People of the World SS Class

Dr. Robert C. Newman

30 July 2000

TheLord=s Supper

This observance is also knownas (Holy) Communion (from the idea of table fellowship), the Eucharist (fromthe Greek word for giving thanks [over the bread and wine]), and the Mass (fromthe Latin, for dismissal of the non-baptized from the service before the supperbegins). This is one of the twoprimary ceremonies (ordinances or sacraments) that are established in the NewTestament for the observance of Christians, the other being Baptism. A few Christian groups observeFoot-Washing as another such ordinance, and the Roman Catholic Church addsseveral more, for a total of seven Sacraments.

Jesus established thisordinance at his last meal with the disciples before his death, and it isnarrated for us in Matthew 26, Mark 14 and Luke 22. Paul describes it in his First letter to the Corinthians,chapter 11, in responding to abuses that had developed. The Gospel of John (in chapter 6)  provides insight into the meaning of theLord=s Supper in Jesus=teaching on an earlier occasion, the day after he fed the 5000.

Matthew 26:26-30: (26)While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave itto his disciples, saying, ATakeand eat; this is my body.@ (27) Then he took the cup, gave thanksand offered it to them, saying, ADrink from it, all of you. (28) This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many forthe forgiveness of sins. (29) Itell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that daywhen I drink if anew with you in my Father=s kingdom.@ (30) When they hadsung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

It appears that the Bible=s liturgical ceremonies were designed to be Aacted parables,@ inwhich the physical actions of the priest, worshiper, pastor, etc., symbolizedthe spiritual significance of something God is doing B an Aearthly storywith a heavenly meaning.@ We arenot always told just what this significance is, but some are easy toguess. Animal sacrifice is thedeath of an innocent substitute in place of the sinner who offers thesacrifice. Circumcision is theremoval of sinful flesh, probably also a picture of the cutting off of thepromised Seed who was to come. Thetemple liturgy reminds the worshiper of the difficulty of approaching Godbecause of our sins, but that God has provided a way of approach.  In the New Testament, baptism isobviously a cleansing, and pictures our identifying ourselves with Jesus in hisdeath, burial and resurrection.

What is the significance ofthe Lord=s Supper? Each worshiper eats a small piece of (usually unleavened) bread anddrinks a sip of wine or grape juice, while the pastor reads one of the NTpassages mentioned above. Jesus,in instituting the supper, explained that the bread was his body, Abroken@ for believers,that the wine was Athe New Covenant in his blood.@

Jesus took the first Lord=s Supper from the Jewish Passover service.  There the flesh of a sacrificed lambwas eaten. This was  to remind the worshipers of the deathof that lamb whose blood was sprinkled on the doorposts of the house of eachIsraelite family at the time of the Exodus, when they left Egypt.  The blood was to protect them from thedeath angel that was going to kill the firstborn of each Egyptian family.  The Passover event then led to theExodus, the redemption of Israel from their slavery in Egypt.  In the Lord=s supper, the bread and wine replace the meat, as thisceremony is designed to be observed when there will be no temple forsacrifices. Besides, Jesus himselfis the final sacrifice toward which all other sacrifices pointed.

The Lord=s Supper, like the Passover, is thus a mealcommemorating God=s redemption, but now that redemption is seen to bethrough the death of his Son Jesus Christ. It looks backward to his death for us (see Mt 26:26-30, Mk14:22-25, Lk 22:14-23, and 1 Cor 11:23-26).

But the Lord=s Supper also looks forward (Mt 26:29, Mk 14:25, Lk22:18, 1 Cor 11:26). Jesus toldhis disciples he would not again drink of the fruit of the vine until he drankit with them new in the kingdom of God. Paul tells us we are by this observance to Ashow the Lord=sdeath until he comes.@ We eat amere bite and drink only a sip to remind us of that great banquet which we willone day have with Jesus when he comes (Isa 25:6-8, Ps 22:22-31, Ps23:5-6). See also Jesus= parables about the banquet (Mt 22:1-14, Lk 14:15-24)and his remarks concerning the Roman centurion in Mt 8:10-12.  The Lord=s Supper is another example of the Aalready,but not yet@ theme that is so common in the New Testament.  With Jesus= first coming, the end of the age has already begun,but it is not yet what it will be when he comes again.

Lastly, the Lord=s Supper looks at our present situation as believersin Christ, still living in a sinful world between Jesus= first and second comings. This is seen most clearly in John 6:30-35, 47-51, and53-58. Unless we Aeat Jesus=flesh@ and Adrink hisblood,@ we have no life in ourselves, but if we do drink andeat, we will live forever. Eatingand drinking Christ not what happens when we participate in the Lord=s Supper, but The Lord=s Supper pictures this. ByJesus= death, we have eternal life, just as by the death ofplants and animals we humans have physical life. But we must accept his death and appropriate it toourselves, just as we must eat ordinary foods in order to get theirnourishment. Each day, as we dependupon what Christ has done, he provides us with that which is necessary toeternal life, namely forgiveness from our sins, the gift of his righteousness,and the power of the Holy Spirit within us to help us become more and more likeJesus.