Communion

Preparing for Communion

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You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5 ESV
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread. 1 Corinthians 11:23 ESV

As Jesus sat down to eat with His disciples, little did they know that this would be the last time they would share a meal together. Though we call that night the last supper, we could also call it the first supper. It was the first time Jesus took the bread and broke it saying that it was to be a reminder of His body, given for us. It was time that the cup would represent the blood of the New Covenant which He purchased for us with His own blood. On that night the disciples had set the table, but it was Jesus who had planned what the meal would mean. His plan was not really understood by those who sat with Him, but it was so effective that we still celebrate it today. On that night of betrayal and in the presence of His enemies, Jesus chose to give us one of His greatest gifts. So, next time you sit in church, waiting for the communion plate to pass, remember it as His last supper, but celebrate it as if it was the first and give Him thanks!

And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

At the Table With Jesus

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And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
Luke 22:24 KJV

Communion is among the oldest and holiest practices in the Christian church. Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup, to his disciples, and those disciples broke the bread and passed the cup to others. As I sit in church every Sunday waiting for communion, I sometimes think of how, after 2,000 years, the bread and cup are still being passed. That night as the disciples sat around the Passover table, to commemorate God’s deliverance of His people out of Egypt, little did they know that even a greater deliverance was to about happen. The Bible tells us that Jesus longed to share that meal with them. He was getting ready to introduce them to a New Covenant between God and man and it would be bought with His own body and blood. Yet on the eve of the greatest sacrifice of love that the world would ever know, the disciples were arguing about which one of them was the most important. If you will permit me, let’s try to imagine their conversations.

Andrew: “Come on Peter, you are always trying to act like the big shot, but I want to remind you that it was me, who introduced you to Jesus and when Jesus needed bread, it was me who found the kid with the five loaves of bread!”
Peter: “Yes, but you were all there when Jesus said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church!”
John: “Alright already, that’s enough!  We don’t know what Jesus meant by that, especially since just five minutes later He called you Satan and told you to get behind Him. What you all have to admit is that He loves me the most!”

Two thousand years have passed and only the conversations have changed. “We baptize better!” “No but we send more missionaries!” “We live a holier life!” “We are the most blessed!” And yet, Jesus after listening to us, doesn’t just slap Himself on the forehead shouting, “You lunkheads! I’m out of here! What in the world ever possessed me to agree to be born in a stable in the first place!” No, instead Jesus still passes the bread. Jesus still blesses the cup. Jesus still washes our feet, and Jesus still gives His life. Our hope is built, not on our wonderful behavior, our polite conversation or our accomplishments. As the hymn reminds us, “Our hope is built on Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We all must all still come, one by one to eat the bread and to drink the cup given to us by the hands of Jesus, “My body, which is given for you…. This cup is the New Covenant in My blood.” How great a salvation! How wonderful our Lord! How precious His promises! How unchanging is His love!

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Saving the Best for Last

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And Last He took the Cup

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 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV

While we listened to quiet music, preparing to receive communion last Sunday, my mind turned back fifty years to memories of a farm where we once lived. In those days, my mornings began at a quarter to five. In the chilly darkness, I would stumble out to the barn where, our cow Blondie waited for me to bring her ground corn and hay. As I went about my work, she contentedly munched on ground corn and Kansas City, our cat watched expectantly hoping for the few drops of milk I sometimes sent her way. Twenty minutes later I would return with a bucket of warm fresh milk. This was poured through cheese cloth and allowed to settle, till the cream rose to the top. That cream we skimmed off and set aside. That very best part of the milk we saved for last.

And saving the best for last, is exactly what Jesus did at the very first communion table. While the disciples were still arguing over which of them was most important, Christ took the precious bread and the cup to try and show them what must soon happen on a terrible cross, waiting just up the road for Him. After three years, during which they had shared countless adventures, sailed through storms and seen miracles, the disciples still had much to learn. So, as they sat together at the Last Supper, Jesus gave thanks, then took the bread saying, “This is my body,” and then the cup, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood.”

Two thousand years later it is no different. We still have the privilege with uncounted millions of others who have believed before us, to drink His cup, and remember that for Jesus, it meant the cross. For Him that cup was filled with suffering, but He drank off its bitterness and left for us the sweetness of the best for last. This New Covenant cup, bought with His blood, for us is filled with mercy, love and eternal life. All that Jesus asks us is that as we receive, we remember Him – until He comes again!