Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 26:26-28

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins." — Matthew 26:26-28 (ASV)

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The Jewish Passover was made to melt into the Lord's supper, as the stars of the morning dissolve into the light of the sun. As they were eating, while the paschal supper was proceeding, Jesus instituted the new memorial which is to be observed until he comes again. How simple was the whole ceremony! Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. Christ could not have meant that the bread was his body, for his body was reclining by the table; but he intended that broken bread to represent his body which was about to be broken on the cross.

Then followed the second memorial, the cup, filled with the fruit of the vine, of which Christ said, Drink ye all of it. There is no trace here of any altar or priest; there is nothing about the elevation or adoration of the host; there is no resemblance between the Lord's supper and the Romish mass. Let us keep strictly to the letter and spirit of God's Word in everything; for, if one adds a little, another will add more, and if one alters one point, and another alters another point, there is no telling how far we shall get from the truth. The disciples had been reminded of their own liability to sin; now their Saviour gives them a personal pledge of the pardon of sin, according to Luke's record of his words, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

The Jewish Passover was made to melt into the Lord’s Supper, as the stars of the morning dissolve into the light of the sun. As they were eating, while the paschal supper was proceeding, Jesus instituted the new memorial which is to be observed until He comes again.

How simple was the whole ceremony! Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. Christ could not have meant that the bread was His body, for His body was reclining by the table, but He intended that broken bread to represent His body which was about to be broken on the cross.

Then followed the second memorial, the cup, filled with the fruit of the vine, of which Christ said, Drink you all of it. There is no trace here of any altar or priest. There is nothing about the elevation or adoration of the host. There is no resemblance between the Lord’s Supper and the Romish mass.

Let us keep strictly to the letter and spirit of God’s Word in everything, for if one adds a little, another will add more, and if one alters one point and another alters another point, there is no telling how far we shall get from the truth.

The disciples had been reminded of their own liability to sin; now their Savior gives them a personal pledge of the pardon of sin, according to Mark’s record of His words, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink you all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Go into any Romish church, and watch the priest's performance at the altar, and see whether there is the least likeness between that mummery and this divinely appointed ordinance. I can hardly imagine two things which are so widely apart. How did the Lord's Supper ever grow into the mass? It must have taken long years of moss and ivy and lichen and all kinds of clinging things to overgrow the original, natural column which the Saviour set up, and to turn it into that mingle-mangle of which the Romanists and Ritualists think so much.

The only safe rule is to keep close to Scripture in everything; for, if you add a little, somebody will add more; and if you alter one thing, the next person will alter another, and eventually, you will not know what the original was.

I have seen a peasant, in Italy, wearing a coat of which I believe neither man nor angel could tell what its original material was, for it had been patched so often; and in like manner, if we did not know what the original of the mass was, it would be impossible for us now to tell, for it has been so patched and mended that it is not at all like the original.

Let us, beloved, keep strictly to the letter of God's Word, and also to the spirit of it, lest we err from the truth as so many others have done.