“And as they
were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I
say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that
day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom”
(Matthew 26:26-29, KJV).
The
words of the beautiful song, When We Meet
In Sweet Communion, so appropriately describes the sentiment of the Lord’s
Supper:
When we meet in sweet communion where the feast
divine is spread
Hearts are brought in closer union while
partaking of the bread
God so loved what wondrous measure! Loved and
gave the best of heaven.
Bought us with that matchless treasure, Yea, for
us His life was given
Feast divine, all else surpassing, precious
blood for you and me
While we sup, Christ gently whispers: “Do this
in my memory.”
Chorus:
Precious feast all else surpassing, Wondrous
love for you and me.
While
we feast Christ gently whispers, “Do this in my memory.”
Let
us consider the Meaning of the Supper:
It is a Memorial
Paul
instructs the Corinthian church of Christ that Jesus had taught: “do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor.
11:23-25). It is in the Lord’s Supper where we are to commemorate the death of
Jesus upon the cross whereby He made possible salvation (Mt. 26:28; Eph. 1:7)
and brought about a New Covenant (Heb. 9:16). Just as the Passover was a
memorial of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, so the Lord’s Supper is a memorial
of our Lord’s death, which makes possible our deliverance from the bondage of
sin.
It is a Proclamation
Paul
continued in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as
often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
till He comes.” The Supper preaches a sermon in itself. We are saying we
believe in Jesus’ death for our sins. We are also saying we believe in the
Lord’s return, because we preach this sermon until He comes again. The Lord’s
Supper looks forward as well as backwards, and His disciples who trust in His
redemption and anticipate His return will observe it.
It is a Communion
In
the previous chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul spoke of the Lord’s Supper in terms
of communion or fellowship. “The cup of
blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The
bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we
being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one
bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17). We share in the blood of Christ and in the body
of Christ.
The observance of the Lord’s Supper is to be
done in reverence (1 Cor. 11:27, 29). It is also to be taken with
self-examination of how we partake of it (v. 28). Paul reminds the Corinthians
about “discerning the Lord’s body”
(v. 24, 27). Therefore, when we partake with our minds occupied or pre-occupied
with something other than “remembrance”
of the Lord’s death (v. 26, we become guilty of that death (v. 27) and
ultimately would stand “condemned”
(v. 32).
The observance of the Lord’s Supper is also to
be done with other Christians. The joint participation or “communion” with Christ and with other Christians shows forth a
unity whereby we can rightly be called “one
body” (1 Cor. 10:17). The Corinthians had been guilty of division and
factions and so it was “not possible to
eat the Lord’s Supper” (1 Cor. 11:20). The observance of the Supper was to
be done often. We know it was done weekly (Acts 20:7). It was done on the first
day of each week as evidenced in the weekly assembly of the Corinthian church
(1 Cor. 10-11; 16:1,2).
One has rightly said: “Our spiritual lives are
dependent upon the value and benefits of our Lord’s death on the cross.” Therefore,
a weekly observance of this great memorial helps us to live appreciatively and
accordingly.
~Wayne Rodgers
