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. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Jesus instituted the sacrament of Communion on the night of the Passover, the night he was betrayed. He gave it as a gift to his disciples, and intended that they partake of it regularly. It is not an awards ceremony for those who have great faith and who have mastered righteousness—it is given to sinners whose faith is small and weak, who hunger and thirst for Jesus as their Savior. It is a Means of Grace that assures us that God really does love us, that God really has made full provision for our hunger and thirst. Jesus is the true spiritual Food and Drink we need for eternal life with God, and he is truly given to us and for us.
Jesus gives us this meal to point us to his gift of himself. No one took his life from him, but he gave it freely. Ultimately, Jesus gave his life—his body and blood—at the cross as a substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. That perfect sacrifice was effective once and for all. Jesus has given us the Table as a regular reminder and proclamation of his sacrifice. You can know God’s love for you in Christ is true, as surely as you can taste the bread and wine.
But it is more than merely a memorial meal. It is also a real fellowship with God. It is “the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father” (J. B. Torrance). The crucified and risen Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven bodily, where he has glorious and everlasting communion with the Father as our representative. His body and blood do not descend to earth again, somehow, in the elements of bread and wine. Rather, he is present with us spiritually, that is, through his Spirit, as we are lifted up into his presence. Jesus shares his heavenly communion with the Father, with us. Even as he instituted that first Supper, beginning with the prayer of his own faithful thanksgiving (“eucharist”), Jesus feeds us out of his own life with God.
As we consume Jesus, spiritually, by faith, we take his life with God into ourselves, which becomes our strength for life with God in this world and the next. Jesus said:
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (John 6:54-56)
Jesus will raise us with resurrection bodies like his own on the last day of this old world, and the New Heavens and New Earth will begin with a feast consummating the church’s union with her Bridegroom. We will see him face to face, and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will all live happily ever after, together. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, a picture and promise of our good future with God.
What facet(s) of the Lord’s Table seem especially important to you right now? Why is it significant that Jesus shared this meal, this intimate Communion, with his disciples just before being betrayed by one of them and abandoned by the rest? Why would someone want to receive the gift of participating in the life of someone who is going to his crucifixion? Why is this sacrament properly administered by an ordained pastor in the context of corporate Worship? Why do you think God gave us a simple ritual of food and drink as such an important Means of Grace for our corporate Worship? How might the sacrament inform the way we eat “regular” meals? Does the Lord’s Supper usually seem a somber or joyous occasion to you, and why? Biblically speaking, what practical aspects of the sacrament seem to be essential?
