Gospel Doctrine: Symbolism of the Sacrament

Symbolism of the Sacrament
By John A. Tvedtnes

[Supplement to Gospel Doctrine New Testament lesson 23]

From the sacramental prayers, we know that the bread and water (or wine) represent the body and blood of our Savior (D&C 20:76-79; Moroni 4:1-5:2). From D&C 27:2, we learn “that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory — remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.”

The Lord added that if wine is used in the sacrament, it must be “made new among you; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up on the earth” (D&C 27:3-4).

Early Christians mixed water with the wine used for the eucharist or Lord’s supper. One might suppose that since bread was the most common food item in Christ’s day and that water and wine were the most commonly-consumed drinks, that this is why they were available at the Last Supper. But there is more to it.

The word most commonly used for “wine” in Hebrew is yayin, a borrowing from Greek oinos, from which English derives the words “wine” and “vine.” [1] Of the native Hebrew terms for wine literally means “blood of the grape” (Genesis 49:11; Deuteronomy 32:14; in the Apocrypha, see Ben-Sirach [Ecclesiasticus] 39:26; 50:15; 1 Macabees 6:34).

This gives more meaning to Jesus’ words when he had blessed the cup of wine at the last supper and passed it to his disciples, saying, “this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28; see also 1 Corinthians 11:25).

The Hebrew word for “bread” is lehem, though its original meaning was “flesh,” as we learn from the Arabic cognate, lahm. It is the second element in the name of Jesus’ birthplace, Beth-lehem, “house of bread.” Consequently, bread was a fitting symbol for the flesh of the Savior, who declared himself to be “the true bread from heaven” (see John 6:32-58).

Immediately after the last supper, Jesus and the apostles crossed the Kidron valley [2] and went to the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the mount of Olives (Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32; John 18:1). The name of the garden is comprised of two Hebrew words, gath, denoting an “olive press,” and shemen, denoting “oil.” Here, Christ, the “true vine” (John 15:1, 5; 1 Nephi 15:15; Alma 16:17), was, like a grape, pressed under the weight of the sins of all mankind.

In the garden, the Savior prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:42-44). That Christ’s blood literally came from every pore is affirmed in Mosiah 3:7 and D&C 19:18.

Bleeding from every poor, the Savior must have stained his garment red with blood. [3] Consequently, we read that, when he returns to the earth to reign, he will be wearing a red garment. The apostle John wrote of his vision of this event, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13).

In the blessing Jacob pronounced on his son Judah, from whom Jesus descended, he declared, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes” (Genesis 49:10-11). Isaiah prophesied:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? [4] this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment (Isaiah 63:1-3).

The red apparel of the Lord is here compared both to one who tramples grapes to make wine and to a warrior who tramples on his enemies and stains his garment with blood. A derivative of this prophecy is found in a modern revelation:

And the Lord shall be red in his apparel, and his garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat. And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places. And his voice shall be heard: I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me; And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart (D&C 133:48-51).

Again, we see wine compared to blood. Some scriptural passages note that blood brings inebriation, in the same manner as wine (Deuteronomy 32:42; Isaiah 49:26; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:19; Revelation 17:6; 1 Nephi 21:26; 1 Nephi 22:13; 2 Nephi 6:18).

The Last Supper was a celebration of the Israelite feast of Passover (Matthew 26:2, 17-19; Mark 14:1, 12-16; Luke 22:1, 7-15; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7). [5] The blessing of bread and wine is also part of that celebration, which continues among Jews to our day. Modern Jews still leave a vacant place at the table for the prophet Elijah, who is to announce the coming of the Messiah.

The Lord declared through the prophet Malachi, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5). At the pouring of the fourth cup of wine, the door is opened to allow Elijah to enter and a prayer calls upon God to pour out his wrath on the earth, which is in accordance with Malachi’s prophecy. [6]

At the beginning of the ceremony, three pieces of unleavened bread (matzah, plural matzot) are placed in a pile and wrapped with a white cloth. The one conducting the service later removes the middle piece and breaks it in two. He hides one half, called the afikoman, and breaks the remaining half into small pieces for those in attendance.

At the end, a young child is allowed to “find” the missing half. An Israeli Jewish Christian friend told me that the three matzot represent the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The one in the middle would be Christ, who, at the Last Supper, “took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).

My friend believes that the concealment and finding of the afikoman denotes that, while few of Jesus’ contemporaries accepted him as Messiah, later generations of Jews would acknowledge him as Messiah and Savior.

For additional material relating to this lesson, see:

John W. Welch, “From Presence to Practice: Jesus, the Sacrament Prayers, the Priesthood, and Church Discipline in 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 2-6,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/1 (1996), posted on the Maxwell Institute web site at: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?

John W. Welch, “Benjamin’s Covenant as a Precursor of the Sacrament Prayers,” in John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks, King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom” (Provo: FARMS, 1998). The article has been posted on the Maxwell Institute web site at: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/

For an introduction to the books of the New Testament and in-depth discussions of each verse in the New Testament, see Kevin L. Barney (ed.), John H. Jenkins, and John A. Tvedtnes, “Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints,” go to: http://feastupontheword.org/Site:NTFootnotes

[1] The initial w in the Semitic languages (of which Hebrew is one) usually became y in Hebrew. For example, Arabic walad is Hebrew yeled, both meaning “boy.”

[2] Throughout the King James version of the Old Testament, the name is rendered Kidron, but it is spelled Cedron in John 18:1.

[3] This is foreshadowed by Joseph’s special garment, which his brothers dipped in goat’s blood before returning to their father Jacob (Genesis 37:31-32). That this was a priestly garment and not a multi-colored “coat” is affirmed in ancient texts. For a discussion, see John A. Tvedtnes, “Priestly Clothing in Bible Times,” in Donald Parry (ed.), Temples of the Ancient World (Salt Lake City: Deseret and FARMS, 1994).

[4] The ancient land of Edom was named from Jacob’s brother Esau, who was also called Edom, which means “red” (Genesis 36:1, 8, 19). See Genesis 25:25 (“And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau”) and Genesis 25:30 (“And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom”). In Genesis 32:3, we read that Esau lived in “the country of Edom.” Some Bible passages use the Latin form of Idumea in place of Hebrew Edom. Thus, in Isaiah 34:4-8, we read that, in the last days, the Lord’s bloody sword will fall upon Idumea. From D&C 1:36, we learn that Idumea denotes the world of the wicked, who will be destroyed prior to Christ’s millennial reign.

[5] The gospel of John disagrees with the others, saying that the Passover had not yet been celebrated at the time Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate (John 18:28; 19:14).

[6] Cf. Psalm 75:8: “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.”