And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
On the night before His crucifixion, after eating the Passover with His disciples, Jesus with thanks gave the cup to all who were present and told them all to drink of it, even Judas the betrayer. The cup is the emblem of His spilled blood given for many for the remission of sins, establishing the new covenant, and drinking it expresses cleansing from sin and continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The wine representing His unblemished sacrifice was pure unfermented juice, for fermentation as a sign of sin and death could not represent Him, and the bread and wine are not changed into His actual body and blood. Sharing the cup keeps His followers mindful of His betrayal and death until He returns, proclaiming His death till He comes and pointing forward to drinking the fruit of the vine new with Him in His Father's kingdom. It cannot be received worthily while pride, strife, differences between brethren, and evil thoughts are cherished, so every difference must be put away and the heart cleansed and humbled beforehand, yet even a known sinner is not to be turned away, as Christ's patience gave Judas opportunity to repent and be cleansed.
Setting and Meaning
On the night before His crucifixion, after eating the Passover supper with His disciples, Jesus instituted this memorial meal. He gave it immediately before entering Gethsemane, the quiet garden near Jerusalem where He often went to pray. His heart was full of sorrow under the weight of the sins of the world as He did so. As He went with them to the garden He talked with them and taught them as they walked, becoming strangely silent as they neared the garden.
With thanks He gave the cup to all the disciples present and commanded them all to drink of it. Judas the betrayer was included among those who received it.
The cup is the emblem of His spilled, shed blood. That blood was given for many for the remission of sins and establishes the new covenant. Partaking expresses cleansing from sin for those who come to Him for pardon and continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The taking of the cup with thanks expresses the love of God and the constraining power of the love of Jesus that must be kept fresh in memory.
The wine representing His unblemished sacrifice was pure, unfermented grape juice, not fermented or intoxicating wine. Intoxicating wine should not be placed on the Lord's table. Fermentation, as a symbol of sin and death, could not represent His unblemished sacrifice.
Covenant Remembrance and Hope
Drinking the cup commemorates the deliverance accomplished through His death, for the service was established to remember His sacrifice until He returns. The wine symbolizes His blood, shed to cleanse from sin those who come to Him for pardon and receive Him as Saviour, expressing continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The cup is to keep His followers mindful of His betrayal and crucifixion. The supper commemorates His death, and the Passover's forward-looking type reached its fulfillment when Christ, the Lamb of God without blemish, died on the cross.
Sharing the cup keeps the hope of His second coming vivid and proclaims His death till He comes. The cup represents His blood of the new covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins, and points forward to the day when He will drink the fruit of the vine new with His people in His Father's kingdom. Every commemoration of His death therefore proclaims His death till He comes, giving comfort in tribulation. Only because of His death can His second coming be looked to with joy, expressing the love of God and the constraining power of the love of Jesus that must be kept fresh in memory.
Jesus connected the supper with the Passover and identified Himself as its great fulfillment. The Passover lamb and its blood in Egypt pictured Christ, the sinless Lamb of God without blemish. His merits alone avert judgment and condemnation and bring salvation.
The ordinance uses simple bread and wine, and the bread and wine are not converted into the actual body and blood of Christ. The sacrifice of the mass built on that claim supplanted the ordinance with an idolatrous sacrifice, a horrible, Heaven-insulting heresy. The claim of power to make that change is blasphemous presumption, openly claiming the power of creating God, the Creator of all things. Requiring Christians on pain of death to avow faith in that change caused multitudes who refused to be given to the flames.
There can be no union between souls and God except through Christ. Union and love between brethren is cemented and made eternal by His love. Nothing less than His death could make that love efficacious, so His sacrifice is the center of hope upon which faith must be fixed.
Sharing the Cup Worthily
The cup was given in the sacramental service as the emblem of spilled blood to all the disciples who were present, including Judas the betrayer. Judas received that emblem directly from Jesus while sitting in the very presence of the Lamb of God, brooding upon dark purposes and cherishing sullen, revengeful thoughts. With it he heard the command to do this in remembrance of Christ.
He was permitted to share even though Jesus knew he was a betrayer, for Christ's patience offered him opportunity to receive Him, repent, and be cleansed from sin. The sacrament is therefore not to be withheld from a known sinner, and carelessly separating from people who are in error is warned against, since such rejection may leave them vulnerable to temptation. The communion of His blood, the emblem of His shed, spilled, atoning blood to be partaken of in the sacramental supper, cannot be received while pride, variance, strife for supremacy, differences between brother and brother, misunderstandings, and evil thoughts are cherished, for the heart then cannot enter into fellowship with God. Christ appointed the ordinance of humility, the memorial of His humiliation, to be observed first as preparation for the supper, so that before the emblems of His broken body and shed blood are partaken of every difference is removed, the heart cleansed from evil, and humility and love restored. That preparation shows true appreciation of the service and readiness to sit with Him in His kingdom.
The supper is to be commemorated often and shared publicly by each participant, not restricted to an exclusive group. Partaking bears witness that each person accepts Christ as a personal Saviour who gave His life to forgive sin and rescue believers from death. The verse belongs to the account of His sacrifice and sufferings, including the mockery and derision He endured, His agony in Gethsemane, His betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. Those events leading into betrayal, trial, and crucifixion also stand as a picture of how people driven by doubt and hatred treat those who bring a message from God.
On the night before His crucifixion, after eating the Passover with His disciples, Jesus with thanks gave the cup to all who were present and told them all to drink of it, even Judas the betrayer. The cup is the emblem of His spilled blood given for many for the remission of sins, establishing the new covenant, and drinking it expresses cleansing from sin and continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The wine representing His unblemished sacrifice was pure unfermented juice, for fermentation as a sign of sin and death could not represent Him, and the bread and wine are not changed into His actual body and blood. Sharing the cup keeps His followers mindful of His betrayal and death until He returns, proclaiming His death till He comes and pointing forward to drinking the fruit of the vine new with Him in His Father's kingdom. It cannot be received worthily while pride, strife, differences between brethren, and evil thoughts are cherished, so every difference must be put away and the heart cleansed and humbled beforehand, yet even a known sinner is not to be turned away, as Christ's patience gave Judas opportunity to repent and be cleansed.
Setting and Meaning
On the night before His crucifixion, after eating the Passover supper with His disciples, Jesus instituted this memorial meal. He gave it immediately before entering Gethsemane, the quiet garden near Jerusalem where He often went to pray. His heart was full of sorrow under the weight of the sins of the world as He did so. As He went with them to the garden He talked with them and taught them as they walked, becoming strangely silent as they neared the garden.
With thanks He gave the cup to all the disciples present and commanded them all to drink of it. Judas the betrayer was included among those who received it.
The cup is the emblem of His spilled, shed blood. That blood was given for many for the remission of sins and establishes the new covenant. Partaking expresses cleansing from sin for those who come to Him for pardon and continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The taking of the cup with thanks expresses the love of God and the constraining power of the love of Jesus that must be kept fresh in memory.
The wine representing His unblemished sacrifice was pure, unfermented grape juice, not fermented or intoxicating wine. Intoxicating wine should not be placed on the Lord's table. Fermentation, as a symbol of sin and death, could not represent His unblemished sacrifice.
Covenant Remembrance and Hope
Drinking the cup commemorates the deliverance accomplished through His death, for the service was established to remember His sacrifice until He returns. The wine symbolizes His blood, shed to cleanse from sin those who come to Him for pardon and receive Him as Saviour, expressing continual dependence on His blood for salvation. The cup is to keep His followers mindful of His betrayal and crucifixion. The supper commemorates His death, and the Passover's forward-looking type reached its fulfillment when Christ, the Lamb of God without blemish, died on the cross.
Sharing the cup keeps the hope of His second coming vivid and proclaims His death till He comes. The cup represents His blood of the new covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins, and points forward to the day when He will drink the fruit of the vine new with His people in His Father's kingdom. Every commemoration of His death therefore proclaims His death till He comes, giving comfort in tribulation. Only because of His death can His second coming be looked to with joy, expressing the love of God and the constraining power of the love of Jesus that must be kept fresh in memory.
Jesus connected the supper with the Passover and identified Himself as its great fulfillment. The Passover lamb and its blood in Egypt pictured Christ, the sinless Lamb of God without blemish. His merits alone avert judgment and condemnation and bring salvation.
The ordinance uses simple bread and wine, and the bread and wine are not converted into the actual body and blood of Christ. The sacrifice of the mass built on that claim supplanted the ordinance with an idolatrous sacrifice, a horrible, Heaven-insulting heresy. The claim of power to make that change is blasphemous presumption, openly claiming the power of creating God, the Creator of all things. Requiring Christians on pain of death to avow faith in that change caused multitudes who refused to be given to the flames.
There can be no union between souls and God except through Christ. Union and love between brethren is cemented and made eternal by His love. Nothing less than His death could make that love efficacious, so His sacrifice is the center of hope upon which faith must be fixed.
Sharing the Cup Worthily
The cup was given in the sacramental service as the emblem of spilled blood to all the disciples who were present, including Judas the betrayer. Judas received that emblem directly from Jesus while sitting in the very presence of the Lamb of God, brooding upon dark purposes and cherishing sullen, revengeful thoughts. With it he heard the command to do this in remembrance of Christ.
He was permitted to share even though Jesus knew he was a betrayer, for Christ's patience offered him opportunity to receive Him, repent, and be cleansed from sin. The sacrament is therefore not to be withheld from a known sinner, and carelessly separating from people who are in error is warned against, since such rejection may leave them vulnerable to temptation. The communion of His blood, the emblem of His shed, spilled, atoning blood to be partaken of in the sacramental supper, cannot be received while pride, variance, strife for supremacy, differences between brother and brother, misunderstandings, and evil thoughts are cherished, for the heart then cannot enter into fellowship with God. Christ appointed the ordinance of humility, the memorial of His humiliation, to be observed first as preparation for the supper, so that before the emblems of His broken body and shed blood are partaken of every difference is removed, the heart cleansed from evil, and humility and love restored. That preparation shows true appreciation of the service and readiness to sit with Him in His kingdom.
The supper is to be commemorated often and shared publicly by each participant, not restricted to an exclusive group. Partaking bears witness that each person accepts Christ as a personal Saviour who gave His life to forgive sin and rescue believers from death. The verse belongs to the account of His sacrifice and sufferings, including the mockery and derision He endured, His agony in Gethsemane, His betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. Those events leading into betrayal, trial, and crucifixion also stand as a picture of how people driven by doubt and hatred treat those who bring a message from God.