Yet we should recognize that the bread and wine are not new symbols. They are the original elements of the fellowship meal between Melchizedek and Abraham (Genesis 14:18) on the eve of the historic covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis 15). Similarly, this Passover was a fellowship meal on the eve of the sealing of another, much-anticipated covenant.
This linkage between the bread, wine and Abraham is significant for a couple of reasons. First, God's covenant with Abraham undergirds the Exodus Passover. God was inclined to destroy Israel in Egypt for her idolatry, yet He made a merciful exemption for the sake of His name and His faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. The Hebrew word for Passover means exemption. God overlooked Israel's sins because of His covenant with the family of Abraham, and it began with Melchizedek bringing out bread and wine.
Second, the timing of Christ's sacrifice also relates to the Abrahamic covenant. Christ's death did not take place at the time He commanded Israel to kill the Passover lambs, which was between sunset and dark at the beginning of the 14th day of Abib. Instead, His death took place in the afternoon of the 14th, which lines up with the time God made the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. Christ's death at that time signifies an incredible step forward in His fulfillment of that covenant, upon which the New Covenant is based.
Verse 15 tells us what was on Christ's mind, and again, it was not the disciples' sins. Instead, the Son of God had been fervently looking forward to this special occasion - this fellowship - with those whom the Father had given Him (see also Matthew 26:18-29; Mark 14:13-25). Like the Exodus Passover, this Passover was about eating. However, the New Testament Scriptures place the emphasis on the bread and wine. The bread and wine are not new symbols, though, but the original elements of the fellowship meal between Melchizedek and Abraham (Genesis 14:18) on the eve of a historic covenant (Genesis 15). In like manner, this Passover was a fellowship meal on the eve of the sealing of a much-anticipated covenant.
