Luke 22:19 says, “And having taken a loaf, 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 unto the remembrance of Me.” The loaf in verse 19 is not the loaf of the Passover; it is the loaf of the Lord’s table. Furthermore, in this verse the Lord said, “Do this unto the remembrance of Me.” Thus, it was not a remembrance of what took place in Exodus 12. Taking the bread of the Lord’s table is done in remembrance of the Man-Savior.
Verse 20 says, “And similarly the cup after they had dined, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you.” Once again, this is not the cup of the Passover; rather, this cup is the new covenant in the Lord’s blood.
God made a covenant with redeemed Israel in Exodus 24:3-8 (Heb. 9:18-21), which became the old testament, as a base for Him to deal with His redeemed people in the dispensation of law. The Man-Savior came to accomplish God’s eternal redemption for God’s chosen people by His death, according to God’s will (Heb. 10:7, 9-10), and with His blood instituted a new covenant, a better covenant (Heb. 8:6-13), which became the new testament after His resurrection (Heb. 9:16-17), as a base for God to be one with His redeemed and regenerated people in the dispensation of grace. This new covenant replaced the old covenant and simultaneously changed God’s old dispensation to His new dispensation. The Man-Savior wanted His disciples to know this and live a life based on it and according to it after His resurrection.
We have emphasized the fact that the Man-Savior instituted His supper, the Lord’s table, after He and the disciples ate the Passover feast. He initiated His supper for His believers’ remembrance of Him to continue and replace the Passover feast, the Old Testament practice of the elect’s remembrance of the Lord’s salvation (Exo. 12:14; 13:3). This new practice of the New Testament is to remember the Man-Savior by eating the bread, which signifies His body given for His believers (1 Cor. 11:24), and drinking the cup, which signifies His blood shed for their sins (Matt. 26:28). The bread denotes life (John 6:35), the life of God, the eternal life, and the cup denotes blessing (1 Cor. 10:16), which is God Himself as their portion (Psa. 16:5). As sinners, their portion should have been the cup of God’s wrath (Rev. 14:10). But the Man-Savior drank that cup for them (John 18:11), and His salvation has become their portion, the cup of salvation (Psa. 116:13) that runs over (Psa. 23:5), the content of which is God as their all-inclusive blessing. Such bread and such a cup are the constituents of the Man-Savior’s supper, which is a table (1 Cor. 10:21), a feast, set up by Him so that His believers may remember Him by enjoying Him as such a feast. Thus they testify of His rich and marvelous salvation to the entire universe and display His redeeming and life-imparting death (1 Cor. 11:26).