The Lord's Supper (4)

The ability to remember things is a precious gift. There are many things that happen only once in life. Being able to remember those things serves as a teacher to us about the impact that those events have made in our lives.

Jesus knew the power of remembrance. This is why He left the church two ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. An ordinance is an authoritative decree that is meant to remind us of something specific.

This morning, we will celebrate one of those ordinances, the Lord’s Supper. Before we do though, it is important for us that we examine what this Lord’s Supper is all about.

1 Corinthians 11:23–32 CSB

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, and when he had given thanks, 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, and said, “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. 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 and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.

In this letter to the Corinthian church, Paul presented the basics of the Lord’s Supper. There had been some major issues with how this group of believers had done certain things. The Lord’s Supper is a precious time, and the Corinthian believers had been doing things in a wrong manner.

The Meal

Paul reminds the Corinthians that this meal was instituted by Jesus Himself (v 23). This was a meal that the Jews had practiced for many years. It was called the Passover meal. As He did with many things during His earthly ministry, Jesus brought clarity to this meal and showed what it was truly about.

For the Jew, the Passover feast was the remembrance of how God delivered them from Egyptian slavery under Moses. It was instituted then in . Over time, like many other rituals, it had lost its meaning to many people. Jesus used this meal to institute for the church a way to remember the great gift that God has given to her: freedom from sin through the death of Jesus on the cross.

The Elements

The elements that are used during the Lord’s Supper are some of the same elements that were used in the Passover meal.

The Bread

The first that Paul mentions is the bread (v 23-24). The bread was to be unleavened bread because yeast was a symbol many times of sin in the Bible. The unleavened bread represented the sinless life that Jesus lived while He was here on the earth.

Another key part of the bread is that it was broken. As Jesus took the unleavened bread and broke it, He used this as a teaching illustration. This is what would happen to Him. He would be broken for our sins. This was done to fulfill the prophecies of …

Isaiah 53:5 CSB

But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.

When we take the bread of the Lord’s Supper, it is important that we remember the price that Christ paid to forgive us of our sins. The sinless Son of God was broken and beaten because we had broken God’s commands.

The Cup

The second element that Paul mentions is the cup (v 25). The cup was much more than just a vessel that held liquid and was drank from. It was a sign of communion. Jesus had one cup that He passed around. He offered this cup to each of the disciples there that night in that upper room.

Jesus said that the cup was the new covenant that was paid for by His blood. In the Bible, every time a covenant was made, blood was a part of it. Blood is very precious because as tells us...

Leviticus 17:11 CSB

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.

In order for a covenant to be made between God and man, blood had to be present. Jesus gave His own blood to open a relationship to us with God.

Hebrews 9:22 CSB

According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

In order for our sins to be forgiven, there had to be a blood sacrifice. Jesus showed His love for us by providing His own blood so that we might experience the forgiveness of sins in our lives.

The cup is another reminder to each of us of the great price that was demanded and paid on our behalf by Jesus. When we come to the cup, we need to remember that price that was paid, allow that memory to correct our paths, and offer thanks to God who loved us without limits.

The Examination

There is a final element that Paul shares about the Lord's Supper. It is the importance of examination (v 27-32).

Apparently, there were those in the church at Corinth who were taking of the Lord's Supper in an improper way. He addresses those who were just going through the motions and not recognizing what it was all about (v 29). There were many who were suffering from illnesses, and some had even died (v 30) because of their mistreatment of the Lord's Supper.

This goes to show that the Lord takes very serious His dealings. God will not stand by while mocking of Him and His dealings with man happens. We may be tempted to just go through motions or casually deal with God. This is dangerous ground. God is to be taken seriously. We would not treat those with love dearly casually, would we? We would be outraged at someone who made a mockery of something that we paid a great price for. God is not much different than us in these matters. He wants us to know how much He loves us and to what lengths He went to redeem us.

PROPER EXAMINATION

How do we make sure that we take the Lord's Supper in a worthy way?

We need to make sure that we are a child of God.

Has there been a time when you realized that you were a sinner, confessed your sins to God and trusted in what Jesus did on your behalf? The table of the Lord's Supper is open to all of His children, but those who have not trusted Christ need to settle that first.

We need to make sure that we recognize what the Lord's Supper is about.

The bread and the cup are reminders of that great price paid for our salvation.Have we been treating God's grace improperly?

We need to make sure that we are in right standing, as much as we can, with God and man.

The Lord's Supper is an act of worship. Jesus tells us in , if someone has something against us and we have not tried to make things right, we are to go to them first and then come bring our offering.

CONCLUSION

Paul writes in that if we will examine ourselves, then we will not be judged. He also shares that if we will come before the Lord and let Him examine us, He will show us if there are things that need to be dealt with. The Lord does not want to bring condemnation upon us; He wants to bring salvation… freedom.

As we prepare to partake in the Lord's Supper this morning, I want to encourage you to examine yourself.

Are you a Christian? Have you truly given your life to the Lord for Him to be your Forgiver and Leader? Do you recognize what this bread and cup is about? Do you see in your mind's eye the price that was paid for you?Is there something that is standing between you and God or someone today?

I want to encourage you to take the next few moments and do an examination of yourself. Ask God to search your heart and reveal any hindrance to you partaking today, and deal with it.

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