Mat 26:26 Take, eat; this is my body.

Throughout the Gospel, Christ has used bread as a symbol for the physical realities of life. Here, he is explicitly expresses the idea that the bread we eat is the same as our physical bodies. It is important to note here that the term used for body expresses idea of a physical body as the opposite of the spirit or breath that animates the body.

If we judge by the words chosen, Christ is not saying that the bread contains his spirit. He may be saying that the bread, like his body, is temporary, designed only to serve a purpose, that is to animate the spirit. This is more consistent with his use of metaphors throughout the Gospel, where the cycle of spirit>body>mind>relationship>spirit takes us from eternal through the temporal and back to the eternal.

"Take" is from lambanô (lambano) which means "to take," "to receive," "to apprehend with the senses," and "to seize." It is also specifically used to mean seized with emotion.

"Eat" is from phago (phago), which is a form of the word, phagein, which means to eat," "to eat up," and "to devour." A synonym for esthiô (esthio).

"Body" is from sôma (soma), which means "body of man or beast," "living body," "any corporeal substance," "a solid," "a whole of a thing." The word means "body" in the sense of being the opposite of "spirit."