Communion

I want to give a moment to the Lord's Supper or Communion.  What is it?  Why do we do it?  What does it mean?  I'm betting there is more to it than you think, even if you grew up in church.  

For those who grew up in or are familiar with church, you know what taking communion is.  It is partaking of the bread (or wafer) and wine (or juice) to commemorate Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it.  Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it, for this is my body."  And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.  He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood which confirms the covenant between God and his people.  It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.  Matthew 26:26-28

This 'meal' was the Passover which came to be known as the Seder.  For thousands of years, Jews around the world sit down on the first night of the week of Passover to share a meal of lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread.  Other elements have been added over the centuries but lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread were part of the original meal.

The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for many years.  God sent Moses to deliver them.  When Moses asked, Pharaoh to let God's people go, Pharaoh said, "No."

God sent a series of plagues on the land of Egypt.  At the final one, God told Moses to get ready.  This final plague was going to be so bad that not only would Pharaoh let them go, the people of Egypt would throw wealth at them, but it would require preparation.

While the Israelites were likely afflicted by the first three, milder plagues, they were spared from suffering the more serious plagues of four through nine.  However, this final plague would have no mercy.  If one didn't prepare in the way the Lord instructed, the firstborn of their family and even their animals, would die.

The Israelites were to select a lamb, kill it, paint the doorposts and lintel with blood and then eat the lamb—all of it.

 If the lamb was more than a family could eat, they were to invite another family to share.  Whatever wasn't eaten was to be burned up before the next morning.  This was the first of the seven Israelite festivals that were given by God.

Then we come to the book of Leviticus.  The entire book gives the priests instructions on how to serve before the Lord and for the people.  They were told how to identify leprosy, how to make sacrifices for particular occasions, how to celebrate the festivals, and how to judge righteously among the people among other things. 

Much of Leviticus is dedicated to the types of sacrifices one should give and on what occasion they should be given.  People tend to overlook the fact that, aside from what God required to be burned up, the fat around the organs, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver for instance, the rest of the animal was to be eaten by the priests, with one exception.  That exception was the peace offering.

The peace offering was given by someone out of the love of God, closure of a vow, or thanksgiving like for an answered prayer.  Peace offerings were to be consumed by God (His part on the altar), the priests (certain parts were for them), and the giver.  The person giving the offering ate the rest of the animal and could share it with their family or guests.  This offering was also known as, I kid you not, the Communion Offering. 

All those passages in the Bible where David or Solomon slaughtered thousands of bulls and other animals as offerings, like when the Tabernacle returned or the Temple was consecrated, were peace offerings.  All of Israel feasted and fellowshipped with God at those times.  They ate the offerings.

The Peace Offering was given by God as a way for people to have intimacy or communion with Him.  It wasn't about sin or ritual. It was just sharing a meal with your God.  

In the book of John, chapter 6 and starting in verse 30, we read a passage that can be disturbing.  We know that those who heard Jesus speak it thought it was difficult because the Bible says that many of his disciples turned away and deserted Him.  It is a long passage so I'm going to summarize it, but it is linked.  I encourage you to read it.

This incident occurs right after the feeding of the 5,000.  I have a post on that you can read here.  Jesus had given bread and fish to all the people that were following him.  John tells us that the people were ready to force Jesus to be their king, so He slipped away.  

The disciples waited for Jesus, but when He didn't come, they got in the boat and headed across the lake. This is where Jesus walked on the water.

The next day, the people that Jesus had fed began to look for Him.  The got in boats and went to the other side and found Him.  Jesus told them their hearts, that they were following him for the bread and not because of the miracles.  This starts the passage of interest for this study.

After telling the not to be concerned with perishable things like food, He encourages them to seek eternal life given by the Son of Man.

The people ask to be able to perform the miracles that Jesus performs but Jesus tells them that there is only one work that God wants from them.  They are to believe on the one He has sent.

Believe this or not, they ask for a miraculous sign.  This is where Jesus tells them that He is the bread of life and whoever eats will never be hungry again.  Remember, I'm skipping a lot here for the sake of brevity.

The people began to murmur about the things Jesus was saying.  Jesus tells them again that He is the bread of life.  He said:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.  John 6:51

The people found this hard to swallow, no pun intended.  Jesus continued:

My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. John 6:55-56

As I said before, this caused many of his followers to depart.  Jesus asked the twelve of they would leave too.  Simon said:

Lord, to whom would we go?  You have the words that give eternal life.  John 6:68

I hope this helps you can see the significance of communion.  Jesus is the Passover lamb that must be eaten.  But we forget that He is also the peace offering that is eaten to commune with God and others.  Jesus is the bread of life.  

I like the way the King James Bible puts John 6:55:

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

It is a hard saying, but who ever said that the truth was easy?