The Bread & the Cup

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when 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 took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

Last Sunday, we were back in Excelsior Springs, Missouri visiting family over the Fourth of July Independence Day weekend, and attended the Sunday church service at my cousin’s house of worship. The sermon message was on the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion. Communion is truly a “co-union” between us and the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that is to be taken seriously. Churches can have far too many habits and rituals sometimes, but communion is not a ritual; in forgiveness and salvation, the repentant, regenerated, redeemed of sin are in the very presence of the Lord, in “co-union”. Rejoice!  

Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

The Lord Jesus instituted Holy Community for the body of Christ; His church. The Lord said in John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which symbolizes the sinful ways of this fallen world – spiritual death. The “breaking of bread” is the holy symbol of our heavenly Father love and grace in sending His Son to save us from our sin in the breaking of the Savior’s body as the sacrificial atonement offering for all sin (past, present and future) for eternity. Again, rejoice!

Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”

Life is in the blood. The wine in Holy Communion symbolizes the blood shed by the Lord for the remission - pardon of and freedom from - sin and makes atonement of the soul as “His blood of the new covenant”. Holy Communion, commanded by the Lord, symbolizes Almighty God’s atoning sacrifice on the cross and is a constant reminder for us of the benefits in the ordinances of the elements of communion as we join in the life, death and resurrection unto eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. The bread and the cup are special and serious. It is all that Jesus told us to participate in, in remembrance of Him. We are one in Christ. Again, rejoice!


In Christ, Brian