The Lord's Supper

Introduction

Jewish seder meal…children ask important questions…

One in particular: “Mah Nishtana HaLeila HaZeh” or “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

This is an important question because it refocuses the Jews on the importance of God’s saving grace in the Exodus experience.

For modern Christians this question is important as well, especially when considering The Lord’s Supper…

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper once a month, but for many it’s just a part of the service, and we don’t really reflect on the purpose behind it and what it means to us.

This morning, I want us to pause and consider what we are celebrating, which not only gives us a grasp on the importance of the ordinance itself, but prepares us for next week when we observe it together.

Exposition: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Corinth, We Have a Problem (vv. 17-22)

Verses 17-22

V. 17 - When you come together you’re actually worse off!

What is the nature of the issue?

Problems addressed in 1 Corinthians:

Unity (spiritual gifts; worship; rival groups);

Carnality;

Paul’s need to defend his ministry.

The specific problem being addressed here:

Their observance of the Lord’s Supper.

Specifics…(vv.21-22)

People bringing ungodly, worldly practices and social patterns into the church and calling them sacred.

People were hurting the unity of the church by their self-centeredness.

Why is this such an issue?

The self-centered attitudes of the people, especially the rich, took the focus away from Christ and further damaged the unity of the church.

The Solution: The Centrality of Jesus (vv. 23-26)

The solution to the issue was to take the focus off of themselves and to put it squarely on Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

The Lord’s Supper is a time of remembrance.

The Lord’s Supper is a time of proclamation.

The Lord’s Supper is a time of unity.

The Implications of Proper and Improper Observance (vv. 27-34)

Verses 27-34

Unworthy Observance

What is it?

What it isn’t:

That we are unworthy to eat and drink because of sin or issues in our lives. Why not?

Christ has made us worthy through His sacrificial atonement. Thus, we are never worthy because our works, good or bad. It’s only because of Christ’s finished work on the cross that we could ever hope to be “worthy.”

We must understand that we are grace recipients…we are saved by grace alone through faith alone.

You and I will never be good enough. It’s is only by receiving the grace of Jesus that we can be made worthy before the Holy God.

Observing the LS irreverently

Contextually, Paul is speaking to the way they were partaking it, namely, divided over socio-economic lines.

At the heart of this was the LS becoming about the people who were participating and no longer about doing it in remembrance of Christ and proclaiming His death until He comes again.

Failure to consider the body.

What does that mean?

Paul is pointing to a failure to discern, or consider, His body, the church.

See, “the body” is a metaphor that Paul often uses for the church.

Therefore, the church as the body of Christ.

The Lord’s Supper is about the unity of Christ’s body because of what Christ has done, not about ourselves.

What is the outcome of their behavior?

V. 30-32

Disciple

Our actions have real life consequences to them.

Wait, is Paul saying that sickness and death are always a result of sin?

No, not necessarily. God’s discipline is not punitive, like punishment often is. Godly discipline is designed to lead us to repentance. If we need to repent, then repent.

Sometimes sickness and death certainly are linked to our sin...

But other times this is not the case…so we shouldn’t automatically assume it’s because of sin...

Additionally, if not careful, we can run into a very slippery slope. If we assume that bad things are a result of our bad actions, and therefore good things are a result of our good actions, then we become no different than the Pharisees of old, trying to justify ourselves before God by our godly behavior.

Grace tells a different story. It says none of us are worthy and all of us have sinned (and will sin) and have fallen short of the glory of God. But, through grace God offers us the opportunity for repentance and forgiveness.

Worthy Observance

What is it?

Considering the body.

Again, this means that we are aware that the LS is a time to focus on Christ’s sacrificial atoning work on the cross and the unity of the church, specifically our part in the unity of the church.

What are the outcomes?

Honoring to God

Unity

So What?

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each month:

Prepare and examine yourself.

There are few things more sacred to the church that observance of the LS. It should be approached seriously and reverently, focusing on Jesus and His victory won at the cross, not ourselves.

We should prepare ourselves the night before in prayer…

It is a wise thing during our LS observance to try to, in your mind’s eye, take yourself back to that fateful night of the Last Supper. Sit around the table with the other disciples. Knowing what you know now, consider the significance of what Jesus was saying.

Then, examine yourself. Yes, you are unworthy. But Jesus didn’t die because we were worthy.

However, is there anything in your life you need to repent from? Do it.

Is there something you need to make right with someone else sitting around that table? Make peace with them.

Then partake of the LS, remembering what Christ did for you and proclaiming your dependence on Him.

This is not simply a command to be nice to people, especially poor people. It’s a call to recall and reflect on God’s transformative grace; considering the cost of our salvation, which results in grace extended to others.

Focus on Christ and His finished work for you.

Just as the Passover meal was a time for the Jews to remember the Exodus experience, so the Lord’s Supper would forever be a time for Christians to remember the atonement for sins that Jesus won on the cross.

Are you celebrating the Lord’s Supper, or your own?

I believe that if we focus on anything other than Christ in our Lord’s Supper celebration we are committing blasphemy.

Remember that we are proclaiming Christ.

Draw closer to your fellow grace recipients.