While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”
Parallel translations
- WEB As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.”
- KJV And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
- NKJV And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
- NASB While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”
- NLT As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper, giving bread as a sign of his body about to be given for them. It anchors Christian worship in his sacrificial death.
Overview
During the Passover meal Jesus reinterprets the bread around himself, declaring it to be his body. This points to the cross, where his body would be broken for his people. The Supper becomes the ongoing meal by which the church remembers and proclaims his death until he comes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 26:26–29While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
- Mark 14:24He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
- 1 Cor 10:16–17Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
- 1 Cor 11:23–29For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,
- Luke 24:30While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
- Luke 22:18–20For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
- John 6:48–58I am the bread of life.
- Matt 14:19And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
- Zech 5:7And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.
- Mark 6:41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
- Gen 41:26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
- John 6:23However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
- Gal 4:25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
- 1 Cor 10:4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 14:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.