17. In Matthew 26:27-28, New King James Version, Jesus says to His disciples of the cup at the Last Supper, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of ..." what?
From Quiz What's New in the New Testament?
Answer:
the new Covenant
According to Christian teaching, Jesus here is making a new institution: the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. It is to be an act of remembrance of His humanity and sacrifice; an act of fellowship with both His (figurative) Body, the Church, and with the Lord Himself; and a sign of participation in the New Covenant, through spiritual participation in His death and resurrection.
The bread and wine respectively represent the body of Jesus broken, and His blood shed, upon the Cross.
According to Roman Catholic teaching, and, in a similar way, that of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the bread (or wafer) and wine are *transubstantiated* into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ: their substance is changed, while their appearance remains the same.
Protestants generally reject the doctrine of transubstantiation, regarding the bread and wine as being only symbolic of - yet equally effective as - the actual Body and Blood of Jesus.
The difference between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox teaching on transubstantiation is primarily that, according to Catholicism, transubstantiation takes place at the moment of consecration (i.e. on the church altar), while the Orthodox teaching is that it occurs after being consumed by the communicants.
Question contributed by Rimrunner.