And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
At His last Passover supper with His disciples before His suffering, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks over it, and had them divide it among themselves. He declared He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God should come. The cup held pure, unfermented juice of the grape, given as a symbol of His own blood shed for the forgiveness and life of those who receive Him. In that act He closed the Passover service, where type met antitype in His death as the spotless Lamb of God, and instituted in its place the Lord's Supper as a memorial of His sacrifice to be kept through all ages.
Setting and Shared Cup
The words were spoken in the upper chamber at the last Passover supper Jesus ate with His disciples before His suffering and crucifixion. It was the quiet hours between Him and Gethsemane and His baptism of suffering, spent for the benefit of His disciples. He was troubled in spirit and weighed down by grief over what lay before Him, while the disciples shared the time with Him without knowing the cause. At that Passover meal as they ate, He took the cup, gave thanks to God over it, and told the disciples to take it and divide it among themselves.
At this same meal He declared He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God should come. The cup held pure juice of the grape with no fermentation, sweet and pure, just as the Passover bread had no leaven, showing purity and completeness. It was given as a symbol of His own blood. That blood was shed for the forgiveness of those who come to Him and receive Him as Saviour.
The cup belonged to a sacramental service designed to refresh the soul and give life. There was nothing in it that ministers to evil, tempts to indulgence, beclouds reason, or benumbs spiritual perception.
Passover Ends, Supper Begins
This was virtually the last Passover ever to be celebrated, the final Passover before its type met its fulfillment. Type was to meet antitype in the slaying of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world, when Christ the spotless Lamb of God died for humanity's redemption. As He ate the Passover He stood at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. As the spotless Lamb of God He was about to present Himself as a sin-offering and thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death, so that the national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever.
In this act He closed the Passover service and instituted in its place the service of the cup and bread, the Lord's Supper. That sacramental service was established to take the place of Passover as a memorial of His great sacrifice, to keep His followers mindful of His betrayal and death. The service Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages, and to continue through all time.
By connecting the Lord's Supper with the Passover He obediently kept the Jewish law and observed all its divinely appointed ordinances. By that act He identified Himself with the paschal lamb as its great antitype, declaring Himself the sinless Lamb of God whose merits alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen man. The Passover commemorated the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt and typified the great salvation He brought. The innocent lamb slain in Egypt, whose blood sprinkled on the doorposts caused the destroying angel to pass over the homes of Israel, prefigured Him.
At His last Passover supper with His disciples before His suffering, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks over it, and had them divide it among themselves. He declared He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God should come. The cup held pure, unfermented juice of the grape, given as a symbol of His own blood shed for the forgiveness and life of those who receive Him. In that act He closed the Passover service, where type met antitype in His death as the spotless Lamb of God, and instituted in its place the Lord's Supper as a memorial of His sacrifice to be kept through all ages.
Setting and Shared Cup
The words were spoken in the upper chamber at the last Passover supper Jesus ate with His disciples before His suffering and crucifixion. It was the quiet hours between Him and Gethsemane and His baptism of suffering, spent for the benefit of His disciples. He was troubled in spirit and weighed down by grief over what lay before Him, while the disciples shared the time with Him without knowing the cause. At that Passover meal as they ate, He took the cup, gave thanks to God over it, and told the disciples to take it and divide it among themselves.
At this same meal He declared He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God should come. The cup held pure juice of the grape with no fermentation, sweet and pure, just as the Passover bread had no leaven, showing purity and completeness. It was given as a symbol of His own blood. That blood was shed for the forgiveness of those who come to Him and receive Him as Saviour.
The cup belonged to a sacramental service designed to refresh the soul and give life. There was nothing in it that ministers to evil, tempts to indulgence, beclouds reason, or benumbs spiritual perception.
Passover Ends, Supper Begins
This was virtually the last Passover ever to be celebrated, the final Passover before its type met its fulfillment. Type was to meet antitype in the slaying of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world, when Christ the spotless Lamb of God died for humanity's redemption. As He ate the Passover He stood at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. As the spotless Lamb of God He was about to present Himself as a sin-offering and thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death, so that the national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever.
In this act He closed the Passover service and instituted in its place the service of the cup and bread, the Lord's Supper. That sacramental service was established to take the place of Passover as a memorial of His great sacrifice, to keep His followers mindful of His betrayal and death. The service Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages, and to continue through all time.
By connecting the Lord's Supper with the Passover He obediently kept the Jewish law and observed all its divinely appointed ordinances. By that act He identified Himself with the paschal lamb as its great antitype, declaring Himself the sinless Lamb of God whose merits alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen man. The Passover commemorated the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt and typified the great salvation He brought. The innocent lamb slain in Egypt, whose blood sprinkled on the doorposts caused the destroying angel to pass over the homes of Israel, prefigured Him.