Sure...right. So, based on that, I assume that whenever you say anything -- ANYTHING that is symbolic, you ALWAYS say, "x represents y...."
Really?
So... is Time really Money? Or is it symbolic?
If The Lord's Supper were as the Roman Catholic Cult says it it, there would have been cannibalism in the Upper Room. But, there wasn't, was there?
Instead of having to invoke symbolism, maybe he said what he said with the knowledge that the apostles understood the symbolism in what he said.
Hoss
Good point Hoss. And the disciples DID understand shadows and symbols. They were sitting at a Passover Seder. During the meal there are several iterations of drinking cups of wine and eating. Each series of cups mean something that already happened physically or will happen. As we see below.
The first cup of wine
The seder begins with a blessing recited over the first of four cups of wine: "Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast created the fruit of the vine." Jesus himself blessed the first cup in Luke 22:17-18.
The second cup of wine
The second cup is to remind us of the Ten Plagues and the suffering of the Egyptians when they hardened their heart to the Lord. In order not to rejoice over the suffering of our enemies (Prov. 24:17), we spill a drop of wine (which is a symbol of joy) as we recite each of the Ten Plagues, thus remembering that our joy is diminished at the suffering of others.
Third Cup
The third cup of wine is taken after the meal. It is the cup of redemption, which reminds us of the shed blood of the innocent Lamb which brought our redemption from Egypt. We see that Jesus took the third cup in Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'" This was not just any cup, it was the cup of redemption from slavery into freedom. This is our communion cup.
Fourth Cup
The fourth cup is the Cup of Hallel. Hallel in Hebrew means "praise," and we see in the beautiful High Priestly Prayer of John 17, that Jesus took time to praise and thank the Lord at the end of the Passover Seder, his last supper. The spotless Passover Lamb had praise on his lips as he went to his death.
So yes, the disciples knew the Hebrew context of the Lord's Table.
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