1 Corinthians 11:17-34
The Lord’s Supper is the most frequently celebrated Christian feast. And that is so because the keeping of this feast was commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He said, “do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). The Lord’s Supper is an occasion, figuratively speaking, to turn all around us and to look in six directions:
† Backward – to Calvary and our redemption;
† Upward – to our covenant relationship with God;
† Forward – to the future and the awaited Second Coming;
† Inward – to our own spiritual condition;
† Around – to our relationships with the other members of the body of Christ;
† Downward – to see Satan crushed because of Christ’s victory over him.
A FEAST OF REDEMPTION
First of all, the Lord’s Supper is an occasion to look back into history and to remember our redemption. The bread and the wine in the Lord’s Supper are symbols of Christ’s sacrifice for us. In Luke 22:19-20 we read:
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:19-20)
The bread commemorates the body of Christ given for us, and the wine – the blood of Christ poured out for us. Jesus suffered in our place, for our sins, on the cross. Through this sacrifice of His He redeemed us from sin and its consequences. In 1 Peter 1:18-19 the apostle Peter reminds us:
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
A FEAST OF THE NEW COVENANT
When He spoke of the cup, Jesus said (1 Corinthians 11:25):
This cup is the new covenant in my blood (1 Corinthians 11:25)
In the Bible the term “covenant” describes the relationship between people and God. The Old Covenant was made between God and His people Israel at Mount Sinai. That covenant was founded on the Law which God gave to His people, and its mediator was the prophet Moses. The New Covenant is a covenant founded not on Law, but on grace. In John 1:16-17 it says:
16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)
In Hebrews 9:11-15 it says that Christ, as high priest of the good things that are now here, is the mediator of a New Covenant:
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:11-15)
What was this covenant? We find the answer in Hebrews 8:6-13:
6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (Hebrews 8:6-13)
This is the New Covenant – a covenant in which God shows mercy toward our wrongs, forgives our lawless deeds, and remembers them no more. A covenant in which God gives us His Spirit to lead us to do everything that pleases Him. And most importantly, a covenant of mutual belonging – He is our God and we are His.
Through the Lord’s Supper we have communion with our Lord. In 1 Corinthians 10:16 it says:
16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)
A FEAST OF HOPE FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMING IN POWER
In 1 Corinthians 11:26 the apostle Paul says:
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
This sentence is very interesting. On the one hand it says that the Lord has died, and on the other, that we are to proclaim this death of His until the moment when He comes again to us. This means that Jesus Christ not only died, but He also rose again, He also ascended, and finally, He will come again to us. In Revelation 1:5-7 the apostle John glorifies Christ with the words:
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. (Revelation 1:5-7)
The Lord’s Supper is carried out against the backdrop of the promise of God’s kingdom. Luke describes Jesus’ conversation with His disciples during the Last Supper like this (Luke 22:14-18):
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:14-18)
Twice Jesus said that He would no longer eat of the Passover and drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. So then, the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance, but it is also a prophetic act which points to the approaching return of the Lord Jesus and the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness.
A FEAST OF PURITY AND HOLINESS
During the Lord’s Supper we must look not only backward, upward, and forward, but also inward at ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 11:28 it says:
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. (1 Corinthians 11:28)
The Lord’s Supper is an occasion to examine ourselves – whether we are faithful to the Lord, whether we are firm in the faith. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 the apostle Paul exhorts us:
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The Last Supper took place in an atmosphere of testing. In Matthew chapter 26, right before the text about the Lord’s Supper, we read:
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:20-21)
The disciples knew that Jesus was to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, but they did not know that the betrayer was one of them.
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” (Matthew 26:22)
Here is how they began to examine themselves. Was their devotion to Christ genuine? Would they remain faithful to Him to the end? Jesus knew who would betray Him, but He wanted the rest of the disciples to see the weakness of their own nature. Such a testing is always useful if it moves us toward a deeper trust in Christ and not in ourselves.
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26:23-24)
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” (Matthew 26:25)
Here we see the difference between doubting yourself and being truly guilty. Among the disciples there was only one who truly needed to repent. The rest were not guilty, and yet they still asked the Lord whether it might be them, because they were horrified at the possibility that it could happen. But when a true conviction from the Holy Spirit comes into our heart, it leaves no room for doubt or question. It is entirely clear and unmistakable, and the one who is guilty knows that the Lord has placed His accusing finger upon his chest. I trust that in all of this you can see how gracious the Lord is. By telling Judas the truth, He gives him the opportunity to repent of the evil he has plotted. Why else would He raise the matter?
Notice how consistent Christ’s approach is. First, He approaches Judas gently, with love and friendship. He says, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.” Then He warns him about the consequences of his actions: “Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Finally, while Judas plays the hypocrite and, like the other disciples, says, “Surely you don’t mean me?” Jesus points directly to him and tells him, “You have said so.” Judas, however, did not value Christ’s love and concern for his soul, and he left.
If you take part in the Lord’s Supper and persist in committing sin, without recognizing that Christ died on the cross precisely in order to destroy sin, then you commit an offense “against the body and blood of the Lord.” What does Hebrews 10:26-31 say?
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:28-31)
The blood of the covenant is not “an unholy thing.” Neither is the Lord’s Supper. So then, we must be very careful when we come to the holy symbols.
We take the Lord’s Supper with unleavened bread. Yeast in the Bible is a symbol of corruption and sin. That is why in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 the apostle Paul exhorts us to celebrate with unleavened bread.
7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
These verses were written on account of the boast of the Corinthians that they could commit any sins whatsoever in their bodies and yet still be spiritually joined to the Lord. They had gone so far as to become proud that among them there were even those who lived in sexual immorality and incest. But Paul rebukes them. And at the end of the chapter he charges them to “Expel the wicked person from among you” (v.13).
A holy God requires a holy church. That is why the Lord’s Supper must be a time of repentance and sanctification.
A FEAST OF UNITY AND LOVE
During the Lord’s Supper we must look not only upward to the Lord and inward at ourselves, but also at the people around us. Because when it comes to discerning the Lord’s body, it also concerns discerning the worth of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 11 the apostle Paul says:
29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. (1 Corinthians 11:29-31)
Notice that in verse 29 Paul speaks of “discerning the body of Christ,” and in verse 31 of being “discerning with regard to ourselves,” or of discerning one another among ourselves. Why does Paul speak this way? Because we, the church, are the Lord’s body. This is said in many places in the New Testament – places such as: 1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:27; Ephesians 1:23; 4:12; 4:16; 5:30; Colossians 1:24; 2:19.
In 1 Corinthians 10:17 it says:
17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:17)
That is precisely why, if there is no unity among us, we cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 the apostle Paul says:
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! (1 Corinthians 11:17-22)
Notice that when someone eats of the bread and the wine for himself alone, without showing care, respect, and regard for others, he eats only “his own private supper” (v.21), and not the “Lord’s Supper.” The Lord’s Supper is a supper in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it can be celebrated only when there is no division among us (vv.18-20). Among the Corinthians such unity was lacking. Some went ahead of the others and ate and drank up everything without leaving any for the rest. This is precisely what it means to eat the bread and drink the cup unworthily. Therefore, if something has arisen among us, let us be mature and restore the bonds of fellowship among ourselves. Only then will we be able truly to enjoy the feast.
A FEAST OF VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL
If we have looked backward, upward, forward, inward, and around, and everything in our relationships with God and with the people around us is in order, then at last we can also look downward. What we will see there is that Satan is defeated. In Romans 16:20 the apostle Paul writes the encouraging words:
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)
If our relationships with God and with our brothers and sisters are in order, then we can be sure of our victory over the devil, because in Jesus Christ he is already “crushed.”