Matthew 26:26-29 #2

Matthew 26:26-29 #2

In our previous article we looked at the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. Let’s go from there and look at one of the abuses and misunderstandings of the supper today.

The elements of the supper are to be unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. We know that Jesus used unleavened bread because this was the “Feast of Unleavened Bread (26:17) and all the leaven had to be out of the houses by the time the Passover was offered. Unleavened bread symbolizes the purity we are to have as a church. Paul uses this picture in 1 Corinthians 5, telling us, “a little leaven [sin] leavens the whole lump.” Therefore, we are commanded to “purge out the old leaven.” Churches that use leavened bread are not following the pattern Jesus gave for the supper nor understanding that “unleavened” is an important symbol of purity. Further, in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Jews were remembering the powerful deliverance the Lord gave them when they left Egypt. The deliverance was so powerful that they left in the middle of the night without having a chance to leaven their bread. We also are to remember the great victory we have in Christ. Paul says that we are to remove “leaven” from our lives since “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). Jesus has given us a far great deliverance than Israel received when they left Egyptian bondage and their firstborn were spared from death. We have been freed from the bondage of sin and eternal condemnation.

The phrase “fruit of the vine” is a Hebrew way of saying “the juice of the grape.” In the Old Testament, “drink offerings” of grape juice or wine were poured out before the Lord and drunk by the priests to commemorate the graciousness of the Lord. Many Christians misunderstand the symbol of “blood” in the fruit of the vine. The phrase, “poured out” or “shed for many” (NKJV), was a Jewish way of saying “death.” In Genesis 9:6, the scripture says, “Whoever sheds mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” To “shed blood” refers to killing someone, whether blood actually comes out of a victim’s body or not. Therefore, Jesus was not asking us to literally remember that blood came out of His body, but that He died a sacrificial death to be a ransom for our sins.

Berry Kercheville