I did not grow up in the church, and for years the Lord’s Supper was strange and mysterious to me. It wasn’t until I became a believer and was instructed as to the meaning of the Lord’s Supper that it began to make sense to me. I have often reflected on this as I consider what unbelievers in the first century thought about the church’s practice of partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
I also wonder what those outside the church in the 21st century must wonder about the church’s practice and language surrounding the Lord’s Supper, particularly the language we use in relation to the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Many of us can only imagine how it hits an unchurched visitor to hear the words of institution and the fencing of the table and observe our partaking of the elements of the Lord’s Supper.
Moreover, as we consider young covenant children in our congregations, the Lord’s Supper must seem like a strange phenomenon to them. As they grow, it is so precious when they begin to ask about the Lord’s Supper and their partaking of it. As we teach them, by God’s grace, they see the beauty of the Lord’s Supper and recognize how special and significant it really is. When they profess faith in Christ, their partaking of the Lord’s Supper becomes meaningful as they joyfully commune with the Lord and his people, all by his grace.
What we hope they come to understand is not fundamentally how inherently special we are who partake of the Lord’s Supper, but, first and foremost, how special the Lord’s Supper is, how significant Jesus Christ is, how powerfully the Holy Spirit works through it by faith, and how the glorious character of our triune God shines forth in the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper as an Ordinary Means of Grace
While there remains some mystery to us about the Lord’s Supper, the Lord has provided us with a clear and sufficient understanding of what the Lord’s Supper is. Perhaps the most helpful summary of the Lord’s Supper is found in the “Westminster Larger Catechism,” question 168.
Q. What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his death is showed forth; and they that worthily communicate feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace; have their union and communion with him confirmed; testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with the other, as members of the same mystical body.”
As an ordinary means of grace appointed by God, the Lord’s Supper points us to Christ that we might fix our eyes on Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith who has gone before us (Hebrews 12:2). For just as God has ordained the ends of all things, so he has ordained the means of all ends. Like prayer, evangelism, good works, baptism, discipleship, and worship, the Lord’s Supper is an ordinary means to God’s extraordinary ends. And it is also an end in itself, for in the Lord’s Supper we commune with our Savior, worshiping and glorifying him as we remember him.
The Significance of Bread and Wine
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper with his disciples at the Last Supper, he used bread and wine, both of which correlated to many customs and events in the history of Israel. Bread and wine were staples in the ordinary diet of Israel and all ancient Near Eastern peoples. Grain could be harvested in abundance, and wine was sometimes more readily available and healthier than water. Bread and wine were understood to be desirable elements in meals and feasts, and they were often used to show proper hospitality and honor to guests (Genesis 14:18; Ruth 2:14; Psalm 104:15).
The abundance of bread (grains) and wine (fruit of the vine) was evidence of God’s blessing and sustenance of his people (Genesis 27:28; Leviticus 26:26; Deuteronomy 7:13, and the lack of bread and wine was a sign of God’s judgment and curse because of disobedience and idolatry (Hosea 2:9; Joel 1:10). Bread and wine were also among the tangible blessings the Lord promised through his prophets concerning Israel’s hope for the future (Jeremiah 31:12; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13).
Therefore, when Jesus Christ came performing extraordinary signs and wonders, it would have been no surprise to biblically knowledgeable Israelites that he turned water into wine (John 2:1–11) and multiplied loaves of bread to feed thousands (Matthew 14:13–21; John 6:1–14), and that he called himself “the bread of life” (John 6:35) and “the true vine” (John 15:1; see also, John 6:53-57).
The Lord’s Supper Reminds Us of Who God Is and Who We Are
In the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of who God is and who we are not. We are reminded of God’s abounding grace and all he has accomplished for us and for his glory throughout redemptive history. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of God’s mission that he is fulfilling as he calls and gathers his elect people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to be his people with whom he will feast in the new heaven and new earth.
The Lord’s Supper reminds us that our God keeps his covenant with us and that he is faithful to his promises. It reminds us that God has not left us alone to make it on our own but that he is near to us, with us, and in us by his Spirit. It reminds us of our justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. It reminds us that the only thing sin and righteousness have in common is that they were both imputed to the undeserving at the cross of Christ. It reminds us of our adoption and our union with Christ.
As God’s people, the Lord’s Supper teaches us that we are the one, united body of Christ who partakes of one holy meal. The Lord’s Supper is a family meal and a covenant meal. It reminds us that we are not alone and that we belong to the covenant family of the body of Christ. When we come together to partake of the Lord’s Supper, we partake without faction, division, partiality, or self-centeredness (1 Corinthians 11:17–34), and the elders make it clear who is to partake and who is not permitted to partake and the reasons why.
When we partake of the elements, we are consuming the bread and wine (or grape juice), partaking of Christ who is truly, spiritually present, and, by the Holy Spirit who indwells us who believe. We who are seated with Christ in the heavenly places feed upon Christ for our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
As a means of grace, in the Lord’s Supper, Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, as answer 88 of the “Westminster Shorter Catechism” reminds us: “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are, His ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.”
When We Partake of the Lord’s Supper
Jesus told us that whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are to do so in remembrance of him. However, too often when we partake, we only remember our own sin and wallow in guilt rather than fixing our eyes on Christ and basking in the glorious salvation that he accomplished for us. Too often we get duped by our Accuser’s lies, and we feel like we are being holy and humble when we beat up ourselves with guilt and shame rather than believing our Savior’s words of assurance, repenting of our sins, and remembering Christ with joy as we partake of his Supper.
To that end, it is helpful for us to prepare for our partaking of the Lord’s Supper. In our congregation, we partake of the Lord’s Supper once a month in the morning services and once a month in the evening service. And many years ago, we began the practice of informing the congregation the week prior to our partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
We do this so we can take time to pray, search our hearts, repent of our sins, and seek peace and reconciliation as needed so that when we come to partake of the Lord’s Supper it will be a reverent celebration of remembering Christ. This is why we understand the Lord’s Supper to be a celebration and not a funeral dirge. And the way we remember Christ is through solemn meditation, prayer, reading, and singing as we fix our eyes on all he is, all he taught, and all he demonstrated and accomplished for us and his glory that we might love, worship, and enjoy him now and forever.
Burk Parsons is senior pastor of St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida.