Lord's Supper sermon

Introduction and what this is

This is more a teaching on the Lord’s Supper than it is a sermon. At the end of this teaching, we will celebrate this ordinance together.

Historical Lord’s Supper

One thing that I want us to each think about, is that the “how” we physically do the Lord’s Supper is Less important than the why we do the Lord’s Supper. Ultimately, the biggest point to observe is WHO we are pointing to and remembering when we do it. Yes, you can certainly do it wrong and with disrespect and this would be a very bad thing. However, the Worst thing we can do when we observe The Lord’s Supper is not point to Jesus and remember him when we do it. Even the most agreeable and perfect “serving” of the Lord’s Supper where everything happens right, the timing is perfect, everyone get’s everything 100% perfectly right is 100% Perfectly wrong if Jesus gets less attention than anything else.

This semester, I have been fortunate to learn more about biblical worship. One week we focused especially on the ordinances of Jesus (The Lord’s Supper and Baptism). One very interesting thing is that throughout all of The Church’s history, church as the people everywhere not the people that gather here in this building, there have been many different and good ways that congregations have celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. Some of which, seem to be much more in line with the original Lord’s Supper Jesus gave and the one’s that the early church celebrated. I’m not saying we are wrong in what we do, but that we have things we can learn if we look at these examples.

For example: The ways we as a church body have celebrated and given out the lord’s supper would often be called the, “deacon served” supper, where the deacons bring the elements (which are a sort of hard wafer bread and juice cup) to each of us, many churches both past and present use some kind of real bread and physically break it off into pieces before serving as well. Some have had everyone stand in a large circle, and each person serves their neighbor the elements; this way shows Christians serving other Christians and the fellowship in Christ that we share as we serve one another. Others have physically shared a meal where each person brought in something to share (kind of like a potluck) and began with the breaking of the bread and ended the meal with the sharing of cup/wine/juice; this way seems most consistent with what the early church practiced. Some have had the elements at a table in the front and everyone comes forward family by family or person by person to come and get the elements with the officiating elder or pastor overseeing who can and cannot take the supper; this way takes the barring of the table very seriously. All of these are fascinating, and each warrants a great among of study. But,

The First Lord’s Supper.

That’s all well and good, but when we are thinking about the Lord’s supper. It is most important to look back at the first one, fortunately for us, this happened and was recorded (multiple times) in our bible’s. Let me read for you from the scripture a portion of what happened in Luke’s account.

Luke 22:19-22

14 When the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 Then he said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again[b] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[c] 21 But look, the hand of the one betraying me is at the table with me. 22 For the Son of Man will go away as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

From this text, we can see that Jesus and the disciples were gathered for the Passover feast. When reading this text, and comparing it to the other text examples; it is important to remember that when Luke wrote, he often gave an overview and then some more details to follow. So, if anything in the order seems confusing, that would be why; because Luke doesn’t always write in a linear order, which we have observed a few times already in our Acts sermon series.

Then, he (Jesus) goes on later to break the bread and share with them the important symbolism of it and the cup as well. With this cup he told them that he will not drink wine again until He is in Glory (pointing them towards a prophecy from Isaiah 51) and how it represents His blood shed for us..

Now, here is an excerpt from Matthew’s account. There is also a section in Mark’s account, and your homework this week is to go and read that yourself, Mark chapter 14.

Matthew 26:26-30 CSB 26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant,[e] which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

While they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them, showing them that this broken bread, is much like how my (Jesus) body will be soon, broken for us. After the meal (when you compare this account to Luke’s account), he took a cup, and gave it to each of them, telling them how it represents the new covenant.

How and why you take the lord’s supper.

So, that was the first Lord’s Supper. Now, let’s look at an example in the Bible; where they got it all wrong but from the text we can learn much about how it was supposed to look and why we do it.

1 Cor 11:17-26 CSB 17 Now in giving this instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 Indeed, it is necessary that there be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 When you come together, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For at the meal, each one eats his own supper.[e] So one person is hungry while another gets drunk! 22 Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you in this matter!

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said,[f] “This is my body, which is[g] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The church at Corinth, who Paul wrote this letter to; was not doing too great. They had a great sin problem with regard to the Lord’s Supper. Chiefly, their lack of care for the table showed that they didn’t understand what and who it was all about. In fact, this isn’t the only chapter in this book that Paul deals with this issue, just flip a page over to chapter 10, and you will see him speaking about it as well.

Some important background information to understand, is that when the first Lord’s Supper happened and what the early church did after Pentecost; it was a physical meal that they shared together where they were to come together to remember the great things God had done. However, the church at Corinth had dirtied the table. Instead of coming together as one to the table, like one big family; instead they came together shutting one another off. The rich and wealthy would come and gorge themselves and drink wine in excess, meanwhile the poor among them would bring what little they could and remain hungry and thirsty while they watched the gluttony happening. Others were impatient, and didn’t wait for the others to arrive or finish getting ready before beginning.

They took the table, and made it an opportunity to boast about themselves and their riches and the desires of the flesh, but they forgot who they were supposed to be boasting in; Christ. And Paul wasn’t having this, condemning how they acted.

In this scripture section Paul stated exactly what The Lord’s Supper is supposed to be about. Look at Verse 25, it says. 25 In the same way also he (Jesus) took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Jesus took up the cup, and the wine inside symbolized his blood, his blood of the new covenant; the new agreement and relationship we as mankind have with God. This new covenant replaced the old, the old sacrificial covenant that required the blood of animal sacrifices to be a temporary cover for sin. Now, in this new covenant Jesus provided the new and perfect sacrifice by the shedding of His blood on the cross, that those that accept His gift of forgiveness of sin would be forgiven of their sin and be made right before God. Jesus told them, when you do this special time together (celebrating the Lord’s Supper) do this to remember me, the gravity of what God did and what it took for own our forgiveness of sin. This time of communion, of celebrating the Lord’s supper is all pointing towards Jesus.

Paul goes on in verse 27:7 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body[h] and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body,[i] eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. 31 If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, 32 but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.

33 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome one another.[j] 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.

Paul warns us, DO NOT take at this table in an unworthy way. If you do, that is a sin in and of itself. In this church’s example, they ate in this feast as a people paining with hunger and anxious to eat whatever they brought for themselves and feast as the heathens do. The theologian Lowery wrote about this that. “If the believers were self-disciplined, they should wait on the meal till all arrived. This also may have implied sharing the meal with others (cf. v. 22). If the demands of hunger were too great for some, they should satisfy those pangs at home before coming to the assembly. The Lord’s Supper was a time not for self-indulgence but for mutual edification (v. 26).”[1] So essentially, if you were so hungry that you couldn’t wait for everyone to come and everything to be ready, then you should have ate something at home before coming. Forcing and rushing this, is a dangerous sin. So dangerous is this, that many who took it wrongly (meaning they are not right with God and have some sin they need to repent of and/or they are not yet believers/followers of Christ) that some have died and some became ill from it. So, it is much better; if you even have an inkling of doubt of whether or not you should participate with the rest of the church, then I would urge you not to for your own safety. Be brave, don’t cave into peer pressure and don’t worry about others “judging you.” That stuff doesn’t really matter, what’s much more important is that you are right with God. This is one reason why I like to announce with at least a months’ notice when we will celebrate, because we should take very seriously the fact that you may have something you need to repent of from before this important ordinance. Take this whole time, and the time leading up to it, as time of remembrance of Jesus and pointing yourself towards Christ and submitting yourself to Christ in all places in your life.

Observing the Lord’s Supper

Today’s let’s participate in our celebrating of Lord’s Supper, remembering Christ and pointing to him not just in ceremony but especially in our hearts and minds and the fellowship in Christ we have together.

[1]Lowery, David K. “1 Corinthians.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2, Victor Books, 1985, p. 532.