Matthew 26:26-28

The Lord’s Supper

26:26 While ¹  they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” 26:27 And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, 26:28 for this is my blood, the blood ²  of the covenant, ³  that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark 14:22-24

The Lord’s Supper

14:22 While they were eating, he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” 14:23 And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 14:24 He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood ⁴  of the covenant, ⁵  that is poured out for many.

Luke 22:19-20

22:19 Then ⁶  he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body ⁷  which is given for you. ⁸  Do this in remembrance of me.” 22:20 And in the same way he took ⁹  the cup after they had eaten, ¹⁰  saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant ¹¹  in my blood.

Acts 20:7

20:7 On the first day ¹²  of the week, when we met ¹³  to break bread, Paul began to speak ¹⁴  to the people, and because he intended ¹⁵  to leave the next day, he extended ¹⁶  his message until midnight.

[26:26]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:28]  ² tn Grk “for this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many.” In order to avoid confusion about which is poured out, the translation supplies “blood” twice so that the following phrase clearly modifies “blood,” not “covenant.”

[26:28]  ³ tc Although most witnesses read καινῆς (kainhs, “new”) here, this is evidently motivated by the parallel in Luke 22:20. Apart from the possibility of homoioteleuton, there is no good reason for the shorter reading to have arisen later on. But since it is found in such good and diverse witnesses (e.g., Ì^37,45vid א B L Z Θ 0298^vid 33 pc mae), the likelihood of homoioteleuton becomes rather remote.

[14:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many.” In order to avoid confusion about which is poured out, the translation supplies “blood” twice so that the following phrase clearly modifies “blood,” not “covenant.”

[14:24]  ⁵ tc Most mss (A Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have καινῆς (kainh", “new”) before διαθήκης (diaqhkh", “covenant”), a reading that is almost surely influenced by the parallel passage in Luke 22:20. Further, the construction τὸ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης (to th" kainh" diaqhkh"), in which the resumptive article τό (referring back to τὸ αἷμα [to |aima, “the blood”]) is immediately followed by the genitive article, is nowhere else used in Mark except for constructions involving a genitive of relationship (cf. Mark 2:14; 3:17, 18; 16:1). Thus, on both transcriptional and intrinsic grounds, this reading looks to be a later addition (which may have derived from τὸ τῆς διαθήκης of D* W 2427). The most reliable mss, along with several others (א B C D^c L Θ Ψ 565), lack καινῆς. This reading is strongly preferred.

[22:19]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:19]  ⁷ tc Some important Western mss (D it) lack the words from this point to the end of v. 20. However, the authenticity of these verses is very likely. The inclusion of the second cup is the harder reading, since it differs from Matt 26:26-29 and Mark 14:22-25, and it has much better ms support. It is thus easier to explain the shorter reading as a scribal accident or misunderstanding. Further discussion of this complicated problem (the most difficult in Luke) can be found in TCGNT 148-50.

[22:19]  ⁸ sn The language of the phrase given for you alludes to Christ’s death in our place. It is a powerful substitutionary image of what he did for us.

[22:20]  ⁹ tn The words “he took” are not in the Greek text at this point, but are an understood repetition from v. 19.

[22:20]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “after they had eaten” translates the temporal infinitive construction μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι (meta to deipnhsai), where the verb δειπνέω (deipnew) means “to eat a meal” or “to have a meal.”

[22:20]  ¹¹ sn Jesus’ death established the forgiveness promised in the new covenant of Jer 31:31. Jesus is reinterpreting the symbolism of the Passover meal, indicating the presence of a new era.

[20:7]  ¹² sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).

[20:7]  ¹³ tn Or “assembled.”

[20:7]  ¹⁴ tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[20:7]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or “prolonged.”