The Lord’s Supper is a feast that Christians around the world participate in. What is it? Why is it observed? By whom is it observed? When is it observed? These are all questions that can be answered simply by turning to the Lord’s word.
WHAT is it? The Lord’s Supper, as it is commonly referred to today, is a time for Christians to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross in our place for our sins. The Lord’s Supper is a time when each Christian should meditate on why it is we need Christ in the first place, namely "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). During the Lord’s Supper, we partake of unleavened bread which is to remind us of Jesus’ body which was pierced and hung on the cross, and we partake of the fruit of the vine which is to remind us of Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (I Corinthians 11:23- 25).
WHY is it observed? The Lord’s Supper is observed to serve as a memorial to help each Christian remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us. The Lord recognizes that we are forgetful and easily sidetracked in life. This memorial is a time of both sadness and joy; there is sadness because the only sinless man to ever exist, the Son of God, died an extremely cruel death of crucifixion for people who do not appreciate or understand His sacrifice, and there is sadness from each who partakes because we know that it is because of our own sin that Jesus was crucified. "He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our grief’s He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:3,4). Yet, at the same time, it is a time of great joy in that He was the perfect sacrifice having had no sin. He was crucified in our place for our sins and that through that sacrifice Christians have the hope of eternal life in Heaven with the Lord. "As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:11,12).
By WHO is it observed? It is observed by Christians to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. We have a great responsibility to observe it properly, "whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must first examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly" (I Corinthians 11:26-29).
WHEN is it observed? Christians gather on the first day of the week, just as the First Century Christians did, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…" (Acts 20:7). It is also observed on the first day of the week to commemorate the day Jesus rose from the grave, "But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…. He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:1-7). From Scripture, we cannot find any example of partaking of the Lord’s Supper only once or twice a year, we only have the example of a weekly observance in order to remember Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross in our place and to celebrate His victory over death, thus giving Christians around the world tremendous hope for eternal life in Heaven with the Lord beyond the grave. What a victory!
WHAT is it? The Lord’s Supper, as it is commonly referred to today, is a time for Christians to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross in our place for our sins. The Lord’s Supper is a time when each Christian should meditate on why it is we need Christ in the first place, namely "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). During the Lord’s Supper, we partake of unleavened bread which is to remind us of Jesus’ body which was pierced and hung on the cross, and we partake of the fruit of the vine which is to remind us of Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (I Corinthians 11:23- 25).
WHY is it observed? The Lord’s Supper is observed to serve as a memorial to help each Christian remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us. The Lord recognizes that we are forgetful and easily sidetracked in life. This memorial is a time of both sadness and joy; there is sadness because the only sinless man to ever exist, the Son of God, died an extremely cruel death of crucifixion for people who do not appreciate or understand His sacrifice, and there is sadness from each who partakes because we know that it is because of our own sin that Jesus was crucified. "He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our grief’s He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:3,4). Yet, at the same time, it is a time of great joy in that He was the perfect sacrifice having had no sin. He was crucified in our place for our sins and that through that sacrifice Christians have the hope of eternal life in Heaven with the Lord. "As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:11,12).
By WHO is it observed? It is observed by Christians to remember the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. We have a great responsibility to observe it properly, "whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must first examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly" (I Corinthians 11:26-29).
WHEN is it observed? Christians gather on the first day of the week, just as the First Century Christians did, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…" (Acts 20:7). It is also observed on the first day of the week to commemorate the day Jesus rose from the grave, "But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…. He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:1-7). From Scripture, we cannot find any example of partaking of the Lord’s Supper only once or twice a year, we only have the example of a weekly observance in order to remember Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross in our place and to celebrate His victory over death, thus giving Christians around the world tremendous hope for eternal life in Heaven with the Lord beyond the grave. What a victory!
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