For in the first place, he is
described to have said to his disciples, that "he would no more eat of
the passover, until it should be fulfilled in the kingdom of God;" and a
little farther on, that "he would not drink of the fruit of the vine,
till the kingdom of God should come; or, as St. Matthew has it, till he
should drink it new with them in his father's kingdom."
By these words the Quakers understand, that it was the intention of
Jesus Christ to turn the attention of his disciples from the type to the
antitype, or from the paschal lamb to the lamb of God, which was soon to
be offered for them. He declared, that all his passover suppers with
them were in future to be spiritual. Such spiritual passovers, the
Quakers say, he afterwards ate with them on the day of pentecost, when
the spirit of God came upon them; when their minds were opened, and when
they discovered, for the first time, the nature of his kingdom. And
these spiritual passovers he has since eaten, and continues to eat with
all those whose minds, detached from worldly pursuits and connexions,
are so purified and spiritualized, as to be able to hold communion with
God.
It is reported of him next, that "he took bread, and gave thanks, and
brake it, and gave to his disciples, saying, this is my body which is
given for you."
On these words the Quakers make the following observations:--The word
"this" does not belong to the word "bread," that is, it does not mean
that this bread is my body.
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