Article: The Words You’ve Heard a Thousand Times (And What They Actually Mean)

If you go to church (almost anywhere), you have heard “The body of Christ given for you” and “The blood of Christ shed for you” a lot.

Sometimes when you hear the same words over and over again, they cease to have any real meaning in our lives. Yet, Holy Communion is a vital gift given to us! A gift independent of us and given to connect us to Jesus.

Let’s go back to when it was first given. Jesus was celebrating the Passover with his disciples for the last time. Jesus knew he was going to be arrested and put to death. He also knew he would rise from the dead.

Jesus and the disciples were Jewish and celebrating the Old Covenant of Passover was required and natural. All who celebrate Passover remember the story of God delivering God’s chosen people from slavery through Moses (as told in Exodus). They knew that the God of Israel delivers the Lord’s people from bondage in every age.

At the end of that Passover meal and remembrance, Jesus took two items from that table to use in a new way. Of course, those two items would be found on any dinner table throughout the year and not just at Passover. Common items of bread and wine.

The unleavened bread on the Passover table was known as the bread of affliction, remembering the affliction of slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (see Exodus).

Jesus took that bread, knowing that this bread of affliction isn’t for his followers but for him alone on the cross. At the Passover table, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:26

Jesus is foretelling the affliction that he will endure for our very souls. This suffering is his alone. We are the beneficiaries. The bread is his body that will be broken for us on the cross.

Then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:27-28

A cup of wine found on every table in Israel at every meal becomes something more at this gathering. This cup of wine becomes a cup of blessing given to us by Jesus.

It is a new covenant, a new promise from God that you are free from the slavery and bondage of sin.

If the bread signifies the suffering that is Jesus’ alone on the cross, then the wine shows us the fruit of that suffering, our very own forgiveness.

We receive the bread to remember Jesus’ painful death, which is for us. We remember Jesus’ internal suffering because it is not ours. Then we receive the wine to remember the gift given to all who believe: forgiveness and reconciliation with God. This gift is the external fruit given to us.

This is not just remembering (which is also important). We believe God’s Word is attached to that bread and wine so that you may also experience the presence of Christ in that moment.

The body of Christ given for you… because of his suffering sacrifice. The blood of Christ shed for you… so that you may find forgiveness, life and salvation.

God bless,
Pr. Ben