The Last Supper

When Jesus left this earth, He left us two ordinances.

Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, and it was then that Jesus instituted the ordinance of communion. In doing that, He invited us as believers throughout the centuries to participate in communion so that we might better understand His death and the victory of the cross for our hearts.

Today, on communion tables worldwide, you will find inscribed in many languages the simple phrase "In remembrance of me." It is a verse from the Bible, probably the one that is in plain view of millions of Christians every time they come to worship the Lord.

When the people of God collectively hear Jesus say, “Do this...” we do it. The Lord Himself ordained this for His people. This isn’t our own tradition that we made up or concocted. This is a direct command from the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s an ordinance, not a tradition. He ordained it. It’s a command, and His commandments are not burdensome.

Oh, how things have changed. How is it possible that professing Christians should so causally and habitually neglect the Lord’s Table? How is it possible that many churches have opted to minimize or remove this meal?

I recall going to church on Sundays and overhearing adults leaving after Sunday School because we were having Holy Communion that Sunday, and they couldn’t wait that long in service. My God, have mercy on us when we think going over the 12:00 allotted time is an inconvenience for us when He was breaking bread with his betrayer, knowing he would die for us in a few hours.

So why do we come to the table in remembrance of Jesus? Let me help you understand what communion is all about by recognizing that it signifies three truths.

First of all, it signifies the unity of Jesus Christ’s body. I want you to visualize the actual body of Jesus by which He was raised from the dead. His body, like ours, is a unity. That’s why it’s always been important in the history of the Church to participate from the same loaf and drink from the same cup.

Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 11:18, “1 Corinthians 11:18–21 (NET): 11:18 For in the first place, when you come together as a church I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 11:19 For there must in fact be divisions among you, so that those of you who are approved may be evident.

But notice he says, “When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his 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?”

Right in the early Church, there was a division over the issue of economics. The rich came, and they brought their potluck, and they said, “We are eating ours, and if you have nothing, we have no concern for you,” Paul says, “What kind of a witness is that to the reality of the Gospel?”

There are divisions – economic divisions. Sometimes, there have been racial divisions in the Church. Paul would say, “Put all that aside because that which binds us together is much stronger than that which separates us.” Unity – that’s the way we cone to this table.

Some of you have nothing particular against anyone, but your problem is different. You have come to Hope Mills Methodist Church, possibly for a long time, and you want the benefits of the body without really belonging to the body. So you are here physically, but you don’t belong. You make no sacrifices for the body.

Some people look at church like they do a club. You have all kinds of different clubs that people belong to – hunting clubs. And many people look at the Church like that, as if common interests bind us together.

Friends we are not bound together merely by common interests. We are bound together by an everyday life that Jesus has given us and a common body to which we need to be committed.

Some of you need to join Hope Mills Methodist Church. God has called you here, and yet you worship at a distance. Now, it’s okay to check us out for a while, but there comes a time when you say to yourself, “I need to be a part of this.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were all as committed to the body as my hand is dedicated to my body? My hand does exactly what my mind tells it to do. It’s committed to the body. If I were to stumble on the platform, my hand would gladly break to save my head. Are you willing to put yourself out for someone else because you do not belong to a particular interest group? You are a part of the life of Jesus in the body. So I say to you today, “Draw near to God and draw near to us as a church.”

The second meaning is, of course, the sacrifice of His body. There’s the unity of his body and the sacrifice. Jesus gave thanks, took the bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you.” “And in the same manner, He took the cup and said, ‘This is the new covenant in My blood. This drink in remembrance of Me.’”

A covenant is a promise that God makes so that those who align themselves with that covenant benefit from all the blessings that come with it. This covenant is for the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and forgiveness. And you remember in the Old Testament (and that’s the imagery used here of the Passover), what did they do as they were leaving Egypt? The night before, they put blood on the doorposts of their houses because God said to the Israelites, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you. The Angel of Death won’t touch you. I will pass over you.” It’s called Passover. And in the same way, when we think about it, that illustrates salvation.

But I need to ask you this question. Did it matter how much the firstborn had sinned before the Angel of Death passed over him? The answer is no. It’s much better to be a lesser sinner than a greater one, but it didn’t matter what the firstborn had done at the end of the day. God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” That’s the issue. The issue was not the greatness of the sin of the firstborn. The problem was, was there blood on the door?

Did the economic status matter? No! Some people in Egypt were probably a lot wealthier than the Israelites and probably had sinned less than some of those firstborns in Israel. God said, “It’s a matter of blood.”

There’s a song called bloodline and they sing the chorus that Satan can’t cross the bloodline.

That’s why those of you who are here who are struggling today with the enormity of your sin, I’m here to tell you that you have not yet out-sinned grace. The question is, “Have you received the blood for your forgiveness, figuratively speaking, on the door of your heart?” When we get to heaven, the issue will be whether or not we’ve come under the protection of what Jesus did for us as Savior and Lord.

There’s the unity of the body, the sacrifice of the body, and now the return of the Lord’s body. He says, “In doing this, in participating, you proclaim the Lord’s death.” I’m in verse 26. “You proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

When you participate in Holy Communion, you’re saying, “I believe in the return of Jesus. I believe in the return of the literal body that was resurrected and that now is a glorified body, but I believe in that return.” Now, if you don’t believe that Jesus is coming back again, don’t participate.

those are three meanings of communion

Now, how do we then come to this table? First, the Apostle Paul would say, “Eat and drink worthily.” Look at what he says in verse 27. “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the blood and body of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then.” Those are strong words. Later, he goes on to say that because you are doing this wrong, that’s why some of you are weak, some of you are sick, and some of you have died. God says, “I don’t look at this and think to Myself that this is unimportant.”

What would it mean to eat and drink in an unworthy way?

As we observe the Lord’s Supper together, we should consider whether we are like the 11 disciples who followed Christ as God and Savior by faith alone or whether we are like the one who followed outwardly but not inwardly by faith. Are we Judas who will turn from Jesus along the way because we never truly believed in him? We went through the motions, listened to the teaching, and even served in various ways, but we never truly believed.

So, we should examine ourselves to be sure that we are genuinely “in the faith” (2 Cor 13:5). Have you honestly admitted your sinfulness, turned away from false, traditional religion and the pursuit of sin and pleasure to trust alone in Jesus Christ as God and Savior?

You should also examine yourself to ensure you are participating in a “worthy manner.” Are you harboring any bitterness against God or another person? Are you at odds with another brother or sister in Christ, perhaps even in your family? Make that right with God and those you hurt (Matt 5:23-24; 1 John 1:9).

Such reconciliation does not require days, weeks or months. Christ’s death and suffering have completely removed our sins from our record before God. The day-to-day health of our functioning relationship with God and our functioning relationships with other people remains.

The Lord’s Supper is an ideal opportunity for us all to evaluate ourselves (not each other but ourselves) and whether we believe in Christ as God and Savior, and if we do, then whether we are living in a way that reflects his grace and peace in our lives.