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INTRODUCTION - THE LORD'S SUPPER
Just what is the Lord's Supper?
Some take the symbols of Christ's death every week, some monthly and some
at Passover season each year.
Is all this reflection upon his death what Christ intended?
If not how should we view verses such as this?
1 Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
Did Christ really intend to establish a new ritual?
Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which
is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me".
Does the following text mean one can become physically sick or even die
from improperly partaking of the Lord's Supper?
1 Cor 11:29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner
eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body.
:30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you,
and many sleep.
Bread and wine are of course symbols, representing the flesh (ie body) and
blood of Christ, but are not the flesh and blood also symbols?
John 6:55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is
drink indeed.
:54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the
last day.
Is merely eating some bread and drinking some wine, while considering the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all that is being asked of Christians?
Is there a much greater depth of meaning beneath the surface teaching of
these verses?
INSTIGATION - BREAD AND WINE
These verses record the initial observance of the bread and wine.
Matt 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it
and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said,
'Take, eat; this is My body'.
:27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to
them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.
:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins.
:29 But 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 Fathers kingdom.'
Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it
and broke it, and gave it to them and said, 'Take,
eat; this is My body'.
:23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He
gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
:24 And He said to them, 'This is My blood of the new
covenant, which is shed for many.
:25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of
the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink
it new in the kingdom of God.'
Luke 22:14 And when the hour had come, He sat down, and the
twelve apostles with Him.
:15 Then He said to them, 'With fervent desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer;
:16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until
it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God'.
:17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said,
'Take this and divide it among yourselves;
:18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of
the vine until the kingdom of God comes'.
:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'.
:20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper saying,
'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which
is shed for you'.
The bread and wine were consumed the night before the death of Christ.
This night was Passover night. This Passover, was the Passover observed
in private homes in accord with the requirements of Exodus 12:6-14.
The bread 'broke' was unleavened bread, bread baked without yeast.
This being the type of bread eaten on Passover night, Exodus 12:8.
We find in 1st Corinthians 11:17-34 an apparent confirmation of the Lord's
Supper ceremony.
1 Cor 11:17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you,
since you come together not for the better but for
the worse.
:18 For first of all, when you come together as a church,
I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part
I believe it.
:19 For there must also be factions among you, that those
who are approved may be recognized among you.
:20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is
not to eat the Lord's Supper.
:21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of
others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
:22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or
do you despise the church of God and shame those who
have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise
you in this? I do not praise you.
:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered
to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which
He was betrayed took bread;
:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
"Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you;
do this in remembrance of Me."
:25 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."
:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.
:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup
of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of
the body and blood of the Lord.
:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
the bread and drink of the cup.
:29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats
and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the
Lord's body.
:30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and
many sleep.
:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord,
that we may not be condemned with the world.
:33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat,
wait for one another.
:34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you
come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in
order when I come.
In this passage of 1st Corinthians, Paul is dealing with the behaviour of
the Corinth members when they came together as a church.
The question which is unclear from the text is whether the church was
partaking of a literal meal or whether Paul was using the analogy of
a literal meal to symbolise their behaviour in respect to the spiritual
meal they should have been sharing.
SYMBOLIC MEANING OF BREAD
The bread is symbolic of the body or more accurately the flesh of Christ.
Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is
given for you; ...'
John 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is
written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat'.
:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven,
but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
:35 And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He
who comes to Me shall never hunger ...
:48 I am the bread of life.
:50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that
one may eat of it and not die.
:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If
anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and
the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall
give for the life of the world.
:53 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.
:54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
:55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink
indeed.
:56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me,
and I in him.
:57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of
the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because
of Me.
:58 This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as
your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats
this bread will live forever."
Christ is comparing Himself to the manna which was fed to the children of
Israel. He states that He is the true living bread which descended from
heaven. A bread which brings eternal life.
This 'bread' being His flesh and His blood.
Many hearing these words of Christ took Him literally, so it was necessary
for Him to clarify His message.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and
they are life.
John chapter 1 identifies Christ as the 'Word'.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
:2 He was in the beginning with God.
:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, ...
In Mark 4:13-20 we have the 'parable of the sower'. Notice what is sown.
Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word.
:20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those
who hear the word, accept it and bear fruit: some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
These verses make it fairly apparent that the 'body of Christ', also
described as the 'flesh of Christ' or 'living bread', is actually the
words of God.
The following verse confirms this.
Matt 4:4 ... Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
The words of God are the true spiritual bread!
When Christ said,
"Take eat; this is My body"
and
"do this in remembrance of Me",
He was instructing His disciples to EAT THE WORDS OF GOD!
SYMBOLIC MEANING OF WINE
We know 'wine' is symbolic of the 'blood of Christ'.
Matt 26:27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it
to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.
:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins.
However, 'wine' is also symbolic of 'teaching'.
Matt 9:17 "Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else
the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the
wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new
wineskins, and both are preserved."
Luke 5:39 "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires
new; for he says, 'The old is better'."
Christ is stating that one can not easily place new teaching into someone
who has grown accustomed to old teaching.
The question we have to ask is,
'In the Lord's Supper, is the 'blood of Christ', being used by
Scripture as a symbol for 'teaching'?
To help us answer this question we need to consider the bread. In
the prior page it was noted that the bread of the Lord's Supper was
'unleavened'. The following helps explain the symbolism of bread
made without leaven.
Matt 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, 'Take heed and beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.'
:8 ... O you of little faith ...
:11 How is it you do not understand ...
:12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to
beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine
of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
[ Many have been taught 'leaven' equates to 'sin',
but as this verse shows it equates to 'doctrine'
or 'teaching'. Depending on the context the
teaching maybe that of man or that of God. ]
The bread of the Lord's Supper represented bread without 'teaching'!
For this reason it was necessary to include in the Lord's Supper an
entity which would symbolise 'teaching', hence the addition of the
wine!
This helps us to understand Christ's message;
Matt 26:28 For this is My blood [My teaching] of the new
covenant, which is shed [poured forth] for
many for the [purpose of bringing] remission
[forgiveness] of sins.
Scripture confirms this viewpoint.
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with
them after those days, says the LORD: I will put
My laws into their hearts, and in their minds
I will write them,
:17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless
deeds I will remember no more".
Realizing 'blood' equals 'teaching' also helps us understand Christ's
following comment.
Matt 26:29 But 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 Fathers kingdom.'
Luke 22:15 Then He said to them, 'With fervent desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer;
:16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until
it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God'.
We have here an assurance that no more words or teaching would be
presented before the people of God, other than those present in the
Old and New Testaments, prior to the establishment of the kingdom
of God.
[ NB: For many centuries fundamental Christianity has considered the
shedding of Christ's literal blood was what brought forgiveness
of sins. However, what really brings forgiveness of sin is the
adoption of the teachings of Christ. ]
Christ was instructing His disciples to, DRINK HIS TEACHINGS.
THE TRUE LORD'S SUPPER
The true Lord's Supper is that which is offered on the Lord's table!
1Cor 10:21 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.
In the Old Testament the Lord's table was placed outside the veil on
the north side (opposite the golden candlestick).
Exod 40:22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting,
on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the
veil;
Upon this table was placed the showbread (twelve cakes) and
frankincense.
Lev 24:5 And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes
with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each
cake.
:6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on
the pure gold table before the LORD.
:7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row,
that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an
offering made by fire to the LORD.
The book of Malachi makes mention of the Lord's table.
Mal 1:7 You offer defiled food on My altar. But say,
'In what way have we defiled You?' By saying,
'The table of the LORD is contemptible.'
:12 But you profane it, In that you say, 'The
table of the LORD is defiled; And its fruit,
its food, is contemptible.'
The book of Proverbs also makes an allusion to the table of the Lord.
Prov 9:1 Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out
her seven pillars;
:2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed
her wine, She has also furnished her table.
:3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out
from the highest places of the city,
:4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"
As for him who lacks understanding, she says
to him,
:5 "Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine
I have mixed.
:6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the
way of understanding.
In 1st Corinthians chapter 10 we are advised of the nature of the food
presented on this table. (Paul is also stating that at least some of this
nourishment was available in the time of Moses.)
1Cor 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware
that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed
through the sea,
:2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea,
:3 all ate the same spiritual food,
:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them,
and that Rock was Christ.
The Lord's Supper is a spiritual meal!
A parable found in the book of Luke that Christ informs us that those
invited to this meal will make excuses not to partake.
Luke 14:15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with
Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed
is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
:16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a
great supper and invited many,
:17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to
those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are
now ready.'
:18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses.
The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of
ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have
me excused.'
:19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me
excused.'
:20 Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come.'
:21 So that servant came and reported these things to
his master. Then the master of the house, being
angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into
the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in
here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the
blind.'
:22 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you
commanded, and still there is room.'
:23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into
the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.
:24 'For I say to you that none of those men who were
invited shall taste my supper.'"
The true Lord's Supper is that which God has provided for us on the
table of the Lord. It is a spiritual meal and we have to take care
to heed God's invitation to partake of it.
SUMMARY - LORD'S SUPPER
The 'Lord's Supper' is a spiritual meal of spiritual food and drink.
Bread = word of God
Wine = teaching
Christians in being directed to break bread and drink the cup are
being told to,
- Eat the Word of God
- Drink of its Teachings
Jesus Christ was the Word of God in human form. It was for this reason
that Christ told His followers that if they desired eternal life they
would have to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood.
This spiritual meal was designed to enable us to grow 'spiritually'.
To grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God.
In the temple of God the meal was symbolically presented on the golden
table, which was placed outside the veil on the north side.
Scripture advises us that those Christians who fail to partake of this
great supper in a proper manner are likely to become spiritually sick
and may even spiritually die.
Jesus in asking His disciples to 'do this in remembrance of Me' was
asking His disciples to honour His memory by paying due diligence to
the word and teaching of God.
Contrary to the understanding of most church groups Christ did not
intend to establish a new 'New Testament' ritual, nor was He asking
His followers to morbidly dwell on His suffering and death.
Rather, Christ and God were placing emphasis upon the need to read
and study the word of God, so as to ensure the presence of a continuing
process of growth in the lives of individuals striving for the kingdom
of God.
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