The Symbolism of Bread and Wine
At His last supper, shortly before He died as our Passover Lamb, Jesus “took bread, 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.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Luke 22:19-20). Now, when we partake of unleavened bread and wine to remember Christ’s sacrifice, as commanded by our Savior Himself, what exactly does that mean? What are we doing when we eat that bread and drink that wine? Remembering our Savior’s sacrifice, certainly, but what else? Long before Jesus’ sacrifice, we find bread and wine in the Old Testament. For example, in Gen. 14:18-20, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed [Abraham].” And in Prov. 9:5, using poetic license, Solomon wrote that wisdom cries out to passersby, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.” Bu...