We’re looking at a Passover Seder, which has a ton of food-oriented symbolism. This symbolism isn’t meaningless, rote, or any other disparaging term you might choose for it- this is one of the most important nights of the year for Jews (look around the table- Jesus and His disciples, all Jews).
Speaking more specifically to food-oriented symbolism, let’s take a look at the specific symbolic foods that Jesus chose, starting with the Matzo.
Matzo means unleavened bread. Different kinds of symbolic meanings are attached to it at different parts of the meal. More toward the beginning of the meal (I’m talking about Dayenu territory here), it symbolizes the affliction and slavery of Egypt, connections can be made between striations on the bread and striations on the back of a slave, and the unleavened bread eaten by Hebrew slaves is called to mind. As with all such symbolism during this meal, the term “anamnesis” should be close to the front of your mind- it is a “remembrance,” but not just a recollection of a memory. These things are called to mind in such a way that every Jew participating in the Seder considers themselves as if they were (in succession) a Jew enslaved in Egypt, a Jew being called and led out of Egypt, and a various other points, a Jew engaging in other blessings of God, other sufferings, and other notable times of deliverance. They obviously don’t believe there’s dozens of “substance” changes that are happening throughout the meal, but it is a bit of an insult to call this “just” a symbolic memorial, or “merely” a pointless thing that doesn’t mean anything. Doing so displays an unacceptable level of ignorance with regard to what Jesus and His disciples were doing that night, as well as an ignorance for many centuries of Jewish tradition that led up to this point.
Moving on with the Matzo, its place in the Seder makes it the symbol of transition from the bitterness of slavery in Egypt to the sweetness of physical, political, and religious freedom after leaving Egypt. And finally, leaven has always been closely associated with sin within Judaism, so the lack of leaven is a very straightforward representation of a lack of sin on the part of Jesus and it symbolizes “poor man’s bread” at early points in the Seder as well as humility and humbleness later on.
On to the cup. Exactly which cup he chose is unclear, and we don’t even know if there were a total of 3, 4, or 5 cups used in this Seder. This one happened near the middle of a 4-century period of transition in which the number of cups in any given Seder was not well-standardized; that wasn’t accomplished until the earliest part of the fourth century. But there are some general things that can always be said about the cups, no matter when you’re looking at or how many of them you’re looking at.
The cup is primarily associated with Exodus 6, particularly the phrases “I will bring out,” “I will deliver,” “I will redeem,” and “I will take/release” (has to do with bringing them into the land). Variations aside, we’re looking at Exodus 6:6-7 in every possible scenario and we’re looking at a group of Jews with God’s deliverance and redemption held in more careful consideration than at any other night of the year.
This is what led into Jesus saying “This is my body…eat, this is my blood…drink, do this in remembrance (anamnesin) of me.” And Jesus’ disciples did know what anamnesis was all about- they did it every year, and it just so happens they were in the middle of doing a lot of it on that night. But what is this remembrance all about? That’s pretty easy, once you put it in context. He was making a tangible connection between Jewish Passover tradition and Christian tradition going forward. He was indicating that the things symbolized by the bread and the wine are fulfilled in Him- the bread symbolizes affliction and a progression toward freedom, and His body (about to be sacrificed on the Cross) is the fulfillment of a more permanent, more universal progression from suffering to freedom. The wine symbolizes tremendous acts of God in Jewish history where He takes His chosen people, delivers them, brings them out, redeems them, and takes them into their God-given inheritance. Jesus’ blood is what the type is pointing toward- by His blood we are redeemed, even the Gentiles, by His blood we are delivered from sin and taken out of bondage to it, the new covenant is in His blood. Jesus is taking a couple of the symbolic elements most central to the Seder and saying “These symbols point to me.” No, no, no, don’t look down at the symbolic food in front of you. Yes, it’s important, but it’s a type just like it’s always been. Look up. Look at the Savior- He just said something extremely important about who He is. He’s not identifying the symbolic elements as things that were substantially changed without accidental changes (all of which is foreign to that place and time). He’s not instituting vessels of “sacramental grace” that will pour grace into the vessel of your body. If you’re a Jewish disciple of Jesus at this place and time, these ideas don’t even exist- superimposing it on their understanding screams “anachronism.” But if you’re a disciple of Jesus participating in the Last Supper with Him, you do know quite a bit about anamnesis. You know all about remembrance. And you definitely know what Jesus just said about Himself- this is tantamount to saying “I am God,” or at least a claim to have key attributes of God along with the ability to carry out every kind of redemptive act that was talked about all through the Seder. This is the context that lets you understand what Jesus’ disciples understood.
Of course, you don’t go anywhere near this if you’re anti-Semitic. Judaism can’t be part of your contextual process if you hate Jews.
