If we try to divorce tradition and extra-biblical references
from our thinking in regard to this unique celebration of the Christian Church,
we find scriptural weight to name it the Lord’s Table and the elements are plainly bread (unleavened
bread) and cup (the fruit of the vine).
The symbolism of the cup is also clearly described by our Lord as the
cup of the New Covenant in his blood.
The cup is not His blood. So we
need to ask then, “What is this Table communicating?” A list of its aspects would look like this:
a. There must be a message of transition. The very fact that Christ, while eating the
Passover, refocused this event to the Table of the Lord is of significance. One
can only surmise that the redemption that Christ accomplished at the Cross was
first typified by the redemption of Israel from Egypt.
b. Another message is in the bread where Christ said to His
disciples, “Take, eat; this is
my body.”[1] The exact words are contained in
the other Gospels and repeated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:24 with this added
application: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of
me.” Luke emphasizes that it
is “given for you” (Luke 22:19). In 1
Corinthians 10 the bread also implies another dimension: “The bread that we break, is it not a
participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are
many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” [2]
In bodily form Christ lifts up a piece of the bread announcing that this
was His Body for His disciples, individual as they are, they are yet one. To eat is also an act of remembrance of
Christ. Paul likely means that those
who eat that bread then share in/participate in what Christ’s body “did for
them” and in doing so they are brought into unity with others who have engaged
in the same fellowship.
c. Another
message, as noted previously is in the Cup has to do with the inauguration of
the New Covenant that purchased forgiveness of sins. “This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, NIV) There is an interesting side note that Christ
would not drink this Cup again until the fulfillment of the Kingdom. At the
very least there seems to be a strong indication that what is being accomplished
on Calvary is part of a greater plan. As
with the bread, the Cup is to prompt remembrance: “Do this,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”[3]
d. Finally, there is a clear statement from the Apostle Paul
that suggests the clearest message emitted from the Table. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26, NIV).
With the word “for” we have the fundamental ground of this
celebration. It proclaims (καταγγέλλω [prounounced
kat·ang·gel·lo]); it preaches; it ‘messages’
the Lord’s death until His return. This
seems to summarize all that has been said before. The death of Christ brought
redemptive benefits to His Church through a New Covenant, i.e., forgiveness of
sins and unity with His Body.
For someone to draw inferences that the body and the blood
of the Lord, either actually or spiritually morph into reality is to read much
into these texts. The ordinary reader
would not even go there unless unduly influenced by outside coercion.
However there is an implication that cannot be ignored. To proclaim that you or I are participants in
the redemptive work of Christ in forgiveness of sins and united with Him and
His Church implies without hesitancy that we must be people who have been saved
by grace through faith in Him. The Table
then has a built-in fence. One must be
part of the redeemed people of God.
Previous Blogs:
[1] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2001). (Mt 26:26). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[2] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2001). (1 Co 10:16–17). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
(2001). (1 Co 11:25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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