And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
On the night before He died, Jesus sat at the table with His disciples. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and put a lasting memorial of Himself into their hands. Two questions follow: what does the bread mean, and why does He ask us to remember Him?
The Night He Chose
The timing was deliberate. He gave this supper on the worst night of His life. Betrayal, denial and desertion were all waiting for Him.
C. H. MackintoshThe Lord was about to enter a dreadful conflict with all the powers of darkness. He was about to meet all the deadly hatred of man, and to drink to the last drop the cup of God's righteous wrath against sin. He had a terrible day ahead of Him — the most terrible ever faced by man or angel. Yet despite all this, we read that on "the night when he was betrayed" He took bread. What unselfish love this is! That same night was a night of deep sorrow, the night of His agony and bloody sweat. One disciple betrayed Him, another denied Him, and all of them deserted Him. On that very night, the loving heart of Jesus was full of thoughts about His Church.
He Gave Thanks
Before He broke the bread, He thanked God. The cross was right in front of Him.
C E StuartWhat a moment that must have been, when they heard Him giving thanks in view of His death on the cross! Thanksgiving, not prayer, occupied Him at that time. How this speaks to us! His act of giving thanks showed what He knew. Nothing could be added to increase the power of His atoning death. Once that death had taken place, nothing a sinner needs from a sacrifice would be missing. His thanksgiving fully proves that His sacrifice is enough, and that its power lasts.
"Given For You"
Luke's wording is personal. Matthew and Mark record "for many." Luke records "for you," pointing straight at the people at the table.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinNotice the difference in the words that set up the Lord's supper. Matthew and Mark have "My blood shed for many." Luke has "My body which is given for you" and "My blood which is shed for you." His love shines out in these words. Luke alone gives His loving request, "Do this in remembrance of Me."
"This Is My Body"
So does the bread change? No — the words paint a picture.
The Bible Treasury"This is my body," are the Lord's words. There is no need, though, for fanciful ideas about the bread. Let us be clear: the material is bread, and it stays bread. He was using a figure of speech, the kind often on His lips… By saying "This is my body," He gave the loaf a special meaning. This loaf, and nothing else, was to be the emblem of His body, and so bring His body back to their minds.
"Of Me"
He asks us to remember a Person. At the table everything else gives way to Him.
C J DavisIn coming together to break bread, we not only express the oneness of the body, show the Lord's death, and together await His return — we remember Him in a special way. Self drops out of sight — self with its failures, self with its blessings, self with its service. PEOPLE, however loved and honoured in their ministry, are ignored. The most pleasing circumstances, or the most depressing cares, are given no place. Meanwhile the LORD HIMSELF — Lord as the One who died — commands the heart and the mind of the believer. "Do this in remembrance of ME." This makes the Supper beautifully simple, yet precious beyond words.
"Do This"
The verse holds a command as well as a memory. That command calls for company.
The Christian's FriendIn this loving request we have something to do, as well as someone to remember. It is also the expression of one body. "Do this" means an act we carry out with others. When we are alone, we may have sweet memories of the Saviour's precious words and ways, and of His suffering, even to death, for us. But here is something to do… If I do not do it, I do not carry out His mind.
Not the Passover
This meal is not the Passover. The two look in different directions.
C E StuartAt the passover Israel remembered the LORD's goodness toward them; at the Lord's Supper the death of the Lord Jesus was to be before the mind… The passover looked back only. Keeping the Lord's Supper, we look back and we look forward, for as 1 Cor. 11:26 says, we show the Lord's death "until he comes." He died for us, and we eat of His supper in remembrance of Him.
Summary
- Love that night. He gave the supper on the night of betrayal — the setting proves the love behind the gift.
- Love thanking. He gave thanks before He broke the bread: His sacrifice would need nothing added to it.
- Love for you. Luke's "given for you" narrows the vast work of the cross down to the people at the table.
- Love pictured. The bread stays bread; it is the chosen emblem that brings His body back to mind.
- Love remembered. "In remembrance of Me" asks for Him, not for our benefits. "Do this" makes it an act we carry out together — looking back at His death, and forward to His coming.