26While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.†27And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29“But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.â€
Matthew 26:26-29
22While 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.†23And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25“Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.â€
Mark 14:22-25 NASB
14When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.†17And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.†19And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.†20And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Luke 22:14-20 NASB
52Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?†53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.â€
John 6:52-58
14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
1 Corinthians 10:14-17 NASB
23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.†25In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.†26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NASB
The observant reader will note the context of each account regarding the Lord's Supper.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus is addressing the disciples. In John He is addressing disbelieving Jews.
When all accounts of the Lord's instructions are taken into account one sees the clear meaning of the text. The bread and wine are symbolic of His flesh and blood. Paul's instructions he received from our Lord make this clear.
When we participate in the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, we are remembering the sacrifice He made for us and we are identifying as a believer in Christ.
Again, context is key to understanding the Word.
For me, yes, and yes.
If it is just a symbol why would you bother?
First and foremost because Jesus commanded us to.
Other than that, it's a good reminder of the sacrifice that HE made for us and what it cost Him and a good opportunity for introspection and letting God speak to you through the Holy Spirit.
Please remember, without the shedding of blood is no remission of sin. That doesn't read 'without the consuming of blood', it reads without the shedding of blood, and Jesus analogized that coming sacred act by offering a cup of wine, one of the several used in the Passover ritual. But Jesus did not drink from that last cup, telling His disciples He would not make that celebration again until in the Heavenly Kingdom (see Luke's rendering of the Last Supper scene).
In John's Gospel we read the scene where the legalists, seeking an escape clause whereby they could do something to earn God's Grace or have God owe to them His Grace, Jesus told them the thing required by God is to simply believe in He Whom God has sent for their deliverance. These legalists pressed Him further by trying to insinuate He was instructing His followers to do unlawful things.
Jesus then drove them away by telling them, using a conflation of analogies, that they should consider His flesh as bread indeed, tying His coming down from Heaven for them to the manna which came down each night in the desert. This was too much for too many legalists because they saw only the physical application, not the spiritual Truth Jesus was conveying.
AFTER these literalists left His company, Jesus explained to His disciples what He was doing and why eating his body in the bread would profit nothing, that it is the spiritual act symbolized with the breaking and eating of the bread that profits the Spirit side of man, connecting the will of man tot he Grace of God.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding the ritual Jesus instituted, where do we assume Paul got his information? Paul knew that the symbolism on a physical plane has spiritual significance in the spirit/soul realm. If Paul had been sticking strictly to the physical cannibalistic ritual the catholic religion asserts to its adherents, would Paul have used the term 'unworthily'? Think about it: when one runs a race, the rewards ceremony is symbolic affirmation of the race, not an actual life or death finality. There were pagan rites of sport that did have mortality issues for winning or not, but Paul is writing to believers, to people who have been born from above, already in the family of Jesus, already possessing eternal life by God's Promise.
To do the remembrance unworthily is understood to being holding onto sin in the life such that making the outward symbolism of accepting Jesus sacrifice makes them spiritually unworthy.
Paul goes even further to tell those who would do this unworthily that they are responsible for NOT OBTAINING the prayed for healings others worthy of His sacrifice obtain when they pray and The Holy Spirit responds to their prayers ... responds not to their taking into the belly but having taken into their soul the Life Jesus offers by The Grace of God in Christ. As Jesus instructed the body profiteth nothing (for eating into the alimentary tract is physical consumption), it is the spirit that quickeneth in the souls and spirit realm, not the belly.
And lastly, the story of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the results of lying to the Holy Spirit/trying to counterfeit Holy Spirit leadership. They died.