This is Memorial Day weekend. There will be many memorial services and events held around our country to commemorate the men and women who gave their lives to gain and protect our freedom. We should never forget the price they paid. I want to build off of this idea to speak of another sacrifice. In addition to remembering their sacrifice I want to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made to gain our freedom. In addition to memorializing our military we want to memorialize our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is why we take communion together today.
What is the significance of communion? Let’s go to the scripture. We follow the text from I Corinthians 11. Paul said “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” (vs. 23-26)
Joke: Understanding and appreciating communion sometimes requires a little explanation. I read about a little boy who was in church when the juice and wafers were passed. His mother leaned over and told him that he was not old enough to partake in the Lord ’s Supper.
Later on, when the offering basket was passed she leaned over once again to tell him to drop his money in, but her son held his dollar firmly in his hand, stating..."If I can’t eat, I won’t pay!"
(Contributed to Sermon Central Reese Blanchett)
What is the significance of communion?
First, it is a responsibility for believers. Jesus instituted communion. He gave His disciples this responsibility and commanded us to fulfill it until he returns.
Since it is our responsibility it should be an act of obedience. We honor Jesus by obeying Him. We worship Jesus by obeying Him. It is our responsibility to take communion.
The Bible indicates Christianity is measured by obedience. In I John we find these words “By this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘ I know Him, ‘ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (I John 2:3-4 NKJB) The test of discipleship is not empty words. Many people say they are believers but a true disciple is one who obeys.
When something is your responsibility you are obligated to be faithful. You do not do it because it makes sense. You do not do it because it is easy.
Illustration: Back in the early 80’s I served a church in Port Gibson, Mississippi. This was a small church so I had to hold a second job in order to support my family. I held a job as a substitute mail carrier. On one occasion I was carrying the mail when my sense of responsibility was challenged. I terrible snow and ice storm struck. This storm shut down all businesses and most of the roads were impassable. I called the post master and asked if I had to attempt to deliver the mail. She said yes! The U.S. postal service has the reputation of delivering in all kinds of weather, rain, sleet or shine. I went to my car to attempt to deliver the mail. My car was frozen to the ground and my doors were frozen shut. Needless to say, I did not deliver the mail that day. However, my sense of responsibility caused me to think beyond the normal.
If you know Jesus Christ you worship because it is your responsibility. If you know Jesus Christ you tithe because it is your responsibility. If you know Jesus Christ you attend church because it is your responsibility. If you know Jesus Christ you take communion because it is your responsibility. If you know Jesus Christ you serve because it is your responsibility.
A second aspect of communion is remembering. In the text, Jesus twice encourages us to remember. In his commentary on I Corinthians 11 John MacArthur says “For the Hebrews to remember meant much more than simply to bring something to mind… To truly remember is to go back in one’s mind and recapture as much of the reality and significance of an event or experience as one possibly can. To remember Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross is to relive with Him His life, agony, suffering, and death as much as is humanly possible… we remember His once-for-all sacrifice for us and rededicate ourselves to His obedient service.”
In keeping the memory alive we keep commitment alive. Unless we are intentional we lose memories. Jesus wants us to keep the memory of Him and His death alive. Every generation needs to be reminded of what Jesus did on the cross. He died to express the love, forgiveness and grace of God toward sinful man.
Illustration: Several years ago I made a visit to the Holy Land. While there we visited the Holocaust museum. Our tour guide told us every Jewish school child is required to visit the Holocaust museum. That fact becomes significant when you understand the contents of the museum. There are a number of gruesome pictures and exhibits in the museum. The are pictures you would not want the average school child to see. There are many pictures of mass graves containing the bodies of naked Jewish people who were killed and buried in mass graves. Why does the Jewish government require such visits? They want every Jewish citizen to remember the horrible tragedy that the Jewish people faced during the Holocaust. The memory keeps commitment to the Jewish way of life strong.
Many people were offended by the motion picture “The Passion of the Christ.” It was rated “R” because of the brutality it portrayed. I understand the concerns. The editors actually toned down later versions of the movie because of the public out-cry. With all due consideration to the concerns about brutality we need to be reminded that Jesus death was a brutal death. He paid a tremendous debt for mankind’s sin. He was tortured, beaten and bruised in your behalf. We need to be reminded of this fact.
Another reason for remembering is to keep the memory fresh. Some memories should always be kept fresh. It was on this day 29 years ago that Judy and I walked down an aisle at East Brent Baptist Church in Pensacola at 6 P.M. and exchanged vows. Every year we remember that date and time. We keep the memory alive and fresh. The memory of marriage vows should always be kept fresh. When something loses its freshness it loses its meaning.
A third aspect of communion is self examination. In our text Jesus mentioned two things that should be examined during communion. We should examine our relationship with God. In verse 28 we are told that a person should examine himself. We should examine ourselves to be sure we are in the faith. A person’s presence in worship does not assure that he/she is a believer. A person’s joining a church does not assure that he/she is a believer. A person’s baptism does not assure that he/she is a believer. We should regularly examine ourselves to determine that we are in the faith.
Illustration: Years ago, while serving a church in Mississippi, a deacon showed up at my door. I invited him in. He began to share some things that were going on in his life. His trials caused him to examine his relationship with Jesus Christ. He said after examining himself he realized he had never personally invited Jesus into his life. That day he invited Jesus into his heart. That is an examination all of us should experience. We should be sure that we are in the faith.
We should check our relationship with God but also our relationship with other believers. In verse 33 we read where the believers were told to “wait for one another.” The Bible tells us that some of the believers in Corinth were gluttons and drunkards. They were self focused. They were concerned only about selfish things. They were not genuinely concerned about other people. When you worship God your relationship with God should be right but also your relationship with other people. This is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Jesus also said the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Any time we worship we should check our relationship with God. Closely behind this we should check our relationship with other people. You cannot properly worship God if you are out of fellowship with other people.
