The Significance of the Lord’s Supper
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Sermon Title: "The Significance of the Lord’s Supper"
Sermon Title: "The Significance of the Lord’s Supper"
Opening Prayer:
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before You with grateful hearts. As we gather to understand the importance of the Lord’s Supper, we ask for Your guidance and wisdom. Open our eyes to see the beauty of this ordinance, and may our hearts be stirred by the remembrance of Your Son's sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord, and it is in his name, we pray. Amen.
Opening Remarks:
Opening Remarks:
Good morning, church family. Today, to we are veering slightly away from our series “Living in a Divided World” which we will continue next Sunday, but to today we going to be looking at the significance of the Lord’s Supper which is one of the most sacred observances in our Christian faith. Not only are we going to see what the Bible says about it and its primary meaning we will also be observing it as well.
The Lord’s Supper, is rich in symbolism and significance. It is a profound reminder of His sacrifice and a proclamation of His return. As we explore the Scriptures today, let us open our hearts and minds to the depth of meaning behind the bread and the cup.
But first lets look at its background and just how Jesus instituted the supper and why it was instituted in the first place.
Main Points:
Main Points:
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper:
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper:
Scripture Reference: Luke 22:14-20
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Explanation:
Jesus established the Lord’s Supper during His final meal with His disciples, known as the Last Supper. This event took place on the evening before His crucifixion, a time when Jewish families traditionally celebrated the Passover.
The Passover meal commemorated God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, particularly the night when the angel of death passed over the homes marked by the blood of a lamb, sparing the firstborn in those households Exodus 12:13:
13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
In choosing this moment to institute the Lord’s Supper, Jesus infused this ancient tradition with new and profound meaning. He was revealing Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb, the one whose sacrifice would deliver humanity not just from physical bondage, but from the bondage of sin and death.
The Passover, with its rituals and symbolism, had pointed forward to a greater redemption that would be accomplished through Jesus’ death on the cross. By establishing the Lord’s Supper, Jesus fulfilled the Passover in a way that surpassed its original significance.
Also, Jesus’ actions during the Last Supper signified the establishment of a new covenant between God and humanity. In the Old Testament, covenants were sacred agreements between God and His people, often sealed with blood.
The Old Covenant, established through Moses at Mount Sinai, was based on the Law and required the continual offering of animal sacrifices to atone for sin (Exodus 24:8).
However, these sacrifices could never fully remove sin or cleanse the conscience of the worshipers Hebrews 10:1-4
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
In contrast, the new covenant that Jesus instituted during the Lord’s Supper was based on His own sacrificial death.
When He took the bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you,” and the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:19-20), He was declaring that His imminent death would establish a covenant that would provide complete and eternal forgiveness of sins. Unlike the repeated sacrifices of the Old Covenant, Jesus’ sacrifice would be once for all Hebrews 10:10
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
This new covenant was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke of a time when God would make a new covenant with His people, one that would involve the internal transformation of their hearts and a direct relationship with Him Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jesus, through His death and resurrection, inaugurated this new covenant, bringing about a new era in which believers could be reconciled to God, not through the Law, but through faith in Christ.
Thus, the Lord’s Supper is a profound declaration of Jesus’ fulfillment of the Passover and the establishment of a new covenant. It is a meal that looks back to the cross, where Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin, and looks forward to the future, when we will share in the fullness of God’s kingdom. Every time we partake of the bread and the cup, we remember Jesus’ body given for us and His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and we proclaim the transformative power of the new covenant established by His sacrifice.
Now lets turn in our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23 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,
24 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.”
25 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.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Explanation:
The bread and the cup, as elements of the Lord’s Supper, are rich with symbolic meaning that draws us deeper into the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice and the redemption it offers.
Each time we partake of these elements, we engage in a profound act of remembrance and proclamation, connecting us to the heart of the Christian faith.
The Bread: Symbolizing Jesus' Body
The Bread: Symbolizing Jesus' Body
When Jesus took the bread during the Last Supper, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24).
The bread, simple and common, represents Jesus’ physical body, which was given as a sacrifice for our sins. This act of breaking the bread symbolizes the suffering and brokenness that Jesus endured on our behalf. His body was subjected to the brutality of crucifixion—a torturous death that involved flogging, mocking, and ultimately, the piercing of His hands and feet by nails on the cross.
The breaking of the bread is not just a representation of physical suffering; it also points to the spiritual significance of Jesus' sacrifice. His body was "broken" in the sense that He bore the full weight of sin and the righteous judgment of God.
As Isaiah 53:5 prophetically states,
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Jesus took upon Himself the penalty that we deserved, making peace between God and humanity.
The Cup: Symbolizing Jesus' Blood
The Cup: Symbolizing Jesus' Blood
Similarly, when Jesus took the cup, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).
The cup, filled with wine, symbolizes Jesus’ blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of sins. In the Old Testament, blood was central to the atonement rituals. The blood of sacrificed animals was offered as a means of covering sin and restoring the relationship between God and His people (Leviticus 17:11).
However, these sacrifices (as I said before) are only temporary and had to be repeated continually. The shedding of Jesus’ blood, by contrast, was a once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12).
His blood, unlike that of animals, possesses the power to cleanse us completely from all sin and to purify our consciences (Hebrews 9:14
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Through His blood, we are not merely covered but fully forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled to God. It is a gift to be recieved not earned.
The cup also represents the establishment of a new covenant—a covenant of grace, rather than law. Jesus’ blood inaugurated this new relationship between God and humanity, one that is based not on our adherence to the law, but on faith in His finished work.
As Hebrews 10:19-20 states,
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
So what is purpose of us partaking of this “Lord’s Supper”
Remembering His Sacrifice and Proclaiming His Death
Remembering His Sacrifice and Proclaiming His Death
Each time we partake of the bread and the cup, we are called to remember. This act of remembrance is not merely a mental exercise, but a deeply spiritual act of recalling and reliving the sacrifice of Christ. We are reminded of the immense love that drove Jesus to the cross, His willing submission to suffering, and the power of His resurrection.
Also, in partaking of the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim His death until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26).
This proclamation is both a statement of faith and a declaration of hope. By participating in the Lord’s Supper, we declare to the world that we believe in the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We affirm that His death has brought us life, and we anticipate the day when He will come again to complete the work of redemption.
The Lord’s Supper, therefore, is a moment of deep reflection, gratitude, and anticipation.
It ties us to the past—Jesus’ historical death on the cross;
It grounds us in the present—our current relationship with God through faith in Christ; and
It points us to the future—the hope of Christ’s return and the ultimate fulfillment of His promises.
In this sacred meal, we are reminded that we are participants in the new covenant, beneficiaries of God’s grace, and witnesses to the world of the transformative power of Jesus’ sacrifice. Each time we gather around the table, we are united in our shared faith, nourished by the remembrance of His body and blood, and strengthened in our hope of eternal life with Him.
With all that said, it is so important that we take this time to self exam ourselves.
The Importance of Self-Examination:
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 11:27-29
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Explanation:
Participating in the Lord’s Supper requires a heart of reverence and self-examination. We must approach the table with a repentant heart, recognizing the gravity of Christ’s sacrifice and our need for His grace.
Closing Remarks:
Closing Remarks:
As we prepare to partake in the Lord’s Supper today, let us do so with hearts full of gratitude and reverence. May we remember the immense love that led Jesus to the cross and the hope we have in His resurrection and promised return.
Closing Prayer:
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the sacrifice You made for us. As we partake in this holy communion, may we do so with hearts that are pure and grateful. Unite us as one body in You, and help us to live in a manner worthy of Your sacrifice. We look forward to Your return with hopeful hearts. In Your precious name, we pray. Amen.