answer, of course, lies in the fact that each is an interpretive translation of the original Aramaic. But in answering the question we will therefore first consider the breaking of the bread passages, putting in capitals the words which are exactly the same, and we will do the same with the offering of the wine. In doing this we must remember that none of the writers always record all Jesus' words. Each is translating from the Aramaic, and each selects and translates keeping in mind what is particularly suitable to the point that he is getting over, aware all the time of the lack of space on his manuscript (it was a continuous roll. They could not just add on another page). It is not therefore in the main a choice between either/or but of both/and. Nevertheless basically their renderings are unquestionably similar. Let us consider them in the order in which we find them in the New Testament.
* Matthew 26:26 'And as they were eating, Jesus TOOK BREAD, and blessed, and BROKE IT, and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take you, eat; THIS IS MY BODY.'
* Mark 14:22 'And as they were eating, he TOOK BREAD, and when he had blessed, he BROKE IT, and gave to them, and said, Take you, THIS IS MY BODY.'
* Luke 22:19 'And he TOOK BREAD, and when he had given thanks, he BROKE IT, and gave to them, saying, THIS IS MY BODY which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.'
* 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 'For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed TOOK BREAD, and when he had given thanks, he BROKE IT, and said, "THIS IS MY BODY, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." '
It will be noted that common to all is that HE TOOK BREAD, BROKE IT AND SAID, 'THIS IS MY BODY', stressing the essential unity of the passages. Matthew adds to Jesus' words, 'Take you, eat', Mark adds 'Take you'. Luke and Paul omit this but it is clearly implied, for Luke adds, 'Which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me,' and Paul adds, 'which is for you, Do this in remembrance of me'. Paul's 'which is for you' parallels Matthew's 'take, eat' and especially Mark's 'take you'. Luke's 'given for you' simply amplifies the idea. Thus the basic idea is the same in all, with small differences of presentation in order to bring out particular points. The additional words, 'Do this in remembrance of me' are, of course, really required in order to explain the perpetuation of the feast throughout the early church. Thus Jesus must have said it and even if we had not been told about it we would have had to assume it. Indeed, while 'This is my body' would certainly be impressive standing alone, it does require extra words for it to make sense to the initial hearers. It is possibly the writers and ministers, and not the original speaker, who with their liking for dramatic pauses wish it to stand out in its starkness, for they do it knowing that the readers/recipients would already know its deeper significance. Jesus, on the other hand, would want to make His teaching clear. Of course, what His exact words were in Aramaic can only be postulated, for we only have the Greek translations. But the Greek in each case does give the true and uncontradictory essential meaning of what He was saying.
Slightly more complicated are the words about the cup.
Matthew 26:27-28 'And he took a CUP, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink you all of it, for THIS IS MY BLOOD of THE COVENANT, which is poured out for many to remission of sins.'
Mark 14:23-24 'And he took a CUP, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them, and they all drank of it, and he said to them, THIS IS MY BLOOD of THE COVENANT, which is poured out for many.'
Luke 22:20 And the CUP in like manner after supper, saying, THIS cup IS THE new COVENANT in MY BLOOD, even that which is poured out for you.'
1 Corinthians 11:25 'In the same way also the CUP, after supper, saying, "THIS cup IS THE new COVENANT in MY BLOOD. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'
In each Jesus takes a cup and says either, 'This is the covenant in my blood', or alternatively the more stark equivalent in Hebrew form, 'This is my blood of the covenant' (which is saying the same thing). The former is interpretive of the latter for Gentile readers who would not appreciate the Hebrew idiom. The ‘new' may have dropped out in Matthew and Mark because it was felt to be superfluous, or Luke and Paul, in interpreting, may have added that it was a 'new' covenant, because they wanted their Gentile readers to know that it was not just the old Jewish covenant renewed, but the new covenant which had already been promised. All would be aware that it was in fact a new covenant, partly in accordance with God's promise in Jeremiah 31:31, and partly because it was 'in His blood' and looked to the cross, and Jesus' very words and subsequent actions thus demanded it even if He did not say it. Matthew, Mark and Luke all agree that He said, 'which is poured out for ---'. Mark simply adds, 'for many', Luke adds. 'for you' and Matthew adds 'for many to remission of sins'. Paul omits this but adds, 'Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me', which is actually required to be said by Jesus (or something like it) to establish the permanence of it as a symbol. As Mark's 'for many' probably has Isaiah 53:11; Isaiah 53:12 in mind it has the same significance as Matthew's longer phrase 'for many to remission of sins'. 'Luke's 'you' simply personalises it, recognising that the 'you' is by then being spoken to the whole church who are the 'many' for whom Christ died. Thus the essential meaning is again the same. And as with the bread the importance of doing it in remembrance must at some time have been said by Jesus in order for the Apostles to take up the feast and perpetuate it as they did. To men who had such a sense of the sacredness of the Passover the onward movement would have been impossible, except on the most sacred authority. The slight overall differences emphasise the point each is seeking to bring out as they translate or paraphrase from the Aramaic, without altering the basic sense. Essentially therefore all are saying the same thing.
One possible interpretation of the evidence is to see Jesus as saying, ‘Take, eat, this is my body which is for you (with ‘given' or ‘broken' being interpretive), this do in remembrance of Me'. And, ‘this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you and for many for the remission of sins, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me', with each writer having been selective.
End of Excursus.
There is no question about the fact that all the Gospel writers see Jesus as having taken over the Passover symbolism, making it applicable to what He was about to do. Passover retires into the background, because a greater deliverance has taken over. The bread was no longer to be the bread of the affliction of the people, symbolic of the bread eaten by the original people so long before as they waited for deliverance from all their afflictions, but was to be the bread of the affliction of this One Who represented the people, God's Son (Matthew 2:15), and indicative of all the afflictions that He bore for them in His body on the cross (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24). It was to speak of His brokenness on that cross. The Passover lamb was replaced by the One Who was being offered up on the cross, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins, and offering to feed His people as they came to Him and believed on Him (John 6:35; compare John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7).
Behind this new portrayal the New Testament sees a number of strands:
1). He is the perfect Passover sacrifice, offered on behalf of His people as a ransom on their behalf (Matthew 20:28; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7), in which they participate by eating the bread and drinking the wine, just as Israel of old had participated in the old deliverance, when as they ate of the feast their firstborn were redeemed from the activity of the Angel of Death through the shedding of the blood of the lamb at the original Passover and its application to their houses, and all that as a firstfruit of their own deliverance from Egypt. Thus they participated in all that was happening by eating the Passover lamb and the accompanying unleavened bread, and inevitably drinking wine. They were symbolically and yet genuinely taking part in the greater activity of God. Now in the Lord's Supper His new people would be doing the same, protected under His blood, and receiving life from Him.
2). He is the guilt offering offered for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28; Isaiah 53; see also Matthew 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:26).
3). Through it He is offering participation in His body and blood as they eat and drink of Him by coming to Him and believing on Him (John 6:33-58). John 6:35 is the key verse, which explains what ‘eating and drinking' means. It means continually coming and believing so that they never hunger or thirst again. Connected with this was the idea of participating in the Messianic Banquet which would indicate the arrival of His Kingly Rule. And this would shortly come into fulfilment as they ate and drank with Him under His Kingly Rule, and He ‘ate and drank' with them (Acts 10:41), something which would follow His death, resurrection and enthronement (Matthew 28:18). All this in anticipation of one day sharing it with Him in the everlasting Kingdom.
4). It is to be a table of fellowship, where they have fellowship one with another, and especially together with their Lord with Whom they have been made one by being united in His body (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
5). It represents the covenant meal at which the new covenant which was sealed by the offering of His blood is continually ratified by His people in the most solemn way (Matthew 26:28; compare Exodus 24).
The aspects of these which are especially brought out in Matthew's description of the feast are the breaking of Jesus' body and the shedding of Jesus blood as the blood of the covenant, together with an indication of their joint participation with Him in the heavenly banquet, in which they will share once His Kingly Rule is revealed in power.
Analysis.
a And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and he gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26).
b And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “Drink you all of it” (Matthew 26:27).
c “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
b “But I say to you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingly rule” (Matthew 26:29).
a And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).
Note that in ‘a' Jesus blesses God, and in the parallel the Hallel is sung in which God is blessed. In ‘b' His disciples are bidden to drink, and in the parallel Jesus will not drink until the Kingly Rule of Heaven comes. Centrally in ‘c' we discover the significance to be read into the wine.