Matthew 26:26 - While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
The meal Jesus shared with His disciples that night was the meal eaten to remember the night of the Passover. It was a night to reflect on how God had, through the blood of a lamb, spared Israel from the judgment that had been cast on all of Egypt.
The ritual itself was highly specific. Those who partook of the Passover feast, were required to follow a regimented order and pattern of doing things. And yet, on that night, Jesus broke with the normal tradition.
The cup that Jesus passed was the third cup of the Passover, the redemption cup. In changing the ritual and establishing His New Covenant, Jesus left no doubt as to what His true missions was.
He did not come as a conqueror, an earthly king, a religious zealot or an ambitious leader. Christ came with one purpose and one only. To offer himself as the sacrifice for our sin so that He could redeem us from the judgment of sin that had already been pronounced.
The path from the manger led straight to the hill of Calvary.