1. Today, we will see how our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper. We have already noted that Judas was probably not present when they had the Lord’s Supper (cf. John 13:30).
2. After observing His last passover (26:17-25), our Lord instituted what we know as the Lord’s Supper (cf. Luke 22:14-20). The essential elements, bread and wine, were already on the table as part of the passover meal.
3. Personally, I believe the "fruit of the vine" (26:29) was unfermented, i.e., what we would call grape juice.
4. The bread would have to be unleavened, because in the Bible leaven always represents sin (Matt. 26:17; cf. Ex. 12:15; 13:3, 7; Deut. 16:3; Matt. 16:6-12; I Cor. 5:6-8).
5. The accounts of Luke and Mark are similar to Matthew’s. John does not mention the Lord’s Supper. Paul says, "For I have received of the Lord" (I Cor. 11:23), suggesting he received his account as a direct revelation from God.
6. The place for the first Lord’s Supper was an upper room in the house of a friend (Matt. 26:18; cf. Mark 14:13). Apparently our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper the night before His crucifixion.

I. A NEW ORDINANCE

1. There are two ordinances for the local church -- believers’ baptism (cf. Matt. 28:18-20) and the Lord’s Supper. We see baptism right at the beginning of the NT. In Matthew 3 we read about the ministry of John the Baptist (cf. 21:25).
2. In the book of Acts, we see the early Christians observing both ordinances (Acts 2:41, 42). Only baptized believers should partake of the Lord’s Supper. I was reading Strong’s Systematic Theology Friday night, and Dr. Strong makes a good argument that only church members should participate in the Lord’s Supper.
3. Regarding the Lord’s Supper, there is much disagreement among nominal Christians. The RCC teaches what they call "transubstantiation." By this they mean that the elements (they use fermented wine) actually are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ. This is superstitious and idolatrous. The Romanist actually worships the bread. Transubstantiation contradicts the Bible (cf. Acts 15:29). Back in the 14th century, John Wycliffe (first English Bible translator) had the backing of Sir John Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster (son of King Edward III, and father of King Henry IV) but Gaunt turned against Wycliffe after he wrote a pamphlet attacking transubstantiation.
4. Scholars all seem to agree that the Lollards spread Wycliffe’s teachings and distributed his translations of the Bible. No one seems to know how they got started since they were around before Wycliffe. Spurgeon taught that the Lollards were Baptists who could trace their lineage back to the apostolic church.
5. Many godly Christians were burnt at the stake by the RCC during the Inquisition because they refused to accept the RC doctrine of transubstantiation.
6. The various Protestant groups that came out from Rome adopted Romish views regarding the Lord’s Supper. The Lutherans teach what they call "consubstantiation," which holds that while the bread and wine remain bread and wine, these elements are actually invested with the character of the body and blood of Christ. That is, under and around the symbols there is the real physical presence of Christ.
7. Calvin taught that the Lord’s spiritual presence was in the elements. Calvin did not get that from the Bible, but from Rome. Of all the Reformers, apparently Zwingli was the only major figure who believed that the bread and wine were merely symbols, representing the body and blood of Christ.
8. Baptists have always believed that the Lord’s Supper was symbolic. The Bible often uses figurative language. "The field is the world" (Matt. 13:38; cf. Gen. 41:26; I Chron. 11:17-19).
9. Our Lord often used figurative language (cf. John 10:9, 11; 15:1).
10. When Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is my body" (Matt. 26:26), He was saying, "This represents my body." Just as you would show someone a picture and say, "This is my wife." It is a memorial (cf. I Cor. 11:23-26).
11. The bread represents the Lord’s body. The bread was broken to represent the breaking of His body. The fruit of the vine represents His shed blood, "shed for many for the remission of sins" (26:27, 28).
12. The RCC teaches that grace is conveyed, but this is unscriptural. In the NT, there is no mass, no Eucharist, no altars, and no priests.

II. A NEW TESTAMENT (or COVENANT -- 26:28)

1. "For this is my blood of the new testament" -- Our Lord’s blood had not yet been shed, but He was speaking of it as though He had already died on the cross -- "which is shed for many..."
2. This doctrine of the new covenant is developed in the book of Hebrews (cf. Heb. 8:6-13; 9:15-22).
3. In the Bible, blood was used to seal a covenant (cf. Exodus 24:5-8). Here in Matthew 26, we see that the new covenant (prophesied by Jeremiah in Jer. 31:31) was about to be ratified by our Lord’s own blood, which is referred to as "the blood of the covenant" (Heb. 10:29; 13:20).

III. A NEW KINGDOM (26:29)

1. Over and over, our Lord spoke of the coming kingdom (cf. Matt. 4:17; 5:3, 10; 6:10, 13; 7:21; 8:11, 12; 10:7; 16:26-28; 19:28; 20:20-23; 25:31-46, note verses 34 & 40 -- "the King"). Notice our Lord calls it "my Father’s kingdom" (26:29).
2. We will not celebrate the Lord’s Supper in heaven but perhaps we will in the millennial kingdom. We will be able to eat and drink in our resurrection bodies (Jesus did). On the basis of this Scripture, J. Vernon McGee taught that the passover will be reinstituted in the millennium.
3. Paul says, "Ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come" (I Cor. 11:26).

CONCLUSION:

1. People often debate over when the old dispensation of law ended and when the new dispensation of grace began. While the Bible does not give a precise moment, this here is a good picture of it. This final passover (and all other passovers since the cross are meaningless) closed the old dispensation. And when the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, He opened up the new dispensation of grace.
2. Tradition has it that they sung some of the psalms (Matt. 26:30). Most Bible teachers believe it was Psalms 115 to 118.
3. Jesus shed His blood "for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28). Have you had your sins remitted?