The Lord's Supper

1 Cor.
{11:17} Now in this that I declare [unto you] I praise [you] not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
{11:18} For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
{11:19} For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
{11:20} When ye come together therefore into one place, [this] is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
{11:21} For in eating every one taketh before [other] his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
{11:22} What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise [you] not.
{11:23} For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread:
{11:24} And when he had given thanks, he brake [it,] and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
{11:25} After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it,] in remembrance of me.
{11:26} For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink [this] cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
{11:27} Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord.
{11:28} But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup.
{11:29} For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
{11:30} For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
{11:31} For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
{11:32} But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.


The sacredness of the Lord's supper is truly something we need to think about. It's not the casual dinner, it's a special supper. Christ did not sit down to eat the passover supper and announce at the beginning of it that the entire supper would be something to remember and do. They were celebrating a ceremony given to Moses back when God freed His people from the Egyptians and death took all the first born of those that didn't have the blood of a lamb on their door posts and over top the door. Jesus was celebrating this passover meal, this passover tradition. As they supped, meaning they were already into the meal when Jesus took the bread gave thanks to God for it and brake it- then he instructed His apostles to take it and eat it, do so and remember His body which He was to give for them. How could the bread symbolize Jesus? Think about it, the passover itself symbolized God's protection and saving of His people. The bread wasn't risen but it was unleavened to symbolize the haste of the coming exodus from Egypt. To institute a new tradition during the passover feast indicated that things were changing for God's people. The lamb that had been slain, whose blood was placed over and around the door to offer protection symbolized the blood that Jesus was going to shed for His people. Jesus was telling them what was to come and what they were to do after it happened. They were to remember because He wasn't going to be around to remind them. They were to remember what He was doing. He was instituting a new tradition, a new supper. The passover supper symbolized the freedom of God's people from the oppression of the Egyptians, it revealed God's power to act on behalf of those He considered His. The Lord's supper symbolizes Jesus' death- there in the verse it says -- For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. The symbolism of the Lord's supper is Jesus' sacrifice for us.


Just as preparation was made for the passover meals, there is a preparation we're to make before we take part in the Lord's supper. It's not something casual we do out of hunger or thirst, it's not the meal we are to eat to sate our normal, natural appetite. This supper of bread breaking and wine drinking symbolizes something much more important than any base needs we might have, it goes beyond our natural, fleshy appetites, it transcends them completely.


Before we take part in the Lord's supper we are cautioned to examine ourselves. If we don't examine ourselves we are guilty of killing Christ rather than Him dying for us, we are guilty of killing Him we rank among those who crucified Him, those that have no repentance in them for what they'd done, those who lived and died with the blood of Christ on their hands. We rank among those when we take part in the Lord's supper without examining ourselves, without asking for forgiveness for the sins we've committed, without true repentance in us for the sins we commit, sins that warrant death, sins that Christ lived and died to cover, rising again to live for us and offer us eternal life in Him.


So before we do as Christ instructed so long again to His very apostles, before we take part in the Lord's supper let each of us take a moment to examine ourselves so we are not guilty of killing Christ without being forgiven by Him. He asked that the guilty be forgiven- Luke {23:34} Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. We know what we do and if we don't seek forgivness in Christ before symbolically accepting His life and death for us, we mock Him and that makes us guilty.


I Cor. {11:29} For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.


The Lord's body- the Lord's death is symbolically represented in the bread and wine, and if we don't take that symbolism to heart we are damning ourselves to being unforgiven. Christ died for us and we need to remember that daily, we need to remember that when we symbolically declare it with each other during the Lord's supper. We judge ourselves before we take part in the bread and wine, we judge ourselves and find ourselves guilty and we cling to the only source of forgiveness there is and that is Christ through His sacrifice.


May God bless and keep us, guiding us, chastizing us where needed, giving us the Holy Spirit in all truth. May the love and mercy of Jesus Christ fill our lives and hearts so that we live for Him now and forever.


Amen.