“The Holy Communion”
Sermon Title: The Holy Communion
Scripture: Mark 14:22-25, 1 Corinthians 11:17-32 ESV
Introduction
The biblical understanding of Holy Communion (Lord’s Supper) entails 4 parts: 1) the Historical Context of Communion; 2) Who should take the Communion? 3) What are we doing in Communion? and 4) How (with what attitude) should we take it?
1. The Historical origin and context of the Communion
The synoptic gospels (Matt. 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:14) report the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples the night before he died. They describe Jesus giving thanks or blessing the bread and the cup and giving them to his disciples saying that the bread is his body and the cup is the blood of the covenant. or the new covenant in his blood. This real historic event is the origin of Communion
· Regarding this historic event, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19).” (Luke 22:19) The earliest church accounts tell us that the Church obeyed Jesus’ commands to continue sharing in the table in remembrance of his death (Cf. 1 Cor. 11:20 – one of the earliest testimonies of Communion), which later was called “the Lord’s Supper” after our Lord Jesus.
· Paul says, “I received from the Lord . . . (1 Cor. 11:23-24)” Paul wasn’t present at the last supper, but biblical scholars believe that Jesus himself confirmed for Paul the events of the last supper supernaturally (Cf. Acts. 9:1-6 – Paul; road to Damascus).
· Jesus is the origin of the Lord’s Supper and he is the focus and the content of Communion.
2. Who should partake in the communion?
Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is an act of the gathered family of those who believe in Jesus, which is the Church. It is meant for Christians who profess their faith and belief in Jesus Christ only.
· “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26).” Paul shows us that that partaking in Communion is to publicly proclaim what Christ has done on the cross. This can only be done by those who believe in the gospel.
· Communion is a public sacrament, while non-believers cannot partake of it, their presence is welcome. It is a public act of worship to proclaim the good news of the gospel.
· Communion is for the church rather than an individual (exceptions may be made based on circumstances). Amidst his criticism of the Corinthian church’s wrongdoings, Paul emphasizes the importance of coming together (vv. 17b, 18, 20, 33, 34) as a church for Communion.
3. What we do in Communion
Communion can be broken down into three parts: a) What we do physically; b) What we do mentally; and c) what we do spiritually?
a) What we do physically
· The Lord’s supper is symbolized by a very simple consumption of bread and drinking of the cup. Nothing is specified about the kind of bread or the way it is broken. The contents of the cup is called the fruit of the vine (Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18) and nothing in Scripture commands or forbids consumption of grape juice or wine over the other. We should stave from inappropriate substitutes for bread and water (coke, chips, etc).
· Communion is not to be taken lightly – great symbolic importance is placed over the bread (the flesh of Jesus) and the drink (the blood of Jesus) as described in Scripture.
· Scripture does not specify the frequency of observance. Each church should consider what is best for them. At New Hope, we observe once a month as reminders of our renewed identity in Christ, while not watering down its weightiness.
b) What we do mentally
The mentality of partaking in Communion is to focus the mind on Jesus and especially his historical work in dying for our sins, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
· As we do the physical act of eating and drinking, we are to do the mental act of remembering not imagining, dreaming, or channeling. We are to call to mind 3 things: the person of Jesus (How he lived, what he taught); the work of Jesus (His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave); and what his work means for the forgiveness for our sins.
· Communion is a stark reminder that Christianity is not new-age spirituality. It is not about getting in touch with your inner being. It is not mysticism. It is the historical truth of Jesus. He had a body, a heart that pumped blood, and skin that bled. He died publicly on a Roman cross in the place of sinners so that anyone who believes in him might be saved from the wrath of God. Communion directs our mind back to Jesus and the historical event that brought salvation.
c) What we do spiritually
There is nothing inherently spiritual in the act of partaking (eating and drinking) in Communion, such that non-believers and even the Devil himself would be able to do it. However, Jesus meant for Communion to be so much more than eating, drinking, and remembering.
· “The Lord’s supper is a sacrament in which, by giving and receiving of bread and wine according to Christ’s command, his death is shown forth. Worthy receivers are made partakers of his body and blood by faith, not in a bodily or physical manner, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace, with all his benefits (WSC)." Spiritually, believers are made partakers of Christ’s body and blood by faith to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace with all his benefits as Paul tells us (Cf. 1 Cor. 10:16-18). In the spiritual realm, the believer experiences a sharing in the body and blood of Jesus as the bread and drink the cup, a partnership in his death.
· “Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar (v.18)?” Participants in the alter means that they are sharing in or benefitting from what happens on the altar. Levite priests who sacrificed and consumed parts of the sacrifice, not only enjoyed the food shared in the benefit of receiving forgiveness and restored fellowship with God. We not only eat physically but eat spiritually.
· We spiritually intake what happened on the cross. We are trusting in God’s faithfulness to impute Christ’s power and glory over us through the elements. Through the bread and the cup, we nourish ourselves with the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross.
· If baptism is about our initial public declaration of our belongingness to Jesus Christ, the Lord’s Supper is about the reinforcement of our belongingness and allegiance to Jesus Christ.
· We benefit of having peace with God, joy in Christ, hope for the future, freedom from fear, security in times of trouble, guidance in times of confusion and chaos, healing from sickness, victory in temptation, and so forth. This is made possible because all of God’s promises was purchased through Christ’s shed blood and broken body. Every gift and joyful fellowship with God was bought with the blood of Jesus.
4. How (with what attitude) we take it
Paul warns against those who partake in it without a sincere heart. He warns believers of losing their lives as God’s fatherly discipline if they partake n a callous and carefree way.
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner [not trusting and treasuring the precious gift of Christ] will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, [not to see if you are good enough, but to see if you are willing to turn away from yourself, trust Jesus for what you need] and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body [if you take communion in an inappropriate way] eats and drinks judgment on himself. [And here is what he means:] That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died [not to be sent to hell; the next verse explains]. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined [some are weak, and ill, and dying] so that we may not be condemned [go to hell] along with the world.
Of course, this was a contextual situation in the Corinthian church where the Lord’s supper was simply treated as a literal casual and light meal. Squabbles over portions, who eats first, shortages, getting drunk on the Communion wine were obvious signs of their inappropriate attitudes towards the precious gift that Christ had left us through Communion.
· The principle is clear that the attitude and posture that we need to have in taking the communion , must be discerning, meaning we take it seriously and sacredly, understanding the weight of what Christ has sacrificed for our redemption, appreciating the newness of life and the transformative power of the gospel that He offers through the sacrament, and genuinely anticipating (in faith) the power of the gospel to manifest in our daily lives.
Reflection
Whenever you are participating may you do so with a sincere heart that partakes in the body and blood of Jesus Christ, who is the originator and initiator of this sacrament, in remembering what He has done for us on the cross. With greater understanding of Communion, may you all be able to experience the presence of Jesus Christ as he encourages and strengthen our spirits to grow in our faith.
· In light of this sermon, how has your understanding of Communion changed?
· Looking back, how would you judge your attitude (as a believer) towards Communion?