The Last Supper, Luke 22:17-20

• Luke 22:19-20 '(Jesus) took break, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me'. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying 'This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you''
• Holy Communion originated from the Passover meal that Jesus ate with his disciples in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem on the night before the crucifixion
• Passover is an annual celebration of the Exodus, the escape of Moses and the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, thanks to the miracle wrought by God in the crossing of the Red Sea. The special Passover foods have symbolic significance linked to the great act of feliverance
• At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the bread and wine a new significance linked to his death, the bread symbolising his body, and the wine symbolising his blood. The change in symbolism was a sign of the new covenant to be established by Jesus' saving death
• There are several references in the New Testament to celebrations of Holy Communion and to beliefs about it, so it was an established practice within 20 years of Jesus' death