Mark 14:22

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Mark 14:22 (KJV)

Context

Mark 14:22 captures the moment during the Last Supper when Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, instructing them to eat it, stating that it represents His body.

The Last Supper took place on the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion, during the Jewish celebration of Passover. It was a time when Jesus gathered His disciples to share a final meal together before His impending arrest and subsequent crucifixion. The elements of bread and wine in the Last Supper hold deep symbolic significance.

Meaning

Jesus’ act of taking bread reflects the Jewish tradition where the head of the household would take bread, bless it, break it, and distribute it to the family. In this instance, Jesus takes on the role of the head of the spiritual family, His disciples.

Jesus blessed the bread, signifying His gratitude to God and consecrating it for a sacred purpose. This act reminds us of Jesus’ close relationship with God the Father.

Breaking the bread served as a symbolic gesture of sharing and unity. It also prophetically represented the breaking of Jesus’ body on the cross.

Jesus distributed the broken bread to His disciples, instructing them to partake of it. This act established a significant connection between Jesus’ body and the bread. As the disciples ate the bread, they symbolically received Jesus’ body into themselves, signifying their unity with Him.

Jesus’ statement, “Take, eat: this is my body,” holds deep theological significance. It points to the impending sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, where His body would be broken for the redemption of humanity. The bread, which represented Jesus’ body, served as a symbol of the atonement, emphasizing the central theme of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Biblical connections

The parallel account in Matthew 26:26 records the same event with nearly identical wording, confirming the significance of this moment. Jesus’ action of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving the bread was a deliberate act of instituting a new feast to be kept in remembrance of his sufferings and death, which were now imminent.

Application

This verse lays the foundation for the practice of the Eucharist or Holy Communion in Christian worship. Christians often partake in the Lord’s Supper, using bread and wine (or grape juice) as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. Through this act, believers remember and commemorate the sacrifice of Jesus, affirm their faith in His atoning work, and experience a spiritual communion with Him.

Reflection

In summary, Mark 14:22 captures a significant moment during the Last Supper, where Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, stating that it represents His body. This verse serves as a reminder of Jesus’ impending sacrifice on the cross, the central act of redemption in Christian theology, and establishes the foundation for the practice of the Eucharist.