For the words "do this in remembrance of me," relate solely, as he
has placed them, to the breaking of the bread. They were used after the
distribution of the bread, but were not repeated after the giving of the
cup.
If they relate, on the other hand, to the celebration of the passover,
as it had been modified and spiritualized with a new meaning, then the
interpretation of them will stand thus: "As some of you, my disciples,
for ye are all Jews, may not be able to get over all your prejudices at
once, but may celebrate the passover again, and as it is the last time
that I shall celebrate it with you, as a ceremonial, I desire you to do
it in remembrance, or as a memorial of me. I wish the celebration of it
always to bring to your recollection this our last public meeting, the
love I bear to you, and my sufferings and my death. I wish your minds to
be turned from carnal to spiritual benefits, and to be raised to more
important themes than the mere escape of your ancestors from Egyptian
bondage. If it has been hitherto the object of the passover to preserve
in your memories the bodily salvation of your ancestors, let it be used
in future, if you cannot forsake it, as a memorial of your own spiritual
salvation; for my body, of which the bread is a representation, is to be
broken, and my blood, of which the wine is an emblem, is to be shed for
the remission of your sins.
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