THE LORD'S SUPPER

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The passover and the new testament is for Israel. The Lord's supper is for the body of Christ, the church.

The Lord and the twelve disciples shared in the feast of unleavened bread in the day he would be sacrificed. This feast was a memorial and an ordinance dedicated to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 12). It was a feast to be observed forever by Israel.

Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?

Christ told the twelve to prepare the passover. This passover meal represented his bodily sacrifice for them. The passover was a shadow of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

Luke 22:19 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.

22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Jesus had to shed his blood because the law demanded blood for remission (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus died to redeem the transgressions Israel committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).

Luke 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

The passover will find fulfillment in the new testament at the coming of the Lord in his kingdom on earth.

The Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again to put into force the new testament (Hebrews 9:17). God made the new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31). The new testament will forgive Israel all their iniquity and cause them to walk in his commandments in the kingdom (Romans 11:26-27 Ezekiel 36:27). Israel will become a blessing and light to Gentiles who would come to God through them in the kingdom (Isaiah 60:3).

The church, the body of Christ has not been given the new testament, but rather, the blood of Christ as a propitiation (Romans 3:25). The Lord's supper is not the passover, nor does it commemorate the new testament. The Lord's supper is a new ordinance given to Paul by revelation from the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:23).

The passover meal in relation to the new testament is given as an account to be the basis of instruction for the body in regard to the Lord's supper.

1 Corinthians 11:17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

11:18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

The church, the body of Christ, was to exhibit unity and to be of one mind (Ephesians 4:13 Romans 15:6). They were to set aside divisiveness.

11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.

11:21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

There was to be order and consideration for the needs of the members of the body.

11:23 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:

Paul will now go on to remind them what the Lord revealed for Paul to deliver to the church.

11:24 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.

11:25 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.

11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

The passover was to be observed at a specific date, but there was no such command for the Lord's supper; it was to be done often. When the church comes together they are to shew the Lord's death for our sins til he comes.

1 Corinthians 10:16 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?

10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

For the church, the body of Christ, the cup that is blessed is not the cup of the passover, nor the cup of the blood shed for the new testament; the bread is not the broken physical body of the Lord Jesus for the passover or the new testament. The cup is the communion of the blood of Christ by which we are justified unto eternal life. The bread is the communion of the body, the church, not the physical body of Christ. The many members of the body, the church, are to be viewed as being one bread and one body by the sacrifice of Christ. The members were to have a sacrificial regard and consideration for others in the body.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Jew and Gentile were made one new man in the body by the sacrifice of Jesus (Ephesians 2:14-16) and should reflect that in their coming together by putting away their divisions and by their consideration for each other.

1 Corinthians11:27 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.

11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Participating in the Lord's supper unworthily is warned against. They were to discern the Lord's body, the church, and to be mindful of how they were to behave in coming together. They were to remember that it was the by Lord's sacrificial death that made them members of the body and of each other.

11:33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

11:34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

They were to behave orderly when they came together to eat the Lord's supper to avoid condemnation and remember that they were coming together for the communion and fellowship provided by the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

The members of the body were to be mindful of their purpose and fellowship of the mystery.