And having taken the chalice, he gave thanks and said: Take and divide it among you.
και δεξαμενος ποτηριον ευχαριστησας ειπεν λαβετε τουτο και διαμερισατε εαυτοις
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Luke appears to refer to two distinct bowls. The first, he indicates, is to be taken and shared among one another, which could be viewed as an emblem from the Old Testament. The second bowl is mentioned following the breaking and distribution of the bread.
Our fellowship with Christ, engaging our intellect and senses, enriches us with abundant blessings. He resides within us through the Holy Spirit, making us His dwelling place, as was proclaimed by one of the ancient prophets: “For I will dwell in them,” He declares, “and will guide them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Additionally, He remains in us through our participation in the unbloody sacrifice that we observe in our churches, having received from Him the redemptive model of this rite, as the blessed evangelist reveals in the passage we have just read.
He states, “taking the cup, and giving thanks, he said, Take it, and divide it among yourselves.” This act of thanksgiving, referring to His prayer to God the Father, indicates that He was, in essence, sharing His divine joy in granting us the life-giving benefit that was then offered to us: for every grace and every perfect gift is bestowed upon us from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. This act serves as an example of the prayer we should offer whenever we are about to present the grace of the mystical and life-giving sacrifice before Him; thus, it is our duty to do so. After offering our thanks and uniting our praises to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we come to the holy altar, trusting that we receive life and blessings both spiritually and physically: for we welcome the Word of the Father into ourselves, who for our sake became incarnate, and is the Life and Giver of life.
A period of anguish and death begins the moment He offered His body to the disciples, sharing it with His apostles. Three days were destined to pass, during which He was considered among the dead, resembling Adam. Although Adam lived many years after consuming the fruit, he was still counted among the dead for violating the divine command. God warned him, "In the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt die by death" (Gen 2:17). Additionally, Scripture states, "Four hundred years shall thy seed be in Egypt" (Gen 15:13), marking those years from the time the promise was made. This timeline applies similarly to our Lord. Thus, the sixth day could be reckoned as two days, while the Sabbath counts as one.
After He offered His body in the sacrament of His death, He entered into the disciples as He subsequently entered the earth. Our Lord took the bread, blessed it, and broke it (Matt. 26:26), contrasting Adam who, in his rebellion, did not bless the fruit when he took it. The bread of His Body entered into them, countering the greed that led Adam to turn away from God. Additionally, three days can be considered from His descent into hell to His ascension: the sixth day, the Sabbath, and the first day of the week.
Here is the point at which the final meal took place. Translation of the Gospel of Luke.
The chalice signifies the suffering that Christ endured to proclaim the good news to Abraham and his companions, marking the beginning of the inheritance. During that moment, Christ, after giving thanks, lifted the cup and drank from it, declaring His intention to partake of the new wine with His disciples. This act reveals two crucial elements: the earthly inheritance symbolized by the new wine and the physical resurrection of His followers. The very flesh that will be resurrected at the end of time is the same that partakes of this new cup. It is inconceivable for Him to drink the produce of the vine when He ascends to a realm higher than the heavens; the consumption of wine pertains specifically to the body, not to the spirit. Thus, it is essential that those who partake of it do so in the flesh.
During the Passover celebration, a cup of wine was traditionally served after the lamb had been consumed, symbolizing love and joy. The Savior follows this custom in accordance with the ceremonial law, but He introduces a profound new meaning when He presents the cup. He states, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine till the kingdom of God comes,” and as St. Matthew further clarifies, “I will not drink till that day when I drink anew with you in the kingdom of God” (Matthew 26:29). Although the Savior shared a meal with His disciples after His resurrection, He did not partake of the wine from the Passover feast.
His disciples had not yet entered into the blessed rest of the kingdom of God, and the new wine is not part of the time He spent with them after His resurrection over those forty days. The Savior continues to refer to that distant future, the same future He indicated when He alluded to the celebration of the true Passover (v. 16). He alludes to the kingdom that will be established after He has executed His judgment over the universe (1 Cor. 15:54, 55). The Evangelists, Matthew (Matt. 26:29) and Mark (Mark 14:25), convey the Savior’s words concerning the cup after narrating the establishment of the mystery of the Eucharist. However, the customary use of the Passover cup indicates that these words were spoken in the context that St. Luke records. He distinctly refers to the twofold Supper of Christ—the Supper of the Old Covenant and the Supper of the Eucharist (vv. Luke 22:19, 20), while the other Evangelists do not provide the same depth in their brief accounts. At the onset of the Passover meal, the Savior expressed His longing to share the Passover with His disciples. However, the accounts from the Evangelists depict Him as merely participating in aspects of the old Passover. St. Mark remarks that He reclined and ate with them (Mark 14:18), and St. Matthew states that He was eating with them (Matthew 26:21): this illustrates the celebration of Passover. Notably, it is not mentioned that, in accordance with the law, the Passover lamb was to be eaten while standing (Exodus 12:11), nor are the details of any other rites performed during the feast explicitly described. It is only briefly acknowledged that two rites from the old Passover were carried out (Luke 22:16-18; Matthew 26:23). The Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8), as well as the Lord of all rites, made it clear that the old order was nearing its conclusion and was being replaced by a new one. The Evangelists, attentive to the words and actions of the Lord, focus their detailed recounting of the Passover meal solely on the words and deeds of Him who instituted the new covenant.
In the evening, the Lord arrived at the house accompanied by His disciples. When the moment arrived, He initiated the meal, likely following the customary practices of the Passover celebration. His opening words were, "I longed to eat this passover with you before I suffered." He added, "I will not partake of it again until the true passover comes with the complete revelation of the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:15-16). After offering thanks to His Father, who had liberated His people from the bondage of Egypt with great might, He took a cup of wine and gave it to His disciples, instructing them to share it among themselves, and He reiterated that He would not drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God is realized (Luke 17-18).
This proclamation undoubtedly held significant symbolism, signaling to the disciples that this was their final observance of the Passover in this manner, and that next year they would not celebrate it as they had before; it indicated that the reign of the Messiah would be revealed between this Passover and the next.
In this passage, the Hebrew text refers to the first cup that is traditionally used to commence the Passover meal. Christ communicates a profound longing to share this particular Passover with His disciples, as it marks the final observance of the Old Covenant that He will partake in with them. Soon, the realities that this celebration symbolizes will come to fruition, heralding the revelation of God's kingdom, the kingdom of the Messiah. In this realm, believers will engage in intimate communion with their Lord by partaking of the very essence of this foreshadowing—through receiving the body and blood of Christ.
During His address to them, Jesus expressed His deep desire to partake in this final Passover of the Old Covenant before His impending suffering, stating that He would not share in it again until it was fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. He also mentioned that He would abstain from drinking the fruit of the vine until the day He would enjoy the new wine with them in the Father’s Kingdom. John Chrysostom interprets these words as a prophecy by Jesus about His post-Resurrection meals with the Apostles, where He would drink wine to demonstrate the reality of His Resurrection. Bishop Michael views this as a sacramental declaration within a sacramental context.
"After taking the cup and offering gratitude, this still represented the cup from the Old Testament meal, from which they consumed the Passover lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs during the feast. They were instructed to distribute it among one another, as was customary at meals in general and particularly during the Passover celebration. At this point, it was not yet the cup associated with the sacrament of the Eucharist, which we will address later."
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 11 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS