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Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew 28:19 |
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The Lord’s Supper
Written by David Banks
In reference to the Lord’s Supper there are a couple of terms that are consistently used which but represent different aspects. The Lord’s Supper is a term that is often used to describe what happened as Jesus and His disciples reclined around the table in the upper room to partake of the Passover on the night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Matthew recorded that in the midst of the meal “Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins…” (Matthew 26:26). The term “Lord’s Supper” is also the term that Paul used when he wrote to the church in Corinth (1Corinthians 11:20).
Communion is a term that represents another facet of the
Lord’s Supper. On the day that Jesus instituted the
Lord’s Supper, after eating the bread and drinking the
fruit of the vine, He said to His disciples, “I say to you,
I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that
day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s
kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29). The kingdom to which He referred
is the church. It gives the idea that when we partake of the
Lord’s Supper Jesus is in our midst partaking with us.
Paul used the idea of communion in the first Corinthian letter to
represent the union that is created by the partaking of the
Lord’s Supper. He wrote, “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?” (1Corinthians 10:16). The word communion denotes
the idea of fellowship or sharing, to give the understanding that
when we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are actually in
fellowship with the Lord; sharing in the sacrifice of His body
and blood as He gave Himself to die on the cross. We, in
partaking of this communion, become united with Jesus Christ.
The idea of communion is also extended to include all Christians.
Paul continued to write to the church in Corinth, “For we,
though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of
that one bread.” (1Corinthians 10:17). When we are
partaking of the Lord’s Supper, not only are we in
communion with the Lord, but we are also in communion with all
Christians who are partaking of that communion. To further stress
the importance of this concept of communion, consider what Jesus
said in the gospel according to John. Speaking to the multitude
of disciples who followed Him wherever He went, He said,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I
will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56). Having
this understanding of the terms and events that define the
important role that the Lord’s Supper plays should make us
realize that the Lord’s Supper should be considered as a
solemn event in the life of every Christian.
There are other important matters to consider in regard to the
partaking of the Lord’s Supper. There is also some
interesting Old Testament symbolism and historical information to
consider in ascertaining the background and form of the
Lord’s Supper. This, I believe, is the basis upon which
Jesus drew in originating the Lord’s Supper. The gleanings
from this information form the best evidence we have for what to
think about as we are partaking, how often we should partake and
many other implications of our participation in this great
event.
It is not possible to separate the Lord’s Supper from the
Biblical celebration of Passover. As mentioned, it was during the
feast of the Passover, on the night Jesus was betrayed, that
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Jesus not only borrowed
the physical elements (unleavened bread and fruit of the vine) of
the Passover feast, He also borrowed on the symbolic significance
of those elements.
Jesus took the unleavened bread of the feast, broke it and said,
“Take, Eat; this is My body.” To the children of
Israel the unleavened bread symbolized God’s deliverance
from Egyptian captivity (Exodus 12:17-20; 13:3-10). He took the
fruit of the vine (grape juice), and said, “This is My
blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins.” The blood of the Passover was the blood
of a lamb without spot or blemish. The children of Israel spread
the blood on the lintel and doorposts of their houses as a sign
so that the Lord should pass over them; but in every household in
Egypt that did not have the blood the Lord struck that house
killing the firstborn of man and beast (Exodus 12). Jesus gave
His body and shed His blood as a sacrifice for us. He is our
Passover. The apostle Paul applied this in a New Testament
context. He wrote, “Purge out the old leaven, that you may
be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ,
our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth.” (1Corinthians 5:7-8). In this context, leaven (or
yeast) represents sin or sinful persons who can have a bad
influence in the church. In this context, therefore, the
unleavened bread represents purity and truth.
Even though Jesus made a clear connection between the Passover
and the Lord’s Supper, it should be stressed that we, as
New Testament Christians, cannot partake of the Passover. The
Passover was strictly a Jewish celebration; foreigners were
excluded (Exodus 12:43-49). The Lord’s Supper does not
commemorate the deliverance from Israel, but rather the sacrifice
of Christ. The Lord’s Supper does not glorify the Old
Testament, but rather it represents the new covenant in Christ.
In instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus was not
re-instituting the Passover. On the other hand, the symbolism
cannot be ignored. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Passover. He
was sacrificed for us. His blood cleanses us by washing away our
sins. In His physical existence His body was sinless in
unleavened purity. The blood of the lamb of the Passover
represented the Israelite’s deliverance from Egypt; but the
blood of Christ represents our deliverance from sin. Luke,
writing about the night that Jesus instituted the Lord’s
Supper, recorded these words of Jesus about the Passover,
“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat
of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke
22:15-16). The Lord’s Supper is the New Testament
fulfillment of the Passover.
There is much disagreement about how often Christians should
partake of the Lord’s Supper. For whatever we do, in a
religious context, we need to have authority. In studying the
Bible we find that there are varying levels of authority. For
example, we know that we are on solid ground when we have a
direct command – Simple: we hear, understand and obey.
There are, however, a number of things that are Biblical
requirements, for which we do not have direct commands. For
example, we have a direct command to partake of the Lord’s
Supper, but we do not have a direct command to tell us how often
we should partake. In the absence of a direct command we do our
best to be as Biblically accurate as possible. Based on my best
understanding of the Biblical evidence, I am convinced that God
intends for His church to partake of the Lord’s Supper on
the first day of every week. Even though we do not have a direct
command we do have evidence to help us determine how often we
should partake.
One way to determine the frequency is to examine the purpose and
importance of the Lord’s Supper. As we have already seen,
in partaking of the Lord’s Supper we are participating in
communion with Christ and with our fellow Christians. Communion
is just one of the purposes accomplished by the Lord’s
Supper; another purpose is remembrance. In the Corinthian letter
Paul quoted Jesus saying, “Take, eat; this is My body which
is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the
same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,
‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as
often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often
as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord’s death till He comes.” (1Corinthians 11:24-26).
We should understand that when we partake of the Lord’s
Supper, we do so in order to remember the sacrifice made for us
by Christ. In remembering the sacrifice made for us we are also
reminded of the commitment we have made to Christ. This is
something that should be done often.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Observe Israel after the flesh:
Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is
offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I
do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of
the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we
provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”
(1Corinthians 10:18-22). Again, the point is made, that partaking
of the Lord’s Supper is to be a constant reminder to us
that we belong to Christ. When we partake of the Lord’s
Supper on a weekly basis, we are, in essence, rededicating
ourselves to Christ every time we partake. By partaking of the
Lord’s Supper on the first day of each week, we are
affirming that our commitment to Christ comes first.
The strongest authority specifically related to partaking on the
first day of each week comes from New Testament examples. We know
that the early Christians met on the first day of each week. Luke
wrote, “Now on the first day of the week, when the
disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the
next day, spoke to them and continued his message until
midnight.” (Acts 20:7). A close examination of this passage
and its context reveals that Paul had waited seven days in Troas
for the purpose of meeting with the brethren. He waited the seven
days because the disciples routinely met on the first day of the
week. They met for the specific purpose of “breaking
bread.” It should not be understood that these Christians
were coming together to share a common meal, but rather that the
breaking of bread refers to the Lord’s Supper. Luke also
wrote that in the days following the day of Pentecost, after the
Jews obeyed the gospel to become Christians by being baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins,
“They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
(Acts 2:42). Here again we see the breaking of bread not as a
common meal but as something to which the early Christians
devoted themselves. It is concluded, therefore, that the early
Christians met together, on the first day of each week to partake
of the Lord Supper. Since they were already coming together on
the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper,
they also used that time to preach and teach the gospel (Acts
20:7-12), give of their means (1Corinthians 16:1-2), encourage
and exhort one another (Hebrews 10:22-25), and to praise and
worship God. These are the same reasons we come together as the
church of Christ today.
The Lord’s Supper should be a great assurance to all
Christians who partake of it. We should never forget the
importance of it. We never neglect it; for neglecting this weekly
reminder of the Lord’s Supper damages our commitment to
Christ and His church. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper on a
regular, weekly, basis, as the early Christians did, brings us
closer in our relationship with Christ and also with our
Christian brethren, as we come together in a common union.
As the Passover had no significance to non-Jews, so the
Lord’s Supper has no real significance to those who are
outside of Christ. Those who are in Christ are those who have
been baptized into Christ – into His death, burial and
resurrection (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27). This is the
commitment that Christians have made to Christ; and this is the
true significance of the Lord’s Supper that reminds is of
how great a price was paid by Christ for our forgiveness.