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Add to FavoritesA highly symbolic, ritual meal of bread and wine is called The Eucharist by some churches and Holy Communion by others. This sacrament is practiced by all Christians, but there is little agreement about how it is to be carried out.
All denominations agree that this sacrament was instituted by Jesus as recorded in the gospels. St. Paul also refers to communion as practiced in the early churches.
Knowing that this would be his last opportunity for fellowship with his diciples, Jesus gathered them into an upper room for what is believed to have been a traditional Passover meal. A central feature of the Passover meal is a lamb that has been sacrificed, and the central story of the night is how the sacrficed lambs in Egypt provided the blood for marking doorposts. As a result of the blood on the doorpost, the angel of death knew to pass over the house. Redemption came to the house with the blood of the lamb on the doorpost.
Matthew records that Jesus gave his disciples bread and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." We can safely assume that this was done either while they were eating the sacrificial lamb or shortly thereafter. Thus the thought of sacrifice should have been on the disciples' minds. Jesus then gave them the cup saying, "Drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." In another gospel, Jesus asks them to do this in remembrance of him.
Obviously, Jesus did not give them flesh from his body or blood from his veins. At the time, the disciples did not know what was going on, but Jesus was forcasting his sacrificial death on the cross. They later remembered and recognized the symbolism. The bread represented his body, that would soon be beaten, whipped and hung on a cross, as a sacrifice of the order of the passover lamb. All Christians recognize that Jesus's sacrificial death is the basis of forgiveness of sin. To many, the eating of any bread is a worthy symbol that reminds them of Jesus's sacrifice, but some scholars point out that leven was the symbol of sin in the Bible. Indeed, today Jews purge their homes of leven before Passover. Thus since Jesus was sinless, these scholars do not think that "real" bread made with leven is a proper symbol for the body of Christ. Becasue Jesus was without sin, these scholars argue that we should be eating bread without leven or unleven bread.
The Bible is not clear what was in the cup. From what we know of first century Jewish culture, it probably contained a nice blood red wine. The question arises whether it was regular wine or "new wine". One school of thought is that unrefrigerated grape juice can not be kept long in the Middle East. Thus it is likely that everyone drank fermented wine. The other school of thought makes reference to Jesus's sinless nature and again argue that a fermented drink is not an appropriate symbol of Jesus's blood. The Bible makes frequent reference to new wine, or unfermented grape juice. Those who wish to show Jesus's sin free nature in the sacrament, argue that Jesus and his disciples would have been drinking new wine. Some will even argue that most Jews of the time were drinking new wine. In either event, Jesus was reminding his disciples that his blood would be shed for the remission of sin. Thus we sing many hymns about Christians being washed in the blood.
The question is further complecated by those denominations that believe in transsubstantiation. A believer who is expecting the bread and wine to be changed into literal flesh and blood will want elements that are worthy of being transformed into the very flesh and blood of their Lord. Those who do not believe in transsubstantiation may be more concerned with appropriate symbolism.
Christians tend to follow the traditions of their particular denomination, in part out of respect for the beliefs that have been passed down to them, but also because there is some part of this debate that bolsters their faith.
Thus I follow the practices of my denomination, but I recognize that the legitimacy of The Eucharist or Holy Communion is not in the elements or even in the words uttered by the cleric in charge. The power of the sacrament is the result of what is going on in the believer's heart. Jesus calls Christians to believe that his sacrificial death and resurection are sufficient payment for our sins. Jesus calls Christians to accept him as their personal Lord and Savior. The purpose of The Eucharist or Holy Communion is to remind us that God loves us so much that he is reaching out to us. It is to remind us that he provided the perfect sacrifice to pay for sin. It is to remind us that he loves us so much he wants us to commune with him. The sacrament also provides a special opportunity for each believer to reaffirm and strenghten his or her relationship with Jesus.
For some, the form of the elements enriches the symbology thus making the sacrament more meaningful to them, but there are those who have had to celebrate this sacrament with a moldy crust of bread and a sip of water. If they celebrate the sacrament with an open heart, both worshipers will leave the room feeling spiritually fulfilled. If they concentrate on the form of the elements, they may waste their time.
If you wish to eat unleven bread in a particular shape or form and drink a beverage that you believe is sanctified, go for it, but prepare yourself first with prayer. God is more interested in what is in your heart than what is in your stomach.
Learn more about this author, Reynold Conger.
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No
Every Sunday morning countless thousands of Christian believers the world over, assemble to take the Lord's Supper. Many Episcopal denominations do so daily as Mass or Eucharist.
Rites and traditions may vary a little but the essential elements are the same: bead and wine, symbolising the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Jesus commanded his followers. Or is it?
I believe a gap exists between biblical expectation and church practice which, if closed, would enable many to discover new riches in their Communion experience, because the Lord's Supper is not some arcane religious ritual, but Jesus' gift to us that encapsulates the very essence of the grace, enacting the very Gospel.
It's no sin to share a cup of blackcurrant juice and a fragment of crusty bread, but calling it Communion falls far short of all that Jesus meant it to be to us.
But does it really matter? I believe so, and will demonstrate why from Scripture.
Let me first emphasise that Christians are under grace and not law and, although a sacrament, even the Lord's Supper is not a law. Grace alone should motivate us to take Communion as Jesus prescribed. Not some misplaced legalistic imperative or self-imposed guilt trip.
Now, envisage a marriage without intimacy; the couple never sleep together and seldom talk. They may be married on paper (under law), but do they have as fulfilled a relationship as the couple who enjoy frequent marital relations and communicate constantly?
Our answer reflects our perception of a relationship based on law versus one founded on love, for love under-girds grace and grace is the message of Communion, which commemorates Jesus' last Passover, immediately prior to his crucifixion.
THE PASSOVER
All four Gospels record the Last Supper, but John 13:1-17, differs significantly from Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26 and Luke 22:7-39.
In the synoptic accounts, Jesus dispatches his disciples to finalise arrangements for a Passover meal in a previously furnished and prepared large upper room in Jerusalem. It is significant that they gathered together that evening because the Hebrew day begins at sunset, so, although Jesus was not crucified until the following afternoon, both events occurred on the same calendar day.
Soon after stunning his disciples with the revelation that one of them would betray him, Jesus instigates that part that became our Communion.
THE BREAD
He broke the bread after a blessing, something like this:
"Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Amen."
Jesus may also have personalised it, perhaps using "My Father", rather than "Lord our God".
He then said, "Take, eat; this is my body", before continuing:
THE WINE
"Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Amen."
With those or similar words, Jesus blessed the wine, then handing them the cup of wine, said, "Drink from it all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins"
Luke mentions two cups which is consistent with the Passover requirement for at least four cups of wine which, as host, Jesus would have blessed. Of these, Jesus chose the third, or Redemption Cup', for their Communion.
You may remember that the eleven remaining disciples repaired with Jesus afterwards to Gethsemane, where he prayed while they slept. Four cups of wine go a long way explaining their fatigue'. Fortunately, the fruit of the vine' and not alcohol is the salient feature, so grape juice is permissible.
THE FOOT WASHING
The third element of the Lord's Supper is almost universally neglected. Recorded in John 13:2-11, it occurs immediately after the meal, when Jesus girds himself with a towel and washes his disciples' feet. What makes the apparent apathy of so many churches so astonishing is Jesus' clear postscript, in verses 12-17:
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was seated again, he said unto them, "Know you what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord: and you say rightly; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them."'
There we have it: the three biblical elements of the Lord's Supper the bread, the wine, and the washing; somewhat different from a glass of blackcurrant juice and a fragment of crusty loaf.
But what do they signify?
SIGNIFICANCE OFTHE BREAD
No fluffy loaf that we know it; all four Gospels agree that this was Passover, which introduces the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Observing Passover with leavened bread was simply unthinkable.
Leaven was omitted from Passover bread originally because the Israelites fled Egypt in haste, leaving no time for bread to rise. However, in New Covenant typology leaven symbolises sin and, since the bread of our Communion signifies the body of Jesus, clearly God always intended that unleavened bread be used to represent his sinless Son.
To use bread containing leaven for Communion is either ignorant or disrespectful; attributing sin to our Saviour. The Hebrew for unleavened bread is matzo' or matza' (plural, matzot') and is widely available today.
The traditional preparation of matzot produces a cracker-like wafer, pierced with small holes that facilitate the escape of steam, further preventing any rising, and lightly scorched stripes, further representing Jesus' body described in Isaiah 53:4-5,
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded (pierced) for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.'
Jesus' hands, feet and side were pierced, while scorching is associated with affliction, and both Isaiah and Peter tell us that we are healed by his stripes'. The unleavened, pierced and striped matzo provides a curiously graphic symbol of the sinless, pierced and afflicted body of God's Messiah, broken that we might be made whole.
A crusty loaf just doesn't do any of that for me.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WINE
Wine represents Jesus' blood, while Genesis 9:4 tells us the life of the flesh is in the blood, hence, life and blood are biblically synonymous.
Hebrews 9:22, explains:
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.'
It does not say, sin requires blood', or, God requires blood', but the law that requires blood, and by blood alone can the law be satisfied. Time and again, Paul would explain to an often astonished early church that the law cannot make us righteousness; can only highlight how unrighteous we are.
The purpose of the law, said Paul, was not to save anyone something impossible for law to do. Instead, it brought condemnation and death, which Adam chose in Eden when he ate the forbidden fruit. The moment it touched his taste buds, Adam surrendered himself (and every descendant) to the law of sin and death'. (Romans 8:2)
The law was both insatiably demanding and infinitely inflexible. There was simply no escaping its claim on every creature to answer its demand with blood. Or, as Paul said in Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death'
Until Jesus came. As the perfect, sinless Son of God; fully human, yet fully divine; Jesus' blood alone could fully satisfy the requirement of the law, meeting its infinite demand with his own inextinguishable worth and infinite holiness.
You might say Jesus choked the law to death. Answering the law with an infinite overpayment and in his own blood, Jesus utterly overwhelmed it. He broke the bank.
Jesus' blood is that powerful.
Unjustly taking upon himself our just punishment, he made accessible to us his own unblemished righteousness, whereby we unfairly obtain full and undeserved forgiveness by simply accepting it in faith.
So, take this', he said, and remember', whereupon he handed the disciples the Redemption Cup.
The Redemption Cup's' significance lies in the closeness in Hebrew between ransom' and cover, while in English ransom and redeem can be synonymous. Buy back a pawned item and you redeem it. Free a hostage from captivity by paying their ransom and they are redeemed.
The Hebrew Day of Atonements' is Yom Kippurim, which literally means Day of Coverings' but might reasonably be rendered Day of Ransoms'. What covers us, ransoms us; and what ransoms us, redeems us.
Hence, Jesus himself said he would give his life as a ransom for many'. (Matthew 20:28)
Being covered by his blood means exactly the same thing as being ransomed or redeemed.
I once heard a theological radio debate where someone asked: If we have indeed been ransomed by the blood of Jesus, just who has been paid off God, or Satan, or somebody else?' No-one at the time could offer an answer, but we can. Jesus redeemed us from the law, by paying the ransom price that the law required with his own blood. So, who received the ransom? The law did!
That accounts for two elements; now for the third.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FOOT WASHING
A peculiar remnant of foot washing still occurs, rooted in the custom of the English sovereign washing the feet of the poor on the day before Good Friday, which combined with the fact that command' in Latin is mandatum', this observance becoming known as Maundy Thursday'.
The foot washing long ago dwindled to the mere distribution of alms, which Her Majesty still distributes today as traditional Maundy Money to her subjects. Specially minted for the sovereign since 1662, the Queen gives one of these silver coins for every year of her age.
In some ways, the dilution of this ancient royal practice reflects what has happened in the wider church, exemplifying how a divine mandate may become a watered-down ritual.
Remember Peter's horrified objection: "Lord, do you wash my feet?"
But Jesus insisted: "What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter."
Peter persisted: "You shall never wash my feet."
Jesus' reply should ring alarm bells for us all: "If I wash you not, you have no part with me."
Peter immediately reconsidered and reasoned: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
Jesus corrected him again: "He that is washed needs not except to wash his feet, but is clean completely: and you are clean"
When at last, Peter grudgingly submits, Jesus admonishes all the disciples:
"Know you what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord: and you say rightly; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them."
Surely, that seals it. A direct, emphatic admonition by the King of kings to his closest disciples: "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you".
Sounds to me, like an example we should follow.
But why?
THE MESSAGE OF GRACE
As Jesus cautioned Peter: "If I wash you not, you have no part with me." But why just our feet?
Because foot washing follows the wine representing Jesus' blood which has already washed us clean.
When Jesus said, "If I wash you not, you have no part with me", he was emphasising that we are made clean by what he does for us; not by what we do for him. Foot washing is an extension of that.
Foot washing does not represent forgiveness of sins; that is represented by the wine. Rather, it speaks of our daily walk with God, or progression and growth in the faith. Jesus called himself The Way', and long before being called Christians', early believers were known as Followers of the Way'. Their faith was considered a walk.
Foot washing speaks of our sanctification by the Holy Spirit, because while Jesus' work on the cross is finished, the Holy Spirit's work is far from done. One of his titles, Parakletos', was a Greek legal term for an advocate, literally, one called along side'. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer, which is why we receive him after we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus because, as God he cannot dwell in an unclean vessel.
Where the bread and wine specifically equate to Passover, foot washing fulfils the typology of the seven days of Unleavened Bread that immediately follow. Seven is the Biblical number of completion, so the seven days symbolise an unleavened life' of righteous following our redemption by Jesus' blood, a life from which the Holy Spirit will never depart, because a life cleansed by the blood of Jesus cannot be defiled, since the law has no further claim on it.
CONCLUSION
God the Father gave his only begotten Son for our redemption, because Salvation was his idea. Jesus submitted his body to be broken and chastised for the healing of our sicknesses and infirmities. The Holy Spirit indwells all believers cleansed by Jesus' blood and sanctifies our walk in newness of life. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God.
Why then should we be surprised that God should provide us with a triune Communion by which to remember his work for our salvation?
Learn more about this author, Allan McGregor.
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