Do This in Remembrance of Me

I was recently asked about Yeshua’s remarks concerning “do this in remembrance of me”, whether or not I understood that to be a reference to communion.

In Luke 22 it reads:

¹⁴ And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: ¹⁶ For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: ¹⁸ For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. ¹⁹ And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. ²⁰ Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

There are a few things I want to point out about this passage:

1. Yeshua is particularly speaking to his twelve disciples/apostles. He is not speaking to crowds of people on a hillside or in front of a large audience in the temple or some synagogue. He is specifically speaking to the men he had been discipling for the past few years.
2. The instruction to do this in remembrance of me was not a proclamation for all of the house of Israel, or even for all of Yeshua’s followers. It was specifically directed at these men.

Then, in 1 Corinthians 11:20-34, there is a reference to “the Lord’s Supper” apparently referring back to what is recorded here in Luke.

As best I can tell, there was a custom at that point in time to partake in the breaking & eating of bread and the drinking of wine, in honor of Yeshua’s last supper with his disciples. And this was taking place during the timeframe leading up to the fall of Jerusalem.

But take note of verse 26. Paul says,

²⁶ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

And looking back to Yeshua’s words recorded in Luke, he makes reference to not eating or drinking of the bread & wine until the Kingdom of God shall come.

In Christianity I was led to believe that this “coming” was referencing a future event — meaning it still hasn’t come yet.

But now, I am of the persuasion that this kingdom Yeshua is referencing has already come. It came after the Fall of Jerusalem in the first century.

The fact that Christianity has carried that custom forward, calling it “the eucharist” or “communion”, doesn’t mean that it was the intention or expectation of Yeshua, his disciples/apostles or even Paul to do so. I personally now believe that it wasn’t their intention at all.