The Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper - A Passover Meal

On the night when Christ was betrayed, he celebrated passover with his disciples. It was during this meal that he instituted the Lord’s supper. Few of us realize the significance of this, but a proper understanding will help us appreciate the Lord’s supper in a deeper way.

Passover was a proclamation, and so is the Lord’s Supper

The 10th plague was unique in that all the other plagues targeted the Egyptians. This one however, targeted anyone whose house was not under the blood of the lamb.

Exodus 12:14 ESV

“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Exodus 12:25–27 ESV

And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

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.

The relationship between passover and the Lord’s supper is important to understand. In the old covenant, they looked back on the word that God did to bring them out of Egypt while foreshadowing the work that Christ would do. In the new covenant, we celebrate the finished work on the cross of Jesus.

This morning, before we take the supper together, I want to walk through a little history of the Lord’s supper and explain it. It is so much more than drinking a small cup of wine or juice and eating a small piece of bread.

As a child, I thought there some great mystery of the bread and the cup that I couldn’t take. I remember cleaning up after church and wondering what became of the extra. The truth is that there is profound mystery; a mystery that should be appreciated.

The Supper Itself

A Sacrament - “A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ, wherein, by sensible signs, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied to believers”—The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 92.

A sign - The Lord’s Supper is a sign, an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, for such sacraments are designed to be. It is a parable to the eye;

An oath - The Lord’s Supper is an oath. That is the ancient signification of the word sacrament. The Romans called the oath that soldiers took to be true to their general, sacramentum militare; and our law still uses it in this sense: dicunt super sacramentum suum, “they say upon their oath.” So that to take the sacrament is to take an oath, a solemn oath, by which we bind our souls with a bond unto the Lord. It is an oath of allegiance to the Lord Jesus,

The Lord’s Supper is a Supper - This ordinance is a supper. A supper is a stated meal for the body. This is so also for the soul, which stands in as much need of its daily bread as the body does. Supper was then accounted the principal meal; this ordinance is so among Christ’s friends.

As a supper, it belongs to the Lord - Justly is it called the Lord’s Supper, for it is the Lord Jesus that sends the invitation, makes the provision, and gives the entertainment. In it we feed upon Christ, for He is the Bread of Life (Joh 6:35).

Communion - because it unites us.

First, it unites us with Christ - In this ordinance we have communion with Christ, our Head. “Truly our fellowship is with…Jesus Christ” (1Jo 1:3). He here manifests Himself to us and gives out to us His graces and comforts. We here set ourselves before Him, and tender Him the grateful returns of love and duty.

Second, it unites us with the universal church - In this ordinance, we have communion with the universal Church, even “with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1Co 1:2). Hereby we profess, testify, and declare that “we being many are one bread, and one body,” by virtue of our common relation to our Lord Jesus Christ, “for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1Co 10:17).

The Eucharist, because as he took it, Christ gave thanks. And likewise, we are called to give thanks.

It is a Feast, a royal feast given by the King of kings to celebrate the union between His son and the bride, Christ’s church.

The Nature of The Lord’s Supper

1. Commemorating Ordinance - The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is a commemorating ordinance. This explanation our Lord Himself gave of it when He said, “This do in remembrance of me” Luke 22:19

In remembrance of the person of Christ - We are to do this in remembrance of the person of Christ, as an absent friend of ours. It is a common ceremony of friendship to lay up something in remembrance of a friend we have valued, which we say we keep for his sake when he is gone or is at a distance… Jesus Christ is our Beloved and our Friend, the best friend that ever our souls had. He is now absent. He has left the world and is gone to the Father.

In remembrance of the death of Christ - We are to do this in the remembrance of the death of Christ

1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

2. A Confessing Ordinance - Matthew Henry said, “The Lord’s Supper is a confessing ordinance. If the heart believes unto righteousness, hereby confession is made unto salvation. The Lord’s Supper is one of the peculiarities of our holy religion; by the observance of it, its professors are distinguished from all others. Circumcision, which was the initiating ordinance among the Jews, by leaving its mark in the flesh, was a lasting badge of distinction. Baptism, which succeeds it, leaves no such indelible character on the body; but the Lord’s Supper is a solemnity by which we constantly avow the Christian name.”

A. Value and esteem for Christ crucified In the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, we are said to show forth the Lord’s death; that is, we hereby profess our value and esteem for Christ crucified. We show it forth with commendation and praise, so the word sometimes signifies. The cross of Christ was to the Jews a stumbling-block, because they expected a Messiah in temporal pomp and power. It was to the Greeks foolishness, because the doctrine of man’s justification, and salvation by it, was not agreeable to their philosophy (1Co 1:23).

B. Dependence on and confidence in Christ crucified - By the Lord’s Supper, we profess our dependence upon and confidence in Christ crucified. As we are not ashamed to own Him, so we are not afraid to venture our souls and their eternal salvation with Him—believing Him “able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (Heb 7:25). We believe He is as willing as He is able, and we make confession of that faith. By this solemn rite we deliberately, and of choice, put ourselves under the protection of His righteousness, the influence of His grace, and the conduct and operation of His Holy Spirit.

3. A Communicating Ordinance

A. Gospel benefits -The Lord’s Supper is a communicating ordinance. Here are not only gospel truths represented to us and confessed by us, but gospel benefits are offered to us and accepted by us. For it is not only “a faithful saying,” but well worthy of “all acceptation” that Christ Jesus died to “save sinners” (1Ti 1:15).

In fact, the gospel is summed up in the Lord’s supper. It is his blood shed for sin, his body broken for wrath, and it is our identification with him.

4. A Covenanting Ordinance

The Lord’s Supper is a covenanting ordinance. This cup (that is, this ordinance) our Savior tells us is the “new testament”18 (Luk 22:20)—not only pertaining to the New Testament, but containing it. It has the whole New Testament in it, the sum and substance of it. It is, in general, an instrument by which a right passes and is conveyed, and a title to some good thing given.19 The gospel revelation of God’s grace and will is both a testament and a covenant, and the Lord’s Supper has a reference to it as both.

Christ’s institution of the Supper

Matthew 26:17–29 ESV

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’ ” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

In Exodus 12-13, the story is told of Israel’s salvation from the 10th and final plague in Egypt. The angel of death passed through the land of Egypt and struck down the firstborn son of each household. Unlike the previous plagues, when God withheld His judgment from the Hebrews’ area of residence in Egypt, God only withheld the 10th plague from those who had the blood of a lamb covering their doorposts outside their homes, regardless of what people they belonged to. When God saw the blood covering, He passed over that house, sparing them from death.

In conjunction with killing a lamb for the blood to be put on the doorpost, a family feast was instituted for the commemoration of the event. In Exodus 12:1-28, this Passover meal is outlined. The people of God are commanded to repeat this meal throughout their generations, as a statute forever. The day in which they celebrate the Passover meal each year is to be a “memorial day.”

What does this mean? What is God intending for the Passover Feast to actually be in the life of the people of Israel? A look at several passages of Scripture reveals some of its purpose: The people of God remember God’s saving act in the commemorative meal for the purpose of (1) remembering the event, (2) reuniting the community and (3) redirecting their lives.

Lord’s Supper and Passover

Refelcting the Event

First, the Passover is reflected in the Passover meal. In Exodus 12:24-27, when explaining the future significance of Passover, Moses writes, “You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” It is clear that the observance of the Passover celebration was always meant to be a remembrance and re-enactment of the event itself, even for those who weren’t there. Consider Deuteronomy 16:3,

“You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”

At this point, Moses is speaking to the next generation of Hebrews who were born after the Exodus. They weren’t personally saved in the Passover and brought out of the land of Egypt. Yet, they are to experience this meal as a way to relive the Passover for themselves as a people. They are to consider themselves “passed over” by the Lord.

In the same manner, we remember Christ’s death in the Lord’s supper:

First, when we are gathered for worship, we take the Lord’s Supper to relive the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the Israelites, they underwent and dramatized the escape from death every year. The Passover was the ritual re-enactment of being passed over by God and spared from His judgment. As God’s people partaking in the commemorative meal, we do not passively relive the event, watching from the audience as it goes by like a movie. We bring the event into the present. It is as if we are there at the foot of the cross as the body is broken and the blood is spilt. What’s more, we consider ourselves crucified with Christ (cf. Gal. 2:20). Because of our union with Christ by the indwelling Spirit—received by faith and signified in baptism—we can relive the crucifixion as those who have been united with Christ in His death (cf. Rom. 6:2-4).

Reuniting the Community

Second, the people of God are drawn together in community by the Passover meal. When originally observed in Egypt and in the wilderness, the Passover meal was designed to be eaten in the individual homes of the people. The meat was not allowed to be taken outside the home (Exod. 12:46). This effectively tethered all Passover-observing Israelites to their respective fathers’ houses, thus nurturing a communal remembrance of God’s salvation. Slaves and foreigners were also to participate, if they had been initiated into the people of God by circumcision (Exod. 12:44, 47).

In Deuteronomy 16:5-6, over 40 years later, Israel is given a slightly new direction: They are instructed to eat Passover at Jerusalem, rather than in their separate towns. Again, this effectively eliminated the segregation of the people of Israel into their clans and families across the land of Israel. Not only did the circumcised ones come (men), but Moses instructed them,

“And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.” (Deut. 16:11)

Every year, the nation reunited around their common identity as the “passed-over ones.” They were those whom the Lord spared from death and judgment, and this joint identity bound them together.

The Lord’s Supper reunite’s His covenant community.

Second, just as Passover brought together the Israelites as the “passed-over ones,” so the Lord’s Supper now brings together the people of God in the same way. When the Israelites put the blood on their doorposts, they were seen by God as “in the right.” When we believed in Christ as Lord, the One whom God raised from the dead, we were made righteous by His blood. And if we have been counted righteous by His blood, then we will surely be saved from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9). All those who have been justified by the blood of Christ are joined together into the one body of Christ through one baptism, united by the indwelling Spirit of God (Eph. 4:5). Accordingly, when we receive the Lord’s Supper, we do not receive it in disparate places, alone as families or even alone as Home Groups. We come together to the common meeting place on the Lord’s Day and proclaim our common identity as the “passed-over ones,” who have been crucified with Christ and who await the consummation of our redemption. Whenever we come to eat this meal together, if we do so in disunity or discord, we violate the very heart of communion (1 Cor. 11:17-34). Eating this meal in disunity is to partake in an unworthy manner and shows a lack of discernment regarding the body and blood of Christ.

Redirecting Their Lives

Third, the people of God are redirected by Passover to live rightly. When he instructs Israel on the Feast of Passover and of Unleavened Bread, Moses tells the Israelites the feast will be like “a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes,” and it will remind them that the Lord brought them out of Egypt (Exod. 16:1). Again, before entering the Promised Land, Moses tells Israel it will also be like writing on the doorposts of their houses and on the gates of the city (Deut. 6:9). Every time they looked at their hand or their neighbor’s face, they would remember. Every time they left or entered their house, or they left or entered the town, they (and visitors) would remember. Why does Israel need to be reminded so often of being passed over?

In this Old Testament context, “remembering” means much more than mere mental recollection. This is a type of recollection that implies action. It implies attentiveness to the promises and events of the past in such a way that action is taken which is defined by the thing remembered—this is remembering forward, recalling the past for the sake of propelling oneself into the future. This is why it is such great news when God remembers His people (Exod. 2:23-25). He never “forgot” them or the promises to Abraham but is decisively acting on His promises for the sake of His people. Likewise, Israel is to remember God’s salvation so that they will be who they are. They are to remember His commandments so that they will do them and walk in faithfulness to the covenant.

The Lord’s supper redirect’s our lives

Third, when we eat the Lord’s Supper, we remember forward, recommitting ourselves to the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:4) and to the ethical obedience due our God and Savior. The Ten Commandments begin with a declaration: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exod. 20:2). The good news of God’s unconditional deliverance always precedes the mandate for obedience to the covenant. In our case, we celebrate that He is the Lord our God, who draws us out of death and darkness, out of slavery to sin. We look forward, walking in obedience to His commands, having been liberated from slavery to unrighteousness so that we would be free to pursue righteousness even in our mortal bodies. At the Lord’s Supper, we receive mercy for our sin, and we renew our commitment to follow after Jesus, who is our great example.