In one of his letters to the church in Corinth, Paul makes this clear when he says 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
1. The first step of our journey is not simply believing in Jesus but coming facing our own coffin and seeing though to the other side of it.
2. Communion not only reminds us of the brokenness Jesus submitted to, but also reminds us of the death we must face in order to follow him.
*The word communion is not in the Bible, but the concept of communion is.
When we partake in what we call communion, we remember what Jesus did on the cross by the pouring out of his blood and the willing sacrifice of his body, but did you know that the word communion is defined as “the joining together through genuine relationships sharing in the common love of God and each other.” Scripture is loaded with word pictures of the kind of unity that God is after with you and I. Communion means relationship, it means intimacy, it means devotion, and it means unity.
(Matthew 26
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”)
What we know is at the last supper, as Jesus took the bread, he gave thanks, and said to his disciples, this is my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me. Then afterwards, he took the cup also and said, “This cup is the “new covenant” in My blood; do this in remembrance of me”.
Why is “new covenant” significant?
The Lord has been seeking covenantal relationships with mankind from the beginning.
-Adam and Eve
-Noahic Covenant-I will never flood the Earth again. Gen 8
-Abrahamic Covenant-I will make you a father of many nations. Gen 12-17
-Mosaic Covenant-Mt Sinai, promising to make Israel into a holy nation. (Adam and Eve)
-Davidic Covenant-Kingship-From your bloodline, I will raise up a king whose throne will reign forever.
(1 Kings 9)
All of these covenants thematically build on one another. After God’s covenant with David, as readers, we are left waiting for the great deliverer, the Messiah from David’s line, who will make right the fractured relationship that began in the garden.
“This cup is the “new covenant” in My blood; do this in remembrance of me”.
The Last Supper was a Seder Meal
Seder is a Hebrew word meaning “order” and usually refers to the service conducted at the dinner table. Each participant follows along in a Haggadah, a booklet that contains the seder service. It tells the story of the first Passover under Moses (Ex. 12) and includes songs and prayers.
Remembrance of God’s delivery out of slavery and his unconditional covenantal promises.
“I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (v. 6).
“I will rescue you from their bondage” (v. 6).
“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments” (v. 6).
“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God” (v. 7).
What we often miss is that to the twelve he was speaking to, they still had no idea what was about to happen, (although there were plenty of hints!) whereas we are on the other side of the story.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time they would have heard Jesus say this talking about consuming his blood. In John 6 we read of a time when many of Jesus’s followers walked away from Him. John 6:53 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. He goes on to say For my flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. (vs. 55-56).
Many (disciples) said this is a difficult statement; who can listen to it? The Bible says they withdrew and didn’t follow Him anymore. To the ones who were left He said, “Do you want to go away also”? Peter says “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
Was it really just about cannibalism…though??
The blood was significant. His statement wasn’t only shocking because of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, but to consume the blood of anything was against Jewish tradition.
“‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” Leviticus 17:13-14
Jesus was pointing them (and us) back to Eden from where in the center stood the Tree of Life but also pointing them forward to what will be established once again.
Revelation 22:1-2
And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Prior to this, Jesus made many “I am” statements.
I am the bread of life
I am the light of the world
I am the gate
I am the good shepherd
I am the resurrection and the life
I am the way, the truth, and the life
I am the true vine
When he “I am the bread of life”, he is bringing them back to the Exodus story of when God delivered Israel out of slavery from Egypt and reminded them how when they were in the wilderness “manna from Heaven” fell every morning as food to eat. (bread for life) But those who ate from that manna eventually died. When Jesus proclaimed that He was the bread of life, the bread that “fell from Heaven”, those who ate of Him would have eternal life.
So what does communion mean for the faithful remnant?
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
The Children of God being multi-faceted, multiethnic, multi-talented, multi unique, are but one cell unified for the purposes and glorification of God. Let us today rest in our unification through the spirit of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 11:27-31
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. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.
The invitation for the remnant is unification and communion.
In doing so, we must become more authentic, to come back to our first love, the stare directly into the face of our own deaths, trusting that on the other side is the life we were always designed to live out and to flourish through.
We declare who our King was, is and, is to come and we walk in the everlasting covenant He established for us by the purification of our sins covered in his blood redeeming us to become the priestly representatives we were always designed to be.
For this reason, he is worthy of all of our praise and unending adoration.
