THE LIFE OF CHRIST

PART 85

In our last lesson, we began looking at the last Thursday of Jesus’ life on earth. We started out looking at how Jesus sent Peter and John to make preparation for Jesus’ last Passover meal, and we took a close look at what the Passover meal and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread was all about. Then I talked about how Jesus washed His disciple’s feet during the Passover meal. In doing this, I did things slightly out of chronological order, but in this lesson, we will discuss Jesus and His disciples coming together for the meal and what happens during the meal. Let’s begin with:

Matt. 26:20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.

Lk. 22:14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve¹ apostles with Him. Also, Mk. 14:17.

So, they came together that evening to Partake of the Passover meal, but Jesus is about to do something that will forever change the Passover meal that was for the Jews because He is going to institute something that entirely new that would be partaken every first day of the week instead of once a year. Of course, I am talking about the Lord’s Supper. You will find this is talked about in Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22, and Paul talks about in 1 Cor. 11. .

The way I want to approach this section of Scripture is to first read Luke’s account, but then I want to give a general lesson on the Lord’s Supper.

Lk. 22:15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ "for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." ¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ "for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." ¹⁹ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." ²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

The first thing, I want to share with you is a few quotes about the Lord’s Supper from some of the early writers who called themselves Christians. These men are not inspired by God, but it gives us some insight to what they taught about the Lord’s Supper.

One of the earliest sets of secular writings we have after the birth of the church dating around A.D. 100 is called the “Didach” (did-uh-kay), which means teaching. The author is unknown, but this writing was a guide to those who were becoming Christians.

Didache 14:1 But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. ² But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. ³ For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations.

They also limited who could partake of the Lord’s Supper:

Didache 9:5 But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord hath said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs.

Justin Martyr writing around A.D. 150 wrote:

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in the cities or in the country gather together in one place.

…. Then [the Eucharist] is distributed to everyone, and everyone participates in that over which thanks have been given.

…. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.

These are just a small sample of what some of these early writers said about the Lord’s Supper. As you read through these secular writings, you will find that they agree that the Lord’s Supper is to be taken by Christians every first day of the week. This fact is backed up by B.W. Johnson who authored the People’s New Testament:

...the early church writers from Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, to Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Cyprian, all with one consent, declare that the church observed the first day of the week. They are equally agreed that the Lord's Supper was observed weekly, on the first day of the week.

It did not take long for man to corrupt the Lord’s Supper. In fact, some of the Christians in the 1^st century had already started to corrupt the Lord’s Supper and Paul rebuked the Corinthians for doing this in:

1 Corinthians 11:17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. ²⁰ Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

These Christians had turned the Lord’s Supper into a feast and a drunken fest and it was every man for himself. They had gone back to their old ways because there was a lot of Pagan worship going on in that city, but as Paul told them, what they were doing was not the Lord’s Supper. If they continued to defile the Lord’s Supper this way Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:27 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.

This was a serious offense and Paul also said:

1 Corinthians 11:29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. ³⁰ For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

While we may never get to the point of abusing the Lord’s Supper as these Christians did, we still need to be concerned about how we partake of the Lord’s Supper. We need to make sure that we are doing it in the proper manner because if we are not careful, we can turn the Lord’s Supper into mindless activity. If we count it as a common thing, then we are not partaking of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner, and Paul’s rebuke will apply to us.

This is why it is so important that we partake of the Lord’s Supper with our minds in the right place because when we do it right, we will get the most out of the Lord’s Supper, and our lives will be blessed, and our spirits will be uplifted.

To help us get the most out of the Lord’s Supper, let's take a look at what the Bible says about the Lord’s Supper.

The first thing I want to point about the Lord’s Supper is that it is a memorial that reminds us of what Jesus did for us. Memorials have always been important throughout the Bible, and many times you will read in the Old Testament of how the children of Israel would set up a memorial of what God had done for them. For example, Joshua had them set up 12 stones to serve as a reminder of how God allowed them to cross the Jordan River on dry ground in Josh 4.

Also under the OT, the Passover was a memorial observed every year by the Jews, so they could be reminded of how they were delivered from Egypt by God and how their first born males were spared by them putting the blood of a lamb on their door post.

In the same way, the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of what Jesus did for us and how He died for us. Notice what Jesus said when He instituted the Lord’s Supper:

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." ²⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Also Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:23 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; ²⁴ 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." ²⁵ 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."

So when we eat of the unleavened bread, we need to remember that it represents the body of Christ. We need to think about what His physical body went through for us and how much Love He had for us to allow His body to be put to death on the cross.

When we drink of the fruit of the vine, we need to think about how Jesus was willing to shed His blood for us so that we could have the forgiveness of sin and so the new covenant could be put in place, which is a covenant for every person on the face of the earth. As Paul said in:

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we need to concentrate and have our minds on what Jesus did for us even though we did not deserve it. There are many different ways that we can do this.

First of all, we can simply use our imaginations and picture in our minds how Jesus lived a perfect sin free life for us and how He was willing to endure the scourging, the beatings and the suffering He endured on the cross. We can imagine how all those Jews had turned their back on Jesus, yet He was willing die for them and us. Finally, we can imagine how painful it was for Jesus when He had to be separated from His Father for the first time in His life because He was being sacrificed for all of our sins.

Second, we can take out our Bibles and read passages like Isa. 53, Psalms 22 or N.T. passages that talk about what Jesus did for us.

Third, we can open our song books and read the words of those songs that talk about the Lord’s Supper.

All, of these things can be helpful, but what is important is for you to figure out what works best for you, so that you can make sure that you have your mind on Christ and what He did for us as you partake of the Lord’s Supper. When we do this, it will help us to get the most out of it.

Another thing that will help us to get the most out the Lord’s Supper is to realize that it is a proclamation of Jesus’ death until He comes again. As Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are letting people know that Jesus died for our sins and we are also proclaiming our faith in Jesus in that He will return one day. Until that day happens, we will continue to proclaim His death every week by partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

When our children see us doing this every Sunday, they will understand that the Lord’s Supper is important to mom and dad, and they will ask why do you partake of the Lord’s Supper, and we can tell them all about it. The same thing can happen to our visitors from the community. Not only does the Lord’s Supper serve as a memorial, it can also be used as teaching tool for our children and others as we proclaim Jesus death as we look forward to the day He returns.

Another thing that will help us to get the most of the Lord’s Supper is to realize that we are in fellowship with Jesus when we partake of it, as Paul said:

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

According to Paul, we are participating and fellowshipping with the blood of Christ and His body when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, which is why only Christians should partake of it because a nonChristian cannot be in fellowship with Jesus. If we can imagine in our minds that we are in direct fellowship with Jesus as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, it will cause us to appreciate and take the Lord’s Supper seriously. As we think about what we are doing and who we are doing it with, it should move us. Sometimes, it may make us sad that Jesus had to die for us, and other times it might cause us to rejoice in our minds because Jesus was willing to die for us and give us the hope of heaven.

Again, if we will think about these things, we can’t help but to get the most out of the Lord’s Supper.

Another thing we must do is to consider the warning of Paul:

1 Corinthians 11:27 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.

The last thing we should want as Christians is to be guilty of the blood of Christ by not partaking of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. Some have misunderstood this passage to mean that we must be worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper, but if that were the case none of should ever partake of it because none us are worthy, but thankfully though God’s grace, all true Christians have been reconciled to God through Jesus’ death, which gives us the privilege to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

What Paul had in mind here is that we are not supposed take it in an unworthy manner. Of course, the immediate example was how these Corinthians had completely corrupted it, but we can do the same if we are not partaking it with the right attitude or for the right reason. So, reminding ourselves of how serious we should be when we partake of the Lord’s Supper will help us to really focus on it. If we count it a common thing, it just like counting Jesus’ death on the cross a common thing, so let’s be sure that our minds in the right place as Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

The immediate context tells us that this is talking about examining ourselves to make sure that we are partaking of the Lord’s Supper with the right attitude and for the right reason. However, I would also like to suggest this also makes a great time to reflect on how we have been living our Christian lives. Have we been faithful this week or are there sins that we need to take care of? When we think about Jesus dying for the forgiveness of our sins and how He has made it possible for us to continue to have forgiveness for our future sins as we walk in the light, it will help motivate us to live holy lives.

If we will allow it, the Lord’s Supper can help us to remain faithful to God and to never forget that our ultimate goal is to honor Christ’s death by keeping sin out of our lives and by doing our best to follow in His footsteps.

One last thing that will help us to get the most of the Lord’s Supper is to realize that we are also in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, which is why Paul taught that we are to partake of it together. When we assemble with the saints, we make up the one body of Christ that He purchased with His own blood. When we partake of it together, we show our unity, and it is wonderful thing to be able to come together and be in fellowship with each other and with God and be able to honor Jesus by eating the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine. Reminding ourselves of this great privilege we have been given by God should help us to get the most out of the Lord’s Supper.

I hope that you will allow this message to sink deep into your hearts, and that it will cause you to have a deeper appreciation for the Lord’s Supper, and I hope you will make an effort to be here every Lord’s Day so you can participate in remembering and proclaiming our Lord’s death until He comes again.

At this time I want to show how we can connect the Passover and the Lord’s Supper by showing you how the Passover Lamb was a type of Jesus and how this feast is similar to the Lord’s Supper. Just as the Children of Israel were to teach their children about the Passover, in a similar manner, when our kids see us partaking of the Lord’s Supper and they want to know why we do it, we need to teach them why and how Jesus is our Passover lamb. The Passover lamb in the OT was only for the Children of Israel, but Jesus is the Passover lamb for everyone who accepts Him through an obedient faith. Notice what John the Baptist says about Jesus.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus truly is our Passover lamb. With this in mind, let us now compare the similarities between the Passover lamb and Jesus.

Exodus 12:5 says the lamb was to be without blemish.

Jesus was without blemish because He had no sin.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

1 Peter 2:22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

Exodus 12:5 says that the lamb to be offered was to be a year old, which was in the vigor of his life. Jesus was offered up in the vigor of His life as He was about 33 years old.

Exodus 12:5 says the lamb was to the best of the flock

Jesus was the best because He was the Son of God.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

In Exodus 12: 5-13, we learn that the Lamb had to be slain before salvation for the Jews would happen.

Jesus had to be slain before mankind could be saved.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another -- ²⁶ He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Exodus 12:9 says that the Lamb’s bones were not to be broken.

Jesus’ bones were not broken.

John 19: ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. ³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."

Exodus 12:7 says the blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the side post and the Lintel.

The Blood of Jesus is to be sprinkled on the heart (Hebe. 12:22-24; 1 Pet. 1:2).

A lamb is humble and submissive (Isa. 53:7).

Jesus was humble and submissive (Isa. 53:7-8; Acts 8:32).

Exodus 12:8 says that the lamb must be eaten.

Jesus must be eaten.

John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

When we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, we are in fellowship with Him, and we are to do our best to be like Him as we strive follow after Him by obeying all His words.

In Exodus 12:14-28, the Passover was celebrated yearly.

The death of Jesus is celebrated weekly.

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." ²⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹ "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."

When do we find Christians partaking of the Lord’s Supper with Christ?

Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,

The Passover was a very serious matter and the Children of Israel had to prepare for it and make sure they didn’t have any leaven in their houses. Christians should also take the Lord’s Supper very serious and should partake of it with a prepared mind. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 11:23 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; ²⁴ 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." ²⁵ 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." ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Just as the Passover was done in remembrance of what God did for His people, we are to remember what Christ did for us, and when we partake of it, we are proclaiming Jesus’ death until He comes again. A person who does not partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner is like the Jew in the OT who would be found with leaven in his household, which made him guilty of sin. It’s important that we know what we are doing when we eat of the bread, and drink of the fruit of the vine. As I already said, it also serves as a reminder for us to live more faithful lives because it reminds of the great sacrifice Jesus made for us.

We learn the following from:

Exodus 12:43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. ⁴⁴ "But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. ⁴⁵ "A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. ⁴⁶ "In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. ⁴⁷ "All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.

Only those who were circumcised were to partake of the Passover.

In similar manner, only those who have been circumcised in the heart through baptism should partake of the Lord’s Supper.

Colossians 2: ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Notice what Paul says in:

1 Corinthians 10:⁶ The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? ¹⁷ For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

Paul makes it clear that only those who are part of the one body, which is the church, are to partake of the Lord’s Supper. There are more comparison I could make between the Passover and the Lord’s Supper, but I think what I have presented shows the connection between these two and certainly show that Jesus truly is our Passover Lamb.

No doubt, the Children of Israel had something wonderful to rejoice about as they celebrated the Passover and the feast of the unleavened. After all, it was a time in history when they were freed from the Egyptian bondage, which would lead them to the promise land and eventually fulfill the land promise made to Abraham. As great as it was that the 10th plague did not kill the first born of the children of Israel, we are still talking about physical salvation.

However, when it comes to the Lord’s Supper and who it represents, we should be more thankful and rejoice more than the children of Israel because Jesus being our Passover lamb means that we have eternal salvation, which is far greater than just sparing our first born. Sometimes, I wonder if we lose sight of what The Lord’s Supper is all about and what it means to us. While it represents Jesus’ death on the cruel cross and all that He had to endure, it is also represents freedom from sin and eternity in heaven. So, it is not just a time of sadness of what our sins did, but it is also a time to be happy that God loved us so much that Jesus was willing to give His life for us. This is one of those bitter sweet moments because on one hand, Jesus had to suffer and die for us because we could not save ourselves, but on the other hand, we know that it means that Jesus did all this for us and has given us the hope of eternal life in heaven.

So, I hope that this lesson in some way has reminded you of how important the Lord’s Supper should be to us because of what it means to each and every Christian. So, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, I hope we never turn it into a common thing, but that we do our best to realize each time just how wonderful our Savior is and that we are in fellowship with Him when we partake of the Lord’s Supper.