Communion
In our Statement of Faith, it states, “We believe that Jesus established the practice of communion for believers to observe regularly to remember His death on the cross. We believe that the bread symbolizes Jesus’s body, which was broken for us, and the cup represents the blood Jesus shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16)
When it comes to the sacrament of Communion, also known as “The Lord’s Supper,” it has, in some ways, become a tradition or ritual. If we’re not careful, we might forget why we do it. A danger that exists when traditions and rituals become routine is that they lose their intended power.
Jesus instituted this sacrament during the Passover, where, after the meal, He said, “‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25 NKJV)
Now, a sacrament is an observance by the church based on what Jesus had ordained or commanded. We celebrate, as most Protestant churches do, two sacraments: communion and water baptism.
The Apostle Paul explained what Jesus established to the Corinthian church because of the issues it faced.
It seemed that the church began to alter the true meaning of the sacrament of communion. Paul spent about 18 months in Corinth, shepherding the growing church there. But after he left, over time, they turned the Lord’s Supper into a social event and made a total mess out of this sacred sacrament.
The issue in the Corinthian Church was that they were gathering for a meal that had nothing to do with communion. In fact, it wasn’t even a potluck. Instead, they hoarded food for themselves and didn’t share with those in need. Additionally, they brought wine but were becoming somewhat intoxicated. Their celebration revealed the worst aspects, as divisions and greed marred this sacred ceremony.
With this in mind, I believe it would be helpful for us to take some time to read and study Paul’s instructions for the church.
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-34 NKJV)
As we examine these verses, there are two key aspects to understand: how we should prepare ourselves to take communion, and what the bread and cup symbolize.
After giving directions for taking communion, Paul continues by explaining that we are to first prepare ourselves to partake
“Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28 NKJV)
There are two crucial aspects in this passage in our preparation.
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28 NKJV)
The word “examine” is the origin of the idea and term for passing a test.
Usually, when we examine ourselves during communion, it’s about checking whether we’ve committed any sins and then taking the time to confess and repent.
And while there is nothing wrong with this practice because we should consistently and continually examine our lives and ask the Lord for forgiveness of our sins, this, however, doesn’t align with what the word examine means.
We aren’t to test ourselves as to whether or not we’ve sinned, because we have. The Bible says that all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory, that is, short of God’s holy and righteous standards for life (Romans 3:23).
So what are we to test ourselves on?
This then leads us to the second statement made by Paul in our passage.
“Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:27 NKJV)
What does it mean to do something in an unworthy manner? Many believe it relates to something within themselves. Some churches withhold communion from those they see as sinners.
But that is messed up and backwards. It’s during our moments of weakness that we need to receive spiritual sustenance. It’s wrong to tell people who are weak and fragile that they can’t come to the table meant to give strength. It’s like telling a person dying of malnutrition, “When you get past your malnutrition, then you can have something to eat.”
So, who is worthy? No one. There has only ever been one person who fits that description, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the song sung by the angels, living creatures, and saints in heaven.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12 NKJV)
The Bible makes it clear that no one is righteous, no one.
“For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NKJV)
Once again, the only one who was and is worthy is Jesus. Therefore, if we accept the explanation that only those who are worthy can partake of communion, then no one would participate.
Someone from my old church wouldn’t partake of communion for this very reason. They had issues with others and used the verse that says if we have a problem with someone, we are to leave our gift at the altar and make it right with them (Matthew 5:24).
But communion isn’t a gift we give to the Lord; it’s the gift of spiritual nourishment and sustenance that the Lord gives to us.
Jack Hayford, past president of the Foursquare Denomination, founding pastor of the Church on the Way, said, “Jesus died to shower the grace of God upon us that we might all come through Him who is worthy.”
We come to the Lord’s Table placing our complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is worthy. Therefore, to partake in a worthy manner is to acknowledge that only Jesus Christ is worthy and has made us worthy through His sacrificial death on the cross, along with the grace He offers to all who believe.
We have thus been made worthy through Jesus’s sacrifice and the blood He shed for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, we come to the table remembering the value of what He did for us, not based on our ability to make ourselves worthy, which we have seen is impossible.
Now, we come to verses 29 and 30?
“For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.” (1 Corinthians 1:29-30 NKJV)
This has been a stumbling block for many, and while there are many various explanations, let me weigh in on what I see and believe.
Some people in the church faithfully and reverently take communion, but never truly know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. For them, it’s all about tradition and ritual. They go through the motions of religion, but being religious and reverent isn’t the same as believing in Jesus.
So why were they becoming weak, sick, and even dying? Because they never understood the purpose of Jesus’s death and the cross. Jesus came to die so that we don’t have to. He came to die on the cross to bring healing to our souls and spirits, and yes, to our bodies as well.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV)
The word “healed,” derived from both Hebrew and Greek, can refer to either spiritual or physical healing. The contexts of Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 clearly indicate that they refer to spiritual healing.
But God had more in mind. Just before our verse in Isaiah 53:5, the prophet says, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4a) Here we see healing for our emotions.
And Matthew, in his gospel account, reveals through the Holy Spirit that Isaiah’s prophecy also addresses our physical illnesses. In his gospel, he states, “They brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’” (Matthew 8:16-17 NKJV)
The Bible says that not only does God forgive all our sins, but He also heals all of our diseases.
“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3 NIV)
And so, the blood of Jesus not only forgives sins but also brings healing.
What Jesus did when He willingly offered Himself as that sacrifice on the cross was to bring emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. And so, when we come to the Table, we receive the strength to live for Jesus and to acknowledge the healing we have received in our relationship with God.
This is what we might consider as what constitutes discerning the Lord’s body.
And so, when Jesus said to remember, He didn’t mean the pain and suffering He endured; rather, He meant His selfless sacrifice as He died in our place.
And so, when we come to the Table, Jesus wants us to remember that He has washed us clean from our sins and will be our strength.
The Lord’s Table is a symbol of victory, so we can approach it with a joyful heart, remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross, so that we can have eternal life with Him in heaven, which I believe will be an incredible experience.
The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23b-26 NKJV)
Understanding what the bread and the cup represent means recognizing that communion is part of the Feast of Passover, which has been celebrated in the same way since Jesus’s time. It holds great significance and meaning in the coming of the Messiah and his mission, as these two elements reveal.
After the meal, the Passover seder, which is “The Telling,” continued, and this marks the beginning of the second part of our understanding of the meaning of communion. In the final section of this paper, we will first examine the bread, followed by the cup.
To understand what Jesus broke and gave to His disciples, look at the middle part of the Seder between the first and second cups. The leader of the Seder would take out the middle piece of Matzah from the Matzo Tash, or Matzah Holder, which contained three stacked Matzah pieces separated by white napkins. He would then break it, take one part and put it back into the Matzo Tash, while the other part he would wrap in a white napkin and hide.
Why three matzahs speak volumes to our understanding of why the middle one was taken and broken.
The Rabbis say it represents the priesthood: Aaron, the Levites, and the priests. Or they say it represents the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or the three crowns of learning, priesthood, and kingship.
The problem with these answers is that nowhere were the Levites, Isaac, or the priesthood broken.
Now, consider the nature of God, or the Godhead, where the three matzahs represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And then it was Jesus who was broken as He said, “This is My body which is broken for you.”
Now, after the meal was finished, the leader—here, Jesus—brought out, or more accurately, redeemed the broken matzah that was wrapped and hidden. It is called the Afikomen, which in Hebrew means “desert,” but its full meaning and significance are found in the Greek, meaning “to come,” and the verb means, “I came.”
This is a beautiful picture of Jesus: The Father redeemed Him from the grave, as the Matzah was wrapped and hidden, signifying His death and burial; then He rose from the dead on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father.
And by Jesus saying that it represented Him, He was saying, “Why do you wait any longer? I came already. I am the Passover; I am its fulfillment.”
Also, when Jesus took up the Matzah, He said that it represented Him. Matzah is made with no leavening agents. Leaven in the Bible is symbolic of sin. And so, just like the bread that had no leaven, so the Messiah would have no sin.
In 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV), Paul said, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
Of the Suffering Servant, the prophet Isaiah said, “For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” (Isaiah 53:8b NKJV)
What this is saying is that the Messiah would die, not for any sin He committed or possessed, but for the sins of others.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)
“In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” (1 Corinthians 11:25 NKJV)
Right after breaking the bread and eating it, Jesus then picked up the cup and passed it to the disciples to drink and remember.
While we often focus on the contents in the cup and what it represents—the blood of Jesus—the cup and its contents are better understood by the cup itself. It comes from the tradition of the Four Cups of the Passover.
The four cups symbolize the “I will” statements of God found in Exodus 6:6-7, which address the Jews’ deliverance from the Egyptians.
“Therefore, say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:6-7 NKJV)
The Four Cups of Passover
The cup that Jesus picked up is the third cup of the Passover, also known as “The Cup of Redemption.”
Referring to the Jewish exodus from Egypt, the Lord redeemed them through the shed blood of a lamb. It was during the 10th plague, and God commanded each household to take a lamb without spot or blemish and kill it. They were then to take the blood and place it on the doorposts and the lintel of the house. And when He sees the blood, the Lord’s judgment will “pass over” that house.
And so, just as the blood of the lamb brought salvation to Israel, so does the death of the Messiah, Jesus, whom John the Baptist called in John 1:29, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This blood offers salvation to anyone who applies it to the door of their heart.
Jesus stating that it was the cup of the new covenant is also important. Whenever a covenant was made, it called for the death of an animal and was called “to cut a covenant.”
It was through the blood sacrifice that the Mosaic Law, the Old Covenant, was established, as the writer of Hebrews pointed out.
“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.’” (Hebrews 9:19-20 NKJV)
And we are told that it is only through the shedding of blood that atonement for our sins can be achieved. The Lord said, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11 cf. Hebrews 9:22)
This is what Jesus tells us to remember when we partake of the cup.
And so, our redemption comes through the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed on the cross on the day of Passover. And all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Conclusion
One last thought before we finish our time together. The early church called communion a sacrament. The word sacrament, according to Webster’s Dictionary, was a military oath taken in ancient Rome by every Roman soldier, pledging to obey his commanding officer and not to desert his standard.
I really don’t think this word was chosen by accident. Taking communion in the minds of our spiritual ancestors was their oath to follow Jesus as their commander-in-chief and to uphold the standard of the cross.
And so, in their minds, the Lord’s Supper was a time to reenlist in God’s army and reaffirm our allegiance to Jesus and what the cross represents.
