"This is My Body"

[jimmyjimmy]

it's almost certain that he was giving a new meaning or significance to this meal and to the elements (b&w).

"Almost certain", based on what? You've repeated this a lot. You simply can not live with the fact that it's bread and wine because of this presupposition. You imagine that there *has* to be something more to it. Says who? Not the texts. Not the plain reading of them. And, yes, metaphor is plain reading of many, many texts including Jesus' "I am" sayings.

Was the passover lamb thought to be anything other than lamb?

 

[Rick Otto]

That's one theory, but hardly any church body of any size agrees with it.

While there are many disagreements over the exact meaning of Christ's words there, it's almost certain that he was giving a new meaning or significance to this meal and to the elements (b&w).

Yup. Sign ifignance. A new sign. Gotta admire the elegance in simplicity.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. . .“Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”. . .where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?. . .and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus is the passover lamb. This is what we see going on here. It's not a new thing, but an old thing. Reformed folks understand the continuity of the old and new covenants. God does not change.

We ought to remember not only Christ's death by this meal, but the first passover and all of God's provision for His people through the millennia.

 

[Rick Otto]

I thought most of the gospel was taken up with Jesus' teaching...
You know..."Love One Another".
Isn't that the most important thing in the gospel?

No. You have to have a mysterious miracle that switches off your ability to recognize metaphor, something that evokes enough goose bumps to smooth over all the differences you otherwise notice in your pew mates.