- Instituted by Jesus at last Passover
- It commemorates the perfect and complete sacrifice on the cross by the “Lamb of God”.
- It is not a sacrifice, but testifies of the sacrifice
- Believers are commanded to observe it
- The frequency of the observance is left up to the local church as indicated by “as often as you do this”
- Believers gather to “eat the supper” not “eat His body”
- The symbolic nature of the event is made clear by the fact that it
is a commemoration of what occurred already and after Jesus gave thanks
the wine was still the fruit of the vine and not His blood - There is no altar, or priests involved in its’ observance
- Jesus does not appear spiritually or physically during the observance
- He further said He would not partake again until He returned again
NB: The words “take eat, this is my body which is given for you” refers
to the fact that the Passover was a teaching aid that pointed year in
and out to the coming messiah who would “save” them. Jesus there
declared that He was the Messiah and the “bread and wine” that
represented the body and blood of the messiah was in fact testifying of
Him. He did not say “this has become” my body, nor would He or could He
violate His own law that prohibited the eating of flesh and blood of
man.