The Lord's Supper

I came to faith in Christ when I was eight years old. Up until that time, my dad, who was the faithful Baptist, would not allow me to participate in communion. Every child wants to try that little cracker and grape juice, probably simply because we are left out of the ritual. But, when I accepted Christ and was baptized, I was finally ready to participate. Sometime after my baptism, my church had our next communion service, and my younger brother, Patrick, watched with jealousy as I took my first communion. Shortly after that, Patrick wanted to talk about accepting Jesus. On the way home from church, Patrick asked my dad about getting baptized. Before my dad could respond, I exclaimed, “Don’t do it Patrick, that cracker tastes horrible!” Of course, I’d never discourage my brother from salvation, but I made the assumption (an educated assumption, by the way) that he was only in it for the cracker.

What is the Lord’s Supper? Why does it matter… or does it? In our study of the Gospel of Mark, we come to the institution of the Lord’s Supper, from Mark 14:22-25. Let’s read that together. From this passage, I want you to see the Symbol, Sign, and Seal of the Lord’s Supper.

First, see the symbol of the supper. Our passage is rooted in what we studied last week. Verses 12-21 tell us that the institution of the Lord’s Supper is rooted in the Passover meal that Jesus observed with his disciples. There is a common mistake made among evangelicals which detaches the NT from its roots in the OT, and that is nowhere more apparent than in our observance of the Lord’s Supper. The practices of the church are not wholly new institutions. They are extensions of OT rituals. The Lord’s Supper is an extension of the Passover, so to understand Communion, we have to understand the Passover. The Passover meal was instituted by God in Exodus 12, just before he brought the tenth plague on the nation of Egypt, so that the Pharoah of Egypt would finally relent and let the people of Israel go. God tells Moses that this plague will be different from the other nine. In this plague, the death angel will descend on the land and kill every first-born child. Certainly, the other plagues brought death, but nothing so direct. But, the most notable difference was in its scope. With the other plagues, the Israelites were protected from the effects. When the water turned to blood, in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, the water was not affected. Even in the nineth plague, when darkness descended on the land for three days, the land of Goshen had light. But, in the tenth plague, the land of Goshen would not be spared. Yet, God provided a way of escape for his people. He told Moses that every Israelite household was to kill a spotless lamb, drain its blood, and splatter the blood over the doorposts of the house. God promised that when the death angel saw the blood of the lamb, it would pass over that house. The Passover ritual went further, though. Not only was the family to spread the blood over the doorpost, but they were also to consume the lamb in its entirety. Additionally, God commanded that this practice wouldn’t just be a one-time event. Every year, the Israelites were to set aside eight days. In the first seven days of the feast, they were to remove all leaven/yeast from their houses. When they made bread during that week, they were to make it without yeast. On the last day of the feast, they were to sacrifice the Passover lambs and observe a meal.

All of this has deep symbolism, and points forward, as a shadow, to the fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Israel was in bondage in Egypt, a pagan land in open rebellion against God. Like Israel, we all are in bondage to sin, and we live in a world that is in open rebellion against God. The Death Angel was to come for everyone, regardless of race or religion. It did not matter that the Jews were descendants of Abraham. They would die along with the Egyptians had God not provided a way of salvation. We, like the Israelites, are under the curse of death, too. Yet, God did provide a way of escape for the Israelites. The blood of a spotless lamb would turn away the Death Angel. Praise God, we too have the blood of the spotless lamb, Jesus, that covers our sins. As John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 1:29, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” Recognize too, that Jesus is taking this meal on the night before the Passover lambs would be slain. On the next day, as the spotless lambs are bleating in the temple, the true Lamb of God would cry out from the cross, “It is finished.”

This is the symbolism behind the Lord’s Supper, and it is why Jesus breaks the bread and says, “This is my body.” Last year, we observed a Seder supper on the Thursday before Easter (something I plan to do every year), and I explained then that the unleavened bread used in the Passover meal, to this day, is cooked over the grill of an oven, so that it is striped with grill marks. Also, to keep the unleavened bread from bubbling, the cooks poke holes in the dough so that the bread is pierced. Even more, there are three pieces of bread that are used in the Passover meal. All three are kept in a cloth with pockets for each. During the meal, the host will take the middle piece and hide it, and later in the meal, he will bring it back, break it, and serve it to the family. It is this middle piece of bread that Jesus breaks and calls his body. So, in the meal that Jews have observed for thousands of years, they ate bread that was unleavened, symbolizing sinlessness. This bread was striped and pierced, like the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 who was bruised and pierced for our sins. The bread was one of three, like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And, it was removed, hidden (or buried), and brought back, like Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised again.

Now that we see the symbolism of the supper, consider the sign. In verse 24, Jesus takes a cup of wine, raises it and says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” During the Passover meal, there are four cups of wine that are consumed. They each have symbolic significance, but the third cup, which is taken after the meal (Luke’s account tells us that this is the cup Jesus raised) is called the cup of blessing and redemption. So, when Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant poured out for many” (Matthew adds, “For the forgiveness of sins”), he does this with a cup that every Jew called the cup of redemption. With this cup, Jesus establishes a new covenant. Blood was always used to signify a covenant. When God made his covenant with Abraham in Gen. 15, he walked between the halves of sacrifices animals. When God instituted the covenant on Mount Sinai, Moses took blood from a bull and sprinkled it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant.” Blood was necessary for two reasons. For one, something new can only begin when something old dies. In his death, Jesus killed the Old Covenant. The rituals of sacrifice and purity were fulfilled in his life and death. He also killed sin. As Paul says, in Romans 6:7-8 says, “For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Or, as 2 Cor. 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Blood is also necessary because it atones for sin. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” The blood of Jesus atoned for our sins and covers us so that the death angel can no longer harm us. Sure, we will die, but our death has no sting. When we die, we go immediately into the presence of God. And, when our body is laid in the ground, it is done so knowing that it will not stay there. Christ will one day return to bring about the final resurrection, and on that day, he will transform our mortal bodies into that which is immortal. So, the Lord’s Supper is a sign of this covenant. The supper is like a wedding band. A husband wears his wedding band as a constant reminder of his covenant. When he looks at that band, he is reminded all over again of the promises he and his wife made. In the same way, when we take the supper, it reminds us of what Christ has promised for us through his covenant.

The supper is also a sign to the world. In Paul’s account of the supper from 1 Cor. 11, he adds this commentary: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” As simple as the supper is, with its small cracker and cup of juice, it is a testimony to the world. It proclaims the death of Jesus. It preaches to the believers that take it, as it reminds us of his work for us. But, it also preaches to the world of the ongoing work of Christ in his people.

Finally, see the seal of the supper. At the end of the day, does the supper really do anything? Is it necessary? The short answer: yes! Yes, it does something, and yes it is necessary. When you hear that, you might wonder, am I saying that the supper saves you. Well, yes and no. Most Christian denominations, from Roman Catholics to Presbyterians, believe in some form of “sacramentalism”. This is a gross oversimplification, but for the sake of time, this means that they believe that the elements of the supper (the bread and wine) in some way give you grace through the real presence of Christ. The RCC believes that the bread and wine literally transform into the body and blood of Jesus. Most protestants believe that Jesus is spiritually present in the elements, so that when you eat them you are spiritually consuming Christ. Baptists, however, do not believe in the sacramental nature of the elements. Instead, we believe that Christ is present alongside the elements. Christ is present in the Lord’s Supper in the same way he is present through my preaching. He works through the meaning, as you receive it by faith, to give you grace. In other words, if you eat the bread and drink the juice but lack any faith in Christ, you will gain no benefit from it. But, if you receive it by faith, God, by his Spirit, gives you grace.

So, is it necessary for your salvation? On the one hand, as a work that you do to earn God’s grace, no it is not. Taking communion cannot appease God. Missing a communion service will not cause you to lose your salvation. But, on the other hand, the Lord’s Supper is a practice, instituted by the Lord Jesus himself for our continued growth in him. As he tells his disciples in John 6, “unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, you have no part in me.” Faith in Christ is not a one-time transaction. It is a life-long walk. Faith is maintained by consuming Christ. We consume him by our faithful attendance with other believers. We consume him by sitting under faithful preaching. We consume him by identifying with him in baptism. And, we consume him by taking the supper with our church.

In closing, consider this illustration. Imagine that you go in for a heart bypass surgery. The doctor puts you under and spends hours repairing your heart. When you wake up in recovery, you get the best news: the surgery was flawless. Your heart is completely repaired. However, the doctor gets face-to-face with you and gives you some stern warnings. He says, “I’m giving you a prescription for these medicines. You need to make sure that you take them as prescribed. And, I’m signing you up for therapy. You have to make sure you follow the therapy regimen. Lastly, I’m scheduling an appointment for you with a dietitian to get you on the right track nutritionally. Understand, you need to do all of this if you are going to recover fully.” Having heard all that, imagine that you go out, as so many do in these situations, and completely ignore the warnings. You don’t take your medicines like you should. You wimp out of your therapy after a few sessions. And, you never go to that appointment. Will you die from this rebellion against the doctor’s orders? Honestly, you could, but you might not. Will you recover like you should? Most definitely not. In a similar way, the supper is given to us for our edification. It keeps us in the faith. It gives us grace. Like that heart surgery, God did the work for our salvation by sending his Son and by turning our hearts to him. But like that prescription, we cannot grow in that salvation without the means that God has given.