Matthew 26:17-30 “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, 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 my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.”
Jesus disciples prepared for the Passover by procuring a room and getting the necessary items commanded by the Law. However, the meal that Jesus ate with His disciples was not the Passover meal. It was just one of the meals that they ate that week, this one on Tuesday evening. The Passover meal would take place the day after Jesus was crucified (i.e., the day after the “preparation day”). This meal that Jesus ate with His disciples was nothing like the Passover meal, because the people were not standing up with staffs in their hands. They were reclining. Furthermore, there is no mention of a lamb, an incomprehensible oversight if it had been the Passover meal.
The Lord’s Supper is instituted as a memorial service for our local churches to observe until Jesus comes. This supper commemorates His suffering and His shed blood, which was His cross work. We are commanded to do it (I Corinthians 11:24-25), therefore we should be present in a good Bible believing local church to observe this communion meal.