Mark 14 · a question people ask
"This is my body" (14:22). What are the bread and the cup?
Here is what Mark tells. "As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed it, he broke it and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.”" (14:22). "He took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them. They all drank of it" (14:23), and he said, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many" (14:24). Mark doesn't explain the words, and his telling has no "Do this in memory of me": that is in Luke (Luke 22:19) and in Paul, who passes on what Jesus said and did "on the night in which he was betrayed" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Christians who share the same beliefs read what the bread and the cup are in more than one way, and these are the main readings, each resting on its verses. All agree that Jesus gave them to his disciples and said, "Take, eat" (14:22), that "They all drank of it" (14:23), that his blood is "poured out for many" (14:24), and that "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Two nearby questions are asked elsewhere in Favor, and not again here: whether the supper was a Passover meal (Exodus 12), and what Jesus meant in John 6 by drinking his blood (Leviticus 7).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
His body and blood, truly present
Those who hold this view take "This is my body" (14:22) and "This is my blood of the new covenant" (14:24) as they read. They point to Paul: "The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16). They read the bread and the cup as truly his body and blood, given to those who eat and drink.
Mark 14:22-24 · 1 Corinthians 10:16
Present by the Spirit, to those who receive in faith
Those who hold this view also start from Paul's "sharing of the blood of Christ" and "sharing of the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:16), and read it as a real sharing in Christ himself. They read the bread and the cup Jesus gave (14:22-24) as the way he gives himself, present by his Spirit, to those who receive them in faith.
1 Corinthians 10:16 · Mark 14:22-24
A memorial and a proclamation
Those who hold this view start from "Do this in memory of me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24) and "Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me" (1 Corinthians 11:25), and from "you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). They read the bread and the cup as signs Jesus gave, which call him to mind and proclaim his death.
Luke 22:19 · 1 Corinthians 11:24-26
The verses
“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed it, he broke it and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.” He took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them. They all drank of it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.”
“He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.””
“The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ?”
“For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.” In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”