1 Corinthians 11:24-26
This evening we are going to partake in the first Lord’s Supper at this new church. We’re going to take a close look at how Jesus implemented the Lord’s Supper. We’re going to learn from Jesus, and we’re going to do our best to implement the Lord’s Supper as he instructed. Listen to these Scriptures as these are leading up to the Lord’s Supper.
Matthew 26:17-18
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
Matthew 26:19-22
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
Matthew 26:23-25
And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. 25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
Leading Up to the First Occurrence of the Lord’s Supper
Now, those Scriptures are leading to the Lord’s Supper. We are on the evening before Jesus dies on the cross. The Passover starts the next evening. Jesus is the Passover Lamb. He’s going to die the next day, on the cross, at about the ninth hour of the day.
By the 12th hour of the day, the body of Jesus Christ is buried in a tomb and the high day, or the high Sabbath, or the Passover begins that next evening. So, Jesus us eating Supper with his disciples on the evening of the 13th day of the first month. The next morning is when the 14th day of the first month begins.
Judas Iscariot is going to betray Jesus that night. Now, watch what happens as the next Scriptures are the Lord’s Supper. And remember, Jesus couldn’t eat the Passover Feast with them that year because He was the Passover that year.
So Jesus implements the Lord’s Supper as a replacement for the Passover. He couldn’t eat the Passover that year because He was dying the next day just a few hours before the actual Passover feast began.
Jesus Took the Bread, Blessed It, and Broke It
Matthew 26:26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Now, what happens there? They were already eating Supper. Jesus took bread and blessed the bread. What kind of bread? We’ll learn more as we continue through the Scriptures. But Jesus takes the bread, blesses the bread, and breaks the bread. He then gives the bread to the disciples. He then says, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
Now, this is very important. Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Jesus is flesh and blood. Jesus is human so we know that Jesus isn’t an actual physical lamb or the animal we call a lamb.
During the actual Passover Feast, the people would kill an actual lamb, an animal, roast the flesh and actually eat the flesh. They never drank the blood. They applied the blood of the lamb to their homes.
Catholics will say, when they partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they are eating the actual flesh of Jesus. “In the Catholic faith, the bread and wine used in the Eucharist are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus through a process called transubstantiation. This happens during the Eucharistic prayer of Mass.”
The Bread and Wine Didn’t Turn to Flesh and Blood
The Catholics says the bread and wine appear to remain the same, but they have actually changed into the body and blood of Christ. They say that this change is a miracle and that Christ is present in every part of the bread and wine. They believe this change is a mystery that can only be understood through faith.
And I can guarantee you that God isn’t doing a miracle for those people who believe that their good works will save them from hell. And, let’s take that bread and wine after they say their Eucharistic prayer of Mass and let’s see if it’s actual flesh and blood.
They can’t understand symbolism or figures of speech that use an object, person, or idea to represent something. Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples. He says, “Take, eat, this is my body.” He is clearly taking bread. This is actual bread.
He has his flesh right there with him. Jesus was there IN HIS FLESH. If he was going to give anyone his actual flesh to eat, he would have done it right there. But Jesus didn’t cut chunks of flesh out of his body and say, “Take, eat, this is my body.”
You Aren’t Eating Flesh and Blood
But Catholics believe they are actually eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Jeffrey Dahmer’s running around everywhere in the Catholic Church. I would get up and leave that false religion as fast as you can. Run as fast as you can. Sprint from the Catholic churches which are actually churches filled with devils.
Partaking in the Lord’s Supper doesn’t save you. The Lord’s Supper is for people who are already saved by the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Jesus takes THE BREAD. This is a symbol of his flesh. This is a symbol of his body. It is not his actual body. We aren’t eating his flesh. He’s not a lamb. He’s God in the flesh. We are partaking of his body by partaking of the bread in the Lord’s Supper. And always remember the Passover. He is the Passover Lamb. We keep the Passover by believing “IN” Jesus.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Understand Symbolism of the Bread and Wine
We use unleavened bread just as unleavened bread was eaten with the Passover. “But with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Not with leaven. Leaven represents sin. We are to get the sin out of our life the best that we can. We are not to have malice and wickedness. We are to love one another.
If you have this malice, extreme envy, malevolence, a disposition to harm others, and want to get revenge, this is an evil heart. You need to get that fixed right now before you partake in the Lord’s Supper this evening.
Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened. Jesus has saved you. You have a new man within that doesn’t sin. Follow after that man. Don’t follow after the old man and those sins. Get them out of your life. You don’t need that any more.
So, again, we take unleavened bread. My wife, Pam, has prepared unleavened bread. This means yeast is not used. Rising agents are not used. We don’t want sin or leaven in this church. This is God’s church, and we need to all be accountable to each other here.
Stop the Sin and Do Your Absolute Best
If you are sinning in your life, you’re letting your family here down. Don’t do that. Let’s help each other get that sin out of our lives. Get it out. This is why we use unleavened bread, as commanded by God and Jesus Christ.
We will take the unleavened bread, we’ll bless it or pray for it, and we’ll all partake of the bread together. The unleavened bread represents the sinless body of Jesus Christ. You are to remember that Jesus is sinless. That’s why Jesus can pay for our sins. We can’t pay for our sins.
If our body was represented by bread, we would all have leavened bread. We would be all puffed up with leaven. That’s what you see in Catholics. They are all puffed up and great even though we all know they are great sinners who haven’t believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. They believe in themselves and their goodness.
The difference in our flesh and the flesh of Jesus is we are leavened and he is unleavened. We are sinners. He is without sin. After we’ve taken the bread, what’s next? Remember, we are following the example that Jesus Christ left us in the Holy Bible.
Jesus Takes the Cup and Gives Thanks
Matthew 26:27-29 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
He takes a cup. Jesus gives them the cup and tells them to “Drink ye all of it.” He says, “For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The New Testament will begin when Jesus dies or when his blood is shed for many.
The life is in the blood. Jesus shed his blood or gave his life for us. He gives them the cup. He gives thanks. He says to drink it all. “For this is the blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Now, the blood of Jesus was shed on the cross for us to forgive us of our sins. Some people out there who preach a false gospel will say that getting baptized in water and repenting of all your sin will cause you to receive remission or forgiveness of sin. The Bible is very clear throughout that only faith in Jesus Christ forgives you of all your sin.
The Blood of Jesus Was Shed for the Remission of Sins
The blood of Jesus was shed for many for the remission of sins. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but most people won’t simply believe that it’s Jesus alone who saves them. They want to earn it themselves because they think they are good. No, it’s Jesus alone. It’s his body that he gave for us. It’s his blood that he shed for us. It’s all Jesus to be saved or not saved.
So, what was in the cup? Was it alcoholic wine that Proverbs Chapter 23 tells us to not even look at? Was it wine that causes people to get drunken, not be sober, and do wicked things? What was in the cup for the Lord’s Supper? Look at verse 29 closely as you can miss this easily. The Bible never says there was wine in the cup. What does verse 29 say?
Jesus says, “I will not drink henceforth (or from this time forward) of this FRUIT OF THE VINE.” What is the fruit of the vine? This speaks of grapes. They are fruit of the vine. The juice of grapes looks similar to blood when spilled on a white garment.
Genesis 49:11
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
The Blood of Grapes = New Wine
That verse is Jacob or Israel giving his blessing to the tribes of Israel. And that is Jacob speaking about Judah. We know Jesus Christ, in the flesh, came from the tribe of Judah. The blood of grapes is called wine in the Bible.
When you take fresh grapes and you crush them, you get grape juice or new wine. That’s what a winepress does. This grape juice is not fermented. It’s not leavened. New grape juice or new wine doesn’t have alcohol.
Unleavened bread representing the body of Jesus Christ that died for us. Juice from the fruit of the vine or new wine or grape juice representing the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us. His body and his blood are both of utmost importance in the Lord’s Supper and in our eternal salvation.
So, we see the body of Jesus and the blood of Jesus during the Lord’s Supper. We don’t see us included. We don’t see us offering up our good works. We only see the body and blood of Jesus Christ. But we need more details because the Bible gives us more detail.
The Gospel of Mark Includes the Lord’s Supper
Mark 14:22-25
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Jesus took bread, blessed it, brake it, and gave to them. Take, eat, this is my body. And then he took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to them, and they drank all of it. This is the blood of the new testament which is shed for many. I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine.
Jesus is changing things. He can change what he wants. He mentions the New Testament. The old is being done away with. The Passover becomes the Lord’s Supper. He is the Passover Lamb. His body the bread. His blood the wine. We see the same thing in Mark that we saw in Matthew. Now, let’s look at the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 22:17-20
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
A Different Order of the Lord’s Supper is Seen in Luke
Now we see a different order. He took the cup first, gives thanks, divide it among yourselves. He takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it, gives it to them. This cup is the new testament in my blood.
With his shedding of blood, the New Testament comes. His blood was shed for you and I. We’ve seen the Lord’s Supper in Matthew, Mark, and Luke so far. Same things in all three of the synoptic Gospels.
I want to show you that we do not see the Lord’s Supper in the Gospel of John.
John 13:1-4
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
John lets us know that Jesus and the disciples weren’t eating the feast of the passover. They were eating supper. And we know they ate the Lord’s Supper as we’ve seen in the other Gospels. But we don’t get any details of the Lord’s Supper in the Gospel of John.
More Details About the Lord’s Supper from the Apostle Paul
But we do get more details in First Corinthians Chapter 11. Let’s take a look as this is very important. This is the Apostle Paul writing to us through the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
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: 24 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. 25 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. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
“Jesus, the same night he was betrayed.” We know this is speaking of the Lord’s Supper. He took bread. He gave thanks. He broke the bread. He said, “Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.”
We are to partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here at this church, we know and believe that Jesus alone is our Savior. We are not saved by our good works. We are only saved by “THE” Savior of the world Jesus Christ.” And we remember Jesus by taking the Lord’s Supper. This is a commandment. “This do in remembrance of me.”
The Cup is the New Testament in the Blood of Jesus
Then after the same manner the Bible says he took the cup saying this is the new testament in my blood. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. At this church, we have decided to follow in the footsteps of our sending church, Vision Valley Baptist Church and Pastor Tim DeVries, and perform the Lord’s Supper once every three months.
There is no right or wrong on how often we do this. Some people do it once per year as the Passover was once per year and some people do this more often. Some churches do this weekly. We are choosing to do this four times per year so that we don’t go too long without it and so that we don’t do it too often that it becomes a habit and not as important.
Jesus says, “As oft as your drink it, in remembrance of me.” He doesn’t give us a time period to do this. He puts that in the hands of the leaders of each local church. We don’t skip it. We follow his commandment to remember him.
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” We will remember the Lord Jesus Christ here at this church with the Lord’s Supper, and we will keep remembering and showing the Lord’s death until he comes back. Now, here’s some more important commandments from God. These are very important.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
The Lord’s Supper is a Very Serious Time
Here’s the very important part that I don’t want anyone to miss. This is a very serious time right now. And let me explain why with these Scriptures.
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily.” Do not partake of the Lord’s Supper unless you are saved and you know 100% for sure that you’re going to heaven. If you are not sure that you’re saved, do not partake of this bread and this cup.
If you are saved but you won’t or haven’t taken that first step of obedience in getting baptized in water, I wouldn’t partake of this Lord’s Supper. First, I would get baptized in water showing the Lord that you believe in his death, burial, and resurrection and that you won’t to follow his commandments and his plan for you. You need to be working to get sin out of your life. He commands you to get baptized after you are saved.
If you haven’t been baptized, why not? Do you believe it’s a good thing to get baptized? Yes, of course because Jesus commanded it. The Bible says in the Book of James, “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
So, please get saved, get baptized, and then begin to partake in the Lord’s Supper with us here at this church. This is how you fulfill God’s commandment to remember him with the Lord’s Supper.
Do Not Partake of the Lord’s Supper Unworthily
If you partake of this Lord’s Supper unworthily, look at the Bible there. “Shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” This is very serious. To be worthy, be saved and baptized and examine yourself. Take a look at what you’re doing every day with your life.
“But let a man examine himself.” We use that time right now to examine ourselves. We need to get things right in our lives. We need to get sin out of our life. If you are working hard on that, if you are doing your best, then you are worthy. “And so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Look closely at verse 29.
“For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Hey, have respect for the Lord’s body that he gave for you and I. Don’t trodden under foot the Son of God by partaking in his body and his blood unworthily. Don’t continue in the same sins. Stop them now. And don’t let them back into your life.
You will drink damnation to yourself, and I don’t want that for you. I want good for you. If you need to get things right, and you don’t have them right, don’t partake of the Lord’s Supper yet. We’ll have the Lord’s Supper in about 3 months. Use these next three months to get things right. But remember, you aren’t perfect. But you can do better.
Many Are Weak, Sickly, and Sleep Because of Disrespect for Jesus Christ
Look at verse 30 and see what happens to people who partake of the Lord’s Supper unworthily. “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Partaking of his body and blood and continuing in sin that you know you shouldn’t will cause you to be weak, sickly, and it will even cause death.
Hebrews 10:29-31
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
We know that we aren’t saved by being a good person. The Bible says there are none good. But once you are saved, you should be trying to do things right. If you aren’t putting that effort forth and getting things right, you need to be very careful.
God is watching. He takes the way you live your life now very seriously. You’re saved. You’re his child. And you better do things right. This Lord’s Supper is how we remember these things. If you go against God now, you better watch out. Be very careful.
God Hates Sin and Won’t Put Up With It
God hates sin. He won’t put up with it. He says, “Vengeance belongeth to me, I will recompense.” If you want to do evil now, God will repay you fast and quick. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” And he does have you in his hands now. Do right or pay for it.
So, let’s all right now, from within, ask God’s forgiveness for what we’ve been doing wrong. We need to get it fixed by walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. We need to get more of God’s work into our lives and less of the world. Let’s get to work for God, and you will get the sin out of your life. You don’t need those things any more.
1 Corinthians 11:31-33
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
These Scriptures go with the Lord’s Supper. Hey, go ahead right now and judge yourselves. Don’t ignore what you do. Don’t act like you don’t do anything wrong. Judge yourselves. Get things right in your life. If you won’t do it, God will chasten you or punish you. He does this to get you back on the right track.
If you won’t take the punishment and fix things, the punishments get worse up to the point of death. When we come together, we look out for each other.
The Lord’s Supper is the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ
1 Corinthians 10:15-17
I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
Remember, we, together, are the body of Christ. We need to honor that body. We are all partakers of that one bread. If it weren’t for the broken body of Jesus Christ, we wouldn’t be saved.
1 Corinthians 10:18-20
Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
We are not to fellowship with the wickedness in this world. We have no fellowship with the things of the devil and the lusts of the flesh. We are in Jesus Christ, and we need to act like it. No fellowship with devils.
1 Corinthians 10:21-22
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
It’s Time to Put Away the Sin and Put on Jesus Christ
We must get things right in our life. We can’t fellowship with light and darkness. Don’t even try it. Get away from the evil things in this world. Please get away from them or you will end up dead. Please stick with us here, and let’s get things right. Don’t provoke the Lord to jealousy. He loves you. He wants you with him. He doesn’t want you with the evil in this world.
Are we stronger than he? Are we stronger than God? Hey, don’t mess with God. He’s the one person you don’t want to test. Don’t do it. Don’t try it. You know right. You know wrong. Choose right.
So, if you aren’t yet ready to partake of the Lord’s Supper, don’t do it. If you’re saved, baptized, and trying to do things right in your life, then please partake with us. Continue praying right now and asking forgiveness for your sins. And get it right. Let’s start the Lord’s Supper. I’m going to ask Nathan to please come forward to help me get ready the Lord’s Supper, to serve the Lord’s Supper, and to pray for the Lord’s Supper. Please continue in prayer as we prepare to honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Leave a Reply