Matthew 26:26-28 “….Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and said ‘Take, eat, this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is the blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Beloved, yesterday a sister delivered a post to her blog entitled “Remembrance”. You can it read it here http://witnessingencouragement.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/remembrance/
On the topic of “remembrance”, I drove past several “church” marquee signs today advertising and soliciting their “Holy Christmass Communion Services” etc. In fact, all were invited. Really? How can you eat His flesh and drink His blood without knowing Him? Even in my infancy in the “church”, I always questioned the cracker & juice snack ritual ceremony of “communion.” I obviously knew nothing about “church” growing up, or even into my adult years, but I did know what the raw definition of “communion” was and knew it had nothing to do with juice and crackers.
I do find it alarming that Christ’s followers really do not understand what it truly means to “do this in remembrance of Me.” So, I was glad to see her post. So I ask, what exactly does it mean to “do this in remembrance of Me?” I’d like to elaborate if you will allow me.
Matthew 26:26-28 “….Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and said ‘Take, eat, this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is the blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
The word BODY here is the Greek word “soma” meaning the body as a whole. It derives from the Greek word “sozo” for which we get the word “saved.” Here Jesus means and illustrates that He will save his body the church/bride
The word CUP here is the Greek word “poterion” which figuratively means a lot or fate
2 Corinthians 4:10-11 says “Always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
And thus John says (John 6:54) “Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life.” So what then is eternal life? Easy, eternal life is (John 17:3) “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Now getting back to John 6:54, you must understand that to “eat flesh and drink blood” was a Jewish idiom which carried the meaning to be satiated (be satisfied with more than enough; to glut; saturated with suffering) with a slaughter. And with that, the blade of a sward was referred to as “the mouth” that “did eat flesh and drink blood” as armies slaughtered each other. We see this in various OT instances and from roman battle lore. And to “drink of a cup (of blood)” carried a related meaning that meant to undergo a violent death or to “taste death.” To “drink ye all of it” meant to completely finish the entire ordeal.
Remember Matthew 24:13 says “He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” Endure is the Greek word “hupomeno” that means to stay under trials and tribulations. Paul illustrated to us that suffering persecution is a daily requirement of every believer (Acts 14:22; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12; I Thessalonians 1:6). Jesus Himself performs this work in us making full proof of our salvation. And thus, we therefore drink all of the cup by dying to self. We are delivered unto death daily as Christ is resurrected in our mortal flesh. Believing that Jesus was raised from the dead is not enough for salvation, see John 6:54, etc. Christ must be resurrected in us, if we are to have eternal life. Jesus said “whosoever does not bear his cross (dying to the flesh) and come after me, cannot be my disciple. He then said also, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you (John 6:53). What the Christ is saying here is that unless you take your cross and die with Him by participating in His death daily, you have no eternal life and you are not following Him. Paul summed it up best when he said, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection (in me) and the fellowship of his suffering (death to self), being made comfortable unto His death.”
Beloved, fellowship and communion are the same Greek word…. koinonia. Koinonia means to partake or communicate (have in common). Therefore, our spiritual communion is in his body (the church, ekklesia, living stones, called out peoples), the true spiritual bread. “For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread.” We partake in the death of Christ by “eating His flesh” and “drinking His blood” when we “die to self” living for Christ in fellowship with His church, which is His body, the true flesh and spiritual bread. For Christ Himself is the Bread that came down from heaven….
Ekklesia Koinonia "Fellowship of the Called-out ones" 
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I think we need to be careful with statements such as this TJ:
“Believing that Jesus was raised from the dead is not enough for salvation”
I certainly agree that no intellectual assent of the facts will grant anyone eternal life, though we also know that the Bible bears out that we cannot “add by our own actions or works” to His one time perfect sacrifice upon which we are called to believe, ie; trust (pisteo).
In New Testament times, individuals knew full well what it meant to profess Jesus as Lord, it meant a complete overhaul of one’s own life and it carried a stigma, reproach and the condemnation of a roman crucifixion. These things were known and witnessed first hand by the people, they knew what turning from their idols or even their own religion for Christ would cost them. It meant all the things you say above as these were the results of one’s profession of faith. This is why the witness of the saints was so powerful and the word so convicting. What kind of lunatic would follow a dead man- even to his own death? That was a rare breed and most have long forgotten the cost many if not most of those dear saints paid to remain faithful.
I know you’re not adding to the gospel TJ, just thought some clarification for any readers might help. The burden we both know must be carried is this- to exemplify the real Jesus Christ before both sinner and saint by sharing both the joys and sorrows that following Jesus will certainly include. That individual testimony is rare, that corporate testimony seemingly almost non-existent. We should not wonder why the cross fails to make its mark today as most prefer the pretty shining symbol of their own satisfaction more that the blood stained rugged cross that demands the sacrifice of its victims. To live upon the latter is to be a true witness for Jesus, to be satisfied with the former is not merely compromise, but treason against the very claims of Jesus Himself and to place oneself in opposition to Him.
There is one cross and one command (do this) that will ultimately divide those who have and have not…..Him. There is a reason Paul said “he died daily.” How we live today affects tomorrow, affects our future and ultimately affects where and with whom we spend eternity.
I enjoyed your explanation above and I agree with your conclusions.
Amen brother, nice exposition. Exactly… true sozo is indeed, in totality, and in whole, bearing about the marks of the Lord Jesus bearing that Holy Fruit and not lip service. Like it is said….even the demons believe and at least tremble. “For they worship me with their lips, their hearts are far from me.” Key word has you have pointed out is pistis…pisteuo.
Thanks again brother