Matthew 26:26

this is my body The exact Greek is "this is the body of me;" St Luke adds, "which is being given for you;" St Paul, "which is being broken for you;" the sacrifice had begun, the body of Christ was already being offered. The expression may be paraphrased: "This the bread and not the paschal lamb, represents isto the faithful the body of Me, who am even now being offered a sacrifice for you." Without entering on the great controversy of which these four words have been the centre, we may note that; (1) the thought is not presented now for the first time to the disciples. It was the "hard saying" which had turned many from Christ, see John 6:51-57; John 6:66. (2) The special form of the controversy is due to a mediæval philosophy which has passed away leaving "the dispute of the sacraments" as a legacy. St Luke and St Paul have the addition, "this do in remembrance of me" now, as a memorial of Me, not of the Passover deliverance.