The Meaning of the Lord's Supper

November 25 2012

Sermon #973

The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-34(NKJV) –   ²³For 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; ²⁴and 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.” ²⁵In 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.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. ²⁷Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. ³¹For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

³²But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. ³³Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come. 

Introduction: Some churches have the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist every Sunday morning.  When I was a boy the church my mother attended had it every Sunday night. They called it “testimony” meeting.  The church I was a member of after I met Jesus had the Lord’s Supper every first Sunday of the month. When I became Pastor of the Cathedral of His Glory, I wanted it to be special. Sometimes we do religious things so habitually that it loses its meaning.  What is its meaning?

1. It is an expression of love an appreciation

“...do this in remembrance of Me.”  

ILL: “Remember the Alamo. Remember Pearl Harbor. Remember 9/11.

1. Remember the cost. The cost of the men who died at the Alamo, Pearl, and New York. 
2. Remember the cost of Salvation. Psalm 34:20(NKJV) –  ²⁰He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 

1 Corinthians 11:23-24(NKJV) –  ²³For 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; ²⁴and 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.”

1. His bones were not broken but His body was. 1 Peter 2:22-25(NKJV) – ²² “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;  ²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;  ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1. The Lord’s Supper is an explanation and an expectation:

1 Corinthians 11:26(NKJV) –  ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

ILL: “Proclaim” means to explain. 

Acts 1:9-11(NKJV) – ⁹Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, ¹¹who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18(NKJV) – ¹⁵For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words.

ILL: The owner of a large warehouse was concerned about his profit margin, and he decided to make an onsite inspection. He saw a young man leaning up against a wall apparently not working. The owner said to him, “How much do you make per week?” The young man said, “$320.” The owner reached into his pocket and pulled out $320 and handed the man the money and told him, “You can leave. We don’t need you around here anymore.” As the young man walked away, the warehouse supervisor arrived and the owner asked him, “How long has that fellow been working for us?” The supervisor looked as the young man drove away and replied, “He doesn’t work for us; he was here making a delivery.” Moral of the story: DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS - as to when or who!

1. The Lord’s Supper is an examination

1 Corinthians 11:27-32(NKJV) –  ²⁷Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.²⁹For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. ³¹For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 

Only Jesus is pure - worthy, Revelation 5:11-13(NKJV) –  ¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” ¹³And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Christians are only to judge themselves.

ILL: The Apostle Paul’s judgement of himself: Romans 7:14-25(NKJV) –  ¹⁴For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. ¹⁵For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ¹⁶If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. ²⁰Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 

²¹I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. ²²For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. ²³But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin

ILL: The Same man wrote: 

2 Timothy 1:8-12(NKJV) –  ⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁰but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

IV. The Lord’s Supper is an encouragement

1 Corinthians 11:33-34(NKJV) –  ³³Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come

Conclusion:

When Mary and I were young and traveling with the children, we would pull into the drive-thru. I would grab a hamburger and eat it with one hand while driving with the other. Today I don’t even like to go into a “fast food” restaurant. The place has the chairs and colors to move you out fast. I cannot ever remember saying, “wow that McDonalds was terrific.” No, I remember a meal in Europe. We sat at a table and were served by waiters that came and left almost invisibly. Different musical productions were presented with each course. We spent hours enjoying the setting and each other. That I remember! Let’s take our time and listen to the Holy Spirit and the music of the soul - with the Lord at His Supper!