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Paul Smithson
On the night before His death, Jesus instituted a memorial of
what would be the greatest event ever to take place in all
time-- His death for the sins of the world (Matt. 26:26-29).
At the time Jesus instituted this memorial He and His twelve
disciples were partaking of a memorial feast that had been
inaugurated by God centuries before, the Passover feast. This
supper had been prepared earlier that day by Peter and John (
Luke 22:7-13) which was a significant task. If the lamb had not
yet been bought, an unblemished one had to be selected and
purchased, taken to the Temple for sacrifice, and the carcass
roasted for the meal. They would have also had to prepare the
bitter herbs, the unleavened bread, and the grape juice for
drink. All of this was required for the Passover Feast (Ex.
12).
On the first Passover a lamb was slain and its blood was
put on the door posts and lintel of the house belonging to the
family that was partaking of the lamb. This allowed the angel
of death that passed through Egypt killing all the first born to
"pass over" them. Thus, they were saved by the blood of the Lamb
(Ex. 12:7-9). All of this would have been on the minds of the
disciples as they partook of this Passover meal with Jesus which
we call the "Last Supper."
However, Jesus saw a greater significance concerning the
emblems of this meal. By God's wisdom the salvation of the
Israelites from Egypt through the lamb's blood typified the
ultimate salvation that was to come through Christ, the true
Lamb of God. Jesus, with His divine knowledge and
understanding, was aware of the significance of the meal in
connection with His imminent death (Jn.13:1).
So, on the eve of His betrayal, while commemorating the feast
that was a type of His own death which was soon to come, Jesus
chose elements from that Passover feast as a memorial of His
body and blood, saying "Do this in remembrance of Me."
The apostle Paul, who was not among the twelve that evening,
but who later received special revelation from the Lord, writes,
"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"
(1Cor.11:23-24).
The bread of the Passover feast was unleavened bread. Seven
days prior to the feast, all leaven was to be put out of the
house. Leaven symbolized the pervasion of evil as it ferments
and spreads through the entire substance in which it is mixed.
Therefore, unleavened bread is a symbol of purity. This alone
was fitting to represent the pure and sinless body of Christ.
Paul continued, "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" (1Cor.
11:25). Jesus said the fruit of the vine, the deep red juice of
the grape from which He and His disciple drank during this
Passover meal, represented His blood that ratified God's New
Covenant. The Passover lamb's blood saved the people from
physical death and thus they were lead out of Egyptian bondage
as a nation of God's people. But it took the perfect
sacrifice, the true Lamb of God, to save men from spiritual
death and to release them from the bondage and make a holy
nation (cf. 1Pet. 1:18:19;2:9).
Paul also declares, "For as often as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes"
(1Cor. 11:26). Our authority as to when to partake of this
memorial is "on the first day of the week," given in the example
of the first century disciples in Acts 20:7. This is the day our
Lord rose from the dead victorious. Christians are to partake of
the supper Jesus instituted each first day of the week to
remember the salvation and deliverance that God has provided for
them through the perfect sacrifice of His Son.
Also, by partaking of the Lord's Supper, Christ's disciples
continually proclaim the greatest event in all of history to
others till Jesus returns. So, this commemoration not only
looks backward to the great event of the past, it looks forward
to the great event of the future, the coming of Jesus in the
end.
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