On this occasion our Lord uttered the memorable words found in this verse: "He that eateth this bread eateth of My body to his soul; and he that drinketh of the wine drinketh of My blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled."
When the multitude had eaten and had drunk the bread and wine, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and with one voice gave glory to Jesus, Whom they both saw and heard.
A controversy settled. Our Lord, it will be observed, settles here by anticipation the age-long controversy concerning the nature of the Holy Emblems. There is neither Transubstantiation, nor Consubstantiation. The Emblems remain bread and wine-or water. They are eaten as such. But by partaking worthily of them, the soul draws spiritual nourishment from the Atoning Sacrifice of our Lord, the Lamb of God, just as the body of flesh and blood receives physical life and vigor from the material elements. It is a spiritual function-an eating and drinking "to the soul."
A Pauline doctrine. The Apostle Paul, in Corinthians 10:16, expresses the same thought, when he says that the bread we break is a communion, a koinonia, of the body of Christ, and that the cup we bless is a participation of His blood. He sees the Church as a divine corporation, the common asset of which is the Atonement of Christ, in which each individual member has an equal share.
The Sacrament is, further, a sermon, or a short dramatic sketch, of the death of our Lord, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord's death till he come." (Cor. 11:26)
It is shown as vicarious, as it was represented by the sacrifices in the Old Testament. It is therefore, a most solemn and impressive proclamation of the atoning death of the Lamb of God, highly needed when unbelief and infidelity in various forms threaten to overflow the world.
Three great monuments. The Church owns three historical monuments which all stand as unimpeachable witnesses to Christ's work as the Savior of the world. These are: (1) the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in memory of His Death upon the Cross; (2) Baptism, in memory of His Burial, and (3) the Lord's Day, in memory of His Resurrection from the dead. If we understand the significance and importance of these monuments, we will treasure them for ourselves and our children, and never neglect them.