Communion

"Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.

He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

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."

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 22:7-20)

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

There's not a lot to say about the power and beauty of the preceding verses, or the love that pours through them. They speak for themselves
more eloquently than we possibly can.

Here you have Jesus, the Son of God, preparing Himself for the sacrifice He's about to make on the cross...and what does He do? He invites His
friends to dinner. Wow!

It's no coincidence that Jesus often refers to Himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:35) and He makes it known that whoever eats of this bread
will never be hungry.

Surely, those gathered around the table with Him had to wonder as He spoke the strange words they heard..."I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

Or as He passed the bread..."This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

We have the benefit of history. We know, when we read these words, what was about to take place. But they had no history to refer to. What
thoughts must have passed through their minds as Jesus spoke these words?

Can you imagine the silence in the room? The soft, but somber tone that Jesus may have used to speak these words? The solemn look on His face? The fear and confusion the disciples may have felt? After all, they had never seen their Teacher acting in such a peculiar manner. But, then, He had never before been sharing His last earthly meal with them. Although they didn't know it would be the last...Jesus did.

Perhaps they could sense a special sorrow in His manner and in His voice...one that He had never before expressed. Whatever they were
sensing from their Master, Mark 14:19 says that "...They were saddened..." What must they have thought? How must Jesus, Himself, be feeling inside?

The cross was no surprise to Him. He knew it was coming. He'd known it all along. That's why He was here...on earth. He came to die. The disciples, on the other hand, had no clue that this was the last earthly meal they would share with their Master. He had tried to tell them before, but they didn't understand. Who would have? Who could have? But they would know soon enough.

The last supper.

The bread of life.

And the cup. That's a whole different thing. The blood of Jesus "which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:20).

He's telling me it was poured out for me. But He's telling you it was poured out for you. Do you ever stop and really think about that? That Jesus poured out His blood for you? Notice that He didn't just give it for you...He poured it out for you. He poured it out....for you!

Why?

So that you might have eternal life through Him and with Him.

Why?
 

Because He loves you.

Enough to have poured out His blood for you.

Again, it's no coincidence that His blood is represented by wine...but that's for another page.

What exactly does all this mean? That Jesus poured out His blood for you? You can read about it here.

It might be interesting to note that during this special time, the last supper of Jesus, one of those who shared in the meal...the first communion... was Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus. It might also be interesting to note that Jesus didn't exclude him from the meal, but rather, with full knowledge of what Judas was about to do (Matt 26:20-25), fully included him in this meal (Luke 22:20-23). It was after the communion that Jesus began to speak of the betrayal.

The first communion went something like this, according to the Bible. Jesus first gave thanks, then broke the bread and gave it to the disciples
to eat. He then took the cup, gave thanks and passed it around, as well. We can assume that it was a common cup, with everyone present taking
a sip, or a few sips, from the same cup. That was the first communion.

Today, most celebrate communion by passing around little cubes of bread, with individual tiny little cups of wine (but more often juice) or by
tearing off pieces of bread and dipping them in a common cup. There are Christians in some places or situations that have neither, and celebrate instead with crackers and water...or whatever else they may have available.

It really doesn't matter how it's done or what kind of "bread" or "wine" is used. What matters is that the Lord's Supper is celebrated by His children. After all, it is for His children that He poured out His blood.

It's important to realize that, while communion is an important part of a Christian's life, it is not necessary for salvation. The question may then arise, "why do we do it?" or "what's the point?"

The point it this: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor 11:26)


                            or as stated in the NIV


"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

The bread is His body that was given for you.

The cup is the new covenant in His blood that was poured out for you.

Proclaim His death.

Share with others the new covenant. Or as Jesus said...

                        "...do this in remembrance of me."

And that, my friend, is the whole point in a nutshell...