Matthew 26:20When it was evening, Jesus sat down...
Matthew 26:20When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. 21While they were eating, he said, “The truth is, one of you will betray me.”
22Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask him, “I’m not the one, am I, Lord?”
23 He replied, “One of you who is eating with me now will betray me. 24 For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!”
25Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Teacher, I’m not the one, am I?”
And Jesus told him, “You have said it yourself.”
26 As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it and eat it, for this is my body.” 27And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” 30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 26:26
Each name we use for this sacrament brings out a different dimension to it. It is the Lord’s Supper because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with his disciples; it is the Eucharist (thanksgiving) because in it we thank God for Christ’s work for us; it is Communion because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should be quietly reflective as we recall Jesus’ death and his promise to come again, grateful for God’s wonderful gift to us, and joyful as we meet with Christ and the body of believers.
Matthew 26:28
How does Jesus’ blood relate to the new covenant? People under the old covenant (those who lived before Jesus) could approach God only through a priest and an animal sacrifice. Now all people can come directly to God through faith because Jesus’ death has made us acceptable in God’s eyes (Romans 3:21-24).
The old covenant was a shadow of the new (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:1ff), pointing forward to the day when Jesus himself would be the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. Rather than an unblemished lamb slain on the altar, the perfect Lamb of God was slain on the cross, a sinless sacrifice, so that our sins could be forgiven once and for all. All those who believe in Christ receive that forgiveness.
Cross References:
Matthew 26:28—Exodus 24:8; Jeremiah 31:31; Zechariah 9:11; Hebrews 9:20
Matthew 26:29
Again Jesus assured his disciples of victory over death and of their future with him. The next few hours would bring apparent defeat, but soon they would experience the power of the Holy Spirit and witness the great spread of the Good News. And one day they would all be together again in God’s new Kingdom.
Cross References:
Matthew 26:29—Acts 10:41
Matthew 26:30
It is possible that the hymn the disciples sang was from Psalms 115–118, the traditional psalms sung as part of the Passover meal.