Originally, our annual Memorial Day was a remembrance of the soldiers who died in the Civil War. After World War I the United States began to honor the dead who had fallen in any American conflict. But Christ’s church has a “memorial day” every Sunday.
The Lord’s memorial supper is a sacred meal including cup and bread. No one can easily miss the symbolism of the cup’s contents. As Jacob blesses his son Judah, he speaks of “the blood of grapes” (Gen. 49:11). Trampled grapes shed “blood.” Paul says that in Christ “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8). The blood of Jesus, spilled at the cross, is our atonement. The blood of the grape is a solemn reminder of the Lord’s salvation work.
But what is the significance of the bread? The night he institutes his memorial supper, Jesus gives bread to his disciples and says, “This is my body” (Mark 14:22). Christ here identifies a connection between the unleavened Passover bread and his soon-to-be-crucified body. But is this connection logical or somewhat contrived?
The prophet Isaiah paints a moving portrait of the Messiah’s suffering and its purpose: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5, NIV). Crushed. Grains of wheat are crushed to make bread. The memorial bread itself is broken in the reverent hands of the church. The symbolism of the bread isn’t forced at all. Jesus is crushed at the cross.