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Chapter 72—The Lord’s Supper Instituted
This chapter is based on
Matthew 26:20-29
;
Mark 14:17-25
;
Luke
22:14-23
;
John 13:18-30
.
“The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took
bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take,
eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remem-
brance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when
He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often
as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death
till He come.”
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
.
Christ, the Lamb of God, was about to bring to an end the system
of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed
to His death. The Passover, the national festival of the Jews, was
to pass away forever. The service which Christ established in its
place was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through
all ages.
The Passover was ordained as a commemoration of the deliver-
ance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The Lord’s Supper was given
to commemorate the great deliverance wrought out as the result of
the death of Christ. This ordinance is the means by which His great
work for us is to be kept fresh in our minds.
In Christ’s time, the people partook of the Passover supper in
a reclining position. The guests lay on couches placed about the
table, the right hand free for use in eating. In this position a guest
could lay his head on the breast of the one who sat next above him.
And the feet, at the outer edge of the couch, could be washed by one
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passing around the outside of the circle.
Christ was still at the table on which the paschal supper had been
spread. The unleavened cakes were before Him. The Passover wine,
untouched by fermentation, was on the table. These emblems Christ
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