Mark 14:22-26 — This is My Body

 Mark 14:22-26

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Comments:

Jesus, at the Passover dinner, instituted what we now call the Lord's Supper. He presented the bread as his body and the wine in the cup as his blood of the new covenant. He was still present in his body so the bread was not his actual body. There was no transubstantiation involved. If there was, then Jesus would have given instructions regarding crumbs and dregs. A covenant was sealed with the blood of a sacrifice and now Jesus' blood that would shortly be shed to seal a new covenant with men was symbolized in the cup.

I remember meditating on this passage one Sunday many years ago when I had come down with the flu after church. I was laying on the couch watching the World Series and eating some Saltine crackers. It was the first thing I'd been able to eat and as I thankfully held the saltine cracker I was reminded of the unleavened bread that Jesus used in establishing the Eucharist. I've never had Saltines taste better or feel better on my very empty stomach. Jesus, the bread of life does the same for our soul. It was his body, broken for us, represented in the bread that sucks up the nauseating, empty, bilious, dry heaves of sin and sad attempts at self-satisfaction that we face in this world. He is not just a staple, but a cure and comfort for our condition. I also think that we have to be completely empty of ourselves (like I was) before we can really partake of Christ with power.

In v. 26 we also get a glimpse into their devotional habits as they sang a hymn or hymns and went out. 

They shared: the Word, worship, and a walk...a memorable evening for sure.