They are only symbols. The Gospel of Matthew reports: “Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said: ‘Take, eat. This means my body.’ Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: ‘Drink out of it, all of you; for this means my “blood of the covenant,” which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.’” See Matthew 26:26-28. Some believe that Jesus turned the bread into his literal flesh and the wine into his blood. However, Jesus’ fleshly body was still intact when he offered this bread. Were Jesus’ apostles really eating his literal flesh and drinking his blood? No, for that would have been cannibalism and a violation of God’s law. (Genesis 9:3, 4; Leviticus 17:10) According to Luke 22:20, Jesus said: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.” Did that cup literally become “the new covenant”? That would be impossible, since a covenant is an agreement, not a tangible object. So, both the bread and the wine are only symbols. The bread symbolizes Christ’s perfect body. Jesus used a loaf of bread left over from the Passover meal. The loaf was made without any leaven, or yeast. (Exodus 12:8) The Bible uses leaven as a symbol of sin or corruption. The bread therefore represents the perfect body that Jesus sacrificed. It was free of sin. See also—Matthew 16:11, 12; 1 Corinthians 5:6, 7; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 2:1, 2.

They are symbols. Can you imagine what kind of reliegion would really be eating flesh and blood?? Ewww gross!!

Matthew 26:26-29 Mark 14:22-25 Luke 22:17-20 For instance here: http://www.biblegateway.com/ Every text says about the same: - he took bread, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: [Take it] "This is my body." - he took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." [and they all drank from it] So it was just a perfectly normal bread which he took and that they ate, and it was a perfectly normal wine that he took and that they drank. He did not change the bread into flesh or the wine into blood. On the other hand, he *said* that what they were eating was his body and that what they were drinking was his blood. So, if he were right, you must assume that his body is partly made of bread, and his blood partly made of wine. And this would not be very surprising, because if he is God, there is nothing in the universe that is not a part of God. I think they just had to understand this and had to think about it in the future. The supper was then a way of remembering.

I think that it can be argued either way siting scripture and church traditions. For me, it is not a moral issue. It's a doctrinal one and will not matter one way or the other in one's salvation. It seems pointless to bother with arguing the point. In this case, I think it's ok for one to believe either way. I believe they are symbols and not the actual body and blood of Christ.

This has been a great source of debate down the centuries, and the cause of a lot of bad blood.(something that should NEVER have happened) The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches favour a literal interpretion based on the fact that Jesus says "This is my body/blood" The Lutherans straddle a middle ground by saying that although the bread and wine do not turn into the body and blood of Christ, he is, nevertheless, spiritually present in the sacrament. Other Protestants favour a symbolic interpretation due to Christ's words that follow the "This is my ..." statements, which read "Do this, in remembrance of me " (Luke 22:19) The Scriptures do really favour the symbolic interpretation by the fact that: 1)Jesus is still alive when he says the words "This is my..." 2)He is instituting a new covenant, using the same elements as the old covenant (bread and wine were shared at Passover to commemorate the Exodus, the unleavened bread reminding them of the haste they had to leave in and the wine symbolising the work of God.) 3) Jesus uses similar visual symbols when he refers to himself as The Gate, The Shepherd, The True Vine etc