diff --git a/lib/liquid/variable_lookup.rb b/lib/liquid/variable_lookup.rb
index 92f57c83..5f9d4f13 100644
--- a/lib/liquid/variable_lookup.rb
+++ b/lib/liquid/variable_lookup.rb
@@ -10,21 +10,20 @@ module Liquid
     end
 
     def initialize(markup)
-      lookups = markup.scan(VariableParser)
+      @lookups = markup.scan(VariableParser)
 
-      name = lookups.shift
+      name = @lookups.shift
       if name =~ SQUARE_BRACKETED
         name = Expression.parse($1)
       end
       @name = name
 
-      @lookups = lookups
       @command_flags = 0
 
       @lookups.each_index do |i|
-        lookup = lookups[i]
+        lookup = @lookups[i]
         if lookup =~ SQUARE_BRACKETED
-          lookups[i] = Expression.parse($1)
+          @lookups[i] = Expression.parse($1)
         elsif COMMAND_METHODS.include?(lookup)
           @command_flags |= 1 << i
         end