bible-study:

The Lord's Supper

This article is meant to be a brief survey of the scripture that refers to the Lord's supper, the range of traditions around the Lord's supper, and a few of my own thoughts. I hope it will be useful to those trying to figure out their own beliefs in respect to this practice.

Scripture

The primary accounts of the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the practice, are found in the three Synoptic Gospels. These accounts are:

Matthew 26:26-29: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (NET)
Mark 14:22-25: While they were eating, he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many. I tell you the truth, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (NET)
Luke 22:19-20: Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (NET)

The Apostle Paul also provides a detailed account of the Lord's Supper, which he states he received directly from the Lord. His passages are significant for explaining the meaning and purpose of the practice for the early Christian church. The relevant sections are:

1 Corinthians 11:23-26: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (NET)

Other related passages, but note that some of these may or may not be actually talking about the Lord's supper.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17: Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread. (NET)
Acts 2:42: They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (NET)
Acts 20:7: On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul began to speak to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, he extended his message until midnight. (NET)
John 6:53-58: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.” (NET)

As you read these scriptures I would highly encourage you to also go read the context around these verses.

The Bread and Cup

There are a range of beliefs on what Jesus meant when he said "this is my body" and "this is my blood". I won't really attempt to summarize the different views since I likely won't do them justice but here is a basic list.

Catholic: the bread and wine miraculously become the body and blood of Jesus (transubstantiation).
Lutheran: the body and blood of Christ are truly present, but there is no attempt to explain how or what that means.
Reformed/Calvinist: there is a spiritual presence of Jesus, and believers are united with Jesus as they participate.
Baptists/Evangelicals: the supper is being done as a memorial of Jesus' sacrifice.

There is something to be learned from studying each of these views. generally they all agree that this is being done in connection to Jesus' redemptive work at Calvary.

I am perfectly fine, theologically, with any of the last three. I feel confident it is one of, or some combination of, those three and I am comfortable not choosing.

The Purpose

I am much more willing to take a strong stance on the purpose of the Lord's supper, and I think there is much more agreement on this throughout Christianity. Here is what the scriptures say about the Lord's supper:

An act of remembrance, "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).
A proclamation of His death, "For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
An act of fellowship and unity, "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17).
A symbol of the new covenant, "the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). The old covenant was sealed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the new covenant is sealed with the blood of Christ. The Lord's Supper is a tangible sign of this new relationship with God, made possible by His sacrifice.
A look forward to His return, "until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26) It is a foretaste of the great "marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9) that believers will share with Christ in the kingdom of God.
An opportunity for self-examination, "examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28).

κοινωνία (koinōnía)

One word that I want to call out in these verses is koinonia, it is used in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 "Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a koinonia in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a koinonia in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread."

Various bibles translate this word as sharing, participation, or communion.

Koinonia signifies an intimate fellowship, partnership, or shared experience. It's not just a casual involvement. The word is used in a variety of contexts in the New Testament:

In the book of Acts, believers are described as having koinonia with one another in their shared life, including their possessions (Acts 2:42).
In 1 John 1:3, John writes that their purpose is to invite others into their koinonia with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Paul uses koinonia to describe the believers' shared contribution to a common fund (2 Corinthians 8:4).

I would argue that this koinonia is suggesting both a unique relationship with our fellow believers and with God through Jesus' sacrifice. The book of John, particularly John 17, is great at explaining what this relationship should look like.

My Thoughts

As I came into a more bible centered Christianity, I was confused by all the different views on the Lord's Supper. Is Jesus' body some how physically there? Spiritually? Is this just symbolism? Some churches allow anyone to partake, others give stronger instructions for who should or shouldn't, others refuse participation to anyone who doesn't closely align with that specific churches views (closed communion or sometimes called fencing).

What I have realized is that I am very motivated to try to understand and live out the purposes of the Lord's supper: koinonia, proclamation, rememberance, self-examination, and the new covenant. I don't really care about the technicalities of if "is means is" in a literal or figurative sense. I am glad that theologans study it, but it isn't something I would want to split the church over.

As a result I am happy to partake in the Lord's supper with any christian brother or sister, I am also happy to sit quietly at a closed communion service. What I won't do though is partake if others are being excluded.