Radio Transcript

Broadcast Date – May 12, 2002 on KCXY (Y95) - 95.3 FM

"When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (I Corinthians 11:20-29).

Friends, these words, written by Paul to the church at Corinth, remind us of the importance of the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Some, failing to grasp the significance of the Lord’s Supper, have thus partaken of it with serious consequences. Notice Paul’s words from verse twenty-nine of our text. "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Let’s consider three points from our text in reference to the Lord’s Supper. First, consider the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. We readily understand the importance of memorials in our own society. The Arizona Memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship USS Arizona and commemorates the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962, and became a National Park Service area in 1980. Everyone who visits this memorial remembers those men who gave their lives for our country.

Jesus understood the significance of memorials. In Matthew the twenty-sixth chapter, verses six through thirteen, we read of a time when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. A woman came to Jesus with an alabaster box full of precious ointment. When the woman poured the ointment on his head, his disciples reacted with indignation, saying, "To what purpose is this waste." His disciples thought the ointment should have been sold for much money, which could have then been given to the poor. But Jesus said, "Why trouble the woman, for she has wrought a good work upon me? For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper to be observed as a memorial to his death. Consider the following from Luke 22:15-20, "And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." The emblems used in the Lord’s Supper remind us of the body of Christ and of the blood of Christ. The bread is representative of Christ’s body that was hung on the cross. The fruit of the vine is representative of Christ’s blood that was shed for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28). The bread and fruit of the vine do not literally become Christ’s body and blood, but are symbolic of Christ’s body and blood.

The Lord’s Supper serves not only as a memorial, but also as a proclamation. When we observe the Lord’s Supper we proclaim the power of Christ’s blood. "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:11-15).

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim the fact that Christ will come again. Notice Paul’s words from verse twenty-six of our text, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." The ascension of Jesus into heaven is recorded in Acts the first chapter. While his disciples looked toward heaven as Jesus went up, two men stood by them in white apparel. Notice their words to the apostles, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." One day, the Lord will descend from heaven with a great shout (I Thessalonians 4:16). "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen" (Revelation 1:7) Friends, we ought to be living our lives in anticipation of Christ’s coming.

Second, let’s consider just a few common misunderstandings concerning the Lord’s Supper. Some people place an undue amount of emphasis on the Lord’s Supper. Don’t misunderstand friends. The Lord’s Supper is very important. But it should not be treated as if it were the only important part, or the most important part, of our worship. There is no special power inherent in the Lord’s Supper. The power is in what the Lord’s Supper represents, Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.

But it would also be wrong to under emphasize the importance of the Lord’s Supper. Some people observe the Lord’s Supper on a less than weekly basis, thinking weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper would somehow make it less meaningful. But friends, weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper has the very opposite effect. The Lord’s Supper becomes less meaningful whenever it is observed on a less than weekly basis. Notice the following from I Corinthians 11:25, "this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." How do we know the Lord’s Supper is to be observed on the first day of every week? We know from Acts 20:7, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

Third, consider the manner in which the Lord’s Supper is to be observed. It is to be observed with an attitude of reverence for the occasion. It is to be done with respect for the price Christ paid for our sins as well as the suffering Christ endured. To somehow make light of the Lord’s Supper, or treat is as a trivial thing, places a person in the same category as those persons who crucified Christ. "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (I Corinthians 11:27).

Concerning the manner in which the Lord’s Supper is to be observed, we are to observe the Lord’s Supper with self-examination. "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (I Corinthians 11:28). Whenever a person partakes of the Lord’s Supper, he (or she) ought to examine his own life and ask, "Am I living a life that demonstrates my commitment to Christ? " In Galatians 2:20, Paul wrote, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

A person observes the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner whenever he does so while living a life of willful sin, refusing to repent. Consider the following from Hebrews 6:4-6, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

In Hebrews 10:26-29 we read, "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

Friends, we ought to be thankful for the opportunities we have to observe the Lord’s Supper and all that it represents.