This Is My Body, Given for You
Month 10: The Upper Room · Bible Story
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 22:17-20
17 After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
Memory Verse
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”— John 14:6 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Habakkuk 1-3
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Habakkuk learns to trust God even when he can't see the whole plan — "the just shall live by his faith.")The Heart of It
On the last night before the cross, Jesus took ordinary bread and a familiar cup. He gave them brand-new meaning. He broke the bread and said, "This is My body which is given for you." He lifted the cup as "the new covenant in My blood." For hundreds of years, Israel had remembered God's rescue from Egypt at the Passover table. Now Jesus was saying that He is the true rescue. His own body and blood would set us free. Not free from Pharaoh, but free from sin and death. Everything the old Passover pointed toward was standing right there in the room, holding the bread.
Notice the little word for. "Given for you." "Shed for you." Jesus did not die by accident. He was not overpowered. He gave Himself on purpose, in love, for real people. And He gave Himself for all. He gave Himself for every person who will receive Him (; ). When we share the Lord's Supper today, we are not pretending. We are remembering a love so deep that the King let His own body be broken so we could come home to God. "Do this in remembrance of Me," He said. Love like this is worth never forgetting.
Around the Table
Jesus shared bread and a cup and said, "I'm giving Myself for you." He loves you that much!
Let's do it: Break a piece of bread in half together and say, "Thank You, Jesus, for giving Yourself for me."
Jesus turned the Passover meal into a way to remember how He rescued us. What was He rescuing us from?
Let's talk: Why do you think Jesus wanted us to keep remembering this with bread and cup?
Jesus called the cup "the new covenant in My blood." That means a brand-new promise sealed by His death. He offers it to everyone who believes.
Let's go deeper: How is the Lord's Supper a way of remembering what Jesus already finished, not redoing it?
💬 Conversation Starter
What is one family tradition we never want to forget? Why does remembering it together matter so much?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
The Lord's Supper is one of the oldest practices in all of Christian history. Paul wrote it down within about 25 years of the cross (). Churches have shared it ever since. A made-up story does not get celebrated by millions of people for 2,000 years. But a real rescue does.
For Dad · Go Deeper
The Last Supper sits at the hinge of redemptive history. Jesus deliberately took the Passover, the meal that defined Israel, and made it about Himself. He is not merely attending the feast of salvation. He is it. As you lead the table tonight, resist reducing communion to a quiet religious ritual. It is a proclamation: "you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (). And it is gospel-shaped. The bread is broken for you. The cup is poured out for you. Let your kids hear you say that the cross was not a tragedy that happened to Jesus. It was a gift He chose to give, freely, for all who will come.
Draws on: I. Howard Marshall, Last Supper and Lord's Supper.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, thank You for giving Your own body and blood for us. Help us never forget how much You love us. Make us a family that remembers You with thankful hearts. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus gave Himself for me on purpose. The broken bread and the poured-out cup say so.