The night before Jesus was crucified, he shared the Jewish Passover meal with his disciples. During this meal we read:
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined…”
Luke 22 verse 19 – 22
The key points to note here are that Jesus is in full knowledge that his betrayal and death is about to take place. He knows the significance for mankind of what is coming, and he is showing his followers something that they can do to remember that very act.
Using the bread and wine of the Passover meal he demonstrates that his body is about to be broken and his blood is about to be shed.
Take a look at Matthew’s account of the same scene:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Matthew 26 verse 26 – 28
We see in both these accounts that it was Jesus who broke the bread and Jesus who took the cup. He is signifying that it was his body that would be broken and his blood that would be shed. Only his sinless sacrifice would atone for our sin and form a new covenant between man and God.
In Matthew’s account we see that Jesus then implores ALL to enter into this new covenant (of grace and forgiveness through his death and resurrection).
So, Jesus is pointing ahead to what is about to happen and asking his disciples to break bread and drink wine to remember the unending forgiveness that believers in him have.
We then see examples of this happening…
On the third day when Jesus had risen from the dead two of Jesus’ followers Cleopas and his friend were walking to Emmaus when Jesus began walking with them: It says in Luke 24 verse 16 that “Their eyes were kept from recognising him.” – until verse 30 – 31 when it says “When he (Jesus) was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight.” It then says that within the hour they rushed back to tell the disciples and in verse 35; “Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
In Acts 2 verse 41 – 42, Luke writes:
So those who received his word were baptised, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Acts 2 verse 41 – 42
It is clear that the act of breaking bread in the way that Jesus had taught them, to symbolically remember his death and resurrection, has become a part of their way of life.
This is also shown in Acts 20 verse 7 when Luke writes:
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…
Acts 20 verse 7
It should be noted that in none of these instances is there any mention of the bread being special, or taking on the form of Christ. Much like how the water used for baptising is just regular water from a nearby sea or lake, the bread used to remember Christ’s death is just regular bread. The idea of the bread becoming Jesus’ physical flesh and the wine becoming his actual blood was created by the Roman Catholic Church at the Fourth Council of Lateran in 1215. It is not found in the Bible.
Finally; in 1 Corinthians Paul writes:
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
1 Corinthians 11 verse 23 – 26
Not only does Paul emphasise that we are remembering Christ’s death when we break bread and drink wine, but also that we are proclaiming or declaring it to ourselves and one another.
To conclude; It is clear from the Bible that the act of ‘The Eucharist’, the breaking of bread and drinking of wine, is a symbolic act of remembering what Jesus’ death and resurrection has done for us. It is not a way of earning forgiveness or cleansing ourselves of sin.
It is only Jesus who can cleanse our sin, something that his death did once and for all. Jesus is not cleansing us at each eucharist.