The meal was celebrating the ‘Passover’, the event of the Exodus, the most important meal of the Jewish year. Exodus tells us how Moses was sent by God to free the children of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. The Passover became the symbol of the whole ‘passing over’ from slavery to freedom.
Jesus’ last supper, when he and his disciples were celebrating the Passover, shares links with the Eucharist itself. God rescued the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Christians believed that God rescued all people from sin through Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection brought about a new Covenant between God and the human race, sealed with the blood of Christ. Christians look upon Jesus as the Lamb of God, who sacrificed himself for the sins of the world. Sharing the bread and wine of the Eucharist is the way in which Christians remember Christ’s saving death and resurrection, and celebrate being members together of the world wide church.
The Passover was what Jesus and his disciples were celebrating together and during the supper Jesus made a sacrifice. He took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples and said,
“Take this”, he said, “This is my body”.
Then he took a cup of wine, gave thanks to God, handed it to his disciples and said,
“Drink this. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many. Do this in memory of me.”
When we celebrate the Eucharist in mass, the priest performs Jesus’ actions and words. The breaking of bread symbolises the fact that Jesus’ body would be broken on the cross.
The wine is another symbol of Jesus’ approaching death. But his death will not be meaningless; it will bring about a new and lasting Covenant between God and his people.
Jesus gives us his body and blood within the bread and wine. It is given in sacrifice for us all.
In mass this is known as the Transubstantiation, when the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
What Jesus did at the Last Supper led to the institution of the Eucharist at our masses today. The whole celebration of the Eucharist at mass is one of sacrifice based of Jesus’ words. The body and blood of Jesus are offered as sacrifice but this does not mean that Jesus is being sacrificed afresh every time the Eucharist is celebrated. There was only one sacrifice and that was the death of Jesus on the cross. What it does mean is that the one and only sacrifice of Jesus is made present. It is represented in the bread and wine of the mass. When Jesus said, “Do this as a memorial of me”, is not interpreted as simply meaning ‘in memory of ‘. The words are interpreted in the sense of ‘doing it’, as though it were the first time.
When the celebrants receive the bread and wine they believe that they are really receiving the body and blood of Jesus. Just as Jesus’ disciples did at the Last Supper.
