3. What do the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper represent?

As Jesus broke the Passover bread and served it to His disciples, He said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24), referencing His death on our behalf. The Passover bread was unleavened, since yeast or fermentation was considered a symbol of sin (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8). It was therefore unfit to represent the Lamb, “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).JTL26 5.1

The wine represents Jesus, the True Vine (John 15:1) and His blood shed vicariously for us on Calvary’s cross. Eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood is symbolic language for assimilating the Word of God, through which we gain spiritual energy and life. When Jesus promised not to drink of the “fruit of the vine” (Matthew 26:29) again until He drinks it with the redeemed in His kingdom, He gave the assurance that He would come again.JTL26 5.2

“Abiding in Christ” (John 15:4) and eating the flesh and drinking the blood are figurative, symbols of a greater reality—Christ’s actual broken body and spilt blood and the eternal life offered through that sacrifice. The cup of wine represents the “new covenant” (Luke 22:20) stemming from God’s pledge to bless His people and write His law on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Christ’s death and substitutionary atonement was the guarantee for the new covenant.JTL26 5.3