Luke 22:19

My Notes

What Does Luke 22:19 Mean?

Luke 22:19 records the institution of the Lord's Supper — the moment when Jesus takes the Passover bread and redefines it as His own body. The act is both the culmination of centuries of Passover observance and the creation of something entirely new.

"And he took bread, and gave thanks" — the Greek labon arton eucharistēsas (having taken bread, having given thanks) is the origin of the word "Eucharist" — thanksgiving. The bread is Passover bread — unleavened, flat, broken for distribution. The giving of thanks follows standard Jewish meal practice (the berakah, the blessing), but what Jesus does next shatters every precedent.

"And brake it, and gave unto them" — the Greek eklasen kai edōken autois (he broke and gave to them) — the breaking and distributing is the central action. The bread doesn't stay whole. It's broken. Torn apart. Distributed. Given away. The physical act mirrors what is about to happen to Jesus's body within hours.

"Saying, This is my body which is given for you" — the Greek touto estin to sōma mou to hyper hymōn didomenon (this is my body, the one being given for you) redefines Passover. The bread is no longer just a memorial of the exodus from Egypt. It is Jesus Himself — His body, given. The present participle didomenon (being given) suggests an ongoing action: the body is in the process of being given even as He speaks.

"This do in remembrance of me" — the Greek touto poieite eis tēn emēn anamnēsin (do this for my remembrance) institutes a perpetual practice. The Greek anamnēsis (remembrance, memorial, re-calling) is more than memory. In Jewish and early Christian thought, anamnēsis means making a past event present again — not just thinking about it but participating in its reality afresh.

In one sentence, Jesus transforms the Passover from a backward-looking memorial (the exodus) into a forward-and-backward-looking sacrament: remembering His death, experiencing His presence, anticipating His return (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Reflection Questions

• 1.Jesus uses ordinary bread to carry extraordinary meaning. Where else does God lodge His presence in the ordinary, everyday elements of your life?
• 2.The bread is broken before it's given. How does the breaking of Jesus's body speak into your own experiences of being broken — and does it redeem them?
• 3.'This do in remembrance of me' means more than thinking about Jesus — it means making His sacrifice present again. How do you approach communion: as routine memory or as active participation?
• 4.Jesus redefines the Passover from backward-looking (exodus) to encompassing past, present, and future. How does the Lord's Supper connect you to what Christ has done, is doing, and will do?

Devotional

He took bread. He broke it. He said: this is my body. Given for you.

Every Passover for over a thousand years, Jewish families had broken bread and remembered the exodus — the night God freed them from Egypt. The bread meant slavery ended. The bread meant God intervened. It was backward-looking: remember what God did.

Jesus takes that same bread and redirects it. This is my body. Not the bread of the exodus. My body. The one that's about to be broken the way this bread is being broken. Given for you.

The simplicity of the elements is the point. Not gold or jewels or anything expensive. Bread. The most ordinary, most accessible, most daily substance in the ancient world. Jesus lodges His presence in the thing you eat every day. He makes the common holy. He takes what's on every table and says: this is where you'll find me.

"This do in remembrance of me." The Greek word for remembrance doesn't mean "think about me occasionally." It means make the past present. Enter it again. Not as nostalgia but as participation. Every time you break bread in His name, you're not just recalling a historical event. You're re-entering the reality of a body given for you.

If communion has become routine for you — another ritual, another Sunday element, another thing to do during the service — this verse asks you to stop and look at the bread again. It's broken. It's given. It's His body. And the fact that He chose the most ordinary substance in the world to carry His presence means that you can encounter Him in the most ordinary moments of yours.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture