JDL - Direction Twenty-Four - The Lord’s Supper - from Temple to Church

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that 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 Cor. 11:23-26 (ESV)

In the Old Testament, God gave the children of Israel a rather elaborate set of rules and guidelines for dealing with sin and for offering sacrifices. Each sin committed, either on purpose or on accident, had a particular penalty or sacrifice associated with it. Some sins were deemed greater than others and required a larger sacrifice than others. Each sacrifice included a liturgy of the one offering the sacrifice to do a certain part and the priest, on God’s behalf, doing a certain part.

Interestingly enough, for all the sacrifices that were made, none of these sacrifices truly paid for anything. No animal sacrifice is enough to pay the price of any one person’s sin. However, all of these Old Testament sacrifices did serve one purpose; they were pointing to the One Sacrifice which would be enough.

In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed Him and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. And when they ate of the fruit of that tree, they did die. They immediately died a spiritual eternal death (hell), although that death was atoned for by Jesus. And they began to die an earthly physical death. The result of their sins continues to be seen in our world today as death and dying continue.

At a certain point in history God chose the children of Israel. Out of all the nations of the world and by His grace, He called them. He called them to be His people. He put His name on them making them His people. He did everything for them and gave everything to them. And yet, they continued to sin. And He continued to forgiven them and promise and reiterate His promise to send a Savior through their nation. He instituted the sacrificial system so that they might see the cost of their sins. Because of their sins, blood had to be shed, life had to be given.

When the repentant sinner would bring the sacrifice, after placing his hands on the head of the offering as the priest killed it, the priest then cut up the animal. Some parts were burned completely, other parts were given to the priest and lastly the sinner would eat of some parts of the sacrifice (almost like a bar-be-que). And thus, the sinner would participate in the sacrifice, bringing the offering, putting his sins on the offering, watching the burning of the offering and eating some of the offering.

When we get to the New Covenant, the New Testament, we have something similar happening. We are the sinners who bring ourselves before the Lord. Jesus is the great High Priest. We come empty handed. Jesus comes offering Himself as the supreme sacrifice, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:36). Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified, sacrificed on the cross for our sins. And now, when we come to the Lord’s Supper, we eat of this sacrifice. We eat of the bread and Jesus’ body, and we drink of the cup of wine and of Jesus’ blood. And in this way, in this eating and drinking we participate (“Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24)) in this sacrifice. In His death, His life is given for us and for our life. Thus, His death is our death. Yet, He does not stay dead but rises from the dead, and so His resurrection is also for us. His resurrection is our resurrection. And His life, His eternal life is our life, our eternal life.

There is no more need for any type of sacrifice. Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice once and for all for the forgiveness of sins (Heb. 10:10). When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we partake for the forgiveness of sins earned by Jesus and given to us.

And again, the main thing, then, in the Lord’s Supper is still the main thing, the fact that it is His supper. He is host and we are guest. He is the one giving the meal, the meal of Himself, and we are the ones being given to. He gives us His body and blood to eat and drink. He gives us forgiveness of sins, through the eating and drinking of His body and blood. He gives us faith and strengthening of faith. Yes, He gives, and we are given to. In like manner, in a Jesus-directed life, He is the one who gives (guidance and direction) and we are given to. And there is no better way to be directed than that we are first given forgiveness, which brings us back into a right relationship with Him, so that we might then listen as He speaks and gives to us.

Think About
In reading the Biblical account of the Lord’s Supper, read the words, which mean what they say. What does Jesus take? What does Jesus say He has? Hint: He takes bread and says it is His Body, He takes the cup of wine and says it is His blood.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gifts of bread and body, wine and blood, through which You give me faith, strengthening of faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. Forgive me when I impose my own logic on what You have given because it is truly beyond my human understanding. Instead, strengthen me to believe the very words You speak and so be given the gifts You give, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.