J. T. Lloyd

The Lord's Supper, or the Holy Communion, is declared by Bishop Gore to be 'the greatest of all the sacraments of the Church,' and the Council of Trent described it as 'the most excellent of the sacraments.' The general impression among Christians is that this rite was formally instituted by Jesus Christ himself the night before his crucifixion; but a critical examination of the New Testament texts descriptive of the institution shows clearly how utterly groundless that impression is. The oldest account of it, in I Corinthians Xi. 2325, is as follows:

For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, how that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed tool. bread; and when he had given thanks, be brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.