Communion

The gospel narratives (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-30) and First Corinthians 11:17-34 teach us that there are six integral parts of the communion celebration.

1. Jesus' body.

In Luke 22:19 Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you..." Isaiah 53:5 predicted that the Messiah to come would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; that he would be punished for our sins, and that by his wounds we would be healed. In dying on the cross, Jesus gave up his body to be sacrificed in our place for our sins. When we eat the bread during communion it's a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made in his body for us.

2. Jesus' blood.

Matthew 26:27 says that after breaking the bread Jesus took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood...It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." In the Old Testament the Jews would sacrifice an animal for their sins. They would first place their hands on the head of the animal and confess their sins. Then the animal was slaughtered in the presence of the sinner and it's blood was poured out. This was an illustrated lesson that the animal was dying in their place for their sins. When Jesus told his disciples that his blood would be poured out as a sacrifice he was informing them that he would die in their place for their sins. So when we drink the wine (or juice) during communion it's a reminder that Jesus poured out his blood as a sacrifice in our place and for our sins.

3. Remembering.

In reference to the bread Jesus told his disciples in Luke 22:19, "Do this to remember me." And in reference to the wine Jesus told his disciples (according to 1 Corinthians 11:25), "Do this to remember me as often as you drink it." When we eat the bread and drink the wine/juice we are to remember the sacrifice Jesus made with his body and remember the blood he poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. It's easy to forget all our Savior has done for us and communion is a time to remember. As we think on all Jesus has done for us we should well up with gratitude, which leads us to the next part of the communion celebration.

4. Thanksgiving/Praise

When someone gives you a gift the natural response is to say "thank you." The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God's gift to us is Jesus! And we ought to praise him for that. Both Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26 record that after Jesus and his disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, they sang a hymn before heading out to the Mount of Olives. The hymns they sang during the Passover meal were from Psalm 113-118, which were hymns of praise and thanksgiving. Take Psalm 118:1 for example: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever." When we think on all Jesus has done for us we ought to express back to him an attitude of gratitude in our praise and worship. This is why songs are a part of the communion celebration so people can vent their gratitude to God.

5. The New Covenant

In Luke 22:20 Jesus says in reference to the cup of wine, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people..." This new covenant is also spoken of in Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, and First Corinthians 11:25 (which are the other classic passages of Scripture on communion).

The Passover Celebration (old covenant)

In the Old Testament God gave the Israelites the Passover ceremony to celebrate. The Passover was the celebration of Israel from their deliverance from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Passover was when the Israelites remembered that God had sent Moses after 430 years of slavery to deliver His people from Pharaoh, just as He had promised Abraham. You see, in Genesis 15:13-14 God promised Abraham, "You can be sure that your descendents will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth." In light of this prophetic Scripture God sent Moses to Pharaoh and demanded of him to let God's people go. Pharaoh refused so God sent ten plagues to convince him to cooperate. Just before the tenth plague God gave Israel the Passover ceremony. They would take a lamb and sacrifice it, applying its blood to the doorway of their homes and when the angel of the Lord came through to destroy the first born, if he saw the blood applied to the home, he would "pass over" the house.

Communion Celebration (new covenant)

In the New Testament Jesus gave us the communion ceremony to celebrate. Communion to us is what Passover is to the Jews. It is a reminder of our deliverance from the bondage of sin. Sin was going to cause the death of all of us as the Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 (The wages of sin is death...). Before we accept Jesus as Savior we are like the Egyptians in that we are under God's judgment with death awaiting us. But after we accept Jesus as Savior and apply his blood to our hearts by faith (not literally as the Israelites did in their doorways), so death has also "passed over" us.

The Passover ceremony is a part of the old covenant and the Communion ceremony is a part of the new covenant. Since Jesus, the lamb of God, fulfilled the Passover, by dying "once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people" (Hebrews 9:28) we no longer need to participate in the Passover rituals.

6. Hope.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:29, "Mark my words - I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom" (see also Mark 14:25 and Luke 22:16,18). And in First Corinthians 11:26 Jesus said "For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again."

From these passages we are hopeful of two wonderful future events.

First, we have hope that Jesus is coming back again. First Corinthians 15:52 speaks of Jesus' return saying "For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." This is the event we know as The Rapture of the Church, where the dead in Christ will rise first and then along with them those of us who are still alive to meet the Lord in the air and be with him forever. When we take communion we ought to think about the fact that Jesus is coming back for us and that it could happen at any moment!

The second thing we have hope for is Jesus establishing his earthly kingdom for a thousand year period (often referred to as the Millenial Reign of Christ). In Acts 1:11 when the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven after his resurrection, an angel appeared to them and said, "Men of Galilee...why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Just as Jesus left the earth, one day he will return to the earth! And when he comes we will rule and reign with him for one thousand years before returning to heaven. And things on earth will be during that period as God intended in the beginning. What a glorious time that will be as Jesus leads the nations! When we take communion we must keep in mind that although things are not currently as God would like them to be, someday he is sending Jesus back to rule and reign and set things in order. Evil will be overcome and God and his followers will ultimately triumph!

I know that's a lot but all six elements are integral parts to the communion service. Let's review once more before ending:

1. Jesus' body

2. Jesus' blood

3. Remembering

4. Thanksgiving/Praise

5. The New Covenant

6. Hope