The Meal Jesus Gave Us

by N. T. Wright

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2014

Overview

The Meal Jesus Gave Us, a modern classic, provides a short, simple, and thoroughly biblical guide to the meaning and purpose of Holy Communion. It includes questions for reflections or discussion at the end of each chapter and is ideal for complete beginners, or for anyone wanting a quick and easy refresher course.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Explains the biblical origins of Holy Communion
• Discusses the various ways Christians have understood Holy Communion over the centuries
• Considers the crucial place Holy Communion has in the Christian life today

Contents

• Part One: How It All Began
  • The Birthday Party
  • The Freedom Party
  • The Last Supper (Or Was It the First?)
  • New Meal, New Family
  • New Meal, New Story
  • New Meal, New Life
• Part Two: The Thank-You Party
  • Putting the Story Together Today
  • The Party and the Parties
  • Living in God’s Time
  • Jesus’ Death Then and Now
  • A Taste of What’s To Come
  • The Presence of Jesus
  • The Greatest Drama Ever Staged (Part 1)
  • The Greatest Drama Ever Staged (Part 2)
  • Table Manners and Table Matters

Top Highlights

“This is the tricky bit. Christians believe that in Jesus God’s future came rushing into the present to meet us.” (Page 49)

“God’s future came into the present in Jesus, and so has become part of our past.” (Page 50)

“So when we celebrate Pesach—Passover—we remind ourselves that we are God’s freedom-people. He made us free, and he wants us to be free.’” (Page 12)

“‘Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,’ says Paul, ‘you announce the Lord’s death until he comes.’ The present moment (‘whenever’) somehow holds together the one-off past event (‘the Lord’s death’) and the great future when God’s world will be remade under Jesus’ loving rule (‘until he comes’). Past and future come rushing together into the present, pouring an ocean of meaning into the little bottle of ‘now’” (Page 51)

“Johannes Oecolampadius knew more Hebrew and Aramaic than either Luther or Zwingli. He knew that in Jesus’ sentence there wasn’t a word for ‘is’. Translated literally from Aramaic, Jesus’ words were: ‘This—my body’.” (Page 63)

Praise for the Print Edition

Nothing is more central to Christian practice than Holy Communion. Yet, curiously enough, little attempt is made to explain it. So many outside the Christian community are puzzled by it, and many within the Church go to Communion from habit but know very little about how it arose or what it means. This book is ideal for both types of reader. It is written by one of the foremost New Testament scholars in the world, who has the enviable ability to write with engaging charm . . . Best of all, Professor Wright has written a book that will speak to all types of Christians and unite them over a subject that so often proves divisive.

—Michael Green, honorary fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Product Details

• Title: The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion
• Author: N. T. Wright
• Publisher: SPCK
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 96
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Lord’s Supper
• ISBNs: 9780281072965, 9780281072972, 0281072965, 0281072973
• Resource ID: LLS:MEALJESUSGAVEUS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-07T21:50:02Z

About N. T. Wright

Nicholas Thomas “Tom” Wright (1948–) is a New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian, and Anglican bishop and currently Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St. Mary's College in the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Christianity Today named him one of today's top theologians. 

Wright was born in Morpeth, Northumberland, and recounts an awareness of God's presence from a young age—and that relationship with God ever since is reflected in his life and work. He's a prolific author; one of his most popular books, Surprised by Hope, frames the resurrection of the dead as the appropriate hope for all believers rather than an overemphasis on just "going to heaven when you die." He's among the leading theologians in the New Perspective on Paul debate. Wright has several honorary doctoral degrees, and in 2014, the British Academy awarded him the Burkitt Medal "in recognition of special service to biblical studies." In 2015, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Wright served as chaplain at Cambridge from 1978 to 1981, then as assistant professor of New Testament language and literature at McGill University in Montreal. Before becoming a chaplain, tutor, lecturer, and fellow at Oxford in 1986, Wright served as dean of Lichfield Cathedral, canon theologian of Westminster Abbey, and the bishop of Durham from 2003–10. In addition to the entire New Testament for Everyone Series, some of N. T. Wright's books include The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians, Who Was Jesus, The New Testament and the People of God, God and the Pandemic, Evil and the Justice of God, Surprised by Hope, and Simply Christian. He coauthored Jesus the Final Days with Craig A. Evans.

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Sample Pages from The Meal Jesus Gave Us