INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• The first time you walked into a church, when time for Communion, what was running through your mind?
• I was raised in a tradition where you had to get in a long, LONG line and walk up to the Priest who would put this wafer in your mouth and would give you a drink from a large cup of WINE!
• Honestly, today I do not know if I could do that. Nothing against you all, but I do not think I could drink out of the same cup as everyone else.
• We are in the midst of our series, Why Do We Do That? Today we are going to examine why we take Communion.
• Do you know that Communion has been a source of division within Christianity as well as a source of confusion for those outside of the church?
• In the early Church, in the passage we are going to spend the bulk of our time in this morning, had some divisions and stresses related to Communion.
• When Rome burned under Nero, some folks such as Tacitus, implied that Nero burned Rome himself, so Nero blamed the Christians for the fire because “These early Christians were believed to be practicing human sacrifice and cannibalism (communion). http://www.unrv.com/early-empire/nero-christians.php
• Churches throughout time have fought over the type of bread used, the number of cups used, how often are we called to take it, as well as the age old question, juice or wine.
• Today we are going to explain why we take communion, we will not dive into all the disputes over the centuries concerning communion, but rather we will examine three areas concerning communion that will help us to understand why we take communion each week at FCC.
• Let’s begin by turning to 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. We will begin with verse 23.
• SLIDE #2
• 1 Corinthians 11:23 (HCSB) For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. The genesis of Communion. 23
• For the longest time I thought the Passover celebrated in the Old Testament as Communion in the New Testament were kind of one in the same.
• There are a lot of similarities and differences between the two celebrations.
• Passover- In the old age of the and the prophets- L.S.- In the new age of the Kingdom.
• P- Was the great festival meal of people. L.S.-Is to be the new celebratory God’s meal of God’s people.
• P- They remembered the Passover sacrifice, the exodus from Egypt, the new beginning for covenant people. L.S. - To remember the sacrificial of Jesus, bringing freedom from sin, the new covenant of the Spirit.
• P- By participating, Jews associated themselves with this salvation and covenant. L.S.- By participating, Jesus’ followers associate with his redemption and covenant.
• P- Looking back to the exodus and forward to God’s salvation. L.S.- Looking back to the cross and forward to the Kingdom.
• Paul explains that on the night He was betrayed, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it.
• The disciples, including Judas, were in Upper Room with Jesus celebrating the Passover feast.
• The Passover was a remembrance of when the Israelites were in Egypt as Moses was seeking to free them from Pharaoh. There were 10 plagues God sent upon Egypt in an effort to get Pharaoh to free His people, the first nine did nothing to change Pharaoh’s mind.
• However, the tenth and final plague was that the firstborn of ever family and animal in Egypt would die.
• God told the Israelites to spread the blood of a lamb or goat on their doorposts.
• SLIDE #4
• Exodus 12:22–23 (HCSB) Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, He will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
• Communion or the Lord’s Supper was not simply a new twist on an old celebration.
• They disciples celebrated the Passover and after they finished with the meal that accompanied Passover, Jesus begins this new celebration.
• SLIDE #5
• Luke 22:20 (HCSB) In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you.
• It appears that at this time Judas had already left by this time, so he was not present at the time the Lord’s Supper, or communion was instituted by Jesus.
• SLIDE #6
• John 13:30 (HCSB) After receiving the piece of bread, he went out immediately. And it was night.
• So Jesus, knowing He was about to be crucified established communion.
• For the Christian, Communion was to take the place of the Passover. This is why Jesus stated…
• SLIDE #7
• Luke 22:15–16 (HCSB) Then He said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
• Let’s turn to verses 24-26 of 1 Corinthians 11.
• SLIDE #8
• 1 Corinthians 11:24–26 (HCSB) — 24 gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
• SLIDE #9
II. The significance of Communion. 24-26
• To understand why we take Communion, we need to understand the significance of Communion.
• Paul, through revelation from Jesus as well a collaboration of the Gospels offers us insights to the significance of Communion.
• THERE IS SOME SYMBOLISM IN COMMUNION. Jesus said in verse 24 that the bread was His body and in verse 25 that the cup was His blood.
• Jesus did not mean that the bread and the cup turned into His body and blood, but rather that they represented His body and blood.
• The Catholic faith teaches that the cup and bread actually turn into the actual body and blood of Jesus. This is called TRANSUBSTANTIATION. Say that 10 times.
• I had a discussion a few years ago with a Catholic friend who believed that, and they could not understand why I did not. They said Jesus SAID it was His body and blood.
• I said that Jesus also said He was a door in John 10:7. Jesus did not turn into a door did he?
• Now here we are given why Communion is so important.
• Jesus also says the cup represents the New Covenant. Blood was required to seal a covenant and Jesus was getting ready to seal the New Covenant with His blood.
• Concerning the word COVENANT, in the Greek language, there are two words one can translate COVENANT. The first one denotes an agreement between equals. This is means the terms of the agreement are negotiated and are subject to change.
• The other word is one that denotes an agreement between UNEQUAL’S. This is the word ALWAYS used when speaking of the covenant between God and man.
• One either accepts or rejects God’s terms, they are not subject to change or discussion, they are what they are.
• This is part of the reason Christians cannot change the Word of God by either addition or subtraction. God’s covenant is not up for discussion or a vote.
• Jesus says to do this in remembrance of Him!
• Communion is not about the number of cups we use, it is not about the kind of bread we use, it is not about the amount of bread and drink we receive, Communion is about doing it in remembrance of Him!
• This means that when one takes Communion the act should bring Jesus to your thoughts.
• When Jesus instituted Communion He implied HE would no longer be with them, so they would have to remember Him.
• Communion is also a proclamation!
• Paul tells us we are proclaiming the Lord’s death.
• As we examine the emblems, the cup and the bread, we see the representation of the shed blood and broken body of Jesus. We believe that He died for the sins of the world!
• Jesus died a sacrificial death for the Church! But it does not stop there!
• Communion is also a prophecy!
• We are proclaiming His death until He comes!
• The object lesson Communion is that Jesus is coming again! When we take Communion, we are proclaiming that Jesus is coming again!
• Communion also proclaims we are one in Christ!
• SLIDE #10
• 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 (HCSB) The cup of blessing that we give thanks for, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for all of us share that one bread.
• Let us look at verses 27-29
• SLIDE #11
• 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 (HCSB) — 27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 So a man should examine himself; in this way he should eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
• SLIDE #12
III. The heart to possess before taking Communion. 27-29
• Communion is also a time of examination.
• I want to focus on the phrase UNWORTHY WAY.
• Unworthy does not speak of the partaker of communion because none of us are worthy to be in fellowship with God.
• It speaks of the manner in which one comes to communion, the heart we bring to the table.
• We need to make sure we are not selfish, or that we are bringing a defiant spirit.
• We are called to examine our hearts. We are to look for things that are getting in the way of our relationship with Jesus.
• In the context of this observation, the Corinthian Church was having some heart issues surrounding communion.
• We are to approach our time of communion with a heart of belief, with a heart of humility, one that is humble enough to be willing to peer into the heart of oneself and make the necessary adjustments.
• We are to bring a heart of repentance, a heart of being willing to make the wrongs right.
• Having made clear to the Corinthians the cross-centered nature of communion, Paul then begins to draw out the punitive consequences when believers participate in the meal in an unworthy manner.
• Since for Paul the elements of the bread and cup are undeniably and inseparably tied to the death of Jesus as manifested in his broken body and shed blood, to handle these elements in an unworthy way is to place oneself “under the same liability as those responsible for that death in the first place Oster, R. (1995). 1 Corinthians (1 Co 11:27). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.
CONCLUSION
• Communion is a time we need to prepare for even before we enter the doors of the church.
• We need to understand that we are not just taking some juice and eating a piece of unleavened bread. We are making some special proclamations. Whenever we take communion, we need to examine our heart!
