godlyPOV

The lesson library / Lesson 47

The Lord’s Supper

Explain remembrance, proclamation, fellowship, self-examination, and hope in the meal instituted by Christ.

The Church and its worship

Read first

Luke 22:7-23 · 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 · 1 Corinthians 10:14-33 · Hebrews 10:1-25

The Lord’s Supper can become familiar enough to pass without much thought. It is a simple meal with a substantial meaning. Christ directs His people to remember His death, proclaim it, and recognize their shared belonging. The Supper is neither a repetition of the sacrifice nor an empty performance. Faith receives what the signs declare about the crucified and risen Lord.

Read Luke 22:7-23

7 The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
9 They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare?”
10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters.
11 Tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’
12 He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.”
13 They went, found things as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles.
15 He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
16 for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God’s Kingdom.”
17 He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves,
18 for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.”
19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
20 Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
22 The Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!”
23 They began to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing.

Jesus gives the meal its meaning. The bread and cup direct attention to His self-giving and the new covenant in His blood. The Passover setting supplies a background of deliverance, but the focus is now the Redeemer Himself. The meal looks backward to what He accomplishes and forward to the kingdom’s fullness. Familiarity should not make the significance disappear. Repeating the action is meant to renew remembrance, not to replace it.

Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

23 For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.
24 When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
25 In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
31 For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.

Paul’s warning arises in a setting where some eat comfortably while others are humiliated. The problem is not merely that participants have failed to produce a sufficiently solemn facial expression. Their conduct contradicts the shared meal. Self-examination should therefore include relationships and treatment of others. A person who trusts Christ and repents should not conclude that the table is reserved for people with no failures. It is precisely a proclamation of the death by which sinners are redeemed.

The table can reveal whether a congregation understands its unity in Christ. If members share the bread while cultivating contempt, neglecting the needy, or protecting persistent wrongdoing, the outward action is contradicted by the surrounding life. Self-examination therefore should not become exclusively inward. Ask how the person beside you is being treated. At the same time, do not turn the meal into a reward for the strongest believers. It directs weak believers to a sufficient Savior. Reverence and comfort belong together because the same sacrifice exposes the seriousness of sin and supplies the mercy by which sinners are received.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 I speak as to wise men. Judge what I say.
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.
18 Consider Israel according to the flesh. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
19 What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20 But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship with demons.
21 You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.
22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Paul distinguishes eating food from sharing in the worship attached to an idol. The distinction prevents both careless participation and unnecessary superstition. The Lord’s table declares allegiance to Christ. It cannot honestly be joined to rival worship as though the two commitments were interchangeable. At the same time, concern for conscience belongs to love. A person should not use superior confidence as a reason to disregard the effect of his behavior on another believer.

Read Hebrews 10:11-25

11 Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,
12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,
13 from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.
14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,” says the Lord, “I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;” then he says,
17 “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.”
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh,
21 and having a great priest over God’s house,
22 let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
24 Let’s consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Christ’s offering does not need renewal because its effectiveness has begun to expire. The Supper remembers and proclaims the completed sacrifice. That does not make it a meaningless reminder. God uses commanded signs to direct faith and strengthen His people. The benefit is received in relation to Christ, not through treating the elements as magical objects. The same finished work gives access to God and reason to encourage one another while awaiting the Lord’s return.

Approach the table with honest faith and repentance. Remember Christ’s completed work, consider the brothers and sisters who share the meal, and look toward His return. The answer to unworthiness is not pretending to have no sin. It is refusing to treat the Savior or His people carelessly while receiving the mercy He provides.

Consider your perspective

The Lord's Supper directs believers back to Christ's finished sacrifice and forward to His return. Sharing the meal also exposes the contradiction of honoring Christ's body while disregarding fellow believers, especially those with less status or means.

Put it into practice

Before participating, examine how you are treating other members of the congregation. Take an appropriate step toward repentance or reconciliation without waiting to achieve sinless perfection.

Reflect and respond

  • How does the meal proclaim Christ rather than repeat His sacrifice?
  • What relationships need honest self-examination?
  • How should the shared bread affect treatment of less privileged believers?

Passages and further study

Scripture quotations are from the public-domain World English Bible (WEB). Historical confessions are study aids, subordinate to Scripture. This independent lesson is not an official denominational statement.