Remember and Proclaim: The Lord's Supper

Introduction

Good morning everyone, would you open your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

For nearly two thousand years the people of God have done something peculiar. Christians have gathered to participate in a special meal that to outsiders often doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

For unbelievers today it could look like the church has a very small snack at the end of the church service. Pagan Romans during the first couple of centuries of church history believed that the Christians were practicing cannibalism when they heard rumours about this meal where a body and blood was consumed.

There are also a variety of ways that this meal is celebrated.

At different times and in different contexts this meal was (and is) sometimes served daily, sometimes weekly, sometimes (as it is in our own church) monthly, sometimes only yearly.

Likewise, depending on the tradition of the people celebrating this meal, the elements used can be different. Some churches use unleavened bread, some leavened. Some use a cracker, some a waifer. Some churches have used grape juice, some water, some wine, or a mix of any of those.

This peculiar meal as im sure you have guessed already is the Lords supper, communion.

I don’t remember the first time I participated in communion. But a distinct memory I have was when I was around 11 years old, and visiting my friend’s anglican church. At that church the minister brought around a common communion cup. So everyone was drinking from the same cup, which was new to me. When it was my turn to drink from the cup, I expected the sweetness of the same Welches grape juice that we served at my home church, I had assumed that they served it everywhere. Instead, I ended up having my first taste of quite bitter wine. Being ignorant of the taste of wine at that stage in my life, I actually thought that the juice was spoiled by someone elses bad breath. Somehow that became a core memory.

Though our traditions are different in various times and places our goal with communion ought to be the same: That we celebrate the same supper that was instituted by our lord the night that he was betrayed. That we confrom our practice of communion to way that Jesus taught us to practice it. So here’s an important question.

What are we doing when we participate in the lords supper?

The answer to this question is not only important for new believers but something that all believers ought to meditate on. So that when we participate in the Lords supper, we can approach the table confident that our understanding of its meaning is consistent with the word of God, and so we can prepare our hearts to recieve it.

Which takes us to our passage this morning. The Apostle Paul writes in...

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Context

The Apostle Paul is writing here to the church at Corinth. The Corinthian church was dealing with alot of trouble from within her own ranks. Not least of which was improper conduct during their worship gatherings. Paul has some hard words that give us an idea of what was going in verses 17-22.

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 ESV

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

That really has some “disappointed big brother” energy to it.

This was a really bad situation; division, selfishness, even drunkenness.

Ultimately this meal to many in the Corinthian church was about gratifying their desires. They, instead of waiting for their brothers and sisters, went on with their own meal. Instead of providing for those who have nothing they let them go hungry. Instead of practicing god-honoring self control when it came to the communion wine, they got drunk.

It was not the Lord’s supper they were eating, it was their own. And Paul is going to remind them, and us, what we are doing when we participate in the Lords supper.

Exposition

Recieving the Tradition

Tradition - v. 23

v. 23 says,

"For I recieved from the Lord what I also delivered to you,"

So often we can skip over these prepatory verses in order to get to what we think is the meat. But Paul very intentionally included this sentence in his teaching to the Corinthians.

This aspect of our Christian worship, the Lords supper, is an ordinance that was instituted by Jesus and then was handed down.

Though Paul says he recieved it from the Lord, it was probably indirectly recieved. The ordinance of the Lords supper was passed down to him during his time with the disciples after his conversion.

He recieved it and he delivered it to the Corinthians. Paul is speaking here of a tradition.

It’s unfortunate that in modern church culture, tradition is typically thought of as something negative. Too often we think traditon is just the preferences of previous generations being forced on ourselves. What tradition ought to be is the passing down of timeless truth, symbols and customs that enable faith and society to continue. Without something that ties us to the generations that preceded us, we run the risk of losing our sense of identity.

I can’t help but think that much of what we are witnessing culturally right now are some of the results of this loss of tradition in our society.

Sometimes traditions can be wrong headed or even sinful. We see an example of this when Jesus chastizes the Pharisees in Mark 7.

But the Lords Supper is a tradition, a timeless ordinance, that points us to the truth of Christ’s death for us on the cross. it is a tradition that teaches us about who we are in Christ.

This is the kind of tradition that Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians 2:15

2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

The Lord’s Supper is a traditon, and one that was directly instituted by Jesus.

By participating in the Lords supper, we join in with all believers down through the ages around the same table as our lord.

Like Paul recieived it, and passed it on; we recieve it, and pass it on.

As a traditon this is something that we recieve, something we respect, something we honour. It is not an opportunity for self expression, or innovation, but an opportunity to harmonize with the one who instituted it, and with those who have participated in it faithfully through the ages.

The Corinthians made the Lord’s supper about themselves; their desires, their appetites. But Paul says this is about Jesus, if it is not done in Jesus’ way, it is not the Lord’s supper. And every part of the way Jesus instituted his supper was intentional.

Pointing to the Passover - v. 23

In our passage Paul makes note that Jesus instituted the Lords Supper “on the night when he was betrayed”.

Jesus could have started this tradition any time during his ministry. But he chose the night when he was going to be handed over to those who would have him crucified the following day.

Jesus chose this night specifically, not because he wanted to wait until the last minute, but because it was the last night when he would celebrate the Jewish feast of passover with the disciples. We read in Luke’s account of the last supper in Luke 22:14-15

Luke 22:14–15 ESV

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

Jesus wanted to associate the Lord’s Supper with the feast of the passover. And not just associate it, but supercede it.

The passover meal was a yearly traditon where the Jews remembered when God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

It was a feast that was commanded by God, that by partaking of it, the generations of Israel would remember that they were God’s people; uniquely set apart by him, saved from slavery in Egypt by his mighty hand.

What Jesus instituted on this, the night of passover, was to be a new passover meal. That by partaking of it, the generations of Christians would remember that they were Christ’s people, uniquely set apart by him, saved from slavery to sin and death, by his broken body and shed blood.

So how did Jesus teach us to participate in it? And what does it mean?

What Jesus Instituted vv. 23-25

Bread /Body

Paul writes in vv.23-24

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In contrast with the disorder that the Corinthian church was experiencing in their gatherings, Paul describes Jesus giving a clear order to the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus takes bread and he breaks it, he gives thanks, and then he instructs the disciples, “this is my body, which is for you”.

Bread had been the main element in the Jewish diet throughout their history, but it also carried with it great symbolic meaning.

Grain and bread were prominent elements in many of the stories of the old testament. The way it features in the stories of Joseph in Genesis, Gideon in Judges, and Elijah in 1 Kings are just some examples. This was because bread was a symbol of God’s provision for his people.

This is especially demonstrated through God providing the Israelites manna, bread from heaven, during their wanderings in the dessert.

Just like God provided the manna in the dessert, to nourish the Israelites, to give them life; God provides his Son, the true bread from heaven, to give eternal life.

When Jesus at the last supper took the bread, broke it, and said, “this is my body,” this was not a new idea to the disciples. They had heard this before in Jesus’ teaching.

Jesus takes this symbol of God’s provision and life giving power and applies it to himself when he speaks to the Jews in John 6..

Were going to refer to this passage a few times so I encourage you to keep your thumb in 1 Corinthians 11, and turn with me to John 6.

It says in John 6:32-35

John 6:32–35 ESV

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Jesus is the bread of life.

So how does one eat this bread?

We come to him, we believe in him. This is how we eat this bread of life, by faith.

If someone eats normal bread it will sustain them for a time but they are still under the curse of death. But if we eat the bread of life though faith in Christ, we have eternal life. So you might say that Jesus, is more lifegiving, or more bread-like than bread.

Jesus gets at this very point in John 6:48-51:

John 6:48–51 ESV

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

On this side of the crucifixion, we can take it for granted that Jesus’ physical death on the cross won us eternal life. But this wasn’t as clear to the Jews or even the disciples. They wouldnt fully grasp this until after the resurrection. But Jesus says here that the bread that he gives the world is his sarks (his flesh). For him to be the bread of life his body would have to be broken.

If we turn back to our passage this morning in 1 Corinthians 11

This is the entire point of Jesus breaking the bread. He breaks the bread, symbolic of his body, more life giving than bread, and he says,

“This is my body,(and this next part is the part is what is so amazing) which is for you.”

I think for many Christians, this is especially true of me, its easy to think about these things in generalities. It’s easy to sort of remove myself and think about what Jesus did for mankind as a whole. And it is true that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. But in doing that, as a part of that, he also died for my sin.

Jesus gave his body for me. He gave his body for you. He allowed it to be beaten, broken, and nailed to a cross to die - for us.

We can naturally read this line, “which is for you” to mean that Christ body is given to us. But the word that is used here actually means, “for the sake of” or “on behalf of.” His body is given in our stead. This is the language of substitution. He died the death that you and I deserved for our sins, in our place.

In contrast to the Corinthians who put their own desires ahead of others, Jesus sacrifices himself for others.

This is what the bread means. That Christ’s body, the bread of life, is given for us, on our behalf.

Cup/Blood

It then says in our passage in 1 Corinthians 11:25

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Just like bread was significant historically and symbolicly in the Bible, the cup (or more specifically) wine also carried with it special meaning.

Wine was made through a violent process of crushing grapes underfoot until the juice flowed. This process, and because wine looked like blood in appearance, made wine a natural symbol of wrath of God.

In the old and new testaments, the image of wine representing the wrath of God was a recurring theme. The winepress (and the cup) of God’s wrath is mentioned in Psalm 75, Isaiah 51 and 63, and in several other places, and especially in the book of Revelation.

We also see this cup when Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane moments before his arrest. He says in:

Matthew 26:39 (ESV)

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

When you and I justly deserved the cup of God’s wrath for sinners, Jesus took it and drank it for us. When our own blood deserved to be shed, he took our place...

It was his blood that was shed on the cross.

Jesus chose the cup as the symbol that points to the wrath that he endured for us. The symbol of the new covenent in his blood.

The writer of the book of hebrews writes in Hebrews 10 about how the priests under the old covenant are always on their feet, having to repeatedly make sacrifices, which can never take away all the sins of the people. But he says in Heb 10:12-14

Hebrews 10:12–14 ESV

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

This is the new covenenant, the new way that God has ordered all things.

Jesus allowed his blood to be shed on the cross so that the wrath that we deserve for sins would fall on him, in this we have become cleansed of all sin, cleared of all charges, justified. If we recieved this salvation by faith.

As Romans 5:9 says,

Romans 5:9 ESV

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

This is what the cup means.

I can’t help but think its incredibly beautiful that the symbol of Gods provision (the bread) and the symbol of God’s wrath (the cup) come together in the person of Jesus.

Jesus was provided for us, to satisfy the wrath of God we deserved, so that by faith, we could recieve the promises of the new covenant, eternal life.

Application

Remember and Proclaim

So we’ve talked about what the elements mean, but what are we doing here? How do we participate in this?

Here’s the main point of the whole sermon so listen close.

Through receiving the bread and the cup, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ for us.

Remember

In our passage in 1 Cor 11, each time the Lord introduced the bread and the cup what did Jesus say?

“Do this... in rememberance of me.”

Through recieving the bread and the cup we remember.

When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we remember the reality, the historical fact, of the broken body and shed blood of the sinless Son of God on our behalf.

But the word “remember,” as Jesus uses it here, means more than merely calling something to mind.

A great example of this is the command to “remember the poor” in Galatians 2:10.

Now if this means merely thinking about the poor, it might be one of the easiest commands in the Bible.

I don’t know about you, but im doing it right now.

I could pass beggers on the street, people struggling in their need, and all I would have to do is, “Don’t worry I got you.”

We know that this is not what is meant by “remember the poor”.

To remember the poor means to meet their needs, help and provide for them, commit ourselves to them.

In the same way by remembering Christ, his broken body and his shed blood through the bread and the cup, we commit ourselves to him anew; effecting our thoughts, words, and actions.

As one theologian put it, “The Lord’s Supper is established as a continual reminder to Christians of Jesus’ life and death and of the need to act in accordance with that reality.”

This is true rememberance, that our lives are different because of who Christ is.

And in remembering Christ through the Lords supper, we also remember who we are.

When the Jews celebrated the passover, even hundreds or thousands of years after the Exodus, they were not just remembering something that happened to their ancestors long ago. They recognized that what God had done for their ancestors, was also done to them. God had rescued a people for himself, and this tradition reminded them that they were of that people too, even if they were separated by centuries.

When we celebrate the Lords supper, we are reminded that Christ, through his broken body and shed blood, has won for himself a people from all tribes and nations, languages and backgrounds. And we are a part of that. We remember.

Through recieving the bread and the cup we remember. We remember and we proclaim.

Proclaim

Our passage this morning ends with this in v. 26

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

We proclaim the reality of the lords death until he comes. And we proclaim this truth to three audiences.

God

When we participate in the Lord’s supper we proclaim first to God.

Our passage this morning has been used throughout history as a confession of faith. We informally use it as a confession every time we serve the Lords supper here at Faith Baptist church.

When we participate in the Lord’s supper we are confessing, proclaiming to God that we believe in what he did through Christ’s broken body and shed blood.

This is also why it is important that the Lords supper is served only to confessed believers in Jesus.

You cannot truly participate in the Lords Supper unless you believe what you are confessing.

So while we welcome and are excited to have unbelievers joining us here in the worship service, we ask that they don’t partake in the Lords supper when it is served. We encourage you to allow the bread and cup to pass by, and think about what is meant by them.

There’s no shame attached to this, no-one will judge you for allowing the element to pass by, we love that you are here. Don’t confess if you don’t believe. If you’re a believer here, confess it through participating.

When we participate in the Lord’s supper we proclaim first to God.

Eachother

Secondly we proclaim the death of Christ to eachother. Christianity, though it is a personal faith, is lived in community. Within our church family we help, encourage, hold eachother accountable in our faith.

When we take part in the Lords supper this is not done alone, and this can’t be done at home. The Lords supper is done in a gathering of believers. In it we remind eachother of Christ’s death on the cross, and the new covenenant promises he has given us through his broken body and shed blood.

This is why we wait until everyone has recieved the elements before we partake in them, not consuming them greedily like at the church at Corinth. We want all of our brothers and sisters to be present and ready to participate.

And we dont eat it alone.

While we need to take time in prayer and self examination before we participate in the Lords supper, it is not supposed to be eaten introspectively. Paul writes in

1 Corinthians 11:28–29 ESV

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

We are to discern the Body, the Body of Christ, that is the church.

In Corinth, that meant waiting for and considering others.

There’s a tendancy in our culture for Christians to kind of retreat into themselves when taking part in the Lords supper. I would encourage you to be introspective only when we pray and examine ourselves before we serve the elements. But we should be eating this meal communially, together.

While we eat the Lords supper, try lifting your head and seeing your brothers and sisters all proclaiming their united faith in Christ along with you. Joyfully dicern the body.

When we participate in the lords supper we proclaim the death of Christ to eachother.

The World

We confess to God, we remind eachother, and...

Finally we proclaim to the world that we believe in the death of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. When unbelievers witness believers partaking in the lords supper worthily, they ought to see and hear that we believe in the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

This is what we do when we partake in the Lord’s supper. We remember and we proclaim.

Conclusion

The Bread is his body, broken for us.

The cup is the new covenant in his blood.

Through receiving the bread and the cup, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ for us, until he returns.

Now lets partake in it together.

The Lords Supper

Take time to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Supper

Invite ushers forward

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (ESV)

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Lets Give thanks Take and eat, in remembrance of Christ Body

Invite ushers forward

1 Corinthians 11:25

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Lets Give thanks Take and Drink, in remembrance of Christ Blood

End with prayer