Matthew 26:26–29

God’s grace rest in the blood of Jesus Christ. In Communion we remember His sacrifice that gave us salvation and set us free from the bondage of sin. No greater love exists! It is finished.

In Him and in the power of  Holy Spirit  we can share the Good News.

We have devices today that can track our every heartbeat … but there is no technology that will show a person's inner heart, the heart only God can see. Yet the secret to having a clean heart before Him is no longer a secret. The Apostle John summarizes it in one verse: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Examining our hearts on the inside allows us to bring our sin to God, and every time, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. What a faithful God! First5 

You can dedicate a decade of anxious thoughts to the brevity of life and not extend it by one minute. Worry accomplishes nothing.

God doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibilities, but rather the continuous mindset that dismisses God’s presence. Destructive anxiety subtracts God from the future, tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation.

Jesus gives us this challenge: “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:32-33 NLT).

Matthew 26:26–29

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” The New King James Version

Jesus’ body was the final sacrifice that would atone for sins, just as the Passover lamb signified the atonement for the people’s sins every year. The Passover meal includes four (sometimes five) cups of wine; this is likely the third, the cup of blessing.

In the ancient Near East, covenants often were ratified using blood (through sacrifice). At Sinai, Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of the covenant (Exodus 24:8). The elements of the Lord’s Supper serve as signs of the new covenant. Faithlife Study Bible

This is My blood of the new covenant refers to the covenant that had been promised in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus specifically said that His blood … is shed for many for the remission of sins. The word many anticipates the command to preach the Good News to all the world. This verse anticipates God’s kingdom when Christ will reign on the throne of David. Today He is seated with the Father on His throne and intercedes for us.

Matthew wrote his Gospel to demonstrate to his Jewish audience that Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah. Who is the Messiah and why were the Jews waiting for such a person?

In Hebrew or Aramaic, the word Messiah means “anointed.” The Greek equivalent of the word is the title Christ. In the Old Testament, prophets, priests and kings were literally anointed with oil to consecrate them for special service or to signify the endowment of the Spirit of God. These practices pointed to the promised arrival of God’s Anointed One, who would fulfill all three offices as the Prophet, the Priest, and the King.  The NKJV Study Bible

This ordinance of the Lord’s supper is to us the passover supper, by which we commemorate a much greater deliverance than that of Israel out of Egypt. Take, eat; accept of Christ as he is offered to you; receive the atonement, approve of it, submit to his grace and his government. Meat looked upon, be the dish ever so well garnished, will not nourish; it must be fed upon: so must the doctrine of Christ. This is my body; that is, spiritually, it signifies and represents his body. We partake of the sun, not by having the sun put into our hands, but the beams of it darted down upon us; so we partake of Christ by partaking of his grace, and the blessed fruits of the breaking of his body. The blood of Christ is signified and represented by the wine. He gave thanks, to teach us to look to God in every part of the ordinance. This cup he gave to the disciples with a command, Drink ye all of it. The pardon of sin is that great blessing which is, in the Lord’s supper, conferred on all true believers; it is the foundation of all other blessings. He takes leave of such communion; and assures them of a happy meeting again at last; “Until that day when I drink it new with you”, may be understood of the joys and glories of the future state, which the saints shall partake with the Lord Jesus. That will be the kingdom of his Father; the wine of consolation will there be always new. While we look at the outward signs of Christ’s body broken and his blood shed for the remission of our sins, let us recollect that the feast cost him as much as though he had literally given his flesh to be eaten and his blood for us to drink. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Exodus 24:8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”

Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Mark 14:23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Mark 14:25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”