The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance
that is to be observed repeatedly throughout our Christian lives, as a sign of
continuing in fellowship with Christ.
Jesus
instituted the Lord’s Supper in the following way:
Now
as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it
to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and
when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you;
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the
vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. (Matt.
26:26–29)
Paul
adds the following sentences from the tradition he received (1 Cor. 11:23):
This
cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of me. (1 Cor. 11:25)
Is
there a background to this ceremony in the Old Testament? It seems that there
is, for there were instances of eating and drinking in the presence of God in
the old covenant as well. For example, when the people of Israel were camped
before Mount Sinai, just after God had given the Ten Commandments, God called
the leaders of Israel up to the mountain to meet with him:
Then
Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,
and they saw the God of Israel … they
beheld God, and ate and drank. (Ex. 24:9–11)
Moreover,
every year the people of Israel were to tithe (give one-tenth of) all their
crops. Then the law of Moses specified,
Before the Lord your God in the
place which he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil,
and the firstlings of your herd and flock; that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always … You shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice you and
your household. (Deut. 14:23, 26)
But even earlier than that, God
had put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and given them all of its abundance
to eat (except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Since
there was no sin in that situation, and since God had created them for
fellowship with himself and to glorify himself, then every meal that Adam and
Eve ate would have been a meal of feasting in the presence of the Lord.
When this fellowship in God’s
presence was later broken by sin, God still allowed some meals (such as the
tithe of fruits mentioned above) that the people would eat in his presence.
These meals were a partial restoration of the fellowship with God that Adam and
Eve enjoyed before the Fall, even though it was marred by sin. But the
fellowship of eating in the presence of the Lord that we find in the Lord’s
Supper is far better. The Old Testament sacrificial meals continually pointed
to the fact that sins were not yet paid for, because the sacrifices in them
were repeated year after year, and because they looked forward to the Messiah
who was to come and take away sin (see Heb. 10:1–4). The Lord’s Supper,
however, reminds us that Jesus’ payment for our sins has already been
accomplished, so we now eat in the Lord’s presence with great rejoicing.
Yet even the Lord’s Supper looks
forward to a more wonderful fellowship meal in God’s presence in the future,
when the fellowship of Eden will be restored and there will be even greater
joy, because those who eat in God’s presence will be forgiven sinners now
confirmed in righteousness, never able to sin again. That future time of great
rejoicing and eating in the presence of God is hinted at by Jesus when he says,
“I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you
in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29). We are told more explicitly in
Revelation about the marriage supper of the Lamb: “And the angel said to me,
“Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the
Lamb” ’ (Rev. 19:9). This will be a time of great rejoicing in the
presence of the Lord, as well as a time of reverence and awe before him.
From Genesis to Revelation, then,
God’s aim has been to bring his people into fellowship with himself, and one of
the great joys of experiencing that fellowship is the fact that we can eat and
drink in the presence of the Lord. It would be healthy for the church today to
recapture a more vivid sense of God’s presence at the table of the Lord.
The meaning of the Lord’s Supper
is complex, rich, and full. There are several things symbolized and affirmed in
the Lord’s Supper.
1. Christ’s Death. When we
participate in the Lord’s supper we symbolize the death of Christ because our
actions give a picture of his death for us. When the bread is broken it
symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body, and when the cup is poured out it
symbolizes the pouring out of Christ’s blood for us. This is why participating
in the Lord’s Supper is also a kind of proclamation: “For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1
Cor. 11:26).
2. Our Participation in the
Benefits of Christ’s Death. Jesus commanded his disciples, “Take, eat; this is
my body” (Matt. 26:26). As we individually reach out and take the cup for
ourselves, each one of us is by that action proclaiming, “I am taking the
benefits of Christ’s death to myself.” When we do this we give a symbol of the
fact that we participate in or share in the benefits earned for us by the death
of Jesus.
3. Spiritual Nourishment. Just as
ordinary food nourishes our physical bodies, so the bread and wine of the
Lord’s Supper give nourishment to us. But they also picture the fact that there
is spiritual nourishment and refreshment that Christ is giving to our souls—indeed,
the ceremony that Jesus instituted is in its very nature designed to teach us
this. Jesus said,
Unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who 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. As the living Father sent me,
and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
(John 6:53–57)
Certainly Jesus is not speaking
of a literal eating of his flesh and blood. But if he is not speaking of a
literal eating and drinking, then he must have in mind a spiritual
participation in the benefits of the redemption he earns. This spiritual
nourishment, so necessary for our souls, is both symbolized and experienced in
our participation in the Lord’s Supper.
4. The Unity of Believers. When
Christians participate in the Lord’s Supper together they also give a clear sign
of their unity with one another. In fact, Paul says, “Because there is one
bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1
Cor. 10:17).
When we put these four things
together, we begin to realize some of the rich meaning of the Lord’s Supper:
when I participate I come into the presence of Christ; I remember that he died
for me; I participate in the benefits of his death; I receive spiritual
nourishment; and I am united with all other believers who participate in this
Supper. What great cause for thanksgiving and joy is to be found in this Supper
of the Lord!
But in addition to these truths
visibly portrayed by the Lord’s Supper, the fact that Christ has instituted
this ceremony for us means that by it he is also promising or affirming certain
things to us as well. When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we should be
reminded again and again of the following affirmations that Christ is making to
us:
5. Christ Affirms His Love for
Me. The fact that I am able to participate in the Lord’s Supper—indeed, that
Jesus invites me to come—is a vivid reminder and visual reassurance that Jesus
Christ loves me individually and personally. When I come to take of the Lord’s
Supper I thereby find reassurance again and again of Christ’s personal love for
me.
6. Christ Affirms That All the
Blessings of Salvation Are Reserved for Me. When I come at Christ’s invitation
to the Lord’s Supper, the fact that he has invited me into his presence assures
me that he has abundant blessings for me. In this Supper I am actually eating
and drinking at a foretaste of the great banquet table of the King. I come to
his table as a member of his eternal family. When the Lord welcomes me to this
table, he assures me that he will welcome me to all the other blessings of
earth and heaven as well, and especially to the great marriage supper of the
Lamb, at which a place has been reserved for me.
Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004.
For more on Communion, click HERE and listen to my recent sermon on Communion.
