Daily Word - This Is My Body - Matthew 26:26-29

Scipture:
Matthew 26:26-29 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The First Lord's Supper
26 As they were eating, (A) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, (B) and said, "Take and eat it; this is My body." (C) 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood [that establishes] the covenant; [a] it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (D) 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way [b] in My Father's kingdom (E) with you."
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:28 Other mss read new covenant
Matthew 26:29 Or drink new wine; lit drink it new
Cross references:
Matthew 26:26 : Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; 1Co 11:23-25;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 14:19; 1Co 10:16;
Matthew 26:28 : Ex 24:8; Mt 20:28; Mk 1:4; Heb 9:20;
Matthew 26:29 : Mt 4:23; Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25;

Reflection:
Matthew ties the last supper meal with Jesus' death and the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus transforms the passover of the old covenant into the meal of the "new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to their Creator. Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine, who was both priest and king (Genesis 14:18), prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king. The unleavened bread at Passover and the miraculous manna in the desert are the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing" at the end of the Jewish passover meal points to the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jesus gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup when he instituted the "Lord's Supper" or "Eucharist". He speaks of the presence of his body and blood in this new meal. When at the Last Supper Jesus described his blood “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28), he was explaining his coming crucifixion as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. That is why John the Baptist called him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He “offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). This meal was a memorial of his death and resurrection.
Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum– giving his disciples his body and his blood (John 6:51-58). Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom. This is the most significant meal of Jesus and the most important occasion of his breaking of bread. In this meal Jesus identifies the bread as his body and the cup as his blood. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being (John 6:53). That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Jesus' death on the cross, his gift of his body and blood in the Supper, and his promise to dine again with his disciples when the kingdom of God comes in all its fulness are inseparably linked. Jesus instructed his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me". These words establish every Lord's Supper or Eucharist as a "remembrance" of Jesus' atoning death, his resurrection, and his promise to return again. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). Our celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipates the final day when the Lord Jesus will feast anew with his disciples in the heavenly marriage feast of the Lamb and his Bride. Do you know the joy of the drinking Christ's cup and tasting the bread of his Table in sincerity?

Prayer For The Day:
"Lord Jesus, you are the "Bread of Life" and the "Cup of Salvation". May I always follow in the narrow way of the cross toward the heavenly banquet where you will seat all the elect at the table of your kingdom."