Luke 22:19

Luke 22:19, in plain English

Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and says, 'This is My body, given for you. Do this to remember Me.' In one simple act, He creates the most sacred meal in Christian history.

Why it's here

This is the birth of communion. With bread in His hands and love in His heart, Jesus gives His friends a way to remember Him and what He's about to do for them.

Who's speaking

Jesus speaks with tender authority, transforming an ordinary part of the meal into an eternal act of remembrance and love.

Where it sits in the story

Imagine being at that table when Jesus breaks the bread and says these words. Suddenly, everything you thought you knew about Passover is being rewritten. 'This is My body, given for you.' He's not just sharing a meal — He's offering Himself.

The scholarly reading

Jesus takes arton (bread), gives thanks (eucharistēsas), breaks it (eklasen), and gives it to them with the words 'Touto estin to sōma mou' (This is My body). The command 'touto poieite eis tēn emēn anamnēsin' (do this in remembrance of Me) is unique to Luke and Paul (1 Corinthians 11:24).

Language and setting

The institution of the Eucharist transforms the Passover bread. Anamnēsis (remembrance) in Jewish thought is not mere mental recall but a re-presentation that makes the past event spiritually present and effective.

Voice

Jesus speaks the words of institution over the bread, reinterpreting the Passover matzah as His own body given sacrificially for His followers.

Significance

In a moment of breathtaking redefinition, Jesus takes ordinary bread and declares it to be His body, given for them. The Passover bread that symbolized hasty departure from Egypt now symbolizes Christ's body broken on the cross. A new memorial is born.

17After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves.

18For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

19And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

20In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

21Look! The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table.

Read all of Luke 22 — The upper room, a betrayer's kiss, a servant's ear, and Peter's denial by firelight. The longest night in history begins.