The Lord’s Supper

What It Is and Why We Do It | Caleb Suko

Some time ago I took my wedding ring off at home because I wanted to do some exercises and I didn’t want to get my ring scratched up. I placed my wedding ring in a spot where I knew I would not forget it and where it would be very visible to me. For some reason, after I finished my workout I forgot to put my wedding ring back on. The next day I also forgot to put my wedding ring on when I left for work in the morning. So as I was sitting there at work I noticed that awkward feeling that my wedding ring was missing from my finger. I made a mental note to make sure to put my ring on when I got home and so that it wouldn’t get lost. When I got home that evening I went to that spot where I knew I left my ring and it was gone. I began to go around the house and ask my family if they had seen my ring. They had seen my ring, in fact, somebody had even picked my ring up and looked at it, but now it was nowhere to be found. Of course, you can imagine that I got upset, “23 years I’ve been wearing that ring and now it’s gone!” I told my family in frustration.

So let me ask you why was that ring so meaningful to me? What made that small piece of metal have such significance in my life? Was it because there is gold in it? Yes, my ring does have gold in it but, honestly, it doesn’t have that much, relatively speaking it’s not that expensive of a ring. The reason that ring is so special to me is that it represents my marriage to my wife. It reminds me of the fact that I love her and she loves me and that we have promised to be faithful to each other for our lifetime. That ring was a gift from my wife to me on our wedding day; therefore, it has significance to me because it represents a very important event in my life and a very important promise that I have made. You could say that the wedding ring represents not only my marriage but also my entire family.

In and of itself the ring is small, plain, and not that significant but when you think about all that it represents then it becomes highly valued.

Today we are going to talk about the Lord’s Supper. In many ways the Lord’s Supper is like a wedding ring that God has given to the church. The Lord’s supper if we just look at the physical elements of it is not something very significant, it is simply a little wine and a little bread. These are in very basic foods. We don’t have any meat here, we don’t have any expensive or exotic foods. Everything is very simple. The significance of the Lord’s Supper is in what it represents. Just as the wedding ring is an important reminder of my marriage and the promises that my wife and I have made to each other, so also the Lord’s Supper is a vital reminder of what Christ has done for us.

God knows that we are forgetful people and that we need regular reminders of these vital truths in our lives. Today we are going to look at the Bible to see where the Lord’s Supper comes from, what is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper, and how it should be conducted. I hope you will pay close attention because after I finish this sermon we will then as a church participate together in this unique and significant symbol which God has given the Church.

I. Where does it come from?

In order to really understand the Lord’s Supper, we must go back to the original and look to see where it came from.

Matthew 26:26–30

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark and Luke also record this event in their gospels. We know that this was a very significant event in the life of the Apostles first because it was one of only 3 possible times that they would have celebrated Passover with Jesus. However, more importantly, this was the last meal, and really the last few hours, that they would spend with their Rabbi, their beloved teacher, Jesus, before his crucifixion.

At this point, the apostles didn’t completely understand that Jesus was going to die but I think that they knew something significant was going to happen. Jesus had already told them that he was going away yet they seemed confused on this point. Jesus, however, knew exactly what was going to happen and he used these final days and final hours to convey some of the most important truths to his disciples.

A. It comes from the Passover meal

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Passover meal. The Passover meal was the most significant holiday meal that the Israelites were instructed to observe in the Old Testament. For the Israelites, the Passover meal was an intimate family time when they recalled the events of the Exodus and they remembered God’s amazing power and ability to save the firstborn from death when the Angel of the Lord passed over.

In many ways, the Passover meal of the Old Testament served a similar purpose as the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. The Passover meal was a powerful reminder to all of the people that they served a god who was able to save. At the center of this meal was a lamb that was slaughtered as a substitutionary sacrifice that stood in place of the firstborn. For those Israelites who believed God and followed his instructions and sacrificed the lamb, God spared their firstborn son that night.

God instituted this meal as a regular yearly practice because he knew that it would be important for the people to have this reminder so that they would never lose sight of God’s saving power and they would never stop serving and worshiping the God who saved them.

Exodus 12:26–27

26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ “ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

B. It comes from Jesus

As Jesus sat down to have the Passover meal with his disciples they would have been contemplating God’s ability to save his people, they would have been thinking about the lamb that had been sacrificed for that meal. It is at this point that Jesus takes the symbol of the Passover meal and now directs their attention to himself.

He says “take and eat, this is my body.” This may seem like a very strange statement to you and me. And, of course, if anyone else were to make a statement like this it would be very strange. It’s hard to say exactly how the disciples responded to it at that time because they still did not fully understand the need for Christ to die on the cross. Nevertheless, we do know that Jesus made similar statements like this earlier in his ministry. The most significant statement that he made was in John chapter 6.

John 6:48–56

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.

After Jesus said this there were many disciples who left him but his core group stayed with him so they must have understood some of what Jesus was saying here. Jesus did not mean that we should literally consume him but rather that he was the source of true life and unless a person accepts him by believing in him they could not receive the life Jesus was ready to give them.

Jesus was simply taking these pictures from the Old Testament and showing how he is now the complete fulfillment of them. All of these events in the Old Testament portray God’s power and his saving ability in some way. However, they all have one thing in common, they were temporary measures. The mana provided life for the people only while they were in the wilderness, even the Passover Lamb was a temporary measure, eventually the firstborn would die of old age or of something else.

All of these illustrations in the Old Testament are simply small ways in which God was making his saving power known. However, when we come to Christ we find something drastically different. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of these pictures that we have in the Old Testament. Now when Christ points to himself he is not saying that he will save you from difficulties here on earth, he is speaking about eternal salvation. As the ultimate fulfillment of these salvation pictures, Christ is the only person who can provide true, eternal life.

In order that we would understand the symbolic nature of the Lord’s Supper and so that we would also understand the importance of frequently practicing the Lord’s Supper Jesus says the following:

Luke 22:19 “…do this in remembrance of me.”

The practice of the Lord’s Supper has always been an act of remembrance and something that we are called to frequently do in order to keep the important truths that it represents at the center of our hearts and at the center of our church life.

C. It comes from early church practice

While Jesus instituted the practice of the Lord’s supper with his disciples, we also see that this practice continued immediately after Pentecost at the beginning of the church in the book of Acts.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

The end of Acts chapter 2 is one of the most significant descriptions of the life of the early church. From these 6 verses, we take an example for the life of our church today. We see in these few verses some of the foundational aspects of church life like teaching, fellowship, prayer, sacrifice, unity, and; of course, the Lord’s Supper, “breaking of bread.”

In fact, verse 46 says that they met daily in the temple courts and they broke bread together in their homes. This daily practice of the Lord’s Supper didn’t continue for a very long time but it highlights how significant the practice was for the early church.

Later on in the book of Acts, we can also briefly see that this practice was continued in other churches.

Act 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

II. What is its purpose?

Now that we have looked at the historical background of the Lord’s supper and at how Christ instituted it as well as how the church continued with this practice let’s look at the purpose.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbol that reminds us of several vital gospel truths.

A. It reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you…”

There are two important symbols in the Lord’s Supper, the first is the bread and the second is the wine. Jesus tells his disciples that the bread represents his body which was sacrificed in death on the cross for them and for us.

At the core of the Christian faith is the truth of Christ's sacrificial death. His death was a voluntary sacrifice for you and for me. His death is the only means by which a person can find forgiveness, eternal life, and union with God. Without the death of Christ on the cross our faith is nothing more than just trying to live by a bunch of rules. Without the death of Christ, our religion is dead. Without the death of Christ, there is no real hope for you or me.

But as it was for the Israelites so it is with us, we need to be reminded of these vital truths. There is a difference between a Christian who keeps at the center of his mind and heart the death of Christ and one who doesn’t. What happens when we lose sight of the death of Christ?

• We become short-sighted and focus more on temporary things and less on Eternal things.
• We become ungrateful and we begin to complain about the temporary difficulties we have in our life.
• We lose our passion for God and instead develop stronger passions for things of this world.
• We lose the desire to go to church, to fellowship with other believers, to worship in unity.
• We lose all motivation to share the gospel with those around us.
• We begin to fight, to argue, and to cause dissension with those around us.

However, when we remind ourselves that Jesus died in our place, that he took our punishment, that he chose to give his life as a sacrifice for us, it will change us.

• It brings joy and thankfulness
• It allows us to fully worship
• It motivates us to serve and to sacrifice for others
• It gives us the passion to share the gospel
• It promotes unity within the church and with those around us
• It helps us to love others as Jesus loved us

Some weeks ago I asked you if any of your parents ever told you to remember where you came from. Here we can ask something similar, “do you remember where your salvation comes from?” We must ask and answer that question often for ourselves because it will change our heart attitudes, it will change the way we think and the way we act.

We have a great and mighty Savior who willingly gave his life for us! To know that you are loved in such a way changes your whole outlook on life. It humbles you and gives you hope!

Romans 5:7–8

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

B. It reminds us of the promises of the New Covenant

There is another powerful symbol in the Lord’s supper and that is the cup or the wine which represents the New Covenant that Christ created through the shedding of his blood.

Matthew 26:28

28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The New Covenant is a miracle of God’s grace and his mercy in our lives. But it’s hard to appreciate the New Covenant unless we understand the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is the law of Moses. 613 laws that God gave to Moses and to the people of Israel. When God gave them these laws he entered into a covenant with the people of Israel. If they would obey God’s laws, then God would bless them. We find this Covenant in the book of Exodus and later it is renewed in the Book of Deuteronomy.

The Old Covenant was a conditional covenant based upon whether or not the people obeyed God’s law. God’s sums up the old Covenant at the end of the book of Deuteronomy by saying “if you diligently obey the Lord your God… then the Lord God will set you High Above All Nations” Deu 28:1

However, if they did not obey God’s law then we see something completely different

Deuteronomy 28:15

“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:”

The Old Covenant was all or nothing. You either obeyed everything and got all the blessings or you didn’t and you ended up cursed. Of course, you can imagine that no one could ever really obey all of the laws that God gave in the Old Covenant. So they were constantly offering sacrifices for their sins, yet these sacrifices were only symbols and didn’t really have the power to forgive sins. The Old Covenant was never meant as a means of salvation but rather as a way for man to see his own sinfulness and need for forgiveness.

God knew all along that people would not be able to keep his laws perfectly. That’s why Paul tells us that the purpose of the law is to help us see our need for the grace and forgiveness and mercy that we find in the New Covenant.

Rom 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

By contrast, the New Covenant is not a conditional Covenant and it is not based upon the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant but rather upon the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The New Covenant does not depend on your or my ability to completely obey all of God’s law. Instead, the New Covenant depends entirely on the ability of Jesus Christ to fulfill God’s law.

Rom 3:21–22

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

To be included in the New Covenant is the greatest privilege you and I will ever have. It’s more prestigious than becoming friends with the rich, the famous, or the powerful. It is more important than getting into a good school or finding a position in a growing company. The New Covenant is the privilege of having a relationship with God, of being included into the family of God, and of having an eternal inheritance, and many other privileges that we have in Christ.

C. It reminds us of the unity we have in the Body of Christ

There is a third symbol that we find in the Lord’s Supper and that is the picture of the unity we have as the Church in the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17

16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

The Church is unique because nowhere in the world can you find such unity. Nowhere can we find so many people with such varied backgrounds who are all united around one common truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I remember my first trip to Ukraine in 1994, everything seemed different to me, different people, a different language, different buildings, different traditions, different foods. Yet, I also remember visiting a church in the village on one of the first Sundays we were here. I sat in that small village Church and it looked nothing like my church back home, sounded nothing like my church back home, smelled nothing like my church back home. To an unaware observer, they would not have seen anything that would unify me as an American young boy from Washington state with a village Church in the Odessa region half a world away. Yet, as I sat there I felt a great unity because I knew that they worshipped the same Jesus, I knew they had the same hope that I had, I knew they had the same beliefs, the same values, the same God. There was a deep unity in those things despite our outward differences.

Today we can look around our small church and we can see differences. We can see differences in the color of our skin, we can see differences in the style of our clothing, we can see differences in our age, we can see differences in our backgrounds. There are all kinds of differences. But there is one thing that unites us, that is the blood of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice for us brings unity in diversity.

I want you to notice for a minute the logo for our church, Odessa International Fellowship. We’ve already talked about the black background that represents a sinful world, we’ve talked about the many colors that represent the multicultural aspect of our church, and we’ve talked about yellow “O” which reminds us of the light of the Gospel. Now we want you to notice the red and white “I”. It stands for “international.” We want our church to be international, to be diverse, but we also want it to have unity and that’s why the “I” is red and white. The red stands for the blood of Christ and the white stands for the forgiveness that he gives, this is ultimately what unites us, it is what gives us unity in our diversity.

III. How should it be conducted?

Finally, let’s look at some of the important aspects of how the Lord’s Supper should be conducted in the church. Paul gives some clear instructions to the Church in Corinth. Unfortunately, this church was far from a good example to follow so Paul is very straightforward and somewhat harsh with them.

1 Corinthians 11:17, 20–30

17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,

21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

A. The Lord’s Supper should be done in the fellowship of the church

Just as the Passover was a family meal and a time of unity and togetherness, so the Lord’s Supper should emphasize the fellowship and community of the Church. Notice that Paul condemns them for having their “private” meals during the Lord’s Supper and he exhorts them that if they are hungry to eat a meal at home, but the Lord’s Supper is reserved for when the church gathers.

B. The Lord’s Supper should be done in the unity of Christ

Because the Lord’s Supper is a symbol of the Body of Christ it is important that there be a spirit of unity as we partake. This spirit of unity is found when we honor and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. This spirit of unity is found as we humbly think about our equality in Christ and treat each other with respect and honor.

Paul tells us that we should examine ourselves and that we should “discern the body of Christ.” This examination means carefully thinking about your relationships in the Church to see if there is anywhere that you have caused an offense and not taken care of it but rather allowed it to divide you from your brother or sister in Christ.

It is vile to God to see us participating in the Lord’s Supper with a spirit of arrogance, criticism, or bitterness against others in the Church. If you have a dispute with someone, settle it quickly, repent, and then you can partake in the Lord’s Supper knowing that you have peace with that person and peace with God.

C. The Lord’s Supper should be done with thanksgiving

Paul also points out the importance of having a spirit of thanksgiving as we participate in the Lord’s Supper. Before we partake we will thank God in prayer and each of us should meditate on what Christ has done and give God thanks.

D. The Lord’s Supper should be done with those who profess and believe in Christ

When we take the Lord’s Supper we are making a strong statement about our faith. We are proclaiming our belief in the death of Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation and forgiveness. This is why the Lord’s Supper is reserved for those who have clearly made a public profession of their faith through believers baptism. That means they have been baptized as a response to their personal faith in Christ Jesus.

Partaking in the Lord’s Supper will not get you into heaven, it will not even make you a church member. Rather it is a response of all who have already believed. As we partake we do not receive some magical spiritual power, but we do receive blessing as we are reminded of all the riches God has given us through Jesus Christ.

E. The Lord’s Supper should be done with thought and meaning

Finally, as we read this passage we can clearly see that there ought to be serious thought and meaning put into the symbol of the Lord’s Supper. Paul tells us that some of those in the Corinthian church who ignored the significance of the Lord’s Supper and thoughtlessly partook in a spirit of arrogance later became sick and were even dying. God doesn’t take lightly those who take him lightly. This warning is for all of us today.

Conclusion:

Here’s what you need to know about the Lord’s Supper:

The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus as a powerful symbol to remind all Christians of the price Christ paid, the New Covenant they are now a part of, and the unity they now enjoy in the Church.

As we partake today may we receive it by true faith in Christ, thanksgiving, and in a spirit of unity.