LANGUAGE:
Lessons From The Lord’s Supper
(1 Corinthians 11; Luke 22)
Well, here we are, the second Sunday of 2023. I really appreciated John filling in for me last Sunday. Because we missed coming to the Lord’s Table last Sunday, we will come to His Table Today. Since we’re at the beginning of the year, I thought it would be good to talk about priorities. If we have no priorities set in our lives, our lives our purposeless, pushing us into a wasted wandering.[i] Priorities can easily be smothered by the things swirling around us. We are constantly bombarded with messages telling us what we should do, what we need to buy, and what will make us happy.
So, how do we know what is should truly be important for us in 2023? The Bible has a lot to say about that.[ii] For example, Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 (NASB95) “But seek first ‘the kingdom of God’ and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. I find Jesus’ words very interesting. According to Jesus we’re to make the things of God a priority over the things of the world.
Before proceeding, let’s take a moment and ask God to guide our study this morning--Heavenly Father, shine the light of Your Word into our hearts today and open the eyes of our minds to comprehend what You have written for us. For Your Word is truth, life, health and light. It nourishes our souls and refreshes our spirits. Open our hearts to receive what You have for each one of us, and open our lips to speak only that which glorifies Your name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen[iii]
As we read through the Bible there is a phrase that pops up repeatedly that goes something like, “Hey, you need to pay close attention. This is really important.”[iv] For example, in Hebrews 2:1 (NASB95) we are told directly we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. Notice carefully what the writer of Hebrews is saying he is calling for our undivided attention to the things we have heard . . . now don’t miss this part . . . we better pay close attention, because if we don’t, we’ll find ourselves adrift. In context, what is designed to keep us from drifting is the Word of God. The point for us is, God wants us to realize that paying close attention to His word is incredibly important. It is our security in the midst of the ebb and flow of life.
The phrase ‘closer attention’ has the idea of earnestness, intensity. That is, really be attentive. Why? Because if we don’t we’ll drift away from His truth, His righteousness, and His kingdom principles for living.
When I was 7 and our family was on a beautiful beach at Malindi, Kenya. We had been playing in the water with inner tubes for some time. Mom called us in for lunch. Lunch over, and we headed back to the water. That’s when things got exciting. You see, I had not properly beached our inner tube. It was gone. It was now a considerable distance in the lagoon. The only swimmer was Mom, and she was not happy. Our play time was curtailed because I had not paid attention to the instructions.
As you know, the ocean is never still. Roughly every 12 ¼ hours the tide moves. Momma had told us to bring the tubes way from the water’s edge, way past the tide marks. I didn’t follow her instructions. I didn’t understand the oceans ebb-and-flow. And like the ocean, our culture is ebbing and flowing. Never still. That’s why the writer of Hebrews implores us, you and me, to intensify our attention to what God says in His Word less we drift away from it, lest we find ourselves adrift in the cultural swirl.”x
It is in that context our Lord invites us to come to His table. His Table is designed to keep us from being set adrift in the sea of despair, confusion, and the worries of life. Jesus told His disciples, This do in remembrance of me.[v] Remembering is an important aspect of our faith. As we remember the promises of God, our confidence grows in trusting God and living in His truth.
I believe our Lord meant for this moment to be the standard by which we are called to live out our lives a reminder from where we have come from, and what it took to make it happen, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.[vi] So I think it is important for us to begin our year 2023 as a time of remembrance.
So what are we to remember? In preparing for today, I found an article by Jack Hayford to be very helpful.[vii] Knowing the centrality of the Lord’s Table to our faith can keep us from drifting from the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. To help us in remembering, we are going to look at a number of Bible passages that will guide us in remembering, and help us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness in 2023.
Here are six important truths for us to keep in mind over the next 357 days left in this year. And by-the-way, as a side note . . . by my count there are 351 days until Christmas 2023. Just thought you might want to know that. Let’s think thru the implications of the Lord’s Table for how we are to live out our lives in 2023.
Here’s the first truth, participating at the Lord’s Table is a necessity. Luke 22, vs14-15 14And when the hour came, Jesus reclined at table with His disciples. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
As Jesus came to what we refer to as His Last Supper, He turns to His disciples and tells them, “I have a very earnest or deep desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. The point for us is, this was more than a religious observance. For 33 years Jesus has been celebrating the Passover Seder … a meal that memorialized the events recorded in Exodus 12. At midnight, on the 15th of Nissan, which would be March/April for us, the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt. It is easier to imagine than to try and describe the confusion and terror of that night. The night would have been filled with the groans of the dying and the wild shrieks of mourners. The hope of every family who didn’t have blood on their door frame was destroyed in a moment of time. It was divine judgement on the Egyptians. For roughly eighty years they had thrown Israelite male children into the river Nile [Ex 1:16], and now all their own first-born fell by the hand of the Angel of Death. In the justice of God they now felt the pain they had inflicted on the Israelite families.[viii]
Jesus turns to His disciples and tells them, “I have a very deep desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. This is a transition Passover Seder, moving from the Passover of the Old Testament to what we call the Lord’s Table. What happened in Egypt was symbolic of what is to come. In taking the matzo bread, and the cup, Jesus moved the centuries old Passover Seder Lamb to Himself. He was now the Passover Lamb. The next day, as the old hymn The Old Rugged Cross summarizes it,
on a hill far away (outside Jerusalem)
where the dearest and best for a world of Lost sinners would be slain.
He would suffer and die, that everyone
who would acknowledge their sins and believe in Him
would be pardon, sanctified, justified, and ultimately glorified.[ix]
The point for us is, this is not a religious observance. Luke tells us that as Jesus served the disciples, He told them, “This do in remembrance of me”.[x] It’s a time when our Lord invites all to come to Him and partake of His fullness and His life.
Second, when we come to Revelation 12 we are prompted to remember that Jesus, by His death, conquered the power of the enemy. That is, we’re called to celebrate. Revelation 12:10–11 (GW) 10. . .“Now the salvation, power, kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah have come. The one accusing ‘us’ day and night in the presence of our God has been thrown out. 11 ‘We have’ won the victory over him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of ‘our’ testimony. ‘We’ didn’t love ‘our’ life even when ‘we’ were faced with death. When we come to our Lord’s Table we are to celebrate our freedom from sin, freedom from Satan through the Cross. The Table is a reminder that Jesus has given us victory over our Adversary. At the Table we remember that Jesus conquered all the powers of hell. This is a “Hallelujah” moment, a victorious celebration.
Third, it’s a time when we acknowledge our redemption. 1 Peter 1:18–19 (NASB95) 18knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. [xi]
Every time I come to the Lord’s Table, we “proclaim” the impact of the Lord’s death, which is our salvation and redemption that cost something.[xii] By taking the bread and the cup, we proclaim that Jesus purchased life for me.
Fourth, at our Lord’s Table we are acknowledging our dependence. John 6:53–56 (NASB95) 53 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Understand, at the Lord’s Table we do not believe the bread actually becomes Jesus’ body or the cup turns into blood. … Jesus made clear He was talking about a spiritual reality, not a physical one. Yet neither are we saying these are just a piece of bread and a cup of juice. Jesus said there is a working of the Spirit of God that will happen in our lives when we partake; the Holy Spirit in some way will nourish us as we come to the Table of our Lord if we come in faith. We partake in the recognition that we are dependent upon this life flowing in us and among us as believers. We need the Lord, and we need each other.[xiii]
Fifth, we do not come willy-nilly to the Lord’s Table. It’s a time of personal self-examination—a time of taking a closer look at ourselves, particularly the grounding of our faith. 1 Corinthians 11:28–32 (NASB95)28 a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
The Greek word for examine (dokîmázô), means, "'to test, to prove,' that is to prove something is of worth or value. In this case I believe the emphases centers on our faith. As we come to the Lord’s Table we must realize the magnitude of our relationship with God and the obligation this puts us under to live every second as an example of God's way of life. As God's people we are not ordinary in any sense! That’s why Solomon writes in Proverbs 4:23, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."
Coming to the Lord’s Table is designed for us to take a periodic review of our faith, in Jesus to see how our life with Him is coming along. If we are out of step and we don’t correct ourselves, God will. We need periodic review less we drift from the truth and become entrapped by Satan to do his will.[xiv] The blindness of sin is persistent in all of us. Every man’s battle, every woman’s battle is rooted in the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life (1 John 2:16) and the pervasiveness of Satan. As we come to the Lord’s Table questions that we need to ask of our selves might be:
We participate in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner when we harbor willful sin in our lives and refuse to repent of it. This is a time that we agree with our Lord about our sin, repent of it, and receive His forgiveness. [xv] We can then take the elements in a worthy manner, in fellowship with God and other believers, purified through the blood of Jesus.[xvi]
Last, we’re told in 1 Corinthians 11:26 (NASB95) For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. We need to be clear as to what it means for us as Followers of Christ as to how we proclaim His death, and how that impacts our observance. Romans 1:16 (NASB95)For we are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
As we proclaim the power of God we remember and grieve over our sin; not just sins in particularly, but the sin itself embedded in our very lives. We need that ‘godly sorrow’ spoken of in 2 Corinthians 7:10ff that ‘produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted’, as opposed to the ‘sorrow of the world’ that ‘produces death’. We remember the horror of sin when we proclaim that we are crucified with Him (Galatians 2:20). Dying with Christ means that I will show my love for Him by keeping his commandments, with intelligence and godly enthusiasm.
In this moment we declare publically, by faith the grace of our Lord Jesus. Romans 5:9-119 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
As often’ as you eat the bread and drink the cup, as believers we are impelled, and empowered to testify with heart and life to the Lord who has bought them with the price of his own blood. As the Psalmist states in in Psalm 116:12–14 (GW) 12 How can I repay the Lord for all the good that he has done for me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. 14 I will keep my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.[xvii]
Just as Jesus had a “fervent desire” to eat the Passover with His disciples, so He calls you and me to come to His Table and partake with understanding. We are called to celebrate His victory over the powers of darkness, proclaim His redemptive work in our lives, declare our dependence upon Him and one another, examine ourselves that we might grow as His disciples, and receive every blessing that His sacrifice for us has provided.
Transition To Communion
So now we come to the Lord’s Table in response to hearing God’s Word. Realigning our lives to His calling as we refresh our memory in accords with Romans 6, that we have a share in all that He did, such that what is true of Him is true of us: He died, and we died in Him. Listen again as I read for us 1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (NASB95) … 23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, as we bow before You in humility, we ask that You examine our hearts today. Show us anything that is not pleasing to You. Reveal secret pride, unconfessed sin, rebellion or unforgiveness that may be hindering our relationship with You. We know that we are Your beloved children, having received You into our hearts and accepted Your death as penalty for our sinfulness. The price You paid covered us for all time, and our desire is to live for You.
As we take the bread representing Your life that was broken for us, we remember and celebrate Your faithfulness to us and to all who genuinely know You. We can't begin to fathom the agonizing suffering of Your crucifixion. Yet You took that pain for us. You died for us!
Thank You for Your extravagant love and unmerited favor. Thank You that Your death gave us life—abundant life now, and eternal life forever. As You instructed Your disciples, we, too, receive this bread in remembrance of You. Amen
Passing of the bread
After we take the bread, turn to the person next to you and say to them--The body of Christ, broken for you . then the person next to you will repeat . . . the body of Christ broken for you . . . then we eat the bread together
Scripture & Prayer
1 Corinthians 11:25-26(ESV) 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.
Pray
After we take the cup, turn to the person next to you and say to them—This is the blood of Christ poured out for you then the person next to you will repeat . . . This is the blood of Christ poured out for you. . . then we will drink the cup together
[i] John Piper, Don’t Waste You Life, The American dream beckons people to spend their lives on trivial diversions, slipping through life caught up with seeking success, comfort, and pleasure above all else. But God designed people for far more than this.
[ii] Ephesians 5:16 NIV: making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. redeeming the time, because the days are evil. redeeming the time, because the days are evil. But as wise: redeeming the time, because the days are evil. redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
[iii] See https://prayerist.com/prayer/understandingthebible
[iv] This admonition by Jesus is recorded six times: Matthew 11:15, 13:9 and 13:43; Mark 4:9; and Luke 8:8 and 14:35. A variation, "he who has an ear" appears 7 times in Rev 2-3
[v] Luke 22:19–20 (NASB95) 19 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.” 20 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. 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NASB95) 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 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.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Exodus 12:12–14 (NASB95) 12 ‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. 13 ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
[vi] Colossians 1:13 (NASB95) 13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
[vii] Jack Jayford, Come To The Table, https://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/come-to-the-table/
[viii] https://biblehub.com/library/jamieson/commentary_critical_and_explanatory_on_the_whole_bible/ex_12_1-10_the_passover_instituted.htm
[ix] The Old Rugged Cross, https://divinehymns.com/lyrics/on-a-hill-far-away-song-lyrics/
[x] Luke 22:19–20 (NASB95) 19 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.” 20 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.
[xi] Acts 20:28 (NASB95) 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.; 1 Corinthians 7:23 (NASB95) 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. ; 2 Peter 2:1 (NASB95)1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.; Revelation 5:9 (NASB95) 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
[xii] 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB95) 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
[xiii] Jack Jayford, Come To The Table, https://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/come-to-the-table/
[xiv] 2 Timothy 2:25–26 (NASB95) 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NASB95) 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
[xv] 1 John 1:9 (NASB95) 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[xvi] 1 John 1:7 (NASB95) 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ; Romans 5:8–10 (NASB95) 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
[xvii]https://www.gotquestions.org/take-up-your-cross.html Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25-26).