Matthew 26:26

"And" introduces the second thing Matthew recorded that happened as Jesus and His disciples were eating the Passover meal, the first being Jesus’ announcement about His betrayer (Matthew 26:21). Jesus took bread (Gr. artos, Matthew 4:4; Matthew 6:11; Matthew 15:2; Matthew 15:26), specifically the unleavened bread on the table before Him (cf. Exodus 12:15; Exodus 13:3; Exodus 13:7; Deuteronomy 16:3), and then gave thanks to God. A traditional prayer that many Jews used when thanking God for food was, "Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." Perhaps Jesus said some such words. He then broke the bread into parts, distributed it among the disciples, and instructed them to eat it with the words, "This is my body."

The words "this is my body" were not part of the Passover ritual. Jesus’ actions of breaking the bread and then distributing it were both significant. His body, like the bread, would be broken, though His bones were not, and His disciples would need to partake of Him personally. Jesus was linking His sacrifice with redemption history when He instituted this rite during the Passover meal. The Israelites associated their redemption from Egypt with eating the Passover meal. Now Jesus’ disciples were to associate their redemption with Jesus’ death symbolized in this similar meal.

There have been various interpretations of what Jesus meant when He said, "This is my body." There are four main views. Roman Catholics take it as a literal statement meaning the bread really becomes the body of Christ and the contents of the cup become the blood of Christ. This is true when duly authorized representatives of the church conduct the service properly. This is the transubstantiation view. Adherents believe God transfers the body and blood of Christ into the substance of the elements. The bread and wine really become the physical body and blood of Christ.

A second view is not quite so literal. It is the consubstantiation view and, as the word implies, its advocates see the body and blood of Christ as present "in, with, and under" the elements. Christ is really present, though not physically present, according to this Lutheran view. [Note: Lenski, pp. 1026-31.]

The third major view is the spiritual presence view that Presbyterians and other followers of Calvin’s view of the Lord’s Supper hold. For them the spiritual presence of Christ is in the elements and, as in the former views, God ministers grace to the communicant in a concrete way through participation. [Note: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2:641-711.]

The fourth view is the memorial view. Advocates believe that when Jesus said, "This is my body," he meant, "This represents my body." In other words they understand His statement as completely metaphorical (cf. Matthew 13:19-23; Matthew 13:36-39; John 15:1). A metaphor is a comparison in which one thing is likened to a different thing by being spoken of as if it were that other thing (e.g., "All the world is a stage."). Advocates view the elements as pictures or emblems of the body and blood of Christ. In contrast to the preceding views this one does not see Christ present in any special sense in the elements. Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, promoted this view. Today most of the churches from the Anabaptist branch of Protestantism (i.e., Baptists, Methodists, Mennonites, independent Bible churches, Evangelical Free churches, et al.) hold this interpretation. [Note: See Albert H. Newman, A Manual of Church History, 2:312-13. For more information on these views, see articles on the Lord’s Supper and synonymous terms in Bible encyclopaedias.] I believe this view best represents the total revelation concerning the Lord’s Supper in Scripture.

Some Christian groups refer to the Lord’s Supper as one of the "sacraments." They mean the elements minister grace to the participant in a more direct and physical way than those who speak of it as an "ordinance," assuming they are using these terms properly. An ordinance or sacrament is a rite the Lord commanded His followers to observe.