The Sacrament of The Eucharist
"'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood.'"
Biblical References
References to Communion in the three Synoptic Gospels
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." And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this IS MY BLOOD of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this IS MY BODY." Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said unto them, "This IS MY BLOOD of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying "This IS MY BODY which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me." Likewise he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in MY BLOOD, which is shed for you.
Reference in St. John's Gospel
John records this in a conversation Jesus had with a group of Jews.
Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you unless you eat THE FLESH of the Son of Man, and drink HIS BLOOD, you have no life in you. Whoever eats MY FLESH and drinks MY BLOOD has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my FLESH is food INDEED, and My BLOOD is drink INDEED.
“Most assuredly" means that Jesus is speaking in truth not in symbolism. Again, He says, “MY FLESH INDEED – MY BLOOD INDEED.” Whenever we read the words ‘most assuredly, or indeed’ we know that Jesus is speaking truth, and NOT in symbols.
On the Road to Emmaus
On the road to Emmaus, the two disciples were unaware that Jesus had resurrected. When Jesus walked with them, they didn’t know Him. However, when they sat at the table, Jesus gave them HIS BODY and their eyes were immediately opened to the truth.
"He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him."
The Eucharist and The First Church
St. Paul speaking to the church in Corinth.
I speak as to wise men: judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of THE BLOOD OF CHIRST? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of THE BODY OF CHRIST? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
The first church regarded communion not a symbol but a fact. St. Paul continues and speaks about the seriousness of receiving communion unworthily. This would not be logical if he had merely been referring to a symbol. Then St. Paul says,
“therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of THE LORD in an unworthy manner will be guilty of THE BODY and BLOOD of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the LORD’S BODY
Understanding This Sacrament
God sent His only Begotten Son to heal humanity from the corruption which resulted from sin. God became incarnate – both human and divine. His divinity is the source of life, so His flesh became a source of life because His divinity and His humanity never parted, not even for a single moment. So, when we partake of the BODY and BLOOD of Christ, we are partaking in life. I have this corruption in me because I am always sinning, and sin leads to death. However, God gave me the antidote. He gave me life to eat.
St. Justin Martyr 100-165
And this food is called among us Eucharistia [The Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh