Communion

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."

What is Communion?

The early church would observe the Passover by telling the story of the Exodus. Through storytelling, they would join the past with the present. This oral tradition is called Haggadah, a word which means 'declaration' and is taken from the Hebrew of Exodus 13:8, "You shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt." Each member of the family was to think as though he had been there in Egypt and had been personally brought out by the Lord:

When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Deuteronomy 6:20-21

Three parts to the early church's celebration of the Passover:

A Common Meal and Fellowship

As we take the plunge in baptism, we are symbolizing unity with Christ in His death and risen life; in the Lord's Supper we share in His body and blood:

"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread." 1 Corinthians 10:16-18

When we put in our hands the things that Jesus handled and hear the words He spoke, and realize that He is present by the Holy Spirit, we are united with Him in His sacrifice that absorbed our sin. In Communion, we are united with Christ and also united with each other.

"Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread." 1 Corinthians 10:17

We are joined together by "the one bread." Therefore, there can be no division in the body.

"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump...For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Leaven is something that causes dough to rise by fermentation. Jesus, in Matthew 13:33, uses leaven to illustrate the growth in the Kingdom of Heaven yet in 1 Corinthians 5 it is used to illustrate the corruptness and perverseness that has pervaded our hearts and lives. (see also Matthew 16:6, 11and Mark 8:15)

As the Bread and Wine Were Taken, the Lord's Presence Was to Be Recalled.

To "remember," in Biblical thought, means to take an action that is buried in the past and recall or remember it in such a way that its original meaning and vitality are not lost, but are carried over into the present. (see 1 Kings 17:18). So when we participate in Communion, we are doing more that merely thinking of the historical Christ on the cross, but we are remembering the crucified and living Christ in such a way that He is personally present in all the fullness and reality of His saving power. "Take, eat; this is My body" (Matt. 26:26). As we take our bread and dip it into the cup, each one of us is taking the benefits of Christ's death to ourselves. We are participating in or sharing in the benefits earned for us by the death of Jesus.

It should be noted that this is not an endorsement for transubstantiation. This is the teaching held by the Roman Catholic Church that the bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. Jesus spoke in symbolic ways referring to Himself. He said, "This is My body", but He also said "I am the vine"(John 15:1), or "I am the door"(John 10:9). Jesus was sitting with His disciples holding the bread in His hand but it was distinct from His body. Remember also that Jesus spoke Aramaic so they didn't attach any literal significance to the verb in the English translation, 'is', because the verb 'to be' was omitted in the spoken language.

Communion Pointed Beyond Itself To a Future Hope in the Kingdom of God.

"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."
Matthew 26:29

As we eat and drink, we are to be aware of both the Lord's presence at present, and of that future day where we will eat and drink with our Maker.

Past, present and future are wrapped up in this sacred and joyful sacrament. The Living One is in the midst of His ransomed people so let's do this together for years to come, in remembrance of Him.