---
title: 1 Corinthians 11:26
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-11-26/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-11-26.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Corinthians 11:26
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Corinthians 11:26

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

## JW Usage

JWs observe the Memorial annually, but only the anointed remnant partake of the bread and wine. The "great crowd" attend as respectful observers, passing the emblems without eating or drinking. In 2025, 20.6 million attended the Memorial worldwide while only approximately 24,576 partook — meaning 99.88% of attendees were instructed not to participate in what Jesus commanded.

## Protestant Usage

First Corinthians 11:26 says "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes." Two implications emerge. First, the proclamation is the eating and drinking — watching while the elements pass by is the opposite of what Paul describes. Luke 22:19 says "keep doing this in remembrance of me"; the doing is the eating and drinking, not the observing. Second, the phrase "until he comes" poses a problem for 1914 doctrine: if Jesus already came invisibly in 1914, why does the Memorial continue? The Watchtower's own practice — continuing the Memorial over a century after the claimed parousia — testifies against its own core teaching. Matthew 26:27 records Jesus saying "drink from it, all of you" — the "all" is without restriction or class distinction.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Memorial Problem](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/memorial-1cor11.md) — 1 Corinthians 11:26 [Eschatology]
- [The Communion Denial](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/communion-denial.md) — Matthew 26:27 — 'Drink from It, All of You' [Salvation]
- [This Is, Not This Means](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/this-means-my-body-eucharist.md) — Matthew 26:26 — The Greek Verb Estin at the Last Supper [NWT Translation]