The importance of the Lord’s Supper
Has there ever been a time when you were fully focused in your worship to God, but then you approached the Lord’s Supper and you just could not maintain that focus? You wanted to put forth your best effort to connect to God in this time, but it may have just been too hard to truly do that. Maybe you started thinking of what was happening after worship, a big deadline in school/work, or another distraction in your life. You might have even had a hard time focusing because you just weren't sure what you were supposed to be focusing on. How can we make this time that we spend with God more meaningful? What does it mean to “Do This In Remembrance of Me”? Where does it all start?
What is the Lord’s Supper?
In a simple explanation, the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of the sacrifice that Christ made for all people when He came to this earth. But I feel that The Lord’s Supper needs more than just a simple explanation. Let’s start by looking at what the scripture has to say about it. The first thing that we learn about this supper is that Jesus is using emblems to teach the disciples. This is a method that Jesus often uses while teaching.
It reads, “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26)
He will also use this same method when discussing the blood He will shed. He begins by saying that the bread that they are partaking in is a representation of His body.
He soon after takes the cup, and the scripture reads, “And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).
So we learn during this teaching that Jesus is not telling a story from the past, but He is explaining what was to come. He was telling the disciples of the death He would soon endure and that this would be the last time He would partake of this feast before He came again (Matthew 26:29).
The Parallel between The Passover and The Lord’s Supper
Before we look at the importance of the Lord’s Supper I think that we need to see the parallel that is given to us through scripture. Scripture often has a theme of connecting the Old Law and the New Law through parallels. For instance, “The Flood”/“Baptism”; “The Nation of Israel”/“The Church”; “The Sacrifices”/“The Ultimate Sacrifice”. Similar to these the Lord’s Supper has a parallel to the Passover feast. What is the Passover? The Passover was a feast that commemorates the time in which God passed over the Children of Israel, when they were in Egyptian captivity. God had plagued Egypt nine times and, with the tenth plague, He was going to take the life of the firstborn of all families unless they sacrificed a pure lamb and spread the blood of that lamb on the door post. God would then pass over the house of those who listened to Him, which is where we get the name Passover (Exodus 12). Now as for the parallel between the two feasts, we understand that the inauguration of the Lord’s Supper actually took place in the midst of the eve of the Passover. It is understood that this was done in order to connect the two events, out with the old and in with the new. We can also see the parallel that they were to use a lamb as the sacrifice during the initial Passover, as stated in Exodus 12:3-6, and, in the same way, the sacrifice that the Lord’s Supper is to memorialize is the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29; Isaiah 53:7) or Jesus. Both involved sacrifices of innocence for people who were guilty of sin, but, by the mercy that God had on His people, they were to be saved. The only difference in the parallel is that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice to cleanse all who were blemished (1 Peter 1:18-20). That is why we partake of the Lord’s Supper: in remembrance of that Sacrifice.
What makes the Lord’s Supper so important?
First and foremost I believe that the importance of this feast of remembrance is a way in which we can connect with what God has truly done for us. God has given us such an amazing opportunity to remember His sacrifice. Although we should remember Him daily (Luke 9:23), I believe that Christ has implemented something so special for His people to remember Him. We cannot take this for granted because of the importance that we find in it in 1 Corinthians 11:26. The Lord’s Supper is often referred to as communion, but what does this entail? One thing we know for sure is that any time we see in scripture the feast happening, there are many people gathered together (Matthew 26:26-28; Acts 20:7; Luke 24:30). The word communion, according to Merriam-Webster, means an act or instance of sharing. This is a time in which all of God’s people can share in this action. When people feast, they tend to feast in a group; when we partake of the feast in remembrance of the Sacrifice that God has given us, we partake in it with not only our congregation, but with our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.
What is the appropriate mindset for The Lord’s Supper?
So now we know what The Lord’s Supper is, how it fits into God’s plan, and why it is important, but how are we supposed to approach the Lord’s Supper. I believe that there are four steps to be in the appropriate mindset for this feast.
Examination
First, we must examine ourselves. Although I find this to be a good way to approach our worship to God in general, we see a direct command in scripture for this. “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Paul says here that this is an important step for us. We must examine our lives and our purpose to follow Christ.
Proclamation
Next, we have to understand that since we are partaking of this feast, we are proclaiming that we believe in what this feast represents. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”(1 Corinthians 11:26). This proclamation is a decision that we must make every time that we come into the presence of God to remember that sacrifice. We must be prepared to proclaim that of which we have been blessed. There should be no shame when we do proclaim His death (Romans 1:16-17).
Commemoration
As mentioned before, the importance of the Lord’s Supper is to remember what God has done for us. This is such an important step, because it is not only something that has been commanded, but it is something to which we must also commit (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We must commemorate the sacrifice of Christ in our hearts and minds when we partake of the bread and the cup.
Dedication
Finally, we must dedicate ourselves to Christ in remembrance of His sacrifice. “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:29). We learn here that when we make the decision to partake in this feast, we are dedicating our lives to what it means. Those who eat without discerning, those who do not fully dedicate themselves to the previous steps, will put judgement upon themselves. We must be dedicated in our examination, proclamation, and commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.
Closing remarks
When we approach the Lord’s Supper, we must be prepared to focus on the sacrifice our Savior made for us. This can often be a daunting task with how crazy/busy our lives can be, but, if we examine ourselves, proclaim that Jesus is our Savior, commemorate the sacrifice that He made for us, and dedicate ourselves to the life that He has called us to live, I truly believe that our focus for the Lord’s Supper can be stronger than ever.