“But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)
The night before Jesus Christ died on the cross, He celebrated Passover with His disciples. During that ceremony Jesus instituted what we call The Lord’s Supper (also known as The Lord’s Table, and Communion). This is one of the two ordinances of the church; the other ordinance is Baptism. Two elements are used in Communion: (1) the bread, and (2) the cup (usually wine or grape juice).
The bread represents Christ’s body that He gave as a onetime sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sin. “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). This bread DOES NOT become the actual or spiritual body of Jesus. It is only a symbol.
The cup represents Christ’s blood that He “poured out” as a onetime sacrifice to institute the new covenant (1 Peter 1:3–5). “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’” (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 9:28). This cup (wine, grape juice, etc) DOES NOT become the actual or spiritual blood of Jesus. It is only a symbol.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”[1] He cautioned us not to eat the bread or drink the cup in an unworthy manner; we should examine ourselves beforehand to make sure we are not clinging to any sin in our lives that we need to confess. That is to say, if we partake of the Lord’s Table to remember what the Lord has done for us in dying on the cross, but we continue to live with unconfessed sin, we make a mockery of the Lord’s sacrifice for our sin (I Corinthians 11:27–32).
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SUMMARY • Communion was instituted by Jesus in remembrance of Him
• The Communion bread and cup represents Jesus’ body and blood
• We must examine ourselves for unconfessed sin before Communion
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FOOTNOTES
1 Corinthians 11:26 – The gospel is presented through the service of Communion as the elements are explained. They point to His physical Incarnation, sacrificial death, Resurrection, and coming kingdom. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1590 ↑
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RBG Devotional 10–2: The Remembrance: Bread and Wine Communion Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. 22-Jun-21, 13:55 |