At the last meal with His disciples, Jesus took bread and the cup: He called the bread His body, and spoke of the cup as the new covenant in His blood, commanding them to do this in remembrance of Him. Paul writes that by eating the bread and drinking from the cup, believers proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes; he calls the cup and bread participation in the blood and body of Christ and gives a stern warning about unworthy participation. Christians interpret differently how exactly the bread and cup are connected with the body and blood of Christ.
What the Bible Says About This
- Matthew 26:26–29: Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying: “Take, eat; this is My body.” Taking the cup and giving thanks, He said: “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”; He added that from then on He would not drink of the fruit of the vine until He drank new wine with the disciples in His Father’s kingdom.
- Luke 22:19–20: concerning the bread, it says that it is Jesus’ body, given for you, and commands them to do this in remembrance of Him; concerning the cup, it says that it is the New Covenant in His blood, poured out for you. Mark 14:22–25 conveys the same words about the body and blood.
- 1 Corinthians 11:23–26: Paul writes that he received this from the Lord and passed it on: on the night He was betrayed, the Lord took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said that it was His body given for you; concerning the cup, He said that it was the new covenant in His blood; He commanded them to do this in remembrance of Him. Whenever they eat the bread and drink the cup, they proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
- 1 Corinthians 10:16–17: Paul asks whether the cup of blessing is not participation in the blood of Christ, and whether the bread that we break is not participation in the body of Christ; because there is one bread, the many believers are one body: they all partake of the one bread.
- 1 Corinthians 11:17–22, 33–34: in Corinth there were divisions at the gatherings; each person hurried to take his own supper, one remained hungry, and another became drunk, and Paul says that this is not the Lord’s Supper. He instructs them to wait for one another, and those who are hungry to eat at home.
- 1 Corinthians 11:27–32: whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily is guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord; let a person examine himself; whoever eats and drinks without discerning the body brings judgment upon himself. Paul connects this with the weakness, sickness, and death of many and says that those judged by the Lord are disciplined so that they will not be condemned with the world.
- Interpretations differ regarding how exactly the bread and cup are connected with the body and blood of Christ; these passages do not directly define who celebrates the Lord’s Supper, how often, or in what form.
This brief answer was prepared by the editorial team; the Scripture texts are from the “Father’s Blessing” Bible.
Key Scripture Passages
7 Scripture passages · “Father’s Blessing” Bible
Matthew 26:26–29
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread and, after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is My body. 27 And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying: Drink from it, all of you, 28 for this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 And I tell you that from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink new wine with you in My Father’s kingdom.
Luke 22:14–20
14 And when the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the twelve Apostles with Him, 15 and He said to them: I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering, 16 for I tell you that I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. 17 And He took the cup and gave thanks, and said: Take this and divide it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes. 19 And He took bread and gave thanks, and broke it and gave it to them, saying: This is My body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. 20 Likewise the cup after supper, saying: This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and, having given thanks, broke it and said: [[Take, eat]]. This is My body, [[broken]] for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. 25 In the same way, He also took the cup after supper, saying: This cup is the New Covenant in My blood; do this every time you drink it, in remembrance of Me. 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 10:16–17
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
1 Corinthians 11:27–34
27 Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup unworthily is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 So let each person examine himself, and in this way eat from the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks [unworthily] eats and drinks judgment on himself, not discerning the body [of the Lord]. 30 For this reason, many among you are weak and sick, and quite a few have died. 31 For if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you gather to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not gather for judgment. I will put the remaining matters in order when I come.
1 Corinthians 11:17–22
17 Now in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you gather not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, first of all, I hear that when you gather as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 Indeed, there must be differences among you, so that those who are approved may become evident. 20 Therefore, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 because each one takes his own supper first to eat, and one remains hungry while another gets drunk. 22 Do you not have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have no food? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
Mark 14:22–25
22 While they were eating, He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: Take; this is My body. 23 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them: This is My blood of the [[New]] Covenant, poured out for many. 25 Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink new wine in the Kingdom of God.
