Of what do the emblems of bread and wine remind us? The unleavened bread reminds us of Jesus’ body of flesh, how he “suffered in the flesh” (1 Pet. 4:1); how he gave his fleshly body “in behalf of the life of the world” (John 6:51); how he is “the Lamb that was slaughtered” (Rev. 5:12); and how the Law covenant was taken “out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.” (Col. 2:14) The emblem of red wine reminds us of how Jesus has served as our Ransomer in that we have been delivered by the “precious blood” of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:19); and how his lifeblood was used to validate the new covenant into which his joint heirs are brought (1 Cor. 11:25). While those of the “great crowd” do not partake of the emblems, they are reminded of the benefits of Jesus’ action and of the new covenant through which many benefits result to them. (Rev. 7:9, 10, 14) Truly, Jehovah has arranged for our deliverance through the atoning power of Christ’s sacrifice, not only for the anointed ones but also for all those given the opportunity to gain everlasting life here on earth.​—Lev. 16:11; 1 John 2:2.

What kinds of bread and wine are to be used? Since Jesus took unleavened bread that was used normally for the Passover, we today use unleavened bread. Some Jewish matzos are made with only wheat flour and water, and such may be used by Christians at the Memorial celebration. But we would not use matzos made with added ingredients, such as salt, sugar, malt, eggs, onions, and so forth.

Some Witnesses may prefer to make a small quantity of unleavened bread out of flour (wheat, rice or other grain) and water. This can be done as follows: Mix one and a half cups of flour with one cup of water, making a moist dough. On a flat surface, well dusted with flour, roll the dough to a wafer thickness, or as thin as possible. Place this on a baking pan or cookie sheet, generously forking small holes in the dough, and form it into a flat loaf. Bake in hot oven until it is dry and crisp.

Wine provided for the Memorial should be real red wine as was used by the Jews in their Passover celebrations. We notice that at Matthew 26:29 Jesus refers to the “product of the vine,” which, at that time of the year, could be only fermented wine. Unadulterated red grape wine is the only appropriate reminder of Jesus’ shed blood. Christ’s blood was sufficient without additives, so the wine used should be just unsweetened, unfortified, red wine. If difficulty is foreseen in obtaining the emblems, then preparations could be made well in advance to obtain them. Since the emblems in themselves are not sacred, after the celebration is over and the meeting dismissed, the bread and wine may be taken home and considered common, to be used at some other time as normal.​—1 Sam. 21:4.