Matthew 26:27
Matthew 26:2727Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
The Watchtower acknowledges that Jesus said "drink from it, all of you" at the Last Supper but restricts the application to the 144,000 anointed class. Only those who claim a heavenly hope may partake of the bread and wine ("the emblems") at the annual Memorial of Christ's death. The millions of Jehovah's Witnesses who identify as the "great crowd" or "other sheep" are instructed to attend as respectful observers, passing the bread and wine along without eating or drinking. In 2025, over 20.6 million attended the Memorial worldwide but only 24,576 partook — 99.88% of attendees passed the elements untouched. The Watchtower further teaches that the new covenant referenced by the cup is limited to spiritual Israel (the anointed), and that the great crowd benefits from the covenant only indirectly through association with the anointed remnant.
The Protestant reading emphasises the inclusive scope of Jesus' command. The Greek pantes ("all") in "drink from it, all of you" carries no qualifier — Jesus did not say "all of you who are anointed" or "all of you who have a heavenly hope." He said "all of you," full stop. This verse is paired with , where Jesus makes partaking a condition of having life itself, and with , where Paul says "we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf." The new covenant invoked by the cup (cf. ) is grounded in , which promises forgiveness "from the least to the greatest" — language that directly contradicts a two-class system. is therefore a frontline text against the Watchtower's restriction of communion to a spiritual elite, showing that Jesus intended every believer to eat and drink in remembrance of him.