Verse by Verse

Erik Jones: 00:00

In today's episode, we're going to take a look at one of the most significant statements Jesus spoke during his time on earth. The context is the night before he died. As most are aware, the evening before, Jesus shared a very special meal with his disciples. But it wasn't just special because it was the final meal of his physical life. It was significant because it was a very special observance dating all the way back to the time of Moses.

Erik Jones: 00:27

Now many refer to that meal as the last supper, but that's not what Jesus called it. In Matthew 26 verses 18 and verse 19, Jesus made it clear that he was keeping the Passover. Verse 19 tells us, so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. So Jesus wasn't just eating his last supper. He was observing the Passover.

Erik Jones: 00:55

Now in accordance with the instructions found in Exodus 12, Jesus observed this Passover by having a formal and very special meal with his disciples. But this Passover was special for another much bigger reason. It was a transitional Passover. At this Passover meal, he instituted new symbols and added new meaning to the observance that aren't found back in Exodus 12. Instead of just looking back and commemorating Israel's exodus from Egypt, the Passover would, from that time forward, memorialize Christ's sacrificial life and death.

Erik Jones: 01:32

It would still commemorate the exodus in a sense but with the added meaning that the events of the Exodus 12 Passover actually foreshadowed, the death of Jesus Christ as the lamb of God to bring liberty from the spiritual bondage of sin, not just the physical bondage of Egypt. To make that transition complete and clear, Jesus instituted new symbols that would replace the traditional Passover meal. We are going to look at just one of those symbols in our featured verse today, Matthew 26 verse 26. Matthew's gospel tells us that Jesus paused the meal to introduce this new symbol. Let's read it.

Erik Jones: 02:12

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body. Now it's important to note that Jesus instituted 2 other symbols as well, the wine and the foot washing. But in this episode, we're just focusing on the bread. So let's break down the major parts of this verse to see what we can learn.

Erik Jones: 02:37

First, we read that Jesus took bread. Now artistic renderings of this scene often show Jesus breaking a normal thick loaf of bread, but that's not accurate. This would have actually been unleavened bread, bread baked without yeast or any other leavening agent. How do we know that? Well, because all the way back in Exodus 12 verse 8, god specifically instructed that the bread of the Passover meal be unleavened bread eaten with bitter herbs.

Erik Jones: 03:06

So the bread would have been thin and somewhat harder than normal bread. This is not an inconsequential detail. The Bible often likens sin to leavening, so this unleavened bread represented the sinless or spiritually unleavened body and life of Jesus. People who try to carry out this ceremony with normal leavened bread completely miss this powerful symbolism. So now let's go on with the verse.

Erik Jones: 03:33

Then it says, he blessed and broke it. This means that Jesus offered a very special prayer to the father asking him to bless that bread and set it apart for a very special purpose. After he asked this short prayer of blessing, he then broke it into enough pieces to give 1 piece to each of his disciples and for himself. We now move on to the last portion of the verse where Jesus revealed the new symbolism of the bread. It reads, and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat.

Erik Jones: 04:07

This is my body. So Jesus was quite direct so there would be no confusion over what the bread now represented. The broken unleavened bread represented his sinless body that would literally be broken. In other words, his body, which had never committed a sin and never earned any penalty, would undergo such severe violence at the hand of his captors, it would literally break, or in other words, he would die. No.

Erik Jones: 04:37

None of his bones were actually broken, but his back, his head, his face, his side would suffer unimaginable abuse for us. This would be the punishment all of us human beings deserve to bear for our sins. Well, with one exception. Him. He was the exception.

Erik Jones: 04:58

He did not deserve this abuse. He did not deserve this torture. He did not deserve this death, but he would endure it for us. That's what the Passover bread represents. That's what it pictures.

Erik Jones: 05:12

So every year, when Christians around the world solemnly gather to observe the new covenant Passover, they eat a small piece of broken unleavened bread to remember everything that his body endured for our sake. They remember that his body was literally broken and died for us. They don't just remember what he did though, but also intensely focus on the intended result, allowing him to live his perfect life in and through us. Yes. The bread doesn't just picture what he did 2000 years ago, but how he continues to live his life through his disciples today.

Erik Jones: 05:55

That is the great significance and meaning behind those immortal words, take eat. This is my body.

Kevin Scarbrough: 06:05

Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.