Articles
Simply Glorious
At the time when Jesus introduced the Lord’s Supper, His disciples probably failed to grasp the importance and permanence of that simple feast, simply because of its simplicity. They were gathered with their master for the Passover meal. The table was spread with the foods prescribed in the Law for the event: roast lamb or kid, bitter herbs of some sort, and unleavened bread. Apparently, wine was the common drink for the meal, though it is not mentioned in connection with the instructions for the Passover.
As he began His instruction about the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gave thanks for the unleavened bread, and commanded His disciples to eat some of it “in remembrance of me.” Then, He distributed portions of the drink called “the fruit of the vine” everywhere in our New Testament. He gave thanks for it, and commanded the disciples to drink of it as a remembrance of the “blood of the covenant” which He was about to offer from His own veins on the cross.
With these simple acts, with their simple rules, Jesus passed to us, through the teaching of the Apostles, a feast that has significant meaning and pathos for discerning Christians.
There is a glorious monument to Christ in this simple supper. The pinch of unleavened bread, and the sip of a thimbleful of “fruit of the vine” (minute portions which defer to the protests of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34), hold deep spiritual lessons for us. The writers of our New Testament wake us to this profound significance in their inspired revelations.
When Jesus says that the pure bread of the feast should remind us of His body sacrificed on the cross for our sins, we may cringe at the thought of that ghastly event, but Paul offers an alternate glorious thought. He says, “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV).
From the Greek word KOINONIA, various translators have written not only “participation,” but also “fellowship,” “communion,” and “share.” What a glorious thought that we have such close fellowship with the sacrificial body of our Lord.
Paul also wrote in the same verse, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?” By drinking the fruit of the vine, we share in a powerful and awesome deliverance resulting from the Lord’s innocent sacrificial blood. Paul wrote, “In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...” (Ephesians 1:7 ESV). The “riches” to be gained in this “participation” far exceed the wealth of this world.
Could anything be more glorious? The feast may be plain and simple, but the simplicity and paucity of the elements in the Lord’s Supper must never divert our minds from the ultimate glory to be shared in their spiritual value.
