Matthew 26:26-29

26 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.”

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

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

29 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.”

This account is also found in Mark 14:22-25: Luke 22:17-20; John 13:12-30.

kingdom (v.29) — The Millennium

During the Passover feast the Jewish householder took bread in his hand and said, “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt,” meaning, of course, that the one represented the other. By His words the Lord changed the whole significance and emphasis of the feast from looking back to the typical redemption from Egypt to faith in the redemption from sin accomplished by His death.

Three cups were passed around by the Jewish householder during the Passover meal; the third, which is probably that referred to here, being known as as “the cup of blessing.” My blood of the new covenant, taken from the LXX of Exodus 24:8 with allusions to Jeremiah 31 and Zechariah 9:11. The covenant in Exodus 24:8 was sealed with blood. — KJV Bible Commentary, pages 1226-1227.

Bread and wine were significant parts of the Passover meal. Bread was used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of God’s provision for His people. Wine was used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of the joy that would be the experience of those in Messiah’s kingdom. The lamb signified the sacrifice by which God would provide a covering for sin so as to receive men into His kingdom. These elements played a significant part in the Passover Feast. It came as no surprise to the disciples that Christ used bread in the observance of the meal and that He passed the cup from which all drank. But now Christ departed from the normal use of these elements at the Passover Feast. He gave a new significance to the bread and wine.

He wanted them, whenever and wherever they ate bread, to be reminded of His body that soon was to be given as a sacrifice on their behalf.

The emphasis in Christ’s statement was on the covenant — the covenant that necessitated the blood that was shed. By these two statements, Christ revealed that through His death He would institute the new covenant that Jeremiah had promised. The institution of the new covenant would terminate the old Mosaic covenant under which God had dealt with His people previously. Whenever and wherever these men would drink from the cup, they were to be reminded that a new covenant based on Christ’s shed blood had been instituted and they were to eat and drink in remembrance of Him. Christ would not Himself drink of the cup while He was at His Father’s right hand. However, He did promise that the time would come when He would drink of the cup with them again in His Father’s kingdom. Thus there would be two memorials to Christ in the future millennial kingdom. From Ezekiel 46:13-25 we know that Israel will offer memorial sacrifices in the millennial temple as memorials of the death of Christ. We know that church saints should periodically memorialize the death of Christ by breaking bread and drinking from the cup because the apostle Paul was told by special revelation that Christ’s church should do this (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). — Pentecost, pages 432-433.

Here’s my study from 1 Corinthians.

This entry was posted in Matthew. Bookmark the permalink.