The typical Baptist church observes communion with small cups of juice and pieces of bread. It is a practice that can be confusing to those present for the first time, especially children.
The Savior's Banquet or communion is the third in our series of Church Ordinances, so called because Jesus commanded or commended the practices to his followers. In the Roman Catholic Church, communion, or the Eucharist, is a reenactment of Jesus' sacrifice and is one of seven sacraments, so called because the Church believes that through them God actively conveys a measure of grace to the participant, grace necessary to that person's relationship with God. Unlike sacraments, the three Church Ordinances, while they accord with Jesus' instruction and example, are not necessary for a relationship with God.
The Savior's Banquet is a ceremony Jesus augmented on the evening before his crucifixion. While some version of the original event appears in all four gospels, the apostle Paul refers to the annual observance in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Please turn there to chapter 11. The context of this service, the Passover seder, while familiar to Jews, was not as familiar to gentiles at Corinth, some of whom treated it like a cult meal they might have attended in a pagan temple, as an opportunity for gluttony and drunkenness. Paul criticizes their attitude and explains briefly the significance of this practice. He states that the service they are about to celebrate again1 did not originate in the Corinthian church, or in any church, but came to them as...
I. An Established Tradition (1 Cor 11:23)
The primary determinant for a practice to be one of the Church Ordinances is that Jesus certified it, as we saw with The Disciple's Baptism and as we will see with The Children's Blessing. Here, Paul attests to that certification for The Savior's Banquet. Not being one of the original twelve disciples, Paul was absent at that last Passover with Jesus, and he does not say how or when Jesus instructed him. Nevertheless, Paul did have contact with the risen Lord,3 and his ability to quote Jesus' words confirms the accuracy of his testimony.4 However Paul learned about this practice,5 he also knows that...
People usually come to faith because they recognize their need of God. It may be a realization of their sinful condition or their lack of purpose or their fear of death. For whatever reason, they turn to God and find what they need, be it forgiveness, direction, or peace. You may have had one of those reasons or something similar. In whatever way, God satisfied your need. As time passes, though, doubt may insinuate its way into your thinking.
If you have grown up in the church, or if you have been a Christian for many years, communion is a familiar ceremony. For the disciples of Jesus, Passover was a familiar ceremony. What they experienced that night, though, was unfamiliar, and it must have confused them. Jesus took what was for them an established tradition and made it...
II. An Expanded Tradition (1 Cor 11:24-25)
Do you ever wish you could have been present at some biblical event...not just as an observer but as a technical advisor?
Jesus could have stopped there. He only needed one symbol, but he reached for a second later in the meal. As Paul indicates here...
When you observe communion, do you ever wonder how you should feel? Should your contemplation of Jesus' sacrifice make you sad or glad, troubled or thankful, somber or jubilant? The answer may be..."yes." There is both a positive and a negative aspect to The Savior's Banquet.
Passover, along with the expanded tradition of communion, commemorates the dual redemption God has provided for His people. The festival rehearses two historical events: a physical exodus from slavery in the fifteenth (or thirteenth) century B.C. and a spiritual exodus from sin in the first century A.D. Yet, the holiday does not just recall what God did in the past but looks forward to what God will do in the future.17 In this way, it is also...
III. An Expectant Tradition (1 Cor 11:26)
If you have been through a Passover service, you know that the main activity—besides eating a big meal—is retelling the story of the exodus.22 This retelling includes biblical commentary, songs, and prayers, all of which extol God, who performed wonders for His people. It is both a review of history and a lesson in theology, a reminder that they serve a God who is able to deliver them from whatever difficulty they may face. The communion section, which is just part of the much longer service, has a similar function. It is both a review of history and a lesson in theology, a reminder that we serve a God who has a final deliverance in store for us when Jesus returns. Thus, tying together the past and future...23
When Christians talk about witnessing, what they usually have in mind is telling others—relatives or friends—about Jesus. Paul mentions another kind of testimony here that is also important: the testimony we make to each another, especially when we gather together. The psalmists mention it as a part of worship.26
We enjoy one another's company, and that is good. In fact, when I go to the foyer after the service, and before anyone leaves, I like to watch the interaction in the sanctuary as people greet one another. This speaks well about the general health of the congregation. If, however, the reason we come to church is to enjoy each other's company, we have missed the primary purpose of church, which is to devote our attention to God.
There are times in church when your devotion is almost private, when you connect with God in a very personal way. It may be through a scripture reading or a hymn that is particularly meaningful and causes you to praise or thank Him. Those around you are not aware of the connection or of its cause, only you. There are also times in church when your devotion is quite public, when you help others connect with God. That is what the passages I just read describe. Again, it may be through a scripture reading or a hymn that is particularly meaningful, and hearing you speak it or sing it causes others to praise or thank Him. (That may be true even for the musically challenged, although for them it is more likely with one of the readings.) The point is that the time you spend here is not just about you and God; it is about you, God, and others in the congregation. You may not think about it this way, but your participation in worship is a testimony that proclaims to them and resonates with them the greatness of our God.
In these few verses, Paul presents communion as an occasion to review what God has done for His people27—in the physical deliverance of the distant past, in the spiritual deliverance of the more recent past, and to anticipate what God will do for His people in the final deliverance of the future. That is what should come to mind whenever you celebrate The Savior's Banquet.
A little boy was visiting his grandparents one weekend and went to church with them. The congregation was observing communion, something the boy had never seen, so he asked his grandfather about it afterwards. "That was Jesus' Last Supper," his grandfather explained. "Wow," the boy replied... "they didn't feed him much!" (Adapted from Rowell 1996:42)We may not realize how this practice impacts young minds, even beyond the event itself.
A minister responded to a Red Cross appeal for blood donations. When he didn't come home by the time his young son expected him, the boy asked his mother, "Is Dad visiting sick people?" "No," his mother replied, "he's giving blood." Somewhat alarmed, the boy said..."But we know it's really grape juice." (Adapted from Rowell 1996:41)Despite what passes for communion today, the initial context for that event involved much more than small cups of juice and pieces of bread. As Jesus observed it on the night he was betrayed, there was a full meal. It was, indeed, The Savior's Banquet.
The Savior's Banquet or communion is the third in our series of Church Ordinances, so called because Jesus commanded or commended the practices to his followers. In the Roman Catholic Church, communion, or the Eucharist, is a reenactment of Jesus' sacrifice and is one of seven sacraments, so called because the Church believes that through them God actively conveys a measure of grace to the participant, grace necessary to that person's relationship with God. Unlike sacraments, the three Church Ordinances, while they accord with Jesus' instruction and example, are not necessary for a relationship with God.
The Savior's Banquet is a ceremony Jesus augmented on the evening before his crucifixion. While some version of the original event appears in all four gospels, the apostle Paul refers to the annual observance in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Please turn there to chapter 11. The context of this service, the Passover seder, while familiar to Jews, was not as familiar to gentiles at Corinth, some of whom treated it like a cult meal they might have attended in a pagan temple, as an opportunity for gluttony and drunkenness. Paul criticizes their attitude and explains briefly the significance of this practice. He states that the service they are about to celebrate again1 did not originate in the Corinthian church, or in any church, but came to them as...
I. An Established Tradition (1 Cor 11:23)
1 Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,The apostle taught them to keep it, but it did not originate with him. Still...
A. It has a reliable source....for Jesus instituted it, and Paul "received [it] from the Lord."2
The primary determinant for a practice to be one of the Church Ordinances is that Jesus certified it, as we saw with The Disciple's Baptism and as we will see with The Children's Blessing. Here, Paul attests to that certification for The Savior's Banquet. Not being one of the original twelve disciples, Paul was absent at that last Passover with Jesus, and he does not say how or when Jesus instructed him. Nevertheless, Paul did have contact with the risen Lord,3 and his ability to quote Jesus' words confirms the accuracy of his testimony.4 However Paul learned about this practice,5 he also knows that...
B. It has an historical setting....for it took place "on the night [Jesus] was betrayed."
People usually come to faith because they recognize their need of God. It may be a realization of their sinful condition or their lack of purpose or their fear of death. For whatever reason, they turn to God and find what they need, be it forgiveness, direction, or peace. You may have had one of those reasons or something similar. In whatever way, God satisfied your need. As time passes, though, doubt may insinuate its way into your thinking.
- Does God really exist?
- Did I make Him up?
- Have I deluded myself?
If you have grown up in the church, or if you have been a Christian for many years, communion is a familiar ceremony. For the disciples of Jesus, Passover was a familiar ceremony. What they experienced that night, though, was unfamiliar, and it must have confused them. Jesus took what was for them an established tradition and made it...
II. An Expanded Tradition (1 Cor 11:24-25)
1 Cor 11:24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."The Passover seder (or "service") goes back 3500 years, to the time when God delivered His people from physical bondage in Egypt. For centuries, Jews commemorated that event annually, in obedience to God's command,6 recalling His great grace in saving them.7 There were three essentials, according to...8
Exod 12:8 [The Israelites] are to eat the [sacrificial lamb]...along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.The meal could include other dishes of various kinds, as long as these three elements were also present. Subsequent generations added another aspect common to the celebration of the festivals: wine—four cups of it at the seder. These were all part of the Passover in Jesus' day. As Jesus was growing up, he would have kept it with his parents. After Jesus began his public ministry, he kept it with his disciples. At their final seder together before his death, however, he gave additional significance to the Passover celebration.9
Do you ever wish you could have been present at some biblical event...not just as an observer but as a technical advisor?
- You could have made the exodus more spectacular by recommending to God some extra special effects...like those in the movie or the recent TV series.
- You could have spared King David considerable heartache by warning him about the ramifications of a midnight stroll on the palace rooftop.
- You could have altered Jonah's travel plans by suggesting a route to Nineveh that did not include the submarine cruise.
- You could have pointed out to Jesus that the most obvious part of the seder to relate to his suffering was...the lamb.10 How could he miss that?
A. The bread signifies Jesus' body.The unleavened bread of the Passover meal is a symbol of poverty and sorrow. It is called "the bread of affliction" (Deut 16:3),11 because it recalls the conditions that accompanied Israel's slavery in Egypt.12 Here, Jesus connects the unleavened bread to what made his own affliction necessary, to alleviate the moral poverty that attends bondage to sin.13
Jesus could have stopped there. He only needed one symbol, but he reached for a second later in the meal. As Paul indicates here...
B. The cup signifies Jesus' blood.While the unleavened bread of the Passover meal is a symbol of affliction and sorrow, the wine of the Passover meal is a symbol of celebration and joy. Of the four cups participants drink during the seder, Jesus chooses to enhance the third, which is called "the cup of redemption"14 because it marks the improvement that followed the nation's redemption from slavery,15 and a change from sadness to gladness. Here, Jesus connects the third cup to what his own death would accomplish, to mark the improvement that followed the believer's redemption from sin,16 and a change from sadness to gladness.
When you observe communion, do you ever wonder how you should feel? Should your contemplation of Jesus' sacrifice make you sad or glad, troubled or thankful, somber or jubilant? The answer may be..."yes." There is both a positive and a negative aspect to The Savior's Banquet.
- The negative aspect is that your sin was so great, it required the sacrifice of God's Son.
- The positive aspect is that his sacrifice was so great, it realized the salvation of your soul.
Passover, along with the expanded tradition of communion, commemorates the dual redemption God has provided for His people. The festival rehearses two historical events: a physical exodus from slavery in the fifteenth (or thirteenth) century B.C. and a spiritual exodus from sin in the first century A.D. Yet, the holiday does not just recall what God did in the past but looks forward to what God will do in the future.17 In this way, it is also...
III. An Expectant Tradition (1 Cor 11:26)
1 Cor 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.Some of the experiences Jesus had with the disciples were one-time events, and he did not expect his followers to repeat them. As far as we know, Peter was the only disciple Jesus told to walk on water or to find his tax payment in a fish, and both incidents happened only once.18 The expanded tradition of the Passover, however, Jesus intended as a regular practice for subsequent generations of his followers. God commanded Israel to celebrate the Passover once a year at the same time each year,19 and Jesus made communion part of that celebration...20
A. It is an annual observance."...whenever you eat this bread [the unleavened bread of the seder] and drink this cup [the third cup of the seder, the cup of redemption]."21
If you have been through a Passover service, you know that the main activity—besides eating a big meal—is retelling the story of the exodus.22 This retelling includes biblical commentary, songs, and prayers, all of which extol God, who performed wonders for His people. It is both a review of history and a lesson in theology, a reminder that they serve a God who is able to deliver them from whatever difficulty they may face. The communion section, which is just part of the much longer service, has a similar function. It is both a review of history and a lesson in theology, a reminder that we serve a God who has a final deliverance in store for us when Jesus returns. Thus, tying together the past and future...23
B. It is a memorial observance....for "you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."24 His coming is yet future, which is why communion continues to be a relevant practice in the church.25
When Christians talk about witnessing, what they usually have in mind is telling others—relatives or friends—about Jesus. Paul mentions another kind of testimony here that is also important: the testimony we make to each another, especially when we gather together. The psalmists mention it as a part of worship.26
Ps 22:22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
Ps 111:1b I will extol the LORD with all my heart...in the assembly.
Ps 149:1b Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.New Testament writers advocate this corporate testimony as well.
Eph 5:19a Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Heb 10:25b Let us not give up meeting together, but...encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
1 John 1:3a We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.It is this kind of testimony Paul says is part of communion, as "you proclaim [to others in the congregation] the Lord's death."
We enjoy one another's company, and that is good. In fact, when I go to the foyer after the service, and before anyone leaves, I like to watch the interaction in the sanctuary as people greet one another. This speaks well about the general health of the congregation. If, however, the reason we come to church is to enjoy each other's company, we have missed the primary purpose of church, which is to devote our attention to God.
There are times in church when your devotion is almost private, when you connect with God in a very personal way. It may be through a scripture reading or a hymn that is particularly meaningful and causes you to praise or thank Him. Those around you are not aware of the connection or of its cause, only you. There are also times in church when your devotion is quite public, when you help others connect with God. That is what the passages I just read describe. Again, it may be through a scripture reading or a hymn that is particularly meaningful, and hearing you speak it or sing it causes others to praise or thank Him. (That may be true even for the musically challenged, although for them it is more likely with one of the readings.) The point is that the time you spend here is not just about you and God; it is about you, God, and others in the congregation. You may not think about it this way, but your participation in worship is a testimony that proclaims to them and resonates with them the greatness of our God.
In these few verses, Paul presents communion as an occasion to review what God has done for His people27—in the physical deliverance of the distant past, in the spiritual deliverance of the more recent past, and to anticipate what God will do for His people in the final deliverance of the future. That is what should come to mind whenever you celebrate The Savior's Banquet.
For the bibliography and endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs